Flower Waffle Coloring Page

My daughter LOVES making waffles. She has an old fashioned cast iron waffle iron and a favorite waffle cookbook. She always makes extras to freeze and then heats them up for herself later. I put Amazon affiliate links after the coloring pages if you want to get the exact ones she uses and loves.

So I was imagining what a waffle iron would look like if I designed it, and came up with this design. Flowers which can catch lots of syrup (real butter and maple syrup only please!). The version above with the quote from the show Teen Titans can be shared from Don't Eat the Paste on Facebook.

Click the images below for a larger version to print and color. You don't have to color it to look like a waffle. Be as colorful as you'd like!

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Transparent PNG version:

Nautical themed printable box

Today's printable is an experiment, so let me know what you think. I'm working on drawing ropes, but also considering a nautically themed mandala.

The image above can be shared from my Facebook page. Click the image below for a larger version of the printable box and print on card stock, cut out, score folds, fold and glue!

Printable Peace Symbol Optical Effect

It took a while to get it set up so I could do these types of optical effects in a 300 ppi printable. I'll bet this would look just nifty printed on Astrobrights paper!

The effect uses diagonal lines in opposite directions to create a maze like geometric look which has to be seen just right to see the word or image. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Click the image below for a large version to print and the smaller version above is on my FB page so you can share it!

Book Review- Lemons and Lavender

Lemons and Lavender was a pleasant surprise. I expected the main focus to be cleaning recipes and there are several cleaning solution recipes in the book. But as the subtitle says, it's an eco guide to better homekeeping, not just housekeeping. The book is about making a home and making environmentally aware and conscious decisions.

A lot of it seems obvious to the experienced homemaker and DIY enthusiast. People like that will enjoy the recipes and possibly find new ideas in the tips. But for the beginning homemaker? Someone just starting out in their first apartment, or someone didn't grow up in a household that was thrifty and environmentally conscious the ideas and instructions will help set them on a workable path.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it is full of thrifty ideas, you can save money while having a greener home. It seems like so much is marketed for people who want to make eco-friendly choices but it's frequently more expensive and considering packaging and shipping- not necessarily the best choice. The ideas in this book won't take that much time, or in the case of gardening, the time can be very enjoyable. They are also inexpensive ideas.

It has recipes for cleaning solutions, recipes for inexpensive, healthy meals, some tips on doing minor fix it projects yourself and tips on how to find instructions to do even more things. It has recipes for paints and inks, and instructions for making your own wrapping paper. It's the same kind of DIY ethics that were in my household growing up. 

The cooking section includes information on starter ferments like pickles, sourdough and yogurt. Crafty ideas include some things for holidays like how to make a pinata or how to dye Easter eggs naturally. The repair section has a bunch of tips for trouble shooting things like a running toilet. There are tips on how to use essential oils for everything from upset tummy to stopping mold in a bathroom. There is an awful lot of information covered in here for a wide range of topics.

The other thing about this book is that it's very readable. A lot of times with these kinds of books, you'll skip around, but this one that I was able to read cover to cover. The author writes in an accessible, chatty way that makes you feel like you've got a good neighbor giving you tips. She comes from England originally, but has lived here long enough that the recipes are in easy to follow US volume measurements. There are some very English recipes and language that are just charming and a joy to read.

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If you use my Amazon links to buy the book, it helps support this site and my book addiction.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Common Goldeneye Ducks (photo post)

I'm not a serious bird watcher, but I do enjoy watching birds, it's relaxing. Today was a very pleasant day here in Anchorage so after going to the Eastern European Market we went looking for the one of the kinds of duck that will overwinter for as long as there is open water sometimes.

Common goldeneye, easy to identify, they have a big white spot on their cheek, a distinctive black and white pattern and they are fun to watch because they are pretty active. They don't just float around looking mellow and comfortable. They dive underwater, completely. Diving down to get food and come splashing up a little distance from where they started from. Sometimes 2 or 3 go down in the same area and all seem try to come up in the same place. There is a lot of flapping.

Along with ravens and magpies, they are some of the most active birds to just watch. For ravens and magpies, I just have to step outside my front door. These are in a few places around Anchorage, but the one of best places to view ducks easily in the Anchorage area is Westchester Lagoon. It's very accessible.

I'm looking forward to it getting warmer and getting out to see the sandhill cranes and other birds that will come back, but it's also nice to see the ones that don't seem to mind the winter so much. 

P.F. Chang's - Seasonally delicious

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of P.F. Chang's.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you been checking out the seasonal menus at P.F. Chang's? Like the Winter Seasonal Menu, which has all sorts of wonderful flavor combinations that are seasonally appropriate and so good on a cold day.

You can probably guess which dish is my favorite. Miso Salmon! Combining salmon, which is one of my favorite things anyway with savory miso and julienne strips of daikon radish. Doesn't that just look fantastic?



My husband isn't as wild about seafood as I am, but he likes spicy a lot more. For him? Firecracker Chicken. It has a spicy Hoisin glaze with several of his favorite foods (broccoli, mushrooms and pineapple)

For dessert for both of us? Vanilla Cream Wontons! They also have a Chocolate Raspberry Wonton for the chocolate fanatics. But I'm wild for vanilla and these are served with raspberry sauce.



Seasonal means that the menu will change with the next season, for equally delicious but different things. To get an idea of what kinds of things P.F. Chang's is creating for their seasonal menu, Follow P.F. Chang’s on Pinterest. Look at all the gorgeous, yummy photos. You deserve a night out. You can also Follow @pfchangs on Twitter where they are posting even MORE nom worthy photos of things like Chili Shrimp Bao.

Ending on a cocktail because it's such a pretty drink- this is a Red Goose Martini, made with pomegranate juice and flavored with Thai basil, fresh ginger and lime.

Citrus Mandala to color

I adore citrus fruits and juices! If it's the first days of spring, summer isn't far behind. (I just need to believe that right now, we had 16 inches of snow earlier this week)

I hope you enjoy this mandala. Click on the images for larger versions, print and color.

Small JPG version:

Large transparent PNG version:

Book Review- All Things Paper

Usually I'll put my disclosure at the end of a review, but this time I'm going to start with it. Ann Martin's All Things Paper  blog is a favorite,  because she loves paper even more than I do! She links to some incredibly awesome things you wouldn't believe are made from paper, she's a quilling enthusiast who shares her love and some great projects, and it's one of the most inspiring blogs out there. So when she wrote to me to ask if I'd like to review this book for GoodReads, I went kind of fan girl. Ok, REALLY fan girl. Took me a full ten minutes to answer YES! and much of that time was spent trying to compose an answer that wouldn't make her decide I was a crazy craft stalker.

So, now for the review (and the version that will be posted on GR and Amazon will skip that whole first paragraph and have the nice more professional disclosure at the bottom.)

All Things Paper is a book of paper crafts by various artists that is curated by an expert in the field. Ann Martin is enthusiastic about paper, and it shows. These are 20 projects that truly showcase the range of paper as a material for artists and crafters to create things. From realistic paper flowers to beautifully bound books, this book is a fantastic collection.

There are all sorts of paper used in the projects shown. Some are upcycled from things you have around your house already, others use specialty papers. Paper is very affordable, and most of the projects in the book can be tried and practiced with plain paper before you cut into the more expensive sheets.

The instructions are all very clear, with lots of photos of the steps to illustrate. The photos are well done and well lit.

The projects are separated by use.
Home Decor covers projects that are used in the home, such as simple to make and elegant luminaries, realistic lilacs, a Japanese inspired stationery box ,a silhouette portrait and a few others. My favorite project in this chapter, surprisingly isn't the stationery box, which is gorgeous and a practical gift; but the silhouette art because of the way it combines with a pretty cut paper background to make a truly frameable personal piece of art.

Fashion Accessories surprisingly only has two projects, but that's only because Jewelry is another chapter! Between the two chapters, you'll see a tote bag, a Tiger Lily fascinator, some gorgeous quilled pieces by Ann Martin, and learn a new technique for creating something almost like paper mache but stronger that can be braided and shaped. My favorite project in these two chapters is easily the Antique Key Pendant because the basic idea key design lends itself to all sorts of adaptations to make a very special pendant.

Correspondence is the stationery chapter, and this includes cards of course. There are also instructions for a neat journal project that would be a good gift for anyone. The cards are miniature works of art, and frameable. I love the clear and concise instructions with a lot of photos for making a journal, and my favorite card is hard to choose. There is the very elegant cut out paper tree card, but there is also a fun and colorful 3d flower card.

At the end is great gallery, and also information and websites for all of the contributors to this great collection.

I really recommend this book for paper enthusiasts, especially for beginners and intermediate crafters.

You can get it at Amazon, and using my affiliate links helps pay for this site and my book addiction.

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Printable Little Mystery Box

I always loved the idea of mystery boxes, and can't resist a grab bag at a store. It's exciting to find out what's in the box or bag. If you like them as much, you may enjoy today's printable. Printable MYSTERY BOXES, all ready to fill for friends and family and in a few colors too!

Click the image for a larger version, print on card stock, cut out, score folds, fold, glue and fill!

Happy Pi Day! Coloring page

Happy Pi Day! Or if you're a Supernatural fan- Happy Dean Winchester Day! My whole family are pretty big fans of the show, and making the colored example of today's coloring page this way sent TATG into giggles.

There are 2 versions of this coloring page- one has a nice big blank circle that can be personalized, used as a frame or used with a quote. The other is just a simple lattice topped pie. Either way it's a very simple page to color, but hopefully you enjoy it! Click on the images to get a bigger versions of these pie coloring pages.

Plain Pie- jpg version:

Plain Pie- large transparent PNG version:

Pie with circle- jpg version:

Pie with circle- large transparent PNG version:

Rubber Duck Recipe Page

I seem to be on a rubber duck kick. This duck wants to cook for you!

This recipe page is available in both a black and white version to color and a color version. I'm still working on the PDF-fillable version because the new version of Acrobat is just enough different that somehow my forms keep wanting to send themselves instead of just being saved after being filled in. So for now, you'll have to write your recipe by hand.

I hope you enjoy this printable recipe page. Click on the images for a larger version to print!

Color version:

Black and white version:

Book Review and Giveaway! Origami Flowers

Vertical Inc. is one of my favorite publishers around because they translate Japanese books to English- include a growing number of craft and cookbooks. To make things even better- they sent me an extra copy of this book to giveaway! The giveaway is for US residents only. I'm sorry about that. Whoever wins will also get some Alaskan postcards- mostly because I love picking them out to put into packages that I'm sending down south! The winner will get the English version shown above. The version shown below is to show the original book that was translated!

Origami Flowers is an English translation of Hana No Origami. It features a lovely collection of blossoms. Some of them are abstract and stylized and some are very realistic. Like a lot of Japanese books- there are scissors used in some of the models. Mostly they are to create decorative edges that further define a type of flower.

The diagrams are traditional style, but this is a good book for beginners. It features a full guide to reading traditional diagrams and each of the models is marked for difficulty level.

Beginners will get comfortable fast, folding the simpler models, and building up to the trickier models. A lot of the models use several sheets of paper. The gorgeous rose in the center of the book cover reminds me quite a bit of stained glass roses. It's sculptural and it's one of the simplest models in the book, it gets it's many petaled look by using several sheets of paper. This could become one of my all time favorite models pretty easily.

Card makers will enjoy the elegance of several of the flat flowers, and jewelry paper crafters will also see a good use for a lot of these pretty flowers.

More practical models include a couple decorated envelopes, and there is a whole section dedicated to "Practical Flowers". I'm wild for practical origami, in fact one of my favorite origami books ever is Practical Origami (also published by Vertical Inc), so this is one of my favorite sections of the book. Pretty bowls that look like sculptured flowers that are made using paper napkins, decorated chopstick cases and dishes. These are very pretty models that would work very well for entertaining.

Want your own copy? You can get it on Amazon and help out this page, or you might be able to win a copy!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.

Rubber Duck Mandala

Rubber ducks mandala! If you get the song stuck in your head it's not my fault.

I hope you enjoy this mandala to color. Click on the image to make it larger, print and color!

Small JPG version:

Large transparent PNG version:

To help pay for the mini greenhouse that I'd really like to have, maybe you'd like to buy something using one of my Amazon affiliate links?

The greenhouse is on this wishlist if you're curious. It's small, portable and will fit between my rhubarb and strawberries in one of the sunniest spots against the house.

Easy Duck® Brand Craft Tape Frame

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Duck Brand for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Duck Brand Craft Tapes are just a wonderful creative tool. They have created all these neat tapes like Duck Prism®, fabric tape, washi tape and glitter tape. My picture frame is made using Duck® Fabric Tape, but any of the craft tapes will work just great to make it.

Duck® Brand Fabric tape is easy to use. It comes with a liner on the back so the fabric doesn't get tacky, and the backing has a pattern that makes it easy to cut neatly.

To make this frame you'll need:
Duck Brand Craft Tapes, paper frame template, non-stick scissors, narrow ribbon

Download and print the template on card stock. Pick your size- at 100% it makes a 5 inch frame with 2.5 inch opening. Making it smaller would make a cute gift tag or small gift. Cut out the template, and the inner window. Score and fold in side tabs and main fold. Crease well.

Now start covering the outside with tape. Using the Duck® Brand Fabric Tape, you can cut length to the right size and take your time to get them placed, until you burnish it down, it's pretty positionable. Cut slits to fold over the edges in the inner edge of the window. Get the whole outside neatly covered.
Now it's time for the ribbon. The ribbon holds the frame closed. You'll put a small open loop on the inside of the back of the frame and a longer closed loop on the inside of the front of the frame.


So to put the picture in, you'll put it behind the window, then fold the side flaps over, then fold up the back flap. Slip the long ribbon loop through the small ribbon loop to close.
I follow @TheDuckBrand on Twitter- do you? If you do, and you make things with Duck Brand® Craft Tapes- share it and hash tag it #DuckCraftTape, and don't forget to Pin it too!
Now I need the Glitter Duck Brand® tape. Because everything is better with glitter.

Little shamrocks and braids printable box

  

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

-C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland. Since I've been putting quotes on some of my thumbnails, using Irish authors for the designs with shamrocks or knotwork seems appropriate. Plus I really love this quote. As usual, if you'd like to share it, you can find it on my Facebook page! Like Don't Eat the Paste on FB for the fastest way to find out about new posts, and to see occasional photographs that I take. Currently there is a picture of a moose with it's tongue stuck out on there that I took yesterday!

The printable gift box is inspired by Brigitte in Austria who seems to really like shamrock designs! I hope you enjoy it too. Click on the image for a larger version, print on card stock, cut out, score fold lines, fold, glue!