Planner Meetup - Western MA

I spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday with new planner friends in Massachusetts where we shared our favorite planners and supplies. I brought along my adorable Supaclip (40, the smaller size) with a sneak peek at the Emoji refills (shown in the image below).

Those little froning faces are perfect to clip together your bills...that is the pile my husband is allergic to so he'll be forewarned not to touch it,

I promised to share links to some of the products we talked about so what you'll find below are direct Amazon PRIME links for Supaclip starter set, Refills, Adjustable Diary Punch and Desktop Pencil Sharpener, for all those Adult Coloring enthusiasts out there.

 

In case you are looking for a 6-hole punch for A5 size planner, I have a video on how to make that work with minimal effort (I did all the math for you, lol).

The following are some snapshots from the Planner Meetup

A very talented lady, @jesseniascreations made that black & white planner band that was in our swag bag, matching my Erin Condren Life Planner perfectly

Planner Pile Up - well represented by assorted companies - Erin Condren, Happy Planner, Webster's Pages, Michael's Planner, Filofax and several others that I can't recall.

The swag bag was brimming with stickers, clips, washi, planner band and even an adorable mini bottle of essential oil in lavender,

I am so happy to have been able to attend the event, meet so many like minded planner enthusiasts and look forward to the next one.

Where to find me online:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nhensel

Blog - http://cleversoiree.com/

Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/natashazhensel/boards/

Instagram - http://instagram.com/natashazhensel

Red Wine Potatoes

These potatoes are delicious, filled with savory flavor and the undercurrent of wine essence, here is how I make these very popular and often requested side dish in our household.

How to Create A Meme

You have all seen them but if you've ever wanted to create one yourself, like this one I made the other, the following easy step by step instructions for Canva.com It's free to use, provided you don't purchase their 'at cost' desings and use it for something simple like a MEME. I also use this online site to create my daily YouTube thumbnails (let me know if you'd like to see how that's done). 

Aldi's Specially Selected Artisan Berry Crisps

I saw these at Aldi on our recent shopping trip, intrigued enough to bring each flavor home with us for a test drive. Boy, am I glad I did! These are DELICIOUS - crispy, savory and sweet and even more spectacular with a little unsalted butter. 

These are the Goji Berry Pistachio, you can easily identify each ingredient - goji berries, slices of pistachio and loaded with flax seeds and oats. 

Easy Beef Strogonof

Beef Stroganoff does not have to be intimidating or time consuming for that matter.

Use the most tender meat cut for your budge, remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come up to room temp. 

• 1 1/2 lb beef cut into approximately 1 inch chunks
• 10 oz mushrooms of your choice (button, cremini, baby portabella)
• 1 medium Vidalia onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium Beef Stock
• 1/2 lb Egg Noodles
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons Sour Cream or Creme Fresh or Plain Yogurt
• Salt & Black Pepper to taste (I like a lot of black pepper)

Traditional Beef Stroganoff recipes call for Cognac or Sherry and shallots but not a lot of people might have these on hand so I made substitutions with onions and Worcestershire sauce.  

First, season the meat and sear in a non-stick pan with a bit of coconut oil or spray (yes there is a Coconut Oil spray) until they have color on all sides. If you have any access oil, drain that off and add sliced onion and mushrooms, saute till onions become wilted but not caramelized and mushrooms release some of their water.  Add stock, mix well and simmer for 8-10 minutes on medium heat, if you see the liquid evaporating too much, lower heat and add more stock. Turn off heat, add sour cream, mix well and serve over cooked egg noodles with a sprinkling of shopped parsley. Easy and satisfying with only two pots used (one for Stroganoff and one for noodles). Weeknight meal or weekend entertainment dish, your choice. Enjoy!

 

Click It Ink Pad from Ken Oliver Crafts

 Ken Oliver was at Inspiration Station in Stafford Springs CT teaching a couple of classes on watercolor technique. The perfect little ink pad to have on the go for all you planner enthusiasts. I bought two of them in Crimson and Lamp Black. Check out how cool these are:

Mega Bold Gel Pen by Promarx

The two pack is available at Dollar Tree, I only saw black ink at my local store but it's possible they might also be available in blue 

The ink is super juicy, not the best to use on the fly or on thin paper but looks like the ideal on mailing envelopes for that extra bold look. Note: the ink needs to dry (longer than regular gel) before it's smudge proof.

CraftMedley Cup Sequins in Rhythm 'n Blues

CraftMedley brand of cup sequins in Rhythm 'n Blues (GC457D) I picked up at Lost and More last week. As many of you know already, I can't pass up shiny objects and especially when they are packaged in color palates like this. I also brought home the purple mix, black/white, greens and metallics (please let me know if you'd like a closer look at each of those).

These are the exact robin's egg blue or if you'd prefer that perfect little box from Tiffany's 

A deep teal 

This color reminds me of the Versace dress Jennifer Lopes wore 

Seafoam on a stormy day 

Blue with a hint of Royal 

Powder or Baby blue, matte 

Holographic over darker blue 

Deep Royal blue

Each palate contains 8 different shades of one color or coordinating colors, total 16 grams of 6mm cup sequins. Want to see the others, just ask and I'll post close up photos of each palate.

Review - Three Food Items from Dollar Tree

After repeated requests, I busted out three of the food items I picked up from Dollar Tree in the last couple of weeks to make a very simple but tasty large appetizer/dinner.

• Francesco Rinaldi Pizza Sauce
• Camillo's Pizza Crusts (2 per pack)
• Hormel Pepperoni

Design Team Etiquette

Some of you might already know that I have been a part of a few Design Teams in the last five years and with one company for the duration so I've accumulated some real world wisdom to share with whomever finds it useful or just anecdotal.

What To Do:
So you have tried out and made it to be a part of a team, to showcase the products of a company that is utilizing the creative juices of it's Design Team to highlight what's new, now what?  I can share with you my honest observations from both the point of view of a member as well as Team Lead and Social Media Coordinator.

As Seen On TV Stone Wave from Dollar Tree

The first time using this, I gave my YouTube viewers a choice between tree dessert recipes to make on video, the Baked Banana won hands down

I picked up two of these, with the intent to use for French Onion soup (Paulie's favorite) but discovered that there a few enticing recipes that will be highlighted in the coming weeks

Each crock has a vented lid and a hollow handle (to limit heat transfer) but is only intended for use in the microwave. Although I am pretty sure if these were fired in a kiln at 1,200° F the possibility of using them in the home oven exists

One banana, a little brown sugar, a dash of rum, sliced almonds and cinnamon with a pat of butter and 45 seconds in the microwave (recipe called for 30 seconds but the butter hadn't even melted so I ran it for an additional 15 seconds which was perfect). Topped with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream and it was perfect*.
* If you are making this for children, substitute the run with vanilla extract but only 1/4 teaspoon

Simple Project Each Day in September - Day 17 - IKEA Variera Storage Accordion

The packaging is tiny but heavy because it's all stainless steel

Accordion base and screw on posts 

Simple and quick assembly, no tools required 

Only takes minutes to complete 

Super simple instructions 

No words necessary 

Easy to expand to fit the space 

Or collapse to store away or house in a smaller location 

Collapsed size is under 6 inches long

Collapsed size under 3 1/2 inches wide 

Expands to nearly two feet 

Perfect to store various size lids, pots, anything you'd like to keep vertically

Scotch Pop-Up Tape Handband Dispenser Review

I picked one of these at my local Dollar Tree 

The package contained 1 dispenser and 1 refill pack of 50 individually cut pieces of tape measuring 3/4 x 2 inches (adhesive on one side) 

The dispenser fits comfortably, even on my giant hands, around the palm just above the thumb. Easy to have on while gift wrapping, eliminating that annoying pick-up-put-down of a traditional tape dispenser.

Refills available on Amazon.com for approximately $9.75 for 12 packs of 75 pieces each, that's  900 individual strips of adhesive tape. That should last through the entire holiday gift wrapping season, for the average family.

Video:

RAPESCO AV-69 Heavy-Duty Stapler

This fabulously stable and easy to use stapler is from RAPESCO, available on Amazon.com, at an incredible price 

The purple base's 'wings' snap on for extra stability making it the easiest repeat stapler for those larger jobs - notebooks, handouts, instructions or whatever else you need to complete

Adjustable guide makes repeat project to be consistent without constant measuring 

The push of one button releases the staple reservoir 

Easy to load and close

And even easier to staple, just one finger needed, staple up to 115 sheets of paper

Onboard replacement staples are housed directly under the stapler, never run out in the middle of the job again

Ever have your stapler 'walk' off your desk? This little 'property' window allows you to add your initials 

Keep it simple, funny, witty or be as direct as necessary (respectfully) to let your coworkers know that this one is YOURS!

Would you like to see a sample project?  How about some mini notebooks made of graph paper and craft paper covers?