The Chicken Coop

I am a paper crafter. I've been playing with paper, and cutting and pasting for many years now and I still just love it. I teach classes each month and would love to have you.
You can find me at MyRedHen.blogspot.com and on Pinterest
or email me at MyRedHen4@yahoo.com
I'd love to hear from you.
Every now and then I have some cards or little treats available for sale that may be seen here.
My blog also contains my personal posts. Ignore them if you like, but you may get a kick out of them. Maybe my girls will read them one day and get insights into the inner workings of an old woman's brain....Scary Thought!
There is a list of labels on the right side of the blog, so you can click there to go to only the posts that you are interested in. That will allow you to skip the personal posts and any items for sale if you wish. No matter which way you choose, I hope will enjoy my little blog and visit often.

Monday, February 27, 2023

Strawberries

February 27th is National Strawberry Day

These juicy, sweet berries can brighten up any dish and are delicious all on their own.

There are a few different stories behind the origin of the name. The more widely accepted version is that the berries would drop off the leaves and become “strewn” about the plant. Over time “strewn-berries” became “strawberries”. There was a time (and some gardeners still do this today) when strawberry beds were mulched with straw, insulating the plants over the winter, keeping weeds at bay during the growing season, and making them easier to harvest. Another sweet story tells of English children stringing the berries on grass straws and selling the “straw berries” in their neighborhoods.

My very favorite is a really good strawberry shortcake. Yummy! Another wonderful way was introduced to me during a class I was teaching in my home. It was very near my dear friend Mary's birthday at the time so she brought a birthday treat along with her. I think everyone else had eaten it before but I never had. It was simply beautiful strawberries dipped in sour cream, then into brown sugar and eaten. Oh my goodness! Nectar of the gods. Why had I never had this before! Most recently I went to a buffet while visiting out of state and they had fruit bowls that were sprinkled on top with powdered sugar. Once again I had never had it before. Delicious. I thought there whipped cream was biting the dust. The strawberries were my favorite in the dish but that powdered sugar was yummy on each of the fruits. Once home I bought some fruit (mainly strawberries) and dug out my rarely used powdered sugar and added it to my "cooking" repitroire. 

Quite some time ago the Paper Pumpkin Kit that we received at the end of the year was a calendar to make. We'll, I didn't need a calendar, I needed cards. So what I did was decorate the top of each calendar page and put it on a card. I use them as birthday cards. This one is for May so when I have a birthday coming up in May I will use a little circle stamp which came with the kit and encircle the date of their birthday. Some gave me their calendar pages cause they didn't want them so I have quite a few to decorate. I wish I could say that I got them all decorated but sadly I cannot. I pulled them out though when I was hunting this card and I've made it a goal to finish them all. 

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Banana Bread...YUM

February 23rd is National Banana Bread Day

Bananas made their way west from Asia by traveling with Arab conquerors as long ago as 300 BC, and they have been growing in popularity every since. Theyfirst made their appearance in the United States in 1870 but for a long time, Americans saw the tropical fruit as merely that – a fruit, not an ingredient. From the time they started to become accepted and commonplace in the west, it took a little while (several centuries, in fact) forthis tasty fruit to be made into banana bread as people know it today. It was likely first developed and started to become popular back in the 1930’s, during the economic hardship of the Great Depression. Cultural historians suggest that the resourceful and creative American housewives of the era started making the recipe as a way of not letting overripe bananas go to waste. As it turned out, the riper the bananas were, the sweeter they were, and the better the taste of the banana bread. So it ended up being a very clever and innovative creation! The first printed recipe for this treat appeared in Pillsbury’s Balanced Recipes cookbook, which was published in 1933.

 Bakers know that to make sweet and delicious banana bread, they need to use fully ripe, mashed bananas and the finished product makes a tasty sliced snack. Toast it and add butter for an even more satisfying treat!

Even I can make a pretty tasty banana bread but alas I have no bananas. I do however have some bread and it turns out that February 23rd is also National Toast Day so I will honor the day with toast for breakfast. 


Friday, February 17, 2023

Kindness

 Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day.  

The day  was initiated in 1995 in Denver, Colorado by a nonprofit organization called The Random Acts Of Kindness Foundation. The event spread to New Zealand nine years later, in 2004, and the observance of the holiday became more and more widespread. 

One can never go wrong with kindness, and there can never be too much of it. The idea behind day is to cultivate feelings of kindness and brighten someone’s day. Every small act of kindness is significant. It may seem like a little thing but, like the domino effect, one act of kindness can lead to more positive outcomes. Don’t hold back from uplifting others with compliments and compassion on this day. 

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Grouchy?

 Today is "Do a Grouch a Favor Day"

I can't say that I can think of someone around me that's being particularly grouchy right now but if you're dealing with someone I encourage you to do them a little favor. You'd be amazed at how a little kindness can change a person's attitude...sometimes immediately. Doesn't have to be anything big....a kind gesture letting them know that you care, a favorite piece of candy or candy bar given for no reason at all, cooking their favorite dinner, or a sweet note slipped in a lunch box. 

Now...A funny thing just happened. I was looking for grouchy clip art to include in this post and this picture popped up. 

As many of you know my brother very recently passed away. For years he would ride his bike up to the Vons store and go around with a cheery hello to all. His goal each day to make people smile. He knew them all, their names, their kids names, and what was going on in their lives. One of his greatest joys was ringing bells in front of the store for the Salvation Army. He wanted to give people a smile whether they gave or not and with yhat white beard, when kids came by he added a big "HO HO HO! It was so important to him that one if his doctors presented this t-shirt to him. It reads "Smiles Required"  He loved it. 

So there you have it. My little brother. I'm dedicating this day to him because I know there were so many times he turned a frown upside down for those around him. Along with me they're going to miss him. 


Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Valentine's Day


 Just a quick hello today to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day. To those of you who have a Valentine I hope they make your day special. To those of you who don't I wish you a belated Galentines Day. It was yesterday of course but I was on the road home. I promise to post a "special" Galentine card for us next year but for now I just hope you all have a wonderful day. 

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Classes and Sales

 I have realized that at the beginning of the new year I should have posted the info on the classes I teach. If interested you can sign up by contacting me by leaving me a message here in the comments or by email myredhen4@yahoo.com.


I have come to the beginning of a new year and at that time I like to get the information out there about my classes and crops so you know what's available. 
At the end there is info on something new for this year. 

I teach two classes each month. 
First of all, I do what I call "Paper Pumpkin Club "  
Stampin Up has a subscription program called Paper Pumpkin. For $22.50 each month you get a box with everything inside to create projects they have designed. It's usually cards, about 9 of them. You get full instructions and all the supplies need including an exclusive stamp set, a small square pad of one of their ink colors, and any adhesive or pop dots needed. In your very first kit you get a stamping block. You literally have everything you need to create your projects except scissors. 
Now when I get my kit I come up with alternate projects using the kit and I have a group of ladies who bring their kit along with them to class snd we make the extra projects that I design. The class is $10 and includes the instruction plus any supplies that I have added to the kit to make my alternates. 
The class is at 6pm on the second Wednesday of each month. 
Hope that explains it well. 

Secondly, I teach a class which I call my "Red Hen Roundup"
You sign up for this in rounds of four months each. For instance this first round will run from January thru April. You are then responsible for the whole round. If you are not able to come you still receive your kit and pictures of the cards we did in class. 
In this class I teach five cards that I have designed and I occasionally also teach some little treats like you might use at Halloween or Christmas. You bring your monthly kit, yourself and your basic supplies. You will also receive a kit from me with any extra supplies you need for the cards I teach in class. 
Again, if you are unable to come, you would receive your kit and pictures of each card.
This class is $25 per month and I teach both a daytime class at noon and a night class at 6pm both on the last Wednesday of each month. 

Now, something new....

I am adding a Technique Club this year. This is designed to learn some new techniques and have a record of them that you can flip through for ideas when you're crafting. 

At the end of each month you will receive from me, a card with a small example of the technique I'm teaching and written instructions on how to do it. In addition you will receive a link to a video I've made showing me making and explaining a card using the technique for that month. 
I'm storing all of my cards in a binder with sleeves to hold the cards and I will have a catalog of ideas. 
If you sign up by January 15th you will get a folder from me with the necessary pockets for one year of cards. 
Sometimes in addition to the instruction card I will send a fully made card using the technique and I will leave it unsigned so its all ready for you to use. I also plan on often sending along some materials you might need to try the technique out. 

This class is $12 per month and if you pay for the whole year up front I am making the price $125 which gives you nearly two months for free. 

I also host weekend crops several times a year at Springhill Suites. 

That's it for my classes but I did want to let you know that I plan on making a great effort on my blog this year so you might want to peek in and see if you might like following along. I plan on passing along some information, adding some stories and including cards and other crafting ideas. 
I pretty much have no followers right now since I have completely neglected it but I'm trying to change that. 

Hope to see a lot of you join me either by chatting or commenting here on my blog, in class, through online in Technique Club, or chatting ajustmy blog. I'd love to have you. 

Now one more thing....
I will occasionally be offering things for sale here on my blog and for the most part the cards I share on the blog are available for sale. I'd you see one you'd like just give me a shout and it can be yours. 

Friday, February 10, 2023

It's Raining It's Pouring

 Today, February 10th is National Umbrella Day and I'm mentioning it only as an excuse to share an umbrella themed card. 😁



Here's a couple more. Aren't they so cute?





Thursday, February 9, 2023

Remember When

We are having a service for my brother on Sunday. I just finished going through old photos in order to take pictures of him along and I found this. I shared it somewhere back in 2002 but I want to share it again here so that it will be recorded somewhere, I love it and I hope you enjoy it. Mostly I hope you were lucky enough to live it.

Remember when....

If you're close to my age, stroll with me ...close your eyes...and go back...before the internet...before bombings, AIDS, herpes, before semiautomatic guns and crack...before SEGA or Super Ninetendo...way back! I remember.

I'm taking about sitting on the curb...about playing hide-and -seek, or kick the can outside in the street until your porch light came on. And mother may I, red rover, Simon says and red-light-green-light. Lunch boxes with a thermos, chocolate milk and penny candy from the store, hopscotch, skates with keys, hula hoops, wax lips and mustaches, Mary Janes, saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the names of cities on the bottom. Christmas morning, your first day of school, bedtime prayers, goodnight kisses, climbing trees, getting an ice cream of the ice cream truck, or a donut from the bakery one

Remember when it took 5 minutes for the TV to warm up and it went off the air each night.

When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got home from school?

When we went to Sunday School every Sunday morning and Vacation Bible School every summer.

When a quarter was a great allowance, when you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny. 

When all your male teachers wore neckties and ladies got there hair done every week and wore high heels. When we wore nylons that were in two pieces. 

Remember running through the sprinkler, playing in the rain, bobby pins, Mickey Mouse Club on Sunday evenings, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Kookla Fran and Ollie, Betty Boop, and when The Wizard of Oz was something to look forward to each year. Remember American Bandstand, and seeing it all in black and white.

When going around the corner seemed far away, and going to town seemed like going somewhere.

Climbing trees, making forts, backyard shows, lemonade stands, cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, jumping on the bed, pillow fights, ribbon candy, tinsel on the Christmas tree that mom insisted should be done one at a time. Jackie Gleason, white gloves, going to the movie theater for a double feature complete with cartoons, a balcony, and intermissions,  running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt, being tired from playing...your first crush...remember that?

Koolaid was the drink of summer or drinking water right out of the garden hose, toting your friends on your handle bars, wearing new shoes on the first day of school, Easter morning and class filed trips

Not stepping on a crack or you'd break your mother's back, paper chains and popcorn chains at Christmas, gum wrapper chains at other times, silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington, the smells of school, of paste and plaster of Paris, of memiograph copies.

Remember when there were only two types of sneakers for boys and girls-Keds and PF Flyers. Remember girls ugly gym uniforms.

When you got your windows cleaned, your oil checked, and gas pumped without asking_All for free and you got trading stamps too!

When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your family.
When the worst thing you could do at school was flunk a test or chew gum, or wear to short a skirt, and the prom was in the gym or the lunch room. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate the student awaited the student at home. We lived in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs or gangs. Our parents were a much bigger threat. But we survived because their love was so much greater than the threat. Remember heading out on Halloween with a pillow case to run free with no supervision? Remember waking up on Saturday morning to the sound of a real lawn mower and the smell of fresh cut grass blowing in through your open window , when summers were filled with play, bike rides and swimming in the pool of the one neighbor who had the means to have one, and endless outdoor games even after dark.

Remember when a '55 Chevy was the dream car, and you sat close to your boy friend while he drove with one hand because his arm was around your shoulder, when we went steady. and girls wore his class ring her finger with yarn wrapped around it so it would fit her finger.

Remember lying on the grass with your friends looking at the clouds and saying things like "That one looks like a...".

Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better, spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was a cause for giggles, the worst embarrassment 
was being picked last for a team,  and older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

Remember when stuff at the store came without safety caps, and hermedic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger."Race issue" meant arguing about who ran fastest, money issues were handled by whoever was banker in Monopoly. Being old referred to anyone over twenty and the worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.

With all our progress, don't you wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace and share it with the children of today? So send this to someone who can still remember Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Laurel and Hardy, Howdy Doody, The Lone Ranger, and Mr Magoo. 
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!



PIZZA!!!!!

Join me as I celebrate National Pizza Day!! This is one I can really get behind. I LOVE 🍕Pizza! I'll eat just about any kind. I just pick off what I don't care for and enjoy. Cold or hot and for any meal, I'm in and guess what I'm doing right now to celebrate! (besides having pizzafor dinner)

But where did these awesome pies come from...?

Though flatbreads with toppings were consumed by ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks, the modern birthplace of the pizza is southwestern Italy’s Campania region. It was notorious for its throngs of working poor who required inexpensive food that could be consumed quickly. Flatbreads with toppings that can be eaten for every meal — fulfilled this need. These early pizzas featured tasty toppings such as tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies, and garlic. More well off Italians found their eating habits disgusting.

 King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples in 1889 and legend says that the traveling pair became bored with their steady diet of French cuisine and asked for an assortment of pizzas from the city’s Pizzeria Brandi, founded in 1760. The variety the queen enjoyed the most was called pizza mozzarella, a pie topped with the soft white cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil — much resembling the Italian flag. Since then, this particular choice of toppings has been dubbed the Margherita pizza.

However, even with the Queen’s love for the dish, pizza would remain little known in Italy beyond Naples’ borders until the 1940s.  Immigrants to the United States from across the sea began replicating their flatbreads in New York and other American cities and relatively quickly, the flavors and aromas of pizza won us all over. 

Okay, here are my finished masterpieces. I made a nice big pizza and had enough for 2 large 5x7 cards. I'm going to add sentiments but I have to print them out myself and I'm too lazy to do it right now. One will say...."Wishing you a big slice of HAPPY", and the other will have some hearts added and say "You have a pizza my heart".

What do you think? 

Now I've earned a nice big pizza for myself. 

Time to order!!

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Send a Card to a Friend Day

 Today is the perfect holiday for we papercrafters. It's Send a Card to a Friend Day!

Not for a birthday or any other occasion but just because. Let someone out there know you're thinking of them. A handmade one would be ideal, but even a store bought one would be appreciated. Then if all else fails, send a sweet message by text or email. 

Here's one from me to each of you....


I did this two years ago at the Expo in Sacramento for a contest. 

I didn't win. ☹️

Saturday, February 4, 2023

I Scream For Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

 Today is Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. The idea doesn't appeal to me but I'll tell you a bit about it anyway. It was created in the 1960s by housewife Florence Rappaport from New York.  An enormous blizzard hit that year in the New York area and Florence’s 6 children were exceptionally bored one cold and snowy February morning and Florence needed to come up with something to entertain them so when they announced that it was too cold to do anything she responded "Let’s have ice cream for breakfast."

The children obviously enjoyed the idea and  reminded her of it the following year so they celebrated again and the day became a tradition in their family from then on.

The idea caught on and is now celebrated all over the world, so there you have it. 




Today is also Homemade Soup Day which sounds much more appetizing to me. 

And finally it is Thank a Mail Carrier Day. I used to have a super nice mailman here and I would have thanked him with cookies but sadly, he retired. He just loved the dipped cookies I make at Christmas time. 

Friday, February 3, 2023

Bubble Gum Day

 

History of National Bubble Gum Day

While chewing gum has been around for a long time, bubble gum was invented in 1928 when the first commercial bubble gum was created. Walter Diemer, an employee of the Fleer Corporation, created the first marketable version of bubble gum in 1928. It was eventually branded Dubble Bubble. He used a pink dye because that's all that was available.

In 1930 comics were placed inside the Double Bubble Bubblegum wrappers as an incentive for purchase. These became all the rage with kids so other brands eventually followed suit, including the famous, Bazooka Joe.

But this is more than just a day to celebrate the existence or invention of a sweet and chewy treat.

National Bubble Gum Day was started in 2006 when children’s book author, Ruth Spiro, decided that the world needed a day focused around education, philanthropy and, best of all, bubble gum. She started the day to raise funds for school activities without the children having to sell something to family members, friends or neighbors. And she knew there was one thing that would motivate children to bring a couple of quarters in with them to school–Bubble Gum!

It was such a phenomenal success that an entire institution built up around it, encouraging philanthropy in children

The largest bubble gum bubble ever blown was 20 inches in diameter. Chad Fell of Haleyville, Alabama blew the bubble with three pieces of Dubble Bubble on April 24, 2004 at Double Springs High School in Winston County, Alabama.

 In 2006, Ruth Spiro, children’s author and mother, founded the celebration/fundraiser to create a fun way for children to participate in school fundraising. On the first Friday of the month of February every year, kids can “buy” the usually forbidden privilege of chewing gum in class if they make a donation of 50 cents. Kids learn about the value of charity and schools make a little money for the causes they support. 

Appreciating National Bubble Gum Day doesn’t have to be complicated! It might just be about enjoying a piece of bubble gum and sharing the rest of the pack with a friend, family member or coworker. So grab some bubble gum and get to blowing those bubbles!

Thr month of February is American Heart Month and on this first Friday we celebrate Wear Red Day. Everyone across the country dons the color red in order to raise and spread awareness in hopes to help eradicate heart disease and stroke in millions of women all over the nation. So put on your reddest red — whether it be a lipstick, a pair of pants, or your favorite hat — and paint the city red.

Red just happens to be my favorite color so that gives me even more reason to celebrate


Thursday, February 2, 2023

National Tater Tot Day

 


Yes folks, it's a real day and was officially recognized in 2009. They were invented in 1953 by a company named Oregon-Idaho.... Ore-Ida (When it says Ore-Ida, they're all-righta). Americans consume 3.5 billion of the little nuggets of potato goodness every year. You can find them on the menu of many restaurants. Those who don't want to go out can try their culinary skills by baking Tater tots. There are many recipes on the internet. They are created from the scraps from making French fries and were once were used to feed cattle but two brothers, Nephi and Golden Grigg, along with their brother-in-law started dabbling in frozen food when they rented a plant on the Oregon and Idaho borders in 1934. They focused on making French fries, but the waste seemed excessive so they chose to create a product it. Not only did the scrapped and shredded bits form into tasty bites when blanched and fried, but they also fit into their product line. They froze well, could be baked, and were delicious! By 1952, they purchased the plant, forming the Oregon Frozen Foods Company that would later become Ore-Ida.

Seasoned with spices or baked into a casserole, tater tots make a meal, side dish, or a snack. We dip them, pop them, or just savor them.

Here's a list of many ways you can use them to join in the national celebration.

  • Add them to a burrito.
  • Make a potato version of nachos by adding your favorite toppings to partially cooked tots then heating them through. 
  • Create a tater tot buffet with a variety of dips and seasonings.
  • Add tater tots to your burger.
  • Top a homemade pizza with tater tots.
  • Tater tots and eggs go well together.
  • Build a kabab using vegetables and marinated meat. 
  • You can share your own favorite recipes and pictures by using #NationalTaterTotDay on social media.