Some random Linky goodness

By Dot | Published May 10, 2011 | Posted in inspirations | Leave a comment

Kids: Interesting read- how to bribe your kids: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2011/05/how-to-bribe-your-kids.html Includes tips on getting them to eat their veggies!

Interesting:

Crafty: awesome pendant idea (using recycled materials!) from @zakkalife http://fb.me/MkoJNo5u

Funny/Nerdy: Awesome! Sci Fi Ikea! http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6500868/sci-fi-ikea-manuals >>>>

Also, it’s a little late for mothers day, but love this Alien mother cartoon @ SuperPunch http://superpunch.blogspot.com/2011/05/mothers-day-cards-featuring-alien.html

Cute Find: cute robot lightbulbs :) http://www.swiss-miss.com/2011/05/alessis-light-bulbs.html

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Mother’s Day Blog Party for Tiny Prints – Recap

By Dot | Published April 29, 2011 | Posted in party, Reviews / Giveaways | 2 Comments

A big thank you to Tiny Prints for sponsoring a fun blog party to celebrate Mother’s Day!

Dabbled hosted a party to promote Tiny Prints Mother’s Day card collection the other night, and it was a ton of fun. The idea was to get a bunch of bloggers and friends of Dabbled together, to celebrate Mother’s Day with a little mom pampering, and to show off the Mother’s Day card collection–which is way cute.

Since I couldn’t invite all my lovely readers, I do have a little gift for you from Tiny Prints - Go to their facebook page to get a Free Mother’s Day card for yourself!

Now, on to the party!

We had a really great group of ladies (and a token gentleman or two!), including Linda from Another Good Thing, Niki from Life in Recipes, Grieg and Karen from Foodwhirl, Melissa from Oohshiny, Dabbled contributors Heidi and Katie, and a bunch more…

There was food, drink, and pampering!  Warning, bunches of photos ahead!

A lovely selection of wine makes for great conversation!

Yeah, it was as good as it looks…

Meeting new people!

And much much pampering…

Of course a man enjoys a good mani!

Massage Anyone?

And of course, the cute cards that made it all possible!

Everyone was really excited about the card collection.  Several people had used Tiny Prints before for christmas card or baby announcements, but had not thought to order single mothers day cards from there.  They had a ton of styles, which you can personalize and add photos to.  Katie had all ready ordered one, and was raving about how easy they were to put together, and very reasonably priced.  Plus they’ll even mail it for you!   I’ll be ordering one soon, and I’ll let you guys see it when it comes in :)  Plus remember to get a Free Mother’s Day card for yourself!

All in all, a lovely time was had by all…  And if you’re a blogger in the Atlanta area, drop me a line and introduce yourself, and maybe you can join us if we do something like this in the future!

Cheers,

Dot

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I’m very selective on products that I will promote on Dabbled, because I respect you guys–the readers–intelligence, and I want to be sure that anything I talk about will be both relevant, and something I’d recommend personally.  Tiny Prints did spring for the party, but any comments and impressions are mine.

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Awesome Party last night!

By Dot | Published April 28, 2011 | Posted in party, Personal | 2 Comments

We had a blast at a blogger party last night, sponsored by Tiny Prints… I’ll have a full writeup on it and coupon codes for you guys, later this afternoon! Here it is – go check out the pics!

It was great to hang out with everyone and get pampered for mother’s day..

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Little Game Box for your Easter Basket

By Dot | Published April 19, 2011 | Posted in craft, featured, Featured Craft, Seasonal/Holiday, Tutorials/Tips | 1 Comment

The Little Game box downloadable/printable was such a hit at Christmas for stocking stuffers, I did a new cover for Easter!

All the cards and instructions can be downloaded here.., then just print this for a new cover for an Easter/Spring look -Easter Cover PDF.

This is a great little NON CANDY treat for the Easter basket, and it is great for taking with you on dinners out when you need kid amusement. I’ve included (almost) everything you need to make one for yourself as free downloads! Just grab the file, print, and add your own Altoids tin for a cute little gift.

You can make 2 different games with this set, both a “Treasure Hunt” game &  “Memory” game (your standard Concentration type card matching game).

The free download set includes 3 sheets of cards (60 cards in all — yup, 60 original Dot drawings! I think I’m insane.), instruction sheets, and labels perfectly sized for sticking on the top of an Altoids tin.

Get it:  cards and instructions can be downloaded here

(oh, and if you just want it for spring, with no “happy easter”, let me know and I’ll upload a copy with Happy Spring too.)

 

 

 

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Easter Ideas: Egg decoration, crafts, food

By Dot | Published April 4, 2011 | Posted in inspirations, Seasonal/Holiday | 3 Comments

More Easter EggsJust because something was posted a few years ago, doesn’t mean it’s not still a good idea!  Here are some links from past Easters the I collected…

Link Love:

Pictured above:
1. A really pretty dye job in brianjmatis’s photostream, 2. Simple and Geeky Binary easter egg by Rakka
3. Step by Step How to make Lithuanian Easter Egg by pixelant, 4. Adorable egg planters from amp’ed

More More Easter Photos

Pictured Left:
1. Easter Cookies by the fabulous Hello Naomi (See the Dabbled Interview with Naomi)
2. Love this fabric “chocolate” bunny
3. Got leftover eggs? Make this yummy looking Bacon Egg Salad Sandwich (recipe)
4. The Portrait Easter Eggs mentioned above.

More Linky Easter Goodness

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    Bacon Skewers, bunny cake, and more

    By Dot | Published April 3, 2011 | Posted in Featured Recipes, food | 3 Comments

    We’ve been posting a bunch of new stuff on Foodwhirl lately… and here are a few I thought you’d like:

    Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Skewers

    The other day my husband mentioned going to a local Baconfest event  (bands, fun, & bacon), but we didn’t manage to make it.  So with friends, we decided to have our OWN BaconFest that evening!   My cool friend Beth made these an an appetizer, and after oohing and aahing I insisted on stealing the recipe!  Like a retro rumaki, but with sweet potato inside.  Read the Whole thing and Get the recipe!

    Here are a few more you might like!

    Here comes Peter Cottontail

    Here comes Peter Cottontail

    This cake holds so many memories for me.  As a child, we made a version of this every year at Easter.  What I love about it is the simplicity of the design – even a child can pull this off.  You don’t have to be a professional to make this simple little bunny shaped cake, you just need a couple of 8-inch round cake pans and a knife.

    Yeasted Filled Meringue Coffee Cake {Sweet & Savour}y

    Yeasted Filled Meringue Coffee Cake {Sweet & Savour}y

    I love this recipe because it is very versatile, and both the sweet and savory versions were winners! From the original site: The monthly date with Daring Bakers and this time we were challenged to make a ‘Mets la main à la pâte’ or Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. I did both a sweet and savory take on the challenge, and used ‘painted bread technique’ that I recently discovered!

    How to Stuff Burgers: Bacon and Blue Cheese

    How to Stuff Burgers: Bacon and Blue Cheese

    A few weeks ago we had an impromptu grilling party with friends, and these were the burgers we made.  They were such a hit, I figured you guys might like to see how to make them!  This is a quick technique that can be used to spice up any type of burger…  but in this case, we used blue cheese and crumbled bacon. Tip: Use a kitchen scale to get perfectly sized burgers.

    Homemade Twinkies

    Homemade Twinkies

    Dude. Homemade Twinkies? Well, I bet they are healthier and tastier than the storebought version! Go check em out! I made Twinkies.  And yes, they are moist little sponge logs that taste rich with butter and vanilla. Yes, they have billowy puffs of sweet marshmallow cream piped into their bellies. Oh, and for the record, yes, I ate them as a twin pack. Hostess told me to.

    Apple Gorgonzola Mini Tarts

    Apple Gorgonzola Mini Tarts

    This recipe is perfect for entertaining…these tarts are impressive looking, but so easy to make (you can even cheat with pre-made pie dough). The combination of sweet and savory is delicious! From the original site: Since my tea was for two, I didn’t need lots of food or huge portions. Mini would be the theme.

    Goulash

    Goulash

    Goulash is a very simple stew, traditionally it’s kept as simple as possible, with just meat, garlic and onion. A few vegetables like carrot, leeks and celery adds much more flavour. Don’t try to add any spices and transform this simple stew into curry( I’m saying this for people like me, who tries to add spices in all different types of food).

    Baked Oatmeal

    Baked Oatmeal

    My family always say no when it comes to Oatmeal until I discovered this recipe. I found this recipe from foodgawker and I made a few variations to the original recipe, now it’s the star of our breakfast table.

    Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

    Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

    Pao de Queijo is a type of Brazilian cheese bread made using tapioca flour. They’re chewy and puffy, and perfect finger food. This Brazil recipe is really simple and will not take long at all to whip up. Once made, the batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week so if you fancy some more, you know where to head to. This recipe is also perfect for coeliacs as tapioca flour is totally gluten free.

    Curried Pumpkin Soup

    Curried Pumpkin Soup

    I always love to have soup, since it’s the easier and healthier option to includes veggies in your diet. This spicy soup is made with lentils and pumpkin. From the original site: The type of lentils which I have used is moongdhal. In India Moongdhal is generally used for making dhal soup, kootu curry( dry curry), for porridge and also for halwas.

    Roasted Garlic Foccacia

    Roasted Garlic Foccacia

    Roasted Garlic Focaccia…It’s simple, is ready to bake in a couple of hours, and the olive oil lavished on top gives it a beautiful crust. Quoting the original site: A handsome splash of extra virgin olive oil, a couple of heads of roasted garlic in the dough, a sprinkling of fresh oregano, sea salt & more garlic on top. I couldn’t have asked for better, more comforting bread!

    Cherry Hand Pies

    Cherry Hand Pies

    I made these hand pies from my homemade cherry pie filling. They are perfect hand held desserts or great for a picnic! Quoting the original site: If you remember, I had a neighbor with a sour cherry tree in his front yard. He was kind enough to let me pick as many cherries as I wanted. I picked, rinsed, pitted, and canned as many as I could and I am still reaping the rewards of those efforts. So fun!

    Don’t forget, you can be a part of Foodwhirl!  Contribute a recipe, here!

     

     

     

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    Easter Idea Roundup

    By Dot | Published March 28, 2011 | Posted in featured, Seasonal/Holiday | 2 Comments

    Silk Tie Dyed Eggs

    Cake Eggs!

    Roundup: Easter Sweets

     

    Fabric Easter Basket Tutorial

    Easter Egg Coloring Ideas

    Make your Own Peeps!

    The Chicken Egg Family

    Chocolate Filled Eggshells from not martha

    hanging blown easter eggs

    More great egg ideas at Wisdom of the Moon

     

    Click on the photo above for Cool Easter ideas from the past–these were some of our 2010 posts…
    And here are some more resources:

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    Love this upcycled art sculpture!

    By Dot | Published March 22, 2011 | Posted in art, inspirations | 3 Comments

    I spotted this at Eric Barclay’s blog last week, and figured you guys would love it…  His art is always fun, but I thought this one deserved extra mention for it’s creativity :)

    Mrs. Olafsen and her dog, Hercules (he made it from from  the McDonald’s Happy Meal milk bottle and a light bulb-pictured at the link.)

     

     

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    Foodwhirl Wants You!

    By Dot | Published March 18, 2011 | Posted in food | 1 Comment

    I’ve been coding my little heart out for the past week adding some new functionality to our group food blog, Foodwhirl.com.  I’ve been wanting to add some new functionality to make it easier for you guys to submit your own recipes, and submit links to your food related posts.

    Recipe Links:

    Well, I think we’re about ready with the first part of the process…  So go try out the “Submit your Recipe Link” – which will let you submit a link to a food related post you’ve already published on your own blog.  So, if you blog, and you think you’ve posted an awesome recipe, technique, cake, or something else food related, now’s your chance to get it featured on Foodwhirl.

    Just go here: http://foodwhirl.com/submit-a-recipe

    If you like, you can register for a logon on Foodwhirl, and see the status of what you’ve submitted, but it’s not necessary.  [It's nice to be able to see the status because it emails when a post is published, but not necessarily when it's approved and scheduled at this point, and it may be a little while before we post it on the site if there is a backlog...]

    Do let me know if you have any feedback on how the process works… we’ve tested it a bit this week, but there could still be some things that need clarifying or don’t work quite right.

    Publish a Recipe on Foodwhirl:

    Speaking of testing, we’re also almost ready to go with the new Submit a Recipe functionality, too!  So if you don’t have a blog, or don’t blog about food stuff, or just want to participate, you can submit your recipe to be posted on Foodwhirl.  It’s only for simpler recipes right now, with 1 photo (not the multi-step photo recipes we sometimes have), and it’s still in testing… so we need some guinea pigs!

    So, if you’d like to submit a recipe to Foodwhirl, email admin@foodwhirl.com and we’ll give you the details–I don’t want to put the link out publicly yet, since it’s still being worked on…

    Cool?

    Cool!

    cheers,

    dot

     

     

     

     

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    Thanks to Babble for naming Dabbled a top 50 craft blog

    By Dot | Published March 17, 2011 | Posted in Announcement | 1 Comment

    Thanks to Babble (nice name, pretty close to Dabbled!) for naming Dabbled one of the Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs.  Go check out the whole list… there’s some great peeps on there that I already visit regularly, plus some I’m looking forward to checking out.

    Your blog has landed a spot on Babble’s first ever listing of Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs!  Selected for its creativity, helpfulness, and ability to inspire, your blog has set itself apart as a DIY leader, and we’re thrilled to have selected it from hundreds of competitors.

    So, if you’re stopping by today and new around here, stick around and check the place out!

    I’m Dot, jack of all trades, master of none, but I love trying new things… I’m also an artist, so you’ll find art and sketches here, plus I do web design, so I veer into geekiness on occasion.

    I post projects — my own, as well as guest posters– of all kinds of types, from cool cakes, to crafty jewelry, to kids stuff… whatever I’d like to try out.  Check out the Projects page to see some of them — and some recent stuff you can see here in the green sidebar…

    You can also check out Dabbled’s sister site Foodwhirl.com (we’re looking for new contributors!).

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