Categories
Designer Spotlight

Day 3 of Spending Time with Pam of Book Lady Designs

I’m back today with more of my chat with Pam (Pooh46) of Book Lady Designs.  I thought it would be fun to learn more about Pam, the scrapper.  I’m always curious to know how long someone has been scrappin and how they became passionate about this great hobby.  Of course my interest drove me to have this conversation with Pam.

How long have you been scrapbooking?  Always digital or did you also do traditional?     I made a traditional scrapbook for the library where I worked each year which would chronicle our summer reading programs. I was scrapbooking before it became popular! I had to cut out shapes to use on the pages as well as alphas. I had to make everything! One day I came across the scrapping forum on the DIS and there was a section for digital scrapping. I had to check that out. My very first digital layout was made in 2008 for a challenge at the DIS hosted by Britt of Britt-ish Designs.

How long have you been a part of the MouseScrappers community?  How did you find MS?     I’ve been a member of MouseScrappers since 2009 and Britt was responsible for that, too. I followed her over to MS.

Do you think you have a scrappin style?  Something you notice that you include on most pages?     My layouts tend to be very colorful with clean lines. I usually use the whole page and have a hard time leaving much white space! It seems that I always have to have ribbons and strings.

I know journaling is hard for many.   Does it come easy to you or do you prefer no journaling?     I have to admit that I don’t do a good job of journaling. The only pages that I really try to journal on are my heritage layouts.

Do you have a method to your scrapping?   (Start with a template and then look for a kit)….     Templates are so popular now and I’ve always loved templates. However, I usually look for a kit first to match my photos and then go looking for a template.

Are you currently working on any specific books/projects?     No projects at the moment, although I recently came across some old photos that I’ve been having fun scrapping as keepsakes for some relatives.

I can so relate to the days of those decorative scissors.  We have come a long way baby!  Thanks Pam for satisifying my curiosity and telling me a little more about your scrapping style. 🙂  I’d encourage you to jump over to the MouseScrappers Gallery and check out some of Pam’s awesome pages.  Here is a link to her MS gallery:  http://www.mousescrappers.com/photos/showgallery.php?ppuser=739&username=pooh46  I know you will find some amazing inspiration from her beautiful creations.

Today, I’d like to share with you the perfect border made by the amazing Andrea (tukogirl).  Thanks Andrea!  Here is the preview and the link to this treasure.

Download Link:  Link has now expired

Before I close, I’d like to remind you that Julie {liriel} is hosting a Speed Scrap this Friday night.  Pam has donated a super cute PP for the event and it coordinates with her upcoming release this Friday.  You don’t want to miss these Goofy Goodies.  So… mark your calendar and get ready for some Speed Scrappin fun!

I have another treat in store for you tomorrow… yay!   So I’ll see you back here on the MouseScrappers Blog as we continue celebrating with Pam of Book Lady Designs.

 

 

 

Categories
Disney @ Home Recipes

Delicious Disney…Maple Glazed Salmon with Onion-Mashed Potatoes

 

Courtesy of Animators Palate Disney Cruise Line

Maple Glazed Salmon with Onion Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4

Maple Glaze

1/4 cup Brandy

                               1.   Pour brandy in a pan and flambe’ for 5 seconds.

1 1/4 cups Maple Syrup

                                2.  Add the syrup and heat.

1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2  tablespoons water

                                3.  Whisk in the cornstarch and water mixture, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring.  Cool to room temperature.

Onion-Mashed Potatoes

2 medium onions roughly chopped

                        1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.

2 tablespoons olive oil

                     2.  Toss the chopped onions with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes, until soft.  Puree’ onions in a blender.

2 pounds red potatoes (I used white)

                         3.  Cover the potatoes nwith water in a medium saucepan and boil until tender when piereced with a fork.

2/3 cups milk, warmed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

                             4.  Put the drained warm potatoes in a mixing bowl.  Add milk and butter, mash with an old-fashioned  potato masher.  Season to taste with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.

Salmon

4 salmon filets, 7 ounces each

                                1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F.

 2 tablespoons olive oil

  Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

                                2.  Brush the salmon with olive oil and season with coarse salt.  In a preheated saute’ pan, sear both sides.

Diced red peppers for garnish (optional)

                                         3.   Place on a baking sheet  and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the maple glaze on each salmon filet.                                                                                                                Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until desired doness.

                                         4.  To serve, top the potatoes with salmon and drizzle with remaining maple glaze.

                                         5.  Top with diced red peppers and scallion, if desired.

What to drink:

Pinot Noir..the bright cherry flavors and silky texture match the richness of the salmon.

 

Categories
Site News and Events

Day 2 of Getting to know Pam of Book Lady Designs

I hope everyone saw the post yesterday introducing Pam of Book Lady Desigms.  She will be releasing her first amazing kit at the Mousescrappers Store this Friday.  Yay!  We are very excited and thought we would take this week to celebrate.  We wanted you to get to know Pam better.  Today, I thought we’d focus on all things Disney from Pam’s perspective.   I’m always curious to know about other people’s Disney favorites.  I thought you might be interested too… so I asked Pam a few Disney related questions.  🙂

Do you have a favorite Disney Character?    There might be a hint in my user name…Pooh46! Yes, it’s Winnie the Pooh!

How about a favorite Disney park?     Our trips are usually to WDW and my favorite park there is Epcot. One of my favorite things is to arrive at Epcot in the morning, coming in through the International Gateway before the World Showcase is open. I love walking through the UK pavilion with nobody else around.

How about a favorite ride?     This may not be the most exciting ride, but I love Figment, so Journey to Imagination is a favorite ride. I have to do that every time I’m in Epcot. Now, if they would only bring back DreamFinder!

Favorite place to dine while at Disney?     My absolute favorite place to dine is Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian. That’s a special dining experience and we don’t do it too often. For lunch, we always have to have fish and chips at the Rose and Crown Pub every trip.

Stay at the same resorts?      We’re DVC members and our home resort is the Boardwalk. Over the years we’ve stayed at a lot of the other resorts, but now we tend to stay at the Boardwalk every visit. We love the location. We really enjoyed the Grand Californian when we were in Disneyland.

I understand you have been fortunate enough to go on a Disney Cruise.  I’m jealous.. lol… Something you would like to do more of?      I love the Disney cruises, although I’ve only been on two. My husband and I cruised on the Wonder and my daughter and I cruised on the Dream. My husband would like to do the cruise to Alaska. Maybe we’ll do that after he retires!

I know each time at Disney is magical.  Care to share any particular fun memories for a trip?     Does anyone remember the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire attraction that was at Hollywood Studios? My husband loved to play and he got to the million dollar question and answered it correctly! He won a Disney cruise for 4. Now that was a magical memory! 

Thanks Pam for sharing some of your favorites with us.  That is awesome that your DH won a Disney Cruise!  That definitely is an amazing memory!  I also appreciate the tip about Victoria and Albert’s.  I’ll be saving my folding money for special dining experience with my own DH.

In closing, we’d like to share with you an awesome Quick Page made by the talented Lisa (Chef Minnie Mouse).  Here is a preview of her sweet treat using Pam’s super fun kit going to be released this Friday.

Download Link:  Link has now expired.

See ya tomorrow with more of my fun interview and another yummy freebie by the Mousescrappers CT.

 

 

 

Categories
Reviews

HOTEL REVIEW -NEWPORT BAY CLUB

This review is based on a visit by my family to Disneyland Paris in December 2010. The Newport bay club is a mid range hotel. It has a nautical theme and is thought by some to be similarly themed to Disney’s Yacht club. The Hotel overlooks lake Disney and is within 10 minutes walk to the Disneyland Parks.

 

The first thing to mention is that this hotel is huge! With over 1000 rooms it is one of the largest hotels in Europe. This means that reception can be extremely busy. When we arrived it was approximately 6pm and it still took some time to check in. However the lobby is beautiful and was very elegantly decorated for Christmas at the time. As I said before the hotel is very large and those who have rooms at the farthest ends of the wings will have a considerable walk to their rooms. We were lucky enough to get a room that was fairly central, one floor below the lobby.

Our room was spotlessly clean and decorated in a nautical colour scheme . The room was of an adequate size for the four of us with two double beds. We felt that the hotel was beginning to show it’s age. There were chips in some of the furniture, and a cracked tile in the bathroom   Obviously Disney agreed with us as it has just been announced that the Hotel is to undergo refurbishment.

The hotel has a large gift shop with a great range of Disney merchandise but unlike the hotel shops in Florida it does not stock basics, we asked for headache tablets and were directed to an offsite pharmacy.  There are also occasional character meet and greets in the hotel lobby.

Off the lobby is a restaurant and a very pleasant bar with a view over the lake. It has an extensive cocktail menu and I can personally recommend the Mojitos.

The hotel does have a swimming pool and a games room but i cant comment on these as we didn’t use them. December in Paris is not peak swimming season.

All the Disneyland Paris hotels operate on a bed and breakfast basis. We had been warned to expect long queues for the restaurant but didn’t find this to be a problem. In peak season i imagine this would be different. There was a good selection of cereals, croissants, yoghurt, cold meats and cheeses. There was tea, coffee, hot chocolate and assorted fruit juices. All of these were serve yourself and we saw several people taking extras for lunch.

 

There was a regular bus service from outside the hotel to the bus station outside the parks, it is also possible to walk to the parks.  On the way to the park you pass this lighthouse,

 

It’s a fun landmark but again could do with renovation.

Overall we loved staying in this hotel, the staff  were helpful and we had a great time.

If you have persevered this far  thank you for putting up with my ramblings.

Categories
Designer Spotlight Store News

Meet our newest Designer, Pam of Book Lady Designs!

The Mousescrappers Store is growing!  Join me as we welcome Pam (Pooh46) of Book Lady Designs.  She will be debuting her first kit on Friday, August 31st.  I promise you won’t want to miss it.  We are going to be celebrating all week with lots of fun activities.  We will be having blog posts everyday to help you get to know Pam, coordinating freebies each day, a Speed Scrap on Friday evening and don’t forget her awesome new release this coming Friday.

I had a lovely conversation with Pam over the weekend.  I am happy to get to know her better and I’m excited to share this conversation with you.  Thank you Pam for being so gracious with your time.

For Day 1, I asked Pam to tell us a little about herself.  Later in the week, we will get to know Pam the Disney Lover, Pam the Scrapper and Pam the Designer.  Here is my conversation with her.

Are you married?  Have a family?     Yes, as of next month, my husband and I will have been married for 44 years. We met in college and after graduation, we returned to his alma mater where he has been a college professor ever since. We have 2 grown children who both live in the area. Fortunately, they’re both Disney lovers!

Where do you call home?     I’m originally from Iowa which is where my husband and I met. We have now lived in Illinois in the suburbs of Chicago for 42 years.

Do you have a job outside of Designing?     I was a Children’s Librarian and have now been retired for 10 years.

Besides Disney and scrapbooking, do you have any other hobbies?     We love to travel (besides WDW) and hope to do more of that after my husband retires. I love to read and also spend a lot of time doing genealogy research. One of my favorite things about genealogy is coming across old family photos and restoring them. I also enjoy making heritage layouts with those old photos.

Name something that is in your bucket list.     One thing on my Disney bucket list is to visit Disneyland Paris. My son was there this summer and I’ve had a lot of fun scrapping his photos. 

I hope you have enjoyed my Day 1 conversation with Pam.   Today’s blog freebie was created for you by Ana Carol and it gives you a sneak peek of Pam’s terrific release coming out on Friday.  Here is preview and a link to Ana’s amazing treat.

Link has now expired.

Please join me on Tuesday for our continued celebration of our newest Designer, Book Lady Designs!