Featured Freebies for the Week of March 28

Happy Monday to Everyone!

Here are this week's featured crafting freebies found on blogs and websites, or sent to us by friends and followers:

Bits N Bobs is offering a free ballerina and Princess Sweetcheeks digital images

Sliekje has outdone herself and has a number of adorable animal digital images including pup and kitty celebration, panda bear, baby bunny, and sleeping kitten

The Creative Pointe is getting ready for spring with this spring bunny

Baby Bud Designs is featuring the adorable baby belle digital image

Little Scraps of Heaven Designs is getting into the spring of things by featuring a daisy digital

Ellephantastic has a bunch of free digital images including a springtime chick

Happy Crafting!
Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Marion Smith's Special Needs Orphan Charity Drive

Marion Smith is a phenomenal papercrafting artist that works with Prima. She just posted on her blog an event that she is working hard to promote called the "Special Needs Orphan Charity Drive" for Reece's Rainbow.

Marion is requesting that crafters of all types come together to create 4x4 chipboard tiles that will be added to a collage which will be auctioned off (date to be determined). It costs between $7000 - $12000 to adopt a special needs child and Marion's goal is try to help at least one family fulfill their dreams.

Here are some of the details:

• create a 4x4 tile using chipboard
• add dimensional materials
• create like a piece of art
• the theme is brown and vintage

For additional information, follow this link here to a video on Marion's blog.

Mail the completed tile to:

Marion Smith

Orphan Charity Drive

Prima Marketing Inc

5564 Edison Ave

Chino, CA 91710

I will be making a tile or two for this charity and will post my finished projects before sending them off. If you plan on participating, please include a link to your finished project in the comment section below so we can admire your tile too!

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Recipe Friday: Penne with Mushrooms and Artichokes

I recently saw this recipe in Prevention Magazine and thought not only did it sound yummy, but would be perfect for a meatless Friday dish.

Penne with Mushrooms and Artichokes

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces multigrain penne pasta
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 4 teaspoons grated Romano cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook per the package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes or until the mushrooms have released their liquid and start to brown slightly. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes and artichokes and cook for another 1 to 3 minutes or until the tomatoes just begin to soften.
3. Add the pasta and toss to combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the pesto.
4. Divide among 4 bowls and top each with 1 teaspoon of the cheese.

Please leave a comment if you make the dish letting us know what you think.

Happy Friday!
Creativity Bug ~ Sue

BESTeam Weekly Feature - Moonangelnay Photography

Come check out this week's BESTeam featured site  Moonangelnay Photography.

Moonangelnay Photography’s shop owner Naomi is a passionate artist, digital artist, and photographer. She is an avid blogger that features sellers that have 0-19 sales, and guest posts on Handmade Spark each week.

Moonangelnay Photography shop features fine art & contemporary digital photography prints with an abstract outlook on nature, heart and soul, romance, flowers, animals, vintage, dreams, vibrant colors and favoring styles of macro, bokeh and lomography.

When I first entered Naomi’s Etsy shop, I was mesmerized by the photo titled Twilight Rose

 "all beautiful things emanate their wonder in places of fear and darkness as well as joy and light..."

As I looked further, I became enchanted by Angels Glow which reminds me of spring with the renewal of nature

"Through this heart of mine, there's an energy that shines, that keeps us going through physicality, to become aware of what is reality..."

Moonangelnay also has wonderful photos of animals such as a butterfly featured in Flutter By

"Flutter flutter from the heart..."

And an adorable frog featured in Frog

"hop hop hopping along, hopping through all our days..."

But let’s not forget the dramatic sky scenes depicted in Solar Skies

"A polar shift of collective minds, light through the storm all can find"

These are only a few of the wonderful photography prints available. Please check out the rest of this beautiful collection at Moonangelnay Photography and also take the time to view Naomi’s blog Moonangelnay Photography & Handmade.

Happy Shopping!

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Featured Freebies for the Week of March 21

Happy Monday!

The following are links to free printables and digital images found on blogs and websites or sent to us by friends.

Beccy's Place is getting into the Easter spirit with these adorable bunny digital images which can be colored and used for cards, scrapbook pages, or any papercrafting project imaginable.

Handful of Stamps posted a monster digital image that would be great on boy related pages or papercraft projects.

Spyder's Corner is featuring an Easter Bunny to celebrate 500 new followers to her blog.

MelJen's Designs shares a hello bunny digital image that would look great on a card

Little Scraps of Heaven Designs shares a cute bunny with egg digital image that I can't wait to use on an Easter card.

Crafting with Deedee's Designs is offering a free birdhouse digital stamp to introduce you to her stamp line

Have fun with the free images!
Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Recipe Friday: Bean and Spinach Soup

Today's recipe is for a really easy and extremely yummy crockpot soup.

Ingredients:

3 (14 oz) cans vegetable broth 

1 (15 oz) can tomato puree

1 (15 oz) can white or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained 

½ cup rice (not instant)

½ cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

8 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach or kale leaves

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine broth, tomato puree, beans, rice, onion, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper.
• Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours.
• Stir spinach into soup. 
• Serve with Parmesan cheese.

*** The broth can easily substituted with chicken or beef broth. You can also substitute with 42 ounces of water and a few bouillon cubes.

*** If you don't like Northern beans, this soup tastes great with lentils.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Servings: 6 main-dish servings
• Calories150
• Total Fat (g)3
• Saturated Fat (g)1
• Cholesterol (mg)4
• Sodium (mg)1137
• Carbohydrate (g)31
• Total Sugar (g)1
•  Fiber (g)8
•  Protein (g)9

 Have a great Friday!

  Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Irish Blessings Coming Your Way

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun

And find your shoulder to light on

To bring you luck, happiness, and riches

Today, tomorrow, and beyond

The Creativity Bugs ~ Sandy and Sue