Grey Moggie Press

6 of one; a 1/2 dozen of the other

It's that time again...I'm making another mix cd! This time the mix is called Six of One, A Half Dozen of the Other. I used 12 little punched out eggs and pasted them onto dark blue cardstock. Mr. Moggie thinks the gift tag in the corner looks like a tombstone, but you can tell that its a gift tag, right? Maybe it's because of the way the text is placed...he may have a point.

The playlist includes songs that have the same or similar names, but are not the same song. For example, Bloc Party and The Essex Green both have excellent songs titled Uniform.  Making this mix involved some interesting leaps backwards into my music collection as it features U2 and Howie Day. Bono and Howie were staples in my headphones 6 or 7 years ago, but they hardly get any play on my iTunes now. And I also had to do some creative interpretation of a few song titles. I think Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is close enough to Hallelujah the Hills' Wave Backwards to Massachusetts. You're all with me, right?

Here's the Playlist...
Six of One; A Half Dozen of the Other
1. The Comeback...Shout Out Louds
2. The Comeback...Stars
3. Cigarettes, Wedding Bands...Band of Horses
4. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk...Rufus Wainwright
5. Hold On, Hold On...Neko Case
6. Hold On to Yourself...Nick Cave
7. Ghost...Howie Day
8. Ghost...Neutral Milk Hotel
9. Miracle Drug...U2
10. Miracle Drug...AC Newman
11. Wave Backwards to Massachusetts...Hallelujah the Hills
12. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa...Vampire Weekend
13. Uniform...Bloc Party
14. Uniform...The Essex Green
15. Soil, Soil...Tegan and Sara
16. Dirty Eyes...The Raveonettes

Bookmarks!

One of my favorite parts about making cards is cutting the paper down to size and then scoring it for a nice fold. When I'm done cutting and scoring cards from larger pieces of paper, there is always a strip or two of paper left behind. I don't like to waste, and in particular I don't like to waste pretty paper, so I've been keeping these strips in a drawer under my desk. I knew they would be useful at some point.

Around this time of year, exam time, I become very annoyed with clutter. Without any time to figure out what to keep and what to toss, I sometimes just get rid of everything. And those strips of colorful cardstock? Well, they've been piling up. I feared that I would just throw them out in a fit of anxiety if I didn't find a use for them soon.

So I got myself an eyelet setter, dug out the corner rounder and my favorite rubber stamps, cut a few pieces of ribbon and started making bookmarks with the strips whenever I had a free minute. Now, it's not a drawer full of random strips of paper; it's a drawer full of potential bookmarks. And doesn't that pink ribbon poking out of the top of the book make reading constitutional law seem more appealing? No? Well then, I hope unlike me you don't have a constitutional law exam to take this evening :)

It's not all paper all the time around here

Sometimes I bake. In fact, cooking and baking are two of my favorite things to do. However, with a shortage of time and lack of kitchen space, it's hard to do it more frequently. The cleanup after cooking is much more difficult than the cleanup after paper projects. I much prefer finding homes for my scraps and putting a lid on my gluestick than washing dishes! Plus, with a chef like Mr. Moggie in the house, a girl is just silly for spending too much time in the kitchen.

But I'd been craving muffins with those crumbly, sugar tops. And the only apples we can get at the farmers market now are those that have been in storage since the orchards were picked clean in the fall. Those apples were not exactly delicious for crunching as an afternoon snack, but grated and thrown into muffins, they were perfect.

Just because apples are out of season, don't despair. Check out the new seasonal goodies you can find at your local market: asparagus and rhubarb!

I hope you have enjoyed this slight sidetrack off the paper path.  If this post makes you a little hungry, check out the basic muffin recipes in the Joy of Cooking.

The Real Grey Moggie

all together now...The entire 5-card set

You've seen them all before but I wanted to share a photo of all 5 thank you cards together.

They just came together so nicely!

Find them here.

Custom Menus

We attempted a cooking club with friends of ours recently. I say "attempted" because things didn't go exactly as planned. A few weeks ago we got together to cook and eat a many course meal. Due to poor planning, we were sipping champagne and eating rhubarb creme brulee (the final course) at 2am. While our timing was less than fortunate, every dish was absolutely delicious and I hope we're able to do it again. And the main conributors to the late dining hours were (a) homemade mozzarella, (b) homemade ricotta, and (c) fresh-cured home-smoked bacon. Two words: worth it.

Since I'm gearing up for exams and swamped with other school-related activities, I let Mr. Moggie do the cookbook scouring for me. He found an excellent morel and toast recipe. There was a lot of butter, along with shallots, champagne vinegar, creme fraiche, and of course morels, all sauteed, baked and poured over crispy toasts. I also made a salad with the fresh mozzarella and ricotta, some delicious yellow tomatoes, and a roasted tomato viniagrette. However, I think my favorite contribution to the meal was this menu I whipped up before our dinner.

Those pretty organge flowers and green brads were part of the April Mosh Posh kit and I knew they would be great with the green paper I had from Paper Source. Those little silver brads at the bottom were actually left over from when I made our wedding programs. I love it when you can use items from an existing stash that come together so beautifully!

As you can see from the photo of the menu, my morel toasts and salad were just the beginning. There was a rabbit, bacon, parsnip, and squash course, followed with pasta carbonara, and a lamb course. We topped it all off with the aforementioned creme brulee and bubbly. And each course was paired with an appropriate wine. What a night!

Purple Thank You Cards

You'll recognize this idea from a few posts back. I loved the bright purple color with the white flowers the last time I used this paper, so I decided to use something similar in my new 5-card set.

These cards are 3.5" x 5" and each comes with a white envelope with matching accents. Each card will be protected in a clear plastic sleeve when shipped. You can find them as part of a 5-card thank you card set in my Etsy shop.

Blue Thank You cards

This card is Mr. Moggie's favorite in the 5-card set. A crisp white circle offset by a deep, rich blue with that beautiful daisy pattern on the side strip. I can see why he is a fan!

This card is part of a 5-card thank you card set available in my Etsy shop. The cards measure 3.5" x 5". Each card is joined by a white envelope with matching colored accents and comes in a protective clear plastic sleeve.

Find them here.

Strawberry Colored French Thank You Cards with Brown Accent

Pink and brown. Is there a better color combination? What more do you need for a classy thank you card?

How about tiny daisies, red polka dots, and a thank you message in French? Now we're talking.

These cards make up part 3 of 5 in a special thank you card set available in my Etsy shop.

The cards measure 4.25" x 5.5". Each is joined by a white envelope with matching accents and will ship in a protective clear plastic sleeve. Find the whole set here.

Green and Blue Thank You Cards

There is a lot to be thankful for around here lately. It's springtime and everyone is sharing, helping, and caring. Let them know you've noticed with a pretty little thank you card.

This is the second card in a 5-card set of thank you cards available in my Etsy shop. These cards are very simple with a large thank you flourish stamped onto the front of the card and a tiny blue flower stamped into each corner.

The cards are 3.5" x 5". Each card is joined by a white envelope with matching blue accents and will ship individually wrapped in a protective plastic sleeve. Find them here.

Brown and Pink Thank You Cards

A male Grey Moggie friend recently told me he wants to see more manly cards available here. I took his suggestion to heart and got some black, navy, and brown card stock to see what I could do. I set about making new thank you cards with this brown paper and wholly intended to keep the design away from frilly and delicate.

But you know what goes so well with deep chocolate tones? Light pink, of course! So I abandoned the masculine cards and made these brown and pink creations.

These cards are 5" x 3.5". Each comes with a white envelope with color-coordinated accents and will ship in a clear plastic protective sleeve. There is a strip of kraft colored paper on the inside of the card so that you can write your own sweet message with a regular dark ink pen.

Part of a 5-card thank you set available in my Etsy shop.

After exams, I'll try again to make a few cards without flowers, cupcakes, the color pink, or dresses It's going to be tough, but I'm ready for the challenge!