Apples, Apples, APPLES!!

But just a sec .... before I show you all photos from the Annual Weixler Family Alpine Apple Pressing Day, I thought I'd share this card with you (NOT an apple ... but a pear IS close!). I used JanTink's Double-Up Background Technique to get the coolio embossed/colored/patterned background strip with the houndstooth pattern... excellente'!!

Stamps: Faith in Nature, Fabulous Phrases, Woodgrain Background, Aida Background
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Eearly Espresso, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Peach Parfait
Ink: Black Stazon, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Peach Parfait, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border and Corner Punches, Small Oval Punch (retired), Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Houndstooth Textured Impressions Folder, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Mini Clothespin, Dimensionals

Pressing apple juice is a tradition that started with my husband, his brothers and his dad when they were young. They had an old-fashioned crank-type gizmo that they would put the apples in to press the juice (in fact, it is STILL stored in my garage!). On a good day they could squeeze out about a gallon of juice (and it was a LOT of work, I tell ya!!) The first step in the process as we now do it is to grind the apples into bits ...

Then, we put the ground up apples in burlap that is placed in a square frame. Once the frame is full, the burlap is folded over and removed from the frame. These "apple packets" are then stacked between wood pallets, six deep, and placed in our apple press.





A word about the press ... my brilliantly smart and talented brother in law, Jerry, designed and built this thing. As of last year, he added a "turbo boost" to the thing which makes it go MUCH faster than it used to. It really is amazing to watch. We can get about six gallons out of a single press (which takes about two minutes).









Here we see the juices flowing (and my son, Devan). You gotta be ready with the tub and strainer. All of the juice is strained as it comes off the press ...



Then, the tub is carried over to a table where many of us wait to strain it again and put it in the bottles ... we have three tubs that are continually rotating through the process. Busybusybusy!!



I am sure this is not quite as sanitary as pasteurization, but we haven't had any problems, so it seems to work pretty well. All of the juice is frozen until it is ready for consumption ...



There is a lot of laughter, many hugs and much visiting and eating happening (we have the most AWESOME tailgate party somewhere in the middle of the process ... LOTS of good food ... and of course, oatmeal butterscotch cookies made by my sister-in-law, Diann. They are deLISH!!). This is me with my darling niece, Melissa. She is due to have her first baby (a boy!) next month. We are all SOOO excited!!



This year, we weren't able to get as many empty bottles as we usually do, so we only did about 370 gallons ... (I really shouldn't say "only", as it is STILL an amazing feat!)!!



We also filled this giant "vat" thing ... not sure what to call it. I think we put between 75 and 80 gallons in it. So overall, it was about a 450-gallon day!! Not bad, eh?

And we can't EVEN touch that stuff that pretends to be apple juice that you buy in the store ... compared to what we make (which pretty much tastes like bitin' an apple), that stuff is watered-down and nasty!! (at least in our opinion!)

So now I have a happy freezer full of delicious juice to last us for the coming year. This is one of our favorite family traditions ... come rain or come shine, we wouldn't miss it!!

How'd You DO That??? Border Rounder!

After having posted my creations for the Control Freaks Tour the other night I have received multiple requests to show you HOW I made the border punch work in a circle ... so here goes nothin'!! I just recently learned how to do this myself, thanks to a Technique Lover's Challenge over on SCS. So I decided to pass it along to all you good people ...

First, punch a strip of paper using your favorite border punch. (I usually start with an 11" strip ... sometimes I need the whole thing, sometimes I only use part, and sometimes I need TWO strips ... it just depends on the size of your circle/oval).






Next, snip triangular-shaped notches from the bottom edge of your strip ...






Then, using a term I am borrowing from my many years of sewing, "ease" the strip into a more rounded shape (it's kinda like scrunching/"forcing" the straight piece to go all curvy!) ...



Add adhesive to the back edge of your circle, and attach your edge piece as shown. Take your time and let the paper have its way ... it'll eventually "bend" to your will (and the will of the adhesive!)!




Finally, add any additional punched strips, as needed, to complete the circle. Ta-DA!! That's it!! And, as you can see from my sample, I "double-dipped" ... couldn't resist adding a second Border Rounder (which is kind of a dumb name, but I think it pretty much describes what you are doing!!)

And you know how when you are vacuuming and you can't get the vacuum to pick up a little piece of whatever ... so you bend down, pick up the offending piece, examine it, then throw it back down on the carpet to give the vacuum cleaner another go at it??? Wouldn't it just be easier to pick the stinkin' thing up and throw it away (or at the very least stuff it in your pocket??)?? Same thing happened when I was making this card. Could NOT find the second butterfly I stamped for this card. Looked and looked and LOOKED for it!! Coulda soooo easily just diecut and stamped another one ... but NOoooooo! HAD to find it!! Guess where it was??? Stuck to the back of my stinkin' border-rounded oval!!! Sheesh!!

Stamps: Easter Blossoms, Well Scripted
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die, Wide Oval Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, MS Double Loop Border Punch, Double Scallop Corner Punch (Marvy), Flower Garden Textured Impressions Folder, Rhinestone Jewels, Whisper White Satin/Organza Ribbon, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Oh ... and by the way ... I'm STILL making a video on how to do the roses I posted last week ... I just haven't had my film crew (aka one of my teenagers!) home long enough to hold the camera!! It's a-comin' ...