Mouse Tales Press

I invite you to visit the Mouse Tales Press blog for information about the October, 2012 issue. Or head right on over to Mouse Tales Press.

Thank you!

Nourishing the Soul (and Stomach) with Creativity

I’ve been busy this past week with preparations for the craft fair. Below are pictures of some of my final inventory. I made a variety of styles to appeal to differing tastes. The ones below using my photography are some of my favorites.

 

Also, my daughter decided to go ahead and sell some dolls from her business, Sock Doll Surprise, so I sent a box of seven dolls up on Friday.

Then last night, I got busy in the kitchen. Creativity is a lifestyle, huh? Introducing:

Salad with Tofu Cutlet and Peanut Dressing

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 Head of lettuce, your preference 
• 2 bell peppers, sliced (mine were fresh from the garden) 
• 1 chayote, sliced and raw 
• 1 Tofu cutlet, cut into triangles 
• 1 hard-boiled egg (or for vegans, leave this out)
• 2 Tbsp. Pickled watermelon rinds (I made this the other day. So yummy!) 
• 2 Tbsp. Peanuts 
• 1 Tbsp. Sesame oil
• 1 Tsp. Minced garlic

Peanut Dressing

• ½ cup peanut butter 
• ½ cup hot water 
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 
• 2 Tbsp. sweetener of your choice 
• 1 dash of vinegar (I used apple cider) 
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro 

For dressing, mix peanut butter and hot water together until smooth. Add in other ingredients. Chill until cool. 

Fry tofu cutlet in sesame oil and garlic. 

Layer salad ingredients with dressing on top, and peanuts on top of that. 

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This week, the last week of the month, I will be working on Mouse Tales Press updates. Plus, my amazing editor, Elizabeth Johnson, and I are busy picking our Pushcart Prize nominees from the Mouse Tales Press selection of 2012 writers. Stay tuned!

Oh, and my friend and fellow (still under construction) WordsmithStudio.org steering committee member, Khara House, is having a “Submit-O-Rama” in October. Sounds fun! For more information, visit her website, Our Lost Jungle.

Thanks for reading. I hope to be back to my regular "Signs of Life" blogging soon.

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• Check out Clean House, Clean Mind at Muddying the Waters.
• Read a funny commentary about the pumpkin craze on Bolton Carley's blog.

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Recycling Into Art

I’ve wanted to clear my house of things I don’t need for some time now. I do a little bit at a time, but it seems like the amount of stuff we have never gets any smaller. And now that I’m making these cards for the craft fair. I’ve realized what a perfect time it is to forego buying supplies and use what I have around the house instead.

Here are some of my collage creations from today.

I had the most fun working on the one on the bottom right, although it's not finished. It's a tri-fold card and I put the most work into it with a large collage inside.

Just now my son put a cereal box in my spot when I got up from the sofa. At first I told him to take care of it; then after I looked at the nice drawing on the backside, I decided I can use it in my collage-style cards. The box will leave my house, eventually.

I was thinking over what other items I could make for the sale, and bookmarks came to mind. I came across a great idea today on Green Paper; making bookmarks from old book spines. I love these. I can’t bring myself to tear apart my old books though, no matter what condition they’re in. I do like admiring the bookmark creations there though. Beautiful!

I sense a successful house-clearing over the next several months, and a filling instead of my heart with art.

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• Visit hArt and Sol iMprints for some cool paintings.

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