It's been a while since I've shared a recipe here! Gosh, it's been a while since I've had the energy to really cook. Or do much of anything. Turns out the prenatal vitamin I have been taking for the last 4 months contained absolutely zero iron. After switching to a different brand last week, I've actually had a lot more energy to do things! It's amazing how great I feel now that my body isn't starving for iron. A little PSA: If you're preggers, don't use chewable prenatal vitamins, none of them have iron. 

For the last 4 months, we've made a little family tradition of going out for breakfast/brunch. We have a couple of favorite spots we like, both offering stuffed French Toast on the menu. Our favorite is Eva's (it's served with the most delicious blueberry compote) with Lazy Day Cafe at a close second. Saturday we didn't feel much like going out, so I searched for a recipe and found something that comes close to Eva's, but with strawberries and raspberries.

This is based off of Kneaders' stuffed French Toast, but with a couple adjustments.

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Serves 6, Prep Time 15 minutes, Cook time 15-20 minutes

• 1 loaf cinnamon bread*
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 pint strawberries, diced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• lemon zest (optional)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• butter
• heavy cream
• raspberries and strawberries
• your favorite syrup

Using a mixer (hand or regular) whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold strawberries and lemon juice until incorporated. Set aside. Whisk eggs, milk and vanilla in a dish. Set aside. Whip the heavy cream. Set aside. Heat your frying pan to medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of butter. If your loaf of bread is not sliced, cut thick slices (about 1 1/2 times a normal slice), then cut a pocket into the middle of the bread and fill with strawberry cream cheese. If your bread is pre-sliced, make little sandwiches with a generous amount of strawberry filling inside. Dip the whole "sandwich into the egg mixture, coating it evenly. Then place in the frying pan with the melted butter. Fry both sides until egg is completely cooked and browned(I like the toast a dark brown on the edges). Serve with whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries and syrup. *If you don't have cinnamon bread on-hand, don't fret! Make a little cinnamon mixture with the following ingredients: 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon flour. Spread a thin mixture on the inside of the bread, then prep as directed above. 

Learn calligraphy online at istilllovecalligraphy.com. You'll learn the basics of pointed pen, flourishing, addressing envelopes and developing your own style. The course comes complete with a beginner kit of supplies and personal coaching from calligraphy experts Melissa Esplin and Erika Paulsen. Click here to find out more. Thanks for the shout out Creative Market!! Not quite ready to dip your toes into the deep ocean of pointed pen calligraphy? Try your hand at some brush lettering! It's been a LOOONG time since I've shared a tutorial here! Life is just passing me by at the moment, but settling down on the horizon. I'm very much looking forward to getting back into the blogging swing of things. I was on KSL's Studio 5 sharing a segment on how to letter with watercolor. Using a brush and watercolor is very forgiving as it caters towards a looser style. Lettering in your own handwriting, uneven kerning, inconsistent line weights are all a-okay here.

The possibilities with watercolor are so endless. Artwork, greeting cards, business cards, gift tags. The list goes on! Check out my pinterest board for more DIY ideas using watercolor. Let's talk about how to letter our own simple greeting cards!

Supplies

• watercolors (this is my favorite starter kit)
• large jar of hot water
• brushes
• pencil
• eraser
• paper
• pipette or eyedropper (optional)

You can certainly use crayola watercolors, but an intermediate or student set will make the colors more vibrant and you'll have more control over the pigments. You'll want a round brush or a liner brush. Both would be great. The maroon brush in the image above is a size 8 round Kolinsky sable. It's SUUPER awesome. However, I found a little set of 4 synthetic brushes (blue striped ones above) at Michael's that includes size 10 and 12 rounds and size 6 and 8 liners (here's another set). Liner brushes are long and skinny, round brushes are round with a sharp point at the end. Both provide great drama (the liner a little more), but make for a completely different touch. We're making greeting cards so the paper is really up to you. You can cut down watercolor paper to greeting card size, or you can use a nice cardstock. Both will work great because we're not using a lot of water. Watercolor paper will give the work more texture and cardstock will give a smoother finish. For this tutorial I'm using watercolor paper. Click "read more" for the rest of the tutorial!

I've been lettering for some time. I've got some experience under my belt, but I still like to rough out what I'm going to write in pencil. If you're not worrying about spacing or centering, you can freehand. I wanted to make sure my composition was nicely centered. The key here is to touch the paper as lightly as you possibly can. Can you see the pencil? BARELY. It'll make erasing much easier so you won't rough up the surface of the paper or destroy the little details in the watercolor.

With a clean surface all prepped and your watercolors soaking in warm/hot water (SEE THIS TUTORIAL for why), wet your brush. Dip it all the way in and swirl it around. Water is your BFF.

Dip your brush in the pan and load it up with pigment.

Transfer the pigment to a flat tray (usually the lid of your watercolor set), mix the desired pigment and load the brush with pigment. The key to getting a good controlled line is to twist your brush in the pigment before lettering. 

Then start lettering. This goes quickly. Unlike calligraphy and penmanship, you can go relatively fast through this process. Any time you stroke downward, add pressure for a wider line.

Any time you stroke upward, release pressure so only the tip of your brush touches the page. You'll get nice variation in line-weight this way. You can use this technique in print and script styles.

Boom. You're done! I added a gold swash to the bottom and plan on sending this with a gold envelope. Super easy. This project will take you under a minute. Why not cut out a bunch of cardstock and make a whole set of stationery to last the whole year?

(Cover image art for the segment is by Angie Makes)

Additionally, while the paint is wet, drop spots of an analogous (neighboring) color in there for a mottled ombre look.

*This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering any files is NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this freebie for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

I got an email from an acquaintance of mine asking if I would do some lettering for her daughter's memorial. Not the kind of news I like to hear. Her precious girl left this earth before getting a chance to take her first breath.

There are no words, really. This hits me so close to home as I'm waiting for our little girl to arrive. And it breaks my heart to think about the pain of their loss.

Our family has been incredibly blessed with two beautiful, healthy children and one on the way. I haven't experienced that pain of infertility or loss first hand, but there are so many women I know that struggle with it daily. It's really changed the way I view this pregnancy. I moan about the discomfort pregnancy brings, but it's never with an ungrateful heart. The discomfort, frustration, emotional roller-coaster is because of a baby. A beautiful baby that I hope to meet in October and love as much as I love Penelope and Felix. I can't forget that.

The quote below the name and date is so perfect. "Faith tells me that no matter what lies ahead of me, God is already there." The perfect reminder that we're not alone in our struggles.

The final piece is 11 x 14. Bonny wanted watercolor and gold like last month's wedding calligraphy and little flourishes like my gold wedding inspiration calligraphy. I used a #1 liner brush with the watercolor and a gillott 404 with Dr PH Martin's Spectralite gold for the calligraphed text.