Rick rack, rickety rack
See the train go along the track
      ~ lyrics by Gerry Rafferty, 1974

It’s week two of our “Rickety Rack” Recipe Swap. That means it’s time for the Quickfire Round – where our Chefs dish up what they’ve made with the featured ingredient.

Raid your sewing notions because our featured ingredient for our Catered Crop Recipe Swap is rickrack. Oh, and if a few chevrons slip in disguised as rickrack, that's okay, too.

Here's how we roll . . .

• Just use rickrack somewhere in your project.
• Include a link to us at Catered Crop or just add our button, which you can grab on our sidebar or at our {button gallery}.
• Link up and link often, but be sure you link up by 8:00 PM EST on Saturday, May 26.
• Keep the party hopping by visiting the other players and leaving comments.

Winners of the challenge will get the coveted Winning Recipe blog button and an invitation to be featured in our next challenge.

And . . . one randomly picked winner will get to select Seven Free Digital Stamps from Bugaboo Stamps.

Bugaboo Stamps' sugar and spice is such a perfect match for our recipe parties. You'll find some adorable images and great giggles at Bugaboo Stamps Blog and the Catch the Bug Challenge Blog.

A wise old owl sat on an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?
      ~ Edward Hersey Richards

I need a guard owl.

We got my husband a bird feeder last year for father's day. Good strategy. We all love watching the birds and squirrels.

But, two nights ago my son said he saw something else on top of the bird feeder just staring at him. When he got closer to see what it was, it slid down the pole like a fireman. We considered Googling "nocturnal Texas critter that can slide down a pole like a fireman." But, last night we figured out what his nocturnal bird feeder scaling critter was.

We counted five mice. They're kind of cute like the little field mice from Grandma Black's corn fields in Indiana. They're fun to watch. But, man, I've never seen mice this big. They're Texas size. I gotta tell ya. I have mixed feelings about having mice this big playing just beyond my back porch.

Apparently Irish Setters don't sit for mice, or at least Mailey Dog doesn't. Does anyone know what Golden's do but beg for attention? That would be Pillow Pup. She'll stare down the squirrels, but she's not interested in the mice.

I need a guard owl.

I made this for our rickety rack (rickrack) challenge. I added some vintage rickrack and slipped in a few chevron shapes (rickrack wanna be's). I love how rickrack adds that homemade look – like Grandma's home sewn aprons and sun dresses.

Come play with us. Just grab some rickrack from your sewing notions, link up and join the party, here.

I used Y21 and Y26 Copic Markers to color my owl with a little N0 for shading. Isn't that little owl image stinkin' cute? It's called Beanie Whoot and it's from Art Impressions' newest release. Adorable.

Here's the sketch I used and the rest of the ingredients.

See you Sunday when we unveil the Catered Crop chefs' rickety rack designs.