Sunday, December 28, 2008

Cookies and a Recipe

Thought you might like to see what the cookies looked like going out the door. This was about 1/2 the cookie trays I made up for my sweet neighbors and friends

I wish I had taken a picture BEFORE I wrapped them but this next one is as close as I could get so you could get an idea of how they looked. You can click on the picture to see how big the Gingerbread Snowflakes (and stars!) are in relation the rest of the tray. I use them as the topper for the trays.

I added some reindeer food to this one for the kids next door...they're just the right age for it.
And, finally, what they look like going back into the freezer for the next round of trays!

Pam said she'd like to see Martha's recipe for the Gingerbread Snowflakes. They are really yummy and make a beautiful presentation when frosted with Royal Icing. These are wonderful for Valentine's day hearts as well.
Gingerbread Snowflakes
6 c. all purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
4 t. ground ginger
4 t. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 t. ground cloves
1 t. finely ground black pepper
1-1/2 t. coarse salt (I used kosher salt)
2 large eggs
1 c. unsulfured molasses
Royal Icing (recipe follows)
Coarse sugar and/or edible glitter for sprinkling
1. Sift together flour, bakind soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. (Sometimes I just measure it all in and use a whisk to blend and lighten the mixture. The whisk adds air just like sifting)
2. Place butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, mix on medium speed until fluffy.
Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate at least an hour or until cold. (Overnight is ok, too)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4" thick. Cut using a 7" snowflake cutter (if using this large size, you will get approximately 16 giant cookies. If you use smaller cutters, you will get more)
I actually roll my dough directly onto my silicone pan liners so I don't have to move them from the counter to the cookie sheet and risk breaking or altering the shape. You could also roll them onto parchment paper and lift that to your cookie sheet for baking.
4. Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, about 12-14 minutes. Cool about 1 minute on the cookie sheet then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, you can store covered if you don't have time to decorate right away.
5. Put icing in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip ( I use Wilton #2 or #3). Pipe designs on snowflakes; immediately sprinkle with sugar or glitter and allow to dry completely at room temperature (several hours) before storing. Layer each cookie with waxed paper in an airtight container up to 5 days at room temperature.
Royal Icing (Snowflakes will use 1/2 this amount)
1 lb. confectioner's sugar
5 T. meringue powder (you can get this at Michael's or Walmart)
a scant 1/2 c. warm water
Put sugar, powder, and water in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low until smooth, about 7 minutes. If icing is too thick, add more water a little at a time; if too thin, mix icing 2-3 minutes more.
Enjoy!
Happy New Year!
Charlene
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Gingerbread and Chocolate!

Edited: I added another photo of several more of the boots I made as gifts. Added hot chocolate with the Lindt chocolates.
Sorry, I haven't had a chance to post for awhile. The "bakery" has been in full gear making up for lost time. I managed to finish 19 kinds of cookies and 2 batches of candy.

Yesterday, I decorated my Martha Stewart gingerbread snowflakes. This is Martha's recipe and it's absolutely delicious. The snowflakes are 7 inches across. My favorite part is decorating them with Royal Icing and sprinkling with coarse sugar or edible glitter....you know how much I love glitter and now I can eat it too. Not much flavor but oh so pretty.

If you'd like to see the recipe for the gingerbread, let me know and I'll post it.



I did manage a few of these for gifts. Aren't they just the cutest? The template was designed by Lauren Meader for Papertrey. The boot is actually quite large so I filled it partially with paper shreds before adding the Lindt chocolates. I used my Janome Sew Mini to zig-zag stitch the toes and heels of my boot with some scraps of Basic Grey Dasher paper. The cute tag was made using Papertrey's Holiday Tag collection. I punched the white layer with SU's 1-3/4 inch punch and the Basic Grey layer with the scalloped circle punch. A sweet gift in no time at all. BTW, the download for the boot is absolutely FREE.




Thanks for visiting and may you have a blessed Christmas remembering that Jesus is the reason we can celebrate with such joy.



Merry Christmas and Blessings for a healthy New Year.

Charlene

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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Christmas Cards in 10 minutes or less

I think it was a couple of weeks ago or so that Tammy Hershberger posted a challenge on Paper Craft Planet to mass produce some cards. Well what better time than Christmas to get some done especially when Sharon Johnson also posted a 10 Minute Tuesday challenge for simple cards some time ago. I combined the two with some K & Co. snowflakes that I bought last year (I know, I know...but I AM using them!), Papertrey's Snowflake Serenade, a SU snowflake and my snowflake punch, just two colors of ink per card and some Martha Stewart clear gem stickers.


The picture shows the outside of the card on the left and the inside on the right.


Each card takes LESS THAN 10 minutes!! For me, that qualifies as a minor miracle!!


Here's a partial look at the 20 cards I made in under an hour.

What fun and each just a bit different because the focal snowflakes are just a bit different just like real snowflakes. . I removed the gem from the center of a few solid white ones and added a punched snowflake to pull in my color but most had some color in them. Each snowflake came already glittered so IRL these really have some neat sparkle and they already had a dimensional on the back.



Ok, now let me see what you can do in an hour....no layers, no ribbon, but as much sparkle as you want!



Supplies: Cardstock: SU Whisper White


Ink: SU Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss, Cool Caribbean


Accessories: Snowflake punch, MS clear gems, K&Co. Snowflakes



Merry Christmas and Happy Stamping!




Charlene


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Friday, December 12, 2008

Joy, Love and Peace be to You!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  I was laid low with whatever virus it is that the snowbirds brought to Florida.  I rarely get sick but this one sent me running to the doctor.  After a week on antibiotics, I'm still all nasally...is that a word?  HBP prevents me from taking any decongestants so I just sound like I'm in a tunnel coughing and blowing.

I didn't even feel like stamping so I KNOW I was sick.  Bad timing, huh?

I made these blocks last year so thought I'd get them out and display them with my Santa elves.  I love making them too.  I can pose them any way and they're happy to oblige.  I painted the blocks with white acrylic then Mod Podged with Dasher DP from Basic Grey, sanded, sprayed with clear acrylic sealer and then Glitter Mist.  I used Making Memories Rub-Ons for the wording.  A labor of love but so cute on a shelf or here on one of the cut-out windows looking into my dining room. 

The elf pattern came from a magazine many years ago.  It called for some kind of cottony batting for the beard but I had some maribou feathers in my stash so I used those and loved them so much, I use them all the time.  The noses are Femo clay...yes, I roll and bake each one.  The arms and legs are bendable and they sit by themselves.  I think each one has its own personality. 

I have TONS of baking to do so not sure how much I'll be able to post but will try as I get some things finished.

Christmas Blessings and Happy Stamping New Year!

Charlene
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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

SSC08 - Mass Produced

Quick post for a bunch of quick cards.  Tammy Hershberger  is hosting day 3 of Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply Celebration of her blog anniversary.

The challenge was to mass produce cards for any occasion.  These are getting tucked into presents as  stocking stuffesr for family members who are also stampers.  I left a space at the top so they can stamp a greeting of choice....or not.  I thought this design would be perfect for thank yous especially after the holiday parties but also fitting for birthdays or almost any other occasion.

The base of my cards are gorgeous Fabriano Mediovalis notecards.  These are handmade Italian paper that is super lush, take color beautifully and have an elegant deckle edge on all sides.  The stamps come from Papertrey Ink's First Fruits.

I first stamped the elegant leaf design in Palette Dark Chocolate on all the cards.  Then I inked up the pineapple base in More Mustard, then rock and rolled it in Close to Cocoa.   I stamped the top leaf in Spring Moss adding the side leaves lastly.  I will tie these together with the envelopes in that great dark chocolate satin ribbon from the Target wedding department and done.  Simply elegant, simply fast, simply mass produced. 

Thanks Tammy for the challenge.  You just proved we do have time to stamp!

Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Charlene
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Monday, December 1, 2008

Lily's going to a Party!

Don't you just love Lily?  She's a cutie from Pink Cat Studio.
Her friend, Billy is a sweetheart too but he wasn't invited to this party.  Girly girls, only.  :-)

Tomorrow is my granddaughter, Ann's 6th birthday.  She is definitely a girly girl and so is Lily.  I fell in love with this paper from Imaginisce.  It's called "Fairest of Them All".  Pure girl.

I saw a challenge on Paper Craft Planet and used that as my inspiration.  The original challenge called for only two embellishments on the right side but Lily insisted on three.  She just didn't think two were enough. 

Lily is cut out and popped up on dimensionals with her balloon stamped on the SU Pretty in Pink behind her.  I paper pieced her dress and her balloon.  Her skin and hair are colored with Prismacolor markers.  I used a Martha Stewart white marker to add the dots.  Stickles make her sash and hair bands really sparkle IRL.  I just love how she turned out...I hope Ann does, too.

Happy Birthday, Miss Ann!!

Supplies:  Stamps - Pink Cat Studio, Papertrey Ink
Paper - SU Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Papertrey white, Imaginisce DP
Accessories - Organza flowers (Michael's), MS pearls (Michael's), MS white marker, dimensionals, Stickles

Blessings and Happy Stamping,

Charlene
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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Sneak Peek at 2009

For several years now, I've been making these calendars for family and friends...last year being the exception...just didn't get them finished. When you figure I do about 25 times 12 months...well, you get the idea. I'm not going to post every month...yet...because these are gifts and I don't want to spoil it, but this one is going to be donated for an auction so thought I'd give you a sneak because I also made

this box to put it in.
Don't you just love it?

This is the first box I've constructed for a specific project. I must admit, the bottom was easy peasy. It's just an 81/2 x 11 piece of SU Real Red. I laid it on my Scor-Pal, laid the calendar on top, measured my ends, then flipped the CS and did it again. I cut the flaps, folded and secured with Scor-Tape and done.

The top, however, gave me fits. I've made lots of boxes so I'm not sure what in the world the issue was, (maybe because it was 11:00 p.m. and the brain was already asleep?) but it took 4 trys before I got it right.

I am thrilled with the way it turned out. If you're interested in seeing how I did it, let me know and I'll post a photo tutorial.

The cardstock is Martha Stewart Gingerbread collection,(Michael's) tag is from Papertrey's Holiday Tag Collection, stamped in SU Garden Green, cut with Spellbinders Circle dies.


Charlene
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Kicked Up Serenity and Hot Cocoa

Remember this Cocoa card? Well, I wasn't really happy with the plain look of it, so I decided to "kick it up a notch"...

First, an apology for the photo...not sure what's with my camera...got a new battery but it still occasionally takes a grainy photo...and in this one, the brads are blindingly bright and I couldn't dull them....Oh, well.
This is the exact same hot cocoa gift card but here are the changes I made:
  1. I added a strip of the patterend paper that I used on the chipboard flower.
  2. I moved the flower a bit to the right.
  3. I added the sentiment, cut with Spellbinders die, stamped first in Really Rust, then Versamark and clear heat embossed.
  4. Sponged the edges of the sentiment panel and added a smaller brad (SU) and ribbon.
  5. Used a rust/copper colored gel pen to add dots to the sentiment panel as well as to both sides of the tan border strip although you can't see them well in this photo.
  6. Used a Basic Grey magnetic dot as the closure instead of the ribbon...
What do you think?
Blessings and Happy Stamping,
Charlene
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Friday, November 21, 2008

Serenity and Hot Cocoa

Today's project is inspired by Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply #62 Write It on Ribbon. You could use ribbon with writing on it or stamp on ribbon...or as Sharon did, make your own.

I've had this ribbon for ages...admit it, you have some like that too. :-) I had other plans for this project but decided to use some of my hoarded ribbon and besides it was the perfect sentiment for the person to whom I'm giving this little gift. What is more serene and peaceful than a steaming cup of gourmet hot cocoa on a cool Florida night? We don't get many of them so we have to take advantage of the fireplace, chili and hot cocoa when we do.

Here's the inside...there's a gift certificate tucked behind the hot cocoa but don't tell anyone. The wonderful template for this design can be found on Debbie Olson's blog. She has great style.

I printed the template directly on my Crate Paper Cowgirl cardstock. This a soft red with very pale blue dots. I can't wait to use it again. I LOVE Crate Paper. It's got a great weight, beautiful texture and awesome patterns. Wish I could have them all. The chipboard flower (SU) is covered with another pattern from the Cowgirl collection. I adhered it with Mono-Multi, trimmed and sanded the edges then added the flower brad - another SU pretty. I popped the flower up on dimensionals to make sure the ribbon would show.

Since the gift certificate will be signed, I didn't add anything to the solid panel but if you do, I would suggest doing it before taping the box together.

Supplies:

Paper: Crate Paper Cowgirl Collection
Accessories: Chipboard flower, flower brad (Stampin Up), ribbon - Michael's, Colluzzle, Scor-Tape

Blessings and Happy Stamping,
Charlene
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

This is What Love Looks Like

I was asked to make a wedding can and card for a very special friend of a very special friend. The wedding colors are pink and brown and I know from their site on "the knot" that she likes polka dots. The background lights in the photo reminded me of polka dots as well.

My friend supplied the photo so that was my inspiration.  I printed it out to be 3.5 x 5 but it still left a small white border so I cut it off top and bottom, thus the straight edges.  (I know it looks crooked but it wouldn't stand up any other way.  It fits on nice and straight.)

They looked so in love and they were on a cruise so I knew this had to be fun as opposed to elegant. In addition, I always include a scroll with ideas for using the can after the wedding.  The bride is a fun young lady so I wanted their gift to be fun as well. I think they'll feel comfortable leaving the can out so they can use it according to the suggestions on the scroll.

The cute paper is American Crafts adhered with Scor-Tape, of course! The ribbon wrapping the handle is from the wedding dept. at Target. Such a bargain at 15 yds. for $2.99. The checked ribbon came from Michael's and the ribbon on the card is Martha Stewart.  That tool is a paint can opener...nice, new and shiny to open their gift....money is going in there so want to make it easy for them to get into their gift.

I ran the card base through my Cuttlebug embossing just the bottom half with the Swiss Dots folder. I think you can see it if you click on the photo. I just cut some remnant strips of the double-sided DP and layered them covering the layers with the MS ribbon. I used my craft knife to cut slits in the spine of the card and ran the ribbon through and around the front. The top ribbon on the card is adhered with 1/8" Scor-Tape.

Hope they have a long and happy marriage!

Blessings and Happy Stamping!

Charlene
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

It's Good to be King!

Aren't cards for men the hardest? Well, at least for me they are. I'd rather do glitter and pearls and ribbons.

I love the humorous designs of Whipper Snapper designs. I don't have too many but this lion is one of my favorites. He's colored with my Prismacolor pencils, water brush and on the mane only, baby oil. The jewels on his crown are adorned with Stickles and Crystal Effectsand his nose has just the tiniest bit of Crystal Effects as well.

I computer generated the saying as well as the inside sentiment. The brads are a really more of a rivet and I heavy handed a couple of them with my Crop-a-dile. Can you say, smooshed?

The size of this card is a bit bigger - 5" square. The base of the card is PTI white cardstock. I found the paper at JoAnn's awhile back on a super sale 10/$1. It's paper not cardstock so I used a strip of black cs on the back of each side. One to hide the rivets and one for symmetry. I ran the edges of the card over my black ink pad to hide the white edges.

Don't you love that little box? It's a 2-5-7-10 box with the top 2" cut off. Easy peasy with the stupendous Scor-Pal and Scor-Tape. The base is SU Handsome Hunter. Covered the front and back with more of the matching paper. I punched the tag with an old Marvy tag punch in black cs, punched another in white and trimmed it down before stamping my sentiment. Inside is a bag of Hershey Kisses. They come with different sayings now...isn't that cool? These say Happy Birthday. I removed the generic ribbon and tied it with some black grosgrain.

I think he's rather regal, don't you?

Blessings and Happy Stamping,

Charlene
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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Black and White, a little Red and a Computer

I love the holidays but sometimes the busyness is too busy...I needed some really fast cards for thank yous...now when I say "fast", I mean the creating part not the thinking part.  Wish I was faster at it.  The simplest cards seem to take me forever....DUH, should just case or use a template!  In addition, my camera is acting up so some of my photos are grainy like the one below....it's much prettier IRL.
I didn't have the stamps to say what I wanted to say to I typed these on the computer and printed them out onto Papertrey heavy white cardstock then used my Nestibilities dies to cut and emboss.  Added some sheer organza from Michaels and beaded stick pens from the SU Pretties kit.   The DP are all from the Basic Grey Scarlet Letter pad.   I was wishing I had black beads for these two sooooo.........





while I was at Michael's, they just happened to be having a sale on these cool crystal and pearl beads.   I had a few red ones that I had picked up on clearance at JoAnn's.  Much better I think.

Would love to know what YOU think!

Blessings and Happy Stamping,

Charlene
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Blog Candy for...

ME!  I never and I mean NEVER, win anything.  I wasn't even trying to win anything and guess what?!
I was the 4,000 (!) visitor to Tammy Hershberger's
site and this is what I got. 

They are really cool felt snowflakes and sparkly brads that I can't wait to play with.  If you haven't checked out this talented lady's site yet, you need to pay a visit....you never know.....

Fun!

Blessings and Happy Stamping,

Charlene
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Friday, November 7, 2008

Turquoise Christmas


Don't you just love this gorgeous turquoise color? It's from Bazzill. I originally had planned this using Bashful Blue but didn't enough ribbon. Wasn't sure how this would work, but I love it!
This simple set is for a volunteer appreciation dinner where I was asked to come up with a few simple projects for the ladies to make and take.
I had to keep in mind that none of these ladies were stampers so simplicity, cost and ease of finding the supplies was important.
The card  is simply the Snowflake Cuttlebug folder trimmed a bit and then wrapped with Martha Stewart binding. I used my glue pen to add glitter to some of the snowflakes. The center medallion is punched from the So Many Scallops set from SU. I ended up changing the background on the medallion to the solid turquoise after I took this photo. The center portion of the medallion was punched out with the 1-1/4" circle punch and popped  up on dimensionals. I glittered the snowflake on the medallion as well.
The tin came from JoAnn's in the wedding dept. I picked them up using a 50% off coupon so got 25 for $10. Just wrapped the base in the matching paper, punched a scallop using the SU Scallop punch, punched the center out again, glittered and popped up.
The package on the bottom is a wrapped Dove Bar....think they'll like that one? :-) I stamped the Bazzill paper with the Snowflakes from Inkadinkadoo (got mine at Michael's) in SU craft white ink, glittered some of them and wrapped the bar using my Scor-Tape to adhere the paper securely. I wrapped it  with the MS ribbon, cut a scallop with my Petite Scalloped Circles, and another glittered medallion. I got the plastic snowflake last year after Christmas. (Michael's)
Love to know what you think!
Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Charlene
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A New Place to Play

Hey, have you heard there's a new place for sharing and inspiration?  It's called Paper Craft Planet.  You can sign up or just visit but be careful....you'll want to stay awhile.  Lots of online friends and familiar stampers there...look for me and be my friend.


Have Fun!


Charlene
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Thankful and Grateful

I really do miss the colors of fall...not necessarily the raking of leaves that come with it, but the beauty of leaves turning colors of gold and red.
Sharon Johnson used the One sheet wonder technique to create her beautiful cards. I wish the Spectrum pad she used was still available as I LOVE the richness the purples add to her cards. I changed my backgrounds out a bit and added some ribbon. A great way to make multiples.
Supplies:
Cardstock - Olive Olive, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Stamps - Papertrey First Fruits
Accessories: Cuttlebug and Nestibility used for scallop edge on card #1, Nestibilities Ovals
Ribbon - Michael's and JoAnn's
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Folder
Blessings and Happy Stamping,
Charlene
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Thursday, November 6, 2008

Update of Hope

Isn't this the most beautiful photo? My DH loves to take nature photos. I think this is one of my favorites. Even with a damaged wing this beautiful creature still lives and amazes. It reminded me of my brother, Lance.

I had told you in an earlier post that he was facing liver failure and transplantation due to doctor error. While he is not yet "out of the woods", he is much improved. His doctors told him he was as near death as anyone they had seen. They had given him 10 days at most. Even his head had swelled from the failure of his liver. The body swelling has mostly subsided as has the pain.

He credits the improvement to diet. He now eats what he calls "funny food". Lean protein, lots of greens, beets, fruits, and other veggies, and soy milk. No sugar, processed food, no supplements or even an aspirin. This for a guy who wouldn't touch a vegetable when he was a kid (unless it was pumpkin in pie) and admits he ate pizza several times a week.

He has told his doctors that he will not have the liver transplant choosing quality of life over quantity. He is grateful for the improvement God has granted him. He's changing his life....and mine.

Card info...I found regular ink wouldn't dry on the photo but SU black marker dried beautifully.

Supplies:
Photo, Cardstock - Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
Corner rounder, sheer black ribbon

Blessings and Happy Stamping!

Charlene
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Saturday, November 1, 2008

Christmas Card for Team Cookies and Cards

As promised, here is the card I made for Team Cookies and Cards.  I thought it might be best to make a card that either a man or woman might be comfortable sending.  I wish you could see the sparkle on this...my little Sony digital just doesn't do it justice.  The base card is elegant Fabriano from Dick Blick.  I just love texture, the deckled edges and small size of these elegant note and envelopes.  The color is somewhere between white and ivory...not too much of either.  Wonderful for watercoloring, takes ink beautifully and great for quick cards.  For this card I used Stampin Up's new Snow Swirled set.  Like the notecards, simple and elegant. 
 I first stamped the tree in Versamark, the sprinkled with gold Tinsel EP (the tinsel sparkles as opposed to regular Gold EP) and heat set.  I stamped the greeting, repeated the process and then added the clear bling from Martha Stewart to the snowflakes on the tree.  DONE!
This design is so simple and elegant, I'm thinking this may be my Christmas card this year.  What do you think?
Blessings and Happy Stamping!
Charlene
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Friday, October 31, 2008

I've been Tagged!!

No cards today...I spent an indulgent day shopping at the mall with my dear friend, Patty. We see each other entirely too little and just had a wonderful time shopping and talking. I don't go to the mall much (my DH is thankful) as I find clothes shopping to be something I have to be in the mood for. I have to get myself psyched up for it. I guess I just wasn't born with the shopping gene...unless it's for stamps, paper and ink....no problems in that department, unfortunately.

At any rate, this is my very first time being tagged. Tammy Herschberger tagged me to give 5 answers to the following items:


Things I love
  1. God
  2. My family
  3. My friends
  4. Stamping
  5. Giving gifts

Things I don't love

  1. Dishonesty
  2. Anger
  3. Injustice
  4. Politics
  5. Chocolate ice cream

Songs on my MP3 Player

I'm ashamed to say I have one but haven't put a single song on it. Uh, guess I'll do that now.

Favorite food/drinks

  1. Pizza
  2. Dessert (anything except chocolate ice cream)
  3. Hummus
  4. Salads
  5. Bakalava (yeah, I know it's dessert but it deserves it's own spot!)

Now I have to tag 5 others...

Some are stampers, some just inspire me to be a better person:

  1. Catherine
  2. Cherry
  3. Debbie
  4. Erika
  5. Meaghan

Blessings and Happy Stamping,

Charlene





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Mmmmm....Snickerdoodles!

Mmmm, Mmmm, here are those yummy Snickerdoodles I promised you. These break my rule (just a bit) of using only real, unsalted butter, as they use a combination of butter and butter-flavor shortening. Remember to have your butter and eggs at room temp. Don't let the butter get too soft, as that will cause over spreading. Don't you love that plate? I found it at a yard sale with a couple of others years ago. It's Limoge. I love serving an old fashioned cookie like Snickerdoodles on it. This is one of the simplest and best cookies. One big tip is to remove them IMMEDIATELY from the cookie sheet after you take them from the oven. If you leave them on the sheet to cool, they will overbake and you will loose that soft center that makes these so yummy. Let me know how yours turn out.
Snickerdoodles
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening (I use butter flavor Crisco)
1-1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2-3/4 c. all purpose flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt (not kosher)
2 T. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix well. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, b. soda and salt. Shape the dught by rounded teaspoonfuls (about the size of a walnut) into balls.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
Roll each ball in the mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I use Silpat liners) Bake 8-10 min. or until set but not crisp. Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool on a rack.
If you leave the cookies on the sheet, they will continue to bake from the residual heat on the pan and overcook.
Happy Baking and Happy Stamping!
Charlene
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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Team Cards and Cookies....all ready to pack and go!

Here's my cards and cookies all wrapped and ready to be packed into my mailing box to wing their way to our soldier Wayne.  I made the chocolate chip cookies I posted here as well as Snickerdoodles. 12 dozen in total.    I had a request to post my recipe for the Snickerdoodles so look for them in the next post.  I'll post a close up of the cards in another post as well.
Thanks to Tammy Hershberger for sharing the information and to Erika Martin for being Team Captain.  An afternoon of baking  and prayers for our servicemen and women and a morning of stamping (hey, I may use this design for MY Christmas cards....simple elegant...) for a great cause.   
Blessings & Happy Stamping!
Charlene
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Carmel Apple To Go

I love, love, love carmel apples!! The best carmel on earth is made in Burnsville, MN at a family candy co. called Abdullah's. Oh, my, I can taste that yummy homemade carmel now!!

I saw a version of this cute kit on Mish's site. I chose to use the red and black solely because I had a roll of ribbon from the $1 spot at Michael's that looks like a bandana only floral. I used every single bit of it! The last tiny piece went on the card.

I ended up putting red shreds in the can after seeing my photo. The little clear envelopes contain some mini chocolate chips and chopped pecans. I included a single pkg of carmel apple dip and a beautiful Gala apple. Perfectly sweet and crunchy. Everything goes into the pail except the card. That cute bag came in a pack of 2 for $1 from the Target $1 spot. Nice heavyweight and notice the edging.

The stamps are Papertrey Spooky Sweets II, paper is Bazzill red textured, SU white, red and black. I cut the scallops and circle on pail lid with my Spellbinders Nestibilities. I get some of mine at Cut at Home. If you sign up for an account, they will send you a MONTHLY coupon for 40% off a single item....sweeeet!!

Love to know what you think!

Blessings and Happy Stamping!

Charlene
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Driving me Batty!

Have you ever seen a bat close up? We had a nest full in the outside wall of our house last year. Where we live, they are an endangered species due to the fact they eat mosquitoes, so we had to seal off every opening on the exterior of our house while they were out foraging and then hope they didn't get in. It was expensive but it worked.!
Maybe that's why I had bats on the brain when I created this bat using my fabo Scor-Pal. You can find the tutorial and more photos in the Scor-Pal Halloween Magazine. You can get the list of supplies and a pdf tutorial on the site.
Let me know if you try them...you can make dozens as they're super easy!
Happy Halloween and Happy Stamping!
Charlene
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Saturday, October 25, 2008

Team Cookies and Cards

Do you like to bake? When I posted the recipe for those chocolate chip cookies a few weeks ago, a lot of you responded with comments that you were going to make some, too. So I know there are some bakers out there! Do you like to make cards? Of course you do! You wouldn't be here on my blog if you didn't share this passion with me, right?


Tammy Hershberger  at Stamp Happy
has given me permission to post a portion of her blog entry here:

So I'd like to challenge you all to join a team that I just joined! It's called Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support)! All you have to do is bake a batch of cookies, make 10 holiday cards and send this package to a soldier! You don't even have to pick a soldier... it's already been done! You can read about Wayne here. And to get signed up for Team Cookies & Cards, go to Erika Martin's blog here. There's a link in that post to get signed up! If you have any questions, just email me! I'll get the answers for you! One question I had for Erika was how much it would approximately cost to mail the package. Erika said she was able to get her package sent in a large Priority Mail box at a cost of $10.95. Not a bad price to brighten the day of many of our troops serving so graciously overseas!

Charlene again:

I've signed up and Tammy said there are 3 spots open as of this evening.  If you can help out, visit Erika Martin's blog here and join us!



Blessings and Happy stamping!

Charlene
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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Trick or Treat.....please?

Isn't this little guy just the cutest?  He's from House Mouse.  His name is Lil Punkin.  Cute?

The base card is SU Pumpkin Pie.  The DP is a scrap from last year's Martha Stewart Halloween Pack.  Brads are SU and that gorgeous ribbon (it shimmers but can't tell here) is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  

His little costume is colored with SU Watercolor Crayons then shimmered over with Twinkling H2O's.  

He's not crooked...he leans!  ;-)

Happy Halloween and Happy Stamping!

Charlene
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Boo!

I gave myself the gift of some stamping time today and actually finished two cards.  I  baked 6 loaves of Hawaiian Banana Bread today as well, so it was a very fulfilling day.

This was for the sketch challenge (SC199).  I can't believe I actually finished a sketch challenge on the day it was due!  This was a fun challenge...I did meander off a bit and add that cool webbing I got from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  Debbie has the coolest ribbons around at a fair price. 

This card is 4.25 x 4.25.  The base is SU's Elegant Eggplant.  I wish my camera could capture all the sparkle of the K & Co. glitter paper (Michael's)  Those happy pumpkins are all sparkly black...you should have seen my desk when I finished with both cards...perfect time to pull out my glitter cloth from Scor-Pal.  The pumpkin and Boo! are from the $1 bin at Michael's.  Both were stamped with black Versafine ink then embossed using black embossing powder.  I colored the pumpkin with SU More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie markers, then glammed him up with a bit of Sakura Glitter Pen and popped him up on dimensionals.  The edges of each panel are distressed.    The orange brads are from the Target $1 spot.

Thanks for visiting...and Happy Stamping!

Charlene 
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