CARD FROM THE PAST

Last week, my coworker brought a huge box into the office and let me take a peek inside. Inside the box was every card and 3D paper craft item I've given her during the last eight years that we've worked together! What a wonderful walk down Memory Lane as I remembered all of the various layouts, embellishments and papers used on each card project...and just like my scrapbooks through the years, my style continues to evolve and change as new techniques and products come onto the market. Thank you, Donna, for that nostalgic look into my past as a happy little paper crafter!

Here's one of my favorites from that box. The saying was done on my computer and the graphic was a free printable - click on the photo to view at a larger size:

FUN TIMES WITH THE CARD CHICKS!

My Sister, Janie

 Janie brought DELICIOUS spaghetti salad
(see recipe below) and

quiche from Gene's Market

She brought fresh fruit, too - YUM!

 Chocolate Cake, Artichoke Dip and Lemon Bars

from Rachel - HEAVENLY!
See recipes from Rachel at the
end of this post!

 Janie, Rachel and Christie

Michele and Katie

Clever favor from Tiffany

and chocolate egg from Rachel

Inside Views

 Recipe

 Another Version

 You can coordinate the raised

punch on the front with the inside punch

used to make the window for the treat.

 My Favor

I purchased these from:

http://www.cafepress.com

Rolo Rose Idea

 Our Project #1

 #2

 #3

#4

#5

Gift idea using cupcake wrappers votive holders. I found this kit of wrappers at TJ Maxx and they sell them at Michael's, JoAnn's and even Safeway has cute sets of

cupcake wrappers, too!

Janie's Spaghetti Salad

1 English Cucumber chopped

1 Green Pepper chopped

1 Carton of Cherry and Yellow tomatoes

3 stalks of Celery chopped

2 Bunches of Green Onions chopped

1 8oz. package of Spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

2 packages of Good Seasonings Italian Salad Dressing:

(Make one package of dressing according to directions and 

sprinkle one package on drained spaghetti noodles.)

May use Balsamic Vinegar to liven up the taste. 

Directions

Cook spaghetti noodles, drain, cool and sprinkle with dry Italian dressing mix.  Toss noodles to coat all noodles. 

Cut up the salad vegetables and add to cooled spaghetti noodles.  Toss the salad with half of the made up Italian dressing. 

Toss well.  Place in refrigerator overnight.  If you would like a zesty taste or more flavor add Balsamic Vinegar to taste.

Salad will keep for a couple of days.  

RACHEL'S LEMON BARS

Crust:

1 C flour

1/2 C butter

1/4 C powder sugar

Cream butter,floor and sugar.  It should like peas. Press into a 8" x 8" pan  Bake at 350 until golden brown. Cool.

Lemon:

2 eggs

1 C sugar  

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 T fresh lemon juice

2 T flour

1/2  t baking powder

Mix eggs, sugar , salt, lemon juice together.  Add floor and baking powder  Pour over crust and bake 25 minutes.  When cool sprinkle with powder sugar.

RACHEL'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cubes of butter

1 C water

4 T cocoa 

Place in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add:

2 C flour

2 C sugar

1/2 t salt

then add

2 eggs

1/2 C sour cream

1 t baking soda.

Pour in a greased 9 x 11 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-22 minutes.

Frosting:

1 cube butter

4 T cocoa

6 T milk

bring to a boil.  Add

 1 c chopped nuts

1 t vanilla

Powdered sugar to taste. Pour mixture over cake when warm.

Enjoy :)

Treat Holder for Halloween

Here's a quick treat holder for

a Ghirardelli chocolate square or 3 Hershey Nuggets:

Start with a 3 1/4" by 8 3/4" piece of DSP

Score along the length at 3/4", 4 1/4", 4 3/4" and 5 1/4"

Use a bone folder along each score line 

(The 4 3/4" score line is the only valley fold)

Add the candy using glue dots, close the folder
like a matchbook then

punch each side with a rectangle punch

Add a ribbon, tie in a bow and add a label!

More Reasons to Smile!

This was in my mailbox yesterday from the

oh! so talented Rachel!

....and here's the pop up candy box I made

for Kevin's bday

thanks to a class from Rachel!

Christmas in June

I love Christmas soooo much - and thankfully - I'm not alone! This Friday, some of my friends and family are coming over to make some cards to get a jump start on making our handmade Christmas cards!

• Stamps by SU: Short and Sweet, Peaceful Season
• Bird Punch: Martha Stewart
• Red Glitter Paper by SU for birds
• Second card done on my Cricut
• Third card uses Labels 4 Nesties

CARD CLUB PROJECTS

Oh, my! What a fun time I had today making these projects in a Brenda Keenan class! I LOVED every moment of it! Today I learned how to take a needle or tool with a sharp end and pull off small glue dots from a roll so you can place them exactly where you want them ;-)

Class this Sunday!

Learn how to make THREE projects using an envelope at my class this Sunday! The project shown above also makes a great CD/DVD storage sleeve. See the how-to demo and get exact measurements to make your own! View class topics and registration information in the left column. Hope to see you there!

Bat Boxes Photographed in a Light Box

In my upcoming September 19th class, I'm going to demo how to make a light box to professionally photograph any item with an infinity background as shown in these two photos.


I made these little treat boxes to hold a wrapped Hershey's Nugget based on an idea I saw online. I've modified the original idea so I can crank out these Halloween treat boxes using my Walk in My Garden Cricut cartridge (see page 129 in the booklet, use the shift key and cut on size one and a half). To begin, cut out two identical shapes from the same medium weight DSP (Designer Scrapbook Paper). This Cricut envelope shape has one flap that is larger than the other three. Cut off 1/4" from the end of each of the three smaller flaps on both DSP pieces as shown by the red arrows below. Using a bone folder, fold in the flaps on all four sides. Punch a 1/2" circle in the center of the larger flap on both DSP pieces. On one of the DSP pieces, place adhesive on all flaps EXCEPT the larger flap as shown by the red arrows below. (I used Crystal Effects for the adhesive.) 

Join the two pieces by adhering the flaps opposite the larger flaps with the holes, then adhere the remaining flaps by bringing up the sides and placing the box base on a flat surface. Be sure all sides are properly aligned when adhering the flaps so that the box will stand up properly. Cut a 1 1/16" length of the same DSP and adhere it around a Hershey's Nugget. 

Place the wrapped candy inside the box

and secure the box handles with a piece of ribbon.

You can find this wonderful gold-edged black satin ribbon at

Scrapbook Island in their HUGE ribbon section!

The Details:

Stamp: Batty for You (Stampin' Up)

DSP: La Creme Matstock (DCWV)

Punch: Bat Punch (Martha Stewart)

Mini gems for the bat eyes: Scrapbook Island

To see the original project, click HERE

My Sons' Favorite Cookies!

In my Paper Crafters' Tea Party classes at Scrapbook Island, I always provide a tasting and recipe for a Hom Family favorite recipe. To promote my classes, here's a recipe below that tops the list for my sons' favorite cookies (and was the favorite cookie of their tennis teams as well). Because there are no eggs in this recipe, the dough can be eaten before cooking (if you're like me and LOVE raw cookie dough)! For my next Paper Crafters' Tea Party Class in September, I'll have a tasting and recipe for a dip to serve with fruit slices that is to die for! It's a dip that will be certain to make all of your guests VERY happy this Fall Season!

HERSHEY'S KISSES COOKIES

MAKES ABOUT 4 DOZEN COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz.) Hershey’s Kisses

or Kisses with Almonds

1 cup (2 sticks – 8 oz.) butter

1/2 cup (3 ½ oz.) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (4 oz.) packed light brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 (10 oz.) cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (6 oz.) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Plus for the Chocolate Drizzle:

1/4 cup (1 ½ oz.) mini semi

sweet chocolate chips

1 T. Crisco shortening

Directions:

Heat oven to 375º F. Remove foil wrappers from kisses. Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until well blended. Add flour and blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Mold a teaspoon of dough around each chocolate kiss, covering completely. Shape into balls, and with the point of the kiss facing up, place onto a cookie sheet lined with Release or non-stick foil and bake for 10 minutes or until set. Only the edges will be golden brown - do not over bake! (See the picture above.) Remove foil sheets to the counter and off of the cookie sheets. Let cookies cool slightly. Remove cookies to a cooling rack. Fold foil sheets over in half and line up cookies side-by-side. Drizzle chocolate across tops using the handle end of a fork (see recipe below). Transfer to fridge or freezer to set chocolate drizzle. Remove after 10 minutes.

Chocolate Drizzle:

Place 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips and

1 T. shortening in small microwave-safe bowl or cup.

Microwave on high for 30 secs. – stir well. 

Continue to microwave at 20 sec. intervals - stirring in between intervals -

until chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred.

Ounces are given in the recipe for those who have

discovered the joy of baking with a digital baker’s scale.
I'll be giving a how-to demo on digital scales
in my November class!

Alice's Birthday Card AND Contest Won!

Many of you know my SUPER talented card making friend, Alice, and it was her birthday last week. I wanted to make her a special card because I knew she would appreciate every little detail. This is a surprisingly quick way to make the ever popular side step cards. I'll be showing this simple technique in my September 19th Paper Crafters' Tea Party Class so you can make them to WOW your friends and family!

....and yippee!....over the weekend I found out that I had won 1st place in a challenge contest by Really Reasonable Ribbons for this card: 

FOR THE DIRECTIONS to make this card, click HERE.

My Next Paper Crafters' Tea Party

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for my Sunday, September 19th class at Scrapbook Island. Come and enjoy the fun of learning something new * All levels of paper crafters are welcome to attend! (The class info. and topics are listed in the right column of this blog.) 


NOTE: Everyone who attends will receive a FREE pdf sheet of Halloween graphics! 


Call Scrapbook Island today to register at (408) 978-8900. Learn how to make this versatile gift card below (shown with two different scrapbook papers and embellishments):

More Ribbon Weaving!

Here are two more non-holiday cards made using the ribbon weaving technique that I'll be demonstrating in my July 18th Christmas in July Class at Scrapbook Island. For more details, see the Tea Party info. in the right column...and to see the post showing my original Christmas cards using this technique, click HERE.