Secret Celeb Weddings: March 2009

Unconditional love - Tilda with puppy

I just love this background stamp from Magnolia-licious! It's just so much FUN! I used a total of three Magnolia stamps on this card, Tilda with puppy, fence with summer background, and the sun. I stamped Tilda with puppy out three times so I could cut the puppies out and place them around the fence. All of these stamps are available at Magnolia-licious. You should check them out! They have the largest selection of Magnolia stamps in North America. And Diana is now offering free shipping on ANY order, no matter how much you spend! How cool is that?!

The DP is by Wild Asparagus and the cardstock is Bazzill. The stamps are colored in wth my copic markers. Tilda is cut out and popped up from the card, and so are the puppies. I used a light blue chalk ink around the edges of the summer background stamp.

The cloud was cut out with my Cricut Expression machine with the Hello Kitty cartridge. That cute sun was cut out and popped up off the card. I love dimension, and this card has plenty of it!

That's it for today. We're halfway through the week and Friday is now in my sights! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and I sure hope to see you back again soon! HUGS!

What's YOUR indispensable baking tool?...Works For Me Wednesday

Today's Works For Me Wednesday is a backwards edition. This means I get to ask you a question!

What is your indispensable, essential, can't-do-without baking tool?

I thought about this question for quite some time. First, I thought this:

Then, my silicone spatulas...

But when it comes down to it, I would never make cookies without this:
Parchment Paper! I have ~~gone to the grocery store at 10pm~~ sent my husband to the grocery store at 10pm on a parchment run in a cookie making emergency.

So, go ahead and tell me...what's your can't-live-without baking tool?

Be sure to click over to We Are THAT Family for more WFMW (backwards) tips and come back later this week for a yummy giveaway!!! :) YAY!

Bitten By The Bug challenge - bunny from Doodlecharms cartridge

It's Sunday night, and that means it's time to reveal this weeks challenge for Bitten By The Bug! It's Easter time, and in just a couple weeks, that cute little old Peter Cottontail is going to be hidng eggs all over the place! So Regina's challenge this week is to use the bunny cut from the Doodlecharms cartridge. I had fun with this one cause I really do love shaped cards! So I cut the basket (also from the Doodlecharms cart) out at 6" with Making Memories paper and then shadowed it wih the blue cardstock. The eggs were cut out just using some scrap paper, and the grass was cut from the ZooBalloo cartridge. The Expression and all the cartridges are available at Hallmark Scrapbook.

The chocolate bunny (with a bitten ear) and the rest of the cuts are actually glued inside the layers on the inside of the card so that no raw edges are showing anywhere, inside or out. Added a big pink gingham bow with a blue button, along with some pearls (not marked so no idea where they came from) for interest. OH! I wanted the chocolate bunny to look like he had that icing, so I drew his features with pink liquid pearls. I then added two tiny blad pearls by Kaiser to his eyes. This little cutie will be for sale in my etsy shop very soon. (link is on the top right of my blog) That does it for this card. Please be sure and visit Bitten By The Bug to see the rest of the extremely talented design teams projects with this cute bunny! Thanks for stopping by to see me today, and hope I see you back again soon! HUGS!

Hey Chickie - Happy Spring! Tilda with chicks

Happy Saturday everyone! I finally got a few minutes to be able to craft! YAY! Poor hubby and my daughter had a nasty flu this week, and then my allergies were attacking me big time! But all is better now! I used one of my new Tilda stamps from the Easter Collection that I received from Diana at Magnolia-licious! Thank you Diana! Diana announced the exciting news this week that she is now offering free shipping in the US and Canada on all Magnolia-licious orders! Now how cool is that??!! THANKS DIANA!!

This is #339 Easter Tilda, and I colored her with my Copic markers. (#'s listed below) I really love dimension in my cards, so I cut her out and popped her up off my card. The DP is by Imaginisce and cardstock is Bazzill. The card measures 6" x 6", and the scalloped square base was cut with my Expression machine and the Storybook cartridge which are all available at Hallmark Scrapbook. The little tag was cut with my Cuttlebug machine and a Cuttlebug die, and the circle and scalloped circle were cut with my Nestabilites. Added some doodling and that was it for this one.

Thanks for stopping by to see me today. Be sure and head over to Magnolia-licious to check out the adorable new collection called Chasing Butterflies. They are the cutest set yet, and they're now available for preorder! Diana also has a great value for you with the Chasing Butterflies Bundle where you can save some money, and don't forget about the FREE SHIPPING!! Have a wonderful Saturday and hope to see you back again soon!! HUGS!

Oops! Forgot to list the copics:

Y21, YR24, YR21, E35, E39, YG25, YG67, E000, E02, R20, R35, R46

Eggalicious- My Favorite Egg Recipes

My Favorite Egg Recipes

Blue Chip Frittata Recipe

Egg and Pesto on Grilled Toast Easy Recipe

Crustless Roasted Vegetable Cheddar Quiche Recipe

Italian Pasta Frittata Recipe

Artichoke & Jalapeño Savory Pie Recipe

Purple Potato Quiche

Eggs Diablo on Soft Polenta Recipe

Potato Frittata Recipe

Roasted Vegetable Frittata Recipe

Easy Mediterranean Pasta Frittata Recipe

Salmon and Goat Cheese Strata Recipe

Roasted Vegetable Noodle Kugel Recipe

Santa Fe Huevos on Polenta aka Eggs Ranchero Recipe

Santa Fe Huevos on Polenta aka Eggs Ranchero

Santa Fe Huevos on Polenta Recipe aka Eggs Ranchero

Huevos rancheros- a traditional Tex-Mex recipe featuring fried eggs, refried beans and salsa on top of warm corn tortillas- is a delicious brunch recipe, no doubt. But I decided to change up tradition. Just because.

Using a roll of pre-made polenta makes this a perfect weeknight supper or a quick and easy Sunday brunch. For the more ambitious cooks out there, stirring polenta from scratch isn't hard, it just requires a little patience. Kinda like motherhood. And meditation. And selling a house. For how to make make polenta from scratch see below.

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Basket Case

Here is another cookie cutter that I bought ages ago and am just getting around to using....an Easter basket!

I wasn't sure about the "grass" when I was decorating them, but now that they are finished, I'm glad I added it.

I like them mixed in with the Easter chicks. :)

To make the basket cookies:

{isn't this cookie "sketch" cool?!?}

Using a #2 tip, outline the bow in pale yellow (Spectrum Lemon Yellow).
With a #3 tip, outline the basket in purple (AmeriColor Violet).
Still using the #3 tip, make the basket handles, pulsing the icing bag as you run it along the cookie to make bumps.
With a #2 tip, outline the eggs...one each in pink (AmeriColor Soft Pink), blue (Spectrum Sky Blue), and yellow.
Thin all of the icing with water until it is the consistency of syrup. Cover with a damp dishtowel.
Before using each color, run a rubber spatula through the icing to break any large bubbles. Transfer to a squeeze bottle.
Fill in the basket in purple; use a toothpick to guide the icing to the edges.
Fill in the bow and one egg in yellow.
Fill in the blue and pink eggs.
Let dry at least one hour.
With a #2 tip, add the detailing to the basket.
With a #2 tip, add the detailing to the bow.
Using a #1 tip, pipe Easter grass along the edge of the basket in light green (AmeriColor Leaf Green).

Looking for more Easter cookie ideas? Check out these posts:

Easter Chick Flicks . . .

Easter chick cookie flicks, that is!

I bought this little chick cookie cutter last year and have been waiting months to try it!

They are really simple to make, just outline, fill and coat with sanding sugar the next day. I added a little eye after sanding.

I made up several of these and some Easter baskets for the winner of the We Are THAT Family cookie giveaway....New Momma. I think any "new momma" needs a little hit of sugar, don't you?!?

I'll have more on the Easter basket cookies in a day or two. In the meantime, enjoy the chick flicks...and maybe one of these other Easter-inspired posts:

3 Clovers Thursday Challenge

EDIT: A big thanks to Enfys! She let me know that this stamp is an Alota stamp. Just click here. Thanks for your help Enfys!!

It's Thursday and time for another challenge over at Three Clovers Designs! This week, Kerry's challenge is to create a birthday card using purple and glitter to celebrate her birthday on April 1st. Happy early birthday Kerry!! This was fun cause I just never use the color purple. Don't know why cause I really like the softer shades of it, in fact I really love lavender.

Anyway, I had this cute little image in my stash that I got from Dawny P (check out her blog), so I have no idea who it's by. Sorry! The DP is Basic Grey and the cardstock is Bazzill. The stamp is colored with my Copic markers, and I stickled her little coat for the glitter.

Added some wired silk ribbon along with a Prima flower and a Making Memories brad, and that just about completes this card. Please be sure and visit Three Clovers Designs to check out what the rest of the Inspiration Team created for this challenge. And then we'd love it if you'd grab your purple paper and glitter and play along with us!

Thanks for stopping by to see me today and hope to see you back again soon! It's almost Friday!!! HUGS!

Sweet Arts Paperie April kit combined with The Cutting Cafe

A couple weeks ago, I had the honor of Krista from Sweet Arts Paperie ask me to be their guest designer for the April kit. If you have never checked out their shop, you have been missing out! They have to most awesome kits every month. This month it's Bo Bunny products and they are sooooo yummy!! You get an egg shaped chipboard book, beautiful double sided paper, cardstock, ribbon galore, beautiful rubons, buttons, flowers, and on and on! AND, if you purchase the Friends Forever and Always kit, Regina over at The Cutting Cafe' is contributing your pick of two free sets of printable stamps! YOUR CHOICE! So I'll just hush now and let you take a look at what I created with the kit.

Please be sure and check out the kits over at Sweet Arts Paperie, they are limited and will go quickly! And don't forget to visit Regina over at The Cutting Cafe' as well! Thanks for stopping by to see me today and hope to see you back again soon!! HUGS!

My Main Squeeze . . .Works For Me Wednesday

Flooding* cookies with icing can be a messy affair. That's why I love squeeze bottles!

*{Flooding is just a fancy term for filling in a cookie with thinned icing.}

For piping outlines and details in royal icing, I use pastry bags. When I'm ready to fill in the cookie outline, I thin the icing and transfer the (flood) icing into squeeze bottles.

Why not use a pastry bag? Using a pastry bag for flood icing can lead to this:

Not pretty! Plus, those drips out of the top of the bag can plop down right on an already decorated cookie!!!

{I know, I used to do it this way!}

Now, I use these...(they come in a larger size, too)

...and I'm left with this....I like that. Much less messy!

Squeeze bottles can be found in the candy making section of most craft stores and sometimes in the craft section of WalMart.

Spend a few minutes (or an hour or two) checking out all of the great Works For Me Wednesday tips at We Are THAT Family.

My previous WFMW posts:

Secret Celeb Weddings