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Monday, March 26, 2012

Cupcakes

I wanted to make a thank you gift for about 20 people that were volunteering their time for one of our MOPS events. And I needed an excuse to bake and get it out of my house fast so I wouldn't eat it!
That's how this was born:

 These are some of my favorite cupcakes to make. They are from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. White cupcakes with a Strawberry Meringue Buttercream frosting. YUM! Find the reipe for both cake and frosting here.


 To make the toothpick flags you just need toothpicks and cardstock. I, of course, had to stamp mine! I used SP & Company's Ultimate Sentiments II set and Mix 'n Match Sentiments: Friends. I just love these stamps. They have so many possibilites to mix and match! The stamps are small enough to fit on the flag and yet bold enough to stand out.

 One side of the flag said "Thank You" and the other said "You are Super Sweet"!
I cut cardstock into long strips just long and wide enough for the stamps. Sorry, I didn't write down any measurements. After I stamped I cut out the notch and inked the edges in yellow. Then I applied glue and wrapped around the toothpick.

Now came the tricky part. I wanted these all individually wrapped so each volunteer could carry it home and keep it covered in the process. But I wanted a container that was both clear (so the cupcakes could be seen) and that was tall enough to allow for the flag. I didn't have time to custom make 20 boxes. The only premade cupcake boxes in my town were the Wilton ones at Wal-Mart that were neither very cute nor would fit the flags. The only bakery in town is at Safeway and I begged them for ideas. And the brilliant lady there showed me these boxes that they use to sell caramel apples in. Brilliant!! Clear and tall! And only 50 cents each.

So I wrapped each one with a bright spring-colored bow and tucked in a little thank you card containing a small gift card.
 Tada!
These are guaranteed to make them ooh and ahhh. : )


Thanks for stopping by. For more inspiration using SP stamps stop by the blog at http://sp.thescrapmaster.com/.
I have another post there today showing you how to make this pop-up card:



Monday, March 19, 2012

Neighbor gifts...with recipes!

 I finally got around to baking a couple of our new neighbors some welcoming gifts.
Again.
We ate the first batch.
: )

They each got a Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Lemon Poppyseed loaf.

I wrapped each loaf in parchment paper and then wrapped with some patterned papers. The wrappers I made were about 4"x12" and ended up being perfect to go around the loaf. I just taped it on the bottom and then tied some twine to secure it. Oh, and made a little tag so they'd know what they were eating.

I was in such a hurry to finish these so they could be delivered while still fresh and while there was still daylight outside and before we could eat them again! Well, I put the wrappers on before I stamped them. Then I was too lazy to take them off. So... I stamped the sentiment onto the soft bread. Not my best idea! But it mostly worked : )
 Please forgive any smudges!
I stamped the word Welcome from the Ultimate Sentiments II set. It actually says Welcome Baby but I didn't ink up the Baby part.
Then I used Mix 'n Match Sentiments: Basics for the FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS part.

Whew! They also got a cute little card but I didn't get a photo of that.
Here are the recipes in case you're interested!
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz sour cream
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips, give or take
Cream butter and sugar until blended. Mix in eggs. Add banana, vanilla, and sour cream and mix well. Combine oats, flour, soda, and powder and then slowly add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Lemon Poppyseed Bread
1 box of lemon cake mix (standard 18.25 oz size)
1 box instant lemon pudding (3.4 oz)
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
Combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Stir in poppy seeds. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes. Combine lemon juice and sugar. Brush all over warm loaf
ENJOY!
For more inspiration using SP stamps head over to the blog at http://sp.thescrapmaster.com/.
Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Happy Birthday

Here's a simple card using a rainbow of colors:

I stamped the sentiment from SP&Company's Mustache Madness set. That mustache in the set is so wonderful, but the set has so many other uses as well!

I stamped in ROYGBIV order and ended in black.

A touch of rainbow ribbon and that's it!

Thanks for looking!!
 
For more inspiration using SP stamps head over to the blog at http://sp.thescrapmaster.com/.

I mustache you a question...

Wanna see how to make this fun card?


Head on over to http://sp.thescrapmaster.com/ for my Design Team post and instructions on how to make it!


Saturday, March 10, 2012

Scrapbook Steals blog hop

***UPDATE-HOP IS OVER AND WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED***

I'm part of THREE blog hops today! This post is for the Scrapbook Steals hop. Click here for the SP & Company stamps hop. And don't forget Unity's weekly Friends with Flair hop. There are prizes on each one so please hop!!
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Today I am lucky enough to be part of Scrapbook Steals' first ever blog hop! You all know they are my favorite online retailer for discounted scrapbooking supplies! One lucky commenter will be drawn from one of the participating blogs to win a $20 gift certificate! So make sure you comment on all the blogs for the most chances to win!

There are so many cute buttons and brads included in today's steal from Basic Grey. So I decided to make a few projects! This first one is what you saw on the SS website.
 I decided we needed some Spring decor in our house so out came some canvas, paint, paper, Mod Podge, flowers, stamps, ink, Glimmer Mist, scissors, and a hot glue gun!

 The buttons are just adorable as centers for the flowers and as blossoms in the tree.
And now my kids are happy that we have something decorative on the walls!

Then I noticed that the buttons were about the same size as some magnets that were laying on my desk. You have random magnets just laying on your desk too, right?? : ) So I grabbed some Authentique 6x6 pads and glued on some pretty papers, ran twine through the buttons, then hot glued them to the decorated magnets. Now my fridge doesn't look so dull!
Don't you just love my biscuit-colored 1990's fridge? Try not to be too jealous ; )

And lastly I made this little spinner card using one of the brads in the center:


Thanks for hopping along! Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win that $20 gift card to Scrapbook Steals!

Here's a reminder of the hopping order:

Friday, March 9, 2012

SP Blog Hop

***UPDATE-HOP IS OVER AND WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED***

I'm part of several blog hops today! This post is for the SP & Company stamps hop. Click here for the Scrapbook Steals hop. And the Unity Friends with Flair hop is still going on. There are prizes on each one so please hop!!
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Hi! Thanks for staying on the hop this far! I hope you've been inspired by all the projects so far.

This month's color is Green in honor of St. Patrick's Day! After you're done hopping around today, make sure you play along with this month's Green challenge (click here for details) for a chance to win some awesome SP and Company prizes!

Join us for our Release Celebration that is happening today and tomorrow on the SP Forum HERE.  You can talk to all of the designers, discuss projects and chit chat with other stampers!

Don't forget that the random prize patrol is watching so leave a comment on every blog to be eligible for the prizes!! The more blogs you comment on, the better your chances are of winning something fun!


So here's what I came up with using the new All Zipped Up set:

 I know a certain little boy turning 8 so I thought he might enjoy this!

I stamped the background in green using the Large Polka Dots background stamp. The papers are from Echo Park's Dots & Stripes 6x6 collection. I stamped the really cute pocket onto blue stripe, fussy cut it, then adhered it onto that diagonal green striped paper making sure to only put tape on the sides and bottom so that I could stick the money in it. 
 Then I just added the cute little sentiment and that was it!

Make sure you check out the SP Blog to see what Samantha did with the new stamps! We also have the Stamp Team and the Challenge Team teaming up today to show you lots of amazing projects with the newest stamp sets!


Here is the list of designers that will inspire you today:

Lori

Chrissie

Susan
Tella

Kelli

Jen

Michelle

Patchi

Stephanie

Patty

Amber  {...me!!...}

Britt

Bonnie

Tamie

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Click, Click... (Unity FWF hop)

This challenge is hosted by Kristy and we are supposed to use stamps. The stamps can be used to create your own background or even just to add a small element to your page. Any way you choose to use them.

This is also my Friends with Flair blog hop post - I know if I don't post it now I will forget by Friday! So please leave a comment for your chance to win some lovely Unity stamps!
Well, here's what I came up with using Scrapbook Steals MWM Amethyst 2 sketch:
I have this great retired stamp set from Unity called Capture Life that I've been wanting to use. I thought it would go great with this photo I took of myself.

I ended up only using two of the stamps from the set as the layout evolved -  the name tag stamp and the one just to the left of the photo. I also used Unity's Photos stamp (the camera) and Take Note for the journaling.


I thought these glittery alphas were a nice finishing touch!

Thanks for stoppping by. I hope you join us in the challenge at The Paper Girls. I'm sure Kristy has a great crafty prize to give away!

*** AND...please come back on Saturday. I've got TWO more blog hops going on - each with prizes. One is Scrapbook Steals first ever blog hop with a chance to win a $20 gift card. The other is SP & Company Stamps' monthly blog hop and new release reveal with the chance to win stamps and other craft goodies.***

Supply List:
Basic Grey Fruitcake (green background paper)
Authentique Glowing Foundations (beige paper)
Stampin Up Neutrals Patterns Stack (black and grey papers)
Unity Capture Life stamp set
Unity Take Note stamp
Unity Photos stamp
EK Success Flower Burst punch
Thickers glittered stickers
Pebbles felt flower
random tags from stash


Friday, March 2, 2012

Thinking of you z-fold card

Hi, head over to the SP Stamps blog. I've got a post over there with directions to create this Z-fold card:


Thanks for stopping by!!


Thursday, March 1, 2012

Wishing You the best


The Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge is to make a card with variegated colors (my flower).
The MCM challenge was to use this sketch:

And Stacy's challenge was to use metal on your card. I added a metal brad and metallic  embossing powder:

Supply list:
SP and Company Bold Sentiments I stamp set
SU Fun Flowers die
Zing Metallic Copper embossing powder
SU cardstock and patterned paper