30 Days of Handmade Gifts Blog Hop

                                                         

Minature Pies, Boxes and an Ornament

I have been super excited about this hop.  As a matter of fact I came up with too many ideas for it.  That is unusual for me since I am usually working on my project at midnight the day of the hop. This time the ideas just kept on coming.  After seeing all the great projects that have been shared so far I decided to go with a baked gift but I couldn't stop there... so you are also getting a cute little box to put your baked goods in and a little ornament.  :)

Let's get started with the pies. This recipe makes 24 super cute little pies which is enough for 4 gifts if you can stay out of them long enough!  I couldn't :)

Mini Pecan Pies

1/2 cup butter softened

3 oz cream cheese softened

1 cup of flour

1 egg

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp. butter melted

2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325*

To make the pastry beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and then stir in the flour.  Press about a tsp. of pastry into a mini muffin pan forming a crust.

Now we will make the filling.  Combine egg, brown sugar, and melted butter.  Stir until smooth and then add the chopped pecans.  Use about a tsp. of filling per pastry cup. 

Now bake these little beauties for 25-30 minutes.  The crust will become golden and the filling will be puffy.  Let cool in pan briefly and then place on cooling rack.  See how easy that was! 

Oh my goodness!  Look at the ooey gooey yumminess.  I wish I could share how good this smells.  Well, I wish I could share some of these mini pies but most of them were consumed in the...  um... taste testing process... :)

Now for the perfect little pie holder box.

The directions for the box can be found here. For this box I used double sided paper and some little wired ribbon but then I got to thinking what about adding a little something extra?  So I created a ornament with paper rosettes for the box topper.

I used the same paper for the rosette that I used for the box.  I used (2) 12"x2" strips, (1) 12"x1" strip and a 1 1/4" circle with a little bit of wired ribbon for the hanger.  I hope you enjoy these projects and they inspire you.  Please leave a comment and let me know.  Tomorrow I will be sharing a variation of the mini pie.  Mini Brownie pies.  Oh yum!  Have a great day!  :)

How about some carrots?

Who doesn't love carrots?  Carrots are good and good for you.  Carrots taste great in lots of foods.  I think carrot cake is a wonderful thing.  Carrots are pretty much a staple around here but at some point you get carroted out!  You can only eat carrots for so long and then you get carrot overload... well maybe not if it's carrot cake with pineapple, pecans and cream cheese frosting but I digress.

I was looking for a new carrot idea today and my friend Donna had some great ideas.  After lots of searching I settled on carrot butter.  The family was a bit skeptical but they are completely sold after trying the finished product.  I can honestly say I will never look at carrots the same way again.

Yummy, wonderful, lovely goodness! 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

I have to admit that I went overboard buying pumpkins.  Not just a little overboard but off the deep end overboard.  I have about 150 pounds of pumpkins.  Crazy right?  Lucky for me I am finding out that pumpkins are very versatile.  I knew I could can or freeze the pumpkin but what I was really looking for was some "out of the box" ideas and boy oh boy did I find some.

I started off with the basics.  I cleaned out my pumpkin and steamed it.  After it was steamed I peeled it and then mashed it.  I took about 6 cups and made pumpkin butter.  Basically, I cooked the pumpkin goop with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and a pinch of all spice until it was thick and yummy.  It took about 3 1/2 hours to get the consistency I wanted.  Then, I made pumpkin walnut muffins.  Just a basic muffin but they turned out really good.  Having covered the basics (I hate pumpkin pie) I ventured out.

First, I tried mashed pumpkin with butter, salt and pepper.  It was really very good and very filling.  After I realized that pumpkin could be savory we went a little crazy...  Pumpkin and black bean tacos.  Oh my goodness they are very good.

Pumpkin Black Bean Tacos

Diced steamed pumpkin
Black beans
cumin
garlic
onions
chili powder
pepper and salt
oil/butter

Melt butter or heat oil in large pan.  Throw everything in and fry until the pumpkin is crisp but tender.  Stuff into hard taco shells and top with salsa, cheese, sour cream.  The pumpkin reminds me a lot of fried potatoes.  This seems to best the first day so only make as much as you are going to use for one meal.  The pumpkin seems to absorb the seasoning so after you season be sure to taste and adjust accordingly.  Let me know what you think if you try this. 

Tomorrow I will have another pumpkin recipe.  :)

Spiced Vanilla Bean Pear Sauce

This sauce is super yummy and rich.  I am imagining whole grain waffles with this spooned on top.  Of course, if I want to do that I will have to stop snacking...   I compiled about 3 recipes into this one. 

Spiced Vanilla Bean Pear Sauce

About 8 lbs of pears cored (I don't peel or chop my pears.  I used an apple corer)
About 1 cup of water
1 big Tablespoon of lemon juice
Fresh ground nutmeg to taste
Ground clove to taste
Ground allspice to taste
1 vanilla bean scraped
About 1 cup of brown sugar (feel free to adjust the sugar to your taste)

Throw your pears in a large sauce pot with the water and lemon juice.  Cover and let cook until very soft.  I use an immersion blender and blend until very smooth.  Add your seasonings and sugar and let cook slowly
until it is very thick. 


You can see how thick it is at this point.  It has been cooking for about 4 hours on low.  Be careful because this does pop and those pears are hot!  From here you can either cook it down more for a pear butter or you can stop at this point and you can either cool it and refrigerate or you can can it. 

I like to can it in pints because that size works great for our family and we don't end up with leftovers.  I can mine in a boiling water bath for about 20 minutes but I recommend you checking either a canning book or the internet for specific directions especially if you are new to canning.  Either way I hope you will try this and let me know what you think.  I got 5 pints out of this and I think I would have had 6 if we had stayed out of it. It really is very pretty and I think on a snowy day this winter it will be perfect.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day blog hop

Ahoy there and welcome to Gill's Pirate Day blog hop.  You should have come here from Anita's blog.  If you just stumbled on my blog then you will want to start the hop at the beginning with Gill.  I will have the full list at the bottom of the post just in case you get lost.  Please make sure to visit all of the blogs and leave a comment.

When I heard about this hop I knew exactly what pictures I wanted to use.  My little guy loved to play pirate and I have lots of pirate pictures.  I did a 2 page LO. 

I love, love, love this paper.  It has a great texture and is just too stinkin' cute!  I cut the photo mats and then burned the edges.  I added some pen lines and red stickles on the pirate's sash.  It was a real simple LO but I love it and so does my little pirate.  Your next stop is Jessica.  Thanks for hopping! 

1. Gill http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
2. Maria http://justgetscraphappy.blogspot.com/
3. Alethea http://lilodesigns.blogspot.com/
4. Valerie http://canonburycreations.blogspot.com/
5. Jacki - http://cardsbyjacki.blogspot.com/
6. Kari http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/
8. Beckie http://beckiedreyer.blogspot.com/
9. Lisa http://lisagarrow.blogspot.com
11. Anita http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/
12. Jenn P http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/
13. Jessica http://thecreativestamperspot.blogspot.com/
14. Linda www.thefruitofmyhands.blogspot.com
15. Paula http://scrapyourworld1.blogspot.com
16. Haidee http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/
17. Leslie - Rahye http://www.leslierahye.blogspot.com/
18. Jackie http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com
19. Corri www.buglvr.blogspot.com
20. Liz www.tryin2craft.blogspot.com
21. Lisa P http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
22. Vicki http://paperandprims.blogspot.com
24. AJ - http://fistfullofglittercardsbyaj.blogspot.com/
25. Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/

Summer Blog Hop Day 2

It's is day 2 of our little hop and I didn't get as much done as I would have liked so I don't have a new project for you but.... I do have an MTC cut file give away.  You should have gotten here from Meighen but if you just happened by you can start at the beginning of the hop with Jill.  Here is a picture of the cut file that I am offering.  I hope you like it and can find some uses for it!

To get this file all you have to do is click here.

Here is the line up just in case you get lost.
Jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Debbie ~ http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/
Sarah ~ http://simplyshaddock.blogspot.com/
Jackie ~ http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Abby ~ http://www.scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/
Nancy ~ http://blog.fancywithnancy.com/
Jenny ~ http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/
Meighen ~ http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/
Jenn ~ http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/  you are here
Gill ~  http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/

Thanks for hopping along and have a great day!  :D

Officially Summer Blog Hop

WOOOHOOO!!!!! It is summer!!!!  Can you tell I am a little excited?  I love summer because to me summer means fun and I love fun! 

If you arrived from Meighen you are in the right place.  If you just happened to drop by and would like to start at the beginning please start with Jill. 

Here is my project.  I made a Summer 2011 album.  The pages are cereal boxes covered with paper.  I love, love, love this paper and have been hanging on to it for awhile.  I think this was the perfect project for it!  I used DCWV and Bazzill.  I did faux stitching on the photo mats which are chalked with Charcoal Cat's Eye chalk and the cover is done with my much loved MTC.  I used some loose leaf binder rings to hold it all together.  There are Prima flowers with Ruby Red Liquid Pearls for the center.  I finished off each photo mat with ribbon photo corners.   Feel free to click on the photos to get a better idea of the details.  I  hope you enjoy and please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

The next and last stop on the hop is Gill.  I hope you have enjoyed hopping along and picked up some inspiration.  If you are not already a follower I would love to have you follow me.  Thanks again and have a fantastic, crafty summer!  :D


 If you get lost along the way here is the lineup.
Jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Debbie ~ http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/
Sarah ~ http://simplyshaddock.blogspot.com/
Jackie ~ http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Abby ~ http://www.scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/
Nancy ~ http://blog.fancywithnancy.com/
Jenny ~ http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/
Meighen ~ http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/
Jenn ~ http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/ you are here! 
Gill ~  http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/

Father's Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the All About Dads Blog Hop! We have gathered a talented group of crafters to share their projects with you for Father's Day.  We hope that we are able to provide you with lots of great ideas for all the special men in your life.


If you have come from Kari at http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/, then you are in the right place. If you stumbled upon my blog and want to hop along, you can do so by starting at Jen's Blog at www.memorieswithjen.blogspot.com.


So here is my project.  It is a wall hanging celebrating my wonderful daddy. 

I am soo thrilled with this.  I can't wait to get the pictures printed and put on and get this hanging up.  This was a little more work than I had anticipated but I think it was well worth it.  I started with a canvas that measures 16 x 20 and  covered it with 4" squares of paper that I chalked the edges of and then Modge Podged.  It took 4 sheets of double sided paper with paper leftover for another project.  There are buttons on there from my mom's button box and the heart is an old earring that lost it's mate.  The buttons and earring are all hot glued on.  The lettering is done with MTC and then shadowed and hand stitched.   The 4 photo mats are 5x7 and handstitched with embroidery floss and then run through the crimper.  I will attach the pictures with photo corners.  The edges are painted a deep brown that matches the ribbon. 

Your next stop on our hop is Samantha at www.buglovinchick.blogspot.com .

Don't forget to visit all of the stops to be eligible for the Cricut Cartridge A Child's Year.

Here is a list of the participants in our hop in case you get lost:

Jen R  www.memorieswithjen.blogspot.com
Anita   www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com
Amy    www.lovetocrop.com
Jackie   www.jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com
Stasia   www.stampzone.blogspot.com
Gina   www.californiascrappin-gcinderella21.blogspot.com

Sher   www.patternsbysher.blogspot.com

Michelle   www.designsoncloud9.blogspot.com

Laura:   www.makinprettythings.com

Kari   www.purplefuntastickcreations.com

Jenn   www.jennscrap2.blogspot.com   you are here

Samantha   www.buglovinchick.blogspot.com

Kathy    www.kathyand3kids.blogspot.com

Lori    www.scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com

DD   www.craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com

Rhonda   www.craftingwithblue.blogspot.com

Kristal    www.gettingcricky.com

Amy   www.amychomas.blogspot.com

Darlene   www.talesoftayandbay.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment and let me know what you think of this project.  :D

Are you ready for another hop?

This June 4th I am part of a Dad's hop and as a daddy's girl I just can't wait!  I hope you will join in and hop along with us.  I am really excited about this project and I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else came up with.  I look forward to seeing you on the 4th.  :D

The Scrapoholic's Monday MTC Challenge

This weeks files from Jill were a real treat to work with.   I love all things patriotic so I had a hard time choosing but in the end I picked the Made in USA tag because I have some adorable pictures of my niece in her 4th of July best that I need to scrap so here is my page.

The background page is hand stitched using embroidery floss.  The ribbon on the photo mats is a Big Lots find and I am not sure where I got the patterned paper. 

I would love it if you left a comment and remember visit Jill's blog to see what the other design team members came up with.  Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day!  :D

Vacation Day Blog Hop

Welcome to The Vacation Day Blog Hop!  I am so glad you are here.  You should have come from Jenny's blog but if you just happened by please start at the beginning of the hop with Nancy.

Nancy has asked us all to share what we love most about vacations.  I think the best part of vacationing is leaving your everyday life behind for awhile.  I love the time away from home, stress, work and schooling.  I also enjoy being somewhere new and exciting. 

I love this project.  I had soo much fun creating it.  The frame was a plain black and white that didn't really match my house so I decided to alter it.  The pictures are from our 2006 North Carolina vacation.  It was the most awesome vacation ever and I would love to back. 

 The frame measures 8 1/2 x 40 inches.  I distressed the background and liberally applied Glimmer Mist.  The lettering was all done in MTC.   I bought the leaves 5 years ago and never found a use for them until this project.   Funny thing is I bought them online from a lady in NC.  Kinda ironic....

Here are some close ups.

If you are not a follower of mine I would love it if you would consider following and please leave a comment.  I know Nancy has a give away going but you have to comment on each blog along the hop to be eligible.  You are now heading to the last stop on the hop Betty's blog.  Thanks for hopping along and I hope you enjoyed yourself!  :D

Here is the full line up just in case you get lost.  Have a great time!
Nancy - http://blog.fancywithnancy.com/
Jessica- http://thecreativestamperspot.blogspot.com/
Jen R. http://memorieswithjen.blogspot.com/
Gill - http://scrappincreationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://lisagarrow.blogspot.com/
Monica - http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com/
Jill - http://Thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Jackie - http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Nadia -  www.nadiasbeautifulmess.blogspot.com
Shannon - www.purplelionpaper.com/blog
Jenn P - http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/  You are here.
Betty - http://simplybettystamps.blogspot.com/

The Scrapoholic's Monday MTC Challenge

I feel bad for posting this soo late but it has been one of those days....  I worked on the wrong file and then tried to change files and that didn't work out well at all....  I think this card could be really cute but my glue pen is out and I am babysitting so I can't go pick up another one.  So, with that said please excuse my crooked letter and make sure you check out The Scrapoholic's page and the other design teams members inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

The Scrapoholic's Monday MTC DT challenge

I have to say I love, love, love this week's MTC design's from Jill.  It was super hard to pick which flower to use and I know I will eventually be using all of them but for this project I thought this flower was just perfect. 

This picture is a favorite of mine.  I love my smiley, sweet little guy! 

For the layout I used:

random bright cardstock scraps
MTC for the lettering
Jill's MTC flowers1 file
Skittles for flower centers
Cat's Eye chalks
liquid adhesive
ATG

It is a pretty simple LO but I really love it and I hope you enjoy it.   Make sure you check out Jill's blog and see what the other designer's came up with and join in on the challenge!  I would love to hear what you think of this LO.  :D

Lordy, Lordy Blog Hop Day 7

I am soo sorry I am behind... the internet has not been kind to me the last few days.  I think I am going to have to make some sort of deal with it where it works well during blog hops and the hours I am awake.  It can be as stinky as it likes while I am sleeping... : P

So without making you wait any longer Here is the file for day 7 and a screen shot of it.  I ran out of time to put the LO together but I can't wait to do it and once it is finished I will share. 

With any luck the internet gods will smile on me and I will have more up in a couple of hours.  See you then and don't forget to check out all the other blogs and leave some love. 

Jenn ~ http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/
Jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Jackie ~ http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Shelley~ http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/
Susan ~ http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/
Gill ~ http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Martha - http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Anita ~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/ 

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's 40 Day 5 & 6

I am having some serious internet issues.  It is taking forever for anything to load and pictures are just about impossible for some reason.  I didn't want to disappoint anyone that was looking for more file though so I am going to post them. 

The first file is not  wine inspired...  I know I meant for it to be but I can't get it to cut properly and I don't want to post a file you can't use.    As soon as I get it working I will share it.  The day five file is the star border group.  I love this file and have come up with many uses for it.  I hope you enjoy it as well.  Here is the link

The next file is kinda wine inspired.  It is different glasses.  There are 4 glasses one of which is a martini glass that I have great plans for.  These glasses will go with tomorrow's project and file give away.  Here is the link.

I hope you can find a use for these and tomorrow I plan to post a project or two as long as the internet is being reasonable.  Enjoy your weekend and let me know if you like the files.  I am think about doing weekly file give aways and would appreciate feedback if anyone is interested.

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's 40 day 4

Wow, it is day 4 already!  Time flies when you are having fun.  So, you may have noticed from my selection of MTC files that I like wine.  Well, I do like wine and I have tons of pictures to scrap from a trip to an awesome vineyard.  Here is today's project...

Here is a little bit better close up of the cut file.  You get the words, bottles and labels.  As always feel free to make it your own and change it up and please let me know what you think.  Click here for the file.

I haven't tried it yet but I am betting the bottles could be manipulated to resemble other types of bottles.  I think if they were shorter and maybe fatter they could be beer bottles... can't you just see a "99 bottles of beer" LO?  I can totally see that.  Maybe next road trip....  Have a great day! 

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's 40 day 3

Welcome to the 3rd day of my blog hop.  Today I have a project and a cut file with an example... it is a bad example but it is an example... lol.

Here is my project first.

This is a real simple card but I like how it turned out.  The roses are handmade and spritzed with Smoosh Spritz.  I love this stuff!  I made this card for my sister who has had a rough couple of days.

Ok and now the file...  This file is for a wine gift tag.  I have no idea what I was thinking when I sized it... maybe I was thinking that wine bottles are the same size as me?  Who knows?  Anyways... I resized it and it should be fine now.  If not the file can be resized to suit your needs.  Here is the file. 

See what I mean the tag is as big as the bottle.  I would have recut it but my mat is not sticky.  I guess tomorrow I will be resticking it and tomorrow I have one of my favorite cut files for you.  I am really looking forward to hearing what you think. 

A big  thank you to all my new followers and I am loving all the comments keep them coming and make sure if you have a blog you leave a link so I can follow you! 

Make sure you check out all the other blogs in the hop you never know what you are going to find and there is some great blog candy out there. 

Jenn ~ http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/
Jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Jackie ~ http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Shelley~ http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/
Susan ~ http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/
Gill ~ http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Martha - http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Paula ~ http://www.owlbescrappin.com/
Anita ~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Lordy, Lordy blog hop day 2

First off I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, comments and all the love.  I had a fantastic day but I was a slacker.  I didn't finish my project for today instead I ended up helping my son clean the chicken coop.  I know, I know life doesn't get more exciting than that... lol.  I also got a fabulous birthday surprise from a dear friend and I ended up spraying some Smooch Spritz on every scrap of paper I could find.  I think I might be in love.  Hopefully tomorrow you will see projects that have been Spritzed. 

Here is a picture of todays file give away.  I think any of these sayings would be great cut in vinyl.  If I had any wall space left I know I would be tempted to cut the "wine a bit ~ you'll feel better" to go in my kitchen. I hope you enjoy!

This file includes the shadow on a separate page.  Just click here to get your file and then have fun!  Be sure to come back tomorrow I promise I will have atleast one project and another file and please make sure to check out the other blogs to see what new projects they have and make sure to leave comments there is some great blog candy out there. 

Jenn ~ http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/
Jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Jackie ~ http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Shelley~ http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/
Susan ~ http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/
Gill ~ http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Martha - http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Anita ~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's 40 Blog hop

Yep, it's me.  Today is my 40th birthday.  It seems hard to believe...  I decided that it would be fun to have a blog hop to celebrate.  This was my first time hosting a hop and I know I made mistakes but, the group of ladies I have in this hop have just been awesome.  It has been a lot of fun for me and I hope for them as well. 

Here is my project.

I have a hot date with my wonderful husband planned and I plan on taking pics to go on this LO. 

Here is our line up.  Some ladies will have a project each day so make sure you follow along all week and leave everyone some love.  I will have a project each day and I will be giving away MTC cut files each day from now until May 2nd.  All you have to do is leave a comment on each project.   Today's give away is the grape file from my LO.   Follow this link to download the file and make sure you come back tomorrow for another file give away.   

Jenn ~ http://jennscrap2.blogspot.com/
Jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/
Jackie ~ http://jackiesscrappinpad.blogspot.com/
Shelley~ http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/
Susan ~ http://susanascorner.blogspot.com/
Gill ~ http://creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/
Martha - http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/
Paula ~ http://www.owlbescrappin.com/
Anita ~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

A really bright card!

The weather is dark, damp and gloomy so I decided to create something bright and cheerful.  Get your sunglasses ready....

The card is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2

Red CS 4 x 5 1/4
Bright green CS 3 3/4 x 5
Bazzil Swiss Dots ~ Black cut with my Nesties
Digi image from here
Rhinestones and black Cat's Eye chalk.

Have a wonderful day!!!!  :D

The Scrapoholics MTC DT Challenge

It's almost Easter and The Scrapoholic has some great cut files.  Here is the one I chose to use.  My E decided  not to cooperate tonight so this didn't turn out like I was hoping but, here it is!

I used.....

Cut file from The Scrapoholic

Misc. cardstock ~ purple, gray, cream

Jolee's stickers (for the flowers)

Computer generated sentiment

The purple background was embossed with the CB and cut to size with Deckle scissors.

Thanks for looking and please check out what the other design team members created. 

Chocolate, I needed chocolate!

I have not been feeling crafty lately but I have been craving chocolate.  I found a make a mix cookbook about a week ago and so today I decided to try out a recipe. 

Brownie Mix

6 cups AP flour
4 tsp baking powder
4 tsp salt
8 cups sugar
1 (8 oz) can unsweetened cocoa
2 cups vegetable shortening

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add sugar and cocoa.  Blend well.  With a pastry blender, cut in shortening until evenly distributed.  Put into a large airtight container.  Label and store in a cool, dry place.  Use within 10-12 weeks.  Makes about 17 cups of brownie mix. 


Brownies

2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups brownie mix
1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.  In a medium bowl, combine eggs, vanilla and brownie mix.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in nuts.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 30-35 minutes, until edges separate from pan.  Cool and cut into 2 inch bars.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost.

I made these brownies tonight and let me tell you I think I am feeling crafty again.  I used a combination of chocolate and peanut butter chips and it was yummy, I mean really, really yummy.  Try this,  your taste buds and your creativity will thank you!  Hopefully this weekend I will be sharing more recipes that you can make with this mix. 

Recipe copied from Make-A-Mix Cookery HP Books copyright 1978

My First "Tunnel" Card

I found a great blog with free digi images and great tutorials.  I got the directions for the card here and the digi images here and here.

So here is my card.

Isn't this a fun card?  I used leftover CS pieces, Nestabilities, CB, digi images (colored by Curt), computer generated sentiment, black fine point marker and ATG.  This was a really easy card but I think it looks pretty impressive.  :D