Country Living Holiday Collection Stampin' Kit!

I just love this Country Living Stampin' Kit! I took some 'me time' yesterday afternoon and evening, parked myself in front of the TV and loaded up my soaps and recorded episodes of Dancing With the Stars, Samantha Who?, Boston Legal, Lipstick Jungle and then Grey's Anatomy! Oooohhh ... stamping and watching TV, two of my favorite things -- besides FOOD! I was able to make 20 holiday ornaments with this kit and there are still supplies left over to make more tags, cards, etc. They were quick, easy and make wonderful gifts. Give them to service people you come in contact with during the holiday season, put one in the carrier tube the next time you go to the bank to make a deposit, leave one in your mailbox for the mail carrier, tie them to a bag of homemade cookies and give to your neighbors for the holidays, tie them to the top of a gift as an extra embellishment ... or use them to decorate your tree or around your home! They are so cute and so super easy! The coordinating stamp set is GREAT! This kit is available to purchase November 1 - December 31, 2008. Contact me for details!

Peep Jar Recipe!

Ingredients in the jar: Reduce 1 sleeve of graham crackers to crumbs and layer all of the crumbs in the bottom of a 1 qt. jar. Place 6 - 8 peeps standing up, facing out, around the inside of the jar pressing them against the glass. Carefully spoon 1/3 cup brown sugar into center of the jar to support the peeps, pressing down to keep it snug. On top of this, pour 1 1/2 cups M & M's.

Decorate the top with holiday stamps and ribbons!

Directions: Empty the jar contents into a bowl. Snip the peeps into bits with kitchen sheers or cut up with a knife. Return the peepe bits to the mixture and mix well. Melt 1/2 cup butter, add 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour this over the dry ingredients, mixing well. Pat into greased 8 x 8 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Option: leave peeps whole; combine remaining ingredients and place the peeps on top then bake as directed.

ENJOY!

College Bound!

Hurray ... we found out over the weekend that my son who is a Senior in High School this year was accepted at East Carolina University! He is still waiting to hear from UNC Chapel Hill, NC State and App State. At least we now know he will be going to college SOMEWHERE!!!

MORE Music Makeover Boxes!!!

These are so gosh darn cute ... I can't stop making them! Good thing I have a few vendor events coming up in November because they will be the number one item 'in stock' on my table at these events!! I particularly LOVE this version as it's made with my absolute favorite DSP - Stampin' Up! Bella Rose. All supplies SU unless otherwise noted:

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette

DSP: Bella Rose

Sets: Dreams du Jour, A Little Bit of Happiness

Ink: CC, KK, RR, PP

Accessories: 5/8" CC grosgrain ribbon, PTI 5/8" pink & green grosgrain ribbon, brads

Filled with: Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa Mix

Music Makeover Box!

This is one of Lauren Meader's new My Timeless Templates for Papertrey Ink ... Music Makeover Box. I used SU Certainly Celery, Bella Rose DSP along with PTI Berry Sorbet CS and polka dotted ribbon. The stamp is SU's A Little Bit of Happiness and I used Cameo Coral ink and Chocolate Chip brads. I included 2 packages of Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate Mix inside ... now that's what I call a LITTLE BIT OF HAPPINESS all wrapped up in an adorable little box!

Illunimations - Elegant Fall Card!

This card is very beautiful in person. The picture doesn't really do it justice. I used Real Rust, Eggplant, More Mustard, Old Olive and Whisper White. I embossed one layer of CS with a pumpkin embossing folder from Cuttlebug and then stamped the 'Thanks' with Versa Mark and embossed with SU White Embossing Powder. Simple yet elegant!

Thoroughly Thankful!

This is a classic card made using a timeless stamp set! I used SU Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Hawaii Papaya DSP to create this card. I stamped the leaves using Versa Mark Ink and then chalked them in with Stampin' Pastels. I love this card and really love this stamp set ... did you know the leaf is Tastefully Simple's tag emblem??!!??

Season of Friendship Fall Card!

Beautiful!!! I LOVE this stamp set! I used SU Eggplant, Real Rust, Kraft, Always Artichoke, Baja Blue, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, More Mustard and Always Artichoke DSP to create this card - wow! It was a simple and fun card to make and is suitable to send to all your friends this fall and holiday season.

Thankful Thoughts Fall Card!

Isn't this a pretty fall card? I just love it! I used SU Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss and Hawaii Papaya DSP to create this card. I also used the Big Shot scallop circle die and scallop envelope die along with the scallop edge punch. A very easy card with a lot of 'WOW' factor!

For Keep {sake} Box!

Isn't this just about the cutest little box you've ever seen? This is Lauren Meader's For Keep {sake} Box template from her new line made for Papertrey Ink! I couldn't find the glass test tubes, so I used plastic water bottle tubes from the florist. They are smaller, so I had to adjust the size of the box and cut it down a little. I used a SU 3/4" circle punch to make the holes to slide the tubes into ... I forwarded pics to Lauren and she suggested using a circle die cutter in order to get the holes closer to the middle and more centered. I think it came out cute for my first attempt! Need to put another yummy piece of speciality candy in the middle to make up the difference in space since my test tubes are more along the sides of the box instead of toward the middle ... yum - more candy - yum!

Welcome to my brand new blog site!

Welcome to the very first edition of my brand new blog site! Like anything new ... setting this up and getting it off the ground feels a little intimidating and fun all at the same time! I tend to be 'technically challenged', so I hope I can muddle through without too much difficulty! I can't wait to share with you all the wonderful papercrafting creations I work on when I have a free minute to sneak up to my craft room! I want to send a HUGE thank you to my Stampin' Up! manager and very good friend, Amy Ward, who took time out of her busy, busy schedule to sit with me and help me set this up! She is awesome and a whiz on the computer! I hope you enjoy visiting my site. Please feel free to e-mail me comments and ideas at deb4tasteful@earthlink.net.

FOR SALE!

Gently used and ever so loved CUTTLEBUG machine, A plate, 2 B plates and C plate included; original box and instructions. (New $80). Asking $40.

Delicious Slow Cooker Recipe for Fall!

Slow Cooked Chicken Cacciatore - Tastefully Simple
1 1/2 lbs. cubed, boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 sliced red bell pepper
2 sliced zucchini
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 - 28 ox. cans tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
1 1/2 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic
Prepared pasta

Place chicken in slow cooker. Top with peppers, zucchini and mushrooms. Combine tomato sauce, Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix and Garlic Garlic; pour over vegetables. Cover; cook on low for 7 - 9 hours. Serve over pasta.

A Yummy Treat For Fall!

Nana's Apple Cherry Oatmeal Crisp - Tastefully Simple
1 - box Nana's Apple Cake Mix
1 - can cherry pie filling
2 - chopped apples (peeled or unpeeled)
1/2 - 1 cup old fashioned cook oatmeal (dry)
1 - stick butter; melted

In a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish, layer the chopped apples and cherry pie filling. In a separate bowl, mix together the Nana's Apple Cake Mix, oatmeal and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinke crumb topping over fruit mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve with a steamy cup of English Toffee Mocha Drink - yummy!

Yummy Door Prizes for my CLUBS!

Okay, there is not too much stamping involved with these, but they are so gosh darn cute I had to share! I got this idea last year from my, then SU demonstrator, and now still SU demonstrator and manager, Amy Ward! I filled quart canning jars with the bar cookie recipe, printed the instructions out on whisper white CS mounted on Tangerine Tango CS and tie onto the jar rim with basic black grosgrain ribbon. I used a die cut flower to top it off and oval punched a halloween image, colored in with markers - whala! These will be additional door prizes for my 3 clubs in October - yum!

Treat Boxes Galore!

We made these adorable treat boxes at all 3 of my clubs last month! I just LOVE the Big Shot and all the current dies. The little baskets are so cute and I can think of a million ideas to use them for. This month I am using them decorated for Halloween as door prizes at all my Tastefully Simple tasting parties - yummy! Isn't the pumpkin face stamped from the Autumn Harvest set the cutest thing? Both sets of these baskets are very easy and can be tailored to any occasion. The candies are peppermint patties - perfect size for the scallop punch! Eyelets are set with the crop-a-dile. Happy Halloween is stamped from the All Holidays stamp set.

Tasty Sweet ... Trick or Treat!

Such a fun card to make! I just love this stamp set ... gonna think of some cute ways to use it for the holidays using the candy and eliminating the 'trick or treat' stamp.

Tasty Sweet Treat Box!

This is an easy-peesy treat box made with the Big Shot scallop envelope die. Cut 4 using Tangerine Tango CS. Fold along score lines and adhere with sticky strip. I decorated the outside with Ghostly Greetings DSP and used the Tasty Sweet stamp set to finish it off. Put some candy treats in a clear cello bag and tie off with basic black grosgrain ribbon. Who wouldn't like to receive a treat like this for Halloween this year?

Batty For Halloween!

Isn't this card so cute? It was really EASY to make! I mounted pumpkin pie Ghostly Greetings DSP onto basic black CS and then layered another DSP in green on top. The bats are made from the square scallop punch, fold diagonally and then snip diagonally in toward the center. Fold back sides on the head to form ears and white gel pel for the eyes. I used basic black grosgrain ribbon along with black and white gingham ribbon to finish it off ... spooky!

Chocolate Halloween Treats!

Absolutely ADORABLE! These chocolate treats were made with the Big Shot Scallop Envelope die using the Ghostly Greetings DSP. They are the perfect size to fit one Ghirardelli Chocolate inside. I stamped images from the Batty For You set onto Whisper White CS, punched out with circle punch and then mounted onto basic black CS punched with scallop punch. Tie it all together with black and white gingham ribbon and you're ready for HALLOWEEN!

Mr. and Mrs. Frankie!

These Halloween Treat Boxes are just about the cutest thing I've ever seen! They were very easy to make using the Big Shot Machine and the Top Note die. They'll be given out this month as door prizes at my 3 clubs!!! Here's what you'll need to make a set for yourself ...

Recipe:
Paper - Pink Passion, Green Galore, Lovely Lilac, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink - Green Galore, Black Stampin' Write Marker
Other - Black Brads, Black and White Gingham Ribbon, Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Slot Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1/4" Square Punch, Round Tab Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Word Window Punch, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals, Big Shot, Top Note Die, small celo bags, candy.
Assembly - For box, cut CS 6 x 11 and score the 11" side at 4.5 and 6.5. Flip the CS so that the 6" side is at the top and score at 1.5 and 4.5. Cut on the score line from the top of the 6" side down to the center score line. Do this on each score line for a total of 4 times. On the 11" side, cut off 2" of the flaps you just made. Use the Scallop Edge Punch centered along the ends to make the end match up; fold, glue and assemble.

Season of Friendship - gift idea!

I made this beautiful gift for my very best friend's birthday last week using the Season of Friendship stamp set. I just love this set from the new Holiday Mini Catalog. This was a fun project to work on and very simple and quick to complete. The finished project was so nice, I made one for myself too!!! I used the Perennial Favorites set to stamp the words spring, summer, autumn & winter and punched them out with the word window. I can see a few more of these in my future for holiday gifts ... just love them!

Decor Elements around the house!

I am loving the new Decor Elements line!

I used the 'Season Of ..." in my breakfast room. I altered the design so it would be able to stay out all year round instead of just for the holidays. I cut out the words 'season of', cut apart the entire design and applied it horizontal instead of vertical. I LOVE how it came out ... found the perfect spot over an antique secretary in my kitchen between two wall sconces. I giggle with glee every time I walk past it ... so beautiful!

The second picture is the damask pattern in kraft applied onto the glass from a picture frame. I cut textured CS and mounted inside the frame. Isn't that beautiful? This way you can move it from room to room or give as a gift instead of applying it to a permanent spot on a wall.