Flower Pops

I made this centerpiece out of Tootsie pops. SO easy! I just cut the daisies out with my SU Flower Daisy die. I adhered them together and slipped the pop in the middle. You don't need to glue the pop on as it fits perfectly in the hole. Warning...I have been on a roll with this idea....future posts coming up!

Uncle Sam

Isn't this Uncle Sam Cute? I saw him over on Lorri's blog on a card she had made. I just had to give him a try. I love making things with punches. I thought he'd look good on CHOCOLATE...who wouldn't look good on chocolate....so I stuck him on a Hershey bar. I have some bars I have been trying to stay out of I'm using for smores on the 4th. It's hard for me to keep away from any form of chocolate...no...freezing them doesn't work either. I like chocolate better frozen! I used to eat Snicker bars frozen until I broke a tooth on one!

Lowfat chocolate macaroon cupcakes

Ok...so these WERE low fat until I dipped them in ganache! They taste great without it and I usually just serve them without any frosting. They really don't need any. I just wanted to use up some cream the day I made these.

I love the almond flavor inside the filling..I usually add more than the recipe calls for. I think they look so pretty!

Happy 4th

I like the Kraft paper with the red, white, and blue on this card. The star is from a retired SU set Love It..and the sentiment from Fundamental Phrases. I added some sweet tiny buttons I found at Hobby Lobby and also did a little piercing with my Ornare template in the corner. Simple and fun!

Taffy treat

I made this quick little treat bag last nite with some taffy I found at Wally's. I put my top note die into action again for a topper...it's so fast to make quantity projects! Anyway...I added a scallop circle with a star I stamped from the level one Darling Dots set. I wasn't too excited about that set at first but I sure am finding lots of ways to use it. I didn't start using it until recently..my mistake..... I've had it for awhile...but I sure am glad I tried it out now. I love it!

Paulas potato salad

Another Parade of Recipes for the 4th....Yum! This was as good as I thought it would be. One can never go wrong if bacon is an ingredient..so much flavor! This is a great recipe for the 4th or any summer day. There isn't alot of mayo in it..the bacon really shines. I have a couple more of her potato salad recipes I want to try this summer too, but I will definitely be making this one over the 4th!

Look what I found....

I got so excited when I saw these boxes of Cracker Jacks in red, white, and blue! I don't know about you, but I grew up eating these. It was a treat my mom bought often and I loved the little prize inside. When I got older she sent boxes to me in care packages at college and later often stuck them in packages for Birthdays or Christmas for all her grandkids. I decided to buy some for my kids and tied some of the wide striped ribbon around them with a little tag...I can't wait to see if they remember getting them from their Grandma!

Paula's centerpieces

Good morning! My daughter knows me well...she gave me a subscription to the Paula Deen magazine...my fave cook EVER. I've gotten it for several years now and love to reread them over and over!

This month I found alot of recipes {as usual} to try...and also a 4th of July centerpiece idea. As soon as I saw it I thought of the wide striped ribbon from SU I had leftover from the Holiday mini catty. I thought it would look great around the Mason jars. I braved our messy storage area and found 2 jars...then I dug up some sand from our beach and added a votive. I tied the ribbon on and love the look of them! I can't wait to use them for our picnic centerpiece. They look really great with the candle lit!

I'm happy to tell you that there are 4 new colors of this ribbon in the new catty!!! They are pumpkin pie, chocolate chip, black, and old olive. I can't decide which one to get first. The wide ribbon works so well for alot of cards and projects!

Fifth Avenue Floral

I made this card with the new in colors Rich Razzleberry and Bermuda Bay. The razzleberry IS really a "rich" color...I think it will look great in lots of color combos. I can't wait to see what people come up with. I haven't been over on Splitcoast for awhile but I bet there are already alot of cards posted there with the new catty items.

This is a very simple card...very quick to put together. I plan to make some more as Thankyou cards and a few Get Well. It's so fun to work with new colors and ribbon!

Recipe: vanilla, bermuda bay, rich razzleberry

Ink: bermuda bay, rich razzleberry

Stamps: oval all, fifth ave. floral

Other: oval and scallop oval punches, pearl, brads,bermuda bay polka dot ribbon

Happy

Hi! I made another card with the new Raspberry Lemonade paper. I don't usually distress alot but I did some on this card. I sponged the edges with dusty durango. I used the set Flight of the Butterflies. It was one of those sets I have sitting on my shelf not used yet so I thought I'd give it a try with the new colors. My daughter loves butterflies so I will be sending this one to her. The new catty has a butterfly punch...another item on my wish list!

BBQ Burgers

"WOW," was what I said the first time I bit into one of these burgers! We're nuts about BBQ sauce and put it on everything. This BBQ sauce is SO tasty! I love the idea of putting it right into the patties before you grill them. So much flavor...you'll like them! This week I will be posting more recipes I plan to make for the 4th of July. {Well, actually that weekend sometime as I usually work over the Holiday now. In the summer I work at an Americana gift shop. If you want a summer job around here you need to be available for the summer holidays when the tourists are in town!} In the past we often had a big picnic with friends or family when the kids were still living at home. Now it's whoever is around and which day that weekend we can eat together!


For this recipe card I used some paper I call, "moms kitchen table." We had this checkered pattern tablecloth on our table for years. I was so excited to find some one day while browsing at Craft Direct. I bought several sheets. I thought it would go well with my 4th of July picnic recipes. Although the paper reminds me of mom....she never served burgers on the 4th. We always went to the park at the lake and had hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and angel food cake. I LOVED her potato salad..but have never been able to make it the same as she did. She always added some sweet pickle relish juice. She never wrote down the recipe...just always threw it together. I will be sharing a potato salad recipe from Paula this week.....check back...one can never go wrong with Paula!

Summer

I saw a sail boat made with punches a long time ago and wanted to make one. Do you think I could find it again? No. So I tried to remember what it looked like and figure out how to make one. I used half a circle punch for the boat and cut triangles from a square punch. The rich Razzleberry looks great with navy...I'll be using that color combo agian..I really like it with Sahara Sand paper. The sentiment is from the dollar bin at Michaels. How true is that after our long winter? I DO love summer!

Have a....

You remind me of the sun...

{inside the card says}...you brighten my day! The new Bermuda Bay color reminds me of summer, so I took out my Close to my Heart "On the Beach" stamp set to make this card. The ribbon, buttons and paper are all SU. I used my glitter pen on the straps of the flip flops...you can't see it very well on this photo. It was a fun card to make...I made a few more with the same stamp set I'll be posting later this week. Have a sunny day!

Late Bday present rocks!

Look what I got today!

An old childhood friend of mine stopped by for a visit and brought me a late Bday present...it's the anniversary Barbie! We used to play Barbies ALL the time and had SO much fun together. Needless to say, I love this present...it ROCKS!!!!!!

She is supposed to look 50 years later ...then and now...I don't know...what do you think...here's a close up:

Well, her bust is smaller and her hips wider...she also looks more muscular and in shape to me! I'll have to dig out my original Barbie and compare them!

She looks pretty good to me....

Circus dogs

Here's another of the "Parade of Recipes" for the 4th!

Well.. I was a bit sceptical about this recipe. My daughter sent it to me and I shoulda known it would be good. But.... the mustard mixed with broccoli slaw turned me off...until I gave them a try. YUM! Unexpected! We really liked these. I, of course had to try a low fat version {using FF dogs and WW cheese, VH bun, precooked LF bacon slices, and LF mayo.} I tried both and they were excellent. I have seen coleslaw on dogs before but never tried it..and never imagined them with the broccoli slaw. She was right though, they were tasty. I'm not a huge mustard lover..but I do like a bit on my dogs so I was worried all the mustard in this recipe would be too much...it wasn't. I liked the crunch of the slaw and the bacon rocked. I will make these again!

Autumn Days

Here's another quick card I made using the new in colors soft suede and dusty durango...I really like that color combo! Autumn Days stamp set is becoming a favorite, too.

Recipe:
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede
Ink: Soft Suede
Stamps: Autumn Days
Other: Soft suede polka dot ribbon, SU buttons, So saffron ribbon

Hickory Smoked Burgers

Today I am starting my Picnic Recipe Parade...a group of recipes of our favorites that could be used for the 4th or for any summer picnic. {I'll be posting the parade up until the 4th. I plan to post several recipes each week along with cards and projects. } I chose to share a hamburger fave this morning...Hickory Smoked Cheeseburgers.

As I've mentioned before, we grill all year round, but I usually make these in the summer to have on hand in the freezer. I like the flavor of liquid smoke...mmm. So good! This recipe really makes alot of burgers so I wrap them individually and freeze them so I can grab them as needed. I like having some on hand for a quick meal.

Recipe:

Paper: real red, choc. chip, brilliant blue

Stamps: stampendous "from the kitchen of"

Ink: black

Other:stickers, choc chip ribbon

Celebrate one cupcake at a time

Good Morning! I'm lovin' the cupcakes stamp in The More The Merrier set. The designer paper is new..Razzleberry Lemonade. I love the razzleberry with the bermuda bay. You can't see it very well, but I did put some glitter on the cupcakes. I used the 2 way glue pen, which makes it so easy to put the glitter exactly where you want it. I don't make this size card very often but the stamp fit perfectly on a long card. {6"x6" then scored at 3"} Have a great day!

Key lime Cupcakes

I've been trying out different flavors of cupcakes... so when I saw key lime I knew I needed to make them. I bought a bottle of key lime juice while down in the Keys this winter and it's been sittin' there in the cupboard just waiting for me to use it!

I really liked the fresh lime flavor and the lime butter cream frosting was so good! I put a bit of lime zest on top of each one,too.