Be Unique, Be Unforgettable, Be You... and Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, my sweet friends! :o) I had every intention of posting before today, but it was one of those stretches. You know what helps with a bit of a trying week? Hugs, making a girly card, and sharing a delicious treat. All those are wrapped up into today's post!

First up is a card I made for a few challenges. I used a new-to-me technique, which is always exciting. :o) My first Criss Cross card was so much fun to create.

"Be Unique, Be Unforgettable, Be You"

Not only was it pure joy making this, but I was finally able to use a few more new goodies that my sweetheart gave me. When I decided to use this marvelous Whimsical Designs sentiment from Stephanie's Whimsical Fun~ Volume 1 set, I knew the perfect image stamp to accompany it. Our creative spirits make us unique, enable us to make sweet projects that touch someone's life, and the journey helps us discover hidden parts of ourselves... tiny morsels that make us who we are. Making a heartfelt creation is truly a representation of who we are, with each style highlighting individual facets. It's one of the reasons I so enjoy visiting blogs. Every designer has their own beautiful creative spirit. :o)

This sweet stamp is an Elisabeth Bell digi stamp, titled Creative Genius. She is perfect! Just look at her crafting to her heart's content. I colored her with Copics and sprinkled in some extra treats: Her slipper is not only sparkly, but I cut off part of a pom-pom to make it fluffy, too. Her headband is dolloped with pearls, used for the flower centers. Star Dust covers her pencil, markers, paintbrushes, and the kitty's bow. One of my favorite parts is completely unseen because I neglected to get a close-up. :( She's drawing a picture of a flower and I colored it Buttercup and sparklified it... for a sappy reason. Because everything created from the heart sparkles like the most gorgeous ray of sunshine dancing upon an ocean. It's just how it works! :o)

The papers are from the Kaisercraft English Rose collection, which I continue to love more with each new pattern I use. The Wild Orchid Craft Guipure cream lace is new, a blessing from my sweetie pie. I LOVE this exquisite lace. The pretty flowers are also Wild Orchid Crafts, which are trimmed in Star Dust. I tucked a 2-tone baby pink Sweetheart Blossom into the mix because the cute creative genius is such a sweetheart. I sewed all of the layers and then pleated crinkle ribbon to make a girly, fluffy trim. And all of the inking is new! It's my first time dabbing into Tim Holtz and I am already in love. I used Victorian Velvet for all of the edges.

The image stamp base is cut from Elegant Edges, the tag from Gypsy Wanderings, and the interior butterfly is a fancy corner from Storybook. The butterfly's trail is sparkly (of course) and I dotted her wings with pearls. It felt so good to craft! :o)

Criss Cross Card Tutorial: Here!

Challenges entered:

 * Crafty Catz~ Favorite Things (Copics, flowers, lace, pearls, pink, ribbon)

 * Cute Card Thursday~ Flower Power!

 * My Craft Spot~ Girly Girl!

 * Paper Sundaes~ Sundae Bar! (I used cream and pearls)

Ready for a treat? Sweet Saturday is all about hugs and cookies. I was searching for a new cookie recipe to bake for my boyfriend and his coworkers... and you won't believe what I stumbled across. Cookies that have HUGS inside them. I waited all of two seconds before whipping up these Hugs Chocolate Cookies.

His coworkers love me. The rich chocolate cookie dough is embracing Hershey Hugs. The original recipe uses the seasonal Raspberry Hugs, but since we're not huge raspberry fans I used regular Hugs. Any flavor would be delicious! The surprise center of melted white and milk chocolate was perfect for Valentine's Day. (Or any day.) The tops are fancied up with a white chocolate drizzle to complement the centers. The cookie itself is rich, fudgy, and decadent... and as is always the case, a Hug makes everything better. If you try these, I hope you love them as much as we did. :o)

Thank you for visiting me! I hope your weekend sparkles with joy, crafting, and chocolate. :o)

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Raspberry Hugs Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 3½ dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup dutch processed cocoa

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (10 ounce) bag Hershey's Raspberry Hugs candy (or any flavor you desire)

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until flour disappears.

Unwrap the Hugs candies. Take a spoonful of cookie dough and wrap the dough around the Hug candy, making certain the entire Hug is covered. Place cookie onto prepared baking sheet. Continue wrapping cookies until the dough is gone. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Do not over-bake. Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Place white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and melt. Drizzle chocolate over the cookies. Let cookies sit until chocolate hardens, approximately 10 minutes.

Source: Two Peas & Their Pod

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Key Recipe Components (for card):

 * Cricut cartridges: Elegant Edges, Gypsy Wanderings, Storybook

 * Sentiment stamp: Whimsical Designs~ Whimsical Fun, Volume 1

 * Image stamp: Elisabeth Bell~ Creative Genius

 * Copics: E000, E00 (skin); E25, E31, E50 (hair); R81, R83 (shirt, headband, slipper, cup); B91, B95 (jeans, headband, tablecloth, chair); Y21, Y000 (tablecloth, chair); C3, C5 (kitty); B00 (water in glass with paintbrushes)

 * Paper: DCWV, Kaisercraft, Papertrey Ink

 * Ink: Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet

 * Wild Orchid Crafts: 35mm trellis rose, 20mm roses, sweetheart blossom; Guipure cream lace

 * Crinkle Ribbon: Prairie Bird Boutique

 * Miscellaneous: Pearls (Recollections); Stickles