Mitten Pocket Ornaments: I Feel the Love

Happy Tuesday, my sweet friends! I hope you're having a beautiful week. :o)

I celebrated my birthday over the weekend and did some of my favorite things. :o) A coffee date with my mom started the day, followed by an unexpected blessing of helping neighbors in need. My sweetheart and I noticed the elderly neighbors struggling with yard work, so we had the great privilege of relieving them of the labor-intensive work. Not only so, but just visiting with them for a while brought such joy to all involved. I brought them some of my cake when it was too dark to continue, which I hope they enjoyed. :o)

One of my favorite parts of my birthday was the nighttime! I settled in with my crafty supplies and worked on a fun little project for I Feel the Love. :o) Run by the lovely and talented Madison of Funky Cards, the purpose of I Feel the Love is to use our passion to serve others. Every month she highlights a particular person, family, or organization in need of an extra burst of love and sunshine. In turn, we have the honor of blessing them through our creations, far beyond what many of us will ever truly understand.

The current collection is to deliver festive love to the children who will be spending Christmas at Children's Hospital Central California. They are one of the top 10 largest hospitals of its type in the country, with a mission to provide high quality care for these children, regardless of their ability to pay. How beautiful is that?

My goal is to send cards, ornaments, and rosette wands. I am behind where I wanted to be at this point, but the good Lord will help me accomplish what my heart has dreamt up. :o)

I thought they might like some wintery ornaments to hang on a Christmas tree or anywhere in their hospital rooms. :o) Something cute and cozy to warm their battling, beautiful hearts. The snuggly mittens are from Simply Charmed, which I've embellished with fun papers from My Mind's Eye and Memory Box, fluffy pom pom trim, jingly bells, and sparkles. The sparkly white top of the polar bear mitten is embossed with pretty snowflakes, but it's a bit washed out in this picture. I couldn't resist giving the snowman mitten a precious Peachy Keen face. :o)

The main layer is affixed to the shadow base as a pocket, so the Gypsy Wanderings snowmen can come out to play! See their arms lifted up? I've assigned them the task of delivering my hugs to the little recipients. :o) A little note will be tucked inside, too.

Their snowy bodies are embossed with a folder from the Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland set (as is the mitten cuff), which looks lovely in person. The glittery Core Couture paper for the bodies, scarves, and hats makes them extra sparkly, but even so they needed some red and green rhinestones. This IS Christmas, after all! :o) (The reds ones are a gorgeous garnet in the same design as the emerald green. I had a terrible time photographing these cutie pies!)

The backs of the ornaments, used to deliver a simple Christmas greeting:

'Tis the Season' is a Whimsical Designs sentiment, which I've paired with snowflakes from an Inkadinkado stamp. Spellbinders Picot Edge Circles provide the bases, which of course sparkle. They will soon flutter down upon the hospital in a flurry of Christmas joy, showing the patients that they are loved far deeper than previously realized. Love heals... and it never fails. Join us in showering these children with love this Christmas. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *Charisma Cardz~ Feeling Blue
 *Craft Your Passion~ Clean and Simple
 *Crafty Catz~ Anything Goes
 *Divas By Design~ Let's Get Cute
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Peachy Keen~ Anything Goes

Thank you for fluttering on by! I hope your week is filled with blessings and sparkles. :o)

Rocky Road can be an obstacle or an ice cream...

Happy Friday, my sweet friends! I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter. :o)

It's been a challenging week, but thankfully I've been able to work on some cards for a couple bloggy friends who could use a little boost. :o) The one I'm sharing today is for a friend who is injured. No worries, she's been warned to stay away from my blog until the card arrives. :o) If she steals a sneak peek, it's not my fault. ;) Teehee.

"Rocky Road can be an obstacle or an ice cream..."

"I'll happily take either from you."

Teehee! She wouldn't mind me stealing her ice cream, I'm sure. ;) The first half of the sentiment is one of my favorite quotes, then I added my own ending for the interior. Silliness aside, I wanted to tell her that I would happily take and endure her trials so she wouldn't have to... not only this current injury, but it goes for every personal and professional obstacle in her future. Hopefully she'll take a peek at this at any of those moments, smile, and remember how much she is loved. :o)

Ice cream fixes everything, right? I made her a quadruple-scoop ice cream cone from Simply Charmed, but the current rocky road has turned it a bit topsy-turvy. The vanilla scoop has tumbled off and I couldn't resist adding a sweet Peachy Keen face. The first scoop is embossed with D'vine Swirls and covered in Stickles. Depending on the angle of the card, it's either caramel swirl (like here) or a minty green swirl. Ice cream is so magical like that. ;) The middle scoop with the happy Peachy Keen face is cotton candy flavor, which happens to be a personal favorite. The top scoop is my rendition of Rocky Road, with coarsely chopped peanuts and pearls for marshmallows.

The base papers are among my favorites, which I have been afraid to use! Hehe. I hope she likes them as much as I do. I always love brown and pink together, and the sweet pops of red hearts are just so pretty. Both heart designs are from the SEI With All My Heart collection. I cut out an Elegant Edges frame, backed it with pink Core'dinations paper, and foam-taped it atop the diamond-heart paper for dimension. The sweet pink and white twine is Blossom from My Craft Spot, which I just LOVE. It reminds me of strawberry milk, which adds extra sweetness to this card. :o) I secured the ice cream cone with a Little Yellow Bicycle heart button, because one touch of love is all that's needed to truly brighten a friend's day. :o)

The sentiment tag and interior base are Spellbinders Picot Edge Circles. The inking is Tim Holtz Spun Sugar Distress Ink, then to the tag I added some pretty sparkles and a sweet little Blossom bow. The interior hearts and picot circle are the same pink textured cardstock as the frame base. The Whimsical Designs "Thinking of you" stamp is from the Everyday Sentiments set. I hope she loves it! :o)

Challenges entered:
 * Fantabulous Cricut~ Buttons and Bows
 * My Craft Spot~ Inside and Out (Sentiments on the inside and outside)

Thank you for fluttering on by today! You make me sparkle. :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Elegant Edges, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folder: D'vine Swirls
 * Spellbinders Nestabilities: Picot Edge Circles
 * Rocky Road sentiments: Computer generated
 * Sentiment stamp: Whimsical Designs~ Everyday Sentiments
 * Peachy Keen stamps: Everyday Character Face Assortment
 * Paper: Core'dinations, SEI, stash
 * Twine: My Craft Spot (Blossom)
 * Button: Little Yellow Bicycle~ Love Potion
 * Pearls: Queen and Company
 * Heart punch: Cute little one from stash
 * Miscellaneous: iRock, Stickles

Pillow Box of Love for I Feel the Love

Happy Monday, my sweet friends! I hope you had a beautiful weekend. :o)

As you all know, I am an avid supporter of the I Feel the Love Project, hosted by the inspiring Madison of Funky Cards. Each month she highlights a particular person, family, or organization in need of our love and prayers. In turn, we have the honor of using our creative passion for a higher purpose. I cannot even tell you what this project means to me. When the 1st rolls around, my initial thoughts aren't of a new month but rather that there's a new recipient who needs our love.

It is no secret that sweet Trinitie has inspired me this month and that she is often on my mind... and always in my heart and prayers. I wanted to make one more little blessing for her, so I made a pillow box and filled it with a few tiny treasures.

Or maybe a lot. ;)

In a moment, a few close-ups to better see these cuties and the actual box...

My idea is to send her these so she can make her own little crafty creations using them, if she so desires. Or to simply have a whole lot of new friends to smile at as they keep her company. They were made with so much love, so I like to think each one is delivering a hug from me. I originally planned to make her a petal box filled with a bunch of my stamps that she could color... but then I read that after her brain surgery she lost all feeling on her left side and she is left-handed. Her mom posted a picture of a recent trip out to dinner where Trinitie was working on her writing, showing progress. My heart broke all over again. Doubtful that coloring was the best idea, I turned to Create a Critter which never fails with kiddos. :) She can simply do as she pleases with the assembled critters.

Now for a few closer photographs of Trinitie's sweeties! I couldn't resist using my favorite butterfly punch to send her a rainbow of butterflies. Despite it not showing, all of them are either sparkly Core Couture or pearlescent cardstock.

(I am in love with the heart-buttoned snail and want to make one for myself! I would think of Trinitie every time I saw it, which makes it even better.)

I think I've made approximately one million sparkly penguins since getting Create a Critter.

I needed to give her cupcakes and a Simply Charmed ice cream cone. If I actually knew her, I would bake her favorite cupcakes and take her out for the best ice cream on the planet. A double-scoop of love.

Lastly, the pretty pillow box. I kept it simple to avoid the potential for eager little hands breaking anything.

The Making Memories paper stands well on its own, I think. I wrapped crinkle ribbon around the short side only so she wouldn't need to remove it every time she opens the box. The tag is cut from Art Philosophy, which I adhered to the corresponding chipboard shape that came in the bundle. I love the thickness! I attached it to the crinkle ribbon with Grape Fizz Trendy Twine. The "Love" sentiment is from Create a Critter.

The box behind it was made last night, using the simple tutorial found HERE. Since I used Wild Orchid Crafts flowers on the cards I made Trinitie (found HERE and HERE), I wasn't comfortable sticking them in a regular paper envelope. To give them a little protection, I made a box out of 300gsm paper. I wrapped it with sprightly purple ribbon from Hobby Lobby.

There are still five days left if you'd like to make a card for this sweet girl. She will appreciate it more than we could possibly know. :o) I love her to pieces and hope my cards and pillow box of surprises bring a burst of sunshine and sparkles to her heart.

Thank you for visiting me today! I hope your day sparkles with love and blessings. :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Art Philosophy, Create a Critter, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folder: Swiss Dots
 * Paper: Core'dinations, DCWV, Heidi Grace, Making Memories, My Mind's Eye
 * Twine: My Craft Spot (Chocolate Truffle, Grape Fizz, Twisted Lime, Sky)
 * Peachy Keen Stamps: Critter Faces
 * Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart Small Monarch
 * Ribbon: Crinkle ribbon from My Craft Spot; sheer dotted ribbon from Hobby Lobby

I Feel the Love Birthday Card and Sweet Saturday!

Happy Saturday, my sweet friends! I hope your weekend is joyous and sparkly. :o)

I have a couple of special treats to share with you today! I'm excited to share some love via the incredible I Feel the Love project, created by the sweet and talented Madison at Funky Cards. Every month she shares the story of a person or family in need of some extra love and blessings... and we all have the marvelous opportunity to participate by making cards to bring them a smile. :o) I can't think of a better reason to craft. This month we're celebrating Ethan's 2nd birthday! He was diagnosed with a rare liver disease when he was 2 months old and has since had a liver transplant and gone through far more than I can even imagine. Thankfully he is on his way to the childhood he deserves... and it's truly a blessing to be able to share in his birthday celebration in this small way. :o) I hope you'll join us!

"TONS of birthday love rolling your way!"

Admittedly, I had a terrible time photographing this due to overcast skies and a fierce wind. All that aside, this is the fun birthday card I made for Ethan! His name is spelled out on peanuts, which are dancing and hopping down the twine tightrope. I used a waffle-design paper to mimic a peanut shell. Our sweet elephant is anxious to celebrate with Ethan, so he's rolling along on a sparkly ball to pick up the pace. He's ready for the festivities, with two cupcakes in honor of his second birthday and a few ultra-glittery balloons. The balloons are coated with Glossy Accents for a hard, shiny epoxy finish. I used three shades of twine to coordinate with the balloons and added some to his cute little tail. You know why the heart balloon is first, right? Because this card, like his recovery, is guided by love. I used Sunshiney font for the sentiment because it just seemed appropriate for him. :o) For added texture, I embossed the main mat, both frostings, and the dark part of the elephant's ears. I hope this brings a smile to Ethan and all of his wonderful loved ones. :o)

Challenge entered:
 * Cooking With Cricut~ Incorporate a cake, cupcake, or teddy bear!

Today isn't a regular Sweet Saturday. Rather, it is a Special Edition. You know what's hard? When bloggy friends are hurting. Such is the case right now for some very kind crafters. One of them has become so special to me and our wonderful friendship has turned into something spectacular. Knowing she is heartbroken, so far away, leaves me feeling beyond helpless. Prayers transcend boundaries, but we naturally like to DO something for our loved ones when they're going through tough times. She is a huge fan of Sweet Saturday, so I scrapped my original plan yesterday and raced to the grocery store to get ingredients to make her a special dessert. Although I can't deliver them to her in person with a hug since she is 1,858 miles away... I still made them for her as a small gesture to remind her she is in my heart. This Sweet Saturday is for her.

When a friend is hurting, sometimes you just can't decide what heart-soothing treat to bake. Cake? Cupcakes? Cookies? When everything seems right and you just can't decide which is BEST... this fantastic cupcake is the answer. For you, my sweet friend: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes!

A brown sugar-chocolate chip cupcake, filled with a chunk of eggless cookie dough, and topped with cookie dough buttercream. Do I really need to tell you how amazing these taste? They are magical and are pretty much the dessert equivalent of a hug. Due to time constraints, I wasn't able to decorate the top with a teeny tiny version of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. That is such a sweet addition, so I'm disappointed I couldn't include them. They're still jam-packed with love, though. :o) Even if you make them without the filling, they are STILL beyond words. (And no, I will never try to figure out just how bad these are for you. Moderation and exercise make it okay.) ;) Every single person who I have made these for has fallen in love with them.

These are a special treat and if you're a cookie dough lover, you absolutely must try them! The frosting... oh my. The frosting. I told you a few months ago that I'm not a fan of buttercream frostings. This is the exception. It tastes exactly like cookie dough! It's so marvelous that I refrigerated the extra and will find some use for it. A mini cake? More cupcakes? Breakfast?

Note: This is a bit time consuming, but it is all easy and very enjoyable. This is a great recipe to bake over two days, if possible. Should it be a last minute decision, it's still worth the extended time in the kitchen... I do hope you'll give these a whirl. The recipe as written makes a ton, so you'll have lots to share! :o)

Note Two: This frosting is *supposed* to be a tad bit granular, so do not be alarmed. It's not grainy like the brown sugar wasn't fully incorporated... just a little granular, mimicking cookie dough.

Thank you for visiting me today! I wish you the sparkliest of weekends. :o)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Yield: 24-30 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2⅔ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350º F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total).

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together to blend. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, approximately an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture. Cover with the very top of the cut-out cones, if desired.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Source: Annie's Eats
***

Key Recipe Components (for card):
 * Cricut cartridges: Create a Critter, Elegant, Edges, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folders: D'vine Swirls, Polka Dots, Swiss Dots
 * Spellbinders Nestabilities: Labels Four
 * Paper: Core'dinations, DCWV, Papertrey Ink
 * Twine: Sew Easy (blue lagoon, limeade, lollipop)
 * Ribbon: Target dollar bin
 * Miscellaneous: Glossy Accents, Martha Stewart glitter, Stickles

You're My Sweet Pumpkin

Happy Tuesday, my sweet crafty friends! I hope those in the US had a wonderful long weekend. :o)

With a couple of challenges in mind, I made my very first Autumn/Halloweeny card! The colors of the season are stunning so I was excited to create with them. I decided upon a theme that could work for either a child or a sweetheart. :o)

You're My Sweet Pumpkin:

Isn't she sweet? I wanted to depict a swirling Autumn scene, so I ran my makeshift "sunset" paper through the Cuttlebug and adhered a few leaves to the swirls. (My willy nilly bow kind of fits that theme! Hehe.) A few details not quite picked up by the camera: Her shoes and lollipop are sparkly, the sentiment-holding pumpkin is filled with Glossy Accents to make it like an epoxy brad, and I used my Spica glitter Copic to add sparkly accents to the leaves and pumpkins. The big pumpkin and sweet girl are pop-dotted for dimension. I used my SEI Alpine Frost paper on the bottom to make it look like she's walking along a pine cone-studded path. :o) I love this paper! (And it has tiny splashes of sparkles throughout it.) I finished the card off by drawing a couple Peachy Keen faces to give some character to the pumpkins nestled beneath the tree. (Maybe they're on a date.)

I will admit to one frustration with this card. My second Copics attempt on a sweet stamp did not go as smoothly as the first. I was hoping for improvement! I will certainly make time to practice this week. I think perhaps my limited colors played a bit of a role.. I was trying to blend colors that are pretty far apart in the spectrum. Technique was still a factor, of course. But I still love our Pumpkin Marci. :o)

Challenges entered:
 * Bitten by the Bug 2~ Use a tree (My first time playing here! I visited it over the weekend and am super excited.)
 * More Than Favors Wacky Wednesday~ Halloween

Thank you for stopping by today! I wish you a sparkling week of love and beauty. :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Create a Critter, Cindy Loo, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folders: D'vine Swirls, Swiss Dots
 * Stamp: La-La Land Crafts Pumpkin Marci
 * Copics: E00, E000, R13 (skin); E25, E25, E31 (hair); YG13, YG17, YR12, YR18, YR31 (costume); V12, V17 (shoes and lollipop); Spica (in clear) for twinkling accents
 * Sentiment: Computer generated
 * Paper: Basic Grey, DCWV, Papertrey Ink, SEI
 * Ribbon: Hobby Lobby
 * Miscellaneous: Brenda Walton rhinestones, Glossy Accents, Stickles

S'mores Wiper Card

Happy Tuesday, dear friends! :o)

Today I have a sparkly sweet card to share with you, but only a minute to chat about it! (I bet you never thought that would be possible!) ;) Since I don't have long, I want my little chunk of time to be spent visiting some fabulous blogs instead of writing a novel here.

I was ecstatic when I saw the challenge last week at Cooking With Cricut! S'mores? Yes, please! My boyfriend and I love Christmas and we listen to Christmas music year-round... because of that, when I saw the S'mores challenge I instantly started singing, "It's a marshmallow world..." That song always makes us laugh when it comes on the radio during the holidays, so I created our own little sugar date! We love s'mores, so during the winter we make them over candlelight. I think he'll love a card that combines wintery fun and s'mores.

This is my first wiper card, and I can't believe how easily it came together! I used this tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers because it came up first, but there are tons of great ones out there.

"It's a marshmallow world..."

Once opened: "I love you s'more than chocolate." (Which he knows is saying a LOT.) ;)

A few tidbits: The sweet penguin boy is quite chivalrous.. he's roasting both marshmallows so his love doesn't get chilly hands. (At least not until it's feasting time, but chocolate is always worth it.) She's in charge of the chocolate and graham crackers, which she stacked up beside her. I cut fringe on the scarves and dolloped/trimmed her hat with cotton and sparkles. You may have noticed a lack of marshmallows by their fire... in their lovey-dovey state, the cute couple decided to make a mallowman, as opposed to a snowman. So the lumpy snowman is made of marshmallows, sparkling with their love. Hehe. For some reason, I find that highly amusing. ;) I drew on some Peachy Keen faces and sprinkled the entire card with sparkle, but a whole lot of it doesn't show up via photographs. It looks much icier in person. :o)

Challenge entered:
 * Cooking With Cricut~ S'mores (or s'more elements)

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope everyone has a gorgeous week, filled with all things beautiful. :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Create a Critter, Elegant Edges, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folder: D'vine Swirls
 * Paper: Bazzill, Core'dinations, Papertrey Ink
 * Ribbon: Essentials
 * Sentiments: Computer generated
 * Miscellaneous: iRock, Martha Stewart glitter, Stickles, super old snowflake punch

Sowing Seeds of Love Friendship Card

Happy sunshiny Sunday, my dear friends! :o)

At long last, I have a card to post! Here's hoping I never have a non-crafty stretch like this again. It made me so... matte. (As opposed to sparkly.) This card gave me FITS and I don't even know why. My frazzled mind struggled to put together a streamlined design this weekend. Regardless, there are some cute things about it and I hope it brings a radiant smile to my lovely friend's heart. :o)

Sowing seeds of love in the garden of friendship:

(I just love these mushrooms.)

Here we have sweet little Kate in her watermelon patch. It's not your typical one, however. It's a sugared-fruit patch, of course! The melons, seeds, and grass are sparklified and all except the sliced fruit are coated in Glossy Accents for shiny dimension. Since this is a garden of friendship, I made the seeds form hearts to emulate blossoming love. The sweet pop-dotted mushrooms, bedecked with buttons, brads, and a smattering of liquid pearls, have morphed into makeshift tables to aid in this spur of the moment picnic. The bunny is outlined in Stardust Stickles because the pure love found in friendship makes his inner sparkle bubble over. I couldn't resist trimming down a pom pom to use for his tail, though I must say it's a bit willy nilly in design. The watermelon slice on the ground wasn't haphazardly discarded... rather, it was dropped when a spontaneous hug reigned in its utmost importance. (Those are my favorite kinds.)

To complete the card, I wrapped her hat in twine, trimmed her coat in sparkles, and added a subtle background design. It seemed like it needed something, but with so much already going on I thought the best thing would be 'faux' embossing by cutting out a few small hearts in the same brown striped paper. (Thank you Papertrey Ink newsletter for reminding me of that forgotten idea.) I didn't ink the edges so they would stand out a smidgen.

Challenges entered:

Cooking With Cricut (Bunnies)

Fantabulous Cricut (Melon or other fruit)

Thank you very much for visiting me today! :o) I hope your weekend has been full of all things beautiful!

Key Recipe Components:

 * Cricut cartridges: Create a Critter, Kate's ABCs, Simply Charmed

 * Paper: DCWV, Papertrey Ink, Pebbles, SEI

 * Sentiment: Typed up and printed

 * Twine: Sew Easy (limeade)

 * Buttons and brads on mushrooms: Paperbilities

 * Flower and its center brad: Prima

 * Miscellaneous: Glossy Accents, iRock, Liquid Pearls, Martha Stewart Peridot glitter, Stickles

You Sweeten My Journey Card

Happy Sunday, my sweet friends! :o) I know what you're thinking... three posts in three days?! Has there been a blog takeover?! ;) Rest assured, it's me!

This card came about because I've hardly done any challenges the past few weeks and I've missed it! So I looked through all my favorites and was thrilled that I could combine several into the one-day time slot I had available to create. With treats, lollipops, and buttons as my inspiration, I came up with a sweetened dollhouse and sugary confection-laden landscape.

"You sweeten my journey."

This card is for a friend who, like yours truly, is sugar crazed. More importantly, her beautiful heart and sweet nature have indeed sweetened my life and I thought this would be a fun way to portray that to her. Lollipops made out of twine serve as the 'stone' pathway, secured by buttons, which rest atop a sparkling foundation; much like the root of all her actions is to bring sparkling love into the lives of others. (This path also makes me want to play hopscotch.) Of course in our sugary landscape, I couldn't just make trees... I opted for ice cream cone trees. :o) The door of the dollhouse is a popsicle split down the center, which opens to reveal a little message:

"You bring me happiness."

I cut the grass to make little strips and then folded them forward to make them a bit more realistic. The path and windows are lined with Cotton Candy Stickles (though I'm pretending it's actual cotton candy for this project) and I filled in the windows with Stardust because a sparkle-filled home is a happy home.

(Can I live here?)

Thank you for visiting me today! You make me smile more than you know. Have a beautiful rest of the weekend, my dear crafty friends. :o)

Challenges entered:
Cooking With Cricut: Lollipops
Die Cuttin Divas: Shaped cards
Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog: I Scream for Ice Cream (cool treats)
Frosted Designs: Buttons
Getting Cricky with K Andrew: Food for Thought

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Elegant Edges, Kate's ABCs, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folder: D'vine Swirls, Polka Dots, Swiss Dots
 * Paper: Bo Bunny, Core'dinations, DCWV, Fancy Pants (cones and popsicle sticks), Papertrey Ink
 * Door sentiment and flower stamps: Scrappy Cat (dollar bin at JoAnns)
 * Main sentiment: Typed up and printed
 * Twine: Sew Easy (limeade and lollipop)
 * Buttons: My Mind's Eye Tres Jolie
 * Miscellaneous: Dew Drop Brilliance, iRock, Stickles

Baby cards: Project Sunshine and Smiles for St. Jude's

Happy Thursday, my sweet crafty friends! Are you smiling lots this week? If not, grab the nearest cupcake (or three), devour them, and finish them off with a sugary caffeine concoction. I won't tell.

Remember way back on Monday I mentioned a special card I was making? It's been one of those weeks. At long last it is complete... and it multiplied into two. Right after I post this I should make a sash, bedazzled with World's Pokiest Crafter in sparkly rhinestones. Hopefully the added hours served to amplify the love content I tried to pack into them.

Erica from My Cricut Craft Room is on a fabulous mission to collect 5,000 cards by the end of August for the beautiful children at the St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. Read THIS POST for more information. The instant I stumbled upon her blog, I committed myself to this project. It's heartbreaking what they go through every single day. Those kids deserve all the love and sunshine possible, and once again the crafting world is uniting for a great cause. The age range is baby through teen... the sky is the limit in theme, as long as it's not a reminder of their illness. General thinking of you, hope you're feeling better, etc... the things we all do so well, right? I will be making more cards throughout the summer, but I began with the babies.

This is my first time making baby-themed cards. I knew that in this special case, it was an excellent opportunity to reach out to the parents through them. These itty bitty babies can enjoy some aspects of cards, but they're so tiny (yet in a gigantic battle) that I made certain to reach their loved ones... particularly with what I tucked inside them.

The sentiment is a reminder to keep dreaming big for their little ones. Miracles happen every single day. :o) The exteriors are basically the same (clearly!), but do have a few differences. The baby boy is embossed and has Glossy Accented clouds, while the baby girl has a few rhinestones. I drew a Peachy Keen face on each moon, added a fluffy pom pom, and inked/faux stitched to make it stand out a bit. It and the bigger stars are pop-dotted for dimension. All of the stars are coated in Glossy Accents to make them like epoxy brads. I love the shiny, hard finish atop the sparkle.

The two stars that dangle from the pom pom are special. Since they're free and the moon is popped up, there's a decent chance they could flip, right? I took advantage of that opportunity to sneak in a little message... Love heals:

And tucked inside the cards, in little pockets:

I attached these to jump rings to replicate the ever-popular "keys" toy that little ones play with. Instead of for playtime, these are keys to win their battle. I kept the same color schemes, but made these bolder... because the families need a bold spirit to fight for their sweet baby. The three cards are Faith, Hope, and Love. On the backs they'll find a message from me touching on the given topic. To end each is a tiny sheep, because the Lord is our shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries them close to his heart.

Hopefully these cards will fulfill my goal of spreading a little sunshine and reminding them they're not alone in these scary times. And I hope you enjoy them, too! :o) Thank you for stopping by my blog. Every visit means so much to me. :o) Have a gorgeous day, everyone!

(Side note: I have a couple of awards from several amazing people. So as not to turn this post into a novel, I'll do those separately as soon as I can. I am so appreciative... they give me warm fuzzies. I'm anxious to post them and return the love. Thank you, my dear friends!)

Challenges Entered:
 * My Craft Spot (Ink it up!)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Create a Critter, Elegant Edges, Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folder: D'vine Swirls, Polka Dots
 * Paper: Bazzill, DCWV, Heidi Grace, Imaginisce
 * Ribbon: American Crafts, miscellaneous
 * Twine: Sew Easy (limeade and lollipop)
 * Miscellaneous: Dew Drop Brilliance, Glossy Accents, iRock, Stickles

Patriotic Birthday Card

Happy Friday, dear friends! I hope you have the most wonderful day today. :o)

Since it's nearly Independence Day, oodles of my favorite challenge blogs are in the festive spirit. I was excited to play along, deciding upon a birthday card for my boyfriend's sweet brother. He's a Marine and was deployed to Iraq a couple times, making for nervous months. The Lord kept him safe, but he had some very close calls. He is now safely home, but the mental battle rages on from all that he witnessed. It's vital for us never to forget what our soldiers face every single day and to always remember why our beautiful nation is free. Read the Declaration of Independence as part of your celebration this weekend. :o)

In case it's hard to read the passage I wrote to use for the flag's stripes, I'll type it out below. My goal with this card was to be festively fun, yet filled with purpose. Just like he is. :o)

With three tiny twists of brads, you get this! (He will enjoy making the fireworks burst forth from the card... probably with sound effects.)

Text: In the eyes of a soldier, we see the soul of a great nation. For our country they sacrifice, consequences unknown. Their eyes reveal stories words cannot express. They fight with a life-consuming pride in America, the Beautiful; a free nation by bravery. In every veteran and current hero, a heart of gold. In you, the sword of the Spirit. Happy birthday, my dear friend.

Since he is so appreciative of anything handmade, I was determined to add a couple extra elements to showcase that. Not all went as planned, but the heart is there. I measured out the spacing for 50 drops of liquid pearls as the stars on the flag. Why I even tried this with my index finger still needing a splint is beyond me! I invite you to pretend they're uniform in size. ;) The woven squares under the flag serve two purposes. Most importantly, to reflect how we need to be tightly woven together as a country. Additionally, it's another element to make him smile at knowing the time and effort that went into something that looks so simple. The ribbon running beneath the squares and tied in a bow on top symbolizes the traditional yellow ribbon for troops returning home.

And of course the fireworks... he gets quite a kick out of my addiction to sparkles and loves seeing those touches on all my creations. So instead of simply adhering the stars to the card base as first planned, I amped it up to make them truly festive. I positioned the top one to make the rhinestones directly over "soldier." I hope with all my heart that he loves this card. It's appropriate that I ran into so many issues and had to settle with less than 'perfect' results, because he made a point of chastising me on Christmas when I deflected his praise over the dinner and dessert I was in charge of. He wouldn't let me leave until I acknowledged that I'm amazing. ;) He's like so many soldiers... a teddy bear with a golden heart, determined to make people see the good in themselves. :o)

Festive challenges entered (I know it's a ton! I don't know if my finger can take another card this weekend as originally planned, so I'm submitting this to all):
 * Birthday Sundaes (Stars and Stripes)
 * Celebrate the Occasion (4th of July: Red, White, and Blue)
 * Fantabulous Cricut (Happy 4th: Red, White, and Blue)
 * My Craft Spot (Seeing Stars)
 * Scrappy Moms Stamps (Stand and Salute)
 * Wacky Wednesday (Red, White, & Blue)
 * Whimsical Wednesday (Let's Get Patriotic, including brads, bling, or buttons)

Before I flutter off, I have a shout-out to share! Thank you Kim from Crazy About Scrappin' for awarding me the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award! She is such a sweet person with lovely creations and I am truly honored that she passed it along to me. :o) If you'd like to read more about my original acceptance, you can read this post. Thank you, Kim! :o)

Thank you for stopping by my little blog today! Every visit means so much to me. :o) (And just so you know, you won't want to miss tomorrow's Sweet Saturday. It's so good that I nearly titled this Sweet Saturday Eve so I could post it sooner. It's the dessert that made my boyfriend's co-workers declare me their resident baker. Oh the pressure!) Enjoy your day and Independence Day celebrations, friends! :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridge: Simply Charmed (stars)
 * Paper: Creative Imaginations, Papertrey Ink
 * Ribbon: From stash
 * Miscellaneous: Brenda Walton rhinestones, iRock rhinestones, Liquid Pearls

Scoops of Birthday Love Card and Sweet Saturday

Happy Saturday, my sweet friends! I hope your weekend is filled with all things lovely. :o)

You know what's a bit challenging? Crafting with a newly-splinted index finger. Equally challenging is only eating one Peach Crumb Bar at a time. After being slowed down for a few days this week, I was finally able to create some goodies to share. With a few challenges in mind, I came up with this birthday card for a fellow ice cream lover. (Clearly this person is fabulous.) The dessert I made was a "Just Because" treat for my parents. I hope you enjoy both! :o)

For the card, I decided to make a heaping bowl of ice cream, bursting with our favorite flavors. Glitter and embossing helped me achieve the intended flavors, which made me sparkly happy. Along with the classic vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, we have: Chocolate Caramel Swirl (aided by bronzey glitter glue and caramel-colored rhinestones); Cotton Candy (pink base with a ribbon of sparkling blue... my personal favorite from our beloved dessert establishment); and Fudge Swirl (white base with swirls of brown). For variety in the toppings, I used glitter paper for sprinkles as well as rhinestones for nonpareils. I coated the spoons in silver Stickles and then covered them with Glossy Accents to make it a bit more realistic. (I'd love to do this to my real silverware... but I shall resist.) Are you craving ice cream now? I certainly am! :o)

As usual where faces are involved, I did my best to draw the sweet Peachy Keen faces. The cute little bite is a bit unsettled about the events that have transpired...

Challenges entered:
 * Birthday Sundaes (shaped birthday cards)
 * Getting Cricky (Let's Face It!)
 * My Craft Spot (How Sweet it is!)

Sweet Saturday time! Who's ready for a delicious summery fruit dessert? Peach Crumb Bars... they taste as incredible as they look:

These bars are fantastic! If you're a fan of portable pie, this is your new friend. It tastes so much like peach pie in bar form. Juicy and delectable, yet surprisingly easy! My sweetheart peeled the peaches for me so I could rest my finger, otherwise this might not have been baked this week. As I was grating a leftover whole nutmeg from Christmas, my thoughts drifted to the glorious desserts of the holidays. :o) As incredible as this tasted, I know it will be even more spectacular when peaches are in season at my local orchard in August. Freshly picked peaches? Yes, please! This is also a great base for any crumb bar recipe... I think blueberry is next for me.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I'm so grateful for all of you. :o) I would also like to thank Tiffany from Sparkled Memories and Candace from My Passion 4 Scrappin for awarding me the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award! I am truly blessed to have such lovely followers... to read more about the award you can read my previous blog post. Thank you for thinking of me, ladies! Have the happiest weekend, my creative friends... and a scoop or two of dessert! :o)

Peach Crumb Bars
Yield: 24 bars

Ingredients:
For the dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the filling:
5 cups diced or sliced peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375º. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Prepare the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, followed by the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling, place the diced or sliced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Key Recipe Components (for card):
 * Cricut Cartridge: Simply Charmed
 * Cuttlebug embossing folders: D'vine Swirls and Polka Dots (sentiment tag)
 * Paper: Core'dinations, DCWV
 * Button: My Mind's Eye Tres Jolie
 * Twine: Sew Easy in Lollipop
 * Miscellaneous: iRock, Martha Stewart glitter (lapis), Stickles

Birthday Card, Sweet Saturday, and Happy News!

Happy Saturday, dear friends! I hope this post finds you happy and healthy, surrounded by glorious sunshine. :o)

Today I have two goodies to share in honor of this very special day: my sweet mom's birthday! She is such a blessing to me and I thank our great Lord every night for her. We are both goofballs in dire need of daily chocolate and sugary coffee concoctions, so we naturally get along very well. ;) I'm extending her celebration here to share the birthday card and cupcakes I made her. :o)

I was in a mega time crunch, but I did manage to make her a quick sweet card. She comes to expect handmade creations by now, so panic was rising as the clock refused to halt. She loves pearls and treats (see how great she is?!), so I decided upon a spruced up cupcake. Who can resist pearly and rhinestone frosting? Unseen in the soft photo is the base pink cardstock. It is embossed with the most beautiful filigree design. Feel free to visualize it! I coated the cherry with Glossy Accents (love) and embossed/sparkled the fudge frosting to mimic swirled sanding sugars. The cupcake is popped up for dimension... hopefully she won't eat it. The interior sentiment lovingly states: "Wishing you a birthday as sweet as you!"

Time for Sweet Saturday! Here are the birthday girl's cupcakes. Disclaimer: While it looks like my chubby kitty piped the frosting, it was in fact I who did it. Normally I decorate very well... but it was 4:30am and my eyes felt like diamond-encrusted sandpaper. Also, my mechanical pastry bag broke mid-swirl. Minutes later my make-shift disposable pastry bag exploded twice during use. Peculiar! (Okay, they weren't explosions... more like wildly dangerous hiccups.) Nonetheless, this recipe is FANTASTIC. If you need a classic go-to vanilla cake or chocolate frosting, you have met your new love. Even unadorned (by request), these are stellar.

While I believe frosting should tower twice as high as the cupcake itself, I scaled this batch down for the festivities. Somehow, not everyone agrees with me. ;) This frosting is super chocolatey, rich, and dreamy. Those little dark flecks you see in the cupcakes are vanilla bean seeds. So gorgeous. This recipe yields a moist, tender, fluffy cake. In other words, the perfect vanilla cake.

Lastly, I have some happy news to share! The delightful and creative Design Team at Cooking With Cricut chose me as a Top Chef! I am ecstatic that my Tall Tri-Fold Invitation was selected as a favorite. It is an honor to be recognized by such a talented group. Thank you! :o)

Thank you very much for visiting. I hope your weekend is jam-packed with sparkly blessings. :o) Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go devour another cupcake. Join me! (Bonus: This recipe yields over two dozen cupcakes... you are essentially forced to keep a few for yourself.)

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
Yield: approximately 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the bowl of the mixer with the butter and discard the pod (or reserve for another use). Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.

Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about ⅔ of the way full. (You will likely have extra batter after filling 24 wells.) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Replace your paper liners and bake remaining batter if desired. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Source: Annie's Eats, who adapted it from Confections of a Foodie Bride, who adapted it from The Well-Decorated Cake



Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
14 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped (I use semi-sweet or milk)
9 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sour cream

Directions:
Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Set aside to cool until just barely warm. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Beat in the the melted and cooled chocolate, followed by the sour cream. Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended. Frost cupcakes immediately.

Source: Barely adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Key Birthday Card Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridges: Simply Charmed, Storybook
 * Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder
 * Paper: American Crafts, Papertrey Ink, DCWV, miscellaneous from stash
 * Ribbon: Target
 * Miscellaneous: Glossy Accents, Studio G glitter glue

I Pick You!

Happy Friday, friends! Given blogger's current issues with deleting posts and such, I'll keep this short and sweet. Which is ironic, because the recipient of this card is also short and sweet. ;) Not only is this tiny blessing heading to the east coast for a dear friend, it is also my entry into a NSD challenge at Mary's Cardz TV. It is my first time participating and I'm excited! She's beyond lovely. :o)

The sole requirement was to use fruit, so I settled upon a basket of juicy strawberries. As a last minute tweak which doesn't show all that well in this image, I made them sugared berries. Big surprise, right? I love sugared berries in decor (and sugared pumpkins in the fall!), which is why the idea popped into my head. The basket's main background and the berry that escaped are pop dotted for some dimension. It didn't really escape the basket, though... it's to symbolize picking this particular friend to share my life with. I couldn't be more blessed. :o) (Also, I'm in love with my new white gelly roll pen. I wanted to doodle all night, on everything in sight! It made up for my love-hate relationship with this gorgeous edge punch. If I make it *almost* lined up, it's cause for a bubbly celebration.)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut Simply Charmed, Storybook, and Create a Critter cartridges
 * Cuttlebug Polka Dots and Swiss Dots embossing folders
 * My Pink Stamper Even More Punny-licious stamps (I combined three of them to make my sentiment)
 * Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edge punch
 * My Mind's Eye Tres Jolie button
 * Prima flowers
 * Papertrey Ink and DCWV paper
 * Offray ribbon

I hope everyone has a beautiful (and crafty) weekend! Thank you for visiting. :o)