Finally the Batter!!

So I have posted pictures of Paper and Stitch, but no Batter yet! Well here you go. I always do cupcakes or cakes for holidays and birthdays for my students, except last month because I was sick. Well, I decided to do some cake pops for the February Birthdays.

These are sooo good! Pretty simple too. For these, I baked a triple chocolate cake, then I let it cool and crumbled it up. Then I added a can of milk chocolate frosting. I will say, that canned frosting works best for cake pops. This will make the cake/frosting into a yummy play dough consistency! For these I just rolled them into balls, but you can make them into any shape. Check out www.bakerella.com. She is the best! Freeze these for about 30 minutes. Melt some candy chocolates (like Wiltons melting candies). Dip your sticks into the chocolate and insert into the cake pops. Freeze these for about an hour. I used white and then used different sprinkles to decorate. Melt more candy melts into a bowl. Deep and narrow is good because when you dip your cake balls you want to do one dip, maybe some slight twisting to cover, you don't want to be to rough or they will come off. Plus you want to have a nice even coating.  You can add just a tiny amount of oil to smooth out the candy melts. It will not take them too long to harden.

On the 18th my niece McKayla turned 6! She asked (well demanded actually) a Hello Kitty cake.

I am in love with my Cricut Cake!!! It would have taken me forever to cut out all those shapes in fondant. Instead, I push some buttons, and voila! And I just loved the edible heart confetti!

I have also jumped into another new thing for me, a Cupcake Challenge! I will be entering into the Red Wagon Ministry's Cupcake Challenge to benefit CCAP on March 26th. I entered the Best Taste and Best Decoration categories. I am sooo nervous but excited. Plus I have the Shenandoah Co. Spring Craft Festival coming up on the 5th. So many things, so much fun!  Check out both websites for information!!!! Hope you can join me!

www.theredwagonministry.com

http://www.shenandoahcountyva.us/parks_new/


As always, Craft On!!!

Jean

Valentine's Day!

First I must post a picture of my dinner from last Tuesday. My friend Stephanie and I went out to eat before our Go Pink! basketball game. I love sushi. this is the funkiest sushi I have ever gotten - both called something dragon or other, and even looks it! 

I was quite busy on Sunday night. I was up quite late too! I could not decide on what I wanted to do for the kids at work, but when I did, of course it was something that took time.  I decided to make mini crochet envelopes, put a piece of candy in them, and give them a box of conversation hearts. The kids seemed to like them a lot!

While at work my husband decided to surprise me with flowers! He had them delivered and they are beautiful!!!

I made him a mini card, but a cute one. I made a large crochet envelope with a loop/heart closure, and of course, no holiday would be complete for him without Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (or in this case hearts!). The inside of the card is jumbled, on purpose, and means, you are the key to my heart. 

Thats all for now - will be posting pictures soon of things I am making for the craft fair!

Craft on!!

Jean

Early Easter

Easter is coming early! I am having a workshop at my friend Nikki's house on Feb. 18th. She wanted to do Easter and a Spring/Summer type wreath. So we decided on a basket/egg and the wreath. Then I got to work!

 I made this wreath with an 18" grapevine wreath, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Peach Parfait, and Perfect Plum cardstock. I used 3 different flower dies for the Big Shot, Fun Flowers, Flower Folds, and Blossom Party. I also used the Beautiful Wings Embosslit. I used the Broadsheet Alphabet stamp set to stamp Welcome on a piece of 12"x 1 1/2" cardstock - then because I don't have a corner punch, I used a large circle punch to do the ends (just slide one end in, and the other out through the circle - that way it only cuts one side). Nifty trick I discovered while trying to figure out a way to make the edges look more finished. Then I used a piece of Chantilly Lace ribbon to tie it on. I used hot glue to adhere the flowers to the wreath, but used Snail glue runner for the flowers.

The directions for the egg are in a previous post- but in short it is Rose Red, Daffodil Delight, Perfect Plum, Bashful Blue, and Certainly Celery. I used the Boho Blossoms punch, and pinned each flower into a styrofoam egg. Then spritz with Smooch Vanilla Spray, and flattened a little.

For the basket, I used the measurements I found on the internet, a tutorial by Brenda Quintana (http://qbeesquest.blogspot.com/). I chose to change the colors, here I used Certainly Celery and Bashful blue. Then I used the small heart punch and the flower shape from the Itty Bitty Shapes punches, and punched out of Perfect Plum and Rose Red. Pretty simple yet cute!

This is a project I made just for me, for my coupons and such. I think I am going to make a smaller version, to go in my purse!  This is an accordion box, and I got the measurements from Papermuse Designs (papermuse.wordpress.com). I absolutely love love love the Sewing Suite fabric, paper, stamps, everything! There are just so many cute things in Stampin' Up!'s new Occasions Mini! I will say that the brown cardstock is a retired color - and I am terrible, but I have no idea which one. It is from a stack I got when I wasn't a demonstrator and didn't pay so close attention to colors!  The paper is of course, the Sewing Suite DSP.  The next couple of pictures show different views. I covered up my magnets with punched out stamps from the Button, Button stamp set!

I find that when I am running short on time - I get aggravated with trying to make things from complete scratch, so I like to look up what I want on the internet. Typically someone has thought up something similar and I can use their measurements and such, if they allow it. Thankfully there are so many wonderful crafters and Stampin' Up! demonstrators that love to share!

Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend! I plan on spending mine in the craft room!

Craft On!!!

Jean

Go Pink!

So this week at work was Go Pink! week. The SCA and some fabulous people at MHS put together a great week of activities to raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.  I made a coffee mug cozy with Lily cotton yarn in pink stripes, and a travel mug cozy with a pink ribbon on it.  Unfortunately I blanked and didn't take any pictures! I did get a picture of the pink ribbons I crocheted for the ladies in my department.

I also finished a pair of fingerless  gloves/mittens for myself. And guess what, those are Stampin' Up! Buttons!!!!!! Goes to show you how versatile Stampin' Up! items really can be! I love all their buttons. These are from the Holiday Mini. I plan on making lots of stuff this weekend, so more to come.

 Craft on!
                                                                                                                             Jean

The Wonderful World of Crochet!

Although I have started to learn to knit, I just love to crochet. I finally finished a pair of slippers for my mom and a hat for my Nana.

I loved the blue in Nana's hat so much, that I made myself some fingerless gloves/mittens - pictures to come!

Here are a bunch of my favorite projects. Most of my projects start off as a pattern by someone else that I have found on the internet, but either due to my mistakes or on purpose, I typically change a bunch. Or I just start working and see what happens. If anyone REALLY want the pattern, please message me.  I would have to try and write it down, or find the original and tell you my edits.

This week is Go Pink! week at work. I crocheted a few things for a basket they are raffling off. I also made pins for the ladies in my department. Pictures to come.

I am also working on a cute photo/coupon box with my new favorite paper, the Stampin' Up! Sew Suite DSP!! OH HOW I LOVE THEE!! Lots of pics to come when I am finished!

It is about time I get some sleep, so as always,
CRAFT ON!
Jean

Getting Ready!

So I am in the process of getting ready for two events - the first, a Stampin' Up! Workshop at my good friend Nikki's house. She really wants to do a Spring/Summer wreath, which is still in the works, an Easter Basket, which is done but the measurements need to be fixed, and an Easter Egg. The only thing done and set is the Easter Egg!  I saw a bunch of these on several websites, but decided to design my own. I would give credit to the others, but there were so many, I don't know who to start with!

I used Stampin' Up Card Stock in So Saffron, Perfectly Plum, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and Rose Red.  I used the Boho Blossoms punch, but only the one flower - its easy to maneuver the paper so just that one flower is cut out. I then used simple sewing pins to tack the flowers onto a styrofoam egg. When they were all tacked on, I sprayed the egg with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, a good coating, then used my hands to round out the egg. That way the sharp corners of the flowers folded down a bit. When the shimmer dries, the egg is sparkly, and the flower edges are not sticking up! Pretty simple right?



The second event I am getting ready for is an the Shenandoah Co. Annual Winter Arts and Crafts Festival, at the Peter Muhlenberg Middle School in Woodstock VA. This will be my first! I am preparing all kinds of things, from Stampin' Up! items to crochet.

Here are some cute flower pins that I made with the Big Shot from Stampin' Up! and the Blossom Party and Fun Flowers dies. I also used buttons from Stampin' Up, including the new Ice Cream Parlor flower buttons you can get for FREE if you spend $50, with our new Sale-a-bration sale!! Click the shop now button to check it out!
I plan to use St. Patricks and Easter fabric for the flowers at the festival.

As always, Craft On!

                                                            Jean