Thursday, December 13, 2012

Merry Christmas from Stampin' Up!

Today Stampin' Up! shared this link to a you tube video of The Twelve Days Of Christmas, Stampin' Up! style.
I hope you enjoy it while you are getting your Christmas season ready.
I'll be back again in a day or two with some more card shares.  Right now we are having a sleep over with our Grandson, James which includes decorating the house and wrapping some presents.

Stampin' Smiles ..... 

Monday, December 10, 2012

Watercolour Winter Christmas Blessings Card

Another Christmas card for you today, and of course it has bling on it!  I LOVE the new Glimmer Papers from Stampin' Up!  All that bling and no glitter all over the floor.  This one uses the Red Glimmer paper.  I used a Blender Pen to pull the colour from the stamped lines on the flower image and the leaves.  Stamp your image onto Whisper White cardstock, then in a circular motion, use a blender pen to pull colour from the outline and use colour from the center lines to lightly give the image colour.  I used a Real Red Stampin' Write Marker to colour the berries on the holly branches.  The marker is also used to put red dots in the center of the flowers in the Petals A Plenty embossing folder.
     Stamps:  Watercolour Winter, More Merry Messages
     Ink:  Always Artichoke, Real Red, Basic Black
     Paper:  Whisper White, Red Glimmer
     Other:  Petals A Plenty Embossing Folder, Blender Pen
Not much longer now until Christmas, I hope you are almost ready!
Stampin' Smiles .....  

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Folded DSP Christmas Tree

There is a tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers on how to fold this awesome tree.  If you can't see that one, Lee Conrey did a super tutorial as well.  Once you get the concept and how to fold the tree, it is very easy to make. I love the impact it has all by itself on a card.
   Stamps:  More Merry Messages
   Ink:  Cherry Cobbler
   Paper:  Whisper White, Red Glimmer paper, Chocolate Chip (tree trunk), Silver Glimmer Paper (star), Be Of Good Cheer DSP
   Other:  Snowburst Embossing Folder (R), Basic Rhinestones, 3-1/2" Circle Die, Petal Punch (for sentiment)
Hope you are almost ready for Christmas!
Stampin' Smiles .....                                           

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Bacon Date Appetizer

I originally posted this back in 2009.  Well I once again had my Customer Appreciation Open House and was asked repetedly for the recipe for this tummy yummy treat.  So here you go.  Also below are the recipes for the Rice Krispie Treats and Spinach and Strawberry Salad.

When I had my Customer Appreciation Open House yesterday I made a special appy that a very good friend, Cindy, taught me how to make. Now Cindy is one of those cooks who makes the most amazing foods ever. She can go out and taste a goodie, disect the flavours and tell you what is in it, then goes home and makes it. It usually turns out better than the one she tasted. She is incredible. So she taught me these appies so I could impress people, as most of the people who know me know that the only reason I have a kitchen in my house is because it came with the house when we bought it!!! HAHAHAHA. Anyhoo, the ladies wanted me to post the recipe for this appy on my blog, so here it is. First a picture of the incredible edibles:


Now here's the recipe, its very difficult to make. You will need some water from the fish tank and some flour to throw on your face to show how hard you worked (remember the commercial for the Rice Crispie Squares on TV a few years ago???)

Ingredients:
One container of Pitted Dates
One package lower salt bacon
Some almonds (the ones with the brown skin still on them)

Method:
Pop one or two almonds inside the date using the hole from the pitting
Wrap 1/2 a slice of lower salt bacon around the date
Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet (if you have it, if not don't worry about it)
Place the wrapped dates on the cookie sheet
Put in oven at 400 deg for 10ish minutes (until the bacon is crispy)

To finish:  (this step is optional, I don't do it, too much work LOL)
Make a Balsamic Vinegar reduction
Place appies on a serving plate
Drizzle the reduction over the top sparingly

There you go, difficult huh? Believe me, if I can make them, so can you. The flavour of the salty bacon with the sweet date and the crunch of the almond is to die for. As Emril says "Anything tastes better with port fat!"

I also had a Spinach Strawberry Salad that was a hit, so here is that recipe as well ....
     Baby Spinach
     Sliced Fresh Strawberries
     Toasted or Candied Pecan Halves
     Feta or Goat Cheese (your choice, I used Goat this year.  It was honey vanilla and very yummy)
  Dressing:
     2 Tblsp Strawberry Jam heated
     3 Tblsp Olive Oil
     2 Tblsp Balsamic Vinegar
             Mix well until it comes together and pour over salad.


Then there was the MARS BAR RICE KRISPIE TREATS

• 4 regular-size Mars bars
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups Rice Krispies
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• chopped nuts (optional)
Directions:
Melt butter and Mars bars over med-low heat in a large saucepan until smooth.
Remove from heat; stir in Rice Krispies cereal, and nuts, (if using).
Press into a greased 8x8 pan.
Top with chocolate chips, and place under broiler for 30 seconds Remove from oven and spread chocolate evenly over squares.
Store in fridge.
Cut into squares, and serve.

Enjoy!
Stampin' Smiles .... 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Get the Ornamental Elegance Kit--While Supplies Last!




  The ornament on the cover of our holiday catalogue is such a hit that we are making it available to you just in time to deck the halls with terrific trimmings you've made yourself! We've simplified this fun project so that you can quickly and easily achieve the same results. In addition to the kit, all you need is a glue gun, scissors, and adhesive. (Our Anywhere Glue Sticks [104045] are perfect for assembly.) Want greeting or place cards to go with those ornaments? The Ornament Keepsakes Stamp Set (W 128048 C 128051) gives you perfect coordination. Fancy a little sparkle and shine? Sprinkle on our Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023)!
Contact me today to take advantage of this amazing offer--just in time to create 10 heirloom ornaments--or stunning tags to attach to a special neighbour gift.

The Ornamental Elegance Kit (132832) is $17.95 and includes:
     •Die-Cut Cardstock Elements
     •Cherry Cobbler 3-1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon
     •Natural Linen Thread
     •Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons
     •Large Pearl Basic Jewels

Order these now so you will have plenty of time to make them for Christmas gifting--or for your family tree! Available while supplies last.  Email me today!

Stampin' Smiles .....          

Monday, December 3, 2012

Two Tags Christmas Tag

I cased this tag from Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty.  The ladies who chose to create this tag got to choose to use either the ornament punch or the tree punch from the Merry Minis Punch Pack.
   Stamps:  none
   Ink:  Gumball Green
   Paper:  Whisper White, Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler Patterns DSP
   Other:  Two Tags Die, 3/4" Circle PUnch, Basic Rhinestones, Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Punch

My Customer Appreciation Month is over :-(  It is always such a fun night at my Open House!  Now I can concentrate on getting our own Christmas ready.  Time to decorate and do some shopping.

Stampin' Smiles  .....  .....  /\ (* *) /\         

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