Archive for 1/1/13 - 2/1/13

A new toy...

For my CR84FN post, click HERE.

Helloooo sports fans! 

This here's a non-crafty post, my first in quite some time. Feel free to skip it if your pressed for time - I'm just sharing :)

First, let me start by explaining that I am no cook. I love to eat but I typically don't like cooking - I don't enjoy the clean up and I don't find it particularly relaxing. I'm lucky in that my hubby LOVES to cook! Thank goodness for the both of us, 'cause if it were left up to me, we'd have microwave meals or those that take under ten minutes to make :)

But baking....I like baking. Go figure. Not sure why, but I do. I like easy to moderate baking projects, nothing too labour-intensive. I like the end results and I like that I get to use cool toys like this one...


This was my brand new purchase. I decided it was time - I don't bake a lot but probably would if it were more convenient. I figured this would make it more convenient...at least that's how I justified it to myself :) 

The first thing I baked were these Fudgy Oatmeal Bars. My goodness, they are gooooood! They were good enough for my normally financially conservative (I hesitate to call him a tight wad :)) hubby to proclaim, "I don't care what the mixer cost, it was worth it!".  It's hard to see how great they are from just this shot of the pan but trust me, they are so good. If you like chocolate, oatmeal and walnuts, you will love these guys! I decided to give them a go after trying a similar looking bar at Starbucks. They are rich, no doubt about it. I would make them again in a heartbeat - the recipe is easy and it took a total of about 1 hour, start to finish. Not too shabby. 
Course, I could have done it without my new stand mixer, but it made it so easy, and hands-free when it came to mixing the dough. Now I am specifically looking for recipes to use the mixer - 'cause it just so darn pretty!

Have a great day!

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

TTFN,



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CR84FN #70


It's CR84FN color challenge time again!


How springy and beautiful are these colors?! When I saw the gorgeous graphic, I thought of sun and sand, especially since I live in eastern Canada and we have snow and more snow right now :)


I used my new Cameo to make the sun and the sand. I ran the sand cutouts through my Sizzix to give it texture. I also tried playing with shading chalks...with variable success. I've leaned a few more tricks so hopefully my next attempt will be better ;) I created the aqua sky with Distress Ink. The clouds are die cuts from Papertrey Ink. The wonderful sentiment is from DeNami Design - so cheery!

Make sure to check out what eye candy awaits at the blogs of the other DT members (their links are also in my sidebar);


Lisa Snowdy (our guest designer for January)
Mona Pendleton

Thanks so much for stopping by!

TTFN,
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Just Us Girls #170



Happy new year my friends!

I'm hostessing over at Just Us Girls this week and I've got a sketch to hopefully tempt you. But before I move into the sketch, since I missed posting last week, I wanted to say a very sad farewell to my friend Lynn, who is stepping down from the JUGS DT :( All good things must come to an end but I'll be around checking in to see what beautiful things Lynn's whipped up! Here's wishing you all the best in your future endeavours - we'll miss you! 

On another note, we also have exciting news to share. Please help me welcome the super talented Tangii Crain to our DT! We are so excited that you are joining our JUGS family Tangii!!! Welcome welcome! Can't wait to see what fabulous creations you have in store!

On to my sketch...


Here's my take...


I made the background with my new Cameo... man, do I love it! Once the holiday dust settles, I can't wait to get to using it more :) I took one of the free designs that came with the Cameo (moroccan flower) and copied it to create a pattern reflective of the sketch. I flipped the sketch on it's side then added my angled banner sentiment. Gosh, I love that machine so far. I was a bit nervous about taking the plunge and buying it (I bought a cricut several years ago and it's a great dust collector now) but so far, I am not one bit disappointed. Like anything, it has a learning curve but the software and the machine are pretty user-friendly. This card was done in minutes.

Make sure to swing by the Just Us Girls blog and check out what the other fabulous ladies have whipped up! Their links are in my sidebar too.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

TTFN,
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