Happy Halloween

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween! Hope you all have a great night and that all you're little ones have lots of fun out trick or treating. Just try not to eat too much of their candy! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ok, this is the last post for today and I have to go get ready to go since I got called in to work again tonight. Alas, no crafty time again tonight... Boo Hoo! lol :)

I just wanted to share the recipe for the Pumpkin Cupcakes that I made for a little treat when the girls came over the other night. They were yummy, but I think I would have added more cinnamon than they called for and perhaps even a wee bit of nutmeg. Darn, I guess I'll have to make some more....twist my arm! lol :) I got this recipe from a crafty blog a while ago, but unfortunately I can't remember who I got it from...sorry! :( Thanks for the recipe, though! :)

Pumpkin Bars / Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/2 cups Splenda instead)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil (I used Canola)

1 can canned pumpkin (15 oz size)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda together. Gently mix in sugar. In large mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs until foamy. Add oil and canned pumpkin. Mix until combined. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Do not over beat. Pour into greased sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. (I baked mine for 18 minutes). If you are doing the mini cupcakes like I did, bake for about 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

While pumpkin bars are baking and cooling, have butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. My MIL always doubles the frosting recipe ... and I did as well. You definitely need a doubled batch of this frosting to cover all the pumpkin bars!

Frosting

3 ounces light cream cheese

3/4 stick butter or margarine

1 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth (no lumps). Add milk and vanilla. Slowly incorporate powdered sugar. Spread on cooled bars. Cut into bars. I like to put a candy corn in the center of each bar. Store in refrigerator as there are items in this recipe that require refrigeration. (And you might want to put aluminum foil over the top of the pan to keep the frosting soft. Lightly spray your aluminum foil with cooking spray to keep the frosting from sticking to the foil.)

Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Welcome Baby Girl

OK, I'm slowly getting caught up in my blog posts that I have pictures ready for...now, I just need the time to add my ramblings to the pictures! lol :) I CASE'd this card nearly in part from a card that I saw in Take Ten Magazine. I borrowed the magazine from a friend and I can't remember who made the card, but I'll find out and add her name to give her credit for this cute design. :)

This is the card that I made the night the girls came over. A friend of mine is due in 6 days with Baby #1, she knows it's a girl and she has a jungle theme for the baby's room, so I thought I use this just cute little giraffe for her card. I think she'll like it. Now, I have to alter a baby frame to go with her gift. It will get done in the next couple of days. Nothing like leaving it til the last minute, eh? lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)


Supplies:
Stamps: Giraffe- Baby Powder Collection - Snag 'em Stamps (Imaginisce), Welcome Little One (Studio G)
Cardstock: Goldenrod Linen (CRS), Soft Mauve (Bazzill), White Linen (CRS) White Flat (CRS)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine), Creamy Caramel (SU), Soft Yellow (Anna Griffen)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Scalloped Square and Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Aqua Painter (SU), Paper Piercer and Piercing Mat

Butterfly Earrings and a Halloween RAK

I got called into work last night, so I didn't get a chance to post this last night. These are the cards from Tuesday night when I had a few of the girls in for a crafty night. First, I wanted to share the beautiful card that Deborah March made me as a thank you for hosting. Not that I needed a card for hosting, but hey, who doesn't love to get cards. You can see a description of the supplies that she used for the card here. I was thrilled though by what Deborah had put inside the card...she makes gorgeous beaded jewelry and she made me this beautiful set of butterfly earrings. Wasn't that sweet of her! :) I got such a kick out of the inside of her card, I've been to her place several times, but it seems that every time I've organized a get together with the group, she's either been out of town or not able to make it. In case you can't ready the picture below, the inside of the card reads ' I finally made it to Julie's house! Thanks for hosting. Too funny! :)

Yvonne Balmer also showed up with these sweet little Halloween treats for me and my girls. I'll give them to them in the morning, I know they'll be thrilled. They always love 'Yvonne treats!' There's a little chocolate patty sandwiched inside each of the scalloped circles. Too cute! Thanks again, so much, Yvonne! You're too sweet...no pun intended! lol :)

This is a beautiful card made by Catherine Levy, whose name I drew for our Xmas Card Challenge this time around. I thought at first that she had stamped the large snowflakes on either corner, but later found out that they're part of the patterned paper. Very pretty! I might just have to go out and get some of that paper! lol :)

Here are links to the other Xmas challenge cards from the Tuesday night:

Deborah
Kim
Yvonne
Louise
Me

I'll share the card that I made while the girls were over in my post. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Birthday cards from Catherine

Well, I've been rather MIA for the past bit, so I have a ton of things to share now. First, I want to share two cards that my friend, Catherine Levy made for my daughter's for their joint birthday this past weekend. The one above is a sweet one that she made for my youngest monkey, Natalia. This is truly fitting for Natalia, she's always monkeying around. Very Cute!

This beautiful one below was for my oldest girlie girl, Alexandria. She loves flowers, bling and doodles, so this one is right up her alley. Very girlie!

The girls both loved their cards and I really appreciate Catherine taking the time to make them each a card for their special day. Thanks so much, Catherine, you're a sweetheart! You see, I have to keep in the good books with Catherine as my oldest daughter (7) and her oldest son (6) have been engaged since they met two years ago in pre-school. They're soooo cute together! :) They write each other little notes and talk on the phone about all kinds of stuff. I think kids grow up way too fast nowadays! Believe me, though, I'm in no hurry to marry her off! lol :)

I'll post some pics of the cards from last night in my next post. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Let it Snow

A bunch of my stampin' girlfriends are coming over tonight and the challenge for us this time is simply to make a Xmas themed card to give each of us some more ideas for our cards for the upcoming season. My hubby is Duty on the ship tonight, so we can giggle to our hearts content and he won't be there to tease us! For some reason, he doesn't get as excited as we do about stamps and pretty embellishments! lol :)

Anyway, this is the card that I came up with. A plain card, but I kinda like it. I really like the snowflakes, but I'm not sold on the 'let it snow' saying with the lines around it. To me, it kinda looks like I messed up and rocked my stamp, but this is how the stamp actually looks. I think I would have left the design of the stamp to just have the little snowflakes around the text. The snowflakes also had these lines all around them, I guess to portray snow falling, but I cut them all off. I like them better that way.

Well, gotta go finish getting ready for the get together tonight...I've got some pumpkin cupcakes to make for us to snack on and it'll soon be time to go get my girls from school. Time is really flying by today. I'll post this tonight after the girls arrive so I won't spoil my secret challenge card. I'll share more creations soon...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Let it Snow (CTMH)
Cardstock: Blue Bayou (SU), Soft Sky (SU), White Linen (CRS)
Ink: Blue Bayou (SU)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Scissors, Cuttlebug, Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Clear Bling

Crafty Birthday Party

This was the Art Cake that I made for Natalia. I used SU Vellum Cardstock and used a pencil to freehand a paint palette. Cut it out and then drew on the paint blobs and coloured them in with Markers. I think it it turned out kinda cute and she loved it. :)

This was Alexandria's cake. I wasn't as happy with the way this one turned out. I thought the little candy pumpkins were cute, but they kept falling off! A bit of a headache. Anyway, it tasted yummy, so that's the important part! :)

I racked my brain as to what to do this year for my daughter's birthday party and I finally decided on a joint Crafty themed party for the two girls. I think all the kids had a fun time. First, they each decorated a plain gingerbread man with icing an a hard candy jack-o-lantern head and lots of sprinkles.

Here they are all hard at work.

This is Alexandria's finished Gingerbread Man. I don't think she could have got any more sprinkles on it if she tried! lol :)
Then, I had them each decorate a foam Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Girl and Gingerbread House with lots of glitter glue. Yup, it was a wee bit messy. But, pretty easy cleanup and they had fun, I think. Afterwards, they could tie a gold string though the little hole in the foam shapes and use them as Xmas Tree ornaments.

Here are all my crafty followers again, deep in thought as to how to decorate their Xmas Tree ornaments. I think the blond haired girl by the window is really havin' a moment! Too cute! lol :)

Here's a close up of the foam shapes. I bought them at Wal-Mart in a kit and then bought a ton of extra glitter glue so they'd have lots to work with.

Although we ran out of time, I think the party went well overall. My girls had a blast and they were so happy to have some of their friends over to play and to celebrate their special days.

Ok, that's all from me for now. I'll post a couple of the crafty cards that they received tomorrow.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)