CCC#034: June 2014 Monthly Challenge - Pack Your Bags!

June is bustin' out all over! (Hubby and I recently saw Carousel at our favorite community theater last weekend, and I have had that song, and the clambake song stuck in my head since then!) But seriously, it sure doesn't feel like June around here... it's been so cold! I'm talking temps in the low 50s every day! It's a struggle for me not to turn the heat on in the evening. But we've had some sunny days, and the lawn's needed mowing once, so we know summer will be here eventually.

This month's challenge from Catherine and Cathy Create is "Pack Your Bags" - any project inspired by travel! I'll admit, I struggled with this one a little. I got stuck on 'but I don't have any planes, trains, or automobiles stamps!' for a while. But that's what these challenges are all about... getting us to flex our creative muscles and think outside the box! So here's what I came up with...

I was inspired by a few things for this project. My little brother is moving to Wisconsin next month - OK, so it's not exactly a voyage, but it definitely put the banner idea into my head. :) I thought the nautical color scheme spoke to the old-fashioned cross-Atlantic ocean liner idea. Plus, I really wanted to use this amazing new DSP from the new catalog that has adorable nautical motifs... I adore it and totally want to wallpaper my entire house with it! Take a closer look!

Look at the anchors and knots! LOVE! The collection is called Maritime. It's got some cutesy images like happy octopi, but then there are a lot of really sophisticated preppy patterns, like the stripes, anchors, and knots that I used in this project.

I used the stencils from the Build a Banner Kit on banners that I cut from Coastal Cabana, Real Red, and Night of Navy cardstock. Remember the Build a Banner Kit from the Holiday Catalog? It'll be back in the new catalog - TOMORROW! :) - plus a couple other awesome banner kits! I used the stencils to sponge on tone-on-tone polka dots and white emboss the letters. It all came together super easily and quickly! With the stencils, you can make it say anything you need. Plus, pick any color combination and DSP that works with your occasion. Cheap and cheerful, just the way I like it! :)

Now go check out Catherine and Cathy Create to see what the rest of the Design Team made. You're gonna love it! Plus, link up your travel-inspired project, and you might win a prize!

Happy Travels... er, um, I mean Stampin'! :)

Playing Catch Up!

Hey there! Happy Monday. Hope your week is off to a great start! :) Anyway, I posted a project on my YouTube channel a while ago and I keep forgetting to post it here on the old blog-o with the supply list. This is a great project, if I may say so myself - super cute and super easy!

 There's this amazing sheet in the Snow Festival Designer Series Paper collection that's made up of adorable 3x3 images. It's perfect for 3x3 tags or enclosure cards like I chose to make. And I also decided to show you a coordinating mini box so you can make your gift cards into a little present!

Remember: You get TWO of each paper in the collection, so that's a total of 32 of these little 3x3 images. Multiple gifts from just one DSP purchase? Awesome! I also share some tips in the video for how to personalize the little images to make them just that much more special.

This is a great project for your own gift wrapping - Come on, I can't be the only one who dreams of coordinated presents organized around a different theme/color scheme each year! :) It's also a great one to have on hand in case any friends or family members appear at your door this holiday season, or you get invited to a last-minute party.

The videos are posted below, and can also be found on my YouTube channel. There are two videos: #1 How to create the box and #2 Tips for personalizing the tags. Enjoy!

Happy Stampin'! :)



Mini Pizza Box and 3x3 Tags Supplies

InLinkz.com

It's the most wonderful *idea* of the year! :)

** Enabling Alert! ** 

I am so in love with this idea! Holiday packaging bundles - how great is this!? You get the bag, the tag, and the ribbon, and enough of them to assemble a whole mess of them. Adorable packaging without any of the fuss or guesswork about what will work together. AND you get it at a discount! :) Here are the details:

Petite Treats Bundle
Item # 132770
$13.50 (a $16.85 value)
Includes:
Glassine Bags with die-cut edges (10 bags; 3" x 5" x 1-1/2")
Handmade Holidays Stitched Felt (8 pieces) 
Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon (10 yards)

How cute would these be as place cards at your holiday party?  Just stamp or write your guests' names on a little piece of Whisper White cardstock, cut it into a banner shape, and tuck it under the knot/bow of the ribbon! Place card and party favor in one! Plus, these aren't just for food gifts. These glassine bags are the perfect size for jewelry! ;)

Trimmings & Tags Bundle
Item # 132769
$13.50 (a $16.85 value)
Includes:
Gusseted Cellophane Bags (25 bags; 5" x 3" x 11-1/2")
Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags (25 double-sided tags; 4-1/2" x 3-1/8") 
Cherry Cobbler 1/4" Sweater Trim (10 yards)

This is one loaded kit! You get enough packaging for 25 presents! That's 54¢ apiece! Try getting a gift bag for 54¢ at the grocery store! The cello bags are awesome for all the cereal mixes (I make my brother a batch of Chex Muddy Buddies every single year), spiced candied nuts, cookies, and other treats we love to make this time of year. Come on, don't even tell me you haven't Pinned all sorts of recipes! :)

These kits will be available through January 2, 2013. Let me know if you have any more questions or want to place an order!

Gum Wrapper and More A Muse Studio Sneak Peeks

I have to say right off the bat that I love this project. We made these at my friend Jen Pitta's stamp club on Thursday. I decided to borrow the template and A Muse-ify it! :) "Gum wrapper" seems like I dumb name for them, but I couldn't come up with anything better. lol.

 This is the one I made in my video tutorial, which you can watch further down in this post. I sort of had Valentine's Day in the back of my mind when I designed it, but it could definitely be used for other occasions. I used a new stamp set called Keep Calm, which you may have already seen if you read my blog. I'm kind of in love with this set. I also used Grapefruit, which is one of the new colors in the redesigned Winter Signature Palette, as well as the Venetian patterned cardstock in Titian.

I had birthday party favor in mind when I designed this one. It uses another new stamp set called Big Celebrations, which has these awesome big block numbers. And I used two more new colors: Lido from the Venetian collection, and Seattle, which is a new mid-tone gray that fits between Pebble and Slate in the Basic Signature Palette.

And, if you like what you see, here's the video tutorial for the project.


Don't forget, the new 2012 A Muse Studio Catalog and Inspiration Guide will be active as of midnight on February 1st! You'll be able to see all the new goodies in my webstore. And you will be seeing a lot of the new products featured here in the coming weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cater Your Christmas #4

Hello and welcome to the last featured recipe in my Cater Your Christmas mini-series! This one's a doozy... Are you ready for dessert? :)

Eggnog Pound Cake
(adapted from www.http://pinterest-project.blogspot.com)

Cake:
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. shortening, at room temperature
3 c. granulated sugar
1-2 tsp. light rum (optional)
5 eggs
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. eggnog

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (fresh grated is best!)

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter, shortening, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing for 45-60 seconds in between each egg. Mix in rum once all eggs are added. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture alternately with eggnog, starting and ending with flour mixture. Grease two standard sized loaf pans well. Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

To make the glaze, whisk all ingredients together until combined well. Start with 3 Tbsp. milk and add more if needed. Glaze should be thick, but drizzle-able. Poke holes in the top of each cake with a fork. Pour half of glaze over each loaf of cake. Allow to drip over sides.

This recipe is so moist and delicious. The eggnog isn't a dominating flavor, but gives a standard pound cake a little bit of festive flair!

Enjoy! :)

Cater Your Christmas #3 + a Cute Neighbor Gift

Today I've got a really yummy seasonal take on Chex mix, plus a fun craft idea to go with it. This would be a great munchie snack to have out at a party or for a holiday treat for your kids, but it's also a great easy remembrance for your neighbors! So I decided to make a little box for it that can hang over a door knob. That way you can be a sneaky little Christmas elf and leave a sweet treat for a friend! :)

Snowflake Mix
(adapted from midwestliving.com)

3 cups Chex cereal (whichever flavor you prefer - I like corn)
2 cups (a few handfuls) of bite-sized pretzels
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 package of mint M&Ms
12 oz white baking chocolate (the bars are more expensive, but melt a little bit easier than the chips)

Chop white chocolate bars, if not using chips. Place into top portion of double boiler, set over medium-low heat. Heat very slowly, stirring often, until melted. Be careful not to let any steam get into the chocolate or it will seize up. (You can also melt it in the microwave, but I'm not as familiar with this method. Check the package for directions.)

Combine other ingredients, except the M&Ms, in a very large bowl. Pour chocolate over the mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated. Spread on a large piece of waxed paper or parchment paper and sprinkle M&Ms on top. Allow to cool, then break into pieces and serve. Will last in an airtight container for about a week.

And here's my messy template for the door hanger treat box. It's made from a whole sheet of 8.5x11" cardstock. Please contact me if you have any questions for how to put it together. (It's pretty standard construction if you've made boxes before.) I used Hero Arts' Sending Holiday Cheer stamp set to embellish mine.

Enjoy!

Cater Your Christmas #2

Good Sunday afternoon, friends! Christmas is only one week from today! Where has this whole year gone?

Here on Cape Cod, it's feeling a little more like Christmastime today. We've been really lucky with amazing weather and warm temperatures until now - I'm talking mid 50s every day! We're over half way through December and I've still only had to wear my down vest! But last night and into today we're having our first snow of the season. I'm not going to complain, because I love living in a place with four real seasons, and we really have been so lucky this fall. But I think today I might put my fleece on :)

So I know I promised to post my second Cater Your Christmas recipe yesterday, but I forgot! So, without further ado... (Ooh this one's yummy and so easy! Three ingredients! And your mixer does all the work!)

Easiest Ever Cheese Spread

8 ounces Wispride cheddar or port wine cheese, at room temperature (you can use the kind in the plastic container, or the cellophane wrapped bar kind)
8 ounces Neufchâtel, at room temperature
4-6 ounces blue cheese crumbles

Place Wispride and Neufchâtel in the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to soften and combine cheeses. Slowly add blue cheese crumbles, and continue to mix until they are broken into small pieces and combined into the other two cheeses. Serve, at room temperature, with crackers, bread, or crudites.

If you don't have a stand mixer, I'm sure you can make this with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon and some arm muscles. Just make sure the cheese is at room temperature!

Enjoy! 

Cater Your Christmas #1

Hey folks. Can you believe Christmas is only 9 days away?! I'm starting another mini Christmas themed series for you to help with any last-minute entertaining you may need to do. I have four really great and super quick-and-easy recipes for you that are perfect for get-togethers or unexpected guests. I hope you'll enjoy!

This first recipe is beyond easy. You can whip it up literally in minutes, and the ingredients are cheap, and easy to keep on hand. I work at a doctor's office and this is my version of one of our favorite lunches from one of the caterers our drug reps use. :)

Garlicky White Bean Hummus

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2-4 cloves of garlic
handful flat leaf parsley
olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper

Put a handful of parsley and a few cloves of garlic (depending on your taste preferences) into your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add cannellini beans and process until mostly smooth - you want to keep some of the texture of the beans. Continue to process mixture while streaming in olive oil, until desired consistency is reached. Add a splash of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers and crudites.

If you wanted to take a little extra time and roast the garlic prior to making the hummus, I think that would taste amazing in this recipe!

So, I'll be back tomorrow with another awesome and crazy-easy dip/spread/appetizer/snack/munchie recipe :)

Happy Friday!