Memorial Day

Today is the day that we honor our greatest hero's, our veterans!

I remember as a small girl growing up in a small town in Iowa, on Memorial day, the town had a small parade to start the day off. Than we would go to Grandma's peonies bushes and cut as many blooms as we could put into the canning jars filled with water so that they would stay fresh until we could go to the cemetery to place them on the graves of love ones who had passed on. There was no running around in the cemetery, we were always told to be careful where we walk, they didn't want us stepping on the graves of those who were gone, it was to show respect. Later in the day would be a time for families to gather and grill hot dogs and hamburgers and for dessert, homemade ice cream!

I hope that you and yours have a day filled with family.

Cool Whip Fruit Salad

I'm going to share with you a recipe that I came up with on my own. I found a salad recipe on allrecipes.com called Orange Cream Fruit Salad, but didn't like the fact that I only needed 2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate and the only size of the juice I could find was huge (I didn't want to waste it)! So I came up with this salad and everytime I make it, it is gone within three days, that is with only three of us eating it, if you take to a gathering, it will probably be gone. We really like it and I hope you do to!

Cool Whip Fruit Salad

1- 3.5 ounce package INSTANT vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1- 20 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained
1- 15 ounce can fruit cocktail, drained (I like the very cherry flavored kind)
1- 15 to 20 ounce can mandarin orange segments, drained
1/2 tub (8 ounce size) Cool Whip, thawed*
1/2 bag (10.5 ounce size) mini-marshmallows, you can add more
2- 10 ounce jars maraschino cherries, drained, no stems

In a medium mixing bowl, combine pudding mix and milk. Add Cool Whip and fold in. Than add the drained fruit and marshmallows, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate for two hours before serving.

*Thaw your Cool Whip in the refrigerator, that way if you don't need all of it, you can re-freeze it, according to what I read on the container.

You could add slice bananas and apples, but know that after a day they will turn brown in the salad.

Cheese Ball

Hello to all of my blogging friends! I hope that you've had a relaxing Saturday.

Today I want to share a recipe that I got from one of my husband's co-workers. Whenever they have goodie day at work, she always brings this in. My youngest daughter really likes this.

Cheese Ball

2- 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1- 6 ounce package Carl Budding beef slices, chopped
2 to 3 green onions, chopped (make sure you wash them first)

Mix all together and form into a ball*. Chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator about 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Serve with Ritz crackers. Refrigerate leftovers.

* If you find it to messy to form into a ball, you can leave it in the bowl and serve it that way too.

Cheesy Corn Bake

Hi everyone!!! Sorry for the long delay in posting, things have been very busy at my house the last couple of days, but don't worry I haven't forgotten you! I thought today I would share a recipe since it's been awhile since I posted one. I think you could use this one for the upcoming Memorial Day week-end with all the BBQ'ing that will be going on. It is the official start of the summer, YES!! I found this recipe in a Theta cookbook and my oldest daughter really likes it.

Cheesy Corn Bake

2 Tablespoons butter
4 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, I think fresh would work just fine too
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sharp Chedder cheese, shredded
4 slices of American cheese
1- 3 ounce package cream cheese, cubed
3- 10 ounce packages frozen whole kernel corn, thawed and drained
3 ounces diced ham

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and garlic powder. Add milk gradually. Stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Add cheeses. Stir over low heat until cheeses are melted. Add corn and ham. If it is too thick, than add more milk, alittle at a time, until desired consistency. Pour into a 2 quart greased casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Serves 10.

Can easily be halved.

Hope you enjoy it!


Mary

Graduation Table Favors

With graduation time getting close, these might be just what you are looking for, fast, cute and inexpensive table favors for your get togethers! I was reading one of the blogs that I visit each day and I found this cute little graduation cap. They are really quick to make and I just used some cardstock scraps that I had on hand so that I could try my hand at making some, just happened to have some candy too! I did mine just a tad different, I cut my strip of cardstock to wrap around the Hershery nugget in a one inch size instead of 1/2 inch strip, that is the only change I made. You can see the original here:http://www.starlightstamper.com/2008/03/graduation-time-is-nearing-weekend.html
Wanda has a really nice blog and has alot of cute ideas for altering items, you should skip on over and visit her sometime!

Recipe:
Stampin' Up 1 3/4 inch square punch, if you don't have than you can easily hand cut
brads- I didn't have any round, so I used square ones
ribbon- you could make tassles from floss too
cardstock- graduates school colors
Hershey's nuggets
I used double sided tape to hold it together

Apron Thank You Card

For Christmas this past year, one of my clients was kind enough to make me an apron. So I search around on the web and found this template for one, the great thing about this, is that it is just like the style of apron that she made for me! Here is a link to the template:http://www.lisasomerville.com/2009/07/kitchen-sink-monday.html

Card recipe:
Stamp: Stampin' Up-Short and Sweet
Martha Stewart-Doily Punch
Marvy-Large oval punch, to make armholes and neck opening
ribbon
cardstock and designer paper found at Jo-Ann's
black marker to make stitching

Thanks for stopping by and talk to you tomorrow! Mary

Uncle's Birthday Card

Making birthday cards for men can be really hard, I mean you can't put flowers and ribbons and glitter on them now can you! The card that I'm showing you today is one that I found on Splitcoaststampers and was made by my friend, Chanda. You can see her card here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1178895?&cat=500&ppuser=169996

She is a great card maker, I really like her cards! I've also used this same card for my dad for a Father's day card too.

Card Recipe:
Scallop nesties
Coluzzle-Oval shape
Brads
All Night Media-Wood Grain stamp; Inkadinkado-Pine cones; A Muse-Happy Birthday

Hope you all are having a great week-end, it is 87 degrees and sunny here today, no rain! Thanks for stopping in to visit with me, I appreciate it!

Wedding Cards

Well can you stand one more post about wedding cards? The two cards pictured today were ones that I made for weddings last year. They are very clean and simple. That means there is not alot of layers or embellishments on them. I wanted to try a new stamp that I had picked up from Jo-Ann's. I really like the look of the teal, but than blue is my favorite color!

Card recipe:

ribbon

cardstock: Archiver's

Nestie's by Spellbinder's (they allow you to cut and emboss)

Big Kick

Cuttlebug embossing folder, Dotted Swiss

stamp: Inkadinkado-...and the two become one.

silver embossing powder

Heat gun

Thank You Card

Today I'm going to show you a thank you card that I sent to my friend who recently moved to St. Louis to be closer to her family. When she lived here, I would help her by writing her checks for her and than also made sure that all of her bills got paid and mailed on time too. She was kind enough to send me a nice gift card for my help.

Card Recipe:
Stamp sets: Stampin' Up Awash with Flowers and Whimiscal Words
Stampin' Up scallop punch
cardstock-Bazzill
ribbon and Black Stazon ink

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me. Mary

Tangy Buttermilk Cheese Bread

Okey dokey...here is the recipe for the cheese bread that I spoke about in my post yesterday. My whole family LOVES this bread and I like the fact that it is so easy to make with help of a bread machine! I like it toasted with some butter melted on it and I've even made Grilled Cheese sandwiches with it too, very good with a hot bowl of Ham Bone soup..hmm...I may need to post that recipe too! It makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf.

Tangy Buttermilk Cheese Bread

1 1/8 cup buttermilk at room temperature
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
3/4 to 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select White Bread setting on your machine. Press start. When bread is done, turn loaf out of pan and let cool on a wire rack.
To bake bread in oven: select dough or manual cycle. Once cycle is complete, shape dough and place in a greased loaf pan. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Turn bread out of pan and cool on a wire rack.

I would suggest that if you don't eat all of the bread in a couple of days to store any leftovers in the refrigerator so that it doesn't get moldy. I found this recipe on
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tangy-Buttermilk-Cheese-Bread/Detail.aspx Enjoy!!

Best-Ever Banana Bread

I found this recipe in a magazine clear back in the late 1970's. At first I was not going to clip the recipe out because it calls for only a quarter cup of buttermilk, and I really didn't know what the buttermilk would do for the bread taste wise. Well let's just say that I'm ever so glad that I did clip it out because it is one of my most requested recipes ever!! You can make it in advance and this bread freezes very well. I hope you enjoy it as much as my friends and family do! One Christmas baking season I made twelve loaves of this to give out to friends and neighbors and of course one for home too.

This recipe makes one loaf and the directions say DO NOT DOUBLE RECIPE...so I haven't, why mess it up!

Best-Ever Banana Bread

2 ripe medium bananas, mashed up**
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat ovent ot 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake until top is golden brown and splits slightly, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

DO NO DOUBLE RECIPE.

** ripe bananas will have a yellow skin with lots of brown spots, the kind that most people will throw out, but those are the ones that have the most flavor. I try to use bananas that are still some what firm but you can use a slightly soft ones in a pinch.

* you can now find little containers of buttermilk that are half pint or pint, around 1 cup size in the groceries now, so you will not waste as much buttermilk or you could even use the extra buttermilk to make Tangy Buttermilk Cheesy Bread in a bread machine...hmm, maybe I'll post that recipe tomorrow, it is so good with soup!

Baby card

Here is a picture of a baby card that I made last year. It is so sweet and I made it for someone who was having a little girl. I put my card in my Dotted Swiss cuttlebug and embossed the front and used a border punch to make the eyelet lace under the ribbon. I used a Bow Easy to make the bow and attached it with a glue dot. I use Gamsol and Prismacolor pencils to color in the little rabbit. The stamp set is one that I found at a garage sale, LOVE a good find like this one!! It is from Stampin' Up and it is called, A New Little Someone, it is an older set.

How do you like the new look on my blog?! I love it!! I hope that with the lighter color, it will be easier for everyone to read the post. Thanks for dropping in today!

One More Wedding/Anniversary Card

I've had the directions laying on my craft table for this card for over a month and decided today to try and make one. It isn't very hard at all, just takes some time to cut, emboss and glue is all. I did change it just a bit, I didn't do a gate fold just a regluar A2 size card and used a half glue dot pearl and some hole punches for the bowtie and buttons on the shirt.

Card Recipe:
Big Kick
Cuttlebug embossing folder
cardstock (could use designer paper instead)
Misc.: ribbon, Tombow glue, glue dots, glitter, two-way glue pen

Sorry that the picture is not so good, it is very gloomy here the last couple of days. Here is a link to the free template:http://stampndesign.blogspot.com/2010/03/free-template-wedding-card.html

Wedding and Anniversary Cards

The coming month's will be busy for many people with weddings and anniversaries. Here are two cards that I made for these upcoming events that we will attend. I was inspired by a card that I saw here:http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1660585?&what=keywords&si=anniversary . I pretty much followed her card but I used a different sentiment. I didn't have any black brads, so I took a copper colored one and stamped it on my Black Stazon ink pad a couple of times to make it black. I hope you enjoy looking at my simple cards, crafts and recipes...thanks for stopping in to visit with me!



Card Recipe:

Stampin' Up: Heard from the Heart stamp set

EK Success: Heart punch

Cuttlebug: Embossing folder

Misc.: flower, gemstones, brads, ribbon and cardstock

Get Well Card

This is a card that I made last week for my husband's uncle, he suffered a mild stroke and the family had requested no visitors or phone calls. Yes, the greeting is not straight, I'm learning how to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig. The stamp set is from Stampin'Up and is called, "Thoughts & Prayers". It is worth the investment to have it on hand because one always needs a get well or sympathy card and it is a versatile set. The designer paper is from Scrap Ease and I've had it for sometime now. I think the choice of colors and design are perfect for a man!

Paper Rose on A Matchbox

Here is my second attempt on making these paper roses. I do believe that it did come out better, you know practices makes it easier and easier! Than I filled the little matchbox with three Ghirardelli chocolate squares and they fit inside perfectly!

I used Stampin Up's matchbox die that is made by Sizzix. Would these not make the prettiest wedding or shower favors?!! Or a nice "just because" gift or "thinking of you gift"!!

Paper Rose Favor

Happy Mother's Day!

As promised yesterday, here is a picture of the rose that I made out of paper! Now don't look to close as you will see that it is not perfect, hey it's my first attempt and I thought it came out pretty good! You can find the directions here:
http://creationsonpaper.blogspot.com/2010/03/flower-tutorial.html
Now the directions say to put it thru a crimper and mist it with water, both of which I didn't do. What I did do is use a really thin, cheap piece of cardstock, the kind that you buy in pre-packaged at the big craft stores. Then I took the full sheet of cardstock, 8.5 by 11, and ran it over the edge of my work table about 10 times to help break down the fibers in the paper. I cut it into 2.25 inch strips and then ran those over the edge of the table again, oh about 5 times. I then punched out 5 flowers with Stampin Up, Extra Large Fancy Flower. I then followed the directions the rest of the way. Now, you really should take your time (not like me and be in a hurry) and let the glue try and WASH your hands before you assemble the flower. Oh one thing I did do, I also used a hole punch to make holes in the whole flower pieces. I do need to find a small item to wrap the smaller petals around, I'm thinking a skewer would work for that as I don't have a piercing tool like the directions show. I use the wing from the Two-Step Bird punch to make my leaves for the rose, I like the size better. Take some ink on a sponge dabber and sponge the edges of your rose petals to add some depth.

I ran some clear acetate along with my Sizzix pillow die thru my Big Kick and made a small container to place my rose on. I used a glue dot for this one, but I think you need to attach it better if you are going to give them as a little gift or for party/table favors. Use a piece of ribbon to tie it shut; fill it before; I didn't have anything to fill it with. You can click on the picture to see it better. I'm hoping the next one will turn out better, if it does I will share it with you. Give them a try, they really are not that hard to make

Pop-Up Cake Birthday Card

Today I'm showing you a card that I made for my friends' birthday last year. I know it looks kind of like one you would give to a child, but I wanted to send her an extra special card and I liked the way the colors are bright (sunglasses bright) and cheery! I also like how some of the paper has glitter on it (now you know we girls like all things sparkly)!! The die that I used is from Sizzix and is called "Pop-Up Cake die". You should see some of the beautiful paper cakes that some of the bloggers have made with this die, some are just stunning! The candle on the front of the card is also an older Sizzix die. Right off hand I don't remember who makes the paper.

Tomorrow I'm going to share a paper rose that I made with a punch.

Broccoli Soup

Today it has turned alittle bit cool, so I thought I would share a soup recipe with you. I like to serve it with a crusty bread and of course, some real butter!

Broccoli Soup

2- 10 oz. packages frozen broccoli
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups half & half
1- 10 1/2 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 teaspoon oregano (I use more like 1/8 teaspoon)
salt and pepper, to taste

Cook broccoli according to package directions in a pot large enough to hold all of the ingredients above; drain. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat thoroughly. Serve. Serves 4 to 6.

Another Tulip Thank You card

Well here is the thank you card that I made for my sister-in-law for getting me more tulip bulbs again this year. This year they had red and yellow, so that is the colors I used.

Supplies used:

Stampin Up: Two-Step Bird punch, ornament punch, yellow paper, scallop oval and small oval punches, yellow ink pad and stamp set, "Short and Sweet".
Cuttlebug embossing folder.
Big Kick
Ribbon
Bazzill paper

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

Mother's Day Cards

Today I'm going to share with you two Mother's Day cards that I made yesterday, nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh! Verisons of this card have been floating around on different blogs for awhile now, here is my take on it.

I used:
Stampin Up: cardstock
Stampin Up: ink pads
Stampin Up: Two-Step Bird punch and Ornament punch
Stampin Up: stamp
Marvy: large oval punch
ribbon
Cuttlebug embossing folders
Big Kick die cut machine
Tombow glue in green and white bottle and sticky tape

There is nothing better than giving our mom's flowers for Mother's Day!! Hope all of you moms have a great day too!

Chocolate Pizza

Now this is the kind of pizza everyone should enjoy! My family likes this and when the girls were younger I would make this all the time, hope you will enjoy it too!

Chocolate Pizza

3/4 cup margarine (this equal 12 Tablespoons)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream together the margarine and sugar; add the egg and vanilla, mixing well. Than add the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Make sure you mix together well. Spread on a foil-lined pizza pan. Sprinkle on top of the pizza:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup M&M's

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool; cut into wedges.

Now you can put whatever "toppings" your family would like, say miniature marshmallows, coconut, peanuts, you get the idea, whatever sounds good to you. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Hey, this might even be good with some ice cream!

Apple Dip

The recipe I'm going to share today is so good, great way to get the kids, young and old, to eat apples! Heck forget the apples just give me a spoon to eat this with, that's how good this is!!

Apple Dip

1- 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teapsoons vanilla

Mix all of the ingredients until smooth. Serve at room temperature with apple wedges.

Did I tell you how good this is??!!! YUMMY!! Enjoy.