HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hope everyone has a safe evening and wishing you all a HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!

P.S. For those of you who have wondered where I have been lately...I have been busy with holiday stuff and my mom also had surgery right before Christmas so I have been taking care of things with her too. I will be back tomorrow though with a card for the new Unstampabelles Challenge! Stay tuned..... :)

Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie

Rich and delicious!!
Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Spinach Pie

I was having a "popeye" moment and just had to try this spinach pie with goat cheese, golden raisins and pine nuts! It was definately time consuming and a little finnicky working with the phyllo sheets but overall a good recipe! I had to put my own spin on it of course and added some mushrooms and basalmic vinegar...I also used 5 packages of frozen spinach (thawed) instead of fresh because it is much cheaper!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Fairytales!

I created these cards using cute digi images from Nicecrane Designs!
Here is a preview of the collection!


You can click HERE to go directly to this collection in the store!

Challenges:
Crafty Catz - Anything goes
Delightful Challenges - Anything goes

Broccoli and Chicken Casserole

Time for another Tasty Tuesday....I wonder where the last week has gone?! This time of year seems to fly by!

Today I have for you another Cooking Light recipe....you can view it by clicking HERE!

I did change a few things....I used regular quick cook brown rice instead of the long grain. Left out the celery and added mushrooms. I add those to everything! LOL! I also baked this in a 9x13 casserole dish instead of individual ramekins. This is a good way to get in some more green veggies in your diet!

ENJOY!

Roasted Veggies with Chickpeas!

Click HERE for the recipe!

The only thing I changed was the onion....I used yellow instead of red.

This got rave reviews at Thanksgiving!!

Enjoy!

Unstampabelles Challenge #6

Time for our sixth challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see CHRISTMAS! We are also going to offer you an extra entry for the prize if you do the technique and for this month we want you to use "stickers"! You have until December 30th to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on January 2nd. Remember you MUST use the theme CHRISTMAS on your project and "stickers" are optional but it will get you an extra entry!

*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is The Sticker Store!

The picture below shows the prize on offer for this month and there will also be 10 sheets of DL sized acetate included!!



Now for my DT card to get you started!



I used a snowflake folder to emboss the background paper, did some real stitching around the edges to make a frame, made a rosette for the center and finished the card off with a sticker from The Sticker Store!

Challenges:
Aud Sentiments - Any winter holiday sentiment
Craft Your Passion - Tis the Season
Crafty Calendar - Cold and frosty
Crafty Catz - Colors of Christmas
Crafty Creations - Photo Inspiration
Delightful Sketches - Let it snow
Fab N' Funky - Anything goes
Polka Doodle - Italian Christmas
SSDS - Holiday card
Simon Says - Anything goes

Sympathy

* Stamp is from Hero Arts

This is the type of card that is really sad to make. My local post lady lost her son recently so I made this sympathy card for her and on the inside it says, "Thinking of you during this difficult time."

Challenges:
Creative Craft - Free for all
Fab N' Funky - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes
ABC - E for embossing (swiss dots)

Cranberry Oatmeal Bars!

This year I made some "untraditional" Thanksgiving dishes and this is one of them from a "Cooking Light" magazine which is quickly becoming my fav go-to magazine these days! The bars were very delish and my sister even snagged a bunch to take home!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Autumn Happy Birthday!

Here is a birthday card I made by simply using a background picture from Nicecrane Designs and then adding a rub-on that says Happy Birthday! Easy when you need to make a card in a hurry and perfect for men or women!

The digi background I used is in a sheet called Mystique Autumn and you can see what is included in the picture below.


Click HERE to go directly to this in the store!

Challenges:
Creative Craft - Free for all
Fab N' Funky - Happy Birthday

Thanksgiving Place Cards!

I made these pretty Thanksgiving place cards from Nicecrane Designs! Just cut and fold! Then stamp individual names on them!

There are 4 different designs available that you can see in this preview.



Click HERE to go directly to these in the store!

Happy Thanksgiving and WINNER!!!

And now for the winner of the My Memories Suite Software...........

Gail from Gail's Crafty Goings On

Congrats! I will e-mail the company and send you the code once I receive it!

Candy holder and SALE!!!!

I created these sour cream containers and filled them with bite sized chocolate candies (snickers, milky way, twix, etc.) for everyone this Thanksgiving (girls get the cornucopia and boys get the turkey! They turned out even better than I had planned! :) You can find a tutorial HERE!

I also used products from Nicecrane Designs! Ignacio sent me those cute Thanksgiving digis to use for my tags and he also sent me some fun digi papers called Mystique!

You can get the digi images by clicking HERE and you can get the digi paper pack by clicking HERE!

Guess what is even better.......there is a SALE going on over there RIGHT NOW!!! You have to act fast because it expires Nov. 25th!

Just click HERE and at checkout use the promo code below! HAPPY SHOPPING!!




Challenges I am entering with these treat containers:
Creative Craft - Free for all
Lollipop Crafts - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - Thanksgiving
Top Tip Tuesday - More than 1 fold

Quick Pastitsio!

Made this for "the guys", which is just my dad and hubby, while they were working on the house this last weekend. I used a really good quality ground sirloin like they recommend in the recipe instead of the regular cheap stuff and I could definately tell a difference! Much leaner! Hubby actually thought it was deer meat! LOL!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the My Memories software giveaway in my last post....you could win software for FREE!!! You have until Wednesday night! Good luck!

My Memories Suite Giveaway!!

I know most of you have probably seen these giveaways floating around but I hope you will take a moment to read what I have to say about the product. I am a hands on gal and I wasn't really sure how I would like doing digital pages but I gotta say it is sooooooooo fun and easy! What would normally take me an hour to do I can complete in 5 minutes!! For a busy person like me this is very helpful! There are a ton of options and freebies too! You can even have them printed out into an album for you! How cool is that? So far I am pretty impressed!

I can't show you any pages with people on them because I do not have their permission but I did a sample page (only took 2 minutes!) using the My Memories Suite Software with some pics of veggies out of my garden.



Gotta say this could get addicting!! :P

If you plan on purchasing the My Memories Suite software click HERE! Be sure to use the code I have in the upper right hand corner of my blog because that will get you 10 dollars off PLUS another 10 dollars to use in the store! Talk about a great deal! :)

And for the most exciting part....I get to give a copy of this software away for FREE! WOOT WOOT!

All you have to do is visit the store HERE and tell me what your favorite layout is and what you would scrapbook first if you won this software! You have until November 23rd at midnight (EST). I will draw a winner on Thanksgiving day!

Good luck!

Unstampabelles Design Team Call!!

Yes, we are in search of three new members for our Design Team to start January next year for a six month stint.


Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to Mandy, Kerry and Kaye at the end of our December challenge. They already know that 2012 is going to keep them plenty busy in real life but I am sure they will still find time to visit in the future. We will miss their wonderful inspiration.


On a positive note though....this now gives you the chance to be part of our fun and friendly team!
We will require a creation from you each month to showcase at the start of each challenge.
If you have the time possibly a second card during the month to keep the inspiration flowing.


What to do to be considered:


Please just add a link HERE of a project that you have posted (current or older) on your blog that will fit our challenge criteria.
Remember, all types of papercrafts and any technique....but NO STAMPS.


Our call will stay open until 12th December.

Exciting Announcement!!

Some of you might have noticed a new logo on the left side of my blog and if you haven't let me just tell you that I have been asked to be a member of the Nicecrane Designs Team! Thank you Ignacio and Dawn!! WOOT WOOT! :) I'm very excited to work with these products!!

My first creation is this beautiful victorian style Christmas ornament!



Here I decided to make it a bit fancier by adding gold glitter strips to the top and bottom flaps!


Here is a preview of what it looks like from the store. All you do is print, cut, fold and glue!


You can find this product in the store by clicking HERE!

Challenges:
Crafty Calendar - Winter Wardrobe
Crafty Catz - Use A Digi
Cupcake Craft - Two's Company
Fab N' Funky - Baby It's Cold Outside
Paper Sundaes - Use A Digi
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Women Only
ABC Challenge - D for Dazzle (gold glitter)
Totally Gorjuss - Christmas Traditions
Whoopsi Daisy - Colors of Winter

Grilled Stuffed Portabello Mushroom!

For those of you that are still in "warm weather" mode even after outdoor temps have cooled off...here is a recipe for you from Weber's Big Book of Grilling!

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon
4 large portabello mushrooms
olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Remove and discard stems and gills from the mushrooms. Wipe clean and brush both sides with olive oil. Set top side down on a platter.
In a large pan over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Add onion and red pepper to the bacon fat and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add garlic for 1 minute. Then add the bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir to blend and remove from heat. Add the bacon and cheese. Mix well and put stuffing in the mushroom caps. Grill the stuffed mushrooms over INDIRECT (or they will burn to a crisp!) high heat until soft and lightly browned. About 8-10 minutes.
Serves 4

ENJOY!!

German Tasty Tuesday!

Today I have an entire meal to show you! I fixed up a German inspired meal of crispy pork, fried taters and brussel sprouts!! SUPER YUM!

Crispy Pork Medallions - Click HERE!

Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts - Click HERE!

Fried Taters - This is just my own recipe. Slice up some potatoes (any variety) and fry them in a little olive oil. Add whatever you like to them and cook til tender. Make sure you toss frequently so the potatoes don't stick to the pan! In this particular picture I added mushroom, onion, pepper and saurkraut to my taters! :)

ENJOY!

Unstampabelles Challenge #5

Time for our fifth challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see TREES! We are also going to offer you an extra entry for the prize if you do the technique and for this month we want you to try out "paper punches/die cuts"! You have until December 2nd to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on December 5th. Remember you MUST use the theme TREES on your project and "paper punches/die cuts" are optional but it will get you an extra entry!

*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is CMD Cards!! They are offering the winner a $10 gift certificate to their store!!




Now for my DT card to get you started!



I used some CMD Cards tree die cuts (thank you Merry!) .... love the colors! Rounded the top corners of my card and finished off with a sentiment from The Sticker Store!
CMD Cards

Challenges:
Allsorts - Anything but square
Crafty Catz - Anything goes
SAS4Kids - Christmas card for a kid

Thank You!!

I wanted to show off a few items I received in the mail this week!

One is this tissue holder that Halle sewed up just for me! Isn't is FANTASTIC?!! I LOVE the colors and cherries are one of my favs! :) She also takes great photos and incorporates them into cards. You can check her blog out HERE!



The second is a Halloween card from Curt! I can't tell you how AMAZING this card looks in real life...such a great scene and so sparkly! My husband was even wowed by it!! You can check out his blog HERE! Make sure you watch the cute videos of his dogs "kids" while your there! They are very talented!



Thanks to both of you for thinking of me...it truly warms my heart!! :)
Hugs!
-Stacie

Whole Wheat Strawberry Banana Muffin!

Click HERE for the recipe!
I used a regular sized muffin pan instead of the large size and put the strawberries in whole rather than slicing them. Overall, a very delicious muffin!

Enjoy!

Happy Haunting!

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween yesterday! I have been so busy I didn't get a chance to make any Halloween cards til today. I just look at it as being early for next year! LOL! Sure feels good to be back in my crafty space for a little while!

Here is a card I made to encourage anyone and everyone to go take part in the current challenge over at Unstampabelles! You still have a few days to enter the Fall/Autumn theme! Just remember no stamps are allowed! Also, if you use stitching (real or faux) you will get your name in the pot twice for the monthly prize which is kindly sponsored by Pizzazz Aplenty!



The orange rhinestone on the top of the cats hat is from Pizzazz Aplenty...just adds that perfect touch! The main cat image which already has a faux stitching border and the sentiment are cut out from patterned paper....I received the paper from a friend (thanks)! I believe it is from the Rusty Pickle company and the "Addams Family" line. I also fussy cut the skull out of paper and covered the eyes and nose area with orange glitter.

Challenges:
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - Halloween
Fab N' Funky - Hubby,Bubble,Toil and Trouble
Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge - Halloween
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Paper Cupcakes - Trick or Treat

Yogurt Cake!

The original recipe was for a lemon yogurt cake but I am not very fond of lemon so I tweaked the recipe to my tastes. You can click HERE for the original recipe!

I used vanilla yogurt and almond extract. As an icing I just used powdered sugar, milk and some extract (can't remember if I used vanilla or almond...maybe both?) and then topped it all off with some toasted almonds.

If you plan on giving this cake a try I would suggest reading some reviews....several people have experimented with trying to reduce the amount of sugar...I know I cut WAY back on that and also used an egg substitute to lessen the calories a bit. I like dessert ALOT so I gotta cut calorie corners somewhere! LOL!

ENJOY!

Birthday Cupcake Bookmarks! - 2nd post today

*Cupcake/sentiment stamp is from Stampin' Up!*

Challenges:
Crafty Catz - Birthday
Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturday - Something food related
Sir Stampalot - Food

Mad For Markers GD Card!

Thanks for waiting on me to post something crafty...I know it has been a LONG time! Life sometimes gets in the way as I'm sure you are all familiar with that every now and again!
Here is my guest design card for the current challenge going on over at Mad For Markers and you can check me out over there by clicking HERE!




Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T Challenge - Autumn
Cardmadfairy Challenge - Spots and Stripes (hope you can see the embossed spots on the red cardstock)
Charisma Cardz - Embossing (dry embossing on red cardstock)
Kaboodle Doodle - Fall
Lollipop Crafts - Atleast 3 Embellishments
Shopping Our Stash - Fall Colors

Tomato and Herb Tostada!

Click HERE for the recipe!

* I did alter the recipe some. I used premade tostadas to save time. Added sauteed onions and mushrooms. And instead of mixing the cayenne pepper into the beans/rice I just sprinkled some on top of the ones I wanted hot for hubby and then left it off mine. Yes, I am a baby when it comes to "spicy/hot" food!!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies!

* Picture is before adding powdered sugar *

This size of cookie is perfect for a little treat and they sure don't last long around the holidays! Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Butterfinger Caramel Cake!

So good it is hard to eat just one piece!!! Click HERE for the recipe! I did not do the sweetened condensed milk layer. I also used a tub of cool whip instead of whipping my own.

Enjoy!

Thanks Chickadee!

*All stamps are Lawn Fawn except the clouds and that is from Practicing Creativity*

Sending this to a pal that has done something nice for me!

Challenges:
Lawnscaping Challenge - For World Card Making Day! Use their stamps and any theme!
Lawn Fawn - Make a thank you card using their stamps and send it to someone special!

Unstampabelles Challenge #4!

Time for our fourth challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see FALL/AUTUMN! We are also going to offer you an extra entry for the prize if you do the technique and for this month we want you to try out "stitching"! You have until November 4th to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on November 7th. Remember you MUST use the theme FALL/AUTUMN on your project and "stitching" is optional but it will get you an extra entry!

*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is Pizzaz Aplenty!!
The winner will receive a $10 surprise package of goodies!



Pizzazz Aplenty began with only a bit of bling and some ribbon, but in the last few months, we've added so much more... from cardstock to cello bags, as well as charms, stick pins, brads, buttons, cords, twines, laces, and over 20 colors in flatback pearls and rhinestones. The newest additions are teardrop pearls, button stick pins, leaf pins, heart pins, resin cameos and flowers!

* I have personally ordered from this company a few times in the past and Judy (the owner) is FANTASTIC! She replies fast and is super quick on shipping! Her costs are a real bargain and I always love the extras she puts in the orders! I encourage you to check out the store...you won't be disappointed! To go directly to the store click HERE! ... AND NO I WAS NOT PAID TO SAY ANY OF THIS! * :)

Now for my DT card to get you started!


I cut out the tree and sentiment with my Cricut "Just Because" cart. Used some scrap paper and added the perfect final touch...orange rhinestones and cranberry flatback pearls from Pizzaz Aplenty!!

Your turn! I sure hope to see more of you over at Unstampabelles this month!

Added note: Thanks to my blogging pal Dawn I am now able to increase my font size....let me know what you think!
Curt....you can put those glasses away now! LOL!

Challenges:
One Crazy Stamper - Fall Theme
Penny's Challenge - Anything Goes
Phindy's Place - Autumn/Fall
Send A Smile 4 Kids - Fall Colors
Simon Says - Anything Goes
ABC Challenge - A for Anything Goes

Happy Birthday Mr. Cool!

I think this guy looks so "cool"....the image is from Whiff of Joy Stamps and I colored him with my copics. Used my Copic 0 blender pen on the jeans and jacket to give it a faded/washed out look! Pretty cool huh? I have another one I did a different way using the blender pen but will show it later....gotta keep ya in suspense as though I'm sure that will keep you up at night! LMAO!


Challenges:
Mad For Markers - Colorless Blender
Aud Sentiments - Happy Birthday
C.R.A.F.T - Inspiration Picture
Paper Sundaes - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Men Only
Simon Says - Anything Goes
Southern Girls - Anything Goes