Cupcake Wars

Do any of you watch Cupcake Wars on TLC... it's one of my favorite shows! Of course anything to do with food is pretty much my favorite!

And now that we have the darling Build-a-Cupcake Punch from Stampin' Up, along with the Create-a-Cupcake Stamp Set.. it's easy to create a great variety of cupcakes!

Here's a great display you can make... looks like something you'd find in a Bakery window.. and good enough to eat too!

There's so many ways to trim your cupcakes... just get out your DSP and cardstock and build away! These sample were made by Creations on Paper...

Supplies Needed:

Stamp Set:
- Create a Cupcake
Inkpad:
- Early Espresso
- Melon Mambo
- Pretty in Pink
Punch:
- Build a Cupcake Punch
- Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack
- Small Heart Punch
- Owl Punch
Cardstock:
- Pretty in Pink
- Cherry Cobbler
- Chocolate chip Brown
- Early Espresso
- Pink Pirouette
- Melon Mambo
- Very Vanilla
Other Supplies:
- Dimensionals
- Glittery Red Paper from the 2011 Occassions Mini Catalogue
          (get this paper before it's gone forever
 
 

The most important ingredient in any recipe is your tender loving care!

How to Make Rectangle or Square Scallops

This tutorial from Debbie Hendersen will demonstrate how to make any size square or rectangular scallop. You will need the Scallop Edge Punch from Stampin' Up! This is what a rectangular piece looks like once completed:

Start with any size square of rectangular piece of cardstock.

You will notice that I used an Old Olive piece of cardstock below:

Turn your Scallop Edge Punch upside down so that

you can view the small cutout window.

Place your cardstock so that the edge is

aligned with the first edge of the scallop:

Punch straight across to complete the scalloped edge.

Using a ruler, pencil in a straight line from the bottom point of

your last scallop

This is what your line should look like:

Place your cardstock in your punch. You will be using the pencil line as your guide. The cardstock will not hit the back of your guard. The penciled line should should sit at the top of your scallops. Line up your first corner scallop on your cardstock with the first full scallop on the punch. This will create the rounded corner.

This is what your scallop will look like once you complete the second side:

Follow the same steps for side #3:

Completed side #3:

and side #4:

Completed scallop!

Again, you can use any size square or rectangle... the possibilities are limitless!

SAS Make n'Take - Paper Calla Lilys

So last night and today I've been having my February SAS... you saw the samples during the week of the ten different cards... and as promised I wanted to show you the calla lilys I prepared as the Make n'Take... think they will be just awesome to have for Spring cards and Mother's Day.... yet another idea I got from Debbie Hendersen's blog.....

Make n’Take – Paper Calla Lilys

 

First cut 3 Ornament Punches in Whisper White, and 3 Small Oval Punches in Daffodil Delight

Cut off the tops of each ornament as shown below:

Using a More Mustard, sponge all edges of each punched item on both

Next snip off a little piece at the end of each small oval as shown below.

Position one of the oval on top of the ornament punch to see how this will fit together:

Using your Bone Folder, hold one of the pieces in your hand holding one edge with your fingers and running your Bone Folder on the other edge, drag the bone folder across several times to loosen up the fibers. As you complete this on both sides, the paper becomes softer and will start to curl on each side


Then, using your small yellow oval, curl it up and glue the long ends together, glue to center of ornament punch shape. Glue the white shape over the yellow shape. It should end up looking like a cone as shown below:


Using the Pillow Box Die, cut one. To make the pillow box match the card, cut a piece of Daffoldil Delight and glue to Pillow Box. Next cut a small square in Whisper White and run it through my Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. The third layer is Close to Cocoa punched with the Scallop Circle Punch and the dots are created with the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder. Notice the 3 Calla Lily's that have been created:

To create the leaves, cut strips of Old Olive 1/2" wide by about 3" long.

You will be snipping the ends once everything is glued together so the length doesn't have to be exact.

Using your paper snippers, cut the ends to form leaves as pictured below.

Using Old Olive Ink, sponge both sides of the leaves:

Using your Bone Folder, grasp the square end of your leaf in one hand and slide the Bone Folder the remainder of the length to soften and release fibers from the cardstock. You'll notice the ends of your leaves start to curl as shown below. Apply TomBow glue to your leaves, leaving about an inch at the top of the leaves without glue:

Glue one leaf to each side of one of your calla lily's and also glue where they meet on the bottom.

Add another calla lily to the other side of the first one you just glued,

add another leaf to the outside edge, repeat for the other side

until you have 3 calla lily's glued in place:

Now you are ready to cut the bottom part of your leaves.

Cut so that you leave about an inch of leaf stalk from the bottom of the calla lily's.

Round the edges like you did the tops

This is what your leaves should look like on the bottom.

Sponge with Old Olive ink on the edges that you just snipped:

Assemble your pillow box: Add TomBow glue to the center of your scallop circle:

Press and hold into place for about a minute. Add a bow to the center:

What a wonderful Spring gift for Easter or Mother’s Day…

……… or just because!!

Tips & Techniques: Brayered Specialty "Magic" Paper

Create custom elegant background papers!

Supplies:

· Specialty Papers from Stampin’ Up! – Bride paper recommended

· Ink pad - color of your choice

· Brayer (or you can even use sponses or daubers)

· kleenex

Directions:

1.  Cut Bride Specialty paper to desired size

2.  Ink brayer WELL in desired color (Bermuda Bay used here)

3.  Brayer desired color onto specialty paper

4.  Let dry a minute and then buff with Kleenex

This paper is like magic.. that's actually how I refer to in....

it just does the work for you...and so elegant you get all the credit!

Please pass the milk (bottle)

First of all I should thank all of you for being so patient and putting up with me.... but there's no way this week I could just not share all the fun times we had with Brayden over the weekend...

Here's the baby food episode.... I was convinced I could get Brayden to eat some cereal or fruit. He still mostly has his formula bottles and for the bottle before bed they'll add some rice cereal to it to make it a littler heartier to get him through the night.

So I proceed to instead "make" the rice cereal and try to feed it to him, ya know like a real person eats... wrong. I even added his pears to it that he does like to have on occasion... still didn't work. I'm sure with time he develop his taste pallet as well as his texture pallet as I'm sure that's a lot of it... the texture of the food is just not natural when all you've had is liquid....

Regardless.. he "looks" darling in his bib and high chair... and loves to sit and play in it... so we're half way there at least....

So after "lunch" he was back in his walker...

and kept looking at me like he was saying

"You're not gonna make me eat anymore of that stuff are ya?"



Maybe when he gets some teeth I can feed him Cherrios at least.

Spa Night

Our kitchen sinks are super deep... and perfect to use as Brayden's bath, at least for now. David had told me he loves his bath... and goodness he was right! Water all over the place... loves to splash.. not afraid of water in his face....

So Jerry snapped a few shots during Brayden's spa night !!!  It must have really relaxed him because right after I got his PJs on him, warmed his bottle and he was out like a light!!!

Isn't this too cute... I think I'll show these at his wedding and say...

"remember when you use to fit in my kitchen sick???"....

The last is my favorite... so it's my new desktop background now!