High Hopes Challenge #10!!

Good Sunday morning!!! It's High Hopes challenge day.....and it's a good one!! This week's challenge is to use metal on your card. It can be brads, eyelets, wire, charms.....anything metal!!


For my card this week I used a recent release, Crystal Snowlady. I couldnt WAIT to ink up this beauty, especially after seeing what Crissy did with her a couple of weeks ago (which is also our new festive banner on the blog). After attempting to watercolor her, I threw that one out & made a second go at it with my trusty Prismas & gamsol. Usually I can watercolor ok with my markers, but for some reason it just didn't turn out. I recently purchased some new watercolor paper, & I don't think I got the same stuff I had before. Or...maybe it was just an operator problem. I was trying to rush & it just didn't turn out.

Anyway, this card is a bit bigger since the image is larger. It measures 4.75" x 5.75". The green paper is Bazzill Bling, & both pattern papers are K&Co Margo. I added Dazzling Diamonds to the snow & the flakes, PLUS I hopped on the bandwagon & made an Anna snowflake using Diamond Dust! It was fate ~~ they had it at my garden center & it was on sale!! So I made my first one last night....& Anna is right.....it's GLASS SHARDS!!! I don't think any blood was involved, but I definitely have to be careful using that stuff!! I used my Martha Stewart branch punch, some ribbon, & finished it off with some required metal ~~ a snowflake charm. The layout is from this week's sketch challenge on SCS, & lucky for me this also fits OCC's challenge this week, to use snowmen or snowflakes (I'm sure they won't mind a snowLADY).


Be sure to head over to the High Hopes blog to see what the other Divas created. As always, every card & project is jaw dropping!! There will be another drawing for goodies this week, so if you make a card incorporating some metal, be sure to link it in the comments on this post.

My Sunday is filled with running a couple of errands, & putting up the Xmas tree. We put up the kid's tree on Friday, & I put up the rest of the decor yesterday, now all that's left is our big tree. It's snowing right now, of course, because the snow we had was just starting to melt!! My kids have been begging me to shovel so if it amounts to much I will definitely be taking them up on that!! Have a great day!!

Black Friday & the winter blues

Good morning, all & Happy Black Friday! Nope, I'm not one of THOSE people that gets up at 4 to go stand in line in the freezing cold weather!! But I know a lot of them, & I'm waiting to hear back to from them to find out how the bargains were!!

We were home from my mom's pretty early last night, so I had time to finish this card:


I absolutely ADORE this Tilda. I've had so many wonderful friends send me Magnolia images, & of course they are all sitting in a pile, so I have no idea who sent me this one but I love it!! I may have to order her! As much as I despise winter, I love winter images. I colored Tilda & the bench with Prismas & gamsol, cut them both out & popped them on dimensionals. I used the 1/16" thick dimensionals for the bench, & the 1/4" thick for Tilda. I added Dazzling Diamonds to her wings, & Fun Flock to her coat fur. The white layer behind her is embossed with the Cuttlebug snowflake folder. The pattern paper is from Sandylion, I had picked it up at my LSS for a different project, & ended up not using it all for that. I could NOT find a blue to match, with all my Bazzill & SU & miscellaneous papers. But wait ~~ there was my pack of In Color papers, barely touched except for the Riding Hood Red. Turns out the Pacific Point was a pretty good match. I'm not big on bright blue ~~ I rarely use Brilliant Blue, which to me looks the same as PP (ok, I'm sure if I got a piece out & actually compared, they are nowhere near the same), but it worked well on this card. And ~~ gasp ~~ I sewed!!! I sewed all around the outside, not too much I could mess up there but ...well...notice the edges are distressed?? That's so you wouldn't noticed how crooked my stitches are!! LOL!! I finished the card off with a glittery snowflake ~~ found a pack of these at Michaels ~~ & some branches punched out of Pacific Point.


I hope you all have a fabulous day ~~ I would love to hear if you are one of those crazies.....um, I mean.....THRIFTY BARGAIN HUNTERS.....who ventured out today, & what goodies you got!! I have to go to Walmart to pick up a few things & I'm very very afraid. I will wait till later in the day, hopefully everyone else will be done shopping by then!!!!

Blog candy alert!

Check out the amazing blog candy Bev is offering ~~ an adorable Whiff of Joy stamp, a pad of Christmas paper, & lots of other bling & doo-dads. Plan to stay awhile & look around, because she does some AMAZING work!! Click HERE to take a look-see!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a fantastic Turkey Day!!!!!!

A card at last

Good Wednesday morning, everyone!! The sun is shining, the kids are off of school & my hubby is going shopping with his friend!! Yay for him getting out of the house (and out of my hair).

I finally got a card made last night. Specifically, a card for last Sunday's High Hopes challenge, which was a sketch made by Ila.


For this card I used Fishing Santa, one of the latest releases from High Hopes. I colored him with Prismas & gamsol, & added some Martha Stewart glitter to his hat. I'd really like to use some of the Diamond Dust that Anna's been using lately ~~ I found some at the local garden center ~~ but I'm pretty sure I'd hurt myself with it. I mean, it's GLASS SHARDS. As I sit here with Pooh & Spongebob Band-Aids all over my fingers. Let's just say I'm not the most careful crafter. I cut myself this morning looking for a stamp. Yeesh.

Anyway, back to the card. So let's see...Prismas...glitter...oh yeah. I used the Martha Stewart snowflake punch that Dawn bought me on the middle strip behind Santa, the Martha Stewart snowflake punch, & the Martha Stewart branch punch. Do you see a pattern here?? If I could only afford every single punch of hers.......

When I was done, the main panel looked like it needed something. Of course, it was already all assembled when I decided this, lol. It's much easier to wrap cord around corners when that layer ISN'T already glued down! So that's why it's a little crooked. In fact, Santa's looking a little drunk himself. I just noticed he looks a little lopsided. Hey ~~ everybody has a beer or two when they fish, don't they??


Here's the inside of my card. I used a strip of the Basic Grey Wassail (which is the paper I used on the card, forgot to mention that), punched a small snowflake out & glued that to the corner. Of course, I had to use the Christmas Fishies sentiment. All in all, it turned out okay, albeit very late!!


So have you made your card for the challenge yet? If so, then be sure to link it to this post on the High Hopes blog, so you can be entered in the drawing to win some goodies!!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!! Are you all getting ready for Thanksgiving??

Thanks a ton...

Good morning! Since I'm slacking so badly lately & still have nothing to show that I've created recently, I thought I would share the card I made for a charity auction on Ebay. I was asked a couple of months ago if I would like to donate a card for an auction that was going to be running in November, with all proceeds going to the Make A Wish foundation. It didn't take me long to say Yes!!! However, after looking at the list of other Ebay sellers/cardmakers that were contributing, I started to stress. I mean, these ladies are the TOP sellers on Ebay, the very best. But I took my time ~~ we're talking weeks ~~ to make sure my card was just right. It's not anything over-the-top, but how could I go wrong with a High Hopes card??



I signed up to make a Thank You card, & turned to my fellow Divas for advice on which stamp to use. Someone suggested Oops Ellie (sorry, ladies, can't remember who suggested it) with the saying "Thanks a Ton". So I went with that. Ellie is colored with Prismas & gamsol, then I layered the heck out of her. I used Stickles on her bow & added some Primas, brads & Dew Drops. Like I said, nothing stupendously magnificent, but I think she's cute. I couldn't find my "Thanks a Ton" stamp ~~ heck, maybe I don't even have it ~~ so I used the computer to generate the saying for the inside of the card.



So there you have it ~~ my contribution. The charity auction will start on November 29th, & will run for 10 days. There will also be a charity auction running at the same time for Canine Companions for Independence. I will post a link to both of them once they are up & running. I know I said I was done with Ebay for the year, but this is a great opportunity for me to run a few auctions with perhaps a bit more traffic than I would normally get, since all the sellers names will be listed in the auction. I was thrilled to be a part of this & I really hope these auctions raise a good amount of money for these terrific charities.

Well I'm off to start my day, which consists of helping out at school & doing a little Christmas shopping. My kids are off of school for the next 5 days so I'd better get as much done as I can!! Have a great day, & thanks so much for all of your comments, emails & friendship!!

Well, well, well...

Lookie what I woke up to this morning!!


Not an unusual sight in Wisconsin, of course, except it was bone dry yesterday & I had no idea they were predicting snow!! I was gone all day yesterday & didn't watch the news, nor did I read the paper, so it was a surprise to me!! OF COURSE our snowblower won't start, & since my hubby is still laid up guess who had to shovel this pretty white stuff!!!! I keep telling myself it's good exercise!!

Oh what a long day it was yesterday!!! The Lego League competition was fun, exhausting, & unfortunately for our team, it's over. They didn't make it to State. But we also had one of the youngest teams, & not one person on our team, including the coaches, had ever done this before. The FLL is for 4th-8th graders, & a lot of the older teams are the ones going to State. But I can't tell you how proud I am. They did a fantastic job, their teamwork was amazing, & they all want to do it again next year!

I had a lot of emails asking me what Lego League is all about. Here is their website ~ check it out!!! If your child will be in 4th - 8th grade next year, they can join!! If you don't have a team at your school, start one!! It is such a great experience for the kids! They learn all about automation, robots & engineering. Every year LL comes out with a theme ~~ this year's was "Climate Connection". The team has to do a research project, & they have to build & program a robot to do the given missions. Points are given for each mission completed. The teams all sign up for a competition date, when they compete against other schools. Some will go on to State, & there's even a National competition. I am so glad Matthew wanted to join, & that he wants to do it again next year. Here are a few pictures:

Our coach & 2 of the kids during one of their rounds (I didn't have permission from the parents to post these, which is why the kids faces are blurred).


Here are all the teams gathering at the end, for the awards ceremony.


And here is Matthew in front of the poster board they created for the research project. There is a flooding problem in one of our local subdivisions, & they came up with a way to control it.


If you have any questions, let me know. I am so excited about this program, & can't wait until we can do it again next year! Yes, it's a lot of work, & it's very intense. But it's soooo worth it!!

Hopefully now I will have some time to visit my old friends, Stamps & Ink. They've been sorely neglected these past few weeks, & I'm afraid if I ignore them any longer, they are going to pack their bags & leave!! Have a great Monday!!

High Hopes Challenge #9!!

Happy Sunday everyone!!! I was up super duper early today to drive my son to his Lego League coach's house. They are all going together to the competition & we are going to meet up later. It should be a fun day!!

Even though I didn't get to make a card for today's challenge on the High Hopes blog, you need to pop over & see what all the other amazing Divas did!! Today was Ila's turn to host, & she has a sketch all ready for you to play with!! It's a good one, & I hope I have time some time this week to play along!! And there's another drawing for goodies ~~ this week Tina is offering the Crystal Snowlady & the Snow People saying so be sure to link your creations to today's post on the HH blog!!

Happy Friday!!

I just wanted to check in with you all!! I've gotten a couple of "Where are you?" emails ~~ eek!! Sorry I'm slacking a bit, but this week has been busy with work (I worked 4 FULL days ~ I know, I know, many of you work 40+ but this working thing takes some getting used to, lol) and Lego League meetings every night. We also meet at the coach's house tomorrow all morning, then the competition is all day Sunday. I'm also having some serious sleep problems. I know things go downhill medically as we get older, but it's ridiculous how many times I wake up each night. The other night it was every hour. I bet I get about 2 hours of sleep a night, total, even though I'm in bed for 7-8 hours. It is painful getting up in the morning, to the point I have tears in my eyes. I'm drowsy all the time, & get headaches at least 3 times a week. I have a dr appointment next week, & am going to discuss having a sleep study done. I'm sure I have apnea, & not only is that an annoying condition to have, but it's very dangerous. I've been doing some research on it, & its amazing how dramatically shorter one's life will be with undiagnosed/untreated apnea. So it's time to do something about it!!

Anyway, I'm hoping after this competition is over I will have at least a bit more free time (although my hubby will STILL be here at home, lol). Of course I do hope the kids go to State, because that would be an amazing experience, but if they don't that's ok, too. They've learned a lot, & everyone is tired, lol!! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend & that you get to do something fun!!!!!

My first Hanglar!

Wow, it feels like it should be Friday, but it's only Tuesday!! LOL!! Not a sign of a week going well. I've been crazy busy with work, helping at school (which is doing pretty much the same thing I do when I'm working, only I don't get paid, lol) & wrapping up Lego League. The competition is Sunday, so we have meetings tomorrow, Thursday & Saturday. The competition is Sunday ~ all day!! We have to be in Milwaukee (contrary to my SCS id, I actually live outside of Milwaukee) by 7:45 AM & the awards ceremony isn't until 5:00. That will be a looooong day, but the kids have worked hard & I'm really looking forward to it.

Anyhoo ~~ on to the reason you visit this blog ~~ cards! Well, A card. This sums up what I have done since Friday, stamping-wise. I love love love the Hanglars & as you probably know, they are not available in the US. So...my wonderful friend & fellow High Hopes Diva Nikki stamped some off for me ~ I couldn't be more thrilled!! The hard part was deciding which image to use first!! I settled on this cutie with her hat & scarf, since we have already seen snow here in Wisconsin.


She's colored with Prismas & gamsol, of course. I really need to work more on coloring in other ways! The rose & green papers are Bazzill Bling, & the designer paper is K&Co Margo. I love this pad ~ the colors are so rosy & beautiful. I think I'll be going to this stack a lot for my Christmas cards. I kept the card rather simple, adding a bit of Stickles to the snow, some ribbon & some beautiful Primas that were a gift from Tina Russell, the owner of High Hopes. The tag came from a big ole box of tags I bought at Michael's about a year ago, this is the first that I've used. Only about 999 left in the box, lol. A bit of faux stitching around the outside of the card & it was done.


Clearly I've slowed up a bit lately in the cardmaking. I'm done on Ebay except for a few I will list during a charity auction to which I donated a card (I will link the auction when it's running). As I've mentioned, I must get going on making some Christmas cards for personal use. It's very hard for me to make cards when I know I HAVE to make them. I get very stressed & un-creative. I feel like throwing all my stamping stuff away. Luckily, the feeling will pass eventually. It better, because Christmas is not going to wait!!

Buttons, brads and....kittens!

Good Sunday morning everyone!! Are you ready for another High Hopes Sunday challenge??? This week was my turn to come up with a challenge, & I chose buttons & brads!!! You need to use BOTH buttons AND brads on your card or project ~~ easy peasy!!!


I used Christmas Kitty Fun for my card this week. I stamped it on Kraft paper & used my Prismas & gamsol to color. I have seen lots of people lately using the Prismas-on-Kraft (including my idol Anna) & just love the look. I have tried it in the past, only to have failed miserably! This time it went ok, still not quite perfect but ok. Then, of course, because I used red, the picture isn't the greatest. Anyway, back to the card. I used the layout from last week's Friday Sketchers blog. LOVE the sketch but that diagonal strip was NOT easy to create! I just couldn't get it cut right. Once I did get it to my liking, I used my Martha Stewart doily lace punch & sponged the edges with Riding Hood Red. I used Basic Grey Figgy for the background, & RHR & Always Artichoke for my accent colors. I wish I had used red brads in the corners instead of green, but the only red ones I had were just not the right color. As stampers, I'm sure you understand! My hubby would look at them & say "They're red, of course they match!" but we all know there are about 100 shades of red, & that they most certainly can clash!


Be sure you check out the High Hopes blog to see what the other Divas created!! As always, your jaw will drop!! Amazing work by those ladies!!! There are also a couple of goodies up for grabs, so high tail it over there right now!!!

Today is a day of cleaning & laundry. We always put up our Christmas trees Thanksgiving weekend, & with the house in the state it's in right now.....well we'd have to put them up in the garage, lol!! So....clean up the clutter, vacuum, put away fall decor.......all that fun stuff. I guess Christmas is here!!! I'd better get the eggnog ready!!!

A good friend

OK, I'm slacking a bit. I have a list of things to get done & have had no time to do them. Well, that's a lie. I've worked the last two days & have been BEAT by dinner time. Usually when I work, I stamp after my kids go to bed. But the last couple of days of work have worn me out, so I've just vegged in from of the tv. I've been working a lot with the special needs kids, something that is fun, yet challenging. And being a sub, I don't know these kids yet as well as I eventually hope to, & I sometimes struggle with the right thing to say & do. My over-40 brain & body are completely burned out by day's end!

Anyway, I haven't had time to create anything new so I thought I'd show you a Halloween card I made for my wonderful friend Dawn (flowergal36 on SCS). We met on SCS this past summer & became fast friends. She was the sender of the fabulous package of goodies I raved about HERE. So I made her this Halloween card:


She had really liked a card I made using this same image a few weeks before, so the very least I could do was make her one similar to that one. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with Colorbox black pigment ink, then embossed it with clear EP. I used my SU markers & blender pen to color it in. The designer paper is from Reminisce ~~ I bought it last year & have used almost every inch of it. Lots of embossing, Nesties & punches on this card, followed by my custom made pseudo Dew Drops (I used my 1/4" hole punch to punch green cardstock, then applied it to the bottoms ~ voila ~ matching Dew Drops).

I am so grateful I discovered SCS, because I have met some of the most amazing people there. Dawn, I treasure our friendship!! Thanks for all you have done for me!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday night!! We had a brief showing of sun today, but now it is pouring ~ again. But that's ok because ER is on in 10 minutes & that is definitely a bright spot in my day!!!!

The winter blahs....already??

Yeah, I don't know if it's the dark, dreary weather here today, or if I'm coming down with something ~ again!! I could easily have picked up something at the hospital last week. I swear I catch EVERYTHING!! I'm not really SICK sick, just....blah! Headachy, tired (went back to bed after the boys went to school), no energy.....I hope nothing major comes of it, I have too much to do!!

I love this hedgie image from Penny Black. My friend Cris & I got together a few weeks ago, & she had just bought this stamp. So of course, I helped myself to a few images :) Thanks, Cris!



I colored the hedgie with my usual Prismas & gamsol, & applied Stickles all around the image. Why did I do that? Right!! Because I made a mistake & needed to cover it up!! So he's really glistening :) The sketch is based on Katharina's sketch challenge from back in September. She has some great sketches, so if you're ever a bit lost on a layout, check out her blog!! (in fact, you should check it out anyway ~~ she's celebrating her one year blog anniversary~~ she's got some goodies to give away!!) Anyway, back to the card. The papers are Real Red & Old Olive, & the designer paper is from the Provocraft Holiday Slab from last year ~~ I'm getting a LOT of use out of that pack!! The circles were done with my Nesties, & of course I had to add a bunch of goodies ~~ Dew Drops, ribbon, & Primas. I'd really like to start creating more "simple" cards ~ especially after I realized how many Xmas cards I'd have to make ~~ but it's really hard for me. You're either good at "simple" or you're not, & I'm not. I also can't make the same card twice. It's like a sickness ~~ I'll have to work on that.



Well, I'm off to pick up my kids at school. Maybe I will feel better if I get out of the house. Let's face it, with hubby home, I'm feeling a bit claustrophobic, lol. I'm hoping to stamp a little later after the boys go to bed, but it depends on whether I'm feeling better. I get in these funks, & I just can't do anything. And if I try to make myself stamp, I will only create things that will ultimately end up in the circular file. Are you like that? Do you have to be in the right "mood" to stamp?? Or do you stamp no matter what, when you have the time??

A new winner & another recipe!

Hi everyone!! It is REALLLLLLLY cold here in Milwaukee this morning, not a nice thing to wake up to on a Monday. You know winter's right around the corner when you have to start your car in the morning so you don't freeze your kahunas off when it's time to go!!!

Well, sadly, I never heard from Karen, the original winner of my blog candy. But that's good news for someone else! I drew another number this morning & my new winner is.......

Here are your random numbers:

35

Timestamp: 2008-11-10 14:44:02 UTC

Comment #35 belongs to BECKY!!!! Congrats, Becky!!! I am leaving a message on Becky's blog so she can claim her prize!! Thanks again for playing everyone, & remember there's another hop going on RIGHT NOW so start clicking on all the Diva's blogs to find it!!

I was on a baking kick on Saturday, & one of the things I made was pumpkin bread. I personally detest all things pumpkin, but my kids love it. I thought I would share the recipe with you, since it's easy & everyone always raves about it. I got the recipe from my grandma, so I'm not sure where it came from, but it's a keeper!!

PUMPKIN BREAD

5 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 pkgs (3 oz each) Cook & Serve vanilla pudding mix (you CANNOT use Instant!!!)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add oil & pumpkin; beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients; gradually beat into pumpkin mixture. Pour batter into 5 greased 5" x 2 1/2" x 2" loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

****Bread may also be baked in 2 greased 8" x 4" x 2" loaf pans for 75-80 minutes.

That's it!!! Super easy & delicious, or so I'm told. Let me know if you make it, I'd love to hear how your family likes it!! It's fun to make the mini loaves to give away as gifts. I'm always looking for things like this to give teachers, busdrivers, etc for Xmas. I think they appreciate homemade goodies over yet another candle :)

I hope you have a fabulous Monday & that it's not too cold where YOU are!!!!

Sparkly challenge

Good Sunday morning everyone!! Are you ready for another High Hopes blog challenge?? This week, the FABULOUS Anna is challenging us to use sparkle on our cards!! That's an easy one, especially as we all are in the midst of making Christmas cards! You can use Stickles, glitter, glitter pen, rhinestones....anything that sparkles!! There's another drawing this week....up for grabs is Christmas Kitty Fun and Meowy Christmas! Just post a comment on the High Hopes blog with a link to your sparkly card for your chance to win!!



For my card, I chose to use an older stamp, Charity Winter Angel. I colored her with Prismas & gamsol & added LOTS of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to her wings & the snow on the ground. The dotted paper is from the DCWV Christmas stack from last year. It's a beautiful deep burgundy color, although it doesn't show its gorgeous color in the photo. I also used Fun Flock for the very first time, covering her "fur" on her coat with it. You may have to click on the picture to get a better view of that ~ Fun Flock is not the easiest thing to photograph! I added some glitter to the Primas as well, just in case the glitter on the wings & snow wasn't enough. That's right, I wanted to out-sparkle everyone else!! LOL!! I did some sewing around the card, but please don't look too closely at that!! I finally figured out the perfect tension on my machine, but not until AFTER this card was done so some of the stitches are rather loose. I fixed it best I could, but I knew the more I kept fixing it, the more apt I was so completely ruin it. So it is what it is, not my best but not my worst!!



Please go check out all the other Divas creations on the High Hopes blog. There are some wonderful creations there that makes me just want to sit & create sparkly cards all day. I need to make tons more Christmas cards.....I know some people who are DONE with theirs! I didn't send any out last year so I need to make up for that. I hope you all have a great Sunday!!

A dreary Saturday

Wow, is it miserable here today. Rainy & cold ~ I guess winter really is just around the corner. Today is a day of baking, laundry, tending to hubby, & trying to stamp in between. Here's a card I finished yesterday, before I picked hubby up from the hospital. I rushed to finish it, knowing I wasn't going to have time when I got home!


This was a tough one. I threw away 3 other colored images before deciding this one was "okay". I'm still not thrilled ~~ the colors are just not right. I love love love this DCWV paper ~~ it's from the 6x6 Sweet pack I found at Michael's. The colors are gorgeous ~~~ pinkish reds. Or would that be reddish pinks? But I had a really hard time coloring Tilda's dress to match. I even dug into my son's colored pencils, hoping to find something close. This was the best I could do. And let's not even discuss taking the picture ~~ you know how my camera LOVES reds!!

Still looking for Karen N, the winner of my blog candy. Karen has until tomorrow night to contact me, & if I don't hear from her, I will draw another winner on Monday morning. I will be back tomorrow with my card for the High Hopes Sunday challenge!! Have a great Saturday!!

Searching for Karen N!

The winner of my blog candy, Karen N, has not contacted me yet. If anyone out there knows her, could you let her know she won?? There was no link in her comment, so I have no way of getting hold of her. If she doesn't contact me by Sunday night, I will draw another winner. Thanks!!!!

We have a winner & a recipe!

Thank you to all who entered the blog candy!!! And the winner is...........

Here are your random numbers:

74

Timestamp: 2008-11-06 21:36:42 UTC

Comment #74 belongs to Karen N!!!! Congratulations, Karen ~~~ please contact me so I can get your address!! You can find my email link under "my complete profile".

If you didn't win ~~ no worries!! Another Diva has some blog candy up for grabs RIGHT NOW, so you'd better get hopping to find who it is!!

I had said that my favorite cookies are spritz. Some of you have never heard of these, so I thought I'd share my recipe so you can try them out this Christmas! Consider yourself warned ~~ they are SOOOO addicting!!!

SPRITZ COOKIES

1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking powder, ALL sifted together
1 tsp almond extract

Cream butter, add sugar & egg, then dry ingredients. Add food coloring if you wish. Use cookie press to make different shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 6 dozen.


Of course, when I started making these as a child, the only press available was the hand press. Boy did my arms hurt after using that!! But now they have battery powered presses ~ all you do is push a button & VOILA!! There's your cookie, all ready to bake!!!

If you make these, I would love to hear how you & your family like them!! They are so yummy, I'm not sure why I only make them at Christmas. I'm sure there are cookie press plates for all holidays. I'll have to look for those!!

Lastly, thank you to all who sent good thoughts for my husband. He came through the surgery just fine & is on his way to a looonnnnggggg recovery. He fell off a ladder this morning, before we left for the hospital. I was sure that was a bad omen. But all went well. Unfortunately it's going to take a long while before we know if the surgery worked or not. He still has to be on a liquid diet for about 4 more weeks!! That's right, we'll be blending his turkey & sweet potatoes this Thanksgiving!

Fairy Merry Christmas!!

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY BLOG CANDY ONE POST DOWN!!!!!!!

Good Wednesday morning!! Did you all stay up way too late watching the election coverage?? I did, & I am soooo tired but it was worth it. As sick as I was of all the commercials & phone calls, I enjoyed watching the results. But now it's going to be a loooong day!!

I made another Christmas card, this time using one of the new fairy images from High Hopes. This one is Holly the Winter Fairy ~ isn't she precious??


Holly is colored with Prismas & gamsol, & is sporting LOTS of glitter!! There's glitter on her wings, her booties, & her collar. There's glitter on the poinsettia, the little snowflake, & the Riding Hood Red scalloped layer. I used my new Basic Grey Wassail (coincidentally, I also have a pack of this in my blog candy!!) which goes so well with the RHR. I know I saw this sketch recently, but I can't remember if it was on SCS or someone's blog. So much inspiration out there, I just can't keep it all straight!! Anyway, I finished it off with some RHR taffeta ribbon, with a thinner olive ribbon over that.

Here's the inside & look ~ it's not blurry!! I don't know why my camera worked okay with this picture but I'm glad it did. I used my Martha Stewart snowflake border punch from Dawn on the RHR layer, then added a scrap piece of the Wassail over that. The holly in the corner is an older stamp from High Hopes ~ I just had to use it :)


Thanks so much for dropping by today, & don't forget about my blog candy below. You have until noon tomorrow (CST) to enter!!! Have a great day!!

The Hop stops here!!!!

Yes, I am the chosen one this week!!!!! Blog candy right here!!!!!!!!


My counter recently passed 10,000 so along with a couple of stamps, I'm offering a few extras. My blog candy includes:

1) an unmounted High Hopes Santa Portrait stamp

2) an unmounted High Hopes Festive Wreath stamp

3) a 6" x 6" pad of Basic Grey Wassail

4) 2 yards each of 2 different Christmas-y red & green ribbon

5) a pack of Recollections present stickers

6) a 48 pack of multi colored rhinestones

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post .....let's see.....well since Halloween is over & my candy is all Christmas related, how about leaving me a comment telling me what your favorite Christmas cookie is!! Either your favorite to eat or your favorite to make ...or both!!! Mine is Spritz ~~ love to make them (my grandma taught me when I was a wee one) & I love to eat them!! If you have a blog & would like to spread the word, that would be great!!!! If you don't have a blog, well then call all your friends & tell them :) You have until Thursday noon CST to post a comment!!! Coincidentally, my hubby is going in for surgery on Thursday, so I will have Random.org pick a winner as soon as I get home!! Good luck & thanks for participating!!!