Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!

I haven't been able to do much crafting in the last couple of week's but I wanted to make sure I did make something special for my niece. I made this cute card using the adorable Itty Bitty Betty - Yummy Frogs digi stamp from Pink Cat Studios.

Following the diaper fold pouch demo from SplitCoast Stampers and the Itty Bitty Betty - Witches Costume from Pink Cat Studios, I also created this container to hold a few pieces of chocolate and a light up pen.

I sure hope she enjoys it!

Sunbeams Blog Hop ~ November 1st

Join the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps DT on November 1st for a fabulous 1-day blog hop featuring their newest line, The Sunbeams!

And don't forget to join in on their weekly sketch challenges at Sweet Stop Sketches. New challenges are posted every Saturday.

A Good Read

With the cold weather upon us in the Midwest, it is the perfect time to curl up and read a good book. What could better than combining a cozy mystery and crafting together!? Here are a few books to get you through those cold winter months:

Tragic Magic by author Laura Childs


The next Scrapbooking mystery takes readers back to New Orleans, where there are spookies, foodies-and crafty killers. Carmela, owner of Memory Mine scrapbook shop, and her best friend, owner of Juju Voodoo, have a big project. Melody Mayfeldt is converting an old mansion in the Faubourg-Marigny district into an unforgettable haunted house for those who flock to New Orleans for a creepy fix. She needs Carmela's crafty touch to make the Medusa Manor come to life in time for the upcoming horror convention. But Melody takes her house haunting too seriously-especially when her flaming body comes crashing through a tower window to 'welcome' them to the job. Sure there's been an increased trend in murder lately, but someone specifically wanted Carmela's client very dead. Carmela's in some deep gumbo again and needs to crop out a killer from the throngs of people flocking to New Orleans. Then maybe it won't be so hard living in the Big Easy.

Inked Up (A Stamping Sisters Mystery) by author Terri Thayer


Halloween is scarier than ever in Aldenville, Pennsylvania, when professional rubber stamper April Buchert discovers a dead body in a "haunted" corn maze. The police suspect the victim's husband murdered her, but April knew the couple, and she and the Stamping Sisters are determined to find the real killer before he catches another in his murderous motif.
Spin a Wicked Web: A Home Crafting Mystery by author Cricket McRae

Soapmaker Sophie Mae Reynolds and police detective Barr Ambrose are back in their third enjoyable adventure in small-town Washington State. Sophie has become involved in the Cadyville Regional Arts Co-op (CRAC), where she is learning how to spin wool from one of the other crafters. Then a fellow member of the co-op is strangled—using Sophie’s first skein of yarn. To make things worse, Barr wants to have a “talk.” While the first two mysteries in this series involved crimes that looked like accidents, this time it is a straightforward murder, and it looks like the killer is going to get away with it. Ultimately, of course, Sophie and Barr sort it all out, and along the way, we learn more about fibers, weaving, and soap lore, and we are entertained by McRae’s clever analogies linking weaving yarn and unraveling the clues that will unmask the murderer. The wide variety of interesting hobbies represented among the co-op members leaves the door open for Sophie Mae to explore additional crafts and more lovably eccentric small-town characters in her future outings.

Cutwork (Needlecraft Mystery) by author Monica Ferris

After an artisan is murdered at the Excelsior, Minnesota, art fair, everyone is on pins and needles. It's up to needlework shop owner Betsy Devonshire to figure out who had designs on the dead designer.

The Divine Influence

You have to check out the Divine Influence blog.


Divine Influence - We created this blog to showcase 'Divine' Crafty Creations from all parts of the globe! Especially picked and showcase by our very own Divine Gals! You will find some crafters are features more than once, this is because it's their 'creation/s' that are inspirational and not the blog that's being featured ;-)


Today's feature is Melissa from Creating from the Heart. I have been a follower of her blog for a while now and really love her designs. Here are a few items that were just published in CardMaker magazine:





If you agree that Melissa's does beautiful work, send her some love via comments on her blog!

Leftover Halloween Candy

I know that Halloween hasn't come yet, but here is a great idea for your leftover candy corn candy. They were a big hit last year at my family's Thanksgiving celebration and would make a great holiday tradition.



Turkey Cookies


1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped chocolate frosting
Candy corn
1 tube (4.25 oz) Betty Crocker® yellow decorating icing
Miniature candy-coated semisweet chocolate baking bits
1 tube (0.68 oz) Betty Crocker® black decorating gel

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.
3. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.
4. Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
5. Frost and decorate 1 cookie at a time. After spreading frosting on cookie, add candy corn for feathers. Pipe yellow icing for beak and feet. Add baking bits for eyes; pipe black gel for center of each eye.

Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker website

Halloween Cookies

Here is a great idea for your next Halloween party or just to surprise your family with.




Candy Corn Cookies

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
Orange paste food color
2 oz semisweet chocolate, melted, cooled

1. Line 8x4-inch loaf pan with waxed paper, extending paper over sides of pan. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.
2. On work surface, place 3/4 cup dough. Knead desired amount of food color into dough until color is uniform. Press dough evenly in bottom of pan.
3. Divide remaining dough in half. Gently press one half of remaining dough into pan on top of orange dough.
4. On work surface, knead chocolate into remaining dough until color is uniform. Press over plain dough in pan, pressing gently to edge of pan.
5. Refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until firm.
6. Heat oven to 375°F.
7. Remove dough from pan. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into 5 wedges. On ungreased cookie sheet, place wedges 1 inch apart.
8. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set and edges are very light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.

Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker website.

Candy Corn Pudding

I was doing some blog hopping this morning and came across this cute dessert idea by Jewels at PaperJewels




Candy Corn Pudding

Instant or cooked butterscotch pudding (bottom layer)
Instant or cooked vanilla pudding (dyed with yellow food coloring) for the middle layer
Cool Whip or whipped topping (top layer)

Wouldn’t this make a great treat for a Halloween party or even Thanksgiving?

While you are there, check out the rest of Jewel's blog. She has some great Halloween and fall projects.

Daily Deals

Here are a few great sites that you can check out daily deals on scrapbooking, cardmaking, and papercrafting deals:

ScrapbookSteals
At ScrapbookSteals.com you'll find one hot scrapbooking product every day at 50-80% off until it sells out. It's not just a deal, it's a steal! A 'ScrapbookSteal'!

They offer one amazing steal a day at 9am MST until it sells out. Check back daily to see what's new.

PeachyCheap
Peachycheap.com is an online store that sells one scrapbook product at a time at an awesome price.

Here’s how it works:
· Peachy Cheap sells one deal per day until it is gone.
· Everything is discounted up to 99% off retail price so they sell out fast.
· Act fast or you will miss out, once they are gone, they are gone.
· Shipping varies depending on the weight and handling. Most packages ship within 2-3 business days.

Crop Chocolate
At CropChocolate.com™, we sell all-things scrapbook. But here's the catch, we only sell one item at a time – at a delicious price. Every day several items will be posted – so act fast – a limited quantity will be sold at deeply discounted prices. No time to let it temper.

Organize It!

I stumbled across a great new blog that will help me (and maybe you) get your house and life organized. Maria has created a blog called Project Organization (365 days of the year). She says the goal is to de-clutter, re-organize, and to turn a chaotic room into a Zen-sational area. Sometimes de-cluttering and re-organizing can be a spiritual experience. LOL!

Maria promises to post each day an organization challenge and when done, she'll post an update with a photo of the completed task.

Today's challenge is to fold, hang, and put away all your clean laundry. I know I have a few laundry baskets that have clean laundry in need of folding & putting away so I will be joining today's challenge.

Challenge & Win

Jennifer at Scrapbooking & Crafting Friends just posted a challenge for Non-Design Team members. Create as many NEW projects (it can be ANYTHING) using ANY FREEBIE(S) and/or any items you have already purchased from the MyGrafico.com Site. Each Project will count as 1 point. The Non-DT Member with the most points on October 31st at 11:59pm EST will win a Digital Stamp Set From MyGrafico.com

Just post your points here and your projects here

Good Luck!!

Stuffed Chick Cordon Bleu

I just wanted to share this very yummy one serving chicken dish.

HG's Stuffed Chick Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:
One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
1 oz. (about 3 slices) 97 - 98% fat-free ham slices
salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put chicken in a large sealable plastic bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and seal. Using a meat tenderizer or a can, carefully pound chicken through the bag until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Remove chicken from the bag, and season to taste with salt and pepper on both sides.

Lay the chicken flat and spread the cheese wedge over it. Evenly layer the ham slices on top of the cheese. Starting with one of the longer sides (or any side, if it's square), tightly roll up the chicken breast cutlet, and secure with toothpicks.

Place chicken roll in a baking dish lined with foil and/or sprayed with nonstick spray, and then cover the baking dish with foil.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil covering the dish. Continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Serving Size: 1 chicken cordon bleu (entire recipe)
Calories: 222
Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 692mg
Carbs: 2g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 40g

Check out this blog!

I just ran across a blog that I thought I would share with everyone. Practical Scrappers is a site dedicated to making use of the supplies that we already have on hand and are neglecting. Each week a challenge will be presented to use a specific embellishment or tool.

This week's challenge is called Office Supplies. Angela and Christine challenge you to take on Office Supplies of all kinds: brads, staples, file folders, legal or notebook paper, paper clips...you name it! We all have some of these in our stash - now show everyone how you creatively use them!

Online Virtual Crop

Susan at the ScrapyLand blog just posted some more details on the virtual crop coming up in November. It is going to be 24 hours of fun.

5pm to 5pm is Arizona time. Which on November 13th will be MST

Virtual Crop

Susan at the ScrapyLand blog posted that there will be a virtual crop on Nov 13th. So mark your calendars for an opportunity to complete challenges, win prizes, and create some fantastic crafting items while online chatting with a bunch of wonderful ladies. As Susan posts additional information concerning the virtual crop, I will update my blog.

Healthy Lasagna

I haven't had much time lately to make cards or scrapbook, so I decided to make a little change to my blog. From now on, I will be sharing recipes and healthy tips, posting crafting projects or ideas, and any other little tidbits of information that I think will be helpful. Of course I will still be posting cards and scrapbook page layouts.

To get the ball rolling, I am including a recipe for Healthy Lasagna that is very weight watching friendly.



Healthy Lasagna

Makes 12 servings

9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 lb extra lean (90%) ground beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jar pasta sauce (approx 25.5 oz)
1 ½ Italian seasoning
1 egg
1 contaner (15 oz) reduced fat ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package. Place in cold water.


Meanwhile, in 12 inch skillet, cook beef and garlic over medium high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until beef is throughly cooked; drain grease. Stir in pasta sauce and Italian seasoning. Heating to boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, beat egg slightly. Stir in ricotta cheese until blended. Drain noodles. Spread about ½ cup sauce mixture on bottom of baking dish. Top with 3 noodles, 1 ½ cups of sauce mixture, half of the ricotta mixture, and ¾ cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining noodles, sauce, and mozzarella cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Spray 15 piece of foil with cooking spray and cover lasagna.

Bake 45 minutes. Uncover and make 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information:

1 serving – 240 calories (calories from fat 80)
Total Fat 9 g
Cholesterol 60 mg
Sodium 400 mg
Fiber 2 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 20 g

For additional fiber (and veggies), add 10-16 oz drained thawed spinach and 2 cans drained mushrooms to sauce mixture.

It's a busy life!

I want to apologize to all my blog followers for being MIA the past week. My work has taken up most of my waking hours and I have been too exhausted to craft. Right now I am preparing for a weekend (Friday - Sunday) scrapbooking retreat, so I will not be blogging again until Monday. My camera is coming along on the retreat, so you will see some wonderful pages posted on Monday from all the ladies that attended the retreat.