Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar

I have gotten several questions on my advent calendar since posting on the Cricut Messageboard. I am going to list some "how to's" here. Hopefully many will make this fun calendar.

I started with a metal cookie sheet. Mine is stored away right now so I don't remember the measurements, but I would say to get the large size.

I also found some Martha Stewart favor tins on sale. These tins have a clear acrylic insert in the lid. I measured the inside of the lids and then experimented a little with Design Studio until I had the perfect size circle shape to fit into the lids.

I used 4 different coordinating patterned papers for the squares on the calendar. One paper for the background (the holly and berries paper on my calendar) . 4 Solid colored cardstock for the squares and lids. And one neutral solid colored cardstock for the background behind the squares. I set each of my tins on the cookie sheet and measured how large I wanted my squares to be. Each "space" is a solid colored cardstock mat with a patterned paper top. The lid color matches that squares mat color.

I cut the word Christmas using the Mickey font. "Countdown to" is printed on my computer. I cut different shapes out and decorated shapes for the inside of the lid. So the decoration is under the clear acrylic lid section. On each lid decoration I placed the number. This year I plan to place numbers inside of the tins too. These numbers will count the opposite way and will correspond with the actual day on the calendar. For example...24 days to Christmas falls on the 1st day of December. So inside of the 24 tin I will put a number 1. This will help us stay on track and alleviate having to count the number of days left if we forget for one or two days.

I hot glued each of the tins to the cookie sheet. I tried to used magnets so that the whole tin could be removed, but the magnets weren't strong enough and the tins just slid off. So we kept a bowl on top of the fridge and the kids put the lids in it as each day was opened. I put small candies in some of the tins and in other tins I wrote a little clue so the kids could find special surprises like Christmas puzzles and coloring books.

If you need more information on my advent calendar please leave me a post and I will do my best to answer it. I plan to get my calendar out soon, so I can post measurements at that time.

Have fun!

Rocky Road Truffle Recipe

A few of my friends have been asking for this recipe after I mentioned it on facebook. It seemed like posting it here would be the easiest way to share it.

Rocky Road Truffles

Ingredients for Step 1:
4 Snickers bars (full size) frozen

Ingredients for Step 2:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces good quality (70 percent) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Ingredients for Step 3:
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Ingredients for Step 4:
1 pound good-quality (70 percent) dark chocolate

Directions for Step 1: Pulse the frozen candy bars in a food processor until broken into shards.

Directions for Step 2: In a saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over low heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a bowl and let stand about 10 minutes to melt the chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for 1 hour at room temperature.

Directions for Step 3: Fold the candy bar pieces and the cranberries into the cooled chocolate mixture. Spread over the bottom of a baking dish and smooth top. Refrigerate 2 hours, until firm.

Use melon baller or spoon to scoop out balls of the mixture. place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and set them aside for an hour or two to let them come to room temperature. (I roll them in my hands to make more of a ball shape)

Directions for Step 4: Melt the good quality chocolate in top of a double boiler and remove from the heat. Use a spoon to dip the truffles into the liquid chocolate, then return them to the baking sheet. Decorate as desired. Sometimes I just drizzle with more melted chocolate. Or you can use some chocolate sprinkles on them before they set. Let set and chill until ready to use. Be sure to bring them back to room temperature before serving.

These truffles are really delicious and people ask for them year after year. I also love using them at Christmas time.

Good Friend Challenge - Week of October 19th

Ready for a new week?

I am going to do another repeat of last weeks goals since I did so poorly. So...I need to make a card for my Grandma's birthday, and get out the advent calendar, and work on the slippers.

Have a great week!

Good Friend Challenge - Week of October 12th

Time to post a goal for this week. Actually a little past time I guess. Yesterday was definitely a Monday!

This week I think my challenge will be much the same as last week. I want to make another card like last weeks card. I have another birthday coming up and I think that card is perfect. And I have some of the patterned paper left, so that works out nicely. And since I didn't get it done last week, I want to get out the advent calendar and pick out a design for a holiday vinyl decoration. I would also love to get another pair of slippers done.

Crossing my fingers. :)

Ok...not so good for me this week. Well, challenge wise at least. The only thing that I accomplised was one slipper. We did get alot of other things done around the house. The hummingbird feeders are cleaned and put away. We adjusted some of the outside lighting and put up new light fixtures on the garage. (looks so much better) And I had the cleaning bug on Saturday and Sunday and got lots of deep cleaning done in the kitchen.

Good Friend Challenge - Week of October 5th

I got alot done this week, but not everything on my challenge. This week I wanted to make a birthday card for my Grandma. I did get that done. I used an idea that I got from my step-Mom, Rhonda. She sent my daughter a card using this technique and I thought it looked really neat.

The first image is a picture of the card closed.


And here is the card shown open.

The measurements for the card are...

Card Base - 5 1/2 by 12"

Score at 4" and 8" giving 3 panels

Score 1st panel and 3rd panel in half or at 2" and 10"

Make a cut horizontally across card that is 1 1/2" from top and 1 1/2 " from bottom. Do not cut through the 1st and last panel.

The patterned paper on the first and last panel measures 1 3/4 by 5 1/4".

The patterned paper on the middle panel measures 1 3/8 by 3 3/4" (need two).

The off white paper for the stamp and writing measures 3 by 2 1/8". Matt if desired.

The bird image is from a Stampin' Up stamp set. And the papers are K&Company.

The rest of my goal was to decide on a design for a holiday vinyl and also to get out the advent calendar that I made last year so I could add some numbers. I didn't get either of those things done. We did however get pumpkins painted. And I also got some vinyl letters cut for shelf labels at the elementary school library. Oh...and I got another pair of slippers knitted. All in all, not a bad week.

Good Friend Challenge - Week of September 28, 09

I am so excited about our new format for our Good Friend Challenges. We have decided to change it a little to make it more "user friendly" for all of us. Each week we will post our own goals on my friend Min's blog. These goals can be just items that we have on our to do lists, or they can be challenges that we find from other blogs that we visit.


This week, my goal was to complete another gift card holder. I like how it turned out, and really enjoyed my time in my studio today.



Below...a picture of the card opened. This shows where the gift card can be attached. Thanks again to Jody from the Cricut Messageboards for the file. I love these!

I also finished a pair of slippers that I started last winter. These are for my step daughter Jordan. I don't know why...but I am not totally happy with them. They didn't seem to shape really well during the felting. Maybe because of my front load washer, or maybe because of the brand of yarn that I used. She loves them...so I guess that is all that matters.

Now that the weather is cooler and the pool is closed, I am looking forward to more time in my studio. Now to think about what my goal will be for next week.

Good Friend Challenge - Week 6

This week we are going to start getting things done to make our holidays less stressful! There really aren't many rules to this challenge. All you need to do is get one card done to be used as the prototype for your Christmas cards. I will understand if you don't want to post your finished picture of your card, we can just write a short paragraph on some basics and post that to the blog.

I already have my cards done so I will just create some type of "winter theme" card. If you choose to not make a Christmas Card prototype then you can just join me in making any winter card.

Have a great week!

Good Friend Challenge - Week 5 Results

Min's challenge for Week 5 was very simple. Create any card that is a shape other than a square or a rectangle. After deciding what I wanted to do....and making a few cuts, I worried that maybe this card would be considered a square.

Anyway...here is what I came up with. The file is actually a cut file created by Jody on the Cricut Messageboards. The card is made to hold a gift card on the inside.

A special thank you to Mom for skypeing with me this morning and helping me figure out how the cuts all went together. I love skype!





The bow is from Christmas Cheer. The rectangle and square shapes come from Plantin and George. The gold paper for the bow is EK Success Red & Gold (two sided). And the green and red patterned papers are both from Anna Griffin.

Ok...time to clean up the mess I made while creating this. :)

Kaymin Kreations Blog Candy

Since I soooooo want to win the blog candy over at Min's site, I want to let everyone know about the blog candy there!

Happy blogoversary Min!!!

To enter go here: http://kayminkreations.blogspot.com/2009/09/happy-blogoversary-to-me-you-blog-candy.html

Good Friend Challenge - Week 4 Results

Here are the card entries for this week! Everyone did so great. I love to see what everyone comes up with when a sketch is used.


Here is Rhonda's card. The ghosts are the perfect addition! Great interpretation of the sketch Mom.


Min's card is just adorable. I love, love, love the sentiment inside!

My card was made using the circle shape from Plantin Schoolbook. I used two images so that I could give the image a layered look. "Boo" was created using an "Image Tree" alphabet stamp set and heat embossing.

Good Friend Challenge - Week 4

Time for the new Good Friend Challenge. We are already on week 4!

This week we are going to use a sketch from the Card Sketch A Day blogspot. Thanks for the inspiration. Here is a link to the blog http://cardsketchaday.blogspot.com/.

In addition to following the sketch, we will be using a stamp from Peachy Keen Stamps called "Caitlin & Adrianne". The sketch has plenty of open space on it to incorporate the stamp.

Have fun!

Good Friend Challenge - Week 3

Here are my cards for the GF Challenge for week 3. Min's challenge was to make 5 cards while keeping it "Simple in 3's". We were to use up to 3 techniques and only use 1/3 of the card. I love how quickly these went together! I feel like I am getting the hang of making some nice, simple, quick cards. Click on the picture to see a larger image. It is easier to see the embossing in the larger image.

Christmas Gift Bags

Here is the project I have been working on for the last couple of days. I got the file from a fellow cricut messageboard member and then adjusted it to fit these bags. The top picture is a view of the bags from the top. I guess they look kind of plain and should maybe be decorated, but there is alot of work in just decorating the fronts.

The wreath is from Christmas Noel cartridge and the candy cane is from Joys of the Season. The "To: From", "Merry Christmas", and "Seasons Greetings" are stamps. The candy cane is decorated with Glossy Accents and glitter. The wreath is decorated with Glossy Accents and stickles.

Click on the pictures for a larger view to see some of the details. :)

Ok...better go work on supper.

Good Friend Challenge - Week 2 Results

Mom's cards turned out great too. I love the butterfly stamp with the curvy border! Great job Mom. Thanks for joining us in these challenges. :)

Here are Min's cards for the week. Great work Min! I absolutely love the image stamped on the dark background. I have to try that!

My cards for week 2 did go together really fast. And that is exactly what I need! I will take these to school with me since I never seem to have a thank you card there when I need one.

That completes this week. I am so excited to see what Min has in store for next week.

Good Friend Challenge - Week 2

It is my turn to post the rules for the Good Friend Challenge for Week 2. I am already going to put a little twist on it this week. I hope that will be ok. :)

For this week we are going to really get some cards in our card stash. I am so terrible at just getting some simple cards done. This week the challenge will be more about what you can't use than what you can use.

So...this week you need to make five simple cards. You can use one stamp or one image. This image or stamp needs to be the same on all five cards. You can use MCPT. You can use no more than three different solid colors of cardstock. (You can use white or black solid cardstock in addition to the three colors of cardstock) You can use either a sentiment stamp for your cards or a computer generated sentiment. The sentiment that you choose is your choice. I will make thank you cards because those seem to be mostly what I need right now.

You may not use bling, patterned paper, any type of embellishment, embossing, ribbon, buttons, etc.

This week should really get some cards in our stash. :)

My Christmas Cards are done!!!!!

I just had to put a little post on my blog because I am so happy to have this big project done. I may do some work on envelopes, but at least the cards are done. I am not generally a person that has stuff done early so this feels kind of strange. I am on a roll now so I wonder what my next project will be.

Good Friend Challenge - Week 1

Here is my card for the Good Friend Challenge that my honorary sis Min posted this week. I don't love the job that I did with the MCPT, but I do like the card as a whole.

To visit her blog go to...http://kayminkreations.blogspot.com/. Thanks for the inspiration Min. :)

Circle of Friends Award

I have to thank my honorary sis Min so much for giving me this award. I haven't ever gotten a blog award so this is very exciting. I haven't been blogging enough to have five friends to share this with, but I promise to pass this along as soon as I do.

Thanks again Min!

Halloween Treat Baskets

Here are the Halloween treat baskets that I made this week. I will let my daughter take some for teachers at her school and the rest will be for my co-workers. It feels really early to be working with Halloween stuff, but I know that I will be happy that they are done when October gets here. Thanks to http://www.heartprints.net/ for the inspiration for this project. :)

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

What a fun day I have had today. I got to scrapbook with my step-Mom and neither of us even had to travel. We both enjoyed our first "skypeing" experience. We worked for probably 4 hours together and had such a GREAT time! Technology really is amazing. So...if you haven't tried skypeing, I totally recommend it. Thanks Mom for a great day of scrapbooking!

A Hundred Hearts

I know, I know...it is hard to believe, but I actually did finish something in my craft room this weekend. This is the anniversary card that I made for my husband. Our 5th Anniversary is on May 8th.

I used a House Mouse stamp called "Everything is coming up roses" and then matted that image with the white on white look. I cut another mat on the cricut with a scallop edge and heart cut outs. I then used two of the hearts that were cut out and attached them to the corner ribbon with jump rings. I put a little J on one and a S on one (our initials) and then covered the hearts in Glossy Accents. The hearts sort of attached to each other during the drying process, but I thought that was fitting and actually a "happy mistake".

The inside of the card says
"A hundred hearts
would be too few
To carry all my love
for you."

Ooops! I didn't realize until Mom mentioned that she had the wrong date for our anniversary on her calendar that I typed the wrong date in my post. Now it is fixed.

Valentine's Day card for my Husband

I just love the way this card turned out. Hopefully he will love it too!

Happy Birthday to my blog!

Everyone seems to be having so much fun with their blogs and I just had to join the fun. I am excited to have one place to showcase my creations. Hopefully this will be an inspiration to you as well as a continued inspiration to me!