Quick Egg Sandwich for Breakfast Repost

I found another fabulous recipe on Pinterest from Amy's Kitchen Creations I'd like to share with you today!  I am definitely one who runs out the door with dry cereal/nuts/craisins in a sandwich bag for breakfast.  I am definitely going to start making these!!!

Thanks Amy and Pinterest!!!

Following is a Repost from Amy's Kitchen Creations:

Thank you Pinterest! (Click that link to follow my boards)

I saw this floating around on Pinterest awhile back and finally decided that I needed to make some eggs for quick and easy breakfast sandwiches.  I definitely need to eat breakfast in the mornings and I need something substantial.  I can't just have a yogurt or apple or something, I'd be hungry a half hour after eating it!

This is the perfect solution.  The eggs are ready to go each morning and I just need to grab an english muffin, a slice of cheese and I'm out the door.  I usually eat at work so I bring all of my supplies to work and am able to make a hearty, tasty breakfast at work!

As you can see, I put some spinach in a few of the egg wells. It was a little tricky getting the spinach to stay under the egg, so that it would cook IN the egg and not float to the top.  It took a little maneuvering with a fork but it all worked!

Spray your muffin pan with some non-stick cooking spray. Crack one egg into each well.  Sprinkle the eggs with a little salt & pepper or whatever seasonings that you'd like.  Bake in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.  You could cook them for a bit less if you wanted a runny yolk.  However, I wanted to be sure that the eggs were fully cooked.

Store your cooked eggs in a tupperware container in the refrigerator for about a week.  Use your judgement though.  If they look/smell bad, I wouldn't eat them. I made a dozen of these, so that lasted my Husband and I only 6 days, which was perfect for our work week.

Isn't this the greatest idea?  I soooo love it!  I hope you try it out sometime :D

I'll be back soon with a photo of the Wedding Invitation and Lined Envelope my friend and I embellished!

Also... just a few more days until my Blogoversary!  You know what that means... Giveaway Time : )

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

Vintage Teddy and Making Watercolors!!!

Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday dear Deb... Happy Birthday to you!!!  I love you so very much my sweet sister ♥

I am so tempted to tell you how old she is... but I don't think she would appreciate that!  I think it's cute when really old people are so proud to tell you how old they are.  I know that 'old' is relative, but I think we can agree on over 100 is really old!  Age telling is definitely for the young and old-er.  On the other hand, I don't have an issue with it myself.  I will tell you that I am 53 years young lol!  Just sometimes, my body doesn't remember the young part!

Today I have a card with a vintage feel to it.  I adore teddy bears, so I was excited to be able to create with this precious image by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD called The Secret.  It's from the Storybook Collection :D

I began by stamping the image with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and coloring with copic markers (I'm sorry I haven't been writing down the colors lately, I'll remember to do that for the next batch I color!).  ShinHan Markers can be found HERE.

I've used different kinds of glitter on this piece.  As you can see in the photo above, the bling-y glitter is Stardust Stickles.  The corner of the butterfly is peeking out from the upper right hand corner which has the new Tim Holtz Clear Rock Candy Dry Glitter which I applied using Studio Multi-Medium.  So you don't get confused, I've also edged the butterfly with the new Tarnished Brass Metallic Distress Stain, so that is not the color of the glitter...

Papers are Authentique Lively Collection.  The very cool looking Steampunk Clock behind the focal image is from Susana's Mixed Media Stamp line.  I plan to use this stamp again as an all over background image :D

I LOVE Luminarte Mica Powder!  If you've been visiting me for awhile, you've seen a number of projects using this mica powder.  Today I watercolored the butterfly with Lemondrop mica powder.  It is soooo easy to whip up a tiny batch  on my 6x6 Splat Mat and brush on the butterfly die cut.  This butterfly is from a punch, but Memory Box has a number of beautiful butterfly dies HERE.

Making Watercolors:

First, I sprayed some water from my Mister on the 6x6 Splat Mat and dipped my dry brush into the Lemondrop mica powder and mixed it into the water.  Easy Peasy!!!  A whole rainbow of mica powder can be found HERE.

The adorable charm alphabet was cut out using my Silhouette and one of the Silhouette files from the online store.  Oh so cute!!!  Here's the cut, colored with 110 copic marker.

The above photo shows how I colored my sentiment while it was still on the cutting mat.  Obviously I could have used black paper, but #1 I didn't plan what color I was going to use yet and #2 I like the option of coloring the upper part a different color...

So I left the top 'circles' white and then decided that I wanted to use the Tarnished Brass Metallic Distress Stain for color.  Oh so many options!!!

Scrapper's Floss in midnight came in handy to hang the lower portion of my sentiment.  I used ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever to glue down the letters so they would hang properly.  These letters are approximately .5 inch tall, but the Best Glue Ever still worked like a charm (hee hee) not oozing all over the place!  Of course, I also used Best Glue Ever to adhere everything on this card including the Zva Rhinestones on the butterfly :D

My corners are recycled.  What?!?  Yes, indeed they are... they are the 'leftovers' from the edges I cut off from the Steampunk Clock which hung over the card front.  I saw them sitting there so lonely, so I said to myself, "Self, why not?"  So here they are, all faux-stitched up!

To give the card a more vintage, worn look, I edged and distressed papers with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and more Tarnished Brass Metallic Distress Stain.

NEW PRODUCT ALERT!!!

Memory Box Dies - Holidays, Alphabets and More - EEEEEK... I want them ALL!!!  ***HERE***

Thank you sweet friends for dropping by today.

Coming up...  a VERY simple but elegant Wedding Invitation with a custom lined envelope.  Don't miss it!

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

No Cook Chocolate Recipe Repost

I just discovered this awesome blog...The Life of Mrs. Miles.  She has this amazingly drool-worthy C H O C O L A T E recipe which uses coconut oil.  Coconut oil is apparently the new 'healthy' oil - the good HDL, not the bad LDL!

Following is a partial repost from The Life of Mrs. Miles.  I can't wait to make these!!!

No Cook Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup Pure Coconut Oil

4 tbsp 100% Cocoa Powder

Tbsp (or less) Sweetener or Honey

Alternatives:

toasted coconut

roasted nuts

chopped dried fruit

Supplies:

Chocolate molds or

Plastic or Silicone ice cube trays or

Silicone muffin cups (as in this recipe)

Glass measuring cup

Cookie sheet or rectangular 9 x 13 bake pan

Note: These are intended to be served chilled because they melt at a very low temp! 

Method:

1.Gather your supplies together. 

2. If you want your coconut or nuts toasted, go ahead and do this.  I do my coconut in the toaster oven but I actually microwave the nuts in the micro - 2 mins for each plate, giving a stir around at the 1 minute mark. Watch out, the plate may be very hot!

Place the coconut and nuts into the silicone muffin cups or whatever moulds you are using, nested into a 9 x 13 bake pan or on a cookie sheet.

3. Mix the coconut oil, cocoa powder and sweetener or honey together (some folks add a drop or two of vanilla as well)  A note about the coconut oil, it has a very low melt point so when I’m making this right now its liquid, but if you’re making it when it’s cold you can zap it for 10 seconds or so, that's all it should need, in the micro or stovetop.

4. Whisk it together till it’s nice and smooth.  You might taste it at this point and make sure it’s sweet enough.  If you use honey you may have to whisk longer to break the honey up and incorporate it into the mix. 

5. Once it’s mixed, pour it into the cups, and if you’re adding any nuts or coconut or other goodies in then you want to poke and stir a bit so the chocolate seeps down to the very bottom and is evenly distributed.

6. Once you’ve got all the cups full, pop them into the freezer!

7. Here’s what they look like when they come out of the freezer, you may have a little “bloom” on the surface.

8. Turn the chocolate out of the silicone muffin cup - Voila!

9. I put them into pretty paper paper cupcake wrappers (because they can be a bit messy or make you drool)

10. Store them in an airtight plastic container or a cookie tin in the freezer.

Hope you enjoyed this tasty treat : D

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

Quilted Friendship Card and a Sleepy Dog!

Can you believe that I'm back so soon?  I am wanting to create and post more often these days :D  That's a good thing... especially since it's still so HOT!  I have my faithful puppy dog snoozing on the cool floor beside me as I prepare this post.  Ahhhhh... the life of a dog lol!

See that box by his head?  It's full of stamps I need to go through and send as candy to one of my blog friends!!!  Soon.......

He's abandoned his toy after he ate the treat of course... see that white spot in the lower right corner?  That's his paw.  Yes, the floor is much cooler!

Ooops!  My camera was a little too loud lol!  He's not really awake... he just flopped right back where he was (see photo #1) LOL!!!

Are you a 'die-hard' crafter who loves practically every craft?  I couldn't quite put myself in that category, but I do love to have my hands on a wide variety!!!  Quilting is one of them.  I have numerous unfinished quilts waiting for 'someday!'

Today's card is a faux quilt.  Well, ok... not even 'faux' but it was fun to make :D

I've seen the technique I used around blogland (I think some call it Pillow Top).  What I've noticed on mine though, is that the 'seams' were pretty light.  I should have used a darker color!  So to remedy this, I decided that I would 'stitch in the ditch' (a term that refers to quilting following the seams) using my copic multiliner.

This is the cutie-pie I used.  I'm in love with her ♥  She's called Big Hat Peeker by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD.  She's colored with copics and accented with both Ice Silks and Stickles.  ShinHan Twin Touch Markers can be found HERE.

Challenges Entered:
Totally Papercrafts - Inspired by a Song (Friends by Michael W. Smith)
Allsorts  - Use Metal
Craft Your Days Away - Anything Goes (Final Challenge!)
Totally Gorgeous -  Strings the Thing
Stamptacular Sunday - Let's Hear it for the Girls
No Matter Which Challenges - Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Cute as a Button #156
Mad for Markers - Anything Goes (sorry I didn't write down the colors!)

The tag is a double decker I created using Memory Box Classic Tags.  The distress ink I used to create the background and edge the tag is Weathered Wood.  The pearls were created using Viva Decor Paper Pen in Opal (20% off!).  I just picked up a package of safety pins at my local grocery store for 25 cents!  I thought it would fit in nicely with this theme :D  I used Scrapper's Floss for the thread HERE.  I really like how it doesn't unravel like thread.  It is a bit thicker, but as you can see, it knots up beautifully... AND I need every color LOL!!!

All gluing was done using ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever (my FAVE!!!).  One of the reasons I LOVE it so much is that it's quick and easy adhering paper layers.  Just a little is needed and it's STRONG!  I don't have to try and remember how to reload my ATG again...and again...and again hee hee!

Calling All Paper Addicts!!!
Fabulous new paper pads available NOW.  Here's a few to whet your appetite...


HERE




HERE




HERE

Even more can be found HERE!  Enjoy!!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!  See you next time : D

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

A Freebie and Fun New Technique!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Today I have something a little bit different to show you.  I decided that I wanted to try out a new technique which I call Mica Resist.  I'm sure there are other ways to get the job done, but I specifically wanted to use Maya Resist and LuminArte Primary Elements Mica Powders.

This is the completed card using my created background!  Dies I've used are Garden Corner by SCACD, Poppy Stamps Picket Fence and Memory Box Summer Border.

The sentiment is handwritten (and thankfully worked out cuz I didn't use any measurements, just eye-balled it!).  The word 'Hope' and the stitching around the flowers were done with a copic multiliner.

Here's the cutie, Sowing the Seeds of Love by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD.  She's one of the new releases... the entire set (Sampler #6) can be found HERE.

She's colored with copics, but again I'd like to tell you that Susana carries ShinHan Twin Touch Markers HERE.  They are in convenient bundles :D

Rhinestones for the flower centers complete this one of kind card!

Here are the products I used and the resulting 5"x5" background...

Maya Resist which comes with it's own applicator!, LuminArte Mica Powders:  Wild Blueberry, Stargazer, Icy Iris, Wisteria.

Instead of using 'run of the mill' cardstock, I decided to try a Mixed Media Paper I purchased at Hobby Lobby.  It was nice and thick for watercoloring (micas mixed with water) and held up to numerous layers of spraying and brushing :D

Freebie!
This is what it looked like before trimming...  If you'd like, you may click on the image and then save to your computer!  You can either print it out or use on digital projects.

Download HERE

I totally forgot to take photos as I made this :(  but the process is actually very easy!

How To:
Step One:  Using Maya Resist, create your pattern.  Let this dry for at least 10 minutes.
Step Two:  Spray water over your paper with Mister just to wet surface (not saturate).
Step Three:  Mix separately with water on splat mat using Mister and paintbrush (or water brush HERE)...Icy Iris Mica Powder and Wisteria Mica Powder (you only need a small amount of mica powder!).
Step Four:  Paint as desired adding more water or mica powder if needed.
Step Five:  Tap Stargazer and Wild Blueberry Mica Powders from your dry paintbrush onto the paper as desired.  Use Mister to create more of a watercolor look, less water for a more speckled, color intense look.
Step Six:  Let dry completely and carefully remove the resist.  I simply rubbed it off!  Be sure that your paper is dry first cuz it will tear when wet!!!
Step Seven:  Trim and decorate as desired and adhere to card base with Best Glue Ever!!!  LOVE LOVE LOVE this glue!!!

Susana carries sooooo many colors of Mica Powder.  They are addicting and really a lot of fun!!!  Sometimes I get tired of trying to find just the right paper.  Why not create your own?  So simple :D

Challenges Entered:
Divas by Design - Sketch
Flutter-by Wednesday REOPENING! - butterflies really ARE there lol
Party Time Tuesdays - Garden Delights
Shopping Our Stash - Trying something new
Whoopsie Daisy - Use a Sentiment
Creative Friday - Summer Sun Holidays
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
The Poodles Parlour - Die Cuts
Two Sisters Challenge - In the Garden
Sparkles - Nature
The Crafty Pad - #184 To Die For

Have you heard what's new?
Check out the new goodies at the store!!!  I'm on my way myself :)
Here's some eye candy...

Awesome NEW DIES HERE!!!

This is only a SAMPLE... there are 6 more!

New Metallic Distress Stains, Distress Clear Rock Candy Stickles and Distress Clear Rock Candy Dry Glitter- HERE!

New Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps- HERE!

Thank you for sharing your love of crafting with me, sweet friends.  I appreciate you more than you will ever know!!!

Coming up... A quilted friendship card ♥

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

A Sweet Thank You Card and CLP Sketch Challenge

Wow Wow Wow... did I have an entire week of being spoiled!!!  My goodness, I was treated like a Queen :D  My birthday was on the 6th, but day after day last week I was taken out to lunch or dinner, went to the movies and shopping, celebrated with a yummy ice cream cake, received gifts including chocolate, ate like a pig...lol!  Yes indeed, it's definitely time to get back on track eating the right foods.  Too many sweets and the scale seems to be broken again!  I don't know what's wrong with it, but it keeps showing this number that is not my weight, or at least it shouldn't be hee hee...

In honor of my awesome family and friends who spoiled me rotten for my birthday, I present this card to you... THANK YOU soooo much.  I love you ALL!!!

This wonderful sketch is by Chelsea at CLP Sketch Challenge.  She has the best sketches around!  There's still time to join in the fun for this round which ends August 31.  Sketch Challenge #50 HERE.

The image is Little Susan by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD which is a part of the Sampler #7 Collection (4 stamp set).  She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with copics.  Susana has ShinHan markers which come in convenient bundles.  You can find ShinHan markers HERE.

A touch of Stardust Stickles and she's ready to go!  I know that Stickles (many colors) has been around for quite awhile, but it's one of my staples I MUST keep on hand!  The flowers on the image as well as the flowers I added are drenched in sparkle : )

I've used 2 double sided sheets from the 7gypsies Trousseau paper pad HERE and a panel of yellow cardstock which I embossed the *floral border (I believe from Cuttlebug) at the bottom.  To make the border show up more, I dry brushed Picket Fence Distress Stain over the top and added rhinestones in the flower centers.  New Metallic Distress Stains are HERE.

*Susana carries Couture Creations embossing folders (not the design I used) which have a 2 inch opening at the bend which allows for creating embossed strips without the 'border' like I have here (it's kinda covered up!)  You can find Couture Creations HERE.

Other Products Used:  Poppy Stamps Picket Fence, Memory Box Classic Tags (trimmed to fit), PaperTrey Tiny Tags (flower) with Tiny Tags sentiment, Scrapper's Floss, I think the flowers are 'old' Prima I've had for quite awhile...

In case you missed all the fun NEW PRODUCTS in the store this week, check 'em out HERE!!!

Challenges Entered:

Bunny Zoe's - Summer
Kaboodle Doodles - All about friendship (my card is dedicated to friends :D)
Love to Create - Sparkle
Make it Monday - Anything Goes
Anything Goes - Summer
Papertake Weekly - Spots and Stripes (I took liberty to stretch this one a little!)

Thank you my sweet friends!  I hope to see you again soon with some photos of my upcoming CANDY.  It will soon be my 2 year blogoversary YAY!!!  I have sooooo much to be thankful for and would love to share some goodies with you!

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

Cute and Cuddly New Stamps Available Today!!!

Welcome sweet friends!  Today I pray a blessing over you and your household... Where there is need, I pray the LORD provides with an abundance of peace to comfort your heart and bring relief to your worried mind.  May you experience the greatness and wonder of His love in new and magnificent ways!  He hears the cries of your heart and is indeed working things out for your good.  Rest in the knowledge that His plan is best and He will work out everything in His way in His time.  May love and grace rule your heart and home in Jesus' name ♥

If this prayer has spoken to you in a special way, please leave me a note letting me know (of course you don't have to elaborate!).  Peace be with you :D

Cute and Cuddly Hop Time!!!

If you've arrived from Crystal's blog you are on the right track; if you'd like to start at the beginning, head on over to see Danni.  You can find the entire hop list on the Store blog.

Now get ready for a Cute and Cuddly release from Elisabeth Bell for SCACD!!! 

Our first set, The Storybook Collection, brings us all back to those childhood days when our best friend was our beloved Teddy Bear. We told our secrets to our Teddy Bears, had a few misunderstandings but we always made up and were ready for new adventures to unfold.

Next we have a set of 4 adorable little girls with their FUN hats that make up Sampler #6. Each little girl is bound to make you smile and melt your heart.

Our final set, Sampler #7, is a variety of cute and fun! These 4 little girls remind us of the simple pleasures of childhood from lollipop dreams to playing in the rain. 

So catch up on the SCACD Store blog if you lose your way thru the hop because you will want to catch all the inspiration out there :)

This li'l cutie is called Life is Good.  Oh how she loves to giggle and have a little bit of mischievous fun!!!

She's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with copics (Susana carries the new ShinHan alcohol markers HERE).  I've used Stardust Stickles along with a couple of red rhinestones for the cherries as accents.  Other rhinestones used:  Green and pink.

This is actually a hybrid card.  The laundry hanging in the background is from Designer Digitals.  I created the scene on my computer and printed it out.  The paper was also 'created' on my computer.  I used the eyedropper tool to pick the colors in the clothing so it would coordinate.

To create the speckled effect, I used Smooch Vanilla Shimmer Spritz.  I sprayed the whole card, but as you can see, the image wasn't affected - only the ink from the printer. Pretty cool huh?  It leaves a wonderful shimmer on the image :D

I used my Cameo and Silhouette file to create 'Sweet Little One' which I colored with RV00 and detailed with copic multiliner. 

Here's a tip I picked up somewhere along the way:  Use white paper to cut out your pieces and color to match your card while the pieces are still on the cutting mat.  Here I've used RV00 to match the RVs in my colored image.  I will certainly do this again!

For a bit more dimension, I used Scrappers Floss to create the bows with tiny buttons adhered with ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever.  I lined portions of the card with a copic multiliner and stamped 'Smile' with a PTI sentiment.

Next up is Party Hat... Isn't she sweet?

I began by stamping her with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored her with copics (ShinHans HERE).  Next I die cut the image with the balloon 'out of the oval' (see tutorial photos below) with the largest Classic Large Ovals (30% OFF!) and layered over the largest Floral Ovals.  I adore the decorative edge!!!  

I'm lovin' my new Garden Corners dies by SCACD!  Aren't they delicate and pretty?  The beautiful paper is from Prima Meadow Lark Collection.  It's been neglected long enough and fit perfectly with this image :D  I didn't see this particular paper pad in the store, but Susana carries a huge assortment HERE.

Lots of Stardust Stickles added, a seam binding bow tied to the Memory Box Classic Tag dies HERE, and you've got yourself a sweet and simple card ready to party!!!

Our International friends can find these stamps at Quixotic Paperie!

How To:

Steps 1 & 2:  Place your die over the image as you'd like it cut.  Using a pencil, mark lightly (so you can erase later) along the inside and outside edges where the image will be 'out.' *See arrows above.

Step 3:  Cutting diagonally into the paper as shown above, cut around the image (balloon) up to the inside edge you marked with your pencil.

Steps 4 & 5:  Place the die behind the portion of the image that will be 'out' and make sure it fits where you want it to cut.  Make any adjustments necessary.  Using removable tape, adhere die to paper and run through your die cutting machine.

Thanks for stopping by : D

Your next stop is Chris!!!

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~