Softball Fundraiser--Cookie Sandwiches

It's time to think a little about Spring.  Even though it snowed for 9 consecutive days in Wisconsin, we are preparing for Spring. My daughter, Riley Kate is the left fielder for the Lady Orioles softball team. We are selling bake goods again this weekend to help raise money for their team.

 

I know that some people would say that 9 dozen chocolate chip cookies (with  few white chips and M&Ms) would be plenty to send  to sell, but not us.  :)

 

 

Some people would say that buttercream frosting only belongs on wedding cakes, but not us. :)

 

Some people might say that buttercream frosting definitely does not belong on cookies, but not us.  :)

 

 

 

 

Some people thought that colored sugar was a little over the top, but not us. :)

 

Some people thought these were far too pretty to eat, but not us!  :)  nom nom

 

Some people think that we should keep them in our house, but not ME!  LOL  They are deliciously yummy and FULL of calories!  :)

My Little Lollipop Valentine

We are chilly in Wisconsin!  It seems appropriate that today is the last day of January.  I was lucky enough to get to stay in all day w/ Evan today.  Thursdays are our busy day w/ therapy.  He has about 8 hours of therapy most Thursdays. 

 

During one of his sessions, I had time to take photos of the little lollipop valentine that we did last week at my Hostess Club. 

 

It is made w/ the 2 tags punch.

 

 

Inside there is a tootsie pop although any kind of sucker would probably work---OR even cake pops.  Yum!

 And no Valentine would be complete w/o a little tag and a ribbon. 

Oh Whale!

We are having some nasty weather in Wisconsin today.  There is snow and freezing rain.   It's a great day to stamp! 

 

Have you seen the new Stampin Up! mini catalog that came out the beginning of January?  It is chock full of amazing new products.  First of all, notice the clouds.  It's a new embossing folder from SU!  It is absolutely adorable and in my humble opinion a must have.  :)  Then again there wasn't much in the mini that wasn't a must have.  It's amazing how that works---SU! always has something I need according to my husband.  Ah husbands of Stampers are wonderful people.  LOL

 

 

 

 

Also in the mini is a sweet little set called Oh Whale.  I think this whale is just amazing for kids or people like me that love cute things.  There is even a clearlit available to cut him out. 

 

 

 

I went w/ a little smaller card. This card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 and the colors used are whisper white and island indigo and then the real red polka dot dsp is from the summer smooches pack. 

Oh yes, every whale needs water.  The waves were made w/ the adorning accents edgelits.  I like the little scallops.

Cold Hands? Make a Mitten!

I know I shouldn't have favorites, but like most people there are things that just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and out.  Well that is the way I feel about the Make A Mitten stamp set that was in the recently retired mini catalog.  I REALLY hope that it reappears in the Idea Book and Catalog this summer. 

 

 

 

These little mittens are just so stinkin' cute!

 

 

 I didn't want a dreary cold winter card.. I needed some Cherry Cobbler to warm it up and of course some rhinestones!

 

I pulled out my Not Quite Navy cardstock and ink--it's been awhile since I used it. 

I really like the Not Quite Navy/Baja Breeze/Cherry Cobbler combination. 

Custom Bag and a Voodoo Doll

 It is hard to believe that Christmas was a month ago already.  It seems like the winter is passing and that spring will soon be here.  I know we have February and March to get through here in Wisconsin, but I'm holding on to those memories of spring grass and a warm breeze.  
I have been keeping myself busy with my family, but I was excited to take a little time out and make a custom bag for one of my customers, Luann.  She provided the material and I sewed it up for her.  I really like the gray, black and yellow together.  This is her new SU! catalog carrying bag.  :)  I can't think of a better purpose for a day. Well maybe an SU! catalog and some chocolate to munch on while flipping through the pages. 

Here's the quilted side of the bag. 

 

And here's the rag bag side. I love the shabby look and

the material Luann provided frayed out beautifully.

 

Okay... I found a little voodoo doll pin cushion online made out of felt.  I thought it was adorably ugly.  This was a 20 minute little project on night while Evan was in therapy.  The pattern was just a freehand drawing on a sheet of paper--simple simple.

 

What do you think of this little guy? 

 

I Dig You Valentines For Sale

Would you like to have handmade Valentine's for your little one to take to school or daycare, but don't have the time to make them yourself?  Well do I have a deal for you!  I have 3 dozen handmade Valentine's available and ready to ship. 

I made these last year for Evan to give to his classmates, teachers and therapists---they were a hit!  :) 

These Valentine's are 3 x 3 cards made w/ the I Dig You stamp set.  

They do NOT come w/ envelopes.

They are complete and can be mailed out immediately.

I am selling them by the dozen (first come first serve basis) for $ 7.50 a dozen.

Shipping is $3.50 for the first dozen and then add a $1.00 for every dozen after that. 

I would prefer a check or money order. 

If you are interested, please email me at stampiepoo@gmail.com.  

What is Red and Black and White All Over?

This year I decided to make my mom and my sister rag bags for Christmas.  It was a rather last minute decision, but I thought rather than going out and buying a gift bag for their gifts, why not pull out the big shot and make something they can keep and use throughout the year. 

 

My sister, Laurie LOVES red and black.  She likes bright, bold and flashy. I knew when I started looking at material for her, I wanted the reddest red that I could find. After finding that red it was on to get some black material.  The black was...well boring.  I just didn't think that plain ol' black suited her. Then I found this BOLD black and white floral fabric. I was a little scared of it.  I am a pink girl w/ a love for polka dots and daisies, this was definitely outside my comfort zone.   Here's how Laurie's bag turned out.  Is it bright enough?  Did I make the right choice on the fabric?

 

 

 

 

My mom likes red and black too.  She is not quite as outgoing and bold as my sister though so I went with a little less bold print when I chose her fabric.  I really liked my mom's bag.  While it isn't pink, it is still pretty.  :)

 

 

For Christmas, Santa brought Evan some 'dot markers'.... they are like those used to mark your bingo card.  He absolutely loves them.  Good job, Santa!  *wink wink*  I save all the brown paper that comes in my Stampin Up! orders---it comes in REALLY handy when Evan is creating. And yes, he is sitting on my island in the kitchen.  I figured out that I can catch him before he gets down and runs off w/ the markers this way.  We only create on  paper....  no walls, floors or furniture.  LOL

Oh My...What a Shiny Nose You Have

Tis' the season to be creating.  I really do love this time of year when I can escape down to my stampin' room and turn on some Christmas music and create. 

 This year, we have many new people to be thankful for and that really need a little something to let them know how much we appreciate them.  Evan has 5 therapists that come into our home each week.  We also have several ladies that work on keeping his therapy running smoothly at the WEAP (Wisconsin Early Autism Project) clinic.  Plus we also have a couple ladies that work w/ him in our local school district.  You know the saying, "It takes a community to raise a child" ?  I really feel that Evan has his own little community now and he is THRIVING!  It is truly exciting to watch him progress and I'm sure I will gush on my blog often about him.  Ohhh what?  I already do?  Yes, I do--I'm his mom!  :) 

Evan loves music.  Right now I am trying to teach him to sing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer".  I am hoping he has it down before Christmas.   He's a pretty quick little guy--I bet he'll be singing it for Christmas.  

 I thought these little boxes would be perfect for his teachers and therapists.  

I  {HEART} THEIR LITTLE FACES!!! 

I finished 6 boxes today-- a couple more days in the stampin' room and I should have an entire herd of reindeer!  :) 

I was also asked to make a rag bag.  This bag will be given away in a holiday gift exchange. It took me a long time to pick out the fabric.  I must have done okay, because I had a hard time parting w/ it--I love to red!  I hope whoever receives it likes it too.  <3 p="p">

The Final Tally

My goal for this year was to can 100 pints of salsa.  Yep, just 100 pints.  :)  I final count for 2012 was 108 pints.  I don't think I have ever made that much in one year, but I am sure glad to have it done.  I love being able to make cute gifts for clubs and workshops. 

 

For this workshop, I gave my hostess a jar.

 

 

 

Then I decided that it would be a good door prize too. 

 

The jars were made by cutting a piece of Stampin Up! designer fabric w/ the scallop circle die and screwing the canning ring down to hold it in place.  Then I stamped and cut out a little mason jar using the Perfectly Perserved stamp set and Cannery framelits from the Holiday Mini Catalog (page 29).  I attached the jar w/ baker's twine and looped it through my bow to secure it to the jar.

 

 

 

Evan has decided he LOVES showers although removing his clothes seems to be optional sometimes.  I spent a lot of time fetching him out of the shower while trying to can salsa.  It is really hard to be upset with him.  He is so sweet---and really really clean!  :)

Truffle Box

My mother-in-law recently hosted a workshop in her home.   I know she LOVES truffles and I knew that I wanted to give her a little something for allowing me to come in and stamp w/ her and her friends. 

I made a little box to house her truffles...  (I will work on writing up a little tutorial and posting it for you on how to make the box). 

I used the Leaves #2 die to cut out some leaves and then picked my woodgrain and argyle embossing folders to emboss the individual leaves.  I loved the texture on them.   

I never would have thought of more mustard, midnight muse, very vanilla, and early espresso, but I really do like the end result.

I used the sentiment from Apothecary Art stamp set in the Idea Book and Catalog.  This is one of my faves!  :)

It's Been Awhile...

I know it's been a long while.  The good news is that after several attempt to access my blog, I finally was able to get back on.  I don't know what the problem was, but it made my stomach knot.  I have missed stamping and blogging.

My focus has been on my 4 year old son, Evan.  He is autistic. He has started intensive ABA therapy in our home--which means that 5-6 days a week we have a handful of therapists in and out of our home. It is a strange feeling, but I am so happy that Evan can receive this therapy.  Between his therapy, social skills class, school, my daughters, husband and house--things seem a little overwhelming some days.  I am grateful for all that I have, but somedays it is a little chaotic. 

I did do a lot of canning this fall.  My sister has 2 beautiful pear trees that despite the drought were loaded w/ some of the biggest pears I had ever seen.  I brought home buckets of pears and canned just over 50 quarts.  Every couple of days, I would have enough pears ripe to can about 13-15 quarts plus  have a few to eat. 

 

I also tried out  new recipe after my sister gave me a bucket of jalapeno and green/red sweet peppers.  I made jalapeno jelly. I had never heard of it until I asked my Facebook friends what to do w/ all these peppers. My uncle suggested jalapeno jelly.  After my first bite, I knew I was hooked.  It is really good on Club crackers spread w/ cream cheese.  Yummm! 

 

 

 

I did a workshop and I thought I would dress up one of the little jelly jars and give it as a door prize.  The lady who won had never had jalapeno jelly either and was a little nervous about trying it. I was so happy when I met up with her again and she wanted to buy a jar from me.  :)  That must mean it is good!  LOL

 

 

I use the Friendship Preserves stamp set from the holiday mini catalog (pg. 30) along w/ the Window Frames Collection framelits on the same page to create the tag. 

Here's a better picture of the jalapeno jelly.  I think it's pretty especially for the holidays.

Matt & Erin's Wedding Thank Yous

I have been working on making Matt & Erin's (my brother in law & future sister in law)  wedding thank you cards for a gift for their wedding coming up on Saturday.  I have made 60 invites so far and contemplating making a few more for them.

Their wedding colors are pink and brown so I used chocolate chip and melon mambo on a vanilla base.  ♥ I would like to send out a special thank you to Diane Scuito for the 5/8" chocolate chip ribbon she gifted me for wedding projects. ♥ 

My favorite part was deciding where and how many butterflies to put on each one.  I love this embosslit.  :)

Other than stamping, kids, sports, therapy, scheduling.....well you get the idea.  LOL  I have 72 pints of salsa canned.  I'm hoping to get at least 100 pints done this year so I'm getting there. 

A couple of you asked for my salsa recipe so I thought I would share it here:

9 cups chopped tomatoes

3 cups chopped onions

2 cups green peppers

8 small jalapeno peppers (med. salsa) 

1/4 cup canning salt

1 cup celery

1 cup vinegar

12 oz can tomato paste

1 HEAPING TBSP minced garlic

2 TBSP cilantro

Optional: 2 cups whole kernel corn

Yield: 10-12 pints

Here's a picture of my little guy, Evan .  I often push him in the stroller when I go walking.  Evidently mom isn't very entertaining.  :) 

 BUT Mom is down -89# from the first of January and is enjoying chasing a VERY active 3 year old a lot more now.  Weight loss has slowed down--I have been spending more time canning and less time walking.  I need to get Evan in that stroller and go.....