New Mommy Gift

A sweet friend of mine has a beautiful brand new baby girl to cuddle and love as of last Saturday morning!

I made up this little "Pamper Me" bag to take to the new mommy when we visited in the hospital. 

She already has everything she needs for the baby, so why not spoil mommy a bit and make her feel pretty and special after all the work in delivering her precious bundle of joy!

The tag is one of the quilt tops from this post.

This post linked to:

Our Sheltering Tree

Spring Tags

I have some collage stamped tags to share with you today.

The first color scheme looks vintage/victorian to me the other three reflect my longing for spring to arrive and stay -- soon!

(I don't know why the flowers appear blue in this one -- they are as purple as the bow!)

Supplies used:

• Stamps
• Birdcage ($1 stamp from Michaels)
• Majestic (American Crafts)
• Flights of Fancy (Tim Holtz)
• The Journey (Tim Holtz)
• Paperwork Greetings (Inkadinkado)
• Floral Borders (Autumn Leaves)
• Transparent Treasures
• Measuring Tape
• Flower punch 
• Tutorial for homemade mini roses here
• Frond Punch (Martha Stewart)
• Ribbon

Cardmaking Kit

One of my nieces recently turned 9 years old!

Just last year she became interested in making cards - so I wanted to tailor her gift to her new interest.

Since I don't live near any hobby stores (the closest one is 1 1/2 hrs. away) - and since I couldn't find anything that I really liked on-line -- I made up my own Cardmaking Kit to send her.

Here's whats included:

6 x 6 paper stack (custom made by me!) including two each of  41 designs

 Some from my favorite mat stack of papers:

A few more on the fun side:

Some heart rub-ons - cards/envelopes -- clear stamp set

Stickers, Tag, Mini Envelopes

Ribbons, Fibers, Tags, Mini Tags, Flowers, Chipboard buttons

I tried to keep everything in the same color scheme so that it all coordinates!

I'll be anxious to hear how she likes it!

Since I ended up with two packs of paper....

.... I sent the second one to a friend whose battling cancer.

I've been trying to send her a little something every month along with a card of encouragement.

This post linked to:

Our Sheltering Tree

Whipped Berry Brownies

If you love berries and chocolate together even  half as much as I do - you'll love this yummy dessert!

Since it's kind of my own invention (based on a dessert a friend made a while back) I didn't have a name for it. My 10 yr. old daughter came up with the name on her first try so here's the recipe for:

Whipped Berry Brownies

 

BEST BROWNIE RECIPE

from Chef In Training:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar together.
Add eggs and blend well.
Add vanilla, salt, cocoa and flour.  Don’t overbeat.
Pour into a greased 9X13 pan.
Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes.

Berry Sauce

 1 bag frozen mixed berries

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 -2 T. cornstarch + water

Bring berries. sugar,  and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan.

 Combine water and cornstarch

Add to berry mixture till sauce reaches desired thickness.

To serve:

Drizzle berry sauce over a warm brownie.

Top with whipped topping and almonds

OPTIONAL SHORTCUTS: 

If you're in a hurry you can always use a brownie box mix and top with a can of berry pie filling! Simple/easy/fast and oh, so delicious! 

 ENJOY!

This post linked to:

Whatever You Want Wednesday 
Our Sheltering Tree  
Roses of Inspiration #1