Wild About Stamping - A new Magnolia-licious sketch challenge for September

Can you believe it's already September??? Where in the world is the time going? Each year just goes by faster and faster. *sigh* I'm always happy to see fall arrive though. I love the beautiful colors and the crispness in the air. It just gives me an awesome feeling. Not sure why, but I love it! Well, with the arrival of September, comes a new sketch challenge for Magnolia-licious. This month, it's Diana's turn. And she actually chose a project for us instead of using a sketch. And what a fun and awesome project it is, too!

It's a Scor-Pal project for an accordian file. You could use this for a multitude of things! Diana suggested stamped images, which I thought was perfect. Thus, the theme of my project was born. This accordian file went together pretty easily too! I will be the first to tell you that I normally have to do these types of things twice cause I always mess it up my first try. I got this one on the very first try! WOOHOO!!! The directions are available here.

For mine, I used three different Magnolia stamps. The lion from the Pet and Animal collection, the sign from the Chasing Butterflies Collection, and the tag. They're all colored with my Copic markers. The oval behind the lion was cut with my Nesties and then lightly airbrushed with my Copics, just to take the sharp edge off the bright white. I just hand drew the grass line with my Copic multi-liner pen. I can't find the sign in stock right now at Magnolia-licious. But if you're interested, please just send Diana an email.

So whatcha think? Would you like to win this accordian folder with a few little treats inside? If you would, just leave me a comment on this post by midnight Monday, Sept 7th. I will draw a winner Tuesday evening via Random.org. Watch the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog this coming Friday for more information about this amazing accordian file.

Thanks for stopping by to see me today, and I hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!!!

Easy Mediterranean Chicken and Spinach Rice Bake

Easy family comfort food- chicken and rice bake with spinach.

Looking for weeknight supper ideas for the (can you believe it's that time of year again?) back-to-school frenzy? This super simple toss-together recipe is budget-friendly and versatile. If you don't have chicken on hand try using pieces of cooked turkey or your favorite sausage. Vegetarian? Use a can of white or black beans instead. The Mediterranean and Santa Fe- thanks to the fresh and unexpected spike from tomatillos- flavors in this fabulous recipe cozy up to a parade of proteins.

A family favorite from the archives, this is easy comfort food to bake and savor before the fall begins its alchemy, spinning green into gold.

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Bitten By The Bug new challenge and blog hop with candy!

Hi everyone! Sure hope you had a wonderful weekend! They never last long enough for me, how about you?? Well, at least we're adding some fun to your Monday blues by having a blog hop for Bitten By The Bug today! YAY! That means that not only do you get to feast your eyes on all the new projects of the talented BBTB designers, you also get a bunch of chances to win some yummy blog candy! YAY!!! The new challenge this week was to use the ribbon cut from the Paper Pups cartridge. I don't know if it's because it's fair time, or what. But all I could think of was putting it on an animal. LOL! This cow from Paper Dolls Dress Up is one of my very favorite Cricut cuts, and I haven't used it yet this year. So I decided to combine the two of them since this cow is defintely cute enough to win first place in a contest! I put it together with the tree and grass cuts from ZooBalloo with my Design Software.

So now onto the blog candy. Leave me a comment on this post by midnight Friday night, and I'll pick one winner via Random.org Up for grabs is a fun package of Rob and Bob Studio 3d stickers, some beautiful Basic Grey rubons, some pretty clear tags, and a Cuttlebug cut and emboss set, Treetops.

Ok, if you got here via the amazingly talented Kazan, then you're on the right track! After you leave your comment here, then continue on to see the fabulous work by Michele Kovak. Michele is the last stop on the blog hop, and I promise you're in for a wonderful treat! Be sure to take some time to look at all of Michele's wonderful work. Thanks so much for joining in on our blog hop today, and hope to see you back again soon! Don't forget to check back on Saturday to see if you won! HUGS!

Bitten by the Bug Blog Hoppin' Monday (with CANDY!)

Welcome blog hoppers, to Busy with the Cricky. You probably arrived here from the blog of the fabulous Penny.

Today's BBTB challenge cut is the ribbon from Paper Pups. I combined the idea of a winner's ribbon with our sweet Pomeranian, Duncan, and my dh's approaching birthday. Duncan adores my husband so I know he will want to participate in the birthday festivities.

Duncan's card is bone shaped with the blue ribbon attached. I ran the dog collar through the spellbinder wizard to emboss a pattern. I then attached Duncan's faux tag. I used MS PowerPoint to create the birthday tag featuring the phrase, "Best Dad a dog can own". I also created Duncan's faux name tag in PowerPoint.

Inside the card I used a Stampin' Up birthday cake stamp and Happy Birthday stamp as well as a hand drawn puppy paw.

While you are here be sure to leave a comment to be registered to win today's blog candy. I will be drawing a name on Thursday. Also, be sure to view the previous blog post and guess at the number of times my cut files have been downloaded and a chance to win a small blog candy.

I know you must now move on to see what awaits you at the amazing Carole's blog. Thanks for stopping by today.

Flavor of the Month. . . .Move over Lemon Squares

....There's a New Bar in Town!

Flavor-of-the-Month: Lemon-Lime Edition

If you love lemon squares, you'll flip over these Key Lime Bars! Tangy and sweet with a coconut crust....I could honestly eat the entire 9 x 13" pan in just one sitting.

The recipe comes from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.

Key Lime Bars
(tweaked from the King Arthur Cookie Companion)

2/3 c brown sugar
1 & 3/4 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
3 c sweetened coconut
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 c unsalted butter (1 stick)
-------------------
cream cheese (8 ounces)
1 & 3/4 c sugar
pinch coarse salt
3 TBSP all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1/2 c fresh squeezed key lime juice

Preheat oven to 300. Toast the coconut on a parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

Raise oven temp to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13" pan.

Combine the brown sugar through unsalted butter. Mix until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture; press remaining crust into the prepared pan. Bake 16-18 minutes; until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Beat the cream cheese until soft. Add the sugar and salt and mix until well blended. Stir in the flour and then beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, beating well after each addition. Stir in the lime juice (room temperature makes for easy squeezing) and a drop of green food coloring (optional); mix until smooth. Pour onto crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the 1 cup reserved crumbs. Bake 10 minutes more until set on the sides and still slightly wobbly in the center. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour. Move to refrigerator and chill.

Cut using a handy-dandy bench scraper, pressing straight down to cut all the way through the crust.


Flavor of the Month theme for September....a tribute to John Hughes. I was a teenager in the 80's. No one captured that era better that John Hughes. I think I watched 16 Candles at least 50 times during high school. Did you hear that John Hughes died in August? I think we need to honor his genius with a baking tribute.

Here are just some of the movies he wrote...

• 16 Candles {oh, Jake Ryan!}
  
• Pretty in Pink {James Spader, evil, but gorgeous!}
  
• The Breakfast Club
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Mr. Mom {LOVE Michael Keaton watching Young & the Restless}
  
• Vacation
• Weird Science
• and more! Go here for more inspiration...

I'm thinking Pretty in Pink Cupcakes, or my sister's suggestion...a Breakfast Club Sandwich. :) If you haven't seen any of these movies, click on over to your Netflix and add them to your list!

Alright...I can't wait to see your lemon-lime creations! Link away! And thanks for participating! (Linky will close early on September 1st to avoid spammers.)

Visit last month's theme: pie!

FoodBuzz 24, 24, 24: 45 Years, 45 Beers!

{FoodBuzz 24, 24,24 is a blogging event hosted by FoodBuzz. One night per month, 24 bloggers host 24 meals in the same 24 hours...I'm very excited to be a part of this month's event!}

My husband's birthday was yesterday...the big 4-5. We had a few friends over to celebrate what we called "45 Years, 45 Beers."

We had 45 different beers, to share of course, and snacks and sweets. This IS Bake at 350, so let's start with the desserts, shall we? :)

{Cake Truffles & Cookies}

These were the red velvet cake truffles...I'm not sure I can have a party without cake truffles now. Click here for instructions on making them.

Cookies...I made bite-size ones so they were a little more cocktail friendly. Scroll down for decorating how-to's.


Then, the cupcakes...I used Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. (I bought this book last week and am IN LOVE with it.) The yellow buttermilk cupcakes were frosted half with chocolate fudge and half with creamy vanilla frosting. {I'm going to do a whole cupcake post on these next week...YUM!}

How do you like those beer and gun toppers? Very manly, I thought! {From the cuteness that is the Layer Cake Shop!}

Alright...the snacks...

{Beaumont Dip and Herbed Goat Cheese Balls, Tortilla Roll-ups}

Tortilla Roll-ups: I don't think you can have a party in Texas without these. Cream cheese, jalapenos, salsa, lime juice....I love these. You can make them ahead and the recipe makes a lot.

Beaumont Dip: This is a recipe my parents picked up in Beaumont (duh!), Texas. Easy, easy...and "always a hit." (Meg...that's for you.) Serve with tortilla chips.

Last, but not least, Giada's Herbed Goat Cheese. Goat cheese rolled in herbs and lemon zest. I tried not to eat them all...good thing the cake truffles distracted me.


Blueberry Sangria...mmmmm. For the non-beer drinkers. :)


Want to see all of that beer?


Yes, I bought 45 different singles! It was really fun to see them all together.

We have some seven left over....come on by!

The recipes!

Tortilla Roll-Ups

3 (8 ounce) pkg cream cheese
1 pint sour cream
2 TBSP salsa
10 green onion tops, chopped
juice of 1 lime
4 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
large flour tortillas

Combine all except the tortillas until smooth. Spread on flour tortillas and roll. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate several hours or overnight. slice and serve with salsa.


Beaumont Dip

2 small cans diced black olives
2 small cans diced green chiles
4 green onions, chopped (white & green parts)
3 tomatoes, diced
3 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate several hours. Serve with tortilla chips.


Blueberry Sangria, serves 15, easily halved
(adapted from 101 Sangrias & pitcher drinks)

2 c water
2 c sugar
3 c blueberries
2 bottles red wine (I used chianti)
2 c pomegranate cranberry juice
1/2 c brandy
1/2 c triple sec
2 oranges, halved and thinly sliced

Combine the water and sugar over low heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved to make a simple syrup. Let cool.

Combine 1 & 1/2 c simple syrup and the blueberries over low heat. Sit constantly until the berries begin to change color and the syrup thickens. Combine remaining ingredients in a large container. Add the blueberry mixture and stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve over ice.


For making the cookies:

• Pipe the edge of a mini circle in brown royal icing using a #2 tip (AmeriColor Chocolate Brown).
• Thin red and yellow icing with water until the consistency of a thick syrup. Cover with a damp towel and let sit several minutes (AmeriColor Super Red and Egg Yellow) .
• Stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop any air bubbles that have formed on the top. Transfer to squeeze bottles.
• Fill several cookies with red icing, using a toothpick to guide to edges.
  
• Go back over the wet red icing and drop on the thinned yellow icing to make dots.
• Let sit 1 hour.
• Using the brown icing and #2 tip, pipe on the number.
• Let dry overnight before packaging.
  

Thank you FoodBuzz....we had such a good time being a part of 24, 24, 24!!!

Next week...I'll show you more on the cupcakes and pre-party mishaps!

Fun in the pumpkin patch

Hello and happy Saturday!! I did some babysitting for the grandkids today, and was able to get a little bit of crafting done. I've been wanting to do something with this cute stamp from Digital Pencil Too, and when I found this adorable circle stamp from The Cutting Cafe', I knew they would be a perfect match for each other! It's from a set called Halloween Labels. Regina has lots of cute and fun Halloween stamp sets over at the Cutting Cafe'! Be sure and pop over to check them all out!

I colored the stamp with my Copic markers and cut it out with my circle Nestabilities. The DP is Scenic Route and cardstock is Bazzill. I cut a couple maple leaves out with a Cuttlebug cut and emboss set, and attached them on the corners after sanding them a little bit so the veins of the leaf would stand out nicely. That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by to see me!! Be sure and stop by on Monday cause Bitten By The Bug is having our monthly blog hop. So there will fun and yummy prizes up for grabs!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! HUGS!

Celebration - Milestone Reached

This blog was opened in July 2008 - 13 months ago (sorry I missed my blog-iversary). In the last 13 months many, many copies of my cut files have been downloaded by readers and cricut message board readers. I added up the number of downloads and realized that a milestone has been reached!!!! Or at least a milestone number for me (for Jen or Cap I am willing to bet that this would be a boring number!!).

I have a small, okay -- I mean small :-) -- blog candy for whomever guesses closest to the milestone number of downloads. You will have until Monday to guess at the number of downloads. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you if you do not have a blog.

Good luck......

Gluten-Free Pasta Frittata Recipe with Goat Cheese

Tasty gluten-free pasta frittata.

Have I got a simple and flavorful Mediterranean inspired gluten-free pasta frittata recipe for you. It is perfect for the upcoming weekend. Throw it together for a lazy brunch, or a languid late summer picnic. But first, a logistical update. We are back from LA, safe and as sound as two people can be jetting from the oxygen saturated beach of Santa Monica to the rarefied (read- bone dry nosebleed inducing) air of Northern New Mexico. My "of a certain age" skin is not decidedly not happy. My razor textured Floyd's cut now looks like a highlighted squirrel on a tequila fueled bender. And to add insult to follicle injury, there's a technical snafu that despite daily phone calls, shameless begging and patient (I assure you) correction of our physical street address (corrected three times by three different customer service representatives eager to assist you). That's right.

No Internet.

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Two New Christmas Cards

There are so many amazing Christmas card ideas posted onboth the Cricut message board and assorted blogs (especially Christmas with the Cricut) that I have been inspired this week.

First, I scraplifted a card that Joy made at the Christmas with the Cricut using the Joys of the Season cartridge. I changed the sizes a bit, but otherwise this was Joy's design.

My second card was my design. I used a new spellbinders embossing snowflake sheet on white cored blue cardstock. After I embossed the design into the cardstock I used a sanding block to remove the blue layer of paper from the embossed design.

I used Accents Essentials and cut three snowflakes, one at 2 inches and two at 1.5 inches. I attached the snowflakes over top of the embossed layer on my card. I added a Season's Greetings tag made using nesties long and scalloped long rectangles and a Stampin' Up stamp. Finally I finished the card off with a piece of navy ribbon and a little bow.

I set a goal back in January to create six cards Christmas cards per month. So far I am still on target with only four months to go. I should have 72 cards in time to mail for Christmas!!

Check These Out: Cookie Exchange!

Have you heard of Sunflower Baking? Laura does some of the most creative cookie work I've seen...AND she was nice enough to share some of her newest collections here!


{for the accountant...}


{...and the hairdresser...(she really is an artist!)}


{...and the new driver...love that keyless remote!}

Sunflower Baking has so many adorable cookies. Go check them out! I could steal her be inspired by her ideas all day! ;)

♥Thank you, Laura for being a part of cookie exchange!♥

For previous cookie exchange posts, click here!

Jennette and Patrick at the Glen Manor Part 2

Posted by Melissa:

Off to second beach for some photos! There were so many people there to see the huge waves we were getting from Hurricane Bill. Luckily I was able to put people in spots that were beach goer free! Looks like we have the beach to ourselves!

the ladies...






Bouquet throwing is my new favorite thing right now.

The whole gang

Love it! But don't go too far guys! Those waves are crazy!

Almost got them! Thankfully they are quick on their feet!

Patrick and Jennette were fast with the posing. They kept me on my toes!

Second beach is also referred to as Surfer's Beach... Hence the surf board...

Here's Patrick writing "PB + J" in the sand! I love that! They should have had Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for dinner at the reception! Maybe not...

So cute!

40 Steps at the Cliffwalk. Another crowded spot but we were able to work around the people.

Romantical! (Spell check says this isn't a word, but it so is!)

How cute are they?

We were all over the place! It's fun to get some variety in the photos!

Another one of Jennette and Patrick's poses! I didn't have to direct them at all!

Ooooh! They are good models!

Another beautiful creation from Mark Soliday

I love Glen Manor! So many cool photo ops...

Thankfully we had four flower girls to hold Jennette's dress on the way back from the bridge. Every bride needs this sort of service.

Let's not forget our ring bearer, RJ! Man, he is cute!

First Dance.

There were some very heartfelt toasts given about these two. I love this part of the evening. It can be very emotional. I've been known to tear up during a toast or two.

Glen Manor and blue light! Two great tastes that go great together!

Oooohhh! Jennette in the spotlights with that amazing veil!

Patrick was twirling Jennette around all over the place! It was adorable. They were having the best time.

I guess these guys thought someone should pick up Patrick as well!

Classic Glen


Friends and Family, if you'd like to register to see the rest of Jennette and Patrick's ph

otos when they become available Click HERE!