Popcorn the bear wishing you a merry christmas

Popcorn is back for one more appearance before I move on to other projects.  Popcorn and his anonymous bear friend have been joined by a cute little duck to sing Christmas carols.  I wonder if they realize with one more character they could be Barbershop Quartet... Just sayin'.

If you guessed that these Christmas cards are for my friend Ruth you would be correct.  I took them to her on Tuesday and she was very excited to see her Popcorn cards. I think when all is said and done she will have about 12 cards; for some reason I manage to mess up one out of every four....

I used one of my favorite like of SEI Christmas papers on this card as well as a Stampin' Up stamp and punch.  I finished the card with ribbon and a button before adding pop dots to POP the bear image.

Don't forget that I have AMY CHOMAS sponsored blog candy to give away on Thursday.... Sign up under the blog hop post from Monday.  Also, do go by and check out all of Amy's amazing products.

Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler

This is not Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Bisquick mix. Nope.

Is Mercury in retrograde? And if so, Darling, do I believe it can wreak havoc with recipes? I started out with a different approach to this peach cobbler recipe, you see. I thought I'd try out the new Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Bisquick mix I bought this week. I imagined a golden topped biscuity crust you could sink your teeth into, a melt-in-your-mouth forkful of shortcake, dripping with warm and sticky-sweet juice.

But what I got was a bone white mound of anemic dough (scarily reminiscent of Play Dough) baked into what can only be described as yesterday's mashed potatoes. It didn't even try to turn golden. And it didn't melt in your mouth like a biscuit. It just sat there on your tongue. Flavorless. Bored. Expecting to be admired without effort. Like those Fame Junkies who are famous for simply being famous. They haven't actually accomplished anything to garner their celebrity status. They just nurture a deeper narcissistic ambition than your average high school beauty queen. They expect adulation because they exist.

Like an awful lot of the gluten-free foods churned out by corporate entities.


Continue reading

Perfecto Graham Cracker Crust . . . Works for Me Wednesday

Here is my recently discovered trick for making perfect graham cracker crusts....use a measuring cup to press the crust mixture into the pie pan!

Using a measuring cup helps keep the crust even, makes the sides pretty and keeps your fingers from getting buttery.  (Not that buttery fingers were ever a BAD thing.)

{If you're so inclined, you can even lick the bottom of the measuring cup when you're finished. I'm not saying I did that.}

This is a great recipe for graham cracker crust...I used it again this week for Mr. E's birthday pie.  More on that later....

Graham Cracker Crust
{source: Betty Crocker Cookbook (Bridal Edition) }

1 and 1/2 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. butter, melted (I used salted)
3 TBSP sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all of the ingredients.  Press into the bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan. 

Bake 10 minutes.  Let cool completely before filling.

So simple and utterly yummy!  Graham Cracker Crust works for me!  What's working for YOU this week?

Sarah and Zack / First Snap!

Lady GaGa: Childhood & Early Career

Lady GaGa was born in Yonkers, New York. Her parents are Italian and she attended a private school, the Catholic Convent of the Sacred Heart. Previous pupils of the school include Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton and Caroline Kennedy.

She started to learn piano as a young child and wrote her first ballad when she was 13 years old. By 14, she was performing at open mic nights and at 17, she earned early admission as a music student to the Tisch School of Arts at New York University. She is one of only 20 people in the world to have ever done so.

Lady GaGa performed in a number of bands, such as SGBand and Mackin Pulsifer, playing venues on the Lower East Side. She soon decided to break away from rock 'n' roll music, and began performing in burlesque shows.

Lady GaGa got her name when the producer Rob Fusari compared her vocal style to that of Freddie Mercury and took the nickname from the Queen song 'Radio GaGa'. It was Fusari that helped her to write some of her early hits, including 'Disco Heaven', 'Dirty Ice Cream' and 'Beautiful, Dirty, Rich'.

Popcorn the bear wishing a happy birthday

Popcorn the bear is back to wish you a happy birthday!  This little cutie is going to my friend Ruth as part of her series of bear cards.  I created two similar versions of this card, each using core'dination cardstock and my Stampin' Up punches.
 

The packages were time consuming to color with my Copic markers, but were actually a great coloring exercise.  I learned a lot about what my markers can and cannot do.  I really enjoyed the plaid package - easy to do one color at a time.  I used my white gel pen to add the dots to the blue package.

I added a small Party Time phrase to the front of the card using a stamp that came with the Popcorn set and Stampin' Up ink and oval punch.  I finished the oval with dots and dashes in white pen.

I finished off the bottom edge with a Stampin' Up border punch and a bit of lime green ribbon.  I actually made two versions of this card and did not use floral print ribbon on the other card.  I was hoping that the floral ribbon feminized this card a bit.

Papertake Weekly - Just the one!!

 Color, that is! That's the challenge this week from Dawny over at Papertake Weekly. And this week, we're being sponsored by the fabulous Simon Says Stamp! For my card, I used one of the gorgeous angel images from Peggy Loves Vintage. I think this image is sooo beautiful. Peggy told me that this image is from a card that her hubby's Grandma had saved. I went very plain and simple with the card as I wanted the focus on those two angels. Be sure and take a peek over at Peggy Loves Vintage. She just completed a brand new Christmas CD (just in time to get started on those cards!!), and has almost completed Child's Birthday Volume 2!  And check out her blog and become a follower! She likes to offer up free images every once in a while! Thanks for stopping by to see me today. Be sure and pop over to Papertake Weekly to see the rest of the fabulou creations from my amazingly talented DT sisters! Then grab your paper and glue and go to work with a monochromatic card for a chance to win a fabulous prize from Simon Says Stamp! Hugs!

Lady Gaga 1600x1200 High Quality Wallpapers

Lady GaGa is an American singer and songwriter. She started working for Interscope Records when she was 20 years old, writing songs for Pussycat Dolls, among others.

New release from Digital Delights by Louby Loo and OMG!! FINALLY - a blog hop winner!!!

Hi everybody! We've got a new release coming out this Thursday (Sept 2nd) from Digital Delights by Louby Loo! Please be sure and check back on Thursday to see some projects created with these adorable new images!  Also, do NOT miss out on the freebie Wendy is giving away right now over in the shop! It's soooooo CUTE and a must have for those Halloween cards!  Just click HERE!

Oh my goodness gracious, I am sooooo sorry!!!! I totally and completely forgot to give away my candy from the Magnolia-licious blog hop! I think I need some of those meds that sharpen your mind as you get older, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it's called! LOL! Ok, so the winner of the blog candy is:

#20 - Monique!!! Congrats Monique! Please get me your address and I'll send your surprise out to you !!!  Please make sure it's written out exactly how it should read on the envelope for me. What can I say? I'm a complete dummy with overseas addresses!  *smiles* Thanks to everyone for playing along!  Hugs!

Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents; she grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in church as a child.

Nina and Chris / First Snap!

Christina Aguilera

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American pop singer and songwriter. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan.

Jessica Alba

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002). Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck both in 2007.

Alba is considered a sex symbol and often generates media attention for her looks. She appears frequently on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted number one on AskMen.com's list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007. The use of her image on the cover of the March 2006 Playboy sparked a lawsuit by her, which was later dropped.[9] She has also won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Award and Saturn Award for Best Actress (TV), and a Golden Globe nomination for her lead role in the television series Dark Angel.

Leighton Meester

Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and fashion model best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the television series Gossip Girl.

Jessica Biel

Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and model. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.

She has also appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Illusionist, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and The A-Team.