Pixie Cottage GD ~ Recycled

Hi Guys!

This is my first card as GD with the Pixie Cottage. This week's challenge is "recycled". So I have used a recycled paper pack by DCWV.But of course you could use any item or embelly that's recycled.

So just put on your thinking cap and get creative.

Some close ups:

Recipe:

DPs: DCWV

Image: Pixie Cottage

Colors: Prismacolors

Dies: Nesties

Sentiment: Whimsy

I would like to enter this in:

Digital Tuesday: a framed digi

Stamp With Fun: All that flies

That's it for today! Thanks for visiting. :-)

                                                              

Attitude Blog Award

well what a surprise this was!

Not the attitude part, but the award part. lol

Illeana from 'all things that make me happy' nominated me for the blog with tude award.

Thanks Illeana!

To claim this reward I need to tell you all three things about my crafty side.

 Hmmmm....

1) My biggest shopping weekness is color related. I  tend to collect all products related to coloring:  inks, pencils (lots!) markers , crayons and pens. But when I find 'the perfect one' (for me)I tend to stick to it.  So it was a good thing I found prismacolors sooner rather than later.

2) I'm a little impetuous and adventurous so tend to move from one thing to the next fairly quickly . (no surprise for most of you) I call them crafting 'episodes'.

3) I have no problem tearing into a new paperpack or wearing down new pencils. I figure that's what they're for and can't do it soon enough! lol

I am supposed to nominate this to five others which is really too hard.

You all inspire me in different ways and I simply can't choose. Nope. Can't do it.

So what I would like to do is this: (yes breaking rules is my number 4. lol)

Whoever reads this is entitled to this award and is welcome to take it! (oooh..I can feel the heat already from the powers that be in Blogland...'you're not supposed to do that!'

Whatever! This is the attitude award, right?

Take the award (or not! It's up to you) , but I do like the sharing part of it so if you're in a sharing mood,  leave me a comment and tell me 3 things about your crafty side or leave me a link to your blog where you've done the "proper thing" and passed this on to five others and have written your 3 things on your page.OK?

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Whoopie Pies

This, my friends, is perfection! Yummo on a plate!

I'm talking of course of whoopie pies!!

This weekend we're joining some friends for a weekend in the mountains. (it's their 20th and they asked us to come along. So, being the agreeable people we are we agreed! lol But, not wanting to be a total sponge I said I would do the cooking. A girl's gotta eat! And if the weather totally stinks, I at least know we'll have a good throw down.)

The whoopies in process...lets see, 50 halves make how many whoopies...? 25?

Do you think I'll have enough? I don't know, there are six of us! Thank goodness I made a trople batch of coconut macaroons just to be on the safe side.. :-)

*gasp* to die for (below)

I'm havin a sneaky suspicion they won't all make it to the mountains....oh well!

our frinds aren't  big eaters anyway :-) lol

For those of you who have to go to the store right now and buy the stuff to make these, here's the recipe:

btw,

(this is a single batch, but take my advice and always make a double. You'll wish you did if you don't. )

Whoopie Pies

1/2 Cup butter, softened  (not in the microwave~ that's bad for you ~ see link under ingredient list)

1 egg

2 cups  all purpose flour (not self raising)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1 cup milk, soured

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/microwave-ovens-the-proven-dangers.html

Cream your butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. It should look kind of like pudding or  a thick custard.

spoon out into uniform circles on a baking tray covered in parchment paper.

Bake at 425 degrees Farenheit for about 5 minutes.

They should be puffy and springy.

Cool on wire rack.

Filling

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar ( a.k.a.icing sugar, confectioner's sugar)

1 1/2 cups of Mashmallow cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon   ground cardamon (optional, but its really nice)

4 tablespoons of milk (you may need less if its been really damp outside lately

Beat well.

Put a nice dollop on one half and make a sandwich.

Marshmallow Cream

 (in case you can't buy it)

3 egg whites, room temperature

2 cups light corn syrup *

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sifted powdered sugar (a.k.a icing sugar, confectioners sugar)

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

In large bowl of an electric mixer, add egg whites, corn syrup and salt. Beat on high speed, mix for approximately 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and the volume has almost doubled.

On low speed, add powdered sugar and mix until blended. Add vanilla exract just until well blended.

Your marshmallow is now ready to use in your recipes or refrigerate in a covered container for up to 2 weeks

* if you live in Britain, chances are you wont be able to find corn syrup either. A good alternative would be golden syrup or rice syrup. Honey is the right consistency but the taste is too strong.

Yummo!

PS) they freeze well.

                                                                                                                              

Creative INspirations~ Glittery Girly Glamor

Hi Everyone!

Today's card is such a fun one that I made for Creative Inspsirations fortnightly theme:

Glitery Girly Glamor

(It actually should have been up yesterday, sorry guys!)

I am using this cutie patootie image by Mo Manning called "Wednesday's Child" which you can check out here if you'd like one for yourself.

I just love it. My daughter is almost 13 and she still dresses up in curtains and silks and prances around the house. lol

A close up:

I used prismacolors for coloring everything but the skin. I used copics E00 and E11 on the skin to save time.

And some bling bling:

                                                        

You gotta love this quip! I searched online for a suitable sentiment and this quote fits perfectly!

         

                                                   

A simple bow which I added a silk flower and a pearl hat pin to just for added interest.

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:

ABC challenge: G is for Glitter

Incy Wincy: Lace and pearls

Totally Papercrafts: Bling It On

Create 4 Fun: Sketch

Crafty Pad: Stitching

Incy Wincy: Anything Goes

Ooh la la : Remember

Crazy Challenge: Pearls and swirls

Whoopsie Doodles: Sparkles

That's it for today, guys! Thanks so much for visiting!

Nesties now available in super or slender

OK.

I need to take a deep breath cos I'm laughing so hard. And don't blame me cos this didn't come from my own sick mind but my friend's. Personally I would never have thought of it! LOL

People, I swear this is a cruel joke on us.

 Spellbinders is laughing up it's sleeve as they watch us crafters line up and preorder our very own super pack of nesties

 Keep looking and coming soon to a store near you will be nestie label 14 ~ now available in slender with wings! yay! 

People, the beauty of these pads, I mean, Nesties, (excuse me!) is their versatility.

 You can emboss them for that  "super" look  (able to hold 1/2 cup of embellies) or leave them clean and simple for light days.

Hmmmmmm....what shall it be today?

I think super today and tomorrow and light for the next three... or ,well, lets see how it goes shall we?

Dorcas :-)

Talk To The Paw

Well isn't this a subdued palatte for little ol me?

Very serious. And yet... not.

lol

This little dog, available here from Nicecrane Designs, reminds me of that little dog on the BMG records, only with attitude.

He's a happy little drooler.

My recipe:

Dps: assorted,

Image: Nicecrane Designs

Colors: Prismacolors

Sentiment: my own

Ribbon and gems: Recollection

Die: Nestability

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:

Allsorts: Spots and stripes

Everybody's art challenge: Photo inspiration

Paper Pretties: Square card

Mojo Monday: sketch

Fab N Funky: clean and simple

Thanks for looking!



Real Friends Tell You

Hi All!

 I hope you had a relaxing weekend. :-)

It's a treat for me today to be able to showcase one of the designs of talented Lori Boyd

 of Lollipops and Sugar Sticks! With a name like that you just know its gonna be good!

Thank you, Lori!

Here I'm using Ella. You can find her  if you click here. 

A close up:

And the sentiment is by Raindrop Echo Designs.

This card fits the following challenges so I'd like to join in on:

 Color Throwdown: color recipe

Cute Card Thursday: sketch

Alpahabet challenge: z for zig zag (stitching)

Stamp Something: Use a digi

I did it: Surprise me

Thats it for today!

Tutorial~ Skin Tones etc. on Kraft (Ten Gallon Tex)

Hi Guys!

Well I'm only just learning myself but a few of you have asked for some tips on coloring with Kraft and I said I would share what I know thus far. I'm sure there's as many ways to do it as there are crafters but this is my way and I hope it can help someone else.

To begin with Kraft is a rough toothed paper. So you will find you can add more layers of pencil lead than ordinary cardstock allows. This gives the effect of using pastels or chalks.I also use a firmer pressure than I normally would ,so this results in more pigment being  put down.

I do not blend with any solution. I simply use my pencil pigment to blend.

You'll see.

Below you find Baby Tex in all his naked glory. (a mo manning image.)
I have given him an all over color in Cream.

(I will be using Prismacolors)

He looks kind of like that African tribe that smears themselves in white clay at this point. lol

Don't worry, he'll improve.

Picture 2:

Light peach

Picture 3:(below)

Jasmine

He's looking a little scary right now but bear with me, ok?

Picture 4:(below)

Beige

Picture 5: (below)

blush pink

he's starting to look a little more human now, but still has a ways to go yet...

Picture 6: (below)

Peach

Picture 7: (below)

yellow ochre

now, I need to say that from this point forward I am only using the new colors in  some areas of the baby. Not an overall coating. This is where your shading skills come in. You add the next few colors in your shadows because the colors we're using now are beoming progressively darker. ok?

Picture 8: (below)

mineral orange

he's really coming alive now isn't he?

Picture 9: (below)

Pink

Picture 10: (below)

Black

I can hear you say "What the......."

the black is to go over the lines that have become a little covered over. :-)

See? Looks good, right?

Now we'll start on the hat. I am using here:

Burnt ochre

Now fill in the center with beige and add some terracotta to darken a bit of the brim.

Go back in with the brown ochre to soften the edges and merge the colors.

Use the same colors for the holsters.

(below)

Now use some lemon yellow for the star as well as sunburst yellow for darkening your shadows.

The blue you're beginning to see is mediterreanean (sp?) blue and cloud blue

also some white.

For shading your white (the horse and diaper) use white, french gray 70%, 30% and black

Looking at the ground in the picture (above) you'll see I've put down some sepia to start with.

I've then added some beige. (below)

Then added some lime peel (below)

and darkened my shadows with Dark Umber.

To finish I used non photo blue to outline my image.

So now the little guy is ready to be put on a card.!

Dutch Dare Challenge ~ Purple, Orange, Green & Black

Hi Everyone!

I hope your day is going well. This week's challenge over at Dutch Dare is the colors

purple, green, orange and black.

I would not normally put these colors together but there ya go. It seems to have worked!

My recipe:

Image: Mo Manning

Colors: Prismacolors

Papers: assorted

And a close up!

Some details:

I would like to enter this in the following challenges:

Tuesday throwdown: anything goes

I Did It Creations: girl of my dreams

Paper Players: Sketch

Mo's Digital pencil: fall colors

Thanks all for your support!

If I only had a heart...that worked

Hi All!

Well I'm stepping out of my comfort zone here with black and white, but I've gotta say..... I'm LIKIN it!

Wow, who would've thought?

I made this card for a friend of ours whose in the hospital with a possible heart attack. (which would make his third. Scary, huh?) It's prettty ironic considering he's a doctor. lol

           But don't worry, guys, he can take this kind of humor.



Here's a close up.

My recipe:

Image: Mo Manning

Colors: Prismacolors

Gems: Recollections

Dps: assorted

I just found this heart charm as I was looking for a button. How perfect is this?

I would like to enter this in:

Little Red Wagon: Hearts

Anything Goes: Black and white

Sentimental Sundays: Black, white plus one

Papertake Weekly: Sketch

Allsorts: bradz, buttons, punches

Thanks for coming by for a look!

Hugs, Dorcas