Blog Candy

Sorry for the delay.  I was sick all yesterday and wasn't able to post.  The winner of the Christmas blog candy is Joyce/Nicole.  Congratulations girls!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Mine is continuing, as my husband's family will be here today.  I'm hoping to feel better by the time they arrive. 

Til next time,

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!  I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday afternoon, but after three meltdowns, I just had to let some things go til today.  So no picture of my wonderful salad, but here's the recipe. 

You are going to truly love this salad.  I promise:

Wendy's Winter Fruit Salad

1 large head of Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 cup cashews
1/4-cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 apple, cubed
1 pear, cubed

Dressing:
1/2-cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tsp. finely chopped onion
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2-tsp. salt
2/3-cup oil
1 TB  Poppyseed

1.  In a blender or food processor container, combine dressing ingredients, except for oil and poppyseed.  With blender running, add oil in a slow, steady stream, until thick and smooth.  Add poppyseed, process.
2.  In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients; toss to mix.  Pour dressing over salad; toss.

Enjoy!  This will feed a crowd of 8 to 10

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

Love, Wendy

One More

I have one more little Christmas project to sneak in here.  I forgot to post the stocking gift card holder I made for our mailman.  I think the Winter Post set works wonderfully for a mailman gift, don't you?

Now for some Christmas blog candy.  I have some brand new SU stamp pads to give away.  Leave a comment here to enter.  I will annouce the winner on the 26th.

The Eve of Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!  I will be posting my Winter Fruit Salad recipe a little bit later.  It's a wonderful recipe that my kids (and everyone else) just love.  So check back this afternoon for that. 

I keep mentioning the holiday houses that I've been making this season.  Well, with the hustle and bustle of the season, I didn't get to make as many as I thought I would.  That's okay, because this template will lend itself to many occasions, not just Christmas. 

So, here they are:

This is the first house I made using Lauren Meader's Homemade house template and stamp set (PaperTrey).  Being the first one, I went hog-wild on the decorations.  Paper is DCWV and I used all kinds of punches from Martha Stewart (gotta love MS punches). 

Here's another view of this little gingerbread house.  I forgot to mention that the roof lifts off to allow for goodies inside.  I just love this house!

Now that I had confidence in constructing these structures, I proceeded to create a cabin retreat for my friend Ali.  She and her family are building a cabin in the Sierras, so I knew she would love this.  I stamped strips of Creamy Caramel with the Weathered BG stamp for siding and used "styrosoft" for the snow.  The wreath was cut with another MS punch and I used my Nesties for the house sign. 

Here's a view from the back.  Notice the chimney.  I had some texture paint leftover from one of my son's school projects that I used to make the chimney look like stone. 

This is the last little house I made, and in keeping with my love of all things that woof, I had to make a dog house.  This is for a friend of my daughter, who just got a puppy.  I just used the template base and roof pieces for this.  I punched strips with the SU Scallop Edge punch and adhered to the roof for shingles.  The opening to the doghouse was created by using the backside of one of the door stamps from the Homemade stamp set.  How cool is it that you can use the back side of acrylic stamps?  I had some DP with paw prints (unknown manufacturer) in my paper stash, just dying to be used for this project.   Lastly, I used the MS icicle punch to make the grass, and a bone punch to make bones to scatter around.  We filled this with dog treats and a toy for Rocky.

I'm sure there will be more houses in my future.  I'm thinking Valentine's Day. 

Will be back later this afternoon with that fantastic salad recipe,

Countdown

I'm sure many of you feel the same way, the countdown starts on December 1st and continues through the frenzy of Christmas and the week after.  I didn't do as much shopping this year, so that meant more gift making.  I enjoy Christmas and try to make the season special from the decorations to the baking.  There's something for everyone.  So, it's no wonder by this time, I'm burnt out.

I have some houses that I made as gift boxes that I plan to post tomorrow, as I have a few more to photograph.  So, tonight I'd like to share some digital stamps that I've been using.  I never thought I would get into digi stamps, but then came Mo.  Do you know Mo?  She is a book illustrator who has decided to share her illustrations with all of us.  I am just having the best time watercoloring these images.  See below:  For a close-up view of each image, just click on it.

This is my son's gift card holder.  He is an awesome video gamer and this image just fit him to a tee.  I stamped printed the image twice on watercolor paper and heat embossed with fine black EP.  This keeps the ink from running while watercoloring.  I never knew that printer ink stays wet long enough to emboss with, but it does!

Here's another favorite, Wynken, Blynken and Nod.  I added stitching and a wave designed with a Creative Memories ruler.  I just love the charm of these images.  Yes, you could say I'm addicted.  Head on over to Mo's Digital Pencil Too and check out all the incredible artwork.  I know, just call me the enabler.

I'll be back tomorrow with houses and a great salad recipe.

Til next time,

Snowman Thank You

I have big plans for this snowman!  I love the fact that the SU Snowman (Simple Seasonal Thanks) from the Holiday mini catalog is so big and roly-poly.  He can be used in so many ways.  Below, I have used him to create a packet of thank you notes for a friend's son. 

I stamped my snowman on Whisper White cardstock and colored with Prismacolor pencils.  I then paperpieced his hat an scraf with SU DSP from last season.  The hat brim is accented with Liquid Applique and I added dots with pearlized dimensional paint (fabric paint).  I used a template from the Resources section on Splitcoast for the card holder.  It's actually supposed to be a purse, but this is for a boy, so I didn't think his dad would appreciate that.  I added a snowman to the front of the box, popped up on Dimensionals and a computer-printed title.  I plan to include some crayons for Aiden to personalize his snowmen.

This was an incredibly easy, fun and economical gift. Like I said, I have big plans for this snowman.  Can you see him holding a snowglobe, or maybe with a Sweet Center's tummy full of white candy?

Well, I'm off to finish those houses I keep mentioning.  I will post them soon!!!

Til next time,

Quick Christmas Cards

Okay, I know you're reading the title of this post and thinking, I must be on the wrong blog, Wendy doesn't do quick anything. Well, I was writing Christmas cards and realized I was three short. So, I pulled out my Cuttlebug and embossing envelopes and had three cards made in the time it normally takes me to make one.

The first card features a little snowy scene that I highlighted with glittery gel pen, a red satin ribbon, tiny silver bells and brads.  The sentiment is from Anna Griffin.

The second card is a Christmas tree that I embossed on glittery CS from DCWV and then just added star brads as ornaments, SU border punch, ribbon and a sentiment from Anna Griffin.

The last card, has one of my favorite color combos, blue and green.  I used a CB die to cut the snowflake, layered it with an image from SU's Riveting set and topped it with a brad.  The paper is from DCWV and the ribbon from Martha Stewart and SU.

Okay, the cards are done and in the mail.  Now, it's on to Christmas treats to share.  I have some darling Christmas houses to share, so I have to get craftin'.

Til next time,