Stamp with Annette

A New Favorite

I think May has just become my favorite month. I love the flowers that are in bloom. Jeff sometimes gets me a manicure and pedicure for Mother's Day, and who wouldn't love that? It's also our anniversary month (25 this year!). And now, added to all of that, I found out that May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day! I love cookies of all kinds, and chocolate chip cookies rank right up there at the top of the list. So there really was no debating about which fun holiday I would stamp for this month. What a shame I actually had to make cookies for this project...

Cookies are always wonderful to receive, but this packaging would make a little gift seem big! Actually, this isn't a little cookie. I used a 1/4 c. measuring cup to scoop the dough. It turned out just the right size to fit in this CD envelope! I used the brayer and Soft Sky ink to turn the white envelope blue. The color isn't totally consistent, but that just gives the project a little more character. The belly band is Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip (of course) card stock and Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (from the Occasions Mini Collection). I used the Defining Alphabet and Define Your Life sets with Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip ink, chocolate taffeta, gold brads, and the Ticket Corner punch.

This is a wonderful chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I thought I should probably share it with you. It comes from my friend Judy. Enjoy!

1 1/2 c. Crisco
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 T. vanilla
3 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1 pkg. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together in large bowl: Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in flour, salt and soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 10 minute.

Note: I usually use a small cookie scoop and bake them for 8-9 minutes. The 1/4 c. cookies took about 12-13 minutes.

Let's Make a Cookie!

When I went in search of a special day for December, I found that December 18th is Bake Cookies Day. I decided that since cookies and stamping are two of my favorite things, I should put them together!

Can you figure out which stamp set I used to create the gingerbread man? I used Real Red and Very Vanilla card stock, Dashing Designer Series Paper, Real Red Grosgrain, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa ink, the white gel pen, Chocolate Chip and Real Red markers, gold brads, and the Ticket Corner, Round Tab and Scallop Circle punches. (See the post below for a tutorial on how I used the Round Tab Punch!)

I think the inside of this card should reveal a favorite cookie recipe and encourage the recipient to celebrate Bake Cookies Day. Or you could put it with a gingerbread man cookie cutter and a cookie mix for a fun gift idea.

It is really hard for me to decide what my favorite kind of cookie is, but I decided that I would share one with you. After much deliberation, I decided you should all make Cream Cheese Cookies. They are melt-in-your-mouth yummy!

Cream Cheese Cookies

3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/4 c. Crisco
1 1/2 c. flour

Mix first four ingredients. Add flour. Let set in refrigerator 5 to 10 minutes. Roll in balls; dip in sugar (and nuts if desired); flatten. Bake 15 minutes at 350.

This doesn't make very many cookies, so if you have to share, you should probably double the recipe. :-)

Did you figure out what set I used on my card? Think I wasn't going to tell you?  Since you read all the way to the end, I'll tell you it was Pick-A-Petal. Love those out-of-the-box ideas!

Johnny Appleseed Day

I decided to highlight a fun holiday in each of my newsletters. For September, I chose Johnny Appleseed Day, which falls on Sept. 26, the birthday of John Chapman. I had been wanting to play with my Round Tab Punch and create some of the cool things I had been seeing, and this was the perfect opportunity!

Would you have figured out that the apple was made with that punch? I'm not sure who  originally came up with this idea, but I love it!

I made this a gate-fold card. (Keep reading for instructions.) I used River Rock, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip card stock and the new Dashing Designer Series Paper.

I think a favorite apple recipe is the perfect thing to put inside this card. Here is one of my favorites:

Stephenson's Apple Cake

2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. soda
5 c. chopped apples
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 T lemon juice
1 c. chopped pecans
Cream butter and sugar. Blend in eggs. Sift dry ingredients together; add to creamed mixture. Fold in apples, lemon juice, and pecans. (Sprinkle juice over apples as you chop them.) Spread in prepared 9X13 pan; bake one hour at 350. Cool and frost.

Frosting
3 oz. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. chopped pecans
Cream cheese and butter; add powdered sugar. Add pecans and vanilla. A little lemon juice can be added to the frosting if desired.

Stephenson's is a restaurant in the Kansas City area. If you find yourself in the area and wanting a place to eat, it would be worth finding this place. Yum!

Okay, on with the card instructions. The gate-fold card opens down the middle of the front. The trick for me used to be getting the edges to meet in the middle. It's no longer a struggle!

Start with a piece of 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" card stock.

Score one end at 2 1/8".

Fold on the score line, using your bone folder to make it nice and crisp.

Now simply bring the opposite end to the middle so that both edges line up in the center of your card and use your bone folder on the new fold.

And embellish! I used the same supplies on this Real Red card that I used on the River Rock card, just switched the order of the layers.