Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wuv, True Wuv {Grey & Yellow Wedding Card}

Remember that part from The Princess Bride where 
That never gets old for me. I laugh every. single. time. 

"Wuv, twue wuv..." I'm laughing even now... 

Okay, I'm trying to be serious now. That's what the "True Love" rub-on I used on this card made me think of. 

Ahhh, funny what random phrases can trigger, hey? 

Anyhoo...

Do you still love grey & yellow as much as I do? 

Good. I'm still in major like. I was at a wedding a year ago that had grey & yellow as the colours & it was gorgeous! My favourite wedding colour palette to date, I think.


This was a fairly simple card to pull together. The only tricky part was the bling. The way it was originally configured didn't work on the card, so I cut it into a few sections & pieced it together in a design that worked for me.



I've had those yellow paper flowers in my stash for a few years now. It's about time I used them! ;)


After adding the grey ribbon across the bottom, I decided the card needed a bit more yellow so I layered a thin, yellow, velvet ric-rac ribbon over it. I really like the effect!



Products used:
  • Cardstock - Stampin' Up!
  • Patterned Paper - Echo Park
  • Swirly bling - Dollarama
  • Paper flowers & yellow gem - Michael's
  • Grey ribbon - Stampin' Up!
  • Yellow ric-rac - American Crafts
  • "True Love" rub-on - Stampin' Up!



~~~~~

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Monday, January 28, 2013

February Photo Challenge



Can you believe it's the end of January already?! Crazy!

February is almost here & so it's almost time to start a new monthly photo challenge.

Follow me on Instagram at StephRichy if you'd like to see my daily photos. Let me know if you're taking the challenge - I'd love to see your photos too! I'll be using the hashtag #sbphotochallenge. Please join me & we can share our photos with one another!

Here's February's Photo Challenge:


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Here's to a great February!



Friday, January 25, 2013

Insta Friday #1


Today I'm starting a new weekly tradition. A little week in review using the photos I took on Instagram.

What? You're not following me on Instagram? Follow me at StephRichy if you'd like to come along for the ride.

Let's begin now... (remember hearing this as I child on those read along records? "You will know it is time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this. Brrrriiing! Let's begin now.") 

Anyway...

I concocted my favourite recipe to date last weekend. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were involved. Amazing.



We are dealing with NASTY cold January weather here on the Canadian plains. When I took this photo of my frosted up kitchen window, it was -43ºC. That's -45ºF. So very wrong. Ugh!



A Simple Valentine Centerpiece


Last week I started a couple of Valentine projects to spiffy up the house for February. 

Here's a super fast & easy Valentine centerpiece that you can whip up in under an hour!




All you need is a large cylinder vase, 3 paper doilies, paper hearts (I cut mine with my Cricut from some pretty scrapbook papers), a sewing machine, thread, & some baker's twine.




I started by laying out the paper doilies & arranging the hearts.




Then, I simply fed them through the sewing machine using a wide zigzag stitch.




I wrapped it around my vase & secured it with some turquoise baker's twine.




I added my trusty battery operated pillar candle.




Done!




(At night.)




I also cut some extra hearts & put them in my seasonal wreath. (You can see more seasons here & here.)




It's official: The Valentine's decorating has begun!

Have you started decorating for Valentine's Day? What kind of decor do you enjoy?

Check out more of my Valentine's crafts & decor...

A Valentine candy box



~~~~~

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Organizing Itch - Ribbon Organization

The organization itch hit at the beginning of January. After all the Christmas decor is taken down & put away, it just makes me want to redecorate & organize the whole house! If only I didn't have to drive the kids to & from school, do laundry, & clean the house, then I would have time to do all the organizing & decorating my heart desires. Not to mention crafting & scrapbooking! :)

Even though I'm a busy mom, I have done a few little organizational projects recently. A couple in my craft room too!

I had lots of loose strands of pretty ribbon that I wanted to get under control as well as some larger rolls of ribbon.

I had these glass jars from Ikea that I've been using in my craft room for other craft supplies that had dwindled from use so that one of the jars was quite empty. Perfect!


Out came my package of clothespins from the dollar store & I started wrapping.

Here's how:





Don't they look pretty all displayed in the jar together?

Now onto the spools of ribbon. After looking around the house for something that might work, I came across a little wire basket that I got on a thrifting trip last year. 

The ribbon spools fit perfectly!



I added some command hooks to hang it on the wall.


It's a nice little storage update to my craft space!




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Monday, January 21, 2013

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Brownies with Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting


Romeo & Juliet.

Salt & Pepper.

Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Darcy.

Spaghetti & Meatballs.

Some things are just meant to go together. Like Chocolate & Peanut Butter.

Can I get a witness?




And what better way to celebrate this celebrity food pairing than to make Peanut Butter Cup Brownies!




Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Brownies  (Print recipe)
makes 16 brownies

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa

2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/8 tsp. salt

8 or more Reese's Peanut Butter Cups


Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt butter (I melt mine in the microwave) & stir in cocoa. Set aside.

In medium bowl beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar, flour, chocolate chips, & salt. Don't stir yet. Pour cocoa mixture over top & stir all together. 

Scrape half of the brownie batter into the pan. Top with the peanut butter cups.



Then top the peanut butter cups with the rest of the brownie batter.


Bake for 30 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before frosting.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cup icing sugar (also known as confectioner's sugar)
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Tbsp. milk

Cream the butter & peanut butter together. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the icing sugar, cocoa, salt & milk. If it's still too thick, add more milk 1 Tbsp. at a time until it is a nice smooth, spreadable consistency. 

Frost the brownies. 




Wouldn't these make a great Valentine's treat? 

Nothing says "I love you" like some yummy chocolate treats. :)




If you love peanut butter & chocolate you may also want to check out some more yummy recipes:










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Friday, January 18, 2013

Over The Rainbow Card


Do the dreary days of winter ever get you down?  I, for one, sure love to see colour & clear skies during these cold months!

Another thing I love during the winter (well, really anytime of year) is connecting with friends. Wouldn't you love to receive a happy, colourful, cheerful card from a friend on a cold, dreary day? 

Me too.


The idea from this card was lifted from a card I saw in a magazine awhile ago - I think it was Paper Crafts magazine.

I just love the colourful rainbow effect of the ribbons!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Owl Valentine Printable


I'm getting ready to do a *bit* of decorating for Valentine's Day. It doesn't feel quite close enough to me yet, so as of right now I'm just compiling my goodies.

This year I wanted to use owls (still in love!) in my vignette & I wanted some kind of printable to add to the mix. I couldn't really find a printable that suited my idea, so here I go again...

I made one!




Just right click to save to your computer & use as you wish!

Enjoy!

What about you? Are you decorating for V-day yet? I need to get on the Valentine card wagon soon too. The pink & red day will be here before we know it!

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Enjoy your day!



This printable was featured at:

Monday, January 14, 2013

Cheater's Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie


For the past few weeks, I've been wanting to make a coconut cream pie. Having never made one (from scratch or otherwise) I wasn't sure what all went into making one. In my ignorance, I grabbed a few things at the grocery store that I thought would work to make one. Then I went on a search for a recipe. 

I think I did things backwards. 

I couldn't find a recipe that worked with the ingredients that I had. 

So, um... I made one up.

It turned out really good & my family loved it!




Here's what I started out with:



Cheater's Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie
makes 1 pie

1 Pie crust
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened and divided in two 
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 pkg. chocolate instant pudding
2 cups milk, divided in two
1 cup coconut, divided in two
4 cups whipped topping, divided

Here's what I did:
Bake pie crust according to package directions. Cool.

Mix chocolate pudding mix with 1 cup milk until well combined. Add half of the package of cream cheese & mix well. Add 1/2 cup coconut. Fold in 1 cup whipped topping. Mix well. Pour into cooled pie shell.

Repeat process with vanilla pudding. Carefully spread vanilla mixture over chocolate mixture. Top with the remaining whipped topping. 

Let set in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

You're done!




Cut a few slices & share with your friends & family.

It's a perfect pie to make when you're short for time.



YUM!


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