Butterscotch Rice Krispie squares

Look at me go. Blogging several times in one month. Nice to have a bit of free time to try some new things like these squares. This was on the Rice Krispie Website. When I first tried them I thought they were brutally sweet but I must admit, they have really grown on me. Crispy with a chocolate layer and a hint of peanut butter. A great combination and no bake.

Butterscotch Rice Krispie squares
1 cup Butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 cups Rice Krispies
6 oz. Semi-sweet chips (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp water

Melt butterscotch chips with peanut butter in heavy saucepan until melted. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies. Press half the mixture into a 8x8 coated with cooking spray. Combine other ingredients after melting chocolate chips and spread over chilled first layer. Then press gently the remaining mixture. Chill a bit and then cut into squares before they get too hard.

Stocking Stuffers

When I was recently in Florida, I was delighted to learn that the My Favourite Things boutique was about an hour away from where I was staying. So you can be sure that I was going to make THAT drive to check it out. It was great to see all the products in one place and not have to add a big shipping charge onto the purchases.

My friend Corrina asked me to pick up this lip balm die and coordinating stamp set.

And when we last got together for a crafting session, she generously offered to share along with the blister packs that makes for a quick and easy assembly.

What a professional looking item except for the ribbon which required the use of a ribbon iron (private joke). Of course, it's just a couple days before Christmas and I'm just finishing them up.

Annual Card Swap Cont'd

Here are the remainder of the cards...

Janice put together this amazing graphic card with so many details including a die cut, embossing and her beloved washi tape.

Robin used a stencil and I believe texture paste to create this homey card. You can't see the details but there are tiny little paper cutouts on the end of each strand of thread.

I made all my cards using the Doodlebug Pirate 6x6 pad and the Dienamics dinosaurs. I wanted to have more of a male themed birthday card. I have since added a few enamel dots as I thought it needed a little more embellishment.

Anne Marie combined two of my loves.. paper piecing and quilts. She used this beautiful die from Gina Marie and created a lovely Christmas card which of course, I will never mail. 😏 And that's a wrap!

Annual Card Swap and Christmas Gathering

We recently had our annual get together and Card Swap. I'm not sure how long we have been doing this but I think its reached a point where we can call it a "tradition".  Thanks Lisa, for hosting us all again. It's so nice to see everyone and as always, it's super interesting to see what everyone comes up with. There is no theme so there always ends up being quite a variety. You start to see everyone's personal style emerge after a few seasons.

Up first...

Lisa used up the buttons in her stash and our favourite background grunge stamp from Stampin Up to create a birthday card.

I have never seen a spinner card up close before, so it was really neat to get this card from Nicole. You wind it up before you put it in the envelope and it spins when the person opens the card. The little polar bear has a front and a back. Super cute.

It's always fun to hear the process that people go through. Liz was going to try her hand at some water colouring but ran into some difficulty and in the interest of time, went with a watercolour paper. Great to have a thank you card on hand.

And then there is the shaker card from Corrina. These are so much work, I don't think I've EVER made one and Corrina made 9! The photo doesn't capture the glamour. The ornament is a dark red foil and the sequins are a pretty mix of Christmas colours.

I love, love, love coffee cards. Something about this theme and Keri did not disappoint. She wanted to use up some washi tape and those donuts and sprinkles are to die for.

Stay tuned for the remainder of the cards. Somebody(Lindor) wants her walk.

Oreo stuffed Peanut butter cookies

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe because I have been doing my Christmas baking and I always make my old favourites but I saw this awhile ago and wanted to try it.
I used mini Oreos because I thought that would be one heck of a large cookie with the regular size and it turned out pretty well. Actually stayed crunchy but maybe didn't have the full flavour of a large Oreo.

It's always fun to have a little surprise hiden in your cookie.  Here's the recipe so you can try it too (or make the cookie plain, it's still delicious)

Oreo Stuffed Peanut butter cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar(packed)
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 package of Oreos

Cream butters and sugars. Add dry ingredients. Chill a bit.
Grab a hunk of dough and mould around Oreo. Roll in sugar if desired.
Bake at 350F ish for 8-11 minutes. You want the cookie to be slightly moist.

November Challenge Swap

Despite an extended vacation in a warm holiday destination (take me back), I managed to get a card done for the November challenge.

I kept it simple and just used one set of Dienamics in a rainbow of colours. I'm low on birthday cards after making so many bee cards so I thought this would be useful and it came together pretty quickly which was also key.

Here's the die set I used...

And Keri used the Lawn Fawn Oh Snap! to make this adorable card...

Another monthly challenge in the books. Our December group card swap is coming up. It's always fun to see what everyone comes up with. Stay tuned.

October Challenge Swap

Whaat? Me again? I needed to post our monthly swap cards. Neither Keri nor myself thought we would get them done but we both managed and on time also.

I used a new MFT die and I followed an idea I saw on Pinterest. Doubled it up so it had more depth and used my favourite Kraft and MFT stitched flowers (which were expensive so I'm making sure I get my monies worth by using them frequently).

When I find the time, I'm going to build a homemade light box and try and get better pictures of my cards. Hey, maybe that will make the 18 in 18 list.

And Keri used the Doodlebug Cream and Sugar collection for her card. Who doesn't love Doodlebug?

We are having so much fun with this monthly challenge. I can't believe we have kept it going for so long. It's a great idea to motivate yourself to get something done and use up those previously untouched items. It's also a great excuse to get together and have coffee with a friend.

More Bee Cards

I'm back with the remainder of the bee cards that I made for the Crop...

I love this one from Lawn Fawn.

Another one using the Sissix Bee dies and a great font set from Penny Black

This one might be my favourite. I bought the bees to go with the paper and used the Penny Black Sentiment set again

Oh wait, this might be my favourite, I just adore Kraft and the stamps on the envelope were a nice added touch.

Then I prepped 50 of these for a make and take using a cute foam bee sticker. Too bad its a little washed out. The colours were really vibrant and they all went for a toonie each.

Bee cards

Whaaat? Another blog post? I finally can share some of the cards I've been working on over the last few months. I actually made 120 bee cards and was able to use them at the fundraiser for prizes and to sell. I must admit that not all of my ideas were completely original but I tried to use the products that I had and each card quickly became a new favourite. There were a few bee themed items that I never got around to using but I had to draw the line somewhere.
Here we go....

I loved using Washi tape for this card

 

 

This card was simple but I liked the popped up bee on the flower

I'm a big fan of the Sissix flip cards and they happened to have a bee die set as well.

I love the trailing heart, I think? it's Lawn Fawn

This card was soft and pretty. Perfect just to send a note.

That's it for today. I need to save some "ammunition" for another post.

Loonies for Lindor Cont'd

I have a few more photos to share from the Fundraiser. Thanks, Lori.

Yep, I baked all that bread.

Guess the honeycombs

Me and my girl, Friday/Keri

It was a busy day. I have passed over the much appreciated cheque to Autism Dog Services and I finally have all of the boxes sorted and put away and thank you letters sent. Many businesses helped to make this event a success.

Loonies for Lindor 2017

The Fundraiser was so busy I only remembered to snap a few photos. What a great day raising over $6000 for Autism Dog Services.

We were able to set up the night before which was great. SO many people chipped in as its a really big job.

Everyone got a really nice set of gifts including a loaf of freshly baked bread.
Liz made these super cute table numbers with a jar of honey as the base....

We had amazing raffle tables thanks to all the generous personal and corporate donors...

Here are just a few of the gifts that we had on our tables...

Lindor didn't win the giant sack of Benny Bully's but she was happy that a few Crump's Naturals products made it home.

We are happy to get back to our normal routine. Still unpacking and putting away all the boxes but happy with how the day went and looking forward to handing over a big cheque to a deserving organization.

August and September Challenge Cards

Keri and I have been so busy getting ready for the Loonies for Lindor fundraiser, we barely got our cards in. But we had already doubled up because we missed August so we didn't want to get any further behind. WE managed to complete our 2 cards for the challenges. I'll go first because I think mine are a little more basic...
I used YOUR NEXT STAMP coffee stamp and die which I love and came up with this....

I love decorating the coffee cup. There are lot of options in this stamp set.

And I did a flip out card with a branch die that I had borrowed from Keri. I think? it was Altenew but I've given it back so I can't check. And we know what Keri's favourite bird is...

I love these flip out dies by Sissix. They take the guess work out of design.

Keri made this adorable card using MFT Elephants....

It's just the cutest little guy. I may have to borrow this set down the road.
And then she did an equally cute card..

This time using the Lawn Fawn Sunflowers. Perfect for a Fall birthday.
So we have kept up with our challenges. Not sure if October will be accomplished or not. Might have a bit of a delay on that one as well.