Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day Four

You can't have Valentine's Day without chocolate, so here is a delicious and decadent recipe from Nigella Lawson's book How to Be a Domestic Goddess.

Molten Chocolate Babycakes

scant 1/4cup soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
12 ounces best bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

6 individual 6-ounce custard cups, buttered
baking parchment

Unless you are making these up in advance, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, putting in baking sheet at the same time. Lay 3 of the custard cups on a sheet of doubled baking parchment. Draw round them, remove and then cut out the discs as marked. Press them all into the base of the cups.

Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar, and gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla. Now add the flour, and when all is smoothly combined scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter.

Divide the batter between the 6 custard cups, quickly whip the baking sheet out of the oven, arrange the little cups on it and replace in the oven. Cook for 10 - 12 minutes (the extra 2 minutes will be needed if the puddings are refrigerator-cold when you start) and as soon as you take them out of the oven, tip out these luscious babycakes onto small plates or shallow bowls.

Or............hop in the car and drive over to Trader Joe's. Check the freezer section for Chocolate Lava Cakes. Purchase. Bake as directed on the package.

In either case, serve with whipped cream, custard or ice cream. YUM!!

Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day Three

Another card! It will be hard for you to re-create this one exactly because the stamp and the embellishments are no longer available. But, that's the beauty of a card sketch like the ones in our how-to books. Use the same sketch with your own stamps, paper and embellishments to create a unique card.



Card measurements
Card Base: 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
Piece A: 5 1/4" x 4"
Piece B: 5" x 3 3/4"
Piece C: 3"circle
Piece D: 2" circle
Piece E: 1" circle

I'd love to see what you create with this sketch.
Leave me a link to your blog in the comments or e-mail me with a photo.

Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day Two

Here's another easy card for Valentine's Day. This one features our chipboard Dimensional Elements. The newest episode of Art & Soul covers a variety of ways to use them. The little bee stamp is one of our Petite Perks -- an exclusive gift for my customers!

I also used a little bit of black textured cardstock on this card and I love the touch of sophistication it adds. This month CTMH Textured Cardstock Combo Packs are buy one, get one free with $2 from each purchase donated to Operation Smile's Haiti relief fund. Visit the Operation Smile blog for information about their on-the-ground response.
Stock up on every color combination and help this important and urgent cause!

Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day One

I'm joining CTMH consultant, Paige Dolecki, in counting down the days to Valentine's Day. I'll post a card, layout or project each day to help get you in the mood for love! Here's one of the cards we'll be making at my Valentine's Day workshops scheduled for Thursday, February 4 and Sunday, February 7. Let me know if you'd like to join us!

This card features the stamp set Love Birds. I used markers and the waterbrush to add a little color and some Liquid Glass on the heart. The Xs and Os are our new Lots of Dots alphabet stickers. They look white when you start out, but when you ink them up the polka-dot design shows through!

Simple but sweet.

Some pages, finally!

I did so little scrapbooking last year that I've challenged myself to do a page a week in 2010.


Here are a couple of layouts I did that were done for a sketch challenge on ScrapShare. Supplies for these are all Close to My Heart.


This first one uses paper and stickers from "Emporium."The stamp set is "Connections."








This next two-page layout is the first I've done from our Baltic cruise this summer. Nothing fancy here -- title cut with Opposites Attract and some Journey Journaling Spots from CTMH.

Sweet Lucy

After almost 16 years together, we said goodbye to our sweet Lucy yesterday.

One little word

"Let me pray not to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them." -- Rabindranath Tagore



A few years ago, Ali Edwards (the scrapbooking/memory keeper guru) started a tradition of choosing one word each January to focus on over the course of the year. One word to keep in mind as she went about her daily life.


This idea really appeals to me and the word that popped into my head today was "fearless". Just the thought of living for a year with that one little word as my guide scares me. Which makes me think it is the right choice.

Here's a video by the Buddhist author, Susan Piver, describes exactly what "fearless" means to me.


I plan to create two scrapbook layouts --one at the beginning of the year to express my intention and the second one at the end to reflect on the process and the influence that living with purposeful fearlessness has on my life.

As you consider making resolutions at the start of the new year, I challenge you to join me in this twist on tradition. Choose one word -- or as Ali says, let it choose you. Live by this word and at the end of 2010, reflect on what kind of impact it had on your life. I'd love to know which words speak to you. Please share your choice in the comments...................or keep it close to your heart.



I wish you all a very happy New Year!