Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day Seven

This scrapbook page doesn't have a Valentine theme, but it does include a photo of someone I love very much -- my daughter!

All of the papers used here are Close to My Heart, as are the butterflies and the felt crown.

I created this layout as an assignment for a class I'm taking over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. It's called "Point of View" and is being taught by Nic Howard. After you've been scrapbooking for a while like I have (15 years, I think!), sometimes things get dull and your photos all start to look the same. This class is designed to help you look beyond the obvious and find something different and fun in your photos. I'm looking forward to the fresh inspiration!

Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day Six

I found this little wooden word in the clearance bin at Michael's right after Christmas. I roughed it up a bit with sandpaper and attached some vintage elements from my collection.
Cheap, quick and a little bit rough! It might be just the thing for your Valentine!

Countdown to Valentine's Day: Day Five

More chocolate! These little nugget tins are easy and fun to make.

Each Hershey's nugget is wrapped in a strip of paper that is 3 1/4" long x 1" wide. Build the piece that wraps around the box by layering 10" long strips in varying widths. Mine are 2 1/4", 1 1/4" and 1/2". Use any paper you have. Add ribbon, tags and embellishments as your heart desires.

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.