Recipe of the Week #148- Peanut Butter Cups

 

 

Peanut Butter Cups
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 lb  chocolate almond bark

Mix together 3/4 cup peanut butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. This mixture will be dry, but should be able to roll into small balls.
Melt the almond bark, then add the rest of the peanut butter.
Fill the bottom of a small candy cup with chocolate mixture, drop in a peanut butter ball, then fill cup with chocolate. Let cool.

These are one of our favorite treats at this time of year. I don't know why I wait until the holidays to make them because they're so irresistible and creamy.

Thanks so much for stopping by and God bless.

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

Psalm 103:8

This post is linked to Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Be Different, Act Normal,
 and Between Naps on the Porch.

Mini Album Monday #44- Single Envelope Christmas Album

Today's mini album is so simple, no one can use the excuse
that they can't make it because they don't scrapbook.
It's just a single envelope with a few tags.
 

 

I'll be handing out the tags on Christmas Day so my family and I can write down

what we love about Christmas. I'll place photos on the larger pattern papers in the back.

 

 

To make this, you'll need:

one 5 1/4"x 7 1/4" envelope

3-5 small pieces of pattern paper (measurements below)

4 shipping tags

stickers in your theme

paper trimmer

 

If you want to use a different size envelope, just adjust the papers to fit.

If you have more than four family members, use more tags.

 

First, tuck the flap into the envelope.

Then trim a piece of pattern paper to 3 1/4"x 7 1/4" and adhere it to the front of the envelope.

 

Trim a second piece of pattern paper to 5"x 7" and adhere it to the back of the envelope.

 

Place two sticker strips or strips of pattern paper vertically about 1/2" fron the left edge.

Then add a sticker for the title.

 

Optional: add a small flower to your title sticker.

 

Trim three pieces of pattern paper to 4"x 6" and place these in the envelope.

These will be photo mats for your photos.

Then place the shipping tags in front of the photo mats.

If you like, add a little embellishment to the top of each tag.

 

The tags are for journaling- just hand one out to each member of your family

and ask them to write about their favorite Christmas memory.

Then add a few photos to the mats, and you'll have a darling memento

from your Christmas celebration!

 

You can add either current photos or photos from Christmases past.

 

This can sit out as a mini album or you could add it to a scrapbook layout.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and God bless.

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Psalm 103:1

 

 This post is linked to Daisy Cottage Designs, It's Overflowing, I Heart Naptime, and Natasha In Oz. 



Christmas Clipboards

To start off the Christmas season, I have an idea that would make a great gift for a teacher,

 co-worker, or anyone else who could use a little cuteness at her desk.

 

 

Christmas clipboards



(front)

 

The clipboards I used were slightly longer than 12", so I couldn't just use one piece

of scrapbook paper.

 

I trimmed one piece to cover 3/4 of the clipboard and one piece to cover the bottom 1/4.

I left a slight space between the two papers to fit a narrow strip in between.

 

 (back)

 

I did the same thing on the back, but put the smaller piece at the top.

 

(front)

 

On the front, I had to cut out a notch to make room for the clip.

I measured how wide and tall the clip was so I'd know how big to make the notch.

(back)

 

I adhered all the papers with Mod Podge.

To make them lay flat, I used a paper towel and my hand to rub all along the surface to get rid of any air bubbles. The paper towel was there to wipe off any excess glue that seeped out of the edges.

 

I didn't put a layer of Mod Podge on top of the pattern paper because I find that makes

 the surface tacky, and sometimes paper will stick to it.

If you decide to, make sure that you wait until the bottom layer is completely dry before adding a layer on top or you my find that the paper will ripple. (Been there, done that!)

 

The last thing I did was tie strips of tulle to the clips.

 

If you make one, you'll have to measure your clipboard to see what size to trim your papers.

Don't be intimidated- it's not necessary to be precise.

You just want to cover the board.

All this project cost was the price of five pieces of pattern paper and 2 clipboards.

I had the Mod Podge and tulle on hand.

Even better, they both took well under an hour to complete!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and God bless.

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Psalm 103:1

 

 



This post is linked to My Repurposed Life, Craft-O-Maniac, Today's Creative Blog,

and Glitter, Glue, and Paint.

Thrifty Thursday #145

I've mentioned before that there are two thrift stores that I try to visit every week.

There is a third store in the same area, but I rarely go to it.
It's recently been built, so it's nice and clean, but I feel that their prices are a little high-
 to pay for the new building, I suppose.

 

Anyway I don't know why I don't stop there more often
because the last few times that I have, I've found good stuff.

 

 

like this globe.
Isn't it beautiful?
It's slightly smaller than the average globe and is written in a foreign language.

It was made in Italy (per the manufacturer's tag on the bottom).
I paid $6 for it- which is not a bad price for a globe in this good of condition.

 

Then I made a quick run into my two usual haunts and only found one thing-

 this reasonably priced brand new package of luminaries.

Our church has a lot of functions and I thought these could be used

as centerpieces for something or other.

They were $1 for 12.

 

That's it.

Not too hard on my pocketbook.

And that globe sure made me smile.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and God bless.

 

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run,

but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

1 Cor. 9:24

 

 This post is linked to Embracing Change, Junkin' Joe, Be Different, Act Normal,
 and My Salvaged Treasures.

Layout of the Week #99

I'm excited to show you today's Layout of the Week.

The steps are simple enough for any skill level.

Just follow along, and you'll complete this layout in under an hour.

 

 

This is the layout we're making.

Yours will look slightly different as you'll be using supplies you have on hand.

 

To create it, you'll need:

one piece of 12"x 12" pattern paper

one piece of 3"x 4" pattern paper

2-3 journaling cards

1-2 pieces of decorative tape

stickers in your theme

7 photos

paper trimmer

adhesive

 

Place the 3"x 4" pattern paper in the upper left corner of the 12"x 12" pattern paper.

Optional: Place a journaling card or second piece of pattern paper overlapping the first one.

 

Adhere two vertical photos slightly overlapping near the center of the page.

I trimmed a little off the sides of my photos.

 

Crop the rest of your photos so that they will be able to fit in the space around the first two photos.

You don't have to be precise with these measurements. You just need to trim them enough to fit.

 

Place two along the left edge of the pattern paper, then place a third below the two large photos.

All my smaller photos slightly overlap the larger photos.

 

Now place one photo near the upper right corner.

Adhere two journaling cards along the outer edge of the rest of the photos.

 

I used one of my journaling cards to write my title which I added with stamps.

 

If you'd rather, you could use pattern paper in place of the journaling cards.

 

Add the last photo beneath the journaling cards.

 

Using your stickers, add them here and there around the photos.

I also added two strips of decorative tape in the upper right corner and lower left corner of the layout.

 

To finish it off, add some notes to your journaling card.

Feel free to add a few more stickers- I added one to nearly every photo.

 

See how easy this was?

By adding a little color around the photos, you don't have to put too much work into a layout

and still achieve a layered look.

 

Stop by every other Wednesday for a new start-to-finish layout tutorial.

Thanks so much for stopping by and God bless.

 

 

 To everything there is a season,

a time for every purpose under heaven

Ecc. 3:1

 

 This post is linked to Between Naps on the Porch, Skip to My Lou,

Tatertots and Jello, and My Girlish Whims.

 



Recipe of the Week #147- Uncle Ben's Rice Dish

Uncle Ben's Rice Dish
1  box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice- Fast Cook Recipe
1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup (you could use cream of chicken if you rather)
1 small onion, diced
2 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat and onion. Drain grease. While that's cooking, prepare the rice according to directions on the package. When that's cooked, add the meat and soup. Place in a greased 13"x 9" pan. Place several pats of butter across the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.


This is such an easy dish to make. You can even prepare it early, place it in the fridge, so when you come home all you have to do is place it in the oven.

I usually serve this with green beans and buttered bread. It's such an easy family meal, and so much less expensive than eating out!

If you have any turkey left from Thanksgiving, this would be one way to use it up:)

Thanks so much for stopping by and God bless.

Sing to the Lord, bless His name;

proclaim the good news

of His salvation day to day.

Psalm 96:2

This post is linked to Daisy Cottage Designs, Ivy and Elephants, Too Much Time on My Hands,
and Plucky's Second Thought.

Table Runner Made From Vintage Book Pages

Last week I showed you some vintage autumn themed centerpieces that I helped with.
We didn't have any table runners to use, so I got to try out a project I've been wanting to do. . .
 

 

a vintage book page table runner.

 

The tables that we were using were pretty long, so I decided that I'd make my runner

seven pages long. The book was about 12" high.

 

 

I tore 14 pages out of an old French textbook. I only trimmed off the rough edges from being torn. The rest of the edges were discolored with age and I wanted to leave that look.

Then I lined up the pages two across and taped them together being careful to keep them straight.

Once I had two rows of seven attached, I used a paper punch to give the edges a scalloped look

 

Then I repeated this seven more times to make a total of eight table runners.

I was so tickled with how cute they looked that I was willing to overlook the fact

that they were a little time consuming.

 

Plus they added to our vintage theme for the rest of the decorating.

 

If you have any sort of event coming up and you don't know what to do for a table runner, try this project. You'll be delighted with the results!

 

I think this would be cute done with sheet music, too!

 

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

 

I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O Lord, I will sing praises.

Psalm 101:1

 

 This post is linked to It's Overflowing, The Dedicated House, I Heart Naptime,

 Funky Junk, and Natasha In Oz.