Just Like Mom's

My mom is my true inspiration. From the first time she sat me down with food coloring-dyed macaroni and some glue, I was hooked on everything crafty. My mom is my best friend and biggest fan! Mom, this is for you.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Music and Shakespeare

 


This are pics of one of my new oversized bookmarks, available now at etsy! This one features a music note pattern, adorn with metallic pink buttons, pink and black ribbon, and pasted on pink shades of glittered cardstock. What do you think?
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Gluestick Love

 



These are a new idea I have been working on. It's part of my "Love For Your Gluestick" theme. These are little pouches for your gluestick, making them both fashionable and, well...I guess thats it. But who needs another reason? It's not practical, it's just love for your gluestick.

As a crafter, a gluestick is your best friend. From cardmaking, scrapbooking, to collages, you never part from your gluestick. So, if you are looking at it that often, it might as well have something pretty to relax in. Right?
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Friday, March 7, 2008

One day, last fall...




Just a short post today - I just came across these photos that I took last fall and thought they were beautiful, so I wanted to share!

Lime Meltaway Cookie Recipe

SO, I feel terrible because I haven't posted in my blog, listed on my etsy site, or uploaded into my flickr account in weeks. So, last night, I posted a new card I have created (I have been working, even though I have been scarce online....) and in honor of it, I am posting this morning. Check out my new card! Its on the left, the first pic on the top!

I was looking though an old blog that I had through yahoo and found this post I did on Lime Meltaways and my experience making them. It was a great receipe, and so super easy. Here it is for all of you...mmmmmm

The best part of this receipe is you can make a whole ton of the dough and keep it in your fridge or freezer and then when you get home from work, and you've had a crappy day, you can pull them out, stick 'em on a tray and have fresh baked cookies in time for desert!

Lime Meltaways
www.marthastewart.com

Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squezzed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

3. Between two 8 by 12 inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch diameter logs. Chill at least one hour.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

5. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.


Experience:

So, first things first. Most of baking that you will do will require you to follow the directions completly and exactly. This recipe is not that way. When I read the ingredient for sugar, I read granulated sugar, not confectioners sugar (blame it on the 300 chocolate covered pretzels I just made). So I used granulated sugar in the mixture and to toss them. It wasnt until after I baked, tossed and happily ate them when I re-read the recipe and realized my mistake. It was a yummy mistake however, because I really liked them. They were still chewy and sweet and the granulated sugar added a nice crunch (you know, the nice rotting your teeth crunch). I will have to see how they come out if you follow the recipe exactly.

Also, baking these cookies is tricky, because with most of my batches, if I waited until they were slightly golden, they were already too cooked. You really have to keep an eye on them, and don't bake them for long. They are very delicate.

These make great Christmas Gifts. I put them in a cookie tin stacked in piles of 4 in cupcake papers.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Butterfly Mini Notes




These are some new creations from a super cool punch that I bought recently. The punch is on some dark purple paper with a hem stich on the bottom of the front (purely decorative). The inside is pink with my own design printed on it. They can be used for anything I think, mini happy notes, gift tags, "love you" notes on your bathroom mirror....

They measure about 2 x 1.5" folded, so they are a cute addition to anything. I added a sticky foam pad to the back of each one to make them easy to stick them til your heart's content.

They are very girly girl I think, what with the pink, purple and the butterfly. I have become more and more girly as time passes. It kind of grosses me out. But I am learning to embrace it!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Dreaming of Springtime



We ave suffered through another snow storm here in Connecticut. So I made a collage while I was stuck in the house dreaming or the arrival of Spring...

Just a short post today, but I thought this collage came out pretty good, and I wanted to know who else is dreaming of Spring?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Fun with Anagrams

Enamel Dog Log

I found this really great website, www.wordsmith.org. The above phrase with I thought to be exceedingly funny is an anagram out of my username, megangoodell. Although most of them were disturbing, here were some other good ones:

Legal Do Gnome
Alone Mold Egg


I got a chuckle out of them. There were also cool little pages on this site like the Anagram Times, where they take headlines and find anagrams out of them, like this...

Death by chocolate = The 'halted' by cocoa

Obviously these people are obessesed wih these things...

Also, there is the Anagram Hall of Fame where I found this nugget of funniness:

Clothespins = So Let's Pinch

Oh, and one last thing I found on their "Odds and Ends" page:

Ever wondered why there isn't another word that can be made by rearranging the letters of the word anagram?

I hope you got a chuckle out of these like I did. Check the site out and find a cool anagram for your username. I would love to see them!