Help for Hobbies of all Sorts by Rene' Hobbie

Monday, October 31, 2011


Need an idea for a hostess gift?  I saw this wine tag on Pink Buckaroo's Blog and thought it was so neat that I set about making one right away.  To make the tag, I cut a piece of  Pool Party cardstock to measure 8 1/2 x 3 inches.  I scored it at 2 3/4 inches.  Then, I simply decorated it with a stamp set called Gently Falling from Stampin Up.  I cut a circle at the top of the tag with a 1 3/8 inch punch and framed the circle with the scallop circle punch.  The pocket was made from the Petite Pocket die and Spice Cake designer series paper that was run through the Big Shot.  The inside tag measures 4 x 2 and was decorated with a small leaf stamp and thank you sentiment.  The pumpkin on the front of the pocket was made from an oval punch.  Twine and ribbon were also added.  So cute and easy!

My friend suggested that making a tag for bubble bath would be fun, too.  Good idea, Merry! 

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

I was recently teaching in a second grade classroom and admired a painted pumpkin that sat on the teacher's desk.  A student named Lexi had given it to her.  Do you know that sweet girl went home and asked her mom to make one for me?  It totally made my day.  Now I have a beautiful painted pumpkin sitting on my desk, too.  Thank you, Lexi!! 


Lexi's mom, Lori, told me that to decorate the pumpkin, she painted the design with acrylic paint.  (Did you see those polka dots?  My fave!)  She then sprayed the pumpkin with a clear acrylic gloss coating.  Lori wrapped some of the ribbon (dampened) around dowel rods and dried them in a 300 degree oven.  The curly and straight ribbon was hot glued around the pumpkin stem.  Adorable!  I have to try making some of these.  Thanks again, Lexi and Lori!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Six Layer Magic Cookie Bars


You may already have this recipe or one similar to it.  Since I'm going to make a book from all the recipes that I have posted on my blog, and this cookie recipe is my mom and son's favorite...I definitely have to include it.  Making these Six Layer Magic Cookie Bars is quite simple.  Here are the ingredients:

 1 stick butter
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put the stick of butter into a 9x13 inch pan and put it in the oven to melt the butter.  (or melt it in the microwave)  Add graham cracker crumbs to butter and mix pressing into pan to make a crust that covers the bottom of the pan.  Add the chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans in layers.  Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over all.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool and cut into squares.  This is a single recipe.  You might want to go ahead and make two pans while you're at it.  They are sure to be a favorite in your family, too.  

Monday, October 24, 2011

Have you been "Boo"ed yet?  Our neighborhood plays a fun game each year at Halloween where we sneakily leave treats on each others doorsteps to "boo" them.  They, in return, boo someone else until the whole neighborhood has gotten something sweet to eat.  We look forward to this exciting tradition each year.  You can find details here in case you'd like to get in on the fun!

These are some treats that I made for some special little friends in our neighborhood.  I covered a small composition notebook with Halloween paper, added ribbon, a pencil, and candy.  I hope they'll like them! 


Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Although Halloween hasn't even come and gone yet, I've already seen a couple of Christmas commercials on tv.  It drives me crazy, but that does get one thinking about all the awesome possibilities available for the holidays.  My son has his eye on the Videocam Hot Wheels set that he has seen.  I have to admit that it looks like fun!  Mom and Dad would have a great time playing with that, too.

When it comes to playing Santa, my mom is the very best!  She taught me one of her secrets a few years ago.  Mom carries a small notebook in her purse.  Whenever someone casually mentions something they'd like to have, she writes it down when they aren't looking.  Sneaky, isn't she?

Well, this Santa Girl is all ready!  I covered a small composition notebook with the beautiful new SU paper called Letters to Santa.  I could just use a plain notebook, but what fun is that?  This year, I'll be making my list and checking it twice!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Turkey and dressing is so delicious, and this recipe will give you a little pre-taste of what's to come in about a month on Thanksgiving Day.  I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

Swiss Chicken and Dressing

Wash and prepare your skinless, boneless chicken breasts.  I pound the chicken pieces so that they are a little flatter.  Place them in a casserole dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray.

Place a slice of Swiss cheese on top of each chicken breast.

In a separate bowl, mix two cans of cream of chicken soup with a half cup of milk.  Pour that over the chicken.

Add three cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Dressing (the one in the blue bag) on top.  Melt and pour a half stick of butter on top of the dressing.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for an hour and a half or until the chicken is tender.

I hope you'll try this tasty recipe.  Thank you for stopping by my blog. 

Wednesday, October 12, 2011


 
 I saw these cute Thanksgiving Turkeys on Pink Buckaroo Designs and had to copy them!  What a cute way to showcase these fine feathered friends during the fall season.  This is how I made them...

Cut two 5x3 pieces of craft colored cardstock.

Run them through the Big Shot using the Two Tag Die.

You'll now have two pieces of cardstock that look like this:

Run them through the Big Shot again but this time use the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  Fold them on the score line.

Place one on top of the other as shown and adhere together. This would also be a good time to add the candy.  I used small candy bars and glued them down with red sticky strip tape.

Decorate the front as shown.  I used the owl punch for the turkey body minus his ears.  The turkey feathers were made using the 5-petal flower punch. 

I hope you enjoy making these gobble-gobblin good treats as much as I did.  Thank you for stopping by my blog.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Would you kiss a pig for $30,000?  That's exactly what our principal has promised to do if the students at our school raise that much money during our Run for the Gold fundraiser.  Because of that promise, we've got a little piggie theme going on at Allen.  I made this fun notebook to use, and it was super simple. 



The cardstock measures 6 1/4 x 8 1/2.  I scored it at 3 and 3 1/4 inches.  After folding it on the score lines, I rounded the corners.  I adhered some patterned paper on the top of the tablet to cover the manufacturers writing, and then glued the whole thing to the black cardstock using red sticky tape.  How did I get such a skinny tablet?  I bought 5x8 inch tablets at Staples and then asked them to cut them in half for me.  I decorated the front of the notepad using more patterned paper and the new Button Buddies stamp set from Stampin Up.  The wide ribbon is also from Stampin Up. 

I hope you like this fun project.  Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Let me know if you have any questions!