Oreo Delight

One of my BFFs recently had a birthday, so I made her a special dessert at our last stamping club.  It's called Oreo Delight.  I got the recipe from one of the cooking blogs I follow Meals at the Muirs.  I don't like sugar (I know, totally weird), so I didn't even taste it, but it seemed to be a huge hit.  Let me show you how to make it.  You'll need the following ingredients:

  1 package of regular Oreos, split

1 stick butter, melted

5 oz. box of instant chocolate pudding

2 tubs 8oz. Cool Whips

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

Crush the whole bag of Oreos in a food processor or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.  Save a 1/2 cup of Oreos to sprinkle on top of the dessert.

Pour the rest of the Oreos in a glass 9x13 inch dish.  Mix the melted butter in and press down to make a crust.  

In a separate bowl, make the chocolate pudding according to the directions in the box.  Put it in the fridge to set up.  

In another mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese with powdered sugar.  Fold in one tub of the Cool Whip.

Now to finish the rest of our dessert and layer our ingredients... On top of the Oreos, spread the cream cheese mixture.  

The next layer is pudding,

Add the last tub of Cool Whip on top of the pudding and then the reserved Oreos.  

Happy Birthday, Glo!

Christmas in July

For someone who can't stand to even look down the Christmas aisle at Hobby Lobby this time of year, I surely had a great time getting this class together.  We made three projects:  a card, box with tags, and a mini scrapbook.  The No Peeking stamp set and Be of Good Cheer paper from Stampin Up was used on all of the items.  Many thanks to Demonstrator Debra Simonis for sharing the idea of the card and box with tags.  The scrapbook was made out of toilet paper rolls!  I guess you really can make a scrapbook out of just about anything!  Here is a closer look at all of the pages in the book.

See the little tab at the right?  Those are tags that additional photos or journaling can be written on.

If you would like more information about how to make these fun items, don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Two Pocket Card

While in Minnesota, we had dinner with a friend of Arlin's who snowmobiles with the clan each year.  His wife made a beautiful dinner for us.  We had a great time visiting with Bob and Lois in their lovely home by the lake.  As I looked at the decor in their house, it didn't take me long to figure out that they really like birds.  Knowing that I'd want to make them a thank you card, I knew right away what the theme had to be.  I made this two pocket card for them once we got home using the perfect materials from SU...Cheep Talk stamp set and Good Morning Sunshine designer series paper.  (both retired, but the possibilities for making a similar card are endless)

I started with an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of double sided paper.  

I folded it long ways like a hotdog.  If you work with elementary kids, you know exactly what I mean! Using a bone folder will make your creases nice and neat.  

Fold the paper again in half.  You will now have a piece of paper the size of an A2 card.  

Open the paper to its original size and make a cut as shown from the side of the paper to the middle fold line.

We're going to make a couple of folds.  Bring the top left hand corner down to the middle fold.  

Bring the bottom right hand corner up to about 1 1/2 inches away from the middle fold as shown.

Fold the entire bottom right hand side over the bottom left side of the paper.  

Fold the top right flap of paper under the top left.  

Fold the paper at the top as shown.

Almost finished!  Bring the entire top half of paper and fold over the bottom.

Turn the card around.  

Whew!  I'm glad most of the birds ended right side up.  That was pure luck!  

I'm opening the card back up to show you where you can add sticky tape to keep the flaps glued down.  This card does not open in the center like most cards.

Now that everything is glued down, it's time to decorate the outside.  I added a one inch strip of coordinating paper to the bottom of the card.

I then made the tags which measure 2 1/2 x 5 1/4.  Don't forget the ribbon at the bottom of the card and on the tags, too!  

If you make any two pocket cards, I'd love to see them and get ideas from you!  Let me know if you have any questions!  

P.S.  I used several punches on my card:  corner punch, 1 3/8 circle, and scallop circle.  

Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury

I've read all 22 books by Karen Kingsbury that feature the Baxter Family.  This is the last book about the Baxters, and I'll miss reading about these characters that I've come to know over the years.  Coming Home was a great book that had a central theme...God's faithfulness.  If you've never read any other stories about the Baxter's, you won't be lost by reading this one.  Kingsbury used the first 140 pages to recap their story.  Honestly, that part of the book became monotonous for me, and I read through it in turbo mode.  I tend to like books where the characters live "happily ever after".  Unfortunately for me, that didn't happen in this novel.  Reading this book was like waking up from a really bad dream and being extremely thankful that it wasn't real.  Although this story was very sad, if you are a huge Kingsbury fan, you won't want to miss reading it.

Coming Home is a novel about tremendous victory and unprecedented loss, a story of faith and a forever kind of love, love that will stay with you long after the last page. This stand-alone novel will serve as either a grand introduction or a beautiful conclusion in the saga of the Baxter Family. The Baxters make plans to come together for a summer lakeside reunion, a celebration like they haven’t had in years. But before the big day, the unthinkable happens. As the Baxter Family rallies together, memories come to light in the grief-stricken hours of waiting and praying, memories that bring healing and hope during a time when otherwise darkness might have the final word. In a season that changes all of them, the brilliance of family love overshadows even the valley of heartache as the Baxters draw closer to God and each other. Along the way, secrets are revealed and the truth about the Baxter Family history is finally made known. Ultimately, in this portrait of family love, the Baxters cling to each other and to God’s promise of forever.  (review taken from www.goodreads.com)