the up-side to being sick

catching up on this season's epidsodes of House.

~Sue

Colors of Christmas card class

Here's my new class for Roberts Crafts. Click on the image to enlarge.

Kits are pre-cut...come join the card-making fun.

PaperCrafts Gourmet is HERE for me & YOU!

Yippee!! It's here! Paper Crafts Gourmet Hardbound BOOK!

I don't think I've ever been this excited about a new publication. When we first did Paper Crafts Gourmet in magazine form last year ago, it was a match made in Susan-Neal-heaven...papercrafting AND cooking all in one place.

So...one for me (of course!), one for YOU (because YES, I'm giving one of these away!), one for my sister, one for my friend, one for my daughter-in-law...oh the list goes on and on! So perfect with Christmas coming. I was able to contribute several of my favorite recipes, so keep an eye out for:

• Mexican Honey Butter Shrimp (original recipe)
• Coconut Croissant Pudding (original recipe)
• Danish Aebleskivers with Butterscotch syrup (compliments of my friend, Sharon Budge)
• A Trio of Brie Appetizers (Original recipes...perfect for the Holidays!)
• French Onion Soup (can't get too original with this, except that I've tweaked this over the years until it's just perfect!
• Minestroni Soup with Brown Butter Parmesan crumble (does that sound yummy or what?)
  

I'm not the only papercrafter who likes to cook though...Alisa Bangerter (fellow PC Pro) contributed this scruptious recipe and it's here for you now!

Melt in your mouth, crispy on the edges, cheesy, buttery...need I say more? Make it tonight!

Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits
by: Alisa Bangerter

This is a perfect recipe to pull out if you are short on time because there is no rolling or cutting. The cheese and garlic add extra kick to a plain biscuit, and kids love them. They are the perfect accompaniment to serve with soups or stews, and are great served with a salad.

INGREDIENTS
2 c. flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. butter or margarine
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 1/4 c. milk
Chives (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until mixture is fine. Add cheese and mix well. Add milk and stir until just moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped dried or fresh chives if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.


And just when you thought this blog was done...MORE free stuff. Here's a fun Halloween project by...no other than...Alisa Bangerter. Can a person be TOO creative/talented/nice?

Enjoy Halloween Tag
Designer: Alisa Bangerter

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (ivory) Dye ink: (Black) Stewart Superior Corp.; (Summer Sun) Stampin’ Up! Specialty ink: (Mango Lemonade color wash) Stewart Superior Corp. Color medium: (black chalk) Craf-T Products Accents: (black brads) Making Memories; (chipboard bat, moon) Melissa Frances Fibers: (black striped ribbon) Pebbles Inc. Font: (Black Family) http://www.dafont.com/ Adhesive: (foam tape) Finished size: 3" x 4 1/2"

1 Make tag from cardstock. 2 Crumple tag and smooth out. Spray edges with color wash; let dry. Apply chalk. 3 Ink chipboard moon; let dry. Chalk edges and adhere. 4 Ink chipboard bat; let dry. Adhere with foam tape. 5 Print sentiment on cardstock; trim and tear edges. Chalk edges and adhere with foam tape. Attach brads. Attach ribbon with brad.

If you'd like to be entered into a random drawing for PaperCrafts Gourmet Book, then please leave a comment on this post...I'll pick a winner early next week (as soon as the book arrives). You can pre-order this book online.
~Sue

All out!

So fun putting all those recipe cards in the mail. I sent them like a postcard, so I'm crossing my fingers all will be well on their journey. Enjoy! Sue

Creative friend & Halloween Treats

I know a LOT of creative people. I also know a LOT of really NICE people. I'm lucky that way. I hope to share some of those people with you on this blog and I'd like to start with my dear friend and colleague, Alisa Bangerter. What better way to do that then watching this video of Alisa doing 'her thang' on Studio 5 (yup, we're TV buddies!). Actually, Alisa is Studio 5's Party, Holiday and Ideas regular contributor. She does a phenomenal job and I know you'll enjoy this segment, just in time for Halloween!

{Oh My Gosh, aren't those mummy twinkies adorable! And those wafer cookies? Amazing!}

Oh, and in case you're wondering...yes, Alisa is also a PC Pro for PaperCrafts magazine. She gets lots of opportunities to share what she loves. Aren't we ALL lucky? Sue

Canadian Chocolate Bars WINNER!

It's been fun reading all your comments about chocolate and I only WISH I could send you all some chocolate goodies, but using a random number generator our lucky winner is CLAUDIA! I actually just met claudia while volunteering in the CK Media booth in St. Paul this last weekend. We had a lovely chat and guess what? She has an even lovelier blog...check it out! Very talented photographer.

I'm still sending Lemon Bars Recipe Cards away...so keep your requests coming. I'll let you know when I run out.

Lastly, stay tuned...I have an awesome new GIVE-AWAY coming tomorrow! I'm SO excited about it!
~Sue

Recipes anyone?

{...and give-away!} I had a great time in St. Paul and can't wait to go back next year. Class sizes were low because it's a new show, but the upside to that is I got to really spend some quality time chatting time with our Minnesota papercrafters, I even shared a sushi dinner with one of them.

So, with a little bit of sadness I say goodbye to my last CKC of the year, which also means it was my last Recipe Card Swap class of the year. I was looking through all the recipe cards I swapped out (I have SO many now...thanks!) and decided to share a few of them with you.

First of all though, I'd like to share my card. I made close to 100 of these. This is my favorite lemon bar recipe. I've tried many, as I love lemon bars, but this is my favorite...perfect ratio of lemon to crust. Oh, makes my lips purse just thinking about biting into one of these!


You can keep your recipe cards super simple, like mine here (just stamped and matted) or go all out like some of the cards below. I'm still in awe of the embossed mixer...can you imagine doing 20 of those? Amazing!

Here are some highlights from the year. I've included a scan of the Spicy Pumpkin cake below, as it's tucked into a pocket. I'd like to thank the following people for sharing these fun cards with me.

1. Monkey Bread: Linda Comfort


2. Spicy Pumpkin Bread: Brittany Wade


3. Stuffed Shells: Emily Aubin


4. Mashed Potato Salad: Darn! I don't know who made this


5. Cowboy Caviar: Becky Woods from Mount Pleasant, SC


6. Chicken Stuff Crescents: One of our events team members, not sure who.


7. Cream Puffs: Heidi Dawson


8. Sugar Cookies: Again, don't have a name for this one.
   

{You can click on these recipes to pull up a full size and printable form.}






















{Here is the insert for the Spicy Pumpkin cake...perfect for Autumn!}





















Lastly, I happen to have quite a few of my lemon bar recipe cards left over and would love to share them with you. Please leave a comment here and then email me with your mailing address (you can email me through my profile). I'll shoot one off in the mail to you on a first come, first serve basis.

I think I'm SO smart

And then something proves that I'm not. I thought I would pre-write a couple of blog posts before my trip so I could post them in St. Paul.

Problem is (and maybe you expert bloggers out there can help me) they posted in the order I created them...so they're not showing up on top.

Bummer! So, please scroll down a bit to see my CANADIAN CHOCOLATE BAR GIVE-AWAY!!!

Sue

Oh Happy Day!

It's always a happy day when I have card group. Well, it is once I get there. Usually it's not so great before that. I'm running around, stressed out, trying to get my cards done in time! Oh come on! You do the same thing! Admit it!

Actually, I had plans. BIG plans. I actually cut all the paper pieces in advance. I stamped and embossed my owl guy (all 24 of them) and took them with my wee scissors and cut them all out on my drive up to Canada. So, I did ATTEMPT to be organized this month.

It was that last little stamping on the white piece that messed me up! So here are the details of my Happy Day Card.

Don't you just dig these cardstock colors? I've always been a huge Bazzill fan (still am), but lately I've been enjoying some really fresh colors from Prism. I used (#B558-D) Frosted Teal and (#OR041-E) Intense Orange here.

I normally don't love 'cutsie' images, but Owen the Owl here has just enough attitude to make him hip. Like he's just thrilled to have a birthday! Thanks Kim, just love your owls!

My first background stamp is from the same company that manufacturers Kim Hughes designs, Cornish Heritage Farms. One of my favorite and often used Large Polka Dot Backgrounder. The word stamp is from Hero Arts, Design Block Birthday.

Lastly, the sentiment "Oh Happy Day" is from Fiskars "Just between Friends" stamp set.










{thanks ladies for your cards this month, as always, just wonderful!}

Hope you're all having a Happy Day too, Sue

St. Paul Creating Keepsakes Convention

Here I am in beautiful St. Paul, MN. One of our newest Creating Keepsakes Conventions and I'm SO excited to get started...which is in exactly 1 hour! I've got a great view of the Mississippi River from my hotel room. The trees are changing colors and their is a crispness to the air. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't rain because I have a 4 block walk to the convention center. Have a great weekend everyone and hope you make some time to play...with paper! Sue

The Book Thief & Goose Girl

One of the perks of a trip is the reading I get done on a long drive or flight. It's been a busy few months and I just haven't had the time to read like I normally do.

It was with great relish that I was able to finish 'the Book Thief' by Markus Szusak. My sister-in-law, Mary gave this to me this summer and I must say I enjoyed it very much, as much as you can enjoy a story about war, pain, death, misery, hope, tenderness, devotion, charity and love.

I'm going to resist telling you anything about the story, as I didn't know a thing and part of my enjoyment was allowing the story and the method of telling that story unfold.

So, my next book? The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale. My 12-year-old daughter just finished reading it (and is now on the sequel, Enna Burning) and begged me to read it (so she could talk to me about it). Hmmm, sounds familiar? It's how I read every single Harry Potter novel and ALL the Twilight books (Yes, I actually enjoyed reading a love story about Vampires and werewolves!).

I'm going to put my travel perk to good use again tomorrow and hopefully will have time to finish the Goose Girl before I get home. Book review to follow!

Canadian Chocolate Bar Heaven...and give-away!

The older I get the stronger my cravings for chocolate are. I'm sure some doctor out there can explain that to me, but in the meantime, I satisfy my cravings with small bits of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is like stilton cheese. It's an acquired taste, but once you have it, there is no going back...UNLESS you are in Canada!
Yes, my last blog posting about my trip to Canada...I swear!

So, here I go...awaiting the BLASTS I know I'm going to get, "hey, what about M&Ms, scor bars, Symphony bars etc...?". So, to soften the blow, I'm actually going to GIVE-AWAY these yummies.

"Canadian chocolate bars are superior."

Despite not being dark chocolate, there are truly tasty tidbits of chocolate, peanuts, coffee, wafers, toffee, bubbles, caramel etc... My Fav: Mr. Big, a sweet, crispy, heavenly concoction. Crunchie was my childhood favorite, but hey, I have caps now, so it doesn't work quite as well. Caramilk is always a classic and YES! I do know how you get the caramel in the middle! Wunderbar is a newer one, but if you like peanuts, it's a chewy, peanuty fantasy.

Okay, I'm done now. I'm kind of hoping that by the time I get back from St. Paul the stash will all be gone. Yes kids...that means I'm giving you permission to eat them ALL! As much as I love these, they don't love my waist-line.

If you'd like to receive this entire collection of chocolate bars in the mail, please leave a comment and an email address. I'll close this give-away Wednesday, Oct. 29th.

Until my next CHOCOLATE post...because you know there WILL be one. Sue

Eat, Drink & Be Scary

What is it about HALLOWEEN that is so irresistible?
· It brings out the kid in me.
· Colors! Combos you just don’t see any other time of the year.
· Don’t we all like to be scared silly sometimes?
· Candy, candy, candy
· Walking on crisp, dark evenings with crunchy leaves underfoot.
· PARTIES

I have had the BEST Halloween parties over the years (although, I will admit it’s been awhile). One of my most memorable was a scavenger hunt. As I was making out the list of items for teams to gather, assigning a point value to each, I decided, for fun, to add a few funny , but obviously impossible items to the list with outrageous point values. Among other things, I added A DEAD BLACK CAT.

So, you can imagine how horrified I was when later in the evening, as the teams started to file in the house, one of our guests (he will remain NAMELESS) was holding a bag up and everyone was shouting “WE FOUND A CAT!”. The first thing I said (being the cat lover that I am) was “LET IT GO!” And they replied “IT’S DEAD!” Oh, My, Heavens. Yes. They literally found a dead black cat on the side of the road (poor thing!) and were audacious enough to pick it up (ewwwww!) and put it in a bag.

Needless to say, they won.

Here’s an invitation I made last year in the hopes I would actually have one. Yup, you guessed it. Never happened and with my October schedule, I’m afraid it won’t this year. Although, maybe I’ll be super impulsive and just do it!

I used this awesome flourish skull stamp by INKADINKADO (which actually happens to be on sale right now!), embossed it and fussy cut it. I sponged yellow ink behind it so it looks like it’s glowing. The rest is printed on my computer and assembled. Super easy really, except for some fussy-cutting.

Would love to hear about your favorite Halloween party experience OR what you have planned for this year. Maybe you’ll inspire me!

Happy Halloweeny, Sue

Goody Goblins & Monster Cookies

Not sure, but I think it's been 2 years since this I created this Halloween "Spooked" Treat box for PaperCrafts Magazine. I've had it high on a shelf with the best intention of using it ever since. So, it took a few years, but finally It's been put to good use!





















Steve made his amazing Monster Cookies (really, I call them that because they are SO big! but really you can google these as Texas Governor Mansion Cookies) Savanah and I (resident goody goblins) did a little doorbell ditching and tada! The "You've been spooked" box is now making the rounds of my neighborhood.
















Steve's Monster Cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon. baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened flake coconut
2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)


Directions:
Prep Time: 25 minutesBake Time: 17 to 20 minutesYield: About 3 dozen cookies (see note below)
1. Heat
oven to 350 F.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.
3. In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars; beat to combine, 2 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.
5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.
6. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
7. Bake in 350 F oven 17 to 29 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.
Note: For 6 dozen small cookies, use 2 tablespoons dough for each. Bake at 350 F for 15 to 18 minutes

Oh Canada!

It's Fall Break here in Utah, so we decided to head North (what were we thinking??) to visit my Mom who lives in Cardston, Alberta.

It's a quick visit, but it will include family, friends, my Mom's cooking, Tim Horton donuts, Swiss Chalet and copious amounts of Canadian chocolate bars and Canadian Oreos (more on that at a later date!).

Thought I would share my Canadian connection. My parents immigrated to Canada from Europe in the 1950's. I was born in Montreal, Quebec. I married an American (Idaho boy), but we lived in Waterloo, Ontario for 13 years before we moved back to the Rocky Mountains.
Still makes me happy to cross the border, see Canadian verbage on signs, listen to the CBC, measure things in celcius and kilometers, enjoy the rolling hills and fields of grain. I didn't grow up in this part of Canada, but if you can see a Tim Hortons (best...and I mean BEST donut shop in the WORLD!) then you feel at home, whether it's British Columbia or Newfoundland.

Until I get home...have a great weekend everyone! Sue
















Just a couple of pictures of nearby Waterton National Park and Chief Mountain. Simply breathtaking!

Q's Creative Card Classes

By far, my favorite reponsibility as a PC Pro for PaperCrafts magazine is teaching! Traveling (which I also love) around the country, meeting new people, sharing my passion for cards and papercrafting...it just doesn't get much better than that.

So, when I got a call from the studio director at our local Roberts Crafts store to teach card-making classes, it didn't take me long to decide. Here is my first class "Fabulous Fall Cards".

Stay tuned as I have this idea of 'stepping' the cards up for my students. Just like our most recent special issue 'Cards, Gifts & more 3 ways'. We are a little more restricted in the classroom and can't always do EVERYTHING I want to do to a card, but I can do it here in my little workspace and then post the results on my blog.

In the meantime, if you're nearby, please join me on Wed. Oct. 29th from 10-noon at the American Fork Roberts. It's gonna be FUN!

Fresh Peach Delight Cheesecake

One of the best gifts I've ever been given was 1 year after I moved to Utah. Two of my neighbors (Sharon & Vicki) brought me a nectarine tree for my birthday. I was thrilled and excited, because where I lived in Canada it was too cold to grow them.

It was just a small tree, but it grew so fast that we got fruit the next year and every year after that for the last 10 years. The tree is my husband's baby and he takes good care of it, thinning, spraying, netting etc... and I'm the lucky one who gets to bottle them, jam them, bake with them and eat them!

Between the nectarines and the peaches that my inlaws give me from their tree I'm always searching for peach recipes. Here's one I've had for many, many years. It's a nice light cheesecake and it really screams PEACHES!


Fresh Peach Delight Cheesecake

Crust
· 3 Tbsp. melted butter
· 1 ¼ Cup graham crackers Crumbs
· 2 Tbsp. Brown sugar

Filling
· 17 marchmallows (or half a bag)
· ½ Cup milk
· 1 8 oz. Pkg of cream cheese
· 2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
· 2 large peaches, diced. (or 3 small)
· ½ tsp. Vanilla
· 1 ½ Cup whipped cream (or cool whip)

Combine crust ingredients and put in a the bottom of a greased 8” spring form pan. Cook at 325 F. for 8 minutes. Let cool.

Make filling by melting marshmallows and milk for 1 minute in the microwave at high power. Stir and cook another minute or so, until all marshmallows are melted and combined with milk. Add vanilla. Beat Softened creamcheese in mixer until smooth. Gradually add the marshmallow mixture and lemon juice and mix until well incorporated. Mix in peaches. Fold in whipped cream. Put mixture into spring form pan.
Cool 3 hours or overnight to set. Enjoy!


I couldn't leave my peachy thoughts without showing you a card I created for my Father-in-law. For me, it's always a little more challenging creating a card for a man. I suppose it's because so much of the cute product out there is somewhat feminine. This card is also a testament to keeping your camera close by. Between blogging, scrapbooking and papercrafting I take ALOT of pictures!























I bottled my peaches on the deck to keep the heat out of the kitchen. I let the bottles cool on my table and when I saw the sun hitting them, they practically glowed. I knew I had to capture that.
To create my card I simple added my peachy sentiment (I know, it's corny!!) in PS, did a gradient overlay (orange to yellow), printed it out and pasted it on a card. Now, I just really, really have to SEND it...TODAY!

~see beauty.

Our Winners!

Congratulations Jennifer Davis (please email me with your address...you can access my email through my profile link) and Anna ( almadr). I made sure to use a random number generator to make it really fair!

Thanks to ALL of you for participating in World Card Making Day and for visiting my blog. Please check back often for more card making ideas, issues, give-aways, techniques and more.

Happy October! Sue

World Card Making Day Celebration!

(Click on photo to enlarge)

I had an incredibly wonderful time celebrating World Card Making Day with some rabid papercrafters from Virginia (and a few from North Carolina as well) at All About Scrapbooks.

Virginia is a beautiful state with truly friendly people. I only wish I could have stayed longer.

Bob & his wife were gracious hosts who made Steven and I feel very much at home and valued.

The 25 gals who participated in the class were dedicated paper crafters who made the whole day fun, fun, fun! I can't remember everyone's names, but June & Sophie were just one of several mother-daughter attendees, Paula was my convenient side-kick (literally...I kept bugging her for samples) and I believe their resident card artist (yes, I'm still waiting Paula...please send me url!!).

Angie touched me when she told me how her military husband has kept every card she's ever made for him and Valerie was just a bundle of energy and enthusiam. Sue, who just moved from Alabama was excited to make new card-making friends, and Peggy, well you just made my day. After struggling all year with health issues, was well enough to attend the class with her daughter. You are a lovely person and are truly inspirational. I will always treasure the memory of this day and hope to see you all again one day.
























So, going backwards a little, day 1 of my sojourn to Virginia started in Virginia Beach. A little day diversion for my husband and I. We had perfect weather, the people were so friendly, the sky was brilliant and the food was yummy. But, the best part was just hanging out with my dear husband, Steve.


Thanks honey for spending 2 days in a cramped plane, putting up with my constant photography, shopping 'girl stuff' and hanging out with and actually enjoying all of us crazy card-makers! You are the BEST!

So, here's to next year ladies...seriously, I cannot wait. I know it's going to be even better. Sue

World Card Making Day...Latest Studio 5 segment

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Well, friends, after a really long day, I have arrived in beautiful Virginia. I'm so excited to visit one of our winning stores, All About Scrapbooks, here in Chesapeake, VA. We are going to have FUN! Making cards, meeting new friends, prizes galore and of course, chocolate...because I've decided you really can't papercraft without chocolate. it's the rule :).

So, check back, starting Saturday onwards on this blog and also my fellow PC Pros (Wendy Johnson, Alisa Bangerter, Kim Kesti and our fearless Susan Opel) to read and see our World Card Making Day adventures.

Take a minute to check out my latest Studio 5 segment, all about our latest and BEST special issue, Card Creations #6, some awesome birthday card ideas and of course, some chatter about World Card Making Day. It was a funny day at Studio 5...new table and the cards kept falling off and then just when I thought the segment was over...it wasn't! You'll notice I get 'real' comfortable and chatty and then this light comes in to my eyes as I realize that no, we are still on the air! Lots of fun.

Dearly hoping you are all making plans for creating cards this Saturday. Sue