Studio 5: Baklava, Better Bugs & the "Bomb"

Gee, not sure where to start! They sure kept me busy on Studio 5 yesterday. And as much as I loved preparing for and sharing my segments on Baklava and Things with Wings, I have to say the highlight was completing my Minute-to-win-it task in under 60 seconds and helping Leslie Cuppitt win a Cricut Cake Machine!

{notice Brooke isn't in this shot? This is where she just couldn't watch and walked away!}

I am SORE this morning! But can I just say, if you EVER get the opportunity to do something that scares you and might possibly embarrass you...DO IT. Wow, that was SO fun.

{I didn't plan on sharing a picture of my practicing, or I would have worn something besides sloppy sweats and fuzzy socks, but I just couldn't resist how excited I looked here!}

My sweet friend, Charisse kept me company that day, helped me carry things and took pictures as well. Loved having her with me and I love how absolutely BEAUTIFUL she looks next to my goofy face!

ok, let's go ahead and watch my 60 seconds of excitement!

And now, for the...rest of the story. Here are my two planned segments. First, let's make pastry! Greek pastry, no less. I needed to come up with a recipe with honey and frankly, I can't think of one recipe that uses more honey than Baklava.

I'm don't have a big sweet tooth, but it makes it all the more surprisingly how much I love this sticky sweet treat. It's so addictive and highly dangerous to have made as much of this as I have over the last few weeks as I tweaked my recipe.

Please visit the Studio 5 website for the complete article, step by step photos and of course, the recipe. Oh, and be sure to try adding chocolate chips, it is killer! Takes it to an all new sweet level

If you love paper crafting things with wings, then watch the video and read the article to be inspired by some summertime projects and simple techniques to make 'better bugs'.

Thanks for watching and stay tuned for my next Studio 5 segment on June 8th!

*Sneak-peek winner: Ok, I really need to make my sneak-peek easier as no one guessed it completely. I promise, next time will be better! In the meantime, I think Shelley came the closest. She's from Las Vegas and here's her website if you'd like to get to know her better. Thanks for playing and try again everyone!

I'm back...

Well, ever so briefly!

Exactly one year ago I retired from my work in magazines. I look back fondly on an exciting and creative experience that started with Crafts magazine, sandwiched in a variety of other publications, visited Creating Keepsakes regularly, but really, in the end found my home with Paper Crafts Magazine.

So, why am I showing a copy of Creating Keepsakes? 'Cause I'm in it, of course! Maybe I'm back to my quick visits, or maybe one editorial call just caught my eye and seemed such a perfect fit.

Can you say die-cutting? I can! And I do, ALL the time.

So when CK was looking for a unique technique to show it off, I volunteered my Negative Silhouette technique. Here's a sweet and simple 'welcome to the neighborhood' card that could also be used a scrapbook page element.

You can read all about it in the May issue of Creating Keepsakes, or you can try to win that issue right now!

Leave a comment here and tell me if you're a scrapbooker, or not and why?

Look what I found...

Remember this card? It was part of my August Card Class, Moovy Groovy. Something so satisfying about pulling that thread through all those holes and poof! Pinwheel!

Well, today I got to do one of my favorite things, perusing my cartridges on my Design Studio software. This is technically 'work', but it can easily turn into wasted hours if I'm not careful!

There are so many hidden gems in these cartridges, that I feel like I'll never become familiar with them all!

However, today I did find a shape I wanted to share with you. a pinwheel! In the new Mother's Day Limited Edition cartridge there is a great pinwheel shape, holes already punched, and ready to put together. I don't have time right now to do it, but thought I'd take a break from designing to share this find.

For those of you who didn't take my Moovy Groovy Class, the process is simple. Take a long piece of crochet thread (I like using it because it's thin, but strong) through two holes in a small button, leaving two equal lengths of thread hanging down.

Thread both hanging threads through the eye of a tapestry needle (larger eye, longer needle).

Take the end of the needle through one 'wing' hole, not going all the way through, just capturing it along the needle's length. Enter the hole from the bottom of the wing. Bend that wing towards the center of the pinwheel, still on the needle.

Bend the next wing towards the center and capture it with the needle. Now you have two wings on the needle.

Repeat until you have all four wings on the needle. All the wings and the end of the needle are pointed towards the center hole.

Carefully take the needle through the center hole and pull the thread until the entire pinwheel comes together. Tie it off, attach to a pixie stick or a card and you've got a whimsical paper craft to share with someone you love.

I Heart Felt

My turn to blog at PC Connection...please read more about felt, see my project, get instructions and leave a comment there for a heart FELT give-away!



One of the comments left asked me whether I could cut a flourish on the Cuttlebug. Not to leave a stone unturned, I tried it with the most flourishy die-cut I had. Worked beautifully, but again, needed a few shims for a super clean cut. This particular die-cut lends itself nicely to brads anchoring the ends and possibly something in the center. Will have to work it in later.



While I was playing around I noticed my embossing folders and wondered "what if" and was quite surprised and pleased with the effect. This definately needed some torque (power through baby!) but was worth it. It's a subtle look but would make a pretty background.



My heartfelt wishes to you today!