Punching tags

Ever wonder how to make those long tags?

Trim your cardstock to about 1-3/8" (for the large SU! tag punch) width and slide it into your tag punch.



Gently pull the cardstock thru the hole.



Stop when you see the other end of the cardstock.



Line it back up with the edge and give it a punch!





There's a super cute treat holder I made over the holidays for yummy chocolates with this technique. I will try to upload that later tonight. I'm still trying to remember who I borrowed the idea from!

Cheers!
Jane

Apple Pie in a Bag

Here's something most of you don't know about me.
I love to bake! I bet my husband didn't know this about me! LOL!
Well, SURPRISE! He loved this apple pie and you will too!
It's super easy to whip together! All you have to do is toss the whole thing into a bag and forget about it!
Well, don't forget to turn on the timer...

Pastry:
1- 1/2 c. flour
1- 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp. cold milk

Mix ingredients & press into 9 or 10 in. pie plate

Filling:
4 c. sliced apples (I usually do less)
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine last 3 ingredients in a large ziploc bag.
Place apples in bag, seal, & toss.
Pour apples into pie shell.




Topping:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. chilled margarine or butter
1/2 c. sugar

Mix together with hands until crumbly.
(This is why the butter needs to be right out of the fridge).
Sprinkle mixture over the top of the pie.




PLACE YOUR PIE IN A BROWN PAPER BAG ON A COOKIE SHEET.
Fold the ends of the bag.



Bake at 350 degrees for 1 -1/2 hours!
Do NOT peek!!!! Seriously.
Serves 6-8.




This recipe originally comes from my friend, Amber.
It's a crazy thing to bake this pie in a brown paper bag, but it really works!
This pie is absolutely DELICIOUS! Give it a try and see for yourself!

Happy baking and bon appétit!

Jane

What's the difference?

I had a question asked about the difference between the old corner rounder and the new 3/16" corner rounder. YES! There is quite a significant difference in size. Here you go, Joni! I'm sorry it took so long for me to post this. My little one woke up and needed up some snuggles before I could get to the craft table. I couldn't resist a few hugs and kisses. :)



I punched with the retired corner rounder on the lower left hand side. The lower right hand side is punched with the current 3/16" corner rounder. You can see that the decorative edges are much smaller in size. Along the top, I punched with the Slit punch. You can see that this decorative edge is much rounder than the ones produced by the corner rounders.

HTH!
Jane

How do you do that?

I had a request from Michelle, asking how to take the guard off of a slit punch.
This tutorial will hopefully help you with getting the guards off all of your Stampin' Up! punches.
Yes! I do take requests!

I thought a picture tutorial might help with a link to my original Scalloped Edge tutorial
and the Scalloped Edge update.

Please leave thoughts as you stop by! I appreciate knowing if these help in any way or if you would like to see a different point of view from the camera (etc.).

Here you go!

Here is what you are starting out with:



Gently tug or pull at one side of the guard until you feel it give.



Slide it off to one side.





Just pop off the other side.








Getting it back on!

Get a good grip on the guard and slide one side of the guard over the top side of the punch. Now slip it over down the side and under.





Now slide the guard you are holding onto, down into the punch.




Back to where you started!

Party Hearty!

Regionals for Stampin' Up! demonstrators (in the Bay Area) was this past Friday/Saturday at the Oakland Convention Center. I just want to let the gals I swapped with from SCS know what a fantastic job they did with their swaps! We had 100% participation! It went so quickly too! It was so fun to meet everyone in person. I can not wait to swap with you wonderful ladies again soon! Thank you!

Did someone say "Party Hearty"?
It's a new stamp set that will be coming out in the Fall/Winter 2008 Collections catalog and all demonstrators who attended Regionals will get a chance to earn this fabulous stamp set in the next 2 weeks! Just book a workshop of $400 or more within 2 weeks of having attended Regionals and this stamp set will be sent to you automatically! Isn't that yummy news?

Those of you who know me will know that I can not resist a good cupcake. So having said that, you will know I can not wait to get my hands on this stamp set!

Would you care for a sneak peek of samples from Regionals?

They are super cute!

Ready?

Are you sure?

Here you go!!



I know... she was so cute I couldn't resist putting this layout up first. lol!



























** All of these samples are pictures taken from the boards at Regionals **

Happy stampin'!
Jane

Be My Valentine!

Ken was hard at work today at my craft table.

He decided to make his own Valentines for his preschool classmates.
I have to admit I was pretty amazed at what he came up with.
He knew exactly what he wanted to do. The foam heart block stamp is from the $1 bin at Michael's that he had saved up for. Ken asked to use my Purely Pomegranate ink pad for the hearts. He borrowed my Brocade Blue ink pad to "ink up" the edges. Then he used his Stampin' Kids markers to write "Love Ken" on the insides of the cards. I'm so proud of him! :)







He finished them by punching holes in the corner of each card.
I helped him by adding the white curling ribbon to each card and tying a pencil and a lollipop to each card.



Here I was worried about what we were going to do for his classmates tomorrow! lol!

WSC34 - Sew Happy, Thank You!

Can you believe I actually sewed on a card?

Okay, so I tried this before... sometime last year. It was an utter mess.
The thread bunched up underneath the cardstock and I could not stitch a straight line. It was frustrating to say the least! I took my sewing machine to a sewing store and made the manager behind the counter thread the darn thing while my two boys threatened to take apart his store. This was after five minutes of him telling me how he didn't carry that particular machine (like it was SUCH a bad thing) and wouldn't be able to help me out unless I took a class at the store. LOL! Anyways, it got done and when I made it home, I put the sewing machine away.

Well today, I took it out again. This time, it was a success!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #34



Stamps: Spring Solitude
Cardstock: Almost Amethyst
Designer Series Paper: Afternoon Tea *
Ink: Almost Amethyst Classic, Whisper White Craft
Ribbon: Chocolate Chip Poly-Twill *
Other: Write-on Transparency, Detail Embossing Powder, Sponge dauber, Stampin' Dimensionals

*Available in Occasions Mini Collections Catalog on March 1st

I stamped the little bird and twig in Whisper White Craft ink on transparency and sewed that onto the DSP before using Stampin' Dimensionals to mount it over the card. It is faint and hard to see, but on one side of the card, I stamped the outline flowers from the Spring Solitude stamp set in Whisper White Craft ink and embossed it with Detail Embossing powder. I discovered how to adjust the settings on my sewing machine to do straight stitching and to do a zigzag pattern so I tried both on this card.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Keiji!

February 10, 2005


February 10, 2006


One year old and hanging out with Papa


February 10, 2007


February 10, 2008


The Four Matsumotos



We can't celebrate without cake!







Happy Birthday, my lil' bugaboo! I love you!

Oh where, oh where has my Crop-A-Dile gone?

I have been searching high and low for my Crop-A-Dile since yesterday night and I can not find it anywhere! I put it away Saturday morning just before my hostess club workshop started because I didn't want it getting in the way and that was the last I saw of it. I just set it aside!

Oh where, oh where has my Crop-A-Dile gone
Oh where, oh where could it be?
With its pretty pink handles
And shiny eyelet setter
Oh where, oh where could it be?