Darcie Heater

Pumpkin Basket Project

I made some little Pumpkin Surprise Cookies in the last post.  I wanted to share with you a cute way to package them in this post. The cookies are fairly large and dimensional, so individually they make great treats.  Here's what the cookies and the little basket look like:

Here's a close up of the little basket with the cookie inside:

And here's the cookies that I made in the last post:

Awww, they're way too cute to eat!

Here's how to make the basket:

Use an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of my printed card stock, Item #PAC1291 Nouveau Orange (this is what's showing on the inside of the basket).

Turn the sheet over to the back side (the white side).  Use a ruler and a pencil to lightly mark a 2" square in the center of the page.

Attach the smaller pumpkin stamp in the POL10 Flourish Pumpkin Clear Polymer Stamp Set to an Acrylic Mounting Block.  Use markers to ink the leaves green, the stem brown and the pumpkin orange.  "Huff" (exhale making a huffing noise, lol) several times on the stamp just before stamping to re-moisten the image.

Stamp the image on one edge of the square you marked on the card stock. Re-ink the stamp and repeat for all four edges of the square.

When the ink is dry, cut out the box.  Use Ranger's Tim Holtz Distress Ink (I used Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint) http://www.stampersanonymous.com and an alcohol ink applicater to "antique" the edges, as shown below:

Fill one Mini Mister with water and add approximately 1/8 teaspoon Gold Perfect Pearls. Fill another Mini Mister with water and add approximately 1/8 teaspoon White Perfect Pearls. Spritz the basket with the Gold, then with the White.  Use a heat tool to dry.  Let dry thoroughly.

Punch holes in the pumpkins as shown below:

Score the bottom edge of the pumpkins (on the lightly traced pencil line) and fold the sides up.  Use ribbon or rick rack to tie the edges of the pumpkins together to form the box. (DO NOT pull tight on the ribbon or it will tear the hole.)

Place the cookie in a cello bag and tie with paper covered wire.  Curl the ends of the paper wire around a paintbrush.  Attach one of the little tags onto the wire.  If you don't want to use the basket for the cookies, you could also fill a small bag with Autumn Candy Corn Mix and insert it in the basket:

These baskets make great little favors for friends or classmates.

There's still time to enter the drawing to win the Clear Polymer stamp set used to make these projects.  To enter the drawing place a comment on the 9/26/09 Post titled "How About Some Free Pumpkins".  Place your comment on the post by FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2009 to be eligible for the drawing.  (Refer to that post for full details.)

I hope you have a great weekend, and that you're having some beautiful Fall weather in your area also!

:) Darcie

  

 

Bad Little Chocolate Balls

Hi Blog Friends,

I LOVE Fall!!  It has cooled down here finally and the leaves are just starting to turn..and you know what that means.... it's BAKING time.  :D  Here's what I made:

There's a story behind these cookies:

I've never had an addictive personality (um.... art stuff, craft supplies, and fabric don't count because they're a "business expense", Lol) and I don't normally eat that much in the way of sweets.  But I have read that the first step to overcoming a problem is to admit you have a problem.  So here's the problem:

I made the mistake of buying some of these bad boys when we were in Hawaii (only they were the Milk Chocolate COCONUT Macadamias... waaaaayyyy better!).  I bought a LOT of them. (So much for the weight I managed to lose before we went there, shoot!) Anyway, I didn't realize they were such a hard commodity to come by. I guess it's good I didn't know that or I would have bought an extra suitcase, loaded it up and paid the extra fee to bring them home, Lol. Now that we're home, I find I'm having some major withdrawals.... maybe it's just Hawaii withdrawals.... but I find myself scanning store shelves looking for them everywhere I go. I was kind of glad I hadn't found them, but then someone told me Target carries them. (Augh, WHY did you tell me that Andrea, Lol...?!!) Well, Target carries the Chocolate covered Macadamias, but the highly addictive ones are the Chocolate COCONUT Macadamias.   Mmmm!!!!!!!!!  (Anyone know where you can get these... not that I'm going to buy any more, but just for future reference, of course ....). Fortunately for me, Target is 40 miles away from where I live.  I have, however, been coming up with excuses to go to that direction and decided to just pop into Target over the weekend. To get laundry soap, of course.  I wanted to develop a cookie recipe around these highly addictive balls of yumminess so I bought one bag.  Two would have been dangerous.  Only now I have a problem. Forty miles is a long time to be in a car alone with the bad little buggers.  Here's what arrived home:

Can you believe that?  I must have bought a defective bag ;).  So when I arrived home and didn't have the innards to my cookie recipe I wanted to create, I had to go back to the little grocery store closer to where I live and get these:

They look the same and they're good, but these will be safe in the house....they're not in the same league as the Mauna Loa ones.  

Here's a close up of the cookies shown above:  (I like this recipe because it holds it's shape well, I use it for sugar cookie cutouts.)

Here's what the inside looks like:

I used 2 stamps from my Clear Polymer Stamp Set #POL10 Flourish Pumpkin to make a tag.  (Another reason you need to enter the contest to WIN the FREE stamp set). I cut out the leaf, then punched a 1/4" round hole in it and slipped it on the pretzel stem.

Be sure to check the previous post for details on how you can win this FREE Clear Polymer Stamp Set.

Here's the recipe if you want to download it, it's in a printable pdf version.  You download it by clicking on the picture below or by clicking HERE.

Here are a few photos showing how to form the cookies, once the dough is prepared:

Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the dough in your palm.  Flatten it into a disc shape. 

Place a Chocolate Macadamia in the center of the dough disc.

Fold the dough around the Macadamia Nut.

Squeeze the dough tightly around the Chocolate Macadamia nut.  Gently roll into a ball shape, forming each cookie into a slightly different height and shape.

Use the back edge of a table knife to make lines in the side of the pumpkin cookie, rolling the knife along the edge of the cookie side.  Make 5 evenly spaced indentation lines around the sides of the cookie.

Press a piece of a stick pretzel into the top of the cookie.  Place the cookie on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 - 12 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool several minutes before moving them.  When they are firm and fairly cool, transfer them to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

If you can't find the Chocolate Macadamias, you could also use Peanut M & M's.... I tried the recipe with those also and they tasted good too.

OK, I hope you enjoy the recipe and I hope you fare better than I did with the bad little chocolate sin balls........  

On Thursday I'm going to post a cute little way to package the cookies using the same stamp set...

:) Darcie

How About Some Free Pumpkins?

Hey Blog Friends,

Time to get back to the fun stuff here!  I was in Hawaii week before last, home for a couple of days, then in Rhinebeck, NY (which is 6 time zones away from Hawaii!) for the Stamp Scrap Art Tour show last weekend.  I really enjoyed getting to visit with all of you who participated in that show, I just love that area of the country.  My son attended a college in that area and I was fortunate to get to visit him quite a bit while he was there....'tho it made me miss him more being there, as he's way far away now and I won't have the opportunity to see him for quite awhile.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous with a hint of Fall in the air, crystal clear blue skies and a nice little breeze.  I was glad to get home and have been sifting through the pile of work on my desk after being gone so long.

Remember the photo of my son and cute pregnant daughter in law that I posted awhile back? My brand new little grandson arrived the day I left for Hawaii (awww), and I'm excited to be home for awhile now to get to know him.  Here he is:

Sooooo sweet.  Has a head full of long blond hair and the sweetest disposition.  Lucky, lucky kids!  (That's me after 22 hours of travel to get home from Hawaii...went straight over to see him!)

I wanted to share another of the new Clear Polymer Stamp Sets with you and give you a chance to win this one.  I really like this set and it will be perfect for Fall, which is rapidly approaching...although you wouldn't know it in this part of the country; the weather here has been in the high 90's to over 100 degrees this last week.  This is POL10 Flourish Pumpkin:

Here's some of the cute samples that Tonya made with this set:

This card uses the following papers from my printed paper line:  PA1355 Verona Fall, PA1385 Juneau Brown Distress, PA1369 Grunge Leaves Orange.  The pumpkins were stamped, cut out, then aged with Tim Holtz's Distress Inks www.stampersanonymous.com. After we applied the Distress Ink to the edges, we sprayed the images with Perfect Pearls (first gold, then white) mixed with water in a Mini Mister.  (Fill the mister with water and add approximately 1/8 tsp. of the pearl powder.  Shake well, then spray the images.)  Here's another card:

This card uses my printed papers PA1369 Grunge Leaves Orange and PA1385 Juneau Brown Distress.  We aged the edges the same as the previous card and sprayed with perfect pearls.  Here's one more card made with this set of stamps:

This one uses my printed papers PA1355 Verona Fall and PA1385 Juneau Brown Distress. Here's a project made using my Jumbo Purse Pattern PSX03:

This purse pattern is one of our most popular items, we sell out of it at nearly every show. It was completed using my printed papers PA1355 Verona Fall and PA1385 Juneau Distress Brown (for the handles).  Here's a photo of the pattern if you're interested in it:

Here are some additional samples of purses made with this pattern:

If you're interested in ordering the pattern, it is item #PSX03 Jumbo Purse Pattern and it retails for $5.99.  It can be ordered by calling our toll free number 1-800-945-3980 or by clicking HERE.

Here's a scrapbook page made with the Flourish Pumpkin Clear Polymer Stamp Set:

This is another son, my daughter-in-law and more adorable grandsons!

How would you like to win this stamp set?   Just place a comment on THIS post by midnight Pacific time on FRIDAY, October 2, (Holy Cow! October already!) and I'll randomly draw a name on Monday, October 5th.  I'll post the winner's name on the blog on Monday, October 5, and the winner will have until Thursday, October 8th to contact me.  It will be the winner's responsibility to contact me by October 8th, as I won't be re-drawing. (Make sure you post the comment at the end of THIS post to be eligible for this drawing). 

OK, more freebies coming soon!

:) Darcie

  

 
  

Quick and Easy Card

Hi Blog Friends,

I'll be showing you some more of our new rubber stamp sets and we'll have another FREE giveaway next week, but in the meantime I wanted to give you another project sheet for a quick and easy card.  Here's the card:
 
This card is another project made using the POL9 Flourish House set of Clear Polymer stamps featured in my Darcie's Club post dated 8/26/09.

If you'd like to download a pdf version of the instructions to this card, you can do so by clicking HERE, or on the photo below:
 

I'm still at the Rhinebeck, NY Stamp Scrap Art Tour show and am looking forward to getting home so I can share more projects with you.  If you're interested in more info on the show you can visit www.stampscraparttour.com.  If you live in the Rhinebeck, NY area and are planning on coming to the show, you can download a pdf printable sheet of coupons to use in the Darcie booth at the show by clicking HERE, or on the photo below:
 

See you soon!  :) Darcie

Back Home and Headed Out Again!

We're back home from our trip and I'm unpacking and going through the photos.  We got to see and do quite a few things and I thought I'd share some of the photos with you.  The Dole Plantation was close to where we stayed, so we decided to start there:
  
Yup, we took Ted there.... he's always the life of the party!  Here's the train ride we took around the plantation:
 
Well, the train people weren't too sure if it was ok, but Ted is used to driving long distances, so he naturally wanted to get behind the wheel. We were amazed at how many different variety of pineapples there were, along with all the other crops grown on the plantation.  We had to finish the visit with some pineapple ice cream, of course:
 
I know, Darin.... I'm in trouble for this picture, but at least I didn't use the one of you licking it....  :)  I kind of think you'll be too busy to peruse my blog for awhile, anyway, lol.

The next day we decided to take a hike and walk off some of the yummy food we had been splurging on.  I'm a "boy" mom... (got four of 'em!), so we're a pretty active, "outdoorsey" family.  The trail started off fairly mild... slight uphill for awhile until we were deep in the tropical woods, then up and up, but not too bad.  When we had hiked for quite a while one of us asked how far the trail went.  Darin's standard response is "not too far"...  :) so we continued up and up on the trail.  After a long while of up and up and up, the trail turned into stairs carved into the mountainside:

I wish I would have counted how many sets of stairs there were on this trail. Here's the view from behind us...way down there is where we started:
It was a cloudy day so you can't see it very well, but just to the left of us, way down in the valley is Honolulu.  We hiked so far we were up in the clouds!  (We're also grubby and sweaty!).  Yup, we took Ted along for the hike....he needed some fresh air.  Here's where we're headed:
 
Clear to the top!  Doesn't look like it's that high up in the pictures, but here's what it looks like from the road we took to get here:
  
Looks much higher in person.  Here's what the last leg of the trail looks like:
 
Well, you can't see it in the photo, but it involves using a rope to get to the top.  Note to self: get in better shape before the next hike with the tri-athlete.  We sat down here and had a picnic lunch.  When we were finished eating we decided to skip the rope thing and head back down to go snorkeling.  Whew, my lucky day, lol!  When we came home I googled Wiliwilinui Trail and discovered that from the top peak you can see both sides of the island, and some magnificent views of the ocean on both sides also.  Oh well, I guess we just have to go back....  :)

When we got to the beach we snorkeled, swam, sunbathed...and watched the cliff jumpers:
 
Wait a minute.... he looks kind of familiar..... I'm going to go over there and see who it is:

TED?!?!?  Does Michelle know you're jumping off cliffs into SHALLOW water?!  You're doing what?  Posing for Abercrombie and Fitch ads?  Well, I guess a little extra vacation money is ok. (Actually, we really did find ourselves in the middle of a photo shoot at Waimea Bay).  ....Hey, come back here!!! 

 
OMgosh! Ted surfs.... who knew?!?!?! ....You do realize that's the Banzai Pipeline you're in and that's a LITTLE wave, right?

OK, time to go back and clean up for dinner.  We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a luau and show.  The food was yummy (going to need another hike!!), and the show was amazing.  Here's a photo of the river running through the Cultural Center villages:

OK, time to head to the luau.  Yummy:
 
I think someone was hungry after all that cliff jumping, posing, surfing, hiking and train driving! After we ate and watched the hula dancers and ukelele players, we headed over to the show.  The show was titled "Ha! Breath of Life" and was a wonderful story complete with attire from all of the Polynesian Islands, hula dancers, drummers, fire and knife spinners and fire dancers:

   
OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Dan, can you help me get Ted back into the suitcase?!?!?! We need to go now, he's totally out of control!  Look at his....tan!!!  I think his new nickname should be Hot Pants, don't you?!  OK, that's it, we're outta here, this is supposed to be a PG-13 blog!

As I was unpacking my bags today, I took some magazines out of my backpack and set them on my bed.  Much to my surprise and chagrin, out popped a GECKO(!), and it skittered across my bed to destinations unknown.  AAAAACCCCCKKKK!
 
When we went through airport security, they X-rayed our bags, had agriculture sniffing dogs sniff the bags, and X-rayed our bags again.  I got pulled aside because I had an apple in my backpack that I had forgotten was in there.  They confiscated my apple, and apparently let my Gecko friend hitch a ride home with me.  Shoot!  It's gonna be a long night in that bed tonite... I normally think they're cute, but IN MY BED?!?!?  Sheesh.  Darin's girlfriend, Andrea, says it's bad luck to kill them... but if that little bugger lays a cute little paddled paw on me tonite, his health (and my luck) are definitely going to be in jeopardy.  That's why this post is soooo long, I'm avoiding bed, Lol!

So after all that fun, I'm really looking forward to getting back to work.  We're headed out to Rhinebeck, NY this weekend for the Stamp Scrap Art Tour.  If you'd like more information on the show visit www.stampscraparttour.com.  I love that area of New York and am looking forward to seeing it again, and to catching up with all of my show friends.  If you happen to live in the area, and are planning to attend the show, here's a little coupon you can download to use in the Darcie booth.  Please drop by and let us know you're a Blog Friend!  Click HERE for the coupon or on the photo below:
 

See you soon!  :) Darcie

huge. sad. face.

We've had fun on our trip, but today... not so much.  Today is definitely NOT just another day in Paradise!  Today is the real reason we took the trip.  It's the day I've dreaded for... let's see.... 8 years now.

See that plane?  A huge chunk of my heart got on one just like it and is going to go for a really long ride....and will be gone for a really long time.  You get the idea...

So, those of you who are inclined to prayer... would you please pray for ALL of those who go into harm's way?

I hope my heart starts beating again...soon. 

:( Darcie

Flourish House Clear Polymer Stamp Set Winner

Hi Blogging Friends,

Thanks so much to all of you who made comments on the Darcie's Club post and entered the contest to win the set of stamps featured in that post.  I used the random number generator on the www.random.org website and came up with the following winner:

Michelle Polizzi

So if you will email me with your mailing address Michelle, I'll get that set of stamps on it's way to you.  You can email me at darcieheater@gmail.com.

 
Aloha! :D Darcie

Owl I Need is You!

Hi Blogging Friends!  I wanted to share a quick little project with you from that Flourish House set of Clear Polymer Stamps.  I shared the set with you a few days ago, in the Darcie's Club post.  Here's a photo of the card:

The card was made with the POL9 Flourish House Set.  If you're interested in purchasing it you can do so by calling 1-800-945-3980. You can download a printable pdf version of the instructions by clicking HERE, or by clicking on the photo below:
  
OK, this is going to be an extremely short post.... still working on that tan.  I'll share more photos with you soon, but wanted to give you something to work on in the meantime.

:) Darcie

Just another day in Paradise

 Well, Dan and I are taking a much needed break and soaking up some sun.  Ted Cutts (of Stamper's Anonymous, Inky Antics, Art Gone Wild and also Darcie's) is so extremely busy that he doesn't get many vacations... or even days off for that matter.  In addition to the normal day to day operations at the "factory", he's on the road exhibiting at trade shows several weekends each month.  So when I told him we were taking a trip, he asked if he could squeeze in our suitcase.  Well... I DO have a pretty big suitcase (which I get teased for a lot, lol!).  So I decided, what the heck, let him come along in the suitcase.  Here's where we took him:
 
See? Now isn't that nice?  Time to relax, kick back, and catch a few rays.  Ahhhhh.  But, c'mon, it's the beach.... you gotta loosen up, lose the suit and tie, buddy!

 

There you go, that's the spirit!  Now you're getting with the program.  But a flannel shirt?  Seriously?!?!  You're not in Cleveland any more.  C'MON, it's the beach... go put on your swimsuit!

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? THAT'S what you were hiding under that flannel shirt?!? Holy cow!!!  OK, you can quit posing now.  Please?  Dan wants to go swimming, so I'm going to go get my swimsuit on.....

 

Aaaahahaha! You didn't really think I was going to post my picture here, did you?!  No, I'm definitely not in the same shape that Ted is.  What's that?  I Photoshopped WHAT?  Yeah, you're right....I've never seen Ted wear a necklace either....

So, Dan is worried that Ted is going to be mad at me.  ;)  Nah, Ted has a pretty good sense of humor and hey, I already revised this post and deleted the photo I had of him from his Sumo wrestling days.  You say you really want to see THAT photo?  Well maybe in a future post..... 

  
What's that, Ted?  YOU THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD? No, not this time. You should have asked Tim Holtz if you could go along in HIS suitcase... he just got back from there.  Hey, Tim has connections and even got to go INSIDE the inner workings of the rides!  http://timholtz.typepad.com

OK, I have to quit working so hard now and go work on my tan.   Aloha!  :) Darcie