Poor Puppy

Isn't this just pitiful?! This is Dexter when he got home from getting neutered the other day. Poor little guy.

Cake Balls...Heavenly!!!

This is something else I've been up to lately...cake balls. I can not adequately express to you how wonderful these little creations are. I have become quite famous at work as Cake Ball Lady, or Ball Lady (I don't think that one sounds quite right though). I learned about these gems on the Pioneer Woman website (follow the link on my sidebar). She had the cake ball creator (I can't remember her name but her site is called Bakerella) out to her ranch to show her, and us, how to make them. They are not complicated to make however they do take quite a bit of time...but oh how they're worth it! You can follow the link to Bakerella's site through the Pioneer Woman's site to see how beautiful hers are, but here is the recipe in case you just want to get started right away, which I suggest you do...now...I mean it...run!

1 box cake mix (any flavor but the best is devil's food or carrot. Peanut butter cake is great too but there aren't any box mixes at the store that come in peanut butter so I had to find a recipe on-line)

1 tub of cake frosting (cream cheese frosting is best, and I used a peanut butter frosting recipe I found on-line when I made the peanut butter ones so that I could get a really strong peanut butter taste)

1 package bark coating (chocolate coating for the devil's food and peanut butter, white chocolate for the carrot)

Bake the cake according to the box directions and allow to cool completely.

Crumble the cake in a large bowl.

Add almost all of the tub of frosting with the crumbled cake and mix completely.

Form balls, place on cookie sheet, and place in freezer for 30-40 minutes (don't allow to freeze).

Melt bark coating according to package directions (I do about 4 bars at a time), place a cake ball in the coating and cover completely.

Spoon out ball, place on wax paper, and allow to set. (Do one at a time).

Now prepare yourself for the best treat you've had in a long while. But warning...they are addictive. Not only will you want to go in a closet alone and finish off all the ones you just made, but you will want to go out and try as many combinations of flavors that you can think of. Enjoy!

More Punch Animals

Here's more Punch Animals.

Look What I've Been Up To

Hello strangers! Long time not post I know, but here's a few things I've been up to lately. I got the idea for these adorable punch animals from the ChicnScratch website (follow the link on my sidebar). Aren't they just the cutest?! I will be adhering them to the tops of over sized paper clips to give to my kids' teachers next school year. Like Angie did on her site I made punch pages with the types of punches that it takes to make the animals so that I can go back and recreate them at anytime. I thought I would show them to you so that you too can make some. They are pretty self-explanatory, but if you have any questions you can e-mail me or just follow the link to the Chicnscratch website and watch videos on how to assemble them.

Movin' On!

The end of the school year is upon us and it's time for the kids to move on...move on to summer break when we will all be happy that there is no homework! And then move on to the next grade levels. Keeping this in mind I found this stamp from Stampendous and thought it was perfect for this theme. I thought it was cute to put my son's name on the license plate too. The saying on the inside is also very appropriate for the teachers. It says: "We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere." Appropriate don't you think? I hope they like them. Take care and have a good week! Mary

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! I hope you are enjoying your special day. I've had a very nice day so far: breakfast in bed, church with a special blessing and a flower, lunch made for the kids by my husband so I could sit and relax, flowers and the Benjamin Button movie, and I got to go to Michael's and Archiver's alone and didn't feel rushed or guilty. :) I'll be enjoying some quiet time to make teacher thank you cards in a little bit and then for supper we're going out to Stir Crazy. What a great day!

This is the Mother's Day card I made for my mom but I don't think she will receive it until tomorrow. I've already called to apologize and of course she understood. Mom's are like that.

I hope you enjoy it as much as she will. Have a great day! Mary

Hello...Are You Still There???

Are you still there...anyone...hello? I wouldn't blame you if you left me. I haven't been a very good blog-mate lately. It's been almost 1 month since my last post. Wow! I've thought about it almost everyday but just didn't have the time, energy, or drive to do anything worthy of posting. I hope you will forgive me for my absence. It's been a whirlwind of puppy, kids, doctor's appointments, home improvement projects, and cake balls that have kept me busy. (What are cake balls you ask? I'll have to leave that for another post, but let me tell you this much...you'll love them! But just a warning...they are very dangerous to the figure.) With all that going on I couldn't find time to get into my craft room. And when I finally did have the time I lost my mo-jo and didn't feel crafty. Has that ever happened to you?

But then the other day a friend at work (the one who's daughter got married last September) told me that her daughter is pregnant! I was so happy for them that I just couldn't wait to make them a card. So I blew the dust off of my stamps and got busy. It was just the thing to get me going again. And here it is. I decided not to go with the traditional baby colors because they are not your average couple. They do things their own way and can appreciate the atypical. I hope you like it too. And I hope you're actually still there to see it. Mary