the.amanda.sewell

I admit it, I am totally and completely smitten with these gorgeous stamps from Magnolia. I want more. I am trying to save up some funds to get more. I am also in the middle of some transition in my life. My BIL is moving in with us for awhile and we are about 60 days away from closing on our new house. Not to mention, showing and attempting to sell the house we are in currently. It is absolutely nuts. I am going to have to step away from stamping for a bit in order to get everything packed up in time to move and to get brother in law settled in, but I promise to still blog as I have some cards that I have made that I have not shared with you yet, and some recipes too. The spiders in the background were created using some awesome acrylic stamps from Papertrey Ink. This was my first time ordering from them, and I was both impressed and excited about the quality of their stamps, the crisp images they leave and the service I got from them. The image was colored using prismacolor

Cream Caramels (http://www.carrieschocolates.com/Recipes/creamcaramels.htm) 2 c. sugar 2 c. cream 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup butter (only real butter) 1 3/4 c. corn syrup Mix sugar, butter, syrup and 1 cup cream in fairly large saucepan. Bring to boil at medium heat and while still boiling, add slowly the remaining cup of cream, slowly enough that the boil isn't hindered. (This is called slacking back the batch.. I'm not sure exactly why it's so important to do this.. but it never worked if I tried to skip it, plus it almost overflowed the pot.) Continue boiling until mixture forms a firm ball in cold water. (I'd cook until a soft ball, depending on the use my caramel would be put to... folks loved it softer) Remove from stove, add vanilla, and pour into pans to set. Cut and wrap in waxed paper (if cooked to firm) (Alternate method; pour over chopped pecans, then cut after cooling and coat with chocolate).

NOTE: Blogger was acting up and would not allow me to post pictures (so I am posting today - Thursday) -- I hope you enjoy it just the same . . . This card was for SC137 on splitcoast. I loved the layout. The only real extra I did is add a circle with a sentiment. Image is by Magnolia. I got the ribbon from one of Jody's ribbon shares (texasjodylynn). Paper is KI Memories. I did a poor job of watercoloring this image in . . . maybe next time it will be more perfect. In lieu of dinner since it will be something on the go for us tonight because we are leaving for the trip tomorrow and I still have not packed . . . caramels! So I had never tried this recipe before, and never made caramels before, but DANG these are yum! They cooked up a little harder than I imagined (I think that is because I cooked them a tad long), but they are melt in your mouth delicious. I poured my mixture over a bed of pecans and toffee bits and it was AMAZING!!! DH was so addicted he could not stop eating

I recently discovered the most adorable stamp images ever. I am in love *swooning*. After much trial in ordering on their website, they have made things much easier and more friendly to an English speaking audience, so I invite you to check them out. They also have a great blog with ideas and kits and design team links (P.S. If they ever want a new member they can choose me! I love love love their stuff). Just wait, you won't be able to get enough either!!! This is the first card I have ever made with their stuff. Sentiment is by Hero Arts. I used my watercolor wonder crayons to color the girl in. I colored a few more images today, so expect more Magnolia images and cards! You can find their site at: http://www.dreamcottage.nu/english1/index.html?lmd=39279.464653 Or, you can find the link to their blog in my list of sites to check out! Hope you will fall in love too!

So Jen has done awesome stuff forever. I remember way back when I did VSN religiously she was always there too stamping some amazing things. Well, it was a piece of cake to find cards in her gallery to CASE. Here is what I came up with: I made this as a gift set. I am going to make a small box and include envelopes and decorate it all pretty and give it as a gift! I am loving this Garden Whimsy set by Stampin' Up!

So this morning I decided that rather than pick up after kids all day on a Saturday when it is most likely that people will come to look at the house (did I mention that our house is on the market -- that is why I am MIA) . . . I would go to the zoo. I looked at the costs and decided it would be a better plan for me to become a card carrying member of the zoo, so I paid my $70 and now the kids and I can go anytime for free for a year. I decided that it was better because with how hot it is in Phoenix, it will be nice to be able to just go to the zoo for a couple hours in the morning and not have to worry about paying $26 in admission for one time and wasting our money if we only went for an hour or two. This way, we can come and go as we please. We had a lot of fun. I got a bit of a sunburn while we were waiting for the train to depart, however, a little aloe gel will take care of that. The kids were totally sunblocked, so they were fine. We got to see the rhinoceros up really clos

I got this wonderful little cookbook from church, and it has so many fun recipes in it. The past couple days here in Phoenix it has been humid, overcast and rainy. I decided to make soup for dinner tonight! Lasagna Soup 1 lb hamburger (I use ground turkey here) 1 chopped yellow onion 5 c. water 5 T parmesan cheese 1 can undrained corn 1 can undrained peeled tomatoes (I am using diced) 1 box lasagna hamburger helper 1/2 c. sour cream 1/2 c. shredded cheese DIRECTIONS: Brown meat with chopped onion. Then in a pot, put water, parmesan cheese, corn, tomatoes and the sauce packed from the hamburger helper. Add meat and onion. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Then add the noodles and boil ten more minutes. Add a handful of cheese and spoonful of sour cream on top when serving. I made cupcakes today because I got two books in the mail the other day. I ordered them online as I wanted to play some more. I got "Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella" (which is the book the

I got this wonderful little cookbook from church, and it has so many fun recipes in it. The past couple days here in Phoenix it has been humid, overcast and rainy. I decided to make soup for dinner tonight! Lasagna Soup 1 lb hamburger (I use ground turkey here) 1 chopped yellow onion 5 c. water 5 T parmesan cheese 1 can undrained corn 1 can undrained peeled tomatoes (I am using diced) 1 box lasagna hamburger helper 1/2 c. sour cream 1/2 c. shredded cheese DIRECTIONS: Brown meat with chopped onion. Then in a pot, put water, parmesan cheese, corn, tomatoes and the sauce packed from the hamburger helper. Add meat and onion. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Then add the noodles and boil ten more minutes. Add a handful of cheese and spoonful of sour cream on top when serving. I made cupcakes today because I got two books in the mail the other day. I ordered them online as I wanted to play some more. I got "Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella" (which is the book the