Creepy Treats jar

Nichole’s newest set Spooky Sweets II is just fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you liked the first one you will FLIP over the newest edition. SO many cleaver labels. Some can be used ALL year.

Nichole challenged the team to come up with some fun & simple Halloween recipe’s using this set .

Well if I can get away with NOT cooking I try to! I think every busy mom would be able to appreciate my recipe. Read on.

I saw the witch and knew I had to use her. I stamped her on Lemon Tart, and stamped the round label in summer sunset for my moon. I then added stickles around it.

 I also used the sentiment Witch’s Brew. Now I know it’s not a liquid of any sorts, so think POTION INGREDIENTS!!  Lots of creepy jars, filled with creepy treats for her icky potions! Well that is what I was going for.

How fun would this jar look on a desk? 

Just take off the lid-isn’t it pretty?

Open it up, and this LITERALLY peeks out at you!

 Edible Eyeballs!!!

Here is the front of the glass canister. Can’t have a witch without her creepy cat!

I love it!!

I just made an insert to go in my jar for the eyeballs to sit nicely on 😀

EW!!!! EW!!! EW!!! Noah was dying for me to finish photographing so he could eat them. Amber, not a chance! LOL!

I guarantee they are the yummiest eyeballs ever eaten.

Here is the recipe

Lindt white chocolate truffles (used in this recipe) OR aBag of “Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Crème Bites” (this is really good and inexpensive for the KIDS!!)

1 Egg White
2 Cups Sifted Powder Sugar

Decorating Icing
In a medium bowl, whip 1 egg white with a beater for approximately 3 minutes or until
fluffy white. Gradually mix in 2 cups sifted powder sugar until thoroughly mixed.

Using icing coloring, make small batches of green, blue, brown and black icing. ( I just used blue)

Using a paint brush, or frosting bag, paint colored circle on end of candy for the iris of the eye.

Use black icing to paint in pupil.

Use end of paintbrush to dab on a white spot in the pupil.

Repeat until you have desired number of eyeballs. Place in fridge to set frosting for 1 hour.

Serve as desired.

See, no cooking involved, and its very simple. Gotta love that!!!

EDITED TO ADD:

Some valid concern was raised over the egg whites in the frosting mix. You can use the tubes of frosting you buy, and even the gel frosting (which I used for my eye centers) just be careful with packaging them since they don’t dry as well as the other mix. I would suggest making an insert like I did to keep them from smacking into each other! LOL!

Also Tiffaney Ekstrom emailed me to share this alternative (Thank you!)

Instead of egg whites you can use Meringue powder (2 tsp. powder + 2 Tbsp. water = 1 egg white).  The powder is easy to find at Michael’s in the cake decorating section.

So that is all there is too it.

I hope you enjoyed my peek as much as I did creating it. I’m not a big Halloween person but have to say this set is pretty cute.

Make sure you check out Nichole’s post and all the team players blogs!

Happy Birthday Amber!!

After 11 days over due, a long induction, and 3 days of labor ………..

Amber Elaine Meader arrived into the world.

Wednesday August 13 2004 2:23 pm

8lbs. 9 oz

 Amber means-

 The name Amber, pronounced as Am-ber means a fossilized resin, honey-yellow in color and generally translucent in nature that is highly valued as a precious stone and used in ornaments as pendants or sometimes as a ring stone. The word is of Arabic origin (Anbar). The name is also found in Hindi and the ancient Sanskrit language (Ambar); it signifies the sky. The name became popular after Kathleen Winsor’s romantic novel Forever Amber featuring the story of Amber ST Clair which was later made in to a film of the same name.

We chose Amber on a whim, she was suppose to be Rebecca. When we saw her that was the name that came to Jason. I told this story a long time ago here. Turns out Jasons mom was going to name him Amber if he was a girl! No one ever knew that.

Elaine

Origin: Old French

Meaning: bright, shinning light

The Elaine was after Jason’s grandmother. Alexa has my grandmothers middle name, so I gave Amber his grandmothers name.

I cannot believe my “BABY” is four today. Unreal. Seems like just yesterday………….

I will hope to share b-day photos later. I figured I’d share some birthday photos for every year thus far.

This was Amber’s Birth Announcement photo!

I took it in the yard. She was 3 days old, and in my opinion one the most beautiful babies I have ever seen 😀

Amber turns 1!

Oh no you didn’t!

Oh yes I did! I dressed her up like a fairy. It was so cute! She loved her wings and wand

She had a family party and just had a blast. The theme was fairy butterflies of course!

Amber turns 2!

I didn’t even get a good photo of her at her birthday party.

This was an awful time. Alexa was really sick and in the hospital. I had to leave to get ready for Amber’s party to keep life “normal”. I missed her actual birthday and felt so sad over the entire thing. I still tear up remembering that awful year of hospitalizations, and my kids constantly being put last to their sister. I had no choice. I did what I had to, but it was still so hard on everyone. She looked so cute though. She had 2 little ponytails in.

Amber turns 3!

She pulled out her super cute ponytails! I swear she looked really cute before that! LOL!

 AND of course my camera batteries died before all the good stuff. The funniest thing about this birthday was her Aunt Sue gave her a card with $5 in it! You should have seen her light up. I swear she still has that $5 in one of her pocketbooks. She would carry it around and  put it under her pillow every-night! She just loved that $5! LOL!

Now today

She is such a beautiful, intelligent, strong willed, knows what she wants, and takes no crap kind of girl. She is sweet and very feminine, but likes to get dirty too! One minute she is doing arts and crafts, the next she is watching football with daddy.

She bat’s her eyelashes and smiles, and its all over!!

She is sensitive and smart. She is just so grown up for now 4.

I am so proud of her and everything she does. I am certain she has a bright future.

She is just growing so fast. Anyone know how I can freeze her, in this moment? That would be great!

Off to enjoy Amber’s day of doing whatever she wants!!

Well I hope you are all enjoying the few weeks we have left of Summer.

Many find the time to read a good book. “I” am not one of those people. I wish I were. I always saw Oprah’s pick list and thought “Oh, maybe someday”. Yeah right. I use to read Danielle Steel novels. BEFORE KIDS. That mainly gets your hope’s up of a tragic life turned fairytale happy ending. My life is pretty good but who has time for all that over the top romance-especially when you add kids?! Not one, or two, but 3. Someone is always needing something, and if you actually set to PLAN a romantic evening, you can bet one of the kids will fall ill or have some sort of crisis. I know when we went away the highlight was the fact we could actually take a nap without being awoken by anything! LOL! I’m sure Im not alone on this. If I am then please share HOW you manage with small children.

Reading makes me sleepy, and in all honesty I’d rather be stamping. I know, its a sickness, but I know my husband is happy that I found a hobby that I not only LOVE but will stick too. I have been stamping for 4 years now! (Minus the year Alexa lived at Dartmouth Hitchcock hospital) I can’t tell you how much I love it. More so now than ever. It’s opened a whole new world to me, and relieves my stress. Even when I have a ba-jillion things to do, I just thrive on it.

So anyway, I figured I’d share some samples today. This one is the What’s The Story Flopsey?

 Whats the story

I made my main image just like a book! I layered a cover, and a few pages!! They are held open with a paperclip I made using what else but a paper clip and a epoxy sticker, with some ribbon! LOL!

The flowers are done using punches. I love the colors and the book idea. Just too cute. This set is fabulous for library stuff, or reading programs too. Think like a reading challenge chart? I think Im going to make that!!! Better jot that down in my book 😀

Now another card, in honor of the Sugarplums release last night. I didn’t get to the party because my Internet was out :C We had some pretty nasty thunderstorms here. It’s been on & off all day.

Did you get your Sugarplums last night?

 You put a song in my heart

OK I know its hard to see the sentiment but thats what it says. I love it. The birds in this set are just UBER cute. This paper is a old collection from SEI. I just adore it to pieces. Berry sorbet ribbon from PTI. The little gray bird is flocked and all cute and fuzzy.

Well that is all for me.

I’m off to actually do some exercise! I know, don’t fall off your chair.

Both Noah & Amber are in my Uncle’s Wedding on the 24th, and that has really come up on me quick. I wanted to lose like 15lbs by then, when I suddenly realized that it is the 12th! WHAT?! Already? Where did the time go? I guess getting HOT for the summer idea is off the table. Summer is OVER! LOL!

So Im busting my hiney doing cardio everyday till then. Down to ONE cup of coffee, and only drinking water. No Diet soda. Eatting healthy, and not until I’m full, but satisfied. I usually drop weight fast when I actually work out, so I’m positive. You have to be in a good mind set to start a life change.

Now here lies my question. WHY when Im on a diet and trying to get healthier does it seem all I see is yummy food?! It’s everywhere! I was browsing the new SU! Catty that my friend mailed me, and there was some sort of delicious treat on every page. UGH!! Its a real killer! Worse is my hubby doesn’t get it because he truly doesn’ like sweets! How tha tis possible is beyond me.

Oh well. I am on a mission. I just have to remember that I CAN do it. I have done it before. The thing is after a workout I feel awesome. Then around 3 pm I feel like I need a nap. Then after dinner, somewhere after 7:30pm Im starving!! But that is the worst time to eat!! I even wake up hungry in the middle of the night! But come morning I have to force myself to eat breakfast. Weird.

WOW! Bet you weren’t expecting all that were you? I guess if you go through all the same stuff you know you aren’t alone 😀 I’m here going through the uphill battle with you.

Tomorrow I have a super post for you, so come back OK!!

Later-