Posts

Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a
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The Best Gift for All Ages to Foster Art & Imagination ~
Fill In the Blank (An Inspirational Sketch Book)
Review and Giveaway!

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When I was five years old, I received what at first appeared to be a regular coloring book for my birthday.  " Big whoop ," I remember thinking.  I had reached my threshold for coloring inside the lines.  As I flipped through the pages, however, hoping for a dot-to-dot or maze to break up the contrived art experience, I realized that this was no ordinary coloring book.  On each page there was a prompt, and the pictures were incomplete!  The prompts were there to tickle my brain into an excited frenzy of creation and imagination.   Instead of coloring the character ... ...I was designing a character of my own . Instead of coloring in a house... ...I was designing the house... Instead of a kid with a coloring book... ...I was an artist, inventor, architect , superhero, president, princess! I was in love!  I doodled the ink right out of my pens and filled every square inch of my book till there was nary a scrap uncovered.  From the title page of Fill
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Wear Your History ~ Crystal Family Photo Pendant Necklace Tutorial

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A few weeks ago I shared my tutorial for how to make personalized family photo ornaments using chandelier crystals and Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.  At the same time that I made the ornaments, I turned two of the pendants into vintage-style necklaces.  Each necklace featured a photo of one of my girls.  The necklaces are easy and inexpensive to make and are a wonderful way to carry someone you love close to your heart.     Crystal Pendant Photo Necklace 1 crystal photo pendant (tutorial HERE ) 1 bail 3 strands of chain , 2 4 " long/ea 1 2 4 " piece of silk ribbon or vintage binding 1 2 4 " piece of ivory lace (I used a vintage piece that was 2 3/4" wide 3-in-one jewelry pliers 2 8mm open jump rings  2 4" pieces jewelry wire (thin enough for two strands to fit th rough your crimp beads. 2 filigree bead caps or bead cones 2 crimp beads 1 toggle clasp 2 crimp bead covers (optional) Step 1:  Attach the bail to the pendant by ins
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Sour Cream Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake ~
Recipe & Hodgson Mill Giveaway

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  Fudgy? Check. Moist? Check. Not too sweet or overly spiced? Check! Whole Wheat? CHECK!   That's right, this delicious chocolate gingerbread cake is not only loaded with antioxidant rich cocoa, but it gets a nutritious kick and a nutty brown-sugar flavor from premium whole wheat flours.  So this holiday season you CAN have your cake and eat it too.      Baking with the right whole wheat flour can make the difference between a light and delicious confection and a leaden sawdust brick.  That's why I always use Hodgson Mill 100% stone ground Graham flours in my baking.  I'm a longtime fan of baking with Hodgson Mill.  So when I had the opportunity to create a recipe for their "Have A GRAIN Holiday" contest , I dove right in! This cake is a healthier spin on one of my favorite holiday desserts -- Sour Cream Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake .  The beauty of this new recipe is that the Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour imparts a wonderfully
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Homemade Holiday Candy Workshop -- 10 Tantalizing Recipes for Fabulous Fudge, Creamy Caramels, Terrific Toffee and Marvelous Marshmallows!

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This week I've had to step back and focus on some family business, but I couldn't help but check in to our cozy little meeting place here to wish you a very happy first day of December.  In celebration of the sweetness of the holidays, I'm sharing ten of my favorite recipes for homemade holiday candies. Here you'll find a beautifully simple shortbread toffee recipe, my signature dark chocolate ganache topped fudge recipes, truffles and caramels, and even some bacon-laced marshmallows.  Enjoy! FUDGE Pumpkin Pie Fudge with Salted Dark Chocolate Ganache Eggnog Fudge with Dark Chocolate Ganache Squirrel Nut Fudge -- An old-fashioned brown sugar fudge with toasted almonds Pecan Penuche -- Another old fashioned classic, updated with chocolate ganache and sea salt. TRUFFLES Round Dark Chocolate Honey Truffles (garnished with granulated honey)  Square Dark Chocolate Truffles (Garnished with Fennel Pollen) AND MORE
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A Bounty of Bead and Wire Necklaces & Bracelets ~
Book Review, Giveaway and Free Projects

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Love your baubles? Love your beads? In  these two new books from the A Bounty of Bead and Wire series from author Nathalie Mornu and Lark Crafts , you'll be treated to enough fun and fast wearable art projects to keep your hands busy for an entire year!   A Bounty of Bead & Wire: Bracelets and A Bounty of Bead & Wire: Necklaces each contain 50 unique and accessible jewelry projects that will appeal to the casual crafter as well as the bead and wire enthusiast.  The books contain hundreds of exquisite photos and step-by-step instructions for projects in a diverse array of styles, yielding jaw-dropping, professional results. Here are just a few of my favorite projects from A Bounty of Bead & Wire: Necklaces : A Bounty of Bead & Wire: Necklaces is a collection of 50 inventive projects that use basic tools and materials to create exquisite pieces of wearable art. The introductory section explains all of the fundamentals to working with beads and
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Lilla Rose Fan Appreciation Sales Event & Giveaway {GUEST POST}

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Do you remember when I hosted a giveaway for one of the beautiful Flexi-Clip hair clips from  Lilla Rose  back in September? Well, just in time to add a little sparkle to your "do" for the holidays, my fellow blogger and friend Paula, is hosting a lovely sales event for all of the sparkling 'hair jewelry' from Lilla Rose!   WHEN: November 29th - December 6th, 2012  FAN APPRECIATION EVENT PAGE LINK   OFFICIAL PARTY LINK*: http://www.lillarose.biz/parties/1237 WHAT'S THE FAN APPRECIATION EVENT? Independent Lilla Rose consultant Paula Miller has enlisted the enthusiasm of SIX fellow bloggers and Lilla Rose wearers to celebrate this holiday season with a fun sales event. This week from Nov. 29th - Dec. 6th , each of us is sharing our love for the amazing 'hair jewelry' from Lilla Rose and giving you the opportunity to win the GRAND PRIZE ! WHAT'S THE GRAND PRIZE? The Grand Prize winner will receive ALL of the hostess rewa
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