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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

Easter Decorating DIY -- Moss Bunny Topiaries

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I admired a trio of sweet little faux moss bunnies at my friend Geri's house a few weeks ago. Lo and behold, on St. Patrick's day, my dear friend left a bundle of the fuzzy bunnies on my doorstep along with a lovely card. To give the bounding bunnies a place of prominence on our table, my daughter and I antiqued a small crate and a three terra cotta pots to create a Moss Bunny Topiary Centerpiece. Here's how you can create one of your own: MOSS BUNNY TOPIARIES Materials 3 Moss Bunnies from Pier One Imports ($2 each) 3 Terra Cotta Pots ($1 each at the craft store) 3 4" Faux Moss Pot Topper ($1.99 each at Michael's) DecoArt Americana Paint, Snow White A small sponge brush A paper towel Numeric stamps and black ink Awl or bamboo skewer Hot glue gun Newspaper Step 1:  Dilute white paint by about 50% with water.  Using a foam brush, paint entire pot, inside and out. Step 2:  To "antique" the painted pot,

THE SUGAR MOUSE CAKE IN STORYBOOK NEVERLAND -- Sharing Our Memories of Favorite Childhood Books

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The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression, and their author always has a niche in the temple of memory from which the image is never cast out to be thrown on the rubbish heap of things that are outgrown and outlived. ~Howard Pyle Dear Sir or Madam:   Kindly bring back our favorite children's books... One of the greatest gifts I ever received from my parents was a passion for reading. From the earliest age, my room was filled with wonderful books. My parents weren't wealthy people by any means. Most of my cherished books from childhood were purchased from the Los Angeles County Library System cast-offs. I always thought it peculiar that something so wonderful, magical, and meaningful as a children's book could ever be stamped, "DISCARD".  Well, "one man's trash..." as they say... Thirty and some odd years later, they are still wonderfully intact and being enjoyed by my daughters. Treasures indeed! Sadly, so ma

Vintage Velvet Shamrock Pin Tutorial

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A few weeks ago at work, someone put a box of craft supplies on the "Up For Grabs" table. I was so excited when I found this 15 yard spool of vintage green velvet tubing.  With St. Patrick's day just around the corner I knew I could craft it in to something perfect for the occasion! I was always the kid at school who forgot to wear green and hid out in the bathroom at recess so I wouldn't get pinched.  As the years went by I got pretty good at pinch-deflecting responses like, "my toenails are painted green," and the tried and true, "I'm wearing green underwear."  Thank goodness I was never asked to prove the latter.   Now that I have kids of my own, I'm always so busy getting them all spruced up for St. Patty's that I still forget to don a bit o' green.  But not this year!  Using the velvet tubing, some floral wire, and a handful of vintage buttons, I put together some lovely little vintage styled shamrock pins

Crafts for Dogs & Dolls -- A Little Birdie Told Me #11

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Welcome to  "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday If you're here to share a craft, recipe or project post, you'll find the linky and the specifics on how to  join the party after the features below. And if you'd like to be considered for a FEATURE , don't forget to leave a comment. Thanks! _________________________________ Last week, A Little Birdie Told Me... ...There were some Dog-gone  good DIYs... Rhinestone Beagle shared a tutorial for making a reusable treat sack perfect for "kids" of both the 4-legged and 2-legged varieties! Katie of Eye Spy DIY commemorated her dog Chester's birthday by sharing an easy tutorial for making a perfect  Doggie Bandana ...And some Doll-sized delights as well ... Sonia from Modista Modesta shared this incredible Dollhouse crafted by her husband.  Now to just figure out how to shrink myself down, so I can move in!! I can j

It's Hip to Be Square -- Binary Name Tag T-shirts

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Last year my daughter and her school chum took an extracurricular computer class. I remember how excited the kids were the day that they learned to write their names in binary code. That day, an idea struck me -- I wanted to make the kids t-shirts with a classic "Hello My Name Is" tag and their name written in binary.   Life got insanely busy, as it often does, and the project got pushed to the back burner.  This past Friday, some completely unscheduled leisure time sprouted up out of my calendar.  Holly (from 504 Main) and I seized the opportunity to hang out and catch up.  I finally created the personalized binary shirts I had dreamed up so long ago while Holly fried up nearly a whole hog's worth of bacon for her amazing Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies . If you have a mighty brain in your family who would get a cerebral kick out of a binary shirt, here's  quick tute on how it was done: PERSONALIZED BINARY NAME TAG T-SHIRT Materials T-shirt

Free St. Patrick's Day Clipart -- Vintage Deco Scrap Sheet

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As promised, here's another free download of vintage St. Patrick's images from my collection...   Click HERE to download as a PDF. Enjoy!

Free Vintage St. Patrick's Clip Art -- Wee Little Irish Lads & Lassies Scrap Page

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I combed my collection of vintage ephemera for the sweetest little St. Patrick's Day images and compiled them here, in a single scrap sheet for you to download and craft with for free!   Download HERE . Enjoy! --------------------  This post has been linked-up with: The Inspiration Board at Homework