I held my Annual New Catalog Open House yesterday. Thank you to everyone who came! I forgot my camera of course so I don't have photos of it all. But I was so pleased with the turnout where I was able to give over 50 beautiful new catalogs out! If you missed it you are welcome to stop by to pick up yours. Just give me a call or e-mail to be sure I am home.
Besides the displays, food, prizes and catalogs I also offered a free Make & Take. Here's what they made:
Very pretty isn't it? It features two of our newest In Colors - Gumball Green and Primrose Petals along with a brand new stamp set called Papaya Collage.
Two other new products on this card are our new In Color Satin Stitched ribbon and the Fancy Fan embossing folder.
When making this card you'd be surprized to know that you only need to ink both of these images once. For example, ink the leaves stamp in Gumball Green and stamp once, then move over a bit and stamp again (without re-inking) and again one last time to achieve three different colors of ink and a beautiful and soft feel. The butterfly was inked once and stamped four times without re-inking, offsetting the stamp a bit to give the apprearance of butterfly movement.
I had fun baking for this event too. I used to do tons of cooking and baking when I was catering, but lately not so much. So it was a pleasure for me to try some new recipes for this event. The treats I made were a big hit and I promised I'd share the recipes for them. All of these recipes were found on Pinterest.
I made Donut Muffins (taste just like the mini donuts at the fair), Mini Fruit Pizzas (yum!), and Peanut Butter Brownie Bites that are amazing and easy.
Donut Muffins
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 1/4 c. melted butter
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 c. milk
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 c. flour
Mix sugar & butter together, add milk. Stir in the baking powder with the flour until just combines. Fill in greased mini muffin pans 1/2 full. Bake at 350 for about 13 -15 minutes. Have the following ready for when they come out of the oven.
Melt 1/4 cup butter in one bowl and stir together 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon in another bowl. Dip the tops of the still warm muffins in the butter and roll in sugar. Let cool (not too long!) and enjoy.
Mini Fruit Pizzas
- 1 roll of refrigerated cookie dough
- 1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese, softened
- 1 large container Cool Whip
- 4 cups fruit, diced
Roll pieces of cookie dough into 3/4" balls and place in mini muffin pans. Bake at 350 for 6-7 minutes. Cool and remove from pan. Place on cookie sheet.
Mix cool whip with softened cream cheese and place in a piping bag or a large baggie. Cut off a corner of the baggie and pipe onto the little cookies. Top with fruit and chill before serving. These are sooo good!
Peanut Butter Brownie Bites
- 1 box brownie mix (any will work)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter/chocolate swirled chips ( or half & half of peanut butter with chocolate chips)
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
Prepare brownie batter as directed on package. Spoon into a greased mini muffin pan filling with 1 heaping teaspoon each. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes. If the centers do not fall while cooling, press them in with a spoon. Remove from pan now.
Microwave the peanut butter to soften 40 seconds. Stir and spoon into the center depressions of the brownies. Top with a few chips. Cool.
These are so good and taste like a famous candy bar yet they aren't as sweet and you get that burst of real peanut butter in the center.
The other recipe people requested was the Cheddar Bacon dip. No photo of that, but it was very tasty!
Cheddar Bacon Dip
- 16 oz sour cream
- 1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
- 3 oz Bacon Bits (in the bag, not jar)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix together and chill 24 hours. Serve with crackers, chips or veggies.
If you have been waiting for me to share this month's Technique Class, I am sorry but there isn't one. My schedule just didn't leave room for it this month. I will have one in June however and I hope to share it with you soon.
I have many more new items to share with you since I have been working on lots of display items for the Open House. Keep posted so you don't miss any of it!