From Layout to Sketch

The very talented Pam Callaghan at Ideas for Scrapbookers asked readers to submit one of their favorite layouts for her to turn into a sketch.  I sent in this one:

When I made this layout, I struggled with the photos for awhile.  But once I decided to crop one of them and use that space for the title, the rest of the layout fell quickly into place.  Well, it wasn't all quick... it took awhile to cut out those dinky little bees by hand!  I like how it all turned out.

Pam liked it too, as she turned it into this awesome sketch:

I love this sketch!  I can't wait to scraplift myself.  It's funny how I barely recognize my own layout in the sketch- it looks so different in this form.

I Love My Centering Ruler

I'm not a big fan of measuring.  I avoid it whenever possible, relying on the eyeballing method instead.  When I need or want something to be more precise, I use my Centering Ruler. 

I love it.  It is so quick and easy to use.  Simply put the zero near the center of your project, then make small adjustments until the edges are both the same distance from the zero.  No real measuring, no making marks, no stress if the item is a nonstandard size.

Here's the finished card.  The sentiment is perfectly centered.

Another Unusual Item in my Craftroom

Raise your hand if you use baby powder for paper crafts.

I vividly remember the day I learned that you can use baby powder on a sticker to remove the stickiness.  Why would you do that?  Well, it allows you to control where a sticker will or won't stick.  I wanted this Happy Birthday sticker to stick to the red paper strip, but not to the card I'd be wrapping the strip around.

After I stuck the sticker to the red paper, I sprinkled baby powder on the back of it to remove the stickiness from the exposed parts.  That allowed me to create a closure for this card that the recipient will remove.

Why I Love Sharpies

Black Sharpies are office staples for a reason: they are high-quality, inexpensive, and write on anything.  Frequently, you see blue, red and green in offices too.  But look in a crafter's desk and you'll find every color of the rainbow!  Here's my fine-tipped Sharpie collection:

I use Sharpies for so many different crafts, as they provide wonderful color and write on just about anything.  My favorite use for Sharpies is changing the color of embellishments for cards or layouts.  Here's a yellow Sugar-Coated Brad from Doodlebug.  Notice how the Sharpie writes over it without harming the glitter? 

(Of course I have ink all over my fingers!  I'm a crafter.)

And here's the card I made with the newly-orange brad:

It's so convenient to be able to create just the color I need!  I don't think anyone would ever guess that brad started out yellow.  Do you love Sharpies as much as I do?  How do you use them?

S'more Cookie Bars

I love trying new recipes. I'm guessing most people trying a new recipe for the first time follow the directions exactly, see how it turns out, and then possibly make modifications for the future. Not me. I don't follow recipes very often, and when I do, I usually make so many changes that my result bears little resemblance to the original. I've gotten better about writing down my changes so that I can reproduce my successes (and avoid my failures) in the future.

I saw a recipe for S'more Cookie Bars on Erin Bassett's blog that sounded delicious. 

Here's my version:

S'more Cookie Bars

                                    1/2 c. butter, softened                                  3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
                                    1/2 c. packed brown sugar                          1 tsp. baking powder
                                    1/4 c. sugar                                                     1/4 tsp. salt
                                    1 egg                                                                1 c. chocolate chips
                                    1 tsp. vanilla extract                                      3 c. mini marshmallows
                                    1 1/3 c. flour

Cream butter and sugars until well blended. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, graham cracker, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat until thoroughly combined. 

Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 inch square baking dish. Divide dough in half and set aside one half.  Press remaining half of dough into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over hot crust.

Add marshmallows on top of chocolate. 

Scatter bits of reserved dough evenly over the marshmallows.

Bake approximately 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan. Cut into bars.

So yummy! This recipe is definitely a keeper.