I have been playing with Future Floor Acrylic, now owned by Pledge.  I added PearlEx powder to acrylic floor finish in a small spray bottle and have the most amazing pearl/shimmer sprays.  The acrylic floor finish seals the pigment powders and create interesting shimmer effects on paper.

For the background on this birthday card I used acrylic floor finish and 667 True Blue PearlEx, I also sprayed a small amount of Black Velvet Smooch Spritz.  I added Americana Dimensional Glow in the Dark paint to create the stars.  The rocket is from Silhouette and the Happy Birthday rubber stamp with clear embossing is from the Great Canadian Stamp Company that I use to be a consultant for.

Copic Discovery

The only Copics I could find in Toronto were the Caio at Curry's for 3.99 (great price)  I have since discovered that Michaels has recently started to carry the Sketch markers.  All of my future purchases will be for Sketch Markers with 40% or 50% off coupons at Michaels  - which, brings the $7.99 Sketch prices pretty close to the Caio prices.

I have also picked up a few at Hobby Lobby  (Niagara Falls, NY) with their 40% off coupons.  Their regular price is $6.99.  They have a few more colours than Michaels.

Slowly collecting - Now that I have used them I understand the addiction.

Silhouette Cameo Tote

Yesterday we made a trip to Niagara Falls, NY to pick up the Silhouette Tote that my husband ordered for my birthday.  I LOVE IT!  It holds everything perfectly and cant wait to take it somewhere.  The tote conveniently holds a laptop as well - added bonus not to have to pack around two bags.

Thank  you Silhouette America for the 40% discount.

My next Silhouette purchase will be the Teal Dust Cover, which were not in stock when I placed my order.

Joy Christmas Card

This will be the first of many cards that I post on my Five Little Piggies Blog.  Luckily I have over 1000 plus Rubber Stamps that I have collected for over 20 years.

PSX ~  Snow Angel Rubber Stamp
Silhouette ~ Joy Nativity
Papers
Michaels ~ (Recollections)  Water Colour Blue Ditsy
                 ~ (Recollections)  Pearlized Cardstock (65 lb)
Creative Bag ~ Dark Red Raffia
Stickles ~ Yellow on Star Wand

Silhouette Cameo

While on Vacation with my husband in Utah this past April, I picked up a Silhouette Cameo.  I have had so much fun playing with it.  The Canadian price at Michaels is $399.00 *gasp*  The US retail price is 299.00 but it is easily obtained for 269.00 with lots of extras thrown in.

The Silhouette Cameo has changed the way I craft, my creative juices seem to be constantly flowing as I work on my projects.  Looking forward to posting my the things I have created.

Stay Tuned! 

Tomato Soup Cake

My husband took a tomato soup cake to work today.  I think the name of it was initially met with disgust.   It's alway interesting watching people fall in love with it after they are brave enough to get past the name.  Definitely one of my favorite recipes from my childhood.  There were lots of requests for the recipe so I thought I would post it.

My mother would use walnuts but since I am now allergic, I don't use nuts at all.

I double the batch and bake it in a jelly roll pan.

Carmel Butter Nut Icing 

1 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup margarine/butter

1/3 cup milk

2 - 4 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Heat Butter, brown sugar and milk in sauce pan. 

Boil 3 mins. Cool 30 mins. 

Slowly add icing sugar until desired consistency. (beat until smooth)

Cake for One

Put one box of Angel Food cake mix and one box of Devil's Food cake mix in a large zip lock back and shake until it is throughly mixed together.

Spray a large mug with Pam, then place 3 Tablespoons of the cake mixture and 2 Tablespoons of water in the mug.  Mix well.

Microwave for 1 minute.  Top with icing, whipped cream and/or fruit.

Enjoy your cake for one.

This has been a huge hit with my husband and we aren't temped with 24 cupcakes sitting around taunting us.

Rubber Ducky Cupcakes

I recently saw a pin on Pinterest for Rubber Ducky cupcakes that I loved.  When my husband mentioned that he needed a dessert for a baby shower for his boss, I immediately thought of the rubber ducky cupcakes.  I combed the internet to find rubber duckies that I could get shipped fast enough to get here in time... no luck.  I ended up finding the duckies at a party store in New York.  *clap* lunge* YAY!!!

Here is the picture from Pinterest Rubber Ducky Cupcakes

Sophies Favors 

Here is my version

Free Printable Labels

I am posting a wonderful site for Free Printable Labels  ~   Worldlable.com Labels, Printables, Open Source & more.   Just visit this Free Printable Labels Gallery and enjoy.  They keep adding more labels so keep your eye on their site.  I have added photos of just a few of the labels below.

Cranberry Steamed Pudding

I first tasted Cranberry Steamed Pudding at the One of a Kind Gift Show in Toronto several years ago. We bought a couple of them but have not seen the company since.  Last year I decided to attempt it myself, it was a success so I am again making it for our New Years dinner dessert.

Recipe 

1/3 cup hot water

1 tbsp. baking soda

2 cups (8 oz.) cranberries, chopped

1/2 cup molasses

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup flour

In mixing bowl, combine water and baking soda. Immediately add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour batter into well greased pudding mold or oven-proof bowl. Cover tightly with foil. Put a rack in the bottom of a large kettle. Place mold or bowl on rack. Add boiling water to 2” depth. Cover kettle and boil gently, replacing water as needed. Steam 1 hour or until cake tests done. Cool for 10 minutes. Unmold.

My dad would always make Christmas pudding for us when we were small and I had always wanted to recreate that wonderful taste experience.  Several years ago when I saw a steamed pudding mold on sale at Williams Sonoma I grabbed it in hopes of some day using it.  It has come in handy as I have been making cranberry pudding.




Serve with:

Butter Sauce

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. half & half cream

FOR SAUCE: Heat all ingredients in saucepan until butter is melted and sugar dissolved. Serve pudding and sauce warm.