Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful day with family and/or friends. My husband and I had a great Thanksgiving celebration with really good friends. This was our first ever Thanksgiving, and we are so very thankful to have been included in the celebrations. And what a celebration it was, my friend really outdid herself. Take a look at the amazing spread she had:

 There were cute little turkey shaped biscuits. Aren't they gorgeous??

Take a look at the amazing food, there were turkey subs, pumpkin soup, apple cider and of course there was stuffing and a delicious (did i say delicious!!!) pumpkin pie and much more.

Our 1st Thanksgiving celebration was amazing!!!! Thank you!!!

Scrappy Sunday:beyond the pages

This week I want to share a project that I did just before we came to live in Israel. This project took my scrapbooking creativity beyond the pages. Thats right, I left the 12x12 layout behind and I worked on something totally different.

I decided that for presents for our families I would give them printers trays with a difference. Take a look:

As you can see each printers tray is decorated using scrapbooking paper and embellishments.  I made them very similar to each other with only one or two differences. In the bottom right corner I made a little book which opens up for more pictures. On the top one I also made a film strip for photos whereas with the bottom one I used the same space to put a definition of family.

I really enjoyed working on this project. As much as I love working in layouts for my different albums I like to also work on projects that are "beyond the pages".

Yummiest Brownies Ever!!!!

As you all know I love to craft, just give me some gorgeous paper, a pair of scissors and glue and I am very happy. What I also love to do though is bake (and cook). I am always in search of the perfect recipe. And believe me when I tell you I have finally found the best ever recipe for brownies. These brownies are such a hit with the family (and friends) that even my oldest son (who really is a fussy eater) will come back for a 2nd, 3rd and even 4th piece. And believe me his younger brother isn't very far behind him also waiting for more.

Before I give you the recipe I must tell you that the original recipe was for half the amount but with my family I just had to double it. So here it is:

Ingredients: 

 For Brownies

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

 For Frosting:

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 2 cups icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 cups sugar, eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla essence. Beat in 2/3 cup cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 6 tablespoons cocoa, 2 tablespoons honey, 2  teaspoons vanilla essence, and 2 cups icing  sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.       

(These brownies could either be parave or milchik. If you want them to be parave just make sure to use parave margarine and parave cocoa powder).

This recipe is really a simple one and the results are magnificent. So I only have one more think to say today: Bake them, Eat them, Love them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scrappy Sunday:1st layout

So one of my all time favourite things to do is scrapbooking. I just love having a vision in my head of what a page or project should look like and then turning that idea into a reality.

I started scrapbooking about 6 years ago after going through something in my life, I felt I needed an outlet. I started off by buying myself one of those scrapbooking starter kit which was nice for a while but I wanted to learn and do even more. So I found myself an amazing teacher who taught me some amazing things, not only about scrapbooking but also about life (Thanks P).

From the minute I walked into the lesson I knew she was going to be the right teacher for me. We now live in different countries so I can no longer take lessons from her, but I always have in mind what I learnt from her and when inspiration hits I just scrap away.

Today I want to show you the first layout I ever did with my teacher using the first technique she ever taught me (paper weaving).

I did this layout for my wedding album, take a look:

As you can see I was taught how to paper weave on the side of a page as well as the middle.

 

I was very happy at how my first lesson went and how great my first (official) layout turned out.

I have since done many more layouts and projects and on this blog I will share many of them with you.

Hope you enjoyed the first Scrappy Sunday!!!!!!!

Zero calories yumminess!!!!!!!!!

So with all the blogging I have done about birthdays and parties I decided it was time to show you some other birthday treats I have made before.   I love being able to take something simple and turn it into something totally different and unexpected.
Take a look at this beautiful Cheesecake slice I made (I promise it is totally fat free)

Would you like to see the back? Wait for the surprise!!!!!!

Can you see? It is a beautiful box!!!

I also made a beautiful matching card to go with the box, which I then gave to a good friend for her birthday.

Here is another one I made:

This one I made for my dad. I made it to look like his favourite cake (chocolate fudge cake). The reason I made the "cake" as a box and not as the real edible thing is because we do not live in the same country, and I felt it would be quite mean if I did make the real cake and he couldn't have any. So here it is the "other" kind of cake.

 And of course I also made a matching card.....

Hope you enjoyed taking a look.