Gifts

Paint Dipped Bud Vases for Mother’s Day

0 · Apr 18, 2012 · Leave a Comment

One of my Mom's great loves in life is gardening. For as long as I can remember she has worked daily on her beautiful flower garden. Carefully planning and pruning to create a stunning floral landscape every year. She would always bring in her flower cuttings and was in constant need for vases of all shapes and sizes. For Mothers Day this year I thought I would try out a new painting technique that I've been dying to try with the Martha Stewart Crafts Paint by Plaid. I created some fun paint dipped bud vases for her to have on hand for her beautiful flowers.

Click here to learn how to make them!

Fabric Wall Art with Silhouette’s New larger Cutting Mat | Tutorial

0 · Feb 22, 2012 · 16 Comments

This last Christmas my Mom gave me a pretty special gift that I have repurposed and will now be re-gifting it right back to her for Mother's Day. Now don't worry, this is the kind of re-gifting that is alright, even special in my book. Thanks to my Silhouette CAMEO I've been able to make a stunning piece of fabric wall art with Silhouette's new larger cutting mat for my Mom…

Over Christmas my Mom gave me some beautiful buttons that she salvaged from a dress that my grandmother used to wear. It was one of those 1950's black Audrey Hepburn kind of dresses that my Mom just loved. She thought I could use the fabulous buttons for one of my projects.

Sure enough I thought of a project that would be perfect for these treasured family heirlooms, however I didn't have a cutting mat big enough to make the project just right. I wanted to make a simple piece of wall art that was the silhouette of a black dress with the buttons on it. The problem… if I used my 12×12 cutting mat the dress would be too small and the buttons would look silly.

Then I when to CHA and learned about Silhouette's new 12×24 cutting mat and I knew it was going to be perfect for my project. I ran out and bought some black dress fabric, some off white canvas duck cloth for the background and a 10×20 frame that I found on clearance.

To start I ironed the black fabric onto some of the Silhouette Clean Cut Fabric Interfacing and then placed it on the 12×24 inch mat…

I then started the search for the perfect black dress silhouette for the project. Unfortunately, all of the dresses in the Silhouette design gallery didn't fit the bill so I searched online for the perfect black dress {isn't that always the never ending search? A black dress for my party now I have to find one for a project! he he…} I finally found a great SVG file that was PERFECT!! Because I've upgraded to the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition it was not a problem at all to use the SVG file. I downloaded the image and then open the design studio…

I opened the image and sized it to 14×7 and then added the text at the bottom. Using the Modern No. 20 font and sized it to fit the frame.

Next, I had to go to the Cut Style tool on the top right of the screen to allow my Cameo to recognize the SVG file while it was cutting. While the image was selected I clicked on the Cut Edge tool and a red line appeared around the edge of the dress showing that the cameo now recognized the image and was ready to cut…

I placed the fabric lined with the Silhouette Clean Cut Fabric Interfacing on the 12×24 mat and ran it though the CAMEO. I cut the dress first and then the words, just to make sure I didn't have any issues.

I removed the paper backing from the fabric and then ironed it onto the canvas duck cloth that I had cut to the perfect 10×20 size to fit the frame. Then I hot glued the precious buttons to the dress. Next I cut the letters out of the same fabric…

I used some vinyl transfer tape, just like you would with vinyl, to transfer the letters onto the canvas duck cloth. This is where it got a little tricky. I wasn't sure how the transfer tape would react to the heat of the iron, but I wanted my word to stay perfectly intact. So, I took a risk. I carefully and quickly ironed the letters through the transfer tape and it worked perfect. I worked fast and I didn't place the iron on for very long. I could tell that it could cause issues if I lingered too long.

I removed the transfer tape and it looked PERFECT!! I was so excited! I placed it in the frame and was in awe. Look at those letters… THEY ARE FABRIC!!

Look at the clean cut and the perfect lines…

Have you ever had an idea in your head and once you've made it, it far and away surpasses your expectations? This one totally did! I have to say I am madly and deeply in love with my Cameo now {not that I wasn't before, ha ha}…

Sorry Mom, you get to see your Mother's Day present early!

What a fun way to display my Grandmother's beautiful buttons. A Priceless treasure that could've easily been tucked away in a drawer and forgotten about. Now my Mom can have this on her wall and remember her beautiful and elegant mother every time she walks by this lovely fabric wall art. Happy Mother's Day Mom… I LOVE YOU!!

Here's a special deal for all of you…

Visit the Silhouette store by clickin here or on the Silhouette logo above and don't forget to enter WHIPPER at check out to get this smokin' deal!!

HeartGrams | Giveaway

0 · Feb 6, 2012 · 39 Comments

Several times a week I am contacted by people who would like to host a giveaway on WhipperBerry and I have to be pretty selective as to who I chose to partner-up with to present to my favorite people… YOU GUYS!! I was thrilled when the lovely ladies from Love Feast Table contacted me to host a giveaway for their HeartGrams!

What a FUN gift to give YOUR favorite people in your life for Valentines day! These beautiful heart shaped velvet plush pumpkins, or HeartGrams as they are called are a stunning addition to any Valentine display. It's a perfect gift to send to Moms, Sisters, Grandmothers, friends and sweethearts! Let's face it Valentine's Day is a perfect day to share our love with all the amazing people we have in our lives, not just our sweethearts.

Each HeartGram is lovingly created with great attention to detail. The unique addition of the one-of-a-kind pumpkin stem is what gives every HeartGram it's distinctive style. The HeartGrams are packaged in a simple Kraft paper gift box with a fun postcard to personalize the gift for your loved ones…

Chris Ann and Kristin from Love Feast Table have been super generious and have offered one lucky reader a set of two beautiful HeartGrams for you to share with a loved one or keep for yourself!

BUT… don't wait to long to order yours!! The last day to place your order to send to someone you love is on February 9th if you want them to arrive by February 14th!!

Here is what you need to do to enter the giveaway…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, but don't wait too long to order a set for yourself and for a loved one. You're going to LOVE them!!

Vanilla Bean Heart Doughnuts | Recipe

0 · Feb 2, 2012 · 18 Comments

Ahhhhh… can you feel it? Love is in the air. As promised I have the recipe for the Vanilla Bean Heart Doughnuts that I featured last week with our Gift Gloss post. These little gems are perfect for any Valentine goodie or gathering. Don't worry, you don't have to make them heart shaped. Any good donut baking pan will do.

I found my heart doughnut pan at Target if you want to make the heart shaped variety or you can find a good ole' round doughnut pan large or small at your local baking store or online. Here is the recipe that I used.

Vanilla Bean Doughnuts

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean

2 eggs slightly beaten

3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spry pan with non-stick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, vanilla, eggs and butter. Cut the vanilla bean length wise and using a knife scrape out the vanilla seeds and add to the mixture. Mix just until combined. Fill each doughnut cup 1/2 full and bake accordingly.

large doughnut pan or heart shaped pan 10-12 minutes

mini doughnut pan 4-6 minutes

The top will only slightly brown and the doughnut will spring back when touched. Let doughnuts cool in pan for a few minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Now my little secret is… I dip the doughnuts in melted chocolate to create that lovely glazed look. The funny thing is I now prefer my doughnuts with a chocolate topping! I used the red colored candy melts along with some white jimmies from Sweet baking & candy making supply. I prepared the chocolate according to package directions and then added a tablespoon of canola oil to the chocolate to thin it out a bit. You'll have to check the consistency of the chocolate and may need to add a little more. Just start slow until you get your desired consistency. Don't worry, the chocolate will still set-up with the oil. Carefully dip the doughnuts into the chocolate and then sprinkle the top with the jimmies. Put doughnuts into the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate sets-up. The lovely thing about the chocolate is that it makes it super easy to package your goodies without making a huge mess and they taste aaaaaamazing!!