Crafts

Something about the impending heat of summer brings out a craving for tart lemons wrapped in a generous dusting of sweet sugar. If you’re hankering for something light and sweet that won’t blow your bathing suit dreams, try this tastefully trim and delicious Creamy Lemon Pie. You won’t believe your luck when you sample this dreamy treat. It’s only four Weight Watcher’s points, if you’re counting, and well worth it with lots of lemony bang for your buck. Try it out! You’ll thank me later.

Creamy Lemon Pie

6 whole reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers

2 T butter

11 oz fat-free sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

½ c. fresh lemon juice

1 T lemon zest

Begin by putting your grahams into the food processor and pulsing until you have fine crumbs. Or you can involve your Little Bits. Put your grahams into a Ziploc and let them have a whack at them with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs. My kids thought it was the most fun ever.

Place crumbs in a small bowl. Melt butter and pour over the graham cracker crumbs, mixing until all the crumbs are moistened. Press crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and place it into the fridge until your ready for it.

In a medium bowl whisk together the condensed milk and 2 eggs until smooth and creamy. Add lemon juice and zest and stir until everything is incorporated throughout. Pour this mixture into the pie crust.

This literally takes about ten minutes to do, even with kids helping. Another reason I love this recipe!

Now bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool your pie completely and then chill through for best flavor.

Weight Watchers says you should get 10 slices….don’t know how in the world to cut ten even slices, so I cut eight and then slice some thinner ones for the kids. This pie is best eaten slowly, savoring every lemony bite. YUM!

I hope you enjoy this better-for-you confection. If you can keep it away from your family, serve it to your friends and they’ll never once complain about eating “diet” food. Enjoy!!

Don’t forget to run over and enter this weeks giveaway!  It’s a BIG one… a Silhouette SD plus three rolls of Heat Transfer Material!!!

On a side note… The amazing flowers that Heather used for the photo are from the amazing Kylee from Stylish Stems!

We’ve linked to…

• Tatertots & Jell-0
• Not Just a Housewife

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Come meet Christene, one of the WhipperChicks as part of…

I’m the girl who:

Is intense about my four little ones….Married a Big Hunk and is grateful for his love everyday I live…Is guided by my faith…Is a quilter by heritage and loves the feel of material between my fingers…likes to haunt graveyards, imagining the stories that are hidden there…loves to be with friends but can find the enjoyment in being alone too…loves creating a great meal…Is moved by words, quotes and great music…Is a slow runner, enjoyer of exercise and lover of sweets – not the best combo…Doesn’t have pierced ears but loves to wear dangly earrings…Tries new recipes on company…Pinches pennies…Wants to outlaw familial drama…Aspires to be a gardener…Has written in my journal for twenty-five years…Needs pictures in my cookbooks…Delights in throwing a great party…Has to have a plan for piece of mind…Leaves longwinded messages…Appreciates old things and the story of every life…Has serious problems doing the dishes but loves a clean kitchen…Reads obsessively and adores Jane Austen…Is inspired by nature and all its glory…Loves to sing at the top of my lungs and play the piano…Takes long showers by candlelight…Is fascinated by photos and the memories they capture…Secretly dreams of publishing the next NY Times Bestseller…Enjoys creating…

The Giveaway is now Closed!

I have fallen in love…

… with Silhouette’s Heat Transfer Material!  {Yes, the little guy is super cute & squishy too!}

Check out the fun custom t-shirt I made for my little guy. The poor kiddo… he’s the youngest of four and has THREE OLDER SISTERS!!  So, I decided to make him a cute shirt to shout it from the mountain tops.  How else could I make a personalized shirt like this?  I certainly couldn’t find it at Target {if I’m not at home, you’ll generally find me there.} With Silhouette and their fantastic Heat Transfer Material it’s EASY!!

First, create your image in the Silhouette software and then flip it to create a mirror image.

I love using the Heat Transfer Material because you don’t have to use the cutting mat, you just feed it into the Silhouette as is.  Here is what it will look like when you are done cutting it.  The view is from the “right side” with the clear plastic sheet on the top.

Once you have cut your image, you need to remove the excess material to leave only your cut image on the clear plastic backing.

Place the image on your fabric, in this case my little guys t-shirt…

Cover with a thin cloth and iron according to package directions.

Once things have cooled a bit remove the clear plastic sheet and voila… YOU have created your very own CUSTOM t-shirt!!

How easy was that?  What is that I hear…

I hear someone saying, “sure it looks easy… if only I HAD a Silhouette!”  Well my friends now’s your chance!!

Silhouette has graciously offered all of you AMAZING WhipperBerry readers a chance to win a Silhouette SD along with three rolls of Heat Transfer Material!!!  Here’s what you need to do to enter…

• Go to the Silhouette Site and select what color Heat Transfer Material you would like and return to WhipperBerry and leave us a love note telling us what color.
• Head on over to Facebook and “like” the Silhouette page.
• Become a fan of WhipperBerry via Google Friends Connect, FeedBurner, Facebook or Twitter!! {not required, but I would enjoy the love!}
• Tweet, Facebook or Blog about the giveaway and discount!!

Leave a comment for each item completed please. The giveaway will run through Sunday the 22nd with the winner announced on the 23rd.

And… if you just can’t wait and need some Silhouette love… They have offered an amazing discount for you all!

A Silhouette SD along with three rolls of Heat Transfer Material for $219!!  That is an amazing deal, you’re saving $125 off of the normal retail price!!  All you need to do is enter WHIPPER in the discount code box when checking out.

Happy shopping everyone!!  You’re going to LOVE it!!  By the way, a little birdy has told me that you may find WhipperBerry on the Silhouette blog sometime this week with a whole new project using the heat transfer material… you may want to head over and check it out tomorrow!

Oh, for those of you who were wondering… The WhipperBerry Who I Am event will start up again on Wednesday afternoon.

Hey there! My name is Amy and I can normally be found blogging and crafting over at The Idea Room.

First of all, I would like all of you to know how super excited I am to be guest posting on WhipperBerry today. I have been following these awesome ladies for a while now. I also was able to finally meet a few of them…Heather, Emily and Danielle, just this past month in Arizona at a Blogging Conference. And I have to tell you, they are just like they seem…sweet, friendly, fun and super talented. So, to be here on their collaborative blog is a bit of an honor for me.

‘Tis the season for graduations. Whether it be pre-school, kindergarten, high school or a college graduation, chances are you know someone who will graduate to something larger within the next few weeks. I always like to give the graduates something fun and festive to go along with a gift card or money. So this year I came up with some chocolate covered Oreo’s on a stick. And seriously…who doesn’t LOVE chocolate covered Oreo’s or food served on sticks? Okay…well most food served on sticks {not a huge fan of corndogs}!

And the best part about these graduation treats is that they are really easy to make and can be ready to go within an hour of making them. I like to actually use the Oreo Cakesters rather than regular Oreos because the sticks fit very nicely in between the two cake layers without breaking the cookies which can sometimes happen when you use regular Oreos. If you want to use the regular kind try to get the double stuffed Oreos.

Take regular popsicle sticks (can be purchased new at most craft stores) and stick them between the two layers of cake. I sometimes put a bit of melted white chocolate on the end of the stick. This helps “glue” the stick to the inside of the cake layers and makes it more stable and less likely to fall out.

Melt some white chocolate, almond bark or Vanilla CandiQuik in the microwave in 20 second intervals. Then dip the Oreos into the chocolate and be sure to cover the entire surface and especially the popsicle stick at the base of the oreo. While the chocolate is still wet, but not dripping, roll the sides of the Oreo into some fun colored sprinkles. Then set them on a piece or wax or parchment paper till the chocolate cools are hardens.

Now you can take some black cardstock and cut out two different pieces to make your graduation cap. I cut one strip that measured 3.75 inches by 1.75 inches for the base of the hat and rolled it into a circle and held it together with a piece of tape.

The square piece will be the top of the hat. Hook them together with some glue like this…

Then while the chocolate is still sticky place it onto the pop. I set mine off to the side, but you can put it wherever you would like to.

When the chocolate is cool you can take some Black Gel icing, which can be found in most supermarkets in the baking aisle, and write the graduation year on the front of the Oreo pop.

This icing will need to sit for a while so that it can dry if you are planning on packaging the graduation pop.

Then I whipped up a little card to go along with it. This time I made a little yellow diploma and attached it to the card with a glue dot.

And…inside the diploma is some cash I rolled up! So be sure to let the recipient know it is there…or you can just roll up the cash and put it in place of the yellow decoration.

This is something little but shows that you put some effort into their gift rather than just opening your wallet and handing over some cash…but hey…if someone offered me some cash from their wallet…I wouldn’t care too much that it wasn’t packaged pretty!

Thanks for having me WhipperBerries! I would love for you to come by and visit me over at The Idea Room anytime!

*Amy

Amy… we are sooo excited to swap with you today!! You have been such a great friend and mentor, we are truly honored!

I’m sure some of you may know that we have been experiencing a little trouble with blogger in the last couple of days. Sorry for the craziness!! Because of that we are going to combine Amy’s AMAZING post with our Friday Flair… so come strut your stuff my friends!!

Cooking is one thing I learned to do well at an early age. I look back and am thankful for that. I have many family recipes that are still amazing to this day. This Zucchini bread is definitely on the top of that list.

It is like heaven in your mouth. I am not a big fan of flavored bread but this one you will LOVE. My children even love it and they are very picky. It is super moist, no matter if you choose to add Vegetable oil or Applesauce. And another plus about this bread is you can freeze the loaves and you would never know they had been frozen. They stay very moist and yummy. I actually grow Zucchini just for this recipe and freeze the blended portions for future use. Now go try it. You’ll thank me.

{Zucchini Bread}

2 Eggs

2 C. Sugar

1 C. Oil or Applesauce

2 C. Zucchini

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 C. Flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

3 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Powder

Chop and blend the Zucchini. Combine wet ingredients; blended Zucchini, Eggs, Sugar, Oil or Applesauce, and Vanilla. Mix. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients; Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon, and baking powder. Stir and add to the Wet Ingredients. Now mix well. Batter will be separated into 2 loaf pans. I prefer to grease the pan and coat with cocoa. {No white film from flour when you use cocoa}. Another trick I have is to cut out parchment paper and line bottom of the loaf pan. This makes it very easy for the bread to come out.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Both loaves at the same time

Makes 2 loaves

Megan from Brassy Apple and I Am…

I am the girl who is creating her own path each day

I am the woman who hopes to inspire others to do the same

I am the wife who isn’t perfect but is loved just the way she is

I am the mother who has 5 in her heart but only 4 in her home

I am the neighbor who runs out of an important ingredient while making dinner and asks to borrow a “cup of flour”

I am grateful and blessed

I find happiness in the everyday and everyday seek out some happiness

I enjoy capturing the moment and not the posing through my camera lens

I do what I love

I learn how to be better each day from my kids

I am always changing, always evolving and always excited to see what lies ahead

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Megan is one of those ladies who I wished I would have spent more time with at Creative Estates.  I have to admit that her newish blog, I am… is one of my new obsessions.  I can tell that we are two ladies who think an awful lot alike about our roles in life,  Megan I look up to and admire you my dear!!