Pin Made Creations: Precious and Few

Hi again!  Another card is finished ... this one I scraplifted from Sandy at the Paper Crafts Magazine blog that was posted today.  Click HERE to see Sandy's card that was my inspiration.  Her card is also repinned  to my board, Cards I Must Make on Pinterest.

Pretty yellow pattern paper, like Sandy used, never seem to be something that I have on hand, so I decided to try another color.

I also didn't have any pretty black ribbon, so I found some fun fibers to come up with something similar.  

What cards are you scrapping today?

Pin Made Creations: World Card Making Day!

Happy World Card Making Day!  I am dedicating "me time" this weekend to make cards with the rest of the paper craft world!  I started last night (woohoo!) and to get the mojo going, I thought I would try Pin-making a couple cards I repinned on my "Cards I Must Make" board on Pinterest.

Here is my first card.  Below the card is the original post with the original card:

See original card here: Sarah's Just Visiting

I loved the border on Sarah's card and since I couldn't replicate it exactly, I put my own spin on it and then flipped the sketch.  

The second card got me going on my Cuttlebug, which I need to use more often.  This was a vertical card, which I should do more often too! 

See original card here:  Simple and Sincere

Jen is a Stampin' Up rep and she has many gorgeous stamped cards on her website, in addition to many card sketches!  My card doesn't do justice to hers, but I loved the sketch.  I want to add a ribbon on it, but am refraining because simple is good.  

Finally, the last one I did last night:

See original card here:  Splitcoast Stampers - Wendy

I think this is my favorite of the three. This card took me the longest to finish; I was determined to use paper scraps and it took some time to find scraps and coordinating inks in my stash.

More to come -- I'm on a roll and I desperately need a variety of cards for my stash.  A good reason to celebrate all weekend, right?

There are so many beautiful cards and ideas on Pinterest!  Remember to be courteous: if you Pin-make anything you see on Pinterest, give credit to the original poster/blogger.  Notice I didn't put my watermark on these photos, because even though I put my own spin on them, they aren't necessarily my original work.

Pin Made Creations: Blonde Brownie Goodness

We've had a sweet tooth lately at Casa Vallejo.  This time I made a batch of Blonde Brownies with chocolate chips for the Hubby, who is so good to me and loves a warm chocolate chip cookie!  These brownies turned out nice and gooey since I used a whole bag of chips.

This recipe I have had since the dark ages; I was in my early 20s when a group of single gals at work were collecting and trading recipes. We wanted to be ready  for the day when we would get married and cook everything we would put in our mouths by scratch.  While cooking by scratch didn't quite happen when I was that young, I did get some great go-to dessert recipes like this one.  Thanks goes to Vicki Milsap --  it'still a hit and it's going on Pinterest!

Blonde Brownies

2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup melted margarine
dash salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2-3/4 cup all purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
chocolate chips  (I used a 12 oz bag)

Melt margarine and cream it with the brown sugar.  Add salt, vanilla and eggs and mix.  Add flour and baking powder and mix.  Add chocolate chips.  Bake brownies in a 9 x 13 pan (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes but no longer.