sincerely yours, dena

a shot of our own private fireworks show in South Hero Vermont.

My new favorite thing in card making is hand stitching with embroidery floss. My mom and I got really into it last Christmas break when we found some stencils at our fav craft store in up north Wisco. Since then, it’s definitely become more popular. I did a little web fishing and I found makeandtakes.com which had this super duper cutie tie pattern. It was fun and easy to make. So easy that I did it during a Friday night girlie wine night. Sorry, Doug for spilling wine on yours….

Click here to download the pattern

A good thing about making cupcakes for a special event is that you can sample a cupcake prior to know they taste good without anyone knowing. It’s kinda hard to hide the fact that you tasted the sheet cake. I used my favorite carrot cake recipe to make this cute cupcakes for a wedding shower.

I try to avoid buying off of registries if all possible. For my friend Maggie’s shower I had a no brainer gift. She and her hubby-to-be saw a dwarf lemon tree in a gardening catalog and got all excited about it but never pulled the trigger to buy one. So I ordered them a tree and had it delivered directly to their house. That was a selfish move as well, knowing that I was going to assist in carting the gifts from the shower home:). I wrapped up lemon so she would have something to open at the shower.

My girlfriend needed a invitation in a pinch for her bridal shower. Weddings are like my favorite thing in the world so of course I jumped at the opportunity to help. I always make 3 different versions of something I make so the person can pick but my first one is always the best. Of course she loved the first one too!

These flowers make a huge difference when decorating for a party. I made these a few years ago for a “Mexican Themed Baby Shower” at work. They are going to get some more mileage this summer at a bridal shower I’m helping throw.

Idea for “She who must not be named“

My husband and I try to give each other thoughtful gifts rather than expensive gifts. For Christmas last year I gave this picture frame to him. It’s got a picture of the front door of every house we’ve lived in together. The last picture is of the architecture plan of our front door of our current house. Once it’s finished I will replace it with a real picture.

Because I NEVER throw anything away, I save all my back issues of the 5 magazines I subscribe to. I always say I’m going to go back and look thru them but I rarely do. So I copied my friend Vanessa who copied her Mom… start ripping out what you want and recycle the rest.

Using a exacto knife, I cut out all the articles that interest or inspire me then I put them in clear protective binder sheets and organize them in a binder by subject. I’ve got a binder for decorating ideas (divided by room), a binder for holidays, a binder for recipes and a binder for crafts. The best part is getting the satisfaction of finally being able to throw something away!

One of my favorite holidays is Easter. I remember as a kid how much fun it was to hunt for my basket early Easter Morning. I still carry on the tradition, kids, adults and pets. This year we had 2 house guests that got to share in the fun. I’m not afraid to hid in challenging places. Everybody knows who’s basket is who’s by the picture on it. Rubbles found his basket first this year.

These were so good that by the time I got the camera out to take a picture there was only 1 left.

CHARMIE’S BUFFALO CHICKEN WONTONS
Source: Charmie777
Makes 24 wontons

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup buffalo-style hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup cream cheese
24 wonton wrappers
oil (for frying, peanut suggested)

NOTE: all amounts are suggested; feel free to adjust to your personal preference.

Mix the chicken with the hot sauce and garlic. Mix in the cream cheese until smooth.

Put about a tsp into the center of a wonton, seal edges using a little water. Keep covered until all wontons are done.

Heat oil to about 325 degrees F.

Fry wontons, a few at a time, until lightly brown and crisp.

Serve with bleu cheese or ranch salad dressing for dipping.

NOTE: The filling can be made the day ahead and refrigerated, and the flavor intensifies.