The Pink Stamper: November 2011

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Peppermint Frosted Vanilla Cupcakes

Hello Friends!
3 posts in one day! Wow is all I can say! Yesterday I volunteered to bring cupcakes to a Relief Society (women's organization) meeting that we were having at my church. I wanted to make something seasonal but didn't have any great recipes. I did, however, find this SUPER easy vanilla cake recipe that I turned into a cupcake recipe. The Peppermint frosting is my own little experiment and it turned out AWESOME, if I do say so myself! LOL!!
Vanilla Cupcakes
2 cups sugar4 eggs1 tsp vanilla3/4 cup vegetable oil2 1/2 cups white flour1 cup milk2 1/4 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl mix sugar and eggs until smooth. Add vanilla, mix. Add oil & milk, mix. Add flour, powder, & salt. Mix but do not over mix. Pour into liners 3/4th full. Bake for 17-19 minutes. Do not over bake!

Peppermint Frosting
1 cube (8 oz) cream cheese (straight from the fridge)4-6 cups powdered sugar1/8-1/4 cups milk2 tsp peppermint extractSmall amount of light pink food paste
Cream the cream cheese in your mixer. Add 2 cups of sugar one cup at a time. Mixing until smooth in between (can get messy). Add a little milk, then more powdered sugar until you get the right consistency. Add your flavoring and food coloring. Mix again.

Episode 301 - Black Friday Shopping with Robyn & Karlee

Winners Winners!!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
I have some winners from past giveaways that I never posted! Oops!! Here we go...
Winner of Lunchbox Thoughts My Pink Stamper StampsPatty - Creative Diva 98
Winner of That's Punny-liciousEydie (gellins)
Winner of Fancy Frames Cricut CartridgeMary H. (mary.harden)
Thank you everyone!!!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Country Life Cricut Cartridge Giveaway!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!
Thank you all for the nice comments you left on my post from yesterday. I truly am grateful for all of you! I thought I would show some of my appreciation today by doing a fun giveaway of a Cricut Cartridge. Just leave a comment on this post of what you are grateful for.
Cricut Country Life Cartridge

I will announce the winner on Thursday along with the past winners of giveaways that I have not announced yet! Life sure has been busy & crazy but I would have it no other way!
Have a FABULOUS day everyone!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Gratitude

Hello dear friends!

Today I had a chance to reflect on all the things I am grateful for. First, I have to tell you what an uplifting day I had at church. All of the talks in the first hour were about gratitude, my 2nd class which was Gospel Principles was on The Creation, and the 3rd hour which is Relief Society (where all the women in the church meet) was on The Road to Damascus and about how we gain our testimonies.
*This post might be a little churchy. I'm not apologizing, but letting you know in advance just in case you do not want to hear that part of my life. :)
One of the speakers in our first hour, called Sacrament Meeting, talked about keeping a Gratitude journal. I think this is a great idea! This journal is designed just to share your daily blessings or things that you are grateful for that day. It's not a place for your daily proceedings in your life or to complain. Just to recognize all of the blessings that we sometimes forget. I think that by recognizing our daily blessings and things that we are thankful for, we seem to notice them more and more every day.
Today I thought about how thankful I am for my sister Christy. Although she is going through so much right now with the death of her boyfriend, she is still such a great light to me and a reminder of hope. We are here on this earth to learn to be like Him by going through trials. It is not what we are dealt, it is how we deal with it. She has been such a wonderful example on how to deal with a death of a loved one. Of course, we all handle these situations differently. I honestly don't know how I would have handled it, probably not as she would have but that is why we are all here, to learn from each other. I remember growing up how my sister and I were not very close until high school. We had one great year together as I was a freshmen and she was a senior. After she graduated we went our separate ways until I was out on my own and lived with her for a little bit. She has truly become one of my closest friends and I am so grateful for her.

Tomorrow is the funeral for her boyfriend of 6 years who sadly had many problems he didn't think he could deal with on his own and ended his life. We are so sad that he is not with us but know that he is in a better place where he can get help for all of his pain & suffering. We will miss Brandon greatly. I want to thank all of you who took the time to send my sister a card this week. She has loved hearing from you and looks forward to getting her mail daily. You can see my original post HERE about what happened.
I am also grateful for my family. I still cannot believe that I am a mother of 5 children, especially when I was not a "kid" person until I had them! LOL! I remember telling my mom that I only wanted one child so I could spoil it rotten and so that it would not have to share with any other children. Can you tell what I thought as a child with 3 siblings? I absolutely love being a mom and am so grateful that I have this opportunity. I know that not all women have this chance while on the earth but that our Father in Heaven has not forgotten about them and that they can all have that opportunity.

I am grateful for my awesome husband of 15 years. I cannot believe that he married me. I was such a brat when we were dating! LOL! I guess he had great hope that I would become who I truly was meant to be. I can honestly say that he has made me a better person. He is very patient, kind, loving, forgiving, and Christ-like. Who would have thought that after 15 years that our marriage would have grown so much.

I am grateful for the best friends in the world. Of course, you all know how Karlee is like a sister to me. I am sooooo thankful for her friendship and what a great match she is for me. We are so different but balance each other out so perfectly. I cannot imagine how boring life would be without her as my friend.

I am grateful for MY family. My mom, grandma, sisters, and brother. I am so blessed to have been born into my family. Although I lost my dad, who was an alcoholic, when I was only 21 years old, I am so grateful that he was my dad and that my mom is my mom. :)

I am grateful for all of my other friends who I love!

I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for the atoning sacrifice He made for me, so that I can someday return back to his presence and my Heavenly Father. I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life. I did not join my church until I was 22 years old and shortly after met my husband at a church meeting. The gospel has blessed my life in more ways than I can even count.

And last but not least, I am thankful for all of YOU! I cannot even begin to tell you how much you all bless my life daily with your uplifting and encouraging comments. I look forward to reading them every day, and have lately been able to read ALL of them! Thank you for being the best online friends in the world! SMOOCH!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Episode 300 - Hot Chocolate Goodie Cones with Robyn & Karlee!

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving? Both Karlee and my family had a fantastic day filled with love and laughter. I will share some pics at the bottom of this post. A few things before I show you the latest video from MPS!

- I will be posting the baby shower invitation tutorial next week.

-We took a lot of fun Black Friday video that I will be posting early next week. Most is not craft related but really fun.

Some quick pics from Thanksgiving Day..

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Quick Thanksgiving/Fall Goodie Bags

Hello Everyone!
I hope you are having an AWESOME day-before-Thanksgiving! I know I am! Karlee was supposed to be here tonight around dinner but she surprised me this morning by arriving at 8:30 am! Her husband drove through the night because he wasn't tired. I was able to make their family crepes and then she came to watch me play tennis for 2 hours. Isn't that the sweetest friend EVER? I could tell she was bored out of her skull!
On Thursday night I made these goodie bags for each of my boys for school. So, I made a total of 70 of these in about 2 1/2 hours. I was up til about 1:00 am! Things we do for those we love. :)
I used the Cricut Imagine and the cartridge Enjoy the Season, which I only used a couple of layers from one image. Super easy when you don't have the time to layer!

I also used one of my new favorite stamp sets from my latest My Pink Stamper Stamp release.
Itty Bitty-licious (Click HERE to order from a retailer)

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

My Pink Stamper Design Team Post

Happy Tuesday Everyone!
I want to start by wishing one of my close friends, Mary, a very happy birthday! I cannot wait to go to lunch today!!
Can you believe Karlee is going to be here tomorrow night with her family? I am so excited! We are going to have a super fun time. We both need it! Cannot wait to share our Black Friday adventures with you all again.
Today I get to share some awesome cards from My Pink Designers. Check out their blogs for more instructions. Have a great day!Unique Card Fold Maria