Independence Day

I cannot believe half of 2014 is gone already. Wow! Next week we'll celebrate the 4th of July once more. So I gathered some interesting ideas from all over the internet + some of my own to turn them into suggestions your your celebration. Enjoy.
 1st suggestion: breakfast - toast with cream-cheese, red jam, banana slices and blueberries.

2nd suggestion: healthy choices for food like fruit, cheese and yogurt.

 
















 3rd suggestion: table decor including ideas for napkins

 

4th suggestion: fruit juices. The star cookie cutter is an excellent option to make the stars.

5th suggestion: not so healthy food - I loved the 'smores bar' idea. What a great way to make your guests feel free to make their own smores, save time and add fun to your celebration. Cupcakes and fruit pies are always a good idea too.

The most important thing to remember is the reason why we celebrate the 4th of July. We live in a wonderful country. We have FREEDOM of speech and religion here -whether some people like it or not. America is a wonderful country because our forefathers firmly believed that men could not govern over the people without faith in God. Let's celebrate the Independence Day with family and friends re-dedicating this country to the Almighty Creator.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Vanias Reed   

Fathers Day

I cannot believe it's almost June, and Fathers Day is just around the corner. Amazing how time has flown by. Fathers day is a bittersweet day for me. I enjoy celebrating it because of my husband and the wonderful relationship he has with our son, but I miss my Dad a lot too. The good news is that one day I will see him again. Not because I deserve it or because I'm a good person. But because my Heavenly Father sent His only Son to die on the cross for me. Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay. You see, sin created this huge gap between God, who is holy and perfect, and us - sinners and therefore imperfect. Jesus is the bridge that covers that gap, and ONLY THROUGH HIM we can reach God again. When I was 13, I accepted this amazing gift God offered me - a relationship with him through Jesus. On that day I was adopted by Him, and He became my heavenly Father. Now I can have the certainty of seeing my Dad again because he made that decision too. We both have Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We both are going to be in our heavenly Father's presence one day, and we are going to enjoy each other again too. Meanwhile, I'll keep celebrating Fathers Day with my husband, and making cards for him like this one.

Supplies used
Paper: Brown, olive green, off white and black cardstock
Tools: round corner punch, computer, printer, precision scissors
Stamps: 'Moments in Time', and background text (Stampabilities)
Ink: Black
Embellishments: Medium and small brown pearls, pocket watch, light brown twine, man and boy silhouette (I found this online, printed it and pasted it on black cardstock), sticker letters.

I hope you can celebrate Fathers Day with your Dad, but most of all, I hope God has become your heavenly Father. If not, you can always go to him, ask him to forgive you for your wrong choices, accept that Jesus is His Son and only way to get to Him, and ask Him to be your Savior. If you have any questions, you can email me, or leave me a message on my Facebook page (same name as this blog). 

Happy Fathers Day. Many blessings unto you.

Vanias Reed  

Duckling Baby Shower

A dear friend of mine is expecting her first child. So I made the invitations for the baby shower, which theme was ducklings. I tried to stick with the main colors she is using in the nursery, baby blue and shades of brown. Here is the invitation.

Supplies used
Paper: baby blue, mustard and white cardstock
Tools: cutting/embossing machine, 2.5"scallop circle, 1.5" circle dies, 1 3/4" circle punch, top note die, Swiss polka-dots embossing folder, 5.5" by 4" label die (for the white paper with message inside), computer and printer
Embellishments: brown ribbon, baby duck 3D sticker
Emboss the paper after cutting, and folding it in the middle. You can use this for a baby shower card too.

Thank you for stopping by. Many blessings to you.

Vanias Reed   

Music Graduation Card

Time seems to be going by so much faster than when I was a child. It's like yesterday we were opening Christmas gifts, and now we are in May already. Mothers Day has passed, and we are heading to all the graduations we attend at this time of the year. So here is an idea for a graduation card. This one is for someone who's graduating from music school, but you can always change the label.

Supplies needed

Paper: black and white cardstock

Tools: Cutting/embossing machine, music notes embossing folder, large oval punch

Embellishments: red ribbon, cap sticker, "music"label

Don't forget to add a detail inside.

Thank you for stopping by. God bless you,

Vanias Reed    

 

Card With Velum Flowers

My mother is turning 90 next month, and I wanted to make a very special card for her. So when I saw this technique that is used to make flowers out of velum paper,  I knew this was what I wanted to use on her card. Here it is. 

The word 'Feliz' means happy in Portuguese

Supplies needed for this card

Paper: Pink, leaf green and white cardstock, clear velum paper

Tools: cutting/ embossing machine, lace border embossing folder, precision scissors, embossing heat tool, embossing powder (I used white and peach), fine point gel pens (pink and leaf green), round corner punch, 3D very small foam mounting circles

Stamp: flowers (I used the rose with a bud)

Ink: Embossing tinted stamp pad, yellow stamp marker)

Embellishment: Leaf green ribbon and bow with white 'sewing' lines, small black glittered letters, numbers and flowers, tiny pearls,

To make the velum flowers, stamp your flowers on velum paper using embossing tinted (mine is a very light pink) ink. Sprinkle with embossing powder covering the flowers completely (I used white powder for my pink rose, and peach powder for my yellow rose). Turn the velum paper up side down over your powder saver, or a white sheet of paper, to get rid of the excess powder. Using an embossing heat tool, dry the powder very well.

Using a fine point gel pen, color your flower gently making sure you don't color the embossing powder. If you want, you can use only the stamp marker. I like to use the gel pen first for a sparkling effect. Cut the flowers carefully with a precision pair of scissors. Use the foam mounting circles to adhere the flower to your card. A white background will accent the velum better.

 

There you have it. Beautiful velum flowers that can also be used on a card for Mother's Day.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a blessed crafting time.

Vanias Reed   

Brazilian White Bonbons (Beijinho)

In the beginning of the 20th century, in south Brazil, a cook created a little treat that is the white version of Brigadeiro (see my post from 03/05  /2014). This delicious bonbon was named Beijinho, which literally translated means little kiss. They say it given this name because it is as sweet and delicious as a kiss. The recipe I'm posting today has coconut, but you don't have to use it if you don't like it.

Ingredients 3tbsp shredded coconut (optional - I use fresh coconut) 1 can sweet condensed milk 1 tbsp butter Granulated sugar in any color (I use sugar in the raw) 1 egg yolk (optional) Cloves (optional – for decoration How to make it Grease a large plate with butter and set aside In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut, butter, egg yolk, and condensed milk. Cook stirring constantly until it thickens and loosens from the bottom of the pan (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat (don’t scrape the pan – it should fall off the pan easily) and spread it on buttered plate. Let rest until cool. Butter your hands and roll the thick mixture into small balls. Roll the balls in the granulated sugar. Place the bonbons in mini cupcake liners. Nutella Version When rolling the creamy mix into balls, use your thumb to push a small cavity in the beijinho, and add 1tsp of Nutella. Close and roll into ball. Note: These were rolled in powdered coconut, and not sugar. I hope you enjoy this delicious Brazilian treat.  Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderfully blessed day. Vanias Reed

Easter Egg in a Bowl

I can't believe how time is going by fast. Wasn't it Christmas yesterday? Now Easter is almost here, already? (smile). Anyway, today I'm posting another Brazilian recipe. This time it is a delicious "Easter Egg" with a twist. It's a dessert to be served cold that I translated from this website. Here it is.

Ingredients

• 3 cans of sweet condensed milk
• 2 tbsp of starch
• 2 cans of milk (use the empty sweet condensed milk cans)
• 6 egg yolks
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 can of table cream
• 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of chopped cashew nuts (I like walnuts or pecans better)
• 2 cups of milk chocolate chips.

• In a medium size pan cook, in medium heat, the sweet condensed milk, the starch dissolved in the milk, and the egg yolks stirring constantly until a thick cream forms (about 1 ½ minute)
• Turn off heat. Add vanilla to the mix and set aside to cool down. Add the table cream to the cool mix. Set 1/3 of the mix aside
• Mix the semi-sweet chocolate to the other 2/3 of the mix. The chocolate should melt.
• Place one layer of the chocolate cream in the bottom of glass baking pan. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Take it out of the refrigerator and cover with a layer of the white cream.
• Sprinkle with the chopped cashew nut and put back in the refrigerator for 10 more minutes. Take it out of the refrigerator, and cover with second layer of chocolate cream.

·         In a separate bowl, melt the milk chocolate. Cover the dessert with a layer of this chocolate.

·         Put dessert in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving it.

  Thank you for stopping by. God bless you.

Vanías Reed