About an hour ago, I received an email from the graduate coordinator sending a “hearty welcome” to graduate students admitted for the Summer 2012 semester.

Can you believe it??!!? I haven’t gotten a letter in the mail, but the email says I will.

Things sure do move faster these days! I remember applying to OU for my undergrad, and waiting several months for a reply.

This process took 3 weeks. Yes, it was only 3 weeks ago that I discovered the MEM program existed at Wichita State and put my name in the hat.

Twenty-one days.
Wow!!

I guess my life as I know it is about to change. No more lazy nights at home. No more evenings at home period!

I’m excited. And I’m scared to death.

But today, I’m mostly excited!!

Without hesitation, I filled out the application and paid the fee.

Friday, I was notified that my application had been sent to the MEM program coordinator.

This morning, I emailed my resume.

E-gads! This is real!!  I’m not just talking about graduate school anymore.  Actually taking the steps toward going is scary.  And it makes me feel old.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that 12+ years of professional experience kinda outweighs the fact that my undergrad GPA was less than awesome.

And I’m officially on the hunt for an evening sitter for the girls.  Anyone interested??

To pass the time, here are pictures of another swap project I completed this weekend.  They’ll go in the mail on Tuesday or Wednesday…whichever day I think I have time to get to the post office.

The keys came from {Kennedy Hardware}.  They were priced well and shipped out fast.  I’ll be back for more, I’m sure!  The wire and beads are a mix of things I picked up from Hobby Lobby and Michael’s.  Tags are kraft cardstock printed with images from Theresa Collin’s Black & White Imagine Cartridge.  The hole reinforcements are Tim Holtz idea-ology (LOVE them!), and I have a really hard time not calling them “paper assholes.”  The first time I heard that term, I got sick laughing.  Yes, I’m 12.

Without further ado…my keys.

I made a 7th key for Miss Ella because she BEGGED me to.  And then she took off with it almost as soon as it was finished.  Apparently, it’s the key to her “art store,” a little table she sets up with drawings that Lexi & I buy with Monopoly money.  Anyway, I’ll try to find it and take a picture of it soon.

The rules were simple: 4 categories (boy, girl, man, woman), 8 A2-sized cards.

My boy cards were created with the Imagine Buccaneer cartridge.  The inside also has a cut that says, “Happy Birthday, Matey”.

t

The girl card is the rainbow cut from Create a Critter and background paper printed on the Imagine from Best Friends.  I flocked all 4 layers of the rainbow…a technique I really need to work on. I used liquid glue on these, but have since gotten a Xyron create-a-sticker which makes the process easier and they look much better.

The man’s card was the hardest to figure out, but I like the way it turned out.  A simple “happy B day” sentiment on camo. I also made some of these out of poker chip paper, but for some reason didn’t snap a photo of that one.  They were cute, too!

Last on the list is the women’s card.  This one was fun for me with all the bright colors I have in my paper stash.  It was just a matter of letting Ella pick out some combinations.  The phrase is from the Image More Cards cartridge. Woman is from Forever Young. I also used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the background paper.

Are any of them perfect? Nope.  But each one is unique and can be further customized for the recipient.  And that’s the beauty of handmade cards.

The hearts are cut from Gypsy Wanderings and flowers from Flower Shoppe.  Don’t tell anyone, but these are two of the very first cards I’d ever made. Not too shabby, eh?

I also made boxes for the chocolates I got from the Nifty Nut House.

The lids were printed and cut with my Imagine and and the bottoms were cut with the Expression.  I believe the box is from the Sweet Tooth Boxes cartridge.  They’re tied with plain ol’ black DMC cord.

What’s been happening?

Life.

Plain and simply.

Nothing fancy.  Nothing earth-shattering.  I’ve been caught up in the day-to-day living without stopping to write about it.  Is there anything wrong with that?

Thanks! Didn’t think so.

I’m going to attempt to put together some posts today with some of the work that I’ve been doing.  I’ve started joining and participating in swaps through the Cricut community message boards, so I’ve actually been doing quite a bit of creating.  That’s a happy thing!  I love those women for hosting swaps and challenging me to craft…instead of just hoarding supplies like so many of us are apt to do.

Hold on for a bit and I’ll get them up.  I’m supposed to be making 26 vampires for an A-Z swap that’s due on the 30th, but I’m procrastinating!

Random.org says the winner is:

Which would be…

Beverly, you are the new owner of a set of AmeriColor food-safe markers.  I’ll be getting in touch soon to get delivery information.  Thanks to everyone who entered.

We now return you to your Super Bowl Sunday pre-game crafting.

Our lovely hostess is Paulette from {Around the Block with Scrapalette}.  You should have arrived from Cindy’s blog {In Love With Paper}, but if you didn’t that’s okay!  Jump in here or go back to Paulette’s page and follow on the fun to the end.  The list of my fellow hoppers is at the bottom of the post.  There might be a little bit of a giveaway down there too.  Maybe.

If you came here looking for a paper project, you’re going to be disappointed today.  I decided to go a different direction and broke out my Cricut Cake.  I love this little machine almost as much as I love my regular Cricut Expression.

I’ve been baking since I was eight years old (that’s 28 years for those who like to count), and sugar cookies are one of my favorite things to make.  For me, decorating is relaxing. A stress-reliever of sorts. Sure, my hands and back hurt for a couple days after a big session, but it’s worth the while.

For many years, I avoided cutout sugar cookies like the plague.  It was my mother rubbing off on me though.  She had never had good luck, and I didn’t want to try.  But with the internet comes recipes. Mounds and gobs and thousands of recipes. After a little experimentation (and more than a few failures), I finally found a recipe that works.  It’s {the best rolled sugar cookies} recipe from AllRecipes.com, and they truly live up to their name.

The secret to successfully moving dough from the cutting surface to the pan is to roll the dough out on a silicone baking mat with plenty of flour. Don’t be afraid to use flour!

My collection of cookie cutters is huge, filling almost an entire shelf in the basement.  However, the three I chose for this project are quite special.  They were my grandmother’s, and I refuse to part with them. Ever!

Each one measures 3″ across, and they are absolutely perfect for topping with icing or gum paste.

Yes, gum paste.  It’s a baker’s playdough.  Stretchy, rubbery, sweet, and it dries hard if/when left out in the air too long.  It’s also one of the best things to cut with the Cake.

I use the recipe from { cricut.com/cake }. It’s easy to work with and tastes so SO much better than store-bought stuff.  The only ingredient that I didn’t have on hand was tylose powder.  Don’t let the fancy-schmancy name fool you…Wilton sells it as Gum-Tex.  You can find it right next to the meringue powder and cake coloring in the craft stores.  I ordered it from Amazon, though I could/should have picked it up at my favorite little cake supply store.

Don’t get on me about the corn syrup.

Or the Crisco.

Or the gelatin.  Really.  Just don’t.

I use my KitchenAid with the dough hook to do most of the mixing, but do finish it by hand to make sure the texture is right.  The hardest part of the whole thing is getting the color mixed in.  I use paste coloring, but you could use powdered or gel as well.  Stretching and twisting the gum paste like taffy works great.  Unfortunately, I ran out of red paste before I got to the color I really wanted (red), so we’re going with a dark pink that looks almost salmony.

After you get the gumpaste to the color you want, roll it out on your silicone mat or a piece of parchment as thin as you can get it.  Mine was about 1/8″ thick..  Then transfer it to a cutting mat that you’ve slathered with Crisco.

Roll it out a little more to make sure there are no air bubbles trapped, and pop the sheet into the freezer for 30-45 minutes.  This will help solidify the Crisco to the gumpaste, sticking it to the mat so it doesn’t slide around while in the machine.  Don’t forget this part!! Take my word for it…it ain’t pretty.

Now how to get the shapes?  Well, you can cut with your machine directly, but I can never get things sized right that way.  I’m a visual person and prefer to design in {Cricut Craft Room}, export the file to my Gypsy, and hook her up to the machine to do the cutting.

 If I had grabbed a little more gumpaste when I started, the entire mat would have been filled.  As it was, I made due with what I had.

Even so, it didn’t turn out exactly as planned.  You can see a heart in the upper left and one on the lower right got cut off.  Oops!  That’s definitely something you have to watch out for.

After pealing the shapes from the mat, and letting them dry overnight, I got out my handy dandy food-safe markers and did a little doodling with my AmeriColor Gourmet (food-safe) Writers.  I love these markers for sugar cookies.  My girls like to use them on plain, unfrosted cookies.  Crazy kids!

What’s next? Icing!  A lot of people use royal icing on their sugar cookies.  In my opinion, it’s flavorless, and I hate how hard it gets! Breaking the teeth of your guests is NOT something I recommend.  Instead, I’ve migrated to using a glaze.  It dries shiny and doesn’t layer like royal icing does, but it tastes a whole lot better and there’s no work involved in eating that cookie.  Again, the recipe I use comes from AllRecipes.com.

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp corn syrup
2 tsp milk
1/8 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp lemon extract
1/4 tsp clear vanilla

Add milk, just a few drops at a time, to get it to the consistency you want it.  I use a piping bag and a #4 tip to do my outlines.  Then I thin the glaze down with a few drops of milk and spoon it into the center to fill out the rest of the cookie top.  This is when the gum paste toppers go on, too.

When the icing was dry, I mixed some luster dust with a few drops of vodka and painted shimmers on some of the toppers.  Apparently, I did things out of order this week.  Not sure what I was thinking.  This is what can happen when you use too much vodka.  It bled all over the place.

Don’t do it this way!  Here’s the right order…

1. paint with luster dust
2. color with markers
3. ice cookies and top with gum paste goodies

And here are the final results.

The black & white topped cookies were done with one of Wilton’s patterned sugar sheets.  I’m afraid I can’t give this product a good review.  The sheet I had was dry and brittle.  And it tasted like…well, it tasted a lot like slightly sweetened paper.  Certainly not the kind of thing I would serve company.  So while it’s pretty, I won’t be using it again.  I’d rather spend a little more time coloring with my AmeriColor markers.

And speaking of markers.  Who wants a set?  One (1) lucky duck is going to receive a new set of 10 AmeriColor (food-safe) Gourmet Writers. Leave a comment below (don’t forget to include your email address) for a chance to win.

 The winner will be chosen at random and announced Saturday, February 4th.

Your next destination is a visit with Michele from {MicheleGreen.com}. I’ll see you there!

Here’s the whole list…just in case you came in somewhere in the middle and want to see what everyone has in store.

1. Paulette from http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
2. Dana from http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/
3. Beth from http://thunderbirdlindybydesign.blogspot.com/
4. Sis from http://papercraftscissors.wordpress.com/
5. Doreen from http://polkadotpaperprincess.blogspot.com/
6. Cindy from http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/
7. Deb from http://www.queenmommy.com/ ** You are Here ** 
8. Michele from http://www.michelegreen.com/
9. Carolyn from http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/
10. Colleen from http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/
11. Elizabeth from http://www.217creations.com/
12. Sukie from http://www.scrappindhilly.blogspot.com/
13. Sharon from http://designsbysharon.blogspot.com/
14. Renee from http://icameisawicreated.blogspot.com/
15. Tammy from http://www.scrapcavecreations.com/
16. Brenda from http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/
17. Amy from http://scrap-pix.blogspot.com/
18. Jami from http://thepaperfarm.blogspot.com/
19. Terri from http://scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/
20. Meg from http://peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/

Thanks for joining me for a little bit of fun in the kitchen!   Hope to see you again soon!

Spent a good portion of this evening making a little surprise to go in the boxes I’m sending out for a Valentine’s Day swap.  So so cute!  I promise to share…eventually, but want to keep it a secret until after reveal day.

Last night, I was up late making gum paste hearts for a quickly approaching deadline.  That’s right, the Love is in the Air Blog Hop is on Saturday!

I’ll have all the details soon.  But for now, here’s a hint (and some of you won’t be terribly surprised), I’ve been hanging out in the kitchen.  First there was a little bit of flour action.

Then I broke out the sugar…and the” power tools.”

I hope you’ll come back on Saturday to see what I’ve been up to, and then to join in on the rest of the hop.