Jan
4
Love You Much Chocolate Valentine
Posted on: Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Filed Under Valentine Ideas, blog | Leave a Comment
This is the card that my previous post was based on… this time I am posting the card recipe!

Of course I used the Love You Much Valentine Bundle with the addition of the Bella Toile Background stamp and the Scalloped Edge punch.
The card is Close to Cocoa with the Bella Toile stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. The strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock down the middle of the card is also stamped in Bella Toile.
The Candy Lane Designer Series paper (Cocoa print with pink diamonds) has two sides punched with the Scalloped Edge punch and then sponged also in Chocolate Chip. I punched and sponged the heart punch outs (I LOVE my 3 heart punch!!!).
Due to popular demand the Love You Much Bundle can only be ordered through me (you can’t order it online directly). So I am extending my online ordering special to all orders that include this bundle (and therefore can’t be ordered online). Click here for more information about placing an order.
I am leaving tomorrow morning for Leadership… I’m so excited! I will have my trusty laptop and responding to emails. I hope to be back with some fabulous samples!
Enjoy this card!
Jan
2
Valentine Buttercrunch Treat Bag and recipe!
Posted on: Friday, January 2nd, 2009
Filed Under 3D Project, Valentine Ideas | 6 Comments
I’ve been asked for my candy recipes so I decided to work it into Valentine’s day!
Again, I am working with the awesome Love You Much Valentine ‘Bundle’ Promotion (Item #115405). Due to its popularity, you must order it directly through me (it can’t be ordered online), see my ordering specials and more details here.
I love candymaking and I have been doing it for years. I got my start taking classes at The Chocolate Duck in Farmingdale, Long Island, NY where I lived when first married. They are still there with an awesome website and the *exact* chocolate house mold I use! CLICK HERE for the exact mold I use for the houses I make (see article here). I still have some that are 20 years old from there!
Homemade Buttercrunch. I never could find a recipe for buttercrunch candy, but it appeared to be toffee inside chocolate and almonds.
So, I use the toffee recipe (below) then dip it in melted chocolate and roll in roasted, chopped almonds. I buy my almonds raw and roast them. After cooling, I chop them (I do use my Cuisinart). Warning about candymaking: everyone is suddenly your ‘friend’, children and husbands aren’t to be trusted alone with finished product and plan your hiding spots carefully.
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Toffee Recipe (makes one batch), the toffee is made a day or so before (providing you have a good hiding spot). Food Ingredients: 4 cups granulated sugar, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, 1 cup water, 1 lb. butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Mix the sugar, corn syrup & water in a 3 quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Wash down the sides with a pastry brush cold water (get used to that!) and insert thermometer and be prepared to stir it while it boils to 280 degrees. At 280 degrees, stir in the butter (at room temperature) and be careful it doesn’t sputter up at you! Mix it vigorously so it blends in and heat again to 315 degrees when you will add the salt. Wash the sides down and don’t stop stirring. After the salt is added, continue to stir to 320 degrees (but no higher) and immediately move from the heat and pour into pre-prepared cookie sheets. Be sure your cookie sheets were ready and on trivets (or I use my wooden cutting board) to absorb the heat and don’t ruin your countertop (you’re welcome!). While the toffee is hot, I score squares to help me break into pieces after it is completely cooled. Break it up into candy sized bites storing in an airtight container to allow to ‘age’. After a day or so, the toffee will melt in your mouth and break away easily at a bite. Keep husbands and especially children away from finished candy at all times as this will greatly reduce the quantity of finished product! Give priority pickings to those who help stir at 1/2 or more at a time! |
Hope that satisfied my chocolate loving friends out there! Enjoy the recipe. I usually burn myself a few times making toffee, so be careful!
Dec
29
Love You Much Valentine Bundle Promotion
Posted on: Monday, December 29th, 2008
Filed Under Specials, Valentine Ideas | 2 Comments
I have been playing with this awesome bundle of ‘love’ lately… here’s a few things I’ve made with it. Click on the photo for larger detail… to be sure my January workshops and classes will include these!
The Love You Much Valentine ‘Bundle’ Promotion (Item #115405) is a 20% discount on a (newly unveiled) valentine stamp set, coordinating Designer Series paper ‘Candy Lane’, and (my favorite!) a new triple heart punch!!! You cannot order it online at the moment, but you *can* order it directly through me and still receive my latest Online Ordering Gift as well!
This bundle comes to $41.48 (priced separately at $51.85) not to mention it is a ’sneak preview’ of product in the new catalog coming out January 18th.
AND my *NEW* online ordering gift is also based on this bundle! Click Here to view my online ordering gift this month.. it’s not to be missed (and I will extend it to my email/phone orders as well until it can be ordered online again).
Okay, so don’t you *NEED* that punch?!






















