It’s Thursday again! Yep – that means it’s time for another Lindsay project! Nadya and I have a baby shower to attend this weekend, so instead of a card, I put together a little gift card box. My box is based on this fabulous tutorial by Angie Tieman at SCS.

Instead of using my Top Note Die, I used the free Note SVG file from Beth – you can find it here. I opened the file in my SCAL software and resized it to 8.5×8.5 (keeping the dimension proportional) and then duplicated the shape so I’d have 2 cuts – one for the front and one for the back.  I loaded up some Bazzill Blue textured CS into the Cricut and cut away!  For the 2nd layer, I resized the shapes again to be 8×8 (again keeping them proportional).  This time I used some DP from Melissa Frances’ Hush A Bye Boy kit. I trimmed one edge of each of the shapes to be straight so that it would adhere to the box evenly and added the faux stitching with a black Micron pen. Following Angie’s directions, I created my box with the same Bazzill Blue CS and used Fiskars Glue Dots to adhere the tabs. The ribbon/fiber is also from Melissa’s Hush a Bye Boy page kit (the last of it – sigh).  Once my box was put together, I started working on my image.  The Congratulations sentiment is from Lindsay’s All Around Phrases set and the Baby shoes are from her Babies and Bows set.  I used a digital paper from Kristine (that I recolored) to “colorize” the dots in the sentiment and as the color fill for the laces.  I printed the image on Georgia Pacific CS and then trimmed it with my nestabilities (2.5 inch circle).  The scallop mat is cut from a scrap of DP from Melissa’s Hush a Bye Boy kit.  I colored the shoes with Copic and Prismacolor markers and then accented the eyelets and laces with Sakura pens. Then I put everything together – now I just have to go buy the gift card!  If you didn’t come here from Lindsay’s blog, be sure to visit! She has a new recipe card set in her Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff store and a fabulous Christmas freebie on her blog – plus you’ll want to get the links to all of the other DT blogs – the ladies have some awesome inspiration for you this week!

Have a fabulous Thursday – we’re off to swimming lessons this afternoon!

So, Bunny challenged us from her blog to share a Holiday recipe.  I have one that is particularly special to me – it’s my Papa Red’s gingerbread recipe. So, with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I thought this one would be perfect!

Papa Red’s Gingerbread Recipe

2/3 C Shortening            1 C Boiling Water

1/3 C Maple Molasses      2 Eggs (unbeaten)

1/3 C Dark Karo Syrup     2 C Flour

2/3 C Sugar                   1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda        1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Ginger                   1 tsp Cinnamon

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§ Add shortening to mixing bowl

§ Pour boiling water over shortening and let stand until shortening is melted

§ Add molasses, karo, sugar, and unbeaten eggs

§ Stir until the sugar is dissolved

§ Sift Dry ingredients into mixture

§ Beat until smooth (batter will be thin)

§ Pour into a greased and floured 9”x13″ pan

§ Bake at 350^° for 30 – 40 minutes

Mmmm – I love this stuff!  My mom recalls that even when times were really tough for them, Papa would make this in the winter time after he was done working in the field.  So, there you have it, a lil bit of history.

Have a fabulous Friday and an amazing Weekend…and for Papa, hug someone you love!

Shannon