Paper Paint and Pine

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

. . . CookieTimeTuesday-Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Biscotti . . .

My grandfather LOVED this recipe for Biscotti. My grandmother made it for him every week for years and a few times when she wasn't able to I filled in and made it for him. He passed away earlier this year so this recipe always makes me think of him.

My son asked me if Biscotti really was a cookie and I said "this week it is". I'm not sure if it really would be considered a cookie but it has chocolate chips in it so I'm making it work for Cookie Time Tuesday. I think you will really enjoy this recipe. It is always a hit and makes a great gift. I love bagging it up and giving it with a bag of specialty coffee or in a coffee mug with a gift certificate included for a coffee shop. What a great neighbor gift for the holiday season coming up.

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Print Recipe HERE

You will need:

⅓ C Butter, softened

½ C Brown Sugar

½ C Sugar

1 T. Instant Coffee Granules

2 Large Eggs

2 C All Purpose Flour

1 ½ tsp. Baking Powder

⅛ tsp Salt

½ tsp Cinnamon

1 C Chopped Walnuts or Pecans

1 C Semisweet Mini Chocolate Chips

2 squares of Vanilla Candy Coating, melted

• Gather your ingredients

• Mix butter, sugars and coffee together

• Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture

• Add chocolate chips and nuts and combine well

• Form logs to bake the biscotti--a good size is 10x2 inches

• Bake at 350 for 25 minutes then cool completely

• Cut the logs into small pieces using a serrated knife

• Place on a baking sheet and bake again for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the crispness you want

• Melt your squares of candy coating

• Frost the cooled biscotti and let the chocolate set up then enjoy!

Perfect with a hot cup of coffee!

Monday, October 10, 2011

. . . Easy Halloween Wreath . . .

I always like to have a new wreath for each season and making them for Halloween is so much fun! I was in a rush to get one done for the front door so I ran to the craft store and grabbed a black pine wreath and some Halloween Garland and made this one. The wreath looked a little empty with just the garland so I brainstormed the little gauze ghosts and I was happy with how they turned out.

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• I grabbed a black pine wreath for a couple bucks and some Halloween Garland

• I used my Baker's Twine from The Twinery to tie my gauze ghosts

• I had some gauze strips that I used to wrap around a cotton ball

• I gathered it tightly around the cotton ball and tied it with the orange and black Baker's Twine

• I cut the gauze at a bit of an angle and spread it out so the gauze took on a "floating" look

• I attached the ghosts to the wreath

• Add a fun bow and finish placing the ghosts and you are done!

Simple and Fun!

Linking Here:
Polly Want a Crafter

Dittle Dattle

Metamorphis Monday

Made by You Mondays

Just Something I whipped up Monday

Making the world cuter Monday

Market yourself Monday

Menu Plan Monday
Thrifty Decor Chic
Homemaker on a Dime
Lines Across My Face
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
3 Boys and a Dog

Tip Junkie
Ladybug Blessings
Reasons to Skip the Housework
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Homework
Chef in Training

Pinching Penny Party

Blue Cricket Design

Somedays Crafts
Trendy Treehouse

Elements Interiors
This Chic Cooks
Passionately Artistic
Lil Luna
What I Whipped Up Wednesday

Friday, October 7, 2011

. . . Fun Friday Finds-Halloween Ideas . . .

Today Fun Friday Finds is a little different because I'm featuring the top 12 viewed projects from my Wickedly Creative Halloween Ideas Party. I am amazed by how many people have linked up some incredibly creative projects, but these are the top 12 viewed items.

You can still add your great projects to the Party!!

It's open until October 16th so join in on the fun.

1. Family Friendly Costumes @ Sweeter Than Sweets

2. Halloween Test Tubes @ The Autocrat

3. Witch Print @ Bacon Time

4.Witches Feet @ Holiday Snob

5. Boo Banner @ The Scrap Shoppe

6. Halloween Decor @ Fancy Frugal Life

7. Halloween Printables @ Blooming Homestead

8. Witch Party @ Naptime Journal

9. Halloween Hurricanes @ My Heart's Desire

10. Tissue Paper Candy Corn @ Oasis Accents

11. Halloween Sign @ Alderberry Hill

12. Halloween Centerpiece @ Buttercup Bliss

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

. . . Best Photo Size for Blogging . . .

I will never claim to be an expert blogger but I have learned a lot over the last year and a half of doing it. One thing that has been the most valuable is how to size my photos so they use up a large amount of my posting space. With Blogger you get just a few options on the size of your photos--small, medium, large, extra large and original size. That drove me nuts because if I chose large they never seemed big enough and if I chose extra large they ran over my posting area. Forget trying original size on a photo that is unedited because it was huge.

Then, I discovered the PERFECT photo size!! I have no idea where I read this and I wish I did so I could give them credit because it's been the best tip I've found for blogging so far.

So, do you want to know the perfect size for most blogs? I bet you do! 550 pixels wide and then you can determine the height. I LOVE this tip!

Here is an example of a picture that is just a regular unsized photo,

setting it to large in the blogger format:

Now, this is the same picture resized to 550 pixels wide and 366 pixels high:

It makes a difference! I always use the "scale photo" option when resizing and that way it just automatically calculates the best height so the photo is not distorted in any way. Any photo editing software will have this as an option.

Good luck!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

. . . LaunchHer Feature . . .

When I started my business over a year ago I really thought it would just be a hobby so every milestone that I hit I feel overwhelmed and so fortunate. I keep wanting to pinch myself with every opportunity that comes along and every order placed. I feel so blessed to have wonderful customers and supporters.

Today, the amazing website, LaunchHer featured Itsy Bitsy Paper as their Freshly Launched Business. I think what they are doing over there is amazing! Their site is dedicated to Women in Business and helping promote them. If you aren't familiar with them you should definitely check them out. I feel so honored that they chose Itsy Bitsy Paper to be a Freshly Launched Business. I hope you will take a few minutes to stop by and read the post. There is also a coupon code for LaunchHer readers so that could be handy too with the gift giving season right around the corner.

Thank you to LaunchHer and to all my amazing customers and supporters!!

. . . Cookie Time Tuesday--Soft M&M Cookies . . .

Last week I featured Reese's Pieces Cookies and they were delicious so it only seemed natural to feature an M&M Cookie this week. This recipe came from Lil Luna and it is fantastic! My family gobbled these up the minute they came out of the oven. I am always trying to find an M&M Cookie that is soft and this one finally lives up to my expectations--soft but still a puffy cookie. I hate when a cookie flattens out when it cools and these didn't. I have found a keeper with this recipe for sure!

Today my son's teachers got a bag of cookies with both the Reese's Pieces Cookie and the M&M Cookie and a tag that said "Thank you for being a Magnificent and Marvelous Teacher--I adore you to Pieces" I figured since it was the first day of testing today it was a great treat for them. I liked the play on words by using the 2 "M" words to describe them and then the "Pieces".

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family has!

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 Print Recipe HERE

You will need:

Sugar

Brown Sugar

Butter

Oil

Eggs

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Flour

Salt

Vanilla

M&Ms

• Gather ingredients

• Mix butter, sugars and oil together then add eggs

• Add dry ingredients and vanilla

• Add chopped and whole M&Ms and blend well

• Your dough will be very thick

• Roll into balls and place on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet

• Bake 7 to 8 minutes

• So yummy!!

Enjoy!

Monday, October 3, 2011

. . . Genius Pancake Tip . . .

Around our house we make a lot of pancakes thanks to my son's obsession with them. I usually whip up a batch and scoop the batter out with a small cup or use the batter bowl to pour it into the pan but it always creates a drippy mess and I hate that. As you probably all have figured out I'm always trying to think of how I can use something before I toss it out. The other day we made pancakes and I was getting ready to throw out the old syrup bottle and I had this lightbulb moment--why not use that as a pancake "pourer". We bought my mom a fancy Pancake Batter Bottle from Williams-Sonoma and I've often thought of getting one myself but now I won't need to. Using this empty syrup bottle was GENIUS! I just mixed up the batter and then poured it into the empty bottle and it worked wonders. The pancakes were perfect circles each time.