A Moment in Time

Pumpkin Seeds

One of my favorite parts about this time of year is pumpkins! I love all things pumpkin (I have a fabulous pumpkin cheesecake recipe Mmmm) so when we carve them up, very little goes to waste!  I steam my pumpkin and then mash it and freeze it in 2C portions until I need to add it to my recipes! Here's a little hint though, when you pull them out of the freezer for your recipes, be sure to let it thaw at room temp or in the fridge, after that, press it into a fine mesh strainer to get the excess water out! Very important, otherwise your pies wont set and your muffins won't stick together (ask me how I know!).

I rinse my pumpkin seeds under water to prepare them. I oil a cookie sheet and heat my oven to 250 degrees. I place the seeds on the pan and coat them in oil. Liberally season with salt and place in the oven for about an hour stirring every 10-15 mins. I usually take one out and let it cool and test to find out when they are done.

Anyway, here is what I did with the seeds which we made this year, again I used the Happy Halloween set from RBD, and an 8oz clear top tin. I also used the Simple Occidental Alphabet set for the word "Seeds". Be sure to practice your alignment before you stamp on your actual project!!! Those letters can be tricky to line up!

I'd love to see what you've done with this set! Send me your submissions at submissions@renaissancebydesign.com

See you soon, I promise S*

Spider Eggs!

Here's another cute idea to dress up your typical Halloween candy.  One of the great things about our glass test tubes is just that! They're glass! What's so great about that? Well, firstly it means that you can heat emboss on them!!  Although I will caution you now they get HOT when you do this!!!! Make sure to have handy some sort of utensil to hold the tube while you heat it (I use a long handled wooden spoon).  Another must have for this project is an embossing buddy or static cling sheet such as Bounce to prepare the test tube before embossing. Glass is has a lot of static to it and if you don't eliminate it before hand you'll regret it later!

Firstly, prepare your tube with your embossing buddy or static cling dryer sheet. Next, carefully ink your image, I like pigment ink for test tubes and glass. Now here's the tricky part; place your test tube on your table surface and sort of "roll" it while you stamp your image onto it. This can take a bit of practice but once you get the hang of it it's fairly simple. The good news is... if you have trouble here, just take a moist paper towel or rag and wipe the tube clean and start over! I used the spider and Happy Halloween sentiment from RBD's Happy Halloween set.

Next, cover your image with embossing powder. Here's where you'll see how successful you were in removing the static! 

Now, insert your tool (my wooden spoon) into the tube and hold vertically. Heat emboss, being careful not to touch the glass!!!  Also, it does need a bit of cooling time before it is handled or filled with candy (it'll melt!!) I also punched out a matching circle with my 3/4" punch to add a little something to the corks.

Voila!!! There you go! A quick and super cute idea.

Brittle Bones

Hello hello,

I often celebrate many traditions in our house. One of my kids' favorites is this one in particular. Every year at Halloween, like most families, we carve pumpkins, roast the seeds and light our jack-o-lanterns. One other thing we do is make bones!  Yup, they're meringue and they're so cute!

This is the recipe I use, however if my oven is not able to be surrendered overnight, I just bake them for an additional hour.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups sugar

Pinch of salt

5 egg whites at room temperature

Pinch of cream of tartar

1 teaspoon almond, vanilla, orange or lemon extract

 

Preparation:

1.

Preheat oven to 220°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare pastry bag with round #10 tip (about 3/8-inch diameter).

2.

Combine sugar and salt in small bowl. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in small bowl with electric mixer at low speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar mixture, beating constantly. Beat until stiff peaks form and meringue is shiny and smooth. Add extract; beat just until blended.

3.

Fill pastry bag with meringue. Pipe log 3 to 4 inches long. Pipe 2 balls on both ends of each log. Smooth any peaks with wet finger. Repeat with remaining meringue.

4.

Bake 30 minutes; turn off heat. Leave cookies in oven overnight; do not open oven door.

 

Tip To give the "bones" an ivory or "aged" look, add 1 to 2 drops yellow food coloring with the extract.

 

I've taken these bones and put them into our Large clear take out container and fancied it up a bit. I've also used our stamp set from RBD Happy Halloween.

 

Happy Spooking folks!  My youngest is going to be a ferocious lion, and my oldest is going as a ninja. I'll try to snap a few pics to share! :)

Wooden box gift bag

 
Good snowy afternoon to you. I can't believe this weather! Last week I was sweltering in flip-flops and tank tops and considering the lake, and today I wake up to mother nature's sense of humor and a blanket of thick snow. WOW, makes me feel like I'm already behind on my Christmas shopping!

So we are officially up and running at RBD once again and if you've stopped by the site you'll se we are offering a coupon for 20% off your entire order for being such patient customers! Many other markdowns throughout the store as well so go have a look!

This little wooden gift bag is a little something I created this morning using the vine from Blossom & Wilt and the other images from the Happy Halloween set. I stamped three of the pumpkin image and then cut and layered them to give the 3D effect. I tried to take the picture from the side to get the effect but it may be a bit tough to see.

I'll be back early next week with more projects for the season!

I will be finalizing all of the monogram winners' proofs this weekend to send off  for production so if you are a winner and have been wondering when I'll get back to you, you can expect me soon!

Keep warm!

I am slowly going crazy.....

Hello hello!!!  As you may have noticed RBD is still down for purchasing. We have run into FAR more hurdles than we had hoped for along the way and have now been delayed yet again until October 1st. Some include the flooding of our storage unit, the delay of renovation, push back due to contractors and now the possession date. As you can imagine this is very frustrating for me as I am a "get stuff done" type of gal and it's all out of my control.

Everything happens for a reason right? That's what I'm sticking with!!! There's gotta be something!!! LOL  But let me tell you, I am about to explode for lack of papercrafting!!!  I keep getting hit with ideas where I have to run and scribble them down instead of going and crafting them out. The good news is I shouldn't have a dry spell for a while with ideas! I've had a few ladies ask to see my workshop when I'm done and I promise I'll put something together for you to see! I'm pretty excited because I'll have DOUBLE the space I did at my last house! SO exciting!

 I will show you what I have gotten accomplished though!!  If you haven't followed me for long you might not know that I also decorate cakes as a side hobby. Here is a picture of one that I did for a wedding this past week.

October 1st, I have been told, will be the LATEST that we will be delayed until. Having said that, if there's any possibility to be up and running sooner, you will be the first to know!

Watch for our "thanks for hanging in there" specials and discounts we will be offering once we are up and running. I apologize for all of the delays and downtime. I can't wait to get going!!!

Thank you for all of your love and support!!!

~D

.....drumroll please!

BACK AGAIN!!!!  Talk about when it rains it pours eh? (that little "eh" was added just for my American friends! Maybe I do say it more than I think! haha) Don't miss all the happenings today, there are multiple posts so be sure to scroll!!! 

OKAY!!! SO the winners for the monogram stamp draw are........   ALL OF YOU WHO COMMENTED!!!  There were a total of 7 entries, and really I couldn't just pick 6 people now could I!? That is just so not me. SO....

all who commented on THIS post please get in touch with me via email at info@renaissancebydesign.com, please type "Monogram giveaway" in the subject line. Please be sure to reference which number comment you were.

Please include:

• Your choice of monogram design and the size you would like (this offer is good for up to the 3" size).See a list of designs on the RBD website, if you do not see one you like but have something in mind, please describe it or attach a picture.

• Your choice of format for your monogram. ie. clear stamp, or digital printing file

• Your initials and/or the names and dates required on the stamp... be sure to check spelling!!!

I will then respond to your email and attach a proof for your acceptance and review (please allow a few days time for this). If you do not like the sample shown, please let me know and we will make sure you love it!

Once I recieve all of the winners' confirmations I will respond with a turnaround time for delivery. Please keep in mind, if you have won, there will be other contestants who are relying on you to be prompt in responding.

I will include any further details in my communications with you.

CONGRATULATIONS winners!!!  I hope you love them as much as I do!!!

Cheers! 

~Devon

Please note: the monograms which appear in the grey as well as the black are actually a two-step stamp (two stamps, one for black ink, one for the grey)

September Release!

Hello hello!  Here I am to unveil the newest set from RBD Happy Halloween. I wanted to design something which could be used both by the scrapbooker and the gift or treat giver. Since I haven't been able to play with this set myself (see previous post about the chaos while I move!) both Tina and Deb have done a beautiful job in using this new set.

Here are a few projects created by our talented guest designer, Deb. Please visit her blog and tell her what a fabulous job she's done! Don't you just LOVE how she incorporated our scrolls into her designs? Fabulous job Deb!

For all of you interested in purchasing this set, the shopping cart access will be restored on September 15th! Don't forget to order all of your bags and tins and alterables for those special goblins this year! Remember, if you spend over $50 CDN you receive FREE shipping within Canada and the US!

Okay! Back to unpacking! I can't wait to ink this set up and post some ideas for this one!!!

Location, location, location!

Hello! Yes it has been a whole month since I've updated!! Let me tell you what's been going on.

We are in the process of re-locating back to my home town of Cranbrook, BC. So far this is going well, however, I had anticipated re-activating the shopping carts today for the release of September's newest stamp set (which is so totally cute by the way!) and we are no where near finished unpacking all of the stock from the store. SO, what we've been forced to do is postpone the shopping cart activation until September 15th. If you are in a pinch for a certain RBD exclusive product that you must have before then, please contact me at my email address and we'll see if I can't dig it out for you (no promises though!).

My oldest son is also heading off to school for Kindergarten! He's so excited and so nervous, bless his little heart and I've been doing a lot to get him prepared to go as well. Here's hoping I can keep my smile on my face when I see him off next week!

I will release the stamp set today as planned, so check back later today for that. I have some photos of some BEAUTIFUL examples created by guest designer Deb using our new stamp set. You'll find that it works wonderfully with all of your Halloween and fall treats and projects!

ALSO, we have the monogram stamp giveaway! At this point everyone who has entered will win! I will make the official cut at 12:00 MST today and announce the winners and how they can contact us to receive their custom designed monogram stamp (for those of you who missed this, scroll down two posts and enter before 12:00 MST today!!!).

Alright folks, that's it for now... I'll check in later with all of the follow ups! Thank you all for being patient with this HUGE transition! As soon as my new workshop is organized I will start creating again! I can't wait, I have been absolutely CRAVING paper and stamps!!

See you later today!

Last chance....

Last chance to enter the monogram stamp giveaway!! You have until tomorrow at 12:00pm MST to get your name on the list! Scroll down to see the full entry details!

Check back tomorrow for all of the updates and happenings at RBD, where I've been spending my time lately and of course to see the new stamp set for September! I think you're gonna love it!!!

Strictly Sentiments

Hello everyone! I almost died today when I realized that we are already in AUGUST! Can you believe it! Where is this summer going!? Pretty soon we'll be packing our little ones back to school

I am here today to introduce the newest set out from RBD called Strictly Sentiments.  I made this set with the hopes of adding more versatility to any other set that you already own.

The simple script sentiments are perfect to add the finishing touch to any card. By adding this set to your collection, you are adding amazing versatility to any of your other graphic stamps! This set has 29 stamps included!!

Don't miss the previous post and leave a comment to win a monogram stamp!

Hope you're enjoying your summer!!