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“Hugs” Card for Maddy (who is fighting cancer)

By KariV on June 3, 2013 in Paper Crafting

I created this card especially for a little girl named Maddy who has cancer. She lives in Tennessee and has requested lots of good energy and smiles in the form of homemade cards! So, Maddy, this one’s for you! I mailed this out today. Hope she likes it!

I had fun choosing different colors of ink pads to compliment each other for the hearts. I sure hope Maddy likes pink because pink became the dominating color! I embossed the word “hugs” with pink embossing powder and outlined it with a thin black pen to pull it all together. Sending “hugs” to Maddy across the miles!

If you’d like to send a card of encouragement, too, get more information here.

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Dose of Sunshine Monday — Each day is filled with opportunity

By KariV on June 3, 2013 in Inspiration

Happy Monday once again! This week is brimming full of blessings, I can feel it. And sometimes those blessings come by way of opportunity. And sometimes there are so many opportunities available to us that we simply cannot hold onto them all!

This thought inspired me to create the following:

What opportunities are available to you this week?

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“You are Loved” card

By KariV on May 31, 2013 in DIY, Paper Crafting

I just learned on Wednesday that a dear friend and neighbor is moving! 🙁 I know that moving is chaotic and overwhelming sometimes and so I was inspired to make the following cards in her honor:

I am just enthralled with “Sunshine” cards (yes, it goes with the name of my blog!) and this one surprised me because it turned out in shades of blue, rather than yellow! I tinted the embossed sentiment with Distress Ink in Peacock and added some glitter to the “sunburst.” I will re-visit this idea later, because I think it looks more like a quilt or sky than a sunburst. Funny how things turn out sometimes.

(to be continued: see the next card in the next post…)

So, dear friend who is moving (you know who you are)…these are for you! Everything IS going to be alright. And you are loved.

Linking up with Simon Says Stamp challenge.

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Everything’s Going to be Alright, you’ll see

By KariV on May 31, 2013 in DIY, Paper Crafting

This one is perhaps my favorite of the two. I glittered up the clouds a bit and added a yellow ribbon. Then I used some liquid pearls in pink to add dimension on the sentiment stripe. Fun!

I love this saying. LOVE. I have my husband trained to tell me “Everything’s going to be ok!” when I ask him to tell me “something.” I know that I might worry too much, and this really calms me down. So this card is so endearing to me. 🙂 And I love the sky when it is filled with clouds. It is so peaceful. This paper with clouds is adorable!

So, dear friend who is moving (you know who you are)…these are for you! Everything IS going to be alright. And you are loved.

Linking up with Simon Says Stamp challenge.

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Taste Test Tuesday — Chocolate Molten Lava Cake Recipe (versus Mini Chocolate Souffles)

By KariV on May 28, 2013 in Dessert, Recipes, Taste Test Tuesday, Valentines

This Taste Test Tuesday was very exciting and quite close! In fact, both of these recipes are SO delicious, that I would recommend trying them both out for yourself! Last week, I posted the Foolproof Mini Chocolate Souffle with Chocolate Sauce recipe. And today, I will review both contestants for you and share the Chocolate Molten Lava Cake recipe. Does this sound delicious or what?!

I can hardly wait! First, let me share with you this delicious little Molten Lava Cake recipe. I got it from my daughter, Amber, and she made it as one of her goals last summer. She was working on her recipe book (getting ready to leave the nest…which I was not happy about). But I WAS happy about her sharing her delicious recipes with me, including this gem of a chocolate dream recipe. 🙂

I call these the darlings of all mini cakes…I mean, just look at that cute little cake! It’s adorable with it’s crown of whipped cream and sprinkle of powdered sugar. I added a strawberry, too, since it was competing with those little Chocolate Souffles and needed to be on a “level” playing field.

If you were to compare the ease of whipping these Lava Cakes up versus making up the Mini Chocolate Souffles, I’d say the Lava Cakes win. All you have to do is melt a little butter with the chocolate (in the microwave!), add the powdered sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour and Voila! You’ve got your batter all ready to put into the oven. Then you just cook them up for 12-13 minutes, pull them out and invert onto a little plate. Easy. (Note: I let them cool for about a minute before inverting them onto the plate)

If you add the whipped cream too early, it melts a little down the sides, but these Molten Lava Cakes are BEST when eaten warm and fresh out of the oven!

Doesn’t that still look so yummy!? I really don’t mind that dripping whipped cream. Just let me at it!

The insides of the cake are all gooey and molten. So smooth and chocolatey. Wow.

These little darlings are delicious with whipped cream and/or ice cream! Yep, you can put a scoop of ice cream right on the top and sort of let it melt down into the cake. So. Good.

But before you make these yourself, a little note of WARNING: do not overbake these. Really. It is easy to do (not that I would know), and it RUINS these cakes! They become dense and spongy and not delicious. Seriously. It’s bad. The last batch I only cooked for just over 11 minutes to make sure the inside was still melted and yummy. You will know these are just about done when the sides of them look cooked (like cake) and the insides are still a little soft, but not jiggly. Every oven is a little different, so you’re gonna have to test this out for your oven.

Ok, so here’s the recipe. Are you going to try this one?

**RECIPE HERE

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Now, with all that delicious description done, I must now announce the winner of the taste test! I didn’t forget. But I must remind you that BOTH of these recipes are so good, and the winner only barely edged out over the other.

They both have a delicious chocolately flavor. They both have melty amazing centers. They both are just exactly the right size. They both are perfect for a special occasion dessert.

But the winner was the one with a little sugar coating on the outside, and an amazing ganache center. It won out a little bit because the cake part was delicious, but then pushed over the top with an addition of the melted chocolate to make it so smooth and so decadent…(my mouth waters a little). And the winner is still delicious the next day…it can be refrigerated and then warmed up again and it tastes just as good as the first day!

I guess the extra effort for the chocolate souffle really did shine in this competition! Congratulations to the Mini Chocolate Souffles with Chocolate Sauce. While I still love the Chocolate Molten Lava cakes, I love these more (and the other judges agree). Try the recipe here and see if YOU agree.