BAKED CARAMEL APPLES

Apples are not my thing. Never have been.
Caramel, now thats my thing.

You will need:
Apples
Chopped Nuts (any kind)
Bits of caramel

Butter/Margarine

Step 1.) Cut the top off the apple hollow it out and remove the core & seeds.
Step 2.) Fill the apple with nuts & caramel. I used chopped walnuts on these, which are fine, but peanuts would work better. Especially if you aren't the biggest fan of walnuts (me). I
also used regular caramels that i had, and just cut them into 1/4ths. Caramel chips
would be fine.
Step 3.) Put a dollop/slice/dab of butter on top of the walnut/caramel mixture. Butter makes all
things delicious.

Step 4.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes

Voila!
(sorry for the poor picture quality & the child bathing in the background)

At this point I decided to take the deliciousness to a whole other level and sliced the apple open and added a little brown sugar & cinnamon. It was a decision I did not regret.

So good, so simple, plus you get your apple a day in!!

And the WINNER is....

There were 24 entries....

and the winner is....

Congratulations Melanie!!!!
I am sending your information off to the CSN Store rep and they should contact you soon!!!

Thanks to all who entered!

Did you do it???

Umm if you did not enter giveaway below....you need to!
and if you didn't go to the other blog and enter as well....

Well YOU SHOULD!!!!

Because you need to comment on each one...they are SEPARATE Giveaways!!!Click the pic...it will take you right there...

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!
(almost)

CSN Stores GIVEAWAY!!!

CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from a nesting tables to fantastic fitness equipment to cookware!

I LOVE CSN STORES!!!!

(I got my food dehydrator from them)

I had such a great experience!!!

CSN Stores is graciously offering an Oh Snaps reader

a $45 gift card...

ALL you have to do is leave a comment with your email address below and what you would use the giftcard for.

Contest ends Friday October 1st!

(winner announced October 2nd)

P.S. It might be in your best interest to check out my other blog too...(wink wink)

Covered Letters

This is my go-to bridal shower gift for family and close friends.
I love to make the letters that will spell the couples last name.
This example below is the one's I just made for Jadon and Amanda.

{don't know why I can't turn the picture}
So I get the letters at Hobby Lobby or Michael's

Any wood or cardboard letters work. Find the paper you want. I normally try to coordinate with their living room colors.
I normally alternate a solid and then pattern.
{Honestly picking the paper and laying out the way I want the paper laid out is the toughest part.}
Trace the letter on the paper. Both upside down.
Cut on the inside of the trace. This will save you time in trying to trim down the letter.
Then Mod Podge the paper to the letter.
Put the mod podge on the letter and then lay the cut paper on top.
Smooth any bubbles and let dry.
After it has dried. Take some sand paper and sand down the excess paper on the edges.
Then stain the edges. I normally do brown or black paint {just craft paint}
and mix it with water and use a sponge.
I find a ripped sponge works best {that yellow thing on the top of the plate}
It allows a messier look and gives you more control of what you want to do.
There is no rhyme or pattern to follow.
Just stain the edges. Make it messy.
I don't think there is any way you can go wrong here.

Then do another layer of Mod Podge on the top.
A nice layer works good. It will dry clear.
Once dry you can embellish.
Use buttons, ribbons, brads, beads, gems, whatever you can find.
A nice rule of them is start embellishing the solids.
Then if if you want to you can add a small embellishment to the patterned letters. And there you have it. The final product.

There is no limit to what you can make!
You can spell out anything or just do an initial.
Super easy and fun!!!

Call it love, call it an obsession . . .

I call it a new hobby! Digital Scrapbooking. I love it and have spent a lot of time on it recently.

Here's what I learned:

First you need a program. I bought Digital Scrapbook Artist from Costco.

This program comes with a few kits

with digital scrapbook images,

as well as information about Daisytrail.

(Daisytrail is a website for those who love digital scrapbooking.)

Next, you pick a kit (or kits) that follow the theme you want to scrapbook.

pick your background,

materials

embellishments

photos

text

[Digital Scrapbook Artist also has a photo editing tool and lots of effects you can add]

Design it how you want, and you're done. *No Mess to clean up!!!

This is a page I made using Digital Scrapbook Artist.

(The picture was taken by Callie of Callie's Gallery)

Lastly, print your pages.

Print them from home.

Find a store or website that prints scrapbook pages.

I recently ordered from Shutterfly.

Shutterfly can print your pages in a photobook, in lots of sizes.

I was fairly happy with the quality,

but I would recommend that you double check each preview

to make sure none of your text or images were cut off.

More Websites

The Shabby Shoppe

Cute Links for You

Digital Scrapbook Experts

A word of advice . . .

When I went to upload my pages on Shutterfly,

I learned they needed to be in jpeg format.

In order to get them that way,

I had to export them from Digital Scrapbook Artist.

*make sure they get saved in a file you can find:)

SALSA!

My first attempt at homemade salsa happened just a few years ago, and I'm sad it took me so long in life to come up with a recipe that I like. But now that I've got it just how I like it, I'll share.

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Large Tomatoes

1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper/Orange if available
1 Bunch of Scallions (those are those long green onions)

1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Jalapeño
1 Yellow Onion
1 Red Onion
1 Head of Garlic
2 Small Cans of Tomato Sauce
Salt/Pepper
1 Large Avocado (optional)
2 Lemons
2 Limes

After I wash everything I start by cutting up the tomatoes, small pieces of course. This is the only thing besides the Avocado that I cut by hand. Everything else i use the food processor to chop up.
So I chop up all the different types of onions. With the scallions I only use the white parts up to where it starts to turn dark green. With the Red/Yellow onion I use the whole onion, but you can put in as little/much as you prefer.

After getting rid of the stem & seeds of the bell peppers they are also chopped and added. I should add that you do not HAVE to add all the different assortments of bell peppers. I just like the color and taste they add.
I chop and add about 1/2 of the head of garlic.
With the jalapeño I advice to to use some caution. Last batch I made I added 1 whole jalapeño and it was almost too hot for me (but i am a big baby). This time I added half of one and while it had it's spicy moments it was a pretty good level of hotness.
Avocado I cut by hand and add in.
Lemons/Limes give it a little zest as well as keep the avocado from turning brown, but you can add as little as you like.
With the cilantro I usually cut most of the top leaves off and chop them up. But some people don't like cilantro, so this could be optional as well.
Lastly I add salt/pepper and the 2 cans of tomato sauce- the sauce helps add juice.

And that's it! The best part about the salsa is how fresh it tastes, and how healthy you feel for eating all those vegetables.

This recipe makes A LOT though, so if you don't think you'll store it or use it all, I say half it. Or call me up and I'll take some of it off your hands!