And the lucky winner is...

I know everyone wanted to win some of Lynn's  beautiful Spoonflower  fabric, but alas there can only be one winner here and that lucky winner is Deb from WoolenSails!  Woo Hoo! Deb looks like you'll be getting some Bluebirds on a Wire!


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heARTfest blog hop day 7

Get your heart on for this round of LOVE infused tutorials!

Melly's blog is temporarily out of commission so she is guest blogging over at Lyric's blog.

Check out Melanie Testa's, Vintage Inspired Valentine card

Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Traci Bunkers, Printed Heart Ice Cube Trays: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1
Diana Trout's, Woven Heart Valentines Card
Judy Coates Perez, Sunday, Jan 29, Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes
Lyric Kinard's,  Lovin' my Thermofax Screens
Kelli Nina Perkins, Heart shaped felted soap

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1  Valentines Message Pillows
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heARTfest blog hop Day 6

Get your heart on for this round of LOVE infused tutorials!

Check out Kelli Nina Perkins, Heart shaped felted soap

Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Traci Bunkers, Printed Heart Ice Cube Trays: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1
Diana Trout's, Woven Heart Valentines Card
Judy Coates Perez, Sunday, Jan 29, Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes
Lyric Kinard's,  Lovin' my Thermofax Screens

Melanie Testa, Tuesday, Jan 31

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1  Valentines Message Pillows
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heARTfest Blog Hop Day 5 Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda           

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup semisweet chocolate baking chips

1 cup salad oil

4 large eggs

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in zucchini, and chocolate chips. In a small bowl, beat oil to mix with eggs; add to dry mixture and stir to moisten well.

Line two large jelly roll pans with parchment paper, crease corners to fit and spread half the batter in each pan. Bake in a 325° oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.

While cake is cooling make peppermint cream filling.

Peppermint Cream

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1  1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

red food coloring

Cream the butter with a mixer on medium speed until soft about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, the flour, and the vanilla extract, and whisk until there are no lumps. Over medium heat, slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup milk, whisking constantly, and cook until the mixture comes to a low boil. Then reduce the heat to low and keep whisking for a few more minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken.

Immediately remove the pan from the heat, but keep stirring and cool to room temperature. If necessary, place the pan over a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and allow the mixture to cool.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add peppermint to combine.

After cake has cooled use a heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out cake hearts and place on a clean piece of parchment. One pan had thicker hearts so I made those the bottoms and the thinner hearts the tops.

Place peppermint cream in a large ziplock bag, snip corner and squeeze out cream onto half the hearts and place a second heart on top.

Now you could stop here or you could keep going by cutting some heart stencils and and dusting the hearts with powdered sugar.

 What can I say, Indigo and I were doing this together, lol

Indigo perfected the dusting process by finding if you brush the remaining powder sugar off the stencil before lifting it you get a cleaner design.

Here's some of the stencils we made

 Enjoy!

Check out all these LOVE infused tutorials
Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Traci Bunkers, Printed Heart Ice Cube Trays: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1
Diana Trout's, Woven Heart Valentines Card
Lyric Kinard's,  Lovin' my Thermofax Screens
Judy Coates Perez  Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Kelli Nina Perkins, Monday, Jan 30 Heart shaped felted soap

Melanie Testa, Tuesday, Jan 31

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1 Valentines Message Pillows 

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Removing Color article Part 2

The second article in my 2 part series on alternative methods for removing color from fabric is in the February March issue of Quilting Arts magazine. This article focuses on several techniques using DeColourant, a product that removes color but also has the ability to put color back in at the same time. Because it is a thickened paste it can be applied with a paintbrush, painted over stencils or used with a thermofax screen. There are so many interesting possibilites to be explored with this product.

In the same issue there is also an article by Kathy York on making fabric houses with pictures of the Artist Village exhibit that she curated. As well as an article about the Between the Spaces exhibit.

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heARTfest Blog Hop Day 4

Get your heart on for this round of LOVE infused tutorials!

Check out Lyric Kinard's,  Lovin' my Thermofax Screens

Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Traci Bunkers, Printed Heart Ice Cube Trays: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1
Diana Trout's, Woven Heart Valentines Card
Judy Coates Perez, Sunday, Jan 29, Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Kelli Nina Perkins, Monday, Jan 30 Heart shaped felted soap

Melanie Testa, Tuesday, Jan 31

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1  Valentines Message Pillows 

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heArtfest Blog Hop Day 3

Get your heart on for this round of LOVE infused tutorials!

Check out Diana Trout's, Woven Heart Valentines Card

Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Traci Bunkers, Printed Heart Ice Cube Trays: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1
Lyric Kinard, Saturday, Jan 28 Lovin' my Thermofax Screens

Judy Coates Perez, Sunday, Jan 29, Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Kelli Nina Perkins, Monday, Jan 30 Heart shaped felted soap

Melanie Testa, Tuesday, Jan 31

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1  Valentines Message Pillows 

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heARTfest Blog Hop Day 2

Get your heart on for this round of LOVE infused tutorials!

Check out Traci Bunkers, Printed Heart Ice Cube Trays: Quick Printed Backgrounds, Part 1

Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Diana Trout, Friday, Jan 27, Woven Heart Valentines Card

Lyric Kinard, Saturday, Jan 28 Lovin' my Thermofax Screens

Judy Coates Perez, Sunday, Jan 29, Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Kelli Nina Perkins, Monday, Jan 30 Heart shaped felted soap

Melanie Testa, Tuesday, Jan 31

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1  Valentines Message Pillows 

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Off the Print Table fabric blog hop

My friend Lynn Krawczyk has been making fabric and you could be the lucky winner of a fat quarter of it! Just leave a comment over the next 5 days and on Tuesday I'll randomly pick a winner.

Here's what Lynn has to say:

"I never feel more connected to my art then when I print my own fabric. The only down side to it is that I often find myself wishing I had the space to print yardage and to duplicate the ones that I fall madly in love with. Now with Spoonflower I can!

And not only that, I can make it available for anyone else who finds it interesting and inspiring! There’s no better way to celebrate the opening of a new shop then to do a giveaway and not only ONE giveaway but FIVE!

Go take a visit to my Spoonflower shop 

and pick out which print you like best. Leave a comment on this blog post and you’ll be in the winning to win a free fat quarter of the one you chose. Easy! And make sure you visit all the blogs on the blog hop for a better chance to win!"

Blog Hop Schedule

Mon Jan 23 - Lynn Krawczyk

Tues Jan 24 - Jo James

Wed Jan 25 - Kelli Nina Perkins

Thurs Jan 26 - Judy Coates Perez

Fri Jan 27 - Judi Hurwitt

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heARTfest Blog Hop Day 1

Get your heart on for this round of LOVE infused tutorials!

Check out  Jane LaFazio's Sketchbook page to Valentine Card (& envelope too)

Traci Bunkers, Thursday, Jan 26

Diana Trout, Friday, Jan 27, Woven Heart Valentines Card

Lyric Kinard, Saturday, Jan 28 Lovin' my Thermofax Screens

Judy Coates Perez, Sunday, Jan 29, Chocolate Peppermint Cream Heart Cakes

Kelli Nina Perkins, Monday, Jan 30 Heart shaped felted soap

Melanie Testa, Tuesday, Jan 31

Tracie Lynn Huskamp, Wednesday February 1  Valentines Message Pillows 

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