A Few Disney Princess Scrapbooking Finds (and a couple of good buys) at Joann Fabrics

Come link up for the Tiggerific Tuesday Blog Hop  . . . or Bounce hosted by Magical Mouse Schoolhouse, Return to Disney and Mouze Kateerz.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers.

Today over at my Disney blog, Pursuing the Magic, Mary from Capturing Magical Memories and MC Digital Designs is sharing her safari-inspired scrapbook layouts.  Her posts have really given me some inspiration to get going on my scrapbooks.  So armed with my 10% off my entire purchase coupon for President's Day, my daughters and I made our way to Joann Fabrics to get a few supplies I needed to work on our Kilimanjaro Safaris scrapbook page.  When I got there I found a couple of exciting things, which doesn't happen too often at our Joann's because it is really small and rarely stocked.  (Though they just completely redid the store, so I am hoping that means lots of new products to go with the new look!).

First, they had several of the Cuttlebug embossing folders on clearance, so I was able to pick up a few I did not have.  I actually only own two, so I am excited to add the argyle embossing folder ($2.67), as well as the complete Freshly Picked set ($8.97 for 4 embossing folders in 2 different sizes), to my collection.  Maybe it is a sign I need to buy the Freshly Picked cartridge!

Our next stop was to find paper for a princess project I am working on for the girls, but I was looking for shades of blue.  I noticed that they have replaced the Paper Company Value packs of paper (I loved these!) with Core'dinations Premium Cardstock.  Within these premium stacks they had several themed sets.  I chose "The Prince," which included 5 sheets of 5 different colors, including the shade of blue I think I need.  Even better than finding the blue that I needed, the "old" Paper Company stacks were in the clearance section for $1.97 for 50 sheets of 8.5x11 paper.  I stocked up on those - they had the color themes Neutral, Brocade and Black & White left.


Finally, no trip to Joann's is complete without a stop at the Disney embellishments in the scrapbook aisle.  I love this section of the store. But today, I was quite excited to find Disney princess embellishments that included Tiana, Rapunzel and Mulan.  It is always easy to find Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, so I was excited to find the Disney Princess Die Cut Cardstock.  This set includes 118 pieces (see photo) and there are two of each image.  There are 10 princesses included in this one set.  The second set I found was a Disney Princess Dimensional Stickers set, which included 5 princesses (Tiana, Rapunzel, Ariel, Snow White and Mulan).  I am just excited to see more princess being included!

 I was excited to find Mulan, Tiana
and Rapunzel included in one set

This is the first set I have seen that includes
all of the Disney Princesses

Now to get to work!  If you are looking for a little scrapbooking inspiration today, make sure you check our Mary's website Capturing Magical Memories and her Etsy shop MC Digital Designs.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches (When It Is Too Cold to Fire Up the Smoker)

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I want to try to use my crock pot more, just for the convenience of being able to get dinner going in the morning and then have minimal work at dinner time and clean up.  For the Super Bowl this weekend, we had decided we were going to make pulled pork sandwiches for dinner.  Unfortunately, it is so cold that using our smoker to smoke the pork would be a lot of work to keep the heat up.  So, we are using the McCormick's Slow Cooker packet, BBQ Pulled Pork.  They have many other varieties, including soups and beef stew, that we have enjoyed as well.

The prep time for this recipe is about 5 minutes. Then it cooks for about 8 hours on low, though you could speed up the process by cooking it on high.  Considering it is the Super Bowl and we do not want to spend all out time in the kitchen or outside at the smoker, this is a great alternative for something that is easy and delicious.  There is even an alternative recipe on the packet to create spareribs instead of the pulled pork.

Chocolate Kahlua Trifle

I know this picture has nothing to
do with this dessert, but I
figure since my kids are dressed in
their Patriots clothes, I can use it
until I get a picture of the dessert!

This recipe is one of the easiest dessert recipes I have that is always a crowd pleaser!  There are so many versions of this recipe online, but this happens to be the one I use and love.  (Pictures coming soon - I will be making this for the Super Bowl this weekend!)

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 1/2 c. Kahlua
• 4c. Milk
• 1 pkg. Toffee Bits (if your store doesn't carry these, crush 3 to 4 Skor bars)
• 2 pkgs. Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 1-8oz. Cool Whip

1. Prepare and bake the cake according to package directions for a 13x9 size cake.  Cool to room temperature.
2. Pierce holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour Kahlua over cake.  Let stand for 2 hours.
3. Cut cake into 8 pieces.
4. Place 4 pieces in the bottom of a trifle bowl.
5. Prepare one package of chocolate pudding according to directions.  Pour over the cake in the trifle bowl.
6. Cover with one 8oz. container of Cool Whip.
7. Sprinkle half the toffee bits over the Cool Whip
8. Repeat steps 4-7 until all ingredients are used.
9. Chill until ready to serve

I recommend giving this at least an hour to sit before serving to give the pudding plenty of time to set.