Homemade Caramel Sauce

I recently decided to start experimenting with candy and other sorts of confections. Yes another mania to add to the rest friends~;o) One of the first recipes I decided to try was for Homemade Caramel dipping Sauce. The results were mouth watering! This sauce is fantastic for dipping fruits and drizzling on top of ice-cream! Let me share the recipe with you:

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup butter
2. 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (we like dark brown sugar best!)
3. 3/4 cup light corn syrup
4. 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla
6. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter on low heat.
2. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and milk, stirring to combine. Increase heat to medium (or perhaps just below medium).
3. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.* Use a spoon that won't melt -- the caramel gets pretty hot!
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and cinnamon.
5. Serve warm or cold with apple slices, or drizzle over ice cream.

This recipe is very easy to follow and will yield approximately 3-4 cups of Caramel Sauce. I was able to easily fill up three 8 oz. jars in one batch! These also make great food gifts, enjoy!

We Love Tarpon Springs!

This past weekend we decided to leave town for the day (well some what leave town~:o) If your ever in Central Florida and you have the time, visit Tarpon Springs! This small tourist strip is especially known for their Sponge Docks, (The BEST sponges on the planet people, I'm not kidding!) variety of Greek Restaurants, (Including Hellas yummy Greek Bakery shop) The Fudge Factory (best fudge on the planet too~;o) a small Aquarium where you can visit the sea animals, and many other personal small shops and boutiques! When I visit Tarpon Springs I always try to remember to pick up some homemade soap, all natural sponges, fudge, and seashells! There is also a sweet little Trolley that gives tours of the Tarpon Springs vicinity and talks much about the history of the town too! Here are a few pictures I took while we were there. It is definitely worth checking out! Until next time friends!

Something for Mamas & Grandmas.....

I had the pleasure of creating these lovelies for a very dear friend of mine! I had so much fun working with her to come up with the perfect heirloom keepsake design for each beautiful piece! Thank you for letting me share them with you! Wanna create your own? I would be happy to help you with this! Visit www.studiobebeboutique.com today and place your order, or contact me at mystudiobebe@yahoo.com and I will be happy to build the perfect design just for you or your special loved one! Until next time friends~:o)

A busy start...

to the Autumn Season indeed! Happy Fall Ya'll~;o) Yes I know it has been a while, no I have not been in hiding~;o) I just recently received a wonderful job offer at a new Early Childhood Facility! I have been very busy with the transition and haven't had the time to write much, I am really hoping to blog more this season though. After much consideration I have decided to take a break from school. I really need one! No I am not quitting, I will eventually continue to persue my Bachelors, I'll keep you posted~;o) I have also decided to move my handstamped jewelry formerly known as (Southern Bliss Jewelry) over to Studio Bebe Boutique, the big move will take place as soon as things in the work world calm down. Southern Bliss Jewelry will simply become "Southern Bliss" a destash store and paper goods store. Yes I have added a couple of more new manias to my expanding little studio! These new manias include: Home/Party Banners, Tissue Paper Flowers, and Gift Tags. I have included a couple of pictures to show you what I've been up to and what will eventually make it's way into my Southern Bliss Etsy shop. I am hoping to open the store late October if not sooner, we will see~:o) Until then my good friends, stay tuned!

Fall Accessories are here!

As promised, here are some pictures of my newest Fall accessories including Halloween~:o) Wanna purchase one? Go here: http://www.studiobebe.etsy.com Stay tuned for more new Fall accessories coming soon! A special Thank you goes out to my lovely models Cayla and Emma, and also to Beth for the beautiful pictures. Thank you Cayla, Emma, and Beth!

well it has just been....

a VERY busy past month! So sorry I haven't been able to write lately. Between teacher work week, lesson plans for the kids, USF orientation (yes I have decided to continue~;o) and lots of orders I just haven't had a chance to get on and blog much. Here are a couple of really fun orders I just completed, sorry but the pictures do these beauties no justice! I promise though, I have some great Fall accessories coming and I will post soon! In the mean time, you can find a couple of these fun little clippies in my etsy store! Until next time.....

Back from Rhode Island~:o)

Hey Family & Friends, We are back from Rhode Island! It was a very exciting and busy vacation! We visited Providence, Rhode Island, Cape Cod and Boston, Massachussetts, and Mystic, Connecticut! Here are a couple of pictures from the trip. To see the whole slideshow visit the following link: http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=117897812

New Etsykids Community Forum

Hi Ya'll! Are you an Etsykids member? Have you seen the new Etsykids community forum at http://www.ning.com/? Check it out if you accidently missed your invite! Don't forget to join your Etsykids regional too! Are you in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida? Join us at Etsykids Atlantic Southeast! See ya there!

(Pictures courtesy of The Etsykids Team and Flickr)

YUM! Candy Shoppe!

Looking for some yummy accessories to add to your little one's wardrobe this summer? Try our Candy Shoppe bracelet and clippies set! Created with all the colors of the rainbow in mind, this fun collection is sure to turn heads! Want your own candy set? Visit the shoppe! www.studiobebe.etsy.com A special thank you goes out to Adelynn and Brandi for the stunning photography work! Thank you Adelynn and Brandi!

A Pirate and a Sasquatch!

My four year olds are gonna get a kick out of these guys! I just purchased this adorable little Bunny Pirate and Sasquatch from cherylasmith on Etsy! I can't wait to receive them! What fun little gifts these make! And teachers, these are just great for those summer songs and fingerplays! Wanna get your own? CLICK HERE! These are the finds of the evenings! Until next time darlings!

(Pictures courtesy of Cherlasmith on Etsy)

Southern Bliss~;o)

I am excited to announce the grand opening of our new etsy shop SOUTHERN BLISS! Featuring high quality beautiful and unique hand stamped Artisan Jewelry! To find these lovelies click on the link: www.southernbliss.etsy.com Look for more of our fine selections to debute this week! Happy shopping! ~xoxo~Designing Diva~:o)

Emma Models.....

Our new personalized keepsake name bracelets! Your choice of up to eight letter blocks, birthstone color, and charm! Just perfect for birthdays, bridal, communions, and many other special occasions! Want to place an order? Visit my etsy store and start building your beautiful heirloom bracelet today! A special Thank you goes out to lovely Emma for modeling our name bracelet collection, and to Beth for the beautiful pictures! Thank you Emma and Beth! To see more of Beth's stunning work visit: http://www.bethophotography.com/index2.php

Adelynn Models.....

Studio Bebe Boutique's Spring/Summer Bridal Collection!!!!! Here are some simply stunning sneak peek photos of our Bridal Jewelry Collection from Traina Photography! I cannot say enough how absolutely breath taking these photos turned out! A special Thank you goes out to lovely Adelynn for modeling our Spring/Summer Bridal Collection, and to Brandi Traina for the amazing photos! Thank you Adelynn and Brandi! To view more of Brandi's Incredible work visit: www.trainaphotography.com

Etsy Treasury Feature!

Hi Ya'll! I am excited to share with you that today I was featured in "The best of whats around" etsy treasury! Look for my Bubblegum Jewels Hair Bling in the etsy treasury or in the Studio Bebe Boutique Etsy Shop today! A special Thank you goes out to sugarsnapshots for the feature! Thank you sugarsnapshots!

20 Sardines and a baseball cap.....

were this past weekend's catches of the day! We headed out to Fort De Soto beach on Mothers Day and did some yummy grilling and fishing off the pier! The menu for the cookout included: ribs (my favorite), wings (my next favorite), Emeril sausages (YUM! especially the apple glazed ones!), pork, potatoes, salad, and bread. It was quite the feast~:o) I also caught my first fish ever! That is if you want to include sardines into the fishing category lol! I did the catching and snugglebear did the unhooking.....uck. I caught about 20 sardines and snugglebear's dad's baseball cap! Yup, the wind was kickin too and blew it into the water but I used my handy dandy beginners skills and somehow managed to fish it out! (Translated, got lucky cause the wind blew the hat in my direction.) It was quite a weekend! And now I must go tend to the scathing sunburn that I acquired during my stay in Fort Desoto.....ugg. Until nextime friends~;o)

My Turn~;o)

Wow what a week! What a graduation! So "finally" you say? well, actually no~:o) I think I'm gonna persue that Bachelors too~;o) Here are some highlights of the evening~:o) To see the slideshow and more pictures of the grand event, visit my myspace. Toodles for now!