Testing and reviewing portion controlled ice cream treats.

I was offered a chance to sample some ice cream for review via Influenster. Well that's not a difficult task, lol.

The product was Magnum Mini bars. I have only ever had one Magnum bar before. It was a nice treat, but a bit too rich and chocolatey for my preference.

Can that be a thing? Yeah, it actually can. To me, after a certain amount of sugar, all I taste is sweetness.

The mini bar varieties my local HEB supermarket carried were either double dip of chocolate with a layer of caramel between, or milk chocolate dipped with almonds. I chose the latter.

The mini bars are about half the size of a regular Magnum bar. About 4-6 bites. And to be honest, that's plenty for a moderate treat. I don't follow a strict diet, but do try and indulge in moderation.

I liked the vanilla ice cream inside, it was very rich and custard-y. And the fact that it was coated with only one layer of chocolate was a plus too. I like nuts with chocolate, and they didn't skimp on the almond pieces at all. Packaging is a little fancier than the usual, but they're selling a premium indulgant product, it fits.

My least favorite part was the milk chocolate coating. It was very sweet. I prefer bittersweet chocolate, so it's not what I'm used to. My favorite part was the almonds. Like I said, they don't skimp on them at all, and they helped balance the sweetness of the chocolate.

Portion wise, I think they were perfect. Enough to really enjoy a treat, but moderate enough to work into a balanced diet. I was satisfied with one bar, no need to reach for another. But then again, sweet treats aren't my weakness. Things like chips and fries are what I can't put down.

Will I choose them again when I shop for ice cream? If they're on sale, or I have a strong taste for something really sweet. They're a nice treat, but I don't find myself craving them.

Do I recommend them? Well, they're delicious, and portion controlled. If you can make that work with your way of eating, give them a try too.

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Little cuties that live in my aloe vera plant

Early Valentine's Day present - Perfume Sampler, and fragrance talk.

So this came in the mail today, an early Valentine's Day / Anniversary present from my husband. The concept is, you get a box with a bunch of sample size spray vials of different fragrances, and it includes a voucher that you take to a Sephora store and use it to get a small full size bottle (most are one ounce) of one of the sample fragrances.  Which is a great gift for somebody who loves fragrance.

And I do love fragrance. I have loved fragrance since I was only allowed to wear Tinkerbell cologne and Love's Baby Soft. Which is most of my life.

I have no idea which one of these fragrances I will pick to use my voucher with. I asked for it assuming that I would want Thierry Mugler's "Alien" because I tried that in a department store during the holidays and loved it. But the more I sniff at the samples, the less sure I am of which one I like best.

Tom Ford's "Black Orchid" is right up my alley. As is Elizabeth and James' "Nirvana Black".  And some of  the softer and fresher ones might be good for hot weather. I guess all I can do is try a different one every day, narrow it down to a top 3, then use up those sample vials to make my decision.

My all time favorite fragrances come from the Oriental category. Woods, spice, heavier florals, amber, vanilla, musk, etc... I don't like soft florals as much, nor do I like sweet candy scents as much. Fresh and clean fragrances, especially tangy citrus or green herbal ones are good for me when it's hot. But I really prefer spicy, woodsy fragrances with some vanilla and amber. Jasmine is one of the few flowers I really like, along with ylang-ylang and gardenia.

That being said, I like to have a little bit of diversity in my fragrance wardrobe for days I'm in the mood for something sweeter, more feminine, softer, or fresh and clean.

Spring theme ATC

So, here is the final product.  I  swapped out the orange strip for a  yellow one. I just have to make 6 more then on to my next set.  

I used a patterned paper from the craft store for the base, adhered to an ATC blank. I took a Gelly stardust clear sparkle pen and traced around the flower vines on the patterned paper for some sparkle. Then I stacked some Recollections brand paper flowers in the colors scheme I picked and traced lines on them with the sparkle pen and attached them in a stack with a white enamel brad from Recollections, also. The tag at the bottom is a basic yellow cardstock to match the yellow in the flowers, and the letters are silver paper cut on the Cricut. I edged the card and letter tag with silver ink to pick up the sparkle some and bring it all together. The sparkle is a lot more subtle in person than with the flash photograph. But it adds a little something to the design. 

Spring theme ATC (artist trading card)

My spring themed ATC for a swap. It's just the prototype, I have to make 8 more like it. Also the silver letters are my first project using the Cricut machine. I think I'm going to go back and change it up a bit. Use the same yellow on the letter strip as is in the flower. I don't know what I was thinking.  I've got a bad case of crafters' block.

Projects I'm working on. Lots of crafting and swappin' going on!

So I belong to a couple of online craft and gift swap groups. I signed up for a few recently to do a variety of different projects.

Artist trading cards, charms, an altered tin, and a gift box.

I figured that having specific projects with due dates would motivate me to be creative again.

I also got some new supplies to use. I finally got myself an electronic die cutting machine. I went with the Cricut Explore because I found it for a good price, and it seemed the easiest to use, based on my past experience with programs used to make cards and other printable projects. All I had to do was plug it in, set it up, and get working on a project. Later today I need to go back to the craft store and buy a little palette knife or similar tool to use to pick the small pieces off. I used it make a bunch of letters tonight and my fingernails are not up to the task of picking them off the sticky mat. I had been wanting an electronic die cutter for a long time but was not willing to spend the money on it until I was well and truly certain that I would actually use the thing enough to justify the expense.

I also need to get a refill for my Xyron so I can make the letters self-sticking, and not have to try and glue them down with a fine-tip adhesive pen. If they even make the refills for it. All I have is the tiny X shaped one. I may have a refill on hand, but when it's used up, that's it.

I'll post photos as I get things completed.

Halloween related stuff: Yes I know it's only July. (Crafts, shopping, and related thoughts)

I saw Halloween merchandise in a store yesterday.
And I got really excited!

I was in Michael's, looking for supplies for an altered art project for a swap I'm participating in, and saw that there were some random bits of Halloween merchandise on a few end caps around the store. Not a lot, but enough to get me excited. Because Halloween is my favorite holiday. And knowing it's coming up means that the weather *will* eventually be cooling off. Which is even more of a reason to get excited.

Usually I'm happy to wait until the beginning of September before thinking much about Halloween though. But I had a reason to take notice this year.

The main reason why I was looking around in Michael's was to find supplies for an altered Halloween themed shadow box swap I'm participating in. You take a shadow box with compartments (or take the open kind and make compartments in it) and decorate the individual compartments. Some are deeper and have more objects in them. Some are shallower and use more scrapbook or papercrafting kinds of techniques. Mine is going to be on the shallower side I believe and a blend of papercraft and objects. The person I'm crafting for wants something Goth and spooky/creepy/scary. I had an idea and went through all of my craft supplies and pulled out everything I thought would work with it so I can go from there. I also ordered a few key pieces of creepy embellishments for it, and they should be here next week. I've got about 6 weeks to finish gathering supplies and putting it together. There are a couple very specifically Halloween things I want to use on it and I will just have to wait before they show up in stores. But things like colored paper, paint, inks, etc... can be bought whenever, so I figured I might as well pick up what I need as I can find it that way I'm not rushing around like mad trying to source it all and put it together at the last minute.