Lindsey is not a natural-born crafter, so she does a lot of trial and error on her cards. In making a card for her parents, she printed several copies of the most recent family photograph that included her parents, her brother Jack and herself. She decided to use a red card for the base then she chose a piece of green paper that she crumpled up into a tight ball and then smoothed out to give it texture. She trimmed the green paper so that it was a quarter of an inch smaller than the red card and then centered it on the cover of the card and used the glue stick to fasten it in place. Next she took her photograph and glued it to a red piece of card stock. She then trimmed the red card stock so that it framed the photograph by a quarter of an inch. Then she glued the photo on top of the green paper on the front of the card, making it just a little off center. In the extra space on the cover she made a bow of natural-colored raffia and used a glue gun to fasten it in place. To finish it, she put a shiny green button in the center of the raffia bow. Once dried, the card was ready to send to her parents.

Recipe

Recipe

NANCY’S RASPBERRY PETIT FOURS

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

11/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup of milk

3 egg whites

Seedless raspberry jam

Glaze:

32 ounces confectioner’s sugar

2/3 cup of water

2 teaspoons orange extract

Garnish with candy beads or frosting rosebuds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, and extract until fluffy. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; slowly add to the wet mixture, alternately adding with the milk until well blended. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks then gently fold into the batter. Pour batter into the baking dish and bake for 20–25 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Once cake is completely cooled, cut the cake into 11/2-inch squares. Remove the squares from the baking dish and set on a large cookie sheet about two inches apart. Once on the cookie sheet, slice each square into two layers and put a teaspoon of raspberry jam between the two layers.

In a large bowl, combine the glaze ingredients. Beat until glaze is a smooth consistency. Now pour the glaze evenly over the tops and sides of each cake square. Make sure they are coated completely. Garnish the top with candy beads or frosting rosebuds or the garnish of your choice. Allow to dry. Makes 3 dozen.

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