Sept 29, 2023 — Ever notice that caring Cardies also tend to be great bakers? Not every Cardie, of course. But in my experience as a lucky recipient, baking does seem to fit the profile: A giving nature and talent for making life a little more tasty at every turn.

It was Contributing Cardie Judy Cortner who proposed we create, “More minicards!” last year. The big-hearted baker said she was in need of loving enclosures to deliver with her homemade goodies “for family, friends, neighbors, birthdays, congratulations, grief support …” And this brought a smile: Our great graphic designer Brandon had created the tempting image above before I called Judy earlier this week to ask what baked goods she was best known for. “Brownies!” she claimed. 😀

The synchronicity continued after I hung up with Judy … an hour later a neighbor popped by with a little plate of brownies she’d just made! “I know yours can’t be beat,” Barbara teased, because in our little apartment building on Miami Beach, we all laugh that — from eight units away — you can catch a whiff of my brownies when they’re baking. What makes them so special is that I double up and use two boxes of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix per 9” x 13” glass baking dish so we’re talking deeper and all-the-more decadent.

Below you’ll see a small batch of our 46 total minicard designs. These 2.5” x 3.5” cards with envelopes go a long way toward personalizing care packages of all kinds. ❤️

Now if you want to go a fun step further, fill small tins with handmade candied pecans and create you own label for the lid. Those of you who were part of the fan club for Cardie Oma Hannlis may remember H hand-filled the nearly 100 tins we sent you all at Christmas one year. 😍 Then, each time she was in the hospital, I’d make a dozen tins of candied pecans for her to give out to the nurses and attendants. They were all packed in a pretty shopping bag with a little sign that read, “Please take one and then take good care of this lady. Many people are nuts about her!”

Which brings us to the recent birthday of my hoot-of-a-handyman Bob. We featured him in this Cardie Newsletter back in May but, honestly, we could fill a book with tales of his crazy antics.

Naturally, when he invited me to his party hosted by another of his clients, I had to show up with a dozen of these personalized pecan tins! We all had a good laugh and he was duly honored. And the magnet version of the baking design made a great hostess gift.

I’ll close by demonstrating another fine quality of this Cardie Community: Sharing! Below is the scrumptious candied pecan recipe to enjoy and pass along as you wish. I’m off to bake some for this card maker’s muse, Judy! Have a good weekend.

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative

Candied Pecans

Beat until frothy:
1 tsp cold water
1 egg white

Stir in:
3 cups of pecan halves
and mix until well-coated.

Drop in:
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Stir until well-coated.

Spread on cookie sheet
lined with parchment paper. 

Bake at 325 for 15 minutes.

Stir to lift and separate, then let cool.

Enjoy!

Sept 29, 2023 — Ever notice that caring Cardies also tend to be great bakers? Not every Cardie, of course. But in my experience as a lucky recipient, baking does seem to fit the profile: A giving nature and talent for making life a little more tasty at every turn.

It was Contributing Cardie Judy Cortner who proposed we create, “More minicards!” last year. The big-hearted baker said she was in need of loving enclosures to deliver with her homemade goodies “for family, friends, neighbors, birthdays, congratulations, grief support …” And this brought a smile: Our great graphic designer Brandon had created the tempting image above before I called Judy earlier this week to ask what baked goods she was best known for. “Brownies!” she claimed. 😀

The synchronicity continued after I hung up with Judy … an hour later a neighbor popped by with a little plate of brownies she’d just made! “I know yours can’t be beat,” Barbara teased, because in our little apartment building on Miami Beach, we all laugh that — from eight units away — you can catch a whiff of my brownies when they’re baking. What makes them so special is that I double up and use two boxes of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix per 9” x 13” glass baking dish so we’re talking deeper and all-the-more decadent.

Below you’ll see a small batch of our 46 total minicard designs. These 2.5” x 3.5” cards with envelopes go a long way toward personalizing care packages of all kinds. ❤️

Now if you want to go a fun step further, fill small tins with handmade candied pecans and create you own label for the lid. Those of you who were part of the fan club for Cardie Oma Hannlis may remember H hand-filled the nearly 100 tins we sent you all at Christmas one year. 😍 Then, each time she was in the hospital, I’d make a dozen tins of candied pecans for her to give out to the nurses and attendants. They were all packed in a pretty shopping bag with a little sign that read, “Please take one and then take good care of this lady. Many people are nuts about her!”

Which brings us to the recent birthday of my hoot-of-a-handyman Bob. We featured him in this Cardie Newsletter back in May but, honestly, we could fill a book with tales of his crazy antics.

Naturally, when he invited me to his party hosted by another of his clients, I had to show up with a dozen of these personalized pecan tins! We all had a good laugh and he was duly honored. And the magnet version of the baking design made a great hostess gift.

I’ll close by demonstrating another fine quality of this Cardie Community: Sharing! Below is the scrumptious candied pecan recipe to enjoy and pass along as you wish. I’m off to bake some for this card maker’s muse, Judy! Have a good weekend.

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative

Candied Pecans

Beat until frothy:
1 tsp cold water
1 egg white

Stir in:
3 cups of pecan halves
and mix until well-coated.

Drop in:
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Stir until well-coated.

Spread on cookie sheet
lined with parchment paper. 

Bake at 325 for 15 minutes.

Stir to lift and separate, then let cool.

Enjoy!