Grosgrain and Glue-guns

Blue Moon Cupcakes

2012-03-25T21:57:00.004-04:00

Blue Moon Cupcakes

Over break, I made the most amazing cupcakes...they had a vanilla base and Blue Moon beer baked in the mix. I found the recipe on another blog, but I made some adjustments. These are made from scratch, but if you're pressed for time, I think you'd be able to just use a box mix and add the Blue Moon rather than water...but I'm not sure. Box recipes became popular because they were able to substitute oil for butter in a recipe-- but I don't know if adding beer into the mix will mess that up. Let me know how it goes if you decide to check that out!

Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour, sifted
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
* 1 orange, zested
* 2/3 cup Blue Moon, (Belgian White Beer)
* 2 tablespoons cream
(if you need to use milk, don't use any other type other than whole--
skim or lowfat will cause the cupcakes to crumble)

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

* 4 ounces of plain cream cheese, softened

* 1 stick of butter, softened

* 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

(I just squeezed the whole orange left over after zesting it)

Instructions:

* Mix all ingredients well and refrigerate.

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a separate bowl: sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside for later.

3. Cream together softened butter and sugar until well mixed.

4. Add one egg at a time until completely incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and ensure it's all incorporated.

5. Add vanilla and orange zest, and mix again.

6. Scoop batter into cupcake tins until halfway full.

7. Bake until cooked all the way through. Approximately 15-18 minutes.

8. When cooled, frost the cupcakes and enjoy.

My next craft project

2012-02-19T21:54:00.005-05:00

Kitten Krafts

Harp Adventures

2012-02-13T10:17:00.000-05:00

Boy did I go on an adventure....On Saturday last week, I took my harp into Lynchburg for it to be regulated by the world-renowned "harp whisper-er": Howard Bryan. I came by his studio in the morning, and I ended up staying for about three hours. I got to play all of these amazing harps-- it was like being a kid in a candy store. I can't believe I've been living so close to a harp legend all of this time, and I didn't even know it!! Here are some pictures of me playing some of his harps-- I feel so spoiled now. I don't feel like I can go back to my Salvi after playing these AMAZING Erards from the 1800's.

This is an Erard scroll-top from the late 1800's. It has to be the best harp I've ever played. I feel like I've tried on cashmere for the first time, and now I just cannot bear to wear cotton again.... Sigh... I think this harp is my soulmate. If I had the money, this would be my harp.

This is an Erard gothic style, this is the same style harp that we have in the Sweet Briar museum-- Daisy played the harp, and this is the same harp that she had!

This is an Erard Grecian style. I liked how petite this harp is...it was just my size! It actually has an eighth pedal which opens up the doors on the back of the soundboard to let the sound resonate. Howard said that was more of a marketing tool the harp makers utilized in the 1800's, and it isn't done anymore because it really doesn't have much of a use--it was more just for show. Still, it was really darling.

There it is-- me in harp heaven!! If anyone has an extra thirty-thousand dollars and is interested in buying me a harp... I'm going to point you Howard Bryan's way! HAHA

Transferring Text

2012-02-03T09:14:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I have a secret...Remember my: "Valentines Day Cards" post?

When I was doing that project, I probably went through three cards trying to perfect my handwriting. I was getting so frustrated, I decided I would use a trick I learned in my middle school art class to transfer text from one paper to another. I thought it would only be fair to share that trick with you all!

1. First, print off the text you would like to use:

2. Flip your paper over, and use a pencil and color over the the area of text you'd like to transfer:

3. Flip your paper over again, and place it directly over the sheet of paper you'd like to transfer the text to.

4. Get your pencil back out, and use it to trace over the original text.

5. You'll see that the pressure from the pencil is able to transfer onto whatever is underneath it.

6. To make it look professional, I went back over the pencil with a sharpie marker, and then used an eraser to get rid of any rouge pencil marks.

This is what my text looked like when I was all done! Pretty close to the original from the printable template right?

Knit Scarf

2012-02-03T08:44:00.000-05:00

I really wish I had the patience to start up crocheting again when I see fun scarves like this:

When Bad Crafts Happen To Good People

2012-02-01T00:45:00.004-05:00

My friend, Lauren, wanted to make a chandelier using her string lights. She isn't the most: "crafty" person, so I was impressed to see her working on an art project. Lauren was inspired after seeing a picture where someone made a chandelier with only a wire hanger and string lights. This is a picture of her creation:

I do like that it looks like a halo above her head!

Needless to say, Lauren asked for some help to make her chandelier look a little less...homemade. haha

After having some painful belly laughs, we added some tulle and an extension chord. I think it made the whole thing look much more put together...what do you all think?

Valentines Day Cards

2012-01-31T23:39:00.004-05:00

Hey Everyone! I'm a big Valentines Day fan, and I was looking for a fun, "grown-up" valentine I can make for my friends and family! Isn't this a fun valentine?

Credit has to be given to Sherelle Christensen and her adorable blog: My Crazy Life as a Farmer's Wife, because she created this project! She graciously has included a printable template so everyone can make these cute valentines:

(Click on the picture to follow the link)

How to make these Valentines:

1. Print off your template:

2. Cut out your shapes

3. After cutting out your shapes, cut a little trigger hole for the gun.

4. Use a fun punch for your holster's embellishment:

5. Glue the edges of the holster shut, and glue your punch embellishment on the holster

6. Write your little sayings on your valentines (check out this post before you do!). You can include a fun little heart sticker like I did, for some added texture.

7. Attach a stick of gum with double-sided tape, and you've made your own fun valentines!

How fun right? I'm sending these out tomorrow!

Thank you!

2012-01-29T13:26:00.000-05:00

I have a giant smile on my face because I'm checking out the: "stats" for this blog and it has a CRAZY number of pageviews!! I feel so popular! haha. Thank you everyone who reads my blog :)

...if they ever make a movie about my blog and me (a la Julie and Julia) I'll make sure you all are written into the script somehow!

Growing even more produce!

2012-01-27T09:17:00.000-05:00

Remember my green onions that I was able to regrow by keeping the bulbs in water?

I just learned you can do that with many other types of vegetables!!

Look at this cute blog that teaches you how to re-grow celery:

p.s. rip orchid :(

Phalaenopsis Orchids

2012-01-23T10:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, I have a confession to make. I killed two out of my three Phalaenopsis orchids on my drive from Maine to Virginia...I haven't told many people because I am so ashamed!! I love orchids and I feel like I have murdered a pet or something! Here are some pictures of them before break. Look how happy and healthy they are :(

That frog-looking thing is a humidifier. Orchids are tropical plants, and they like humid weather. Maine is really dry, so I plugged a humidifier in next to my orchids.

The orchids on the far left and far right were the ones I rescued from Walmart. The middle one is a healthy one I bought at a grocery store!

When I bought these orchids, their leaves were droopy, from too much water. After some TLC, look how firm those leaves are!

This was the other Walmart orchid-- he was a little more sick than the others, but was doing well after I repotted him.

I love white phalaenopsis with red lips!

Look how gorgeous that white phalaenopsis' root system/leaves are!

I bought two of these guys (the ones that are not in bloom) at Walmart on sale. They were the: "just add ice" variety, and as many orchid growers know, the pot these orchids are grown in don't have enough water drainage. Plus, the Walmart employees keep them waterlogged-- which is a recipe for disaster for Phalaenopsis growth. After I bought the orchids, I pruned away the rotten roots, and put them in terra cotta pots with proper potting medium conducive to Phalaenopsis growth. After a few weeks they were looking amazing!! I was really proud with myself because they were looking so healthy and happy!

However, I wanted to take them back to school with me. They were troopers on the drive until I forgot to take them inside from my car one night...I can't believe how stupid I was! Ugh what a mistake. They all FROZE and their leaves were all wrinkly and fleshy. They were disgusting-- my friends would not stop joking me about how gross they felt and looked.

I had to throw the two from Walmart out (the ones without blooms) sadly. They just weren't strong enough to survive the frost. However, the grocery store orchid was much more mature, and although it's leaves had frozen, it still had some good roots. I thought I may be able to save him, so I didn't throw him out.

What my grocery store orchid looked like after being left in a freezing car overnight.

As you can see, the roots are still green and plump-- which indicates they are healthy.

I cut away the dead leaves, and kept the crown (where the leaves meet) and root system in tact.

I then repotted him, and I'm hoping that he'll be able to pull through.

Who knows-- maybe he'll pull through, maybe he wont. I thought I'd at least try before throwing him out. Here's to hoping this orchid will come back to life!!

They say the more orchids you kill, the better you get at growing them. Hopefully that proves true for me!!

DIY Dollhouse: Windows

2012-01-22T00:28:00.001-05:00

Here you all can see I've started cutting away windows for the dollhouse!

First, I did some measurements so they wouldn't look too wonky.

I drew where I wanted my windows to be, and then cut out the area with an exacto knife.

Looking good!

DIY Dollhouse: Third Floor

2012-01-22T00:18:00.000-05:00

Okay finished the floor for the Third floor!

DIY Dollhouse: Second Floor

2012-01-21T10:58:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone!
Okay, here is what I have done with the dollhouse so far--the second floor! I'm going with a: "funky-seventies" theme for the doll house, so the decor will reflect that.

First, I borrowed a stencil from a lovely friend!

Using a pencil, I used my pencil to outline the stencil on the shelf.

Then I'd move it over and draw in more...

I got a little excited and started painting early...

Next, I came in with a lighter blue and filled in the geometric pattern

Isn't it fun?! :) I've got two more floors to finish because it's a three shelf bookcase so keep checking back! I don't have much time to craft these days, so the project is going pretty slow. Just be patient with me! haha

DIY DOLLHOUSE

2012-01-17T07:25:00.000-05:00

It's 7:14 (AM), and for those of you who know me-- you know I'm NEVER awake before the sun comes up. However, I have just woken myself up from a dream (or stroke of genius) with the most AMAZING idea ever! I'm going to make Harley a dollhouse! AHHH I'M SO EXCITED!! I wanted to buy Harley a dollhouse at Christmas, but they are quite expensive. However, making your own dollhouse has to be inexpensive right?! I'm going to try to use materials I already have lying around, and I'm not going to spend over thirty-five dollars. Think it can be done?

Here's a cheap bookshelf I have in my room which I bought from Target in an effort to get organized...but later questioned what I was thinking buying one of those: "build-it-yourself-composite bookshelves." I'm happy to see it can be recycled!!!

Keep checking by and see this bookshelf's transformation!! :)

Gift Wrapping

2012-01-13T13:18:00.000-05:00

Here is a gift I was able to wrap using one of Martha Stewarts' punches. It was really easy to do, and it makes the gift look fancy.

Here's how I did it:

Wrap your gift as usual
Use your punch on two sides of a strip of paper

Then tie a ribbon around it all!

This is so easy, and gives your gift wrapping an elegant element to it.

Strawberry Strudel

2012-01-12T13:13:00.000-05:00

My sister left for Oxford a few days ago, and I wanted to make her a little treat for the morning before she left. It was really nice-- we were able to have a last minute get together and have some quality: "sister time." I brewed some nice coffee, and made this yummy strudel. It wasn't hard at all to make-- try it out!

What you will need:

Puff Pastry Sheet

Pastry Cream

Fresh Strawberries (I used about one package)

Egg Wash

Apricot Glaze

Directions:

Thaw your puff pastry sheet from the freezer
Prepare your pastry cream. (It's the same recipe from the pomme du tarte, so click on the link for the directions).

Flour your work space so that you can roll out your puff pastry sheet.

Now, spread out your pastry cream in the middle of the rolled out puff pastry.

Make 1 inch slits on both sides of the puff pastry and brush it with your egg wash.

Dump your strawberries on top of your pastry cream.

Fold up the top and bottom of your puff pastry to: "tuck" your pastry cream and strawberries in.

Taking each of the one inch pieces, fold them from one side of the strudel to the other. The egg wash acts as a glue, and will keep the pieces in place.

Transfer your strudle to a baking pan (If you don't flour your surface enough, your puff pastry will get stuck to the parchment paper-- like mine did!)

Brush egg wash on the top of your strudle and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until your strudle is a golden brown.

Pour your apricot glaze on your strudel while it's still hot.

Enjoy!

Beef Stew

2012-01-12T12:40:00.004-05:00

I'm stuck at home during a Nor'Easter and I really have been craving a home-made beef stew. I found a really great recipe here, but I made a few tweaks to it because it didn't roast in my oven too well. In my pictures, you can see I started off cooking in an oven roasting pan, but just ignore that! It was taking way too long to cook, so put it on the stove in a stockpot instead of in the oven.

Oregano and Red Wine Beef Stew
Serves 4

1 bag of cut and peeled baby carrots (16 ounces)
7 stalks of celery
1 pound fresh green beans (or one 14.5 ounce can of green beans)
1 whole onion (medium size)
2 large cloves garlic
1 jalapeno
1 can cut tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
3 whole potatoes (red or russet)
32 ounces of beef broth
1 cup of red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds beef stew meat
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground pepper
2 teaspoons dried parsley
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt (or salt to taste)

Directions:

Remember, although I put all of my ingredients into a roasting pan, you should put yours on the stovetop. I don't know how the original recipe was able to be cooked in the oven with a roasting pan...I used a cover on my roasting pan just like the original recipe, but the ingredients just weren't cooking for some weird reason. Oh well! Just cook it on the stove and you should be fine!

First, dump out your can of tomatoes into the pot and turn on the stove to medium-high heat.

Chop up all of your vegetables and add them to the pot.

Add everything else except for the olive oil and beef.

Let your stew cook on the stovetop (not oven--haha) while you prepare the beef.

In a separate pan, add your olive oil and beef, then cook throughly.

When the beef is browned, add all of the pan's contents (beef and liquid) to the large stock pot.

Let cook 2-4 hours, or until the vegetables and beef are soft enough to cut with a spoon.

This stew is SO good! Plus, it makes the house smell delicious! I think the red wine gives it some amazing flavor, and the jalapeno just gives it the right amount of heat! This is definitely a great stew for a cold day. Enjoy!

Green Onions: Day Ten

2012-01-12T12:17:00.000-05:00

Look how these green onions have grown in ten days!

Very impressed with myself! Especially since I've been realizing how expensive produce is up here! I'm so glad mom and dad pay for my groceries, because with my tastes, I'd be broke if I had to buy my own food. I think I'll be eating lots of green onions when I'm out on my own to save money on the grocery bill! haha

Pathetic?

2012-01-04T08:18:00.000-05:00

I just had a thought... it is sad I'm 22 years old and blogging about produce growing on my windowsill! Today I will make an effort to get out more and be interesting! haha

Green Onions: Day Two

2012-01-04T08:16:00.000-05:00

At first, I thought these green onions grew about a half an inch overnight. After looking at the pictures from yesterday however, it doesn't look like they are growing as fast as I thought... that dark green growth is misleading!

New Years Cards

2012-01-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

I like making my own cards for the holidays, but this year I was just so busy I never got around to it!! :( So, I decided to make some cards for the new year rather than belated-holiday cards...thought it would be more thoughtful/less forgetful!

These are the cards I made-- they're really simple, but they kind of reminded me of champagne (which is probably why I like them... I love champagne!)

You'll need:
Plain Card-Stock
Colorful Paper
1 inch circle craft punch
3/4 inch circle craft punch
Glue
Glitter

Here are the craft punches I used:

They are like big hole-punches-- you just squeeze the handle on them, and they punch out different shapes! I love them. Until I get myself a Cricut, these will have to do! :) (I'm not supposed to use my Cricut Cake for cutting paper because the chemicals in card-stock are not good for you.)

Punch out all different colors with both punches

After I punched out my circles, I put them in a jar and shook them up so I would be able to grab a random assortment each time I needed my circles

Glue on your circles in a random pattern. After they dry, add a little dollop of glue and some glitter so when the glue dries, there will only be the glitter showing.

Shake off your excess glitter and your cards are ready once the glue dries!

Seriously, I should be getting reimbursed for all of this product placement!! Haha. I need to learn how to make money on this blog so I don't have to get a real job!

Green Onions: Day One

2012-01-03T07:53:00.000-05:00

I read somewhere that you can keep green onions indefinitely if you just keep the roots in water. Always up for the domestic challenge, I kept these green onions rather than throwing them out. I just put them in some water on a windowsill. The green stalk supposedly grows back. Hmm...I'll keep you all updated to see if this really works. It would be nice not to have to buy these things anymore! Fresh produce is just so expensive in Maine during the winter--plus it would be nice to: "reduce my carbon footprint" if this works out!

Candle Making

2012-01-02T11:29:00.002-05:00

Okay readers-- I have made a large step out of my comfort zone and have made something flammable! Haha okay that makes me sound much more dangerous than I actually am-- I made some candles, and I'm quite proud of myself!

What You Will Need:
Glass Votives (I used Mason Jars)
Double Broiler

You don't want your wax on a direct source of heat!

Essential Oil

Use only if you want a scented candle
You can buy essential oils online or at a health food store-- like Whole Foods
I used grapefruit essential oil
Take care-- if it isn't an essential oil, it will BURN!!

Beeswax

You can buy this on Amazon for cheap-- shipping is what will cost you. I have a "Super Savers" account, so I got my shipping free! (Which I'm sure would've added up for a 10 pound block of wax).
You can also buy wax at Michael's-- but it will probably be twice the price of what you could buy online

Cotton Wick Braided Spool
Wick Tabs

These are fancy little metal tabs that hold the wick down
It cost $8 for 150 of these little guys-- not unreasonable
I've also seen people use metal washers instead of wick tabs, if that works for you-- by all means go for it!

Coffee Filters

I just used these to pour my excess wax into
When the wax cools, you can peel back your filters and your wax is nicely contained!

Crayola Crayons

I used 3-4 crayons I thought would make a nice color for my candles

Pens/Pencils

You will use these to tie your wicks around

Steps

Gather your materials

Start by threading your cotton wick onto your wick tab and knot the end of your wick

Now, determine how long your wick needs to be by putting it in your votive
Make sure to leave your wick pretty long-- it needs to be a little longer than the height of the votive so that you can make a knot at the top

Tie the knot onto your pen or pencil and then leave it resting on the lip of your votive
Make sure to try to place it as close to the center as you can

Set these guys aside until your wax is ready

Boil your water for the double broiler

Break off enough wax to either fill your pot or make the number of candles you want

Peel off the paper on your crayons, and add them to your pot full of wax

Place your pot full of wax on your double broiler and keep an eye on it-- you want your wax to melt, not boil

Stir your wax every once and a while after it starts to melt

Once your wax is melting, dip your cotton wick into the wax and then pull it out
(You dip the wick in the wax so that the wick doesn't burn too quickly)
After you've dipped your wicks into the wax, center them back on the lip of your votives

Once your wax is completely melted, add your essential oils
(I just dumped enough oil in until the wax smelled as strong as I wanted my candle to smell)

Gently pour your wax into your votives
(I didn't get a picture of this because it was messy and I was working fast so the wax wouldn't cool)
This is what your candles should look like:

(P.S. Do NOT do what I did and put these guys in the freezer to cool down. I was in a hurry and wanted them to set fast, so I put them in the freezer. If you do this, the outside will cool faster than the inside does and the middle sinks in. Let your candles solidify at room temperature! I ended up having to put the candles in the oven to try to: "reset" the wax and it took me even longer if I had just let them settle at room temp in the first place! Haha I guess that's what I get for trying to take shortcuts in life!)
Once your candles cool, cut the wick knot from your pen and they are ready to be used!!

Much easier than you thought right? Enjoy!!

Dry Embossing

2012-01-02T10:06:00.002-05:00

I was at Michael's recently and bought what I thought was a regular, fancy stencil from Martha Stewart. Turns out I didn't read the fine print (read: actually HUGE print). It is something called a: "dry embossing stencil" and it is not for the novice crafter. I've tried playing around with it, but it turns out embossing is a whole new type of scrap booking technique which requires all new tools for me to buy-- like a heating gun and special powders. Ugh. Why did I buy this dumb stencil and what have I got myself into? Now I've committed myself to learning the ways of embossing.... I'll keep you all updated about what I learn.

Dry Embossing Stencil

Pasta Casserole

2011-12-31T16:05:00.000-05:00

We were invited to a party of a close family friend this week, and mom volunteered to bring a casserole. Naturally, mom had me do the cooking. (haha) I wanted to make a classic dish that also had unique twist. I personally had a craving for Italian-- so I decided to make a lasagna/manicotti/casserole creation. I'm not sure what to call it-- leave a suggestion in the comments section in you have a fun name for it!

What you will need:

For the sauce:
2 pounds of ground sirloin
2 yellow onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 can crushed tomatoes (I used 2, but the final casserole had too much liquid in it-- so try just one)
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 sprigs of rosemary

For the pasta:
4 boxes of manicotti

Cheese:
8 oz of shredded mozzarella
4 oz of shredded parmesan

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
In a stock pot, bring water to a boil and cook your manicotti pasta for 7 minutes

When the manicotti is cooked, drain the water from your stockpot. Toss manicotti with two tablespoons of olive oil so that the pasta wont stick together. (I didn't do this when I was cooking, and the manicotti all got stuck together and ripped apart--very frusturating.)
Brown your ground beef in a skillet, along with your onions and garlic

Once your ground beef is cooked and onions are soft and slightly translucent, take skillet off of heat and drain fat
Add your ground sirloin in with your crushed tomatoes, rosemary, and red wine
Let your sauce simmer for a bit so that the flavors combine

Now, take a springform pan (this one was 10 inches) and place each manicotti upright
Stuff each manicotti with meat sauce

Once you have filled the springform pan with stuffed manicotti, cover the mozzarella on top

Place your casserole in the oven, and cook until the top of the casserole is a nice golden brown (about 30 minutes)

After you take your casserole out of the oven, sprinkle your parmesan cheese on top of it, and let it cool
Once your casserole is cool to the touch, unhinge the springform pan sides and gently remove your casserole

Enjoy!!

As you can tell from some of the pictures-- this casserole was SUPER messy to make. The sauce finds itself everywhere. Also, be patient with yourself when you are stuffing your manicotti-- it can be frustrating if your pasta rips apart, but the taste of the final product is worth it!