Sweet Tidings

Express Chocolate Pudding Recipe + Valentine Coffee Coaster Pattern

2012-01-29T00:04:00.002+08:00

I'm not jell-o. I'm not crème brûlée. I'm chocolate pudding. :)

Hehe, remember the romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding? I think I've watched it a bazillion times I could recite the dialogues in my sleep.

Back to the topic of this post which is chocolate pudding. I rhapsodize over the virtues of this snack. It's as comforting as a big bowl of mac and cheese, instant ramen, (insert fave comfort food here) or a big slice of chocolate cake. This particular recipe only takes 10 minutes to make and it's so yummy you can slide off the couch or temporarily forget your name. This recipe is a keeper. It's love.

Express Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 cups skim/low-fat milk
A pinch of decaf coffee powder
2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine all dry ingredients and blend together with balloon whisk.

2. Add milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until dry ingredients have completely dissolved.

3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and whisk for one minute. Microwave again for 3 minutes and stir to dissolve lumps. Continue to microwave for 1-2 minutes (alternately stirring to dissolve lumps) until the pudding reaches a thick, jell-o like consistency. Remove from the microwave oven and let cool.

3. Enjoy! Buon appetito!

Bonus:

If you plan to serve this wonderful treat to a loved one, make sure you present it in heartwarming style. Make a heart shaped/valentine coaster using the template I made. I made mine using dotted red cotton fabric ala Cath Kidston.

Embellish your coffee coaster with a cute fabric cotton tape like the ones from Lillalotta shop on ETSY.

Have a merry, little weekend!

All the pretty dala horses

2012-01-28T14:53:00.001+08:00

I love Swedish dala horses! I've made a few dala horse inspired crafts before such as this and this but this decorative dala horse cushion (I named mine Lily) from Tilda's Summer Ideas is really my favorite. I think I need to sew another horse to keep her company. ;)

I've learned from Hanna, one of my favorite Swedish bloggers that the traditional dala horse color is actually orange. Check out Hanna's link on how these Swedish icons are painted and decorated.

Hmm, I wonder what's going to be my next dala horse project. I still have some extra Aida cloth so this dala horse cross stitch project from The Split Stitch would be fabulous I guess.

By the way, the Sweet Tidings creativity theme for February is Shabby Chic! I'll be posting the last Coffee Month recipe and project this weekend.

Till then. Happy weekend!

Weekending: Illustrated Recipes from They Draw and Cook

2012-01-27T23:19:00.000+08:00

Winter Warmer Soup by Sarah Ward

Cardamon Coffee by Salli Swindell

Tiramisu by Gaia Bordicchia

Chef Kitty's Top Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies

Warning: Cute overload!

Put on your polka dot apron and baker's hat because we have some serious kawaii baking and cooking to do! They Draw and Cook is an online gallery of superlatively cute illustrated recipes from artists all over the globe. Have fun browsing! You may want to print the recipes for your homemade recipe folder. The artworks alone are tons of fun!

Happy weekend!

Valentine paper treats from Mr. Printables

2012-01-26T23:11:00.000+08:00

Gingham Check Candy Wrapper

Tiny Cards for Little Valentines

Teddy Bear Heart Cards

Melt someone's heart with sweet valentine tokens made even special with lovely printable cards and wrappers from Mr. Printables. They're too cute!

Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations are still ongoing until the 29th! Add a bit of fun and a dash of good luck to the new year with these adorable dragon masks. For sure I want the pink dragon mask. :)

Creative Explorations

2012-01-26T09:55:00.001+08:00

Keri Smith's website has lots of fun prompts to get your creativity going. This February, I think I want to do this.

Winky Dollhouse Bakery

2012-01-25T23:38:00.002+08:00

Images from Winky ETSY

My, oh my! The Winky Dollhouse Bakery at ETSY is filled to the brim with yummy miniature valentine goodies--pink sugar cookies and candy baskets presented in the sweetest style. All this sweetness is caramelizing in my brain!

Divine mini raspberry sponge cakes and tarts. How sweet!

A cake your little dolly will love! Fluffy frosted heart cakes are my favorite too! Grab these miniature yummies while you can.

~Smile~ Have a nice day!

Pretty Pink Crafts

2012-01-25T12:43:00.002+08:00

Pink Bunny Knitting Project from Woman's Day


Drink parasol project from Papermash

Pretty Pink strawberries from Cheeky Kitchen


Baking sheet memo board from Elmer's Hooray for valentine season! It may not be my favorite crafting season but I do enjoy the pink overload. Savor and enjoy the rosiest season of the year with some of my handpicked to-do crafts and projects. How is your 2012 coming along? My January could be better (health wise) but at least we have this quote to remind us that regardless of circumstances everyday can be a good day. Enjoy the day!

What is essential is invisible

2012-01-24T23:53:00.005+08:00

I'm happy to have found this adorable Le Petit Prince Mary Engelbreit desktop wallpaper. I love how this famous literary quote keeps me grounded, inspired and grateful. For today I thank God for the sweet, invisible oxygen that keep us alive and thriving!

Happy Tuesday!

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

2012-01-23T00:03:00.002+08:00

Wishing you good health, good luck, prosperity, peace of mind and happiness in the year of the water dragon. Kung Hei Fat Choi! Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!

Romantic style organizing crafts and wise words from the Goddess of Happiness

2012-01-22T00:00:00.000+08:00

Vintage thread labels

Food and gift labels

Fabric remnant organizing labels

Printable message box

Channel you inner shabby chic domestic goddess with these utterly feminine and romantic printable organizing crafts from Cathe Holden of Just Something I Made. Deep down in every crafty feminine soul resides a goddess that wants to celebrate everything blissful and beautiful.

This weekend, you can also be a Goddess of Happiness. Debbie Gisonni in her book The Goddess of Happiness: A Down-to Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss. I love chapter 14 of her book that discusses the need to accessorize our lives.

Here are her 5 ways of how to accessorize your life:

Surround yourself with things you love to look at.
Intermingle frequently with adults, children, animals and nature.
Fill your home with the smell if fresh-baked cookies or a meal made from scratch.
Listen to your favorite music while doing mundane chores.
Carve out time for a special hobby.

Affirmation: "I surround myself with people, animals and things I love."

Have a beautiful weekend!

Recycled Vitamin Water Canisters from Tweety Atelier

2012-01-21T00:23:00.003+08:00

I was clearing my workspace this morning when I noticed a cluster of mineral water/vitamin water bottles in a corner. I was about to throw them in the trash when something stopped me. I could possibly find a cool eco friendly tutorial that could make use of this ubiquitous landfill monster. Tonight as I was browsing korean DIY power blog Tweety Atelier for origami projects, I found this recycled vitamin water canister tutorial. What a cool, serendipitous find! Now I know what to do with these water bottles and with my printed cotton twill stash.

Happy weekend!

P.S. My blog now has a header! I finally discovered how to tweak blogger's dynamic view template. Yay for pleasant discoveries!

Printable valentine gift wrap sets

2012-01-20T13:33:00.002+08:00

Have you been doing your handmade valentine shopping?

If so, you might want your valentine gifts to look their prettiest, romantic-est best. Wrap your valentine tokens in these cute Valentine gift wrap printable sets from Giftwrap-it (via Designs of Artisan).The gift wraps come with coordinating greeting cards and gift tags.

Coffee Mug Cozy Pattern and Homemade Kahlua

2012-01-19T22:36:00.002+08:00

What to do with leftover fabric scraps? Make them into cute coffee mug cozies of course! I tailored this pattern to fit a regular sized coffee mug. Most of the patterns I see on the web usually are made for paper coffee cups.

Download the pattern here.

Coffee Mug Cozy

Materials:

Japanese fabric
Insulated padding/lining
Button
Needle and thread
Sewing machine

1. Sew wrong sides together and reverse. Stitch edges together.

2. Use velcro or button and ribbon snap to join the edges of the cozy together.

Image from Veronica's Cornucopia

Today I have stumbled upon this awesome homemade kahlua (coffee liqueur) recipe from Veronica's Cornucopia. I love kahlua so this is heaven sent! As soon as I gather my ingredients I'll give this recipe a shot. I also hope that someone soon can invent and share a recipe for Homemade Bailey's.

Sorry, no blog post today

2012-01-18T21:46:00.000+08:00

SOPA ad PIPA if passed in U.S. Congress can usher in an Internet dark age. Help stop SOPA ad PIPA! Sign the petition here and here if you are in the U.S. Those outside the U.S. can sign the petition here.

Thank you for spreading the word.

Coffee and Life

2012-01-17T21:44:00.002+08:00

Via pinterest

Photo credit

박신혜 for MBC Music

From hirudoki.hungry.jp via Pinterest

More coffee inspired images to celebrate Coffee Month here at Sweet Tidings. Stay super buzzy!

Sweet Valentines at Shop Sweet Lulu

2012-01-17T15:54:00.000+08:00

Images from Shop Sweet Lulu

Look no further. Shop Sweet Lulu has everything you need to make your valentine crafting, decorating and soirée extra sweet and special.

Zakka organizing style for trinkets and stuff

2012-01-16T22:48:00.001+08:00

One of my craft resolutions this year is to imbibe the mori girl handicraft spirit. That means making more natural, zakka style projects just like this one. This wood shadow box which I purchased many moons ago from a Japanese supply store is just a wonderful material to display and organize everyday wear trinkets and jewelry.

What organizing projects are you doing this month?

Wakey Wakey Coffee Body Scrub Recipe

2012-01-16T17:04:00.000+08:00

Happy Monday! It's a great day to start the week with something energizing and reviving. To continue with this month's coffee theme, here's bath and body recipe that will perk up your morning bath ritual. Sesame oil's emollient and moisturizing properties makes skin extra soft too.

Coffee Body Scrub

1/2 cup ground coffee
1/2 cup sea salt
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/2 tsp peppermint massage oil

Food and Crafts for Chinese New Year

2012-01-15T23:10:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year Lantern tutorial from Craft-Craft

Printable Chinese New Year Dragon Mask from Family Fun

Paper dragon from Martha Stewart

Fortune cookie recipe from Kitchen Samurai

Printable Chinese Zodiac calendar from HP Creative Zone

Chinese New Year Peanut Cookies from Bread et Butter

Chinese New Year is just around the corner (January 23) and I'm so excited. It's one of my favorite holidays and I love all the good luck traditions that go with it. Invite auspicious luck and good fortune in the Year of the Dragon with these fun crafts and recipes. Advance kung hei fat choy greetings!

Fresh ideas from Ariadne at Home

2012-01-15T12:17:00.001+08:00


Chalkboard frames

Musical journal cover

Paper bird ornament

Dutch lifestyle magazine Ariadne at Home always delivers fresh monthly crafts and ideas based on a thematic color and inspiration. Check out the January and February ideas. They look surprisingly easy to make!

Happy Sunday!

That Weekend Feeling

2012-01-14T11:13:00.002+08:00

Nourish

Contemplate

Balance

Transform

Wishing you peace, balance and harmony. Happy weekend!

A Vida Portuguesa

2012-01-13T23:29:00.002+08:00

Fall in love with these pretty romantic offerings from A Vida Portuguesa (A Portuguese Life). I'm especially smitten with the Minho Embroidery "Big Love Kerchief, an item which has a very interesting story behind it.

The weekend is here! Make it a good one. :)

Just add sugar

2012-01-13T14:56:00.002+08:00

Sew Easy: Stitching an oilcloth iPod cozy is a cinch.

I'm loving Martha's perfect rainy day sewing projects.

Wild Romance: I always love a hilarious, light and bubbly romantic

comedy k-drama and this one has me LOL'ing all the way.

Sweet Treats: Yummy goodies from BFF who always brightens my day. Thank you!

Gardening the soul

2012-01-12T09:47:00.000+08:00

No better way to start the new year than literally growing something, anything. Life loves life. :)

***

Grow what you love.
The love will keep it growing.

Emilie Barnes
***

Wednesday Wisdom: Be Happy

2012-01-11T11:23:00.000+08:00

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.

- Groucho Marx