Sweet Tuesdays

New Blog

2013-01-04T13:44:00.003-05:00

Hello Sweet Tuesdays readers!

Obviously, I don't do much on this blog anymore but I still receive great feedback. I am very proud of the projects posted here so I don't want to delete anything. Just wanted to let you guys know that you can now follow me at Blush & Gold! Come on over and check out what I've been up to!

Thanks,
Stephanie

DIY Striped Drapes

2011-11-16T11:19:00.003-05:00

I am loving anything with stripes right now! It's like I have just seen stripes for the first time ever. Seriously, I'm wearing a striped shirt right now! So, when I saw this tutorial on A Thoughtful Place blog...I had to try it out!

Here are her curtains in her dining room...

(via A Thoughtful Place)

Beautiful right!?

I'm not even going to try to take any credit for the whole process of my drapes because I literally followed her steps to the T. I have to be honest, it was a long process but so worth the results. She seriously spelled out every single step so that even an amateur (I say this as if I'm not) could do this with no problem. Follow her wonderful step by step tutorial here.

Here are my drapes!...

Not too bad, right??

DIY Cupcake Stand

2011-11-16T10:58:00.003-05:00

Don't you just love cupcakes!? They're tasty, fun sized, and you get to dress them in cute little wrappers! :) I am known for my love of making cupcakes and known around the house for having an obsession for cupcake stands (or just anything that comes on a pedestal)! So, instead of buying yet another cupcake stand, I decided to make one.

I came across this great tutorial by A Diamond In The Stuff for making this stand. The only difference that you will notice is that I turned my glasses the other way around to allow more room for cupcakes. I think my plates were smaller so there wasn't a lot of room when I had them facing down.

I followed her tutorial and gathered up these supplies:

3 plates of different sizes (I chose ones of different shapes to give it some contrast)

2 stemmed glasses (I chose ones with detail to make it more interesting)

I used one from each set

Very strong glue (I used a 5 minute Epoxy)

Enamel Spray Paint (I used Rust-Oleum in white)

Make sure that all dishes are clean and remove any raised decorations or backings on plates.

Place the plates in the order that you want them in and glue away!

Once they are glued into place, you might want to add some weight to the top to ensure a strong hold.

Allow the glue to dry and then spray with Enamel spray paint.

Allow the spray paint to dry for a full day and Ta Da!

In my case, I am wanting to use this stand for cookies at my upcoming wedding. So, I will probably have to add doilies to the plates. I wasn't sure if unwrapped food would be okay to sit on this spray paint so I asked Courtney and she suggested doilies. I love doilies so it's settled!

Any ideas for different cookie stands for my wedding?? I want a variety so keep the ideas coming!

Thrift Day Saturday!

2011-11-13T15:29:00.004-05:00

Hey there!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! I went thrifting so I certainly did! My friend, Jessi, and I love to go to small thrift stores and yard sales to see what we can find and what we can do with it. So here's what we found this Saturday....

*Beautiful vintage Pyrex set*

*Vintage Earrings*--I'm a sucker for old clip on earrings :)

*Old wooden picture frame*

*Plates and Glasses* (I have something in mind for these...stay tuned) I chose these particular plates because of their shape--clearly not because of the pattern :)

*Adorable Elephant Trivet* Dan loves elephants and I love anything gold so it's perfect!

*Wooden stand*

I'm so proud of all of my finds! Stay tuned for projects featuring some of these finds!

Have you found anything at a thrift store or yard sale lately? I'd love to see or hear about your thrift store adventures!

Godiva Chocolate Liqueur Brownies...Yum!

2011-11-10T11:59:00.004-05:00

Hello!

Is your mouth watering yet!? It should be because these brownies are Ahh mazing! I made these this past Tuesday for Dan to take to work and he said they were gone before lunch. (It makes me cringe to think that those men are eating all of these sweets before lunch). I usually try to make something breakfast worthy but these were just too good to pass up.

I got this recipe from a lady that I work with...thanks Donna!

Through trial and error, I have found that using Dutch processed cocoa really makes any recipe so much better. However, this cocoa can be a little hard to find (in Savannah anyway). I actually bought some on Amazon the first time I used it. I found it later at a specialty store in Savannah.

The Godiva Chocolate Liqueur mini bottles have been pretty easy for me to find. They also come in dark and white chocolate (might have to try something with those soon). These mini bottles are a little over 3 tablespoons each so if you are doubling the recipe, you will need 2 mini bottles. I found them at only 2 bucks a piece!

(Please excuse my blurry picture)

Brownies:

1 2/3 cups Granulated Sugar
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, melted
2 tbsp Godiva Chocolate Liqueur (You can find the mini bottles at the liquor store)
2 large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Butternut Extract (I found this at Kroger)
1 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Baking Cocoa (See picture)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (Any kind you like)
Powdered Sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 8x8-inch baking pan.

Cut butter into tablespoon sized cubes and melt in microwave.
Let the butter cool slightly.
Add sugar and chocolate liqueur.
Stirs in eggs one at a time and add vanilla butternut extract.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Mix together with a whisk to fully incorporate.
Slowly add to sugar mixture.
Fold in chocolate chips and nuts--make sure the mixture is cool enough before putting in chocolate chips so they don't melt.
Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted comes out slightly sticky.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Cut into bars.

*Recipe can be doubled and baked in 9x13 inch pan for 40-45 minutes.

Have you ever made anything with Godiva Chocolate Liqueur?? I have some left over and I'd love to try a new recipe!

Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Bench Seat with Storage

2011-11-06T14:57:00.010-05:00

Hello!

I'm really excited to show you my pretty little bench seat! I came across a tutorial for a bench here and was instantly inspired. This tutorial gives you a list of supplies, they came out a lot cheaper on this list than what I was finding when shopping for them. I went to Lowe's to buy the legs for my bench and they were 10 dollars a piece! So, without even buying fabric or anything, I was already going to spend 40 bucks! So, I decided to go another route.

I found a coffee table at a yard sale for 10 dollars that had these great fancy legs on them. The legs at Lowe's were just straight. The curvy ones at Lowe's were almost 20 DOLLARS!! Needless to say, 10 dollar coffee table...yes please! One problem--being that these legs were from a coffee table, they were pretty low to the ground. This is where my Fiance came in. He took my simple bench into something WAY more! He decided that we would add a box for storage on top.

Here are the steps we took to make the bench. ( Please excuse the background..this is Dan's "Man Cave"/Work Shed)

$10 yard sale coffee table (Dan already primed the legs before I could take a picture...they were red just like the top)...

The box that would be added to the top of the legs for storage...

Dan added these strips of wood all around the sides to support the lower panel of the box (notice the bead board about 4 pictures away). He also added these strips on the bottom of the seat so that the seat would fit in the box snugly (<--is that a word??).

We bought a piece of wood from Lowe's to attach to the top for the seat. You'll want to get something thick and sturdy. I used a stair tread made from pine, it was almost an inch thick and eleven inches wide.

Now we attached the legs to the box to get ready for painting. We primed the top with a white primer and left the inside white.

Oh yea, Dan added bead board to the bottom of the box.

Next, we spray painted the whole outside with a satin black.

Now, time to get the top part of the bench ready. It was super easy and didn't require any sewing at all (my favorite part).

The batting was pretty thin so I folded it over so it was 8 layers thick and stapled it to the board before adding the fabric. Also, be sure not to over-lap the batting on the board. That way the board will be flush with the edges of the bench top. (Please excuse my prison-like bedroom...this is the one we are redoing so it's very bare right now)

Now, just do the same with the fabric. Make sure to pull tight so you get rid of any wrinkles and excess fabric. Also, make sure you line up the pattern on the fabric so it's straight.

I left about a 2 inch gap from the edges so that Dan could add the wooden strips to the seat.

Ta Da!

Here's the final product!!...

I am so proud of my bench! I'm redoing one of our guest bedrooms so this is the first project for that room. More to come!

We just painted the walls Grey...any ideas for a bedspread??

15 Minute Cabinet Face Lift

2011-11-03T21:17:00.006-04:00

First off, I need to explain how great my Fiance is. If he gets an idea in his head, he can't rest until it is done. I absolutely love this about him.

So,we just finished painting our kitchen cabinets last week. (I'm so mad that I didn't take a before picture) We used one of those Rustoleum kits from Lowe's and it was great. Our cabinets were a very unfinished looking wood color before so we painted them a crisp white.

Ok, now I can finish my story... A friend of ours mentioned that we should put crown molding around the tops of our cabinets to give them a more custom look. This was mentioned Saturday night and Dan got right on it on Sunday morning.

This literally took him around 15 minutes to do. He made a few cuts and just nailed it up there. Then he just filled in the spaces with caulk and painted them to perfection.

Here are some before and after shots....

Before:

After:

What a difference right??

Rainbow Cake

2011-10-27T09:57:00.007-04:00

Hello!

When thinking about what my first post should be, I thought that a beautiful rainbow cake would be perfect! I baked this cake a couple of months ago for a friend's birthday. This friend is tough to please because she doesn't like chocolate (I know, right...weirdo :)) Being that my biggest obsession is chocolate, I tend to bake everything as if it's going to be all mine! So, I had to be creative to find something just as yummy and of course it had to have the cool factor as well.

I tried to document each step as I went along. It was a very lengthy process and to be honest, I don't think I'll make this cake completely from scratch again. A box cake never hurt anyone and this seems like the perfect time to put that statement into use.

I found this recipe here...she was on the Martha Stewart show too! And everyone knows that I strive to be Martha in every way that I can so this instantly gained a few points on me. Be sure to watch the video of her on the Martha Stewart show that she has posted on her blog.

Then, I found another recipe here with the same concept. Except this girl decided to use box cakes, which I think is a great idea if you don't have a whole day to make this (seriously, it was a lengthy process).

White Cake:

2 sticks Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)

2 1/3 cups Sugar

5 Egg Whites (Room Temp)

2 teaspoons Vanilla

3 cups Flour

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt (unless using Salted Butter)

1 1/2 cups Milk (Room Temp)--warm in microwave for 30 seconds to bring it to room temp

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple GEL Food Coloring (MUST use GEL)

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Oil and line your cake pans. I would recommend either using 8" or 9" pans. (I used 8" pans) Rub each one down with Crisco or butter and then line with parchment paper and oil on the outside of that too.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. (If you don't want to break out the sifter, just mix with a whisk until well combined) Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the egg whites one at a time. Add Vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Alternate between the wet and dry ingredients by adding the milk and flour in two parts. I always start with the dry and end with the wet.

Divide the batter between 6 bowls. It ends up being about 1 cup each. Stir in a good amount of each food coloring into each bowl of batter. I used a fork to stir each one to ensure that color is throughout. Now you are ready to pour the batter into your pans and bake. I only have 3 cake pans so I just baked 3 at a time.

Bake these for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let them rest on the cooling rack while still in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, flip them over and cross your fingers that they remove cleanly. Then cover them and put them in the fridge to cool completely before frosting.

White Frosting:

It is completely insane how much butter goes into this frosting!

To fill and crumb coat:

9 Egg Whites

1 3/4 cups Sugar

4 sticks Butter (Room Temp)

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

To frost:

5 Egg Whites

1 cup Sugar

2 sticks Butter (Room Temp)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

I made these in two separate batches to make frosting easier and so my mixer wouldn't be overflowing.

Cook egg whites and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat, whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely. You can test this by rubbing it between your fingers to see if you still feel the grains of sugar. Now, pour this into your clean mixer and whip on high speed until it comes to room temperature. Then, on medium-slow speed, add the butter slowly. You can cut the butter into tablespoon pieces and add them one at a time. (It would probably be easier to whip the butter first and add it that way) After all the butter has been added, turn your mixer on high speed and whip until it has all come together. This takes about five minutes. Now add the vanilla extract, beat briefly, and then use.

If the frosting seems soupy after you have whipped in all of the butter, refrigerate for 5 to 7 minutes and then whip it again until it is fluffy and a frosting consistency.

Assemble your cake in any order you would like. I liked to stay with the ROY G BIV order (RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, VIOLET)

You can keep this cake in the fridge but I would suggest getting it back to room temperature before you cut it so it will slice cleanly.

So here is my masterpiece!

Let's be honest, it's not nearly as neat and pretty as the ones in the other two blogs. But I was proud! :)