The Craftinomicon

Happy Holidays

2015-12-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to take a minute to give you the recipe for my Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls. These are THE BEST.

Happy Holidays!

~Kari

Wes Anderson Week

2015-09-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Last week one of my BFF's and I decided to stage an impromptu themed movie week: we chose the films of Wes Anderson for this go around and I think we will be coming up with several more movie weeks to come! If you follow me on instagram I am sure you saw most of my daily Wes Anderson films.

I thought I'd share the Wes Anderson spirit by showing off some of my most favorite Wes Anderson movie themed Etsy finds!

This sticker from PonjaHija is super cute. It would make a great little pick me up for not only the Wes Anderson fan in your life, but the cat lover as well.

The Royal Tenenbaums is in my top 3 all time Wes Anderson films and I just love this poster of Margot and Richie from BagApart. It may be finding its way to my house soon.

Show that you too are a member of Team Zissou with this nifty custom bracelet from EcelecticredsDallas.

Last but not least, celebrate young love with Sam and Suzy from Moonrise Kingdom! This mug features a super cute illustration and I think it might be a great holiday gift for some people on my list.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

Transferring Embroidery patterns

2015-08-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Long time no see! Life has been crazy, and for those of you that don't follow me on facebook, you might have missed my Tuts+ post on methods of embroidery pattern transfer. Head on over and check it out, I'm going to try to get back to blogging again soon. Owning a house really takes up the free time :)

What projects have you all been up to lately??

New Boutonniere Tutorial on Tuts+

2014-11-06T11:22:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I forgot to mention that I have a new tutorial up on Tuts+! It is for this lovely Camelia boutonniere and includes the pattern for creating the paper flower. Head on over and check it out, let me know what you think.

Perfect for a winter wedding or formal, no?

Bathroom Remodel

2014-11-04T10:50:00.001-08:00

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever! The new house is coming along (it feels like a very slow process, but many people have told the hus and I that they are shocked by how much we have done already since buying our home in July).

If you follow me on Instagram you have likely already seen much of the progress we have made, but I thought I'd share some peeks of our bathroom (still in progress).

Here is the bathroom floor before we tore it up and laid down new hex tiles. Gorgeous, right?

Here is the floor about half done. Alreadya huge improvement.

Here is the progress from this past weekend. We took out the grimy old fiberglass tub surround and laid new ceramic subway tiles (tiling was definitely easier the second time around, but I don't know how anyone can do this as a job--my most heartfelt respect to anyone in this line of work).

This weekend we hope to paint the bathroom, caulk everything and install the new baseboards. Then I'll have a nice new bathroom, and I can't wait to take some nice final photos to show you all!

Are any of you working on home improvement projects? I'd love to hear what you are working on and if you have any tips or insights!

Jazz Up Your Embroidery

2014-08-19T14:48:00.003-07:00

If you've taken a peek at my Embroidery Stitch Library you may be ready to take your stitching to the next level. I have a post on different types of thread up today at Tuts+, go check it out and start experimenting!

The new house is still shaping up slowly, and I hope to have a "before" tour ready to share with you all sometime soon. There are a LOT of projects on the horizon, so thank you all for bearing with me in this hectic post-move time. I can't wait to share projects as well as some tips and tricks I've been picking up!

Home Sweet Home

2014-06-23T08:16:00.003-07:00

Screen Printed Pillows from EarthCadets

Hey everyone! I know it's been awhile, but that is because.. we bought a house! Well, we are still in the process, but we are buying a house and it has been time consuming to say the least. Fear not, once the moving is done and the dust has settled I'll be sharing all kinds of new craft projects and home DIYs with you. Until then, enjoy these cute "Home Sweet Home" themed prints and decor items from Etsy sellers!

Cross Stitch pattern from andwabisabi

Polymer Clay Pears from SkyeArt

Framed Vinyl Cut Out from FurrowandFeather

Hope you are all enjoying June, it's almost gone!

A Great Weekend!

2014-05-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed your weekend, I know we sure did. We had some friends from Indiana come visit us in Portland and we spent the whole time seeing the sites and eating yummy food. Here are some photos of the great time we had, more craftiness will be coming soon!

Multnomah Falls

My favorite rose from the International Rose Test Garden

Lunch at Jade Teahouse

I might add more later, but you can check out a few more pictures on Instagram as well!

The Craftys

2014-05-15T07:53:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! There's a new award in town, The Craftys! Feel free to visit the site, submit your own blog or project, and maybe even win an award! I am up for Best Craft Blogger, so if you are so inclined, hop on over there and vote for me (or any of your favorite blogs or projects). I also have an individual project up-- Hotdogtopus the hot dog octopus in edible crafts!

You can get entered into drawings for some pretty great prize packs just by voting on your favorites, so be sure to check it out and spread the word!

Also, I have hit over 1000 facebook followers this week, so I will be working on a fun new pattern to share with you all next week (hopefully) to say thank you for being so awesome! It was over 90 degrees here yesterday, so I decided to unplug almost everything in the house (sewing machine included) in a vain attempt at making it cooler.

May Giveaway Day (CLOSED)

2014-05-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome! It is time once again for Sew Mama Sew's May Giveaway Day! This time I am giving away two (2) charm packs of Bobbins and Bits by Pat Sloan for Moda (that's right one lucky winner will get both packs for a total of 84 pre-cut squares! Giveaway is open worldwide.

To enter simply leave a comment below (let me know where you are from, what's your favorite color? any comment will do!) and make sure I have a way to contact you (if a winner is selected and there is no email address attached to their entry, I will select a new winner). Contest is open through 5pm PST Friday May 16th.

I hope you'll take a look at the blog if this is your first visit, and consider following me on your favorite social media. You can get bonus entries by following the steps below:

Follow me on facebook and leave an extra comment letting me know you did.

Follow me on Pinterest and leave an extra comment letting me know you did.

Follow me on bloglovin' and leave an extra comment letting me know you did.

Follow me on instagram and leave an extra comment letting me know you did.

That is a total of 5 possible entries per person.

Comment moderation has been turned on, you comments will appear after they have been approved

Don't forget to check out all of the other great giveaways going on for Giveaway day! Good Luck!

The winner is new Pinterest follower RockSteadyEmme, check your email for info on claiming your prize!

Grown Up Ants on a Log

2014-05-11T12:35:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you, but we are having some picnic weather here today in Portland! A great, easy snack for packing up to take to the park is ants on a log. Traditionally made with celery, peanut butter and raisins- O decided on a more grown up version for myself. :)

To make these ants on a log you will need:

A couple stalks of celery, washed and cut into 3-4" pieces

Chevre (a tangy goat cheese for those of you unfamiliar with it--yum!)

Dried cranberries (mine are organic and were purchased at Trader Joe's)

Just wash and cut up your celery, and then use a butter knife to spread your chevre onto each piece. Dot the top with your cranberry "ants" and you are ready to serve! When taking these on a picnic I will usually spread the cheese onto each celery stalk, and then loosely sandwich two pieces together to put in a sandwich bag. I then pull them apart at the park and put on the cranberries right before I am ready to serve.

Yum! One of my favorite summer snacks (absolutely no cooking/baking required!). What are some of your favorite picnic snacks?

Last Minute DIY Ideas for Mom

2014-05-08T11:37:00.001-07:00

Hey all! With Mother's Day fast approaching, I know some of you may be at a loss of what to get or make for mom (or maybe you need some ideas of what the kids can make for mom/grandma, etc). Here is a list of some super easy last minute gifts to bring a smile to any mom's face. Happy Mother's Day!

Make mom a long lasting bouquet of paper flowers. There are so many varieties to choose from, and you can use any colored or patterned paper you like! Tailor make some polka dotted daisies or striped roses in mom's favorite colors :)

Make a cute geometric heart card or framed wall art with this tutorial from Ludorn (In German and English).

Make some gem shaped shrink plastic earrings (or charm bracelet, or necklace) with this awesome tutorial from Minted Strawberry.

Whether mom has a green thumb or not, these succulents in painted ball jars will be a great fit! The gals at Lolly Jane even have printable gift tags for you to use!

Have a lot of mom's in your life? You can whip up a huge batch of these bath salts and put them in cute containers to gift to everyone! Bonus points if you scrub the bathroom for mom before gifting these to her!

Happy Mother's Day!

DIY Beeswax Tart Candles

2014-04-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some craft ideas that would make cute little gifts lately (you know, wedding season is fast approaching). These cute little candles fit the bill! I used mini tart pans from the kitchen goods store in my neighborhood (about 50-60 cents a piece) as the containers for my candles. The wicks, wax and honey almond scent are from Bulk Apothecary, they aren't paying me for saying that- I just really like ordering my candle making/lotion making supplies from them, they have all kinds of awesome stuff.

To make these candles at home you will need:

Beeswax (If you can find it in the tiny pellets, I recommend it. Grating whole blocks of wax is tedious)
candle wicks
containers (I used mini tart shells)
Fragrance oil (optional) Beeswax does have a subtle scent on its own, and you certainly don't need to scent your candles if you prefer them to be more plain
Glass bowl* (to create a double boiler)
stirring utensil* (I use a plastic spoon)

*I always recommend that you use a bowl and spoon for making candles/beauty products that you do not eat with. I got a pack of plastic spoons as well as a glass bowl at the dollar store. I always hand wash these items and keep them separate from the dishes we eat with.

To start, I measure out my wax pellets. I wanted my tart shells to be pretty much full, so I filled each tarts hell I was using so it was heaping with pellets and dumped them into my glass bowl. I then added a couple extra Tablespoons of pellets just in case any got spilled when filling my candles.

I had ordered a large quantity of 3" long wicks, so I trimmed them a bit before placing them in the tart pans (to about 1.5"). Once the candles are done, you can trim the wicks further if needed.

Place your glass bowl of wax over a pot of simmering water. This will slowly melt the wax. You will want to stir the wax until it is all melted and then add any fragrance if you wish to do so. I added about 12 drops of fragrance for my 3 small tart candles, but if you like a stronger fragrance you can add more.

Once the wax is melted and the fragrance has been stirred in, you can start to fill your candles. I always place the objects I am filling on top of some freezer paper and/or an old towel in case I spill any wax while pouring. Cleaning wax off a table or counter top is a huge hassle. If your candle mold is small, like mine, you may want to use a spoon to spoon the hot wax into your mold (I also found some measuring cups that have a little spout on one side that work well for pouring the wax--again, I do not use these for any other cooking). I always fill my molds up to the top, as the wax settles just a tiny bit when cooling.

Once the wax has cooled and hardened, I trim my wicks so they are about 1/4" long. You are ready to wrap these up as a gift or use them around the house! These would be a great wedding or baby shower favor, and the materials can be bought in bulk online.

What are your favorite little gifts to make yourself?

Make Your Own Felt Raccoon Mask

2014-04-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

A gal I work with volunteers at the Audubon Society every week and they were having a fun activity last week where all the volunteers were supposed to dress up like their favorite animal. She asked if I could help her create a Raccoon mask for her costume and this is what I came up with. It is super easy, inexpensive, and can be whipped up in about 30 minutes!

To make your own Raccoon Mask you will need:

Felt sheets: Grey, Black and White
Scissors
pen/pencil for tracing
fabric glue or needle and thread
Elastic or string/ribbon
Raccoon Mask Pattern

Start by printing out the pattern and cutting out the pieces. Arrange them on your felt squares and trace with pen; or pin them down to the felt and cut around the pieces if you find that easier. To make a true to life looking raccoon the base piece should be grey, the middle piece should be white and the eye/nose banding should be black. You can jazz it up for the kids and make any color of raccoon for them though - I think I might make some to send my nieces and nephew for Easter!

Once you have all of your pieces cut out, sandwich them together so the eye holes match up. You may have to do a little extra trimming to get the edges of the eyes nice and neatly matching up. Pin all 3 pieces together and stitch the outline of each eye. This will hold all of the pieces together so fewer pins are needed when stitching around the outer edge of the black and/or white pieces. If sewing isn't your thing, use fabric glue to stick your pieces together. Allow plenty of time for your mask to dry before wearing.

Once you have stitched the pieces together, it is time to add some elastic or ribbon so it can be tied on and worn. You could also make an adjustable strap using more felt strips and some velcro. I opted for some bright ribbon, I just think it looks cheery and fun :)

Then you are ready to show off your new mask around town. These are easy enough to whip up as party favors for your child's next birthday, but still look nice enough to be part of a special costume. If raccoons aren't your style, don't forget to check out my pug mask here, modeled after my Cousin's pug, Tottie.

Happy crafting!

Origami Animal Embroidery Patterns

2014-03-28T07:53:00.001-07:00

I don't know what it is, but I've been really into "origami" style embroidery patterns lately. Confession: I was WAY too good at geometry when I was in school. I think I got 106% in that class (yeah, I did extra credit when I already had 100%--NERD). I sketched up some patterns from origami animal photos (you can find about any animal you want when searching images online--just sketch the fold lines to make it 2 dimensional). I modified them slightly, mostly leaving out any very tiny "fold" lines that I felt would detract from a final embroidered project.

I really liked this squirrel, so I made it into a wall hanging by gluing the embroidered fabric to the hoop once I was finished stitching and covering the back with a piece of trimmed card stock so you can't see the stitches from the back anymore. To cover the back, just trace around the embroidery hoop onto card stock and cut out the circle just inside the traced lines. I tied a piece of ribbon at the top and voila! Now I can hang it on my wall and smile at his geometric squirreliness.

Feel free to snag the .jpg of the squirrel pattern here and resize it to your needs, or you can download the .pdf of all 4 patterns I made here (it's free).

If embroidery isn't quite your style, I found these necklaces on Etsy! I got the squirrel (of course!).

Ricotta Silver Dollar Pancakes

2014-03-27T07:28:00.001-07:00

The hus and I have been in a "food rut" lately. So I went through some of my cookbooks to get a little inspiration on some new meals. I'm one of those people that sometimes buys a pretty looking cookbook and then rarely, if ever, opens it (for shame!). This recipe is in The Newlywed Cookbook. I got a copy of this for myself as well as for my sister as a wedding gift. The texture of these pancakes is AMAZING, and it is well worth the extra effort they take (like separating the eggs and folding in whites!) but that's the stuff we do for the ones we love, right?

To make these yourself you will need:

1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp sugar

zest of one lemon
2 c. buttermilk*
1/2 c whole milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs, separated

cast iron skillet
Butter for greasing skillet

*If you don't have buttermilk on hand, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk and let it sit a couple minutes. This will add the acidity the recipe requires to activate your leavening agents.

Start by mixing all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and setting them aside. Then mix together all of your wet ingredients in another bowl (except for the egg whites). Add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry and mix together, set aside while you beat your egg whites to stiff peaks in a third bowl (so many bowls!).

Then, gently fold in the egg whites to the rest of your batter and you will get a nice light fluffy batter.

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium heat and butter the bottom once heated. Pour batter into the pan; I use a 1/4 cup measure to pour my batter for these silver dollar style pancakes, but you could make these any size you want. You can also use a pancake griddle if you like, but I love breaking out my cast iron at every opportunity.

These cook about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once poured, you will know it's time to flip when tiny bubbles form on the top of the batter. The second side is done once the sides of your pancake appear dry and you can see a little golden brown color around the bottom edges.

Serve these scrumptious little pancake bites with fruit, syrup, whipped cream or any other topping your heart desires. They are light and fluffy but have a tiny bit of crispiness from the cornmeal. I think these are a new favorite with us!

Do you have any recipes I should try? Leave me a link or recipe in the comments (moderation is enabled, comments will not appear until approved).

7 Great Crafts for Spring

2014-03-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here (even though it doesn't quite feel like it everywhere). Get yourself in the spirit either way by making some of these cute Spring crafts. :)

Make some paper flowers. No matter what flower is your fave, you can find a paper variety to whip up on a weekend.

If gardening is your thing, these fabric covered flower pots are sure to brighten up your space. I love them as part of my tiny windowsill garden.

I saw these adorable bees over on The Experimental Home. Use your leftover plastic Easter eggs to whip up a hive full of them :)

These dinosaur garden markers were one of my favorite garden projects ever. They add whimsy and color to your garden while you are waiting for everything to sprout!

April showers bring May flowers, so you might as well join in the fun with a rain cloud brooch. If storms are more your style change it up with a cloud + lightning brooch instead.

Don't forget to brighten up your office with some candy colored binder clips. Some clips, glue and scraps of paper or fabric are all you need!

Take a few minutes and make some bright Spring stationery! These cards are super easy and will brighten anyone's day when they open the mail.

What are your favorite Spring crafts?

How to Embellish Fabrics with Embroidery

2014-03-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have quite a bit of fabric in my stash, I just can't pass up a good deal. Sometimes I just don't feel inspired by the fabrics I have when it's time to make a project. I have found that I can jazz up the stuff I have (or have had for a loooooong time) by adding some embroidery to the patterns.

I like patterns like this one with small leaves, because it is easy to add in some extra interest with a new color, by using satin stitch to fill in small areas. This is also a great way to create color combos you love without looking tirelessly for fabrics containing both colors. Love the gray and yellow color combo? Find fabrics done with only gray tones and stitch in some yellow!

This method is also great because you can decide how much of your stitched color you want to add. I like just adding a little red here and there with this teal fabric, but you could go nuts and fill in all of the outlined leaves if you want to.

I also love adding texture to fabrics with embroidery. This red fabric with multi-colored polka dots is already super busy, so I found a floss color that matches the yellow and added in some french knots to give it more dimension.

You can make french knots in a couple different sizes to add more texture, and since this fabric has so many colors you can do a few dots of each color if you want, or just pick out a few dots of the same color (like I did with the yellow). This is also a great little project you can take with you just about anywhere (and it's fun to use some fabrics from your stash without actually USING the fabrics from your stash). It might even inspire you to make some small projects with your cute new embellished fabrics!

Do you have any ways you like to freshen up your fabrics? I'd love to hear about them in the comments :)

Peanut Butter Pie

2014-03-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm a teeny bit obsessed with peanut butter pie at the moment. It started when we grabbed some for dessert at one of our favorite restaurants a couple weeks ago. Since then I have been scouring the interwebs for recipes, below you will find my fave which is a mish mash of a couple recipes I have found and enjoyed!

For Crust:
8 ounces chocolate cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted

For Filling:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat cream cheese, because the heavy whipping cream makes me feel guilty)
1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

First, add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs (I used dark chocolate Fudge Stripe cookies-yum!). Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. I decided I wanted to make 3 smaller dishes of this pie, so I distributed my crust evenly between 3 ramekins about 5 inches in diameter. I still had plenty of filling for all three!

Next, pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form. I put my bowl in the refrigerator as I find this helps speed up the process a little bit. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

4) Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream). Fold in the remaining whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared pie pan. Top with a drizzle of melted chocolate on top (or if you are like me put more cookie crumbs or pieces of these cupcakes leftover from Husband's birthday on top), and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Etsy Crush: Spring Fever

2014-03-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I am having some major Spring Fever lately! Last week here in Portland we got a little taste of Spring (it's supposed to cool down and bit and rain more the next couple weeks now, boo!). My super Spring Fever got me searching through Etsy to find some great handmade Spring time items; I have a crush on all of these:

Seeds from SmartSeeds to start your garden this Spring. I ordered the scarlet milkweed pictured above along with some cute French mini melons and Hungarian sweet peppers. I can't wait for my container garden this summer!

This super cute camper birdhouse from birdhouse20. I don't have a yard or any kind of space to put a birdhouse at the moment (I use all my balcony space for container gardening), but I really love the look of these birdhouses.

These planter rings from wearableplanter come in bright Spring colors and can house a tiny plant (they come with moss). Super cute!

Finally, these awesome glass terrariums from Glimpse Glass are right up my alley. I have a TON on hen and chicks from a plant I propagated last September, as well as some air plants I have purchased. I think a cute little hanging home would be perfect for some of them (and my window sill is getting really cluttered!).

Have you seen any great Spring items on etsy or a favorite blog? Leave me a comment to share, I'd love to take a peek!

Embroidery Tutorials on Tuts+

2014-03-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I know my posts here have been few and far between so far this year, and I just thought I'd take a minute to say hello and let you know what I have been up to. I am currently reworking a lot of my embroidery tutorials for the Crafts & DIY section of Tuts+. In addition, I have lots of projects and patterns in progress, that will be added to The Craftinomicon starting mid March through the rest of the year!

I am going to be steadily increasing the posts here on the blog, but if you are looking for daily doses of crafty inspiration feel free to follow me on Pinterest or instagram (where you will get a lot of in progress and sneak peek looks at what is going on here in Casa de Craftinomicon).

Make Your Own Constellation Notecards: 3 Ways

2014-02-23T15:08:00.000-08:00

I love fancy notecards. I'm always drawn to fancy card and paper stores, but the costs can really add up on fancy cards with all the glitz and glamour. These constellation notecards are super easy to whip up, and don't take tons of materials (I even got some of my items on sale!).

To make your own constellation notecards you will need:

Black or midnight blue cardstock (I used 8.5"x11" sheets)
scissors or small paper cutter
ruler (unless you have a paper cutter with built in ruler)
small self adhesive gemstones
silver metallic pen or marker (I used a Sharpie silver metallic permanent marker)
pencil
needle
print outs of your favorite constellations (I did am image search on Google to find mine)

I started out by cutting my black cardstock sheets into cards. You can easily make 2 cards out of each sheet, and cut individual cards to different shapes if you like. A good standard size is 4 1/4" x5 1/2 inches for the final card (which can be done by cutting your original sheet of paper in half and then folding to make your card).

Next, use a needle to poke small holes in your constellation design where the stars are located, as show above. I then positioned my deisgn on my card and used a very sharp pencil to lightly mark out where my stars are. :)

For my first card, I stuck small self adhesive gems where all of the stars are located. I like the look of this one a lot, but if you are giving these away to someone that isn't very familiar with constellations, you might want to try the outline method.

For this card, I still made the pencil dots to mark where my stars go. Instead of placing my sticker gems, I connected the dots with a metallic silver marker. I let each segment sit a minute or two to make sure I didn't smear my marker lines. This shows the outline of the entire constellation and makes it more recognizable.

My favorite option is the third card, which combines the outline with the gemstones. I did my outlining first, then stuck a gemstone where each star is located. Quick and easy and something I am sure would brighten someone's day.

Have you sent anyone something special yet during National Letter Writing Month?

Fudge Striped Shortbread Cookies

2014-02-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

One of my husband's favorite cookies are Keebler Fudge Stripes. I decided that I'd make him some super special Fudge Striped cookies for Valentine's Day. You start with a simple shortbread cookie recipe and then add some melted chocolate, not nearly as daunting as I thought they might be.

To make your own Fudge Striped Shortbread at home you will need:

For the Cookies:

2 sticks of softened butter
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (you could also use 1/2 cup regular sugar and add in 1 tsp vanilla flavor instead)
2 cups flour (plus extra for rolling out your cookies/dusting your cookie cutters)

For the Fudge Stripes:

1 cup chopped dark chocolate
2 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil

Start by creaming your butter and sugar together in a bowl. Once the butter is light and fluffy and all the sugar us mixed in, add your flour and mix until incorporated. Pour your dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Make your dough into a disk shape, cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees (F). Take your dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out to about 1/4" thick on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin.

Select your cookie cutters (I chose the heart shapes above) and cut out your cookie shapes. Some of my heart shaped cutters are quite large, so I used a smaller cookie cutter to cut out another heart in the center. I will admit, one thing I never liked about fudge stripe cookies is that they have a hole in the middle, I want MORE cookie, not less. If you agree with me, then you can leave all of your cookies without the center cutout.

Place your cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes, until they just start to brown a little around the edges. Once done, take out and place on a cooling rack until completely cool, mix up your chocolate for dipping while you wait.

I melt my chocolate in the microwave, but you can use a double boiler if you like. Just put your chopped up chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and add your butter or coconut oil. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring between each. It takes about 1 minute 30 seconds for all of my chocolate to melt (I stir as much as possible each time, if you need another 30 seconds don't feel bad-it happens).

Once you have your cooled cookies, dip the bottoms of each cookie into the chocolate and place them back onto some parchment (I even put mine on a cool baking sheet and then stick them in the refrigerator to help them set up faster). To make the stripes, I put the remaining chocolate into a sandwich bag, snip off a teeny tiny corner of the bag and use it to pipe on the stripes. These don't have to be prefect, because they are delicious either way. If you don';t want to mess with stripes, you can also just dunk the entire cookie in chocolate!

If you want to see some more "in progress" shots of these guys you can check them out on my Instagram. Happy Valentine's Day!

National Letter Writing Month: Supplies

2014-02-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

It's National Letter Writing Month! Writing letters is something very few of us do any more--email, facebook and text messages have made it pretty obsolete. It's super fun to get mail other than bills, at least I think so, and with Valentine's day quickly approaching, what better time to make a special letter for the people in your life?

Above I have a picture of some super cute supplies that anyone can use to whip up a batch of fancy cards: washi tape, ribbon, cardstock, stamps, stickers, paints, zig-zag scissors, baker's twine and more! You can also make some super cool custom envelopes for your cards with this tutorial.

I made this cute little card in just a few minutes, and it would surely brighten anyone's day. Maybe you can take this opportunity to make a batch of cards to send out to people you haven't talked to in awhile to brighten their day. :)

Valentine's Day Sampler on Tuts+

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I'm working on a bunch of projects for National Letter Writing month, but in the meantime you may want to check out the Valentine's Day Sampler I created for Tuts+. It is super easy, so even a beginner can whip it up in no time. The pattern and some helpful tips are all included in the tutorial.

Look for some more tutorials from me up on their site in the coming months, as well as new additions to the stitch library here on The Craftinomicon.