I had a bit of a cooking marathon this weekend... and when I made creme brulee for the first time (pics of those to come later), the recipe left me with six egg whites...
So what does a girl do? Make meringues of course!
I added sugar and a bit of vanilla... whipped it up and made some meringue buttons and meringue hearts...
Button...
Hearts...
They were delicious!
This year I added some homemade flair to my gift-giving spirit...
I made some infused salts for my Dad. Find a course or sea salt you like, mix with herbs and allow it to sit for a week before gift-giving. If you're looking for ideas, here are a few I made:
Hungarian Paprika
Citrus (Satsuma Orange and Meyer Lemon)
Cracked Caraway Seeds
Crushed Sage & Rosemary
Provide instructions for use including information what types of food each salt would be perfect on (for example, strong herbs are good on meats, citrus-y salts are great on seafood).
Present in glass jars and embellish with pretty labels and ribbon as you see fit!
I also knitted my sister a scarf this year... with a traditional fringed edge...
The colors are faded in this photo... it's really vibrant in person!
So... What did your crafty gift-giving brain get up to this holiday season?
xxoo!
So... I unfortunately can't share all the things I've been working on lately. Because I've been busy working on Christmas presents for some family members. And I know the fam reads the blog. So! I'll just have to wait until after the holidays to share my recent work with y'all.
I can, however, share my favorite gift wrapping idea for this season... kraft paper cut-outs!
I got this idea by perusing MS's website for creative gift wrap ideas.
Want to make your own little creations?
It's uber simple...
Colorful or patterned tissue paper
Plain white or kraft packaging paper
Xacto knife
Pencil and eraser
DIRECTIONS
First, wrap your gift in your choice of tissue paper.
Then, wrap your gift in your packaging paper WITHOUT taping it... just crease along the edges so you know where the paper will sit when it finally covers the gift.
Select a symmetrical shape - trees are a great choice! Decide where you would like your cutout.
Trace half the design on your packaging paper in pencil.
Use your knife to cut out this design and then remove the pencil marks with your eraser.
Wrap your gift in the packaging paper, taking care not to rip the cutout.
The final touch is creasing the cutout so it flaps up.
Ta Daaaaa!! You can use the flap as a "to/from" label or just leave it blank.
I really loved this look this year... and I even made a cutout especially for one of my brothers-in-law who is a big UT fan...
If you are afraid of coming up with your designs freehand, you can use a stencil - maybe even a cookie cutter - to trace your initial design idea onto your paper. :)
Happy gift wrapping to all you elves out there!
As promised, here are pics of our Thanksgiving Spread... everything was delish!
On the menu:
Fried Turkey (thanks to my hunny)
Pineapple-Mustard Glazed Ham
Herbed Roasted New Potatoes
Roasted Carrots, Parsnips and Onion with Thyme
Steamed Brussel Sprouts
Lemony Green Beans
Candied Yams (YUM!)
Cranberry Jelly
Assorted Rolls
Aaaaand... for dessert...
Our dessert spread included:
Jessica's Homemade-from-scratch Pumpkin Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Pumpkin Loaf
Buttered Sweet Potato Pierogies
British Mini Mince Pies
Coffee and Lattes made to order
Seriously? It was AWESOME. Everyone pitched in and it was a real team effort. Here are the guys "manning the turkey fryer" (aka chit-chatting). :)
To set the table, I ran a wide cut of brown kraft paper down the center and topped it with a bamboo runner. I picked up some inexpensive red chargers from Target and a set of fake fall leaves from World Market. To make the napkin rings, I twisted together the wire stems of two faux leaves and then simply bent the leaves around our red napkins.
Our colorful fiesta-ware topped the chargers and we served most of the dishes in my colored mixing/serving bowls. The whole thing ended up looking quite festive!
The one thing I realized when we were about to dive in is we REALLY need to put something on the walls in our dining room. They looked absolutely BARREN, particular in comparison to the table-top!
And... there you have it! A successful, relaxing Thanksgiving Day with friends and family. I'll probably share some of the recipes with you this week.
xxoo!
Here are pics of some of the photo luminaries I put together (with assistance from my hunny + one of my sisters) for my Mum's 60th Birthday Dinner...
We were all really pleased with how they turned out. The dining area had low levels of light, so these glowing luminaries were perfect centerpieces for the evening and brought a stir of chatter from the guests as they perused all the pictures.
Want to recreate this project for your own dinner or event?
Just follow these easy steps!!
Identical photo frames
Printable vellum (either inkjet or laser, depending on your printer)
Scanner
Photo software
Votive candles and votive glasses
Bookbinding tape or colored duct tape
Directions
1. Scan in your old photos.
2. Use photo software to change the color of the photo to either black and white or sepia tone. I used sepia tone since we were using unfinished wooden frames.
You will need to be sure your orientation is the same for each luminary. So you need at least three portrait-oriented pictures or three landscape-oriented pictures. If your pictures aren't the same orientation, use a photo cropping tool accordingly.
3. Print your images onto vellum, following the manufacturer's instructions. You will likely need to allow the vellum to dry before moving to the next step.
4. Cut your printed photos to size so they will fit inside each frame.
5. Place the vellum inside the frame first, and THEN put the glass in. This will keep each piece of vellum snugly in place and will prevent the vellum from being burned or marred by the candle.
6. Construct your luminary by placing three frames side by side. Cut your tape of choice slightly smaller than the height of your frame and seal two of the frame "seams" together using the tape. Use a bone folder to rub the tape and ensure it is firmly affixed.
7. For the third and final corner of the luminary, you will need to fold the frames into the triangle shape. Then, place the tape inside the luminary on the third and final seam, again using a bone folder to be sure the tape is properly affixed.
AND... Tadaaaaa! Total time spent: 45 minutes to an hour.
Put candles in glass holders inside each luminary and enjoy the warm glow and fond memories!!
Here is this project on MS's website too.
Here is a list of the exact materials I used for my project:
Photo Frames from IKEA
HP Inket Printable Vellum
Apple's iPhoto software
White duct tape
(Many thanks to my sister, Ailsa, for sending these pics to me!)
xxoo!!
Decorated our porch for the coming holiday yesterday (thank you, Target)...
I love Mr. Skele-Bones on the door. And our gargoyles are actually quite sweet-looking when you get up close!
(I haven't decided what I'm going to be this year... I do hope we get a chance to dress up! I haven't done it in years...)
Happy Friday, flock!
(from en.wikipedia.org)
I was digging around on Monrovia last night (my favorite plant website) to try to get some ideas on what I can plant to cleverly hide our utility boxes. (For some ridiculous and unknown reason, the planners of our neighborhood have placed a grouping of utility boxes in the frontyards of our houses... not pretty.) When I was searching, I noticed a word under "Landscape Use" that I didn't recognize: Espalier.
So, I naturally Wikipedia'd it - and discovered the word refers to the practice of training trees (through pruning and grafting) to grow in a pre-selected 2D pattern, often next to a wall or building. When I started to pull up pictures, I fell in LOVE with this idea!!
(from www.apps.buckscc.gov.uk)
(from gapphotos.com)
(from espalier-interiordesign.com)
Aren't these just stunning? Apparently many fruit trees are good espalier choices - and they bear more mature fruit faster when grown in this fashion!! J'adore!
As a result of additional searching online, I also came across Arborsculpture, or the art of shaping trunks, branches and roots of trees and other woody plants into designs:
(from photos.commongate.com)
(from gardeninggiftsgalore.com)
(from homebuilding.thefuntimesguide.com)
(from treehousebydesign.com)
My favorites are the tree-chair (the first pic in this post) and the tree arch. :)
Call me a tree-huggin' hippie, but I really do treasure these trees - and my only disappointment in discovering these art forms is knowing that Ryan + I aren't likely to stay in one city long enough for me to try my own hand at crafting one of my own and watching it mature! *sniff sniff*
*****
On a sidenote, I was SO saddened this morning to discover that Diane Sawyer will be leaving ABC's morning news program, Good Morning America in January to take over for Charles Gibson on ABC's evening news program. I always watch news in the morning, usually pairing it with a cup of coffee as I sift through my personal emails. She's part of my morning ritual!! (Perhaps I will have to begin watching evening news in 2010... *sigh*...)
Diane, your morning peeps will miss you. She said this morning she has been a part of around 2,500 episodes of GMA over 10.5 years... That's a lifetime of work in & of itself!
*****
Nothin' but love for you all this Thursday.
xxoo!!
We're heading out to Pensacola this week to celebrate Ryan's mom's birthday. It'll be close to a 9 hour drive from our house - or even longer! So we're preparing for a road trip - with snacks, a few good books, and Ryan will even take care of some homework for a class he's taking. It'll be SO nice to go back - it's been a long time since we've visited... TOO long!
I'll share pictures while we're there... hopefully the rain doesn't linger for long. :)
I made Rachael Ray's Spinach & Artichoke Mac-n-Cheese for Ryan + I the other day. We liked it... but it was a little odd eating it without chips! It really does taste exactly like a good spinach & artichoke dip. Probably best served as a side dish as opposed to a main entree!! :)
I turned the oven to "broil" for the last few minutes - and it looked great when I pulled it out!
You can find Rachael's recipe here.
You can probably tell by my recent posts that I've been on a cooking-binge lately. But I've also been working on some new items for the shop... can't wait to share them with you when they're finished!! Here's a little preview of some materials I've been using...
J'adore these prints!! :)
A happy happy hump day to you all.
xxoo!
A friend of ours is heading to Qatar for a year-long deployment with the Air Force, away from his family + friends. Out of pure serendipity, he happened to stop by SC on his way for 10 days of training... so we were lucky enough to take him in as a guest and to spend time with him in the States before he headed out. So - needless to say - I haven't had a chance to post much in the last week or so... in between all the cooking, baking, playing billiards, gardening, site-seeing, driving, and eating we were up to!
I have been up to a little shop mischief today... here is a peek at what I have been working on this morning.
I'm still deciding what finishing touches to make... I can't wait to send these to my cousin's brand new baby girl, Karis, when they're done!
A very happy (and productive) Wednesday to you all!
xxoo!
-h-
I was so pleased when my most recent Etsy purchase arrived today that I decided I just had to share it with you!
Pam Binkowski of Sew Gracious makes some great stuff... I purchased one of her pouches, deciding it was the perfect home for some of my business cards. And boy was I right!
These pouches are crafted with care, are multipurpose, and come in all sorts of smart prints. I can't help but feel I've found a craft-sister in Pam when I look through her shop!
So go and grab your favorite pouch up quick... before it's gone!
(pssst... she has a free shipping offer in her shop right now - go check it out!)
mwah!
-h-
