Guest Project -- Great Gift Idea -- Make an Adorable Fabric Purse!

I'm guesting over at Tatertots and Jello Today! Go check out this fun purse tutorial that I shared!

Guest Project -- Great Gift Idea -- Make an Adorable Fabric Purse!

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-project-great-gift-idea-make.html

Grandpa's Apple Strudel

During high school, I took German as my foreign language and of course joined the school German Club.  One of our projects was to learn to make authentic German Apple Strudel from german-born Mrs. Elsie.  It was a great recipe!  I started making it every Thanksgiving and Christmas, it was my teenage contribution to our big family get-togethers.  Best yet, the person whom loved it the most was my Grandpa.  He would ask weeks before each Thanksgiving and Christmas, "you gonna bring your apple strudel aren't ya?"  I was a Grandpas' Girl, so of course I'd bring it!  We lost Grandpa in 1995, and as the years have gone on, I misplaced/lost that recipe.  I've been reminiscing, been sentimental, and thinking that that Strudel would be great to make again, so I searched online recipes, and couldn't find the exact recipe - Mrs. Elsie had a one of a kind?!  I found several similar and just adapted to what I remember.   Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of hot water
• 4 tablespoons of shortening
• 1 dash of salt
• 6-7 firm apples
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of bread crumbs
• 1/8 cup of fine walnuts
• 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• melted butter

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.  Add the shortening to the hot water and let it melt.   Add the water/oil mixture to the flour and mix thoroughly, then knead it to make elasticy ball of dough.  Sit the dough aside under a wet cloth for about 30 minutes in a warm spot.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

After 30 minutes, take the ball of dough and roll it on a lightly floured surface.  Roll it to as thin as possible.  By hand, start stretching the dough to thin even more.  Use the back of your hands, finger tips, etc. to pull the dough and thin it out.  You want your dough to be about 16" x 24" (this is not exact, and also is not a perfect rectangle)

 


Peel and slice apples.  In a large bowl, mix apples, sugar, bread crumbs, walnuts, apple pie spice and vanilla.  Mixture will look dry.



Apple peeler/corer, slicer make
this easy.



Grandma Freda's nut chopper

Pour apple mixture on to on side of the stretched dough, begin rolling the dough to cover the apples,  Tuck the ends in as you go, roll until the last bit of dough will be on the bottom of the strudel.  Place the "strudel roll" (technical term here!) onto a buttered cookie sheet.  Then slice some slits into the top of the "strudel roll" - about every 2 inches.  Brush the outside of the "strudel roll" with some melted butter.   Place the strudel in the oven and bake.  Brush with more butter after 30 minutes of baking.  Bake a total of 45 to 50 minutes until light golden brown. 

You can dust the top of the strudel with powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar.  You can serve your Apple Strudel warm or cold and/or with ice cream or whipped cream.  Just enjoy it!

Repurposed box to Jewelry Box

I don't know if you've noticed, but candy boxes are usually very well made.  And I have the habit of not throwing them out. They're pretty and I know I can use them for something else! (yes odd, I know).  So here's one example of reusing it: decoupage it to make a jewelry box for my teenage daughter.  I know she may not use it for just jewelry, but anything I can give her for organization..... :-).

For this project I headed over the the Graphics Fairy again.  I think I've just about gone through the whole catalog there; just browsing.  There are some amazing images!  http://www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/.  My daughter loves Musicals and Plays.  One of her favorites is "Phantom of the Opera", so I pulled some themed pictures, adjusted the color tones and printed them.  I also found some of my images by simply searching on the web.

The supplies I used for this project:
Empty old candy box
Printed pictures
scissors
mod podge
paint brush
felt
hot glue

First I covered the box lid with a background page; this one looks like old paper.  I folded the paper around the bottom to go inside the lid too; just like the original box has.

Then, I lined inside the bottom half of the box with some felt.  I attached the felt using my hot glue gun.

I then cut/ripped the pictures I wanted and attached them to the outside of the box.  I let these dry completely and then added another layer of mod podge to seal the box.  And "voile la" its finished!

Vintage style Christmas Ornaments

Hi there! I feel like I've been slacking on posting lately.  I've actually done some projects, but some of them are Christmas gifts - which makes them top secret. 

A few weeks ago I made some Christmas Ornaments that are a replication from Pottery Barn's Decoupage Bird Ornaments.  Find the original post here http://cappuccinoandcobwebs.blogspot.com/2010/11/pottery-barn-bird-decoupage-ornament.html. I really liked the way the turned out, so I thought I'd make even more ornaments.  This time I went with simple Christmas scenes; all found at The Graphics Fairy http://www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/.   There are some truly beautiful images there, and more are added every day!

I printed the images and cut to fit on the 3.25" inch wood disc I have. 

Then, I used Mod Podge to affix the picture, let it dry and put another coat of Mod Podge on top of the picture to seal it.  I let the finished layer dry completely, then started trimming the ornaments.  On my previous bird ornaments, I used to Dimensional Magic, but I skipped it on this batch.  I also used a variety of trims this time.   
  

Glued a bead strand around the
perimeter and some gossamer
ribbon for the hanger.  This may be
my favorite!


 

 

Glued black pompom trim around
the edge and a red "naughty or nice"
ribbon for the hanger.


 

Glued silver zigzag trim around the
edge and used it for the hanger too!
I like the brush strokes here, gives
a blizzard effect to the picture.

   


Rolled the edge in glue and then
sprinkled with red glitter.  A satin
red ribbon for the hanger.

 


Glitter glue around the edge and
red ribbon with snow flakes for
the hanger.

  

Felt Rosette Christmas Wreath

Lately I've been hooked on beautiful fabric rosettes.  I've seen them on t-shirts, necklaces, and headbands.  So I thought I'd give some a try for myself.  I love the look, but wasn't so sure I'd be able to actual make a rosette successfully.   Well, it also happened that the Dollar Tree has felt in Christmas colors right now.  So I bought a package of 14 pcs (5.5" by 8.5") in black, red, green and white.  Then thought a Christmas wreath would be a great start.  So here it is.

Supplies:
Package of felt
ribbon
7" embroidery hoop (just one piece of it, save the other for later!)
hot glue

Start the wreath by cutting some felt to cover to the hoop.  I used 3/4 inch by 8.5 strips; just going around the hoop and attaching the felt with hot glue.

For the Rosettes.  Start by cutting the felt into 3/4 inch strips  = 3/4 inch by 8.5 inch strips.  DON'T cut all the felt though!  I 'm using full pieces also to glue on as the backing and stability to the rosettes too.  So to start I only cut 3 sheets of red and 3 sheets of white.
To start the rosette, I'm using two colors so you might be able to tell the difference. 
In all I have 43 rosettes.  Some are small and most are large.  To make smaller rosettes, just cut the strips down from the 8.5 inches; cutting in half works really well!

First I'm folding the strip in half at the end, and hot gluing down.

Next, I fold the upper end-point down to meet the bottom, creating a triangle (reminds me of fold a flag).  Affix this with hot glue.  now the point at the top is going to be the center of the rosette.

Start wrapping the material around the center point.  Making it bulky in some places, and even folded over in others.  Periodically use a hot glue dot to secure the wrap.

Use hot glue on the end to secure the rosette closed.  (in all I use about 3 dots of glue to secure the rosette while wrapping)

The bottom of the rosette will look really uneven; which is just fine.  Place hot glue on the bottom all around to cover most of it.

Next, place it on the reserved felt sheet and push it down to make sure all the pieces are secure.

I cut the rosettes out and started gluing them to the loop.  I started by filling in the inner part; gluing to the loop and the side-by-side rosettes.  Then glue a second layer onto the loop to cover it up as much as possible.  I added some cut felt leaves for filler too.   Then I glued a piece of ribbon to the top for hanging.

Thanksgiving Mantle Banner

I've really been liking the looks of all the banners I've seen on other blogs.  Its fun that you can make something that looks great and is too your liking, and that doesn't cost a ton!  Not to mention the ideas that are coming to me for banners; birthdays, Christmas, Valentines, Easter, and a Graduation party in 2011 for my oldest son.  I'm particular excited about the Graduation one.

For this project I just used my digital cutter to cut some letters and leaf shapes.  Then I hand cut the pennant shapes and glued them together.  I glued them to a ribbon and placed it on the mantle.  I really like it and I like that it reminds us to "be thankful" in all things.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
15 oz can of pumpkin
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
Icing
8 oz. package of cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon of apple pie spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice)
Pecans or pecan pieces


Heat oven to 350 F degrees.  In a bowl combine butter, sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.  Beat at low speed, scraping sides often, until light and fluffy.


Add on egg at a time until creamy. 


Add in the can of pumpkin and mix well. 

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.


  Add the pumpkin/butter mixture to the dry ingredients, incorporate thoroughly. 


Scoop into a cupcake liner for it to be 3/4 full; I like to use an ice cream scoop - works great! 


Bake for 25 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely. 

In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Beat until fully incorporated and smooth, then add in the spices at the last and mix in thoroughly.


Let the cupcakes cool completely, and place the icing in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Pipe or spread the icing onto the cooled cupcakes.  Top with a pecan or pecan piece.  Eat up and enjoy! Makes 18 cupcakes

Dollar Store Thanksgiving wreath

All the vintage pictures at The Graphics Fairy are beautiful.  Clicking through that website is sure to stir up some kind of creativity!  While I was browsing through Christmas images, I found lots of Thanksgiving images too!  My mind started gravitating towards making some kind of Thanksgiving wreath; but it needs to be frugal, of course!  I stopped by my local Dollar Tree Store and picked up one of the 10" inch styrofoam wreaths to serve as the base.  I decided to cover the base with images by affixing them directly to the wreath base.

To start I printed out a variety of images onto a MS Word document; covering as much of the page as possible.  Then I ripped the pages into strips that were about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide. 


Then came the fun and messy part.  I used Mod Podge to glue the back of each strip and apply it around my wreath.  I this in two layers - which worked great for coverage.  I even put a third layer in some places where I wanted the specific sayings to show on the face of the wreath.

Sorry for the blur, it was nighttime and dark!

Next,  I pulled out a couple of 3 1/4" inch wood discs to apply some images too.  Then I trimmed the edges of the discs with some doily lace (cut the edge off of a doily), and/or some twine using hot glue.

Next I made some flowers by cutting a krinkled coffee filter into progressive size circles; hot gluing and layering them. 

Then I hot glued the discs, flowers, some buttons, and some sparkly buttons (some bedazzled jewels).  I like out it turned out, and I really like the price!





Elephant Garlic Bread

This savory version of an Elephant Ear was one of our favorites at a local restaurant, unfortunately they took it off their menu (The nerve! :-)  A certain wonderful husband had recently mentioned his elephant bread craving.  So here's my try at the recipe.  It starts with a basic pizza crust, but store bought would work out just fine.

Quick Pizza Dough recipe:
2 1/4 cup of flour
1 tablespoon of fast yeast
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, mix 3/4 cup of flour, yeast, sugar and 2/3 cup hot water (130 degree F).  Stir in the oil, 1 1/4 cup of the remaining flour and salt and blend till it becomes a dough.  Knead the dough on a floured surface (using the remaining 1/4 cup flour) until unsticky (is this a word?)  Let the dough rise, covered (wet towel works best) in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough
1 Clove of Elephant Garlic, small diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 tablespoon of kosher salt (if table salt, use 1 teaspoon)
1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F.
In a skillet add the olive and garlic.  Cook at a med/low heat until the garlic just starts to caramelize, remove from heat.  Add the garlic to the melted butter.
Next, spread pizza dough out to fit your baking sheet, pizza stone, etc.  I personally use a stone, and preheat it in the oven; thus spreading the dough on the counter top.  Spread the butter/garlic mixture onto the flattened dough.  Sprinkle the salt and Parmesan cheese across the dough evenly.  Bake in the oven until golden brown: about 12 to 15 minutes.

It comes out slightly crispy on the edges and bottom, and soft.  For some added flavor cracked black pepper is good, and adding some more melted butter after it comes out too! Yummy!