southwest pillows for christmas

i made these pillow slips for a christmas present. they didn't take too long. just measured the pillow and added more length so the pillow opening in the back would overlap and keep the pillow covered. to keep the pillow covered it required more than 3 inches of overlap.

seed packet apron

i found this really neat fabric that looked like seed packets. i turned it into this quick little apron. it was my first time using bias tape and it worked out really well.

button bracelet

i made this for my secret santa at work. the instructions came from the book beads, buttons and bijoux.

time to use the dehydrator!

i made persimmon fruit leathers. i added a bit of pumpkin pie spice and they turned out really good. i cooked down about 10 persimmons that i had cut up and put in a pan with lemon juice from half a lemon. it took a while to cook down, 40 minutes? then i added 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. then i blended the mixture in the blender and poured some onto the non-stick dehydrator sheets. i found the best method is to pour a blob in the middle of the sheet then rotate the sheet around to evenly spread the mixture. i tried the spatula and failed.



mega dehydrator from montgomery ward back in the day

fuyu persimmons from a friend

all done after 6-7 hours in the dehydrator, wrapped and rolled in saran wrap

baby monster fleece vest

i made this fleece vest using simplicity pattern 5316. i adapted it a little, instead of using bias tape to hold down the edges, i either sewed it with a zigzag stitch or double stitched it. the part with the zipper was a little warped, probably because i cut the fabric the wrong way. but it fits great.

4 pointed paper stars

i made 4 pointed paper stars strung on a ribbon. i got the idea from the book holiday crafting and baking with kids. i tried making the star like it showed, but i used card stock and it cracked when i folded it too much. so i cut out the cracked star and used it as a stencil, then very carefully folded each section in half, then folded 2 tips towards each other to make another crease. it was fairly easy.

snowglobes without the water

anthropologie had these glass jar snowglobes minus the water. very cool, $38, which is crazy for a jar with glued tidbits. we all have jars that we put in the recycle and the tidbits can be had from any craft store for cheap. you just use a glue gun and glue things to the inside of the lid, make sure you keep a clearance so it can be screwed back on. i shook some glitter around inside the jar too, it sticks to the sides of the jar and makes it look snowy.

i learned that the neck of the jar can be pretty deep so it helps to put something under the trees and snowmen.

 the bird is glued to the inside of the jar. this jar had extra fluff added which you can shake around and looks pretty when it falls on the tree. i also glued a ribbon to the outside of the lid to cover up the writing.

for this one, i glued the bird to the tree. i also added extra glue to the tree and shook on more glitter.

dark chocolate toasted almond sea salt bark

we used a brick of dark chocolate, raw almonds we toasted and coarsely chopped, and chunky sea salt. melt your chocolate either in a double boiler or the microwave. if microwaving, use short periods of time, watch it constantly and stir at each interval. you don't want to over heat/cook it. in a parchment lined cookie sheet, lay down your nuts, pour and spread the chocolate and sprinkle salt on top. let cool either on the counter top or the refrigerator.

paper christmas ornaments

my friend and i made these ornaments using card stock, postcards, scrapbooking stuffs, pipe cleaners, glitter and scalloped scissors.

miette cookbook how i love you

my friend came over and we went crazy making stuff! we made cinnamon meringues and a complimentary recipe lemon curd (one uses egg whites and the other uses yolks,) recipes courtesy miette cookbook. and if you haven't been to miette in san francisco i highly recommend it.it is beautiful!

breakfast casserole

this recipe comes from the casserole queens cookbook. you take crescent rolls in the tube (the recipe called for one tube but i used one and half) and lay them down in your casserole dish. lay down some cheese and ham (recipe called for bacon, but i am too lazy to make bacon) and pour on your egg mixture and bake. it was really good. i used the extra crescent rolls for the vegetarian and put cheese in it and baked. the cookbook is good but it has some drawbacks. it uses cream and whole milk, so not so healthy. it also doesn't take shortcuts, like seasoning your own sausage rather than buying seasoned sausage, or making your sauce from scratch etc.

thanksgiving pies

so i made 2 pies, pecan pie (recipe from betty crocker cookbook, but i double and toast the nuts) and pumpkin pecan pie (recipe from Country Living the Little Book of Pies & Tarts: 50 Easy Homemade Favorites to Bake & Share) the pecan was great and the pumpkin one was more of a fancy pumpkin pie. it was nice and fluffy though. a lot of pumpkin pies are so heavy. it was good. one draw back to the pumpkin pecan pie is that you put in your crust, then the pumpkin filling and bake for a half hour. during the baking time the crust sort of melted down because there wasn't any filling to hold it up so i had to smush the crust back up and it still wasn't tall enough to hold all the filling.

.the pumpkin pecan pie is on the left and the regular pecan pie on the right.