Girlie Stuff

Since I have no daughters, I need to make girlie stuff for other people's daughters.  Here are some aprons I made for my niece, my mom, and a pillow and quilt for a friend's daughter's doll.  :)  I reused nursing bra clasps to make the aprons adjustable and able to open completely.

~ Kellie

Birthday Cakes

Hello Everybody!  Jen invited me to join in the fun.  Here are some of my recent creations.  These were the boys' birthday cakes.  The monster truck cake topping was melted chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and then I mixed in unmelted chips, marshmallows and kix cereal.  I poured it all over brownies.  Seriously sweet, but also very fast to make.
~ Kellie Singh

Strawberry Jam

Who can resist strawberries in the summer?  Well for most of you its probably spring, but here its pretty much always summer!  So the strawberries are already going on sale at the farmers market (along with a bunch of kale).  Woo Hoo!

So we took some strawberries and turned them into jam. We found an easy recipe... and I had three eager helpers with the stirring, which made it even easier!

I used this recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/264063/quick-strawberry-jam?czone=food/brunch-center/brunch-baked-sweets loosely and it turned out delicious.  Heres our version:

4 lbs. strawberries, stems off (actually a little less since we snacked on them while we took off the stems!)

1 C. sugar

3 tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Chop up the berries in small batches in the blender (very coarsely).

Throw them in a pot with the sugar and lemon juice and cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly (about 15 min.) stirring constantly so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Pour into jars, cover and let cool.  This made about 44 ounces of jam

 It is the most beautiful color of red that I have ever seen in my life.  I'd probably have to make it again even if it didn't taste so good just so I could have that color around.  I recommend putting it on something lighter than a bagel....like a biscuit or a scone, but we ate those up too fast and I forgot to take pictures.

Besides that, all you need is a cup of tea (hot or cold depending on your weather of the moment).  

Enjoy!

-Jen

Suncatchers

One day at the farmers market there was a retired preschool teacher who had set up a children's arts/crafts booth.  She had melted down an assortment of glass bottles for the kids to make into suncatchers.  Each child picked a bottle.  On one side they painted a masterpiece and on the other they glued colored tissue paper.  She didn't even mind that they mixed the paints!

Even though the youngest didn't make a suncatcher (he just painted on a paper), by the time we left they all three had paint from head to toe!  Creating AND mess-making...what more could a kid ask for?!

I hung them together on the back patio and now every time there is a breeze I can hear them clang together gently and it is one of the best wind chimes I have ever had.  It was actually quite a lovely end to the week.  Hope you all have a great weekend.

-Jen

Present From My Brother

For Christmas our family does a handmade or thrifted gift exchange.  This cuts back on a huge amount of shopping and stress, but I also have a wonderfully talented and creative family (for the most part!) so there are some pretty amazing gifts exchanged.

                          

This past year my brother made me the coolest hanging candle lanterns, so I just had to share them.  The vases/cups are thrifted and the beads were from his wife's stash.

I love that each one is different!  And they are really beautiful when they are lit up at night.  (That's my brother in the photo below.)

These days we've had lots of warm spring nights to sit out on the patio and enjoy them.  Thanks Bro!

-Jen

My 2nd quilt!

So, I know that this material was not re-used or what not, but it is a craft that I completed. this was for our 3rd nephew. The tags are for when he starts feeling things and he can rub the satin between his stubby little fingers! ACF

Apples to applesauce

About a month ago I got a bag of bruised apples at the farmers market for super cheap.  I decided I would learn to make applesauce.  That batch turned out awesome!  A bit sweet (tasted more like apple pie), but really yummy and so easy.

So then a couple of weeks later when a friend gave us another 50+ apples that were left over from a conference, I decided to try again.  

This time with no sugar so it would taste more like the sugarless kind that I generally buy at the store.  Again.....pretty awesome (except that I burnt an entire pot...which really ticked me off! Grrrr...).

Nothing like some fresh, warm applesauce on a cool winter day.  Happy February!

Jen