Folding Screen

I've been wanting a folding screen for a while. Well, I came across a stenciled folding screen in the newest Martha Stewart magazine. The screen was attractive and chic. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be cost effective. So, I made my own stencil, bought some paint, bought a folding closet door- I had the material. However, the outcome was less than martha stewart worthy.

My project was much more cost effective. The stencil listing in the instruction was $50 +. My stencil was the cost of a pack of plastic ($3.00). I didn't use the gold wallpaper she suggested nor the more expensive paints. Maybe a poor man's martha. Maybe I'm just useless. Anyways, I can now sit at my desk and ignore the allure of my bed. Mission accomplished!

Chicken Salad

When looking for a recipe Marthastewart.com is usually the first place I turn to. However her recipes can call for ingredients that are expensive and/or hard to find. I don't mind paying more for quality but I do have issues with blind faith. I HATE spending more on recipes that just do not work. My experience with Martha Stewart's recipes are that they are either complete hits or complete disasters. Anyways I branched out to foodnetwork.com to try a few recipes. The first was a chicken salad recipe. Ode to chicken salad I do thee, Let me count the ways - and all that jazz. In simple form I imaged chicken salad to just be mayo, chicken, and celery. In fact, freshmarket sells some of the best chicken salad I have had, and appears to be a rather simplistic recipe. Here is the recipe I used from foodnetwork. Admittedly I wasn't overly impressed the first night but over time I have become fond of this recipe.


4 cups diced poached chicken, recipe follows
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced or 1/4 cup sweet onion cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon or fresh dill
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 cup prepared or homemade mayonnaise
2 teaspoons strained freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a mixing bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, scallions and herbs. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Add to the chicken and mix gently until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cook's Note: Serve on a bed of lettuce with sliced tomatoes, in half an avocado or in a chicken club sandwich made with artisanal bread, crispy smoked bacon, vine-ripened tomatoes and lettuce.

POACHED CHICKEN FOR SALADS
10 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small onion, halved
1 small carrot, halved
1 stalk celery, halved
3 pounds chicken breasts halves, on the bone and fat trimmed
5 to 6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned

Put the parsley, thyme, onion, carrot, celery, and chicken breasts in a medium saucepan. Cover with the broth, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and cover. Poach the chicken for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove the pan from the heat, uncover, cool the chicken in the liquid for 30 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and reserve the liquid. Bone and skin the chicken and cut the meat into 1 inch cubes. Discard the bones and skin.
Strain the broth and store, covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days or freeze for later use. Remove any fat from the surface of the broth before using. Yield: 4 cups cubed chicken or 4 to 6 servings


Changes I made and things to keep in mind:
* table salt is not a substitute for kosher sale, the latter having less of a salt taste.
* I added apple slices, red grapes, and walnut which I think were of benefit to the recipe. This also increases the serving size. I would say the serving size is more like 6-8.
* I didn't use any dill
* I used dried thyme for the broth.

Wedding Cake

What do you think?

The Boy and I took a second Wilton's cake class at Micheal's this summer. They ran some special and so the class only cost $7 (material excluded). I'm going to try to make my own wedding cake next fall and so I was trying out flavors and techniques of tiering cakes. I used dowel sand the cake made it all the way home from Micheal's. Some of the forums I have read are absolutely against dowels but they have been used long before any of the other methods. I also learned fondant in this class. The boy really likes the look and I have to agree. We wanted to try another brand fondant but living in the middle of no where the only cake place that I thought might have it was only open Sundays. Have you ever heard of a store being open only on Sunday. The Church of all plastic brides and grooms.

The cakes are vanilla white butter cake with strawberry buttercream, Red velvet cake with cream cheese icing and Chocolate butter cake with chocolate cherry ganche. Minus the red velvet cake the two cakes were wonderful bakehouse recipes (I believe that's the name). The chocolate cherry ganache and the cream cheese icing were Martha Stewart Recipes. What I learned:
* I much prefer cake recipes from scratch because they are more dense and honestly I find them easier to work with. They also don't have the excessive RISE on the top of the cake. There may be ways around this but with scratch this isn't an issue.
*I thought the two wonderful bakehouse recipes were GREAT. Especially the White butter cake. * If you are using vanilla from Walmart or you local grocery store change to Madagascar Vanilla. It is more expensive but is comparable. I've been cooking and baking more and more in my old age and better ingredients make for better foods.
* I made my own kirtsch cherries because I couldn't find them, so the error of this recipe may be mine. Either way I did not love the chocolate cherry ganache. The cream cheese icing was good.
* Simple syrups are a trick to keep cakes moist.
* Unsalted butter is used because salt acts as a preservative . By buying unsalted butter you unsure fresher butter.
*Harder to find, but european unsalted butter is a key ingredient in baking cakes and making fresh buttercream. Generic brands are not best. When I opened the wrapped of the european butter I was honestly knocked out by the fresh smell of butter. Aren't aromas half the fun of cooking?
* The cakes came out better when I coated the pans with shortening and then placed a wax paper circle on the bottom or the cake.
* Easier to prepare if you let them stay in the fridge overnight.

computer crash

My computer crashed about a week and a half ago. Things like this happen. No shock there. However, it appears I won't be able to get the data off the harddrive. I'm pretty computer savvy but I am losing hope fast. My last computer failed when I moved here so I pulled off the data from that harddrive and so my computer life starts where I left off 3 years ago. Maybe a new beginning is a good thing for my computer and for me. I purchased a warranty with this computer which expires in a month. Did I luck out there or what? In the end I got a brand new hard drive and a mother board. Essentially a new computer. I totally could not afford to buy a desktop at this point in my life so, "amen". I would commend Dell for there customer response and resolution. It's hard to think about all the things I have lost by this incident but I'm trying not to DwELL.

Valentine's Day Swap

I mentioned earlier that I participated in the Valentine swap on weddingbee.com. A lot of the cards have been blogged about today--as it is Valentine's day. There are all looking soo amazing. Well, Here are a few that I got!They really made my day.



This one is from Mrs. Lemon!


And here is one my mom sent me today! I had sent her the Victorian card that I made.

Front:



Inside:

Wedding Crafts

There a few crafts that are more wedding related that are on my wedding blog. Right now it is limited but as the planning process goes on the projects will get more in depth.

Check them out:

http://luckyky.blogspot.com/

Long time no see Clearance aisle

Okay, so Ive been trying to stay away from the stores and well that means I haven't been able to buy stuff for crafts ! :-o... Okay that was a bit of a fib. I have been to some stores, I have just been trying to avoid the ones I just know I have to buy something at. Well, yesterday I broke down and found a few lovelies at the local cracker jaxx store. In the clearance room I found these two characters. I have been admiring the one rabbit for some time but was broken so I moved on. The little girl as too cute. So as I saw them standing together waiting for a new home I said, "okay, you can come home with me. You're 50% off the lowest price. You have sold yourself. "

This next little tree was by the door and I just happen to pass on my way out. I almost made it out of the store, but your beauty was too much ! I love the vintage look and since it was 20% off days at cracker jaxx I said, " you'll look good on my bathroom vanity, and better than that you won't need watering everyday!"



What do you think?

Finally finished!

Here are the last of the Sandra Evertson's Fanciful Paper Projects. I did not do all the project, but I think I did at least 85% of the projects. Overall the book was very fun. I at times felt it was more like a class than a book. I was always thinking of new ways to use the project. The Pros: The book had some really adorable projects that I loved doing. The paper that was available for printing would be great on so many other projects. Cons: The instructions were unclear at times and did not maximize the use of time. A few of the projects used difficult or impossible to find objects, required unnecessary items. Overall grade A some projects I just loved!

This is an itty bitty Chinese theatre

This is an itty bitty dance hall :)... The book has a paper ballerina but I went on etsy and searched ballerina and found these cupcake toppers. I thought they were more charming. If I took the top off you could see a tiny chandelier and more of the curtains. An inspiration for any little girls dream.


I think I would like an invite to this party :)


This circus could not be confined to a box



This is an improvise. I could not find the size box in paper mache and used a wood one instead. I also didn't have any luck finding the coil required in the book. Oh well still a fun little take on the jack in the box.


And look who popped out of this shoe.


Had some fun with this book!

BABY LOVE

How cute is this! IT IS VERRY CUTE, in case you can't recognize CUTE. I saw these over at inspire co. They have a really cute online store but one of the things I loved was their craft kits. This is actually a kit you can buy for scrapbooking or other things you might do with these charming vintage tokens of cuteness :).... Check them out!

Adorable!

How cute is this little girl I love chenille figures they crack my up. This was made by twinkle hill. You can check her out on etsy HERE or you can check out her blog HERE. Her music on he page is hilariously fun. So if you just want some background music for your online viewing go check it out :)... But I thinks her blog has some ubber talent to share.

Heartbreaking

Don't you hate when you find something beautiful and then you find that it is sold out? Tisk Tisk. This beautiful print I found at Angelina's beautiful cards & Paper Boutique. Please check her out she has some very lovely designs! I'm all for promoting the art of card sending!

WEBSITE feature

This little charmer was made by Alicia Paulson at Posie (rosy little things). Her inspiration she says comes from warm summer nights, sounds of porch swings, linens, and roses :). This little bird I found in her sold items but she has several other lovely items that maybe you might enjoy.

Valentine Box

Today was a cold and snowy day. The roads were bad and so I did not go out. Here is my craft I did with my heart box from Micheal's. The picture is a baby picture of my father. I thought about adding a funny hat but who needs a hat to cover up those curls. I have since added some rickrack so that the places that the glitter didn't attach to would be hidden more. Over the years the glitter will slowly fall off anywho so whatever :)... Anyone else made some family photos into keepsakes?

Swap cards XOXOs will you bee my Valentine.

So here are the three cards I am going to use for the swap. I found the inspiration online. I guess it is inspiration : hearts and Xs and Os?? But, they are made of felt and embellished with yarn, buttons, beads, and sequence. I also added little bees to each of them seeing that they are for a weddingbee swap :) . When I finished I hot glued them to a card and wrote a little note inside. Middle of January and I have already finished my valentine day cards ! Well I have another valentine day craft I am working on and just got a heart craft box at micheals for $1!!! Check out Micheal's clearance, they must be doing inventory. So stay tune!

V-day! BEEP BEEP! special delivery.

So I thought I would enter the Valentine day swap on weddingbee.com. You exchange three cards with fellow readers and also get a card from a bee. I've been wanting to do an online swap for sometime and well this is my first. This is the card I made in the Valentine card making spirit. The way it was made is I found an old Victorian valentine day card online and painted the car to resemble that car. Then I found a little lady who could drive :) online and decorated her with crepe paper. I made the wheels out of glitter and attached some heart shaped brads from MM I got at Micheals. Then I found some Victorian flowers online and filled the car with "special deliveries". Well I think it is a cute card. Stay tune for my other Valentine day designs :) !
before complete embellishments and after :

I'll be home for Christmas

So in the interest of paper crafts I decided to do some projects that were significant to the family. I realize this is what a lot of scrap booking is about but, maybe I have mentioned that I don't scrapbook for various reasons. So I took a twist on this and have two projects that I have planned. One finished and one not started. The first is a winter house. I bought the paper mache house at micheal's and have embellished it with rickrack, paint, tinsel, and old paper. All the pictures are of my dad's parents and siblings. I tried to find some funny and charming pictures of the family. I'm not sure if I will add to the house later (maybe it just needs a bottlebrush tree out front ;) ) but I enjoy having it on display. I love the significance of the project.

fanciful paper projects

So I bought Sandra Evertson's Fanciful paper project book and have been working my way through the book's projects. I really took a liking to paper crafts because of my advent calendar and thought these projects would keep me busy with something a little different in the new year (besides being a couch potato). I've been following most of her directions with some slight changes here and there. But I'll slowing update my projects from the book as I finish. Anyone else looking for a fun craft book check this one out. I have to say actually doing the projects helps more in realizing what else can be done than just looking at the book so think about these books as educational.
These 3 girls are probably one of my favorites.

This cupcake box guy was one the main reason the book caught my eye in the store. I added button embellishments and Im not finished decoupaging the bottle of the box.
Petunia the flower witch was an okay project that I 'm not in love with

and then the classy ladies was fun but rather bulky and not really my thing.

They have all been fun projects though and have giving me some ideas. Always good. Stay Tune

More after Christmas sales !

Okay, I'm a clearance JUNKIE! I so similar tendency with coupons and sales. I just simply hate buying things at full price. I do of course do buy things full price but I'm not as impulsive or haphazard about it. Here are a few last Christmas stuff I got on sale. The Dresden star ornaments came from home traditions. They weren't part of a Christmas sale just a general discount. I would never buy these ornaments had they been full price but they are gorgeous!! I love the work and colors of these. The guys at home traditions were also very fast at processing my order. One am be familiar with them as the sellers of the gorgeous feather trees that I am in envy of. I also got this christmas box. I dont know much about the box . But I like it and I assume its one of Bethany Lowe's artists. ANyone else find some good holiday items on sale?

Can you have too many bottle brush trees?

Probably. But I took to really loving these little trees. Plus an After Christmas sale forced me to up my collection. I also got another cute cody foster house! This one is smaller than my others. I also got another white church (so my catholic christmas citizens had a place to worship) and the mint green cottage for Christmas. My collection of Cody Foster houses is probably complete :(! I believe the three smaller trees in front of the house are all Cody Foster but I am not sure.

This big white and blue tree is one I made with some ornaments I found at the flea market. It was surprisingly easy and cheap to find these ornaments and they are all I believe glass or something that is a bit better quality than the plastic balls that are found on the reproductions. Just a tip for anyone who enjoys these little trees as much as I do.!

I really like the vintage star ornament on top that was found in a flea market grab bag of old ornaments.

I also did the tiny tree here, the blue one with the garland and the Valentine one. All the items on them were again picked up from the flea market.
Including these miniature bottle brush trees:

These really aren't that expensive to just buy the antique and vintage items and make yourself. The white trees I got at Kohls for maybe $4.00 and then I just ripped off the ornaments that were on there. Some might not be ready for Christmas crafts in January but I maybe ! I'm just wrapping up on some stuff I did over the Holiday.

Chicago Dec 15th

Before I left for Christmas I went into the city. The day I was there a blizzard dumped down on the city and left me and my non-waterproof shoes miserable with blue toes.
Last time I went into the city my camera battery died. I hate digital cameras for this reason. But I thought I would post a few pictures of Macy's that I didn't get the last time I was there. I also got the large Martha Stewart tree in the Walnut room. Unfortunately every experience I have had with the Walnut room has been negative which is sad because Macy's has always been one of my favorites and Chicago really has been negative towards this store for taking over the beloved Marshal Fields building. Oh well I shall not preach about how a store should treat their customers, as either way I will probably end up taking my money there

Debrina Pratt

One thing I have always thought is that fairies should exist. I'm not obsessed with fairies but I always thought why shouldn't they? I find them so charming and felt life could use some charm. SO anyways the point is that I got some great little characters from an artist named Debrina Pratt. I bought them off ebay (insert ode to ebay here). Her ID is *spark*your*imagination* and I would suggest anyone looking for some charm in their life to check her out. I think the one in the round box reminds me of an old woman, it's funny when children do that. They came in this adorable hot pink box marked FRAGILE. Who doesn't want an adorable hot pink box mark fragile in the mail! Thanks for some charm in my day!