Quick Post

Hey crafty kids!

Just a quick post... I hope everyone is getting psyched and ready for the holiday season! I know I am! This Saturday, my best friend and I are doing our first official Craft Show! I'm really excited (and nervous) about this! Send good thoughts... Oh, and if you're in New Jersey - Head to Jackson Liberty High School on Nov. 14 to visit!

If you're not in the great state of New Jersey, I've started to post some holiday charms in my shop!

Etsy Buy Handmade FrostedTreats

And one last little note - I just signed up for a fun little holiday ornament swap! You should, too :)

Happy Crafting!

Pumpkin Mini Cupcakes with Cinnamon Maple Frosting

Typically, I am a creator of non-edible treats. But something about fall just makes me want to bake! I was invited to a costume party for Halloween and each guest was asked to bring some sort of treat for everyone to enjoy. I decided I would whip up some pumpkin cupcakes!

To keep things easy, I used pre-made boxed mix. The Pillsbury Doughboy and I are close friends and his Quick Bread mixes are great. 

I wanted to get the most cupcakes I could out of this mix, so I decided to make mini cupcakes. Luckily, I had a mini cupcake pan and some paper liners all ready. 

On the Quick Bread box, there are directions for making bread and making muffins. I followed the directions for making bread to make my cupcakes. The only real difference is that the bread recipe requires water while the muffins require milk. 

Soooo yeah... Heat your oven to 375*, fill your cupcake tins, and bake for 18-20 minutes. If your making full sized cupcakes, the time would be longer. Mine were minis, so it didn't take very long at all. I normally fill my cupcake cups all the way to the top since I like them to have a rounded, puffy top. 

One box of mix will give you about 30 mini cupcakes. Mmmm... they sound great, huh? Let's make 'em better...

Cinnamon Maple Frosting

(adapted from a recipe by Bakerella)

• 8oz cream cheese, room temperature (1 package)
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 lb confectioners sugar (1 box)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Using your mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until it's nice and blended. Add in vanilla and maple syrup. Mix in sugar a bit at a time until you get a nice, creamy frosting. Add cinnamon once the sugar is fully blended in. Put into a plastic zipper bag and put in the fridge. I like to have my frosting on the cooler side to pipe it onto the cupcakes.

You can make the frosting in advance, as I did. This recipe will make A LOT of frosting, so you can probably make three boxes worth of cupcakes before the frosting runs out.

By now, your cupcakes should be all done in the oven.

Poke 'em with a toothpick to make sure they're fully baked - the toothpick should come out clean. Wait until they are fully cooled before bringing out your frosting. 

Push your frosting down into one corner of the zipper bag and cut a hole at that bottom corner. Slowly squeeze (pipe) your frosting on to your cupcakes in a swirly motion and....

Enjoy :)

This post also serves as my entry for the Cinnamon/Nutmeg Challenge at www.AFoodComa.com

Craft Challenge - October

This month I've had the chance to participate in the monthly Craft Challenge over at ChristyNelson.net. Each month, my pal Christy hosts a test of your crafty ability. After signing up, you receive a package in the mail with an assortment of crafty supplies. All you gotta do is turn that mish mosh of goodies into something cute, clever, and unique.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, all of the materials in this month's Challenge were various shades of pink.

An assortment of pink ribbons, a length of pale pink netting, and some yummy pink sequins arrived in my mailbox and I was HIT with an idea. The only task was to come across the key ingredient to make my vision a reality.

That part wasn't easy. You see, my secret piece wasn't to be found in Michael's or A.C. Moore. I didn't find any at my local thrift store, and I knew my Mother would kill me if I took a set from her stash.

Luck was with me, however, at a rainy flea market earlier this month. I spotted the perfect set - Plain, neutral, and nothing I would feel bad about altering.

Hair combs! I remember my Mother having a ton of these way back in the day, but I had never really seen the beauty in them until I had my Challenge supplies in front of me. I wish I had taken photos of the process, but I was in the ZONE. The basic shape of my design was decided and all of the pieces were in my possession. I plugged in my hot glue gun, fired up the sewing machine, and got to work. The real challenge came when I needed a way to incorporate at least a little bit of each item. The netting was easy, so were the sequins. Then came the mismatched ribbons. The light pink ones were easy to place, but the hot pink and rainbow ribbons were taunting me. After playing around a bit, I finally came up with a place for each ribbon.

And there you have it! Down the middle, bride style...

Or off to the side like a sugar-coated film noir madam...

I had a blast with this! Head on over to Christy's and find out how to get involved in the next Craft Challenge!! Oh... And be sure to VOTE for my hair combs when the voting begins this week ;)

Halloween Sale

Just a quick note - All of my Halloween charms are on sale! None of them are over $5!! Don't miss out... Order now before it's too late!!

FrostedTreats

Mmmmm... Scones!

Tea for Tuesday is back! Sorry for the brief hiatus, I'm in the middle of completely changing my life, haha. Just quit one job, another is about to be ending (seasonal) and I'll be starting two more jobs within the month of October! Plus getting ready for some flea markets and toying with the idea of some holiday craft shows... Busy girl, I am!

To help me out, I have the lovely Ann from Vintage Mommy. Ann and I both belong to the EtsyTwitter Team (her shop is Lilyolil) and when I first brought up the idea for this blog series, she messaged me right away offering up her scone recipe! Of course, I jumped for joy and said, "Please, oh, please!" and here we are today. I'll hand the mic over now!

*****

I've been drinking tea and eating scones since I was a little girl, thanks to English grandparents. I now drink coffee in the morning, but lunch and dinner are both followed by strong, hot tea. I drink only black tea, and my current favorite is Pride of the Port, from Peet's. It makes a good, strong cup with malty tones and a nice kick if you let it brew for a while.

And what is more delicious with a good cup of tea than a simple scone? The recipe below is one I've been making for ages. It's easy to make, is low-fat, not too sweet, and has a light, soft texture. Of course these are delicious warm from the oven, but they keep very well too. They're nice with jam - especially marmalade - but are lovely on their own for breakfast or a snack. 

Enjoy!

*****

Low-Fat Orange Scones
Adapted from Cooking Light

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 8-oz. carton low-fat lemon yogurt
¼ cup orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
Vegetable cooking spray
1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender (or your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yogurt, orange juice and orange peel to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Dough will be sticky.
With floured hands, pat dough into a 9-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 8-10 wedges, cutting into but not through dough. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 400* for 16 minutes or until golden.

From Cooking Light Magazine, 2004

*****

Super big thanks to Ann and her kindness :) Follow her on Twitter! I do, you should too!

Tea for Tuesday: Yes, I know it's Wednesday

Hey-llo! Thanks for checking in :)

Yeeeaaaasssss... I know it's Wednesday and T4T (Tea for Tuesday, cause I'm clever like that) is a bit late. For good reason, I promise. Yesterday I was teaching my best friend the basics of working with Polymer Clay! She did great! I wish I had some photos to show off, but I was so wrapped up in sculpting and general fun that my camera stayed in my purse. 

Today's post is a bit thin - First, I'll show you what I listed today in my Etsy Shop. 

Tea for Two Charm Necklace - $15

I really love how this came out... I plan to make more, but here's the first and- in my opinion - most special. I always feel connected to something I create when it's the first of its kind. Hopefully you all like it as much as I do :) Two teeensy, tiny tea cups dangle next to a tea pot. Ahhh, bliss. 

Here's a look at my other new listings... 

Any suggestions? Requests? Improvements? I'm always up to try something new, but the gears in my brain sometimes grind to a halt. Give me some inspiration! If you give me an idea that I fall in love with, there just might be a reward in it... Catch my drift?

Winner, Winner(s)!

Hey there! No worries, I haven't forgotten about my giveaway from my last Tea for Tuesday post. I'll announce the winner at the end of this post.

I took last week off from blogging to take care of some super important business... Remember the invitations I posted that I made for my cousin's upcoming baby shower? WELLL!  The shower was this past Friday and it was a big hit! 

My dear cousin would NOT be happy to know this photo is on the internet. Good thing she doesn't come online often! Hehe, love ya Jamiecakes! Baby Colin is due in late October, I can't wait to meet him :)

We have a very small family, mostly women. Because of this, we don't think it's fair to exclude our male kin from baby showers. Thus uncles, boyfriends, fathers, grandfathers and brothers are always invited to the showers. We treat them more like family gatherings than female-bonding. I was sure to put Bobby (my boyfriend, lower right photo w/me) to work taking photos as Jamie opened her gifts. All together, great food, great cupcake-cake (store-bought, too! We were very impressed), and great family time. Can't wait 'til the next one! Oh wait, yes I can wait... the next one will probably be mine - YIKES! 

Anyways,  I'm sure you all care more about who's gonna win the tea samples than what I did this weekend. Haha! Your wish is my command.

What's this? TWO winners? Yup! Since I made you all wait an extra week, I figured I would make up for it by giving away a second set of samples. Congrats to...

SillyLittleLady

*AND*

Monique!!

I'll be contacting you both shortly to send out your prize. Congrats and thanks for commenting!! 

A new Tea for Tuesday will be posted tomorrow and I'll be bringing you some more crafty goods later in the week! Until then, Happy Crafting!

Tea for Tuesday: Just Breathe...

Today has been a trying day for me. Small frustrations accumulating into an overall feeling of contempt for Tuesday, August 25th, 2009. In total, I had three cups of tea, made two reusable muslin tea bags (tutorial to come), and a coffee/tea cup cozy. Honestly, sipping my tea through the day and busying my hands with handmade endeavors, I think my day wasn't a total wash. For this week's Tea for Tuesday, I'm bringing you a quick review of my day's first cup. And don't mind my grubby counter tops... It was early, ok?


5:30 AM, EST

To get my morning jolt before heading out to work, I filled my tea ball with a mixture of loose teas from Teavana.

1 tsp Mate Vana
1 tsp Thai Tea Blend
1/2 tsp Azteca Fire

Steeped for 5 minutes... AHHHHHH! Good morning :)

Mate Vana is a rich tea - chock full of caffeine - it almost smells like coffee. On its own it is a delight, but mixed with pretty much ANYTHING, it's even better. It's a great base tea if you're looking to be adventurous. It's also a great tea to start the day with, it has the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. According to Teavana's catalog, Mate Vana is, "A deliciously smooth combination of toasted Yerba Mate, almond bits, cactus blossoms, cornflower and sunflower petals, crushed cocoa beans, chocolate bits and Rooibos tea." PHEW! That's a lot of stuff! This is easily my favorite tea.

*****

The Thai Tea Blend is described as, "A delightful Thai restaurant blend of black and red teas, Hawaiian coconut pieces, almonds and authentic Madagascar vanilla beans." This tea is a bit lighter than Mate Vana, but still rich in its own right. It, too, has caffeine, but not nearly as much as the Mate.

*****

I just love this name - Azteca Fire. Ohhhh! Ahhh! Just take a look... you can see all the bits and pieces of goodness in here! This one is an herbal tea and doesn't have any caffeine. I've had it alone and it's extremely light. I definitely suggest using it with another tea, it's not strong enough a flavor on it's own, in my opinion. Teavana describes this one as a "blend of chocolate and strawberries with a kick. This modern take on the ancient chili pepper and cacao blending proves the test of time." Azteca Fire is a great way to bring some extra sweetness to your blend of tea.

*****

If you notice in my photos, I keep my teas in little tins. I found these in the $1 bins at Michael's. Tins are recommended because the metal isn't porous enough to leech anything out of the tea. Glass and plastic aren't good for long-term storage, they won't keep the tea as fresh. 

So there you have it... My morning cup of tea for today. Does it sound like something you'd like? WELLLL... Leave me a comment on this post and you could WIN a sampling of each of the three teas I talked about today. Enough for you to enjoy a cup or two, on me! Comment by Sunday, August 30 for your chance to win! Please be sure to leave an e-mail address for me to get in touch with you. Any comment will do... About tea, crafts, life... I don't mind!

Thanks for reading! Come back soon :)

Tea for Tuesday: An Introduction

It wasn't until I began my sophomore year of college that I realized my love for tea. I had been a faithful coffee drinker since I was able to figure out the coffee maker when I was in high school. Strangely enough, I drank less coffee in college than I did at home. Soon, it was hard for me to drink coffee regularly without getting an upset tummy. Still needing my caffeine fix, I craved an alternative.

image from Kind over Matter

My Grandma has always been a tea drinker, but my interest in tea stopped at imaginary tea parties and thoughts of fancy English women. I wanted to start small - the typical Lipton bagged tea that sat out in baskets in my University's cafeteria seemed like a good starter-tea. Add a little sugar (no milk for me, that was part of the reason I needed to get away from coffee), and I was set! I soon fell in love with all sorts of teasl green tea, chamomile, black tea, herbal infusions, and so on. A cup in the morning, a cup of decaf at night... It got to the point during my senior year that my roommates and I had a whole shelf dedicated to the multitude of boxed tea owned between the three of us.

I even had the pleasure of putting on historic tea parties at my summer job to highlight three generations of tea parties and recipes. (I'll be sharing my favorite recipe with you later in this series). Through all this, I stuck primarily to pre-bagged, brand name teas. I had only experienced loose tea during my historic tea parties and those were pretty basic teas - Oolong and Darjeeling, mainly. I didn't fully realize the lengths to which loose tea had become so varied and unique.

Well, my dear readers, I have seen the error in my ways. I've recently gone head-first into the world of loose tea and the wonders it holds. This series, Tea for Tuesday will be a record of my exploration of various teas and all of the delicate luxuries of tea culture. I will have recipes from myself and other bloggers, crafty tea-related tutorials, and (of course) a few giveaways here and there. I highly suggest you stick around.

This week's feature comes from the fabulous foodie blog of my good friend, Alexandra. She and I go waaaay back to a few years ago when I was her RA during her first year of college. That year was filled with plenty of laughs and late-night lounge-dwelling. Ahh, the good old days. I was so happy/proud/excited when she went on to become an RA herself. Anyways... A Food Coma contains recipes, reviews, and helpful hints for the budget-conscious food lover. Brought to you by Alex and her partner-in-crime Brandon (another former RA), this blog really is the place to go when you want to indulge in some eye-candy. Earlier this week Alex was featured on Epicurious.com with tips for college foodies. How cool is that!?

A Food Coma has great Podcasts that walk you through recipes and other kitchen adventures. A while back, when A Food Coma was just getting started with podcasts, Alex starred in a really helpful guide to brewing loose tea. Lights... camera...

 

video from www.afoodcoma.com

If you're new to loose tea brewing, I hope that takes a bit of the edge off. I know I was clueless, so I want to give a HUGE "Thanks" to Alex and Brandon. Keep up the great work! Come back next week and I'll provide you with a few tea reviews and maybe even some samples ;)

Nesting...

Recently I had the chance to participate in a really well organized and creative charm swap thanks to Michelle from Faerie*Dust*Dreams. The "Things with Wings" charm swap brought together over 20 uniquely creative people with one goal - make a charm that showed your creative interpretation of the theme - Things with Wings. My interpretation of this concept came in the form of a tiny yellow birdie.



Ready for take off... I mean glazing. Each little birdie only measures about 3/4 of an inch and is, of course, made of polymer clay.

When I received my package from Michelle containing all of the other charms made for this swap, I was simply blown away!


*Photos taken by Michelle - Full list of Swappers available Here*

Can you believe how varied and creative each of these charms are?! I was grinning from ear-to-ear as I opened each little packet.

This swap also inspired me. When I created my birdies, I knew I needed something to dangle from the bottom to finish the "look" but I couldn't find the right accent. When I saw Michelle's addition to the charm swap, I had found my birdie's companion! I had seen these little wire wrapped nests floating around, but I hadn't felt the need to try them for myself. Boy, I wish I had taken on this project sooner! Not only are these nests adorable, but they're remarkably easy to create once you've found a groove.

I remembered seeing a tutorial on One Pretty Thing, so I went searching. I found the tutorial of my dreams. Easy to follow with great results. Just Something I Made is the place to go! Once I got the hang of it, I couldn't stop! I literally made about 10 nests before I wore myself out. Anyways... Here's the finished product.



So my simple birdie found a nest to watch over as the little pearly eggs incubate. Hanging from a silky ribbon necklace, I have to say I am totally in LOVE with my design. Super special thanks to inspiration from Michelle and a great tutorial from Just Something I Made!

Also - don't miss out on Michelle's next Charm Swap. The theme is "Witches Cupboard" and I just signed up myself!

Sign up now! More than half the spots are already taken! Sign ups are open until the end of this month!