Craft Tuesday: Felt Fortune Cookies

I found this ADORABLE idea on the Martha Stewart website and just had to try it. It is such a unique idea for Valentine's day, and it takes no time at all! This is perfect to make a bunch for that one special person, or one for a bunch of special people! You can stuff these with handwritten or printed "fortunes" or candies (Hershey's kisses fit perfectly).

You will need:

• Felt (one pre-cut sheet makes 2 cookies)
• Floral wire
• Scissors
• 4 1/2" circle to trace (or an adjustable circle cutter)
• Hot glue gun
• Stuffers (candy, fortunes, etc)

Start by cutting one 4 1/2" circle of felt for every cookie you want to make. Then, cut strips of felt that are about 4" long and 1/3" wide. Also cut floral wire in pieces that are a little smaller than your felt strips (so about 3.75").

Place the floral wire in the center of your circle, on the line where the fold will be. Place a line of hot glue over it, going a little over each end. Place your felt strip on top of the floral wire and allow glue to cool.

Next, fold your felt in half so that the felt strip covering the floral wire is on the inside and hidden. Now bend the two corners away from the curved side of the half circle, pinching them together to create the fortune cookie shape.

Fold up one of the cookie flaps and stuff your fortune cookie with fortunes, candy, etc. Fold your cookie back over and adjust. Now repeat until you have made all of your cookies!

See, that was pretty simple huh?

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Foodie Friday: Squash & Zucchini Parmesan

Every week I have a couple of friends over to watch a few of our favorite TV shows. I usually cook dinner as well, which can be a challenge because my best friend is a vegetarian, and everyone else sure loves their meat (we are from Texas, after all). This recipe was something I whipped up that everyone seemed to really enjoy. Even though not everyone liked squash or zucchini, they all seemed to love it served up as the classic Italian Parmesan dish. Best part is that it is pretty simple, especially if you use the pre-sliced, frozen veggies.

This recipe will make 4-6 servings.

You will need:

• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs (I always prefer Panko)
• 1 1/2 cups + 1 of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• Pasta of your choice (spaghetti or vermicelli are my favorites)

Before baked

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Wash and slice your squash and zucchini into 1/4" slices. Or, thaw your presliced squash and zucchini
3. Beat egg in a small bowl, and pour flour into a shallow bowl and breadcrumbs onto a small plate
4. Coat the bottom of a greased 9x13 or similar baking dish with a thin layer of sauce (about 1/2 cup)
5. Dip one piece of squash/zucchini into the flour and coat fully, then dip into the egg, and lastly coat with breadcrumbs
6. In a frying pan, heat up a little bit of oil and brown your squash piece on both sides (about 1 minute on each side)
7. Place this piece into the baking dish, and repeat until all of your squash and zucchini are breaded or your pan is full

   

   After baked

8. Coat the squash and zucchini with the remaining pasta sauce (about 1 cup), and then sprinkle grated parmesan on top
9. Baking uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling
10. While baking, boil your pasta and heat up the remaining sauce (feel free to make more or less than the recommended 1 cup)
11. Serve the baked squash over a bed of pasta and sauce

Craft Tuesday: Danish Heart Baskets

These beautiful heart baskets are simple to make and, even though they are a Danish Christmas tradition, they are now used for many different things. This year, I am making some to give as Valentine's Day presents! They are perfect to stuff with candy, cookies, or small presents. The baskets are so simple to make, it would be a great thing to make with children to give to their friends!

I made my baskets out of felt, but you can use paper too. Don't limit yourself to solid colors either! If you are doing paper, try different patterns of paper, or even something fun like an old map or sheet music.

You will need:

• Felt or paper
• Scissors
• Ruler

The first thing you need to do is cut your material. You will need two 9" x 3" strips for each heart.

After you cut your strips, fold each one in half and round the corners. Then, make three cuts from the folded end, up towards the open end. Leave about a 1.5" gap between the end of the felt and your cut. It's easiest to start with the middle cut, and then doing the outer two.

Once your pieces are cut, you can weave them together. It's simple! Take your first strip from one piece of your heart weave it in the strips of the other piece. Go around, then through, around then through. Weave each strip in this manner, alternating how you start. For example, for strips 1 and 3 you would start weaving buy going around, and for 2 and 4 you would start by going through. Hopefully that makes sense!

Now that you have finished weaving them, adjust them and make the pretty! Stuff them and give them as a gift, or hang them on a garland.

Happy crafting!

Foodie Friday: Nutella Cookies

I love Nutella, and the idea of Nutella cookies seems just delightful to me. I looked around for a recipe and just decided to try a really simple one I found on Pinterest. The modifications I did are totally optional, and I just did them to make the cookies stay soft, and not harden by the next day. So hopefully you like chocolate, because to me these cookies taste chocolatey and then have a bit of a hazelnut/Nutella after taste. Delicious!

This recipe makes 24 small cookies, or about 15 regular cookies.

You will need:

• 1 cup of Nutella (I used a whole 13oz tub)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp corn starch (opt, keeps your cookie soft)
• Chopped hazelnuts (opt, not pictured)
• Milk chocolate chips (opt, not pictured)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in large mixing bowl
3. Beat in egg and Nutella, and any hazelnuts or chocolate chips
4. The mixture will be dry and crumbly. Dig in with your hands and create 1" balls of cookie dough. You can add 1 tbsp of water to make the dough easier to handle, but I didn't and mine turned out very well
5. Flatten the balls of cookie dough a little, making them thicker for softer cookies and thinner for crisper cookies
6. Bake 6-8 minutes, depending on your cookie size, on a greased pan
7. When you remove them they will still be a little gooey. Let set and cool for 5 minutes before moving from pan to cooling rack or plate
8. Serve (or eat them all yourself)

Craft Tuesday: T-Shirt Scarves

I have some old t-shirts that are super soft and wonderful colors, and I have had a very difficult time with the idea of parting with them. I was so excited to do this craft because it meant I could keep, and even wear, these wonderful t-shirts! No more trash bin for them. Hooray for repurposing!

This craft is super simple, and not too time consuming either. It cost me absolutely nothing because all you need in a pair of scissors and some old t-shirts. This is such a great no-sew scarf. Even kids can do this project, and if you use an adult size shirt for a kid's scarf you will be able to wrap it several times! If you want a big one for yourself, use an extra-large men's shirt. Heck, you could even buy a cheap shirt to make this with if you really wanted to. I love this craft!

You will need:

• 2 old shirts (colors that go well together preferably)
• Scissors

Start by laying your shirt out straight and cutting off the bottom hem.

Next, begin cutting your shirt in strips about half an inch thick. I got about 12 strips from each shirt and stopped, but I could have kept going for a fuller scarf. Once you have all your strips (which are really loops because you will not cut the seams on the edge) hold a side in each hand and stretch the loops out so that the fabric pulls and curls up on itself (see below).

I decided that I would mix the two different colors together in each scarf piece. Of course, you can also keep them separate and have one piece is that is all one color and one that is another. Whichever suits you best, but the rest of the direction are specific to how I did mine. They're easy to alter if you are doing a single color.

Next, remove two loops from each color and place to the side. I did two because my shirts had a seam on each side. If you shirt has one or no seams you only need one loop. Next, divide each color in half and mix it up with a half of the opposite color. Group any seams together because you will be covering them up next.

Now, take those 4 loops (or 2) you put to the side and cut one end so it becomes one long piece of fabric. Place the center of this strip of fabric at the base of the grouping of seams and wrap one end around it, then the other, until the seams are covered. Use one color of fabric for the knotting on one scarf, and the other color for the other scarf.

Knot these two ends back together, trim off all about about 1/2" of excess and tuck that into the wrapped cloth.

Now, repeat for all the seams, and wrap it around your neck however you like. I doubled both of mine and just pulled and fiddled with them until I got them just right. You can also try simply knotting them together and making one loose scarf. Lovely! So simple. I hope you enjoy making and wearing this scarf!

Foodie Friday: Everything Pizza

Pizza is delicious. It's wonderful. It's so covered in grease when you order it, and it's always not quite the same from frozen. So why not make it all yourself? It's not as daunting of a task as it may sound, making pizza crust and sauce. Here is a delightful recipe that I can suggest knowing that you will love it, because I have made it several, several times, and every slice was fantastic.

I bought some chicken & mozzarella with Italian seasoning sausage and sliced that up with a tomato topping. Below you find the recipe for the pizza I made, minus the sausage. It makes 6 large or 8 small slices. Enjoy!


Pizza Crust

You will need:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup warm  water (about 100F)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp butter

1. Mix flour, sugar, and yeast in large mixing bowl
2. Add seasoning and warm water (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit)
3. Mix fully until dough becomes smooth
4. Cover with plastic wrap and place in microwave or another warm spot in kitchen (try your microwave, but don't turn it on) for 30 minutes and allow it to rise to about twice its original size
5. While crust dough is rising, prepare the sauce (below)
6. Prepare a clean, floured surface such as a large cutting board or countertop on which to work the dough
7. Preheat oven to 400F
8. Place the risen dough on the clean countertop and knead about 10 times
9. Begin to shape the dough with your hands
10. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin until it is about ½” thick
11. Transfer dough to a pizza pan (greased) or stone to top pizza
12. Top with pizza sauce (recipe below), cheese, and desired toppings
13. Melt butter and brush onto exposed crust
14. Bake pizza for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbling

Pizza Sauce & Tomato Topping
You will need:

• 15oz (1 can) diced tomatoes
• 6 oz (1 can) tomato paste
• 2 medium/large cloves garlic 
• ½ tbsp oregano
• ½ tbsp thyme
• ½ tbsp basil
• ½ tbsp parsley(substitute spices for 2 tbsp Italian seasoning if desired)  
• + ¼ tbsp Italian seasoning (for tomato topping)

1.  Put tomato paste into medium mixing bowl 
2. Strain tomato juice from diced tomatoes into mixing bowl 
3. Save ¼ cup tomato chunks in small mixing bowl for tomato topping
4. Finely chop or blend rest of tomato chunks and add to mixing bowl
5. Peel and press garlic and add to mixing bowl
6. Stir in spices until well mixed
7. Do not cook on stove 
8. Place directly on prepared pizza crust 
9. Now for the tomato topping! Take 1/4 cup tomato chunks set aside and add 1/4 tbsp Italian seasoning
10. Add 1 tbsp olive oil
11. Add 1 tsp garlic powder
12. Do no cook on stove
13. Place on top of pizza after cheese and other toppings have been added

 Some other ideas:

• Make the edge of the dough thinner and place cheese sticks on it. Roll the dough around it, using a little bit of water to mesh the crust together. Now you have stuffed crust pizza!
• You can leave out the spices in the crust, use a Bar-be-que sauce with some monterrey jack cheese. Delicious!
• Skip the sauce altogether and just do a butter garlic mixture and sprinkle some cheese over it. Now you have cheesy garlic bread.

Craft Tuesday: Cloth Bookmark

 
This cloth bookmark is sweet, simple, and a great package topper. This would be a wonderful present for friends and family for Valentine's Day. It's a great project to do with fun fabric from the remnants bin at the craft store or with scraps you have at home! I made a couple and gave them to my sister and my best friend and they loved them! I have already decided to make more for some other wonderful people.

I originally stumbled upon this when I was looking for some kind of cute way to embellish a cloth bookmark on Pinterest. I found Little Birdie Secrets' how-to suggesting them as a teacher gift. What a great idea!

These do require sewing, but it is really very little, very simple sewing. Cutting out, sewing, and assembling each bookmark probably took me about 45 minutes. A big chunk of the time was spent making the cloth flower though.

You will need:

• 2 coordinating pieces of cloth
• Featherweight fusible interfacing
• One button
• Thread
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun

Start by choosing the fabric you would like to make your bookmark and which you would like to be the flower. Cut a 4.5x8" piece of the bookmark pattern. Cut the same size of fusible interfacing and follow the directions that came with your interfacing to attach the two together. Trim any excess fabric or interfacing from the edges. It's okay if you have to trim a bit off, I have made the fabric size a little larger with this in mind.

Fold your fabric in half, interfacing side out and fabric in. Now, using any color thread, sew the bookmark together using standard 3/8" seam size. Sew the bookmark up, leaving one short end open and the edge perpendicular to it should be sewn until about 1/4" to the open end. After you sew the bookmark (don't forget to backstitch!), clip the corner and turn the bookmark right side out through the short end you left unstitched.

Now it's time to press your bookmark and prepare to do a topstitch, which will close up the end you left open. When you press your bookmark, turn in the fabric on the open end about 1/4". Pressing the fabric down will mean that you don't need to pin in, which would be difficult with such a small piece. Plus, it will make the edge much cleaner! After pressing your bookmark, put a topstitch on it. If you want to use a decorative stitch, feel free too. This topstitch is mostly decorative except for the small part where it seals the end.

Hooray! You made the bookmark. Now time for the flower to go on top. Plug in your hot glue gun to heat up! Next, take a piece of fabric, folded in half (like it is right off the bolt, with the two rough ends together) and cut a strip about 1/2" wide right off the end, from the fold down to the rough edge. Unfold. At one end, tie a knot, and place a dab of glue on it. Begin twisting the fabric and wrapping the twisted fabric around the knot. I wrapped mine very tightly, doing a dab of glue every 1/2" or so. Experiment with how tight or loose you want to make the fabric for the flower. Once the flower is the size you would like, or when you only have about 1" of fabric left, take the spare fabric and hot glue it on to the bottom of the flower. Doing this will keep your flower from unraveling or losing its shape, so don't be afraid to put a fair amount of glue (as long as it doesn't seep out of the sides).

Next, you have the option of hot gluing your button down to the center of the flower, or hand-sewing it through the center. On the bookmark with the brown flower, I sewed the button on (you can see the thread). On the bookmark with the blue flower, I glued it on (no thread). Other then the visible thread there was no big difference, other than that the sewn on button is less likely to fall off. After you attached your button, hot glue your flower to your bookmark with a circle of glue and you are finished.

Whether you are making this for yourself or a loved one, I hope you have fun!