Search This Blog

Pages

Monday, September 29, 2014

BREAKFAST PIZZA

I had no idea how many breakfast type recipes I've collected over the years!  Here's another truly delicious one that I clipped out of a newspaper magazine; the date is 2003.  Where were you in 2003?
Pizza for breakfast?  You betcha.....this pizza is made with all sorts of breakfast goodies and tasted great with a side of coffee and OJ.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. Jimmy Dean pork sausage 
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup frozen hash brown potato cubes, thawed
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 Tbsp, milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
3 Tbsp. (each) diced red and yellow pepper (optional)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (optional)
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
*I also added some leftover canned mushrooms I had in the fridge


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large skillet, cook sausage over medium high heat, stirring frequently.  Separate rolls into eight triangles.  Place in ungreased rimmed pizza pan with points toward the center.  Press together, seal perforations and form a circle 1" larger than the pan.  Sprinkle cooked sausage over crust.  Top with potatoes.  Add peppers, green onions and cheddar.  

Stir eggs, milk, salt and pepper in small bowl; pour evenly over pizza.  Sprinkle with parmesan.  Bake 25-30 minutes until eggs are set and crust is golden. 

Enjoy!!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

GARTER AND VEIL "THEN AND NOW"

This project really tugged at my heart strings.  I have had the honor of working with a Bride and her Mom on several items for her September wedding.   I remember meeting with them over coffee in March to discuss her veil and garter.  Mom had brought along her own garter and veil from 1983. How special is that?!    They had both hoped there was something I could do to incorporate Mom's keepsakes.  In fact, Mom also asked me to return to her any leftover remnants so she could give pieces to her other two daughters to hopefully use when it's their time to get married.

"Now" 2014 versus "Then" 1983
I thought it was cool that Mom had her garter from back then....she actually had a toss 31 years ago!   I wish I had thought of that when I made mine.  It never occurred to me, so my husband tossed my one and only.
My intent was to blend the old with the new and come up with something special.  From Mom's garter I chose to use some of the blue ribbon and made a rolled flower since the bride needed "something blue", plus I made a bow from a piece of the lace.   Then I incorporated a rhinestone dangle since the bride had shown me a picture of a garter she liked which had that on it.

When I create the toss garter, I like to make it narrower than the keepsake and incorporated a similar theme, so in Brooke's case I used a rhinestone and pearl button and then scattered some rhinestones over the top.                                                              
 As for the veil, Mom's was more of a true white (surprisingly, very little fading over the years) versus the Bride's diamond white dress color.   Mom's was a waltz length with multiple layers of tulle; very fashionable in the day!

I knew I didn't want to use the tulle, today's tulle is much softer and drapes much better, plus it was just too stark white.   So I picked up a beautiful diamond white illusion and the satin cording that the bride specifically asked for.  From there, it was up to me to decide how to blend the old with the new. I had the chantilly lace border, chantilly flower appliques', and some pearls to possibly work with. 


Being that the Bride wanted a two-tier fingertip veil, I really wanted it to drape nicely.  I was pleasantly surprised at her choice...most of my brides have abandoned the blusher concept, so I was super stoked to create this veil! There is something so classic, elegant and stunning about a bride wearing a blusher, especially a long blusher.   It reminds me of Princess Grace and of course, Princess Kate!

I chose to make some delicate lace flowers using the appliques and cutting quarter size circles from the lace border.  I scattered them near the bottom of the long tier of the veil and hand-sewed them in place just in the center so they created the illusion of petals versus a flat flower applique'.

Since the Bride's gown was a combination of lace and chiffon, I felt the delicate look of the flowers would compliment her gown beautifully.  I was able to use the rhinestones and pearls from her Mom's headpiece for the center in each of the flowers.

Finally, I used three strands of pearls from Mom's headpiece to accent the comb; the strands would be seen when the bride had the blusher down at the beginning of the ceremony.

I went with an angel/cascade cut veil; it creates beautiful folds when the blusher is lifted and flipped to the back.
Look how stunning Brooke looks!  She can definitely hold her own up against Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton .... you go girl!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

WINTER WEDDING FLOWER GIRL BASKET

I love winter weddings!!!!!  Especially in Colorado.  You never quite know what you're going to get in terms of weather....but that's what makes it interesting.   When it comes to the gown, accessories and decorations, you can have so much fun bringing the winter theme into the wedding.  This particular bride loves wintertime so much that her engagement shoot was an ice skating session and her wedding date had to be none other than............ 12-13-14!
I had already started working with the bride on adding rhinestone trim to her gown when she came across some pictures of flower girl baskets that I had created and fell in love with them.  Ssssoooooo, she asked me to make baskets for her two flower girls.  Yay for me!!!

I knew that snowflakes were an absolute given.....I asked for any other requests, to which her response was "I really like anything with sparkle, tulle, and rhinestones"  so with that, I was on my way!   I love to use maribou for winter weddings since it screams winter to me and I knew it would make these baskets totally unique.  The bride had also shared the wedding palette (pale pink, grey and black) and a picture of the flower girl dresses which are a silver sequined bodice with a silver/light grey tulle skirt.  So adorable!


The base of the basket is ivory, per the bride's request.  The fabric is a bit tricky to describe...if you look closely you can see little petals on the fabric.    I chose to add pink, ivory and silver accents using ribbon and snowflakes.

The ivory and pink flakes are wooden (I found them at Hobby Lobby....they had already put out all their Christmas decorations in August!).  They were bare wood which I painted and glittered, the silver flakes I cut from glitter cardstock using my silhouette machine.


The large flower is a fabric flower peonie that I made using several different types of fabrics and embroidered tulle.  I added some ivory glitter tulle as a backdrop for the flower. The handle is wrapped in satin ribbon and topped with rhinestone trim.

 Aren't they sweet!!  Thank goodness, I'll be second shooting the wedding, so I can see these in person on the wedding day.

Monday, September 15, 2014

VEGETABLE FRITATTA

I had always wanted to try my hand at a frittata, but I didn't have an oven-proof pan and most recipes that I have you finish cooking it in the oven.  So....no more excuses, I went and bought a cast iron skillet and enjoyed my first frittata!  Not bad!

I love having egg dishes for breakfast....that protein can really keep me full until lunchtime, and sometimes until a late lunchtime!

INGREDIENTS:

while cooking on the stove top
1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 beaten eggs
2 Tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp. chopped fresh rosemary or oregano, or ¼ tsp. dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large baking potato, cooked and cubed
fresh out of the oven
1 medium tomato, chopped
spicy tomato salsa for garnish

DIRECTIONS:  (serves 4)

Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet; saute' onion, garlic and pepper until soft, about 3 minutes. Combine eggs, cheese, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Add potato (I cooked mine in the microwave) and tomato to the skillet and immediately top with the egg mixture.  Cook over low heat until nearly cooked through; top should be slightly uncooked.

Transfer skillet to the broiler for a minute, or until the top is done and slightly browned.  Loosen frittata around the edge with a narrow spatula and slide frittata from skillet to a plate.   Cut into quarters and serve with salsa.

Enjoy!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

FLOWER GIRL BASKET AND RING BEARER SIGN

Fun...Fun....Fun!!! That's what this project was......

It's been about eight years since I made a flower girl basket (it was for my niece's flower girl) and while I've made plenty of ring bearer pillows over the years, the new trend for the ring bearer(s) to carry a sign announcing the bride was a new treat for me!

I know everyone doesn't have the luxury of having flower girls and ring bearers for their wedding, but I think those little people add so much charm to the wedding!  I was fortunate to have my niece for my flower girl 31 years ago, but didn't know of any little boys to be a ring bearer. :(

Let me share with you what I was able to create for these little characters.......
I stumbled on a closeout of Easter baskets at my favorite JoAnn fabric store....even better, since the store is moving (closer to me...yay!!) there was an additional 33% off the outrageously discounted price. Score!!    The bride shared a couple of ideas with me and I went to town from there....I love the fact that this bride just shared concepts with me and then let me create from there.  It gives me that creative license that I love!

I first lightly spray painted the basket with some white spray paint that I had since I wasn't sure if the pastel colors (sorry, I forgot to take a pic of it before I got started.) might show through the fabric I planned to cover it with.  Once dry, I went to work folding and pinning the fabric up and around the basket to the inside.  When I had everything the way I wanted, I used the glue gun to hold everything into place.


Finally, I gave it some extra style with trim, bows, and ribbon to match the bridesmaids' dresses.  The rhinestone trim for the handle and an asymmetrical lace trim accent across the front of the basket added the final touches.

As for the ring bearer sign...again, the bride sent me a couple of ideas for the style of  the sign; it helped me to understand what she wanted in the way of color and shape, plus the actual phrasing.  She wanted one phrase for the processional and another phrase for the recessional.  Clever, huh?  So, the sign is actually double sided.


The Bride was specifically looking for the sign to be made of a white material, with the double pointed bottom.  I decided to use a white duck cloth; it was a nice crisp fabric, which was also thick enough so the writing on the reverse side would not show through the front.

I used my Silhouette cameo machine to create the script and then cut the design from a black heat transfer vinyl.   After I ironed the design/phrase to the fabric, I finished sewing the banner together.   I found an inexpensive silver curtain rod to attach it to, which was perfect since the bride's accent color was silver.

I have a blast finding just the right fonts to use for my projects.   I really love the font I used for  "Here She Comes". It's called Maratre.  I download many of my fonts from dafont website.  They're free and the selection is extensive.

For the finishing touch, I chose to add some ribbon streamers on either side of the banner and then added some ribbon curls and large sequins to add some fun to the "flip side".

Here's the final look......isn't it cute?  She has two ring bearers, so they'll be one on each end.  Can't wait to capture those pics!

Friday, September 5, 2014

BLUEBERRY-LEMON MUFFINS

There is something about cooler weather that brings out the baker in me.  Yesterday was a bit cooler, so I decided to try this lemon blueberry muffin recipe I had found.  I was glad that I did...not too sweet with a granola topping.  Yummy!
 The recipe is really easy.  You can put it together in about 10-15 minutes and then another 15 minutes or so for baking and you'll be enjoying these within the hour.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup low-fat lemon yogurt
2 eggs, slightly beater
1 egg white
ready for the oven
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup fresh blueberries 
(granola for topping)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray ( I chose to use my silicone liners instead).

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and blend.  In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, eggs, the egg white, and melted butter.  Stir yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until combined.  Stir in blueberries.

Into each muffin cup, spoon about 1/4 cup batter (I used the entire batter to make 12 large muffins); sprinkle each with about 1 tsp. of granola if desired. Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.   Enjoy!