Search This Blog

Pages

Thursday, February 21, 2019

ANTLER JEWELRY HOLDER

Sometimes I just have these brainstorm ideas out of the blue.  Many times, I pursue those ideas.  This is one of those out of the blue ideas!

It started with antler sheds....you see we have lots of these in our household.  My husband has made many things for us and family members with them over the years.....but yet, we still have lots of sheds.  SSSsssoooo, one day I thought about other uses and the idea of a jewelry holder came to mind.  As it turns out, after looking over the internet, other people have had this idea (great minds think alike).  What I didn't see however was the manner in which I thought it should be displayed.
To me it called for a statement piece for a base.  So why not a beautiful piece of granite?  I went to a local granite company and asked if they had any scrap pieces.  As it turned out I had a lovely gal show me around the scrap piles and I picked out three pieces which she gave to me free of charge.  I wasn't expecting that!
Here's where I had my husband help me take my vision and make it into a reality.  I had him break the granite into a reasonable size creating jagged edges along the way.  I wanted something completely irregular.   That he achieved with hammer and chisel.

The next was drilling the hole into the granite to secure the shed.  This took quite some time, and included purchasing a granite drill bit and a water bath during the process.  Granite is extremely hard, and the process needs to be done slowly to avoid burning out the drill bit.

Next up, I added the paint and leather and jute strips for some artistic touches.  And finally, I cut out a piece of leather for protection and we secured it with rubber cement to the underside of the base.
When I had this idea for a jewelry holder,  I was actually thinking of our daughter; as it turned out she loved the idea.  In fact, she has been struggling with ways to organize her jewelry, using all sorts of closet organizer ideas, but never really liking any of them.

I may find as she's putting it together, she may need some tweeks along the way to really make it functional.  I added the jute, and leather to act as break points,  and I also added some flat head beads on the backside of the antler with the same intent.  I knew without something all the necklaces would slide down the antlers....it needed some means of separation along the curves.   So, with the exception of some additional functional improvements, the result is exactly as I pictured it in my mind.

The best part, our daughter has a truly unique jewelry holder that was created and gifted with love!

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

BROWNIE CUPCAKES FOR TWO

I love desserts and because of that, I decided to start looking for some recipes that I can make for two.  Since I have very little self restraint, having tons of leftovers is BAD.  So, I found a recipe just in time for Valentine's Day which makes a total of 4 servings.  WooHoo!!!
The recipe is super simple and the end result is just as you'd expect.  Chewy, Chocolatey, and Moist!

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
¼ cup butter, cubed
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

In a microwave, melt chocolate chips, and butter, stir until smooth.  Cool slightly.  In a small bowl, beat egg and sugar.  Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture.  Gradually add flour; fold in pecans (I used about half of what the recipe called for).

Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.  Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until tops begin to crack.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.    ENJOY!

Thursday, February 7, 2019

THROW PILLOW WITH PETALS

Having just switched to a new comforter, it was time for new pillows to match the new color scheme.  You know how we women love our throw pillows!  I'll be honest, I purchased three pillows at Home Goods.  They were large, and down filled......great quality, they pulled in two of the three colors from the comforter and I just couldn't beat the price!

The one color I couldn't find anywhere, was a deep cocoa brown.  So, I found this awesome fabric at Hobby Lobby that actually looks like tooled leather, but it's a synthetic fabric.  So cool!
I got this baby done in just a few hours.  I couldn't stop once I got started.  Cutting out the circles, sewing the inverted darts and then stitching the pattern into place took the most time of course.  But, it was also fun.

I have a pillow in my guest room that has similar petals all over the top.   I really like it, but I had no luck finding them anywhere.  I guess it makes sense since I probably bought it 5 or 6 years ago.  So, I did what any good seamstress would do.....I removed one of the petals to use as a pattern and see how it was constructed to create the petal shape and went to town on my very own design.
I already had a pillow that I used for the fiberfill filling, so this baby cost me well under $10!  Plus, I still have fabric leftover.  I wouldn't dare however make another pillow since my husband would probably freak......he just doesn't get the whole throw pillows on the bed thing....go figure!?

Monday, February 4, 2019

MAKE AHEAD BREAKFAST BITES

I wouldn't call these one of my favorite breakfast recipes, but I'll let you decide for yourself.
The first thing I would change if I make these again, they need to be made in extra large muffin tins.  I found by the time I placed the dough inside, there was little room for the ham and cheese, especially since I knew I needed to leave room for the egg.  By using larger tins, you'd have more room to layer a decent amount of filling (as it was, I didn't put more than 4 pieces of ham and a few pieces of shredded cheese), and add additional filling to the top as the recipe called for.....as it was, I couldn't add any additional topping after I added the egg.

Below is the recipe as it was written, feel free to use my recommendations if you'd like.......

INGREDIENTS:

3½ cups Original Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
12 eggs 
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup diced ham
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (I opted for dried parsley)

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 12 regular size muffin cups with cooking spray.  In medium bowl, mix the Bisquick mix and milk with a wooden spoon to form thick dough.  Dump out onto floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into rounds with a 3-4 inch cookie cutter.

Press the rounds into the cups.  Sprinkle cheese in each cup, followed by a few cubes of ham.  Crack the eggs individually into small bowl, then gently slide 1 egg into each muffin cup.  Top with remaining cheese and ham.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary.  

Bake 20-25 minutes or until egg whites are set.  Cool in pan 5 minutes, then lift cups out susing knife.  Serve immediately.  Store leftover egg cups in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days or individually double wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.  Reheat in the microwave at low power.  

NOTE:  I went back into the website and read some of the reviews.....one baker said she used refrigerator rolls to eliminate all the hassle of rolling out the dough

Enjoy!