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Saturday, January 18, 2020

FLOWER GIRL DRESS

I recently had the pleasure of creating a number of wedding related items for a bride.  The first item I can share is the flower girl dress.    It's always a treat for me to work on flower girl dresses!    The white satin, matches the bride's gown and the mauve is a close match to the bridesmaid dresses, so she's going to look awesome.
Personally, I love a grand candybox bow....so,  when I include one, I like to add a "ready made" version.  This way nobody has the added pressure of trying to tie a good looking bow on the wedding day.  This one is tacked right onto the back bodice. 

The other thing I always do with my flower girl dresses is add a lining with a full crinoline skirt.  It's what gives the skirt the extra volume that looks so adorable.
 
I have more goodies from this wedding to share, but it will have to wait until after the wedding day in February.  Stay tuned.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

CRANBERRY ORANGE CRUMB TART

I realize in early January most everyone has devoured enough sugar to choke a horse, but I have to share this tart recipe.  Just bookmark it and pull it out at a later date.
I've always wanted to try my hand at a tart recipe, but first I had to get myself a tart pan.  So, I did just that this past summer and started looking for recipes in the fall to bring to our holiday family dinner. 

I landed on this cranberry orange tart and I'm so glad that I did.  It was sweet, but also tart.  Totally enjoyed by the entire family.

INGREDIENTS: 

CRUST:
2 cups crushed cinnamon graham crackers (about 14 whole crackers), divided
½ cup sugar, divided
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
¼ cup flour
¼ cup cold butter, cubed
¼ cup packed brown sugar

FILLING:
1 large navel orange
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. quick cooking tapioca
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
2 Tbsp. brandy or cranberry juice

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, mix 1 3/4 cups crushed crackers and ¼ cup sugar; stir in melted butter.  Press onto bottom and up sides of an ungreased 11 inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom.  Bake 7-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack.

For topping....in a small bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, and remaining crushed crackers and sugar.  Cut in cold butter until crumbly.  Refrigerate while preparing filling.

Finely grate enough zest from the orange to measure 1 Tablespoon.  Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of the orange, stand orange upright on a cutting board.  Cut off peel and outer membrane.  starting from the top.  Holding orange over a bowl to catch juices, remove orange sections by cutting along the membrane.  Squeeze membrane to reserve additional juice.    Cut orange pieces in half.

In a large saucepan, mix sugar, tapioca, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice.  Add cranberries, brandy, grated zest and reserved juice; toss to coat.  Let stand 15 minutes.    Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Bring cranberry mixture to a full boil, stirring constantly.  Add orange section; heat through.  Pour into crust; sprinkle with topping.  

Bake 10-15 minutes or until topping is golden brown.  Cook on a wire rack.

Remove sides of pan and slice into pieces.

Enjoy!


recipe c/o:  www.tasteofhome.com

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

GOLD COCKTAIL DRESS

I was originally considering making a cathedral veil from some gold lace, so I made an online purchase of a lace that caught my eye.  When I received it I realized it wasn't right for a veil....it was much too heavy.  So instead, I thought I'd use it to make a pretty cocktail dress.

Sometimes the beauty of a dress is not only in the design, but in the fabric choice.  While this design has some unique features, like the midriff panel and the open "v" shaped back.  To me, what truly makes this dress special is the fabric.
I used a sandy/taupe satin for the underlayer and really worked on engineering the layout of the motif on the bodice so it not only highlighted the gorgeousness of the lace, but left enough empty space to see the beauty of the underlayer as well. 

I chose to use an invisible zipper to minimize the impact it would have on the motif....because it's hidden, the motif flows nicely right across where the zipper lies.

Finally, I fully utilized the curves and cutouts of the motif to make a totally unique hemline!  Because the underlayer is a good 4 inches shorter, you can really see the florals, branches and abstract patterns. 

The bodice is fully lined and I used french seams for a custom couture finish. 

The dress fit like a charm, and my client was thrilled with it......I'm looking forward to getting a few pictures of her in the dress when she heads out to the NYC theatre district with her husband in just a couple short weeks from now!