Recipe Box Gussied up with the Silhouette Machine

Here is a recipe box I fancied up using my Silhouette machine and some of their vinyl in pink and white.

Bucket Hat and Fabric Rosettes

I decided to make Karsyn some hats for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. She wasn't blessed in with the hair gene unfortunately and it takes all of my energy to try to keep hats on her head but I figured I would try to make her some cute hats and hope she would leave them alone.

Brush Your Teeth Toothbrush Holder

Toothbrush holder, isn't it cute!!!

Art Table Redo

A friend and neighbor gave Karsyn their art table and small chairs and told me to use my crafty skills to update it. one of the chairs had a cracked leg brace. I forgot to take a picture of the table before I started working on it. I removed the netting from the table that held art supplies and glued and clamped the leg with wood glue. I sprayed the table top with chalkboard paint (4 coats) and then painted the chairs with black spray paint.

Springy Chocolate Twists

I found this awesome tutorial on how to make squiggly chocolate curls for the tops of cupcakes, cakes etc. SUPER easy too! First melt/temper chocolate in either a double boiler or the microwave. Then place in either a piping bag or squeeze bottle. Chill vodka to ICE COLD and place in a tall glass.

Bubblewrap molded Chocolate

How to make Bubble wrap chocolate mold

Christmas Eve White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

My favorite cheesecake is served at the Cheesecake factory and only around Christmas time. This recipe I cam up with is pretty close to the one I had there. I am incharge of bringing dessert for Christmas eve dinner so this is what I decided to make.

Gitter Trees

J-O-Y Glitter Frames

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

20 crumbled Oreo cookies pulverized into crumbs.

1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted

Filling

4 8-ounce pkgs. softened cream cheese
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp peppermint extract
5 eggs
4 ounces peppermint hershey kisses or andes mints chopped

Topping
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup super fine sugar
1/4 tsp peppermint
1/2 tsp vanilla (clear is best)
2 oz melted white chocolate



1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a large pan or oven-safe skillet filled with about 1/2-inch of water into the oven while it preheats. This will be your water bath.

3. Measure 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs or (crush ~20 oreos in a food processor or blender) into a medium bowl. Mix in the melted unsalted butter. Press the crumb into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom with parchment paper. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumb mixture flat into the bottom of the pan and about 1/4 of the way up the side. Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

4. Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix for a couple minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs. Sprinkle the chopped white chocolate into the batter and fold in.

5. Remove the crust from the freezer and  Pour the cream cheese filling into the crust. 

6. Carefully place the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. When the cheesecake is cool, use the foil from the bottom to cover the cheesecake and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

7.Melt the white chocolate. Separately mix together the sour cream, flavoring and sugar.When the chocolate is melted mix ~2 Tbsp of the sour cream into the chocolate then then slowly add the rest of the sour cream mixture to the white chocolate. Spread ontop of the cheesecake. Before serving, sprinkle the entire top surface of cheesecake with 2 ounces of shaved white chocolate. To serve, slice the cheesecake into 12 equal portions. Apply a pile of canned whipped cream to the top of each slice and serve.

Makes 12 servings.

Hawaiian Anniversary Cake

Here is the cake I made for a friend and co-workers parents 60th anniversary. I used the advice and tutorials of my friend Stephanie over at Sweet Creations by Stephanie 

Upcycled Sweater Blanket

Isn't this blanket adorable!!!!!

Boppy Pillow cover

check out the tutorial and FREE pattern over at Vanilla Joy  I made this for my bobby pillow and it worked great. You can also add the decorative piping on the seams. The pattern calls for a zipper but if you aren't comfortable with zippers like me you can just use velcro. I used the velcro that you can iron on and it sticks amazingly well!

Healthy Oatmeal Bars

I love this recipe and it is a great breakfast bar if you are in a hurry, they freeze great too when cut into single serving portions and frozen in ziplock bags.  I didn't follow the recipe completely since I don't have organic eggs and couldn't find goji berries, but delicious none the less

Party Dress Redo

I love the blog A New Dress a Day and love how she can change ugly clothes or ill fitting items into something cute that is actually wearable. Taking a note from her I found this adorable dress on sale and love the color and the concept BUT it needed a bit of tweeking.

Toasted Homemade Marshmallow Milkshake

  

I first saw this concoction on the show "The best thing I ever ate" on the Food Network and really wanted to try it, but the restaurant that makes them is located in NYC so I googled it and gave this recipe a shot, the sour cream at first threw me but it really is a great addition to the shake.

Crib and Playard Sheets Tutorial

I love this tutorial over at Bundles of Love  when I was pregnant and had the daunting task of registering for baby stuff and I could not believe the insane price for baby sheets. I mean $20 for a single fitted sheet!!! and most weren't even cute! When I set out to decorate my daughters room I didn't have the intention to make it over the top pink, but I really wanted to do cherry blossoms and so pink it was. So I set out to see if it was possible to make a sheet for her crib and low and behold both the tutorial at Bundles of Love and also at Prudent baby were so helpful and easy to follow.

Camera Case

I have made several of these over the past few years they are really easy and keep the screen protected if you just want to put the camera in your purse or pocket. A cute idea I have used is to put a button on the top and repurpose an elastic hair tie on the other side to keep the camera in as well.

Pacifier Ribbon Clip

Who wants a boring run of the mill pacifier clip when you can make a cute custom one easily! You will not want to make these too long for the choking hazard!!!

Homemade Go Blankie idea

Homemade "Go-blankie"

So I found this AWESOME idea for a blanket  called a Go-Blankie that you can use in multiple different ways:

1. Tie it onto a car seat handle so it wont fall off

2. Tie it onto the sides of a Baby Bjorn/Ergo carrier

3. Use it as a changing pad

4. Use it as a breast-feeding cover by pulling the drawstrings tight around your neck

5. Tie to the sides of your stroller so it wont fly off when walking/jogging

6. Use as a playtime mat/picnic blanket

7. Pull drawstrings and put blanket over baby's head to protect for sun/rain

Clear Box for the Santa's Belly ornaments

OOOOO SSSSS UUUUUU Cupcakes (Go Beavs!)

Here are the cupcakes I made to share at the Civil War party tomorrow between the Oregon State Beavers and the U of O Ducks...Can you guess who I am routing for?

Cake Pops