Sugar Cookies

You know it's Christmas time when you see these babies disappearing around the house. They are just too good to resist. I mean honestly, who can resist a sugar cookie? Well, no one around my house can. So I thought I'd share the love. My boys and I had fun decorating them! I think they ate more than they decorated. :)

Ingredients:

Fun Stuff-

Cookie Cutters

Food Coloring Gel

Sugar Pearls

Sprinkles of your liking

Dough-

1/2 Cup Butter

1 Cup Sugar

2 Beaten Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

2 and 3/4 Cup Flour (or more)

2 and 3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in seprate bowl and combine with butter mixture. Mix well. Refrigerate until stiff. Once it's stiff, roll it out on a floured surface (I used powdered sugar but you can use flour). Once it's rolled out, take your cookie cutters and cut all the shapes your little heart desires. Place on non-stick baking sheet. (or parchment paper) and Bake @ 350* for 8-10 minutes. If you like them chewy like me, take them out when the edges are turning a light tan. Immediately use a spatula to scrape them off the pan. Be gentle and don't burn yourself!!! Place cookies on cooling rack.

Icing-

2 Cups Confectioners Sugar

4 tsp Light Corn Syrup

1 tsp Almond extract (or other flavor)

6 tsp Milk (or more for consistency desired)

Mix together until creamy. To make sure you have the right consistency, dip a spoon into the icing. If it drizzles a little then there you have it. It shouldn't be too dry or too runny to work with. :) Once your icing is made feel free to color it. Separate icing into individual bowls. Add gel and mix color desired.

Happy Baking! Loves!

Rachel

You know you watch too much Toy Story 3 when.....

You catch your 3 year old quietly opening a bag of tortilla's with a fork. Interested, you let him continue on, making sure he doesn't stab himself in the eye!

3 Year Old: He put's the tortilla gently on top of the table. Run's off.

Mom: Your still interested to see how things pan out.

3 Year Old: He quickly and excitedly runs back to the table with potato head parts!

Mom: Thinking, "Reaaaallllly?"

3 Year Old: Mumbling a bunch of what what's to himself

Mom: "Buddy, what are you doing?"

3 Year Old: "Mommy.... Im making a Mr. Tortilla Potato head.... see!" beaming from ear to ear!

Love it! I think we are definitely going to regulate his TV time from 2 movies a day to 1. Gotta love my little man. He's such a hoot and makes me smile EVERY single day! Hope your moments are as fun filled as mine! Loves!

I Heart Photography!

So I thought I would just give a shout out for my sweet girl Janese. For those of you who love photography, she is amazing. I love how she captures moments in just the right light. Check her out here. She's wonderful! She did these shots and I absolutly LOVE them. I heart photo's and love her work. Loves!

Halloween Cake

So my sweet little boy #2 turned 1! I know, I can hardly believe it either. So in honor of this event I made him a Halloween cake. His Birthday falls just before Halloween and it was a lot of fun. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. 

Loves!

Home Made Artisan Bread Mmmmm...

I have to share this oh so easy bread recipe with you! It's perfect for those cold crisp night's where only soup and bread will satisfy. I got it from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois! It is amazing. Check it out here!

Now your probably saying "Rachel, I have kids running around, Im dead tired, work was hard and I still have to pick cherrios out of my hair from my 1 year old; who by the way likes to put food anywhere BUT his mouth...... yada yada yada....."

To you I say this recipe is perfect. Really.

Not only does it taste great and look appealing but it takes about 15 to make and about an hour 1/2 to let rise and 30 minutes to bake. You can also store the rest of your dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. This makes your bread tastier as it ages and you can have it whenever you want! Oh and did I mention you don't have to knead it forever! Whoop Whoop!

It is scrump-true-less-ant! Or in other words YUMMY!

So get out there one of these chilly cold nights and bake up a storm. You'll thank me later for it!

Ingredients and Materials:

3 C of lukewarm water

1 1/2 Tbs granulated yeast (2 packets worth)

1 1/2 Tbs kosher or coarse salt

6 1/2 C unsifted, bread flour (sometimes I put in 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 wheat flour for a more hearty loaf)

Cornmeal

Pizza Pan (I use a a pizza stone)

A glass pan with lid or Tupperware (for storing the rest of your dough)

Kitchen Aid with dough hook or Electric beaters (mixers) This will make your life ALOT easier! If your hand mixing it though and it becomes to hard for your muscles to take just get your hands a little wet and mix it together in a bowl.

Mixing and Storing your Dough

Step 1. Mix your Water, Yeast and Salt

Warm your water slightly, a bit warmer than body temperature. Add yeast and salt to water. Don't worry about dissolving it into the mixture. I usually wait until the yeast starts to bubble but you don't have to.

Step 2. Flour time

Pour your yeast mixture into a bowl. Slowly add a Cup at a time to your yeast mixture. Stirring until combined. Once your done adding all your flour you will be left with sticky wet loose dough. If you are going to bake some right then, take a pinch off and place it onto a floured surface. If your going to store it, place it into your tupperware/glass resealable dish and let it rise at room tempature for at least 2 hours and then store in fridge. Dating your container might not be a bad idea to know how fresh it is. :)

Step 3. Dusting and Shaping

Once you have your dough on your floured surface, take some flour in your hands and "wrap" your dough in it as you shape it into a ball (or whatever you want to make). It's ok if its not perfect. Once you have your shape, pull out your pizza pan.

Step 4. Rise and Bake

Once it's shaped, sprinkle your pan with cornmeal. This prevents your loaf from sticking to the pan. Place your loaf on top of the cornmeal and let rise for about an hour.

Step 5. Bake

Bake at 400* F for about 30 minutes or until it is hard to the touch and golden brown. I usually stick a knife in the middle to make sure the middle isn't gooey. Viola! Now you have an artisan bread in a jiffy!

Happy Baking! Loves!

Rachel

Halloween Blocks

I don't know about you but I am soooooooooooo in love with Halloween! It's my favorite holiday! (well besides Christmas of course!)

In our family we go all out for Halloween. Seriously! The house gets decorated from head to toe with all sorts of tastefully ghostly decor! From cheese cloth ghosts to vintage modge podged posters. It makes it a real treat to behold.

The greatest part is the big Halloween party at my Mothers house every year! We eat home made scones and chili, dress up, play games, watch movies and catch up. The kids even have fun as they trick or treat around the house to each door while filling their bags with goodies. So, I guess you can say that we are a little obsessed with it, but I don't care! Bring on the Halloween fun!

As the trick or treat day approaches I have decided to post some "oh so cute" and fun crafts we love to do to spook up your home. It will be a delight so take a peek of what's to come!

First we will start out with blocks... pyro style.

Materials:

Blocks of desired size (I got mine at Michaels... cheep)

Fun Halloween paper (enough to cover your blocks)

Mod Podge (I used Matte finish)

Paint brush or foam brush

Black Paint (or whatever Halloween color you wish)

Lighter

Paper towels (one for working mat, one for putting out fire)

Letter Cut Outs of "boo" (or whatever you want)

Step 1 : Paint Your Blocks

Paint your blocks so they are all one color. I painted mine black. :) Easy enough.

Step 2: Cut Cute Paper into Squares

Step 3: Burn Edges

I recommend doing this 3rd step outside with a cup of water handy. The smoke is disgusting. Anywho...

Simply take your lighter, light edges of square and blow out. Pat edge with paper towel and repeat until your edges have a burnt finish.

Step 4: Mod Podge Back and Front

Mod Podge back of cute paper, stick down and repeat on front of paper. Make sure to gently rub out any bubbles making sure the surface is flat.

Let them dry and mod podge your letters on! There you have it! Cute Boo Blocks for a Halloween party! Sounds like fun to me! Happy Scary Making!

Loves~ Rachel

Toy Story Potato Head

I had to put these up cause I loved how they turned out!

My little guy is obsessed with Toy Story! So we decided to have a Toy Story birthday party this year at the pool. He loved it! His favorite thing there... Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head cake pops! He played with them a little before he ate them. Haha!

Find out how to make them here with the wonderful Bakerella!

The only thing I did different was pipe on the arms and cute little necklace. I think it turned out cuter than a stick for an arm. (Thanks girls for helping!)

Hope you like em! My little guy sure did. Can't believe he's 3! Hoy!

The Distressed Hutch

Ha! I have to laugh at this project every time I look at it! It was a joy to do... and alot more than I really asked for at this time in my life.

First of all, I decided to do it in the middle of our move. You know, when I thought it would be easy to just take everything out, pack up and paint it with two little ones on the run. Ya. Muuuhahaha!

Second, I ended up NOT liking the yellow I originally picked. (mustard yellow... my hubby hated it! lol. I wont even tell you what color he called it!)

And finally, it took alot longer than I expected... because of my crazy life and moving our family.

I LOVE IT THOUGH and wouldn't change a thing!

So you wonderful individuals out there who are looking for a way to spruce up some old furniture, take a look at this distressed look!

Materials:

Paint (2 colors semigloss), paint brush, screw driver, sand paper, cloth, SOS pad

Step 1. The Color

Originally I chose yellow. A country yellow. So I went to the hardware store to pick it out. LOVED IT!

RECOMMENDATION: Get those tiny test paint jars of a couple colors you like. Paint them on your project to see which one you favor. And viola! No headache.

I didn't like the yellow when I was done but it worked out to my benefit as I painted blue over it.

Step 2. Take Off Hardware

Take your drill and remove any hardware. Door knobs/hinges etc.

Step 3: Sand lightly and Rough it up

In order for your paint to stick, your going to sand the outside. It won't take much so don't worry about putting your back into it or taking layers off with sand paper. It's not necessary. Just a little sanding will do the trick.

Now, to rough it up you need your bag of screws and hardware. Remove the hinges from the bag. Seal. And start banging on your furniture with the bag of screws. This "ages" your furniture making it look distressed. It leaves little dents to add character.

Bang on edges where desired.

Step 4: Wipe Down

It's simple enough. Wipe off sawdust with cloth so it's ready to paint.

Step 5: Paint

Simple enough. Don't forget your paint cloths (it will get everywhere!) And don't forget to pretend your Karate Kid painting Mr. Miyagi's fence. I know Im crazy but I kept saying to myself, "Danielsan, it's all in da wrist....uuppp.... down........ verrry good!" to get me through hours of painting. Make sure your strokes are smooth and have no clumps, or drips. Don't let it sit very long if your working on making it smooth either.

Step 6: SOS

Once your paint is dry, take your SOS brillow pad (steel wool) and rub it all over the painted surface to remove any blemishes. Wipe clean with cloth.

Step 7: Paint Again with Second Color

Step 8: Sand Until it Pop's

Yes! You want to sand the edges until you see that yellow (or what have you)"pop." Where ever you want your first color to come through, sand it until it does. This is called distressing. Mmmmm... love it. I think this was my favorite part.

Step 9: Wax and Polish

Put a coat of this on it and let it sit for an hour or two. With an old towel or cloth polish it into the wood using circular motions. It should shine once its all rubbed in.

And that's it! Your done! Finally! Have fun distressing... and don't stress over your project... sorry for the bad photos...

Tie Dye Spider

Hello! So sorry it's been a while. Between packing up our entire house, playing with my babies, vacationing, hubby, living out of a suitcase, moving, unpacking, and adjusting to our new life away from everything we have known, I have had little time to blog. Scratch that! I have had NO time to blog let alone see what is going on out there in the world today. Well, Im glad to tell you that Immmm baaaaaack! So let's get started shall we!

Today Im going to show you how to do a spider tie dye! Ooooooooooooo! Get excited! It's oh so easy and oh so fun! This last camping vacation we all tie dyed so I took some shots! It was fun.... in a non-tree-hugging sort of way. :)

If you missed the first tie dying post, I recommend you click HERE

Materials:

-Dharma dye (your desired colors, you need at least 1 dark color for the spider)

-Soda Ash Fixative

-Dust Mask

-2 buckets (one for soda ash and one for rinsing water)

-8 oz squeeze bottles

-Cooling rack

-Old metal pot

-Paper Towels

-White shirt (onezies, T-shirt, kid shirt, whatever you want)

-Latex gloves (to protect your hands from being dyed)

-Rubber bands or string

-Gallon plastic freezer bags

- 1 Wooden Cloths pin

Now your going to follow all the necessary instructions as you did in my first tutorial (Mix dye, soak clothing in soda ash, and prepare a work surface).

The only thing you are going to do different is: tying the clothing and squirting the dye.

1. Tying the Spider:

After your material has soaked in the soda ash, ring out excess and lay on work surface.

Fold in half.........

Take your handy dandy cloths pin, clip the center of the shirt and roll it in a circular motion until you reach the end. (I used my fingertips, but a cloths pin works best!)

Once you wrap your circle in rubber bands or string, it's spider time!

2. Dying the Spider:

Now this is the fun part! Your going to grab your darkest color and work from the center until you get to the outside. Think Cinnamon rolls and you'll do fine! ;) See picture below for details.

Fill the empty white spots with a lighter color or two. Flip over gently and repeat the same dark pattern on other side (yes the dark lines should be the same or close to it on each side) Fill in with lighter color again.

Place in zip lock and let sit for 12-24 hours. Wash and tada! Spider Man! Or baby! Or what have you. Happy tie dying!