Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Spring is Here!


I love the first sign of Spring color in the garden. I don't know what happened to all of the bulbs I planted but not many have come up. My purple phlox has though and I love the way the look! But with the spring season comes lots of activities in my house. My boys are pretty active in sports which means lots of practices to go to and games all weekend. My girls are dancers which means lots of dance classes and preparation for recital time which goes on for three days over Memorial Day weekend. And as if that were not enough for the month of May, my son is making his Communion this weekend and next week I will have shoulder surgery. What does this mean for me? Little time to work and update my website. I apologize for this. I promise new inventory will be added in June and Tent Sale Tuesday will also continue in June. All orders placed will be shipped as usual. I love my business and will never give it up as hard as it gets to tend to it sometimes, but family comes first and this is just one busy time for our family!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Brunch Recipe - Chicken and Asparagus Wraps

Brunches are so much fun- a little breakfast, a little lunch and easy to put one together. I love these simple wraps that are so full of flavor.

1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 C sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 C thinly sliced green onions
1 T chopped fresh basil leaves or 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves, crushed
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/4 t grated lemon peel
1/2 C water
12 oz asparagus spears, trimmed
4 8-in. flour tortillas
2 C cut-up cooked chicken (in a hurry - use a precooked rotisserie chicken from the store)
1/2 C cherry tomatoes, halved

1- In a small bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, green onions, basil, lemon juice, salt and lemon peel. Chill until ready to serve.
2- In 10-inch skillet, bring water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook covered 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool.
3- On each tortilla, evenly arrange chicken, asparagus, and tomatoes, then top with mayo mixture. Roll up, garnish, if desired with mixed greens and enjoy!
This recipe makes 4 wraps.

Check out some of my previously posted brunch recipes here. And check out some of my Make Mine pink friends' blogs too - (pink blogs on my sidebar) - some of them will be posting some recipes too!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Mother's Day Events!

Make Mine Pink will be offering a Mother's Day Shop Hop starting on April 21st, 2008 and ending on May 10th, 2008.

Click Here to see what the Mother's Day Shop Hop is all about!
Join the Make Mine Pink Bloggers as we each post our plans for a Mother's Day Event~ we will share stories and recipes, a garden hat or two, and stop and smell the roses along the way.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ooh Fudge!


I have to tell you about this delicious fudge my friend Carol from Clutterbug Studio makes. I ordered a jar of this amazing fudge as a little surprise for my husband. I ordered the Double Decadence - fudge in a jar that you eat with a spoon! And this one comes with two demitasse spoons. I had a sample in Chicago so I already knew what a treat we were in for. Can you believe the jar is sitting on my husband's dresser? We have to sneak little spoonfuls in the bedroom so the kids don't see. If you decide to treat yourself too - I promise you won't be disappointed!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tent Sale Tuesday!


Check out these shabby white cast iron candleholders with crackled glass. I just put them on sale under the tent! Only 2 left!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Show and Tell Monday!

I love this idea my friend Kathleen from Set to a Tea has come up with. She thought we could all post about what we have been working on over the last week.


Here is a custom floral piece I have made up for a customer last week. This one is going in her bathroom.

These are some sweet little floral pieces I made and added to my shop last week.





Also, here is a pic of a delicious dessert my 12 yr old made last night. While in the supermarket yesterday, she spotted these ready to use crepes in the produce aisle.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 pint of fresh strawberries, sliced

Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread in a jar)

In an electric mixer, whip the cream to medium peaks. Add the sugar and the vanilla and whip to stiff peaks. Gently fold in the strawberries. Spread a little Nutella on the crepe. Top with some whipped cream and strawberries. Roll up crepe, sprinkle with powdered sugar and add a little more whipped cream on top. So good!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

May Flower Jars - Part 2




So now that you have all of your supplies ready, let's start creating! If you are using paper to decorate your jar, cut them into the appropriate size now, use a pretty edge scissor too if you'd like. Take your clean jars and just brush some watered down white glue or decoupage medium onto the jar or the paper, whatever is easier for you. Just try to rub out the air bubles if you can, if you can't no big deal! Who is really going to care when you are surprising them with some beautiful flowers! I also suggest another coat of decoupage glue or some clear varnish to protect the paper from water. You do have to be careful filling the jars with water and not spilling over on your paper. Then it just becomes a sticky mess!


Here are some jars with the paper glued and dried. The one on the left is a pretty Rachel Ashwell tissue paper (from Target), so it comes out kind of shear. The second from the left is a shear decorative paper with a yellow rose cutout that I glued on top of the paper and then I coated the rose in glass glitter. The third and fourth are scrapbook papers.


The next step is making the wire hanger. I don't really measure anything when I work, so I apologize for that, but 10-12" of wire should be a good size depending on your jar. I used jars that were about 4-7" high and 3-4" diameter. A pair of needle nose pliers works well to curl the ends of your wire like photo above. The rings you make will go on either side of the jar top and you will wrap a piece of wire through these holes and around the top of the jar.


The second piece of wire wraps around the top of the jar and through the holes. You pull the two ends tight at the back of the jar and twist them together. You then bend the ends back towards the glass so the pointed ends are not sticking out.


After the handle is secure the fun part begins, embellishing! Look through your stash of supplies for buttons, lace, ribbons, tags, fabric scraps, etc.



This one has a vintage look. I took a piece of white lace trim and dipped it in some watered down burnt sienna paint and it gave it that tea-stained look. Of course you can just dip it in some tea also. I used a big old button and some mettalic thread. I have also added a tag to each of my jars to personalize them for the recipient.


This is my shabby jar. I used some textured wallpaper to wrap the jar and a piece of Shabby Chic fabric cut with pinking shears. I made a coordinating tag and tied the jar with some funky yarn.


This purple jar is such a pretty spring color. I made this one with scrapbook paper tied with white lace trim and embellished the gift tag with some glass glitter for a little sparkle.



On this pink blossom jar, I used a printed tissue paper, pink midori ribbon, a hanging pink diamond drop and the tag is embellished with stick on rhinestones. Any charms will do to add on your jar, think of something your recipient loves. I already know I am going to attach a little butterfly charm on for one of my friends.


This is another really simple idea. Just take a lace doily, or a fabric circle would work too, secure with a rubber band at the top of the jar and tie with a ribbon. I love the ribbon colors on this one.

This last one is covered in a sheer decorative paper as mentioned at the beginning of this post. But I have also added a pearl trim to the bottom, just hot glued on and a springy green Midori ribbon with gift tag embellished with an old button.

I love the way this collection of jars looks. I can't wait to fill them with fresh flowers and deliver to my special friends. I will post a pic of them filled with blossoms on May 1st.

Have fun creating your May Flower Jars and please post a pic on your blog if you have made some and leave us a comment so we can check yours out too!

Or if you don't have a blog, send me a pic by email!

Tent Sale Tuesday!


This shabby white cast iron candleholder is now under the tent! Check it out! I only have 4 left.
P.S.
May Flower Jars Part 2 coming later today!

Monday, April 07, 2008

May Flower Jars - Part One - Supplies


I have wanted to share these ideas for making May Flower Jars to deliver to friends/family on May 1st. Who wouldn't love to surprise someone or be surprised with a pretty little floral piece. These jars are so much fun and easy to make too. I wanted to start this project early enough so
you have time to save up some jars to decorate.
Supplies will include: Jars, decorative papers - including gift wrap, embossed wallpaper or scrapbook papers, decoupage glue, hot glue, ribbons and trims, paper cutouts, tags to write a message, wire for handle, and of course fresh flowers to fill your jars.

Click HERE for Part Two!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Tent Sale Tuesday!


I have one lonely bunny left and I put her under the tent!