Wizard of Oz

Design: The Wizard of Oz by Shiny Room Designs
Fabric: 28ct tea Monaco linen by Charles Craft
Threads: DMC
Start: 7/24/2011

A lesson in baking

Looks lovely doesn't it? I decided to make some blueberry cobbler after finding a recipe for it in a Williams-Sonoma book from the library. I took it out of the oven and let it cool, impatient to dig in and try it. With my first spoonful I noticed the strangest taste.

I grabbed another bowlful and headed to my aunt's house for her advice. She noticed what was wrong immediately: too much baking powder, which gave the biscuits a metallic taste. Silly me, I put 1-1/2 tablespoons of baking powder in the dough mix instead of 1-1/2 teaspoons. Well, that's a lesson learned for sure. Always, always check your measurements!

While I'm sure the recipe would have turned out great if I hadn't used so much baking powder, I wasn't a fan of the cinnamon in the blueberries. I think I'll try another blueberry recipe next weekend.

In other news, I finally found a pastry brush at Wal-mart. I don't shop there, but figured I'd check their kitchen supplies before making a trip across the bay to Williams-Sonoma to get the brush I needed. Apparently, they have every gadget you can think of including a neat little silicone mat to measure the diameter of your pie crust when you are rolling out dough. Note to Target, please extend your kitchen supply section! Thanks :)

Until next time ^____^

Baking and the search for a pastry brush

Hi! I made miniature apple pies in the shape of apples and hearts and peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies this morning.



I went by the grocery store this morning to get some things for the week and to purchase a pastry brush. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find a pastry brush! With the large section of kitchen utensils at the store, I was disappointed that I couldn't find one. I'll probably go by Hobby Lobby next weekend and check to see if they have one and if I have to, I'll try Williams-Sonoma as a last resort.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! Until next time ^___^

Thank You Harry Potter

My friend and I watched the second part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night at the theater. It was brilliant!

Thanks to the cast and crew of the Harry Potter movies for a decade of magic.





I loved watching the actors and actresses grow up through the films. Good luck in the future!

Belated gifts

Hi! I received a package yesterday from my friend Amanda in CA. She had sent me some belated gifts for my b-day.



Lots of cute goodies. A My Melody lunch bag, Kiddy Berrie's bento box, handbag hook, HP playing cards, bags of mochi candies, and a book lover keychain.

I love all of it! The bento box is perfect with the baking bunny and all her sweets. The keychain is cute. It says on the front 'Happy Book Lover' and on the back 'Happy to be a paperback perusing, library loving, page turning Book Lover.'

LOVE IT! It describes me perfectly ^__^

Thanks darling for all the great gifts!

In other news, it's been raining cats and dogs since yesterday! A great day to do some reading and writing a letter to my friend in CA.

Until next time ^_____^

Goodies!

Look what I got in the mail today! The patterns I ordered from eBay came in the mail today from Seoul! They even included a cute little Hello Kitty pincushion :)



I bought the Little Witch biscornu and some other patterns on eBay last month from a seller in Korea. I saw several Korean patterns online that they did not carry in their store on eBay and asked if they would order them for me. They were kind enough to get the ones I wanted!

I can't wait to get started on some of these designs ^___^

Until next time!

Handmade brooches

Hi! I've reconstructed some of the cell charms I made last year and used the charms to make two brooches. I picked up the safety pins at Hobby Lobby last weekend.


Vampire-themed brooch with fang and blood droplets!


Lolita-themed brooch with pearl drop, pink crystal heart, and vintage key!

I can't wait to wear these brooches at work ^___^

Until next time!

I ♥ cherries!

Good afternoon! My mother and I took a trip across the bay yesterday to the Eastern Shore Centre. While in Williams-Sonoma I picked up two miniature pie-molds, an apple-shaped one and a heart-shaped one. I could have spent a lot of money in that store especially in the bakeware section! O_o" (The metallic fuchsia-colored Kitchen-Aid looked so tempting! But I'll stick with my old Sunbeam hand mixer.)

This morning I went by the grocery store and purchased some pastry dough and pie filling to make mini cherry pies ^___^

They turned out quite well for my first trying to make them. Oven temperature at 375 for 15 minutes....I think next time, I will try for 10 minutes :)


It's so cute! ^____^

With these molds you can also cut out a heart or apple shape without the air pocket so you can deep fry the pies if you wish. I've never been a fan of fried pies, I think that has more to do with the fact that our grandmother never made them. I think she would have loved these miniature pie molds :)

By the way, thank you for all the comments on my cross stitch projects and baking! I'm not working on anything at the present, I've got a busy two weeks coming up at work so I don't think I'll have to start any new projects until after that time. I've ordered so more Korean cross stitch patterns from eBay and hope to get them soon :)

Until next time ^____^

Little Witch ♥

Hi again! I managed to finish my Little Witch biscornu a few moments ago. I made a change to other side, but it looks great.




Design: A Little Witch by Shiny Room Designs
Fabric: 28ct tea Monaco linen by Charles Craft
Threads: DMC
Start/Finish: 7/2-4/2011

For the back of the biscornu, I stitched the border with the pumpkins, but skipped out on stitching the interior area. I decided that I want to use a small button in the center on the front and a larger one of the bottom in the center (hence the small green thread to mark the spot). I plan on looking for some cute buttons this weekend.

Hope you are enjoying your 4th of July. Be safe!

Until next time ^___^

Baking battle

Hi! I had a fun battle with the oven this morning while baking peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies. The recipe called for 375 degrees temperature, but in the South you always have to turn the temp down 25 degrees when baking. So I did that, but still got a batch of burnt cookies. Turning the dial down another 25 degrees, I got some yummy cookies! Downside, I bought two new cookie sheets yesterday and one of them decided to stain after using it this morning. Go figure!



I found that the cookie sheets with open sides work alot better for peanut butter cookies than ones with sides.

Until next time ^____^

Little Witch biscornu

Design: A Little Witch by Shiny Room Designs
Fabric: 28ct tea Monaco linen by Charles Craft
Threads: DMC
Start: 7/2/2011

A small start this afternoon while watching a few Sherlock Holmes episodes and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on DVD.

I'm off to do some yard work now that the temps have gone down :)

Hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend.

Until next time ^____^