Wedding Gift Craftyness

 
      A good friend from my college days is renewing her vows with her hubster tomorrow. It is their 10th Anniversary and so they are reaffirming their vows and love in front of friends and family. It's kind of crazy because 10 years ago I hadn't yet met Shauna. So, I feel really lucky that they are doing it all over again and I am lucky enough to get an invite.
     The lovely couple has asked for no gifts. However, I'm a rule breaker and I HAD to bring a little something for them. I decided to get crafty. Shauna, I hope you and Shawn like your gift...if not, lie to me and stick it on a shelf in your closet.

     On with the craftyness............I had run across a pin on Pinterest the other day where the person used crayons and watercolors to create a cool pattern. I have also been seeing cool frames with words burnt into the wood from etsy. I'm also in love with bright pops of color right now. So with all these ideas in my head I came up with my gift. Unfortunately I don't have wood etching kit, nor did anybody else in my family that I could borrow. So I decided to use the wood burning idea and put it into the crayon and water color idea. I would just put my words and ideas into a watercolor that could go into the frame. I decided that the frame would be painted a fun bright color. That way Shauna could either leave the water color inside the frame or take it out and just use the frame. She can use it however it fits best into her home.....even if that is hidden in the dark closet on a shelf! ha

In order to make my water color I used a white crayon, a large piece of card stock, and a bingo dauber (I wanted a more vibrant red than water color would offer).

I used the white crayon to write and draw and then used the red bingo dauber to wipe coloring onto the card stock. Of course the wax from the crayon repels the coloring and you can then see what I drew.

Sample of the end product after the ink is added over the crayon. Let the end product dry completely before putting it into your frame.

Next it is time to paint the frames. I chose two different frames to paint. I wasn't sure which one I would like more with the watercolor, so I thought I would have two options to pick from. Before you paint, remove the back of the frame and the glass.

First coat of paint

Paint it with two coats and let it dry completely before putting the glass and water color into the frame

Shauna and Shawn, I wish you two MANY MANY more years of happiness and love.

-Jessica

Pink Pyrex LOVE!

     Well friends, I'm happy to announce I have another addition to my beautiful collection of Pink Pryex. If you recall I found a beautiful Pink Flamingo 2 quart casserole baker back in April. I feel like I need to send out baby announcements for these lovely pink beauties. Ok, maybe that's a touch overboard. Or is it..... Ok, FINE, I will settle for a blog post announcing their arrival (cue the trumpets and confetti)
    
Blog readers meet the ladies......ladies meet the blog readers.

This is the #444 big 4 quart mixing bowl in the Pink Cinderella with Gooseberries pattern. These bowls were made in the 1950's.

This is the #441 (1.5 pint) smallest of the 4 bowl set. It is also in the Pink Cinderella with Gooseberries pattern.

     Aren't they just beautiful? It is odd to call colored glass bowls beautiful? Oh well, I don't care if it is. They are beautiful!! Do you want to hear the story of how we met? Ok.....well if you don't then just stop reading here. If you do, then continue on.
      My Mom and I were browsing in a large antique store this weekend. We were mostly window shopping and that's when I saw it....the heavens opened up, the music sounded, there was a glowing light in booth #23 and there in that glowing light sat the beautiful bowls (events may have been exaggerated from actual facts to make a better story).
     I of course had to have these beauties. The big bowl (4 quart) seems to be sort of tricky to find in the sets. I guess it must have been used the most and probably dropped the most. I knew I had to have this one because it was in very good condition. It was also a great price for the two bowls. So they came home to live with me Happily Ever After for ever. The End. (was that a good story?)
     So, I do have some more work cut out for me.....I need to find the two middle size bowls in this four bowl set. I am missing bowl #442 and 443. However, that just means I get to have fun looking for them and shopping for a good deal. I will NOT pay an arm and a leg. That is part of the fun of starting this collection. I was pretty proud that I got these two bowls for less than what JUST the large bowl was going for on Ebay. I love a good deal!

Here are a couple more pictures for you to ogle if you wish:

Well thanks for letting me gush about my new pink loves.

-Jessica

Meet the newest addition to my kitchen......

     I have been drooling over pink Pyrex for some time now. Today I acquired my first piece of beautiful, lovely, amazingly beautiful, vintage, pink Pyrex. She (has to be a she because it's PINK) is a lovely round 2 quart covered casserole baker. Mine actually had the lid which is rare.
     I brought my lovely piece home and decided to do some research on how much it is worth and such. I knew that I got a good deal, but I wasn't sure HOW good of a deal. Did you know that there are entire websites devoted to Pyrex? I didn't know until today.
     According to Correlle Corner my pink beauty was made somewhere between 1952 to 1957. The official color name is "Flamingo". Pretty sassy if you ask me!
     I look forward to picking up more pieces of lovely pink Pyrex in the future. I would REALLY love to have some of the pink daisy bowls.
     Now that I know a little about my beauty I need to decide what to cook in her for the first time. Any suggestions??

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

    I think that by now you know that I have a love of all things peanut butter and chocolate. That's why when I saw the recipe for these "brownies" as they called them I knew I was going to have to convert them to gluten free. (To me, they are a blondie because they don't have chocolate in the actual batter, so I'm calling mine blondies!) Sooooo I amped up the peanut butter and chocolate levels in these (the original recipe had nowhere near enough) and I happen to think the end result is yummy. I hope you agree!

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
6 T butter, melted
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
36 mini peanut butter cups (Reese’s are the best!) or 35 if you eat one, not that I did that
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg. Spray a 9x13 in. pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, beat together sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and eggs until well blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum.

Cut 12 peanut butter cups into quarters and gently stir into blondie batter along with the chocolate chips. Spread into baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean

Remove from oven and immediately press remaining peanut butter cups into the top of the blondies in even rows. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Yummy chunks of pb cup

Look at those chunks of pb cup going into the batter...mmmmm

Sorry bad picture, I forgot to snap a pic of them BEFORE they went into the oven! oopsie!

Smoosh the whole PB cups into the warm blondies and let them cool (if you can)

These are so good. They need a tall glass of cold cold milk to go with them. Mmmmm

-Jessica

Valentine Chocolate Info and a Valentine Round-up

     Valentines Day is coming up.....let me repeat that for those of you who were not listening the first time......VALENTINES DAY IS COMING UP QUICKLY!!! Ok, so now you can't tell your loved ones that you "forgot" because I JUST reminded you....twice!
     I thought I would share some important Valentine related info. with you such as what brands of chocolate are safe. Chocolates and Valentines Day go hand in hand. It would be HORRIBLE to give your sweetie a box of chocolates that glutens them. So let's talk chocolates for a while:

Hershey's Chocolate: FAQ says: "We have found that allergen lists quickly become outdated as our product lines change over time. Rather than have you make purchase decisions based on outdated information, we encourage you to check the ingredient label on the package. This label provides accurate, current information about all the ingredients in the package."

Mars (M &M's, Snickers, Skittles, 3 Musketeers, etc). : Allergen Info Page which basically says the label is your best source of information

NECCO (Conversation hearts, NECCO wafers, etc): FAQ Page says:We make the following products which do not contain gluten from wheat, rye, oats or barley: Necco Wafers, Mary Janes, Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts (Valentines only), Canada Mint & Wintergreen Lozenges, Haviland Thin Mints and Candy Stix

In addition, Clark Bars, Skybars, Haviland Peppermint & Wintergreen Patties, Necco Candy Eggs (Easter), Talking Pumpkins (Halloween), Squirrel Nut Caramels and Squirrel Nut Zippers, Banana Split and Mint Julep Chews, ULTRAMINTS are also gluten free.        

Russel Stover, Whitman's, Pangburns, Weight Watchers Candy: Their website FAQ says: "To the best of our knowledge, our products are gluten free — with the exception of products containing cookies, such as S'mores and Cookies and Creams. These products contain a small amount of gluten, and ingredient labels indicate clearly that they contain wheat.

Be aware that products containing wheat are produced on equipment that's also used to make other products. So we can't completely rule out the possibility of cross-contamination, despite efforts to prevent it."

Tootsie Roll Industries (Cellas Choco. Covered Cherries, tootsie rolls, Andes Mints, Blow Pops, Junior Mints, Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddies, etc etc etc): Please look at their website to see ALL of their products because they have LOTS. Their FAQ section says that: " At this time, all of our confections are gluten free with the exception of Andes cookies. We do not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt or any of their components and that includes our dusting on our conveyor belts. We do use corn and soy products in the manufacturing of our products."


Zachary Chocolates : I called them and they said that they don't really have a list. They only have one product that has gluten and that is a cookies and creme Easter Bunny which is made on it's own dedicated line.

I know that those aren't the ONLY candy companies out there, but this should allow you to get your Sweetie some chocolate for Valentines day. If your favorite candy isn't listed, then check out their website, call their 1-800 number and find out if it is safe. Don't assume!!
      Don't forget that you can also make your Sweetie something nice. I'm sure you would score more brownie points with a homemade treat than a store bought treat anyways......here are a few ideas:

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cuppeycakes

Lofthouse style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Melt In Your Mouth Strawberry Shortcake

and I even gave you guys a cool way to make a card........

Valentine Fortune Cookies (crafty, not edible)



     I hope that each of you have an amazing Valentines Day!! Enjoy the time with your loved ones, that's what it is truly all about.

-Jessica

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cuppeycakes

         This is another Pinterest inspired idea. I had run across an idea that used brownies on the bottom and strawberry cake mix on the top. However both were gluten filled and used mixes. I decided to make them from scratch using a cake recipe that makes "Cupcakes for Two". I made one Vanilla recipe, but flavored it up with some Cherry flavoring to create the Cherry portion. I then made one Chocolate recipe to create the chocolate portion. I then layered them together to create my Chocolate Covered Cherry Cuppeycakes!!
     The great thing about these recipes are that they make just a few cupcakes, you aren't stuck with two dozen cupcakes to find homes and bellies for. Not that anybody is ever "stuck" with a cupcake, but sometimes it is nice to just make a couple instead of a whole batch. If you make JUST the vanilla or JUST the chocolate recipe it will make 2 or 3 cuppeycakes. If you are combining them like I have done for this creation, then you will end up with about 6 cuppeycakes. PERFECT for those special valentines in your life on Valentines Day!
       Let's get cookin'!

Vanilla Cupcakes for Two -Gluten Free

1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup gluten free flour mixture
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 heaping teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Pre heat oven to 350 deg. Line a muffin pan with  2 liners, spray the inside of the liners with cooking spray.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add in sugar and egg white. Stir until combined. Add flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. Mix until smooth and creamy. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Divide the batter into the cupcake liners.

Bake at 350 deg. for 10-14 min. or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool completely and frost as desired.

For Chocolate Cupcakes: add 4 teaspoons of Cocoa Powder
For Cherry Cupcakes: decrease vanilla extract to 3/4 teaspoon and add 1/2 teaspoon cherry extract and a dash of pink food coloring (optional)

Ok, you have the basic recipe for the cupcakes. and also the instructions on how to make the chocolate batter and the cherry batter. You will need one recipe of chocolate batter and one recipe of cherry batter to make the chocolate covered cherry cuppeycakes. Here we go!!

I think it's easiest if you just have everything out and ready to dump into the bowl.

I just sat two bowls beside each other, when I added the ingredient for one recipe, I also added it to the second bowl. It saved time to do it that way.

Ok....ready to fill the muffin cups.

The chocolate cake batter goes in first.

Cherry Batter goes on top of the chocolate. And into the 350 deg. oven for 10-14 min.

Waiting for frosting......I used some prepared in the can chocolate frosting (just remember to check your brands to be sure it's gluten free).

Happy Valentines to you and your loved ones. I hope they enjoy these sweet treats!!

-Jessica