Baby Earwarmer

I made this earwarmer for Bekka to match her Christmas outfit. It was based off this pattern, but obviously I made it smaller, and I made a five-petaled flower instead of a six-petaled one.

Brown Sugar Cake with Buttery Brown Sugar Sauce

This recipe is from Betty Crocker. I made this as one of our Thanksgiving desserts and would recommend it to pretty much everyone. (If you have any leftover sauce, you can use it on apple crisp or flourless chocolate cupcakes.)

INGREDIENTS:
Cake
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup milk
Sauce
1 cup butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and side of 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or 10-inch angel food (tube cake) pan with shortening; lightly flour. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2.  In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, the granulated sugar and softened butter with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium speed about 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in flour mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk on low speed until smooth. Pour into pan.

3. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

4.  Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat sauce ingredients except vanilla to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Serve warm sauce with cake.

Tinkerbell Costume

Hat - I crocheted it to look like Tinkerbell's hair. I don't remember what pattern I used for the hat, but I made up the little ball on top, stuffed it, and stitched it on.

Skirt - I sewed a piece of elastic to fit around her waist, then I took two shades of green tulle, cut in strips, and tied them around the elastic.

Wings - I found some fairy wings at the dollar store, but they didn't have green. So I just bought one, then took their material off and covered the frame with the leftover tulle that I had. I tried sewing the tulle but it was being pretty stubborn, so I ended up cutting the edges and tying them over the frame.

 Onesie - I initially started by hand stitching each of the glass beads on, but it was taking too long, so I just used hot glue to make the swirls, then poured the beads on and shook the excess off.

Shoes - I found some crochet pattern for shoes (which I know I totally messed up, but made it work) then just made up the fluffy white part and stuck it on.

So this was my first crochet project ever. I also made a hat for Jeffrey (who was Peter Pan), but since he hates having pictures taken, I had to have Bekka model it for me.

Brie-Stuffed Puff Pastries

A delightful, but hard to photograph appetizer I made for our anniversary dinner.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 pound Brie, but into 24 chunks


Directions:
1. Heat oven to 450ºF. Generously grease 24 small muffin cups, 1 3/4x1 inch. In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly with fork or wire whisk. Beat in flour, milk, sugar and salt just until smooth (do not overbeat). Fill cups about two-thirds full. Bake 5 minutes.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF. Bake about 10 minutes longer or until crusty and golden brown. Cut a small slit in top of each popover. Insert cheese chunk in each popover. Bake 5 minutes. Immediately remove from pans. Serve hot.

(**Note: I only had a regular-sized muffin tin, so I just divided the batter and Brie into 12 portions. They look a little different than the picture included with the original recipe, but I'm sure they tasted just as marvelous.) 

Turtle Cheesecake

 Got this recipe from my good friend Betty, made a couple changes, and made it for my two-year anniversary dinner.

Ingredients:
1 store-bought graham cracker crust
2 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
caramel topping
chopped pecans, optional

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Pour half of the mixture into pie plate.

2. Add cocoa powder to remaining cream cheese mixture in bowl; beat on low speed until smooth. Spoon over vanilla mixture in pie plate. Swirl mixtures slightly with tip of knife. (I actually forgot to swirl, but it doesn't really affect the taste, so it's okay.)

3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set. (Do not insert knife into cheesecake because the hole may cause cheesecake to crack as it cools.) Cool at room temperature 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. Serve with caramel topping (and pecans). Store covered in refrigerator. 

Primary Song Board

I made this as a way for the children to pick which songs to sing in primary. I took the side of cardboard box and covered it with white paper (I used 12x12 sheets and the edges are hidden under the tree, grass, and water). Then I cut out pieces for the tree, grass, pond, and clouds. I "laminated" the board using packing tape. I covered all the pocket pieces separately, then used packing tape around the edges to create pockets for the animals to rest in. I made the animals using my handy dandy Cricut (New Arrival and Wild Card cartridges). I wrote a song on the back of each animal, then "laminated" them. I think it came out super cute, and the kids love using it to pick songs.

Cardboard VHS Shelves

Well, we had lots of cardboard boxes and packing tape, and I really needed a way to store all our VHS tapes without spending any money (since we don't have any to spend). I was met with a lot of skepticism when I said I was going to make shelves out of cardboard. Well, who's laughing now?

Okay, but seriously, I don't know why I enjoy making things like this, but I do. I mean, making things out of cheap supplies, and making them work! Sure, it's ghetto, but I kind of like that.

McCoy-Ward Wedding

Made this for my "baby" brother's wedding. The wedding was in Idaho, but I couldn't get up there until the day before, so I had to make the cake in Utah, then transport it there. I covered the layers with fondant, then we transported them in separate containers. I also made all of the flowers (out of gumpaste) in advance. On the day of the wedding, we assembled the whole thing. It came together absolutely perfectly.

Dalton Wedding

Made this for my friend's wedding. Fondant base with white buttercream details and fondant flowers.