Dog Crochet Basket

A while back when I made the crocheted owl basket and small cat basket I sent a picture to the fam and Macey made the comment that if I made the cat one in black it would look like her dog Nahla - so I did. And it does hahaha. I added a bit of fringe at the ears this time to make it resemble a yorkie, isn't it cute? It's much bigger than it looks, it's about 10" wide and tall. 

I combined the pattern for the owl basket found at bhg.com, and the cat basket pattern found at woolstreeet.ca to come up with this dog basket. 

Spooky Eye Makeup by Grace

Here's another spooky eyeshadow/liner idea from Grace (click here to see her spiderweb one), these are fun ideas for a quick easy way to decorate your face for Halloween! Here's how she did it, in her words:

First I prime and use a thick layer of concealer and blend it in

Then I put a light layer of a skin tone shadow, This base layer will make the shadow blend better

Put a light purple on the lid

Then blend a darker purple in the crease and blend the edges out with pink

Use a black liner to line from the outer corner out and connect the end and go up, 

don't connect it to the lid

Make a backward c from the to line to the lid then fill

Draw two lines down and connect each line with a C to get this

Then at the end it it should look like this!

Cracked Sugar Cookies

Made these sugar cookies waaaaay back for the 4th of July to take to the lake and give to our camping neighbors (hence the red, white, and blue sprinkles!) but I've made twice since then without sprinkles because they are so good everyone wants more hahaha. Dave says they remind him of shortbread cookies, I'm assuming that's because of the lack of egg whites (?), and oddly enough the older the cookies get the more they taste like shortbread and the better he likes them. He wanted to give the neighbors another baggie of them last weekend and I said no way, they are like 3 weeks old at this point! He argued that they are still great but I'm not giving out old cookies...having said that - if you want a cookie that tastes great fresh or weeks old, you're going to love this one LOL. 

• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. cream of tartar
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 t. vanilla

Sift 1st 3 together and set aside. 

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in yolks and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 4 parts, until well blended.

Shape into tablespoon sized balls (I use my small cookie scoop), put on greased cookies sheet (or line sheets with parchment paper) and do not flatten. Bake at 350' for approx 8-10 minutes.

makes 36 cookies (note: the recipe says it makes 36 but using my small scoop I get a lot more, more like 48)

                             

note: I added sprinkles to the batter to make them 'patriotic' - you could add other colors and shapes if you want, or just leave them as plain old white yummy sugar cookies. Mmmm, you could frost too! 

these are slightly puffy when you pull out of oven, they'll flatten as they cool

Obviously it took me a while to get around posting these, now it's almost time for black and orange sprinkles for Halloween, brown and yellow for Thanksgiving, red and green for Christmas! See, these cookies are perfect all year 'round ;) 

Tipsy-Tuesday: organizing fabric

So, let's be clear here. I am usually organized and neat, I like things to have a home so I know exactly where they go, and I don't like clutter. But...when I'm working on a project things tend to spread out and get out of hand and the next thing I know my house is a disaster. And then I get a wee bit cranky because I am usually organized and neat, I like things to have a home, and I don't like clutter. It's a problem.

Today's tip is how to organize fabric because I literally had a pile of fabric on the floor in the middle of my craft room from making masks - I'm not talking about a neatly folded pile of fabrics, nay, I'm talking a mountain of wadded up fabric that was so big I couldn't even step over it - and I knew I had to reign it in somehow. Which naturally led me to googling solutions instead of just folding the fabric, because it was much easier to play on the computer then get up and actually get shizzle done. My favorite idea is wrapping the fabric around comic boards and standing them up on a shelf - organized, I can easily see what I have, and it looks beautiful. 

And then my project was delayed a couple more days because I had to order comic boards from Amazon, and then a couple more days because I couldn't figure out how to fold the fabric around the boards which led to more googling of solutions. In case you're still reading and you want to know, fold the fabric in half with the selvage edges together, then fold in half again. That should give you a rectangle about 10" tall. Put a comic board (btw, I had to research what a comic board is - thin paper boards that are meant to support collectable comic books that are then placed in protective bags) on top and wrap the fabric neatly around. Some people use plastic clips to keep the fabric from unwrapping, don't use pins or metal clips because in time they might rust and ruin the fabric; I didn't clip them and so far just being wedged together is keeping the fabric in place. 

Finally I got the technique down, wrapped all the fabric, and found a basket big enough to file them in. Ahhhhhhh, I can't even tell you how happy this makes me - I keep going into the craft room just so I can look at them. And it'll be so easy now for people to pick their mask pattern, love that too!

Crochet Cat Basket

 2 things happened for me to make this basket:

(1) I still have leftover yarn on my desk from making the cutie owl basket, and I'm too lazy to put it away.

(2) I made a few masks to send to my friend Janis (who is also a cat lady - not so much a 'crazy cat lady' but more a lady who likes cats hahahaha) and the idea to crochet her a cat basket to send the masks in popped into my head. 

At first I was just going to wing it and make up a pattern based on the owl but then I googled 'crochet cat basket' wondering if anything would come up and sure enough - I'm not the only person who had the idea! I based mine on a pattern found here  at Woolstreet.ca, but I didn't add the face and I did half double crochet stitches. 

This was very easy to make and came together quickly, and it's pretty cute too. The ears remind me of Sarge so I'm going to make a black one next and see if I can make it look like a scottie :)

Oh, and Brooke is the one that came up with the idea to keep masks in a basket by the front door after seeing my owl (and my craft room full of masks and mask-making supplies hahah). Good idea BL! 

Here's the instructions in case the link doesn't work:

The yarn is held double to make the basket sturdy.

The finished size is about 8 inches wide and 6 inches deep.

Materials used:

-10 mm crochet hook
-125 grams of Cozy Wool™ Yarn By Loops & Threads- held double in the colour of your choice (any chunky wool can be used in place here )
-Worsted Weight yarn for nose and whiskers in the colours of your choice
-Tapestry needle
-Scissors

*This pattern is crocheted in spirals except for the ears.

Pattern:

1. Holding yarn double, sc 6 in magic ring (6)
2. *inc * repeat around (12)
3. *sc, inc* repeat (18)
4. *sc 2, inc* repeat (24)
5. *sc 3, inc* repeat (30)
6. *sc 4, inc* repeat (36)
7. sc tbl all around

8-16 sc all around.

DO NOT FASTEN OFF

Ear 1:

1. sc 5, ch 1, turn (5)
2. sc 5, ch 1, turn (5)
3. dec, sc, dec, ch 1 turn (3)
4. dec last 3 stitches together (1)
5. FO

Ear 2:

Skip 5 stitches starting from bottom left of Ear 1.
Connect yarn using slip stitch and repeat instructions for Ear 1.

Finishing:

Holding a single strand of yarn, starting in the bottom left corner of Ear 2 (left ear), slip stitch all around. As you reach the ears, single crochet 2 in the points of each ear.
FO and weave in all ends.
Embroider nose, whiskers and eyes if you wish.

Panko Crusted Baked Scallops

I love scallops but very rarely make them for some reason...until I found this recipe and now they are a go-to staple! We've had good luck with Costco scallops - we divide the big package into 2 small freezer bags and freeze until ready to use; they thaw pretty quickly and I usually have the rest of the ingredients on hand so it's a good last minute dinner. 

1-1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops (16)

1/2 t. coarse salt

1/4 t. coarse pepper

1/4 t. paprika

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

4 T. parmesan cheese, grated

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

2 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400'.

Dry scallops with paper towels and remove any attached side-muscle on the scalp by pinching it off.

Combine the remaining ingredients, stir until combined.

Place the scallops in a 2 quart baking dish, cover with the bread crumb mixture.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the topping is browned.

Chewy Granola Bars

Kyle and Mickey were road-tripping back home and I thought they needed something to munch on - I'm sure I'm not the only person who gets in the car and immediately says "I'm hungry", right? These bars are no-bake which is great, and apparently traveled well because Kyle said later that he was still really enjoying them and asked for the recipe - sounds like a keeper granola bar recipe!

I based these on a recipe found here, I'll give you that and then see all my changes below.

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 T. coconut oil
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• optional: 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

My notes: 

-I used 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup mixed nut butter

-I sort of cleaned out the pantry when I made these so added chopped chocolate covered almonds instead of plain, added dried berries, cherries and chopped dried apricots, used coarse salt, and added some chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to the top. You can really vary your add-ins with this one. 

Instructions:

1. Line an 8x8" or 9x9" baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Stir the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil together in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a simmer. Continue to simmer for 1 minute, stirring often so that the bottom of the mixtures doesn't burn. Remove from heat.
3. Add the vanilla and salt, stir until combined. Add the oats and almonds, stir until completely combined. Stir in whatever other ingredients you are adding.
4. Press the granola firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. (it helps to use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press it down so it's nice and flat). Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top if you like. Then cover and refrigerate the granola bars for about an hour  or so, until they are chilled.
5. Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into bars.

store in sealed container for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. 

Butterfly Treat Bags

Tesha made these with her grandkids and shared the idea and picture. It's super cute and creative, and a perfect kid craft. Decorate big wooden clothes pins using paint, markers, washi tape, little pompoms, stickers, whatever you want; glue on googly eyes and antenna coiled pipe cleaners. Set aside to dry.

Meanwhile, fill ziplock sandwich bags with small candy or treats like mini pretzels, cheez-its, goldfish, etc....you could do all one treat per bag, mix things together in the bag, or split them half and half making sure to keep the two sides separate (for instance - put mini pretzels in one side and m&m's in the other, don't let them mix together). Once the clothespin is dry, clip it in the middle of the bag separating the two sides of the filled baggie - looks like a butterfly!

Cute idea for Halloween treat giving, but would also be great party favors, place settings, even a fun lunchbox surprise!


10.13.2017: costume ideas
10.13.2016: making babies (baby plants, that is!)
10.13.2015: Sarge's reversible Halloween scarf

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Every year I make LeDonna something German chocolate for her birthday - in the past I've made layered cake, bread, stuffed cupcakes, this year I decided to try a German chocolate cheesecake (because I'm now on a cheesecake roll). I was a tiny bit hesitant to experiment with a different recipe after the other two (plain and strawberry swirl) turned out so flawless (!) but knowing that it was going to be topped with a thick layer of coconut-pecan frosting I wasn't as worried about it cracking.

It's a similar recipe though with 4 eggs and a bit of flour (or corn starch) and her technique is along the same lines with turning the oven off for a bit, and then cracking the door for a while before removing it from the oven to cool. This one also turned out great tho - no cracks, creamy and smooth and very rich. My new-found love of making cheesecakes continues!

Before I added the frosting I weighed the cake because it's so heavy and I was curious - 4.5 pounds. And then I added the frosting and weighed again - 6 pounds! 6! Goodness. I texted LeDonna that she needed to have a party to have help eating all of this dessert ;)

I looked at a bunch of different recipes before deciding on this one from Life Love and Sugar, click here to see the original source. I didn't change a thing so am just copying her recipe for you (and me, so I don't misplace it for next time - and there will be a next time!). Oh wait, I did change a couple things - no drizzle of chocolate sauce, I used unsweetened coconut flakes, and I made the filling in a food processor because I read somewhere that doing that versus in a mixer creates less air in the filling which helps keep down cracking. Don't know if that's true, but it didn't crack so...

You make a crust out of oreo cookie crumbs - I bought a small package of oreo thins and put all of them in the food processor, it took the whole package which was 40 thins to make 2 cups (actually it was 39 thins because Dave ate one before I could stop him!).

INGREDIENTS

COCONUT PECAN TOPPING 

• 4 egg yolks
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, cubed
• 2 2/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

CRUST

• 2 cups Oreo crumbs (leave filling in Oreos)
• 4 tbsp butter, melted

CHEESECAKE FILLING 

• 24 ounces packages of cream cheese, room temperature (three 8 oz packages)
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 oz german chocolate, melted
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

COCONUT PECAN TOPPING 

1. In a large saucepan, combine the egg yolks, milk and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

2. Add sugar and butter and cook on medium heat for 12-15 minutes, or until thickened (almost pudding-like) and golden brown, stirring constantly.

3. Remove from heat and add coconut and pecans. Mix well.

4. Allow to cool completely.

CRUST

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, combine crust ingredients and mix well.

3. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

4. Bake crust for 10 minutes then remove and set aside.

5. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil and set aside.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

1. Reduce oven to 300 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese, sugar, chocolate, flour and cocoa with an electric mixer until combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.

4. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until well combined.

5. Put a little bit of the cheesecake filling in the bottom of the crust. Then add about 1 1/2 cups of coconut pecan topping and spread evenly.

6. Pour remaining cheesecake filling into the springform pan and spread evenly. The pan will be very full.

7. Place springform pan inside another pan. Fill outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.

8. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

9. Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 20 minutes.

10. Crack oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 20 minutes or until set. This cooling process helps the cheesecake cool slowly to prevent cracks.

11. Remove cheesecake from oven and chill.

12. Once the cheesecake is completely cool, remove springform pan sides from cheesecake and place cheesecake on a serving plate.

13. Top cheesecake with remaining coconut pecan topping and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

#lifeloveandsugar.com 

one year ago: paper sunflowers in wine corks
two years ago: wood box with chalkboard message
three years ago: the hulk sized zucchini!