Rosewater

Tags

DIY, facial toner, homemade, natural beauty, rose, rose water

Since my rose bushes are booming with buds and blooms, it’s time to finally get back to one of my favorite summer ingredients. Rosewater.

Homemade Rosewater

There are many directions on-line for making rosewater, but most of them make it into a complicated process. My method is easy and I think the quality is just as good.

If you are using this in food/drink or using it on your face, it is essential that you use roses that have never been chemically treated. I only use homegrown roses, for I do not trust store-bought “organic” roses.

Ingredients:
about 10-12 roses (just opening is best), water, 1-3 Tbsp. vodka (optional)

Directions:
Remove petals from stems, and carefully rinse off dirt or bugs. Place petals in a medium sauce pan and add 1″ of water. Bring water to a gentle boil. Turn heat to low, and stir petals until they are all wilted. Cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until all color has faded from petals. Remove from burner and allow to fully cool. Once cool, remove petals from water and squeeze the remaining liquid from them. Strain water into glass jar or bottle, add vodka, and seal. Keep refrigerated for about a week.

Rosewater is great used as a facial toner (add witch hazel instead of vodka) or hair rinse (omit vodka). It’s refreshing in a drink and tasty in a baked treat. Either way you use it, enjoy!

Try:
Sparkling Rosewater Lemonade
Rosewater Sugar Cookies

How do you use rosewater? 

Advertisement

Homemade Cannelloni

Tags

cannelloni, dinner, homemade, pasta, postaday2011

Any homemade pasta recipe can be used to make cannelloni. Many ingredients can be added to the dough to change the color and/or flavor. Think: Spinach, beet juice, squid ink, butternut squash…

Pictures to come tomorrow…

Ingredients for Basic Recipe:
3 c. flour 4 eggs, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Dump the flour in a pile on marble slab. Make a large well in the four and crack the eggs into the center. Sprinkle with salt. Use a fork and break the yolks of the eggs, slowly stir the eggs, picking up a little amount of flour at a time until ingredients are combined and dough is formed. Knead dough about 30 times, adding more flour if necessary. Place dough in a glass bowl, cover, refrigerate and let rest for 30 minutes. Flour the opening of your pasta machine and place it on the widest setting. Cut dough into four pieces and roll through machine. I roll mine through each setting twice and then move the setting two sizes smaller. Sprinkle with flour as necessary. Cut pasta into rectangles, these will form your cannelloni tubes later. You can either lay pasta flat on a cooling rack to dry and use later, or you can parboil them, allow to cool and them fill them to bake.

What are your homemade pasta tips?

Summer White Tank Top

Tags

button, buttons, clothes, clothing, handmade, homemade, postaday2011, ruche, ruched, ruching, shirt, t shirt, tank top

I had this awful white shirt a horrible shape. I wanted to refashion it, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it. I cut  the shirt straight across, just below the armpit. I used the bottom hem as my new top hem. Next, I took in the sides and made and attached two straps. Then I ruched a few inches of the top in the center. The shape was loose and cool, perfect for the hot summer days. I don’t normally wear with and it looked too plain to me. That’s where I ran into trouble. I tried adding blue and green braided trim, then some blue and green fabric flowers, then ruffles… I wasn’t happy with the results. Finally,  I remembered that I had some cute buttons and decided to stitch them across the top of the tank. It was cute and I actually liked the result. Something was still missing and I decided that it needed asymmetry; I added buttons to the outside of  the left strap and at the bottom right corner. My new summer tank top was finally ready to wear.

Sumer White Tank Top

Shapeless Shirt

Of course we had a week full of 90 and upper 80 degree weather, and yesterday when I decided to refashion this, the high was 70°F. Go figure…

Seven Year (Late) Blanket

Tags

afghan, anniversary, blanket, Crochet, crocheting, gift, gift giving, handmade, homemade, postaday2011, stash bust, UFO, yarn, yarn arts, yarn craft

Remember me?
I started this blanket a year and a half before my parent’s 25th wedding anniversary… In my college days, I could pump out a full size afghan in just over a month, less than a month if I had a break… I would crochet while I studied my notes or while watching television. I figured a year and a half would be more than long enough to tackle an extremely large blanket. My vision was for their blanket to be long enough to cover a King Size bed, with both them under it, and still have enough to hang over the sides of the bed. I used a housemate’s queen size bed to estimate the size of this blanket. Of course, by time I completed my 10th row, I knew this was going to be larger than I planned… I continued with my project anyway.

Before I realized, graduation, work and grad school got in the way… I actually had left it at my parent’s house for a few years during grad school. So when I got the blanket back, I wasn’t surprised to find out that one of the colors was discontinued… so my project sat and sat… Last year, another blogger introduced me to idea of a “UFO”, unfinished object. I went to the craft store and found out the yarn color had been reissued. Yay! Work began again… then life fell back to my busy routine and the blanket was pushed to the side again.

When we knew we were moving, I wanted to stash bust. I wanted to finish this blanket before we moved and I was making a lot of progress. Unfortunately we had more packing than we thought…

Stripe Pattern

In January I unpacked a box and found the blanket… I was in the home stretch now, and couldn’t let it slide away (I wanted it finished before I had to pack again). The problem is this blanket is so difficult to work on due to its size. I had to sit in the middle of the couch, with my feet on a footstool in front of me, the blanket stretched out of either side of me, spilling over the footstool. Or I’d sit on my bed and work on it there. A lot of sweat went into this blanket… It’s large enough to fit a California King and still hang down the sides with both them under it.

Folded in half it covers a queen bed perfectly…

Finally finished your blanket Mom & Dad! Happy 32nd (and a half) anniversary… I hope this keeps you warm!

What unfinished projects do you have yet to complete?

Blankets for a Bouncing Baby Boy

Tags

baby blanket, baby gifts, baby nursery, baby shower, baby shower gift, blanket, craft, crafting, Crochet, crocheting, gift, handmade, homemade, it's a boy, postaday2011, present, yarn, yarn arts

These past few weeks I’ve been extremely busy creating all sorts of gifts… I made three blankets for my close friend’s baby shower. They are warm and cozy fleece blankets with a crocheted trim. I loved the technique so much, that I wanted to make more. And since April is raining babies, I finished these just in time for another friend of mine who is due tomorrow.

Trio of Baby Blankets

 

To create these blankets, I used a skip-stitch blade on my rotary cutter. I ran the blade along the edges to create holes to base my crochet trim. The trim on the green blanket has a round of single stitch and a round of half-double crochet. The trim on the blue blanket was made by two rounds of single stitches and then a round of double crochet. The cream blanket has a round of single stitch and the two rounds of half double crochet.

The perfect cozy wrap for snuggling a new baby…

What have you received as a homemade/handmade gift recently?

 

Detail of Edging

 

Twelfth Day of Christmas – Espresso Jar Candle

Tags

12 Days of Christmas, 12th day of Christmas, beverage, candle, candle making, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas gift, Christmas party, Christmas present, Christmas tradition, coffee, door prizes, espresso, gift, gift giving, gift in a jar, handmade, holiday craft, holiday party, home decor, homemade, hostess gift, hot beverages, house warming, house warming gift, jar candle, jar craft, party favors, present, scented candle, twelfth day of Christmas, twelve days of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Espresso Jar Candle, Gingerbread Man Ornaments, Fleece Blankets, Bottle Cap Magnets, Fleece Sphere Ornament, Button Wreath Ornament, Christmas Mouse Cat Toy, Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Today’s post is very late, due to an earlier science experiment that went wrong and resulted in a few small burns on my hand… Ouch!.. The first brand of wax dye I tried was not very good and caused the wax to bubble and splatter out of the pot, which caused me to spill the candle fragrance on the counter. I’ve made dozens of candles before and I felt like a clueless newbie. I’ll be contacting the wax dye company tomorrow.

It took a while for me to start the second batch, this time I only added fragrance. I also had gloves on this time. Also, I didn’t wait for the wax to set before photographing… once the jar cools, I’ll clean up the outside where I spilled some wax. I’ll update with a better photo once the candle is cleaned up and I have some natural light to photograph.

Espresso Jar Candle

 

These Espresso Jar Candles are so cute and easy to make. These candles make a great Christmas present, housewarming present, hostess gift, party favors of door prizes! Coffee lovers beware! Do not attempt to drink this!

How To:
Use clear drying craft glue to attach coffee beans to the inside of the jar, in a pattern you like. I covered the bottom of the sides with coffee beans and glued a few randomly up the sides. Center candle wick in middle of jar, and glue base down. Allow all glue to dry completely (it took three hours for all traces of my glue to disappear). Cut wax into small pieces and heat over medium heat until all melted. Keep still until candle is set. Tie a piece of holiday ribbon around the neck of the jar and attach a gift tag.

Approx. Cost
Airtight glass jar = $1, large block of wax = $7.50, small bag of whole coffee beans = $1, package of candle wicks = $1, craft glue = $1 a bottle, bottle of candle fragrance = $1, bottle of wax dye = $1    Such a cute gift for about $3.25 a candle

This post wraps up 2010’s 12 Days of Christmas countdown, I hope you saw a few ideas that you can use, or inspired you to create something else! Happy Holiday season everyone!!!

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Eleventh Day of Christmas – Gingerbread Man Ornament

Tags

11th day of Christmas, 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas craft, Christmas Ornament, Christmas present, Christmas tree, craft, easy craft, eleventh day of Christmas, embroidery, funny ornament, gingerbread man, handmade, handmade gift, handmade ornament, happy holidays, holiday craft, holiday ornament, holiday season, holiday spirit, holiday tradition, homemade, homemade gift, homemade ornament, kid craft, party favor, present, simple craft, twelve days of Christmas, whimsical ornament, Xmas present

On the eleventh day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Gingerbread Man Ornaments, Fleece Blankets, Bottle Cap Magnets, Fleece Sphere Ornament, Button Wreath Ornament, Christmas Mouse Cat Toy, Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

This morning’s post is a little late… 12 hours too late. I thought this would be a cute whimsical ornament to add to our Christmas tree, a half eaten gingerbread man. Pumpkin designed one and started to put it together then gave up, I designed and assembled the other before helping him finish his. Most of the materials we have left over from other crafts. I didn’t have red button, so we painted them. I only spent 50¢ additional for the two squares of felt.

Gingerbread Man Ornaments

 

How To:
Using a large gingerbread cookie cutter, trace the shape twice on tan or brown felt. Decide where you want him “bitten” and draw teeth marks. Cut out gingerbread men. Cut out eyes from felt or fleece and arrange on face, place red button where you want the mouth. If you’re happy with the layout, glue eyes and mouth on face. Using black embroidery thread, stitch eyebrows above the eyes. Use white shimmery embroidery thread to stitch buttons to chest, making “peppermints”. Glue ribbon to inside of back piece. Place two sides together and stitch around the gingerbread man to create “frosting”, skipping where there are bite marks. Stuff the gingerbread man with fiber fill. Use hot glue gun to close gingerbread man at the bite marks. Sit back and admire your gingerbread man… and try not to eat.

Whimsical Gingerbread Ornament

 

Approx. Cost:
Felt square = 25¢ , spool of ribbon = $1, fiber fill = $, bag of glue sticks = $2, package of buttons = $1, small package of embroidery thread = 25¢    Each ornament costs about 40¢

Gingerbread Man Ornament

 

Can you guess who made which gingerbread man?

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…