{tutorial & free printable} Halloween Burlap Wreath

These burlap wreaths are popping up all over the internet, but I specifically found inspiration at Craftaholics Anonymous to make mine.

I've seen most burlap wreaths made with wire hangers bent into a circle, but I chose to use a wreath form.  However, the green would definitely poke through so I needed to paint mine black first.

I used basic craft paint, but I suppose if you had black spray paint laying around that would work too.

While the paint is drying, lay out your burlap and cut 1x18 inch strips of fabric.  I chose to make mine a bit longer than other tutorials because the wreath form is thicker than a wire so it requires more fabric to wrap around.

I cut strips from approximately 3/4th of a yard of fabric and that seemed plenty for my wreath, but if you like a more fuller look I would purchase at least a yard of burlap to be safe.

 Just as I was about to begin wrapping my wreath with fabric I looked down to see black paint splatters all over my shirt.  What can I say I'm a messy crafter, but if anyone has any tips as how I could remove paint splatters from a shirt please send them my way.  Back to the wreath-- just tie knots of fabric around your wreath until your satisfied with the fullness.  Make sure NOT to pull too tight on the burlap when knotting-- it's very sensitive and will break with just a little amount of strength.  I then attached this little crow I found at the dollar store with some super glue and wire.  Now your wreath is ready to hang.  I paired mine with this little "trick or treat" sign I had laying around, but you could hang your wreath with my printable file below.  All you would need to do is mod podge it onto some wood or tin and string with some burlap or ribbon.

To download your own "Trick or Treat" sign go HERE
Total Cost of the Project: $8
Wreath Form (Joanne's Fabric with 50% off coupon): $4
1 Yard of Black Burlap Fabric (Joanne's Fabric with 40% off coupon): $3
Black Crow (Dollar Store): $1

{recipe} Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

 This recipe came from Sprinkles' pumpkin spice cake box.  It adds just the right amount of cinnamon to any spice cake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie or cinnamon roll.  Seriously so good!  I tell ya, those folks over at the Sprinkles company know what they're doing.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

milk-- add in 1 teaspoon increments to your desired consistency

 Directions:

Using your electric mixer, beat cream cheese, unsalted butter, salt, and cinnamon on medium low speed until smooth and creamy (approximately 2 or 3 minutes).  Reduce speed to low and gradually add the confectioners' sugar, mixing until incorporated.  Add the vanilla; beat just until mixed.  Do not over-beat or the frosting will incorporate too much air. It should be creamy and dense like ice cream.  Add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting is not of a spreadable consistency.

 Piping Tip: 

More often than not I’m too lazy to get out all of my baking gear so I use Ziplock baggies to pipe frosting.  I make cut in one of the corners (about 1/2 inch off) and insert my tip so it’s a snug fit.  Then I fill the bag up with frosting and pipe away.  Super easy and super lazy, I know!

Enjoy!  This frosting is DIVINE and just in time for the holidays.

{free printables} Trick or Treat Halloween Party

I've got everything you need to throw one spooktacular Halloween party!  This printable includes:  5" Happy Halloween Circular Image, "Eat, Drink & Be Scary" Print, an assortment of Spooky Apothecary Jar Labels, "Trick or Treat" Banner, Food Labels, Fill-in Invites, and 2" Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles.

I wish I was a girl of more clever words, but lets be honest I'm tired today and the kids are about to wake up from their nap.  So it is what it is.  Enjoy!  :)

To download the FREE printables go HERE

To download the FREE invitations go HERE

{recipe} Coffee/Crumb Cake

Not sure what you'd call this cake... coffee cake or crumb cake?  Whatever you call--  call it DELISH!  The cake is incredibly moist and the crumb topping is beyond tasty and crumbly.  I could have eaten the topping raw without the cake and been satisfied.

COFFEE/CRUMB CAKE RECIPE

CRUMB TOPPING

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon almond extract

CAKE BATTER

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

2 cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Position the oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your cake pan and dust with flour. Set aside.

Make the Crumb: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Melt the butter and stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Gradually drizzle the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while continuously and gently tossing with a fork. Continue to toss until all the butter is absorbed and you have a uniformly moistened crumb mixture. If texture of crumb is too small, gently squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size from that of a pea to that of a grape.  Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the Batter: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one is added. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat on low or stir with a large spoon until evenly combined.

Assembling & Cooking:

Turn the batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers, covering the batter evenly and completely. Bake 8-inch rounds for 20-25 minutes, or a 9- by 13-inch pan for 30-35 minutes, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan for 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when a wooden pick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are golden and slightly pulling away from the edge of the pan. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its pan(s) set on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, crumb side up, onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

 My cake was baked in one 9 inch Springform pan and I had to cook it significantly longer than expected.  This turned out delicious and I found myself going back for seconds, thirds and even forths.  An extremely dangerous cake for someone who is on a diet and trying to lose their last bit of post baby weight.  So in order to NOT eat it all box them up and deliver some slices to your neighbors.  Spread the calories and the love!

 Download the circular cake box slice template HERE

{recipe & free printable} Canning Homemade Salsa & Free Printable

We had a bushel of fresh tomatoes sitting on our counter for a few days and I needed to use them QUICK!  So... I decided to make and can some fresh salsa.  I did some research online and canning acidic items can be tricky.  From what I've read you really need to make sure you add enough lemon/lime juice or vinegar to counteract the tomatoes acidity and prevent it from harboring botulism. So... here we go...

Items needed (for 1 batch):  I made roughly 7 batches and it yielded in 5 jars for canning, plus a little bowl full for immediate consumption.

3 Fresh/Ripe Tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 White Onion, roughly chopped

1/2 Bunch of Cilantro

3 Chili Peppers (I prefer to use jarred peppers, because then I can use roughly 1 teaspoon of juice from the jar)

1 1/2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

Garlic Salt (to taste--but I typically use 1/2 Tablespoon)

*This salsa is a bit spicy so if you have a milder taste omit one of the chili peppers and cut down the amount of chili pepper juice you use from the jar.

To make pico de gallo I would just cut all of the ingredients into like sized bite pieces and mix together, but to make the salsa below I put everything into my food processor and pureed it until smooth.  I wasn't sure it was going to turn out, but low and behold it tasted great!

 Now onto the canning part...because the recipe is raw you will need to process it in the water bath longer than if you had cooked the salsa over the stove top first.  Ladle the salsa into the sterilized jars leaving some space on the top.  Cover with your lids and place your jars into the water.  Make sure there is roughly 1-2 inches of water covering the top of the jars once the basket is submerged.

 Next, taking into consideration where you live and how high of an altitude you reside in will determine how long you process your jars in boiling water.  We live in zone 2 according to the lid of the canner so once the red needle reached the green area on zone 2 I began my timer for processing.  I processed this salsa for 75 minutes because the ingredients were raw going into the jars.

 Once processed, take them out and let them cool before attaching any labels.  Check the lids for air tightness.  Push the middle of the lid and if it pops back they haven't processed long enough. Make sure you store in a neutral environment-- not too cold, not too hot, not too sunny...etc.  I put my jars in the pantry.

 Yum!  It was pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Next time we'll heat the salsa up in the microwave, add some grated cheddar cheese and eat it with chips.  Enjoy, we sure did!
Oh and of course you need a printable label to go along with your jars of salsa.

Download FREE Printable HERE

{gift} Newborn Name Onesies

I know I've been M.I.A. this past little while-- I apologize.  We went on vacation and I had a hard time coming back and getting into the swing of things.  Anyway, could you die over the tininess of these onesies?  I could!  It almost makes me want another one right now.  Almost!  My cousin is due with twins in November so I decided to make her some hospital name onesies.  She has chosen to name the twins after some very special family members-- Ruth & Jack.  Darling names I must say.  I wasn't too thrilled with how they turned out, but then decided over time I liked the distressed look.  The vintage look happens when you iron on the reversed image twice, once after it has already cooled down.  If you're not a fan of the distressed look don't make the same mistake I did and iron it too much! ;)

Sadly, by the time I got around to posting this my cousin has lost one of her babies.  Such sad and awful news to hear.  I pray that the remainder of her pregnancy goes smoothly and all is well in the end.

You can email me through my Etsy site for custom name printables for iron-ons or stickers.  The cost-- $3.50/custom name printable.

STAY TUNED-- I have some fun FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES coming soon.  Complete with banner, cupcake toppers, apothecary jar labels, and tented food card labels!

{etsy} New Customizable Printable Parties Uploaded

PIRATE PARTY PRINTABLES

AARRRGH! I've been busy making some fun new party printables for my Etsy site.  Hope ya'll don't mind that I've neglected the blog for a bit.  Below you will find my newest additions.

Pirate Party Printables Include:  Banner, Invitation, Food Labels, 2" Party Circles/Cupcake Toppers, Straw Flags, Cupcake Wrappers, Pirate Hat Cut-Out, Pirate Eye Patch Cut-Out, "Pirate Loot" Party Favor Tags, Wind Sail Cut-Outs, "Sea Water" Water Bottle Labels, Treasure Hunt Clue Cards and "Pirates Only" Sign.

 

DRAGON--CASTLE--KNIGHT PARTY PRINTABLES

Then I created these fun castle printables for a sweet lady that contacted me about doing custom orders.

Castle Party Printables Include: Invitations, Thank You Cards, 2" Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles, Banner, Food Labels, "Thank You" Party Favor Tags (in 2 different colors), "Dragon Spit" Water Bottle Labels, Straw Flags/Tags, Welcome Sign, Directional Signage and Cupcake Wrappers.

So go on over and get a better view of my newest printables on Etsy.  Enjoy.