{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.

{free printables} Happy 30th Birthday to me...

I can no longer say I'm in my 20's!  I turned the DIRTY THIRTY this past Sunday and boy did I get spoiled.  My dear hubby knows me all too well.  I guess he should since we've been together 9 years now, but he never ceases to amaze me.  We devoured an assortment of delicious cupcakes from our local Cake Fetish Bake shop-- my fave was the German chocolate with a pecan coconut filling.  YUM!  My friend swears by the lemon cupcake, but to each their own.  I say, "bring on the chocolate!"

 Then my sweet husband gave me case for the iPad and surprised me with a cooking class for the two of us this coming Saturday up in Santa Fe.  Luckily my mom will be in town and will take the kiddos so we can have the day to play.

 On the menu-- green chile scalloped potatoes and vanilla flan.  I.Can.Not.Wait.

 Of course, I can't leave you empty handed.  Why should I be the only one having fun?  Since I'm feeling the love, I've created an itty bitty birthday package just for you.  Included in this package are 6 drink flags, 6 party circles/cupcake toppers and single birthday present gift tag.  Enjoy.  Download HERE

{gift} Baby Memory Book

READERS-- I need your help!
About a month ago my cousin took pictures of our family and in exchange I made her a baby memory book.  The book is approximately 120 unique pages.  I originally made this book with my own children in mind and since then I have made almost 12 for friends/family.  I was inspired by a baby memory book I found on Etsy, but realized that 50 pages for $60 was a bit much for my budget.  After jumping in head first into designing a memory book I quickly realized the previous price stated was probably a good deal, but I was well on my way into the design.  Anyway, I put this out there because I've had many emails requesting I sale these baby books and I'm curious how much would you pay for a color printed book of 120 pages?  The raw materials cost is roughly $60 (this includes the chipboard, paper, printing 60 colored pages front and back, metal spiral to bind, and plastic pouches for keepsake pages).  I'm trying to get an idea of how much I should sale these books on Etsy, if I decide to do so...

Another idea I had was to sale the PDF of these prints and then the buyer could print them out as many times as they want.  So my next question is... how much would you pay for the PDF printables of 120 uniquely designed pages? I want to be fair with costs, but I also want to make it worth my while...