The Fickle Hobbyist

Archive for March, 2010

I was perusing the aisles of the local Dollar Tree when these little buckets caught my eye.  There were 3 in a pack, and they were in the wedding section.  Maybe you’ve seen them.

I know, I unwrapped them before I could take a photo.  I was just so anxious to get started.  I’ve been wanting to use quail eggs in crafts and thought these would be cute to use with them.

I stuck in a little square of floral foam to give it a little bit of a base, but you could use anything here, even wadded up paper or something. 

While at the Dollar Tree, I also picked up a bag of Spanish Moss.  I hot glued a little bit of this to cover up the floral foam.

When that was covered, I grabbed a little more moss and formed a small circle as to make a nest. 

Then I glued this down.  To make the indention in the middle of the nest more pronounced, I just used my finger to press down on the floral foam.

(yes I realize I have super bendy fingers.  My husband is always grossed out by how much I can bend them backward.  Can anyone else bend their thumb backward so that it makes a C shape??  lol) 

I had taken a trip to the Hong Kong Market here in Houston because I wanted so badly to pick up some quail eggs.  I have to say, the one that that keeps me from visiting Asian markets more often is the smell.  Every one I’ve been to was rank from the seafood.  Bleh.  But they DO have some awesome things in there, so I’m sure I’ll go back, just when I have a stuffed up nose or something.

I bought three dozen quail eggs for various projects.  For this one I blew three eggs.  If you’ve never done this before, it’s really easy.  Poke the top most part of the egg shell with a needle, and do the same on the bottom.  I usually make the bottom hole just a little bigger because it’s tough to get the yolk to come through just a pin hole sized hole.  And, because I’m finicky, I wash the eggs thoroughly because…gross.  Put your mouth over the hole in the top and BLOW.  You’ll see all the insides squirt out.  I always try my best to rinse the inside out as well, just because I want them clean.  If you’d like to skip this step, there are various places you can buy already blown quail eggs.  Check etsy. 

Then, glue your egg inside of the little “nest” you made.

Aren’t they cute?  The buckets come with little “thank you” tags (for favors) and I thought it would be cute if you numbered these using the tags.  I just haven’t got around to that yet.  lol

Just to add a little something to the display, I used the dollar store foam wreath and hot glued some Spanish Moss onto it as well.

I just pulled handfuls of moss out of the bag and stretched them into long pieces, put some glue down, and wrapped the moss around the glue.  It helps to hold the moss in place with your palm while the glue cools.  But don’t hold it too tight cause you will SO burn yourself.  You’ll end up with this.

I had planned to add the quail eggs to the wreath like I saw at Living with Lindsay’s, but I had a different idea, so I ran with it.  I had picked up a 3 tiered cake display set at GW for $9.99 the other day (stoked!) and put the two smaller sizes on top of each other.  On the bottom tier I laid the wreath down, on the top I put the buckets.  I think it looks cute!

And there you have it!  The whole thing cost me $3 for the dollar store items.  A dozen quail eggs was $1.29, so you do the math.  Super inexpensive, but I love the way they look.  Am I the only one who loves quail eggs?  I think they’re so cute and delicate. 

-Autumn

I know it may come to a surprise to many of you who know me, but even though I’ve raised some girly girls, I have never been a huge purveyor of barrettes.  I like them, I just don’t go out of my way to buy a matching one for every outfit.  *ahem*  You know who you are.  lol

Because we’ve just got a small amount, when I made this project I did it on a smaller scale.  However, if you are one of those who has a ton of hair barrettes for your little girl, you may choose to do it with a larger board.

I started with a smaller cork board from the dollar store as well as a small spool of ribbon from the bridal section at the dollar store.  The fabric I had on hand, but it is a small bit that I got for a dollar at Walmart a while back.

Start by popping the cork out. 

Then, cut your fabric to size.  Leave about an inch of fabric around all the edges.

Then, cut all the corners off like so.

Use some glue (I used hot glue) to secure the edges to the back.  The cut corners help to eliminate bulk in this step.

Then, lay out your ribbon in the pattern you want to find out what you like best.  You can do vertical lines, horizontal lines, criss-cross, whatever.

Turn it over and hot glue the ribbon into position on the back.  I used little dots of hot glue where the ribbon criss cross on the front just to help keep it secure.

When you’re done, replace the cork into the frame. 

I decided not to paint the frame this time (shock) but if you wanted to get creative paint the frame before you put the cork piece back in.

When you’re done, clip the barrettes onto the ribbon.  I couldn’t even find anymore barrettes than this, even though I know we have more.  Maybe this will help the girls keep their hair barrettes all in one place.  Wishful thinking. 

-Autumn

After Abby and I had picked those two boxes of strawberries, I was dying to get to work making stuff with them!  I decided to do some super easy things this go round, but I might try something new the next time we head out to pick again.  This time, I made a batch of the Strawberry Lemonade Bars from Baking Bites, Freezer Jam, and good old Strawberry Shortcake.

Since I have never canned before, I thought I’d try out the freezer jam first.  It seemed simple enough.  (seriously, I think Jocelyn could do it herself.)

You’ll need:

• A Envelope of Freezer Jam fruit pectin.  (there are various brands available.)
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 cups of crushed fruit
• 5 8oz Ball jars with lids

You start out by smashing all your strawberries (or whatever fruit you’re using) 

In a separate bowl, mix the envelope of fruit pectin together with the sugar thoroughly.  Add this to the fruit and stir for 3 minutes.  (you will want to make sure that all the sugar dissolves before you ladle into the jars)

Then, ladle equal amounts into your jars and seal them.

Let it set for at least 30 minutes before using.  If you’re not planning on using the jars of jelly within a couple weeks, throw them in the freezer.  (hence, freezer jam)  They will last up to 6 months in there.  Enjoy! 

The girls have been having PB&J every day since I’ve made this, and every single day they come home and say something like “My sandwich was SO good today, mom!  I ate it all!”  That’s the kind of thing I like to hear.

The next thing I made were the Strawberry Lemonade Bars.  I’ve always been a huge fan of lemon bars, so I was so excited to come across these! 

They were super tart, and the shortbread crust was great, but I have to admit, I think I like my mom’s recipe better!  She’s been experimenting with her basic lemon bar recipe, and finding what works when adding other fruit, so I think I’m going to do the same and find the perfect strawberry/lemon combo.  One of the things I liked most about my mom’s lemon bars is that they have a little crunchy crust on the top of the custard.  It’s a little chewy too.  When I was little that was my favorite part.  These ones, there aren’t as many eggs, so I think that prevented it from getting that little crust.  (which probably isn’t standard on most lemon bars, but I still prefer it) 

So then tonight, I made super quick Strawberry Shortcake.  I have to admit, I was planning on making the shortcake from scratch, but to be honest, I just couldn’t be bothered, so I cheated and made Bisquick shortbread.  And guess what… it was AWESOME.  We don’t ALWAYS have to work hard to make delicious things, right??

I cut up the rest of the strawberries in the box and sprinkled a couple heaping tablespoons of sugar on top and gave them a stir.  I left them on the counter with a plate on top for a couple of hours at room temperature to maserate.  Is it just me, or do they seem to be more flavorful when you leave them on the counter this way as opposed to putting them in the fridge??

In a couple hours, your strawberries should have released some juice and melted the sugar, and you should have a nice strawberry syrup in there.  Yum!

Then, like I said, I baked up some of  Bisquick biscuits.  I added about a quarter cup more mix to the bowl than what they called for.  It seemed their recipe was more runny than I would have liked, and I wanted a bit fluffier shortcake, so I made that improvosation.  I must say, they were awesome. 

Then, to top it off, I made some whipped cream.  I don’t have exact measurements, because that’s just the way I roll, but I poured in about 3/4 of  a pint of heavy whipping cream, a tsp. of vanilla, and about 2 tsp. of sugar (if I had to guess) and whipped it with the beaters. 

If you’ve never made homemade whipped cream, just be sure not to over beat the cream or else it will break down and you will end up with a bowl of butter.  You want it light and fluffy.

I must say, this was probably the highlight of them all.  I’ve always been a huge fan of strawberry shortcake, and this just hit the spot.

Plop down a biscuit, cover it with your strawberries and juice, and add a dollop of your creamy whipped cream.  Heaven.

After I made these, I realized that the Bisquick sizes were huge.  Next time I’d probably make more, smaller shortcakes.  lol  Not that the girls were complaining!  Their eyes lit up when this hit the table.

I can’t wait to get back to the strawberry fields and pick some more! With the next batch I’d like to attempt ACTUAL canning (which would be a first for me!). I’d also like to get a bunch put away in the seal-a-meal bags and put in the freezer so we can pull them out anytime we want strawberry shortcake again. lol

Do you have a favorite way to enjoy your strawberries?  If you’ve got a great recipe, please share!

-Autumn