Strawberry Toffees...YUM!

Red, juicy, crunchy, sweet treats

 

They would be great for an after-meal treat.  Enjoy!

 

 

Note:  making toffee requires 100% of your attention.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 punnet of strawberries, left whole with its leaves, washed and dried throughy
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 3 teapoons white vinegar
• 2/3 cups water
• 10-12 drops red food colouring

 

 

Method:

1. In a small, deep saucepan, gently stir over a low heat until the sugar, vinegar and water are melted.
2. Turn the heat up to high and bring the mixture to a boil.  Do not stir.  Keeping a close eye on the pot, let the mixture boil untl it turns a light golden brown.  Take the saucepan off the heat.
3. Holding a strawberry by its leaves, dip it in the toffee (dunk and twirl), coating it thinly.  Be careful when doing this as the toffee can burn your skin easily.
4. Transfer the toffee strawberry to a sheet of baking paper.
5. Repeat for the remainder of the strawberries.

Serve immediately.

God Gave Us Each An Angel

Watch the video clip above for a very nice surprise at the end…I just love this clip.

It’s really touching, but make sure you don’t bail out before the very end!

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born.

So one day it asks God,”They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

God replied, “Among the many angels, I chose one just for you. She will be waiting for you and will take good care of you”.

“But tell me, here in heaven, I don’t do anything else but smile and sing, that’s enough for me to be happy.”

God said….

Watermellon Rabbit

 Rabbit

You will need:

1 Oblong Watermelon
Pencil or marker
1 mall knife
Toothpics

Instructions:

1. Using an oblong watermelon, cut a 1/4 inch slice off the bottom to provide a stable base.
2. Draw lines with a sharp pencil or thin marker to draw ears and upper body on the top side of ewatermelon.
3. Cut along the lines and remove excess rind.  Place to the side to use later for the whiskers and tail.
4. Hollow out the watermelon, being careful around the ears.
5. Carve six whiskers out o the excess rind with a small knife and trim off outer dark green rind so lighter green interior is showing.
6. With a melo baller cut out the eyes and nose and place the melonballs or blueberries in the holes.  Use toothpicks to secure.
7. For the teeth, make a rectangular cut below the nose leaving the top part of the rectanle attached to the watermelon.  Cut a small line down the middle to make two teeth.
8. With round toothpicks attach whiskers below the nose.
9. Fill with fruit.

Healthy Egg Muffins

Breakfast Egg Muffins

This is a quick and easy recipe for egg muffins, packed with protein.
(Serves 12)

Ingredients:

• 12 pieces of bacon
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
• 10 eggs, beaten (with 2 TBSP milk or cream, optional)
• 1/4 cup cheese (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Line each cup of the muffin tin with a piece of bacon.
• Put chopped onion and pepper in the bottom of the muffin cups.
• Pour egg mixture int the cups.
• Bake about 30 minutes (ovens vary) until eggs are set.  Top with cheese (optional).
• Can be wrapped in foil and easily reheated on-the-go.

Enjoy!

 

Radish Mushroom

How to make a radish mushroom

You will need:

• radish
• small fruit knife

1.  Put a knife in the middle of a radish, and make a small inision.

2.  Hold the radish, and spin the radish VERY SLOWLY, and cut all the way around the radish.

OR

    Push the knife forward VERY LIGHTLY, and cut all around the radish. 
    Don't push the knife through!

The radish should look like this after cutting all around it.

3.  Make four incisions on the bottom side of mushroom like in the pictures. 

     Don;t cut past the half  line!

4.  Put the knife on the half line, and remove the radish pieces.

5.  Trim the stem part, and cut off the bottom.

6.  Put a knife on the surface of the radish, and peel the skin. 

     It's kind of like peeling an apple, but  you don't rotate the radish, and just

     peel the skin off.

Please be careful with this, don't want anyone getting hurt!

If you accidentally snap off the stem, don't worry!  You can stick the stem on with a toothpick.

How to dye eggs naturally

How to dye an egg naturally

YELLOW
- Curry Powder or Turmeric

PINK
- Red Cabbage
- Vinegar  

LIGHT BLUE
- Red Cabbage

You will need the following:
Red Cabbage, Vinegar and Curry Poser or Turmeric

YELLOW EGG
1.  Put a little bit of curry powder (or turmeric) into a glass of hot water, and mix well.  Make sure you have enough water to completely cover the egg.

2.  Put a hard-boiled egg in the water and leave it for 20-30 minutes.
     (Stir it every 10 minutes or so)

PINK & LIGHT BLUE EGG
1.  Chop a leaf of reg cabbage, and leave it in hot water for 10-15 minutes

2.  Remove the cabbage using a drainer, and pour the water into a small bowl or glass.

3.  For a PINK EGG:  Put a little bit (about a teaspoon) of vinegar into the water, and mix well.

The colour immediately turns pink!

LEFT:  Red Cabbage with vinegar,   RIGHT:  Red cabbage



4.  Put the hard-boiled egg in the colored water and leave it for 20-30 minutes.

     (Stir it every 10 minutes or so).

Aren't they cute?





That's it!

How long you leave the egg in the water is up to you.  I wrote 20-30 minutes, because that's how long I left the egg in the water.  I found out that a shot glass is the perfect size for dyeing a quail egg.

Note:  Curry powder and red cabbage may dye plastic containers, so used glass or porcelain containers for this project.



Leaf Shaped Bird Bath with Sand Cast Concrete

You'll be using a leaf to create a "stamper" to make the embossed design for the surface of your bird bath. Select a large, broad leaf with strong vein patterns and few or no defects or holes. I used a large leaf from a giant sunflower growing in my garden for this casting. Another time I used leaves from elephant ear plants. Any large leaf will do.
Trim the stem end away from the leaf and patch any holes with small bits of waterproof masking tape or duct tape. 

What you will need:

• Small pile of sand, or bag of play sand
• Small bucket of water
• Plastic dish pan or wheel barrow to mix up concrete
• Garden trowel to mix and blend concrete with water
• 3 large plastic trash bags, or 3 pieces of thin plastic sheeting (painter's drop cloths will work fine) each one about 3 feet square
• 1 bag of acrylic concrete patch mix
• 1 large plant leaf with prominent ribs and veins(Sunflower, Elephant Ear, Caladium etc)
  Concrete colorant, if desired (I used a bit of terra cotta colorant for my bird bath concrete mixture)

Protective Gear: Dust mask, rubber gloves, safety glasses

Elephant Ear Plant Leaf Embossing Pattern

This garden craft sand casting used a giant leaf from an Elephant Ear plant.

Preparing the Sand Cast Mold

 

Pour a mound of sand onto a plastic sheet, or dump it into a child's small plastic pool or large waterproof tub. I used a sheet of plastic in the back yard, right on the lawn. You'll need just enough sand so that the mound will be slightly larger than the leaf you will use for the stamper. The pile should be about 4 inches deep to begin.

Mound the sand slightly (about 3 inches high) in the center, slightly larger all around than the size of the leaf shape.

Smooth out and curve the mound down so that the edges are about at ground level with a bit of sand around the outside of where the leaf will fit.

Cover the smooth sand with a plastic bag or sheet of thin plastic drop cloth.

Place the leaf on top of the plastic, face down, centered on the sand mound.

Prepare the Concrete Mix

Wear rubber gloves, safety glasses and a particle mask when working with powdered concrete patch mix

Following directions on the package, add water to the concrete powder mix starting with the minimum amount. If you want to add colorant to the concrete mix, add a small amount and mix in thoroughly with the water. Use a small trowel or planting shovel to blend the mix, water and colorant together.

Mix well until the concrete mix is the consistency of stiff cookie dough.

The mix should not be watery; it should be workable like play clay or craft modeling dough.

Concrete can be textured, colored, stamped and molded to create all types of flat and three dimensional garden crafts and works of art that are functional and beautiful.

Shaping the Bird Bath Concrete Mold

To form the birdbath, place handsful of concrete mix on top of the leaf, beginning in the center. Gently pat down to about 1" thickness as if you were making mud pies or rolled cookies. Continue to add more concrete mix, patting and smoothing and working toward the outer edges.

When you have completely covered the leaf, gently press the concrete between your fingers to form a smooth rolled edge all along the outside border. Take care not to add sand to the mix; keep the leaf snuggly against the concrete.

Shaping the Concrete on the Leaf

Shaping Bird Bath Edge

Curing Sand Cast Concrete Crafts  

After you've finished molding and shaping the concrete on top of leaf, carefully drape with another plastic bag or sheet of thin plastic to seal out rain or dust while the concrete dries and sets. Weight down the sides to prevent wind from blowing off the cover.

Your concrete needs to dry slowly to cure and not crack, so keeping it covered lets the moisture evaporate slowly. It can take up to 2 days for your cast concrete project to completely dry and cure. 

Drying and Cleaning Concrete Garden Crafts  

 Your sand cast concrete project must dry completely before you remove the plastic cover. Drying can take up to 2 days; I start checking after 24 hours.

When the piece feels dry to touch, remove the plastic, turn over the birdbath, and carefully peel off the remaining bits of leaf. You many need to use a sharp tool to scrape off tiny bits, or wait a day or two and scrub with a wire brush to remove stubborn bits.

Cleaning Leaf Bits from the Finished Casting

Sealing the Project to Protect it From Weather

Clear Sealer Makes Your Cast Leaf Easy to Clean

Cast concrete garden crafts are weather proof after they dry and cure. You can decorate cured concrete with acrylic paints to add more color interest, or simply coat the finished project with concrete sealer to make it easier to clean and add a high gloss finish.

I let my leaf pattern bird bath cure for a few months outdoors in the sun and rain, then I painted on a clear acrylic sealer. It added more depth to the color and made the vein pattern stand out nicely. After sealing, the bird bath is stain resistant and easier to keep clean, plus water cannot be absorbed into the concrete.

 

Heart-Boiled Eggs

Heart-Boiled Eggs

 

Shaping hard-boiled eggs is pretty easy!

Started by washing out a paper milk carton. Cut the carton along the seams and lay it flat. Then cut it in wide strips folded in half. After boiling the eggs and rinsing them in cold water, peel off the shells, and placed one egg gently inside the folded strip of carton.



Attach a chopstick to one end of the milk carton with rubber bands, and gently laid it down atop the egg so that it pressed into the white. Attach the opposite end of the chopstick with more rubber-bands and put the eggs in the refrigerator to set for about 15 minutes.

I was so excited to see my first heart-boiled eggs! I made some toast with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and breakfast was served!

Looking for a way to add some fun to your plate, try shaping your own heart-boiled eggs!

Coke Bottle Gift Box

Upcycled Coke Bottle Gift Box


Easy step by step instructions showing how to make your own upcycled Coke bottle gift box, presented by Crafty Corner


There is so much we can do with all the plastic PET Coke bottles that we throw away. With this project, instead of buying wrapping paper for a gift, we reduced our carbon footprint by recycling a used 2l plastic Coke bottle.

Recycling uses a lot of energy and resources, so the more we can upcycle rather than recycle, the better for our environment.

Of all the soft drink bottles, Coke bottles in particular make excellent materials for upcycling. In this craft we can only use Coke bottles, as no other soft drink bottles have the vertical grooves that will enable the flaps on the gift box to snap closed. Follow our easy step by step instructions to make your own recycled Coke bottle goft box.

 What you will need:

• Clean, 2l plastic Coke bottle
• Craft scissors/knife
• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Modge podge
• Marking pen
• Serviettes

Step 1

Remove label & cut off the top section of the Coke bottle just above the bottom section where the label was.

























Step 2

Draw archways from one groove, over onto another groove & down another using your marking pen. The groove that gets left in the centre of the panel is what makes the gift box snap closed & amp; stay down. Essentially you will be drawing a straight line up one groove, then curving it with the peak of the curve on the next groove, and then straight down the next groove.

























Step 3

Cut out your arches with a strong scissors. You might need to cut the walls that go down to the part where your two archways join a bit wider so they don't catch onto each other when you try fold them closed.



























Step 4

You need to cut all your arches to the same height. This helps to keep the gift box closed naturally. When cutting down, it is important to make sure that you stop cutting before the bottle starts to taper out, otherwise the flaps will not stay down.



























Step 5

Choose a serviette that you like to use to decorate your coke bottle gift box with. Separate the two parts of tissue so you only have the printed sheet.

























Step 6

Place your serviette around the gift box to plan how you would like it to look.

























Step 7

Start painting modge podge onto the serviette which you should be holding against the Coke bottle with one hand. Now very gently apply the modge podge as the serviette is easily torn!

Make sure you cover the entire area of the Coke bottle with modge podge! Paint directly onto the tissue paper and the glue will soak through and glue itself to the plastic.
























Step 8

Let the Coke bottle stand on its arches & leave it to dry for 3 hours. When it is dry you can cut away the excess tissue paper with a scissors.

Your beautiful Coke bottle gift box is now ready for use! They also make wonderful and protective tea light holders for the garden or patio.