Beautiful Yellow Tulips - Tips for keeping cut flowers fresh

Hi, Everyone! One of my favorite things to have around the house are fresh cut flowers. I love how they instantly make a room look more bright and colorful. Tulips are definitely some of my favorite flowers, so I was very happy when I came home after work one day this week and saw that my husband had bought me a bouquet of yellow tulips! I'm always sad when the flowers wilt and I have to throw them out, but I've learned a couple of tricks that help them stay fresh and pretty for a little longer!

TIPS FOR KEEPING CUT FLOWERS FRESH:

1. When you first get the flowers, cut each of the stems on an angle using a sharp knife or some scissors. This will expose more of the stem to the water so the flowers will be able to drink more of it and will stay fresh for longer. If you are putting the flowers in a vase, cut off any leaves that would be sitting in water.

2. Use lukewarm water for the flowers, and most importantly, change the water every day or every other day. This will prevent bacteria from building up in the water and killing the flowers faster. Every time you change the water wash the vase well too, and re-cut the stems. 

3. Don't place the flowers in direct sunlight, in a very warm spot or under hot lights. Keep them in a cool place, especially overnight. 

4. Don't buy flowers that have fully bloomed, but ones that haven't fully opened up yet, this will let you enjoy them for longer!

These are just a couple of things that I've learned and try to do to keep my flowers looking fresh for longer! Are there any other tips that you have for doing the same? Have a great week, Everyone!

I will be linking to:
Skip to my Lou, and Tip Junkie.

Recycled Gift Wrap Ideas!

Hi, Everyone! So, a couple of days ago I shared my Handmade Paper Bow Tutorial with you, and I promised I would be back with some cute and creative gift wrap ideas! I had a couple of presents that I needed to wrap up, and even though I have a whole drawer full of pretty wrapping paper and ribbon, I decided to recycle some different materials and come up with fun ways to wrap the presents up! Here is what I came up with, I hope it gives you some good ideas...!

RECYCLED GIFT WRAP IDEAS

For this present, I used a recycled brown paper bag, a strip of burlap and some old buttons. I wrapped the present in the brown paper, cut a strip of white paper with some decorative scissors to give it a nice edge, then glued that onto the brown paper. I cut a thinner strip of burlap and layered that on top of the white paper, and attached three buttons on top using hot glue.

Here, I recycled some old tissue paper, I crinkled it up and then straightened it out again, and wrapped the present in it. I cut the handles off a gift bag and used those as the ribbon, I attached them onto the tissue paper using hot glue. Then, I added my handmade paper bow, made out of an old brown paper bag; you can follow my tutorial for how to make a paper bow here!

For this gift, I used a brown paper bag as the wrapping paper again. Then, I cut up strips of burlap and used that to tie around the gift, attaching it with hot glue. I made a bow out of burlap strips too, sewed a button on top of it, and attached the whole thing onto the present using hot glue.

I used the crinkled up white tissue paper again to wrap this present. I cut thin strips of burlap to make the ribbon and frayed the edges a little bit to make it look a little more decorative. Then, using hot glue, I attached a handmade paper bow made out of thick scrapbook paper.

 I embellished this brown paper bag wrapped present with layers of white paper with a decorative edge, more brown paper, a thick strip of burlap, and a string of "twine" (a gift bag handle). Then using hot glue, I attached a couple of blue and green buttons, spacing them evenly.

For this last gift, I wrapped it in brown paper, using decorative scissors I cut thin strips of white paper and glued then onto the length of the package, and then I made a paper bow using a page from a magazine and attached it on top.

 I love wrapping gifts, I always have, so this was a lot of fun for me! I hope I've given you some good ideas for the next time you're wrapping a gift for someone! There's nothing more fun than receiving a present that's as pretty on the outside as it is once it's unwrapped! Have a great weekend, Everybody! Happy Crafting!

I will be linking to:

Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bubbly Nature Creations, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Grits & Giggles and Somewhat Simple.

Handmade Paper Bow Tutorial

Hi, Everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Since a special someone's birthday is coming up soon, I've been looking for some cute gift wrapping ideas, and one of my favorite things I found were handmade paper bows! I tried a couple different ways of making them, and finally came up with this, so I'm sharing the tutorial with you today! I love nicely wrapped gifts, it just makes what's inside the gift even more special! These bows may look a little complicated at first, but they are actually really easy to make, and once I started making a lot of them it only took me a couple of minutes to make each! All you need is a sheet of paper (you can use anything from brown paper bags and magazine pages to scrapbook paper and felt!), a hot glue gun and a good pair of scissors! Later on in the week, I will show you how I used these and other recycled materials for cute gift wrapping ideas, so be sure to come back! Here is a tutorial for my paper bows...

HANDMADE PAPER BOW TUTORIAL

1. First, cut your paper into 7 strips, each 3/4 inch wide. Cut the first three strips to be 10 inches long, the next three strips 9 inches long, and the last one to be 4.5 inches long.

2. Next, begin twisting each of the 6 long strips so that they have a loop at each end (see picture below). Secure with hot glue in the center. Make a loop out of the last strip (the 4.5 inch one).

This is what all all the loops will look like when you are done! Now you are ready to start layering and sticking them down to make your bows!

3. Layer and stick the three largest pieces, then layer and stick the next three pieces, and finally stick the loop in the center.

This is what the bow looks like when the first layer of the longest three strips (now loops) is done:

This is what the bow looks like once you've stuck the second layer of loops down:

This is what the bow looks like when it's done, once you've attached the ring into the center:

And that's it! I told you this was super easy! These bows are so much fun to make and make for really cute additions to plain wrapping paper! I hope you try this out! And make sure you come back later on in the week to see some cute recycled gift wrapping ideas! Happy Crafting, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff and Bubbly Nature Creations.

Frozen Raspberry Yogurt Drops

Hi, Everyone! I don't know about you, but I don't know what we did before Pinterest was around! I love all the inspiration and great new ideas I find every time I look through it! One of my favorite things I've seen on Pinterest lately are these frozen yogurt drops. You see, one of my worst habits is (unnecessary) snacking, especially in the evenings. It was one of my new year's resolutions to stop doing that, or to replace the unhealthy snacks with healthy ones, so I was really excited when I saw this idea on Pinterest through One Sweet Appetite. I always have some yogurt in the fridge, so I made them as soon as I had some time. I used low-fat raspberry yogurt, and they were really good! This is hardly a recipe, but here's how you can make some to satisfy those late night cravings for ice-cream!

FROZEN RASPBERRY

YOGURT DROPS

YOU WILL NEED: Yogurt (your choice of flavor, I used low-fat raspberry), baking sheet/large tray, piping bag and tip (or just a regular ziplock bag will do).

DIRECTIONS: All you need to do is empty your yogurt container into the bag, cut off the tip and pipe equal size yogurt drops onto your (clean) baking sheet or tray. Place in the freezer for one to two hours, and you're done!!!

And that's it! I told you it was hardly a recipe! So easy, and so good! They just melt in your mouth! I'll never forget how when I first went off to college, my roommates and I would go to our local Sainsbury's (a British grocery store) and buy Ben&Jerry's ice-cream and I was so excited because I was "all grown up" and could eat as much ice-cream as I wanted! Lots of fun memories! I still love ice-cream, but don't love the amounts of sugar that it contains. These Frozen Raspberry Yogurt Drops are a great snack and you don't have to feel guilty eating a bunch of them!

I will be linking to:

Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, andBubbly Nature Creations.

Rosemary Olive Focaccia

Hi, Everyone! I hope you all had a fun weekend! For me, this weekend was a time to catch up on some things around the house, so it meant lots of cleaning, washing, ironing and cooking. I knew the only that would make the piles of laundry and ironing more pleasant was a Downton Abbey marathon, and it sure did! I went through almost the entire first season! The Dowager Countess kept me entertained! One fun thing that I did in the kitchen was bake this Rosemary Olive Focaccia! It was really good! I served it along with a great big salad, but it would also be really good with a bowl of some hearty soup!

ROSEMARY OLIVE FOCACCIA

(Adapted from Taste)

YOU WILL NEED:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 packet (2 1/4 tsp or 0.25 oz) dried yeast

2 tsp sugar

3 tbs olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tbs dried rosemary (or 1 1/2 tbs fresh rosemary)

Kalamata or black olives (about 20 of them), pitted

DIRECTIONS:

1. In your electric mixer bowl, combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for about 5 minutes, until it's frothy. Then, begin adding flour, cup by cup, and half of the salt and all the rosemary, until a dough begins to form. (If the dough is still sticky, add more flour.)

2. Using the dough hook attachment on your electric mixer, knead the dough for 10 minutes, then form into a ball and place in a large greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

2. Once the 45 minutes is up, punch down the dough and knead it on a lightly floured surface for about a minute or two, until the dough is nice and elastic. Brush some olive oil onto your baking sheet, and form your dough into about a 9x13 inch rectangle. Cover it with a kitchen towel again and let rise for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 deg F.

3. After the 20 minutes, press holes into the dough using your finger, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle with the rest of the salt and press the olives into it. Bake for 10 - 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Once you take it out of the oven, brush it with a little bit of olive oil again (and sprinkle with some more salt if you like).

Serve the focaccia warm, with some soup or salad! I could seriously eat bread all day long (I wish it wasn't as full of carbs as it is!) and I love some homemade fresh bread with a meal! If you're looking for something new to serve as a side, try this Rosemary Olive Focaccia!

Have a great week, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

Mangia Mondays, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes,The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, and Bubbly Nature Creations.

2012 So Far...

Hi, Everyone! I just realized that we are almost a third of the way through 2012 and so I thought it might be fun to look back at some of my favorite projects of the year so far! I can't believe how fast this year has been going, it's like time goes by faster and faster every year! Here are some of my favorite craft projects and recipes of 2012 so far... hope you enjoy the little tour!

WHAT I'VE BEEN COOKING AND BAKING...

Cookie Recipes: Mocha Swirl Cookies, S'mores Cookies, Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Breakfast Recipes: Crunchy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, Baked Blueberry and Banana Oatmeal, Strawberry Oat Squares, Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (clockwise)

Sweet Pastry Recipes: Italian Easter Bread, Apple Turnovers, Pain au Raisin (Raisin Snail Pastries).

Dessert Recipes: Molten Coffee-Chocolate Cakes, Vanilla Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries.

Savory Recipes: Asparagus Tart, Cauliflower and Leek Gratin, Lentil Vegetable Soup

WHAT I'VE BEEN MAKING...

Wreaths: Spring Silk Ruffle Wreath Tutorial, Easter Ruffle Wreath

Pillows: Cardigan Pillow Tutorial, Pink & Gray Bow Pillows

Felt Crafts: Valentine's Day Love Tree, Tea Lover's Bookmarks, Egg Cozy Tutorial, Spring Love Birds Tree (clockwise)

I hope you all found something you liked here so far, I have lots more fun posts coming up soon! I love sharing my love of crafting, cooking and baking with you all, and love reading your comments! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

I will be linking to:

Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, and Six Sisters' Stuff.

Apple Turnovers

Hi, Everybody! I hope it's been a good week for you all so far! I have a great recipe to share with you today! One of my absolute favorite things to get at a bakery are apple turnovers. I love the flaky pastry and the sweet apple flavor inside, and so I thought I would make some at home! They are so quick and easy to make (thanks to store-bought puff pastry!) and are just as good as if they came from your favorite bakery! From beginning to end, these Apple Turnovers only take about thirty to forty minutes to make! I hope you give them a try, because they are delicious! Here is what you'll need and how you can make them...

APPLE TURNOVERS

*Makes 4*

YOU WILL NEED:

1 sheet puff pastry

2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced into small chunks

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs sugar (plus more for sprinkling)

1/2 tbs all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting your rolling surface)

Egg Wash:

1 egg

2 tsp water

Glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 - 2 1/2 tsp water

DIRECTIONS:

1. First, prepare your puff pastry (it will need to be thawed according to the directions on the package). Next, peel, core and dice your apples into small chunks. Place them into a small saucepan and add ground cinnamon, lemon juice and sugar and stir well. Cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened a little bit (prick them with a fork to see if they have softened). They will release a little bit of their natural juice. Once they have softened a little bit, add the flour and stir well, then cook for a minute or two, to cook out the flour taste. Pour the softened apples onto a plate and let cool.

2. Next, on a floured surface roll out your puff pastry into a 12x12 inch square. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the big square into four smaller squares. Preheat your oven to 400 deg F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the apples into four portions and place a portion onto each of the puff pastry squares. Brush the edges of the squares with a little bit of water to make sure they stick together well. Fold the squares over diagonally and press down well (this is where the water helps, it makes the pastry stick together!) and then press down the edges using a fork.

3. Make your egg wash by whisking together an egg and 2 tsp of water, then brush the tops of turnovers with it, and sprinkle with some sugar to make them glisten! Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the tops are golden brown, then place on a cooling rack.

4. Once they have cooled, make your glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and water until smooth (you can add a dash of vanilla extract if you like) and glaze the turnovers in a zigzag pattern. So easy and so good!

Happy Baking, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, My Romantic Home, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Country Momma Cooks, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, Mangia Mondays, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Cozy Home Scenes and Bubbly Nature Creations.

A Day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - Van Gogh Up Close Exhibition

Hi, Everyone! I hope you're all having a great week! I wanted to share some pictures of our day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this past weekend. Since I'm a huge art and museum lover, I was really excited when I heard the museum was putting on a Van Gogh exhibition, because he is one of my favorite painters. The exhibition is titled Van Gogh Up Close, and it focuses on his landscape and nature paintings. Even though I was a little disappointed not to see some of my favorite pieces of his work, the exhibition did have many beautiful artworks, and Van Gogh's use of color will never cease to amaze me. If you are in the area, the exhibition runs until May 6th. It was a beautiful day in the city, the sun was shining and there were lots of people out. Here are some pictures of our day...

The Philadelphia Art Museum

With my favorite man.

I love the view of Philadelphia from the museum steps. Especially in the spring!

Another view of the city.

We didn't realize that there would be so many people at the museum that day, and we ended up having to wait for four hours to get into the exhibition! If you decide to go, I recommend booking tickets in advance! Maybe it was because it was a Saturday and it was Easter weekend... but it was busy! Luckily it was a beautiful day outside, so we just ate lunch on the steps!

More waiting... but it was a fun day!

This Almond Blossoms painting was my favorite piece in the exhibition. Van Gogh painted at the end of his life (1890) as a gift to his nephew at his birth. I love the way that Van Gogh brings his paintings to life through his colors and how he draws you in through the curvy shapes he paints. (Image source)

I hope you were all able to do something fun over Easter, and spend some time with the people you love! Have a great rest of your week, Everyone!