Origami Carambola Flowers

Making origami flowers on a Sunday afternoon, sure what else would you be doing? :) Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my origami creation! Be sure to have a look at some of my other crafty projects while you're here.

These are called Carambola as they look like a cross section of starfruit (which is also know as a carambola). I think they look like flowers so I call them Carambola Flowers which possibly makes no sense but it works for me!

 I'm not even going to try to explain how to do it because this youtube video does it so much better than I could! :) My first attempt was a little lopsided but the second one turned out pretty good so even if you're a bit of an origami novice like me I'd say give them a go!

Things I've Learnt:
- Use origami paper. The first one I made I used light card and it was the same colour on both sides so I ended up making some of the creases on the wrong side! Origami paper also just creases better! Amazon have nice cheap origami paper (e.g. Origami Paper - Assorted Colors)
- I'd say heavier paper would be best but I didn't have any so I just used normal stuff and it worked just fine.
- This one is all about precision so take your time in making those creases!
- As with most things in life - practise makes perfect!

 

Linked up to Making the World Cuter, The Girl Creative, Sew Can Do, Creating my Way to Success, Be Colorful, Today's Creative, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Hope Studios, Homework, Ladybug Blessings, New Nostalgia, DIY Dreamer, Crafty Confessions, Earning my Cape, Someday Crafts, Sugar and Dots, Trendy Treehouse, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Semi Homemade Mom, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fine Craft Guild, Craft Junkie Too, WTFab

Halloween Cookies

So blog-land is filled with all things Halloween at the moment. And being an Irish girl I figure it's my duty to join in on the fun. Hallowe'en is originally Irish after all.

Surprised to hear that? Well I don't blame you. Most people automatically associate Halloween with America. And to be honest I don't think we do near enough in Ireland to embrace Halloween.  But it's still kinda a big deal here. Supposedly it derives from the Celtic festival of Samhain. This was a celebration of the beginning of winter and the darker half of the year. And it does get dark. :( We're talking 4pm dark. But you can't expect those poor souls to go a roaming if it's bright outside! 

I grew up dressing in black sacks with coal smeared on my face (a witch) or with an old sheet thrown over me (a ghost) and heading out trick or treating. My neighbours were pretty keen on the  trick part which they led me to believe meant that I had to do a trick to impress them (say a poem or tell a joke) before I was given any peanuts or apples or sometimes Wagon Wheels if we were lucky! Then we'd come home and play some Halloween games, like bobbing for apples.

Oh and the best bit? Dinner! We'd always have Colcannon. There may be a blog post in this on its own actually. Let me know if you'd like the recipe! It's basically mashed potato mixed with cabbage or kale but like all my favourite foods there's a surprise inside. You wrap coins up in baking paper and hide them in it! We used to get so excited searching for money and competing to see who had the most. 

Oh and then after dinner we'd have Barm Brack. It's a kind of bread with sultanas and raisins in it but hidden somewhere inside there's a ring! Now ours tended to be a cheap plastic ring but it was still pretty exciting. I didn't even like the bread as a kid but I'd eat it just to try to win the ring. :) Traditionally I think the barm brack was used for fortune telling. They used to put a coin and a piece of cloth and a few other things in with the ring and each had a meaning. If your piece had the coin in it then that signified good luck or wealth in the coming year. 

Anyway, you're not here for my reminiscing! You want to make cute little skeleton and mummy chocolate cookies, right? :) I was going to make these as gingerbread men but something about that just seemed too Christmassy. Plus I was making them for my sister and I wasn't sure if she liked ginger. But I knew she liked chocolate! :) I found the recipe and idea over at Our Best Bites. Check it out for some even cuter little skeletons!

Ingredients

-  1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 ½ cups plain (all purpose) flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Line baking sheets with parchment.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla essence until well combined.


Mix flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon together. Slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture, stirring first and then beating until well combined.

Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes (or the freezer for 5/10). Lightly dust your work surface with a mixture of cocoa powder and flour. Roll out the dough to about ¼ - ½ inch thickness.

Use your favourite gingerbread man cutter to cut out your little men and place them on your baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Then get decorating! I just used icing sugar mixed with a bit of water for the icing. Then use a piping bag to draw on his bones. For his face draw the outline, eyes and mouth and then fill in the rest.

I wish I'd used a thicker nozzle for the mummies. But they're pretty forgiving. Just drizzle it over any old way. And don't forget to give him some eyes!

 Things I've Learnt:
-  It's kinda tricky to tell if they're done cos they don't change colour but the dough will look less wet. 8 minutes was plenty for my little guys.
- If you get a bit excited transferring them to the wire rack you may accidentally break their heads off... But that's just scarier right?
- Doing the icing takes forever!! Give yourself plenty of time. :) The skeleton icing was actually much easier than the mummies! But that's just cos I'm an idiot and couldn't figure out what it should look like.
- I kinda wish I'd made ghosts too. They'd be so easy - just cover his body in white icing and give him little black eyes.
- Oh and I just bought a black icing pen. Too much fun! I just need to think of more uses for it than mummy eyes...
- Check out my grape Halloween costume for more Halloween-y fun! :)

If you want an easier option I love these cute cookie cutters!! They do all the hard work for you! :)

                                                                    

Linked up to Foodie Friends Friday, Thirty Handmade Days, It's a Hodgepodge Life, My Romantic Home, It's a Blog Party, Ladybird Ln, Yesterday on Tuesday, Six Sisters Stuff, Cheerios and Lattes, A Night Owl Blog, Blissful and Domestic, Naptime Crafters, Addicted to Recipes, It's So Very Cheri, Making the World Cuter, Today's Creative, Homework, Fireflies and Jellybeans

Day 30 - Make Your Own Scratch Cards!

So all this free time is giving me a chance to search for loads of great ideas for the classroom. I found this one a while ago over at ArtMind but just got around to giving it a try!

How to Make your Own Scratch Cards!

There are so many uses for this (and even if there wasn't it'd still be super fun!). You could make cards and cover the greeting with scratch paint, you could use it to make "save the date" cards, you could use it to run a fundraiser or just to leave sweet notes for the ones you love. 

But me? I'm going to use it to make classroom reward cards! If the kids are being particularly well behaved or trying exceptionally hard they are rewarded with one of these cards. They pick one at random and scratch it off to see what their reward is! Who wouldn't love that? :)

Want to know how to make some of your own? 

Here's what you'll need:

- washing up liquid

- silver acrylic paint

- coloured/white card

- clear contact

Mix 1 part washing up liquid with 2 parts acrylic paint.

It works best if you leave it to settle for 10 minutes or so, otherwise your paint might be a little bubbly! Oh and the best part is - as it's one third washing up liquid it's super easy to clean up after! :)

Print and cut out your reward cards (see the end of this post for a link to download mine for free!). My printer is out of colour ink so I just printed mine straight onto coloured card but I think it'd look so much cuter if you printed them in colour on white paper and then backed them onto coloured card. Next time! 

Cover the star on each card with a piece of sticky back clear contact.

Place this over whatever you plan to cover with paint, it'll make it much easier to scratch off.

Then paint over the writing!

It might not fully cover it first time so just add a second coat once its dry.

Then grab a coin and see what you've won!

Things I've learnt:

-  Two thin coats of paint works better than one thick one. It seems to scratch off better.
- It takes a while for the paint to dry. And some of the writing that looked hidden when wet could be seen when dry so make sure you leave enough time for touch ups!
- You could probably laminate them instead of covering with clear contact and ask the kids to return them so you could re-use them. But the contact is cheaper. And the kids will probably want to keep them! :)
- I had some left over paint so I painted some squares of clear contact. Now next time I'm making them I can just print, cut and stick on the scratchy stuff!

Click here to download in colour or black & white for free!

And if you like them and want to show your appreciation by clicking on a few ads I promise to keep supplying you with free stuff for your classroom! :)

Don't have time to make them now? Feel free to pin for later! :)

Linked up to 4th Grade Frolics, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Thirty Handmade Days, Teaching Blog Addict, Ladybird Ln, My Romantic Home, Classroom Freebies

Day 29 - Soap Pouch

Here's a quick and easy little sewing project inspired by Whimsy Love - a little pouch for your soap! Pop your soap inside, scrub away and throw it in the washing machine to clean it! It even has a little ribbon loop so you can hang it up to dry in the shower. And the best part of all? It's so easy to make!

 Wanna make some of your own? 

All you need is a face cloth (or hand towel), some ribbon and a bar of soap. Cut  a rectangle out of your face cloth about 4" by 11.5". Depending on the size of your soap you might need to play about with this a little, try 4.5" width if you want a little wriggle room!

Pin a piece of ribbon to one end of your rectangle. The nice thing about using a face cloth is that its the perfect length so there's no raw edges at the ends. If you cut yours from a bigger towel then just fold down the raw edge twice and sew across it. (Don't worry about the raw edge on the long side, it'll be hidden inside!)

Lay out your material with the ribbon end face up at the bottom.

Fold the bottom up to about 3.5". Cut another piece of ribbon and fold it in half. Place the loop just above the fold in your material. Make sure there's a little bit sticking out at the side!

Fold the top down so that the pouch measures about 4.5" - 5". This was the first one I made and the fold actually comes down a bit too far so try and have it a little bit closer to the middle so you can get your soap in!

Sew along the two long sides (where the pins are). 

Turn your little pouch the right way out and pop the soap inside! 

Now go make some more so you have one for every day of the week! Or colour coded ones for different family members. Or make two and tie them with a ribbon to give as a gift. :)

Things I've learnt:
- Soaps come in many different sizes, play about with the measurements (or seek out some smaller soaps!) if yours doesn't fit first time.
- It's definitely easier to use a face cloth, less raw edges to work with!
- You know the ribbons on tops and dresses that are used to keep them on the hanger in the shop but are really annoying when you're actually wearing the clothes? Start hoarding them, they're perfect for this project!

                                                                   

No time to make some? You can always buy some online! Embroider the recipients name on it and it'll still make a cute thoughtful gift. :)

Linked up to Today's Creative, The Creative Itch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Hope Studios, Not Just a Housewife, Carolyn's Homework, The DIY Dreamer, Someday Crafts, Semi Homemade Mom, Seven Thirty Three, Earning my Cape, Sugar and Dots, The Trendy Treehouse, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Crafty Blogstalker, Michelle's Tasty Creations

Day 28 - Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

So aside from brownies and cupcakes with things hidden in them, my one true love is cheesecake!! 

I particularly love no bake cheesecake (you know the kind - cream cheese, jelly mix it all up and put it in the fridge to set). Baked cheesecake can be a little hit and miss though, sometimes it's just too heavy for my liking. To be honest I've always been a bit afraid of attempting to make it. Pathetic, I know! So I decided what better way to overcome that fear than making teeny tiny little cheesecakes like the ones I found over at Annie's Eats!

Something so cute and small couldn't cause any trouble, right? :)

Ingredients:

Cheesecake Base
- 1 ½ cups Digestive Biscuit crumbs
- 60g melted butter
- 3 tbsp sugar

Raspberry Swirl
- 160g fresh raspberries
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Cheesecake Filling
- 900g cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 4 large eggs

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 165° C (325° F). Line your cupcake tins with cases. This recipe makes about 32 little cheesecakes.

In a small bowl combine the digestive biscuit crumbs (I put the biscuits in a small bag, tie it and crush them with my hands or a rolling pin), melted butter and sugar.

Place about 1 tablespoon of mixture into the bottom of each cupcake case. Use a clean glass to press the crumbs down so they are firmly packed.

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes to set the bases. Cool on a wire rack.






To make the raspberry puree blend the raspberries and sugar together in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Pour the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds.

In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar, salt and vanilla essence. Beat until smooth.

Add in the eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling on top of the base into each cupcake case.

Pour about half a teaspoon of puree in three dots into each cheesecake. Use a cocktail stick to swirl the puree and create a marble effect.

Bake until the filling is set - about 22 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

Serve with more raspberries and leftover raspberry puree. 

Delicious!! :)

Things I've Learnt:
- 32 sounds like a lot but we all ate at least two each, they won't last long!
- Don't accidentally forget to take one tin of cheesecakes out of the oven. They will burn... :( At least I had two other tins!
- Don't decide to make these little guys an hour before dinner. They're supposed to be refrigerated for 4 hours before eating them!!! (They actually taste amazing anyway, just convince your dinner guests to take a little longer finishing their main course! 20 minutes was better than none.)
- Honestly though, these taste amazing. Turns out baked cheesecake isn't so scary after all. :)

Linked up to Addicted to Recipes, It's so very Cheri, Be Colorful, Making the World Cuter, Project Inspire, Sew Can Do, Creating My Way to Success, Today's Creative, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Hope Studios, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Foodie Friends Friday

Day 27 - White Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

There's been a bit of a lack of baking round here lately so last night I decided to fix that by making the most delicious decadent cupcakes! White Chocolate Truffle cupcakes - sound amazing right? :) I've adapted this from a recipe I found at The Pampered Chef.

And even better - the truffles are hidden inside the cupcakes! And you all know how much I love hiding stuff in cupcakes! (Like these Brownies Cupcakes with strawberries hidden inside and Inside-Out Carrot Cake Muffins).

Ingredients:
Cupcakes

-  1 ¾ cups of plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup of whole milk
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 4 egg whites
- 85g butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 12 white chocolate truffles

Icing
- 175g white chocolate
- 200g cream cheese
- 55g butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 cups icing (powdered) sugar



Preheat your oven to 160°C (325°F). Place muffin cases into your muffin tin. (I still think these are cupcakes and not muffins though!)

Add flour and baking powder to a bowl and stir together.






Combine milk and vanilla essence in a glass/small jug.

Separate your egg whites from the yolks.

Add egg whites to a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form.

Beat butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until fluffy.








Add sour cream and beat until smooth.







Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk mixture in two parts. (As in flour, milk, flour, milk, flour!) Beat until well combined.







Fold in egg whites and stir until smooth.

Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases.






Bake for 17 - 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.








Unwrap your white chocolate truffles. Try not to eat them all. :)

Now the fun part! As soon as you take them out of the oven snip an X in the top of each cupcake. Press one truffle into each one! Leave them in the muffin tin while you do this. The truffle's will melt into the cupcake. mmm :)

Then place them on a wire rack to cool.

Now for the icing - melt the white chocolate. Put a bowl over a saucepan of hot water on a medium heat. Place the white chocolate in the bowl and slowly melt, stirring all the time. (Nothing worse than burnt chocolate so take your time and don't microwave it!!)

Let the chocolate cool (pour ice cold water into the saucepan and place the bowl into it to speed this up). Then add cream cheese, butter and vanilla essence. Beat until well combined.






Slowly add the icing sugar and stir. Then beat until smooth. Then ice up your cupcakes! :)

Things I've learnt:
- This recipes uses a lot of bowls! Keep your main big mixing bowl for the butter as that's what you'll be adding everything else into. I used mine for the flour and had to transfer it to yet another bowl! (I love baking but hate washing up after so anything to avoid using unnecessary bowls!!)
- The recipe says to put the truffles in as soon as you take the cupcakes out of the oven but I think I'd leave them a few minutes first in future. That way the truffle would melt but not completely like mine did.
- There's a reason why the truffles are to be put in while the cupcakes are still in the tin though. I took one out to see if I could get it in better (as in without just shoving it in!) and the sides of it cracked! :(
- This makes a lot of icing. I'm not a huge fan of excessive icing on cupcakes so I'd say half the amount would have done me. As it is I went overboard icing them and still have a little bag of icing in the freezer for another day. Can you even freeze icing? Well we'll see! :)
- I think I'd try milk or dark chocolate truffles next time too. Just to add some colour!
- I love this website - Traditional Oven - for converting measures of ingredients.

Linked up to Foodie Friends Friday, Thirty Handmade Days, Addicted to Recipes, Carole's Chatter