Tea time is a very looked forward to and cozy time that Stephen and I enjoy together. In our home we have a small assortment of teas including some that came from our honeymoon. I've wanted a tea box for as long as I've dreamed about a home. One day while at home I decided to make it.

This was a plain brown box. I covered with paper using mod podge glue. I bought it at Michael's.
 

Sewing Jar

This is a little birthday gift that I made for my sister-in-law. It was very fun to create.
















The top is a piece of material cut out in a circle twice as big as the lid. I hand stitched long stitches around the perimeter of the material and drew it together like a draw string purse. Then I stuffed it with cotton and hot glued it to the lid. 

Lace Napkins

 

I bought these plain cream napkins brand new at a yard sale along with the lace, all for under 50 cents. Sewn together they make very pretty yet practical table decorations. They took five minutes to make.

 

 

 

The Biggest Yummy Sourdough Loaf!

This sourdough loaf I made came out huge! It was very yummy with cheesey soup and pastas. One loaf lasted us for days and it wasn't that hard to make. I found the recipe from 'Kitchen Bible' an excellent cookbook I've been borrowing from the library.

Sourdough Bread
(Kitchen Bible)

To make this bread, the starter must be prepared a couple of days in advance. Despite the need for forward planning, it is easy to make and the leftover starter can be used to make more loaves.
For the Starter

1 1/2 C bread flour

one 1/4 oz. envelope instant yeast

2 1/4 C tepid water

For the dough

4 1/4 C bread flour

one 1/4 oz. envelope instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 C water

Prepare ahead Make the sourdough starter 2 days in advance.

1. To make the starter, mix the flour and yeast together in a large nonmetal bowl. Using a wooden spoon gradually stir in the water to make a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in the kitchen ( not necessarily in a warm place) for 2 days, stirring daily. The finished starter will look separated and have a sharp aroma.

2. For the bread, mix the flour, yeast,sugar and salt together in a large nonmetal bowl. Make a well in the center. Stir the starter well. Add 1/4 cup of the starter and the water to the flour mixture.

3. Stir until the dough comes together, adding a little more water if needed. Knead on a lightly floured work surface for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume.

4. Oil a large baking sheet. Punch down the dough and knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Shape in to a ball and flatten the top. Transfer to the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled.

5. Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Lightly dust the loaf with flour then, using a sharp knife, slash the top in a diamond pattern. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375˚F and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Leftover starter dough can be kept indefinitely, if used once a week and maintained with regular additions of flour and water to invigorate it. Refrigerate the leftover starter in a covered container for up to a week. The day before using, stir in 2/3 cup flour and a generous 1/3 cup water, let stand at room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and not the lid, for 8 hrs.

Feather Clip

I've been wanting a feather hair clip and I've been wanting to do something with my hands so I decided to combine the two together. I'm sorry I didn't do very well at taking pictures of the steps along the way.

 The supplies I bought at Micheal's except for the pearls, they're buttons from the button box.

I hot glued a hair clip onto the back. If you wanted I'm sure you could glue a safety pen on as well in order to wear it on a jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By slipping my hair clip into a little hole that was in this hat I created a nice hat pen.

Suitcase cabinet

This is my bathroom where I wanted a little cabinet above the toilet. I'd seen were someone had taken an old suitcase and converted it into a little cabinet. So, with Stephen's help and the Sampley's suitcase this is what we ended up with.

Flower Garden

Stephen and I often talk about a flower garden that we're going to have someday. We decided to make ourselves a little flower dictionary of our favorite flowers. These are some that we found while on a walk last week. I've put the names of the ones that we identified, the others maybe you can tell me. :) Enjoy God's beautiful handy work that grows all around us!

Lamb's Ear

Mecarduniu- Gold Dust

Mexican Heather

Mums

The little white flowers are Alyssum- Snow Princess

Celosia- Burgandy

Celosia- Burgandy

Yellow Celosia

Danthiums

Hydrania

Pentus "Nova"

Surprise Lilies

Verbena

Homemade Burger Buns

With only two in the house to cook for I run into the problem of hamburger buns going  stale before I can use all eight of them up. I ran across this excellent homemade hamburger bun recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and made half a batch which gave me four beautiful fluffy buns.

 

Beautiful Burger Buns
(Taste of Home)

Yield:8 | Prep:2 hrs 25 mins. | Bake: 15 mins.

1 cup water

1 Tablespoon instant yeast

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons butter, soft

1 large egg

3 1/4 cups unbleached All-Purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon water

1. Place the water and yeast in a large bowl; let sit for a few minutes to allow the yeast to soften. Add sugar, butter, egg, flour and salt and mix until a smooth dough forms.

2. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes, until the dough is soft and bouncy.

3. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour, or until very puffy. Once the dough has risen, punch dough down and transfer it to a lightly floured surface.

4. Divide into eight pieces, and round each into a ball. Cover; let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

5. Lightly grease a large baking sheet, or line with parchment. Preheat the oven to 375˚. Shape each ball of dough into a bun by pressing down on them until they are 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Let the dough rise once more, for 30-40 mins.

6. For egg wash, combine the egg and water. For a shiny top, brush the buns with egg wash.

7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 12-15 mins. till golden. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Hang It On A Ribbon

This little desk in our bedroom always seems to collect little odds and ends that my husband and I lay down. 

 

As you can see from the articles, mostly that I lay down. :)

 One day I decided to be inventive and came up with this idea for getting some of the clutter out of the way.

Now you see I have it all were I need it, around my looking glass.

Fashionable Old Scarves

 At a yard sale I picked up two beautiful vintage ladies scarves for ten cents each. Here are a few ideas I tried with them.

 The little bistro table in my apartment needed a table cloth. This silk scarf added a nice bit of elegance and color with it's purple flowers.

This cute poke-doted scarf worked perfect for keeping my hair nicely pulled back for a day of house cleaning and cooking.

I folded the handkerchief in half to form a triangle. Then pulled the two corners  to the back and tied the bow.
 

Today I rolled the scarf up and tied it into a bow for going into town.