Merry & Bright {Christmas Decor}

A peak into our bedecked home...

 

In the kitchen, I found a small, rustic looking tree and put it into one of my old watering cans:

 

 

In the space between the kitchen and living room, I've set up my "forest" of mercury glass trees:

 

 

 

 

In the family room, atop our vintage radio cabinet (converted into a bar/see previous post here), stands the elf-ish musicians:

 

 

My flea market find, brass deer head on our gallery wall now sports a colorful wreath:

 

 

 

And in one of the side chairs sits a pillow I made from a vintage 1950s tablecloth:

 

 

Merry & bright indeed!

Vintage Clothespins

My old clothespins:

 

 

Even though we've temporarily left the Florida farm and I no longer have a clothesline...

 

 

...I'll be using them to display my aprons at my show this weekend.

 

 

They add another vintage touch to my booth.

 

 

In the meantime, I kinda like the way they look in the milk glass ~ may just leave these on the kitchen table as a centerpiece!

 

Valentine-inspired Aprons

I've been busy sewing valentine-inspired aprons this past week.

 

 

Busy mixing hearts,

 

 

With pink and red fabrics,

 

 

 And candy fabrics too!  This is a bonbon print:

 

 

Candy dots:

 

 

And sugar sticks!

 

 

I thought a 1950's vintage tablecloth with vibrant long stemmed, red roses was perfect for Valentine's Day:

 

 

It was big enough for two full aprons plus a half apron (not shown).

 

 

Mixing and matching prints is what I like best about sewing my Retro Revival aprons!

 

 

 

I used pink, vintage crocheted trim and a vintage crocheted pot holder on this apron:

 

 And good, old fashioned polka dots on this one:

 

 

 I've listed all of these in my Etsy shop in case you want to take a peek.

 

 

They'll certainly last longer than flowers or a box of chocolate.

 

 

And I think they're just as sweet!

 

 

Hope you have a sweet day!

Sew a Vintage Tablecloth Skirt

Have a vintage tablecloth laying dormant in a closet?  Do like I did and repurpose it into a summer skirt!

 

I trimmed off the edges of the tablecloth:

 

 

Then rounded the two corners of what would be the hem line:

 

 

Gathered the top, then using an old hospital sheet (Did you know you can find these at thrift shops for about a buck?!  They're great for sewing projects like this), I made a waist band and sandwiched it over the gathered top before sewing it together.

 

Then I sewed coordinating bias tape along the bottom edge, and walah!

 

Probably the prettiest skirt in my closet!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cheese Cake

Remember me carrying on about Captain Project giving me a KitchenAid last Christmas? (Click here for blog post.)

Well, while living at the farm I had to store it in a cupboard.  Now, in our new place, I have space to display it every day.



I refer to this as my "baking corner."  Having it out on permanent display is nice because I think it's so pretty.  And you know how heavy these things are so it's great to not have to lift it every time I need to use it.

 

 

I found these sweet prints in Farouche's Etsy shop.

 

 

The yellow frames too, from RedEggBoutique.

 

 

I was busy in my baking corner last weekend.  Have you ever tasted a Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake?  Totally decadent.  Totally delish!  Warning ~ this recipe is a bit of a Magilla, many steps and takes quite a bit of time.  And it's huge, probably weighs over 5 lbs so make it when you have a crowd or want to share.  Here's the recipe a friend gave me some 15 years ago...

REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP CHEESE CAKE
Ingredients:
   For the crust
2 cups crushed chocolate cookies
1 cup chopped salted peanuts
1/2 cup melted butter

   For the filling
4 8 ounce packs cream cheese
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1/4 heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 cups chopped Reese's peanut butter cups

   For topping:
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Grease 9" spring form baking pan
3. Crush cookies

4. Chop peanuts

5. Mix both together and add in melted butter

 

6. Press mixture into the bottom of your pan and press up against the sides of the pan

 

7. Bake 8 minutes and set it aside to cool as you make the filling
8. Reduce oven temp to 325
9. In a big bow, beat the cream cheese and brown sugar together until smooth
10. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat until just blended

 

11. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended each time
12. Add whipping cream until smooth
13. Chop up Reese's Cups and stir into the mixture

 

14. Pour filling onto crust and bake for one hour, or until sides are set (center will be a bit wiggly)
15. Cool in pan while you make the topping
16. In a double boiler on the stove, or using a microwave, melt the topping ingredients and stir until smooth
17. Pour over cheese cake

 

18. Place cheese cake in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours
19. Enjoy!

My next blog post will feature weight loss exercises.  Or bathing suits.  Yeah, bathing suits;)