Dark Chocolate Gluten Free Muffins

Posted by: Paulette

Again, I have to confess that this is not a picture of the muffins in my recipe. But they look pretty close. Food photography is a gift that I do not have. I did take a picture of the muffins I made, and it looked like a turd on a plate. Hopefully I haven't spoiled your appetite, because these are really good!

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Muffins
Makes 19 muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray muffin tins with non-stick baking spray, or line with cup cake liners.
I atually think they turn out better without the papers. GF bread products tend to stick to the paper.

3 Cups Gluten Free bread flour
3/4 Cups Cocoa
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cups milk (I use goat's milk or soy milk)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes, or when you touch the top they spring back.

Okay, just in case you think I'm lying, here's my picture:

See. I told you. Enjoy your muffins. they taste like the first picture. I promise.

New Beginnings

Posted by: Paulette

I've started a new set of dolls. These are smaller than I've ever sculpted before. I've always been amazed by doll artists who are able to work at such a small scale. I've discovered that it's actually easier. Less clay, means shorter baking times, and being able to hold the piece for longer periods of time without your hand cramping.

 

Getting good pictures with my crappy camera, on a rainy day is another story.

This is Joseph's head for the new nativity. We collect nativities, and have lost a few over the years through breakage. Our very first nativity was a gift from myself to Dave. It's interesting to see how my skills ave changed over the years. I think I'm really going to like this one. Hopefully I can get it done before Christmas.

Guess who won the battle of the stockings

Posted by: Paulette

I told you yesterday about how my almost 5 year old daughter, Katie was throwing a fit about me wanting to make new stockings. After going back and forth between two arguments:
The house is the kids, not just mine
and
I want a cleaner more grown-up look
The second argument won. I made the stockings assembly line style, and after completing the first one, Katie asked where hers was. I let her switch them out on the mantle. She felt like she was Mommy's helper and it seemed to appease her. That was until it was time to put the other ones in the donation pile. And then I remembered that we have a family of 6 coming to visit for Christmas. We could use those stockings for them!
Problem solved.

 

 

 There are a ton of how to make a Christmas stocking tutorials available on the net, so, I'll just tell you a little of what I did. 
Edited to add link of tutorial
The girl's stockings have pleated cuffs, and the boy's stockings have welting. I used canvas drop cloth fabric. It's becoming my favorite to work with. Once it's washed, it's not stiff anymore. And I love the color.
The cuff of the stockings is made from a old bed skirt that I cut apart. I still have a ton of fabric, and all of the lace edging for other projects. I think this one got caught in the vacuum and ended up with black stains from the belt.
The painted on initials is done with acrylic paint, mixed with fabric medium. I used a fine line brush to fill in the outline that I'd made with a pencil. I put the letter I wanted under the white fabric and was able to see through to trace. The bells are strung onto red ribbon and the then sewn with a bow over the top to the top of the stocking.

 

I'm not very happy with how the script turned out. What is it they say, and optimist writes upward and a pessimist writes in a down slant? I guess I'm an optimist.
Remember the doors I painted with chalkboard paint this Fall, that were from my entertainment center? There they are, put to good use.

 

This was the very first Christmas present I ever gave Dave. We weren't even sure we'd be able to afford a Christmas tree that year. This nativity holds a special place in our family history, and the kids know they're in BIG trouble if they touch it. It lasted 13 years without any real damage. Sophia, 3years, took down some pieces to play with while I wasn't paying attention and broke some of them. thank God for super glue!

The Winter of Our Discontent

Posted by: Paulette
I've always been a DIYer and a thrifty kind of wife and mom. This is why when I discovered all of the beautiful blogs out there and then Pinterest, I was so inspired by all of the gorgeous decor! One of my favorite blogs is Dear Lillie. Jennifer has some really yummy stuff in her house. I love her style.

source

This spring, I started painting and slip covering the furniture. The paint is easy to wipe clean, and the slipcovers are easy to take off and toss in the wash. I have more than one set of slipcovers, so that I don't have to worry about those "accidents" with the yogurt or scissors while the nice slipcovers are being laundered. And in a pinch, I've even thrown a sheet over the loveseat, when I had nothing else available.

 Another favorite site is Funky Junk Interiors. Donna takes every day stuff and gives it a new identity. I've copied some of her re-purposing techniques with great success.

 

 

source

 

 

 

 

While looking through these and other inspiring blogs, I get an itch to create. And what I've learned is that if you wait long enough, the things you want will come to you at a price that you can afford.
Miss Mustard Seed or Marian, taught me how to make a fitted slipcover from canvas painter's drop cloths. I already knew how to make a slipcover, but getting fabric for so cheaply was news to me. The largest drop cloth was only $30, and was enough fabric to cover two chairs.

source

 

Today I wanted to make some new matching Christmas stockings. I already have the fabric. I am running into some trouble with my eldest daughter, who wants to keep the old ones. What to do?
So now that I've shared my inspiration blogs, will you still come and visit me here? I hope so!
               Happy Christmas!

Dollhouse

Posted by: Paulette

I finished the bookshelf dollhouse today. In all, it took about 3 weeks of work.

I got the white bookshelf from Goodwill for $3.50 on their half off Saturday. The furniture is made from cardboard, mostly from diaper boxes, newspaper, glue (TONS OF GLUE), fabric, felt and paint.

Bedroom

The furniture was put together as boxes. Rectangles glued together with hot glue, and the covered all over with school glue and newspaper. When dry, I added the details, like tiny buttons for drawer/cabinet pulls etc. And then painted them with acrylic craft paints.

The linens are sewn in miniature. And the headboard was tufted with tiny buttons. The lamps are made from a scrap of lace, dowel and a button. The flooring and wallpaper in this room were done with scrapbook papers.

Livingroom

 

The fireplace was made of cardboard and newspaper. The couch was made of cardboard, layers of felt, and fabric, all hot glued to the cardboard. The planters next to the fireplace are spools from thread, and the "candles" on the fireplace are beads.
I didn't buy anything except the bookshelf for this project. It was made from things I already had. I guess that's a great argument for hoarding, right?
The curtain rod is made from a bamboo skewer, and the finials on the end are pearl beads.

Kitchen right

Everything is hot glued into the house, so that the furniture isn't lost or destroyed by water. The rug was made of strips of fabric, crocheted into a chain and then sewn into a circle. When I started making the appliances for the kitchen, I thought it would be fun to give it a retro look. And I've always loved cherries.
 The EAT and utensils on the wall are made from
cardboard that was painted to look like zinc.

Kitchen, left

Bathroom

By the time I'd gotten to putting the bathroom together, I realized that it would be easier to make the faucets from oven bake clay, than paper mache. So they look more realistic in the shower. I made some boo boos, while putting the furniture into this room and scratched the paint. You can see where I tried to match the color and failed. All houses have imperfections. Why not this one?

It was a failure keeping the dollhouse a secret. So the girls know about it already and have attempted to play with it already.
All of the furniture is Barbie size. Thank goodness I don't have to make the dolls too!
One more present down and I don't want to think about how many more to go. It's 2 weeks until Christmas, and we have house guests coming. Aaaaak!

Christmas Dresses 2011

Posted by: Paulette

A friend from church gave a bag full of scraps of decorator fabrics. She said it was "for my dolls."
I didn't have a  thought of how to use them for the dolls that I make, but after going through the bag, I realized that I could make dresses for my dolls! The gold dress that I made for Katie uses the fabrics from the bag. All I added was the turquoise lining on the cape. And I already had that scrap of fabric too! These kinds of fabrics can be so expensive, so I was so thankful to have  received them.

 Please excuse the grooming of my models. It's Thursday morning. Self explanatory to all you moms out there reading this. LOL!
I got my inspiration for this  from two pictures that I found on the internet. I pinned both dresses, and was able to find a tutorial on how to do the pick up skirt. The bodice is lined with the same fabric as was used in the skirt. I used a dress that was in Katie's size for the template for the bodice and changes the neckline and sleeve. There were a ton of fittings for this dress, which drove Katie crazy! And the first time I put together the bodice, I put in the sleeves upside down. Since I'm the one who made the pattern, there should be no excuses, right?!

 I cut the bodice so close that I was afraid that after putting in  the zipper, that it would be too tight. Thank goodness it fit, or I would be throwing a fit!

As I mentioned before the capelet fabric was in the bag, but the turquoise satin used to line it, came from a scrap from the girl's Christmas dresses a few years ago.













Sophia's dress is made from a piece of peach skin that was gifted to me by my mother this summer. I thought I'd might make myself a skirt, but while searching through my fabrics, I knew I wanted to make a capelet from the "dalmatian" print faux fur.

 ?I don't remember where the satin came from, but it was a PAIN to work with. It kept on fraying like crazy! I finally grabbed a lighter and singed all of the edges before trying to work with it. That did it! It was like using ribbon after that.
How do you like that peanut butter and jelly face? Adorable!

 I can tell that Sophia loves this dress. All of the ruffles and the circle skirt are just her style.
I'm pretty sure this bodice came together because of lots of praying. It was cut without a pattern, and fitted to my model.
It's a good thing that Sophia and Katie are the same size, so that I could use both of them for fittings! I'm still not very happy with the way the sleeve turned out, but I've used every bit of fabric on this one.

The double circle skirt came about because I didn't think the top one was long enough. I came across the rhinestone buttons while shopping for more thread and a zipper. Originally I was going to do a covered button with the faux fur. When I couldn't find a covered button set at Wal-mart, I decided upon these. I like this better. It adds just the right amount of glitz.

Now if I can just jeep these dresses away from the girls until Christmas...

Gluten free dairy free cranberry bliss bars

Posted by: Paulette

  

First, I have to admit that this is not a picture of the cranberry bliss bars I made. I'm pretty good about writing stuff up on my blog, but horrible about taking pictures of the process or the final product.
The back story of this project went like this. My workout buddy called me yesterday, and told me that I shouldn't expect her at the gym for a while. She was in a car accident about two weeks ago and is suffering from some bulging discs in her back. Personally, I have no experience with this injury, but my mom does. She was in a car accident 30 years ago, and has had other accidents since then (never her fault) and has suffered with this condition since then. So, I know how debilitating this injury can be. When she asked me for a favor I was happy to serve.
 Tami had promised to make some treats for the friends of her daughter for a church activity. I am lucky enough to have a workout buddy that shares some of the same food allergies that I endure. She asked me to make the Starbuck's Cranberry bliss Bars. She even e-mailed me a video of how to make them. The trick was to convert the recipe to gluten free and dairy free. And I did. I had one little bar before her husband whisked them away to her daughter's young women's activity, and I have to say, I WILL be making these again.
 So, I'll bet you'd like the recipe, right? Well....Let me get right to that!

First of all I should tell you about some of the special ingredients you'll have to pick up. The first one is a crea cheese substitute that is made from soy. It's called Tofutti. You'll only need half the tub, so there's enough there for a double batch! Bwahahahaha!

The other thing you'll need is a gluten free flour. I used a GF bread flour that I get at Sprouts. Any GF flour will do. I just get the biggest cheapest bag.

The other thing is xanthum gum. You've probably read that this is an ingredient in some processed foods. 
Wickapedia has this to say:
Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide, derived from the bacterial coat of Xanthomonas campestris, used as a food additive and rheology modifier,^[2] commonly used as a food thickening agent (in salad dressings, for example) and a stabilizer (in cosmetic products, for example, to prevent ingredients from separating). It is produced by the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium. After a fermentation period, the polysaccharide is precipitated from a growth medium with isopropyl alcohol, dried, and ground into a fine powder. Later, it is added to a liquid medium to form the gum.<sup>[3]

It's used to bind the ingredients together. Since we don't have gluten, you'll need something to do this. If you don't want to buy a whole container of the stuff, since you'll only need a teaspoon, you cam leave it out, but your cookie won't hold together as well.

The other ingredients, you'll be able to find at your grocery store.

CRANBERRY BLISS BARS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cookie:
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cups (or 1 1/2 sticks) softened margarine
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt (sea salt preferred)
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthum gum


Mix with a wooden spoon until ingredients are incorporated, then add:
3/4 cups dried cranberries
4 oz white chocolate chips
and mix


Spray a 9"x 13" pan with nonstick spray, and then spread the cookie dough evenly into the pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.


While your cookie bakes, make the 
Frosting:
4 oz Tofutti cream cheese substitute
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla 
Mix together above ingredients with a whisk, and then add 1 cup at a time:
3 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar

When your cookie is cooled, frost the top.
Next, sprinkle, 1/4 cup chopped, dried cranberries.
(I used more than this and didn't chop them. I LOVE Craisins!)

Then make the 
Icing: 
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon soy milk 
2 tsp vegetable shortening


Cut the very tip off of a plastic sandwich bad, and load the icing into it. Drizzle over the top.


The original recipe said to chill before cutting, but in my house we're luck enough for the cookie layer to cool before getting the other toppings on. And to tell you the truth, I think the cookie layer by it self is pretty darn good!</sup>

^{ENJOY!
Hee hee! I just a got a text from Tami, she says:
"Oh my heavens!!! You knock their socks off at Starbucks, this is 10x better!!! Thanks a million :)}