Orange Mini Monkey Bread

Ok, so I have no intention for using this blog as a recipe blog, there are enough of those.  HOWEVER, this is a special occasion.  You see, I'm on a Monkey/Banana quest.  I'm one of the girls hosting a Monkey/Banana theme baby shower in June.  Originally we were going to do a Banana Split Bar, but my cousins beat me too it a couple of weeks ago for their sister's shower.  Sigh  [Notice the puff of smoke carrying off our little fun plans].  Anyhow, we decided to go with an all Banana (or Monkey) food bar.  And though I have many, many, many Banana dessert ideas (thanks to all of the other crazies on Pinterest)...we're a bit afraid everyone will be on Banana overload.  Enter Monkey Bread.  If you aren't familiar with Monkey Bread, you live a sad existence and should rectify that immediately.  Now, little did I know that there are even a few different versions of Monkey Bread, even a Banana Nut Version.  So in my hunt I came across a Lemon Pull Apart Bread (that's grown up speak for Monkey Bread)...but after much searching I found a version that I thought sounded best.  This version over at BakerLady seems to die for...but, alas, I have no frozen dough.  What I did have was one can of buttermilk biscuit dough.  Which also convinced me that there MUST be a Monkey Bread for two.  I mean come on!  Not all of us have a hoard of people in our house.  I. Was. Wrong.  Apparently I am the only person that likes to make mini versions of food (can I get an Amen for mug cakes?!). 

Anyhow...  In my desperation to have monkey bread for one...

This is what you get when you use one can of dough and a mini bread pan.  Go ahead, be jealous.  Because I died and went to Monkey Bread Heaven.  Half of this loaf (I mean, it was a mini loaf after all) was gone before I jumped up from the table and literally ran from the kitchen.  There are 525 calories in a can of biscuit dough, not to mention the butter and sugar I added...oh, and the glaze.  I could not afford to sit there any longer.

So, using the Lemon Monkey Bread recipe from BakerLady as a jumping point, I created (ME!!  I don't create food recipes!  I create science experiments in the kitchen and have decided I am much better at creating...upstairs...in my scrapbook room!) this Orange Mini Monkey Bread.  I'll even be extra nice and not only BRAG about it, but provide all of you with the "recipe".

Orange Mini Monkey Bread

Serves 3 (if we're behaving, 1 if we're being honest)

1 can of Buttermilk Biscuit Dough

Zest of 1 Orange

1tbs Butter (plus more for greasing the pan)

1/4c Raw Sugar

Pop can, separate biscuits.  Zest orange over the top of the dough, knead zest into dough.  Pinch dough into bite appropriate pieces and put a layer on the bottom of a mini loaf pan that you've buttered.  Sprinkle with sugar, drizzle with butter.  Add another layer; sprinkle sugar, drizzle butter.  Pop in oven for about 30 min.  27 min might have been better, but I'm no pro here.  You be the judge.  Pull out when done, turn onto a plate, drizzle glaze.

Orange Glaze

1tbs fresh Orange Juice (from the one you zested)

5tbs Powder Sugar

Stir together.  A thicker glaze holds up better, so add more sugar if need be.  You can not have enough glaze.  I was sopping up what was on the plate.  Spoon over top of hot loaf.

Eat.  Eat it now!  Eat it when its still so hot it pains you to touch it.  It will be worth it.  I mean, its good when its cold too, but there is nothing like really hot, steaming Monkey Bread straight out of the oven!

And no one says you have to share.  I won't tell.

Chore Board

So, I only used these few things (and a PC/printer and white card stock) to make a chore board for my preschooler.  The board is a magnetic stand alone board from Darice ($5).  I used wooden craft rounds in 1 1/2", also from Darice (the clip art pictures were placed inside of a circle label template of the same size from Avery), and round magnets.  I Mod Podged the pictures on and did two coats.  I hot glued everything else, including a felt bottom to the board and a felt backing to the magnets to help them to slide easier and to not scratch the pretty purple paint).  I didn't use any text since my 4 year old doesn't read just yet.  I added a divider using ribbon and hot glue, and I added a flower embellishment to make it pretty.  The project cost me less than $18.  Her "To Do" is on the left, when she does them she moves the magnet to the right.  Though I call it a chore board, its more like a responsibility board.  To help remind her of the things she needs to do each morning (brush her hair/teeth, make her bed, get dressed...).  I stored the extra chores on the back of the board.  So far she absolutely loves it, and enjoys moving the magnets around, and being able to see what she has to do and then deciding what she will do next.  My favorite feature is that it stands on its own.  I so did not want to hang a chore board on my wall!  I bought all of the items in one location; Crafts 2000.  I'm sure you can find them all at your local craft store.

Here is the end result!

If you would like an email containing the images and template I used, contact me here and I'll send it on over!

Pinky - Amigurumi Octopus

As part of my 14 days of Valentines with my daughter I crocheted another octopus but made a bow for the top.  Get the pattern at Esshaych!

Crocheted - mini purse

I made this cute little purse for my daughter for the 14 days of Valentines I am doing with her.  Its made with sueded yarn and the pattern was a free pattern from Lion Brand, as a change purse.  I added a strap to make it into a tiny purse.  Here is a link to the Pin on Pinterest.

Crocheted - Leg Warmers

Ugh!  These were so boring for me to make, but I am so glad I finished them.  I used a half double crochet to crochet the rectangles for the legwarmers, they seemed to take forever to get done!  The flower is the roset I also used on the poof stitch hat, and the twists were done in the fashion of the octopus tentacles.  After all if this work, I sure hope my daughter likes them!

Gentleman Octopus - Amigurumi

I crocheted this little bugger for my sweet baby nephew.  I used a free pattern for the octopus from Esshaych, and then sort of winged it with the top hat since I couldn't find one that was exactly what I wanted.  I used a pattern from here as a guide, but that hat is more for a toddler.  It is my first design, and I'll try to post the pattern below, but you'll have to bear with me if there at any issues with it.  The octopus is dinky, about the size of my palm, and frankly I'm pleased as punch with how it turned out!

Mini Top Hat Pattern

I used regular Sugar & Cream thread, and pulled two stands out.  There id probably a better way to do that, but I improvised with what I had.  I also used a size D-3.25mm hook.

Magic ring 10
Inc (2sc in each st) (20)
SC 20
Back loop only - SC 20
SC 20
SC 9, SC2TOG, SC 8, SC2TOG (18)
SC 18
SC 8, SC2TOG, SC 6, SC2TOG (16)
SC 7, SC2TOG, SC 5, SC2TOG (14)
Back loop only - SC 2 in 1, SC in 1 repeat around (22)
SC 22
SC 10, SC 2 in 1, SC 10, SC 2 in 1 (24)
Fasten off

Good luck, I hope I wrote it all down right.  Let me know if I need to make changes.

Being 13!

So, after almost a year in the works, I finally finished the "all about me" album I made for my niece who turned 13 last April.  It's made using the Basic Grey round chipboard album (though I added an extra page).  Each page has a place for her to journal, add a photo or add momentos about her thirteenth year.  There are pages about her, her family, friends, pets, school, hobbies.  There is a page for the things she loves, her hopes for next year and what she is into now.  This book took an enormous amount of effort and time.  I really hope she uses it and treasures it for years to come.  Below is a slide show of the pages in the book.  You can pause and skip around in the book by clicking the controls.  Enjoy.

Red Puff Hat

My first hat!!  I don't know why I can't ever do anything simple!  This hat only took me a few hours to finish off, and I was so proud of myself since I had to make the hat shrink from an adult to a child size with out any direction.  I did this by eliminating one of the increase steps and for decreasing the amount of rows of puffs.  I learned how to do this hat thanks to Teresa at Crochet Geek on YouTube.  I altered the design a tad to make it my own (I wanted the band to be wider to cover my daughters ears) and I added a nice little rosette (that I learned how to make on this blog, my first written pattern project!) and a pearl button for accent.  You can see the Puff Stitch Hat video here.

Butterfly Headband

I've decided to teach myself to crochet.  Crazy, the things you can learn on YouTube!!  I have officially learned how to crochet on YouTube, thanks mostly to the Crochet Geek.  I started out with Barbie blankets, and got lucky with a few mistakes that turned into a Barbie hat and a Barbie shawl.  I then profected the art of a simple Wrister set for myself and my daughter (thanks to this video) using the same yarn that I used in this headband.  Then I had to make a matching headband to go with the wristers...of course!  After I finished I added a fun little butterfly that I learned to make using this video on YouTube.  I am quite proud of my first real accomplishment!!

Tags (Set of 4)

This is a set of four tags that I made the other day when I was in a scrapping mood, but didn't really have enough time to put together a layout. I figure I'll put these out of Etsy and see if I get a bite. I used these little chipboard "Technique Tiles Rectagles" from Technique Tuesday as the base, then decoupaged some scrap paper for the backgrounds. The titles are chipboard sentiments from K & Company and then of course I added ink, ribbons, buckles, flowers, pearls and rhinestones followed by another coat of decoupage for sealing the titles.

A is for Aubrey

This LO is of a photo I had taken on my DD's 3rd birthday. These days she's been all about saying "A is for Aubrey!" so I thought it would be a fun title for this page. The background paper has lots of endearments written in different fonts and colors, this is where I pulled my accent colors from. The quote tag says "You make me realize how beautiful my life is." Its a clear sticker that I placed on some accent paper and made a tag out of using Making Memories' tag maker. I then added pearl halves and an eyelet through which I ran a ribbon and a dangling tag fastener and adhered the ribbon to the photo. The "A" and its background are made from a chipboard die cut that I overlayed with accent paper and embellished with flocking and rhinestones. I used puffy tape to elevate the actual "A" above the background. I also added a pink feather to the side and then of course a few paper flowers with an enamel brad topped with another half pearl (this one in a wine color). The rest of the letters in the title are made from weathered looking copper-like colored metal tags. They are attached to the page using rhinestone snaps. I have left a location for a journaling tag should I decide to add one in the future. It is located behind the photo and will be attached using an embellished paper clip.

Are You My Mother?

This LO is of our very first studio photo together. This photo was taken on my DD 3rd birthday last month. The title of the page 'Are You My Mother?' is the name of a popular book by P. D. Eastman about a just hatched baby bird in search of his Mother, whom is off fetching food for her new baby. This was my favorite book as a child, and is quickly become one for my daughter also. We read the book several times a week. Ironically I also call my DD little bird, and have since she was very young. She used to have her mouth open real wide during feeding time and it reminded me of a baby bird.

The title was fun. I used a journaling page from a journaling book (that's the scalloped edged red and white piece) for the base of my title and then built it up using tons of different rub-ons. I used two blank chip board rectangles that I inked up and printed the title on using a Glitter Gel Pen (that I got from the dollar store!!) and ink/stamps, along with a few more rub-ons. DO you see the tiny bird? The title is very dimensional IRL and is one of my favorite titles ever.

The background paper was "Bohemia" and double sided coordinating prints. I put two sheets together and folded down the top right corner to create a pocket are for my journaling. There I decorated the space using more rub-ons (Basic Grey here I think), a bedazzeled brad and a flower shaped grommet. The large red bird and its branches were preprinted on the background paper. The pink part of the journaling tag is a die cut from a journaling book, and then I cut around it with the red paper (that has "love" written in different languages).

Here is a close up of the top right corner of the photo, and of the journaling pocket. The photo corner was embellished with several layers of rub-ons (clearly I love rub-ons), ribbon, flowers, a large brad and what used to be a bird lapel pin. I pulled the pin part off and glued it on. Obviously the bird theme is big on this LO. I also tried really hard, and was surprised to see I succeeded, to pull in polka-dots along with lots of reds, pinks and browns into this LO. I think the little bird pin near the photo just completes the LO. I really had a good time with this page, and maybe I went a tad overboard since it ended up looking a little busy. But in the end, I love it and I think its one of my best pages.

3 Years

This page is in honor of my daughter's third birthday. The background has silver writing in the paper itself, which was so cool! The writing says "You are a blessing beyond compare". I used silver ribbon, stickles, a silver gel pen (which was such a cool pen and added some real glam!) and pink crystals to accent the page. The black silhouette of the branch and bird were cut out using the Silhouette Machine. I often call her my "little bird" and enjoy putting birds on her layouts. I used silver ribbon in the birds wing, and pink Stickles in the flowers and as the eye of the bird. This picture was taken at the studio on her 3rd birthday. The journaling is about this past year and how she has changed and who she has become.

U Name It! - Lucas

This is a fun little U Name It! project I did for a friend of mine. I had such a great time making this a cowboy theme with a rope, a boot and a hat! I used polymer clay to create the letters and embellishments, and painted it with a glaze.

U Name It! - Eve

This is the latest U Name It! 3D Name I sold from my shop on Etsy. The name is Eve. I used pearlized polymer clay for the flowers to give them a bit of a sparkle and mixed two contrasting colors of clay to give it the swirl look.