Apple Butter, recipe

Now that apples are in season, here is the best Apple Butter recipe, and because it's my mom's! I love having a pot of this cooking on the stove in Fall. I add apple butter to almost everything, it's especially wonderful on toast, pancakes or waffles and pumpkin bread. Hope you enjoy the recipe!!

Apple Butter

2 lbs. Rome Beauty
2 lbs. Golden Delicious
2 lbs. Newton or Granny Smith
1/2 c. apple juice or cider
1-3/4 c. sugar
1 t. lemon juice
1-1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. allspice
a pinch of ground cloves



Directions:
Wash, peel, core & slice apples.
Combine with apple juice & bring to boil on medium.
Reduce heat & cover.
Stir occasionally until apples are tender, 20-30 minutes.
Puree in blender or food processor until smooth. (I used an immersion blender)
Return to heat; add sugar, lemon juice, & spices.
Bring to boil.
Turn down to simmer and partially cover until thick, stirring occasionally.
Can in jars or freeze.

Serve on muffins, toast or our favorite waffles! Enjoy! 

and the winner's are....

First, let me just say thank you so much for spending the weekend here! I read through every comment and loved the responses and the art from the challenges! I really wish I could send out little packages to everyone who participated, you girls certainly deserve it! but I only made 7, so here are the winners!

Challenge #1: Birthday Wish
Random Number Generator : 10

Brenda said...
I think I'd have to pick Italy. Maybe a Mediterranean cruise would be nice.

Challenge #2: Tag Art
Random Number Generator: 13

Alicia A said...
Here's my tag:

Challenge #3: Birthday Wish
Random Number Generator: 2

Marolle said...
i know it impossible now, but i would love to see the beatles :o)
more realistic is Tori Amos

Challenge #4: Tiny Art
Random Number Generator: 11

Amy said...
how fun! Your artwork is so gorgeous! I have posted mine below, sorry for the bad lighting, it is very dreary & rainy here today.

Challenge #5: birthday Wish
Random Number Generator: 33

alexandra said...
a big scrap room ;-)

Challenge #6: Button Guess
Random Number Generator: 29

maiahs_momma said...
120 buttons, that is what I am guessing :)!

Inky Hugs,
Catherine

Challenge #6.5: Color Combos
Random Number Generator: 8

Gina said...
teal, red, yellow and white :)


Please send me your addresses so that I can send you some happy mail! My email is rosas07@msn.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wouldn't having a blog-party every weekend be fun! I also wanted to wish Chris and Karri a happy birthday!! I have the longest to do list this week, and a pile of fabric calling my name, so I'm off to work. xo~ Tara
p.s. there were 274 buttons in my canning jar!!

Challenge #6.5: Color Combos.

Just when you thought the party was over..... I slipped in an extra one!! So sneaky!!

This one is all about color combinations!! Sometimes I like pretend that I'm an interior decorator, picking out paint samples and matching some crazy colors together. Here's my favorite color combination for the Autumn season.



Black.Grey.Cream.Lilac.Burnt Pumpkin




At this moment, what is your very favorite combination of colors?

Happy Saturday! Thanks to everyone who played along today and if you didn't have time today, I'm leaving all of the posts open tomorrow too! Make sure to check back on Monday morning for the winners of each post! xo~ Tara

Challenge #6: Button Guess

Good evening! (Or night, or very early morning depending on where you're visiting from:)) Want to play a game?



Remember the children's guessing game, usually a jar full of candy or gumballs, and you had to guess how many were in the jar? I rummaged through my vintage button collection and filled a jar, and now you get to guess how many buttons there are!



leave your guess for a chance to win!

Challenge #5: Birthday Present Wish

If you could a wish for a fun birthday present just for yourself, what would you wish for?

I think I would wish for the perfect set of dinner plates. Dishes are so very important to me and I've been searching for white-ish/cream dishes with a little floral pattern around the edge, for the longest time! Something tells me I need to wander on over to Anthro. some time soon! :)

leave a comment for a chance to win!

Challenge #4: Tiny Art Challenge

Ready for another crafty challenge! Last month for Bad Girls, I had to create a small (4x4) piece of art work. The small size was so easy to manage and still had lots of possibilities! So for this challenge, let's see what you can create on a small scale!!

Need some quick ideas? This little page is probably my favorite! I used a piece of painting canvas and sketched a few flowers and then I used Gesso to paint over them. I added a few little pieces of paper to the top and bottom and sewed the title onto a piece of fabric, to add some dimension. (I think I may add a few more penciled flowers too!)



This page is super simple too! Just strips of paper, sewn together, with a small photo, and some little embellishments clustered together.


A little tag with lots of mismatch scraps was worthy enough of it's page. I love using postage stamps!



Ready to create a little work of art? Don't forget to post a link when you're done, and you have all day and tomorrow to create something fun!!

Challenge #3: Birthday Concert Wish

If the tiny birthday fairy came to visit and could grant you tickets to any music concert, who would you want to see?

I really want to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. (kinda of dorky, but oh-well!) I love their Christmas music, traditional old Christmas songs blended with 80's-ish electric guitars. What's not to love! My sister said it was one of the best live concerts she had seen. So I definitely need to go!

and because I never posted a photo, these are the gift bags I put together.(there are a few more things, but I wanted my photos to be pretty, it'll be a surprise!) and there's one for each post today, so you can enter with each challenge that goes up!




Leave a comment for a chance to win!

Challenge #2: Make & Take tags

ETA.: you have all day today and tomorrow to complete any of these challenges/questions, so stay calm and just have fun!

This challenge is all about cute tags! All you have to do is create a gift tag and then post it in an online gallery, flickr, your blog and make sure to include a link in your post, so that I can find it! Easy enough right? But here are a few ideas for making fun little tags out of things you probably already have in your stash!

Chipboard Flower tag
For this tag, I sewed together left-over chipboard shapes. You could overlap and glue the shapes together too. Create a little collage using a piece of fabric, a stamp, flowers and a journaling tags, and a piece of yarn for tying!




Ballerina Gift tag
This is my favorite tag! Gather a small collection of buttons, preferably with the same color tones, and sew/glue them onto a tag. Glue a piece of ribbon over the buttons, add a leaf or flower and a small children's toy and glue together using a strong glue. (E6000 or Aleene's Original Tacky glue.)



Small Scraps
I love to use little pieces of different items; flowers, tickets, photo negatives, ribbons to make a 'scrappy-chic' tag! Try adding some spray paint to a journaling card and then layering different textures together, chipboard, crackle paint, fabric, paper scraps.



Have fun and remember to post a link!!

Challenge #1: Birthday Vacation Wish

Is it finally time to this party started?!!



If the tiny birthday fairy came to visit and could grant you a Vacation wish, where would you wish to spend your vacation?

I actually have to split my answer into 2. If it were just Peter and I (and Grandma had the kiddo's) I'd wish to go back to Hawaii. Good food, unbelievable scenery and perfect weather. If it were a family vacation, Disneyland! It was the best family vacation we've done!!

Leave a comment for a chance to win!

Blog Party!!!

Are you ready for a blog party!! Here's the details: Throughout Saturday I will be posting a challenge/game or question about every 2 hours during the day. and what would a party be without party favors? I've made up 6 gift bags full of handmade goodness, one gift bag to go with each post. Stop by and leave a comment, or play along with each post! Hope you can make it!

busy busy bee..

It's been an incredibly busy and crafty week here! I'll share some photos, but first!! I'm being featured on the blog A little bird told me. and the best part is that I'm also hosting a giveaway there too.

Some little handmade goodness to share, that's all happening tomorrow so don't forget to pop in and check out their blog! and because I love pretty packaging;

I made this for the Bad Girls Blog!! It's my Element's d'Art project. My goal with each of these projects will be to highlight different techniques and maybe a simple tutorial. I needed to spruce up our front couryard gate, so I made a welcome sign.


I love the fallish colors right now, especially cream/carmel/wine and lime green!



and finally a bracelet I made just for myself. I was looking for something in a mustard-yellow color, since it's one of my favorite colors, but couldn't find anything! Sometimes you just have to make it yourself! I forgot how fun and relaxing it is to string beads togther. I should try it more often.



Is everyone getting ready for Halloween? I think this weekend I will get out the lights and decorate the front yard, and maybe take Alaina to pick out a pumpkin or 2. :)

Trick-or-Treat Bags

I wanted to post this project early, so there's lots of time to whip some up before Halloween! Every year I make special bags of candy for the littlest trick-or-treaters who come to my home. This year I'm filling the bags with mini Oreos, Graham Cracker Bears, mini Marshmallows, Gold Fish crakers, soft Twizzlers, mini coloring books and packages of stickers. Hopefully alot of things younger children will like!

Here's my supply list:

mini kraft paper bags
Crepe paper
ribbon
plastic spiders
tulle
flowers (I used Kaiser Craft)
carnival tickets



Directions

1. pleat the crepe paper and staple about 3 times (don't worry, the ribbon will cover the staples, if you have a sewing machine, pleat and sew crepe paper in the center)

2. cut the tulle into squares and layer:

ribbon, tulle, carnival ticket and flower, staple onto crepe paper

3. add the plastic spider and glue onto flower (I used Aleene's original tacky glue)

4. after the glue has dried on the spider, glue the crepe paper to the kraft paper bag


These were so simple to make and there's lots of variations that you could make too! Instead of a spider try a button, or a pumpkin sticker. If you don't want to use flowers, little velvet leaves would be cute too! Hope this might inspire you to get out the craft supplies and make something cute!

Fall is in the Air

Here in the desert, our weather (crossing my fingers) seems to have shifted and now there is a more Fall-ish feel to the air. I love this time of year, especially growing up in northern California, Autumn was always so pretty. Living here in Phoenix, and before in Honolulu, there is no real Autumn. Just a little cooler and a little windier!

some things I'm looking forward to this season:

1. Halloween!
2. decorating for Fall
3. pumpkin pie
4. warm cinnamon-pumpkin candles
5. our little road trip up to Prescott
6. apple cider
7. friends visiting
8. family visiting
9. sweaters
10. getting the little-kid treat bags ready for Halloween

Here's a few of my fav. photos recently:
a layout I did for Bad Girls



a little bird I found while down at our business



the last of the Autumn dandelions



walking under the canopy in Sedona




What are you most looking forward to this Fall?

miss me?

It's been a month. One month of more downs than ups, and it was a month that I needed a break. A break from everything, to sort out feelings and adjust to new changes. Thank you to everyone who called, sent cards, emailed and left comments, it truly means so much to know that there is a community of caring people, and most of whom I've never even met irl. Thank you- thank you.

Moving on. I have news. Big news! Back in Aug. I was asked to be an Elite Artist for Bad Girls. I have loved the art they create over there, so you can imagine my total shock at being asked to join the team. Because I believe that most ideas need to be reevaluated, I've decided to stay, and make it an awesome 5 months of creating art challenges and tutorials! Here's a little sneak, coming this week!



They're having a party tonight for the kit reveal! These parties happen on the last night of the month. Promise I'll be better at giving everyone enough notice to join in on the contest and challenges! Oh, you have to be logged in too, so skip over there and register!!!

a project for tonight!


thanks again! I'm still planning on having a Blog Party in the middle of this month. Stay tuned for more fun details! xoxo~ T

Guest Designing

for
Jenni Bowlin this month! Here are a few sneaks of what I created with their September Kits. I love the vintage pieces in each kit, the new Amanda Johnson papers, and a little Halloweenish ephemera... perfection!








you can see my entire guest artist gallery here. and if you get a chance check out the JBS Blog for extra inspiration!!
I'll be back with some more photos and exciting news!

Brown Sugar + Lemons

That's my secret for the best Lemonade, and maybe a handful of strawberries or raspberries! If you don't mind your lemonade having a tea-like color, lemonade and brown sugar is wonderful!



Directions:

Juice of 5-6 lemons, (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 pitcher half full with cold water

1. boil 1/2 cup water and brown sugar, stirring until sugar has melted and let cool

2. Add lemon juice and sugar syrup to the pitcher of cold water. Stir to combine

** You can add more or less, sugar and lemon juice depending on your personal taste. I always add extra sugar, because I like everything to be on the sweet side. Peter and Alaina like their lemonade to be a little sour. Life's a compromise!

Try adding in some extras like strawberries, sprigs of lavender from the garden, ice-tea or raspberries. The perfect drink for hot summer afternoons!!

sweet distractions

Did you see the giveaway on the SEI blog? Who doesn't love the chance to win cute scrapbook stuff!!

One of my favorite photos from this week.



I was doing laundry, and then got a little distracted by a stack of pretty books and warm lighting. A girl can daydream right? and I started to update my shop!! So many ideas and so little time. I'll be working on updating my store all weekend.


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend planned! I think mine will include lots of swimming and watermelon! xo~ Tara

Hello 28,

it's going to be a good year..

Let's Talk Orchids

This post is for Jessica in Utah, who asked if I had any tips about growing orchids, which I just happen to!



I adore flowers, but was not graced with a green thumb. Quite the opposite actually, as I can't keep any flower or plant alive for more than just a day a two, at best. With the rare exception of orchids. Go figure! I now have a little collection of orchids that I've received as gifts over the past 5 or 6 years. Here's some notes I've made on how I keep my orchids alive, growing and re-blooming.

1. I keep my orchids on a table next to a window, where they have lots of indirect sunlight all day.

2. I only water my orchids once a week in the winter, and once every 5 days in the summer. (I'm convinced that my orchids don't like getting water on their leaves, so if I spill any water on them, I dabbed it off with a paper towel. My daughter likes to tell me 'it's because they are sensitive' :)

3. How much water? I use 2-3 oz. of room temperature tap water for the small orchids, and 3-4 oz. of water for the larger orchids.

4. My orchids only bloom once a year, however, they grow lots of new roots and leaves in between blooming. I keep their leaves clean by taking a lightly damp cloth and wiping any dust away. *I also remove any leaves that have turned yellow too*



It really is that easy! I think keeping orchids on a consistent watering schedule is key, and finding an indirect-sunny location for them will insure orchid growing success. It has for me! (The photos are of Alaina's orchid from this past Spring, the flowers are gone, but it has since grown 2 new roots and 1 leaf!)

Happy Orchid Keeping! xo ~ Tara

want to spend a week with me?

Next week I'll be packing my suitcase and spending the entire week on the SEI blog !!




Come join me for lots of photos, new projects, a birthday cupcake or two and a giveaway at the end of the week!! Hope to see you there! xo~ T