Peeps and Up!

A Peep Diorama - I kid you not.

A real-life Up house!

The amazing folks at National Geographic have managed to float a house using balloons just like the movie, "Up!"

Check it out- pretty incredible stuff.
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/03/up-inspired_flying_house.html
http://blog.craftzine.com/NationalGeographicChannel7.jpg

New Wedding Blog - Planning with Annie

I'm very excited to announce I'll be shifting gears to a new blog all about wedding planning. Bridal magazines, beautiful blogs, crazy DIY ideas and more are dominating my mind these days so I figured I might as well share them with you. Hop on over if you're so inclined.

{http://planningwithannie.blogspot.com}

I'll still update LwA from time to time but for the next year or so- my heart's with my fiance and planning our big day! Here's hoping that Gus doesn't mind a year of intense crafting and ensuing craziness.

Too good to be true

Hi all,

Lately, I've had so much to celebrate and be grateful for in my life. This past weekend, I've become even more incredibly lucky.

For those of you who enjoy a great surprise proposal, I invite you to check out what I've been up to lately and the latest in my life via the video below!

Cookie Dough... Dip

Scientists have done many important things, admittedly, but their latest discovery is one I wish I'd thought of long ago - CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH DIP! All the great things about cookie dough - the texture, the flavor, the sinfulness - without all the health hazards of cookie dough - i.e. raw eggs and wheat flour (for Gus)!


I stumbled upon this recipe while perusing Tastespotting and made my own modifications. Create, enjoy, improve and mangia people! This is some deliciously awesome stuff.


Ingredients:
- 1 pkg of cream cheese (8 oz)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup big granule white sugar (if you have it, otherwise increase powdered)
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) 
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Any additional mix-ins you'd like!


Directions:
1. Melt butter on medium-low heat in a skillet. Add brown sugar and stir until butter browns and has a nutty aroma (you're creating brown butter). 
2. Set butter and brown sugar aside to cool. Combine cream cheese and remaining white and powdered sugar.
3. Add butter/brown sugar mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Combine and add chocolate chips/any other mix-ins.
4. Serve with sliced granny smith apples, graham crackers, or even a bagel! Hey, it's basically Cookie dough cream cheese after all! Nom!

Om Nom Pumpkin Chip Cookies

Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season! I've got a few treats in store including the news that I now have a blog-worthy DSLR camera to capture all my memorable moments.


For Christmas Day this year, we managed to make some pretty amazing and somewhat healthy (cough, cough) cookies that were both gluten-free and DELICIOUS. They're very cake-y and moist and stay that way for days on end! The pumpkin flavor isn't too overpowering either. I mixed cinnamon chips in half the batch, chocolate chunks from Ghiradelli in another. Om nom, indeed.

Here's the recipe if you guys want to make these- I've adapted it slightly from this one at All Recipes and it can be made gluten-free or with regular wheat flour. I didn't make the icing glaze- it didn't need it!
 
Another great thing to note- these cookie did not spread when I baked them! So feel free to shape em how you please and they won't get all thin and run into one another all sloppy like.

Happy Baking!

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour mix that has xantham gum in it) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, spice, and salt; set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly. 3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.

1 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup of cinnamon chips or chocolate chips (your choice or mix-it-up!)

How to: Make your own Bunsen and Beaker

Thanks to everyone for their great comments on our costumes this year! It's definitely been a great Halloween season thus far and I can't wait to make another homemade costume for next year.

In the meantime, in case you're wondering how we put these together - here's a quick DIY rundown in case you want to get in touch with your own inner Muppet before this weekend's festivities.

Beaker:
(Instructions translated from meep meep language)


Supplies:
(Head mask)
- 24" tall piece of foam that is long enough to be circled around your head like a cylinder and meet itself on the other side (found this at Jo-Ann Fabric)
- Needle and thread
- 1 yard of flesh colored fabric
- 1 large styrofoam ball
- 2 smaller styrofoam balls (identical)
- Blash mesh fabric (about 12"x12")
- Orange felt (large enough to cover the large styrofoam ball)
- Glue gun
- Black sharpie
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- Orange tissue paper (found at Party City)


(Body)
- Tie
- Dress shirt
- Slacks
- Furry gloves
- Lab Coat (found at Party City)

Instructions:
1. Begin to make your head mask by sewing the tall piece of foam into a cylinder. I just did a loose stitch all the way up (so the mask can give and take a little when you slide it on and off but it's still snug.)
2. Once your foam is sewed into a cylinder, slide the mask on, stitched side facing the back/center of your head and have a friend help you mark the eye holes on the mask with a sharpie.
3. Slide the mask off and draw the beaker mouth shape around the eye holes (ensuring you'll be able to see through the mask!)
4. Carefully, slice the shape out of the foam using an x-acto knife (the foam should cut cleanly and quickly).
5. Using a glue gun, cover the cylinder in the flesh fabric. It helps to have a friend hold the fabric taught and to roll it the mask over the fabric to secure it. Tuck the extra fabric at the top into the cylinder and secure with hot glue.
6. Carefully, cut the fabric away that covers the mouth hole. Carefully hot glue the fabric beneath the mask to it makes a clean seam around the mouth.
7. Cut the black mesh to fit behind the mouth and secure it with hot glue. If you can't see through it yet, don't worry - you can slice holes in it to see better and no one will be able to tell.
8. For the nose, cover the large styrofoam with orange fleece (using hot glue). When it's covered, secure it with hot glue above Beaker's mouth area.
9. For the eyes, use a sharpie to add the eyeballs to the smaller styrofoam balls. Secure the eyes with hot glue directly above his nose.
10. For the hair, cut a zig zag pattern into layers of tissue paper and affix using hot glue at various lengths.
11. Complete your outfit with the body materials and you're ready to meep meep meep!


Bunsen Honeydew:


Supplies:
(Head mask)
- One bouncy ball (Target)
- Sponge brush
- Regular brush
- Modge podge with a little bit of water mixed in
- Citron green paint (Michael's)
- Stiffened black felt (two pieces)
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- White paper torn into small pieces (at least 30 pages)
- Black mesh fabric (12" x 12" or less)
- Playdoh ($1 at 99-cent store)
- 1 large bowl covered with plastic wrap
- 1 shallow dish covered with plastic wrap


(Body)
- Tie
- Dress shirt
- Black vest
- Lab coat (Party City)
- Green gloves (Target for $1)



Directions:
1. Begin by setting the bouncy ball on a bowl covered in plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will hold the ball in place for you.
2. Mix modge podge with a bit of water in the shallow dish covered in plastic wrap. Dip pieces of torn white paper (both sides) into the modge podge, slide it against the side of the dish to drain excess, and place on ball. Cover the entire ball with pieces and make sure to get at least two layers of paper on it. Let dry.
3. Once dry, use play dough to shape Bunsen's nose and ears. Cover all the new pieces with modge podge and allow to dry.
4. When dry, paint the entire mask with green paint. Let dry.
5. Cut glasses frames and glasses sides from the black stiffened felt. (It helps to fold the felt in half to cut even frames, then stick it under something heavy to make it lay flat again). Attach to mask using a hot glue gun.
6. Slice into the ball and let all the air out
7. Draw the shape of Bunsen's mouth then, using an x-acto knife, carefully cut through the paper mache and make sure not to cave in the mask itself.
8. Similar to the Beaker mask, attach black mesh to the inside of the mouth with a hot glue gun.
9. Pair with your body materials and you're ready for the lab!


Happy costume making all!

You can do this!