Thursday, February 23, 2012

$4.50 pillow covers

Yes, I spent $4.50 on materials to make 2 pillow covers for my couch pillows. The reason they were so inexpensive is that I got the fabric for free! I used cloth napkins from World Market, which cost $10 for 6, and I had a $10 off coupon for my birthday, so they were free for me. The paint cost $4.50 (2 - $3 bottles with a 50% coupon off of one of them from Michaels). Even $14.50 for pillow covers is a good deal, I think.

I got the idea of using napkins to make pillow covers from Pinterest. It is such a great idea because the napkins are already cut to the right size and all you have to do it sew around the edges. I found grey napkins World Market, but I knew I wanted to do something with them because they were just a little too plain. I love stripes and had seen striped pillows at Williams Sonoma that I liked. I decided to copy the design.
Vertical Linen Stripe Pillow
The linen striped pillow that was my inspiration.

I bought fabric medium to mix with any color acrylic paint I want. Since I only needed a little bit, I bought a small bottle of a Martha Stewart grey color I liked at Michaels. If I were doing a larger project, I would have bought a quart of paint at a hardware store. To use the fabric medium, you mix it with the paint (2 parts paint to 1 part medium).

I tried making the pillowcases two different ways: 1) Sew the pillow, then tape and paint. 2) Paint the fabric, let dry, then sew. I think painting first is easier because trying to make the paint stay on just the front of the pillow once it’s already sewn is difficult.


To paint, I first found the middle of the napkin and put a piece of painters tape in the very middle. I eye-balled how far I wanted the two pieces of tape next to it, about 1/8 to 1/16”. I then found the center of the space left on the left side and right side and repeated the process. I used 9 pieces of tape for each pillow. After making sure the tape was firmly in place, I painted the fabric using a regular paintbrush I would use for trim and cutting in on the walls.



The napkin fabric was fairly thin, so the paint soaked through a little bit and stuck to the paper it was sitting on. If I were to do this again, I think I would cover a large piece of cardboard or some other hard surface with plastic wrap and paint on that. The paper stuck to the back of the fabric, but once I washed it, it came off completely, so it really wasn’t a big deal.

After painting, I waited about 5 minutes before removing the tape. I then let the paint dry for 24 hours (the instructions say 24-48 hours). For the pillow I hadn’t sewn yet, at this point, I sewed the three edges of the fabric together. For the pillow I had already sewn, I went straight to the next step. I used an iron to heat-set the paint, just going over it for about 15-30 seconds. Then I washed and dried it on low.


After drying, it was a little wrinkled, which I kind of liked. I ironed it anyway so it wouldn’t look too casual, inserted the pillow form, and hand-stitched the fourth side. This process took longer than I thought, but I didn’t want to sew in a zipper or spend the money on anything additional.


The final product looks perfect in the room – just how I wanted it. And no one would believe that it cost me less than $5! (Granted, I had the pillow forms already from some floral pillows I had bought a year ago, and I got the fabric with a coupon).

I am excited to use this technique to paint other fabrics. I think curtains in the baby’s room are up next. I’ll try to be more creative than just using stripes next time!

 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The big 3-0

My sister turned 30 last month, and I was in charge of bringing the dessert to her (was-gonna-be-a-surprise) party. I wanted to make something people could just pick up and eat as they were walking around. I don’t love cupcakes and cookies seemed too basic. I know she loves brownies and really, who doesn’t? I thought I could make them look fancier by using a round or square cookie cutter to make the edges nice and straight. However, my brownies were very dense and did not want to be cut with a cutter. I had to use a knife and do my best to make uniform shapes.

I kept it very simple this time and make the brownies from a Ghirardelli boxed mix. This is the only boxed mix I would use for brownies - they are very chocolately, fudgy, and full of flavor. If I had made them from scratch, I would have used the recipe I posted about that comes from King Arthur Flour. I used a half-sheet pan because there was a large crowd. Before baking, I greased the pan and lined it with parchment paper for easy removal.

Once completely cool, I cut the brownies and transferred them to a parchment-lined counter. I had cut out a “30” stencil from some cardstock I had. I did it freehand, but printing out “30” in an interesting font would have been an even better idea.

I used a small sifter filled with powdered sugar, set the stencil on the brownie, and lightly sifted powdered sugar over the top. After carefully removing the stencil, there was the “30” I wanted – no frosting to make or messy piping bags and tips to clean. And I think it almost looks better than frosting (well maybe just my frosting, which never looks great).

I arranged the "30" brownies on a white rectangular platter in neat rows. I cut the scraps into bite-size squares and piled them on a white cake stand. They were a hit!


Happy birthday sis!



Saturday, February 11, 2012

Soft Caramels

 

Visit my new blog, Scratchy Mama!

When it’s Girl Scout cookie time, I always choose Samoas. Most of the rest of the cookies (besides Thin Mints), I think I can make just as well on my own. I had a bunch of flaked coconut I wanted to use up and had seen a recipe for homemade Samoas on Pinterest, so I gave it a try. The cookie recipe also included instructions on how to make your own caramels which would be used in the topping. I have always wanted to make soft caramels and the process seemed pretty easy.
The ingredients in the caramels are simple: butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt. It requires you to heat up everything in a pot and cook until 240oF, then pour into a parchment-lined dish to cool. That’s it! 

The original recipe I was using said to heat the caramel to 248oF, which gave me hard caramels...not what I was looking for. So I made them again and heated the caramel to 240oF, which made the soft caramels I had been dreaming of. Perfect!

I tried the Samoas, and the topping turned out great (just melted caramel and flaked coconut), but the crust on the bottom wasn't very good. I am still working on perfecting this recipe. In the mean time, I thought I’d share the caramel recipe. Even if you've never made candy before, this recipe is foolproof. The only thing you need for sure is a candy thermometer. I love my Wilton thermometer, because it lets you adjust the clip for any size pan.

Here’s the full recipe for the caramels (I halved everything and it fit nicely in a 9 x 9 pan to cool):
Soft Caramels (Adapted from Instructables.com)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 lb.(about 2 ¼ cups) light brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon or more salt (I added more at the end because I love the salt and caramel combination)
1 t. vanilla
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or butter. I used a 9 x 9 Pyrex dish for the half recipe. Then, to make it easier for me to lift out the caramels later, I lined the pan with parchment paper (waxed paper would also work). Buttering the tray before adding the paper helps keep it from slipping around while you're pouring in the hot caramel mixture.
In a large pot over high heat, bring sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, sugar, salt, and butter to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 240oF, soft-ball stage on a candy thermometer, about 5-8 minutes. (If you want chewier caramels, cook until 245 oF).

Remove from heat and immediately stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla. If you're adding nuts to the whole batch, stir them in now too. Pour into the prepared pan and let stand uncovered until completely cooled.

Remove the caramel from the pan and cut using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. I cut mine into small rectangles, then rolled them in parchment paper and twisted the edges. The caramel is also somewhat malleable, so you can roll them into small logs before wrapping.




Wednesday, February 1, 2012

More Lemons... Scones This Time!

I'm still trying to use up my box of lemons. Thus far, I've made lemon bars, Greek lemon soup, and now lemon scones. I think the next thing on the list is a lemon layer cake or lemon cookies. Or I may just freeze the lemon juice and zest and make something later so I don't get lemoned out.

I don't know why but I absolutely love scones and biscuits. Who doesn't love buttery baked goods? I made orange scones in the summer and thought Meyer lemons would make perfect lemon scones. I don't think regular lemons would be nearly as good. These scones call for buttermilk, which I happened to have and have been trying to find a way to use up. Perfect! Lemon zest is in the dough, and I decided to make a lemon glaze for the top. The result was a tender and moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside, lightly lemon-flavored scone. Excellet with a cup of tea or coffee.


Meyer Lemon Glazed Scones, adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine, 2006
Makes 12 scones


For the scones:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ - inch cubes
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 ½ tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest or regular lemon zest

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
¾ cup powdered sugar

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour and sugar in large bowl. Using fingertips, rub in chilled butter until pieces are size of small peas. 


Mix 1 cup buttermilk and finely grated lemon peel in glass measuring cup. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and stir until dough begins to form (some of flour will not be incorporated). Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and gather together.

Knead dough briefly, about 5 turns. Divide dough in half. Form each dough half into ball and flatten into 1-inch-thick disk. Cut each disk into 6 wedges.


Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk.

Bake until scones are golden brown on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar. Cool scones completely (or as long as you can wait!), then drizzle with glaze.