Embroidered Jam Pot Covers...

Back in the Autumn I made a couple of varieties of chutney as Christmas gifts. Spiced Marrow Chutney and a Tangy Beetroot Chutney using a combination of recipe ideas from this brilliant site. They've been "maturing" since October so should be perfect for the Christmas table by now. The only thing left to do was make them look all Christmassy and add a little personal touch to them; so I opted for some hand embroidered jam pot covers tied with grosgrain ribbon....(I actually had about 12 jars in total but some had already been gifted before I had a chance to take these photos!)

I got all OCD on getting the right size circle for my covers. Just didn't like the idea of cutting a square and trimming it to size once in place. I just KNEW I would screw it up that way. So if anyone else is as mildly obsessive about these things as me here's my method...


I had several sizes of jar so just repeated the process for each different size. Firstly draw round the the lid of the jar on a sheet of paper...

Then find the centre point of the circle by folding it in half lengthwise then across the width. It's actually the circle itself that needs to be folded in half so I held the paper up to the light as I was folding so as to see through it and line the edges of the circle up as I was folding...

Measure the diameter of the circle, let's say this one was 3". Then mark a point the exact same distance, 3", from the centre point, extending out beyond your original circle, on each of the four fold lines...

Then find a plate/bowl/object (or use a compass if you want to be super precise!) and use it to draw a circle that encompasses these four points equally(ish)...

Et voila...Cut out your template(s)....

Because I planned to emroider my covers I cut out heavy weight iron on interfacing the exact same size as my jar lids....

And some squares of fabric (thrifted and upcycled of course!) slightly larger than my templates.....

Place fabric square RS down on the ironing board. Centre the interfacing sticky side down on top of the fabric and press to adhere. Then pin the template on top of this making sure the centre circle of the template lines up with the circle of interfacing....

Cut around the template with pinking shears...

It should look like this...

I then embroidered snowflakes on each cover with embroidery floss. These are a combination of French Knots, Lazy Daisy Stitch, and Back Stitch and took about 15 mins each to do so great as a last minute personal touch...

Secure the covers to the jar tops with elastic bands then tie with ribbon......

There are so many ideas out there for "Gifts in a Jar" and these would add a nice finishing touch to anything in a jar. Not just chutneys  :)
Px

Embroidered Jam Pot Covers...

Back in the Autumn I made a couple of varieties of chutney as Christmas gifts. Spiced Marrow Chutney and a Tangy Beetroot Chutney using a combination of recipe ideas from this brilliant site. They've been "maturing" since October so should be perfect for the Christmas table by now. The only thing left to do was make them look all Christmassy and add a little personal touch to them; so I opted for some hand embroidered jam pot covers tied with grosgrain ribbon....(I actually had about 12 jars in total but some had already been gifted before I had a chance to take these photos!)

I got all OCD on getting the right size circle for my covers. Just didn't like the idea of cutting a square and trimming it to size once in place. I just KNEW I would screw it up that way. So if anyone else is as mildly obsessive about these things as me here's my method...


I had several sizes of jar so just repeated the process for each different size. Firstly draw round the the lid of the jar on a sheet of paper...

Then find the centre point of the circle by folding it in half lengthwise then across the width. It's actually the circle itself that needs to be folded in half so I held the paper up to the light as I was folding so as to see through it and line the edges of the circle up as I was folding...

Measure the diameter of the circle, let's say this one was 3". Then mark a point the exact same distance, 3", from the centre point, extending out beyond your original circle, on each of the four fold lines...

Then find a plate/bowl/object (or use a compass if you want to be super precise!) and use it to draw a circle that encompasses these four points equally(ish)...

Et voila...Cut out your template(s)....

Because I planned to emroider my covers I cut out heavy weight iron on interfacing the exact same size as my jar lids....

And some squares of fabric (thrifted and upcycled of course!) slightly larger than my templates.....

Place fabric square RS down on the ironing board. Centre the interfacing sticky side down on top of the fabric and press to adhere. Then pin the template on top of this making sure the centre circle of the template lines up with the circle of interfacing....

Cut around the template with pinking shears...

It should look like this...

I then embroidered snowflakes on each cover with embroidery floss. These are a combination of French Knots, Lazy Daisy Stitch, and Back Stitch and took about 15 mins each to do so great as a last minute personal touch...

Secure the covers to the jar tops with elastic bands then tie with ribbon......

There are so many ideas out there for "Gifts in a Jar" and these would add a nice finishing touch to anything in a jar. Not just chutneys  :)
Px

last minute.com: fierce chutney and icy candles

Hi crafters!

Once more tis Becca from Knit Happens.  If you're anything like me (little miss last minute)  you might be panicking about those last few gifts or decoration bits.  Worry not!  There is still time!  I made fierce festive chutney in no time with this recipe from the lovely Betty Magazine.  I swapped the chilli for smoked paprika, black pepper and a pinch of chilli powder.  A bit of ribbon and a ditsy print fabric to top - Bob's your uncle (he may well be). 

I grabbed some wintry greenery from the garden for this ice candle holder.  The tutorial is here on Eden Bath. 

Phew!

last minute.com: fierce chutney and icy candles

Hi crafters!

Once more tis Becca from Knit Happens.  If you're anything like me (little miss last minute)  you might be panicking about those last few gifts or decoration bits.  Worry not!  There is still time!  I made fierce festive chutney in no time with this recipe from the lovely Betty Magazine.  I swapped the chilli for smoked paprika, black pepper and a pinch of chilli powder.  A bit of ribbon and a ditsy print fabric to top - Bob's your uncle (he may well be). 

I grabbed some wintry greenery from the garden for this ice candle holder.  The tutorial is here on Eden Bath. 

Phew!

Cheese-It Toffee Bark

Squeezing in another holiday recipe from my blog, What's Up, Cupcake?  This toffee is so easy and delicious; and would be great to bag up as gifts or even to bring in to the office or to a holiday party.  It's definitely a conversation piece... cheese-it toffee?  Yes, it works and it tastes amazing!  Thanks to Vanilla Sugar Blog who introduced me to this awesome recipe!

The recipe is super easy, super fast to put together, and only has 5 ingredients, the majority of which you probably have.  I just had to go out to get the jumbo cheese-its, though the regular size would work if you can't find them.  I also had to get milk chocolate chips, as I usually work with semi-sweet and darker.  If you don't have cheese-its in your area, I imagine a club cracker or one such as Ritz would work as well.  Semi-sweet chocolate would also be an option if you don't have milk chocolate on hand.  When possible, stick with the original ingredients - you won't regret it.

Cheese-It Toffee Bark

Recipe from Vanilla Sugar Blog

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
2 bags of 11.05 ounces of milk chocolate chips
Approx ½ box of the Big-size Cheez-It’s, depending on your pan size (use the big ones, as they cover more room)
1 cup of crushed toasted pecans (or walnuts or whatever you crave)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Line jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Or just use a non-stick jelly roll pan. I recommend the latter, as it makes it very easy to remove the toffee.
3. Lay a flat layer of Cheez-It crackers out on the foil. Cover any gaps with additional cheese-its.  It's ok if it's not completely flat.

Just out of the oven.

4. In a saucepan, melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Do not mix! Just pour, and fill in any gaps with a spatula.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. Turn off oven, then take out of oven and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. But tray back in oven to help the chips melt a bit. When chips are melted a bit (about a minute in the oven), spread them into an even layer like you would frosting a cake. After done spreading the chocolate, sprinkle on the chopped nuts or whatever else you want to add.

Spread the soft chocolate until all of the cheese-its and caramel are covered

Sprinkle the nuts, then let cool.

6. Let cool and/or refrigerate until hardened. Once cooled and firm, then break into pieces.  Bag or transfer to an air-tight container.

I refrigerated mine overnight which made it the perfect consistency to break into pieces.  The squares of the cheese-its make this really easy too as they generally want to break at seam points.

Cheese-It Toffee Bark

Squeezing in another holiday recipe from my blog, What's Up, Cupcake?  This toffee is so easy and delicious; and would be great to bag up as gifts or even to bring in to the office or to a holiday party.  It's definitely a conversation piece... cheese-it toffee?  Yes, it works and it tastes amazing!  Thanks to Vanilla Sugar Blog who introduced me to this awesome recipe!

The recipe is super easy, super fast to put together, and only has 5 ingredients, the majority of which you probably have.  I just had to go out to get the jumbo cheese-its, though the regular size would work if you can't find them.  I also had to get milk chocolate chips, as I usually work with semi-sweet and darker.  If you don't have cheese-its in your area, I imagine a club cracker or one such as Ritz would work as well.  Semi-sweet chocolate would also be an option if you don't have milk chocolate on hand.  When possible, stick with the original ingredients - you won't regret it.

Cheese-It Toffee Bark

Recipe from Vanilla Sugar Blog

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
2 bags of 11.05 ounces of milk chocolate chips
Approx ½ box of the Big-size Cheez-It’s, depending on your pan size (use the big ones, as they cover more room)
1 cup of crushed toasted pecans (or walnuts or whatever you crave)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Line jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Or just use a non-stick jelly roll pan. I recommend the latter, as it makes it very easy to remove the toffee.
3. Lay a flat layer of Cheez-It crackers out on the foil. Cover any gaps with additional cheese-its.  It's ok if it's not completely flat.

Just out of the oven.

4. In a saucepan, melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Do not mix! Just pour, and fill in any gaps with a spatula.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. Turn off oven, then take out of oven and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. But tray back in oven to help the chips melt a bit. When chips are melted a bit (about a minute in the oven), spread them into an even layer like you would frosting a cake. After done spreading the chocolate, sprinkle on the chopped nuts or whatever else you want to add.

Spread the soft chocolate until all of the cheese-its and caramel are covered

Sprinkle the nuts, then let cool.

6. Let cool and/or refrigerate until hardened. Once cooled and firm, then break into pieces.  Bag or transfer to an air-tight container.

I refrigerated mine overnight which made it the perfect consistency to break into pieces.  The squares of the cheese-its make this really easy too as they generally want to break at seam points.

Scottish Shortbread Gift Tutorial

Hello! Christine from the What's Up, Cupcake? Blog.  I love a good shortbread and it seems like such a classic holiday treat.  This shortbread is easy to make, and only requires three ingredients.  Package it up, and you have an easy holiday gift.

Scottish Shortbread

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 cups (4 sticks) butter

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Cream butter and brown sugar.  Slowly add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour.  Mix well.

3.  Sprinkle board of silpat with flour, and knead the mixture, adding enough flour to make a soft dough.  Roll to 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut into 3x1 strips.  Prick with a fork and place on ungreased baking sheets (mine worked best on parchment paper).

4. Bake for 17 to 25 minutes (check in on them, mine took just the 17 minutes, while the originally recipe recommended a minimum of 20 minutes).

Packaging:

I packed these up in a cheap, cute container that you can pick up at your local Target, Wal-mart, or dollar store.  I took a piece of tissue, but added a sheet of wax paper to separate it from the cookies (so it didn't get greasy).  Place into the container and fill with cookies.  Fold the paper over, making sure the wax paper still separates the cookies from the tissue, close and gift.

You can decorate with additional ribbon, paper, or anything else you choose based on your package.

Getting the Limoncello Started...

With less than two months to go before Christmas, it's time to get the limoncello going. I'm following this recipe. So far the process has involved peeling the rind off some lemons and sticking it in jars with vodka. Now I have to wait. And turn the mixture every so often. Some recipes say to do this for a week, others a month, before adding sugar syrup and waiting some more. Let's see how long I last!

This is what it looks like at the moment. I'll show you what it looks like in a few weeks' time...

Love from Tilly