Sweet Vintage Tuesday: a vintage inspired clothespin tutorial and caramel apple cake recipe!

Hi and happy Tuesday! What an exciting time of year for all of us crafters. CHA is happening right now! I've seen a couple sneak peeks of some of the new products already. Oh, I can't wait to see everything. My crystal ball tells me my 'wish list' is about to become a whole lot longer. Today will also put January behind us. It's my least favorite month. Now we can start looking to the longer and sunnier days of spring, with it's beautiful flowers and sweet smelling air (sigh....) 

  I have a great project to share with you today. I found this photo on Pinterest (originally from Tiny Bear Studio on Etsy.) This lovely set already sold, but that doesn't mean you can't have them. I've made these often to give as gifts, and they are are fun and easy to craft.

Supplies

The supply list is simple and inexpensive: some clothespins/spools, coffee and/or tea, a couple of yards of lace or fabric strips, strips of pages from an old book, a couple of yards of trim or ribbon of your choice, buttons, and a yard jute. 

If you don't want to destroy a book to make these, just scan a page and save it to your computer, then print it out on some nice quality paper or light weight cardstock. You can change the look of the project by changing the style of lace or fabric. Give them a more primitive style by using homespun, or use a holiday fabric for a seasonal look. 

Directions       

1. Create about a cup of stain using a strong coffee, tea, or mixture of both. You can use instant or brewed for this. Make the mixture as light or dark as you wish, depending on how vintage or primitive you want your project to look. If your not sure, just experiment a little until you find what suits.  
2. Soak the clothespins in the coffee/tea mixture until they've achieved the desired aged appearance, then allow to dry.     
3. If you'd like your lace/fabric and book pages to appear more aged, just soak them in the coffee/tea mixture as well, and allow to dry. Be careful not to soak them too long, as they really pick up the stain quickly.      
4. Wrap the lace or fabric strips around each clothespin or spool.
5. Wrap a strip of book page around the lace or fabric.
6. Secure everything with by attaching a coordinating piece of trim or ribbon.  
7. Embellish by adhering a pretty button or attaching a bit of jute.  

Anyone can make these and the results are completely charming. They make the perfect presentation for gifts of lace and trim, as well as lovely basket or bowl fillers, and they couldn't be more simple!

Caramel Apple Cake

If you have the munchies today (like me!) and are up for a little baking, you may want to go preheat your oven right about now. I have this caramel apple cake baking in mine as I type this, and it smells absolutely amazing. And better yet, this cake is also easy! It's another recipe I came across on Pinterest. Seriously, you'll never need another cookbook if you go on that site. But it's way too addictive, so be warned:-))

I have just one last bit of vintage sweetness to share today; this photo, found on tumblr.com from Belle Atelier. I think this color palette would make a lovely card, and I just adore the frothy dresses. Looking at this makes me smile! I hope your Tuesday is full of crafty fun, and I'm so happy you could stop by today! If you'd like to chat just leave a message...

doily envelopes

(courtesy of Nicole at simpleandhandmade.blogspot.com)

Hi and happy Tuesday! I came across a couple of great ideas online today. How I love the look of these delicate doily envelopes! Imagine how adorable these would be for hand delivered Valentine cards.

All you need is a square lace doily. Fold each corner towards the middle to create a diamond shape, then use a dab of glue to adhere the three corners together. Leave one corner unattached so you have a flap to slide the letter into the envelope.

Here's another example using a round doily:

I can't wait to try this out! 

I also found a couple of great looking recipes. Tex-Mex is a favorite in my family, so I pulled out my trusty crockpot and have this simmering away for our supper...

Tex Mex Crock Pot Chicken

We'll be using ours to fill tacos, but it works just as well for enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, and soups.

And it freezes well, so go ahead and make a double batch and you'll have something put back for those nights you're too rushed to cook. 

Now onto dessert.

Cranberry Crumb Bars 

I adore anything with cranberries. I even slather them on sandwiches along with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. At the moment I'm about to head into my kitchen and whip up a pan of these scrumptious bars. Oh, I cannot wait to taste them!! 

My thanks to the talented Katie for sharing both of the wonderful recipes that will be gracing our table tonight. Here are the links if you'd like to bring them to a dinner table near you:  

http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/09/crock-pot-mexican-

 http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2009/10/cranberry-crumb-bars.ht

And now I can't resist sharing just one more photo, because we have a golden retriever, and this is just the sort of thing our sweet girl used to do... 

(photo courtesy of dogsrfunny.com)

I hope you're having a joyful day filled with love and wonderful surprises! And thank you for stopping to share a little of your day with me here!