Deliciously Crafty

Pick up a crayon or color pencil, print this page, sit back relax and add a little color to your world.

Wonderfully tasty delicious dirt, just like you used to eat as a kid. Okay, not really, but it does look like it. This easy to make treat is to earn you a hill of praise from everyone who isn’t afraid to get a little dirty.

1 ¼ oz. package Oreo cookies

8oz. softened cream cheese

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup softened margarine

12oz. cool whip

2 packages vanilla instant pudding

3 cups of milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

10” flower pot

Crush Oreo cookies and set them aside

Place cream cheese, sugar, margarine, and cool whip in a bowl and mix thoroughly 

In a separate bowl, mix the instant pudding and milk adding the ½ teaspoon of vanilla to the mixture

Combine the two mixtures into one bowl and blend together

Take flower pot and add a layer of crushed cookies to the bottom

Spoon some of the mixture on top of the cookies to create another layer

Add more cookies followed by more of the mixture continuing to layer the cake making sure to end with a top layer of crushed cookies

Refrigerate for 2 - 3 hours

Decorate with silk flowers and/or gummy worms

Serve chilled

 If you have a simple recipe you would like to share with us here at Deliciously Crafty, please email us at Recipes@abasketcasegift.com and you may see your idea featured in a future post.  

Influence

The fervent, pale-faced Mother ere she sleep,
Looks out upon the zigzag-lighted square,
The beautiful bare trees, the blue night-air,
The revelation of the star-strewn deep,
World above world, and heaven over heaven.
Between the tree-tops and the skies, her sight
Rests on a steadfast, ruddy-shining light,
High in the tower, an earthly star of even.
Hers is the faith in saints' and angels' power,
And mediating love--she breathes a prayer
For yon tired watcher in the gray old tower.
He the shrewd, skeptic poet unaware
Feels comforted and stilled, and knows not whence
Falls this unwonted peace on heart and sense.

                        Emma Lazarus

     With Fall right around the corner and Summer coming to an end, let’s try to catch the last golden rays of warm sunshine before the cool crisp autumn air settles in. And let’s get that light to shine in all the colors of rainbow to remind us of all the happiness and good times yet to come. Because there’s too much darkness in the world, and sometimes you just need to capture a little light and watch it dance.

Supplies needed:

 Tissue paper in several colors

Scissors

Foam brush

Clear sheet protector

Mod Podge

Piece of yarn/string

Hole Punch

      With the scissors, cut tissue paper into pieces approximately 1 square inch in size. Next, take the sheet protector and cut it along the crease in the middle, giving you two full sheets. Spread a layer of Mod Podge over each half of the sheet protector using a foam brush. Then, quickly arrange the tissue paper into a colorful pattern on the sheets before the Mod Podge starts to dry (concentrate the pattern towards the center as the edges will be cut off). After arranging the tissue paper, take the foam brush and apply a coat of Mod Podge over it, making sure all the paper is covered and let it dry.

      When the tissue paper is hardened, cut the sheet protectors into any shape you choose, such as a heart, star, or triangle. After cutting out your shapes bend the sheet protectors so the paper peels away from it. Now, grab the hole punch and punch a hole in the top. Take a piece of yarn and thread it through the hole making a loop and tie it at top. Hang in a sunny window and watch the colors dance across the wall.

If you have a simple craft idea you would like to share with us here at Deliciously Crafty, please email us at Crafts@abasketcasegift.com and you may see your idea featured in a future post.  

Since this is our first recipe, I thought I would share something really special with you. Today, we’re going to make Aunt Sophia’s Cannoli Pie. That’s right, you heard me correctly. I said cannoli pie. So, if you like the delicious flavor of cannoli cream, then listen up because you will absolutely love this pie. It’s been one of my favorites since I was a child and you’ll soon see why.  My Aunt Sophia used to make it for me every time we visited and when I was younger, she always wanted me to help her. Of course, I was still a kid and had no interest in being cooped up in the kitchen when I could have been playing. My, how times have changed. As the years went by and I started getting interested in baking, I would occasionally ask for the recipe and you know what? You know what? She wouldn’t give it to me. Can you believe that? Now she would always have sly little smile on her face when she told me no and that it was a secret she wasn’t willing to part with just yet. Personally, I think it was payback for all the times she asked me to help her bake and I refused. Though, I never asked her, so who knows? Anyway, to make a long story short, she eventually gave me the recipe a couple years ago and it’s just too good to keep to myself. Aunt Sophia’s Cannoli Pie will become your new favorite go-to dessert for any occasion; it’s quick, easy, and, above all else, delicious. And don’t worry, I got Aunt Sophia’s permission to share this with you. Enjoy.

 Ingredients:

1- 9-inch deep dish pie crust

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 tablespoon Marsala wine

3 extra large eggs

15 ounces whole milk ricotta

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1- 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

¾ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

2 teaspoons flour

Whipped Topping:

              1 cup whipping cream

              1 tablespoon of powdered sugar

              ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While it is heating up, prepare the pie crust using own recipe. Or if you’re like me on most days and don’t have the time, just use a store-bought pie crust, but make sure it is for a deep-dish pie. When the crust is ready, spray a 9-inch round by 2-inch deep glass baking dish with cooking oil, add the crust and set aside.

      Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then add the ricotta and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk them together until evenly combined. Blend the sweetened condensed milk into the egg mixture. Place the mini chocolate chips into a bag with 2 teaspoons of flour and shake until the chips are all coated with flour. Pour the chips into the pie filling and stir until everything is blended together.

     Combine the butter with Marsala wine and heat until butter is melted. Stir in ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and then brush the butter/wine mixture. When the crust is fully coated in the mixture, pour the filling into the crust. Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until the middle is set. Let cool completely before refrigerating the pie until you are to serve.

     To make the whipped cream topping, use an electric mixer to whip together 1 cup whipping cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Keep cold until ready to serve.  Top the pie with whipped cream, some sliced strawberries and chocolate chips sprinkled on top.

And there you have it, Aunt Sophia’s Cannoli Pie. Cut yourself a slice and enjoy.   

The moment you have all been waiting for is finally here. Today we’re going to show you how to make our first craft project. I know… I know you can barely contain your excitement, but please try. Since this is the first one, I thought would try something fun and easy: scrapbooking. Now, most of the time when people think of scrapbooks, they often think of them as photo albums, only more creative. Instead of simply placing the photos in neat little rows, there may be one or two on a page with a few stickers around them. But there is more to scrapbooking than just preserving memories in an appealing way. You can use a scrapbook as a way to explore other interests and hobbies. You can even use them like a vision board to help you achieve your goals, or as a way to stay positive in this chaotic world. You may be wondering how a scrapbook can keep you positive. Well, good news if you are because in a few minutes I’ll show you. Before we get started though, I’d like to give you a few basic guidelines to follow when scrapbooking.

     First, there are two common sizes of scrapbooks – 12 x 12 inches and 8.5 x 11 inches. You can find them at any craft store. However, there is no rule that says those are the only sizes. This is your project and about you, so make it any size want. I would recommend going no smaller than a 4 x 4 square as doing so will give you too small a surface on which to work. Once you have established the size of your scrapbook, it’s time to gather your supplies. Of course, the first thing you need is a scrapbook, along with acid-free card stock and paper. You will also need a paper trimmer and scissors to shape the photos and paper you are planning to use. To add embellishments to the page, you will need things such as stickers, ribbons, buttons, or even jewels. These can be found in a scrapbooking section of your local craft store, but be warned, the selection can be overwhelming so try to have an idea of what you want before you go. All your embellishments should be adhered to the page using acid-free adhesives. This very important. You must always use acid-free adhesives when adding something to your scrapbook; this will protect the photos and pages from discoloration and help keep your scrapbook looking its best for years.

     Now that we have our supplies together and crafting stations ready, it’s almost time to start our project. I just thought I would give you a few tips before we begin. Here they are:

• Choose a focal point each page and arrange everything around it. This will your work more visually appealing and easier to understand.
• Do not keep your images the same size on every page. Keeping the images the same size on each page will make your work look repetitive and less exciting.
• Always caption your photos. With each photo captioned, whoever looks at the pages will understand what they are looking at and be more interested in it.
• Never use original copies of professional or irreplaceable photos in your scrapbook. There is no need to use the actual photo. Copies can easily be made using the scanner on your printer.
• Don’t over use embellishments. If there is too much for the viewer to look at, she will be overwhelmed and miss the meaning of the page.
• Keep it simple. Use only a few images to create the story for or reinforce the theme of the page you are working on.

     With those tips in mind, let’s get started. Today’s project is what I like to call a Positivity Guide. It is a fun and easy scrapbooking activity. What we’ll be doing is taking some of our favorite positive and inspirational quotes and turning them into a beautiful scrapbook. You can use this book to stay positive in this chaotic world or even for daily reflection and mediation. It’s your book, so use it for whatever you want. But before you can use it, you have to make it so here we go.

    We begin by writing down some of our favorite short quotes. Once the list is complied, we choose a few of the most visual quotes. These are quotes that have an object in them or a concept that is easy to visualize. You should be looking for something similar to this Albert Einstein quote, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” As you can see, the quote has both an object, a bicycle, and an easy to visualize concept, movement. This will help us with the next step – selecting our scrapbook paper.

     For this quote we chose scrapbook paper with little bicycles on it. We did this for the obvious reason that bicycles were mentioned in the quote. Now we put quote on the scrapbook paper. This can be handwritten on the page or, if you’re like me and have bad writing, type it on a computer using the font of your choice. If you are going to print out your quote remember to use acid-free adhesive to adhere it to the page. Now all that’s left is an image to use as a focal point for the page. Since the main concept of the quote is movement, we decided to an image of a tree lined straight mountain road. We placed the image on the center of the page below the quote.

     And that’s it. It’s that simple. Repeat this process for every quote you have, bind them together and there you have your very own Positivity Guide.