Pilgrim House

Here is an easy Thanksgiving project that would make cute table settings, or to keep the kids busy while you prepare the Turkey!











You'll need-
- a small cardboard milk carton, or half and half carton
-cardboard
- a brown paper bag
-scissors
-a pencil or pen
-glue, I used plain white craft glue
-ruler


Start by cleaning the inside of your small milk carton. Then measure the sides of your carton with a ruler and using your measurements trace the outline for four sides of your carton onto the cardboard, making sure two of the sides have peaks.Then trace a piece for the
roof (make sure it's long enough to fold and fit nicely on the top of your house), and the chimney (which is just a strip of the cardboard that has been rolled up into a cylinder shape, and glued. You can use corrugated cardboard, but I just used an old box and tore off the top layer of the cardboard and exposed the corrugated part. Glue the sides, roof and chimney onto the carton and let dry for about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile using a plain brown paper bag, trace and cut out window shapes for the sides of the house and a door, I even cut out some door details and a door knob. Glue your paper bag windows and door onto your house and let dry, and you have yourself a cute little pilgrim house!

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone!!

Spotlight on: Shana Logic

I am proud to announce that I am already 99% done with my Christmas shopping! After years of last minute shopping and stress, I decided to get a head start this year and started shopping in September, crazy early, I know. If you haven't already started your shopping I suggest starting soon, very soon...so come Christmas time you can kick back and relax, bake cookies, and bask in the glow of a stress free holiday!

If you are looking for unique, indie crafted gifts, and like me prefer shopping online, then Shana Logic is right up your alley! Shana Logic specializes in cute handmade jewelry, clothing, scarves, and other accessories, they have awesome housewares, and even have a new line of makeup called Lime Crime. Shana Logic isn't just cutesy stuff, they have plenty of neato stuff for guys and pets too! Checking out Shana Logic this holiday season is a must!

Best of ?

Is it too early to do a best of Angry Pincushion blog post ? I think not! Take a gander at these, my favorite projects since I started this journey of bloggery!..by the way, I know bloggery isn't a word, to all you spelling/grammar Nazi's out there. :)

-Spanish Coffee Cake...mmmm yummy!!

-Spinach Artichoke Dip...super yummy treat for any holiday get together!

-Mosaic Mushrooms..a great homemade Christmas present for the garden that won't break the bank.

-Birthday Girl Barrettes..too cute to pass up

Cuteness for the week...

Here is some cute for you to look at while I do some site reconstruction, and work on some new projects for you, my two readers! :)

Preserving Fall Foliage

Here is a great quick tip for anyone who wants to preserve those beautiful fall leaves before they all disappear into the howling November winds and our compost piles.

You'll need-
-Leaves ( of course!)
-wax paper
-an iron
-parchment paper

First go outside and pick out some really pretty leaves, then go inside and get two sheets of wax paper. Now, you should be able to get several leaves on one sheet, depending on the size of the leaf of course. Sandwich the leaves in between the wax paper and cover with parchment paper, this is to protect your ironing board, table, or where ever you may be ironing, and your iron from getting all coated in melted wax.

Set your iron on a low setting and press down gently on the paper. Go over the paper several times, don't press too hard or you might tear the leaves. By ironing the leaves in between wax paper you are sealing the wax from the wax paper onto the leaves and therefore preserving them. You can use them for decoration around the house, tape them in the windows, I'm sure you can think of all sorts of festive fall and Thanksgiving decor you could create!

Crikey! It's Steve Irwin Day!

It is now officially November 15th and therefore Steve Irwin Day!! As someone who grew up watching Steve Irwin on T.V and being enthralled by every second of it, today is a special day. I was devastated when he was killed by a stingray in a tragic freak accident in 2006. Steve's life was devoted to educating people about wildlife and conservation, he was an everyday bloke who made a huge difference in the world and touched the hearts of millions of people all over the world. If you want to check out, or make a donation to Steve's cause, Wildlife Warriors go here- http://www.wildlifewarriors.com.au/ . Happy Steve Irwin day everyone! I would love to write more, as there is much to say about Steve, but it is late and I am tired... so goodnight.

Birthday Girl barrettes!

I thought it was time that I did a children's craft project. So here is the how-to for super cute birthday balloon barrettes that would be so sweet to give to a little girl on her birthday!..or a big girl :) This project really is quite simple and very hard to mess up. I know it's not the best picture in the world but you get the idea, I hope!

You'll need:
- latex balloons in whatever colors you want
-ribbon in your choice of color
- thin gage floral wire
-plain hair clips or barrettes
-craft scissor or wire cutters






Instructions are pretty simple. Using the floral wire, secure the ribbon and balloons to the barrette, making sure that the clip part of the barrette still opens and closes without any obstruction. Make sure as well that all the ends of the wire are tucked into the top part so they don't poke people in the head. You can also put some no fray on the end of the ribbons if you want.

Hopefully my first foray into children's crafts was not too bad! I'd like to thank my lovely Mom for this cute idea.

Red Velvet cake

When I made this cake it might have been the most amazing cake I have ever made. I had never attempted to make a cake and frosting entirely from scratch but was getting so tired of making boxed cakes and having them taste icky, plus you can't find frosting these days that doesn't have all sorts of creepy chemicals and trans fat in it. Besides homemade ALWAYS tastes sooo much better! So here is the recipe for red velvet cake, and chocolate butter-cream frosting!


For the cake you need:
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups of sugar
-1 cup butter
-1 tsp. vanilla
-2 oz (or one bottle) red food coloring
-2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
-2 1/2 cups cake flour
-1 cup buttermilk
-1 tsp. vinegar
-1 tsp. baking soda

For the chocolate butter-cream frosting you need:
-1 stick butter, softened
-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
-Three tablespoons milk
-1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

For the cake-
Cream the butter and sugar together, and then add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Add the vanilla and red food coloring. Mix in flour, cocoa, and buttermilk, alternating cocoa/flour, and buttermilk when mixing. Mix the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and add to cake mixture. Bake in three 8 or 9 inch round layer pans at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, OR I baked them in two round layer pans, a seven inch and a five inch. Let cool and then frost. I didn't layer my cake, I made two separate cakes, one for my boyfriend and one for My Mom and brother, but you certainly can layer them if you wish.

For the frosting-
Beat butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer, until light and fluffy... I usually do it by hand but I enjoy torture I suppose. Beat in sifted powdered sugar -(yes you will need a mesh strainer to sift with)- and milk, in two batches. Then slowly add the cocoa powder to the mixture, I say slowly because cocoa powder has a tendency to billow into the air in great clouds of chocolate...sounds yummy...actually very messy. After all the ingredients are well mixed and there are no lumps you are ready to frost your cake.

A new era begins...

Congratulations to President elect Barack Obama!! I'm proud to say I voted for him!!

On a much different note, now that the election is over (where I had been focusing most of my energy lately) I am back to blogging with some new projects and recipes!

Tiny Things!

My goodness did this woman read my mind ?! Is there really someone out there that loves tiny things as much as I do ?! If you are a fellow tiny thing lover, or you just love cute things, I recommend that you definitely check out this website-- http://www.tinythingsarecute.com/

Need I remind you again...to VOTE!

I just voted! I got to my polling location when it opened at eight, and stood in line for almost an hour to vote, I have to say that it was well worth it! By tomorrow we will know who the next president of the United States will be (hopefully NOT McCain)...of course unless we have another corrupt, 2000 election, Florida situation on our hands, I shudder at the thought! Either way get out and VOTE today!!

VOTE!!..or I'll hate you forever...and ever.

The election is so close I can smell, taste and almost touch it (all that really?!). On November fourth we will be electing the next president of the United States along with countless congressmen, senators, state legislators etc. Of course if you don't vote your basically throwing away your rights. To those people who plan on complaining about the outcome of the election, and I know there are plenty of you, and not voting...I have some words of wisdom- if you don't vote you have NO right to complain, or ever say anything about the way things are going in this country, in fact you should be slapped, and hard. My great-grandfather was an immigrant, he came to this country from Russia when he was 17, and he took his right to vote in this country very seriously, he always voted, always. And he had something to say about those people who took that right for granted "If they took away these people's freedom to vote they'd be screaming their heads off"...and he was right. So think about your choice for president on Nov. 4th, and go cast your ballot in this historical election. Of course I have no clue why anyone would want to vote for an angry, crazed old man and his half-brained, blood thirsty, running mate, but if that's your choice and they pull off a win then I hope you can live with that on your conscience when they destroy this country. It's no secret I fully support Obama and Biden, and good God I hope they win for the sake of this country and my sanity!! Yes We Can!!

Amazing Vegetarian Lasagna

This is the most amazing lasagna I have ever had in my life, in fact I had never really even liked lasagna till I tried this recipe. It's so good I made it for dinner last Valentine's Day for my boyfriend, who absolutely loved it. Just looking at the picture of it makes me hungry, and trust me the picture does not do it justice. This recipe is from a Martha Stewart magazine but tweaked by my Mom. Herbivores and carnivores can both agree that this veggie lasagna is simply delicious!




The recipe calls for:

-1 large jar of marinara sauce (28 oz or larger) or pasta sauce of your choice
-1 lb no boil lasagna noodles (it's important to use the no boil kind, otherwise it doesn't taste as good).
-8 oz. button mushrooms finely chopped
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 and a half cups zucchini, diced small
-1/2 cup red or green pepper ( I use red), diced small
-1 cup chopped onion
-3/4 cup grated Parmesan
-4 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach leaves
-5 cups grated mozzarella
-1 and 1/4 cups Ricotta
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-2 tbsp olive oil

How to make the sauce-
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot; add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for one minute stirring frequently. Then add the mushrooms, zucchini and bell pepper. Cook, stirring until just tender ( about 5 minutes ). Add the jar of marinara and simmer one minute. Add the chopped spinach and simmer for one minute. Remove from heat.

Assembly-
Spray a 9x12 pan, or casserole dish. Place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the pan and spread around. Top with a layer of no boil noodles. Next spread 1/3 of the Ricotta, then about 1 and a half cups sauce, then sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella and 3 tbsp Parmesan. Repeat this process two more times. Finish off with a layer of noodles, the remaining sauce, remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

Baking-
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 more minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.