The Groups Birthday Celebration

Every couple of months we usually end up having the joy of celebrating one of the girls birthday. This month we are enjoying Christys special day at my home.  She is seated wearing a pretty dark plum jacket today by Elie. Elie Tahari (born 1952 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli-American luxury fashion designer of men and women's clothing. Thought I'd add a little fun fact there, if your like me. I always love little tidbits of information.

The whole group together for the celebration. We started by having champagne with a simple syrup made of cranberries and orange, called the Ruby Sippers. Followed by Potato Soup with Honey Baked Ham, an old recipe I've had for over 20 years, along with my version of a Fall Cranberry Salad, Steak Bruschetta and and fresh Raspberry Mousse. I chose not to have a traditional cake, instead what I did was incorporated our project around pop cakes. So the project of the week was to learn and decorate Cake Pops and Truffles. Recipes to follow. All was prepared ahead of time, so the girls could simply enjoy their time!

A close up of each table setting. I first started with a table cloth of tiny simple design with an overlay of dark champagne with matte sequins. I then added a selection of vintage wine glasses for a bit of bling and then moved on to a flat placemat of dark gold capiz shell, a wooden charger topped off with a bronze ribbon, a white dinner plate, a salad plate with an image of a pheasant, a bowl and finished off with a beaded napkin and a bendy for the napkin ring. Pulling out the silver was another elegant touch for this special day. While putting this table together I kept in mind color, texture and interest by adding candle holders of all sizes, fresh flowers in an oversized mercury container and also added touches gold with Ferrer truffles scattered throughout the table.  I took all my inspiration from Kims amazing tablescapes, which she makes oh so lovely!

Christy enjoying her moment after lunch. 

Because we try to live creatively, learn and share. My project was (decorate cake pops and truffles) to incorporate something I thought the

birthday girl would love, and to make the project quick and easy after a lovely lunch.

Pictured here Betsy is hard at work. I had everything prepared ahead of time the cake pops were baked, truffles were made into balls, and all the sprinkles, frostings etc... set out. So all the girls had to do was have fun decorating. 

A handful of chocolate never hurt anyone. 

I made sure as to have the treat trays on hand and the cellophane and ribbon ready for easy travel.

This was a huge hit being so close to the holidays. What a yummy treat to take home or give to your hostess for a great party.

Ruby Sippers

Makes 6 cocktails

Recipe can be doubled

Pulse in processor

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup cranberry juice cocktail

Put into saucepan over med. heat and then add

1 cup sugar 

1 orange and ( zest of the orange - use micro planer or zester) and juice of 1 orange

If desired rub the rims of champagne flutes with and orange and dip in red sugar and set aside.

Simmer in a saucepan over med. heat w/ sugar, orange rind, and juice until syrupy about 10 min. Strain and cool to room temperature.

Pour 1 to 2 Tlbs. into bottom of glasses then top with sparkling wine. Garnish cocktails with whole cranberries if desired.

Potato Soup

3 cups water

6 chicken boullion cubes

3 onions

10-12 potatoes

1 stick butter or magarine

3 Tlbs. parsley

1 1/2 Tlbs. salt

1 1/2 tsp. pepper

1 package colby or cheddar cheese

1 or 2 cans evaporated milk

1 Tlbs. cornstarch

2 cups ham (optional) Honey Baked 

Put water,bullion,onions,potatoes,butter,salt,pepper in large stock pot and cook potatoes until done then add ham to warm. When ready add parsley, milk, cornstarch and cook until thickened ( just a couple of minutes ) then add cheese to finish off. 

Melt in your Mouth Truffles

makes 3 dozen

Melt 1/2 cup heavy cream

8 Oz. dark chocolate (couresly chopped)

Stir In - 1/4 cup butter softened

Cool then add 2 teaspoons vanilla

Refrigerate until firm

Make 1” balls and roll in finely chopped nuts, cocoa, powdered sugar, etc.

Refrigerate and Store

Peanut Butter Balls

1/2 Cup peanut butter

3 Tlbs. butter

1/4 Cup Rice Krispie Cereal

1 Cup powdered sugar

Combine and knead until smooth, shape into balls.

Dip in chocolate.

Simple Truffles

2 1/2 pkgs. of Bakers Chocolate or (20 squares)

or 1 Bag of White chocolate Chips

8 oz. pkg of Cream Cheese
Melt chocolate and beat cream cheese w/mixer until creamy.

Decorations of your choice

1. Blend in melted chocolate and refrigerate until firm.
2. Shape into 36 balls and place on wax paper.
3. Melt remaining chocolate and use fork to dip truffles and decorate.

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

So the 8 Lovelies had the pleasure of going to lunch at 

another members home. Kim not only has a beautiful home but she makes it inviting and alluring. She uses her home to host lovely parties and luncheons such as this for her lovelies group with which we belong.  Kim believes in sharing her home with those she loves.  Upon entering the dining room your immediately in awe of the warm color scheme and neutral tones of the the entire space, love the red walls.  She totally outdid herself with this years centerpiece for her amazing table, all designed and decorated by her. She fooled me, I thought she purchased it.

Here you will find a pheasant as the main focal of the centerpiece. He is rather large which makes him noticeable and brings him to the forefront. To make the centerpiece cohesive Kim added pheasant feathers throughout, along with different greens, feathers and pine cones. She started with a basket and added all the color and textures she wanted for the the main event.

Here notice how she added more pheasant feathers under the arrangement for more cohesiveness. She served soup in ceramic white pumpkin bowls. The tablecloth is layered with a textured fabric and topped off with burlap. She used feathered napkin rings and ochre napkins to compliment the overall green color scheme. The napkins can be found at Pier1 Imports. Notice the orange pumpkins as well for more unity.

She made us all feel so special by pulling out all the stops. Notice the feather placemat and the silver plate charger under the china. The turkey plates are a seasonal addition which brings joy to the Thanksgiving table. They can be found at Pottery Barn. She used brown wine goblets and served a lovely wine during lunch. It is always a treat to visit with friends and enjoy the fruits of their labor. In this case, Kim uses her talent of table scaping. She uses the table as her palette, and she succeeds in not only design but using her home as a place to express her talent. Thank you Kim for your friendship and talent!

Celebrating Halloween!

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Scratch the watching horror films, that would freak me out! Well the 8 Lovelies decided to celebrate Halloween on our weekly Tuesday meeting, by serving a fantastic lunch with a fun project following.  The hosts were Sarah (above) wearing her amazing and creative witches hat, and Betsy Fry. Thank you ladies for the wonderful lunch! 

The table is set amazingly with a white table cloth and an overlay of black, which resembles cobwebs. The iron candle holders are torch like with an ivory candle inside. The black owls are fun whimsical embellished with glitter. Sarah scattered pumpkins throughout, some sprayed in gold and others in orange. She also layered the table settings with a black charger, ivory scalloped dinner plate, white salad bowl and white pumpkin bowls for the soup. So creative and festive!

These fun gifts were placed at each place setting. They are a set of 24 cupcake liners and assorted toppers. The toppers are ghosts and witches. What a great gift! Thank you Betsy.

After our delicious lunch we made it to Sarah's craft room and gathered fabrics, lace, buttons etc...and assembled sachets. We filled them with plastic bags to fill up space and lavender for a sweet aromatic touch. Pictured above you will find the brown sachet that Tina made. She stitched rows of different fabric, making a quilt like swatch and then adding a simple and plain back. Tina embellished the front also with a satin ribbon and an antique brooch. She is always trying to create different textures and shapes for interest.

Sarah's sachet is made with a dark purple fabric with a black and gold scroll design. She took a chiffon ribbon and wrapped it around the sachet tacked it in place and for the final elegant touch added the gold flower charm. The charm was from a bracelet which was broken. This is a great way to upcycle your old tired or vintage jewels.  Just lovely!

Laurie made an ivory sachet which was made from an extra piece of fabric that Jenny had. It was covered with iridescent dots covering the entire piece. She also took an ivory satin ribbon and wrapped the little pillow and embellished it with the same gold metal flower. So elegant Laurie. Sachets are perfect for closets, drawers and any other place in need of a sachet.

Sheryl made her sachet using a gold toned fabric that she turned inside out. She added a piece of canvas that was embellished with floral trim and a variety of stitching. Adding the handle makes it versatile to place anywhere. The black flower pin was a punch that completes the sachet. Oh so lovely!

Glass Fusion Workshop

 So for this meeting our lovely Laurie had set up a workshop for glass fusion. It was a huge hit, we all loved it. Pictured here you will find Christys glass dish, made with a deep dark red with a black edge. Oh so elegant and chic!

 Sarahs design was more complicated and reminded me of a tetris game. She worked oh so carefully and it showed! Simply Lovely!

 Here you'll find Jennys fun and whimsical design. She went outside of the box and used frit (a form of tiny bits and pieces of glass) along with many layers of glass. So creative and lovely!

 Pictured here you'll find Lauries meticulous dish which is so wonderful. My eye is drawn automatically to the diagonal strip on the left. Our lovely ladies have so much talent and design concept.

 Here you have Tinas design which is reminiscent of a landscape. She is a painter so she thinks of her canvas when working with her glass. Simple and sweet!

A few more completed items from the workshop. The words, letters and pendants proved to be colorful and whimsical, oh so lovely!

This project proved to be successful because the 8 lovelies had never tried glass work before, and we went for it! There is something very contemporary and seductive about glass which makes it so appealing. If you ever get a chance or have a studio in your area, sign up for a workshop. I promise you'll love it.  I forgot to mention that this project was also inspired by a deal on Living Social. So remember that it doesn't matter what the project is, just do it. You can live creatively if you try! Our workshop location was the Mud Room in Ada, MI.

Things to do on a sunny fall day

Tuesday October 4th was our day for terrific tuesday with the crafternooners. So our hostess Sheryl had a wonderful plan of having a light lunch poolside with a fun craft creating chic floral arrangements.

Christy and Sheryls designs were so pretty and minimal in these clear glass containers. Sometimes less is more. 

Jenny added some fun elements such as silver and gold nuggets for added bling, but yet keeping it minimal.

Tina decided to submerse her orchid for another look. 

Betsy wanted to use callas for height. So elegant!

Keeping an arrangement low is contemporary with a huge impact.

Loving this Hawaiian protea, for it is quite elegant especially when paired with black nuggets in the container and yellow kangaroo paws. 

The pink King Protea is so appealing because of the soft petals. Don't you wish you could just touch it?

Another simple but chic arrangement.

Sheryl our hostess at work. Thank you Sheryl for ordering great weather for us. The lunch and project were a great hit. This is a super great idea for a group to not only enjoy each others company but to live creatively while enjoying the great outdoors. 

First class of the season for the 8 Lovelies!

 Last week at our opening lunch we had a fantastic reunion. We talked about our busy summers, celebrated our friendship and planned our upcoming season. The girls have decided to possible do crafts for a couple of weeks long so that we can have time for our socializing and crafting. Our options were keep things the same, extend the craft for 2 weeks or even 4 weeks. The vote was extending the project for 2 weeks if needed. We gather our ideas and thoughts, take everyones ideas into consideration and the host of the week has full option for lunch and project. What fun. So on our first class Tina decided to have a learning lunch. We combined Lovely Betsys birthday and a Camera update workshop.

Tina brought a boxed lunch and Christy brought a cake, an what a yummy cake it was. Tina (me) kept the lunch simple because we wanted to get working. I did learn a few things and I refreshed my memory. If you don't use your tools (camera) sometimes you can forget what you have learned. I haven't had a photography class in years. Whew....we did it and it was fun. If you check your local computer/camera/printing business, they love fun workshops like this! Gather a couple of your friends and trust me, you'll have fun. We missed you Jenny and Laurie.

 Miss Sheryl using her Nikon and I am adjusting my white balance. It's looking good so far.

 Miss Kimmie listening intently. Your such a good student.

 Lovely Sarah, having fun as always. We need to go back to photo evo, so we can go from camera to computer (printing) and beyond. Are you ready girls? Oh...we are always ready, but is there enough time? A big shout out to Toren at Photo Evo for accommodating all of us, and allowing us to basically take over the studio.

One of Betsys beautiful birthday gifts. We were thinking about creating something like this for a future project. Thank you for the lovely inspiration - artist whom created this pretty bowl!
Next week lovelies we are scheduled for a field trip to Saugatuck.

"May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."   - irish blessing

recycling blankets - embellishing blankets

One of our last projects of the season (we meet Sept. - May ) was recycling and embellishing blankets. Jenny one of our lovelies finished and photographed her throw. Here you can see that she took an old sweater and cut out shapes for the petals of her flowers and then she layered them with yarn and threads of bright colors which made this blanket just pop. The complimentary color contrast also helped this blanket stand out. She not only used old sweaters but yarn, string and pearls. When recycling your old blankets, keep in mind that any scrap materials, strings, yarns, buttons, pearls etc...will make an interesting and fun blanket. We used new blankets from the clearance section at Macys, which were a nice choice for us. They were soft and fluffy which could hide a multitude of sins ( irregular handstitching ). I do however have many of these inexpensive fluffy blankets laying around and can't wait to try my hand at recycling. Thanks Jenny for another fun, simple and completed project! and thanks Sheryl for your inpiration that came to fruition.

Lovelies take an offsite soldering class

So the Lovelies got alittle brave and decided to take a class on soldering. Bead Quest in Grand Rapids could accomodate five of us in a private instructional workshop. The price was $45.00 for the class and $30.00 for the sterling silver, solder and clasp. Bead Quest offers a variety of classes such as: Basic Wire Wrapping, Glass Fusing, Etching, Chain Maille and a variety of other classes. Get a group of your best friends together and schedule a private class, you'll love it! There is nothing like getting personal instructional help. It can be scarey, but we conquered our fear and just did it. 

This is the bracelet I made! I love the imperfections and the idea that I made it all by myself. I think I will add some large stones or something to bling it up abit. 

Setting a Table for Easter Lunch

The Lovelies were in for a treat today! The groups weekly lunch was held at the home of one of the members, and was set for the most wonderful lunch you could possibly enjoy. The table was adorned with porcelain, ceramic, nature, glass, silver, crystal and silk. I don't think I missed anything. As an artist (painter) I feel that texture plays a huge role in making any composition work, whether it's a painting, your outfit, decorating or your next sewing project. It all needs to be cohesive and have elements of surprise along with a variety of textures. Then I think you've made the project successful and pleasing to the eye. Well Kimmie not only kept our interest, but her table had all the elements needed to be successful. She is a wonderful and talented artist and her home is her canvas. So the next time you get stuck on design. Think of your home as your canvas. Work it and make it work! Here you'll see little snapshots of her amazing Easter table. Thank you Kimmie

Chicken Salad with dill in melons... oh so yummy!

Nature added to a table...oh so lovely!

Poppyseed muffins, brie and red pepper jelly tarts & salami rolls!

Wouldn't be easter without our little bunny bringing us eggs.