Did Someone say "Candy Apples"

Oh yes I did....
I have been craving candy apples for sooo long and since I have an abundance of apples in my house I figured I would make some. I tried many recipes for candy apples in the past but this one I found on the Internet by FAR beat out all the other ones that I've tried. Also, it used the least amount of ingredients (everything one should have in their kitchen.

So I am going to be a good friend and share this recipe with you all. Because I am so loving and maybe you will have a much fun doing them with your children as much as I did with mine.

Ingredients
2c of granulated sugar
1/2c light corn syrup
3/4c water
3/4tsp of red food coloring
8 medium apples (I used a mixture of Granny Smith and delicious apples)
Candy thermometer

1. First you need to wash and dry your apples so the candy will adhere to them.
   
   
2. Next, insert your sticks into the apples. ( I used wooden dowels b/c they are a lot thicker than Popsicle sticks)

You also need to line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with some Pam (baking ). That's so the candy apples will not stick to the sheet when they are done.

Making the Candy

1. In a medium saucepan, put all of your ingredients together.


2. Stir until the sugar has dissolved (Important- the sugar must be dissolved before it boils to prevent crystallization)




3. When the liquid starts boiling reduce the heat to a simmer and if you notice the liquid starts to crystallize around the edges of the pan use a pastry brush with warm water to wipe it away.





4. When the liquid reached 280 degrees F take it off of the heat.
   
   


5. Then, you can start your dipping.

Okay, I had to take a picture of the girls eating them. I mean......you have to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

It was definitely bath time after they ate them. They were sooooooo sticky. But they were very delicious.

Hope you guys enjoy

Busy hands

Well, you guys I thought I could not do anymore until I came across an email from the good ole Martha Stewart. Talking about how relaxing crocheting can be. So I decided to take her up on that because God knows I need some relaxation in my life right now. I did not want to start with something really hard so I mosied on over to the beginners tab of the website and saw some really pretty Christmas stockings that I could crochet.

Let me tell you, crocheting is not easy at all.

So I called my mother, the Queen of crocheting and asked her to help me. Years ago she tried to get me into crocheting and my mind was going 110mph because I didn't understand the crocheting lingo. But, I have to say after LOTS and LOTS of reading the same thing over and over again. I finally got it (not all of it though).

It took me almost two weeks to finish one stocking. Now, that I have completed the second stocking I am feeling much better about crocheting.

Here is two of the four stocking that I am doing. It is not completely done yet, I still have to crochet the leaves and sew them on.





When I am finished them all I will show the pictures.

Faux yarn balls with felt mums

I know it has been ages since I've last blogged. But homeschooling an 8year old, constantly taking care of an 2 year old and taking care of a pregnant mommy (myself) and all the other household duties. Blogging was just not in my vocab at the time.

Now, that I finally scrapped myself from my living room couch. I can say that I am ready to craft again. and I started by making a new center piece for my dinning room table. I was so tired of looking at the faux-flowers. I knew I had some felt left over and since I started to crochet I had the yarn. Since I liked to create from what I already have. I didn't run out to the crafting stores to buy some styrofoam balls. So I used what I had.

Materials:
An old magazine
Yarn (any color)
Soft felt
Glue gun
Thread and needle
Tape

First I started off by making the yarn balls. You can do them in any order (of course). But, you take at least 5-6 pieces of magazine paper, depending on how big you want your balls (I swear I am not using that frase like it sounds). Magazine paper is more flexible than other types of paper because it is so thin, you can make the balls tighter.

After you got your balls to the right size then you put tape around it to hold any loose pieces of paper in place. Now it is time to start gluing your yarn.

I would say wrap the yarn around 10-12 times before changing directions. Keep wrapping until the the entire ball is covered with yarn.

Felted Mum

Since fall mums are typically yellow, Burgundy and orange you can use those colors or any that you can. But, I used yellow and pink.

First start off buy cutting out your pedals which should be cut in a + (addition sign) shape. A standard size mum needs no more than 12 pedals. Then you cut a 2" circle and start sewing on your pedals along the outside and working your way in. The tighter you pull on the pedal it will make it look like the shape of a U.

Once all of the pedals have been sewn on, then you can cut out your leaves using the green felt. Mum leaves usually have three leaves on each side.

Also, you need to cut out a 2" diameter circle, the same color as the leaves to cover up all the work.

The wah-lah you are finish. A quick and easy project you can do to make your house look more fall like.