KitchStitch is Fantabulously Featured!

I am thrilled to be featured today by a blogger that shares an affinity of all things handmade.  Check out her Monday’s Etsy posting, highlighting yours truly:  http://fantabulouslyfrugal.com/2012/11/kitchstitch-etsy-giveaway/

Technorati Tags: etsy,purse,bird,owl

Goodbye Miss Fall, Hello Mr. Winter....

It has been a busy fall with visits from friends and family (including my beautiful niece), travels to the great state of Texas, last few fall hikes and also filling the shop with new pieces. Stay tuned for new trends around the shop for the holidays.

Christmas Comes Early

Not sure where to start with the holiday shopping this year?  Check out the latest trends on Etsy:

Hand Screenprinted cards by One Lantern

Personalized Christmas stockings by Stitchery 33

Christmas elves bookmarks by myBOOKmark

Sew Sunny

It’s been a busy summer around the shop for birthdays and new babies.  I just wanted to share a few of them as they have (finally ) been gifted to their owners.  I never get tired of Ms. Amy Butler….her fabrics are used for a few of these and continue to upstage the bag design.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Amy Butler,Morning Glory,Lotus,Polka Dots,Sunflowers,Totes,Diaper Bag,Purse,Pleats,Handmade

Some Call It Crossroads, I Call It a Junction

After 3 decades I finally made it back to my old stomping grounds to Grand Junction and the Grande Mesa in western Colorado. I celebrated 7 wonderful years of marriage with my sweet husband, and wondered where all the time went. But I also had the blessed opportunity to take my father's ashes back to the Mesa where he spent many days hunting, camping, and teaching his family life lessons in the great outdoors. I truly get the meaning of God's country. These snapshots do not do the justice of the tranquil vistas, pine scented air, soft crickets at dusk, touch of cool basalt lake water, smell of firewood, and also the enormous scale of this forest. The winds atop the cool Mesa carried him away and he will forever be amongst the nature and wildlife he cherished so much. Simply beautiful, I will be back.

Nice to Pleat You

I had a lot of fun digging into my summer fabrics this Memorial Day Weekend. Three new handbags will hit the shop this week, with a new A-line shape and pleats to boot. I am having a hard time not taking one for myself....there's always next weekend.

Getting Ready for Summer BBQ

Grass is green, flowers are blooming, and the invites are out for the summer bbq’s and picnics.  I thought I would share a few new favorites that I tote along to the festivities….

Brickle

This is a fantastic recipe (from Macheesmo blog) that my brother shared with me that is good year round.  It’s delicious & easy to make.  If you are one of those sweet tooth’s that likes a little salty mixed in, this one is a must try. 

Yield: Serves 8-10.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours

Ingredients:

40 Saltine crackers (one sleeve about)
1 Cup salted butter (don't substitute)
1 Cup brown sugar
1 12 ounce package of chocolate chips
5-6 Heath bars, crunched up for topping

Take your largest sheet or baking tray (make sure it is rimmed) and line it with foil. Then toss down your crackers. Make sure that they don’t overlap. That’s pretty much the only rule. The crackers should fill up the baking sheet perfectly. If you have a smaller baking sheet, then you will obviously need less crackers.

Now the only actual hard part in the whole recipe and it isn’t that hard: making the caramel. Just melt your butter in a saucepan and then stir in your brown sugar. Once it starts bubbling, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir continuously or it might burn.

Next, stick your baking sheet in the oven at 325 degrees for 5-10 minutes. The original recipe called for 5 minutes, but mine took 10. Basically, you want the caramel to spread out nicely over the crackers. It should bubble a bit.

When you take it out of the oven, pour your chocolate chips on the tray right away. The residual heat from the oven will be more than enough to melt the chocolate. Let it sit for 5 minutes to melt.

You can use those 5 minutes while the chocolate melts to crumble up your Heath bars. Again, don’t worry about making them even or anything. Part of the charm of this dish is the random sizes of everything.

After 5 minutes, use a spatula to spread out your chocolate and make the chips flat. Then sprinkle on your Heath pieces.

Then just stick this whole thing in your freezer! You have to make sure you give this stuff time to freeze solid. I let mine sit for about 4 hours in there and that was more than enough time.

Then take it out and if your brickle is rock hard, flip it over and peel of the foil which should come off in one full sheet!  Then just bust the stuff up!

The Arnold Palmer

1/2 glass of ice tea and fill the rest of the glass with fresh lemonade.

As you can see it’s not terribly complicated. Get yourself a mason jar, fill it with ice, a squeeze of fresh lemon or some torn mint leaves to garnish and it’s ready to serve.

Jalepenos Wrapped in Bacon

Why not bring the heat in the middle of the hot summer?  This recipe is a summer favorite that I like to bring to represent my roots….jalepenos + bacon = southern.  If your eyes are watering thinking about it, you can always go with the red pepper for it’s sweet finish.  If your mouth is watering, continue with the green…it offsets the juicy bacon famously!

 

Ingredients:

• 25 fresh jalapeno peppers (red/sweet or green/hot)
• 14 -16 ounces cream cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 (16 ounce) packages bacon
• 1 small jar of pimentos
• 1 – 4 oz. can of diced olives

Directions:

1. Cut stems off of peppers and cut them all in half longways.

2. Remove seeds from peppers.

3. Mix cream cheese, shredded cheese, pimentose & olives in a bowl.  Then fill each pepper with filling.

4. Wrap 1/2 slice of bacon around each pepper half.

5. Pierce each pepper with a toothpick down the center.

6. Place each pepper on the grill until bacon is cooked. 

7. Cool then enjoy!  Keep those Arnold Palmers handy!