Bastelesel

22 Jan 2016

Valentine’s Day will be on a Sunday this year. So what about inviting your family or dearest friends for a huge meeting for a Valentine’s breakfast.
The invitation is written on a jar shaped card and the smaller version serves as a place card or napkin holder. Add some matching paper napkins and chocolate candies and a lovely breakfast table’s waiting for bread, marmelade, ham and eggs and everything else that makes a good breakfast.

The double jar needs to be cut out in one piece and folded between the two lids. Tie a ribbon just beneath the lids after your invitation has been written. The top jar contains “marmelade” in our case and because it’s for Valentine’s Day I chose a heart printed paper. A lable glued in its center shows us that it’s an invitation. If you want to allow your guests to use the card again just cut out one single jar to write down your invitation and place it between the two layers of your folded card.

The small card needs to be cut out twice. For the back just cut it without a lid. Glue both card parts together on one side and fold along the glue line. Thus the card will open easily and stand on a plate or table. Fix your ribbon and name tag just on the front part of the card. Inside you may even write down a little word like “nice to know you” or whatever you wish to say.

Cut out in other colors you may take this jar shaped card for any breakfast all over the year. I made it in brown once matching with my dishes. Unfortunately I only took a picture of the small place card. In this case the double jar is cut out like the big one and foled between the lids.The name tag is hanging down the front part of my jar and due to the folding line it’s standing beside the plate like a small ladder. You may as well put it over the chocolate bar or roll a paper napkin beneath the two parts.

There are papers and card stocks available in countless color versions and breakfast among family and friends, well that’s always something special. If you’re afraid of all the work to be done then simply ask your guests to contribute something to that morning meal.

20 Jan 2016

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by Elke

Distressed

Time is precious, really precious but often we just notice it when we don’t have any time left. No time left for spending time together, no time for a nice word, no time for a hug and sometimes even no time to say good-bye to someone leaving forever.
Ideas for St. Valentine’s Day was the original plan for today’s post. The sudden death of a colleague’s husband forces us to pause and consequently forget about crafting and decorating for a day or two.
Then however I’ll post my ideas again. In view of such unpredictable strokes we should probably celebrate our personal and private Valentine’s Day more than once a year and spend time with our partner, our families or our friends.

15 Jan 2016

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by Elke

Muffin roses

A sweet yeast dough baked in muffin cups – you’ll love them even if usually you’re not muffins’ best friend. All those who fear to make a yeast dough should really try this recipe. With 250g of flour you’ll get 12-14 depending on the thickness of your shaped dough.

Dough ingredients:
250g flour
1 egg size M
1 dash of salt
10g fresh yeast
appr 65ml milk (liukewarm)
30g soft unsalted butter
40g caster sugar
(1 whisked egg to brush roses before cooking)

Ingredients for filling:
1 rasped apple
1 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp foliated hazelnut
1 tbsp honey

Mix flour with salt, egg, yeast and milk. Leave to rest for 15 minutes to get dough elastic and easy to knead. Then fold in soft butter and add sugar successively until completely absorbed by the dough. Cover with a moist kitchen towel and leave to rest for an hour at least. Then put dough on a lightly floured working place, flatten and spread it with your hands. Fold dough from the left and right side to the middle and then from top and bottom to the middle too. Leave ” packet” for a further rest of 20 minutes.

In the meantime rasp the apple. Add almonds, hazelnut, honey and mix.

Divide dough into four equal parts and roll out one after the other. Cut three 10cm circles of each part.

Cut each circle into quarters but leave the middle for filling. Amass filling in the middle with the help of two teaspoons. Now wrap the filling clockwise with the dough quarters overlapping. Give ready roses into a muffin mold and brush with whisked egg. Then cook at 180°C in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave on a rack for cooling. Then lift them off the cups.

Dust them with powdered sugar and serve them with some whisked cream. Simply irresistible and amazing for coming St Valentine’s Day.

12 Jan 2016

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by Elke

A cup of ….

tea with a sweet cookie for your sick neighbour, delicious chocolate bars for your flower loving friend or a cup of many cherry kisses for Valentine’s Day. All you need is a piece of card stock measuring 24 x 20 cm, some colored paper, template, pencil, folding tool, scissors and glue.

Take card stock and fold the long side at 4,8,12,16,20 and 24cm. The edge of 1cm width is needed close the cup lateron. The short side will be folded at 4 and 14cm. The result is three sections of 4, 6 and 10cm width. For the cup’s sides you’ll need 6 pieces of printed paper mesuring 8×3,5 cm. Glue them to the 10cm long sections in the middle of your card stock. Before sticking your cup the lower 4cm part needs to be intersected so that it’s easier to fold a neat bottom.

Fold the six sections one after the other and cut a triangle with its point meeting the 4cm folding line. Owners of an envelope punch board only need to fold and insert the 4cm line in the middle of the punch. (foto: shows card stock punched with punch board)

Now the upper 6cm section will be folded to the left side of your cup. Doing this just insert the 1cm flap beneath the two layers on the opposite side and form your cup.

Now turn the cup and glue its bottom. Take one section after the other and place it on top of the former one. Finally cut a circle just a bit smaller than your cub bottom and glue it on top.

A strip of 13 x 2cm will work as a cup handle. Cut a stripe of 12 x 1,5cm from your colored paper and glue it to the middle of the card stock stripe. Tear it along the folding tool to round it a bit. Then place it in the middle of one section and fix with a dot of glue. If you’re a perfectionist leave one of the six sections free when starting and assemble handle and paper right now and glue it to the free part of your cup. At the bottom just glue the handle on top of the colored inner part.

A little gift tag will show donor and addressee. Choose the tag’s colour and shape according your cup and the occasion you’re offfering it for. Cut a pink flower for the blue cup and of course a shining heart for your Valentine’s cup.

10 Jan 2016

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by Elke

(Deutsch) Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

Unfortunately there’s no english version of this lovely novel. So please try it in German (see above) or French – Les perroquets de la Place d’Arezzo.