Bastelesel

17 Jan 2015

A tasty delicacy for buffet, card dinner or carnival party. Cheap and easily prepared. For 12-15 big mushrooms you’ll need:

2 shallots
2 tbsp cooking oil, salt, pepper
3.5oz boiled ham (alt. half boiled ham, half gammon)
3.5oz young Gouda
2-3 tbsp parsley, chopped
1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs

Clean mushrooms and take out shafts carefully. Cut into dice ham, chees, shallots and shafts. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in frying pan and roast mushroom heads on both sides. Remove them from pan and place in a casserole. Salt heads inside. Heat another tablespoon of oil and roast shallot and mushroom dice until liquid has evaporated.

Add cheese, jam, parsley and breadcrumbs to the shallot-mushroom mix. Season with salt and pepper. Then fill into prepared mushroom heads with the help of two tea spoons. Gratinate in the oven at 390°F for 10-15 minutes.

Eat the stuffed mushrooms hot or cold. Served with filled chillies, mini-bell peppers and a fresh loaf of bread you’ll even have a snack or light dinner.
Remark:
If you take a unsliced cheese simply grade it coarsely. Sliced cheese can be cut into dice however.

14 Jan 2015

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by Elke

Man’s business

For today only a supplement to the yesterday’s post with two versions of my purse suitable for men. The yellow “supporter’s bag” doesn’t have two layers because I don’t feel bothered by seeing it from the outside. The club’s logos derive from a sporting goods catalogue. Some old maps and city guides were used for the embellishment of my travelling bag.

In this case I also decorated the purses’ backside. A suitcase usually is pasted up with lots of souvenirs and for the yellow purse I had to hide the end of the handles. At the bottom of my supporter’s bag the USB flash drive shows through. He’s filled with lots of old pictures made on the occasion of several matches. Besides the note for a trip I repeated the “Berlin Bear” inside with a small chocolate bear. Both examples clearly show how easy it is to use these purses for any person and any occasion. Just go adead and try something new!

13 Jan 2015

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by Elke

Money purse

The Holidays just over we already start with the birthday round dance. There’s often no good idea left after all the gifts crafted and bought for Christmas. With the help of our little purse hiding a banknote and/or suncream you’ll surely delight every birthday girl or boy. Your choice of paper and the decoration make it fitting. In my case it’s a soft-skinned hobby gardener and the money will surely be transferred into seeds or plants as soon as the sun will warm us again.

The necessary materials are shown on a PDF ready for free download. The purse consists of two card stock rectangles mesuring 6.5 x 4.5 inches. For the inner card stock you may take a simple white one. A design mix looks very well too. Cut and fold the inner card stock as marked on the template. The outer one is only to be folded twice.

Spread glue on the back side of the inner card stock omitting the gutters to be folded up lateron. Fix the two pieces of ribbon as handles on the backside of your printed card stock piece and glue inner card stock on top accurately fitting.

On one side of the printed card stock fix a locking flap. I simply hid the end with a leave cut from a paper remainder. On the opposite side of the purse you need to glue the latch holding the flap. You may take a straight one or just one resembling to the paper design. As a gift tag I twisted a little trefoil round the handle to write the name of the recipient or a little compliment.

Either banknote or suncream are slipped beneath the center gutter. The smaller ones prevent the gift from falling out. Fold your banknote and place it under or on top of your suncream or simply wrap the tube with the note.

This purse will collect a lipp stick, lip balm or USB flash drive as well. Wether you offer it with our without money the recipient will in any case be happy about this fancy gift. If you want to hide a bigger tube or bottle you need to increase the size of your purse and the gutters accordingly.

P.S. I only left my marks on the interior card stock for demonstration purposes.

08 Jan 2015

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by Elke

Candle with natural scent

Both, the coffee scented and the unscented twig light were already described. Still missing the instructions for the lovely orange scented candle holder. According to the size of your jar you nee water, 3-5 orange slices, 2-3 star anis, 1-2 cinnamon sticks and eventually one slice of fresh ginger. Boil water, orange slices and spices in a pan and let simmer for 10 minutes. Wait until particulate material sinks and pour content carefully from pan into your jar. If you take a floating tea light holder you may use the boiling immediately. For a floating candle it needs to cool down because otherwise the wax of your floating candle will start to melt from the outside.

The boiling allows refreshing at least two or three times to evaporate the delicious scent in your home. Just fill it in a lockable jar and place it in the refrigerator after use. The next time simply place your jar in a water bath or pour it in a pan again for reheating. If necessary add some further water. Bottled like this you may take your scented candle as a gift as well. You’ll find the free template for a gift tag here. These candles are to be composed with lots of spices, plants or fruit. A further winter scent is a composition of fir or pine twigs, bay leaf and cloves. Simply try yourself which kind of composition you like best.

06 Jan 2015

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by Elke

Winter candles

After all these days full of twinkling Holiday gifts and decorations it’s quite difficult to find new ideas for our homes. Searching among lots of pinterest pictures I found three wonderful tea light holders. One of them unscented but the others scenting either coffee or orange/cinnamon. For the coffee scented take a jar and pour some coffee beans onto the ground. Then place a smaller tea light holder in the middle and fill the free space with further coffee beans. Add tea light and scent the coffee fragrance as soon as the light transfers its heat to the coffee beans.

Those who just prefer fine appearance and resign all kinds of scent will surely love the natural tea light with dried twigs out of the garden. Fill water in a large jar and place different twigs at the bottom of it. Clamping one or two twigs between the glass walls prevents thinner twigs to come up. Thus the surface is free for a floating tea light holder or a floating candle.

Floating tea light holders are available in different sizes, colors and materials. Their advantage: you only need a simple tea light to be place inside and don’t have to buy extra loating candles. With these you’ll risk wax leakage that will eventually stick together other decoration parts.
The third tea light’s floating in orange/cinnamon scented water. A detailed how to instruction and a tag template to use the jar as a gift will follow soon.