Wine Bottle Decor

A photo posted by Steph Wolcott (@simplyhomesweethome) on Nov 28, 2015 at 9:41pm PST

Making New Wood look a little older~ Weathered Wood Technique

I love the look of weathered and love to use reclaimed wood. I don't always have the perfect piece of old wood laying around when I need it.  I added a little age to a new pine board before painting it with JOY!

Step 1:

* Sand your wood surface well and wipe off dust

* I mixed up brown milk paint as a stain~ 3 parts water and 1 part milk paint powder- I used  a combination of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Curio and Homestead House's Milk Paint in Algonquin. It gave the board a nice grayish brown stain. 

* Do not wipe any off. Just let it sit on wood, until dry to touch. ( I sped up the drying with my heat gun)

To get a more distressed, old, worn look on new wood, use any sort of random tools to dent, pound, and  bang up the board.  I used a hammer and a small metal piece that I found.  Do this vary randomly.  Different types of grooves and dents can be made by using different tools and objects. I used the back of the hammer and the front part of the hammer to bang up the wood a bit, so it didn't look so 'perfect'.

Step 2: 

* Use a white paint and a piece of foam or a sponge and lightly brush a dry coat of paint on the top of the stained board.

I used a nice white mineral paint by Pure Earth in the Color White Jade.  I like to use a piece of foam or a sponge for more control but a foam brush would work too.  

* You don't want the paint to cover the wood completely at all. You are mainly just using it for it's white color and matte finish, to achieve a layered, weathered, gray look for the end product.

Step 3:

* Use flat gray paint in any shade you choose. I used Pure Earth in a color called Meteorite~ a light gray. 

* Use a paintbrush, dip the end into the paint, and then wipe most of it off on either the side of the can, or a rag of some sort. Then use whatever leftover paint is on the brush, to dry-brush over the white coat.

Dry Brushing:  Lightly whisk your brush over the surface of the boards. Do not paint and cover the entire surface.  With this process the goal is to create the look of different layers on the boards... as if the wood has been weathered or  out in the elements for a few years, and repainted a couple of times over time. 

*  I applied 2 coats of this gray to deepen the color a little. It is ok if the paint is a little heavier in some places.  Just be sure to let the paint dry between the coats.  

Step 4:

* Using more of the  flat gray paint, add a small amount of black craft paint to the mix. Stir it around a little to deepen the color, but leave a little of the black paint around the edges, so that when you dab your paintbrush in, you'll get subtle variations of dark and light on the ends of the bristles.

* Using the same technique, of dabbing your brush into the paint, and then wiping most of the excess paint off, dry-brush over the entire surface again. Periodically reloading your brush with more of your gray and black mixture.

* If you want more dramatic black or darker gray streaks on your wood, just pour a little more black craft paint into the mix, until you get your desired shade.

After you've got your desired barn wood look, sand down your surface very lightly to get rid of any rough paint splatters or bits that may have been left behind. This should be so light that there shouldn't really even be any dust coming off your table.

The last step is to apply another coat of your stain to the top of your wood. You can do a full coat of the stain or just use the dry-brush technique again and ran the stain lightly over the whole surface. Adding the stain to the top of the mostly dry  paint will almost give the surface a greenish-gray tint. Helping add to that worn look that you're going for.

I did a full stain on the top for this project to give a more solid background for my JOY sign.  The stain did cover quite a bit of the cool detail so next time on a different project  I will  do the dry-brush technique. 

Barn Door Joy Signs

Love Repurposing a few barndoor into Seasonal Signs.  I Carefully painted the Letters over these very old and Rugged Barnwood Doors.  

Deep Dish Pizza

Great with whatever toppings that you have on hand!

- Dough -1 pkg dry yeast; 1 cup lukewarm water; 1Tbs sugar; - 1 tsp salt; 2 Tbs oil; 2 1/2 - 3 cups flour - Meat Sauce- 1 lb chopped Bacon 1 chopped onion; - 1 heac garlic- chopped; - 2- 6 oz can tomato paste; 1/2 cup green olives sliced 1 /2 cup canned artichoke hearts chopped - 1 tsp oregano; 1 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp pepper - Cheese Filling- 1 lb Ricotta cheese; 1/4 lb Mozzarella cheese; - 2 eggs - lightly beaten; 1/4 cup minced parsley; 1/8 tsp salt - Topping- 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese - grated; 1/2 tsp oregano;

Instructions 1 - Make dough. Dissolve yeast in water in bowl. Add sugar, salt, and oil. Mix well. Gradually add flour. To form stiff dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk. 2 - Meat Sauce- Brown meat in large skillet w/ onion and garlic. Add remaining ingredients; plus 1 cup beef broth simmer for 30 min. 3 - Cheese filling- combine all ingredients and mix well 4 - Roll out 1/2 of dough on floured surface into large rectangle. Place in greased 9 X 13 sheet cake pan, easing dough gently up sides. Spread with cheese filling. Rollout remaining dough, fit over cheese filling. Cover with meat sauce. Bake at 400F for 15 min. Sprinkle with Topping ingredients. Bake an additional 15 min. or until golden. Recipe adapted from  Colorado Cache cook book

Pumpkin Spice Truffles

Recipe source: http://www.kikiverde.com/2015/09/02/pumpkin-spice-truffles-naturally-vegan-gluten-free/

Yields: about 6 dozen

Ingredients

• Filling Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
• 4 - 4.5 cups (packed) powdered sugar 
• Chocolate Coating Ingredients:
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
• Other things you'll need:
• sprinkles
• mini muffin wrappers
• sheet pan lined with parchment paper
• Wilton candy dipping set (this is highly recommended for your sanity, if you don't get one you can use a fork and spoon.)

Instructions

To Make the Filling:

In a large mixing bowl combine the wet ingredients-- the softened butter/butter alternative, pumpkin puree, and corn syrup-- together and mix with a wooden spoon until well-combined.

Add in the tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice and mix well.

Add in the packed powdered sugar a cup at a time, mixing until completely incorporated before adding the next cup. When you get towards the end of mixing in the powdered sugar it becomes dry and easier to fully incorporate everything together by using your hands instead of the wooden spoon. Knead it together until the texture resembles cut-out cookie dough. It should hold together easily and have a slight tackiness to it but not be "sticky" like peanut butter. If it is sticky add the additional 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Place the mixture into the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour until firm.

Prepare a large sheet pan by lining it with a sheet of parchment paper. (Make sure the pan fits in your fridge because you will need to chill these again.) Using a teaspoon measure, scoop a mostly level teaspoon of the filling into your hand and roll gently between your palms until you form a ball. (I estimate these are between 3/4 inch - 1 inch round.) Place the filling ball onto the parchment-lined pan and continue until you have used up all the filling. (I end up with around 6 dozen balls.) Place the sheet pan with the filling balls back into the fridge to chill and firm up for another hour before dipping in chocolate.

For the chocolate coating:

In a medium-size bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in 30 second increments, stirring well between each, until melted. About 1 minute 30 seconds - 2 minutes. Stir until any lumps are gone.

Remove the tray of filling balls from the fridge just before beginning. You can either dip the chocolates and replace them into the same tray or start a second parchment-lined tray for the chocolate-covered truffles.

Using a fork or the circular shaped Wilton dipping tool, place a ball of truffle filling into the chocolate and roll it around so that it is completely coated in the chocolate. Remove it from the chocolate using the dipping tool, pausing for a few seconds over the bowl (I even tap it on the side of the bowl a bit) to allow excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl, then set onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. (I sort of tip the tool to the side and let the truffle roll off onto the parchment.) Continue until all the balls of filling have been coated. Work quickly so that the chocolate does not 

 cool too much. If you find that it does, you can rewarm it for 15 seconds in the microwave and stir for a few seconds until the chocolate loosens up again. Top with a few sprinkles.

Some tips on the dipping process:

-- The chocolate will remain tacky for a little while, so you can usually do sprinkles after every 3-5 truffles and still have them adhere to the chocolate.

-- If you have a small naked spot where the filling is showing or your tool scuffed the edge of the chocolate you can gently rub the edge of the dipping tool over the chocolate like a paintbrush to fill it in a bit. Do this only when the chocolates are still wet and before adding the sprinkles.

-- If you find your chocolate is pooling a lot at the base of the truffle when you place it on the parchment you are using too much chocolate, let it drip for a little longer over the bowl before placing it onto the parchment.

-- I find that after about 20 minutes the chocolate coating in the dipping bowl becomes viscous and more difficult to dip into. I microwave it for about 15 seconds and stir until it becomes thin and loose again.

Once you have dipped all the chocolates and added the sprinkles, refrigerate the tray of truffles until they firm up, about an hour or so depending on the thickness of the chocolate and your temperature/humidity levels. Once they have firmed up, transfer each truffle to a mini muffin paper and place into a tin or tupperware. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. (You can also freeze them for longer-term storage!)

To serve: Bring the truffles up to room temperature for about 20 minutes, then devour! I like to serve them wrapped in their decorative papers on a tray or in a tin.

Tomato Bisque Soup ~ with Coconut Cream

First Taste of Wintery Weather yesterday~ Perfect Night for Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 5 slices Thick Hickory Smoked Bacon- Roughly chopped
• 1 No. 10 can of whole Tomatoes
• ( I love the Large Can of Tomatoes from Costco) 
• 1  onion, thinly sliced
• 1 head of garlic~ roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 Cups Cream of Coconut 
• ( Found at Trader Joes)
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

Cook Bacon in large soup pot.  Add the butter and Saute onion and Garlic  in butter and add the chopped tomatoes. Add bay leaf, sugar, cloves, salt, pepper and basil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are thoroughly cooked, about 25 minutes. Smash Tomotoes with a wooden spoon until soup is desired consistency.  Add cream of coconut and heat through. Adjust seasonings to your liking.   Sprinkle with chopped chives.