Freebie ~ Create Word Cloud Art with Tagxedo

I came across a blog today that posted about creating Word Cloud Art using the website Tagxedo. We’ve all seen so many versions of word art lately but this is a simple and free way to create your own! You can personalize your list of words, colours, shape and fonts so quick and easy. I decided to test it out and create a little word art for my new little niece and this is what I made in about 15 minutes!

If you want to read some easy to follow instructions and tips head over to Sugarsugar House to see the original post.

I plan to make many more of these great little artworks! Have fun! ♥

 

Get Crafty ~ Make Your Own Pencils Tutorial

I saw this today and it’s something I definitely will try! To keep costs down I would imagine you could even use recycled newspaper. For the full tutorial check out the post from Scissors.Paper.Wok here! Have fun! ♥

A New Family Favorite…Herb and Apple Bread Pudding Stuffing Bake

The craziness of the holidays are over and it’s time to get back on track. I hope everyone had wonderful holidays full of fun with family and friends!

This year I played host for two Christmas dinners which meant lots of cooking and also gave me the opportunity to try some new recipes along with the traditional family favorites! Christmas Eve was a family dinner with my parents and brothers family for which I cooked my first ever turkey. I’ll be honest, I was more then a little nervous about ruining it or even worse making everyone sick! But I’ll admit it turned out wonderful and was one of my favorite turkey dinners ever! The turkey was much easier then I thought it would be. All I did was rub it with a butter and lemon zest mixture under the skin which made it nice and juicy and I cut up a couple clementines that I stuffed the turkey with. It had a subtle citrus taste and was moist and delicious.

The star of the dinner turned out to be the new family favorite recipe I’m going to share today! I definitely didn’t want to cook the turkey with the stuffing inside (because I’ve heard that can be when you run into trouble with under cooking and food poisoning) so I hunted for a tasty stuffing bake. This recipe is a cross between a stuffing and a bread pudding and is absolutely delicious! Because it’s more then a traditional stuffing I can even see making this to go along side pork tenderloin or a variety of other meat dishes. The original recipe came from Good Housekeeping but I made a couple small adjustments to suit tastes of my family members. Feel free to check out the original recipe here if you would like to use it without my changes. Whether you make this as part of a Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner or just for a regular dinner I’m sure you’ll love it! I know this will become a staple of any Holiday dinners in my family! Enjoy! ♥

 

Herb and Apple Bread Pudding Stuffing Bake

8 cups bread (such as multi-grain calabrese loaf) crusts removed and cut into ¾ inch cubes

¼ cup unsalted butter

3 ounces pancetta, cut into ½ cubes

2 cups (1 large) sweet onion

1 ½ cups (about 3 large stalks) chopped celery

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped into large cubes

½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Salt and Pepper

½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

5 extra large eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups (8 ounces) freshly grated gruyere cheese

½ to 1 cup toasted pine nuts (or almond slivers) (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Arrange bread in single layer on a large cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned, set aside.

White bread toasts, in 12 inch skillet, heat butter on medium-low. Add pancetta; increase heat to medium and cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add onion, celery and apple; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in ½ cup stock, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

Meanwhile in a very large bowl, beat eggs, cream, chicken stock and 1 ½ cups gruyere. Add bread, then vegetables mixture, stirring until well combined. Let stand 30 minutes to allow bread to soak.

Add toasted pine nuts and stir mixture well. Transfer to a 9 x 13 (2.5 to 3 L) casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. (To make ahead assemble bread pudding, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 1 day before baking).

Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 350 F until top is brown and custard is set (when knife inserted in center comes out clean). Serve hot or warm.

Free Printable Gift Tags

Love these adorable gift tags! And the best part they’re free for you to print yourself!

Just visit How About Orange for more tags and lots of other freebies!

Gift Ideas for DIY Divas!

I put together a treasury last Christmas with a similar theme and it’s been one of my post popular treasuries and also lately I’ve noticed many of my readers finding the post here and trying to click on the items that are no longer available. So to help you find some great items for those DIY Divas on your shopping list this year here is a new collection! Enjoy! ♥

‘Gifts for the DIY Diva in Your Life!’ by SeaFlowerStudios

Perfect gifts for those who love to create these fabulous things themselves!

Rustic Jute Twine in Camel B… 464Handmade $8.00	6 Coppiced Ash Pencil Crayon… lovelywoodcomp… $8.00	DIY owl: crochet an owl FreshStitches $16.00	Moustache Iron On Applique D… Bayjorder $2.75
How To Make Felted Wool Flow… LivingRightBra… $12.97	DIY Bracelet Kit, Vintage Bu… Misopolis $7.50	White Bright Butterfly Mobil… littledreamers… $25.00	DIY Felted wool SHEEP KIT Ja… HanamiBoutique $12.00
Antique Style Envelope Templ… chickydoddle $5.50	PDF Recycled Paper Snowflake… RitaVanTassel $4.00	A KIT TO MAKE a tiny leather… ArtEclectique $15.00	DIY Terrarium Kit with easy … yellowpickrbh $16.00
Folk Peacock Hand Carved In… charancreation… $16.00	Felt Rose Pillow Pattern Tut… bedbuggspatter… $6.99	Wooden Kokeshi Dolls – DIY -… iUsedToBeATree $19.75	Handmade Paper Sheets in Cre… MapleStreetPap… $16.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Handmade Holiday Gift Guide from Handmade Success

I’m so honored today to have been included among these other talented handmakers in this Handmade Holiday Gift Guide posted by Handmade Success! You can visit the post here to find details of all the great gifts suggested!

 

 

HUGE Giveaway at The Paper Place

This is seriously one of the most exciting giveaways I’ve ever seen!

By entering this contest you will have a chance to win over 700 pages of Chiyogami Paper from The Paper Place in Toronto!

The Paper Place is one of my favorite stores in Toronto to visit when I need a little inspiration or I have a project in mind and need the supplies. I would feel like the luckiest girl around if I won this contest! For more details and how to enter visit their Blog here. Good luck! I would love to hear what you would do with all this paper! Leave me a comment below! ♥

For another huge giveaway perfect for Creative Entrepreneurs visit my Handmakers Haven Blog here!

International Newspaper Holiday Wrap

I just love this idea from Martha Stewart Crafts! Not only is it economical but you can repurpose old gift wrap or use small paper scraps to add the decorative touches. I think this would be great for all occasions, not only Christmas! I will definitely be using this idea in the future! Go here for instructions. Have fun! ♥

Maple Roasted Squash and Apple Salad

I’ve been a follower of Two Peas & Their Pod for awhile now and always see amazing recipes posted. This one was a recent post that I couldn’t wait to try and I wasn’t disappointed! Maple Roasted Squash and Apple salad was absolutely delicious and I will definitely make it many times in the future. The one adjustment I made to her recipe was to caramelize the pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in a little butter and brown sugar and was happy to have the texture it added. This is a recipe you should definitely try! Enjoy! ♥

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped

3 Granny Smith apples, core and chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

freshly ground black pepper

About 10 cups mixed salad greens

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup pepitas

3/4 cup feta cheese

For the Maple Mustard Dressing:

4 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon brown grainy mustard

2/3 cups pure maple syrup (you can use “imitation” maple syrup to cut costs, but I recommend at least using 1/2 pure maple syrup)

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup canola oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the butternut squash and apple chunks on a large baking sheet. Add olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper and toss. Roast the squash and apples for 25-30 minutes, turning once, until tender. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

2. While the squash and apples are roasting, make the maple mustard dressing, if using. Combine garlic, mustards, syrup, vinegar, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. With the machine running, pour in oil in a slow steady stream to emulsify. You should have about 2 cups of dressing. You will not need it all for the salad. You can store the leftover dressing in the refrigerator for about two weeks.

3. Place the mixed greens in a large salad bowl and add the butternut squash, apples, dried cranberries, pepitas, and feta cheese. Drizzle dressing over the salad to moisten and toss well. Serve immediately.

Note-you can also serve this salad with a store bought balsamic or cranberry dressing.

Exciting Announcement!

I’m so excited to share this news with my readers today! As of last week I have joined the Unanimous Craft Team to become the newest Regional Craftologist!

If you’ve never visited Unanimous Craft I recommend you add it to your favorites. There are Regional Craftologists from various cities such as Dallas, San Diego, New Orleans and of course Toronto. As a Regional Craftologist I get to share information about local crafty events, brick n’ mortar shops, upcoming craft shows, art shows, classes, networking events and so much more. You can visit the Toronto Page on Unanimous Craft here where you will find my first two posts about The Paper Place and just a few of the amazing Neighbourhood Craft Shows this Holiday Season.

You can also create a free user account and share your own resources and events. Resources can range from marketing opportunities, supply resources, favorite craft blogs, creative groups and most anything else craft related. You can also share upcoming crafty events you’re involved in or would like to promote such as craft shows you will be a vendor at. If you would like to register for your own account visit the website and create a new account. After that use the menu at the top of the page to choose to add resources or events you would like to share.

If you have anything you would love for me to share please be sure to email me at seaflowerstudios@hotmail.com and let me know!