Sunday Sweets! Hot Chocolate

via Tartelette

From the recipe book of Tartelette

Hot Chocolate:
6 oz (180gr) semisweet chocolate (chips or chopped)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
pinch of ground cloves

Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk and cream to a simmer. Remove from the heat and slowly pour the hot liquid over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 2 minutes then slowly whisk the mixture until completely smooth. add the spices, stir and serve with the marshmallows.

Vanilla Marshmallows:
1/4 cup (60ml) water
1/4 cup (60ml) light corn syrup
3/4 cup (170 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 egg whites, room temperature
1 whole vanilla bean, split open and seeded
cornstarch

Line a 8X8 baking pan with plastic wrap. Spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with some cornstarch, shake the excess off.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites. Add the vanilla seeds and continue whipping until stiff. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and let set 24 hours at room temperature. Unmold and cut squares with a hot knife.

Enjoy!

The Coolest Birthday Card

via inchmark

(DIY) “Sprinkle Dusted” Garland

The purl bee did an awesome job in creating this colorful garland.  It reminds me of all the good things about growing up; sprinkles, bright colors, playfulness and innocence! Be sure to check out their website for a full tutorial on how to recreate this!

via the purl bee

Fantastic Packaging! Forest Milk

****I’m trying an experiment with my blog and tumblr.  Hope over to Peaches by Plums and let me know what you think!***

via {simplesong} via Forest Milk

I love this. Everything about it makes me happy.

Blog Love: Habit

****I’m trying an experiment with my blog and tumblr.  Hope over to Peaches by Plums and let me know what you think!***

Are you obsessed with habit like I am?  I love that day after day you get a peek into Emily and Molly’s {and friends} lives. This daily snippet allows you to feel that you have a group of friends out there in a far away place.  It’s really a bit magical.

DIY-Icy Blue Velvet Hair Flower

Laurie Cinotto of La La Laurie designed this beautiful hair piece. She was great enough to provide a step by step guide for all of us!

Here are the steps from the wonderful The Bride’s Cafe.

Feather-Light Hair Flowers

These beautiful little blooms are easy to make, and comfortable to wear.   You can customize them to work with any color palette.

Materials (and where Laurie found them)

8 – six inch squares of tulle  (JoAnn Fabric and Craft)
9 inches of velvet ribbon (3/4 inch wide)  (Midori)
A few feathers (JoAnn)
3 velvet leaves (Tinsel Trading Co)
A spool of thread
A long, sharp needle
Thread
A small hair comb  (JoAnn)
Scissors

First, the Flower…

 1.  Take one of your tulle squares, fold it in half, then into quarters. (see figure 1)

2.  Fold in half again to make a triangle, and then fold in half again.   (It’s just like your folding a snowflake).

3.  Cut a rounded “V” in the non-pointy end of the triangle.  (see figure 2)

4. When you unfold your tulle, you’ll have a daisy shape.   (see figure 3)

5. Repeat the above steps, and cut out 7 more daisies. They can vary in size and petal shape.

6.  When all the daisies are cut, layer them together.  (see figure 4)

7.  Thread your needle and knot the end of the thread.   Put a couple of stitches through the center of the stack to keep them together and tie off.

8.  Pick up the stack, pinch the center between your thumb and index finger.  Fluff the petals upward.   (see figure 5)

9.  Run your needle and thread through the pinched point of the flower, about a quarter inch from the very bottom.  Go back and forth and around several times to secure all the layers, and tighten your bloom.    (see step 6)

Putting it all together…

10.   Take a few feathers  and strip off the lower fluff, leaving a small tuft at the top.   Trim into a neat point, using your scissors.  Set aside.   (see figure 7)

11.  Fold your ribbon into a loop, with the ends overlapping  in the middle.    Make a couple of small stitches through all the layers to secure.    (see figure 8 )

12.  Run your thread around the center a few times and cinch the ribbon so it looks like a bow.  Run your needle and thread through the center and back and knot off.

13.  Take your velvet leaves, trim off the wire ends, and stitch them down in the center of the bow.     (see figure 10)

14. Trim the feather  tails, then stitch the feathers down too.   (see figure 10)

15.  Place your bloom in the center of the leaves and feathers.   Stitch it down using several small stitches. . Go through all the ribbon layers to make sure it’s attached securely.    (see figure 11

16.  Center your comb on the back side of the bow and stitch into place.  ( see figure 12)

via The Bride’s Cafe

I love how Marie Antoinette this feels.  Will someone please make me one?

Hearts & Baubles

I can always count on Abby Powell to get me through the gray winter days!

via abby try again

Be sure to check out Abby’s shop and buy a print to be continually inspired!

I Interrupt This Regulary Scheduled Tablescape Friday to Share Some Exciting News!

Have you heard? Martha Stewart Magazine {Winter 2010 Issue} has featured their first Same Sex Couple!  What a big moment!

via 100 Layer Cake

Hopefully there will be many more to come by 2011!  Congrats!

I Want To Have A Tea Party…

…at Crown & Crumpet and I don’t even drink tea!!

What an awesomely cool place.  The girls over at Ruby Press recently had their holiday party at Crown and Crumpet and it turned our fabulously! Just take a look at the pictures below.  I love it!

via Crown & Crumpet

via Ruby Press

I only wish that I knew about this place while I lived in San Francisco!

Beautiful Packaging- DIY Sweater Wraps

It’s the time for last minute gift wrapping!

For those looking for a simple DIY project to help with your pretty packaging, you’ve come to the right place.  Grey Likes Weddings did a fantastic tutorial on reusing sweaters to create beautiful wraps for your bottles.

via Grey Likes Weddings