July 5, 2012

Acute How-To: Yarn Pompom Garland

A few days a week, I work at Noon, the cutest shop in San Diego. For their summer window display, they made simple and bright colored yarn pompom garlands and hung them in the windows. After admiring these garlands, I decided to make a few to give my home a little summery pop of color.

I have made pompoms in the past using the traditional technique of wrapping yarn around two cardboard donut shapes, but this time I thought up a simpler technique. Anyone can make these pompoms – no special tools or skills required.

Hang these cute garlands in your home or use them as summer party décor. I plan on using mine to decorate my booth in my next craft fair.

Supplies:

  • Yarn {Any colors will do. I chose my favorite combo of yellow and gray and then added a few pops of pale teal.}
  • Twine {I attached my pompom balls to twine, but you can also use a long piece of yarn.}
  • Scissors

Step One:

Wrap yarn around your hand. The more you wrap, the fuller the pompom will be in the end. Experiment with this; after making a few, you will know how much yarn to wrap in order to get your desired fullness.

Step Two:

Carefully slide the yarn off your hand. Take a piece of yarn {about 6-8 inches long} and tie it tightly around the center of your yarn loop. I triple knotted each one for a secure hold. Do not cut the ends of this piece of string as you will use them to tie the pompom to the twine.

Step Three:

Take the tied loop of yarn and cut the top and bottom so that you have loose strands rather than looped pieces of yarn.

Step Four:

Determine the order of your pompoms and tie them to the twine. Trim down any long strings.

That’s it!  Hang and enjoy.

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June 21, 2012

Acute How-To: Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

I used to love making rice krispie treats when I was a kid.  They are quick, easy, and such a delicious treat.

I decided to make an adult version of these treats by adding all natural peanut butter, swapping out some of the marshmallows for honey, and drizzling dark chocolate all over the top.

The result has the same chewy sweetness I remember from childhood and the added perfect combo of peanut butter and chocolate.

Also, if you’re gluten free , this is a great treat for you {just make sure the cereal you buy is a gluten free variety because all rice cereals are not gluten free}.

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of rice krispies
  • 2 cups of mini marshmallows
  • ½ cup of all natural peanut butter {no sugar added} – smooth or crunchy
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

Spray a 9×13” baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the butter, marshmallows, honey, and peanut butter over low to medium heat.  Make sure you stir often as the sugar will burn if left unattended.

Once all the ingredients have melted and are thoroughly stirred together, turn off the heat and mix in the rice cereal.  Stir until all is well combined.

Pour the mixture into the sprayed baking dish and distribute throughout the dish with your hands.

Melt the dark chocolate chips.  You can do this on the stovetop using a double boiler or in the microwave.  I use the microwave. I set it on two minutes and then stop every 25 seconds and stir.  It’s the easiest way to melt chocolate.

Drizzle the chocolate all over the top of the rice krispie treats and set the pan in the refrigerator to harden.

Cut and enjoy!  And try not to eat six in the first hour….yeah, it happens!

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June 7, 2012

Acute How-To: Blueberry Yogurt Scones

Until recently I have not been a big fan of scones. I find the average scones sold at the big name coffee houses to be dry, flavorless, and overall blah. A total waste of calories.

Recently, I had the most amazing scone at a local bakery and my scone-hating ways were changed! I decided to create a healthier version of scones at home. I wanted ones that were moist and flavorful, but not loaded with butter, so I supplemented a small amount of butter with a low fat yogurt. I have tried this recipe with blueberries and with mixed berries – both are fantastic.

BlueberryYogurt Scones

{makes 12}

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup berries {I used fresh blueberries}
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • zest from one lemon
  • the juice from one lemon
  • one egg
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 6 ounces non-fat or low-fat yogurt…any flavor {I used low fat greek blueberry yogurt}

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients with a whisk {both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt}.

3. In another bowl, mix together the egg, melted butter {make sure it isn’t too hot}, the yogurt, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice. Add in the berries and fold all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The dough will be slightly crumbly, so you will need to work it together with your hands.

4. Lightly flour a clean surface and gently kneed the dough on the surface until all comes together. Form into a disc and cut into 12 equal portions.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake scones at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

These scones are the best served warm – enjoy!

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May 24, 2012

Acute How-To: DIY Jewelry Stand

If you’re anything like me, you probably have jewelry everywhere in an unorganized mess. Or, maybe you’re nothing like me and have everything organized…. If that’s the case, just indulge me.

I have been thinking about making a simple jewelry organizer forever and finally got around to it last week. I was in need of an extra stand to display my earrings at my latest show, so I decided it was the perfect time to get my DIY jewelry organizer made.

There are various DIY jewelry displays all over the blogosphere, some easier than others. This one I created falls squarely in the “easy” category. All you need is a wooden board {I bought mine at Home Depot}, nails, and paint and/or stencils to decorate the board. So simple and inexpensive. This whole project cost me about $12.

Step One:

Paint your wooden board any color you want. You can also use stencils to create a design on the bare wood. I taped a wide piece of lace trim to the bottom of the board and then spray painted over it in gray.

On the top part of the board, I decided to do a whitewash paint. I did this by mixing together two parts white paint with one part water. Then I painted a small section of the board and wiped away the paint with a damp cloth. I continued to go over the area, painting and wiping, until I got my desired whiteness.

Step Two:

Determine where you want your nails to go and mark with a pencil. I used a ruler and made a small mark every two inches on the top two rows. On the bottom rows, I staggered the nails so that various pieces of jewelry would easily fit.

Step Three:

Hammer the nails half way in at each pencil marking and you’re done! You can either hang this on a wall or prop it up on a bookshelf or table {like I did in my booth at the art fair} using small stands {like these}.

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May 10, 2012

acute how-to: summer cocktails

I am a big fruity cocktail fan – especially in the summer. There’s nothing better than lounging in the sun with a tasty drink in hand. The one thing that often turns me off fruity drinks, though, is the excessive syrupy sweetness.

To cure this little issue, I created three simple and naturally sweetened fruity drinks. Each of these drinks clocks in at just about 150 calories and would be the perfect accompaniment for a warm summer evening.

Pineapple-Mango Frozen Margarita

{makes four drinks}

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of frozen, chopped pineapple
  • 1 cup of frozen, chopped mango
  • 6 ounces of pineapple juice {no sugar added}
  • 4 shots of tequila
  • 2 cups of lime flavored {unsweetened} sparkling water
  • lime slices and/or maraschino cherries as a garnish

Put pineapple, mango, tequila, and pineapple juice in a blender. Add a splash of tap water if this is too thick for your blender. If you cannot find frozen mango or pineapple, use fresh and add a handful of ice to the blender.

Once mixture is completely blended, add sparkling water and stir. Serve each drink with a garnish of lime slices or maraschino cherries.

- – -

Whipped Pear Cocktail

{makes one drink}

Ingredients:

  • a flew pear “ice cubes” {aka – frozen pear pieces}
  • a shot of whipped cream flavored vodka
  • 4 ounces of pear juice {no sugar added}
  • 4 ounces of sparkling water
  • ground cinnamon

In order to make the pear ice cubes, just freeze peeled slices of pears on a plate lined with waxed paper. I used canned pears {the kind packed in juice, not syrup} but fresh would work, too.

Fill the bottom of your glass with a few frozen pear slices.  Pour in the whipped cream vodka, pear juice, and sparkling water. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon. This drink tastes like a dessert -it is so rich, yet refreshing, and so, so delicious!

- – -

Sparkling Mixed Berry Wine

{makes one drink}

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces of white wine {whatever you have on hand – I used pinot grigio}
  • 4 ounces of berry flavored sparkling water {unsweetened}
  • a few tablespoons of frozen, mixed berries

Fill the bottom of your glass with the frozen mixed berries and pour in the wine and sparkling water. This is such a refreshing, simple, and very low calorie option.

Cheers!

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