Mother's Day Photo Craft Idea

Have you all decided what you are getting your mother's, mother-in-laws, grandma's and all the other special women in your life for Mother's Day?

I would love to hear what you, my readers, do to celebrate your mom's! I would also love to feature some of your talent here on my blog so in the comments please leave me your link and I will head on over to your spaces in blog land and see what you have been up to!

I always enjoy hearing from you all!

So leave me some comment love!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

"Be Mine" Vintage Valentine Garland

I can't believe that Valentines Day is almost exactly one week away!! This past week I realized that I didn't have one single decoration up inside my home except the Wooden Love Wreath that I have hanging on my front door. Holidays are a BIG BIG DEAL here at the Culinary Queen Bee's Home (ask my friends, I am always the neighborhood nut that has her Holiday Decor out first) so it is unlike me not have some Holiday Spirit Showcased inside my home as well as outside. Last week as I was blog searching, I came across this Darling Vintage Valentine Tutorial that was featured on my friends blog, Our Cozy Nest. I love the things that Nicole features. She truly is a wonderful Domestic Engineer. She is always coming up with cute new ways to spruce up her home and make it... well, A COZY NEST. When I saw this darling garland I "fell in love with it." Literally. And knew that I needed one to make my nest cozy for Valentines Day!

Go here to see Nicole's Be Mine Vintage Valentine Garland Tutorial.

I really am thrilled with how my own garland turned out. It does take some time and patience to put together but I promise that the end result of this darling craft won't leave you heartbroken.

Check back often during this upcoming week for I will be featuring:

Queen of Heart Cheesecake Tartlet Recipe

Cute Valentine Crafts to make with your Kids

Fondue Recipes for an extra Special and Sensual Dinner with your Valentine

Valentine Picnic Date Idea for you and your Sweetheart

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Spiced-Gingerbread Men Tree Ornaments

Several years ago, my very talented mom made me and my four other siblings, 15 of the most darling non-edible Gingerbread men ornaments that I had ever seen! I was truly touched by my mom's thoughtful gift and have cherished these heirlooms. These little gingerbread men captured my heart (just like my husband did 7 years ago-sorry some times I get a little "scent"amental" *giggle*) and the ornaments have adorned our tree each year since my mom made them for me! My two little munchkins also love these ornaments not only because Nanna D made them for us but they smell "scentsational" as well! There is not a day that goes by during the month of December that I don't see one or both of my children hovering near the Christmas tree trying to see if they can smell the apple/spiced men! Even though they require a little time and effort to make, these Gingerbread men ornaments are very easy to assemble. The recipe calls for ingredients that you probably already have in your spice cabinet or pantry. After you assemble a soft-like cookie dough mixture you roll it out and cut out your men. Then after baking them in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, you are ready to assemble your men with ribbon, acrylic and puffy paints. This is a fun activity or may even be a new tradition to get the whole family involved!

Apple & Spice Gingerbread Men Ornament Tutorial

Ingredients:

*Note* I'd like to suggest buying your spices at a Dollar store if you are planning on making several batches because spices are not cheap and this with help cut costs!)

1 c. Cinnamon

1 T. nutmeg

1 T. Ginger

1 T. Ground Cloves

1 T. Allspice

3/4 c. Applesauce (You want to use store bought not homemade. I like Western Family!)

Directions:

1.) In a medium bowl combine all the spices and mix thoroughly with a spoon until all the spices are well combined.

2.) Add the applesauce and stir. To mix it well, I use my hands and mix it for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is combined and makes a soft dough. If the dough is too dry and crumbly add 1-2 teaspoons of extra applesauce.

3.) Turn dough out onto a counter top and knead dough for 2-4 minutes or until the dough resembles cookie dough.

4.) Roll out dough to a 1/4" thickness. Make sure not to roll out too thin because they will fall apart. You want your ornaments to be sturdy and not break or crumble. Cut out your shapes using a metal cookie cutter.

5.) Transfer the cut outs to a un-greased cookie sheet. I like to use the air bake cookie sheets.

6.) Take a chopstick or pencil and and make a hole at the top of each of your ornaments.

7.) Bake in a 150 degree F. oven for 1 hour. (My oven didn't go down to 150 degrees so I baked mine at 170 degrees F. Don't forget to enjoy your house smelling like Christmas while your cookies bake!

8.) When the cookies have baked for one hour remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Then immediately place the cooking rack into a baking sheet and then place back into the oven at 150 Degree F for another 1 1/2 hours. This will help harden your cookies.

9.) After baking time is over take out of oven and let cool completely. Place in an airtight container until ready to decorate or to store completed ornaments.

To Decorate You will need:

Ribbon, I chose Burgundy because that is the color of my tree

Glue

Glue Gun

White puffy paint

Black or Dark Blue Acrylic Paint

Thick Gold Thread or Ribbon

Black Sharpie

Directions:

1.) Take your tole paint and using the end of a chopstick or tole painting brush dip in paint and make dots for eyes and the corners of the mouth. Then take your Sharpie Pen and draw a semi circle connecting the mouth.

2.) To make buttons on the Ginger bread men, dip tole paint brush or chopstick and make 3 circles down the middle of the Ginger bread mens chest.

3.) To make the white curly q's around the gingerbread mens arms and legs, take your White puffy paint and make a squiggly design around each. Allow to dry for 4 hours.

4.) After four hours you are ready to glue on a bow around the Gingerbread Men's Neck. I tied several little bow and then took my glue and glue gun and placed a dot of glue under the gingerbread men's smiles. Adhere bow to glue. Let dry.

5.) After the ornament has dried completely, now string your gold thread through the hole at the top of your Gingerbread Men's head and tie a knot. Repeat on all the other little men.

6.) Pat yourself on the back for finishing this long process and now proudly go hang your ornaments on your tree where everyone can see and "smell" your handywork!

Yields 12-15 gingerbread men.

I dub thee a Culinary Queen!

* Since this is a family recipe please note that if you share or blog about this tutorial please give credit where credit is due! Thank you!* -Ashlee

Merry Christmas Culinary Queen Bee Readers!

I hope you all Have a wonderful Holiday and New Year!

Come Back next week to see what I have been up to- See you next week!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Creative Christmas Card Display...

Are you wondering what to do with all those Darling Christmas Cards that you have been receiving from your loved ones throughout the month? Well, I have a crafty way to display those wonderful Christmas mementos! Make a Family and Friend Christmas Tree design on the doors throughout your home! Your kids and friends will love to see their Christmas Card displayed in such a fun and creative way, plus you can enjoy them all month long instead of filing them away in a box or basket, where they are hardly looked at or enjoyed! By picking a high traffic door in your home and decorating it you will enjoy and get to see those Christmas Cards all month long. For me my front door to my home is the most used and is one that is highly visible when walking about in our home. My children love to look at our "Christmas Tree" on our front door and see all the pictures of our friends and family. All I did to start the tree was cut out a star from yellow cardstock. After that all you do is wait for those Christmas Cards to arrive and start building your Family and Friends Christmas Tree. This has been another fun and creative activity to keep my kids occupied during the month. Each day they look forward to checking the mail with mom and then take any Christmas Cards that we receive and tape them on the front door. They have truly loved watching our family and friends Christmas Tree Grow! What are some of the things that you all do to display your Christmas Cards?

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Christmas Countdown Craft

Back in November I got together with a few friends in my neighborhood and we made these darling CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWNS. I can't take credit for the craft idea, my darling friend Heather had made one last year and her and another neighbor gal cut out all the cute little pieces with their Cricuts and ordered the cutest embellishments to make these countdowns absolutely adorable! What a huge undertaking to gather all the supplies for over 20 women! Heather this SHOUT OUT is for you, you ROCK Girly! I think they turned out to be gems! All you do is decorate the 2x2 decorated square with your desired embellishments/papers and then glue magnets on the back and then stick them to a mini muffin tin. Then hide your desired treats or a special outing or two written on a piece of paper and put them behind the decorated squares. My kids are loving counting down until Santa makes his annual visit to our home and truly can't wait to see what the BIG JOLLY GUY brought them! I also can't wait till Christmas Day gets here, what a joy Christmas is when watching young kiddos!

I truly love the Holidays and I Hope you are all enjoying your Holiday Season as well!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Monogram Door Hanger

I know I have mentioned that I have been in a little bit of a Summer Time Slump and even though my kitchen is rearranged I felt like I needed another project to look forward to this week. I took down all my 4th of July Decorations this week and so my house is looking a little bare. My front door is especially looking a little bare, so I decided to change that. I don't have a wreath that I can use that is in between holidays and In an effort to find something that I could use during Holiday Down time, I came up with this little wreath idea. I have always loved Monogrammed things! In an effort to get some ideas I searched the internet but nothing really fancied my liking so I came up with this idea!
Supplies:
A wreath of your choice, I love square wreaths!
Paint
Wooden Letter
Ribbon of your Color Choice

Step One: Paint your letter of the color of your choice, let dry and then spray with your choice of finishing spray. This will seal in the paint and protect it from the sun! Then sand edges to give it that Shabby Chic look!
Step Two: Make a bow and fasten it to the middle of your wreath.
Step Three: String your ribbon around your letter and tie onto wreath. If you make your bow large enough it will cover the knots! Viola! Your done!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen

Little Girl's Bow Holder Tutorial

A few months ago, I saw the most darling bow holder on a random blog. It was darling but contained limited instructions on how to make it. I decided that it didn't look too complicated to make and I knew that I could replicate it and make one for my little girl. I have been looking for a cute bow holder for quite some time that could hold all of my daughters bows but nothing really sought my fancy. This one is the perfect size and will keep all of my little girls bows in mint condition. I wished I had done this sooner!

If you want to make one of these darling bow holders for the little princess in your life, these are the supplies you will need:

Supplies Required:
Fabric, your choice of color*
*(I got 1 yd of fabric for my bow holder but how much
fabric you get will depend on how big your frame is)
Picture frame
chicken wire or plastic mesh
Ribbon to match your fabric
hot glue gun
glue

Step One:

Iron and fold fabric in half. When fabric is smooth and wrinkle free, place the backing of the picture frame onto the fabric. You will glue the fabric with your glue gun to the backing (removable stiff part that goes in last after placing a picture in a frame) of the picture frame.Step Two:
Leave about an 1 to 1 1/2 inches of fabric around the edge of the frames backboard. You will now cut the corners edges to resemble mine. This will give you a nice finished look for the back of bow holder.
Step Three:
Glue around the the picture frame, fold and secure fabric to the cardboard backing including the corners and fold fabric into place.This is what your edges will look like after you have glued around and secured the fabric around the cardboard backing.Step Four:
Cut out enough chicken wire or plastic mesh to cover the cardboard backing. Leave enough around the edges of the backing. You will be gluing the mesh to the back of your cardboard to secure it into place.Step Five:
After you have cut a generous amount of mesh to go over and around your cardboard backing, start by securing every other dot of the mesh with a drop of glue. Hold the mesh in place until the glue cools and mesh stays in place on its own. Make sure to pull tight along the way so that the front side is flush with the fabric front and there are no bubbles. Step Six:
When you have secured the plastic mesh in place all around the cardboard backing, turn over and make sure it is flush against the fabric. If there is any bubbles adjust the mesh and make as tight as you can. Next, Take the picture insert and flip over. This will cover your fabric and mesh so you have a finished look to the back of your bow holder.Step Seven:
Glue mesh and any fabric that may be loose under the picture insert. This will give the back of your bow holder a finished look.Step Eight:
Place backing into frame and secure fasteners to keep bow cardboard insert into place.Step Nine:
Using your ribbon, tie knots onto the fasteners on picture frame. This will be what holds your bow holder onto the wall.Step Ten:
Secure a bow in the middle of the ribbon. This will give your bow holder a little more pizazz and hide the nail that you hang it from. Viola! Your bow holder is completed! Breath a sigh of relief and give yourself a big pat on the back....now go and hang your finished bow holder in your little girls room and clip her collection of bows to it. So cute! Enjoy!!

I

Ashlee, The Culinary Queen