Day 9: Guest Post with Jess from Upcountry Vintage

Hi there! Jess from Upcountry Vintage here. I love to share creative ways to upcycle items on my blog. On my last trip to see my family in California in September, I came across a lot of vintage brooches and broken jewelry that had been passed down to me. They were missing stones, backings, or other important parts to function as jewelry.

I think a great way to use vintage jewelry is incorporating it into your gift wrap as the centerpiece in lieu of a bow. I have tied up the following gifts with ribbon, accented them with squares of burlap, and then placed a broken trinket in the center.

You can usually find pretty things like this while thrifting or going to garage sales, and you can make a nice looking package for about the same cost as a box store bow or gift bag.

The centerpiece of this package is a ring I loved but it broke

The focal point of this gift is a brooch on a large piece of ribbon

Check out these other great links for ideas and inspiration for incorporating vintage baubles into your gift wrapping this Holiday!

 Susan Jane Jewels
 Confetti Style
 Design Sponge: Gift Toppers

Also, be sure to check out my blog for my 12 Days of Gift Wrapping for lots of ways to add special touches to
your gift giving this season!
Happy Holidays.
Love, Jess

Day 4: Christmas Link Love

For the last few weeks I have been scouring my favorite blogs for great holiday tutorials that would make great last minuet gifts or a lovely handmade stocking stuffer.  I am really excited about all of these links and absolutely love all of these ideas. 

1. Make a special holiday cocktail with Delightfully Tacky's Peppermint Vodka Tutorial. 

Delightfully Tacky, Peppermint Vodka

2. Over on Good Knits, learn how to make cute winter hat ornaments with Kate from Otillie's Closet.

Good Knits, Winter Hat Ornaments

3. Alli on One Pearl Button has a great tutorial on sewing a quick little gift bag.

OPB, Sweet and Simple Gift Pouch

4. Need a cozy gift for a friend?  Try making a Cowl Neck Scarf with Zoe over on So Zoe...What Do You Know?

So Zoe..., Cowl Neck Scarf

5. Burda Style has a tutorial for Ruffle Cuffs.  They look easy enough to make and you can style them any way you want.

Burda Style, Ruffle Cuffs

6. I am planing on making these yummy Cardamom Sugar Cookies from over on the Etsy Blog this weekend.

Etsy Blog, Cardamom Sugar Cookies

Day 3: Easy As Pie Tam Knitting Pattern

 This knitting pattern is for a simple and quick tam or beret.  What I love about this pattern is that it works up quickly and you can make it in almost any fiber just make sure that the fiber you choose has enough memory or spring for the brim of the hat.  I like a wool silk blend, or a blended Angora for extra warmth and luxury. 

Materials:
120 Yard of a Worsted Weight Yarn
Us 8 16 inch Circular Needles
US 8 DPNs
Stitch Marker

Gauge:
About 4 sts to the inch in stockinette on US 8 needles, Aggressively Blocked

CO 80 sts
Place Marker and join work being careful not to twist cast on edge.
Work in 2x2 rib for about 1-11/2 inches.

Increases:
R1: Knit 10 M1, repeat this to marker
R2: Knit All
R3: Knit 11, M1, repeat this to marker
R4: Knit All
R5: K12, M1, repeat this to marker

Knit even till the hat measures about 4 inches from the cast on edge.  (If you would like your tam to have more room in or be a bit more floppy knit even till you have 5 to 6 inches from the cast on edge.)

Decreases
R1: K11, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R2: Knit All
R3: K10, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R4: Knit All
R5: K9, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R6: Knit All
R7: K8, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R8: Knit All
R9: K7, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R10 Knit All
R11: K6, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R12 Knit All
R13: K5, k2tog, Repeat this to marker
R14: Knit All (Switch To DPNs)
R15: K4, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R16: Knit all
R17: K3, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R18: Knit All
R19: K2, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R20: K1, K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R21: K2tog, Repeat this to marker
R22: K2tog, Repeat this to marker

Work I-cord for 2 rows.
Bind Off
Weave in ends

To get the desired Tam shape you will need to aggressively wet block your tam on a plate.

Day 1: Holiday Tradition: Fudge

I have to admit I have a pretty big sweet tooth sometimes and the holidays just seem to make it ten fold.  My great aunt use to make fudge and when she stopped my mom started, now my mom is on a health kick and I see it as part of my holiday duty to keep the tradition alive.  I've been making Christmas Fudge for about three years now and use the recipe my mom used which is to say I use the Fluff Never Fail Fudge recipe.

You can fin the recipe on their website and on the side of the jars of Fluff.  This fudge is super easy to make I don't even use a candy thermometer that's how easy it is to make this fudge.

I am going to share my doubled recipe and a few tips for optimum fudge production.  First off I make 5lbs of fudge every Christmas.  This ensures that I have plenty to give away and a tiny bit left over for my nagging sweet tooth.  This means I double the recipe found on the Fluff website.  My ingredients list looks like this.

5 cups sugar
1 stick butter
10 oz of evaporated milk
1 large jar of Fluff (or 2 of the 7 oz jars)
Vanilla
2 12oz bags of semi sweet chocolate chips (I like Tollhouse, but any chip will do)

The directions are still the same, you are just working with twice the amount of ingredients.  Before I start cooking my fudge I first line all of the pans that I will be pouring the fudge into with foil.  This makes it easier to remove the fudge for cutting and makes clean up way easier.  By doing this you will not have to worry about your fudge sticking to your pans.

I use a pretty big non stick pot to make my fudge in, the fudge will start to bubble and expand when you heat it so you want to make sure that you use a large pot so it doesn't bubble over.  The pot I use is the same pot I cook pasta in.  I start by heating up the butter till it's melted and then add in all the other ingrediants ending with the Fluff.

This is where is gets tricky.  You need the sugar and everything to combine and liquify while not scorching on the bottom of the pot.  You can't have the heat too low or the sugar will never get to temperature, but too high and you will burn the sugar.  A way to avoid this is to constantly stir your sugar mixture.  I use a sturdy silicone spatula and a constantly stir around the edge of the pot.

 This is where some of the sugar may stick and you want to avoid that.  When your sugar doesn't get to temperature and or sticks to the side of your pot you are left with grainy textured fudge.

  Before I start I also set out a measuring cup of cool water, this is important to check the sugar mixture.  This is why.  About 3-5 min. in to the boiling of the sugar mixture I like to check its progress.  Lift a small amount of the sugar mixture out of the pot with a spoon place the spoon directly in the cool water.  The sugar should cool and you should be able to touch it.  Roll it between your fingers if it is smooth and gummy it is finished, if it is lose and grainy you still need to keep heating it, if it is hard then it has gotten to hot.  I've notice that it takes about 5 to 8 minuets for the sugar to reach temperature, but this is all relative to the batch and the conditions in your kitchen so test as you go.

When the sugar is at temp you will turn off the heat and start pouring the chocolate chips into the sugar along with the vanilla.  I like to stir them in about a cup at a time, but you need to work fast because you want you fudge to stay hot so when you pour it it doesn't stick to your pot.  Once all your chocolate is melted and stirred in pour on to your foil lined pans to let it cool.  Now you can decided how thick or thin you want you fudge to be, but it all depends on the depth of your pan.  When I make 5lbs of fudge I pour it so that it is about 1/2 inch thick.  I use one 13"x8" pan and a 8"x8" pan to hold all of that fudge.

Let the fudge cool on a kitchen counter for a few hours.  I don't place my fudge in the fridge till after it is cooled and cut.  The one time I did that my fudge became crumbly and hard, my theory is that it cooled too quickly.

Cut into bite sized pieces and enjoy.  I save the edges for Simon and I.  The good center pieces get wrapped up and placed in pretty packages for gifts.  

There is my fudge making tips, good luck!

Out to Work

What a lovely Christmas tree. 

 Now that the rain has stopped and the weather has become seasonably cold again it is time to get into the spirit of the holiday season.  I have big plans for next weeks blog posts, and will be having a holiday event on Blue Betty called 12 Days Before Christmas.  There will be recipes, tutorials, traditions, and even some special guest bloggers.  The 12 Days Before Christmas blog event will start Tuesday the 13 and run through to Christmas eve. 

 I have a to do list as long as my arm, so today I am going to try and get a big chunk of it done.  Wish me luck.  I'll be back tomorrow with a great post about one of my favorite eateries in Philadelphia.