Free Printable Trompe L'oeil Ribbons

Have you ever wanted to mail a package with a ribbon and decided against it,because it would get smashed.?  Here's my solution: Trompe L' oeil ribbons. You can print these designs on printed paper, colored paper or color them yourselves. Click on the image below and  depending on your browser follow the instructions given to print. After printing these the size you want cut them out and glue stick them on your package. 

Making Apple Crisp

I have this great old "Joy of Cooking" book edition 1943. I love this cookbook because they didn't worry about all the diet restrictions, they only worried about how things tasted. Also the language they use is so relaxed you feel like the cook herself is talking to you.

Each fall I make and freeze pies, fruits, and berries. Now that my kids have gone off to college I have had to rethink this process because we don't need as much and when we do eat these things they have to be in smaller serving sizes.

In my "Joy of Cooking" book there is a great tasting Apple Crisp or Paradise recipe; this is the one I use.

When I plan to freeze the ingredients I do the following:  I divide this recipe into three packets.   I put the apples into three freezer bags.    Next I put the  topping into three sandwich bags.  Then I place a bag of topping  in each apple filled freezer bag and write on the outside of  the bag the temperature and cook time.

In the winter all I have to do is layout the frozen apples in a small casserole dish and break up the fast melting crumb mixture, spread it on top of the apples and bake. It's great to have a hot fresh dessert that fast. 

Dancing Dog

             
                               Sometimes a dancing dog can make your day. Have a great Day!

Free Clip Art

                I found these stickers at an antique dealer's estate sale, they came from an old Victorian                  sticker book.  

How to Dry Hydrangeas

The ideal time to cut hydrangea blossoms for drying is the end of the season, August through October, when the larger petals are starting to fade or change color. 

 Cut each flower so that the stem length is about of 12” and remove the leaves. Then place the freshly cut flowers in a vase with fresh water. Make sure the stems are at least half covered with water. Keep the vase in a cool spot and out of direct sunlight. Let the water evaporate out of the vase, do not add more water.

 Once the water is totally evaporated, your hydrangeas should feel dry to the touch and ready to use.

Another technique is to simply hang your hydrangea blossoms upside down by their stems and let them air dry. Air dried hydrangeas tend to be a bit more brittle than water dried blossoms, but are still beautiful.

         Your dry hydrangeas will last for about 1 year, after that, they’re colors will start to fade.

A Rose is a Rose

Sometimes when I paint I get stuck in a style. A fun way to break the routine is to just experiment by trying a few new styles. Here I tried three different styles in order to see if I can loosen my mind a bit. If you want to try this I took pictures as I painted each one and wrote what I was doing in each step. Click on the top image to see the process. 

Happy Painting! Let me know how you did by commenting below or emailing me at contact@teawithlavera.com

Heart Mobile

This is a fun project using a new product called "Paper Clay". It's made in Japan and if you're a craft person and haven't tried it yet you're missing out. There are so many things you can do with it: from molding little figurines to building up cards with 3D images. This is a simple project  you can do with kids. If you'd like to make the mobile click on the image below for instructions.

                                                  (It's hard to get a good picture of a mobile.)