Free Printable Gift Tags - "Summer Gift Tags"

Not only are these gift tags cute, but they are quick and easy.  Simply download our free file to your computer, print and attach.   I like to print the gift tags and embellish with real buttons, rick-rack etc.  You can print off several at a time so they are handy for when you need a gift tag. 

Download the printable gift tags HERE at Parties and Patterns.

Recipe for the cookies can be found under recipes in this blog and are called

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

Blueberry Muffins

What You Will Need:

1 cup oats

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 egg white

1 cup milk

2 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a seperate bowl mix the egg, egg white, milk, butter and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until moistened.  Gently fold in the blueberries.  Pour batter into muffin tins.  Makes 12 muffins.

Oat Topping:

1/2 cup oats

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. butter, softened

Mix together oat topping ingredients and sprinkle over muffin batter.

Bake muffins at 400 degress for 20 minutes or until lightly brown and springs back when touched.

Whole Wheat Buns

What you will need:

6 tbsp. warm milk
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp. instant yeast
5 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
2 large eggs
6 2/3 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

Topping:

1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water, for egg wash
Sesame seeds

Making The Buns:

Mix briefly to combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Add the flours to the bowl, and mix until blended in. Mix in the butter. Knead with a dough hook on low speed for about 6-8 minutes. The dough will be sticky, but you want to avoid adding too much extra flour which will create tough buns.  (if it is too sticky, add flour a little at a time.)

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 16 equal parts. Gently roll each portion of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again, 1-2 hours, until doubled.

Brush egg white on top of buns and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake the buns for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown at 400 degrees.

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Crust:

4 tbsp. butter, melted

2 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie finely crushed (remove frosting from the cookie)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together and press into the bottom and half way up the sides of a springform pan that has been lightly greased. 

Cookie Dough

1/4 pound butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. milk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix the softened butter and the sugars together.  Add the milk and vanilla and blend.  Mix in the flour, salt and chocolate chips.  Roll the dough into small balls.  (The dough will be soft).  Place the balls in the freezer to harden.

Cheesecake  

Four (8 ounce) packages of softened cream cheese

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. flour

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and flour until smooth.  Fold in the vanilla and sour cream just until blended. 

Pour half of the batter into the crust.  Fold the cookie dough balls and 1 cup mini chocolate chips into the rest of the cheesecake batter.  Pour into pan and smooth batter across the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.  Turn off oven and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another 30 minutes.  Remove cheesecake from oven and let cool.  Refrigerate until chilled.  Serve with whipped cream and heath chips.  This dessert is extremely rich.

Easter Basket Pattern "Chick and Easter"

Easter Basket Pattern  - Chick and Easter.  I can not resist door bell ditching my grandkids.  I love it.  I door bell ditched my grandkids with these Easter baskets and it was a  huge hit.  My grandkids have been entertained all day with these simple baskets.  You can download the pdf Easter basket pattern HERE at Parties and Patterns.

Cinnamon Bread French toast

For this recipe you can make home-made cinnamon bread or buy cinnamon bread at the store.  Be sure the cinnamon bread is a whole loaf and not cut into slices.  My daughter Emily made this fun treat for her son's third birthday breakfast celebration.  YUM!!!

Cinnamon Bread

3 cups warm water

2 tbsp. Yeast
1/3 cup honey
3 tbsp. dough enhancer (optional)
5 cups bread flour
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. salt
3 ½ cups bread flour
2 tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cups butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks butter)
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar

In a large bread bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over yeast.  Add 1/3 cup honey, and 5 cups of flour and mix until blended. Cover with a dish towel and let sit until big and bubbly for about 30 minutes.

Add dough enhancer, melted butter, salt and flour one cup at a time. Add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a buttered bowl. Butter dough so that it does not dry out. Cover dough and let rise until double in bulk in a warm place.

Punch dough down and divide into 3 balls. Roll each ball into a rectangle shape.  Spread dough with softened butter (1/2 stick of butter for each ball.) Generoulsy  sprinkle cinnamon and then brown sugar on top of the buttered rectangle. Roll dough starting from the long end of rectangle.  Pinch dough together at seam and place in  greased 9x5 inch loaf pans seam down. Cover pans with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until 1” above pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not over bake. Brush the tops of the bread with butter, remove from pans and let cool.

Try not to eat the bread before it is made into French Toast.  It is better to use day old bread (or longer) to make the French Toast so make the bread a day before.

French Toast Mixture
8 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. butter

Cut the day old bread into 8-9 slices.  Mix all ingredients except for the butter.  Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish generously with butter.  Place the bread flat in the baking dish.  Pour the egg mixture over the bread.  Cut the butter into pieces and dot over the top.  Refrigerate for one hour.  (Can be made the night before.)  Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serves 8

Heavenly Carmel Syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup corn syrup

Mix all ingredients together and heat on stove until the sugar is smooth and dissolved.  Serve warm.

This syrup is also great on any dessert.  In fact just eat the syrup and skip everything else.  YUM!

Lady Bug Quilt Pattern - "Lady Bug's Garden"

Lady bug Quilt Pattern - "Lady Bug's Garden" quilt was created because I love to garden and I love lady bug's.  Years ago  when I lived in Connecticut I was pleasantly surprised one spring day when I walked outside and found the whole front of my house covered with lady bug's.  I had never seen anything like it.  This quilt reminds me of that day. 

The quilt measures approx. 59"x74".

You can download this pdf lady bug quilt pattern HERE at Parties and Patterns.

Perfect Party Cupcakes

This recipe makes 60 filled mini cupcakes (You can also use a cake mix if you are in a hurry.)

The Cupcake Batter:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa 
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons  Pure Vanilla Extract

If you want to make Red Velvet cupcakes add one 1 ounce bottle of red food color.  

Mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar  until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Mix in sour cream, milk, (food coloring) and vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour mixture just till blended.  Do not over beat.  Spoon batter into 60 paper-lined mini muffin cups.  Fill each cup 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes for 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Cool cupcakes.  

With a dessert decorator (I recommend the Wilson brand from Walmart)  insert the round decorating tip into the top center of the cupcake and fill until you see cupcake slightly puff.  Do not overfill or the cupcake will explode.  With a star tip, pipe the frosting on the top of the cupcake starting from the outside of the cupcake and working to the center. 

Filling:

1 small  package white chocolate pudding (or flavor of choice)

1 small container cool whip

Make pudding according to package directions.  Gently fold cool whip into pudding.

Butter Cream Frosting:

3 sticks of butter softened

2/3 cup shortening

5-7 tbs heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla

2 lbs powdered sugar

1-3 tbs corn syrup

Mix shortening and butter together on medium until smooth.  Scrape down sides.  Turn mixer to low and add cream and vanilla.  Scrape down sides.  With mixer on low, slowly pour sugar into the mixture (you might need to increase the speed as you go.)  Once the sugar is mixed, scrape again and mix in corn syrup.

You may need more or less cream.  The corn syrup adds elasticity and shine to the frosting and is optional.

Emily's T-Shirt Dresses

Emily’s T-Shirt Dress

My daughter Emily made these adorable dresses for her two little girls.  These are so fast to make and your little girl's will love their new little summer dresses. 

What You Will Need:

One t-shirt (size to fit your child)

Fabric for bottom of  t-shirt dress:

  Measure around the bottom of the t-shirt and time’s by two for the width of the fabric.  For the length of the fabric,  fit t-shirt on child and measure from the bottom of the t-shirt to the length desired plus 2” for the hem.  (If the t-shirt measures 18” around the bottom and you want the dress to hang 13” from the edge of the t-shirt then you would need a piece of fabric that measures 36”x 15”.)

Quilter’s adhesive

Heavy Starch

Putting the T-Shirt Dress Together:

 

Hem the bottom of your fabric by folding it up 1/4 inch and ironing and then fold it again at 1 ½” and iron again.  Stitch across the fold to make your hem.  

Sew the sides of the skirt together to create a tube.  

To gather the top of the skirt, sew a running stitch and then pull on the bobbin thread.  Pull until the fabric measures the same as the length of the bottom of the t-shirt.  Pin the skirt to the t-shirt right sides together and stitch.  Press the skirt down.  

Cut out letters from fabric.  Iron each piece with heavy starch and lightly spray the backs of each piece with quilter’s adhesive.  Place letters on t-shirt and applique them in place. 

For the flower cut a length of fabric 3”x15” and iron the strip wrong sides together.  Sew a running stitch on the raw edge of the strip and gather fabric until it becomes a circle.  This is the flower. Hot glue the edges together and sew a button  in the center.  Hot glue the rough side of Velcro on the back of the flower and sew the soft side of Velcro on the t-shirt so the flowers are removable for washing.  

Quillow Patterns - Pillow Quilt "Snore-A-Sauras

Quillow Patterns "Snore-A-Sauras".  Who doesn’t love a snore-a-sauras?  We probably all have at least one snore-a-sauras that we know.  Everyone gets a kick out of this snore-a-sauras and gives that little snorer a good excuse to snooze all they want. My grandkids love to snuggle in these pillow quilts.  The quilt keeps  feet nice and warm and when the kids are done with snuggling in the blanket the blanket folds up into a fun pillow for their bedrooms. 

You can download this pdf quillow pattern HERE at Parties and Patterns.

White Mountain Cheesecake

From Megan's Kitchen

What You Will Need: 

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Finely crush graham crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.  Mix sugar into the crushed graham cracker crumbs.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Stir in the melted butter.  Spray the bottom of a 9" springform pan with cooking spray.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 minutes.  Remove and let cool.

Two 8 ounce packages of softened cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. softened butter
2  tsp. vanilla

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, corn starch and sugar together and mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is creamy.  Add butter, vanilla and blend until smooth.  Don't over mix.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to35 minutes.  Cool.

Topping:

1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
4 ounces softened cream cheese
4 ounces white chocolate, chocolate chips or almond bark, melted

In a cold mixing bowl beat the cream until stiff peaks form.  Gradually add the powdered sugar. Put in fridge.  In the meantime beat the cream cheese until fluffy.  Add the white chocolate and mix until smooth.  Mix in the whipped cream.

Quillow Patterns

Pattern and instructions

Click HERE at Parties and Patterns for the downloadable Quillow Patterns!

How The Pillow Quilt Works:

The pillow quilt is for fun and decoration, but also a nice TV quilt.  The pocket is meant for  feet to slip into and then the blanket wraps around the bodyl

It is also a great blanket for sleepovers.  Everyone feels like they have their own personalized sleeping bag.

There are two ways to use the pillow quilt.  You can keep it flat, stick  feet into the pocket and snuggle with the blanket……..

Or you can keep the blanket half folded inside the pocket and then snuggle with the blanket.

How To Fold The Quilt Into A Pillow:

Lay quilt top face down on floor. 

 Fold up the bottom of the quilt. ( Fold is at the bottom of the pocket.)

Fold the sides in.

Flip quilt so that the pocket is facing you. 

 

 Grab inside corners and turn pocket.

Fold top of quilt corners down to the top of the pillow pocket.

Grab top corners and insert into pocket down to the bottom corners. You now have a pillow quilt

Fold quilt into thirds and insert into pocket. You now have a pillow quilt.

 Click here at Parties and Patterns for the downloadable Quillow Patterns!