Granite Farm Studios

JANUARY

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2010-12-31T12:59:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

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Tracy and Kim want to wish every one a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hope Eveyone is Enjoyng the Holiday Season!

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Be sure to check out our post on the

CHRISTMAS TRUFFLES.

Wait until you see how we've displayed them! They make great gifts, as well, as table scapes for your holiday celebrations!

Cookie Dough Truffles

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Having a party and looking for some creative ways to display food?

Kim and I had a blast doing this photo shoot. The Cookie Dough Truffles are to die for. They are super-easy to make. The recipe is from

Taste of Home. We saw them make these at on of their Cooking School Shows we attended this fall with a group of friends. They have so many great recipes and ideas for the holidays.

Have fun with all the festivities in your life!

Thank You Cookies

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Need a great thank you give to give a friend or family member? They will love you for making these awesome

Chocolate Cake Cookies.

Short on fancy bags, paper or present presenters, we simply used plastic wrap and some extra ribbon we had around the house.

Make sure to bake extra for yourself! These wonderful cookies come from Taste of Home. We have been trying a lot of their recipes lately. Over the last four years, a group of us have been going to their Cooking School Show. When we started it was just two of us, and every year since we have added more friends. We go out to dinner and then off to the show to learn some great recipes. We then take turns over the next few months having parties with friends and family intruducing the recipes we learned about.

Do you and your friends take turns entertaining each other? We would love to hear from you!

Enjoy your family and friends this Holiday Season!

December

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Thanksgiving Table Setting on a Budget

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Here are a few ideas to save you money when it comes to setting your dinner table for Thanksgiving.

Shop your house first before heading to the store. Do you have candles around your house? Great! Make them the center of your table.

Do yo have some fall garland hanging around? Use that or head outside and get the real thing. Twigs, acorns, pinecones and bittersweet. Be careful not to put them too close to the candles.

Low on cloth napkins but have a lot of quilting fabric laying around? Make your own napkins. Cut out your desired size, fold in 1/4" , fold again, and sew. Repeat on all four sides. Think of the cool napkins you can make! And don't be afraid to mix and match different fabrics. We used some pretty ribbon to hold it together on our plates.

Same thing for the tablecloth. If you do not have one, is there extra fabric you could use? You could do a simple runner down the middle of the table. Children's white roll art paper is a great solution or butcher paper. If Pottery Barn made it look cool, so can you! (Check out their latest catalog, everything is to die for, Love it!)

We used everyday plates and put them on chargers and Wah-la, they look much more special. If you are going to invest in chargers, look for something that you can use for more than one special occasion or holiday.

Setting the table did not break the bank, but it sure looks beautiful!

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your family!

Winner of our First Contest!

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Congrats to Michelle for being our hanging hearts winner! We've shipped them out to you. Hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them. Thanks for sharing how you make your house a home!

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Instructions for Fabric Hearts

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1. Trace and cut one heart shape from felt.

2. Trace and cut TWO larger heart shapes

from chosen fabric.

3. You will end up with two fabric hearts

and one felt heart.

4. Using 3 strands of embroidery floss,

stitch your favorite words.

5. Stitch felt heart onto the face of one of

the fabric hearts using a coordinating floss.

6. Add buttons, beads or any accent

that tickles your fancy.

7. Next, Sew both fabric hearts WRONG

sides together using coordinating floss.

Don't forget to leave an opening for stuffing!

8. Complete with a little ribbon for

hanging and an accent button.

Decorate and enjoy!!

Pumpkin Flower Arrangement

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Directions:

1. Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin a little bigger than the container that is going to be inside. You do not want to see the opening when the arrangement is done.

2. Scoop all the guts out and save the seeds for roasting later. If you are feeling ambitious, scrape a design onto the flesh of the pumpkin, but be sure not to go all the way through.

3. Clean the outside of your pumpkin.

4. Place the container with water inside the pumpkin. We used a small jelly jar.

5. Now, start working with your arrangement. I like to start with the greens and fill in with flowers. Keep standing back as you work and look at it from all directions. Doing this gives you an eye for bare spots, where you may need more color, or have too much of one color.

That's it. Now, place your pumpkin where everyone can enjoy it!!

Granite Farm Studios Visits Cider Hill Farm

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Kim and I ventured to Cider Hill Farm for some inspiration for upcoming posts. The perfect place to be on a Fall day. The sun was bright and Fall was definitely in the air at this New England town farm.

The first stop was the pumpkin patches. We needed to find the right size pumpkin for our flower arrangement project. (Check back next week for that tutorial.) Round, short, squatty, warty and picturesque pumkins were everywhere! While we came only for one pumpkin, we left with many.

As we walked up the hill toward the apple trees, we spotted a lonely little pumpkin (maybe in training to become the next "Great Pumpkin") hiding between rows of strawberry plants. We couldn't help but snap some photos of it.

While we were snapping photos of a patch of mini-pumpkins, a group of school children came charging toward us. I motioned to Kim that we better get out of the way or we were going to be trampled. The look on some of their faces was priceless as they learned that these small pumpkins were theirs and not the patch of larger pumpkins sitting not far from them.

After a few more snaps of the hay wagon coming down the hill, we headed back to the giant barn that was full of all kinds of goodies! A must when visiting - apple cider doughnuts. Yum!

With a cart full of pumpkins, mums, apples and baked goods, we headed back to the car. To our surprise there was the biggest turkey staring back at us. We never knew that turkeys could have red and blue faces. He was a character. Kim got some shots of him, but he wasn't very cooperative - he kept showing us his backside.

Hope you are all enjoying your fall and

would love to hear how you spend your time in this short but beautiful season.

Old Fashioned Halloween in an Old New England Port Town

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Nature Prints

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Here is a fun project to do by yourself or with your little one.

Printing with items from nature.

Select good quality leaves, acorns, seed pods, pine needle branches, sticks and anything you find interesting.

MATERIAL LIST:

Leaves and various items from nature

Cardboard, newspaper or plastic tablecloth

Acrylic paints in colors of your choice

Small paint brushes

Paper towels or old rags

A cup of water

Paper for practice and final prints

If collecting leaves ahead of time, store them in a plastic bag with a few drops of water. Keep the bag in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

1. Place your cardboard, newspaper or plastic on a flat surface.

2. Put a small amount of paint on a painter's palette or dish. Set water and rags close by.

3. Take your first item to print and apply a small amount of paint. Do not use a lot of paint, it will make a gloppy print. Use water to thin the paint if necessary. I used two different colors to make my leaves look more fall-like.

4. Test your first print on scrap
paper until you feel comfortable
with the results.

5. Now print to your heart's content. Experiment with colors and placement.

6. Let your prints dry, frame and matte them to provide your home with beautiful, natural works of art.

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Welcome to our first give-away here at

Granite Farm Studios.

We are giving away three of these adorable hand-crafted hearts.

Leave a comment about how you bring your heart into your home. Do you have a favorite craft tradition, recipe, story, family or friend gathering?

All comments will be placed in a bowl and three will be selected. The two lucky winners will be announced on Friday, November 5, 2010.

Contest ends October 31, 2010 at midnight eastern time.

Good Luck Everyone.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Fabric Art

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I first saw this project on That Artist Woman.

This project will give you the look of batik without the mess of wax. Children will love to see their drawings come to life on fabric.

1. Work out your design on a piece of paper. Once you are pleased with your design, transfer to the fabric.

2. Use Elmer's Washable Glue to outline your design.

3. Let dry completely (about a day). Once the glue is dry, it is difficult to see. So, you mught want to use colored chalk on the glue to bring up the design.

4. Apply paint to the fabric. Do not worry about covering the glue. To give a watercolor look, dilute the paint with water before applying to the fabric. I used this method and non-diluted glue to achieve my look.

5. Let dry overnight.

6. Soak in a bucket or the tub for about ten minutes in warm water. Use a scrub brush to remove the glue from the fabric (scrub lightly). It will remove some of the paint which will give it a nice effect.

7. Let the fabric dry and sew into your desired item.

Planned, Planted, Harvested and Preserved

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The harvest season has arrived. All year long you have planned, sowed, planted, watered, weeded, harvested, cleaned, chopped, sliced, diced, dried, canned and froze all your crops.

What a wonderful joy it is to take food out of your cellar, pantry or freezer knowing that you know exactly where you food comes from. No artificial flavors, preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup or any ingredients you can't pronounce - just good old-fashioned food!

Don't be afraid to try new things. Here at Granite Farm Studios this year, a lot of new recipes and food preparations were going on. Basil and Sage were prepared using the drying and freezer methods. Chives were cut up and frozen.

The rest of the herbs were tied up in bunches, placed in paper bags with holes. The holes allow air to circulate and the herbs are protected from dust. Allow two to three weeks for completely dried herbs. Crunch up the dried herbs and place in clean glass jars. Jelly jars work great!

Freezer slaw was made using the freshest ingredients and freezer safe jars.

Peaches were prepared and preserved by the freezer and canning method.

Ball Canning has a wonderful book that uses all these methods to preserve food.
http://www.preservefood.com/ is a great resource, also.
You can find your local extension web site from this link:
http://extension.unh.edu/cesites.htm
We would love for you to share some of your favorite foods to preserve.

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Just before the death of flowers,

And before they are buried in the snow,

There comes a festival season,

When nature is all aglow.

- Author Unknown

What Would You Do If You Knew You Wouldn't Fail?

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What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? Lots of things you are probably thinking. We know that feeling well. That little voice that tries to discourage you from trying new things. But we also know the reward we get when we push that little voice aside!

Kim and I have taught ourselves a lot of different things. We also have taken classes with professionals, learned from our Moms, Grandmothers, Mother-in-law and fabulous Friends.

You can't create if you don't try. the first few stitches may not be straight or the craft didn't come out the way you expected, but with practice and more experience, things come easier with time. And never underestimate the power of a happy accident! Over time, that negative little voice becomes fainter and the need to create and be creative becomes stronger.

Creating can enrich your life and feed your soul.

The first step in creating is letting go and just get started. Start by writing a list of things you would like to do. Sew a quilt, can a jar of jam, make cards from scratch or just have a family celebration at your home.

Do not be afraid to just try!

Granite Farm Studios

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