Adorned From Above: 2013-03-10

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Baby Sling and Car Seat Canopy Giveaway's

I thought these two giveaways were amazing. Charly and Ryan are going to have a baby in July, so when I ran across these two giveaways, I had to put them up. All you have to do is pay for the shipping and handling and you will receive a baby sling and if you do both you can also receive a Carseat Canopy.

Baby Sling Free Offer (Shipping $11.95)
Promo Code "Enbaby"

Carseat Canopy Free Offer. ( shipping 12.95) Promo Code "Enbaby"

I hope that you find these offers useful. Charly and Ryan have already ordered the baby sling. They haven't ordered the Carseat canopy yet. They're waiting to find out the sex of the baby first. I hope that you find these two offers helpful. I thought they were really great offers. I'm adding two more in here, because if you're having a baby these may be good for you also.
Have a great weekend!!! Debi
Nursing Pillow Promo Code "Enbaby"

Free Uddercovers Promo Code "Enbaby"

Hereditary Cancer Quiz

As you can see on my blog, I have been putting up some ads, giveaways, and surveys. I am trying to put up things that are relevant in our everyday lives. I haven't paid a lot of attention to ads in blogs in the past, but I have come across some that I was interested in and thought you might be also. So over the next few weeks, I will be sharing what I have found with all of you.
This Hereditary Cancer Quiz is really easy to take, about 1 minute, and provides some information that's important to know. When you take it you do have to give your email address, but can opt out of their email list. I just took the test and found the results informative. It's free, so why not give it a try. It will at least give you a starting point for a conversation with your doctor if necessary.

Myriad Genetics' Hereditary Cancer Quiz helps you to assess whether you might be a good candidate for testing. This quiz can help you get the information you need to discuss your risk of cancer with your healthcare provider and ask for further evaluation. If you take the quiz and find red flags in your own history or your family history, you may benefit from hereditary cancer testing.

Whole Food's Whole Mom $500 Gift Card Giveaway

You still have two days left to enter the Whole Foods Whole Mom $500 Gift Card Giveaway!!!

It's so easy to enter. All you do is click on the link below. It will take you to Facebook. Then like the Whole Food Whole Mom's Page and Like the Giveaway Page. They are not asking for anything else. So Click the link and Entered Today.

St. Patty's Day Frozen Creme de Menthe Cake

Today we have a St. Patty's Day Frozen Creme de Menthe Cake and it is amazing. I made this as a combination of two of my recipes, Bernadette Lego's Creme de Menthe Pie and my Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake. It is really a killer desert and really simple. So here it is.

St. Patty's Day Frozen Creme de Menthe Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 box devils food cake mix

4 eggs

1 16 oz container sour cream

1 box chocolate fudge pudding

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 box Andes mints chopped and split 1/4 and 3/4's

Topping:

2/3 cup half and half

24 large marshmellows ( not jumbo's just large )

1 oz. creme de menthe

1/2 oz creme de coco (white)

1 cup whipping cream (whipped)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, put wax paper on bottom of a spring form pan and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix devils food cake mix and pudding, until well blended.

Next add sour cream, eggs, oil, water and mix until smooth about 2 to 3 minutes.

Then add 3/4 of the chopped Andes Mints into the batter and stir.

Pour into spring form pan and bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

While cake is cooling make the Creme de Menthe mixture.

Combine the marshmallows and half and half. Heat until marshmallows are melted. Set in refrigerator to cool, while you make whipped cream.

Once cooled, fold in liquor and whipped cream.

Poor in spring form pan on top of the cake and freeze. It is ready in a couple of hours.

Spinkle the last 1/4 of your Andes Mints on top of the cake and serve.

Remove outside of your spring form pan, and remove bottom of pan and wax paper form the cake. Put cake on a cake plate to serve.

This makes 12 to 16 pieces of cake.

This cake came out so amazingly good. You have to give it a try. I hope you love it as much as we did. I always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!

Where We Party

Craftsy is so great. They have classes to teach you how to make Vintage Cakes.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Homemade Easter Candy and a Spring Blog Walk

Welcome to A Spring Blog Walk

We now have 11 Blogs participating and we are so excited to share our fun posts with you.

Linda from Crafts Ala Mode is sharing Butterflies for Spring

Debi from Adorned From Above - Fun Easter Candy Recipes

Myrna and Joye from The Busy Bees are sharing 10 S.O.S (Salads of Spring) Ideas

Marci from Stone Cottage Adventures With A Garden Tour

Kathy from Life On Lakeshore Drive is sharing Spring Fever Craft Ideas

Nichi from The Mandatory Mooch sharing her Blooming Oreo Desert

Diana From Diana Rambles - Easter Candy Bark

Evelyn from My Turn For Us - Spring is Baby Goats

Lorraine from Cooking For The Seven Dwarfs Chocolate Cupcake With Blackberry Frosting

Deby from So Sew Easy With My Cute Spring and Easter Sewing Ideas

Tammy from One More Time Events With Easter Moss Centerpiece and Wreath

The Spring Blog Walk will be in the sidebar of each blog starting March 15th for 1 month.

We hope you take a walk on through each post and see what fun things are happening out there.

If you would like to participate in our next Blog Walk
send one of us an email and we will add you to the list.
Linda, Debi, Myrna, Joye, Marci, Kathy, Nichi, Diana, Evelyn, Lorraine, Deby, and Tammy

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Charly and I had so much fun getting these 5 Homemade Easter Candies ready for all of you for the Spring Blog Walk. Our family and friends certainly reaped the benefits of all of this creativity also. They have had tons of great snacks and candy. Today we are sharing our Homemade Peeps, Jumbo Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter Truffles, Almond Clusters, and Chocolate and Vanilla Dipped Cookies. Now, on to the recipes

Homemade Peeps

I had never made marshmallows before now, so I thought this was going to be really hard. Boy, was I wrong. Marshmallow are really easy. This recipe came from 52 Kitchen Adventures - Homemade Marshmallow Peeps

Ingredients:

1/3 cup water

1 cup ultra fine sugar

1/4 cup water

1 packet gelatin

colored sanding sugar

candy thermometer

Wilton silicone bunny mold (Michaels)

Directions:

Spray nonstick cooking spray in your mold and set aside.

In a mixing bow for a mixer pour 1/4 cup water and sprinkle gelatin over the top of the water.

In a saucepan put 1/3 cup water and 1 cup ultra fine sugar. Stir.

Heat over medium heat stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Once the sugar heat the sugar water to 235 to 240 degrees. (Soft Ball)

Then turn on mixer and carefully pour the hot syrup into the bowl, taking care not to get it on the sides of the mixer or the mixer paddle.

Mix on medium low for a minute or two, until mixed with the gelatin.

Then turn mixer to medium high and beat for about 11 minutes, until the marshmallow has stiff peaks.

Next put the marshmallow into a ziploc bag and cut off a small piece of the corner of the bag.

Gently squirt the marshmallow into each of the molds, making sure that you don't overfill the molds. You want your marshmallow to lay flat.

I had some extra marshmallow in the bag still and I just piped it onto a cookie sheet to look like peeps.

Let the marshmallow set up in the molds for a few minutes.

In the meantime pour your sanding sugar on plates so that you can dip you peeps into the different colors.

Pop your peeps out of the mold and put in the sanding sugar. I set them in the sugar on one side and then turned them over and did the other side and pushed the sugar up around the sides and ears of the peeps.

Set on a serving platter or put into candy bags.

Makes 24 bunnies and 4 peeps

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Jumbo Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Peanut Butter

3/4 cup powder sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 TB butter (softened)

4 cup Milk Chocolate Chips

1 TB Coconut oil

12 muffin cup liners

Directions:

Put muffin liners in 12 muffin cups

Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a mixer until smooth. Set aside.

Next, put chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take about 1 1/2 minutes to melt the chocolate.

Put chocolate in a pastry bag or a ziploc bag and cut a corner and pipe chocolate into the bottom of the muffin liners.

Next, make 12 patties out of the peanut butter and put it on top of the chocolate.

Then pipe the rest of your melted chocolate over the peanut butter.

Put muffin pan in refrigerator to help set chocolate.

Makes 12 Jumbo Peanut Butter Cups

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Peanut Butter Truffles

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Peanut Butter

3/4 cup powder sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 TB butter (softened)

1 12 oz bag milk chocolate chips

20 1 inch candy liners

Directions:

Put candy liners into the cups of a mini muffin tin.

Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a mixer until smooth. Set aside.

Next, put chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take about 1 1/2 minutes to melt the chocolate.

Roll peanut butter into 20 balls and drop into chocolate 1 at a time. Use a spoon to remove chocolate covered ball and place in a candy liner.

Add additional chocolate if necessary

Set in refrigerator.

Makes 20 Peanut Butter Truffles

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Almond Clusters

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds

12 oz milk chocolate chips

4 oz vanilla blue Wilton's Candy Melt

4 oz vanilla pink Wilton's Candy Melt

9 muffin cup liners

Directions:

Put muffin cup liners into 9 muffin cups

Next, put chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take about 1 1/2 minutes to melt the chocolate.

Spoon into 9 muffin cup liners

Then, melt Wilton's Blue Vanilla Candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take about 1 minute and 10 seconds to melt the candy.

Drizzle over the Almond Clusters.

Repeat with the Pink Candy Melts

Let harden and serve.

Makes 9 Almond Clusters.

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Chocolate Dipped Cookies

Ingredients:

20 Lorna Doone's Shorebread Cookies

20 Biscoff Cookies

12 oz milk chocolate chips

4 oz vanilla blue Wilton's Candy Melt

4 oz vanilla pink Wilton's Candy Melt

8 muffin liners

Directions:

Put chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take about 1 1/2 minutes to melt the chocolate.

Then dip each cookie in the chocolate and lay on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Then, melt Wilton's Blue Vanilla Candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and melt for 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds. It should take about 1 minute and 10 seconds to melt the candy.

Drizzle over the cookies

Repeat with the Pink Candy Melts

Let harden and put in muffin cup liners to serve.

Makes 40 Chocolate Dipped Cookies.

We hope that you enjoy these recipes and that they give you lots of ideas for Homemade Easter Candy. We also hope that you have fun at our Spring Blog Hop.

We always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!

Debi

Find us at These Great Parties!!!

Green Apple Cooler for Friday's Happy Hour

This is a Green Apple Cooler for Friday's Happy Hour is a delicious and refreshing drink and the color is great for St. Patrick's Day. We have really been having fun making up different flavored coolers, and this one is right up our alley.

Green Apple Cooler for Friday's Happy Hour

Ingredients:

4 oz apple vodka

4 oz sour apple pucker

12 oz lemon lime soda

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and pour over ice in two tall glasses.

Serves 2

I hope you like today's Green Apple Cooler for Friday's Happy Hour. I always love hearing from you.

Have a great weekend.

Where We Party

Thursday, March 14, 2013

St. Patrick's Day Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

These St. Patrick's Day Chocolate Mint Cupcakes were amazing. Danny and Ryan came home, so I had a built in audience for all my of baking.

We have been trying to make some fun treats for St. Patrick's Day, and this was a fun one to make.

Today I am also going to show how we start getting some of our posts ready for all of you to see. Normally, when we start cooking, we make several things in one day. For this post we made these Chocolate Mint Cupcakes and a Frozen Creme de Menthe and Chocolate Cake the first day. Then the next morning we made donut holes and Grape Jelly Filled Donuts, and that night we had grilled steaks, smashed potatoes, and salad for dinner. We normally cook in batches to try to get as many pictures taken and then write the posts.

Here are some pictures of some of the food we made. We hope you enjoy them. Look for the recipes over the next few weeks.

Now onto our Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup half and half

1 cup water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp peppermint extract

Wilton's Color Mist Food Color Spray (green)

3 16 oz containers Vanilla Whipped Frosting

green sprinkles

shamrock decorations

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add cupcake jumbo cupcake liners to either 12 jumbo muffins cups or 24 regular cupcake liners to 24 muffin cups. Spray liners with non stick cooking spray.

Mix flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

Next add eggs, half and half, water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and peppermint extract and mix all ingredients until smooth.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove them for the muffin pan and put on the wire rack to cool totally.

Put your frosting in a frosting bag with a decorative tip on the end.

Once your cupcakes are totally cool pipe the frosting on your cupcakes.

Next, spray Wilton's Color Mist Food Color Spray on your cupcakes. (Follow the directions on the can.)

Then add your sprinkles and your shamrock decorations.

Makes either 12 jumbo or 24 regular cupcakes.

I hope that you like these St. Patrick's Day Chocolate Mint Cupcakes. We really enjoyed them. I always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!

Find us at These Great Parties!!!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 43 and Handknit Cowl

I want to thank everyone who shared with last week's Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 42. I love seeing all of your posts. I also want to thank everyone who participated in the giveaway for the $50.00 Target Gift Card. I can not tell you how much I appreciate your participation.

Welcome to Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 43. We do not have any co-hosts today, but we do have a giveaway. (If yo are interested in co-hosting send me a message.) I am really excited to give away this great cowl that I finished while on my cruise to the Antarctic. The two place that I am asking people to follow this week are GFC and Pinterest. I am hoping to reach 500 GFC Friends today.

Congratulations!!! The winner for last weeks $50.00 Target giveaway is Joy Swan. Joy has already contacted me and her gift card is on the way to her as we speak.

Now for this weeks giveaway. Here it is.

Now onto the featured bloggers from last weeks party. Please take a look at their posts. They are truly amazing and all of you picked them. These are the most viewed posts for the last four parties.

Featured Bloggers - Adorned From Above Blog Hop 42

1. Mason Jar Twine Holders from Elena at A'Casarella

2. Operation Sultrify: Dressing Room Table Gets a Makeover for Under $20 From Sharon at Lilikoi Joy

3. Snow Maze from Ashley at Life With Moore Babies

4. Fun Easter Bouquet from Rita at Pink Polka Dot Creations

5. Roses and Lace From Elizabeth at The Porcelain Rose

6. Refresh Those Old Jeans from Alexis at Running Away? I'll Help You Pack!

7. Spider Stitch Shawl - Free Pattern from Olga at Lacy Crochet

8. Burlap Peeps Pillows and Peeps Brownies from Jenni at The Vintage Umbrella

Congratulations to all of this weeks featured bloggers. Grab a button from the Side Bar.

So on to this weeks party. The rules are easy.

1. Follow all hosts in some way (GFC, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, or Linky Followers )

2. Anything goes with posts. ( recipes, parties, etsy shops, crafts, inspirational writing, absolutely anything. Just make it family friendly )

3. Comment on other posts. It is a party. Get to know your fellow bloggers. I have met some of the nicest people at the parties, including some of my co-hosts.

4. All featured posts will be pinned on Pinterest, so by linking with this party you are giving me permission to pin your projects.

5. Also the party now runs from 9:00PM on Tuesdays through 11:59PM on Sundays.

We hope you have fun at this week's party. We all love hearing from you, so we love your comments.

Now let's party

Have a great week.

This is where we party. Click to see all the parties.

Natural Tangerine Bubble Bath

I made this Natural Tangerine Bubble Bath for my friend Kerry. She loves the my Tangerine Toner, so I decided to make her some this bubble bath. I used my Coconut Bubble Bath Recipe with a few changes. I must say it smells delicious. Just like a tangerine.

Natural Tangerine Bubble Bath

Ingredients:

1 cup distilled water

1/2 cup natural baby shampoo

1 tsp glycerin

1 tsp almond oil

40 drops tangerine essential oil

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bottle.

Shake well to mix well.

I hope that you like this Tangerine Bubble Bath as much as I do. I love bubble baths. I always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!
Debi

Monday Party Links

Craft-O-Maniac - Craft-O-Maniac Monday Link Party

Mad In Crafts - Mad In Skills Link Party

Keeping It Simple - Motivate Me Monday Link Party

Sumo's Sweet Stuff - Market Yourself Mondays

Making The World Cuter - Monday Link Up Party

Singing Three Little Birds - Inspire Me Monday

Polly Want a Crafter - Craft Party

DIY Home Sweet Home - The More the Merrier Monday

Sew Can Do - Craftastic Monday Link Up Party