Can anyone direct me to a site or instructions on making no slip hair clips? I'd like to make some for my daughters, but everything I'm coming across is books/DVDs you have to purchase or instructions that aren't very detailed or don't include pictures. TIA!

New pendant, handmade out of clay and hand painted with a painting of a butterfly called a Sparkling Cherub (I love that name!)


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Does anyone have a good recipe for a fat free (or very low fat) lower calorie basic sandwich yeast bread recipe? Thanks!

I crafted this Tree of Life pendant from recycled sterling silver wire, a faceted garnet bead, and love. Can you see the word "Love" in its branches? The next tree that I make like this will have an E with its own set of branches (rather than joined with the V), and I also need to do a better job with the O:



( Next: a sun, an owl, and a tree bracelet... )

Hello all! I'm a long time reader, first time question asker, hopefully soon to be poster. My mom's birthday is coming up this weekend and would like me to make inside-out coffee cake muffins like my grandma used to make. Unfortunately, my grandma did not write the recipe down and is not around to ask anymore. So, after some internet searching and library combing I have not really come up with anything and thought this might be a good place to ask if anyone has a recipe or has a better "baker's-mind" to go about making this!

Thank you(s) in advance!

Hehe. I'm a little late in posting this because Christmas was a little while back. But...gingerbread!



( Enjoy (: )

If you're interested in the gingerbread recipe I used, just ask ^^

After christmas we had a TON of leftover turkey and I used the last of it up recently while making this awesome pot pie. I think it's the perfect comfort food.

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hello, you wealth of helpful and resourceful bakers, you.
i just started a job (i really mean like just a few days ago) as a baker for an all natural cafe. the owner is a nutritionist so her part of the job is to tell me what she wants and i'm to figure out how to do it. we're going to be baking to accommodate some food allergies, vegans, diabetics, and i'm starting out with gluten free muffins and using spelt flour. i have never ever baked with any gluten free flour! and though it's a lovely environment where they understand that and let me experiment, i could use a little help. are there any tips or crucial knowledge that i should have about making gluten free baked goods?
a little more importantly, and separately, does anyone have any tips on baking with spelt flour? in addition to the gf baking, we're also making muffins with spelt flour instead of regular wheat flour. i am not trying to make gluten free food with spelt, to clear up some confusion (sorry). in my experience so far (which is three batches of unsatisfactory muffins), spelt hates to be baked with! i know it has an imbalance of gliadine and glutanine, and the lack of glutanine means the muffins do not hold their shape. i've never baked with spelt either, and my attempts to alter the recipes i've been given haven't been super productive. all my muffins have looked like this:



they spread on the sides, cave in the center, and become crust-like on the tops. the recipes i'm using have a lot of oil in them (which i'm working on tweaking) and that makes me think it might be part of the problem, but i do know the spreading and caving is the work of little glutanine. but i don't know how to fix it yet. i'm not sure my boss' stance of mixing spelt with whole wheat flour but i've read that helps. does anybody have any other suggestions?

thanks so much, bakebakebakers! honestly any knowledge thrown my way is super helpful and super appreciated.
<3


EDIT: dudes and ladies! i understand your concern about the environment i am producing goods i'm calling "gluten free" in, and that's justified. it may not look particularly great on me to say i'm not fully aware of the kitchen i'm working in, but hey. i'm not fully aware of the kitchen i'm working in; i started this job at the beginning of this week. i don't want people thinking there should be alarm because i'm sure my boss has worked hard to create a safe food environment. that said! i'm not meaning to sound accusing and i respect and appreciate everything that's been said in the comments so far and actually i found out some stuff i didn't know. i will do my best to accommodate gluten allergies by being as thorough as i can, but all i can be responsible for is me. thanks. :)

Okay, I have two questions for all of you. The first is, what is/are your favorite cake(s) for layering?

My mom will be decorating my baby shower cake. She is an excellent cake decorator, but she usually makes the cakes using a box. I figured I'd make the cake (I very, very, very rarely used boxed mixes), but since I'm no decorator, I never really pay attention or care about what will hold up well to layering and/or decorating.

She'll probably use fondant. So... my question again, after that explanation, is what cakes hold up well to decorating?

My second question is about the actual decor of the cake. Do any of you have any suggestions for a baby shower cake? I'm having a girl. :)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

( :: cinnamon-lovers unite! :: )</em></em></div>

I was having a terrible time looking for a tutorial online for this (the one from HGTV is TERRIBLE), and a friend of mine helped me find a couple. This one was helpful for figuring out the sides. I figured out a lot of the rest on my own, and the top flaps are my own design.

I did the sides in vinyl, which kind of worked. I used about a fat quarter's worth of fabric for the lining. It turned out a little wonky, but I think that's because of the vinyl sides. Oh well, I know for next time.

Click here to go to the photo set at my flickr with pictures from almost every step That way I don't spam you with pictures. :D

Yup, It was my day off, and I got a lot done.

x-posted to my journal

Hi all!

So my sister is getting married in a couple of months. I'm not in the wedding (*whew* I've been in ENOUGH weddings already. :D ) but stated that anything they wanted me to do I'd be happy to do.

Her Maid Of Honor (known as the MoH, she's awesome) called and asked if I would like to make a card box for the bridal shower and wedding. I was completely stoked to do it.

I originally was going to make a sewn bag, to stretch over some sort of a frame, as sewing is normally my forte. But I was having trouble trying to make that work.

And then I found the kraft paper boxes at Joann.

The only guide from the MoH and my sister was to use the color scheme from the invitations. This is what I came up with:

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Some wristwarmers made out of sock yarn and crocheted tightly. They should be warm without being bulky.

And a beret from self patterning yarn.



( more pics of the beret after the cut )

I bought $80 worth of silk flowers for $40 yesterday!!! To say that I'm ecstatic about said purchase would be an understatement.

I got to work with my garden last night.

Picture Heavy!

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