HELLO my name is Heather

  • The Three Broomsticks

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall

    ThreeBrooms
    Use these miniature Firebolts to add a bit of magical flair to your favorite Harry Potter party drink.  Or use the broom handles to skewer together any tasty morsels that threaten to scurry away on the dessert table.

    Broomstick Picks

    Materials Needed
    Raffia
    Wooden skewers
    Colored embroidery floss
    Brown thread

    Tools
    Sewing machine
    Hot glue gun & glue
    Scissors

    BroomA

    1. 
    Gather small bunch of raffia – about 20 strands. Stitch bundled raffia
    together. (Seam is about 3/4" long.) Trim raffia to 5" wide, with seam
    centered.

    BroomB

    2. 
    Place medium-size dot of hot glue to left of thread seam. Place the
    blunt end of skewer into glue, extending skewer about 1" past thread
    seam.

    BroomC

    3.  Fold right half of raffia over skewer. Secure with glue or simply keep a hold on raffia till Step 4 is completed. 

    BroomD

    4. 
    While holding raffia ends securely, wrap colored embroidery floss
    around broom bristles, about ½" from folded end of raffia. Wrap thread
    3-4 times and secure with knot. Trim raffia to even out end of broom.

    These brooms are surprisingly easy to make — bookmark for next Halloween : )

    • Cockroach Clusters recipe here.
    • Butterbeer recipe here.

  • Bottoms Up, Butterbeer

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall Butterbeer
    Madam
    Rosmerta would agree that no wizard party is complete without a pint of
    freshly-brewed Butterbeer. With our house elf now missing, it took us
    quite a few iterations before we discovered the perfect potion for this
    usually overly-sweet concoction. A hint of ginger and the sweetness of
    butterscotch combine to create a delightful and refreshing non-alcoholic drink,
    capable of making even Severus Snape smile.

    Butterscotch300 Butterbeer Recipe

    12 oz. (one bottle) ginger beer
    36 oz. (three bottles) cream soda
    3 T butterscotch ice cream topping

    Thoroughly
    chill unopened ginger beer and cream soda in refrigerator until
    icy-cold.  Refrigerate empty, glass pitcher as well.  Once beverages
    are chilled, in a small mixing bowl or tall glass, stir 1-2 oz. of
    cream soda into butterscotch topping till thoroughly combined.  Pour
    all remaining soda into chilled pitcher. Quickly add butterscotch
    mixture to pitcher.  Stir till just combined;  do not over-stir.  Pour
    over ice and serve immediately.  Serves 6.

    For a frothy sparkle, dip the rim of each glass in corn syrup,
    pulling drips of syrup downward with a toothpick.  Then dip
    each glass rim in a mixture of colored sugar.  Before dipping, spread
    the corn syrup & sugar mixture each onto a separate, flat-bottomed
    plate.

    SugarRim

    For
    an old-world, textured effect, mix fine, yellow sugar with coarser,
    gold sugar.  Colored sugars are available at many grocery stores and
    craft chains.  The sugars shown here are both from Michael's.

    Isaac
    & I went to a midnight showing of The Half-Blood Prince with friends last
    night.  It was amazing — definitely my favorite HP movie so far — BY
    FAR.  We were surrounded by eight packed theatres of screaming,
    costumed teenagers.  It was a sight.

    • Cockroach Clusters recipe here.

  • Candy-Coated Roach Control

    ByHeather Bailey

    HPBannerFinalTall HBaileyCockroachBrt3 Don't look like a Muggle at the big Harry Potter movie premiere
    this week, snacking on Milk Duds and Raisinets.  Line your cloak with a
    proper wizard's feast of sugar munchies.  Start with every student's
    favorite, Cockroach Clusters. 

    HBaileyPopcornWbrt2
    Our house elf, Floozy, has been working away all weekend to formulate
    the perfect Cockroach Cluster recipe, using only the finest Pecanese
    cockroaches.  With Floozy's polished recipe, the process is easy —
    almost like making popcorn balls.

    For a final touch, let a
    batch of greedy insects loose on your tray of hand-rolled popcorn balls
    and they'll crawl right into place and get stuck — like magic. The
    hardest part is de-winging the little buggers while they're still
    wiggling, but you'll get the hang of it.

    When Floozy threatened
    to rest her sticky fingers, we made her stay up an extra two hours to
    design candy tags for your homemade treats.  That'll teach her.  Click here to download a print-ready pdf of uniquely-appetizing Cockroach Cluster tags.

    Spread the news around Hogsmeade and the floo network, I'll be posting magical recipes all this week.

    Update: 
    About Floozy's sticky, sticky state.  No worries.  We had her wash up for the next recipe & gave her a clean, new apron to wear.

    Oh shoot!  Oops — no wonder I haven't seen her all morning.

    HappyTreat

    Cockroach Clusters

    Glazed Pecans

    1 lb pecan halves
    1/2 C light corn syrup
    1 T butter
    kosher or sea salt to taste

    Directions:
    Preheat oven to 200º. Coat baking sheet
    with butter-flavored cooking spray. Spread pecan halves in single layer on
    baking sheet. Toast in 200º oven for approx. 5 min. Remove pecans from oven and pour in mixing bowl. Set aside. Increase oven
    temperature to 300º. Re-coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

    Melt butter in
    microwave. Add corn syrup &
    butter to pecan halves. Stir until pecans are evenly coated. With
    slotted spoon, remove pecan halves from bowl and place in single layer
    on baking sheet. Bake for approx. 15 minutes or until pecan glaze is
    brown and bubbly. Remove pecans and lightly
    sprinkle with salt. Allow to cool. Pecans should be prepared in advance
    of
    popcorn balls.

    CockroachClusterTags Popcorn Balls

    18-20 C of popped popcorn
    2 T butter
    2 C sugar
    1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
    1/2 C light corn syrup
    1 1/3 cups water
    1 tsp white vinegar
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1/2 tsp almond extract

    Directions:
    Pop
    popcorn in air popper — or use plain microwave popcorn. Set aside. In
    medium sauce pan, combine butter, sugar, salt, corn syrup, water and
    vinegar. (The vinegar helps the sugar to reach a smooth consistency.)
    Cook on high until sugar mixture reaches hard-ball stage (approximately
    255-265º). Remove saucepan from heat, then stir in vanilla and almond
    extract.

    Quickly
    coat large mixing bowl and mixing spoon with butter-flavored cooking
    spray. Pour 18-20 cups of popped popcorn into the greased bowl.

    Slowly pour
    sugar mixture onto popcorn, tossing as you go. Wait till mixture is
    cool enough to handle, but still very warm, then lightly form coated
    popcorn into 3" balls and place on wax paper.  Before popcorn balls
    cool, decorate with glazed pecans. It helps to have a second person to
    help add pecans while the popcorn mixture is still warm.

    Holy cricket, these are tasty!

    • Butterbeer recipe here.

  • Bead It, Kid

    ByHeather Bailey

    Necklace1new3
    Beadingnew So, guess who made these necklaces?

    Four-year-old Charlotte did this all by herself.  I thought I was
    embracing disaster by allowing her free access to several bins of beads
    while I worked on the computer today.  I was entirely wrong.

    Not
    only did Miss C patiently string together all of these designs without
    my oversight, but she made them all symmetrical.  Even her most
    eclectic necklace doesn't miss a beat
    bead.  Hours and hours of necklace-making.  All I did was add the
    clasps.  And I bent a loop at the top of her one pendant.  That's it.

    Necklace3new2

    Necklace4new2
    When I was four years old, my bottom dresser drawer was stocked with
    white paper, a stapler and staples.  I made all sorts of wild
    inventions with white paper that year.  And here I thought I had been
    tricky-stuff at four, with my paper robots and elephants.  Looks like
    Charlotte has 4-year-old me mightily whooped.

    The moral: 
    Moms, Grandmas, Aunts and Alligators, let your kids have access to some
    of your precious supplies.  They may surprise you with tidiness and
    ingenuity!  I can only imagine what I would have done with real art
    supplies at that age.

    Of course, they may surprise you with a royal disaster instead.  I've been there too — many times.

  • Be-Spangled

    ByHeather Bailey

    There's been a lot of corn on the cob and swimming this weekend —
    dental floss and sunscreen.  (Somehow, in there, I completed the
    illustrations for another sewing pattern too.)

    America

    Happy Fourth to the U.S. Let's hold tight to our freedoms.  Educate
    yourself (real, balanced, self-directed education — not spoon-fed.) 
    Speak up when needed and don't just wait for election time.  That's not
    loud enough.  Fit it in.

    And God bless the troops.  I don't know how they do it — super powers? 

    Fourth of July 2009

    I'm grateful for the principles upon which this country was founded.  A favorite book of Isaac's, John Adams, was mentioned at election-time last year.  I've decided it will be my next read.  I know right where it is.

    And, check out that sparkler of a hairdo Isaac did for Charlotte.  A daddy 'do.  I don't think I've ever wrapped three different colors in one motion.  Impressive.  Yep, I wasn't even in the room.

    Next
    up, pattern testing/editing.  Today I'm taking 20 nickels to the
    nearest wishing well to wish for a skilled seamstress/writer to move in
    next door.  I hear there's a magic fountain at the mall, right below
    the escalator. 

  • Frozen Bozo

    ByHeather Bailey

    This photo cracks me up.  Can anyone guess what my concept was here? 
    That’s right, it’s a dessert interpretation of a 70s clown.  You’re not
    afraid of clowns are you?

    BananaSplit470
    My new ice cream recipe
    from Father’s Day this year is Double-Chocolate Banana Split ice cream,
    newly coined “Frozen Bozo,” presented with a waffle cone hat, a cherry
    nose and a doily ruff.  It’s interpretative.

    The ice cream isn’t just chocolate either.  It has bananas, cherries and brownies in it.  A fool-proof mix <3:o)

    Also, I’ve drawn up a list of tutorials I’m eager to post. Without
    revealing the specifics, where would you like me to start:  jewelry,
    paper craft, sewing project, home decor?  Lots of plans.  What are you
    in the mood for first?

    Ingredients470a

    Frozen Bozo – Chocolate Banana Split ice cream

    Chocolate Ice Cream Base
    6 C. heavy cream
    2.25 C. sugar
    3 T. pure vanilla extract
    3 C. milk or half ‘n’ half
    16 OZ. bittersweet chocolate

    Mix Ins
    1 C. sliced bananas
    1 C. maraschino cherries
    2 C. chocolate chip brownies (prepare in advance, then
           cut into bite-size pieces and chill)

    Prepare Ice Cream Base

    Icecream308
    Heat cream, sugar, vanilla, and half ‘n’ half mixture to near boiling.
    Meanwhile, heat bittersweet chocolate in microwave-safe bowl at 50%
    power for approx. 3-4 minutes, or until the chocolate is mostly melted.
    Remove chocolate from microwave and stir till all chocolate is melted.
    Next, remove cream mixture from heat and fold in melted chocolate. Stir
    until combined. Refrigerate mixture until thoroughly chilled.  Transfer
    chilled mixture to an ice cream maker and process following
    manufacturer’s instructions.

    After ice cream has reached soft-serve consistency, place ice cream
    cylinder in freezer, or leave in ice cream maker (if there is still
    sufficient ice) to harden for about an hour. Meanwhile, prepare mix-in ingredients as directed below.

    Mix-in the Good Stuff

    Chill
    a large bowl by placing it in an ice bath, or in freezer. When ice
    cream has chilled for about an hour, scoop it into chilled bowl.
    Immediately add all mix-in ingredients and stir till just combined.
    Return ice cream to cylinder or a prepared container of your choice*.
    Place ice cream back in freezer to harden overnight.

    *Try a new, food-safe paint can from your home improvement store, cleaned with bleach-water.

    Enjoy!

  • |

    I’ll Get You, My Pretty.

    ByHeather Bailey
    In the spirit of summer picnics, I've added three colors of gingham to the variety show, in long and standard lengths:

    She's No Picnic – Red Gingham
    My Pretty – Blue Gingham
    Check Please – Pink Gingham

    And a pack of Red, White & Blue ties with a bonus 6th tie. 

    As
    far as patriotism goes, this new multi-pack not only covers the USA,
    but also Australia, Great Britain, France, Iceland, and a number of
    other countries;  (did you know there are at least 11 countries with
    red, white, & blue flags?)  A great pack for back-to-school as
    well, especially if your kids wear school uniforms and are limited in
    their color choices for hair doo-dahs.  The Red White Blue multi-pack is only available through Labor Day though (Sept. 7th). The ginghams are available while supplies last.

    FourCollage

    I'm almost done typing up a new ice cream recipe
    too — just in time for the outrageously-hot weather that rolled in
    this week.  If you're suffering through summer, definitely get an
    ice-cream maker.  They're great.  Of course, you might have to exercise
    extra, which may not be the best way to stay cool. Hm.

  • |

    Red, White, and Blue All Over

    ByHeather Bailey

    RedWhiteBlue-04 

    June
    has been beautiful this year.  Normally it’s breath-suckingly hot in
    June in Arizona.  We’ve been camping and canoeing, working in the yard,
    and eating outside at every chance. Being outdoors with my family more
    than usual this month has put me in a good place for the Fourth of
    July.  Something about the lush cornfields that surround us, the
    well-groomed campsites we’ve visited, and driving along the Mogollon Rim has me feeling patriotic. 
     
    RedWhiteBlueTrashTies310In
    the last month, I’ve seen a bald eagle nesting on top of a dead pine
    tree, 200 feet up, I’ve picniced in a field of wild strawberries and
    I’ve watched hundreds of Great Blue Herons dive for fish to feed to their hatchlings. 

    If you ever camp in Arizona, make a point to visit the movie-perfect Woods Canyon Lake.  It’s looks almost fake, it’s so beautiful.

    We
    have a few more campouts planned for the summer.  In prep, I’ve been
    working on some fun camping crafts, recipes and whatnot.  We whipped up
    a perfect blackberry grunt in our dutch oven that turned our teeth
    black — as though we didn’t feel mucky enough without black teeth. 
    But it sure was delicious.

    Meadowside470

    I’m
    almost to the crest of the mountain with my design work too.  That
    place where things begin to glide.  Several projects now have enough
    stored, potential energy to self-propel when released.  Like a stretched spring. 

    First, a little more stretching to do.  Burn baby burn.

    It’s looking like a great summer.

  • Black, White, and Read All Over

    ByHeather Bailey

    June 25, 2009 Arizona Republic I always forget to post these things, but not today.

    Check out the big ol' cover story
    in today's Arizona Republic newspaper — on me.  In the article photos,
    I'm talking it up in my studio, one of those mid-sentence
    shots.  They wanted pictures of me working in my authentic environment. 
    However, the studio was clean when they came.  Yes, I insisted on
    messing up my desk — authentically.

    HeatherandMom Another big article I never mentioned was a feature on me and my mother
    over at Creating Keepsakes last month – for mother's day.  My mom is a
    funny writer.  You should at least read her interview if not both of
    ours.  Click the 'next' button to read through each page of the
    combined interviews (there are 5 pp. total).

    Sending out the June newsletter
    momentarily.  Any minute now.  It's like 5 blog-posts worth of good
    stuff.  That's right.  Then back to the sewing pattern I'm designing — and
    loving.

    (Sign up for the newsletter here if you like.  But hurry.)

  • Mini Notebook Tutorial

    ByHeather Bailey

    Mini-Notebook-1

    Welcome newsletter readers!  To download this fun, free tutorial, click here. 

    Do you ever find yourself in a pinch, digging through your purse for a scrap of paper, a gum wrapper or a receipt — just so you can scribble down an important phone number?

    Well dig no more!

    MiniNotebook-03a This handy how-to will show you how to make a super-quick and easy little memo book using my mini file folders, embellishments, stamps, and white office paper. It’s the perfect size to jot down grocery items or quick reminders. Slip this mini notebook into your purse, wallet, glovebox, or diaper bag and you’ll be all set for your next note-worthy need.

    Enjoy!
    xo–Heather

    Feel free to link to this tutorial. If you do, please link to this page or to the home page of my blog and not directly to the pdf.  You’re welcome to use the photos with a link as well. Thanks.

    *not for resale*

    Returntoblogsm_2