A recipe that is easy and sure to please everyone’s taste buds is Terrific Toffee topped with almonds. You don’t need very many ingredients and there are seriously only three steps. So even if you are not much of a baker this recipe is a no-brainer.

Terrific Toffee

Ingredients:

1-1/2 teaspoons plus 1 cup butter, softend, divided

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

2 cups coarsely chopped almonds, toasted, divided

Directions:

1. Butter a large baking sheet with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a small bowl, combine semisweet and milk chocolate chips; set aside.

2. In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until a candy  thermometer reaches 290 degrees (soft-cracked stage). Remove from the heat; stir in 1 cup almonds. Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheets.

3. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; spread with a knife when melted. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Let stand until set, above 1 hour. Break into 2-in. pieces.

Yield: about 2 pounds.

***

Grab some cute ribbon and boxes and voila you have yourself some simple, tasty, and amazing gifts.What are you waiting for? Get baking!

Follow me on Twitter for recipe ideas @missbrittanydow or @blisstree !

Recipe Source: Terrific Toffee by Carol Gillespie from The Taste of Home Cookbook

Image Credit: iStockPhoto

Post from: Blisstree

Recipe Gift Idea: Terrific Toffee

A lighted wine bottle, infused with mini lights, makes a beautiful and unique gift and can be used as a charming night light all year long.

You can create you own label by placing a blank, self stick label on the bottle and applying rub on transfers that you can find in any craft store.

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

• Wine bottle, washed
• The bottle’s cork
• A bunch of grapes (found in craft store)
• Raffia (for a bow – optional)
• Drill with 1/4 carbide bit
• Duct tape and electricians tape
• WD40
• Miniature light string with 20 lights
• Rub On Transfers or stick on label paper
• White or gold shred (fire resistant type) from any craft store

Okay, let’s get started.

1. Wash wine bottle and remove label.





2. Place a piece of duct tape on the area to be drilled. Make sure to drill at the bottom of the bottle for the best effect.





3. Drill slowly and spray the area you are drilling with WD40 to keep bottle from shattering. Rinse bottle to remove any glass particles.





4. Allow the bottle to dry thoroughly.





5. Place bits of shred around the individual lights. You don’t have to wrap each light in the shred, maybe a third of the lights.





6. Push the lights into the clean, dry wine bottle carefully. You can use a 8 inch pipe cleaner to push the lights into position. They’re flexible and won’t harm the lights.





7. Apply the rub on transfers and you have a beautiful wine bottle lamp.





8. Secure the bunch of grapes to the neck of the bottle using fishing line or invisible mending thread.

I know that some instructions for wine bottle lights suggest that you use a 50 strand set of lights, but I use the twenty. Before making the lamp for the first time, I did a little bit of research to check and see how hot the bulb would get, so I kept a few strands lit for at least two hours and the 20 strand set didn’t seem to get very hot at all. So, if you want to use more lights in you wine bottle, please keep safety in mind.

Kathy Zengolewicz is an author, ghostwriter, editor and proofreader. To learn more about Kathy and her services, visit her website at kathyzengolewicz.com.

Post from: Blisstree

How to Make a Wine Bottle Lamp

If you’re anything like me, then you need to have a small gift to give your host/hostess when you are invited to visit. Whenever I go to a friend’s home, whether it’s a planned visit or if I know that I’ll be in the neighborhood and plan to call and see if I can pop in, I always like to take a little something with me to give to that person. It doesn’t have to be something big, or expensive. I like to spend time working with my crafts. It helps to relax me and keeps me productive at the same time. I’m going to share with you how easy it is to make a few little gifts to keep on hand. You never know when you might need one.

Potpourri gifts are great because they don’t just look good, they smell terrific. You don’t have to be crafts guru to make these pretty pieces. To get started you’ll need a glass ivy bowl. When I make these crafts, the two sizes that I most commonly use measure about 4 inches for one and 5 ¼ inches for the other. One tip, if you’re filling the bowl with potpourri, make sure to use the same color potpourri as any ribbon or bow that you might use to decorate your bowl. If you have leftover ribbon from a previous project, that will fit just right around the top of your bowl, under the lip. A little bit of lace and a few small flower buds make a big difference.

You can make one small and fancy bowl with ribbon and bows (4 inch)

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

Or you can make it a little bigger and plain with a scalloped top ivy bowl. (5 ¼ inch)

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

Another way you can create these ivy bowls is to glue a few decorative, material leaves to the outside of the bowl and place a small votive candle inside.

So you see, you don’t have to spend a lot of time and money to make something that looks pretty, smells great and will match your décor.

Kathy Zengolewicz is an author, ghostwriter, editor and proofreader. To learn more about Kathy and her services, visit her website at kathyzengolewicz.com.

Post from: Blisstree

Potpourri Gifts

This week I am going to show you how to make a towel cake. These cakes are very popular gifts for bridal showers, but you only have to change a few things and you can have a gift for a baby, a house warming or even a holiday gift. It acts as a great centerpiece and since it’s made with towels, they can be used by the recipient.

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

To make the type of towel cake in the picture you’ll need the following:

• 2 white regular size bath towels
• 3 white hand towels
• 3 white washcloths
• Large safety pins
• Long straight pins; pins with decorative heads look nicer
• Ribbon
• A hot glue gun or fabric glue. I have used both; it is a matter of preference
• Flowers or other ornaments to jazz up your cake
• One 10” cardboard cake round

We’ll start with the bath towels. Lay out one bath towel and fold it into thirds, lengthwise. Make sure that the folds are even throughout the length of the towel, keeping the ends of the towel even as well. Fold the same towel that is in thirds, in half again along its length, right over the previous folds. Make sure the ends are even throughout the length of the towel. The neater the towel folds, the better you cake will look. Do the same with the other bath towel. The ends of the towels should be the same. Pin one end of each towel to the other

Image: Kathy Zengolewicz

Your towels should be end to end like this picture.

Starting at one end, roll the towel trying to keep it as tight as possible. When you’ve finished rolling the towels you’ll have a top and a bottom. Make sure to keep the top facing up. Secure the ends of the towel with decorative head straight pins to hold.

Repeat the same with the hand towels and washcloths, making two more layers of your cake. Place the roll of hand towels on top of the bath towels; again keep the top facing up. Place the roll of wash cloths on top of the hand towels. When you have the entire cake layered the way you want it, then you can use a little hot or fabric glue to keep things in place. I also use a wooden skewer placed through the middle of the layers to hold my cake straight.

Now you’re ready to decorate your cake any way you choose. I have used red ribbon and red and white roses to decorate my cake, but you can use anything that you think will look nice. You can also use different colored towels. It’s up to you. There you go, you have a beautiful cake and you didn’t have to even step into your kitchen.

Enjoy!

Kathy Zengolewicz is an author, ghostwriter, editor and proofreader. To learn more about Kathy and her services, visit her website at kathyzengolewicz.com.

Post from: Blisstree

How to Make a Towel Cake

Like who wouldn’t like hilarious crime scene scarf?

Or this wireless mouse?

I noticed that the site was also having a massive warehouse sale right now with up to 70% off, so it’s a good time to check things out.

Images: Perpetual Kid

Post from: Blisstree

Big Warehouse Sale at Perpetual Kid

Here are some of the Mother’s Day gift ideas I can suggest for you:

Last year, my sister gave our Mom a photo frame of her 3 grandchildren.What about a photo frame of your children or all the grandchildren in it?

For Mother’s Day I received a GPS Navigator. The best Mother’s Day gift ever especially as I am navigationally challenged!

I am thinking of making a Photo Book using the ‘A Tribute’ template created by Shutterfly’s professional designers. Not sure if I’ll have enough time to finish the photo book, place an order and wait for it to arrive from the US.

If you want to be ‘conventional’, why not a Bath & Body Spa Gift Basket?

What about you? Any Mother’s Day gift in your wish list that you’d like to share?

As an aside….each time we celebrate Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, our 11 year old daughter asks how come there is no Children’s Day. We remind her that EVERY DAY is Children’s Day as children are often indulged and thought of at all times. Agree or disagree?

Post from: Blisstree

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Ideally hostess gifts should convey a small gesture. Don’t go overboard with a complicated present, and try to keep the budget fairly small. The gift represents a thank you for the invitation and an acknowledgment that the person had to clean, cook, and prepare for you to come over. So don’t overshadow all the hard work your hostess has put in. (In other words, if you get invited to a dinner, don’t bring ham and rolls as your hostess gift!)

If you’re stumped for what to bring, here are a few ideas:

• A pretty plate filled with candy petit fours
• Flowers
• Wine
• A small herb growing kit
• A homemade baked dessert
• A beautiful loaf of bread
• A small set of candles

A thank you note at the end sent immediately upon returning home will also let the hostess know you enjoying your time with them.

Post from: Blisstree

Hostess Gifts

Holy homemade handkerchiefs! Mother’s Day is right around the corner! I have been so busy, that it hasn’t really been on the top of my priority list. The time has come to start thinking of ways to make this Sunday special. I need to think of a gift or an act of kindness to show my mother how much she means to me. Unfortunately, I’m bad at this kind of stuff, so I’m relying on all of you. I smell a contest!

Okay, here’s the scoop. I need Mother’s Day ideas…good ones, silly ones, even slightly odd ones will do. Submit your ideas in the comments section. Each idea needs to be a separate comment and here is why: I am going to select one individual comment to win this bouquet of flowers to send to the woman of their choosing on Mother’s Day.  You may even send them to yourself! The contest starts now and ends on Friday at 8am PST. You may submit as many as you’d like, as long as they are submitted as individual comments. The more you submit, the greater your chances of winning are! Good luck!

flowers by: www.proflowers.com

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Ma Mere, Mon Ami (My Mother, My Friend)