Winter Scene Cupcake In A Jar ~ Think Vintage Snow Globes!

Given the task of creating a handmade gift for a holiday mug swap with a $15 limit, I came up with this idea that tastes as good as it looks!

I found these darling clear glass mugs that look like a vintage canning jars at the Dollar Tree for only $1. Standard canning jar lids fit these mugs, so that made them even more perfect. I filled the jar with layers of white almond cake and whipped white frosting and then topped them with fondant trees and edible glitter to create a darling winter scene reminiscent of vintage snow globes.

Here's how I did it:

I started by baking a white cake mix in a 9 x 13" pan. I added 1/2 tsp almond extract to the batter but other than that, followed the directions on the box. I allowed the cake to cool completely.

I cut a piece of cake about the same circumference of my jar and then trimmed off all the browned edges so only white cake was showing.

I pressed the cake into the bottom of my jar, using a spoon to reach.

Clean up any smudges on the inside of your glass jar with a slightly damp paper towel. Now you are ready to pipe a layer of frosting. I am using a whipped frosting here because it is easy to spread and looks most like snow. If you do not have a pastry bag, put your frosting into a large Zip-lock bag and cut off the corner.

Now add another layer of cake.

Add another layer of frosting.

The cake portion of this project is finished. Time to make the trees. I used store bought light green fondant icing. This is very much like working with Play-Doh.  I formed some fondant into a cone shape.

Then rolled a long "snake" out of more fondant.

Using a rolling pin, flatten the snake and roll it out thin.

Moisten the cone by rubbing it with a small amount of water with your finger tip. This will help the fondant strip to stick. Next, start wrapping your long flattened piece around the cone. Start at the bottom and work your way up, making little pleats as you go.

I give the top a little pinch to form it into a point.

You can find edible luster dust on the cake decorating isle in craft stores. Use a dry paint brush to dust it on your trees.

Carefully place your trees into the jar, arranging them like a winter forest.

Sprinkle with white edible glitter found here, to make your snowy scene sparkle like new fallen snow.

To add a touch of color, sprinkle just a few edible pastel color dragees found here around your scene.

Time to put on the lid. I found this darling jar lid topper on Etsy.

In keeping with the white theme, I tied a white silk ribbon around the lid and attached a vintage spoon. You can find vintage spoons at the Goodwill or antique stores. I paid $1 for this one.

You can use any flavor and color of cake and frosting you wish with this project. So many possibilities here. If you don't want to make the trees, I think the Peeps snowmen would also be very cute in these jars/mugs.

Hope this inspired you to make your own creation!

Enjoy,

The Lemonista

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Thanksgiving French Country Home Tour

Here's what I've got for Thanksgiving decorations this year. I always feel like Thanksgiving is sort of a tricky holiday to find cute home décor items. I ended up making most of mine or picking up handmade items on Etsy. Keeping that in mind, here we go...

The front door.


I made the chalkboard door decoration from a $25 plastic IKEA frame. The frame is spray painted with metallic bronze paint and then antiqued with AS chalk paint. I rolled chalkboard paint right over the glass and then wove a pretty silk ribbon through the frame to dress it up a little more.



The entry.


Can you believe these gorgeous coral roses purchased at Costco!


Hearth room off the kitchen.




Love this antique farm bell, found on one of my junking trips.


Some wheat and dried corn, bought at the grocery store.


Turkey feed pillow found on Etsy. (Those are my Christmas amaryllis bulbs already in the works!)


The kitchen.


My favorite turkey :-) He came from Pottery Barn.


How cute are these little pilgrims hanging from the kitchen light! Also an Etsy find.




I took an antique frame, refinished it and then backed it with chicken wire for a dream board above the kitchen sink. The vintage Thanksgiving postcards are trimmed with German tinsel glitter and attached to the dream board with wooden clothes pins.


The dining room.




This chalkboard was another junk find. An old mirror from the 1960s that I refinished. It's 6 feet long! I love it! And more Costco flowers make the arrangement on the dining room table.






You can see the powder room in the hall on the right, which is coming up soon on the tour.


Drapes are a French ticking stripe made from Kate Forman fabric from London.




The living room.


Love this statue found at Home Goods. I made the velvet pumpkins and have a tutorial on my blog here.


The powder room.


I have a bunch of these vintage spice jars so I'm using them as little flower vases around the house.


The entry hall off my garage.
The kids decorate this chalkboard for me. You can see the tutorial on how to make this chalkboard here


Hope you enjoyed the tour! I'm already working on Christmas. Whoot!
Feel free to ask any questions for sources or whatever. I'll do my best to answer.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!


~The Lemonista

Linked to:
French Country Cottage

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Peppers

Hi all! I'm back from a long break. Life has been busy! This time of year, I often think of my Midwestern roots. Even though I live in the Southwest now, I grew up in Michigan. Experiencing the change of season in the Midwest is simply beautiful. I miss it. Thankfully, I get to relive it vicariously through social media and my friends who still live there. There is an unspoken sisterhood with the Michigan mamas I keep in contact with, a connection that only comes from sharing the same point of origin. I think it's amazing so many of my Michigan girls share my creative flair.

Today you are in for an extra special treat. Every time my friend Kelly Kowalczyk posts a photograph of one of her fabulous meals, I find myself salivating. Seriously, when can the computer wizards of this universe come up with a scratch-n-sniff screen! This girl clearly has skills and you're about to get a taste of her amazing talent. Kelly has so kindly agreed to guest blog for me. Today we are kicking off a mini-series of Kelly's favorite recipes. This first one, Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Peppers, is already on my grocery list! Please take the time to read her amazing bio below. She's a peach :-)

Without further adieu, here's Kelly :-)

Bacon wrapped stuffed peppers
You know how the saying goes… anything is better with bacon. We are pretty big fans of bacon in our household. My daughter is a self-proclaimed “meatatarian”.

Here is an easy, low carb recipe that is sure to please. This recipe pairs well with beer and a football game.

 

6-7 Anaheim peppers, tops removed, cut in half, seeded

1 lb ground pork sausage or chorizo

1 pkg cream cheese (8 oz)

Sliced bacon (1 slice per half pepper) uncooked

1. Rinse, and cut the tops off the peppers. Slice them lengthwise to create 2 halves. Then hollow out the inside of each half, removing the seeds and any extra connective membrane that gets in the way.
2. In a fry pan, brown the sausage breaking it into fine pieces as it cooks. You can add some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper at this point to spice it up if you would like.
3. Turn heat down to low. You can drain the sausage at this point and return it to the pan. If the sausage is lean it may not need to be drained. Then melt the cream cheese combining it with the sausage. Once combined thoroughly, turn off heat and let the mixture cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
4. Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat.
5. Fill each half pepper with the sausage/cream cheese mixture.
6. Take a slice of bacon, and wrap it around each filled pepper half making sure there is a little overlap of the edges as you go, using a little bit of tension to stretch the raw bacon.
7. Turn grill heat back to medium heat, and place wrapped pepper halves onto the grill diagonally. Take care to avoid flare ups.
8. Once bacon is cooked, remove peppers from grill. Approximate grill time is 15 – 20 minutes.

Yields 12-14 servings.

Variations on this recipe:

a. BBQ: Add a little more flavor by brushing a little BBQ sauce on top of the peppers while the peppers are grilling.

b. Jalapenos: You can use jalapenos in this recipe rather than Anaheim peppers. You will need 16-20 jalapeno peppers, and about ½ slice of bacon per pepper half. If you do this, you may want to use a toothpick to secure the bacon before grilling.

c. Cheese: If you don’t want the meat, you can include cheddar cheese shreds instead. You would need about 12 oz of shredded cheese.

d. Loaded: You can combine bacon bits, shredded cheese and scallions in your cream cheese filling for a loaded stuffed pepper.

There are lots more creative things you can do. Have fun making your own variation.

Hope you love it!
Kelly
 

My name is Kelly Kowalczyk. I’m a wife, mother, and career woman.

Just like most busy moms, I have to confront the daily demands of having a school age child and a full time job. I grew up through my own childhood with two sets of grandparents and one awesome set of parents who made almost everything from scratch. I was blessed to have role models who loved to cook and were pretty good at it.

I adopted a passion for cooking when I was in college, but back then it was ramen noodles, canned soup, and whatever you could spread on white bread to make it taste good enough to choke down. Since then, I have found joy and the opportunity to be much more creative using raw ingredients and cooking from scratch (with a little cheating I must admit, you know, that busy mom thing).

Philosophically, I believe that everything in moderation is good. I don’t get carried away trying to make a science project out our weekly meal plans. I just try to make sure there is a balance to obtain a diversity of nutritional input from the food we eat.

For me, it’s all about flavor. I’m willing to put a lot of time and effort into cooking because I want to enjoy the experience it offers. Flavor is an adventure that can carry you away to another place while you are planted in your own home. It is also a social experience. We enjoy entertaining friends and family. There is nothing like the memories created when you have friends gather, and enjoy some tantalizing treats together.

My hope is that you will enjoy the recipes, and take them one step further to add your own creative flair.

Thank you so much, Kelly!

~The Lemonista