Mini Earring O Rama

Mini Earring O Rama
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

Decided to get into the holiday spirit a little today and make some cute earrings that would be perfect stocking stuffers, gifts for teachers, babysitters, etc. Available at Scarborough Seashells

Russian Tea Cakes!

These are my husband's favorites... so rich and buttery they melt in your mouth!

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

In a large bowl combine ingredients on low speed of mixer about 1 minute. Blend well. Gradually add flour at low speed until just combined; stir in nuts.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls; place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes until firm to the touch; note from experience:

Do not overbake- they will crumble when you try to pick them up if they're cooked even a minute too long. These cookies don't brown when done!

While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool; re-roll in powdered sugar before serving.


***I tripled this recipe and made 10 dozen cookies***

Raspberry jam thumbprint cookies

Morning everyone! Here's my second recipe for some pretty easy but snazzy looking cookies:

1 (1 pound 1.5 ounce) pouch Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup white chocolate chips


Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, egg and flour until soft dough forms.

Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls; place 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Take the backside of your 1/4 tsp measuring spoon, dip in sugar (before each impression) and make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon jam into each indentation.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Melt white chocolate chips over a double boiler until smooth then spoon melted chips into a small ziptop plastic bag; cut a tiny hole in corner of bag. Squeeze bag gently to drizzle melted chips over cookies.

***one batch yields approximately 5 dozen cookies***

Cranberry pinwheel cookies

Cranberry pinwheel cookies
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

As promised, here is the first recipe of the four cookie types I am making this Christmas:

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely ground cranberries
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, combine first four ingredients; beat until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Combine the dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture; form into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

In a small bowl, combine cranberries, walnuts and orange peel; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-inch square; combine brown sugar and milk; spread over the dough then sprinkle with the cranberry mixture, leaving about a 1/2-inch edge at both ends of the dough; roll up tightly, jelly-roll style. Wrap with waxed paper; chill several hours or overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 375F. Cut roll into 1/4-inch slices and place on a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until edges are light brown.

** *I made a double batch (two jelly-roll logs) and it yielded 5 dozen cookies***

Happy baking!

The holidays are coming! Part 3

Ornaments Mosaic
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

As promised, another little glimpse into the crafts I am working on in preparation for the coming holiday season. I've created 9 new ornaments this year- using genuine seashells and sea life that are perfect for any coastal holiday decor!

The collection includes lavender, green and rare English Channel sea urchins, white pencil and white amored starfish, pearl abalone shells, sand dollars and two different kissing ball style ornaments. The ornaments are elegantly adorned with Swarovski crystals, sheer ribbons and pearl embellishments.



Available now at www.scarboroughseashells.com

The holidays are coming! Part 1

Aack, it's truly just around the corner and my scattered brain is stressing out over the pledge I took to do all handmade (except for the little kids) this holiday season! I have snowmen ornaments to make (I make them from sea urchins), sea glass angels and countless numbers of pendants and earrings. My mother has put in a request for a giant seashell wreath for her birthday (exactly one week before Christmas) and a slew of other things.

I have a large plastic mold for making birdbaths, 80 lbs of quickcrete in the trunk of my car and sheet upon sheet of stained glass sitting and waiting to be cut up to mosaic the birdbaths (yes I said baths- plural- three planned for holiday gift giving). Then there's the wine lovers in my family- for them, hand painted wine glasses and sea glass wine bottle stoppers. Oh and did I mention the people in my family who are impossible to gift?

On top of all this, I lie awake in bed at night- my mind reeling avec idée fixe: hand painted glass ornaments, mosaic mirrors, occasional tables, time frames, supplies to buy... Something tells me that "craft night" with the girls is not going to be enough to get all this accomplished. Tomorrow's agenda includes a trip to the office supply store to buy some sort of giant calendar thing to hang on my wall so I can start mapping out a timeline for getting all this accomplished. I guess, also, I should write a list of every person I need to make a gift for and what that gift will be.

*Note to self: organizing a studio space does not automatically organize a head cluttered with ideas!

And so, this mini rant will become a mini series. As I make progress tackling this aggregate of craftiness, I will blog about it. Sharing pictures, ideas and thoughts as I go. Wish me luck!

-Tara