Sunday, August 28, 2011

Muffin/Cake Mix to Scones: Recipe for Pumpkin Cinnabon Scones




It is August and the heat had been CRAZY but I can't help but crave pumpkin! Holler if you hear me - love fall flavors! I wanted to create something pumpkin-y that was not a frozen and thawed version of Starbucks this morning and I really could do without the frosting so I opted to do my own!

This recipe is stupidly easy and absolutely delish!

Ingredients:
1 box of cinnabon muffin mix
1 egg (beaten in a small bowl)
2 tsp of baking powder
1/3 cup chilled butter (cubed)
1 cup baking pumpkin
5 tbsp of flour (I used heaping tbsp fulls)
Pam Cooking Spray
Pan
Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl empty contents of muffin mix. Add in your flour, baking powder, cubed butter. Mix together so the mix will have the texture and look of wet sand.

2. Add your beaten egg to the mixture. Mix in a tidbit of vanilla extract, add in the pumpkin and start mixing. The mixture should pull from the sides of the bowl. If the mixture is too sticky add some flour. If the mixture is too dry and crumbling then add some pumpkin.

3. Spray a coat of Pam on your pan and scoop your mixture in almost scone-like triangles. They don't have to be perfect but it is always good to try to keep a similar shape. Make sure to give them some room because they will get large. I eyeball the size - just think it is going to double in size so however you want the size to be you will have to eyeball it too.

4. Cook at 350 Degrees for 10-15 min depending on the size of the scones and how hot your oven gets. They should be toasty in color and you should be able to touch them gently with your finger and they will not fall.

You can take a frosting over the top while they are still warm (not hot) and it will create a yummy treat. I opted to not because I am watching my calories. These will be your favorite! I love mine with this recipe I shared a while back. Perfect fall favorites!!

Enjoy your Sunday! What are you all up to for Labor Day Weekend?

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Another FUN Recipe to Try - Vanilla Espresso Cake with Chocolate Espresso Mousse Truffles!

Yummy Treats:  Vanilla Espresso Poke Cake with Chocolate Espresso Mousse Truffles

I would give you my cake recipe but then I would have to keel you - just kidding - I would never do that but I can't give you my secret recipe for cakes but you can do any cake recipe and make your own (box or scratch) No judgements here!

These are perfect little treats if you are having a little get-together at your house, for a bunko party, baby shower, bridal shower, etc. I suggest making a large batch because these puppies go down smooooottthhh.

Espresso Cake Truffles

Ingredients:
 Cake (13x9 is what I used) I used Vanilla but you can be creative
 Mousse (either from scratch or homemade) I made a chocolate espresso mousse from scratch
 2 lb bag of chocolate chips
 2 tbsp of Veg. Oil
 4 shots of fresh espresso
 handful of coffee beans
 fork
 foil
 Pam Cooking Spray

Directions:

While you cake is cooling mix up your mousse. Let mousse set up in fridge. Once your cake is cool poke holes in the top and pour the remaining shots over your cake. Start to mulch the cake and add in your mousse. The mixture should be wet enough to make into little balls.



Once you have all of your cake in balls put them in the freezer to firm up, On low heat melt your chocolate chips in a sauce pan. Once they are melted add in the Vegetable Oil and stir together. This should make it much more thin and easier to coat your cake truffles. Place the foil sheet on the counter top and spray with Pam (so the truffles will not stick)



Take one cake ball out of the freezer and stab it with a fork and completely coat the cake with the melted chocolate and then place on the foil. Repeat until they are all done. Take the whole beans and take a dab of melted chocoalte and attach to the truffle to make it look extra fancy :)

You are finished and have a super fun and fancy treat :)

Variation Ideas:

Chocolate Cake and Mint Mousse with Andes Mints on top
Spice Cake with Vanilla Mousse with White Chocolate
Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Vanilla Mousse and White Chocolate and a Blueberry on top
Pink Champagne Cake with Strawberry Jam and White Chocolate
Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter and Oreo Mousse with Chocolate Peanut Butter

Have fun and I hope you come up with some great ideas!! Feel free to share :)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies - YUM!



Alrighty since a lot of you commented that you wanted the recipe on my facebook page I thought I would share :)

This is a really easy recipe that is not meant to be over thought. This is suppose to be for a 8X8 inch pan (this will be for a large baking pan) but whenever I bake I have a lot of unexpected guests and taste testers come to visit and I never want to have them visit with an empty stomach. I think I am becoming more like a traditional hispanic mom or grandmother everyday I am here.

To the important things - RECIPE TIME!!!

Ingredients:
  Brownies -
    2 sticks of butter
    2 cups of sugar
    2 tsp Vanilla
    1/2 cup of baking cocoa
    1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (chopped up)
   1 1/2 cups flour
   4 eggs
   1 tsp vinegar
    Red Food Coloring (You'll have to eyeball this)
  
  Cheesecake Topping -
   2 (8oz) Cream Cheese softened
   1/2 cup sugar
   2 eggs
   1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Melt butter. Add sugar, vanilla, cocoa, chocolate chips, a little tidbit of salt, red food coloring, vinegar - make sure you mix inbetween additions and keep in the same order as listed.
2. Whisk eggs in a seperate bowl and add to the mixture. Fold in your flour until lightly combined. Pour into a greased pan making sure to leave 1/4 for the top. I used a 13x9 inch.
3. Combine cheesecake topping ingredients making sure it is well blended. Smooth over the brownie mixture.
4. This is where you can get creative. You can dollop on the rest of the chocolate brownie batter then swirl with a toothpick to make it look like it is marbled or you can place in a pastry bag and make likes like shown. and move your knife back and forth creating an elegant chevron looking pattern.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

You will be able to tell your brownies are done when you can place a toothpick in the center of the brownies and the toothpick will come out clean. Let cool on a rack and cut into squares.
    
You'll have to let me know how they went! I am dying to hear :)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Hundreds of Hair Accessories



I am finally in a show!! I have been invited to do the Wild Women's Vintage Show in Spokane, Wa. There are about a dozen vendors with fun vintage upcycled furniture, clothing, kitchen ware, home decor, accessories and of course Hair Accessories! So I set my goal of 300 hair accessories for this show ranging from $1 to $15 and a few high end pieces that are sure to please the crowd. I didn't think it was going to be such a big work load but after 35 rolled rosettes I was needing "Emma Time" away from my crafting.

I have all kinds of cool things to show you all who are fortunate enough to be able to be in the area. I have fun felted bows, chiffon bows, ruffles, rolled rosettes, silk flowers that are shabby chic, baby headbands, little girl and teen hair pieces and some fun high end crazy pieces that people I think will love! Some eye candy if you will...



Lots of fun stuff! I hope to see some of you there- You will have to come and say Hi! I also will be partnering up with my dearest friend Caitlin Garpestad who is uber talented as well! She has an etsy site as well called Lupita Rosita and the shop is called Como La Flor. There are fun vintage inspired flowers, buttons and other fun treasures! Here are some of my personal favorites!

Black-White Damask/Black Flower (free shipping)  Blue-White Plaid Ring (free shipping) Black-White Magnet Set (free shipping)

Cute stuff right? Love her! She does all kinds of fun custom orders as well. So go show her some love! Here is her link for her shop

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I start teaching again this week so please excuse me if I am not on here for a few days!



Friday, August 19, 2011

Happy Friday and Outfit Post

Hi Y'All!! I hope you were having a fabolous week! I have been super busy crafting and baking my rear-end off. I also started a workout routine for getting back into shape. I am not for 5 am workouts but I feel a lot better about my day when I do. Here is a fun outfit post to show you what I wore yesterday...

Event: Thai Food with Katie and AJ
Time to get ready: 25 min (shower too - yikes!)

Okay so my Go-To Fast and super cute outfits always involve some type of black ensemble. I have super blonde hair and it always makes my features POP! So here is the break down of the fun outfit I wore!

I just purchased these Skinny Jeans from Forever 21 in Spokane for $10.50!! So you know I bought several - they are a must and are super comfy which is always a plus! I realllllllyyyy am loving the gray denim. It is a fun way to look updated but they are stupidly inexpensive and go with everything. The bag is a Goodwill purchase for $4.50 that was in great condition and I like that I can wear it across my body too. Please excuse my wet hair. I only had 25 min to get ready. The heat and summer laziness has me rocking my waves- what can I say?

I love me some ModCloth! I have purchased a few items from them but they have a ton of great ooak items that are artist supported. They always have good deals as well!

I not only make Fl(h)air but I wear it ALL the time! I am a sucker for accessories BUT even more I love to create pieces that are multi-functional. The gold flower pin is a perfect brooch for a dull necklace and adds character to any outfit instantly. I also paired it with a rolled rose vintage hair clip (which is awesome because if you hair is getting annoying you can use this as a clip too) that just clipped to the necklace. It was perfect because it was super easy and you can jazz up any outfit with a few small accessories.

Probably one of my favorite vintage/second hand  pieces I have ever purchased! I am a sucker for leopard print so when I walked into the store these seemed to have walked right onto my feet and never came off. I love love love these. They are super comfy and add some fun to an unexpected outfit anyday.

My make-up was simple - defined eyebrows, mascara, little bronzer for blush and lipgloss.

If you have any questions on this outfit or any others I post e-mail me, I would love to answer any and all :)


Friday, August 12, 2011

Michael Buble Concert Photos and Video

So I am going to admit I had hopes for Michael. I dig his music - love the song "Feelin' Good" he is not my favorite but I do enjoy a little dash of Michael every now and then..... That being said, he literally 180 changed my mind about him. If you ever get a chance to go see him (I know its difficult to pay the $100 for tickets and he is not always close) but HE IS AMAZING - he was hilarious making jokes and played everything from Van Morrison - Crazy Love to Black Eyed Peas- I've Go a Feelin'. AMAZING! I am def a fan and totally am in AWE of him. He was classy and crass all at the same time and I throughly enjoyed every minute. The concert flew by which was a first for me - it literally felt like a party :) I had such a great time! Here are a few pics to show and a little snippet of him singing at the end - sorry for the loud screams - I have an adorable and rowdy little mini me :)

My momma pretty much is awesome and got us fourth row center tickets!

I couldn't help it! Mols and I had a photo sesh with his picture there lol! I am a dork :)

My adorable little sister Molly! She is showing the MB love too!

My cute little family sans Kyle - he opted to stay at my aunts. MB is not his thing...
but it was OURS lol!

Hopefully this works - it is a snippet of him singing at the end of the concert - Please pardon my and my sisters screaming at the very end.

What are your weekend plans? Have you seen MB before?!


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Roadtrip! To Spokane I go...

I am leaving for the day - tomorrow. I am going up to Spokane to see my family for the day and to take my adorable little sister and wonderful momma to go see Michael Buble! I am so excited - I have not done a whole lot for concerts in who knows how long.... lame, I know. So I am leaving this house to be the bachelor pad with Jerry, AJ and little boy Lou to have a fun-filled girls night with my two favorite ladies! Be Jealous ;)
Until I can post pictures of the concert.... this picture you will have to swoon over - Love his music!!!!


It also helps that he is pretty good looking! I'm just saying...

Happy Wednesday Y'All!

TUTORIAL TIME! Pretty handmade Rolled Rosette - Contest at the end!!!



So here is a tutorial of a pretty handmade rolled rosette. You can find some already for sale or design your own on my site - www.emmaflhair.etsy.com - already finished and ready to go. This is a fun craft project that my 8 and 11 year old nieces enjoyed with me this last weekend.

These rosettes can be made into almost anything. I have seen them made into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, headbands clips and more! This is a great project for birthdays and holidays :) Everyone loves a handmade gift!

Here is the tutorial - make sure to leave a comment at the end :)














I didn't take photos of what I did after I finished gluing the end piece - don't worry it is super easy -  I took a scrap piece of fabric and cut a circle out of it and glued the circle to the back of my rose to make sure it doesn't unravel. I also stitched some pretty little beads in the top and attached the rosette to a clip.



So how did yours go? You will have to send a photo! I would love to see them :) Maybe we will do a contest on who made the best and whoever the winner is will get a prize!! OOOhhh - that sounds fun!


Sunday, August 7, 2011

New Collection all this week :) Sweet Pea Collection! Shabby Chic Vintage Inspired Girly Hair Pieces from Baby to Adult!


These girls are adorable right? I am one lucky auntie!

This new collection is all about vintage inspired, country farm girl, shabby chic, pretty florals, wedding approved, perfect photo prop, charming gift giving, lovely leopard print and rich colors full of fun and glamour for the girly girl in all of us!

ALL WEEK I will be posting new items in the shop :)
















Sooooooo.... I am wondering what you all think? Which one is your favorite? I would love to know :)