Schmoo Torte

Happy leap day! Too bad having an extra day on the calendar doesn't actually mean having extra time.

To celebrate this special day :), indulge in this yummy dessert... one of our favourites, the Schmoo Torte.

This is a light concoction of angel food cake, whipped cream, caramel, & pecans. It's like a caramel cloud.

Schmoo Torte

sauce:

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

 In medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, mix together all sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool. Refrigerate until cold.

cake:

1 box Angel food cake mix

1 cup cold water or amount that cake mix says

1 cup finely chopped pecans

 Mix according to package directions. Gently fold in pecans. Bake according to package directions or at 350º for 40-50 minutes, until top is lightly browned & cracks feel very dry & not sticky. Turn upside down. Cool completely, at least 2 hours.

filling:

3 cups whipping cream

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

 Whip cream. Add icing sugar & vanilla. Continue beating until soft peaks form. 

Putting it all together:

  Cut cake into 3 equal layers. 

Spread 1/4 of caramel sauce on bottom layer.

Top with 1 cup of whipped cream. 

Repeat the layers - cake, sauce, cream. Top & ice cake with remaining cream. Drizzle remaining caramel over the top. Decorate with pecans, if desired.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

And here's the recipe again all together...

Schmoo Torte

sauce:

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

 In medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, mix together all sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool. Refrigerate until cold.

cake:

1 box Angel food cake mix

1 cup cold water or amount that cake mix says

1 cup finely chopped pecans

 Mix according to package directions. Gently fold in pecans. Bake according to package directions or at 350º for 40-50 minutes, until top is lightly browned & cracks feel very dry & not sticky. Turn upside down. Cool completely, at least 2 hours.

filling:

3 cups whipping cream

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

 Whip cream. Add icing sugar & vanilla. Continue beating until soft peaks form. 

Putting it all together:

 Cut cake into 3 equal layers. Spread 1/4 of caramel sauce on bottom layer. Top with 1 cup of whipped cream. Repeat the layers - cake, sauce, cream. Top & ice cake with remaining cream. Drizzle remaining caramel over the top. Decorate with pecans, if desired.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

~~~~~

So, what are you doing with your extra day? I'm planning for my husband's birthday tomorrow. 

Happy early birthday to him!!

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

This recipe featured on:

Girly Rag Wreath (a.k.a. The Never Ending Project)

  Have you ever started a project thinking it would be pretty straightforward & relatively easy only to be proven so wrong? This wreath was that project for me. 

  Before Valentine's Day, I was going through my craft cache, determined to use up some of the supplies I had on hand before purchasing anything new. I had several fat quarters of fabric that I bought a couple years ago thinking I would make some fabric flowers & scrapbooking embellishments. I did make a few, but had lots of fabric left over... especially a lot of pink. Great for a Valentine's project, right?

  After seeing some pretty rag wreaths on Etsy, I figured I could make one fairly easily. 

  Easy? Yes. 

  Fast? No!

  A disclaimer: If I had a rotary fabric cutter & mat, that would have made a massive difference. Alas, I cut all these fabric strips with my craft scissors. I would definitely recommend using a rotary cutter.

Now, on to the tutorial. 

Supplies:

4 & 1/2 fat quarters of fabric

wire hanger

Tools:

Pliers

Ruler

Scissors or rotary cutter & mat

I used a wire coat hanger as the round form. Take the hanger & bend it into a circle. 

Using a pair of wire cutting pliers (lineman pliers, according to my husband), cut off the hook.

Form wire into a connecting hook.

Cut fabric into one inch wide strips, into a few different lengths. I did 4, 5, & 6 inches.

I wanted the fabric to have frayed edges, so after it was cut I washed it in the washing machine to achieve that. Then it needed to be ironed & the loose threads cut off. This took a few hours.  

At last! Ready to make the wreath. 

Start tying, alternating the fabrics & lengths. I just had my fabrics stacked randomly by pattern, as you can see in the photo above.

Finished! Ta-da!

I have it happily displayed in my craft room.

I love it even though it took so long to make.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

This project was featured at:

Taming of the Toothpaste

  I'm pretty sure every family has them both... The person who squeezes the toothpaste & carefully rolls up the tube after they're done. AND the person who squeezes the tube every which way & leaves it a mess. You know which one you are, right? Hee hee. I'm a roller. :)

  The way my kids have been squeezing the toothpaste lately has been bugging me. My youngest isn't quite to the point of being able to roll the tube after she's done & after a certain point it gets hard to get any toothpaste out of the tube.

  I needed a way to help the kids get the toothpaste to the end without them always having to ask for help. I had a brainwave last week when I was cleaning out the bathroom drawer.

  Enter the bag clip. These little do-dads are made to clip shut plastic bags of food that still have some food in them. They are inexpensive & pretty readily available. I got mine on a trip to Ikea, but I've seen them at dollar stores & hardware stores too.

  Add a large bag clip to the end & pull down towards the tip. It does a fabulous job of bringing all the toothpaste to the end with the opening.

It's been working great & the kids are happy that they don't need help with it anymore! 

Happy kids, happy mom. :)

Have a great weekend!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

This tip was featured at:

Crafty Thoughts & Mountain Layouts

  I have to admit something to you.

  I like to make crafts. Oh, you knew that already? Ya, I figured. :) I'm what you'd call "a crafter".

  I also believe that a crafter doesn't have to be holed up into one specific kind of crafting. Not sure what I mean?

  Well, when I started this blog I just wanted to share the stuff I made, created, & decorated. After I did just a bit of searching on other crafter's blogs, I noticed that not many crafters were scrapbookers or card makers. And if they were, they often didn't share their paper crafts on their blogs. The same went for the paper crafters out there. Scrapbook layouts or cards were pretty much all you found on their blogs. It's almost like "someone out there" determined that a blogger couldn't share more than one genre of craft on a given blog.

  After I noticed this, I started to feel pressured (albeit a self-inflicted pressure) to make more generalized crafts & keep my paper crafts to myself. But after a few months of "hiding", I'm ready to throw caution to the wind & just be me! I have come to the realization that I can have several different crafting interests & I can celebrate them all!

  Lesson leaned.

  Am I the only one who has felt this way?

  I want to encourage you to stop hiding your talents & let them ALL shine! The world has something to benefit from what you have to bring to the table. Even if it's just a smile. :)

~~~

I'm still working on scrapping last summer's photos. I'm getting very close to finishing. Here's some of the pages from our summer vacation to Jasper National Park in Alberta.

I used a lot of Bo Bunny for these layouts. I'm in love with the wood grain paper! 

Go celebrate the talents that God put in you.

Enjoy your day!

The (Map Covered) Notebook

  There's something about a blank notebook that just inspires me to write. Especially a really great looking notebook.

  I was due for such a notebook. My current one was getting pretty full & I had a plain, black one waiting in my craft bin. It was very uninspiring & I had plans to pretty it up somehow. I recently was blessed with a bag of great maps from my parents' numerous travels to Europe. (Thanks Mom & Dad!) After unearthing some great small maps of the city of Paris, I knew exactly what to do with the bland notebook!

If you would like to make one like this, here's what I did:

Gather your supplies:

~Plain notebook (available at any stationary store)

~Map or other pretty paper

~Mod Podge

~Sponge brushes

~Scissors 

1) Determine how you want your map or paper placed on your notebook. Trim it down with a wide margin around the edges. We'll trim it down completely later. Using a sponge brush, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the cover of the notebook. Carefully place your map or paper over the Mod Podge, making sure to smooth out the bubbles with your fingers.

2) Let dry.

3) Once dry, trim the extra paper off of the edges.

4) Apply an even layer of Mod Pogde over the paper. Be careful to get right to the corners. Let dry completely. 

  This is quite a fast craft project. Maybe half an hour plus drying time. I think this would be a great gift too - maybe for a friend who's about to embark on a European adventure? It would be a great travel journal!

I'm ready to fill it's pages with goodies...

Enjoy your Monday!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

This project was featured on:

Greek Pasta Salad

Let's see a show of hands... Who likes Greek salad? 

Me!

Another show of hands... Who likes pasta salad?

Me! (Again.)

Last one... Who likes them mixed together?

Definitely me!

A little history...

When I was a teenager (many moons ago), my parents tried a salad like this at a deli & it was delicious! My mom, being the great cook that she is, decided to see if she could replicate it. She did, to our delight, with great success! So, thank you to my mom, for passing this recipe on to me when I got married & learned to cook. :) 

And now, I pass it on to you to enjoy.

Greek Pasta Salad
serves 6-8

1 small package tri-coloured pasta spirals (about 3 cups dry)

1 small container (about a cup) solid feta cheese (or crumbles, if you prefer)
1 small container (about a cup) whole Kalamata olives (or sliced & pitted if you prefer)
1 package grape tomatoes
1 cucumber, sliced
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 Tbsp. dried
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain & rinse in cool water. Set aside to cool completely.

In a large salad bowl, combine the cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, & bell pepper.

Mix together all dressing ingredients.

Add the cooled pasta & dressing to the veggies, cheese, & olives. Toss to mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

  This Greek Pasta Salad a perfect, easy supper dish - especially because it's served cold. You can also (as I do, sometimes) add a skewer of Greek souvlaki to "beef it up" a bit. Summer or winter - I make this all year round!

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Heart Day!

These love-inspired layouts are ones that I created last spring.
The sweet photos are from a Valentine's shoot my friend, Allison, did with my daughter, Audrey.

Paper from the Echo Park "Little Girl" Collection

Paper from the Echo Park "For The Record" Collection

Paper from the Echo Park "Be Mine" Collection

They still make me smile. :)

Enjoy your love-filled day!

Flea Market Finds

  What an enjoyable weekend I had! I hope you did too. :) 

  A couple of friends joined me in a trek to the long awaited, bi-annual flea market on Saturday. We were able to find a few treasures among the throngs of people & tables of curiosities. Sadly, I wasn't able to find anything from my wish list, but here's what I came home with...

A vintage step stool - in yellow & chrome, no less! Score.

I've been wanting one of these for a long time. 

An old post card from my favourite place (even though I've never been there) - Paris! 

It's postmarked 1925 & has a beautiful patina.

The elephant statue intrigued me since I have never seen it in any photos of the Eiffel Tower before. From the little research I did, the statue is no longer there, but has been moved to the Musee d'Orsay. 

I'll be looking for a frame to put this little gem on display.

And last, but not least, I found two vintage turquoise Pyrex bowls. 

There was a lot of Pyrex at the flea market, but these were the only turquoise pieces I saw. 

I'm so glad I snapped them up.

Was there any thrifting, antiquing, or flea market shopping in your weekend? Yes? 

I would love to hear about it! Please leave me a comment & tell me about your treasures.

~~~

  On another note, you may have heard that Google Friend Connect (the way a lot of you follow this blog - on the right side bar) is going bu-bye for non-Blogger blogs as of the end of this month. Rumour has it that eventually it will stop for Blogger too. I'm just trying to be proactive & adding this new way to follow sooner, rather than later.

  So, if you follow Silver Boxes or would like to, you can now sign up to follow it under LinkyTools. Signing up is SUPER fast & easy. I promise - under 5 minutes. It's actually a really neat way to follow your favourite blogs - I've gotta say that it organizes them really well. You should check it out if you read multiple blogs. 

Have a wonderful Monday!

Check out these great link parties I link up to!

Mexican Limeade

   Mexico is one of my favourite places on earth. The glorious weather, the kind people, & don't forget the amazing food! After having the real deal in Mexico, I've wanted to learn how to make all the authentic Mexican dishes. One of my absolute favourite parts about Mexican cooking is the use of limes. I've come to believe that limes can make just about anything taste better.

  On our first visit to Mexico, I asked for lemonade at our first meal. Woah, baby! Amazingness! Our waiter said that they made it with limes instead of lemons. As soon as we got home, I started to search for a recipe that tasted like the limeade we discovered in Mexico. This one is close. Next time we go, I may just ask for the recipe at our favourite restaurant. :) But for now, when we get an urge for a taste of sunshine, this is the recipe I make.

Mexican Limeade

makes 1/2 a gallon

1 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice 

add enough water to equal 1/2 a gallon (8 cups)

2 cups white sugar

1 cup water

Combine sugar & water in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it barely begins to boil. Cool. 

Combine lime mixture & syrup. Stir well, refrigerate until cold. It really is better after "marinating" for several hours, so just leave it alone until it's cold. 

~~~

Me enjoying a massive glass of limeade on our first trip to Mexico in 2007.

And because it's a very cold February day here in Saskatchewan, Canada, 

I will leave you with a warm beach scene from a beautiful Mexican beach.

Stay warm & enjoy your weekend!

Blog Award!

I received a very kind blog award a few days ago. It's called the Liebster Blog Award. Liebster is German for dearest, beloved, or favorite. The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers , who have less than 200 followers.  

Here are the rules:

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
• Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
• Give your top 5 picks for the award.
• Inform your top 5 by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Post the award on your blog.

First of all, a HUGE thank you to Jaimee at Craft, Interrupted for awarding me! 

My choices for the award, in no particular order, are...

1) This Girl's Life 

Mandy's blog has a fun mix of decorating, fashion, crafts (including scrapbooking, which I love), & DIY projects.
Don't miss: DIY Earring Stand

2) Two Yellow Birds Decor

Jill has a great link party on Thursdays & she makes great crafty projects & recipes to share with her readers!

Don't miss: Rolo Cookies

3) Simply Chic Treasures

Cynthia does fabulous furniture makeovers & blogs about them with a splash of craft projects thrown in.

Don't miss: Retro Nightstand Makeover

4) My Sew Called Life

I'm not a wonderful seamstress, but Kiki's blog has me planning some sewing projects... her projects are so inspiring!

Don't Miss: Sewing Nook Makeover

5) The Dabbling Crafter

Krista has some cute projects... sewing, DIY, & thrifty finds.

Don't Miss: Chevron Bookcase

So, let's spread some love. Go check out these up & coming blogs & see what good stuff they have to offer. 

Enjoy your day!