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Seven Easy Scarves & Cowls to Knit This Fall

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I was madly in love with scarf knitting when I first began to knit. Knitted scarves are a fabulous way to learn pattern, try stitches you have never tried before, and can be an elegant  (and frugal) gift to give when the holiday season rolls around.  I love to knit scarves and I want to share with you five fun patterns to add to your knitting projects. Each of these is uniquely special and the patterns are free!

It may not feel like scarf season just yet, but for knitters, it is time to start our engines for holiday knitting. Each year I try to knit a scarf for our teachers, friends, and family. I already have my eyes on a few new patterns to try for this year, but wanted to share with you a few of my favorite scarves I have done in years past and how to package them for gift-giving this year.

Are you my friend on Ravelry? If not, I would love to be friends! My username is momadvice on there and I am always looking for new friends to knit with and share project ideas!

I knitted three of these ruffled scarves last year and all of them turned out so pretty! These ruffled scarves are definitely a statement piece, meant to add a punch of femininity to your winter coat! I made one in this light gray for my best friend, one in a charcoal gray for my sister, and one in ivory for my mom.  I am determined to knit one of these in a fun jewel tone this year for myself.

Beautifully Ruffled Lace Scarves

Pattern: Ruffle Lace Scarf by Suzie Blackman

Needle Size: US 10 Needles (40″ circulars)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Heather Gray

Notes: If you want a scarf that is wildly impressive, can be created with a single ball of yarn, and looks like a million bucks than this would be the perfect gift to give this holiday season. It is a very mindless knit, but is an INSANE amount of stitches, especially in the last two rows (over one thousand stitches!). The beauty of this scarf though is that you only need to know how to knit, purl, and yarn over to create it.

The twisting is created by knitting the scarf length-wise, rather than width-wise and through the series of yarn overs. As pictures above, you can see that it is really hard to see your stitches, let alone if it is actually going to twist. The good news is, as you cast off, you will see that scarf naturally twists, making that beautiful ruffled twist.

This one is definitely a statement piece and is also a statement of your absolute love for whoever you might make it for!

I followed the pattern that is linked above, but added four more rows to give the scarf a fuller appearance. I repeated rows 11-14 two times before I started rows 15-16. I am really glad I did and love the lush fullness of this scarf.

Gorgeous Gathered Scarves

Pattern: Gathered Scarf by Maryse Roudier

Needle Size: US 4 & US 7

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Lime

Notes: I knitted two of these beautiful scarves in a soft lime green and in ivory for my sister and best friend as holiday gifts and they both wore them often with their winter coats. This was the first time I attempted anything that ruffled or gathered, and would be a fun pattern for someone who just wants to start trying a pattern with some texture in it.

This pattern is so easy for a beginner and was a gift that was loved by both of them.  You actually use two different needle sizes to create the gathered effect on these scarves which added beautiful detail and a bit of ruffling to the scarves. I loved that the cotton is so stretchy and soft. I would definitely recommend this pattern especially to a beginner who is looking to add a little variation to the traditional scarf!

Merci Scarf

Pattern: Merci Scarf by Susan Rainey

Needle Size: US 8 Needles (I used size US 9 needles, which created a little bit wider scarf, but you could use the US 8’s that are recommended)

Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky Weight in Molten Lava (2.5 skeins)

Notes: This scarf is so simple and fast to whip up that it would make the perfect gift to give to any man in your life. The pattern is one that you can complete while watching your favorite shows on television and is almost impossible to get off track.  This yarn was also perfect for creating a really warm scarf, perfect for our Midwest winters.  This pattern is perfect for a beginning knitter or for a last minute gift for someone special in your life!

I made these for my husband and brother in last year’s holiday crafting marathon and they both wore them every day. It made me so proud to see my knits were loved by them and to know they were wrapped in something that I made just for them.

Anthropologie-Inspired Scarflets

Pattern: Anthro-Inspired Scarflet (available as a free Ravelry download with your free Ravelry membership) by Kim Seio & Lydia Flowers (optional, for embellishment) or cute buttons.

Needle Size: US 8 Needles (straight) for both the flowers and the scarflet

Yarn: Premier Yarns Chunky Weight in Pristine (scarf) & Yarn Bee Boucle Traditions in Black (for the first scarf) & Premier Yarns Chunky Weight in Brown with simple ivory button threaded with pink embroidery thread (for the second scarf)

Notes: I followed the sizing and increases that ilikecookies(another Ravelry member)  had shared in her pattern. She said, “Increased until 30 stitches, worked 15 rows even until ribbed section and knit 15 rows of ribbing to make a slightly larger scarflet.”

I added a black Lydia Flower (size small) with a red button center to finish it or colorful buttons with contrasting embroidery thread to finish! For more pictures of these, please visit this post.

For a sweet and simple gift idea, create one of these scarflets and tuck a small denominator gift card in the pocket where the scarf slides in.  I made a stack of these for our teacher gifts last year and each one had a $5 Starbucks gift card tucked into the pocket that was created in the scarflet. Next time I make this, I will have to write on the label though that these were scarfs. The teachers thought they might be hats…which I guess you could do too!  Regardless, I got such wonderful compliments and tried to make each of them unique with flower embellishments or different unique buttons and colored embroidery threads on each one.

Dolce Neck Cozy

Pattern: Dolce Neck Cozy by Fiddle Knits Designs

Needle Size: US 9 Needles (straight)

Yarn: Bamboospun Natural Bamboo (purchased at Hobby Lobby)

Notes: This was one of my first projects when I learned to knit and would be a perfect project for a newbie knitter.  At the time I had no idea how to do buttonholes or how to knit with two strands of yarn so this was what I was able to do with my limited knitting knowledge. I completed the Dulce #2 (Browns) Pattern. This took almost all 148 yards, but I knitted loosely so I would not have to make the buttonhole. I opted for one button instead of two and chose a black wooden button to bring the cowl together.

This would be a great pattern to take on a trip because it has only one row of real pattern and alternates only between two rows one of purling and one of pattern. It has a herringbone type of look to it and looks far more complicated than it is.

I made this in bamboo which was so soft, it felt just like a blanket.

This is a great project for instant gratification! Wonderful pattern for a newbie knitter in understanding yarn overs.

Rainy Day or Snow Day Scarf

Pattern: Rainy Day Scarf by Beth Collins

Needle Size: US 9 Needles (straight)

Yarn: Bernat Cottontots in Strawberry

Notes: I remember being so darn proud of these scarves because these were my first scarves that I had ever knitted and gave as gifts to our kid’s teachers. This is a great pattern because it is easy and straightforward for a beginning knitter because  you only need to know how to do the purl and knit stitches.

This scarf was packaged with my homemade cocoa and vanilla chai mix in a green and lovely way… in those old Crystal Light containers. I used some holiday gift wrap to cover them and tied a gift tag with some raffia around the drink mix containers. These are ideal, particularly for teacher gifts, because I don’t have to worry that my children will break the jars in route to school. Waterproof and airtight, it keeps the drink mix nice and safe. With a handmade or store-bought scarf, it makes a perfectly cozy gift to give.
I finish all of my knitted gifts with fun homemade gift tags. I used my Silhouette Craft Cutter and used the rounded rectangle template to make these simple tags out of ivory card stock or you can simply buy a package of tags to add to your handmade gifts. As a holiday treat to myself last Christmas, I bought myself a personalized stamp from Babyjewels (an Etsy seller) and I have to say, it really added that professional touch to my gifts!  They have one for knitters and one for crocheters too.
If that isn’t enough patterns for you to kick of that fall knitting, be sure to visit my Knitting Trendy Gifts of Warmth or my holiday craft factory that I ran out of my house last year.
Happy knitting, friends!

Looking for more knitted projects?  Be sure to visit our Crafting section and Gifts section of the site for more inspiration!

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Back-to-School Close to My Heart Pin: DIY Fabric Flowers

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This is the true story of two girls. One girl had a strong will and was a perfectionist. The other girl had a strong will and was a perfectionist. These two girls had a hard time coexisting together. One girl had to become a little softer with her heart and learn to let the little stuff go. The other girl turned four and just became a tad more laid back and a little easier for her mother to deal with.

Suddenly, these two became not only mother & daughter, but fabulous friends. They went on outings together, sang in the car wherever they went, watched girlie movies on Netflix,  and had many Chinese & haircut dates together. They did everything together and learned to love each other even more than before.

Now my best friend is leaving me for kindergarten.

Please don’t ask me about it.

I will cry.

This craft is an idea born from my own bittersweet sadness about my Emily leaving me for school. I wanted to create a little something for her that would remind her that mommy was always with her and was always thinking about her no matter where she was.  This is my Close to My Heart pin and I am sharing this craft idea with you today for the back-to-school season!

Head to your local Walmart and visit the craft supplies section of the store and you will find fabric quarters available for purchase for $1.27 each. You will also need one sheet of red felt for this project for the base of your fabric flower for a mere $.20!  If you are creating a pin for attaching the fabric flower to clothing, look in the jewelry section for 1 1/2″ bar pins with an adhesive backing. If you want to clip the fabric flower in your daughter’s hair, you can also find metal barrettes, hair clips, or even headbands in the jewelry section or by the ribbon to attach these simple flowers to.

If you don’t have a glue gun and glue sticks, be sure to pick those up as well.

You will need to cut nine circles out of your fabric. I used a large circle punch and created my template out of scrap card stock. You could also just trace a lid to a canning jar, if you don’t have a circle punch handy.

Grab your red felt and cut a heart out for the base of your flower. I just folded it in half and cut it just like I used to do my hearts for my Valentine’s.  This is the sentimental part of this pin for your sweet child, but if you just want to do a felt circle, you can do that as well!

Let’s make some flower petals. Fold your circle in half as shown.

Fold up one side of the circle that has been folded in half.

Fold up the other half of the halved circle and have it meet with the other side to form a petal.

It should look like this swirly thing on top.

Now hot glue the seam just a tiny bit together where the petal is gathered and then hot glue the end of the petal to the felt heart. Repeat this with all four ends of the heart. In the spaces left, fill in with three or four more petals. At the end, you will have one hole in the center to put in one or two petals that you have left. To get more visuals on this, I have created a vlog below where you can watch the petals being applied in action.

Once it is all filled in, it will look like this. You can leave it plain like this or you can add a cute button in the center by just smashing down the petals and hot gluing a button in the center. I think it looks pretty both ways!

On the back of your fabric flower, you can attach either a pin (for pinning to their jacket or backpack) or a metal barrette to pull back their hair. We did a few each way so that we could accessorize those uniforms and glam up her backpack too.

I hope she knows how much I love her while she is off to school and be reminded of my love when she looks at her pin. I hope you can give this easy craft a try and that it can serve as a reminder to your daughter how special she is to you.

I love you, Emily!

What special traditions have you created for the back-to-school season in your house? I would love to hear your ideas! Be sure to check out my vlog below for a step-by-step tutorial on how to make these easy pins!

I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

Father’s Day Gift Basket: A Fun Movie Gift Basket

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It’s no secret that I love my dad like crazy! This week we got the opportunity to celebrate him at a dinner in honor of his 35 years of employment with Bayer. This picture of my sister & I with him is one of my favorites from that evening together.  Sadly,  for us, our brother hit the road to start a fresh new life in New Orleans so one piece of our puzzle was missing in this picture. We are missing him a lot already.

Regardless, this gave me an opportunity to give him his dad’s day gift a little early and shower him with love for all of his hard work our entire lives. I shared with you this week, a power-packed punch of a gift to give your favorite superhero dad. I hope that gave a few of you a fun idea for a quick gift to pull together. Now I wanted to showcase one other cute idea I have for a Father’s Day gift basket that I thought you guys might like.

For your basket, look for a popcorn bucket or tub that you can use to fill it with your movie supplies.  I found this tub at our local dollar store, but you can check near the popcorn aisle or over by the popcorn poppers for another fun tub that you can use for the base for your gift.

Next fill the bottom of your popcorn tub or bucket with a little shredded paper or tissue paper. Someone shipped something to me in a million pounds of this shredded paper so that is why I am such a fan of it for a free filler in our house. Whatever you might have in your wrapping supplies will work beautifully for this project.

Fill your popcorn tub with your dad’s favorite snacks. My dad loves black licorice and movie theater popcorn so we filled his up with those snacks to enjoy while he watches his favorite movies. I spent roughly $5 on snacks, but you can spend however much your own budget allows on the snack portion of this present!

Now comes the fun part. Grab your kids and take a few pictures of them pretending to watch a movie. Use your movie bucket for a prop and snap a few pictures that you can use for your gift.

Upload your photo to Picnik. Under the CREATE tab,  select EFFECTS, then select the BLACK & WHITE option to change your picture to a a black and white image. While still under the CREATE tab, select the option for TEXT. Once you are in text, put in your message for your dad. Make sure not to put your text all of the way to the edge of the photo because it may cut it off when you print it. It is better to get it a little further in to assure that you don’t waste ink, paper, or your time!

You can choose from a variety of fonts and colors. The font I choose for these images was Budmo Jiggler. I loved this font because it looked a little like a movie theater sign with one’s name in lights. Add a fun movie message, as we did here. You can do all of this with a free membership to Picnik.

Save your image once you have finished it. If you have a photo printer, you can print these out at home. I printed mine on 4×6 Kodak paper with my photo printer. Attach this image to the front of your movie tub.

To include in our movie tub, we added a gift card for two month’s of Netflix for only $15.98. With our five dollars in snacks, this gift is just a little  over twenty dollars, but is worth two month’s of fun! We tied the gift card with this photo that we also printed on 4×6 paper and finished it all with a little red ribbon.

This quick and easy gift is ready to go and can be pulled together in just a few minutes!  I hope this gift will offer a little more inspiration to your Father’s Day gift ideas and we wish all of our dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day from us!

We happen to have a pretty amazing dad in our midst that we are looking forward to showering with love this year! I feel so incredibly blessed that our children have such an awesome father and am a lucky girl myself!

Happy Father’s Day, Dads!

Father’s Day Gift Basket: A Power Pack for Your Super-Dad!

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Where would we be without wonderful fathers in our life?  Father’s Day gifts are always a challenge for me because I want something that shows our dads how special they are to us, but I can’t always think of the best way to show how much we love them.  This year I decided to make two gift baskets for our dads that are a breeze to pull together, are personalized to each of our dads, and happen to be awfully affordable.

This month’s DIY challenge for Walmart was to create a Father’s Day gift using items purchased from the store.  Head on over to your store to pick up the supplies for these fun gift baskets for your dads. I promise you that these gifts will be a big hit.

For our first Father’s Day gift, we have a sporty dad in our life. Ryan’s dad is passionate about biking and spends a lot of time clocking the miles on his bike. We thought we would make a power pack for our favorite superhero dad with snacks and drinks that he can take on the road with him.

Start with a basket or tub. I found this party tub over with the outdoor supplies for $4.57. This is a deep tub and  will be perfect for on the patio after dad is done using it for his gift.

On the bottom of the tub, put a layer of newspaper to fill out the tub. We don’t want to waste our budget on fillers for the basket and this is a great way to make the basket look fuller for less.

Now that we have filled out the bottom, you can add cute shredded paper, tissue paper, or anything else you might have in your wrapping supplies. Fill it out just enough that it looks full and hides the newspaper bottom.

Now it is time to fill it with power foods. I got Powerade and power protein bars for our dad. Feel free to add your own spin on the power foods. In my opinion, coffee and chocolate are power foods that would fit very nicely into this theme. Explore the grocery aisles for your own dad’s favorite power foods.

Next I had my kids pose for pictures in their superhero capes. Feel free to make your own spin on this though. You could also have your children do strong man poses or lift weights, put on a sweatband and leg warmers, whatever you think says power. Your dads will really get a kick out of this.

Upload your photo to Picnik. Under the CREATE tab,  select EFFECTS, then select the LOCOMO-ISH option to change your picture to a a brighter image. Use the scale to slide down the color on it so it looks bright and fun, but not flourescent. While still under the CREATE tab, select the option for TEXT. Once you are in text, put in your message for your dad. Make sure not to put your text all of the way to the edge of the photo because it may cut it off when you print it. It is better to get it a little further in to assure that you don’t waste ink, paper, or your time!

You can choose from a variety of fonts and colors. The font I choose for these images was Lexographer. You can do all of this with a free membership to Picnik.

Save your image once you have finished it. If you have a photo printer, you can print these out at home. I printed mine on 4×6 Kodak paper with my photo printer. If you don’t have a photo printer, Walmart offers one hour prints. The cards themselves are almost as awesome as what is inside your baskets.

Tape this image to the front of your party tub. I also stuck another picture on the other side of the tub of my daughter with her extremely scary power pose.

If you would like, you can include a small denominator gift card in your basket for some power tunes for the iPod or even a powerful book that dad could read.  I tied this with ribbon and attached it with this superhero card to let him know that this gift was for additional power.

This is a gift that I know your dad would love and the kids will have a blast creating it with you! I will be back tomorrow with one more quick gift basket idea and I hope that this will give a few of you a little last minute inspiration!

What gifts do you have up your sleeve for you dads this year? What gift has been the biggest hit? I would love to hear your ideas!

I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

Sweet & Simple Mother’s Day Gift

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day. We really celebrated simply this year and it was still just as perfect. This year I decided to drop the Mother’s Day gifts the day before Mother’s Day so I could really enjoy a day to myself too this year. I don’t know about you, but there is nothing like a fresh bouquet of flowers bought just for me. I know our moms love them just as much so I headed over to the store to pick up a pretty  bouquet for each of them.

Supermarket bouquets can sometimes not feel as special as the fancy florist so I love to add my own little touches to the bouquets to make them a little more special. You can find rolls of tulle over in the craft section of your superstores or in the wedding section of large craft stores. Cut off a long strip of it to tie an elegant bow on your bouquet.

This bouquet was wrapped in pink and I thought this bow matched it perfectly.  Sometimes the smaller bouquets are wrapped in plain plastic. I love to fill the plastic out with colored tissue paper on the outside or have the floral department wrap the flowers for me.  Don’t forget to take those price tag stickers off the outside. After all, don’t we prefer if people don’t know how cheap we really are?

We made little personalized cards that we printed on 4×6 photo paper. I slipped these between the plastic layers and I am sure the little cards were saved as refrigerator mementos, as all personalized cards are. Just like the teacher cards that I made last week, start by uploading your photo to Picnik. Under the CREATE tab,  select EFFECTS, then select the BLACK & WHITE option to change your picture to a black & white image. While still under the CREATE tab, select the option for TEXT. Once you are in text, put in your message for your mother. Make sure not to put your text all of the way to the edge of the photo because it may cut it off when you print it. It is better to get it a little further in to assure that you don’t waste ink, paper, or your time!  The font I choose for these images was Pupcat. You can do all of this with a free membership to Picnik.

We also framed our favorite picture from Easter and then tied it with another tulle bow. I found inexpensive frames for each of our grandmas and I printed out the photos on my photo printer. We knew these would be a real hit with our grandmas. After all, what kind of grandmas would we have if she didn’t love our pictures?

Then we shocked them with our elegant flower deliveries. I don’t know who enjoyed that part more.

Happy Mother’s Day to our moms. We love you both!

I had a fantastic Mother’s Day. We went to church, I mixed up the waffle batter, then climbed back into my bed to be served. The kids loved serving breakfast to me in my bed and were very professional about checking on me often to see if anything else might be needed. I finished a library book, climbed out of bed for a half price frappe at Starbucks, and then climbed back in bed for the rest of the day. I got lots of hugs, kisses, storytelling, and tickles in with my children. I did not cook anything all day. I did not do one chore. I did not move from my bed hardly at all. It was perfect. It cost $2.22 for the whole day. It was just what I needed.


What did you do for Mother’s Day? Tell me what you did to celebrate YOUR day and Mother’s Day for your family & friends?


Oreo Biscotti Gifts For Your Favorite Teachers

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Hurray! Hurray! Hurray! Three cheers for our favorite teachers! We have had truly some of the best teachers this year and this is the official Teacher Appreciation Week to really show your admiration for all that they do.  After volunteering in my son’s classroom, I know that I would not have the patience or endurance to do a job like that. I so admire the infinite patience, love, and knowledge that our teachers possess.

Both of my children have blossomed this year. With the teachers that they have, I can certainly see why!

Today I wanted to showcase an easy and fun gift that you can give to the teachers in your life. This Oreo Biscotti recipe is a dream to make and to eat. If you can make cookies, you can make biscotti! Biscotti is basically a twice baked cookie that is perfect for coffee dunking. You can find everything you need to complete this project at your local Walmart store.

Just as an aside, if I was a teacher, I would be drinking a whole heck of a lot of coffee.

Let’s shower them with cookies that they can dunk in all of that coffee today!

In your stand mixer, mix together melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar.

In a separate bowl whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to your wet ingredients in your stand mixer and mix just until the ingredients are incorporated.

Now it is time to add the star to the biscotti show! Grab a bag of Oreo cookies (feel free to save money and substitute with the store brand on these). Use a rolling pin to break up the cookies so that you can get a bite of Oreo in each bite of your biscotti.

Add the cookies to your batter and then give the mixer a quick spin. It should look a little like cookies and cream ice cream. Resist the urge to eat the entire bowl of batter. It will be tough- this smells so good!

Dump the batter on a parchment lined cookie sheet. This dough is so easy to work with that you don’t even need to flour your hands. Divide your dough into two equal parts and then flatten the dough until it is roughly 8 inches in length, with about a 1 inch thickness. Make sure that the two balls have enough space to grow when they are baking.

Bake the biscotti at 350 for 25-30 minutes until the dough is cooked through and the edges are golden. Let the biscotti rest for ten minutes before you cut into it.  Then with a very sharp knife, cut your biscotti on a slight angle, into roughly fifteen pieces for each dough ball. Lay them flat and slide them back into an oven for eight minutes. Pull them out and flip them again. Bake an additional eight minutes on the flip-side of the cookie. Finally, let them cool while you put the rest of your gift together.

Find a cute mug for your teacher over in the aisle with all of the lunchbox supplies or even over by the coffeemakers themselves.  Cute reusable mugs are an inexpensive addition to your gift and can be found for anywhere between $4-10 depending on your budget. Fill the bottom with colored shredded paper or a little colored tissue paper. Nestle your biscotti in a clear plastic treat bags on top of your cute mug.

Editor’s Note: Now that Picnik has shut down, you can do the same edits through PicMonkey instead! Follow the directions below:

Look through pictures that you have of your child and see if you can find a picture where you can add a little text to your photo. Upload your photo to Picnik. Under the CREATE tab,  select EFFECTS, then select the BLACK & WHITE option to change your picture to a black & white image. While still under the CREATE tab, select the option for TEXT. Once you are in text, put in your message for your teacher. Make sure not to put your text all of the way to the edge of the photo because it may cut it off when you print it. It is better to get it a little further in to assure that you don’t waste ink, paper, or your time!

You can choose from a variety of fonts and colors. The font I choose for these images was Pupcat. You can do all of this with a free membership to Picnik. Additional fonts are available with a membership, but I find that the free fonts are equally fantastic!

Save your image once you have finished it. If you have a photo printer, you can print these out at home. I printed mine on 5×7 Kodak paper with my photo printer. If you don’t have a photo printer, Walmart offers one hour prints (for a 5×7) for $.58. The cards themselves are almost as awesome as the biscotti!

Whatever you do, I hope that this adds a little inspiration to your gift-giving this year. These not only would make a great teacher gift, but I can see this being made into a perfect Mother’s Day gift for a special mom in your life too.

Homemade Oreo Biscotti

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup  butter, melted
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; mix well. Stir in chopped cookies. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 8″ loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes. Cut each loaf diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch-thick) slices. Place slices, cut sides up, on same baking sheet. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes on each side or until lightly toasted on both sides. Cool completely on wire rack.

Recipe Source: Kraft Food & Family Magazine

What gifts do you have up your sleeve for you teachers this year? What gift has been the biggest hit? I would love to hear your ideas!

I am a part of the Walmart Moms program, and Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions are always my own.

Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Brownies

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If there is one combination that I love, it is sweet and salty. On their own, sweets hold little power over me. Sweet treats with a kick of salt? Well, be still my beating heart!  This recipe for Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Brownies is destined to be my recipe legacy that I pass on to my children.  When I pass away, my tombstone should read, “Beloved wife and mother.  More beloved for her amazing brownies. Forever. And Ever. Amen.” Yes, these are legacy-making brownies, friends!

If you are looking for a fun treat to share with the special moms in your life this Mother’s Day, than I highly recommend making a batch of these packaged up with pretty ribbon or nestled in a bed of wax paper in an elegantly packaged tin. These are really simple to make and an easy recipe to make a double batch of for gift-giving!

To begin, you will need a bar of really good unsweetened chocolate.  Give the chocolate a coarse chop with your knife and then scoop it into a pot along with your butter. The quantities that you will see pictured here are for a double batch of brownies. Melt your chocoalte and butter on low heat until it is smooth and combined, stirring occasionally. Remove the chocolate from the heat and allow it to cool while you prepare your dry ingredients.

In a mixing bowl (or in your stand mixer), you can begin whisking together the dry ingredients. In this bowl you will mix your dark cocoa, flour, and sugar. Both this dark cocoa and the unsweetened chocolate are located in the baking aisle of your store.

Once your dry ingredients are mixed together, we can begin incorporating the wet ingredients. Add your eggs and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and mix them in with a spatula or use your stand mixer to mix these. Once these are incorporated, you can slowly add in your cooled chocolate and then incorporate that into your batter.

Prepare a 9″ square pan by lining it with aluminum foil and then spraying it generously with cooking spray. Pour your batter into the pan and then smooth with the back of your spatula.  The batter should be very thick and fudge-like.

Now it is time to add our salty topping to our brownie. If you have beautifully flaky sea salt in your spice cupboard, this is the time to use it. If you are a commoner like me, you will just find a coarse sea salt over in the spice aisle next to the other commoner salts. Sprinkle 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt all over the brownies. Then use a butter knife to cut the salt through the batter so you get a hint of salt both on the top and within the brownie itself. Lick the knife without shame after you are done with this step.  Slide the brownies into a 350 degree oven for 35-38 minutes.

When you pull them out, the edges should be set (see above in this picture), but the center will still be a little bit soft and the toothpick will have a little batter on it. That is exactly what you want. Allow them to cool for one hour on the counter and then cover the top with a little plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or even up to three days. You can then pull the foil and plastic wrap off and cut with a sharp knife into squares.

Package these sweet little treats in clear treat bags with a little ribbon from your craft supplies. I guarantee that any mother that receives these will feel all your love in them.  These are fabulous treats to give to your girlfriends, your teachers, your sister, your babysitter, or any other mother that you feel deserves a little TLC for all of her hard work as a mom. Imagine what a sweet surprise these would be for someone who might not get all the adoration they are so deserving of.

Be sure to make a batch for yourself too, after all, you deserve a little bit of chocolate adoration too!

Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Brownies

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4  teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-inch square metal cake pan with foil, draping the foil over the edges. Lightly butter the foil or spray with cooking spray. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. In a mixing bowl begin whisking together the dry ingredients. In this bowl you will mix your dark cocoa, flour, and sugar. Once your dry ingredients are mixed together, we can begin incorporating the wet ingredients. Add your eggs and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and mix them in with a spatula or use your stand mixer to mix these. Once these are incorporated, you can slowly add in your cooled chocolate and then incorporate that into your batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the salt into the batter. Bake the brownies in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes, until the edge is set but the center is still a bit soft and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out coated with a little of the batter. Let the brownies cool at room temperature in the pan for 1 hour, then refrigerate just until they are firm, about 1 hour. Lift the brownies from the pan and peel off the foil. Cut the brownies into 16 squares. Serve at room temperature.

Side note: The salted fudge brownies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, and frozen for up to 1 month.

Recipe Source: This recipe was adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

What is your favorite food in the world? What do you wish someone would make for you in your honor for Mother’s Day?

Favorite Coffee Snack: Light Snickerdoodle Biscotti

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If you have been a reader here for awhile, you will have no doubt that coffee is my ultimate weakness. Coffee plus coffee treats…well, where do I sign up for that? After having such a blast participating in the Better Homes & Gardens cook-off, I was asked if I would like to participate in another fun contest where our readers could vote on their favorite coffee snack. Better Homes & Gardens sent me their new Stand Mixer ($129) , a Grind & Brew Coffeemaker($99), and a 5 Piece Nonstick Bakeware Set ($34.97), (all exclusively available at Walmart) to create my snack.

Considering I severely burnt the bottom of my cookie sheet, I am a coffee addict, and my stand mixer chose that week to kick the can…I couldn’t wait to create some treats with some fresh new kitchen accessories.

If you can make cookies, you can make biscotti! Biscotti is basically a twice baked cookie that is perfect for coffee dunking. In your mixing bowl, whisk or stir on low your flour, sugar, cream of tarter, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

In a second bowl you will mix together your wet ingredients. In this bowl will be your egg, vegetable oil (only two tablespoons), and vanilla extract.

Turn on your mixer to low and add your wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Here is the new BHG stand mixer that they sent. As someone who bakes a lot, I really love how quiet this mixer is, the thoughtful attachments that are included, and the rubber suction cups on the bottom so your mixer doesn’t hop around. I am sure it is going to get a lot of love in our kitchen! I am also doubly impressed that it is a mere $129, which is a steal in the stand mixer world.

After it is done mixing, it will look like this… a big crumbly mess. You are going to be scratching your head wondering if you did something wrong. I promise you didn’t, it will all pull together.

Grab a small bowl and fill it with water. You are going to want to dip your hands in the water and then with wet hands, start kneading the dough and pulling it together.  It will take a bit of work, but eventually it will look just like that dough ball pictured above.

Line your cookie sheets with some parchment paper. This will make clean-up a breeze! I love the silicone handles on these cookie sheets and how easily they do come clean. I am not much of a cookie baker, I will admit, so if my cookies fly off a cookie sheet and turn out looking like a cookie…I am super impressed.

Divide your dough into two equal parts and then flatten the dough until it is roughly 8 inches in length, with about a 1 inch thickness. Make sure that the two balls have enough space to grow when they are baking. In two small bowls, you will have the final ingredients to dress the biscotti. In one bowl, mix cinnamon & sugar, in the other add one egg white. Brush the biscotti with the egg white and then shake on cinnamon & sugar (very liberally) to the top. Slide in a 350 degree oven for a half hour.

Now you will have a half an hour to do whatever suits you best…coffee happens to suit me best. Please ignore my travesty of a look this morning. Daylight Savings Time could nearly kill a mom. I was very happy to wake up to freshly ground and brewed coffee. I have never had fresh coffee beans or had coffee that was freshly ground.  This coffeemaker is unbelievable- you can program it to grind & brew before you even wake up.

Remind me to tell you about my embarassing story about buying coffee beans. Apparently, I didn’t understand what buying in bulk was and couldn’t understand what idiot wouldn’t fill the bag all the way to the top when it had little markings on the bag. I figured I would get all the beans I was paying for and filled that bag until it was practically bursting.

Costly mistake, my friends, costly mistake. Wow, I really feel like we are sharing over coffee together today.

Pull the delicious biscotti from the oven. Now patiently wait and drink more coffee for ten more minutes before slicing it.

With a very sharp knife, cut your biscotti on a slight angle, into roughly fifteen pieces for each dough ball. Lay them flat and slide them back into an oven that has been lowered to 325 degrees for ten minutes. Drink more coffee while you wait and eat all the crumbs that fell off. Purposely break and crumble a few because you can’t stand how good they smell and you are impatient. And you had to get up an hour early. And your kids have no mercy on you because you are tired.

For the final step, flip the biscotti and then bake the flipped side for ten more minutes. Allow them to cool and then store in an airtight container.

Eat or share with a friend! Packaged with pretty ribbon and in a clear bag, these would make a wonderful gift for someone you love. I hope you will love them as much as I do! It really is the ultimate little coffee treat!

Snickerdoodle Biscotti (adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg white

Preheat Oven to 350. Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cream of tartar in a large mixing bow bowl. Mix Oil Vanilla and whole eggs in a small bowl and add to the large bowl, your dough will be dry and quite crumbly. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it pulls together into a ball. Divide in half. Shape each portion into a roll about 8 inches long, and place them six or so inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Flatten each roll to 1 inch thick. Combine the 2 tablespoons Sugar and cinnamon, then gently brush the tops of the rolls with the egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from the sheet and cool for 15 minutes. Cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices and lay them cut sides down on the cookie sheet again. Reduce oven temp to 325 and then bake 10 more minutes, turn over and bake 10 more. They’ll be soft in the middle but will harden as they cool. Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
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This recipe is a contest submission for Better Homes & Gardens Favorite Coffee Snack contest. The contest will go live tomorrow and you can vote for your favorite snack between now and March 30th. The person with the most votes will get three sets of bakeware and a $100 Walmart gift card to giveaway to their readers. Check tomorrow and throw in a vote if you love my biscotti! I was provided the bakeware sets, stand mixer, and coffeemaker to complete my submission. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What is your favorite coffee snack at your  house? Do you have any fun tips for a coffee experience at home? We would love to hear them!

All Knitted Up: Knitted Headbands for the End-of-Winter Blues

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After my holiday knitting marathon, you would think that I would want to take a little break on the knitting. I can admit it though, I am addicted to my knitting needles, but I have been attempting smaller scale projects this month instead of my usual larger scaler ones. The best part about smaller scale projects is that they offer instant gratification and they offer an opportunity to tackle new skills that you might not think you have. It is much easier to give up on a smaller scale project if the going gets to tough, unlike those larger projects where you have a sense of commitment to them. This month has been a month of tons of little projects that I am looking forward to sharing with my knitting friends on MomAdvice.

I am hoping for the end of winter, but if you are feeling a little blue about winter’s never-ending days, these knitted headbands can add a fresh new look to your tired winter coat, and make the perfect accessory to keep your ears a little warm and your hair still looking cute!  I whipped these headbands up in an evening of sitcom-watching and they offered a great opportunity to do a little stash-busting in my yarn collection (also a horrible addiction of which I suffer).

If you are a knitter, I would love for you to be my friend on Ravelry. My username is momadvice and I try to keep my little notebook updated with the current projects.

Here are two fun headbands to try that will add a little sparkle to these end-of-winter days!

shades of gray headband

Pattern: Spiral Ribbed Headband by Allison Hogue (free Ravelry Download) with  Lydia Flowers (optional, for embellishment). These were all three sizes (Large, Medium, & Small) stacked in alternating colors. I am sorry, I understand that the pattern is down, let’s hope it will come back up soon!

Needle Size: US 7 (16″ circular needles- these are the ones I purchased. Don’t waste oodles of money on needles at the craft stores!)

Yarn: Naturally Caron Country (Charcoal) & flowers were created from Naturally Caron Country (Charcoal) & Caron Simply Soft in Heather Gray, alternately.

Notes: This spiral-ribbed head wrap is a beautiful pattern that can be done very easily while watching a little television. There are no tricky stitches in this pattern so it is a great one for a beginner and for knitters who are just getting familiar with knitting in the round.

I chose a merino wool blend for the yarn because it is light-weight while still being a little warm. It is the perfect yarn for the project and the bonus was that I got it on sale for $3.99 a ball (after the holidays) so it was a very thrifty knit too!

The flower is the Lydia Flower (large, medium, and small) stacked and used some of my Simply Soft in Heather Gray for the large and small flower from my yarn stash to add a little dimension to the headband.

ivory cabled headband

Pattern: Vanessa Headband by Nancy Ricci (free pattern)

Needle Size: US 11 (straight needles)

Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky Weight in Pristine (stash-busting)

Notes: Are you falling over right now? I am cabling!  I have never cabled before so this is my first project with cabling. This was a great introduction into cabling with very simple cables. Cabling sounds & looks much more difficult than it is. It is simply pulling stitches off your needles and pulling them into the front or the back of your work and then working them back into the pattern so they twist and vine around your project. If you can knit and purl, you definitely can cable!  If you have never cabled before like me

The pattern offers a wide band as well as a more narrow version of the same band. I chose the narrow version, but it is still plenty wide if you wanted to cover your ears with it thanks to the large needles and chunky yarn. If you use a thinner yarn, you may want to go for the wider pattern to achieve the same look.

Below is a  video on how to cable. I am telling you, it is so easy! I can’t wait to practice more cabled patterns! I will be back next month with a gazillion baby hat patterns that I have been working on…another instant gratification project that is great for practicing pattern!

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Looking for more knitted projects to cure the winter doldrums? I recommend throwing a few of these projects on your needles for an instant pick-me-up in our Crafting section and Gifts section of the site!

What craft projects are you working on now that the holidays are over?

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Holiday Crafting Inspiration or the Amy Clark Craft Factory of 2010

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There has been a lot of holiday crafting happening this year and I can’t wait to show you some of the things I have been working on! First up, is this beautiful yarn ball wreath! Does anybody remember seeing this one in our notebook? I thought this would be the perfect craft to do a little stash busting in my yarn collection and a great wreath that would look cute even after the holidays.

day one

four hours later, off to bed with glitter in my hair and third degree burns.

the next day, three more hours of gluing to go!

I did not anticipate how long this wreath would take, the amount of supplies that I would need, or the cost of all those ornaments and Styrofoam balls.  It took about seven hours of hot gluing with lots of time spent making the little yarn balls.  It also took about twice the amount of supplies that I had anticipated. That said, isn’t it stunning and worth every ounce of effort?

Looking for more holiday wreath ideas? I have hung my beautiful Kimba-inspired wreaths for the holidays again. When spring comes my little sugared lemon drop wreath will be hung again for another year on my front door. What can I say? Handmade wreaths make me so happy!

I am so proud of how the wreath turned out and a huge thank you to life through the lens for the crafting inspiration.

I had my best friend over for a holiday craft night and we cranked out dozens of these rolled rosette hair accessories and felted loopy flowers that were featured in our notebook. I bought a little fabric for these, but also decided to use fabric from Emily’s worn out and stained summer dresses from last year. The same idea could be applied with fabric from thrift store finds that don’t fit your child, but would be the perfect material for a cute embellishment in her hair.

I made her a few headbands, but we soon found out that headbands and glasses don’t go together so good, especially the wide headbands I bought for her hair.  They are cute enough though that I just might have to wear the headbands for myself. I decided to use some of the clips I had leftover from my hair bow making days and apply them to those instead. They worked out beautifully. I was able to make a few of these to go with her holiday dresses this year.

Thanks to Happy Together for helping us look a little fancier this holiday season!

We also cranked out tons of these easy No-Slip Bookmarks for gift-giving this year that were also featured in the notebook. I use my bookmark daily and I have to say that it truly holds the pages of my book well without wrinkling my books.  It helps to have a friend that can operate a sewing machine too since I am a sewing school drop-out.

These would make beautiful stocking stuffers or are a perfect gift to keep on hand for last minute giving. I gave these to the kids I read to each week with a book for the holidays. These are so fast to make and are a great way to use up any leftover ribbon you might have laying around.  The most expensive part are the cute buttons, but they are a fun way to personalize these bookmarks.

Thanks to Maryjanes and Galoshes for this easy craft that has added a little something special to my gift-giving this year!

I made this beautiful red scarf for my brother who had gotten a new gray winter coat this year. I am going to have to cast another one on the knitting needles for my husband who was so kind to model it for me.  For more pattern inspiration, be sure to check out my Knitting Trendy Gifts of Warmth.

Merci Scarf

Pattern: Merci Scarf by Susan Rainey

Needle Size: US 8 Needles (I used size US 9 needles, which created a little bit wider scarf, but you could use the US 8′s that are recommended)

Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky Weight in Molten Lava (2.5 skeins)

Notes: This scarf is so simple and fast to whip up that it would make the perfect gift to give to any man in your life. The pattern is one that you can complete while watching your favorite shows on television and is almost impossible to get off track.  This yarn was also perfect for creating a really warm scarf, perfect for our Midwest winters.  This pattern is perfect for a beginning knitter or for a last minute gift for someone special in your life!

I knitted two more ruffled scarves and another Republic Hat for gift-giving. I forgot to take a picture of the hat and other ruffled scarf, but they did turn out so pretty! These ruffled scarves are definitely a statement piece, meant to add a punch of femininity to your winter coat! I made one in this light gray for my best friend and then one in a charcoal gray for my sister.  Now I want to make one in a couple other colors for myself!

Beautifully Ruffled Lace Scarves

Pattern: Ruffle Lace Scarf by Suzie Blackman

Needle Size: US 10 Needles (40″ circulars)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Heather Gray

Notes: If you want a scarf that is wildly impressive, can be created with a single ball of yarn, and looks like a million bucks than this would be the perfect gift to give this holiday season. It is a very mindless knit, but is an INSANE amount of stitches, especially in the last two rows (over one thousand stitches!). The beauty of this scarf though is that you only need to know how to knit, purl, and yarn over to create it.

The twisting is created by knitting the scarf length-wise, rather than width-wise and through the series of yarn overs. As pictures above, you can see that it is really hard to see your stitches, let alone if it is actually going to twist. The good news is, as you cast off, you will see that scarf naturally twists, making that beautiful ruffled twist.

This one is definitely a statement piece and is also a statement of your absolute love for whoever you might make it for!

I followed the pattern that is linked above, but added four more rows to give the scarf a fuller appearance. I repeated rows 11-14 two times before I started rows 15-16. I am really glad I did and love the lush fullness of this scarf.

Here are the finished teacher scarves that I made! Each one had a $5 Starbucks gift card tucked into the pocket that was created in the scarflet. Next time I make this, I will have to write on the label though that these were scarfs. The teachers thought they might be hats…which I guess you could do too!  Regardless, I got such wonderful compliments and tried to make each of them unique with flower embellishments or different unique buttons and colored embroidery threads on each one. We also made one for our babysitter who has been a true Godsend to my family and helped me manage the day-to-day of my site by caring for Emily one afternoon a week. She is my secret weapon of productivity on the site. I wish you all could have a Miss Janie for Christmas!

Anthropologie-Inspired Scarflets

Pattern: Anthro-Inspired Scarflet (available as a free Ravelry download with your free Ravelry membership) by Kim Seio & Lydia Flowers (optional, for embellishment) or cute buttons.

Needle Size: US 8 Needles (straight) for both the flowers and the scarflet

Yarn: Premier Yarns Chunky Weight in Pristine (scarf) & Yarn Bee Boucle Traditions in Black

Notes: I followed the sizing and increases that ilikecookies(another Ravelry member)  had shared in her pattern. She said, “Increased until 30 stitches, worked 15 rows even until ribbed section and knit 15 rows of ribbing to make a slightly larger scarflet.”

I added a black Lydia Flower (size small) with a red button center to finish it or colorful buttons with contrasting embroidery thread to finish! For more pictures of these, please visit this post.

I finished all of my knitted gifts with these homemade gift tags. I used my Silhouette Craft Cutter and used the rounded rectangle template to make these simple tags out of ivory cardstock that I had leftover from our treasure boxes we made this year. As a holiday treat to myself, I bought myself a personalized stamp from Babyjewels (an Etsy seller) and I have to say, it really added that professional touch to my gifts!  They have one for knitters and one for crocheters too. She is on holiday vacation, but you can be emailed when she comes back.

Here the gifts are all lined up. Next year I will have to do a video tutorial on my signature bow. Every gift should have signature bow on them and I have perfected my signature bow over the years. When I ran out of ribbon this year my husband proclaimed a “state of emergency.” He sure is a funny guy.

The gift factory is closed until next season!  I hope you have had great success crafting your own gifts and are continuing to get lots of handmade inspiration on MomAdvice for your holiday giving needs!