Belle Prairie Wild Flower Mother's Day Sale

 There are two new Belle Prairie Wildflower Block of the Month kits in the shop today, and they just might be the sweetest flowers in the collection.  Wild Clover and Lily of the Valley are prairie wildflowers painted on these adorable hexies.  Each flower in the collection was chosen because of the meaning these little blossoms have.  

Belle Prairie Wild Clover

Wild Clover symbolizes faith, hope, and love.  If you were lucky enough to find the rare four leaf clover you got a little luck too.  The purple and pink blossoms are so dainty and sweet.  Have you ever walked in a field of wild clover?  I have and can say the fragrance is so sweet, it's no wonder the bees flock to those clover blossoms.  

Belle Prairie Lily of the Valley

The Lily of the Valley flower literally translates to "a return to happiness".  I can imagine these little white and blue flowers were given amount the prairie women in times of trial to bring a little smile and cheer...and a reminder that happier times lie ahead.

The entire Belle Prairie Wildflower Collection is available in kits to paint yourself and already painted.  These blocks are different than our typical barn quilt patterns in that they are a template, which means you place them on your hexie and trace the design onto the board instead of measuring for a grid.  
They are so fun to paint.  I use both tape/sponge brushes and soft watercolor brushes to fill in the tiny little bits of color and curves.  They were a joy to paint and even more, I love the meaning behind each and every flower.  
This Mother's Day weekend Our Shop is celebrating the special women in our lives by giving 20% off all orders.  Use code MOMSRULE at checkout.  The Mother's Day Sale ends Monday at midnight.  
We hope you have a lovely Mother's day weekend and pick up the two newest Belle Prairie Blocks to share a little faith, hope, love, luck & happiness in your corner of the prairie!

Pina Colada Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

What better was to celebrate National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day than with a festive update to this classic dessert!  I was asked by KUTV's Fresh Living to share my favorite version of my grandmother's Pineapple Upside Down Cake and because I love coconut and anything mini-sized this is what I came up with.

The recipe is super easy and they bake up in less than a half hour, but the most amazing part of this recipe is the Coconut Rum Glaze that pours into the baked goodness and drizzles over the top.  I mean seriously...coconut, rum, and pineapple?  Goodness me!  
Pina Colada Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
One Vanilla Cake Mix 1/2 of Coconut Cream 3 Eggs 1/2 Cup of Crushed Pineapple 1/2 Cup Sweetened Coconut Flakes 1 Teas. Coconut Extract 12 Whole Sliced Pineapple 12 Maraschino Cherries
Mix together all ingredients and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 12 large muffin tin cups.  Place a dot of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar in each muffin cup. Break a one inch section out of the pineapple slices and form them in a circle in the bottom of each cup.  Place a cherry in the hole of the pineapple slice.  Spoon the batter in about a quarter inch from the top edge.  Bake for 15 to 20 minuets.
Take out of the oven and poke a few holes in each cake with a fork.  Make the glaze!
1/2 Cup Butter 1 Cup Brown Sugar 1 1/2 Cup Coconut Milk 1 Teas. Rum Extract
In a small non-stick pan melt the butter.  Add the brown sugar and whisk until heated through and incorporated into the butter.  Slowly pour in the coconut milk and rum extract whisk until smooth.  Spoon half of the sauce over the top of each cake and refrigerate for 15 minutes.  Reserve the remaining sauce to drizzle over the top when serving.
Slide a knife around the edges of the cakes and pop out of the muffin tins and place on a plate with the pineapple up.  Drizzle sauce over the cake and garnish with a dollop of fresh whipped cream

There are a few cakes that are our family's favorite and this one is a top three.  It is seriously the best rich, cold, creamy and sweet cake!  I hope you enjoy this updated version of this 1950's classic.  You can watch the Fresh Living segment on the site by following the link.  It's always a fun time when we are cooking together in the KUTV kitchen!

Pinners Conference San Diego

 We have loaded our trailer and are on our way to San Diego for this weekend's Pinners Conference!   We are so excited for this amazing event.  We will have our booth stocked with lots of goodies and will be teaching two classes, our How to Paint a Barn Quilt class and our newest Field of Flowers Hoop-Art Embroidery!  

If you have never been to a Pinners Conference, you will not believe how fabulous this event is.  This is the place where Pinterest comes to life with classes taught by leading experts in every field from food and nutrition, to crafts, exercise, family, home decor, calligraphy, and of course barn quilts & embroidery!  And I can't stop talking about the shopping!!!  So many amazing booths full of the best stuff.  I always come home with something amazing. 

In the How to Paint a Barn Quilt Class we will be painting one of my favorite designs, the Farmer's Daughter.  The kits are $25.00 and come with everything you need to paint your own 16" square of farm style sweetness.  We are also excited to be sponsored by Deco Art!  They will be supplying amazing paints and supplies.  Our How to Paint a Barn Quilt Class is on Saturday at 1:00 PM.  You won't want to miss it!

We are also teaching our Field of Flowers Hoop-Art Embroidery Class on Friday at 2:00!  You all know how much I love embroidery and these workshops are so fun.  You will learn all of the basic stitches and some of the newest trending floral stitches as well as tips for designing your own patterns.  Kits include everything you need to finish your hoop-art and continue stitching more.  

To sign up for our classes and the many other amazing classes go to Pinners Conference and use code TDD for discounted pricing.  For those of you who can't make it to San Diego we are bringing our Pinners Shop to you with a special discount this weekend only!  Use code Pinners30 to get 30% off all orders.  

We hope to see a lot of you there this weekend with your paint brushes in one hand and your needles and thread in the other!  I can't wait for all of the shopping and classes I get to sneak into.  Pinners truly brings Pinterest to life!  See you in San Diego.

National Food on a Stick Day - Fresh Living

 There is a holiday for everything and today is National Food on a Stick Day!  when the producers of KUTV's Fresh Living asked me to come up with something to celebrate this fun day, I knew it had to have our family's favorite pizza and salad!   We love pizza of all kinds, but for our picky little ones it has to be fun.  So, we decided to make them like we do our cinnamon rolls and add a stick.  This recipe is so quick, simple, and easy.  You can whip it up on the busiest of nights and feel like a hero!

All you need to gather is a can or two of Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Dough, your favorite sauce, some cheese and chopped toppings.  I love this dough.  It is soft and super easy to work with and best of all, it tastes as good as my own homemade dough.  

Pillsbury Refrigerator Pizza Dough 

 Roll the dough out on a floured surface and square the edges.  Spread your favorite sauce on lightly.  If you use too much sauce or toppings they will cook out of the roll when baking.  Spread to the outside short edge and leave a quarter inch naked on both long ends so your dough roll will stick together.

Spread Marinara Sauce to outside short edge.  Leave long edge naked.

 Lightly spread on cheese and toppings that have been chopped small.  This is a key need so that you can cut the rolls and not loose any of the goodness.

Add cheese and chopped toppings.

 Roll the dough towards you to make a big pizza dough log.  Using waxed or unwaxed non-flavored dental floss to cut the rolls.  Take a piece a couple of feet long and slide under the log.  Lift up the ends of the floss, cross over and pull down.  This "cuts" the dough into nice chunks.  

Roll lengthwise like a cinnamon roll.  Squeeze long edge together.

 When you are done cutting your pieces, place them on a parchment lined tray and lightly press down on the rolls to flaten them out a little.  Pinch the ends that may come loose in cutting, or tuck them under the roll.  

Cut 1.5" lengths with a unflavored dental floss. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until everything is bubbly and the dough is lightly golden brown.  Let cool slightly before sticking the sticks in.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 400 degrees.  Let cool slightly.

 The sticks I use for my rolls or pies on a stick I get in the hardware section of my local shop.  I cut them to 10 inches and use a pencil sharpener to make a point on one end.  This allows me to slide it into pastry perfectly.   They can be washed with hot soapy water and used again and again.

Stick wooden dowels into each roll.  

 For the Salad on a Stick, I used iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes and chunks of mozzarella cheese.  For these sticks I used wood skewers that you can get at any grocery store.  Soak them in water for a few minutes and slide your fixings on.  To serve, drizzle a little dressing on or have a dipping dressing on the side.  These are so yummy and make eating salad so fun!

Finish off dinner with Salad on a Stick.

We made several different types of pizza rolls.  One was a Chicken Bacon Alfredo which had Alfredo sauce, Chopped Rotisserie Chicken Breast,  Fresh Parsley, Hormel Real Bacon Bits,  Chopped Olives, and Mozzarella Cheese.  Oh, man was it good!  
Our favorite though was the Chicken BBQ Pizza Roll which we used BBQ Sauce, Chopped Rotisserie Chicken Breast, Chopped Red Onion, Chopped Green Pepper and Mixed Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese.  The red onion was amazing in this pizza roll.  

Catch the segment on KUTV Fresh Living!

So, whether you add a stick to these pizza rolls or eat them without, they are our favorite way to eat pizza now!  You can catch the segment on KUTV Fresh Living.  We hope you enjoy this crazy fun holiday and use this recipe for brunches, dinners, and late night snacks throughout the year!

Simply Vintage Spring 2018

My babies are cover girls!  It is always fun to have your creations published, but I was super excited to see two of my hoop-art embroideries make the cover of the spring 2018 Simply Vintage Magazine published by Quilt Mania Inc.

Inside the issue you will find the pattern and instructions for both She Was a Wildflower and Hello Beautiful, as well as many other amazing quilts and projects which are all inspired by everything vintage.  These two hoop-art patterns were designed for my daughters with a lot of love.  

If you are new to embroidery or would like to watch a video tutorial of the stitches used in these patterns you can find them on our Tweetle Dee You Tube Channel.  

In addition to the pattern in Simply Vintage, you can purchase kits for both of these embroideries in My Shop.  Each kit comes with the hoop, fabric, transfer pen, needle, floss and scissors as well as our Stitching Cheat Sheet.  

To get your copy of the Simply Vintage Spring 2018 Issue either visit your local quilt shop, Barns & Noble or click on the link.  You will love this issue!