Sailing Into Summer Sale

It's Summer and time for outdoor parties!  Don't forget the cookies.  They make perfect picnic deserts.  They're easy to pack, don't need a plate or utensils and they there's no worry about them spoiling .  Heavy frosting might melt, but why not make it easy on yourself and sprinkle them with some of our special sugars and confetti.  To get you started, we are having a 15% Off sale on all of our commercially made cutters and decorations in our Etsy shop.  www.forbesfarmdestash.etsy.com  

 Get baking - it's party time!

Use this code when checking out: SUMMERSALE2011

   

More New Hats

I have been busy crocheting new hats.  They have been listed online but I have been pushing to get them done because Cross Roads opens in a few weeks and they will be for sale there as well.  I have to get the hats done this week because after that I will be knee deep in candle wax!  We have taken a second booth at the market and I have to stock it with candles before April 30th!  It was a last minute opportunity that sort of fell in our lap and we couldn't say no.  So - I will be busy melting, pouring and packaging candles for the last two weeks of this month.  I thought I'd better show you my latest hats before my head starts spinning.

The first one is a men's watch cap.  I did several of them in different colors.  This color is my favorite.  It is made with a bulky yarn.  I will be making some in worsted weight if time allows.  I know it's not warm hat time in the Northern hemisphere, but it has to be cold somewhere right?

This women's cap is intended for warmer weather wear.  It is 100% cotton.  To date, it is my most popular hat.  It is available right now in off white and this speckled ecru.

Click on the pics for more info.

All New - Edible Confetti

When I as about 9 or 10 I was still at the age where I thought my mother knew everything.  It wouldn't be too much longer before that attitude went South for a while.  One thing that still stands out in my mind though is the day I thought she was a genius.  It was my birthday.  At that time Betty Crocker, or one of those queens of boxed cake mixes had a white angle food cake that had confetti sprinkles inside when baked.  That was THE cake I wanted for my party.  Mom was taking it out of the oven and was just about to test it when my little brother fell off the back porch and started screaming.  Mom flipped the cake over onto the pop  bottle she was using to cool it and ran out to tend to him.  He wasn't hurt, just scared I guess.  When we returned to the kitchen my beautiful cake lay on the counter in pieces.  It wasn't baked through and fell apart.  I was sure my brother had fallen off the porch on purpose just to ruin my birthday!

Now my mother had two crying children on her hands.  Mom was NOT a baker.  In fact, she pretty much hated the kitchen.  Like me, she was good at it, just didn't like it.  On this particular day her baking skills kicked in, or rather her ability to  make do kicked in.  She had a plain white angel food cake mix in the cupboard so she mixed that up.  Next she took the candy sprinkles we only used at Christmas and dumped some of those into the batter.  I was sure I wasn't going to have my confetti cake, but low and behold it worked!  This time when the cake came out of the oven and was flipped to cool, there was a perfect white cake with colored confetti speckles through out.  Mom was a hero!

I guess it's that story that made me get all excited when I saw that my cookie cutter supplier also sells edible sugars, jimmies and fun shaped confetti.  All I needed  was to see the dozens of pretty pictures and I was hooked.  So, this week 4 cartons of wonderfully colored sugar, jimmies, pearls and confetti showed up at my door.  Now I can share them with you.  Take a look and see what you can find that will make you a hero with your kids!

 All these and more can be found our our Art Fire site: http://www.artfire.com/users/CookieCutterGuy

New For Summer

For those of you who live in the same climate I do, Summer can not get here fast enough!  I've been living under 2 feet of snow since December.  Now it's changing to mud.  My driveway looked like the Mississippi a few days ago.  Now it is a skating rink.

What better way to beat the Winter blahs than to think ahead to warmer days?  I  dug out my cotton yarn and got to work on cool Summer hats.  The results were these great, floppy, versatile sun hats.  Dress them up, wad them up, wear them to a party or the beach, or better yet - a party at the beach!

                                                             Click on the pic for more info.

  

Fun New Kids Hat

If you like owls and you have a little one around that does too, this hat is for you!  Is it not just the cutest thing you've seen in a long time?   I don't usually like character hats, but this one was just too darling to pass up.  The original pattern is by http://www.mamachee.etsy.com .  She has graciously allowed me to sell these hats made from her design.  Stop on over and meet her.  She has a lot of other gorgeous patterns available.


Here's my little owl.  Just click on the picture for more info.

New Hats

The snow has been flying here at Forbes Farm and so have the hooks.   Click on the pictures for more details.

Here is a darling little hat for you princess.   Soft pink and sage green topped off with an oversized white flower.  Open stitch for warmer days ahead.  Just too cute!

This one is for Mom.  It's a big, slouch hat to throw on when you are having a bad hair day.  Stretchy, and comfy!

Shifting Gears

   This Winter I have spent a lot of time thinking.   There's not much else to do on a farm when the snow is 3 feet deep.  I've put a lot of thought into my business, where it was, where it is, and where it is headed.  Two things stand out. One, the jewelry I love to make just doesn't sell, and two, the cookie cutters I never intended to sell, do.

   We just stumbled into selling cookie cutters the first year I set up shop at Cross Roads to sell my jewelry.  People seem to love them.  Men even buy them although I suspect about half of them or more expect their wives or mothers to do the actual baking.  With a bit of effort and some creative financing to buy more, sales on cutters has kept me afloat while my jewelry tries to drag me under.   So, cookie cutters it is!

   I haven't given up completely on making jewelry.  I couldn't.  I love it too much.  I just decided not to list so much of it online.  It seems a total waste of time and money.  I still have 3 cases and quite a few shelves dedicated to jewelry in our shop, so I do have an outlet, even if sales are at a snails pace.

    A opportunity arose to make crocheted items to share a space with another vendor at Cross Roads.  After checking all the "stupid" government rules and regulations, I determined that although it was going to cost me some money up front for labels, I could manage to meet their requirements.  I can see large manufacturers having to have some regulation, but really, making the grannies who want to knit baby sweaters do flips and summersalts to meet government rules is simply ridiculous. They want more small businesses, but they're doing everything they can to discourage them.

   Rant over.   With all the rules read, and hopefully understood, and labels ordered, I put my beads away  and started making some crocheted hats to fill the booth.  While I was at that, I figured I might as well put some online too.  They're fun to make and my decades of crochet experience makes most of them easy for me to make.
I've pictured some of them below so you can see what has kept me busy day after day as the snow continues to fall!

Click on the picture if you would like more information on each hat.

There are more on the way!

Making Perfect Cut Out Cookies

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Cookie

Tips and Tricks for  Perfect Cut Out Cookies

A major complaint regarding cut out cookies is they lose their shape in baking.   I’ve had quite a few customers refuse to buy detailed cutters because they are afraid the design will be lost when baked.   The problem lies in the recipe used, not the cutter.  Find a recipe that results in a cookie that does not “puff” when baked.  One of my favorites is Swedish Pepparkakor, a thin spicy cookie that holds it’s shape very well.

The type and amount of fats in a recipe effects the amount of spread when baked.  Recipes with butter or shortening will work much better than those using oil.  The more fat in a cookie, the more it will spread out as the fats melt in the oven.  

The flour  and sugar used also effects the outcome.  While most recipes call for  all purpose flower, bread and cake flour tend to produce cookies that spread less.  White sugar makes a crispier cookie than brown sugar does.  You may have to experiment to find a recipe that works for you.

One of the best investments I ever made was in a set of insulated baking sheets.  They allow air movement that helps the cookies bake evenly.  I’ve never had to grease mine and clean up is as easy as taking a wet rag to the sheet.  Jelly roll pans work well too.  Thin cookie sheets are the cheapest, but the hardest to bake on.  Parchment paper is another way to get great results when baking.  It not only helps bake an evenly browned cookie,  there’s no messy pans to wash afterwards!  Just throw it away.

Cold dough is another must for a good cut out cookie.  Separate your dough into manageable sections. Roll dough out between two pieces of parchment or waxed paper and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes.  You can also chill the dough before rolling it out but only take out a small amount of dough at a time to roll.  

For the actual cutting use metal cutters for a sharper, cleaner cut.  Dip the cutters in flour between cuts and pull the salvage dough away from the cut cookies.  Use a thin metal spatula to transfer the cookies to your sheets.  If you prefer, you can cut the cookies right on the parchment paper , pull the excess dough off and place to parchment paper, cookies and all on a sheet to bake.

Wash metal cutters by hand. Never put them in the dishwasher.  The harsh chemicals used in dishwashers can corrode the metal.  Dry thoroughly and store in an air tight container.  Hand wash cookie sheet also, especially if you have a lot invested in them.   Dishwashers are nice, but they are hard on your metal bake ware.

Now, decorate your cookies in what ever way you like and enjoy!

You might just find the cookie cutter you've been looking for in our Art Fire shop.  We carry over 300 styles and counting.  If you can't find what you want ask about a custom cutter.  We might be able to make it for you.

http://www.artfire.com/users/CookieCutterGuy

OOAK Reclaimed Necklace with Swarovski Crytals

I just love to explore garage sales, estate sales and auctions.  There are treasures waiting to be found in just about every one of them.  I found a double strand white and blue faux pearl necklace without a hook and in need of restringing at one.  It was definitely something from the 50's.   At another I found a beautiful strand of Swarovski crystals, again, with no clasp.  I know they are Swarovski from the cut and the clarity.  No one makes crystals like they do.

Since I like a bit of bling in just about everything I create I decided to combine the two necklaces into one.  Here is the results.

This 18 inch necklace is available exclusively on Art Fire.  You can find it here:

Reclaimed Vintage Swarovski and Blue Faux Pearl Necklace

If you are looking for some real bargains, try our Etsy shop where everything is 50% off.

Just use the code WINTERSALE2011 when you check out.

New Styles for a New Year - Pearls

2011 promises to be the year that revitalizes the beautiful look of pearls.   Never out of date, and forever beautiful, sometimes pearls get put on the back shelf in favor of more "in" jewelry.  This year, to my delight, pearls are once again making it to the main showcases.   I have oodles of them ordered.  Here is the first one I created out of what I have on hand.  

The glass pearls used in this 20" necklace are advertised as white but they have a very slight light creamy green cast to them.  I centered the front with 18 Swarovski crystals mounted in 3 nearly invisible settings.  They add just the  right amount of sparkle to this already elegant necklace.

Because everyone thinks of pearls as expensive, I am planning on using only gold or sterling silver when assembling this line.  This necklace has a sterling hook clasp.

Whither you wear this necklace with your best evening gown or your favorite blue jeans, it is bound to bring complements your way.  The best part is - it's pearls, and pearls will always be a wise fashion choice.  If they go out of vogue for a few years, just tuck them away.  They'll be back!

This necklace is available exclusively in my Art Fire shop.  You can pop right to it by clicking here: 

Faux Pearl Necklace

If you are looking for a great bargain, I have put over 275 items on sale for 50% off on my Etsy site.

Here is the link:  The Earring Boutique

Use this code when you check out for your 50% off the prices shown:  WINTERSALE2011

Thanks for stopping by.  Leave me a note so I know you were here.

Clearnance Sale

Just in time to treat yourself with some of that money you got for Christmas!  We've lowered the prices on dozens of our jewelry items.  By lowered, I mean we've cut them in half!   Here are just a few to get you started.  See the rest in our Art Fire shop

Small Aubergine Purple Floral Earrings

Copper and Glass Bead Wire Wrapped Cuff Bracelet

Blue Coral Stitch Floral Bangle Bracelet - Hand Beaded

Green and Gold Beaded Chain Link Bracelet

The View From My Window

Good morning on this Winter day from Southwestern New York!  Every once in a while I post the view from my window.  Here is yesterday's!  The snow was late in coming, but boy is it ever making up for lost time.

6am

and then a little while later at 9 am....

Nice view eh?

Hope you are all keeping warm.

Oh, Get Real!

    I hate magazines.  The majority of them at least.  There are a few, like National Geographic or Smithsonian that I can tolerate.  Most of them are just fiction mashed in between ads.  Someone gave me a subscription to a couple of them last year for Christmas.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the idea.  I relish the time I can spend curled up with one of them.  It's a chance to forget some of the unpleasant realities of my life.  Open them and you can travel into a fantasy world of what their editors think is reality, or want us to think is reality.

    One that came in the mail this month is titled so you would think it was aimed at those of us living in the country.  What a joke.  One beautiful home owned by rich professionals who moved to a rural area within spitting distance of megalopolis areas made me chuckle.  I live in the country.  I mean IN the country.  There is a lawyer living near us.  She lives over her office and drives a little station wagon. That same wagon has been in the driveway for years.  No glamor there.   The writer glamorizes the goat herd housed in the pristine looking barn in the photograph  Perhaps it was unintentional, but they made it sound so profitable and wonderful. Believe me, there is nothing glamorous about goats!  They stink, they have to be milked every day, their stalls have to be mucked out and they can get downright mean.  There's no time for trips to the big city to buy all that fancy furniture that we country folks are supposedly decorating our homes with.   You can't have white rugs and couches if you raise goats!  Not unless your mud room includes a car wash strength shower.

    Okay, so I got over the goat thing.  Let that two income professional couple think they live the country life.  I'm sure compared to their Manhattan friends, they do.  I  turned a few pages to read something to the effect of "It only looks expensive".  There was a pretty model with a frilly blouse on for the holidays that "only" costs $89.  Eighty-nine dollars for a blouse?  Honey, in my book that IS expensive, especially when there's no way that shirt can be worn for much more than Christmas parties.  I was once told that the only difference between my Summer wardrobe and my Winter one was the length of my slacks.  The thing about it is, they were right, except that in the Winter I tend to wear a turtle neck under the Summer shirts.  IF I had $89 to blow on clothes it sure wouldn't be on a frilly blouse that can't be worn year round.  I might consider getting some new boots though.

   Somewhere in my holiday reading I saw a menorah made entirely out of salt and pepper shakers.  I don't know how many salt and pepper shakers most country folks have on hand, but unless they collect them, I'll bet not enough to light a candle every night of Hanukkah.   I'd make it through the 6th night if I dumped the salt and pepper out first..  Most country folk I know don't keep a lot of stuff they can't use on a regular basis.

   One more rant and I'm done.  A while back one of the magazines dedicated to keeping your house in good form decided it was necessary to advise me about my underwear drawer.  They had a beautiful picture of pretty colored panties all nicely rolled and lined up in a special divider.  Lovely to look at but who the heck looks in your undies drawer?  My white only collection is lucky to make it out of the laundry basket before I need to wear them again.  It only reinforced my belief that magazine editors have absolutely no idea what country life is like.  If you are going to be milking and mucking out the goat barn, you sure as heck aren't going to have the time, or the energy to line your underwear up in neat little dividers.

   When is someone going to write a magazine that is REALLY for the real country life?

One More Featured Bakery

The days when cookies must appear on our holiday dessert table are quickly approaching!  I can't believe Thanksgiving is over already.  I have one more bakery I promised I'd share with you.  I just popped over there and was wowed by her Christmas cookies as well as the rest.  You are not going to want to miss this one!  Hurry on over to Lori's Place on Etsy if you need to fill your holiday plates, but hurry.  She will be closing down December 13th to fill her holiday orders.  Lori's Place is a licensed bakery in the state of Florida, so no worries about the environment your cookies will be made in.

For starters, look at this wonderful Christmas Cookie Mix.

Do they look yummy or what?

This one is a great gift idea.  9 of these beautiful snowflakes come packed in a tin ready to give away. I love how they match the tin!

Look at the detail that went into decorating these traditional trees.  Oh, my.... sure beats the colored sugar I toss on mine!

Lori knows cookies are not just for Christmas.   Here's a peek at some of her other creations.  You will have to check out her shop to see them all.  There are just too many to picture here!

Luau Party Tiki Cookies

School Daze

Royal Frogs

This wraps up my featured bakery list, at least for now.  I hope you found some great places to order your holiday cookies!

Featured Bakery - Southern Girl Bakery

I found another great looking bakery on Etsy just in time for the holidays.  Southern Girl Bakery, "Where every day is sweet".   Take a look at some of their holiday cookies.  I have many of the same cutters.  I just wish I had the talent it takes to turn out such beautiful works of art.  I don't know if I could eat them after all the work that goes into them!

I really like the home made, primative look of their cookies.  Best of all, you get to choose what flavor you would like.  Many bakeries do not give you that option.  Here you can choose from vanilla, almond, harvest spice or eggnog for your holiday treats.  Each cookie is frosted with their special creamy Madagascar vanilla royal frosting.

Your cookies are baked to order.  Ordering two weeks in advance is requested.  I think you'd better plan on grabbing your spot now for Christmas cookies.  As cute as they are, her time spots are likely to fill up fast!

If you want to try to bake your own cookies this year, don't forget we have the cutters available.

Featured Bakery - The Sweet Shop Cookie Company

I promised you more great bakeries, and I found one on Art Fire.  Shannon of The Sweet Shop Cookie Company is selling her beautifully decorated sugar cookies there.   Shannon's earliest memories of baking cookies was along side her Mom who she graciously gives the credit to for her talent.  She has found an outlet for her love on Art Fire.   In her words "The Sweet Shop Cookie Company, whimsical, designer sugar cookies made for every occassion. Our cookies are fun, delicious and affordable."   They certainly look wonderful.  Here are a few of them:

Look at the detail in her snowflake cookies!  I'm ashamed to admit I've been telling everyone how easy snowflakes are to decorate.  I just frost them white and toss on some glitter.  Obviously, Shannon puts a lot more effort into hers!

or...

How about cookies for a baby shower?  I have the cutters, but I've never even attempted to come up with some of these wonderful designs!  Shannon lets you pick the shapes and colors to match your party.

Looking for something a little less traditional for your next bash?  How about some of these "Artsy Stars"

The colors are amazing..

BUT WAIT - There's more!

Shannon can also be found here: http://www.thesweetshopcookieco.com/ where there are even more designs to choose from.   Hop on over and check it out.

All photo's used with permission

Here It Comes

It is a good thing I got my last walk around the meadow in when I did (see previous post).  The next morning there was a heavy frost and now look at it!

The snow isn't sticking to the ground - yet.  It will.  This is Buffalo snow area.  Even if if our sports teams stink, we can count on getting recognized for our snow.  For those of you who do not live near a large body of water, you probably have never seen lake effect snow.  Sometimes I can stop at the top of the escarpment and watch Lake Erie sucking up the water.  You can really see it.  Then, it very nicely skips the low lying lake plain and starts dumping it just about the time it reaches my place.  THUD!  

I still have a couple more bakeries to feature.  I'll get back to them soon for those of you who are trying to get into the holiday baking mode.

Let's Take A Walk Just Before the Snow

Snow is in the forecast for Western New York.  Some places have had a few flurries already.  This is the latest I can remember the first flakes flying.  Yesterday the sun was shining so I thought I'd get in one more walk into the meadow before I can't get out there anymore this year.  Come along with me...

This grove of Sumac trees has been cut back and cut back.  We tried killing them.  We tried burning them.  They just will not give up.  So - I'm going to have to let them grow.  It will make a great "jungle' for my grandsons to play in when they're old enough.

Sumac aren't all bad.  Look at the beautiful reds, oranges and yellows their leaves turn in the Fall!

My Dad planted this pear tree at least 30 years ago.  This year the only pears were on the very top where I have no hope of reaching them, even with my apple picker.  See those tiny dots way up there?   I had to leave them for the critters.

Believe it or not, this is Goldenrod.  It's so pretty and fluffy when it's gone to seed.  Oh how I wish it was a cash crop because I'd be very wealthy.  There MUST be some use for it!

What a wonderful surprise!  Autumn Raspberries still on the vine!  Well, they were on the vine before I took the picture and then gobbled them up.

Another surprise treat.  A late Spring frost killed off most of the apples.  There were two on the tree and I could only reach one.  There is absolutely nothing like a cold, crisp, wild apple.  All those fancy breeds have done is breed the taste right out of them.  They may be bigger and prettier, but they will never taste as good as my wild apples do!

This is a shot of the brush just before the woods start.  When I was a girl this was all open pasture.  Years of neglect and no animals to eat it down have turned it into this.

More Sumac!  It's everywhere.  This lot stands where I would put a barn if I were as rich as I'd like to be.  Can't you see a nice, big, red barn standing there instead of weeds?   All I can do is dream.  

Almost home again.  That's not my place.  My house is much nicer.  I just didn't get it in a picture this time.  The bus used to stop for me out there, many years ago.  In fact, I noticed the bus number on this one was 162.  My bus number was 32.  Oh, it was a long time ago!

I'm back home and ready for a long New York Winter.  I have my jigsaw puzzles ready, lots of projects for Christmas and TONS of beads so I'm as prepared as I can be.  

LET IT SNOW!!!!