Erik HOMEMADE

Friendship Tea recipe

What could warm the heart more than a cup of Friendship Tea? Orange, clove, and the fresh taste of black tea, blend together in a steaming mug of loving thoughts and wishes. Be sure and make plenty because, as the name implies, it is meant to be shared!

Ingredients

1 cup loose black tea leaves
4 cinnamon sticks, broken and crushed
30-35 whole cloves
1/2 cup sweetened orange flavored powdered drink mix
2 tblspns dried orange peel (found in the spice aisle)
fresh orange slices and cinnamon sticks, for garnish

You will also need

cheesecloth, or other loosely woven fabric for bags
white crochet cotton, cut into 14-inch lengths
scrapbook cardstock, or paper
large heart shaped punch
fine-tip permanent marker, tape, double-stick tape, scissors
decorative container, ribbons, and trim

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients with a whisk, except orange slices and cinnamon stick garnishes. Cut cheesecloth about 6-inches wide by 8-inches long. Fold cheesecloth four times.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Valentine Candies

A Second Look

We had such fun with our December 12, 2008 post, Chocolate Covered Marshmallow recipe, that we wanted to do something just as spectacular for Valentine's Day! To make the Valentine candies, go to our December 12, 2008 TREATS post and download the instructions. Follow the instructions using snowflake sprinkles and colored sugar, and omitting the peppermint oil; then simply add a classic candy conversation heart and cinnamon candies to the top before the chocolate cools. You can make other candies, like we did, by dipping the bottoms of some marshmallows in chocolate, and using the same idea, sprinkling snowflakes and sugar on the molten chocolate, topping each one off with a dab of chocolate and either a cinnamon candy or coversation heart. Be sure to give them to your sweetheart soon--they won't last long!

Sources: Party Decoratifs 'Winter Wonderland" and Sparkling Sugar 'Confetti' ; India Tree; for more infomation visit www.indiatree.com or www.cheftools.com.

Recycle Paper Tray idea

Our office printer seems to generate its fair share of scrap paper! Whether it is a draft, an extra copy, or just the wrong thing, our printer returns us plenty of paper that we find too good to toss into the recycle bin! Now we've decided to give our scrap paper new life by creating a tray where anyone can pick-up or drop-off paper to be reused one more time before it hits the recycle bin. Some paper has very little printing on it so it can be re-fed through the printer for rough drafts and sample projects, while other paper with more printing, can be used as blotters for glue or cut into patterns or  scrap pads for one more useful time around. A nifty little embellished label is all it takes to make this bamboo tray something special! Now it is amazing to see how everyone puts this paper to one more good use saving money and resources, at the same time!

Sources: Tray; Target: Stickers; EK Success/Sticko(R).

Junk Mail Origami book review

 

Junk Mail Origami

by Duy and Tramy Nguyen, published by Sterling Publishing

Like us, you probably recycle hundreds of pounds of junk mail a year. Mailbox-to-bin, it just keeps coming, even after you have opted-out and taken your name off of every list possible. STOP! Now there is a use for all of those pretty glossy paper advertisements and offers that are too good to refuse! Thanks to Duy and Tramy Nguyen, you too, will want to start putting your junk mail to good use!