Reposting from One Simple Country Girl's Blog - Faux Caramel Apples

 A very special thanks to Donna for allowing me to repost this really fun project.  It's fall, it's apple time, and who doesn't just LOVE caramel apples? 

Doesn't this look delicious?????

Here is Donna's site.  She has a wonderful blog.  I'm sure she'd love to have you visit!

http://onesimplecountrygirl.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-tuesday-faux-caramel-apples.html

If you want to have caramel apples on display all the time without worrying about an ant invasion in your home, here's the project for you.  I'm on my way out for some supplies!  Thank you Donna!  I appreciate your generosity.
 

How to Tuesday ~ Faux Caramel Apples

Hey everybody! Whew, I am tuckered out! I really enjoy these long weekends, but it is killer going back to work on Tuesday. One of my jobs is opening and distributing the mail and I also have to do the daily deposit. Well, let me tell ya, having four days worth of mail to do in one day takes forever!!!! Not to mention all the checks I have to sort and batch up. So needless to say, I pay dearly for that coveted holiday break!

When I showed y'all my faux caramel apples, I had a couple of people ask me to do a tutorial on them. I know that most of y'all already know how to do these, but I'm gonna post a tutorial on how I did mine, because it's my blog and I'll post whatever I want! LOL!

Here are the supplies I used: faux green apples (I got mine at Wal-Mart for $1.00 a piece. I've also seen them at the Dollar Tree), craft sticks or popsicle sticks, tan colored craft paint, a plastic bowl with lid, a plastic spoon, Mod Podge Matte Glue, corn cob liter, freezer paper, clear treat bags, and pretty fall themed ribbon.



Step 1: Cut a small slit in the apple where the stem is. I used an ordinary steak knife for this step. You don't have to cut a deep hole. I just stuck the knife in and pushed it slightly. Just be careful!!



Step 2: Insert craft sticks into the hole you just made.



Step 3: Mix glue with the paint in a plastic bowl or plastic cup with the plastic spoon. I used an old Cool Whip bowl because I wanted to keep the leftover mixture to do more apples later and the glue/paint mixture won't dry out if it's covered. The amounts of each you will use will vary depending on how many apples you are doing. For the three I did, I used about 1/3 bottle of glue and just squirted a glob of the paint in. Stir together until well blended. You can add more paint if you want your "caramel" to be darker. Just note: the glue/paint mixture will dry darker on the apples than it appears in your bowl so keep that in mind.



Step 4: Tear off a piece of wax paper big enough to set your apples on and to catch excess drippage. Place each apple on the wax paper and using your plastic spoon, spoon your paint mixture over the top of the apple starting at the craft stick. Let the paint run down the sides of the apple, leaving some of the green showing. I recommend doing a couple of layers because if you just do one layer of the paint mixture, it will dry somewhat transparent. Two layers seem to work pretty good.



Step 5: Take a handful of the cob liter and sprinkle on each apple. These are your "nuts". I had a hard time finding this item locally. I ended up finding it at a Wal Mart in another town in the pet section. I tried using some small aquarium gravel before I found the cob liter, but it didn't look right and was too heavy for the apples. So if you can't find the liter at your Wal Mart, I'd suggest checking with a pet store or maybe a vet's office to see if they can help you. If anybody has any other ideas on what would be good to use for the "nuts", I'd love to hear them!







Step 6: Tear off a fresh piece of wax paper and transfer your apples to it to let them set up and dry for at least 24 hours. Cause if you don't, this is what you will end up with:



Step 7: Once your apples are dry, you are done! I put mine in a clear treat bag and tied them up with some pretty ribbon and a hang tag I made.

Don't touch yet, they're still sticky!

I'd love to know if anyone else makes these!!!  

Hugs,

Kit

Treating Myself to a Pretty Notebook

A Decorated Notebook - Right now this one is my absolute favorite.  I don't know why I love vintage, and lace, and postmarks, and stamps, but I really, really do.  I have such fun making these, and in using them. I feel really privileged when I write in this notebook.  This one I'm using to keep my Auntie Kit and Cousins Blog ideas...How do you like that?  You have your very own special notebook, and it is my favorite! (at least for now...)

Here are the four notebooks that I created that day.  I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!  I feel so much better when I use something that means something to me.  If you're interested, I can post instructions (complete with pics) when I do my next set of notebooks.  Four won't keep me for long, so let me know and I'll be happy to do that with you!

I used to be so utilitarian...but then I discovered how very nice it felt to treat myself to something nice.  I became acquainted with scrapbooking, just about the same time the entire world did, and yet I didn't jump on that bandwagon.

I suspect that I'm actually afraid of getting sucked in, buying too many (more) things that I don't need, spending money that probably should go to buying shoes for my children...OK, so they can probably buy their own shoes now, but you get my drift.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE scrapbooking. I adore looking at finished pages that my friends show me.  I will even go to an occasional scrapbooking party.  But I just can't bring myself to jump on board.

What I WILL do, however, is I will decorate a note book.

I guess I can't quite see why I would spend three hours creating a beautiful scrapbook page that I will only look at for a few seconds each time I flip through a photo album.  But, if I decorate something that I USE every day, then those three hours will be a tangible extension of that creative side of me that tries to hide from time to time.

Here are four notebooks that I created. (Yes, I created them at a scrapbooking party...I will tell the truth, I was supposed to be scrapbooking, but I was SO interested in getting this project done that I simply could NOT stop working on it. I hope my friends forgive me and will continue to love me anyway...)

And not only did I create that one at the scrapbooking party, but I finished a couple others.  Actually, I should go ahead and get photos of those so that you can see that my six hours spent was quite productive. There...photos shot, not the best, but why procrastinate?

Here are closeups of three of the four notebooks I created that day (the closeup of the fourth one is at the top of this blog):

This one was done with a vintage photo, a scrapbooking background page (see, I did SOME scrapbooking), and then the edging is from a napkin with this border.  I just liked how it turned out.

This one didn't come out as well as I had expected.  It was my last one of the day, and maybe it just isn't quite done.  That isn't keeping me from using it!  I LOVE my decorated notebooks!

This notebook was created from some wine napkins that I absolutely adored.  They decoupaged beautifully in place, and then I just crafted the Wine Notes label.  We've recently gone to some wine tasting sessions and the only way I can keep track of things is to take notes.  I used to bring a big spiral-bound notebook, but the presenters always looked so alarmed when I did that...making a smaller, more discrete and tasteful notebook has done wonders in allaying their fears!