END OF YEAR CLEARANCE SALE. 50% OFF EVERYTHING presently listed in my Supply Shop - The Artists Closet on Etsy now through January 1st at midnight. Simply use the code 50OFF in the coupon code box that appears when you click on "Apply shop coupon code" upon checkout (located on right hand side under credit card/paypal signs) and 50% will be automatically deducted. MUST USE CODE when checking out to receive discount. Stock up on some great supplies for the new year!  Here are a few items from the over 300 supplies I presently have in my shop:

nests

birdcage chipboard

Birds

Calais tags

7Gypsies paper stash

Claddagh connector

blank chipboard

Saturday Simplify

Silence surpasses speech - Japanese Proverb
via www.buddhagroove.com

Friday Food Feature

Chicken with Tomatoes and Mushrooms

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 1/2 pounds
• salt and pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 lb mushrooms sliced
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 12-15 smaller fresh tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian spices

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large (5-quart) saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high heat; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cube chicken and cook, until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add mushrooms; cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook covered, until tomatoes have broken down, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Return chicken to pan and incorporate with veggies,cover and heat up 4 to 6 minutes. Serve over pasta or rice.

Thinking Green

Want to economize space and be green? Check out this post. Amazing use of space!

Through My Lens - Wordless Wednesday

photo by Denise Dion-Sullivan

Tuesday Treasures

Winter is upon us. I thought I would feature Etsy Artists which bring a bit of warmth to this cold time of year.   Click on the name under the photo to visit their shop.

Say it Sweet

Biscuit Scout

Creative Marvels

Belinda Davies

Steelhouettes

ACL Handweaver

Monday Musings

This is a video of a recent photo shoot which utilized clothing that my son Evan Michael designed and created. 

View the video to catch a glimpse of three of his clothing designs - "The Hania Tank," a black "Shielding Drape" (made specifically for this shoot), and the "Defense Gloves".
Great job Evan - they look awesome!



The Loft Salon- "Red Shoot" from Meg Elkinton on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas from all of us in Maine!

Saturday Simplify

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. - Buddha

French Recipe - Bûche de Noël

A Christmas Tradition in our home is the serving of a special cake called "Bûche de Noël" on Christmas Eve. Here's the recipe I am using this year via French Culture Dessert Recipes.


The Cake is created in steps. First step is to make the Genoise cake which is a light and airy cake base for the Bûche de Noël. 

Genoise Cake

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 large eggs (room temperature)

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

1 cup sifted cake flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Butter and flour a flat 15 x 10 x 1 cake pan (I use a small cookie sheet with lip).

3. Measure out the ingredients.

4. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool.

5. Using electric beaters, gradually beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large mixing bowl for approximately 5 minutes until mixture triples in volume and forms a ribbon.

6. Fold flour into mixture one third at a time until just incorporated.

7. Fold 1 cup of batter into melted butter and fold until combined. Fold this mixture into reserved batter until combined.

8. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Smooth evenly.

9. Bake 20 - 22 minutes or until top springs back to touch. Cake should be lightly browned and just begun to show a faint line of shrinkage from the edges of the pan.

10. Remove from oven and let stand in pan for 10 min. It will shrink slightly more from the edges.

11. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and reverse on a cooling rack. Allow to cool for an hour or so.

12. Sprinkle clean dish towel with sifted powdered sugar

13. Loosen warm cake from pan edges and invert onto dish towel

14. Remove pan carefully peeling off paper.

15. Gently roll up cake in towel from short end, jelly roll style

16. Let cake cool completely on wire wrack.

* You can store in the refrigerator for a day and do the filling, frosting and assembly the next day.

Chocolate Filling


1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
¾ cup heavy cream


Melt chocolate chips and cream in heavy 1 qt saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts. Pour into small bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1 ½ hours or until spreadable.

Mocha Frosting


¾ Tbsp unsalted butter
¾ cup whipping cream
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1½ tsp water

 Bring cream and butter to boil over medium high heat, stirring to melt.Remove from heat.
 Add chocolate, whisk until melted.
 Transfer to bowl. Let cool at room temperature till thick enough to spread, about 1 hour.

Assembly
Unroll cake, remove towel.
Spread cake with filling to within ½ inch of the edge.
Re-roll cake placing seam side down
Frost with Mocha Frosting
Using prongs of a fork drag lengthwise to simulate bark
Garnish with Marzipan Mushrooms or candies of choice.

Thinking Green

Every year for the last sixteen that we have been in Maine, we trudge through the snow in December at Holmes tree farm, searching for the perfect Christmas Tree. In my opinion, Christmas wouldn't be the same without the live, wonderfully fragrant, Balsam Pine tree we bring into our home each year. Is cutting your own tree or purchasing a cut tree eco-friendly? According to Jeff Olson, the vice-president of marketing and development for American Forests, a Washington, D.C. based conservation nonprofit, nearly all of the trees sold at Christmas tree lots are grown on tree farms. So you can rest assured that forests aren't hurt by choosing a cut tree. Why not begin a new tradition this year by supporting local agriculture and visiting a local tree farm for your Christmas Tree. You can find farms at localharvest.org. After the holidays, many towns offer to turn trees into compost or wood chips for free. Check the earth911.com website for a list of recycling centers near you. And have fun decking the halls of your home! 

Through My Lens - Wordless Wednesday

broken window by Denise Dion-Sullivan

Tuesday Treasures

The Winter Solstice begins this week on December 22 and signals the beginning of winter. This year I have decided to leave some lights up even after the holidays have passed to keep a warm glow in our home through this very long season. Here are a few items on Etsy with a Winter/Solstice theme. Click on the name under the photo to be taken to their shop.

Lino Cuts By Steve

EvgieNev

Cascadian Art

Frameable Note Cards

gRoatGruff

Monday Musings

Check out this amazing Gingerbread House that was created at the Sheraton Princess Ka'iulani Hotel in Honolulu, HI last December. The Chief Hotel Chef Ralf Bauer along with a team of culinary geniuses spent over 650 hours both designing and constructing this amazing gingerbread village. The village included medieval churches complete with bell towers, train stations, skating ring and even a carousel. The winter gingerland stood more than 14 1/2 feet high and 24 feet wide and was created using 200 gallons of icing, 100 pounds of dark chocolate, 30 pounds of white chocolate, and 60 sheets of gingerbread.

photo via Starwood Hotels & Resorts Waikiki

Reflections

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh 

photo by Denise Dion-Sullivan

Saturday Simplify

Handmade Gift Ideas Everyone will love

Start a new tradition this year. Begin by making a few of your gifts yourself (like the Pantone magnets in above photo).  Here is a fabulous post by Styleist.com that has wonderful suggestions along with the website tutorial links to create your own handmade Christmas. How simple is that! Simply click on the link under the photo to be taken to the complete slide show. 

French Recipe

This is my own personal recipe that is both delicious and a festive purple color.

Mulled Cider and Wine

4 cups of good quality apple cider
4 cups of orange-pineapple juice
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 small tea infuser full of mulling spices (highly recommend Williams Sonoma)
1 piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped and placed in tea infuser 
1 lemon, scrubbed and sliced
1 orange, scrubbed and sliced
1 bottle of Cruz Garcia Real Sangria (imported from Spain)

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large, non-aluminum saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes. Pour in wine; stirring until thoroughly heated. Serve warm. Makes approximately 12 cups. Joyeuses Fêtes

Thinking Green

Top your tree with this beautiful, handmade fleur-de-lis medallion via Better Homes and Gardens.

• 3-inch square each of medium-weight and lightweight cardboard
• 20 to 25 pages from a book (ours are from a vintage French book)
• Fast-drying glue (such as Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue)
• 4-inch length of 18-gauge wire
• Stapler
• Small weight (such as a jar, vase, or paperweight)
• Parchment paper or blank flyleaf (endpaper) from book
• Roll of crepe paper: ivory
• 1/2-inch-wide silk ribbon: ecru

Instructions

Make the Paper Scrolls

Cut twenty-four 2x3-inch rectangles from the book pages. Roll 12 rectangles crosswise (starting at one short end) and staple the ends (see photo, above). Roll the remaining rectangles on the diagonal; staple the ends.

Prepare the Base

Center the 3-inch square of medium-weight cardboard on a book page; trim excess page, leaving a 1-inch allowance of book page around the cardboard. Wrap allowance to back of cardboard and glue in place. Make a small hole centered and 1/2 inch from the top of the square. Fold wire in half and twist ends together for 1/2 inch. Poke twisted end through the hole in covered square from right side. Fold wire up on each side of covered square to create and secure hanging loop (see photo, above).

Trace quarter-circle pattern (available, below) four times to draw an 8-inch-diameter circle onto white paper. Center covered square, wrong side up, on circle (see photo, above). Evenly space 12 diagonally wrapped paper rolls around the square, using outer edge of paper circle as a guide. Glue rolls to base. Glue a crosswise paper roll between each pair of diagonal rolls. Place a small weight in the center, being careful not to crush outer part of rolls. Let dry.

Make the Fleur-De-Lis Medallion

Copy, print, or stamp desired fleur-de-lis medallion onto parchment paper and cut out. Cut a shape slightly smaller than the medallion shape from lightweight cardboard; set aside.

Run a bead of glue around back edge of parchment-paper medallion. Working off the crepe paper roll, adhere crepe paper around parchment-paper medallion, beginning at bottom of medallion and finger-creasing pleats every 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Allow 3/4 inch of ruffle to show around medallion (see photo, above). When finished finger-creasing pleats, cut crepe paper from roll.

Finish the Ornament

Glue lightweight cardboard shape to back of finished medallion. Glue medallion to center of rolled-paper ornament; weight in place until dry. Thread ribbon through wire loop and tie in bow for a hanging loop.

download pattern here.

Through My Lens - Wordless Wednesday

full moon before eclipse by Denise Dion-Sullivan

Tuesday Treasures

This year Hanukkah begins at sunset on Tuesday, December 20 and ends at sunset on Wednesday, December 28.  Here are some featured artists from Etsy with some interesting items to brighten up your celebration of the Festival of Lights. Click on the name under the photo to visit their shop.

Charlotte and Mia

Nelles

Judith Paul Scopes

Kabbalah Designers

Neta Jewelry

Monday Musings

A little Monday humor...

Reflections

so dream away...

Saturday Simplify

French Recipe

We are having our family Le Reveillon this coming weekend and I will make my Tourtiere recipe below -

 

"In France the Tourtiere pie-dish was a kitchen utensil for cooking pigeon and other birds. The contents of the dish were known as ‘piece tourtiere’ and during the first years in New France these distinctive words were used. Over the years the word ‘tourtiere’ came to mean a pate of fowl or game cooked and seasoned according to a special household recipe in the family stew pan, for into it went not merely turtle-doves but every kind of edible bird. Every housewife possessed her own secret recipe, jealously preserved from generation to generation. It was in this way that some venturesome housewives began to prepare ‘pieces tou-tieres’ not only with birds but with the meat of both wild and domestic animals. Such recipes held additional appeal since they provided more filling and sustaining meals." --Daily Life In Early Canada

My Family Recipe for Tourtière

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground pork
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes.
3. Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing. The flavors get better the day after, so it is wonderful for leftovers!