Prayer Box DIY

I have been planning to create a prayer box for a while now, and now finally I got around to doing it today. I always think of so many people I would like to pray for, and then sometimes I forget or comes up later. So here is a little DIY of how to get all those names from you phone and email!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

1. Your computer

2. Printer w/ Paper

3. Scissors

4. Larger Box w/ divider or smaller box inside

WHAT TO DO:

1. If you have a smart phone, sync all your contacts from your phone, Facebook, Twitter, etc. onto your Gmail (or any email account). – PS: If you don’t have a smart phone or don’t know how or want to sync your contacts you can just type them up.

2. Go to your Gmail Contact list. Click on the More tab and select Export…

2. In the pop-up that comes up select All Contacts (or a specific group if you have that) & the Google format Option…click Export.

3. Your computer will automatically download an Excel file onto your Desktop or Downloads File (depends on your computer settings). Your file will look like this:

4. When you open the file it will look like a large spreadsheet with lots of different columns. Feel free to delete all the unnecessary information in the spreadsheet.

5. Go ahead and print that spreadsheet and cut out all the names! This is probably the most time consuming part I disliked the most LOL :)

6. I bought my boxes at Target. The larger one is a plastic storage box.

And the smaller one is a desk organizer piece I found on clearance.

7. Place you names in the box, and off you go! :) I placed the names in the larger box right now, and then each day I will choose a name. (Sophia is my baby niece :), a real cutie).

8. After I pray for the person that day, I will put them in the smaller box. And will continue to rotate the names back and forth. :) I am really excited to get this going!

Here is another idea I came across on Pinterest; a prayer bucket!

credit

Homemade Crème Brulee

So for my birthday I got a new toy…a TORCH! I was super excited and so my friend Tanya came over last Sunday and we made Crème Brulee. It was SO good! Here’s the recipe for you all to try: (PS: Having someone take pictures while you are working is SO handy…thank you Tanya!)

What you need:

- 4 4-oz. Ramekins

- 1 Cup Heavy Cream

- 2 Tablespoons Sugar

- 2 Extra Large or Jumbo Egg Yolks

- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

- 1/3 Cup Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare some boiling water.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan, 5-6 minutes. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth and light.

4.  Pout hot cream mixture into egg yolks, a little at a time, beating continuously until well blended. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Divide mixture among four 4oz. ramekins.

(I used four 6 oz. ramekins instead of the 4 oz. and it worked well also)

5. Arrange ramekins in a baking pan and place on middle shelf of the preheated oven. Fill pan with boiling water to halfway up sides of the ramekins.

6. Over pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until custard just set, about 25 minutes.

7. Chill for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.

8. Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over the top of cooled custards. (about 4 tsp. per ramekin)

9. With a cooking torch, move the fame continuously over the surface of the ramekins.

10. Continue in a circular motion until sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubbly.

11. Serve immediately surrounded with fresh berries if desired.

ENJOY!!!

Image credit belongs to One Fell Swoop

What I made…

Here are some of the DIY things I made for the party…click on the image or link for the inspiration!

Pom-Poms

I liked the pointed cut better so it looks more like the dahlia.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BANNER

I made this banner on my own form this inspiration…but you can print from this website!

CAKE BANNER

This isn’t the exact same one I used (I couldn’t find it), but I think I like these better.

CUPCAKE FLAGS

I made these myself using scrap paper and striped paper straws, click the link for printable ones.

MUSTACHE STRAWS

I just printed several of the black mustache, attached them to some stripped paper straws!

I bought the strapped from an online Etsy shop called: Sweet Bungalow

What we did…

I think some of the best party games are the ones where everyone gets involved…here are some of the games we played during the party that I would recommend to anyone!

PICTIONARY

We used a white board instead of the notepads, that way it was easier to see for everyone…and saved a tree or two :) We had lot’s of laughs with this one especially.

CATCH PHRASE

If you have never played this game, you need to get it! It has been a hit every since I heard about it a few years ago. The goal is to get your team to guess the word or phrase on the screen. You have to describe it without saying any part of the phrase on the screen. A real challenge especially since you are timed.

CHARADES

We didn’t get any pictures of this, but we just used the Pictionary cards. We had two teams, the person acting would pick out a Pictionary card, the opposite team would yell out a color, and the person acting would have to act out what is on their card. I wish we had video of this…hilarious!

HOPE YOU GOT A FEW IDEAS FOR YOUR NEXT PARTY!

Image credit belongs to One Fell Swoop

Pain de Campagne

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my friend and I went to a bread baking workshop. We had such a great time! Here a few pictures from our experience! Defiantly wouldn’t mind going again :) You can also see the recipe we used at the bottom of this post.

Please note: this bread can take about two days and you will need a scale of some sort, baking stone, cast iron, and spray bottle.

My loaf resting

Proud mama of a bread loaf :)

Tanya scoring her loaf

Tanya placing her loaf in a hot oven

All the loafs of the group

And here is mine all done and so good!!!

Images owned by One Fell Swoop

Night before…

Pâte Fermentée (pre ferment)

• 2.5 oz. all-purpose flour
• 2.5 oz. bread flour
• 0.1 oz. salt
• 0.03 oz. instant yeast
• 3-4 oz. water

1. Stir together flour, salt, and yeast.
2. Add 3 oz. water until forms a coarse ball, adding additional water if needed.
3. Knead 4-6 minutes.
4. Oil a bowl, put dough in, ferment (rise) 1 hour @ room temperature.
5. Remove from bowl, knead lightly, cover and ferment in fridge overnight.
6. Next day bring to room temperature before using (at least 1 hour before).

__

Day of…

Pain de Campagne

• 8 oz. Pâte Fermentée (above)
• 4 oz. unbleached bread flour
• 0.75 oz. whole wheat or rye flour
• 0.1 oz. salt
• 0.05 oz. instant yeast
• 3 oz. lukewarm water (90-100F)

1. Remove Pâte Fermentée from the fridge 1 hour before preparing the dough. Cut into 10 small pieces, wrap with a towel and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.
2. Stir together the flours, salt, yeast, and Pâte Fermentée. Add the water, stirring until everything comes together in a coarse ball. Add a few drops of additional water, if need be, together any loose flour into the ball. The dough should be soft and pliable.
3. Transfer dough to floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not  sticky. The dough should pass the windowpane test (can stretch about 3 inches where light shines through). Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover.
4. Ferment at room temperature for 2 hours, or until dough has doubled in size.
5. Carefully remove dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Shape dough and transfer to a lined bread pan in a towel.
6. Set it rest for 1 hour, or until dough is 1 1/2 times it’s original size.
7. Prepare oven for hearth baking. Place a baking stone on the upper rack and a cast iron skillet on the lower rack. Heat oven to 500 degrees for 1 hour.
8. Dust the peel with cornmeal or semolina. Gently transfer the loaf onto the peel. Score with a lame or sharp knife and slide the loaf onto the stone. To steam the oven, immediately pour 1 cup of warm water into the cast iron skillet and close the door. After 30 seconds, spray the oven walls with water. Repeat 3 times at 30 second intervals.
9. Lower the oven setting to 450 degrees and continue baking for 10 minutes. Rotate loaf 180 degrees and continue to bake 10-15 more minutes. Bread is done when it registers at 200 degrees in the center and sounds hollow when thumped.
10. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 40 minutes before eating.

Enjoy! Recipe from Fancy & Delicious Bakery