Make Your Own Vanilla - it's easier than you think

I get asked all the time about how to make your own vanilla. Y'all,, it is so much easier than you think. I mean that. ANYONE can make their own vanilla. It is so much better than the stuff you buy in the store. SO. Much. Better. Making your own vanilla is so simple. Seriously. If you can pour booze you can make vanilla. It really is that easy.

You don't need any fancy equipment or tools. You don't need any technical knowledge. It doesn't take a lot of time or work. You DO NOT need an expensive "vanilla kit" that they are selling online. Please don't buy one of those!

This is all you need to make your own home made vanilla.

• Vanilla beans 
• glass bottles 
• Booze. The most common is Vodka, but I will talk about some other options below. 
• Time

The two most popular vanilla beans are Tahitian beans or Bourbon (Madagascar) beans. The name denotes where they are grown. Tahitian vanilla beans are milder and more fruity flavored. Bourbon vanilla beans (also called Madagascar beans) are richer, with a more pronounced vanilla flavor. These are the beans I use for making vanilla.There is NO bourbon in Bourbon/Madagascar beans. The area where they are grown was formally known as the Bourbon islands.  Grade B beans are fine for making vanilla- you do not need the highest priced Grade A beans.

The alcohol is the carrier for the extract. Basically you are flavoring alcohol with the vanilla beans. Vodka is the most often used. It gives a purer vanilla flavor than other liquors. Buy the cheap vodka. Seriously - get the stuff the college kids are buying.

To start, cut your beans lengthwise (but not all the way through). I use two beans per 8 fluid ounces of liquor. You can use more, but I have found that you really don't get any more flavor so why waste the beans. 

Put the beans in a glass bottle. It's OK if you have to fold the beans in half. Any glass bottle will work if it has a lid. I doesn't have to be a dark glass bottle. You are going to store it in a dark cabinet, so it will be protected from sunlight.  I tend to use recycled bottles. The dark bottles in this post are from a certain premixed cocktail that the hubs likes to drink. They are perfect for vanilla. You can even use a canning jar.

Fill your bottle up with liquor, put the cap on, and wipe the outside of the bottle down. Give it a shake to help some of the caviar move out of the beans. Label the bottles with the date and be sure to note what liquor you used if it was not plain old vodka.

I use a variety of liquors to make my vanilla. A small batch bourbon is my favorite; it gives a very rich, full bodied flavor to my vanilla. Bacardi Spiced Rum is great too. I have a selection on hand right now, because I am trying to use up some stuff in my liquor cabinet. The hubs thinks he is a drinker. He is not. So when he buys a bottle of liquor it just sits in the cabinet until I use it. For this reason I have made vanilla with scotch, Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, Bacardi Oak Heart, and pretty much every brand of Jamaican Rum. They are all good. Honestly I have never had a bad batch of vanilla. Try out whatever you have!

Put the bottles in the back of a cabinet. Once a month or so, pull them out and give them a shake. After 3 months you will have vanilla.  Now, one question I get quite a bit is "how long is it good for?".  FOREVER. Until you use it up- that's how long it's good for.

I buy vanilla beans in quantity. Generally a pound of beans at a time. That's a LOT of beans y'all. Most people don't need that many. I would suggest that you start with 10 beans. Use some to make vanilla and store a few to use in whipping cream, custards, etc. Storing the vanilla beans is super easy. Put them in a Mason Jars with a lid. Put the beans in the jar and put them in the back of the pantry where it is dark. Once a month or so,  pull them out, open the jars, and let them sit on the counter with the lid off for a few hours. This makes the kitchen smell SO GOOD. After a few hours, put the lid back on and put them back in the pantry. They will last about two years like this. PLEASE don't ever buy vanilla beans in the grocery store. The last time I looked they cost $22 for two, shriveled, dried up beans. Just don't do it!

Ok, so you want to know if it's cheaper than buying vanilla in the store. I get it. Sixteen ounces of the McCormick Brand pure vanilla extract is $35 ($17.50 per cup). High end "gourmet" brands of pure vanilla extract run as much as $20 for a measly FOUR ounces!! (That's $40 per cup y'all!) By comparison you can make your own for  $7.12 per cup.  That is HALF the price of even the cheapest store bought vanilla. With no chemicals.

• 10 beans for $23 = $4.60 for two beans
• The Vodka I bought was $2.52 per cup
• Total - $7.12 per cup!

One last note. Please DO NOT buy a "vanilla making kit". It is a waste of money.  This one includes "Exquisite 375 ml clear glass bottle imported from Italy, custom label, and instructions included". Y'all - no one cares where your bottle comes from. It's always going to be stored in a cabinet. Did you notice how big that imported bottle is? It's 375ml - that is 12.5 ounces. So that vanilla ends up costing $26.50 per cup. Ridiculous! 
OK- this was the longest post in history, thanks so much if you made it to the end! I hope you give this a try. Making your own vanilla is so easy - you will never go back to buying it, I promise!

How to Decorate with Embroidery Hoops

Hey y'all! I hope you are working on your Valentine decorating.  I have been all about the embroidery hoops lately- I have several projects in the works so be on the look out for those on the blog soon.  For this project I used an 8: hoop and supplies I had on hand.

I began by pressing my fabric, ironing the floral embroidery piece in place, and positioning the hoop on it.  Pay attention to the pattern on your fabric!!  Move the bottom of the hoop (shown here) under the fabric and secure the top of the hoop in place. If it matters to you, be sure you get the hardware on the hoop at the very top. Tighten the hoop down and pull the fabric tight.

Trim the fabric around the hoops leaving  a little over a half inch margin. Fold the fabric under and secure in place using Beacon 3-in-1 glue. This glue grabs the fabric and sets quickly.

I used my Monotwin from Tombow in black to add faux stitching all around the edge. I really have a thing for faux stitching - I add it to pretty much everything!

I used an older CTMH punch for the pennants, inking the edge of the cardstock with Tea Leaves Dew Drop from Tsukineko. I use my 1 1/2" Xyron Sticker maker to adhere the letters to the pennant pieces. The heart shaped piece is SELF STICK y'all! Add some flowers, leaves and ribbons to accent the bottom of the hoop.

How cute is that?? Love that faux stitching by the way 😁

To finish the project off I added more twine for a bow to cover the hardware.

 Supplies:

• JOY Iron on letters, Floral Embroidery set, and Emoji set
• 8" embroidery hoop
• Beacon 3-IN-1 Glue
• Tombow Monotwin pen
• Bazzill French Vanilla cardstock
• Tea Leaves DewDrop ink pad by Tsukineko
• CTMH Paper Punch 
• paper flowers, leaves, and twine

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you give this fun craft a try.

 

How to Etch a Photo Frame

I picked up this sweet photo frame the other day - the color and the size just appealed to me. Of course  I had to dress it up. Etching a photo frame is super easy and a way to add a special touch.

 I gathered a few supplies before I started;
etchall® etching creme
etchmask® stencil
Transfer tape
wafer thin die
StazOn ink
some assorted flowers
hot glue gun
Plaid Pickle Wash and Glaze

I started by determining my area to etch and trimming a piece of etchmask®. I used a Spellbinders die from way back to cut three little hearts.

I taped off the edges of the frame to make sure I didn't get any creme on it. After I applied the stencil I also taped the open edge to make sure I didn't get any extra creme on the glass. I am totally famous for this!  Apply your etchall® creme and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Because the glass was GLUED in the frame (thanks Broyhill) I used baby wipes to clean the excess creme off the glass. I left the stencil in place and used StazOn ink and a sponge to color the etched area. Since StazOn will also adhere to regular glass it is important to leave the stencil in place.

I applied a coat of Cottage White Pickle Wash from Plaid to the frame and let dry. I finished it with a drybrushed coat of glaze.

I finished the frame off with some matching flowers applied with a hot glue gun.

Be sure to check out the etchall® Facebook page to see more great ideas. There is just so much you can do with glass etching!

How to Upcycle a Thrift Store Candy Dish

Are you like me and have a whole cabinet of cute glassware you picked up in the thrift store? I mean, who can resist it?!?!? Vintage glassware is so beautiful but after a while the hubs starts looking at me funny. I can just hear him saying "really Anita? Really?" So the time has come to move some of it out. Today I am sharing how to upcycle a thrift store candy dish into a beautiful gift using etchall® etching creme. This project is so easy and you will love how it comes out!

Start out by creating a stencil for the top of the dish. I used a die to cut this one out of a new stencil material that is hopefully coming to the market soon. I LOVED working with it! Adhere the stencil to your project and make sure that all the edges are pressed down well before applying the etching creme.

To see the full etching process check out this blog post.

After I etched the top I finished the box off with some ribbon and flowers around the side of the container.

To accent the etched surface I added small pearls all around the outside of the design. I love the way it turned out and I can't wait to gift it to someone!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you give this a try and I would love to see what you come up with. Be sure to stop by the etchall® Facebook page to see more great projects.

Dino Birthday Bash

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase I will receive a small commission at no extra expense to you. 

It's all about dinosaurs at my house right now. We have a grandchild's birthday coming up and what could be cuter than this dinosaur birthday banner? Because I have so many projects I want to complete before the big day, I took advantage of a few ready-made pieces to bring this banner together quickly - including Joy iron-on embroidered letters.

Supplies:

• Joy Letters 
• Chipboard banner set
• Wood dinosaur and palm tree pieces
• Coastal and Brushed Metal paints from Plaid Crafts
• adhesives, ribbons, paintbrushes, hot glue gun/sticks

I painted each chipboard piece in the background color, then added some gold highlights to each one. When dry, I used a white paint pen to add a few details.  You can certainly iron the letters onto the chipboard (I have done that before) but for the sake of speed, I used doubled-sided tape to attach the letters. Use hot glue to attach the wood pieces to the banner sections on the ends. Run a long ribbon through each of the chipboard pieces along with some smaller pieces of ribbon between each banner section. Done and ready to party!

Paper Mache Fairy Wand

My sweet princess loves to play dress-up. So of course she needed a fairy wand to complete her wardrobe collection.  This sweet wand came together so quickly using a paper mache star I picked up at Michaels. A little paint, a little ink, a few letters and POOF - a wand was born!

These smaller sized Classic Monogram letters from Joy were perfect for this project. I chose the plain font in white- so I could color them to match my project.

I used a ready-made paper maché star, then painted it, crackled it and added some gold details. Since it is paper, the paint dried really quickly - so no time spent watching paint dry!

It is so easy to color your letters using a variety of mediums. My favorite is chalk ink - it's opaque so it covers in one coat. Put your letters on a piece of scratch paper and simply press the ink pad down on them to color. Set aside to dry.

After I added my letters I finished the project with paper flowers and lots of twine to give it a frilly, girly look. She is so in love with it!

You can find Joy embroidered iron-on numbers and letters in a variety of fonts, colors and sizes at your local craft store.

Princess in Training Door Sign

This post may contain affiliate links.

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We are busy redoing the spare bedroom for out little princess since she spends so much time with us. This Princess in Training sign was just the thing to dress up her door! I picked up this little sign in the dollar spot at Target and used Vinyl from Style Tech to dress it up. This project was a little difficult to get a good photo of- I used the Brushed Metal vinyl for the words and it is super shiny AND it changes colors depending on how the light hits it!  But it is SOOOO pretty!!

See how shiny that beautiful purple vinyl is??? Be sure to check out the Brushed Metal line from Style Tech - they have several great colors and you will love them all. The crown is cut from Gold Chrome  - another of the metal look vinyls. I dressed up the crown with resin flowers from Queen and Co and pearls.

I normally just eyeball my vinyl placement but I since this was going to be hanging on the door I wanted to make sure I got everything straight! I used my ruler and added some very light pencil lines where I wanted to place the words.  Be sure to use a light hand with the pencil and a soft lead - that will make erasing easier. I love my quilting ruler for jobs like this. Because it is 4" wide it makes it easy to line up against the edge.

To erase the pencil lines I use my Tombow Mono Zero eraser. It is VERY small and allows me to get into the tiny spaces around the vinyl with actually going OVER the vinyl. You don't want to use a larger eraser and go over the vinyl - this will leave marks on your vinyl. Learn from me young Jedi.

Because I don't like to have little scraps of vinyl in my box, I like to draw a box around my designs. Then I weed like normal and apply my transfer tape to remove the design from the backing. That leaves me with the full 12 x 12 sheet to work with.

Be sure to check out the Style Tech Facebook Page for new product releases and fabulous ideas.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 

Etched Monogramed Hurricane Centerpiece

We have a wedding coming up this spring in our family and what is more perfect for a table centerpiece than an Etched Monogrammed Hurricane? This is the south after all, we do love our monograms!

I picked up a set of these Hurricane Globes at an estate sale last fall and I have been looking for the perfect project to use them for. Wedding? Perfect! I used Etching Creme, etchmask®, and tools from etchall®, along with masking tape and a sharpie.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the etchmask®. In order to apply it to this extremely crazy curved surface I removed the backing from the center of the mask first and centered it on the hurricane.

OK. This project almost ended up smashed on the floor. Seriously. It was crazy difficult to apply the mask to this thing! I don't mind curved surfaces, but this thing curved out, then back in again. Notice there are a couple of bubbles in the mask - since they were in the part I was going to remove, I wasn't too concerned about it. I just make sure that there are no bubbles on the cut lines.
NOTE: - I use a sharpie to trace over some of the cut lines before I apply the transfer paper to the front. This lets me see where my design is so I can apply it where I want it

Finally I am able to take the transfer paper away and then I use the Squeegee tool to smooth down all my edges, just in case. At this point I am ready to apply my Etching Creme - let it sit for 15 minutes, then return the excess to the jar. (You do know that etchall® is reusable, right??) Rinse away the remaining creme and remove the mask.

Please forgive the outside in the yard photo. There were so many curves on this thing it was impossible to get a shot with no glare/reflections on it inside the house!

I welded several designs together to get this monogram that goes almost all the way around the hurricane.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out- now I just have to do it again so I have a matching pair. Sigh.

Hop on over to the etchall® blog to see all the great products, tools, tutorials, and projects available.