Cherry Cordials - Inexpensive Gift #11

Chocolate Covered Cherries or Cherry Cordials are one of my favorites and they are so easy to make. Why buy them with all those artificial flavors and preservatives?
I found this recipe on line by Start Nover. I just made one or two slight changes.


First combine 2 cups of powdered sugar - 1/4 cup butter - 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk - 1 teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of salt. Once that’s mixed, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator until firm.



While that is getting cold, drain a jar of maraschino cherries, place them on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for an hour.



When everything is cool, take 1-2 teaspoons of filling and form a ball around the frozen cherry. This is going to be a little more difficult if you keep the stem in but you can do it.
After they are all coated, put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze them for an hour.



You can use the dipping chocolate blocks you get at the grocery store if you want to or you can use chocolate morsels. Next time I’ll use the dark chocolate morsels but for this project I used milk chocolate. I put a bag of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melted them - (microwave for 30 seconds at a time stirring after each time) until creamy and soft. Don’t over cook the chocolate or it will dry out.
Now take a frozen cherry and coat it with melted chocolate. Make sure that you don’t leave any holes were the liquid might leak out later. The chocolate will harden pretty quickly on the frozen cherry so move fast.
Now wait a few days to give the sugar coating a chance to liquify. They will keep in an airtight container for a month.



I had some extra chocolate so I toasted some Almond slivers and mixed them with the left over chocolate and put about a teaspoon each in a paper candy cup.
Now that you have made your candy you can place them on a pretty Christmas plate and give them to friends or bring them to a party. Better yet, paint a Christmas design on a plate and really make an impression!
Plate painting directions can be found here:
http://www.growitfirst.blogspot.com/2013/08/grow-it-first-with-ck-worley.html



Looking for a quick stocking stuffer? Give the gift of a garden with some gloves and good starter seeds. I like Martha Stewart’s 100% certified organic seeds. Then make sure that you include a card with my "seed sowing" blog post on it.
http://www.growitfirst.blogspot.com/2012/02/grow-it-first-with-ck-worley-sowing.html

And now for one last thing-

“But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation - or, whether we choose to become stronger through all of this struggle - to rebuild on a solid foundation. And I believe we are in the process of starting to rebuild on that foundation. That foundation is our trust in God”. Billy Graham

A Hide Away Treasure Box - Inexpensive Gift #10

I found these old children’s books and thought I’d make a hollow hide away treasure box out of them.
I use two books to give my box more depth. You can use just one book if you choose.I mixed some Elmer’s glue with water and brushed the outside pages of the books. This will hold the pages together to create a box. Note: Don’t make the glue and water solution too runny or you’ll get puddles. Make sure you hold the book down while the pages soak up the mixture. I left a couple of pages loose at the front of the book to help with the illusion.



I put pencils between the glued pages of my top book and the opening pages so my opening pages wouldn’t get stuck. The weight will help the book dry tightly together so there aren’t any gaps.
I glued the cover of the second book down with full strength glue. Let the books dry with the weights on them so everything is tight and secure.



Drying time needs to be a couple of hours or overnight. When the book is dry - Open the book to the first glued page. Take a ruler and draw a box leaving a half inch boarder all around. This is the line you will follow while cutting.



Use a utility knife to cut along the lines. This will take a while and you’ll have to carefully cut through all the pages a little at a time. Don’t rush this. Cutting through the back of the top book and the front of the next book will be difficult but it will be worth it.
Once you get to the desired depth, you’ll need to brush away all those little fuzzy pieces a loose strips of paper.



Now brush the glue and water solution all over the inside. Let it dry and do it again. You’ll need to do this several times to make a smooth box. You can spray the inside with a clear enamel instead but you’ll have to do that outside because of the fumes.


You can leave the box as is or you can line it with material. I had some old faux leather so I used that to line the box. I used a hot glue gun for this part. Make sure the material lines up with the top of the box and then smooth the rest down.

There you have it. Looks like a stack of books on a desk but only you know where the treasure lies!



“Friends, God wants to use you, your experiences, your passions and your gifts, and, get this, He even wants to use your failures. He wants to use all of that for you to help others see what it really means to follow after Jesus.”

Dr. Marnie Crumpler