Fluffy Bunny Tail Chair Sash Tutorial

These adorable sashes look like a

 little cottontail rabbit

just crawled right up the back of the chair,

burrowed in  and

decided to stay!  

These are super easy and so adorable.  I think

the kiddies won't be able to keep from stroking

their furry tails.  I know I couldn't.

I was inspired by chair sashes at Pier 1.  They 

didn't have the ears and were a little on the small side

so I decided to create these to go with my burlap

table cloth.  I love how they turned out.

So let's start with the easy one before I scare

you away with the Ruffled Burlap Tablecloth Tutorial!

This one anyone can do!

I already had the burlap ribbon which I had ordered

on Amazon.  It is Ashland 10' x 5".  Here is a link

for that.  It also says it is available at Michaels.  You

will need about 2 yards per chair so buy accordingly.

I had to go and buy fur and I found this at

Hancock Fabric,  It was called Bunny Fur.  I had

to laugh at that.  It is long and furry and so fun.

Start by cutting out circles of the fur.  I used an 8 inch

salad plate and 1/4 yard made 7 so if you need more

get 1/2 yard.  

Using a double thread, stitch around the outside of the

fur circle then pull it tight and fill with a handful of

batting.  Pull the opening as closed as possible and

stitch from side to side to close the opening.  Tie off.

Here are some of the tails lined up ready to go.  This

went super fast and I was even doing it with

kiddies playing around me.  

This reminds me of the Star Trek

The Trouble With Tribbles!  These little

guys aren't going to take over though.

Now to make the ears.  I already had some burlap

on hand that I got at Wal Mart.

These are pretty free form so just cut

out two layers at once to get the ears to match.

You could also glue the edges together

but it was quick and easy to serge.

Create the curve of the ears by a little stitching.

I used hot glue to attach the ears to the back side of 

the tail.  Make sure the curve of the ears face the right

way as the bunny is looking away from you.

Tie the burlap ribbon on the chairs and let 

some ends hang down - I did about 12 inches
hanging on each side.

To make it easy to take the sashes off the chairs I

used a safety pin to attach the tail to the sash.

I always love to dress up a chair and these are

super easy and fun.  

I will be posting with 
Foodie Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Home Sweet Home

Metamorphosis Monday
What to Do Weekends
Centerpiece Wednesday

Peter Cottontail Tablescape

It's been a busy week here at

Purple Chocolat Home

sewing and crafting for

Easter and this ruffled

round burlap tablecloth is

the star!  

I have been wanting to make one of these

for a long time and just got going on it

this week.  I will give a tutorial on it later.

I just love the look of it and it goes so well with - 

These adorable Peter Cottontail chair sashes

that I will also give you a tutorial on later.

and finally these darling bunny ear napkin

rings that I made, so you can see it has

been a busy and fun week!

This table brings Peter and friends right

out into the garden with the brown of the

burlap tablecloth.  Can I just say how much

I am in love with this, all ruffles and rustic

yet feminine?

The bunnies are playing in the garden with

the cabbage plates stacked on one another.

Pink and green is one of my favorite combinations.

The first dress I ever sewed in 7th grade was

pink and green for my Easter Dress.

A pretty pink cabbage bowl tops the stack.

It is a beautiful sunny day so these

bunnies really are outside enjoying the weather.

Pink and green is the color scheme,

hoping that soon the garden will be

showing pink and green.

 Both pink and green goblets

accent the table.

This stunning bunny casserole takes

center stage on our table today.

And he is surrounded by his friends.

We have had an extremely mild winter this year

and today was perfect to get outside and play.

What a fun week getting some long awaited

projects done to help decorate for Easter.  Look

for my tutorials on the 

Ruffled Round Burlap Tablecloth

Bunny Tail Chair Sashes

and

Bunny Ears Napkin Rings.

!I was inspired by Susan's tutorial

a few weeks ago on these napkin rings,

having seen them at Pier 1 and they were

fun and easy.)

I will be posting this with

Foodie Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

Home Sweet Home

Tablescapes Thursday

Pink Saturday

What to Do Weekend

Centerpiece Wednesday

Sources

Chargers - Pier 1

Cabbage Plates - Home Goods

Cabbage Bowls - Tuesday Morning

Flatware - Tuesday Morning

Napkins - Home Goods

Green Goblets - Tai Pan

Pink goblets - gift from my niece

Covered Bunny Casserole - Home Goods

Ceramic bunnies - Home Goods

Chair Sash, Tablecloth and Napkin Rings - DIY

Rolo Stuffed Brown Butter Snickerdoodles.

Cookies are my personal weakness

so I have to be careful how often I make

them!  

Now stuff a cookie with chocolate and gooey

caramel and I am really in trouble.

My sister Jean sent me a similar recipe

and I was off to her daughter's house for

dinner so I thought of these cookies.

A Snickerdoodle is my daughter's first choice,

usually not mine, but I was intrigued by the

browned butter.  Brown butter for any baked

good and I am drooling.  My first experience 

with browned butter cookies were these 

Browned Butter Brownies

that my friend Rachel introduced me to and

I promise I could have eaten the whole pan.

I told you I have problems with cookies!!

I love browned butter in savory dishes too

like this

Browned Butter and Sage Pasta

As a matter of fact this is making me want to

do a Browned Butter Week - yum!

So I thought I would give them a try.  I 

don't love the flavorless square caramels,

even though I had some on hand, so I 

decided to substitute with Rolos.  My first

experience with a stuffed cookie was years

ago when my daughter made us Rolo stuffed

cookies.  I think Rolos still make my favorite

stuffing!

Browning butter is really easy and the smell is so

heady!  Yum, I am still smelling it.  The nice thing

is you can start with cold butter.  Slice the cold

butter up and place in a heavy pan.  I use high heat

and when the butter is all melted I turn it down to

medium.

The butter foams up and the butter solids will

brown giving it a nutty wonderful flavor.  I

usually turn my heat down after the butter is

melted and watch it carefully so that it doesn't

burn.

Measure your dry ingredients!

I love these darling measuring spoons that 

my friend Tammy gave me for Christmas!

After you have mixed the wet ingredients

into the dry ingredients you will want

to wrap the dough and refrigerate it.

Wrap the Rolos inside the Snickerdoodle

dough and then roll in the traditional

cinnamon sugar mix.

Sprinkle with a little sea salt before baking

if desired for that sweet/salty combination.

I prefer these cookies warm, while the 

caramel center is still goey and the chocolate

is still melted!  But hey, they are good raw

(not that I am advocating eating raw dough, just

admitting the truth, that I do) and they are good

when cool.  Hubby said they were the best cookies

he had ever tasted.  What a nice guy!  They are 

pretty amazing.

The recipe for the cookie comes from 

Monique at Ambitious Kitchen

and the inspiration to stuff them

with caramel comes from

Maria at Two Peas and Their Pod.

I chose to stuff them with Rolos instead

of caramel squares.  I know you are going

to like this recipe a lot, with or without stuffing.

Rolo Stuffed Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

1 C. butter, browned and cooled

1 1/4 C. dark brown sugar

1/2 C. granulated sugar

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 T. vanilla extract

1 T. yogurt - I used regular vanilla, Greek

is what Monique called for

2 1/2 C. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground sea salt (Maria upped it to 1/2 tsp.)

1/4 C. granulated sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

24-30 Rolos, unwrapped

Brown your butter and let it cool.  You can pour it into

a bowl and pop

it in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it to room temp.

Meanwhile measure out your dry ingredients into

a large mixing bowl and stir together with a whisk.

When the butter is cooled to room temperature, mix

together the browned butter, sugars, egg plus yolk, 

vanilla and yogurt.  Mix until combined then add

the dry ingredients and mix until it is all combined.

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until

chilled.  Refrigerate it at least an hour.  This is

the hard part - waiting!  

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a

small bowl to roll your dough balls in.

Take a ball of dough and flatten it.  Place

the Rolo in the center and pull the dough up

and around the candy sealing it inside.  I like

to flatten the balls just a little as they don't

spread much.  Roll it on all sides in the cinnamon

sugar.  Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.

Place on a parchment lined pan and bake in the

center of the oven for 8-10 minutes.  I found

9 minutes was perfect.  

Remove from the oven and let cool for a few

minutes on the pan until they are firm enough to move.

Enjoy while they are warm and gooey or when

the Rolo has firmed up!  Either way they are great!

Click here for printable recipe.

I will be posting this on

The Scoop

Chinese Potstickers with Homemade Dough

Happy Chinese New Year

and I know just

how to celebrate!

I love taking the challenge of trying

something new and unusual.

My friends, these

darling twin chefs, had made these for

us in the past (making 300 one Sunday

evening for our Neighborhood Walk and Talk)

and I finally was able to finagle the recipe

from them.  They learned this recipe

in Culinary Arts School.

What makes these different from any 

potstickers you have had before is

the homemade dough which gives 

them so much more substance.

These are a mouthful of pure joy.

The dough is super easy to whip up but

I wanted to learn how to roll them out

round so I searched online and found this

amazing couple who were whipping them

out so fast it would make your head spin.  They

are adorable - elderly - and it is the hubby who

is doing the rolling!  Mr. and Mrs. Wong - watch

how amazing he is at rolling the wrappers.

I certainly wasn't as fast as he was but I learned

to turn and roll, turn and roll, turn and roll

to get a nice round shape.

You want to cut your ingredients

into fine pieces.

It is also very important to salt your cabbage, let it sit

and then squeeze it to drain out all of the excess

moisture to make perfect potstickers.

After the dough is rolled out into a circle,

place a tablespoon or so of filling

on the center of the wrapper

then pleat one side pressing it into the

dough of the other side.  This dough is so

fresh you don't need to wet the dough to

get it to stick together.

Watch Mrs. Wong do this - almost magical,

she is so fast!  I wasn't that fast nor that perfect

but I got the hang of it!

Place the fresh potstickers into a frying pan

with a little oil on the bottom.  Add 1C. water

and bring to a boil, cover and let steam for about

10 minutes, check and add more water 1/4 C. at

a time if necessary.  Continue until the

dough is cooked through.  Remove the cover

and let the water boil off and cook until the bottoms

are crispy.

Serve immediately.

I was away from home when I made these

and I didn't want to buy a grocery cart full

of bottles to make a dipping sauce so I took

a chance on

Kikkoman's Ponzu Sauce with Lime

click here to see what the bottle looks like.

We loved the light flavor.  I thought

it was the perfect easy dipping sauce.

The kids were just asking for me to make

these again and I think I will this week!

Chinese Potstickers with Homemade Dough Recipe

Filling

1 lb. ground pork (unseasoned)

1 head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, shredded

1 bunch green onions, thinly chopped

1-2 eggs 

Place the cabbage in a bowl and generously

salt it - 1-2 T. salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Squeeze

it to remove excess moisture.  Mix the pork, cabbage,

carrots and onions and add 1-2 eggs to bind the

mixture together.  

Dough

4 C. all purpose flour

2 C. boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix this together in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer

and knead it with the dough

hook about 10 minutes.  

Remove and cover with plastic wrap and let

sit for 30 minutes.  This is important, so don't

skip the waiting period as it allows the dough to

develop elasticity.

Cut the dough in fourths and roll one piece

into a long snake, about 1 inch in diameter.

Cover the remaining dough.  Cut the snake

into pieces about 1 inch long.  Form into

balls and roll into circles about 3 inches across.

Roll from the center out and turn, roll and turn, 

roll and turn.  Or you can roll them and cut them

with a cookie cutter if you want them perfectly

uniform.

Place a ball of filling in the center of a 

rolled out wrapper and bring the two sides

together at the top, pleating the one side and

pressing it together.

Place 1-2 T. oil in the bottom of a 10 or 12 inch

frying pan and heat, place the freshly made

potstickers in, pour about a cup of water

into the pan and bring to a boil and cover.

Reduce heat to medium and cook about 10

minutes.  Check occasionally to see that you

still have water in the pan.  Pinch off a small

piece of the dough to make sure it is cooked

and then continue to cook uncovered until

the water is evaporated and the bottoms are

crisp and golden.  

Serve immediately.  This made a big batch -

I would say at least 50.  I don't know exactly because

we kept making and eating and making and eating!

Dipping Sauce 

1/4 C. rice wine vinegar

1/2 C. soy sauce

squirt Sriracha sauce

10 drops fish sauce

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. Hoisin sauce

Mix the above and serve.  You can garnish

this with sliced green onions or sesame seeds

if desired.

Or buy the Kikkoman Ponzu sauce with Lime.

Click here for a printable recipe.

Trust me on this one

SOME THINGS ARE JUST WORTH THE EFFORT!

Yum, you will want to make these again and again.

Happy Chinese New Year.

Hubby does business in China and he

will be taking off  for there in a little while but

right now they are all closed up for two weeks

while they celebrate the new year.

2015 is the year of the goat.

My sister Joni and I 

used to get together while we were

both single in college and we would try out

several Chinese dishes and create a feast for

our roommates but we never tried making our

own dough for potstickers.  These would have

been our favorites, for sure.

I will be posting these with

Foodie Friday