Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Ham and Bean Soup is a classic belly-filling soup that can be made on the stove-top or in your slow cooker crockpot. I like to make a huge kettle of it on the stovetop and can it for later use. For this home canning recipe …
These camping and nature inspired hand-painted seashells are so cute! They’re easy-to-make and can be completed in one afternoon. You don’t need any professional artistic skills to make them. I’m certainly no artist! You’ll need 4″ to 5″ wide clam shells along with a few …
Looking to make some unique homemade Valentine’s Day greeting cards that also double as home decor? If so, you’ll love our pretty Valentine’s Day themed clam shells aka seashells! You can make several of them in just one weekend using 3-5″ wide clam shells and basic art supplies. If you don’t have access to seashells, you can paint these designs onto smooth river rocks or ceramic tiles.
If you enjoy painting on seashells or crafting with seashells…you’ll find over 170+ seashell craft projects right here on the Two Classy Chics blog! We will be sharing more seashell craft projects in the future too!
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We collected clam shells from the beach. Wash them in warm soapy water using Dawn Liquid Dish Soap. Why Dawn? It’s the best at removing sand, debris and fishy odors. Rinse with clean water and air dry overnight.
You can paint the design inside or outside the clam shell. We chose to paint the outside. No patterns or templates were used. Base coat the seashell in your desired color using 2 coats of acrylic craft paint. Allow for 40 minutes of drying between coats. If you want the paint to dry faster, place a fan in front of them (a table top fan works great) which greatly speeds up the drying time.
Use a pencil to sketch out the design directly onto the shell. To keep the painting process easy we used BETEM Acrylic Paint Markers that we picked up from Amazon. They contain acrylic paint, don’t clog, don’t drip, have no foul paint odors and the paint dries fairly quickly. They have dual-tips…use the medium tip to color in larger areas and the fine tip to do all of the wording and outlining in the design.
Look at our image for the designs that we made. You can copy it or use it as an inspiration to come up with your own. Let the paint thoroughly dry for 4-6 hours or until it’s no longer tacky. Once the paint is dry, you need to protect the painted surface by applying a clear coat sealer. You can brush on 2 light coats of Clear Mod Podge Sealer or spray 1-2 light coats of an Acrylic Spray Sealer. Either one will work fine. Let the shells dry.
To turn them into Valentine’s Day greeting cards you want to write your message on the other side of the seashell using a fine point Sharpie Marker. You can write any message that you would like or simply add a To and From. Let dry. That’s it, you’re done!
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I enjoy painting seashells and smooth river rocks as part of a Kindness Project – Paying it Forward group in our local area. We paint shells and rocks with colorful designs and leave them for others to find. You can leave them just about anywhere …
The past 2 1/2 years I’ve been hand-painting seashells as part of the pay-it-forward kindness seashells project. I belong to 3 groups who generously paint and decorate seashells and/or smooth river rocks. Once painted and decorated we leave them everywhere we go for others to …
We have an apple tree in our backyard. It produces a semi-tart baking apple. When I make apple dumplings I like to buy Gala apples at our local Farmer’s Market and combine them with the baking apples from our tree. I will do half and half which I think produces an excellent taste! You can use any variety of apples that you like or combine them like I do.
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When making this recipe I like to make double batches. I will let them cool and freeze some for later use. You will find my FREEZING directions and tips to do that below the recipe if you’re interested in that.
Classic Homemade Apple Dumplings Recipe
Apples:
4-6 large apples
Wash, peel, core and dice. Set aside. I highly recommend that you use an Apple Corer and Slicer when doing your apples. It’s quicker, safer and you waste less! Invest in a good one and it will last you for years!!! A lot of them are dishwasher-safe, but I choose to hand wash mine and air dry.
Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. softened butter (not margarine)
2/3 cup milk
1 tbsp. shortening
In a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients together in the order that they’re given. I will use a spoon and them I get in there with clean hands and work the dough until everything is combined. Set aside.
Sauce:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. softened butter
1 cup hot tap water
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to low or warm.
You can use a rolling pin to roll out your dough onto a dough board if desired. I use a non-stick silicone baking mat on my countertop for rolling and pressing out my dough. It makes clean-up a snap! I separate the dough into 6 mounds. I then use my hands to flatten each mound into a round circle. Saves time and clean-up. Place some of your diced apple in the center of the circle. Sprinkle a little brown sugar and ground cinnamon onto the apples and then fold the dough up around them like shown in the photo.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick baking spray. Place your apple dumplings into the baking dish. Once you have them all completed you’ll want to spoon the warm sauce over-the-top. You can sprinkle additional ground cinnamon on them if desired. Don’t have any non-stick baking spray? Like your baking dish with a non-stick silicone baking mat instead!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place baking sheet into a preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove. You can serve them warm or chilled.
Freezing: I will let mine cool to room temperature. I then wrap each one in plastic wrap and place into a freezer storage bag. I can fit 4-6 of them into a one gallon sized bag, depending on how big I make them. Purge air out of the bag, seal and label. You’ll want to lay the bag FLAT on your freezer shelf…at least until they’re frozen. You can remove one, two or all of them when you’re ready to enjoy them again.
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During the gardening season my tomatoes don’t ripen at the same time. This is especially true during the beginning and at the end of the growing season. So, how do I preserve those fresh homegrown tomatoes until I have enough of them to cook down …
Looking for a fun arts and crafts Valentine’s Day project to do with the kids? These Valentine’s Day hand painted kindness rocks are easy-to-make! They can be given as little Valentine’s Day greeting cards to their friends, used as little home decor accents or just …