Fresh gift ideas for Her

December is right around the corner! Did you get your gifts yet?

Our picks today are Gifts For Her. Take a look and find the right one for yourself or friend! 

 

Wants to see more? Visit our Pinterest board or type in the search box on Etsy: rusteam, gift for her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Felted Christmas angel DIY

Couple of weeks ago I was asked to prepare a small Christmas project for kids in my girl's class. I decided to make and Angel for Christmas decorating with them. Taking a look around Internet I didn't seem to find what I wanted, so here is what I came up with.

 

1. What we will need:

wool roving in white

1 inch wooden bead with large hole

needle and a thread

felting needle and mat/brush/sponge

2. separate thinner strip of roving about 10-12 inches long

and  thicker one about 5 inches

 

3. tie the thinner roving tightly in half

 

4. put the thread through the bead hole

5. pull out the torso

6. turn upside down and arrange the hair leaving the face uncovered

7. twist a little wool strand

 

8. and tie off the hair

9. if you twist the strand of wool tightly and fold in half (hold the ends) - you will get a yarn like piece like this.

 

10. two of those will be Angel's arms. Putting both arm ends and the remainder of the wool you used to tie off the hair at the back of our doll needle felt all the ends into the torso.

11. tie the shorter piece of roving in half and shape the skirt. Cut off thread ends.

12. Pull in a new piece of thread into the needle, tie a knot. Pull through the bead hole from down to up.

13. Fix with a knot.

Cut off from needle and tie another knot - now you have a loop to hang your Angel from!

Yes, I forgot to take a picture of halo - made just the same way as the arm and needle felted to hold on top of hair :)))

By Nadia Crafts2Love

Hungarian Chicken Paprika recipe

Today Nadia (crafts2love) is sharing with our readers one of her favorite recipes, Chicken Paprika.
Try to cook it and you will love this dish full of flavor!

Nadia:
Since moving to Hungary I have been fascinated by its cuisine. Today I would like to share a recipe not less tasty but perhaps a little less knows than the famous Hungarian Gulyash… Paprikas Csirke (Chicken Paprika) is not hard to cook but it needs a couple specific ingredients… here is what you will need to make it for a family of 6 like mine:

Chicken (legs or whole chicken cut up in chunks with bone) - 1-1.5kg
Onion - 2 pcs
Paprika (red powder spice, made in Hungary for best flavor - 2tbsps
Cultured sour cream -1 cup
Flour 1 heaped tbsp
Salt to taste (ground black pepper optional)

 For pasta to go with chicken:
Tarhonya* noodles or any type of egg noodles - 0.5 kg
Olive oil - 2-3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Directions:

Chicken:
Have some freshly boiled water ready. Cut onion in halves or quarters if it’s large. Put onion and chicken chunks in a heavy bottom pot on high.

Brown the chicken skin. (Some of the fat with drip and the onion will get fried a bit.) Put in paprika and stir fast to coat the chicken but not to burn the spice, pour boiling water to just cover meat, turn heat down and simmer for 40minutes to 1 hour (depending on the size of your meat pieces).

Noodles:
Tarhonya looks like small grain or (the homemade variety) like crumbs. It needs to be warmed with oil in a heavy bottom pan. Another way of cooking it is to totally brown it but my kids like it light. So pour the noodles and oil and stir together in a heated pot. Pour boiling water over the noodles, salt, turn heat and simmer for 15 minutes (sort of like you cook rice).

*If you'd like to make tarhonya noodles at home here is how:

Per person you will need 120 gram of flour, 1 egg, pinch of salt and a bit of cold water. Knead a very tight dough, adding water by teaspoonfulls, form tight balls, grate them and dry the noodles in the sun (or in hot kitchen). It is possible to cook them fresh (without drying), then heat your oil well (and use more of it), drop the noodles in, stir gently, pour boiling water to just cover them and simmer for 15 min. Leave to stand covered and serve with sauce over the noodles.

For chicken paprika you can substitute tarnoya for any other type of egg noodles your family likes.

Sauce:
Mix 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sour cream, salt and flour. When the chicken is done pour int he flour mixture stirring gently and bring to boil. Add freshly ground pepper if you like it.

Serving:
Some of the sauce may be mixed into the noodles or everything just gets served to plates. People might want to add more uncooked sour cream onto their plate.

Jó étvágyat!

By Nadia (crafts2love)

Interview wit a Star, Nadia at crafts2love

If you are looking for the lovely fresh Holiday decor stop by crafts2love shop. You will find a lively company of the snowmen, the poinsettia, which will bloom forever, and the cutest little soft owl. They are all hand made of felt by Nadia, the owner of the shop, who we are interviewing on our blog today.

Please tell us about yourself
I was born in Taganrog, Russia, grew up in Kiev, Ukraine. My husband and I lived in Crimea, Ukraine, Hungary, Namibia, and Uganda plus visited Germany, South Africa and Botswana with missionary work. 9 years ago we came back to Hungary and about year and a half has passed since we settled here in Budapest.

What do you like about where you live now?
Budapest is a beautiful city, very green and artistic. We live in the suburb part of town in a house with garden but just 30 min away from the city center, so I get the best of both city and country life at the same time!

Do you work outside of the home?
No, I am a stay at home mom, my four kids are 12, 10, 6 and 4 years old and I devote my time to them.

What inspires you?
Felting is a very special form of craft to me, similar to painting or sculpting. You start with shapeless wool and transform it into whatever you wish. That in itself is an inspiration to me. I like working with natural things and ancient methods as it somehow brings me feeling of completeness.

How did you begin with your art?
I started felting as a hobby and a way to make things for my family. Since childhood I was inclined to arts and crafts and have done a lot of them through my life like being a balloon artist for example. I can also draw, paint and crochet. My husband and I lived in different countries as missionaries and I always found it handy to be able to come up with needed projects – from making balloons and being a clown to sewing a puppet theater. So it was always in my blood and finding myself less busy recently I needed a challenge and wanted to learn something new so I found felting!

 
I make about anything and everything there is to make from wool, experimenting with textures, different types of wool and other natural fibers. Come over to my shop and see!