Tree Cookies: A Nature-Inspired Dessert

Recently I've been lucky enough to be designing some really cool natural playgrounds at work. Natural playgrounds include spaces made from nature, like tree stumps, stepping stones, land forms/earthwork, etc...

Something I really love about one of my current projects is that it includes tree cookies (source for pic) . A tree cookie is a slice of a tree stump that is placed in the ground and used as a paver. As I was thinking about these for my project, I started wondering about the best way to make an actual tree cookie dessert.

So I went to the store and ended up with a couple packages of cookie mix (sugar cookies and chocolate cookies), some Nutella, and a bag of mini Oreos. [Note: It is important to hide the Oreos if you're not making the cookies right away or someone, like, I dunno, your boyfriend, may try to eat them.]

I mixed up the sugar cookie batter, and then, putting some flour down first, I rolled the dough out flat (as you might do for cookie cutter cookies) and made it into the shape of a square. Next I spread a thin layer of Nutella over the top. Then, starting at one end of the square, I rolled the dough, ending up with a cylinder shape of cookie dough (with the Nutella forming a darker spiral in the middle - this represents the tree rings that tell you how old a tree is). Then I put it in the freezer.

Next I made the chocolate batter. Once the sugar cookie batter was solid enough, I brought it back out of the freezer and cut it like a log. I then put them on the cookie sheet. Around the outside edges of these I put little chunks of the dark batter, so that they would form an abnormal kind of edge, much like tree bark.

Once the cookies were done baking, I put a thin layer of Nutella on the edges, and then rolled them in mashed-up Oreo crumbs as a final touch to represent the bark of the tree. I think they turned out pretty alright! If I do it again I would like to experiment with getting skinnier tree rings in the middle somehow.

Framed String Art

So I had seen a lot of string art on Pinterest (like this one) where people make the outline of their state and put a little heart in the middle. I liked this concept so I decided to try a similar technique but with a design that was a little more abstract.

This project started when I was perusing through the reject section of IKEA (a magical place for someone like myself). I found a set of glass doors that had been for a cabinet, or something of that sort. For this project I broke the glass pane out of the center of one of those doors, then nailed baby nails around the entire outside edge. After that I secured some wooden rings (from Michael's) with the string in the center.

I'm quite pleased with the final design and the graphic pop that it provides on the wall in my home.

Hogwarts Follow-up Package

Some of you may remember that my sister, Sarah, made me a fabulous Hogwarts teaching chest for my birthday (see February 2012 posts). Well, as a follow-up to my invitation to teach Muggle Studies, I received a package this summer, complete with everything I would need upon accepting the teaching position. Below is a photo of what she sent me (minus the chocolate frogs- those were eaten long before I got around to photographing all of this).

Here you'll see the wand that my sister made extra special by attaching a door knob to the end - i love green! She also hand-made the clay figurines out of sculpy, and they will adorn my Christmas tree this year.










Additionally, she printed out some coloring pages and an entire paper model of the Hogwarts castle, so I could familiarize myself with the place.

Finally, Sarah got a game of Guess Who and was able to turn it into a Harry Potter version my creating a board and adhering to the back of the original game board. This is to help me get to know my students' names and faces before teaching - love it!

Candelabras are for more than candles!

Thank you Goodwill for this cheap little thing! It is intended for tea light candles, but sometimes a little greenery is a better solution. [Expect more things involving grass to show up on this blog - I bought a small bag of Bermuda grass seed, but that stuff goes further than I thought it would with just a little sprinkle.]

Moss Ball Planter

It's a bit more difficult to find ground moss in Houston than Ohio but when I stumbled upon a small patch the other day on my lunch hour I brought it home and made this little guy. I started with the same mixture that I use for my plant balls - soil, water and a pinch of kitty litter - then added the moss onto the sides. Next, using a tiny plastic shot glass (leftover from my 21st birthday party...4 years ago....), I dug out the center of the dirt ball and buried the cup in the middle to hold the little cutting of Philodendron. That way, if it dies, i can easily lift it out and put in something else without ruining the moss ball.

I love this because I tend to be an over-waterer of plants, and this way I can mist my moss every day and hopefully I won't kill it - hooray!

String Garden Take III

The newest addition to my plant balls...

Hogwarts Teaching Chest

So this craft was not done by me but my sister, Sarah, did such a great job that I wanted to post this. 

For my birthday I received a brown parcel, and when I opened it up, this letter (with these adorable owl earrings) was on top. I had finally gotten my acceptance letter into Hogwarts - however, it was for a teaching position since I'm too old for schooling.

Next I found this pretty chest to hold all of my magical supplies. In it was an array of wonderful things, including wizard money, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs with trading cards (orange chocolate because that's my favorite), and a wizardry notebook - all made by my sister!

Lastly was my "Hogwarts, a History" book - which is actually a Harry Potter book about the movies but she gave it a book cover to make it fit the gift theme - so clever!