When considering what kind of gift my soon-to-be six-year-old niece would like for her birthday, I thought about her blooming Pez dispenser collection. I immediately remembered a Pex display I once saw somewhere which used ribbon to make small loops through which to hang your Pez. Add this project to the list of things that are not my idea, but I haven't the slightest clue as to where or when I saw it. It was some time ago, I think, and the original that I can still see in my head was a larger board, with many strips of Pez "hooks" on it. This adaptation is for a 24 x 6 inch board, and it holds twelve Pez dispensers, each framed by a different fabric backing. (I imagine there are some other uses for a board like this. For example, smaller ribbon, more strips and loops, might make for a cool jewelry storage/display.)
1. I started by choosing twelve turqoise fabrics from my stash. I cut 2 1/2 by 8 inch strips from each.
2. Sew the strips together, using 1/4 inch seams, so the fabric strips are 2 inches a piece.
3. Choose a grosgrain ribbon about an inch wide that either coordinates or contrasts with your fabric. For a 24 inch long board, I used 36 inches of ribbon plus 2 extra on each end. 40 inches total. That works out to 3 inches of ribbon for each 2 inch fabric parking space.
Pin the ribbon on the fabric seams, leaving slack in the ribbon. Make sure there are three inches of ribbon between ever pin. There will be loops of ribbon. Sew 1/4 inch to each side of the seam. This left a loop that allowed my Pez to slide in, but didn't let any of them fall through. If you have a Pez dispenser with a small, vertically shaped top, you will need a smaller loop. This size loop even worked for my Nemo Pez, which has a tail that makes it sit on a slant.
4. Now it's time for some upholstery. I used a pine board, Home Depot has them for $5 six inches by six feet. They cut a 24" piece for me. I cut a piece of batting just smaller than my fabric piece. Square it all up right side down with the board on top. Pull edges of fabric over the edge of the wood and staple down. Start from the center of a side and work your way out. (For basic upholstery instructions click
here.)
Pull corners taught and staple them down a few times.
5. It's done. Here's a shot of the back:
And here's a close-up of the front:
I added two of those zig-zaggy art hangers from the hardware store to the back. This thing is ready to ship out.
Just a short post to share these photos of a quilt I finished today. If it looks familiar, there's good reason. Check out this post from a few weeks ago. 
I've never really liked Hamantaschen. This fact is not all that surprising as I generally don't enjoy most things jelly-filled. As a child, around Purim time, we would receive many Shalach Manot, traditional "care packages" from friends. These packages always included some of this traditional holiday cookie (triangular to mimic the shape of the villain Haman's hat, hence the name). I remember my sister always loving the ones filled with apricot jam. And I remember trying every year to make a few that were filled with Hershey's kisses in an effort to transform them into jam-free chocolate chip cookies. They were never that great.
First of all, we invited a friend of Naomi's over for a Hamantaschen baking play date. I divided the dough into eight small pieces.
I then rolled each of the balls of dough on a piece of wax paper. Each piece, once rolled to 1/4 inch thickness, was big enough to cut five cookies using our trusty IKEA plastic cups as cutters. These cups are easy for little hands to manipulate and safe for them to handle. I figured each kid, and there were three making cookies, might have the patience to cut out and fill her five cookies. I think that giving each a pre-rolled sheet of dough made the whole endeavor approachable for them.
We arranged a dozen circles on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then the older girls, both 3 1/2, counted seven chocolate chips into the center of each circle. This is change #1. Hershey's Kisses look great and fit perfectly in the center of these cookies. But they never melt into gooey warm bits. Use regular semi-sweet morsels instead.
Here you can see change #2. I've never before seen a Hamantaschen with sprinkles. But when the kids in charge both asked for sprinkles on their cookies, I was happy to oblige. A little egg wash on the outside of the triangle prepped the dough for sprinkle-dom. This part got messy, as sprinkles rained onto my then-shockingly-clean kitchen floor. One girl dropped a bunch of sprinkles around each cookie while the other worked carefully to place all her sprinkles inside the opening on the top of the cookies. (If you know Naomi, I bet you can guess which was her approach.) Finally, the batch was all ready to pop into the oven.
I cannot describe how good the house smelled when this tray was ready.
What could be better than a sugar-chocolate-chip-cookie-with-sprinkles? They were so good. If you're a jam-lover or just a traditionalist, have no fear. After the kids had finished their batch, I used all the remaining dough making more Hamantaschen, including some stuffed with apricot and raspberry pie filling. I also made a tray of mini ones, bite sized cookies made using a shot glass. (The photo at the top shows that tray on its way into the oven.) These were a bit tedious to make, but amazing to have on hand over the last few days. The perfect little bite.
This is the whole family- large and small in each flavor. They all came out so great. I don't think I can remember a batch of Hamantaschen that didn't explode all over my baking sheet. I brushed the inside corners with egg wash before pinching the cookie closed, so maybe that explains why they looked so great. And why it was so easy to clean the baking sheets afterward.
Seriously, I think this might have been the most beautiful Hamantasch I've ever seen. It was certainly the nicest looking one I've ever made.
