Holiday crafts featured on show

Information on holiday crafts, family traditions, and decorating a mantle or bookcase will be the featured topics on "Creative Living" 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday and noon on Thursday. (All times are Mountain.)

Jann Johnson is a designer and crafter from New York city, and she will show how to make some crafts for various holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These are all very easy and very inexpensive to make and would be great projects for kids to do.

Charlene Patton is with the Home Baking Assn. in Manhattan, Kan., and she enjoys discovering family traditions and recipes that can be shared and passed from generation to generation. She'll demonstrate one of her favorite recipes from her newest cookbook "Baking with Friends."

Latriece Brooks, owner of Brooks Interiors, will show how to bring nature into the home when decorating a mantle or bookcase. She's from Clovis.

Information on photo transfer projects, making lollipops and using vinyl to make a tote bag will be the featured topics on "Creative Living" noon on Tuesday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. (All times are Mountain.)

Margaret Sindelar, sewing instructor and author, will demonstrate how to do photo transfer projects as she makes baby blocks. She represents Martingale & Co. in Bothell, Wash.

Nancy Siler, Wilton Enterprises, will demonstrate how to mold candy for lollipops and turn them into different characters for different occasions. She's from Woodridge, Ill.

Patsy Shields, author and designer with Sulky of America, will show how to use vinyl, a variety of trims and all that "stuff" we save to create a one-of-a-kind tote bag. She calls this project "trash to collectible totes." She's from Sellersburg, Ind.

Old-fashioned apple cake dessert

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 cups chopped unpeeled apples (about 4 medium apples)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan. Combine sugar and butter in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; blend well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a separate bowl and add to creamed mixture with 1/4 cup milk. Stir in apples, raisins and pecans; mix well. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Optional vanilla sauce for topping

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Thoroughly blend sugar and flour in medium saucepan. Slowly add water while stirring mixture. Add butter and cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Continue boiling five minutes, stirring constantly; add vanilla. Remove from heat and let stand about 5 minutes before drizzling sauce over warm cake. Serves: 12.

"Creative Living" is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink, Albuquerque.