9.21.23: butterkin squash
9.21:22: thru the years
9.21.21: TT - microwaving couscous
9.21.20: face mask with clear front
9.21.19: antipasto pasta
9.21.18: rhubarb bbq sauce
9.21.16: sprinkles no-bake cheesecake
9.21.15: german chocolate cupcakes
Welcome to day camp - it's either a place for you to get inspired and want to make stuff, or a place where I can show off the cute things I've made since my family is tired of my texting them pictures every day! Just like camp I do all kinds of fun projects - crafts, DIY, bake, cook, garden and more - and can't wait to share them with anyone looking for ideas.
9.21.23: butterkin squash
9.21:22: thru the years
9.21.21: TT - microwaving couscous
9.21.20: face mask with clear front
9.21.19: antipasto pasta
9.21.18: rhubarb bbq sauce
9.21.16: sprinkles no-bake cheesecake
9.21.15: german chocolate cupcakes
I had leftover ganache from making LeDonna a german chocolate cake for her birthday - I got it out of the fridge last night thinking I'd just pitch it but then remembered that I could roll it into balls and make super easy truffles. After rolling the ganache into balls I put them in the fridge to firm up (the ganache melted pretty quickly in my hands), and then rolled them in powdered sugar. Store in the fridge.
From the blog post for German chocolate cake:
Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate, stir until the chocolate has melted. Let it rest on the counter for about an hour uncovered and it will thicken up a bit. Then you have options - you can serve warm as a glaze or ice cream topping; chill it in the fridge for a filling or scoop out with a melon baller into truffles and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder; or whip on high speed with an electric mixer for a whipped ganache frosting. This is SO GOOD - any way you use it!
Note: I whipped the ganache into frosting for the cake so that is what the truffles are made out of, I haven't made them with unwhipped ganache yet.
9.20.23: chocolate chip cookie pie
9.20.22: thru the years
9.20.21: 30 minute tomato sauce
9.20.19: hairy pretzels
9.20.17: funfetti cake dough brownie layer cake
9.20.16: finish what you start
I made this visor for Natalie's birthday - she is a huge Harry Potter fan so we looked at bunches of ideas before deciding on this simple 9 3/4 (if you know you know!). I played with different sizes on the Cricut Design Space; once I got it where I liked it I cut it out using iron-on vinyl. It's a 2-layer design, so I tacked the white background circle in place for a couple seconds with the iron, and then topped with the black circle outline and numbers and ironed for the recommended time.
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| the 2 layers before I ironed them on |
9.19.23: TT front loading washer
9.19.22: thru the years
9.19.21: 🔥 week 38
9.19.20: meaty minestrone
9.19.19: card stock gift box
9.19.18: strawberry swirl cheesecake
9.19.17: paper mugs
9.19.16: Steve's mac and cheese
9.19.15: dog crate cover
Thanks to everyone who entered to win the 9 year blogiversary drawing! I put all the names on pieces of paper, threw them down on my desk, closed my eyes and picked one - congrats goes to...
Drumroll please.........
Miss Jen!!!!!! Woohoo for you!!! I'll contact you about the GC so think about where you'd like to shop with it hahha!!
9.18.23: and the winner is...
9.18.21: Crocheted Afghan for Brook
9.18.20: kid craft: painted mason jars
9.18.19: German chocolate poke cake
9.18.18: plant hanger
9.18.16: Steve’s Mac and cheese
9.18.15: laundry room tip
I will draw for the blogiversary prize this morning and let you know the winner tomorrow! In the meantime, here's a little tip for the day:
I wore new jeans to the movies and even though I thought I was being super careful, my buttery popcorn soaked thru the container and left a stain on my jeans. Ugh.
I googled how to remove the stain and tried one idea of topping the stain with dawn dish soap, scrub with a brush, and rinse out with hot water. It took a couple tries but sure enough - no more butter spot!! I mentioned it to Tesha and she told me that the Dawn Powerwash spray also works really good. So happy my guilty popcorn treat didn't ruin my new jeans, whew.
PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEDONNA AND ALLYSON!
9.17.23: 🔥 week 38
9.17.22: and the winner is...
9.17.21: winner winner...
9.17.20: MSIH - Mexican jalapeno poppers
9.17.19: TT - apple chart
9.17.18: make a giant candy card
9.17.17: apricot, pine nut, goat cheese spread
9.17.16: german chocolate cake
9.17.15: organizing craft room
Annnnd now it's 9 years!!! 3,274 posts all together - crazy. Crazy but also very fun, and I have no intention of stopping yet so hopefully you'll keep coming to day camp with me :)
Well this year has flown by and the blog anniversary snuck up on me! I told myself a month ago to start working on a post and then I just remembered yesterday that it's here already hahahah. So in order to get this posted on time this morning I'm just copying what I've written in the past haha, no reason to reinvent the wheel.
I'm so thankful that you are here at camp with me - whether it's looking for craft ideas or recipes, getting some tips, reading my silly stories and book reviews, seeing what my friends and family contribute on guest posts, being inspired to be creative...whatever the reason, I'm happy you're here whether it's been for all 9 years (in which case, thank you!) or if you've just found this blog (and if so, welcome!).
To thank everyone for joining me on my blog journey, and to celebrate 9 years, I'm giving away a $35 gift card (your choice of store as long as I have access to it, but I'm partial to the crafty ones like Michaels, Joanns, and Hobby Lobby).
There are a couple ways to enter to win:
PS: I've been getting lots of views from out of the country, probably automated phishing attempts, but just in case there are actual eyes on the blog haha I am limiting entry to the U.S.
9.16.21: blogiversary
9.16.20: 5 Year Anniversary
9.16.19: enter to win
9.16.18: 🔥 week 37
9.16.17: MMDC Turns 2
9.16.16: Celebrate!
9.16.15: first ever post: Sprinkles
Dear Campers ~
Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:
Posts ~
9/8: 🔥 week 36
9/9: individual vegetable cups
9/10: TT practicing with piping tips
9/11: mini wedding cake
9/12: antipasto skewers
9/13: creamy baked pasta
9/14: words (bit stressed)
What's Cooking ~
That's it for this week! Make sure you stop back tomorrow for a surprise - well not exactly a 'surprise', it's the same thing I post every year on 9/16 haha but hope you'll check in!
9.15.23: words
9.15.22: 7 years later...
9.15.21: year 6!
9.15.20: strawberry cheesecake poke cake
I'm not particularly stressed but this made me laugh :) Happy Saturday!
9.14.21: TT - truck bed organizer (short person solution!)
9.14.20: cake topper
9.14.19: 4th Anniversary
9.14.18: how to use a Big Shot
9.14.17: road trip - S. Dakota
9.14.16: pina colada cupcakes
Quick idea from LeDonna that I've never heard of - she adds cream of mushroom soup to her spaghetti sauce, tosses it all together and tops with cheese, bakes until heated thru.
She brought some for lunch the other day and I loved it! This time she added chopped zucchini and fresh basil, yum. Not a great picture but you get the idea:
9.13.23: sweet potato breakfast hash
9.13.22: TT table covering
9.13.21: chocolate cola cupcakes
9.13.20: 🔥 week 37
9.13.19: MSIH - zucchini breads
9.13.18: card with gift holder
9.13.17: road trip - Mt. Rushmore
9.13.16: wine cork keychain
Here's the second app we made for the anniversary party last weekend (click here to see how to make individual veggie cups) - and these antipasto skewers were a big hit. Thanks to lots of helping hands we had an assembly line going for threading the skewers so putting together a large quantity wasn't too time consuming.
Our 6" skewers held an assortment of ingredients:
9.12.21: 🔥 week 37
9.12.20: sausage and potato soup
9.12.19: lemon zucchini bread
9.12.18: how to make 'perfect' cheesecake
9.12.17: road trip - eclipse hunting
9.12.16: wood canister holder (junkin' with Candy)