Recital

Today's post isn't about making anything, but thought I'd share what I'm doing - it's dance recital time! Yep, I take adult tap classes and LOVE it - this is the first time in a LONG LONG time though that I'm going to be in the recital...I admit I'm thinking to myself "what was I thinking?" but I'm committed and going thru with it, sparkly costume and all. Wish me luck!

what can I say, it made me laugh :)

Picture Frame with Clip

Super simple decorating idea - I took a dollar store frame, put a piece of scrapbook paper inside, and hot glued a clip to the front of the glass. Now I can change out the picture so easily, although this is such a cute picture of handsome Sarge (my neighbor took this picture and really captured his serious little expression) that I probably won't change it any time soon haha ;)

Couple problems: initially I was going to paint the frame a fun color and fill it with bright paper, but the paint I was using wouldn't stick - I could wipe it right back off without any staying on the frame! So yeah, that was a fail. I just found a piece of paper that matched the frame instead.

painting the frame didn't work...

...and neither did using e-6000!

The second problem was gluing the clip on with E6000, maybe I didn't let it set long enough but I couldn't get that to hold... I hot glued it instead and that worked immediately. So if you get a frame that you can use without painting and just hot glue the clip on in the first place (see, I saved you some time) then this is like a 2 minute project. And it's cute!

The clip I had on hand was also a tack, I just removed the tack part with a pair of pliers - it came off with no effort at all.

removing the tack from the back of the frame

I measured where the center of glass is to get it
right in the middle, normally I would have just
eyeballed it though!

Sample Sale Photography

I'll try to make this long story short - I met Jackie at our neighbors house, she has a website/blog/internet radio show about the local lifestyle here in the South Bay (southbaybyjackie if you want to check it out). She does restaurant reviews, openings, all kinds of local happenings - I asked her if she has a photographer go with her to all these events or does she take her own pictures? She usually has a photographer and coincidentally it is the woman (Gloria) who taught my creative photo classes. Small world. Anyway - Gloria got sick at the last minute and couldn't attend this event with Jackie and suggested I might like to fill in. Me! A very very amateur photographer - of course I said yes I would help, as long as she understood that while I know how to use my camera (in automatic mode haha) I can't do anything fancy!

I've never been to a sample sale before, this one was held at a local country club by Hammitt handbags. They were selling what seemed like thousands of bags at a greatly reduced price -  I didn't know what to expect which was a good thing or I'd have been very worried - it was huge! And Crazy! Hundreds of people there, grabbing handbags like they were the last handbags on earth or something :).

There was a band, an artist drawing on a huge canvas, and shirtless salesmen in one room; a DJ and a bar in another; and a food station that had guys grilling cute little things (veggie skewers, sliders, tiny grilled cheese sandwiches) - very overwhelming I gotta say...but SO much fun.

















I snapped pictures like crazy figuring I only needed to get a handful of good ones, and the more I shot the better my chances were of success. For real, I took 180 shots to get 7 or 8 usable ones - so my tip for you whether you get to play professional photographer or just want to make sure you'll have the right shot is to take LOTS of photos...fortunately we don't have to print all of them anymore, with digital it's ok to shoot a ton and just erase the bad ones!

Thanks to Jackie and Gloria for letting me tag along and take photos, and Dave thanks you for somehow curbing my desire to shop the sample sale myself haha!!

Decadent Chocolate Cake

I recently made this cake for a dinner party - thought I'd share. I've had the recipe for years, I think it came from Glamour magazine but can't find it on their site to link it for you so I'll type it out here instead. It's a single layer cake, very rich and dense - I served it with berries and fresh whipped cream to help cut the thick chocolate a bit and everyone seemed to like it. Oh, I don't usually frost it but when I removed it from the pan it cracked almost in half and looked terrible - frosting covers a lot of mistakes! I just used plain old homemade chocolate buttercream.

I thought it needed sprinkles (of course!), no one seemed
to notice that I used leftover from Valentines Day!

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 bars (3.5 ounce each for a total of 14oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3 whole eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour

-Preheat oven  350' and butter a 9" springform pan.
-Put butter and chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat, stir until melted.
-In a separate bowl beat eggs and yolks until frothy. At medium speed beat in sugar until creamy, then beat in flour.
-Fold egg mixture into melted chocolate with a spatula until well blended. Spread in prepared pan.
-Bake until set 40-50 minutes. Let cool.

serves 12
387 calories, 31g fat per serving

roughly chop the chocolate bars 

I don't have a double boiler, but a heavy glass
measuring bowl set over a saucepan of water
works just fine

fold egg mixture into melted chocolate

gently blend together then pour into pan

Canister Vacuum Wand Guard

Quick tip for today - this is my friend Janis's great idea to help protect her walls and furniture from the dreaded vacuum banging into them. She covered the wand with old socks to provide some cushion where they might cause damage. If you have a canister vacuum with a wand this is a simple quick solution, and a good use for old socks - thanks for sharing Janis!

Washi Feathers

I saw this idea today while looking for things to do with washi tape - it's a very easy quick craft and turned out so cute. What a fun gift topper or decoration!

All you need is a piece of thin wire about 7" long and some washi tape. Lay out a strip of tape (I just randomly tore pieces off approx 7" long) adhesive side up and put the wire down the center, then top with another piece of tape. I added a row of tape on either side of the wired middle one (make sure you also put tape on the reverse side so the adhesive is all covered). Cut this rectangle into a feather shape, then make little thin slits up and down both sides.

supplies are wire, washi tape, and scissors

put the wire on top of the sticky side of tape then put another
piece sticky side down on top of it

I put another row of (double sided) tape on
either side of the wired middle piece. Trim into
a feather shape - being careful not to cut your
knuckle like I did! You'd think I'd know better...

 make slits up and down both sides

I really liked the zig zap feather until I made the gold
one - I LOVE the gold one! This is 3 rows of tape for the
top side, turn the whole thing over and repeat for the
under side. 

If you don't already have washi tape on
hand you can find it lots of places, I got a bunch of it at the dollar store.

Click here to see where I found this project.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

I got this recipe from my friend Natalie and made it for Sunday Supper - it's a winner! The only thing I did differently from the recipe is to add 1 Tablespoon of ground ginger and about 1/4 teaspoon of red chili flakes, and I added 2 big handfuls of carrots that I bought in a bag already shredded. I had toasted sesame seeds I planned to sprinkle on top before serving but yeah, I forgot them - it was great without and didn't need them. Adding just a little chili flakes gave it a very minor kick, if you like spicier feel free to add more.

Of course I forgot to take a picture, that seems to happen quite often...it's because I 

get busy with putting the meal on the table and don't take time to photograph before 

we eat it! I remembered to take a pic when I ate the leftovers for lunch the 

next day, mixing in some left over salad toppings (peppers and mushrooms)

 - it was delish this way too :)

I served it with steamed white rice, roasted broccoli, and an Asian salad made up of spring lettuce with chopped fresh pea pods, mushrooms, thinly sliced red pepper, and mandarin oranges topped with this dressing that is so good:

ASIAN SALAD DRESSING:

1/2 cup olive oil
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put all the ingredients in a jar with a tight lid and
shake until well blended.

SLOW COOKER MONGOLIAN BEEF

1 1/2 pounds flank steak

1/4 cups cornstarch

2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup soy sauce

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup carrots, grated

green onions, for garnish

1. Cut flank steak into thin strips. In a ziplock bag, add flank steak pieces and cornstarch. Shake to coat. 

2. Add olive oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar and carrots to slow cooker. Stir ingredients. Add coated flank steak and stir again until coated in the sauce. 

3. Cook for HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-5 hours until cooked thru and tender. Garnish with green onions. 

click here for the Mongolian Beef recipe post and more info. 

Perfectly Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs

I have been making hard boiled eggs for years the same way (put the eggs in a pan, fill with water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat and cover, let rest in hot water for 20 minutes) and they are foolproof, perfectly done everytime. But if the eggs are too fresh then it's always a crap shoot if I could peel them easily (did you know that fresh eggs are the culprit behind difficult-to-peel hard boiled eggs? Yep!) and if I wanted pretty deviled eggs then it was such a pain hoping to get enough nice ones.  I'm making deviled eggs to take to a friends house and of course bought brand new eggs this morning...and then I saw this method with the claim that even fresh eggs will peel perfectly...well of course I'm going to try it!

Bring a pot of water to a boil and then carefully lower the eggs into the pan. Let them boil in a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Drain; then put the hot eggs into a bowl of ice water and let cool for 5-10 minutes. And sure enough, every one of the eggs peeled super easy - I'm shocked. A couple have a sort of dent on the side (I put them on the top in this picture), not sure what that's about, but when I halve the eggs I'll just make sure to put the dented side on the bottom.

Click here to see where I found this - my new method when I need perfectly peeled hard boiled eggs!

Gnome Facelift

My Grandma had 3 old gnomes in her garden for years; my sister and I inherited them and even though they aren't in good condition anymore we both love them and have them on display...just in different ways. Jen has left hers alone (in all their faded glory haha), but I decided to give mine a facelift with a fresh coat of paint - I could have just freshened up the peeling and fading paint to return it to its original look, but instead I went sort of modern and painted it all one color. This is gonna sound strange, but painting over his creepy little face was slightly disturbing I have to say!

I know it's hard to part with gifts and memorabilia from special people, but I'm a firm believer in the idea that it's ok to change the thing to fit in with your decor or taste - better that than getting rid of it or leaving it in storage because it isn't "you". The memory or intent is still there, but change it if that is better for you. You could change the upholstery on a piece of furniture, paint an old table or dresser, reset a piece of jewelry, reframe pictures... I think the person you got it from would be happy that you are using it instead of storing it away! So if you are holding onto something just because your Grandma gave it to you, but you wouldn't in a million years display it, think about if there is a way to change it up and make it useful. I guess I should point out that if it's a genuine priceless antique you might not want to alter it and risk decreasing its value - but Grandma's gnomes are only of sentimental value!

before his facelift - look at that creepy little smile!

I gently scrubbed off as much dirt and old paint as I could, he wasn't perfectly smooth though before I painted him - and it totally didn't matter. Using a foam brush, paint 3 coats of craft paint allowing each coat to dry before adding the next coat; after it's completely dry I sprayed it with clear sealant so he can go outside without the paint washing off - if you are leaving it inside then you can skip that step.

after - I think he's so much cuter like this.

Parrot Portrait

Our creative photo class is over and I'm so bummed - it was a great reason to take photos and have specific projects to figure out;  I'd like to keep it up on my own by setting up my own goals and projects. The instructor talked about giving ourselves assignments every week to continue being creative and seeing things in a different light - her examples were one week shoot only red things, then next week all yellow things, etc. whatever we can think of to stay in the creative mindset. For this weeks self assigned project I worked on taking portraits of our parrot Lucy and got some fun shots. Getting really close to her made for some interesting photos, her feathers up close almost look like a palm tree or something - and I love her foot stretching out to try and grab me! I take pictures of Sarge all the time, it's very hard to capture his face though since he's all black with dark brown eyes - Lucy was much easier and she was a pretty good sport about having me in her face!

She was on the edge of our kitchen island so I got down on the floor and aimed up at her. I think it's a unique perspective and if I wasn't photographing her on purpose with the intent to capture her in different ways I would not have thought to shoot her this way.

This one makes me laugh - even though her body is blurry the claw is clear and coming straight out like she's going to grab me is funny (funny as long as she doesn't actually grab and hold on, that beak is really strong!)

This is an up-close photo of the back of her - changing it to black and white really makes the feathers look cool and different.

Giant Donut Cake

I have this donut shaped pan in the drawer that I completely forgot I had, and now that I'm on my "tidying up" kick I'm going to use the pan and see if I like it - that'll determine if it brings me joy or has to go...

.

I just made a simple yellow boxed cake (follow the directions on the package) in the 2 donut shaped pans. After they cooled completely I made a channel in one of them and filled it with chocolate buttercream frosting and a layer of mini chocolate chips. Put the 2nd cake on top and drizzle with thinned out frosting - and don't forget the sprinkles!

scoop out some of the cake to make room for filling

 I filled with fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting and mini chocolate chips

don't know if the pan brought me joy but eating the leftover scraps of cake sure did :)

Verdict is that I kept the pan. If I don't end up using it more often then I'll donate it on the next kitchen cabinet clean out!

Trash Cup

Here's a quick 5-minute 'craft' that anyone can do and everyone can use! I have been making these for years (and all my family members have received them as "presents" haha) - it's a decorated disposable drink cup that fits in your car drink holder for all the little bits of trash you accumulate in the car (gum wrappers, used gum, ticket stubs, etc.). Love this easy idea :)

use with or without a liner. I prefer a liner
 so gum doesn't get stuck to the cup!

Start with a clean plastic fast food drink cup, you could use styrofoam I guess but the flimsy paper cups aren't going to work as good or last very long. Whatever size you want that will fit in your cup holder.  Either cover the words that are on it with colored or patterned duct tape, or wrap scrapbooking paper around it and hold in place with double sided tape. I line it with a (clean, haha) doggie poop pickup bag (we have tons of them with Sarge around, you don't have to line yours but it'll last longer if you do) and hold it in place with a rubber band.

I covered the words on a Taco Bell cup with cute penguin duct tape...

another option is to cover it with patterned paper. trace the shape of the cup onto the back side of a piece of paper (hold a pencil where you want the paper to cover and roll the cup on the paper to get the correct line and arch). cut out and doublestick tape it in place. 

Hair Tie

Saw this simple pattern online for a "baby hair tie" and since I'm forever looking at headbands and things to do with my short hair I wanted to give it a try. Was very easy, minimal sewing, and turned out cute.











Since the pattern is baby-sized,
I added 5" in between the 2 pattern pieces to make each piece 18" long. Since I didn't have enough material to put this on the fold (that's what they intended, for the flat bottom piece to be placed on the fold, meaning there would be 2 long pieces total), I cut out 4 and sewed them together in the middle where the fold would have been. So I ended up with 2 (36") long pieces with a seam in the middle. Make sense?

Pin the 2 (36"long) pieces together with right sides facing each other and sew all around, leave a small gap so you can turn it right side out after sewing.

Feed it thru the small opening to invert it and have the right sides out, sew up the gap by hand or machine (I did it on the machine because you can't see it, I put the gap in the place where it gets knotted) and then iron it to get the edges crisp.

As I was making it I also thought this would be a great stuffed snake pattern - so if you don't want a head band, maybe give a snake toy a try! :)
















click here for the pattern.