Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Witches Hat

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Today's Project: This witches hat. (Sorry I was feeling to lazy to take pictures of the process).
I picked up a paper mache witches hat from our local craft store for $1.99. Then I ripped up some fabric scraps and used Mod Podge to glue them around the hat. Then I painted the base black and used tacky glue to attach a scrapbooking metal frame for the buckle. Makes me excited for Halloween!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The $10 Wall

Upstairs we had an "extra" catch-all room. This is what one wall looked like (which was painted with love a few years ago for a couple of cute little boys who are now downstairs). It needed a redo. It had black permanent marker in a few too many places.
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Since this room is bigger than my daughters room and I had to paint anyway....I decided to move her over. I painted this yellow color.
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But it needed a little decoration. So, I took these of these chargers ($1.99 each) that I got from the Hobby Lobby.
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And then I cut some purple fabric scraps into strips.
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And then I used Mod Podge to glue them down in a random fashion
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Then I found a leaf pattern from my computer and cut out 5 leaves for each flower from heavy purple fabric.

I traced the plate and made a pattern so I would know where to place them around the center.


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Then I used a paint roller to roll some fabric starch onto the leaf.

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Then I pressed it onto the wall, slightly under the pattern and smoothed out. At this point you can use a sponge to spread more fabric starch onto the top of the leaf. (To remove the fabric from walls, just dampen and peel off)
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And here are all of the petals:
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Repeat for any other flowers you want.
To hang the chargers, we used Gorilla Glue to glue a teeth bracket to the back, then hung them on a nail in the center of the petals.

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I'm happy with how it turned out. The flowers are big enough they take up an entire wall. I like the modern/shabby look of them.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Grill once, eat (at least) thrice

Don't you love it when everyone likes (and eats) their dinner. This week we did something that saved time, and everyone likes all three meals.
We grilled chicken once and ate three meals off of it (and still have a little chicken left to freeze). We got Mexican, Italian and American out of it, so it didn't feel like we were eating the same thing every meal. And the best part of it, everyone liked all of them.

So, first grill ups lots of chicken. Some with instructions for the Grilled Chicken Quesadillas, and the rest seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

Night One:
Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

Night Two:
Ranch Chicken Pizza (I didn't use arugula)

Night Three:
Chicken Phillies Recipe (Sorry I couldn't find the source)

Grilled Chicken
Onion
Multi-colored peppers
Olive Oil
Shredded cheese
Hoagie Buns

Turn your oven on to broil. Slice the chicken, peppers, and onions thinly and saute them in olive oil. Place on your hoagie bun, add cheese and broil about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and heated through.

YUMMY!


Tips on being smart and safe

Last night we had a church meeting for women on different aspects on being prepared. One of our teachers works at our local prison and had a few great tips I thought I would share. It's one of the things you hope you never have to use, but it's always good to be reminded. I can't remember all of them but here are a few:

1) Never park next to a "cargo" type van in a parking lot.
2) When you go out to your car, hold your one pointy key in between your index and middle, it could be a good way to poke an intruder in the eye!
3) If a stranger stops to ask for directions, etc, (even if it is a little old lady), at least keep arms distance away.
4) If you have GPS, don't label home "home"
5) Wasp spray can be used as pepper spray.
6) Change up routes and daily routines.
7) If someone throws an egg at your windshield, don't wipe it with your windshield. It will turn white, you will have to stop, and your attackers could get you. Instead drive the best you can until you can get to a public place and then stop.
8) Always lock your car while pumping gas. An intruder could get in on the opposite side of your car while you are pumping.
9) Sleep with your keys next to your bed, and then you can hit the panic button for your car and it will start beeping in case of an intruder in your home.
10) Strap your purse to your cart, so someone can't grab it easily.
11) Stay on levels 2-12 in a hotel. The first level is the most often broken into, the higher levels are harder to get to in a fire!

Hope this is a helpful. Have a happy and safe day!