Fern Coasters

I soooo loved this project........


We had a 1st communion/cookout party at our house on Sunday for Courtney and I always wanted coasters but all the ones that I liked were WAYYYYYY to expensive. When I saw the demonstration on Martha Stewart's show I was relieved because they are so easy to make. When I was done making them I was really impressed because they looked as if they could be sold in the store. Marty seriously thought I brought new coasters until he saw the mess I made around my crafting section in my basement.



So here we go, lets make some coasters........


First you will need to get all of your supplies

-Iron-on transfer paper for light fabrics ( you can use Avery or Wilton brand)
-1/4-inch thick sheet balsa wood
-Iron
-mat knife or utility knife
-sand paper (150-grit)
-clear gloss oil-based polyurethane
-Adhesive cork drawer liner
-Fern coaster template



****All of these supplies you can find at your local craft store and if you use the coupons you can get discounts on the most expensive items*****


To print the Fern coaster template click here. Once the template is printed you can iron it onto your iron-on transfer paper and cut away extra paper around the design.




Place balsa wood on a flat, heat-resistant surface (do not use an ironing board). Pressing firmly iron the designs onto the balsa wood, FOLLOWING transfer paper manufacturer's instructions. The paper should completely adhere in about 30 seconds


Allow paper to completely cool for 5-10 mins and remove protective backing. With your utility knife, cut out squares along white lines. Sand edges lightly with a fine sandpaper.




Coat front and sides of coasters with the polyurethane, allowing to dry completely for 2hrs and sanding. Repeat this step 4 more times (Oh Yeah....this project takes a whopping 10 hours)




Lastly,place the back of each coaster onto sticky side of adhesive cork drawer liner. Trim cork around coaster with utility knife.





Now..... you are ready to host a awesome Party with your new homemade coasters.

Coconutty Chocolate Chip Cookie

A couple weeks ago my neighbor gave me a recipe for some really good chocolate chip cookies. I wasn't use to them because they did not have the buttery taste cookies are supposed to have. I thought to myself change is good. Yesterday after a weekend of cookout food (which was delicious) Marty and I wanted a sugary treat. So I went to get all the ingredients for the cookies. Long and behold I was missing the shorting and vegetable oil. Then my brilliant husband said "why don't you use the coconut oil for the shorting". But, I was still missing one more ingredient (the vegetable oil). I remembered that I had some walnut oil and I used that to substitute the vegetable oil. When the cookies were done I gave one to Marty, because if he liked it then I knew it was good. Sure enough he did and he said it had a nutty coconut taste. But it feels good to put stuff in your food that only has one ingredient.

But for all you who want to try it. Here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2cup granulated sugar
1/2 Pure coconut oil
1/2 cup of walnut oil
1 egg 1tsp vanilla extract
2cups all-purpose flour
2tsp cream of tartar
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli chips, they taste better than any other chocolate chip out their)

In a bowl beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, walnut oil and coconut oil until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Then put the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt into the sugar mixture. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.

Let them bake for about 8 minutes on 350 degrees F. Then let them cool on a wire rack.

Then wal-lah you have some delicious coconutty chocolate chip cookies and might I add a good call on substituting those ingredients.

Animal Felt Magnets

Today was an uncrafty day. I was so busy running around trying to find Courtney thee perfect first communion gift, I totally lost track of time. On the other hand, I am so excited about what I just made a couple days ago. This project is for all who do not know how to sew or just do not have access to a sewing machine. They are really easy and fun to do. I started doing them a couple nights ago while in bed. Usually, I read in bed at night but that just seems to put me to sleep after 5 or so minutes of reading. They are fun little magnets for the kids to play with and they keep Kat busy while I am making dinner.

You can go to Michaels Craft store to get all of your supplies.

Materials:

Soft felt

embroidery floss

magnets

Once I started I was addicted, I could not stop. I first started of making the tree, cat and dog. When I saw how much she loved them I knew I had to make more so that's when I did the ducks and the water, horse, and the pig. Now every morning when she gets up she runs to the fridge to play with them.

They are 2 pieces of felt. you can cut them out individually or you can fold the felt and knock out two birds with one fold (my silly sense of humor). Once they are cut out then you start to sew them with the floss. You can use regular thread but the embroidery floss is a lot thicker and won't break a easly. So you start by putting the two pieces of felt together and I sewed around the seams with a whip stitch you could also use a blanket stitch (I perfer the whip stitch). Before you finish your stitching put the magnet inside (you can put some stuffing inside if you want) and close it up.

Now that I am finished with these I think I might make a farm house to go with the lonely animals. Or for the oldest daughter I think I might do a alphabet magnet set. We will see, we will see.

Something Old.....Into Something New

A couple days ago I went to a local consignment shop (and those who know me know I am a sucker for junk shopping). I went into the junk shop looking for something to put into a corner of my Dinning room, because I just recently moved some furniture around and that corner just looked so bland. Marty was not to thrilled when I told him "Honey, I am going out junk shopping". But, he knows how I am. I am pretty thrifty, if I am questioning the price of something and I have to make an excuse to justify the purchase. Then I will not buy it, so he does not have to worry to much. Back to the table. I knew I had some stain from a project that I was supposed to do YEARS ago, but never got around to doing it.


So, this is what the table looked like before...

I used the Miniwax spray stain.

Spray on your 1st coat and allow it to dry for two hours. Then after the two hours spray on a second coat. After the four hours are over, the stain did not look dark enough for me.

See what I mean. It doesn't look any darker from the 1st coat.

So, I thought of a show I watch that comes on MPT on Saturday mornings call "She's Crafty" or something of that sort. She showed how to make a stain by watering down some brown Acrylic paint. To apply, use a old piece of cloth and dab it on the furniture to give it an antique look

Once I did that, I was really impressed. That technique made it look like an old table. When the paint dries, spray a sealer on it so the table can keep its look.


Annnnnd here is the table. I think I did a really good job.

Grilled Chicken with Angel hair pasta

Here I go again, it's been a while. Keeping up with a blog is harder than I thought. The day goes by so fast and then more and more days go by and I realized I didn't post anything in DAYS. A couple days ago i was at my mother house and my little sister was making some pasta and OMG it smelt sooooo good. So I thought to myself, why don't I make that for the family but put a twist on it.

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breast
• Pkg. of Angel hair pasta
• peppers (you can pick your own colors, I picked yellow and red)
• Garlic clove
• Medium onion
• 1tbsp of butter
• 1/2 cup of white cooking wine
• 3tbsp of olive oil

1. In a 5qt pot, boil your water and put a little salt (to give the pasta some flavor)and Olive oil (so it will not stick to the pot). Once the water is boiling place your angel hair pasta in and do not break them.




2. While the noodles are boiling you can mince your garlic cloves, peppers, and onions.




3. By now your noodles should be done (b/c they are not thick at all). So strain your noodles and allow them to sit until needed.




4. In a wok saute you veggies with 1tbsp of butter until firm. Then, add all of the white cooking wine and let it simmer for 4min on low.




5. While the veggies are simmering, you can cook the chicken in the grill (you can put your chicken in any kind of merinade that suits you, for about 3hrs).






6. When you chicken is done set aside and cover with foil so it can remain hot.




7. Place the noodles in the wok with the veggies and mix well.





8. Last you can put your food on your plate and ENJOY.