Patriotic Craft Time!

My husband can finally see something come from one of these old windows I've been carting around through the move, hahaha, yay!

I've had this project in mind for a while and I was glad to finally get around to it this weekend! I used all leftover or free materials: Leftover acrylic paint from a painting party for a friend quite a while back (a great idea for a housewarming party for a friend's first place, fyi), a wooden star as a guide shape, leftover tape from garage sale, and a neighbor's old window that they left curbside when they got new ones.

After thorougly cleaning the glass and frame, I started by measuring out stripes.

If anyone knows how to effectively clean "chippy wood" without breaking off the paint chips or soaking the wood so that it swells or needs a long time to dry, please let me know. I may love shabby chic decor, but I am not one of those people who thinks shabby means dirty. I want things to look antiqued, but not dirty. Going into this project, however, I knew that this was destined to hang on a wall outside, so I didn't stress too hard over the dirt that was super-stuck in the cracks of the paint.

Then I taped all the way across. I made sure to start with red paint first and do the white second because I knew if I painted red on the backside of a white stripe by accident, it might show through.

Now if you're doing this project yourself, you might want to invest the dollar into a foam stamp for the star. I just happened to have this wooden shape handy and really didn't want to hike it to the mall (my nearest craft store...yarg mall parking) just for a stamp. So I used this to give me my outlines, then painted them with a brush after that.

Obviously it's pretty important to make sure your first layer of paint is dry before painting the next color. With the acrylic a few times I thought it was dry, went to add a second coat and then accidentally messed up the first, non-dry coat. Woops. That's the great thing about this style, though, streaks are at home.

Let it dry in the near-summer sunshine....

Grand reveal.....
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Ta-da!

Definitely a little more schoolhouse-style than I was going for, but that's alright, I still like it!

Now to add some hooks to the backside and hang it up outside!

Hope you had room to have some creative fun this weekend, too!

I Could Not Have Anticipated How Good That Would Be

Oh my goodness, so I saw those freezer-bagged, slow cooker meals on Pinterest and thought, "what a great idea!" I made up some beef stroganoff with recipe from my childhood, and I tried one of the recipes from the originator of the picture, Stephanie over at Mama and Baby Love. I made up the Chicken Curry, and after that success I will definitely be trying some of her other recipes.

Omnomnom, it was soooo good! And super easy. I would recommend being around for the last hour or two if you're making it for the first time, just so you can see how your slow cooker does with it and if you need to turn it off or add water. The recipe does not call for any water or broth and that is correct! Don't doubt it, it's right. 

Curry is different depending on where you buy it or who made it. It's not a specific spice, it's actually a spice combo. Like pie spice or taco seasoning. I prefer this stuff from above, which actually comes in tablets like CandiQuick. It's super tasty, I've been able to buy it in the international foods section at Kroger and Meijer both, in a few cities, so give it a try. The curry box is only like 2.50 and the recipe makes 2 dinners.

And there you go! Super tasty and super easy! Head over to check out the recipe here. 

Cake Pop Tips (and the last Christmas wrap-up)

Things I learned while making these cake pops, and while failing at making the batch before this.

1: If you're making the kind of cake pops that are baked cake mixed with icing like I did (not baked in a special pan), make sure you refrigerate and preferably freeze your pops (with stick already in them!) before dipping them. Only take some out at a time to dip, they should be as cold as possible so they stay solid in the hot coating and don't leave crumbs in your chocolate.

2. Make sure your chocolate is deep enough to cover the entire cake ball easily, including where the cake pop and the stick meet. You will probably end up with extra melted chocolate when you're done and that's better than making crappy cake pops, so just roll with it even if you're a "waste-not/want-not" fanatic like me. 

3. When you dip the cake pops, lift them out of the chocolate by using a fork to scoop them out. No one will see the bottom and it is just one more thing preventing them from falling off of the stick. 

4. The chocolate will set quickly after they are dipped, because the cake pops are cold! Add your sprinkles etc quickly after dipping them. You can dip oreos in the leftover chocolate and they'll be more forgiving. 

Some general chocolate dipping tips:

A double boiler will always work best. If you don't have one, just lay a tight fitting glass bowl over the top of a saucepan. 

Chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa solids will melt at a lower temperature and be easier to keep at an even consistency. Conversely, chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa (i.e. the dark chocolate bars that boast things like 65% cacao) will melt poorly and burn easily. Use a creamy milk chocolate for best dipping results, or semi-sweet baking chips if you want a "dark chocolate" coating (since they're made to melt in cookies). My favorite bars of chocolate to dip in are Hershey's Symphony bars. 

An easy thing to use if you're dipping in chocolate for the first time is the "candy coating" you can find in the baking isle. 

When chocolate goes from melty and smooth to crunchy and starts getting solid again, it is called "seizing." Any addition of water or cold milk will cause your chocolate to seize. If it starts to happen, try adding a little bit of vegetable oil and mixing well. (If I were melting most of a 12 oz bag of chocolate chips and they began to seize, I would add about 2 Tbs of oil and mix). 

We liked chocolate cake mixed with chocolate icing and dipped in white chocolate the best, it was very "cookies and cream." I was shocked when I tried these and found that one box mix of cake and one store bought icing container made 50 cake pops! Nom nom nom. Happy Dipping!

Pinterest Hack FTW

The Better Homes and Gardens picture:

The hack I made for free using supplies around the house and an overdue trim of the holly shrub in the front yard:

My apologies for comparing a professional photo with one from my iPhone. It's not that it was complicated, I'm just glad it turned out cute!

On Sending Christmas Packages

It’s that time again…. time to overwhelm our Postal Service workers with cards and presents. Here are some tips to minimize the time you spend in the Post Office.

1. Prepare In Advance
Make a list of at least roughly what you’re sending this year, then go to the Post Office early in the season to pick up boxes and stamps. Even better, order supplies online and have them delivered to your doorstep! The less you can do while standing in the post office and the most you can avoid the last-minute rush, the better off you’ll be.

2. Remember to Check the List Twice
Check the post office’s list of hazardous materials they don’t send. There’s nothing that squashes the Christmas spirit more than putting someone’s safety at risk. For instance, did you know the Post Office can’t send Lithium batteries like those in cell phones? So if you’re giving one this year, talk to the store about having it shipped directly so that the store can handle it correctly.

3. Flat Rate Is Your Friend.
This is especially great for sending that heavy fruitcake and bulky sweater to grandma. Just grab a flat rate box, it’s one charge no matter what the rate. The sizes and prices are listed on the Post Office website but you might want to check your local branch to see what they have in stock if you're not ordering them online, especially the closer it is to the 24th.

^ The heavy bakeware and accessories I sent to a friend for her bridal shower fit perfectly in a medium flat rate box. The postal worker didn’t believe me when I told him it was cheaper so he weighed it; I saved $5 on just that box.

4. Don’t Bother With Packing Peanuts
There are sooo many options besides buying filler! Start stockpiling old newspapers. Grab some knock-off zip-lock bags from the dollar store, puff them up with air and use them as packing pillows. Heck, grab some dish towels or wash cloths from the dollar store instead, at least they’re functional instead of just getting thrown away. But for goodness sakes, don’t pay for packing peanuts.

5. Get Your Boxes Ready
If you use boxes you had on hand, way to re-use! Woohoo! Just make sure that all old labels and addresses are covered up. Did you know that you can have your packages picked up from home, too? An entire holiday season of shipping done entirely from home, you say? Why yes, that does sound amazing.


Happy shipping! What will you be sending this holiday season?

Homemade Caramel Sauce

A leave-it dish to impress your friends with.

This is oh so simple and oh so yummy, I just had to share.

Ingredient: One can of sweetened, condensed milk.

That’s right, only one ingredient. Take said ingredient and immerse it in a pot of boiling water (on it‘s side works best). Make sure the pot is big enough to allow for a rolling boil at least an inch or so above the top of the can. Let ingredient boil for 1 ½- 2 hours. The only tricky thing is not forgetting to check every 20-30 minutes and make sure there is enough water in the pot, otherwise you will mark the inside of your pot. Also, if your water is particularly hard you will want to have some vinegar on hand to soak your pot in afterward.

Viola! Open the can to find golden brown caramelly wonderfulness. It will have a consistency of caramel sauce and taste like Mexican dulce de leche.

What should you do with this impressive yet simple treat? Top some ice cream! Use it as an apple dip! Top some baked pears. Drizzle it in a pan of brownies before they hit the oven. Whatever you do, enjoy your new easy and versatile treat.