Wednesday, February 29, 2012

And I'm Still Feeling Crafty

In my last post I left you with this photo and asked you to think about what you thought it was. 

Would you have any idea that a few hours later THAT became this

We've really been needing something to hang above our table, but with 17' ceilings hanging a chandelier or light fixture is not an easy (or cheap) task.  After perusing through blogs the other day, I found instructions to make these yarn chandeliers.  So here's how I did it.  

What you need:
1 spool of cheap white yarn
Cornstarch
All-purpose glue (I used Elmer's)
Clear spray paint
Balloons
Vaseline

Blow up your desired amount of balloons in various sizes.  An odd number will look best while hanging, I ended up using five of these.


Coat each balloon liberally with Vaseline.  This will prevent the yarn from sticking to the balloons.  Mix about 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup glue, and 1/4 cup water in a disposable bowl.  Dip your yarn into the glue mixture and then genlty run it through your fingers to get the excess glue out.  Start by wrapping the yarn around each balloon vertically then gradually start wrapping it around in all different directions.  When you've run out of yarn, tuck the end under one of the wrapped pieces of yarn.  Hang each balloon up using excess yarn.  I used two chairs with a shower rod placed between them, and hung the balloons from the rod.






Let them try for a full 24 hours and then pop each balloon.  Spray the balloons with the clear spray paint for extra protection.  When they were completely dry, I hung them from the ceiling with fishing line to give them a floating look.  Here's the final product!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Feeling Crafty

Mr. T and I just had our one year anniversary in our apartment.  Lately I've been looking around and wishing to spruce our little space up a bit.  I dove into two projects this past week, and they were both a complete success.  Project #1: something for our very plain front door.

Coffee Filter Wreath

To make the wreath, I started with a grapevine wreath.  We have a giant front door, so I selected the 18" wreath.  If you have a normal sized door you'll probably want to use one that is 12".  The only other supplies I needed were a package of 200 small natural colored coffee filters, a low-temperature glue gun, and ribbon.  Start by applying a dime-sized amount of hot glue in the center of a coffee filter and press it into the wreath.  Repeat this step with all 200 filters. Make sure to place each filter close to each other so you won't get any holes.




 

And that's it!  I found some snazzy leopard print ribbon I had left over from Christmas time do adorn the top.  Here's the final product.


Stay tuned for my next around the house project.  Here's a preview of what it looked like during the creation stage.  Any ideas of what it could be? You'll be shocked at what the end product looks like.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Super Bowl Sunday Recipes

This year for the Super Bowl, Mr. T and I went to a friends house to watch the game.  They had a taco bar which is such a great idea for a football party.  I brought one of my favorite salsas, a Black Bean and Mango Salsa. 



Black Bean and Mango Salsa:
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 medium mango, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper


Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Since there are no tomatoes, this recipe is a great alternative to other traditional salsas.  It's sweet and spicy and SO good with chips.  I love serving it with freshly baked tortilla chips, a tasty healthier alternative to the fried ones.  I came up with this recipe after not knowing what to do with the value-sized 4 pound package of corn tortillas my mom gave me.
 Baked Tortilla Chips 
(serves 2)
4 corn tortilla rounds
1 tsp EVOO
Salt

Preheat oven to 425.  Cut tortillas into wedges. Brush each wedge with a very small amount of extra virgin olive oil, just enough to make the tops shiny.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.


Bake 5 minutes, and then turn each tortilla wedge.  Coat the other side with EVOO and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for another 3-4 minutes until edges turn slightly brown. 


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