Supermoon

It's a bird, it's a plane... it's a ... SUPER MOON!

Hazy red super moon over England in 2011

Ok my nerd side is going to come out here, but I took some astronomy class back in college (that's astronomy the scientific study of stars as opposed to astrology, aka horoscopes) and I was blown away but the amazing details and especially the complexity and size of the universe.  I get all giddy when cool things are happening in the heavens above and I wanted to point out that tonight, May 5th 2012, we will get a chance to see the Perigee moon, otherwise known as the SUPER MOON.  Does it have a red cape and an "S" on it's chest, is it able to leap buildings in a single bound?  Well, no.  BUT it will appear 14% larger than normal, especially when it's low in the horizon.  There is a great explanation of it here: Super Moon

So, if you are able, go outside later tonight and check this phenom out!

Quick Creamy Cheesy Chicken Quesadilla

How's that title for a rockin' alliteration?  I don't know about you, but I've been on a quest for a better quesadilla.  We got this handy quesadilla maker a few years back as a gift, and it's great for a quick dinner.  However, what I normally do is just slap some left over taco meat, and handful of cheese, and what comes out is a dry, crisp, hockey puck of blandness.  The kids and hubby dig them just fine but I want more I tell you, MORE!

Flash forward to a few nights ago I was staring at some left over rotisserie chicken and willing the inspiration gods to come and help me figure out what to make for dinner.  Suddenly, like a mad scientist I started mixing and chopping and... shazam, I had whipped up a little number that was pure deliciousness in a crispy flour shell.  It was creamy, cheesy, ooey-gooey, and oozing with flavor  So I thought I'd share my little recipe.

The best part is I only used left overs and things I had lying around. Nothing I added was earth shattering, but it was one of those slap your hand to head moments and a "why haven't I thought of this sooner" kind of thing.   Ok so in a small bowl I added:


a big handful of finely chopped rotisserie chicken pieces
a spoonful of sour cream
a spoonful of salsa
a dash of taco seasoning

Mix together and spread on a flour tortilla.  Next spread a handful of grated cheese over the mixture, place another flour tortilla on the top and close the lid of your quesadilla maker.  (You can do this on the stove as well)  Soon you will have some sizzling goodness wafting through the air.

Oh these were so much better than my old quesadillas!  You don't even have to dip them in anything else, they were creamy all on their own and the salsa and taco seasoning gave it a punch of Mexican flavor with a hint of veggies.  This would make a good quick dinner, a fast mom lunch, or even a late night snack with the hubs. 

Plastic Canvas - My Second Attempt

With my first plastic canvas project completed, my oldest daughter was immediately begging me to make her a purse next.  Since my first one was free style - without a pattern, I thought maybe I should find a template and see if I could follow it.  I found this template for a little purse with an easy looking pattern.  I even had that same yarn (red heart banana berry) on hand so I thought I could recreate it pretty closely.  Then I realized the narrow dimensions when I measured it out and it was very similar to the first canvas purse I made, which was tall and slim.  So again I opted to do a variation of that pattern, more wide than tall, and a bonus flap so you could close it up.  This is what I came up with:

Not to shabby eh?  My front rectangle was 40 x 30 squares in 7 pt canvas. The side strips were 30x10, the bottom strip was 40x10. The back was 40x70 to make a back plus wrap around to make the flap.  Let me show you the back, that's the first stitch I tried with the blue, green, and aqua variegated yarn

It was just a pattern (starting from the lower right corner and moving left - two lines each) of 5 squares up, then 4, 3, 2, then back up 3, 4, 5 to make that mountain/valley look.  On the next row up I did the reverse coming down.  The yarn just kept switching colors as I went along.  Nice!

When I got to what was to be the top flap of the purse, I wanted to try and new stitch, and I thought a solid color might break up the busy pattern.  I ended up choosing a "scotch" stitch and reversed the angles each time.  After a while it made this awesome diamond pattern.  I really like the way that turned out.  I solemnly vow to use this stitch again!

I love the look of this stitch.  It looks complicated without actually being too hard

Drawing inspiration from the color pallet of the variegated yarn, I decided to make the bottom a bright blue.

The sides I made a lovely turquoise color. I also trimmed the whole purse with the same color.

For the handles I used crochet.  With an H hook, I chained 44 then HDC all the way back across, ch 2 and HDC all the way back and finished off.  I threaded the finished ends on my needle and poked through the side of the bag and secured it from the inside.

The button enclosure was my daughter's idea.  She wanted something sparkly there, so I sewed the button in the center, then made a little chain and looped it, secured it to it could reach up and loop onto the button.  So I realize the colors are bright and very youth oriented, but I could do this same pattern again with some black and white checks or some sparkly silver yarn and it might look pretty classy.  


So here you have it, my first ever attempts at plastic canvas.  I love learning new ways to craft, being creative, and having fun in the process.  I can see how this medium could become so addicting, especially when little purses are just the tip of the iceberg.  The things you can make with this stuff seem endless if you are a creative type.

My next thing I want to attempt is a pre-made, PC purse form that I got at Joann's for $1.49 that looks like this and see what kind of little clutch I can make from that.  It really came with no instructions other than an tiny brochure with a few pattern pictures on it.  Wish me luck on that.  Not to mention, my third daughter is now asking for little yellow purse with daisies.  Guess I better get to work!  More soon, stay tuned....

Plastic Canvas - My first attempt

Well, I vowed to run right out and buy some plastic canvas after seeing an amazing post by Diane Gilleland on how to make some cute modern things out of the stuff, and I DID.  What a great way to use up the buckets of extra yarn I had laying around from my regular crochet crafty madness.  I also discovered plastic canvas (going to call it PC) is cheap, thus making any project I might try pretty close to free!  

The only trouble now was, what to make first?  Online there were patterns for simple bookmarks, magnets, picture frames, but I thought I'd start with something I could use, like a little bag for my cell phone that could double as a little purse for one of my girls if they took a shine to it.  I really didn't have a pattern, I decided to just cut the canvas to the dimensions of my phone and then whip stitch the pieces together to make a little bag.

Now I must warn you that I have never done plastic canvas.  I did cross stitch in high school and colllege, but technically never needlepoint before, so I don't claim to be an expert.  I just wanted to post my experience of trying to make my first project, and maybe help my niece (who lives in another state) to see how I did it.

Ok so if you are like me, you know nothing about plastic canvas... that it comes in different sizes, shapes, etc.  I found a little tutorial on beginner PC with a simple happy face pattern if you want to learn some basic terms and stitches.  I bought a few sheets of 7-count plastic canvas, which I believe is the most common size people use (There is also 5, 10, and 14 count).  The size refers to "squares per inch" so the higher the number, the smaller the squares, and the finer the stitches will be.  First gather your materials

I used red heart yarn and size 7 count plastic canvas, along with a 7 count plastic canvas needle

Also did you know that plastic canvas comes in many colors?  I wasn't sure what I wanted so I did buy some pink colored canvas but in the end opted for the regular white or "clear" canvas.  Next, I laid out my phone and measured with a ruler the size of a bag I thought it would fit in.
  

Don't mock my phone, it's a pre-smart phone.  We call them our G.E.D. phones. lol Luckily I have a cute case to cover it up

You have a few choices I figured out, you could either go by inches, or you could go by how many boxes.  Since fractions terrify me, I decided to go by number of boxes.  I used 28 across and 36 tall to fit my particular phone.  If you are making something measure around it so you know it will fit when you are done.  Next, I used the sharpie to mark where the cut lines should be and hesitantly cut out my first piece.

Cut close and straight as possible next to the canvas beam without cutting into it

Instead of measuring a 2nd time, I just used my cut out as a template and laid it down on the canvas and marker around it with the sharpie.  I also used the sides of the "front" piece to mark the length of the side sections of the bag

                               Trim off any bumpy ends                        I used the base as a measure to make the bottom the same length

If you get an end with bumpy knobs you can just cut them off and trim close to the edge as possible.  I wanted to make sure my sides AND bottom of the bag would be the same width, so I cut three the same length and height.  But the bottom was going to be a tad shorter, so I lined up the strip, measured and cut it so it would fit perfectly with the side it was going to be attached too.

Next I laid out all my pieces in the way they would eventually be attached to each other.

Ok, now to put some yarn on the canvas.  I was nervous.  My original plan was to do squares of four in a checkered-type pattern.  So here goes nothing.  I thread my yarn in a rather long strand.  I start in the back 4 boxes up and stick the needle through, pulling it down to the box in the lower right corner.

The "tail" of the yarn I placed about an inch on the back side and stitched over it to secure the yarn to the canvas

Starting from the BACK again I start up at the 4th square and bring it down to the bottom for the 2nd stitch.  My plan is to make four of these in a row to form a little light pink box.  Then I just made that a pattern, skipping four spaces to add another color later

If you go up a row for the next 4-pattern then down to the bottom row again, you will avoid a long yarn line across the back of the canvas between blocks of 4, hope that makes sense... like this _ - _-   ( instead of -  -  -  -  along the bottom)

I just kept going until the yarn ran out.  Then reloaded the needle with new yarn and kept going until the whole thing was covered in pink squares.  Then I went back with a very bright "shocking" pink and filled in the spaces I had left the same way

Soon my checkerboard pattern was taking shape.  I kept going until the whole thing was filled up.  Near the top the pattern wasn't going to end up being a full stitch like the others, so I switched to a single row type stitch to fill it up to the top.  I thought it made a nice border/ridge where the straps would go.  I guess that's the beauty of this medium.  You can design it however you want, if something isn't going to work out, you can change the plan

Next, I needed to do the sides and bottoms.  I decided to do one big long stitch down the length.  It was quick and a lot faster than the small squares.

I did this long stitch for both sides and the bottom of the bag

Now comes the attaching of things together.  Take the two pieces (I started with the front and the bottom as shown above) and hold them with the wrong sides together, right sides facing out.  Put your needle through BOTH holes and up the next hole

I must apologize for the dark picture.  I was doing this part later at night while watching TV and the lighting was weird.  If you want a more detailed pic of how to whip stitch pieces together, go to Diane's project on making a PC box, she has very clear pictures AND how to tie in loose ends

After that I stitched all the pieces together and did two simple crochet handles (chain the length you want and half double crochet back and finish off).  Attaching them was a little tricky I think next time I will attach the handles before I assemble the pieces (my phone purse was pretty narrow and hard to reach inside to tie things off)

And there you have it.  My first attempt at plastic canvas.  Cute little hot pink purse.  I have to tell you my 4-year-old took one look at this the next morning and claimed it for her own.  She's been carrying around little trinkets and treasures non stop since I finished it.  No worries.  We are about to get our first ever smart phones next week, so I will need a new sized carrying case anyway.  

So... do not be afraid of plastic canvas, go out there and try a new project today.  From the looks of it, there could be TONS of fun and useful applications you could make with this stuff!

On line Fun - Puzzles

Have I mentioned our family loves puzzles?  We made sure that the girls, even from a small age had tons of puzzles lying around to play with and I am proud to say they are all whizzes at puzzles now (and mazes too).  Hubby and I even spent a lot of our honeymoon in a rustic cabin on the Oregon coast relaxing and doing puzzles.  Puzzles have been an awesome learning toy through the ages for parents and kids alike.  They are not just for fun and games though, as they also provide a number of benefits as well, such as increased memory, problem solving, eye-hand coordination, spacial skills, visualization, and keeping your mind sharp as you get older.

I just found a fun online puzzle site I thought I would share.  Once you register, you can submit your OWN photos and either make them private just for you, or you can share and make them public for other people to enjoy.  You can design them with just a few pieces or with many, it's up to you.  You can also browse other people's submissions, and the site is family friendly.  If you have a competitive streak, you can try to do them in the fastest time and have your scores posted up with other puzzle makers.  If you don't care about time or scores, you can just enjoy your puzzle at your own rate.

Click here to go to Jigidi puzzles and check them out!

I really like that you can select by category (outdoors, animals, nature, etc), plus check out the category for kids.  My girls have had some fun doing on line puzzles with the Disney characters, princess, Mickey Mouse, and cute puppies.

So challenge yourself with some mental gymnastics and do a few fun puzzles today!

Cutting Apples - The Easy Way

I was cutting away at an apple the other day when my friend stopped me mid slice and said, "why are you cutting them like that"?  I didn't realize I was doing anything out of the ordinary but it turns out she had never seen an apple cut that way, and she really liked it.  So, now wondering if I was the only one who slices apples like this, or if she alone had been blissfully unaware, but just in case you haven't tried this, I thought I would pass it on.

I know you've all seen Martha Stewart, with her little pairing knife cutting the peel off an apple in one perfect long thin strand, then lovingly slicing the apple in half, trimming away the seeds with a little "V" shaped wedges, blah blah chorus.  Ok so I don't have that kind of time.  I've got kids who want apples NOW and they don't want that yukky peel either.  Or sometimes I'm making a big ol' apple crisp in a family sized pan and it's going to take all day to slice up all those apples.  Here's a time saving tip:

First, peel the apple with a vegetable peeler.  It's quick, it's easy, it's just like a potato.  Take off the stem to get as close the the top edge as you can.  Once the whole peel is off, stand the apple up right and place the knife slightly to the right of the stem, and make your first cut

Next, lay the apple down the the flat side you just created, and slice again (narrowly avoiding the stem area)

Next, keep flipping the apple down on the flat side you just created

and... one last side

All that remains behind are these wacky, but fun square cores.  If you need a fun activity for the kids using these cores, check out our amazingly unexpected apple art here.

Now you have a perfectly flat, SEEDLESS surface to make even slices from

It makes quick work for the rest of the sides

Next, toss the slices in a bowl of cold water to wait while you finish cutting up the other apples (this will help them from turning brown too fast) and without having to use lemon juice.  

Look at these lovely even apple slices!

When ready to use, drain off the water and start your baking engines.  I'm thinking of making a crisp with these, so I will post that very recipe soon.

New Craft Alert! - Plastic Canvas

So because of all the crocheting, let's just say I have a lot of extra yarn lying around. How much is a lot?  Well I could easily fill a few (OK, seven) large bins with different colors and types of yarn. In my defense, some were given to me, and others I have amassed on sale over the last few years.  But hey, having a large variety of colors comes in handy if, say, you need that perfect color of burgundy and cream yarn to whip up a strip of play bacon or the perfect shade of red to whip up an Angry Bird stuffed animal at a moment's notice. 

I was looking for ways to use up all this left over yarn when I came across a craft from yesteryear; plastic canvas.  One Google search will turn up tons of pictures of extensive needlepoint snowmen and Christmas ornaments from what I can only guess is the 60's and 70's? Surely there must be modern applications for such a versatile medium.  Then, I came across this blog from Diane Gilleland over at Craft: featuring something that was cute, useful, and looked fun too.  It was a custom storage bin for craft objects.  

photo by Diane Gilleland  She also has an amazing blog called CraftyPod found here

How cute is that?  Love the colors too.  Of course you don't just have to make boxes for craft supplies.  Immediately I could see using this idea in a number of cool projects.  Also, I am a total newbie to plastic canvas, Diane's play by play tutorial on how to make it looks easy and fun.  It made me want to run out and try it.

Plastic canvas art typically uses needlepoint stitches to make the designs.  I, being a former cross stitching guru back in my teens and college years feel like I can maybe pull this off without much training.  Also she suggested not just doing tedious small traditional stitches, but think outside the box at using longer stitches and even different mediums like satin ribbon or paper raffia to make unusual patterns and designs

Photo by Diane Gillelan - she is inspiring me here!

Not only are these lovely, but the long stitches would make a project wiz by in no time.  So inspiring. Plus, upon a quick search, plastic canvas is super cheap, comes in a variety of colors and sizes, and with my current supply of yarn would make projects almost free to complete!  Also this might be a great craft for kids, tweens and teens to help learn basic sewing stitches and make fun gifts for their friends and teachers.  I was so excited I called up my 13-year-old niece Maddison and told her all about this, we might even learn how to do it together.

Plus, who knew that my random find of a new interest would be so hip and in trend with the Hollywood set?  If any of you out there are Big Bang Theory fans, you will see Dr. Sheldon Cooper is the proud owner of a rubix cube tissue cover made of... gasp... plastic canvas and yarn.

Uber-geeks will be pleased to know that those are not just random squares in the correct colors, but the actual exact placement of squares if you took a real rubix cube and messed it up.  My 80's lovin' geeky hubby might need one of these really soon!


So now I'm off to the craft store to track down some plastic canvas.  I'll keep you posted...

Homemade pizza and cheesy bread

Thank goodness for Pinterest!  With it I have found the perfect fail-proof pizza dough recipe from Lauren over at Lauren's Latest.  She is a genius.  She has a play by play of an easy pizza dough/cheesy bread stick recipe using a stand mixer, along with great pictures of all the steps.  I highly recommend that you try this recipe out, because with it, you can make the following:

Yes beautiful ooey gooey cheesy pizza-ie goodness.  Once you have Lauren's perfect dough completed, gather your favorite sauces and toppings, and you can go to town making whatever kind of pizza you like.  This one above was a Canadian bacon and pepperoni, one of my favorites.  It is always a bonus if you have adorable pizza topping helpers to assist you along the way.  One warning though, they eat more cheese then they put on the actual pizza...

 We also tried my hubby's favorite, the "Hawaiian" (Canadian Bacon & Pineapple), which as most of you know is what I consider to be an "abomination", due to fruit blatantly consorting unabashedly with meat

Both these pizzas turned out absolutely delicious (had to take hubby's word on the Hawaiian).  We bought some non-expensive simple pizza pans (from Walmart) with small holes in the bottom that came in a 2-pack of sizes that made the crust both crispy on the bottom, but still with a great texture in the middle.

I think what turned out possibly the best and thus, the closest to a restaurant style item was the amazing cheesy bread sticks recipe that Lauren posted about in the same post with garlic, butter and cheese.  We tried it, and can attest it came together so easy and was amazing! 

Crispy, crunchy, and great flavor with that garlic butter base.  We cut this up and dipped in in some extra pizza sauce and it was a hit with everyone!  So if you have never attempted your own crust before, you should give this one a whirl!  I personally love when a recipe has been tested by a few people, so I know that it actually works and tastes great.  Next I might try a BBQ chicken pizza or one of those bacon chicken artichoke pizzas that are all the rage.  Now, go and get your Italian on then come back and tell me Grazie for finding Lauren's rockin' dough.

Strawberry Banana Trifle

What dessert did I make for Easter dinner this year you ask?  Well I made a fun, fabulous, floofy dessert otherwise know as a Strawberry Banana Trifle (thanks for asking). Do not fear!  Though Easter is already passed, you do not have to make it just for holy holidays though, no sir!  A trifle makes a nice, beautiful, easy dessert anytime through the spring and summer months with any seasonal fruit of your choice.  Kids love it, grown ups love it.  It is a sure fire win and has that elusive "wow" factor that cookies or cupcakes just can't deliver.

Ain't she a beaut?  Well the nice thing about this one is that it is a very family friendly recipe.  My 4 year old helped me put it together, which is why is doesn't quite have that military precision of a super fancy Martha Stewart concoction such like this:

Wow.  Now that's precise.

The other nice thing about trifles in general is that you can make them just as fancy as you want, or you can just chill out and layer as you go.  Choice is up to you.  

Mine above is a tad more casual and laid back.  Of course I could spend extra time and effort aligning all the berries, but my brother and nephews are just going to scarf it up as fast as humanly possible anyway.  Plus it was rather fun to let my little one dump in the layers as we went along and help me.  She was having a blast and let me assure you it will taste the same regardless. The only caution about trifles is to NOT do what Rachel did on Friends, where two pages of a cook book stuck together and she made half trifle, half shepherd's pie.  Ug I believe the layers were lady fingers, jam, beef, custard, and peas.  I think the verdict was it "Tastes like feet".

For a non-foot tasting trifle, gather the following plus bananas (not shown).
(click here for a printable recipe )

angel food cake, strawberries, 2 large boxes vanilla pudding, cool whip, bananas, and milk

*Make this entire recipe sugar free by having sugar free versions of cake, pudding mix, and whipped topping 

First, you want to prep your ingredients beforehand.  Take your store bought angel food cake and cut it in half.  Turn each half into one-inch cubes. 

Make your vanilla pudding mix and set aside, wash and chop up strawberries but save bananas until right before you start layering.  Also the size of your trifle bowl will determine how much of each ingredient you will use, because you want enough room for 2 full layers.  For a extra large family trifle I will put half the angle food cake, half the pudding, half the fruit and half the whipped cream and layer that twice, but for that you will need a pretty big bowl.  My mom's trifle bowl that I borrowed turned out a bit on the small side, but I came up with an ingenious solution that I will show you in a minute.

Next start the layering process.  Drop in angel food cake then cover with pudding...

    Add a layer of strawberries and then a fresh cut layer of bananas.

Next add a layer of cool whip (this can also be home made whipped cream) Then repeat the process for a second full layer of angel food cake (tip: once the 2nd layer of cake is in, press down gently to help lightly pack down the first layer), then continue with the pudding, strawberries, bananas and finish off with whipped cream.

By the end you should have something that looks like a fancy dessert.  Now what do you do if you do not have a trifle bowl on hand?  Well I came up with a perfect solution when I started to stare at the container the angel food cake came in from the store.  If I turned it upside down it could easily become a make shift trifle bowl.  What?  I'm a genius!

Presto!  Upside down angel food cake container becomes a trifle bowl

This really came in handy for me because my mom's trifle bowl was a tad on the small side for our big family,  so all the left over ingredients went in here for a second trifle.


Next all you have to do is store it in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors meld.  Matter of fact, you can make this the day before and let it set overnight.  Then on Easter all you have to do is whisk it out of the fridge and throw it in the car for the trip over to grandma's house.

And here it is safely at Grandma's house next to the other Easter goodies.  Super easy, super fun, and super delicious!