High School Reunion Among Friends

For some of us, 26 years has passed and for others, nearly 30 since all of us best friends have seen each other.  A beautiful weekend was shared, however, showing all of us just how little time really passes among friends!  I hosted our very first ever reunion gathering last Saturday evening in my backyard.  What a great time we had!  Wonderful food, great conversation, fabulous memories, joyous laughter, and a regeneration of fond thoughts between us all!

It was also another great excuse (like I really need one) to craft!  I mailed out invitations about three weeks prior.  They were handmade and included a poem that yours truly wrote herself!  I went with a summer theme with the invite and then decided, with 4th of July being so close by, changed the decorations to that theme so that they could be used double duty; once for the party and again for the 4th!

I flew into the kitchen and concocted an assortment of desserts including chocolate chip toffee bars, no-bake chocolate/caramel truffle pie, brownies and vanilla bean icecream, and fresh fruit kabobs with fresh pineapple, juicy strawberries, and bananas.  I also made a delicious pulled pork with italian seasoning for sandwhiches, and stuffed mushrooms filled with cream cheese, spinach, and cheeses.  Yum!!

Here's a sampling of my crafts/decorations:

Each person got a personalized galvanized mini-birdhouse.  I used pretty rub-ons and inital letters and then used my Cricut to add names for each friend.  These were take-home favors and everyone got one!  The galvanized bird houses were a $1 each from Hobby Lobby.  The rub-ons were $7.99 for a book of way more than I needed - also from Hobby Lobby.  I already had the ribbon!

I also made some candle holders using scrapbook paper, raffia, and some wooden stars that I painted with white spray paint and then aged with a tea colored stamp pad. 

Martha Stewart gave great directions on her website for making patriotic pinwheels.  I had plenty of cardstock (plain) and made a few to decorate some plants.  They were a lot of fun to make! 

My favorite thing of all, though, was my S'mores set.  This was thrown together really easily.  I bought the jars with metal lids for 2.99 each (half price on sale at Hobby Lobby, again.)  My Cricut cut out the lettering and hearts in vinyl.  The copper box used for chocolates once held a set of choo-choo train cookie cutters!  The stars were on sale for $1 for 4.  I spraypainted them white and then aged them with a tea colored stamp pad.  A bit of ribbon and some hot glue finished them off! 

A thunderstorm cut the party short later in the evening and we never got to use it.  My son, not to make me feel like my efforts were in vain, used one stick to make a quick s'more before everyone ran inside to dodge the rain! LOL

I used a small pencil sharpener to sharpen the tips of the tiny dowel rods for poking marshmallows with ease!  By the way, if you want a really awesome s'more...try using a smear of peanut butter on your graham cracker before adding melted marshmallow and chocolate!  It's delicious!!!

Win a Silhouette Craft Cutter!

I got a wonderful Cricut Expression with all the trimmings last year for Christmas from my wonderful husband.  I had wanted one for a very long time.  And, yes, it cost a fortune! LOL  But, as the hair commercial says, "I'm worth it!" LOL  Anyway...jump forward now 6 months later and ask me about my Cricut.  I'll tell you I am still happy with it for the most part.  I'm not happy that I don't use it as much as I swore to my hubby that I would.  And, I feel really guilty about that!  But my issues with the Cricut are that:

1) the cartridges for it are really expensive.  I have about 6 cartridges and I still don't have images I need!

2) it doesn't interface with a computer unless you buy one more expensive cartridge (SCAL or Make the Cut)

Now, introduce the Silhouette Craft Cutter.  They just had to come out with that AFTER I got the Cricut.  Why does this always happen to me?  The Silhouette, oh my goodness...what an incredible little machine.  Now, in its own rights, the Cricut still has features the Silhouette does not.  My Expression can cut letters much larger than the Silhouette.  But the Silhouette can interface with the computer without expensive software!  There are no (did you hear me?) NO cartridges to buy...ev-a!!  Yeah, you heard me!  I love THAT!  It's purty too...but then again, so is the Cricut.

Okay..so what's all my whining about?  Well...Thrifty Decor Chick (aka Sarah) and her extraordinary blog (which I love to visit every day) is offering a give-away of a lifetime!  (okay...I exaggerate slightly... but it is a great give-away!!)  If you go here you can read all about it.  You can enter, and the sweet woman that she is, gives you 5 chances to win!  I am so entering this contest!  I hope I win, I hope I win (jumping up and down)!


Yeah, I already have a craft cutter...why am I being such a glutton?  Well, folks...I need this one (don't laugh) so I can use it to do heat transfers and get cute free fonts off the computer to do wall quotes all over my house.  (as if I don't already have enough of those! LOL)  I'll have to show you my "Peas" and "Carrots" wall quotes above my his/her closets in the bathroom.  Peas and carrots?  Yeah.  My hubby and I love Forrest Gump and the line where he says, 'me and Ginny...we are like peas and carrots...' well, you get the idea...so is my husband and I!  Peas and Carrots! LOL


Go to Sarah's blog...check it out and enter!  If I can't win, maybe one of my sweet blog friends can!  Good luck!!!

End of Year Teacher Gift

It's hard to believe that kids are finishing up school for the year and summer is starting!  Where did the year go?  Times are tight for all of us and I am always surfing the net for ideas for quick, easy, and *cheap* ideas for gifts.  This is the time of year to remember our teachers.  Teacher Appreciation Week was just at the beginning of the month, so I needed something low-key and enjoyable.  Kristen of Paper Crave was a guest blogger for The Sweetest Occasion and posted a template for a retro milk carton favor box!  This was the perfect fit!  Check out this cutie here!!

The sweetest little fold-it-up yourself template to make a milk carton just like you see in the school lunchrooms!  Here are some other views of it:

Caaauuute!!  It's small and will hold a little treat.  Also included on the template is a mini report card for teacher and a recipe card that fits inside the report card holder.  Here's what mine looked like after it was assembled:

What did I put in my little milk carton?  Chewy homemade brownies!!  Yum!

 
The carton will hold two small square brownies wrapped in wax paper to keep the oil from getting onto the paper carton.  What a sweet, personalized gift for my son's teacher! 

The carton was very easy to assemble once cut out with scissors and I used double stick tape to hold it all together! The templates for these are free and found at this page when you scroll down!

Sleeping While Standing Up

I looked out and saw this today.  Can you imagine sleeping while your standing?  That's what it looked like these two Canadian Geese are doing!  I tried, with no luck, to catch some baby ducks swimming nearby.  If I could have gotten closer to these guys, I would have been able to catch the ducks.  But this was as close as I dared.

What's venturing out in your neck of the woods?

Decadent Mini Chocolate Souffle'

Okay, admit it!  Sometimes you just gotta have chocolate!  This is a recipe that anyone can make with only 4 ingredients!  Feast your eyes on these yummy souffle's! Mmm!!  The recipe makes 4.  And yes, I couldn't help myself and had to eat one right away, warm from the oven! LOL

Here's the recipe:

Non-stick cooking spray

2 tablespoons sugar & little extra

4 oz semisweet chocolate squares, chopped

1/2 cup whipping cream

4 egg whites
powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat the insides
and rims of 4 6 oz ramekins wi th non-stick cooking spray.

Sprinkle bottoms of ramekins lightly with sugar.  Set on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a small microwaveable bowl, combine chocolate and whipping cream.  Microwave on high (100% power) for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring twice.  You will have a smooth, chocolately pudding mix.  Divide into half in two bowls.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature.  (I had a hard time keeping my fingers out of this chocolately goodness!)

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium until foamy.  Then slowly add sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Fold in cooled chocolate mixture and gently stir until mixed.  Spoon mixture into prepared ramekins.  Bake for 12-15 min. or until a knife inserted into center comes out clean.  It took almost 20 min. for this to happen in my oven!  Serve immediately (I didn't and it worked just fine.)  Open the centers of each souffle' with a spoon and pour in some of the chocolate mixture into each one.  Makes 4 servings.  And let me tell you...they were delicious!!  I made a delicious French Onion Beef Noodle Bake and some salad with it for supper and these for dessert!  Yum!!  Let me know if you are interested in the French Onion Noodle Bake recipe!  I'll gladly share!

Glue Guide - What Glue to Use for Projects

Today I stumbled upon a very useful tool!  How many of us have started a craft project or home improvement project and wanted to use glue and had no idea what worked best for whatever material we were using? I know I have!  Well, there is a Glue Guide!  How awesome is that? 

The folks at Super Glue have designed this guide and it's very user friendly!  You can find the guide here.

Using the chart, you'll see that gluing wood to metal (as in that graduation frame you're making) calls for Bondini Magic Glue, while porcelain to porcelain calls for Super Glue Gel. There's even a waterproof option for those wet projects!

Antipasto Bake = Yum!

Amy @ Living Locurto was wonderful enough to post her recipe for a delicious Antipasto  Bake a while back.  You can see her post here.  This has quickly became my family's favorite dish!  It's easy to make, creative to change up, and delicious to eat!  And, by the way, it is VERY filling!  We try to have this dish once a week.  I am constantly changing it to make it different.  But, we have our favorite combination here and I made it for my family last night:

Antipasto Bake

2 cans crescent rolls
1 package Canadian Bacon (I used all of it)
1 package pepperoni slices (1/2 package)
1 package cotto salami slices (1/2 pkg.)
1 package sliced provolone cheese (1/2 pkg cut up in thin slices)
1 package sliced swiss cheese (1/2 pkgs cut up in thin slices)
1 jar roasted red pepper strips (only used 1/4th of the jar!)
1 egg
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13x9 inch pan with sides with one can of dough.  Layer meats and sliced cheeses and red peppers on top of the dough.  In a bowl beat egg lightly, and stir in parmesan cheese and black pepper.  Spread 3/4 of this mixture over the peppers.  Unroll the 2nd package of crescent rolls and place over the top the peppers.  Brush with the remaining egg mixture.  Cover with aluminium foil.  Bake for 25 minutes then remove foil and bake for 10-20 minutes longer or until dough is fluffy and golden brown.

As you can see from her recipe, I changed it up a bit on the meats.  You don't have to use all the packages of meat and cheese.  I use about 1/2 of each package and then make sub sandwiches with that during the week for lunches.    Hope you'll try her delicious recipe for your family!