Friday, January 30, 2015

Party Popcorn for the Super Bowl (or any party)!

It’s almost game day!  Need a new snack idea for your Super Bowl XLIX party?
How about some flavored popcorn in the team colors?
Super Bowl Party Popcorn
I wanted to do something fun for my guy to take to his Super Bowl party this weekend.  I searched Pinterest for ideas and was finally settling on cupcakes…when inspiration struck!  I saw my own pin for the Camo Corn I made a couple of years ago for my son’s school class.  CamoCorn 1
I’ve made this recipe before in other colors (pink and purple for my niece’s birthday, blue and white for my son’s school colors), so I knew the possibilities were fairly endless.

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A few ingredients and bags of microwave popcorn later and voila: Super Bowl Party Popcorn!

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This time I used Jolly Rancher brand gelatin.  The Jolly Rancher brand made these batches quite sweet but my son thinks they are delicious!  And, I love the more vibrant colors.
The recipe I used is here.

Hope you enjoy your Party Popcorn!
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This post is linked to:

Friday, January 9, 2015

Tin Can Scarecrow

A fun project I completed around Thanksgiving was this Tin Can Scarecrow:Tin Can Scarecrow
My boyfriend’s parents have a large vegetable plot in a community garden, but no scarecrow….we couldn’t have that!  I scoured Pinterest for ideas for a traditional scarecrow and along the way, I found some cute photos of tin can and recycled material scarecrows.  How fun is that? 

So, I started saving cans and asked a friend with a restaurant to save me a couple of large cans.  After cleaning them and removing labels, I had a pretty good pile so I could start designing my little tin man.IMG_5481
After drilling holes in the bottoms of the cans, I used wire and screws to secure them to one another.  For additional security, the seams were sealed too.  There is a good tutorial for this here: https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/diy/h/18048897/how-to-make-a-scarecrow-scare-bot-style/
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Using a old water hose, I cut a long piece and ran a coat hanger through it so that I could bend the hose and make it look like the little man is watering the garden.  The “water” is made by stringing clear plastic beads on a wire and attaching it to the coat hanger inside the end of the hose.  Saw this awesome idea here: http://www.hometalk.com/195847/yard-art-recyclingIMG_5520
I painted the whole thing with acrylic paints and then gave it several coats of a clear spray-on sealer.  The bandana and hat were in an old box of play hats and items my son had when he was little. IMG_5521
In keeping with the recycled theme, I used a leftover piece of a metal transition strip (that piece that is used to transition between tile and carpet).  It fit perfectly and I was able to screw it easily and securely to the back of the little man. IMG_5545
I placed him in my front flower bed just to adjust the angle of the water hose and snap a few pics.  Tin Can Scarecrow
I gave the Tin Can Scarecrow to my boyfriend’s mother on Thanksgiving and she really liked him!  We think he will be a popular addition to her community garden!

Happy Gardening!
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This post is linked to:
http://staceyembracingchange.com/2015/01/08/creative-inspirations-linky-party-117/
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2015/01/catch-as-catch-can-195.html
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2015/10/wow-me-wednesday-226.html?m=1

Monday, January 5, 2015

Chalkboard Chargers

I don’t know about you, but I felt like 2014 FLEW by!  The holidays came and went quickly and they were a busy time….hence the fact that I didn’t post any of my holiday projects this year!  Better late than never…..especially since these can be used year-round.

2014 was my year to get to host the family Thanksgiving. Yay! I LOVE every opportunity I get to cook and entertain a crowd! This year, my boyfriend and his parents also joined our group so we had 17 for lunch. I wanted something to dress-up my table but keep it simple (for space saving) and still go along with my décor. This was one of my favorite projects: CHALKBOARD CHARGERS.  Chalkboard Chargers 1
I just love these chargers and plan to use them for lots of future occasions.  They were inspired by several photos I saw on Pinterest of high-end chalkboard dinnerware.  My chargers, however, were easy to create and inexpensive.Chalkboard Chargers 2
I simply purchased plastic chargers….they had red or gold at The Dollar General….for only $1 each.  I laid them out in the garage and used Chalkboard Spraypaint to cover the surface.  Chalkboard Chargers 3
I gave them two coats and let them dry for a couple of days before I prepped them with a rubbing of chalk.Chalkboard Chargers 4
I wrote a Thanksgiving message on the top of each and the guest’s name on the bottom.  With white plates on top, the chalkboard chargers looked great! 

Enjoy!
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This post is linked to:
http://www.creativelylivingblog.com/2015/01/monday-funday-85.html
http://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2015/01/catch-as-catch-can-195
http://staceyembracingchange.com/2015/01/08/creative-inspirations-linky-party-117
http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2015/01/wildly-original-link-party-137.html
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2015/01/whatever-goes-wednesday-255.html