Patriotic 2 x 4 Fun

    I'm thinking ahead to the upcoming Fourth of July Festivities and I realized that I need a few more accents for my mantle. I'm starting with this. It was quick and fun to throw together with my stash of wood, fabric and odds 'n ends! Start with a 2 x 4 and some paint, a little sandpaper, and a torn homespun fabric bow. Finish with some cinnamon sticks, leaves, berries and rusty stars. How simple is that? It's about 7" square, so it's a nice filler for the mantle layout I'm working on. I started with an idea from here: http://www.brownpaper--packages.com/2010/08/flag-blocks.html (thanks Kierste). I wanted mine a little more even to fit together better, so I trimmed the blocks I used for the star and glued the pieces I cut off between the two blue blocks. Now it is closer to even and square and the same thickness top to bottom. The blocks don't shift at all when  moving and the fabric covers the seam and filler between the blue blocks, so it looks like one big block. I like it. If a more primitive look is your thing, go with the brown paper packages model!

Cinnamon Roll Waffles? Yummmm.

So I came across this amazing concept--making cinnamon rolls in a Belgian Waffler...hmmm. I have a Belgian Waffler in my cupboard that I use somewhat often, but only to make waffles. This really sounded like fun; waffles made from cinnamon rolls. Not to mention, it sounds tasty! Everyone in my family loves cinnamon rolls, but I don't make them that often. A perfect family night, game night, or movie night treat, I was thinking.

So in the name of pure (kitchen) science, I decided to try this out and see if it really was as easy and awesome as "rumor" has it. Well, guess what? IT IS!

So how do you do it? Easy peasy. Grab a tube (or three) of canned cinnamon rolls. Since I am a "from scratch" cook, I had to wait and buy these; I didn't have them just hanging in the fridge. I bought the Kroger brand of cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. They have them with regular frosting, too, if you're not a cream cheese fan. If you're a "name brand only shopper," they will work too.

1) Heat up your Belgian waffle maker.

2) Open your tube of cinnamon rolls and separate four of them.

3) Place one roll in each section of the waffle iron and close it up.

4) When the waffle iron's "done" light comes on, open it up and lift them out.

5) Lay them out on a tray and drizzle with the frosting. If you like the frosting to melt and fill up the "cups" in the waffles, do this while they are still warm (not hot--it will melt right off if you put it on them right off the iron). If you like the drizzled look, wait for them to cool before you drizzle the frosting over the top. I did some of each type, you should be able to see the difference in the picture.

6) Enjoy!

I whipped up three cans for our family. It took me about 30 minutes, start to finish. If your family is smaller, you won't need as many and you can be done quicker. We really liked the extra crispness of the cinnamon rolls baked in the waffler. (Well all but one of us loved the crispiness. One preferred the softness of regular cinnamon rolls. No problem--more for the rest of us!) The house smelled wonderful and you don't have to heat the house up with the oven or waste all that extra electricity. Win-win-win.

Thanks to Henrietta at "A Hen's Nest" for this great idea.  http://ahensnest.com/2011/09/waffled-cinnamon-rolls-recipe.html

Good fences make good neighbors....

                                                                         
     As far as cows go, I'm not really too interested (aside from the occasional steak, that is). I don't have cow decor in my home or car. I don't moo at cows when I drive past. And here in Texas, I drive past a lot of cattle!
They are just there. They generally aren't too bright or fun to watch. They are just there.
     However, last night as I was dropping my kids off at an "End of the School Year" swim party at a friend's ranch, I noticed this prime specimen in their pasture. What a great looking beast! He stood there by the fence and placidly observed as I stopped and snapped his photo. He even turned to look at me so I could get a nice face shot. He was proud and handsome--and why not? Just look at those horns! I've seen a lot of Texas longhorns since we've lived in Texas, but I think this guy has an award winning rack, even amongst his bovine peers! They are at least six feet across tip-to-tip! And look at that hide, too. This guy is definitely a contender for the cattle equivalent of a Mr. Universe contest.
     But, I was really glad there was a barbed wire fence between us, just in case he decided I was annoying him.

Words to live by...

 It really isn't crooked, it's my lame photography...

      Sometimes I see something I really like and want to duplicate it, only with my special twist on it. This is one of those projects. I've come across a lot of quotes and scriptures that I'd like to have as visible reminders, but I don't want them all over the house, mixed in with other art. I finally found an idea I liked and got started. I'm really happy with the results, even if it did take a lot more time than I had originally anticipated. I chose my quotes and scriptures, then decided how large I wanted each one. I used 1" x 5", 1" x 8", 1" x 10", and 1" x 12" boards. I painted most of them black and a few of them antique white for contrast. Of course the lettering took a while. I like the hand painted look for most things, so I did almost all of it by hand, rather than using vinyl lettering. Vinyl is great for some things, but I didn't want these to look manufactured, I wanted a less than perfect appearance. The white boards have the lettering applied using the Mod Podge reverse transfer technique (tutorial here: http://matsutakeblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-transfer-inkjet-images-to-wood.html), rather than hand lettering, but all the black ones are painted. I love that it covers a large space on a large wall (approx 45" x 45"), but it also adds a nice graphic touch that doesn't look too shabby or too impersonal. Now what can I paint next?

Manners Matter!

  Remember your mother nagging teaching you table manners? A few months ago I came across several word art table manners boards that other people had made and I really liked. I thought about it for awhile and came up with my own version. It looks great hanging on the wall in the dining nook and will hopefully help my family remember those good table manners without my (not so) subtle reminders. It's 20"x24" and has 18 of my mom's most frequent nags reminders printed out on an assortment of papers and mounted on a piece of plywood and framed. I won't lie, it was time consuming, but it looks great, so it was worth it!

Easter GreetingsTag Freebie

  Here's a tag I put together. It's free to print and use. Just left click on the image to enlarge it, then right click to save as a JPEG file. The image is a vintage postcard (copyright free) that I made into a tag and aged. I like to add a little texture with heat embossing and glitter or flocking, but it's cute as is, too.  It looks great on a basket or loaf of carrot cake, so use it as you want and enjoy!

Mmmm....

     We love all things yummy at our house. This is one of our family favorites, Spanish Tortilla. Not only is it delicious, but it is meatless and inexpensive. Win-win in my book! It's so simple:

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4-1" cubes
6 eggs, whisked with:
   1 tsp. garlic granules (or 1 clove crushed fresh garlic)
   2 tsp. dried parsley (or 1 Tblsp. fresh parsley, minced)
1 tsp. salt

 Heat about 1/4" of oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet. Add potato cubes and cook, turning frequently, until crisp and brown on all sides. When potatoes are done, drain oil and sprinkle with salt. Pour beaten egg mixture over potatoes and swirl pan to make sure the egg covers the bottom of the pan. When the egg has puffed up around the potato pieces and is done on the bottom, cover the pan with a large plate (or I use a pizza pan) and invert the mixture onto the plate. Slip the tortilla off of the plate, back into the skillet, keeping the browned side up. Cook for a few more minutes, until egg has cooked all the way through. Slide tortilla onto a serving plate and cut into wedges or squares. Serve with steamed veggies and salad. My family likes to top it with salsa, but I was instructed by the Spanish friend who taught me to make this that is is to be served plain. I won't tell if you don't....