All American Wreath

Here is a quick and easy wreath to bring the spirit of America to your front door.

You will need:

3 rolls of 12 inch wide mesh (I got mine at Joann's fabric store)
1 wire wreath form about 18 to 24 inches in diameter
1 roll of floral wire
scissors
wire cutters

Simply cut and bunch the mesh so that it forms nice big loops.  Wire it to the wreath form.  I made sure that I wired mine to cross bars so that they wouldn't slide on the wreath. 

I think it's a stunner!  It certainly catches your eye!!

Fireman's Stool

My grandson Joseph is obsessed with all things fireman!  Anything and everything that even somewhat resembles something a fireman might have, he loves it! 

He also likes to sit on the small stools that I have made for our dogs.  They are just the right height for him to sit at the coffee table and eat or play. 

So I wanted to make him his own stool, but I wanted to make it somewhat "firemanish" so to speak.  Here is what I came up with.

I started with an unfinished stool from Joann's fabric store. 

This is a great product that has stain and finish together.  It's great for refinishing furniture and for staining unfinished furniture. 

I stained the entire stool so you could see that it really could be left just with the stain on it.  But it doesn't say "fireman" now does it?

 I cut a piece of 2 inch thick foam rubber and some red vinyl to fit the top of the stool and I stapled the vinyl over the foam rubber.  Now THAT says "fireman"!!  I know he's going to love it!

A New Frontier!

To say I am seasoned crafter would be an understatement.  I have done baking, cooking, sewing, knitting (badly), painting furniture, staining furniture, cake decorating (Wilton classes), floral arranging (trained and certified in both regular and bridal), making baby head bands (which I sold to a boutique), making barrettes, embellishing socks, tee shirts and matching pants or shorts with paint and jewels and of course photography.  So there isn't a lot in the craft store that I haven't tried or bought at one time or another.

There was, however, one area I had never even bothered to look at in depth.  That was the jewelry making area.  It seems tedious and just plain difficult to string beads and bend wire.  Well, today I ventured in to that unknown area.  I wanted some earrings for my son's wedding.  I knew what I wanted and I figured it would be easier to make them than to find them.  Swarovski now makes beads, thank you Jesus!  So I was able to really get what I wanted.  I also thought I would make a pair for the Mother of The Bride as a gift.

Here are my first two attempts at jewelry making:

These are my earrings.  The hearts looks gold or champagne in color in the photos, but they are really more clear.  My dress is silver.

The Mother of The Bride doesn't wear big earrings, so I made hers smaller.  Her dress is royal blue so I put the royal blue beads in the earrings.  Again, the butterflies appear gold or champagne in the photos, but they are really more clear.

All of the beads are Swarovski.  I really like how they came out!  I didn't find it tedious at all.  It actually went more quickly than I had anticipated.  I think I have a new hobby!!! 

Photography Touch Ups

This weekend, I had the pleasure of photographing a housewarming of some dear friends.  I did this for he sheer pleasure and to get some extra shutter time.  What I got was some amazing shots!!!  Check them out! 

All of these were edited using http://www.picmonkey.com/.

A new grandmom with her grandson.

A pure natural!!!  Those rosie cheeks are not added.

Sisters!

Have known this woman for almost 40 years.  Had to get a shot of her!

This was fun!  The family is so appreciative of the gems I was able to get. 

It's Derby Time!!!

We are going to our first Kentucky Derby party this weekend!  I have been so excited about this!!!  I am looking at recipes and trying to decide what to make.  So here are a few ideas that I have and maybe you can use for your own party.
 

Chicken Fingers With Chive Dipping Sauce 

Ingredients:

• 8 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 cup(s) of Plain Corn Flakes (1 full box), crushed in a food processor
• 2 cup(s) of Cream, divided
• 2 tbsp. Fresh chopped Parsley
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Dill
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Seasoned Salt
• ½ Cup Hellman’s Mayonnaise
• ¼ cup(s) Chopped Scallions
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 2 tbsp. Corn starch

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.     Slice chicken breast into “finger” size pieces.

3.     Place 1 Cup of cream in a bowl.  Soak chicken in Cream for 1 hour.

4.     In a small bowl, place Hellman’s Mayonnaise.  Whisk in 1/4 tsp. Seasoned Salt, a pinch Garlic Powder, and ½ tsp. Black pepper and coast chicken fingers in Mayonnaise.

5.     Place corn flake crumbs in a bowl, mix in a pinch Garlic Powder, ½ tsp. Black Pepper and 1/4 tsp. Seasoned Salt.  Dredge chicken fingers in corn flake crumbs.

6.     Place chicken on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. (Spray chicken fingers with cooking spray to add additional crispiness.)  Bake for 30 minutes.

7.     Sauce: Melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Add chives and sauté for 1 minute.  Add 1 Cup cream to pan.  Sift in corn starch and blend well.  Add Parsley and Dill, stir and bring to a simmer.

8.     Let the sauce simmer and it will reduce and become thicker, about 10 minutes.

Caprese Bites

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup(s) of Olive Oil
• 4 Plum Tomatoes sliced
• 3 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
• 1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• Loaves of 2 inch diameter bread sliced in ¼ inch slice
• 24 Large Fresh Basil leaves
• ½ lb. Mozzarella cheese 

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl mix together garlic, seasoned salt, black pepper and olive oil.
2. Gently mix in tomatoes. 
3. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. Slice bread on a diagonal about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Remove tomatoes from olive oil mixture and set aside.
6. Brush tops of bread slices with olive oil mixture.
7. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in oven for about 5 minutes.  Until just toasted. 
8. Place a large leaf of Basil on each slice of bread and top with a slice of tomato.
9. Scoop mozzarella cheese with a tablespoon size measuring spoon and top tomato slice with mozzarella cheese.