More than one way to roast a chicken

In my opinion everyone should know how to cook at least one dish off the top of their head. Roasted chicken is a fantastic one.  It is easy and looks fantastic and it is a dish that you can put in the oven and come back to an hour later. Finally we have found (at least Buzzfeed found) the BEST recipe for roasted chicken.

What you need:
Whole chicken
Olive oil
5 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons butter
Poultry seasoning or every day seasoning
Garlic salt
Pepper
Fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, tarragon, etc)
Half a lemon
Roasting dish or regular baking dish


What you do:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
Remove innards from chicken and throw them away.
Coat chicken in olive oil inside and out.
Cover chicken in herbs inside and out.
Peel and crush garlic.
Cut butter into 1 tbsp chunks.
Juice lemon over chicken before stuffing the squeezed lemon, 1 crushed clove garlic, and one tbsp butter inside the chicken.
Put 1 chunk butter and 2 cloves garlic under the chicken and the remainder on top of the chicken.
Put in oven for 1 hour and leave it. Do not open the door or anything unless you see lots of smoke.
After 1 hour, remove from oven and let sit for 15 mins.
Brush occasionally with butter and juices from the pan.
Cut meat off of chicken and serve hot.

Mid-morning in Paris

 
I am most definitely not in Paris, but this scene this morning sort of made me feel like I was. In keeping with my at least one post a week I decided to do a paint project today. They are quick, easy, fun, and bring lots of color to any room.

What you need:
Acrylic paint
Paint brush
Cup of water
Paper towel
Canvas or paint paper
Tape (for technique 1)

Technique 1:
Put tape down on the canvas or paint paper in a pattern.
Paint each section a different color cleaning the brush between each color (dry your brush as well).
Let dry (it dries quickly if you use acrylic paint).
Paint second layer.
Let dry.
Remove tape.

Technique 2:
Put paint dots all over the canvas/paint paper.
Using the paint brush, blend the dots together making sure not to mix too much to ensure that the colors don’t combine and come out entirely brown.
Let dry.

Put your pencils down (onto the canvas)!

So these two projects are fun an evening or a weekend or a babysitting gig.

First off we have pencil paintings. These are time consuming, but easy. Maybe for a little older of a crowd as it takes the knowledge that you can't rest your arm on the wet paint on the canvas.

What you need:
Canvas or painting paper
Paint - I used acrylic
Pencil with intact and full eraser
Scrap paper (to make the design you want)- optional
Tape (you only need this if you are making a design)
Paper towel

What you do:
1) Cut out the design you want with the scrap paper and tape it in place on the canvas or paint paper (make sure you use tape that will easily come up). You could also just do a freeform design.
2) Spread the paint out (you only need a little) and dip the tip of the pencil into the paint.
3) Press down to form circles. Each dip in the paint can make anywhere from 3-7 circles depending on how faded you allow them to get.
4) In between colors wipe pencil with a paper towel.
5) Keep working until whole page is finished.
6) Let dry.

Next we have shell painting.  This project is perfect for after a trip to the beach when you have a bunch of shells, but don't really know what to do with them. When you are finished putting the colorful shells into a mason jar on a table or in a basket would be cool and a fun way to decorate.

What you need:
Shells/shell pieces
Nail polish or acrylic paint
Paint brush (if using nail polish the nail polish brush is fine)
Paper

What you do:
1) Lay out paper as a work surface.
2) Paint shells on one side and let dry.
3) Paint shells on other side and let dry.
4) Either do a second coat or a design.
5) Let dry completely.

How do you like them apples?

Yummmm! These apple chips are a fantastic snack, and while they take a long time to make you can make a bunch at a time.

What you need:
3 (or however many you want) apples
Knife
Cutting board
Cookie sheet
Sugar
Cinnamon
Spoon

What you do:
1) Preheat oven to 200-240 degrees
2) THINLY slice all of the apples
3) Spread the slices out in one layer on the baking sheet
4) Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl
5) Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture over the apples
6) Flip them and sprinkle on the other side
7) Put in the oven for 1 hour
8) Flip them and put them in for another hour
9) If they aren’t as crispy as you would like put them back in for another half hour or so.
10) Turn off the oven and let them cool inside the turned off oven.
11) Enjoy!

 

Reduce (mess), Reuse(able bags), Recycle (old teeshirts)

When I saw this pin on Pinterest I knew I had to try it.  I love using old teeshirts for things as you can see from this headband post. I also love reusable bags. They make grocery shopping so much easier and this one is perfect for a trip to the farmers market or a small trip to the store. Plus, who doesn’t have old teeshirts that they don’t want to give away for sentimental reasons, but don’t have any room in their closet.

What you need:
Tee shirt
Scissors
Needle
Thread

What you do:
*You should look at the pictures if the directions aren’t clear.

Turn the teeshirt inside out.
Cut a half circle on the top and a half circle on the bottom at the hem so that the whole thing is an oval, but the seams are in tact on the sides.
Sew the bottom. You can use a sewing machine if you have one. I just did it by hand and doubled up on the stitching.
Fold the teeshirt in half and cut a half circle at the top for a handle.
Unfold the shirt then refold so that a fourth of the teeshirt is folded over.
Cut about 1/2 inch (so the hole unfolded would be an inch) every 2-3 inches up the teeshirt.
Unfold and refold so that the teeshirt is folded in half then repeat step 6.
Unfold and refold so that the last section can be cut to make the holes.
Open up and stretch out the fabric and its ready to use!

Turn the shirt inside out

Cut it into an oval while leaving side stitching in tact

Fold in half and cut a half-circle out of the top to make a handle

Stitch the bottom using a sewing machine or by hand. Make sure to enforce it.

Fold tee-shirt quarter by quarter and cut slits in the shirt up and down the tee-shirt

Stretch bag out

Fill with groceries or produce and enjoy!!

Wish-washi (tape)

I've been obsessed with Washi tape since my parents went to Berlin a few years ago and brought some back.  I have been following/pinning Washi crafts since it started getting bigger in the states. It's been a while though since I have been able to do some Washi tape crafts, and since I promised I would be doing AT LEAST one blog post a week I figured what better time to break out my Washi tape collection. Here are 4 easy Washi tape crafts:

Binder clips

These are super adorable and a great way to add some color to boring school/work supplies.

What you need:
Binder clips (I used silver, but whatever color you use will show through)
Washi tape
Scissors
Toothpick or other object that can press down the tape inside the binder clip

What you do:
*I used small binder clips, so these are the instructions for small binder clips
1) Cut a piece of Washi tape about an inch long.
2) Center it on one side of the binder clip and stick it down. There will be excess on either side of the binder clip.
3) Cut two triangles (see picture) on each side to make the tape able to fit nicely inside the binder clips.
4) Use the toothpick (I used a kabob skewer) to stick down the two (four total) triangles onto the inside of the binder clips.
5) Repeat on the other side.

Washi tape candles
This one is sort of cheating because there isn't a whole lot to explain, but I do have some tips.

What you need:
Candles (I used plain white ones I got from the dollar store)
Washi tape
Scissors

What you do/tips:
1) Pick a design/pattern and the tape you are going to use.
2) Cut the edges instead of tearing them.
3) Don't overlap the tape too much because it ends up looking a little weird.
4) Make sure that you keep the seams all on the same side so all the seams are in the same place and you can kind of hide them.
5) You may have to pull up and put down the tape a few times to make it even and have it all line up.
6) Use your fingernail or a business card to smooth out wrinkles instead of just pressing them down.

TP roll crown
This one may be more for kids or little furry friends as you can see with Wedge.

What you need:
Toilet paper roll
Washi tape
Scissors
Elastic or regular string
Hole punch (optional)

What you do:
1) Make sure all toilet paper is off the roll.
2) Make rows of tape all the way up covering the whole roll (you could also do a different pattern).
3) When it's all covered, cut triangles out of the top to make it into a crown shape.
4) Use a hole punch or scissors to cut a small hole on either side to attach the string/elastic.
5) Tie elastic/string on and put it on!




















Washi bows:
These are the PERFECT addition to a gift or to a gift bag or even put on a bottle of wine to make it look a little better.

What you need:
Washi tape
Scissors

What you do:
1) On a flat surface put a piece of Washi tape  (about 6 inches or however long for how big you want your bow) sticky side up (curl the ends under so that they stick to the surface).
2) Take another piece of tape and put it down sticky side to sticky side.
3) Repeat 3 times so that you have a total of 4 pieces of double sided tape.
4) Take two of the pieces of the double sided tape. Cut both sides so that the edges are even and the pieces are the same length.
5) Loop the two pieces of tape and connect them in the middle, and tape them together.
6) Take the remaining two double sided pieces of tape and cut the edges so they are straight and that they are the same length.
7) Cut a triangle out of one side of each of the pieces so that it looks like the end of a ribbon.
8) Attach to the back of the bow.
9) Put on present!

 

 

My! What colorful jars you have! (part 2)

As promised, here is the second post about coloring/decorating mason jars. If you missed the first post you can find it here.  I tried two more techniques 1) sea glass and 2) glitter. The sea glass one is very pretty and the glitter one is absolutely fabulous and neither require the oven or much time at all.

Sea glass technique (method 3):
What you need:
Glue
Food coloring
Paintbrush
Mason jar
Plate/cup/lid/anything to mix your glue and coloring

What you do:
In a small dish (or whatever you are using) mix about a tbsp or two of glue and about 4 drops of food coloring until you reach your desired color.
Using the paintbrush, paint the glue onto the jar covering it entirely.
Set aside and let dry about 5 mins.
You will notice as it is drying some holes in the glue will form, so after about 5 mins paint a second coat on the jar.
Set aside and let dry completely!

Glitter (method 4):
I have a love hate relationship with glitter as I'm sure most adults do.  I love the way it looks and how fun it is, but it gets EVERYWHERE and is impossible to clean. When Chris came home and saw me working with glitter all he said was "I thought we said no more glitter" haha.

What you will need:
Mod-podge
Glitter
Paintbrush
Mason jar
Piece of paper or aluminum foil

What you do:
Lay out your piece of paper or aluminum foil. That is your workspace both to minimize mess and to be able to reuse the glitter.
Paint one side of the jar with Mod-podge.
Pick up glitter and over paper or aluminum foil pour the glitter over the Mod-podge until it is entirely coated.
Set the jar aside, fold the paper so it makes a funnel (make sure to hold it evenly so no glitter escapes) and pour glitter back into the packaging.
Repeat until all sides are covered.
Make sure there aren't any holes then set aside to dry.
When it is dry (I would say leave it overnight or at least a couple of hours) tap it against your hand over a trashcan to get rid of some of the lose glitter.
Paint over the glitter with Mod-podge. This locks the glitter in place and makes it so that it doesn't shed as much.

My! What colorful jars you have! (part 1)

This is the first of two posts on decorating mason jars...Check back soon for the second one!

So I have had this project pinned forever and never did it because I figured there was no way it would work. After looking at a few different blog posts, I decided to try three different ways of tinting the mason jar glass. They all require the same basic things:

Mason jars
Mod-Podge
Water
Food coloring
Dish
Aluminum foil
Baking sheet
Paintbrush

Method 1:
**This method worked the best. I HIGHLY recommend it.**

In the dish mix together 1 tbsp Mod-Podge, 1/2 tsp water, and no more than 6 drops of food coloring (I used 4 drops blue and 1 drop green)
Open your jar and set aside the lid
Pour Mod-Podge mixture into the jar and mix around until the entire inside of the jar is coated
Pour excess Mod-Podge mixture back into bowl and throw away (or use on another jar, but you will probably need to make more)
Wipe the top of the jar so that no paint is on the rim so it doesn’t stick

Place jar upside down (lid to foil) on the baking sheet covered in aluminum foil
Let the jar dry/drain for an hour
Preheat oven to between 200-245
Place jar lid side up on the baking sheet
Place jar in oven for about 45 minutes or until paint dries
Remove from oven and let cool

The next two methods aren't AS nice as the first one:

Method 2:
In the dish mix together 1 tbsp Mod-Podge, 1/2 tsp water, and no more than 6 drops of food coloring (I used 5 red drops)
Paint the outside with the mixture trying to get it as even as possible
If you are satisfied with the color then leave it, but if not let it dry for about 10 mins and paint on another coat
Leave the jar open and the lip of the jar up
Place on baking sheet covered in aluminum foil
Bake at 200-245 for about 45 mins

Method 3:
In the dish mix JUST Mod-Podge and food coloring (I used 4 drops blue)
Paint the outside with the mixture trying to get it as even as possible
If you are satisfied with the color then leave it, but if not let it dry for about 10 mins and paint on another coat
Leave the jar open and the lip of the jar up
Place on baking sheet covered in aluminum foil
Bake at 200-245 for about 45 mins

These jars make great gifts especially with a candle or a plant inside them. Or just use them as decoration!

From left to right: method 1, method 2, method 3

In the next post I am going to do glitter and a sea glass effect.

This shit is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

These are on par with the Jello grapes and are another healthy alternative to snacking.

What you need:
Bananas
Peanut butter

Tupperware
Aluminum foil or wax paper
Knife

What you do:
Slice bananas into 1/4 inch rounds
Spread peanut butter on one side and use another banana slice to make a sandwich
Put them in Tupperware in layers using wax paper or aluminum foil to separate the layers
Seal the Tupperware and put in freezer for several hours
Enjoy!


Optional:
Dip in dark chocolate
Use cookie butter
Use almond butter
Use jelly
Add marshmallow fluff into the banana sandwich