Ideas For Home
Learn complete details on how to make an edible terrarium from my piece at the Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog: Trefoil Cookie Showdown: Edible Terrarium
When the short one requested that the theme of her 5th birthday be “Under The Sea” I thought, this will be fun. I busted out the Cricut to make table top decorations that looked like aquariums. To do this I covered Subway Sandwich 3 foot delivery boxes with blue plastic table clothes, the boxes were left over from my friend Carrie (of Suchity Such) son’s birthday party – I thought they were a perfect re-use item. I then cut fish and octopus from the Create-a-Critter Cartridge and glued them on. I then used Wite-Out markers to make bubbles.
To save the memory of the day I made a matching photo frame by painting a ply-wood frame metallic blue, attaching aqua washi tape and then matching octopus and gluing on googly eyes, I will put a picture from the birthday party once I print them.
For snacks at the party I filled clam shell bowls with gold fish crackers and chocolate “treasure” coins.
Finally, I made cupcakes topped with plastic swords and blue frosting for the boys and plastic mermaids with purple frosting for the girls.
Happy Crafting xoxo
Happy St. Patrick Day – I made Irish Soda Bread.
Okay, so soda bread came long after Saint Patrick. Bicarbonate of soda arrived on the scene in the mid 1840’s as a leavening agent and was used in Ireland to work with the wheat grown there. Whatever, who needs the details of St. Patrick anyway. This bread is to soak up all the beer in your belly on the biggest beer drinking day of the year. Spend your money on the brew and get thrifty on the bread by baking a loaf yourself.
Old vintage canning jars can be found at yard sales and thrift stores and they look cool but what do you do with them once you get them home? For the black thumbs who can’t keep a plant alive, a terrarium is a perfect place to let living things in.
Terrariums a virtually no maintenance and is simple to build. If you have any open or closed glass container you are ready to start building.
(You can even ask the pet supply store staff if they have any plants that are browning and may not look great in an aquarium but could be priced at half off and would work perfectly for a terrarium.)
Learn how to build a terrarium from my piece over at the Phoenix New Times Jackalope Ranch blog: Restyled: Vintage Canning Jar into a Terrarium
The King Cake is a Mardi Gras tradition that involves a bread type cake, a small plastic baby, and a party. Legend says the King Cake has a small plastic baby hidden inside and the person who gets the slice with baby in it has to host the next party. This recipe offers thriftiness because it makes two loaves, enough to freeze and save for later. It is a labor of love but well worth the all day process and since most of the ingredients are in your pantry, it’s a lot cheaper to make a King Cake for Mardi Gras then to rush out and buy one.
Learn how to make a Mardi Gras King Cake from my piece at The Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog post: Mardi Gras King Cake
