Sunday, August 19, 2012

My Easy Mac Will Never Boil Over Again!!!

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I'm not proud of it but my 7 year old is a Carb-O-Vore.  It's terrible.  She actually calls herself a vegetarian however, getting her to eat a vegetable is worse than pouring salt into a wound and there is absolutely no way on earth she would ever put any form of meat into her mouth.  That being said, there are some nights that I simply can not cater to the craziness. Those nights call for something quick and it's usually Easy Mac (don't even judge me...or do...whatever) 
I actually hate easy mac. I hate it for many reasons but, one of my top reasons is because whoever designed it had clearly never actually cooked it and/or doesn't have to clean the microwave at their house because it never fails that the tiny little 5oz. pot of easy mac somehow boils 10 gallons of sticky, starchy, sludge all over the inside of the microwave as it cooks.  Soooooo annoying!!!  Those of you who do not believe in modern day revelation, I hate to burst your bubble because, today I had a revelation.   Have you ever seen the trick where you put a wooden spoon on top of your pot to keep it from boiling over onto the stove top? WELL...I thought to myself, "I bet that would work in the microwave".  I don't own a wooden spoon, nor do I think they make one small enough to balance on top of my easy mac so I grabbed a skewer and broke it in half.  (I bet a Popsicle stick or craft stick would work too).  Sure enough, it worked like a champ!  Absolutely no slimy sludge spilled over into my microwave. In fact, I made 6 packages (don't ask) and it worked every time.  Yay, for being a genius!  lol

Happy Sunday Everyone!

~DeLynne


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Wicked Witch Loopy Legs Wreath: the TUTORIAL


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Are you loving the Wicked Witch Loopy Legs design?   It is such a fun design and I am always dreaming up new ways to use those witch legs!  Here is the much awaited tutorial for the Wicked Witch Loopy Legs Wreath~~a design I tried to create using as much as I could find around my house and craft room.  It is super easy, the hardest part is waiting until Halloween to display it. Cheesy, but true.

To make this wreath you will need:

  • A canvas, cut piece of wood, or cardboard.  The size just depends on how large you want the center (or base) of your wreath to be.  For this wreath, I used a canvas that was 12"x12".
  • Fabric, enough to cover and wrap around your base.
  • A design of your choice to stitch on your base fabric.  For this wreath, we used this WITCHES WELCOME design.
  • Wicked Witch Loopy Legs.  You can get the design and tutorial to make them  HERE.
  • Piece of cardboard that is about the same size as your base piece. 
  • Two 6 inch wide rolls of tulle.  I used almost 2 complete 10 yard rolls of tulle, mostly black, with some purple and green mixed in.  You can use more or less, depending on how poofy you want your tulle to be.
  • 2 yards of 1.5" ribbon to attach to the back for hanging.
  • Glue gun and glue sticks.
  • OPTIONAL:  Staple gun with staples



Here's what you do:



MAKE THE BASE.

Cut a piece of fabric to cover your base.  It will need to be about 3 inches larger on each side so that you can secure it to the back later on. You can use a piece of stiff cardboard, plywood, or a blank canvas as your base piece.


Stitch the design of your choice onto your fabric and embellish as much as you can dream up.  I ironed on some rhinestones (because the witches at my house like some bling). Center the completed fabric on to your base.


Now you will attach the fabric to the base.  You can glue the fabric onto the base, or use a staple gun to attach the fabric.  I stapled my fabric because using a staple gun makes me feel powerful :)  Make sure that you keep your corners neat and crisp and the fabric is taut over the base, but not stretching.   The base is now completed. 



MAKE THE TULLE "SKIRT".


In this step, you will be gluing tulle onto a piece of cardboard to create the "skirt" behind the base. I found an empty box in my craft room and used that. I cut the cardboard into a circle (using a plate as a makeshift template, because if I try to freehand a circle it will look like an amoeba).  It doesn't need to be a perfect circle, just a guideline for the gluing the tulle.






I used rolls of 6" wide tulle and cut it into 8" strips.  To cut my strips, I used another piece of the box I cut the circle out of and cut a piece that was 7" wide and. 8" long.



Now take your roll of tulle and wrap the entire roll around this piece of cardboard.




Cut through the top and the bottom of the tulle.



YOU JUST CUT 45 STRIPS OF TULLE IN ABOUT 30 SECONDS. 
(This is a great tip to have in your back pocket if you make tutus, by the way.)



Glue the tulle around the circle of cardboard you cut. Try to keep the tulle even, but you can go back and trim up anything you need to later. 







Once you have glued all the tull around your circle, center the base on top of the tulle circle.  Carefully glue the base onto this "skirt".  

 





Take a deep breath, you are almost finished!


Attach the your loopy legs to the base of the wreath.  I just glued mine on.  Double check that your legs are even.




Now you just need to attach some ribbon to the top to use to hang your wreath.  I use 2 pieces of  1.5"ribbon that are each a yard long  (you can trim any excess if needed after you hang your wreath).  Position the ribbon on the back of the wreath so that they are slanting slightly towards each other (making sure that the front of the ribbon is facing the front of the wreath).  I stapled mine to the back of my wreath, but you can glue the ribbon also.  If you glue the ribbon, make sure the glue is dry before you hang your wreath.  Once the glue is dry, tie the 2 ribbons in a big, beautiful bow and you are ready to hang your Wicked Witch Loopy Legs Wreath wherever your heart desires.



YAY!!!!!!  You made an awesome wreath and you are ready to welcome any witches that come your way!


If you have any questions regarding the wreath, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help you!  You can email me at:



AND......I would just be tickled to see your creations, so send me pics of your fabulous wreaths.


Trick or Treat,


~~*Amber*~~

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Did you know....? aluminum foil tip


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Have you ever accidentally yanked the whole roll of aluminum foil or saran wrap right out of the box?

I have.  
On more than on occasion and let me tell you, 
 it is either a mess or a waste.

You can choose to try and get it back on the roll 
(which never works out the way you want it to) or just throw away the crinkled aluminum foil or saran wrap that is all stuck together.  

Neither of which is fun.  
I usually just cut my losses and throw out the mess.

UNTIL I FOUND THESE LITTLE TABS!
They lock the roll in place!


They are on all the boxes... Brand name and generic...
AND THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE!

Who the heck knew?

Not me...but now I do.
and so do you :)

Happy Wednesday!

Jacki




Friday, August 10, 2012

Wicked Witch Loopy Legs Tutu Wreath Tutorial


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you can find the step by step tutorial on how to make this wreath
HERE

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We will update this post with
all the steps involved to make this fabulous wreath and the design board in the center in a couple days... check back!

The Wicked Witch Loop Legs can be found



Witches Welcome Design can be found