Another Bracelet to Match and the Best Banana Cake Ever!

I was at it again this week!  I had a necklace and earrings I had purchased on clearance at(of all places) Cracker Barrel.  I had to try to match it and make a bracelet.  I call this my carnival set and it was a blast to replicate the colors and the really cool beads.  I headed to Etsy and found very similar beads very inexpensively.  I also used some of what I had.  When I received the beads I ordered, I got to work making dangles.  I am getting better at that!  I measured out enough silver chain for a bracelet using one of my favorites as a guide.  I put a clasp on each end and added all the dangles.  I am very pleased with the bracelet.  I think it matches beautifully. 

I joined the Craftaholics swap again this year and have already received my partner's info.  I decided to try a brand new jewelry technique on her gift.  It took me several tries, but it was interesting to attempt something new.  I will share that soon after she gets her gift.

  I went to the dollar store last week and found the rainbow pill holder for a dollar(shown to the right in the picture above).  It works wonderful for small jewelry findings.  I purchased the set of similar containers for ten dollars on sale.  I hadn't been to a dollar store in a while but I can see it pays to pop in there from time to time to see what you can re purpose.  I also got a graduation card for fifty cents for a distant relative and six c batteries for two dollars for my Mickey Mouse pendulum clock.  I felt like I had kind of scored! 

Last, but definitely not least, is the best banana cake I have ever had!  It is slightly labor intensive, but oh so worth it.  Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Mash 4 very ripe bananas in a bowl; set aside.  In another bowl, mix 3 cups flour, 11/2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Set that bowl aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups of sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in 3 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.  Alternately add your dry ingredients you had set aside and 1 1/2 cups buttermilk.  I didn't have buttermilk so I put 2 teaspoons white vinegar in a two cup measuring cup and added milk to the 1 1/2 cup mark.  I stirred it and let it sit a few minutes and it was just as good as buttermilk for this recipe.  After all of that is added, add your bananas gently folding them in.  Transfer your batter to your pan(it is a lot of batter) and put it in your oven.  The recipe I went from said to bake for an hour, but I baked it for an extra half hour.  My toothpick came out dry.  I cooled it and made a cream cheese icing and put it in the fridge.  It has received rave reviews from the boys and my husband.  Enjoy! 

I hope all the dads are having a wonderful Father's Day out there.  I have one week left and it is Summer Break for me.  Have a great week and take care.  Nancy 

Cookie Bars, My First Jewelry Design, and All About Pillows and Mattresses

Hi everyone and happy Sunday evening.  I want to jump right in and share my first original jewelry piece. 

The bracelet you see at the bottom of this picture is the first piece of jewelry I came up with without a pattern or a picture.  I modeled it after the necklace pictured at the top of the picture.  I had a difficult time locating beads to come close to those in the necklace, but I am pretty happy with what I found.  The chain was a heavier gauge than I would have liked but I worked with it.  It was fun to start putting something together, and just see where it took me.  The perfectionist in me can find several mistakes and flaws but I am my worst critic.  I can't wait to start my next jewelry project! 

 I wanted to share these delicious cookie bars.  I got the recipe at Real Mom Kitchen .  I changed out a mixture of cherry and white chocolate chips for the chocolate chips and they were fantastic.  It is great to have an easy recipe like this to make homemade cookies without having to stand there and drop them tablespoon by tablespoon onto cookie sheets and wait for each batch to come out.  My family definitely enjoyed these! 

Now, grab a cup of coffee/tea/whatever and sit down for a cautionary tale.  Just because you spend a fortune and test drive a mattress for three minutes does not mean you will have blissful, healthful sleep.  It does not have a happy ending at all-at least not in our case.  We purchased a Tempurpedic mattress, the Cloud nonetheless, a little over a year ago.  It set us back almost two thousand dollars.  We thought it would just take some getting used to.  To skip to the chase, we threw even more money at it, buying various toppers to soften it as the name "cloud" was completely misleading.  By the time we were finished, my husband and I had not slept through the night without waking up in pain for over six months.  We broke down and bought a new mattress which was also expensive(about half the price of the first one) and while my husband was very comfortable on it, my hips continued to wake me up through the night.  I definitely liked it better, but it still wasn't perfect.  You won't believe what now has me sleeping through the night, every night:  a $10 body pillow!  I read on line what people have used to help control hip pain when they sleep.  My chiropractor had suggested putting a pillow between my legs as I am a side sleeper but the pillow kept slipping out when I fell asleep.  A body pillow is very long so it doesn't slip around so much.  I used one when I was pregnant and it saved my life but I didn't think of it for sleeping in general.  I can't believe the difference!  So now my husband and I are both sleeping.  Where am I heading with this?  Other than to give you some unsolicited advice about mattresses,  I wanted to show some flannel pillowcases I whipped up with some cute teacup fabric I had on hand.  I thought my body pillow needed some cuteness!

 I had enough fabric to make a couple of spare cases for the smooshy log shaped pillows we sleep with.  I hope I didn't lose anyone with that lengthy gripe session about mattresses.  Remember, it is only my opinion.

My school year is running down.  I have a week and 2 days before pre-k graduation.  I can't believe my first pre-k class is going into their junior year of high school!  I have enjoyed all the years I have done this.  I recently ran into two kids in a department store who were from my first class.   They both came up to me and gave me a hug.  I can't tell you how proud I was to see what a wonderful young man and lady they have become.  We talked for about fifteen minutes.  It gave me a warm feeling and makes me happy I do what I do. 

I hope you all have a great week.  Take care.  Nancy

A Birthday Gift, Yummy Bars and an Old Favorite

Happy Sunday everyone.  There were some local festivities this weekend and everyone in town holds garage sales.  We were no exception.  My husband had last week off and he pretty much took on the rummage sale work.  I helped this weekend.  Between that and getting my flowers planted, I was busy.  I love it when my flower pots are all filled with beautiful color.  It makes the whole exterior look fresh and pretty. 

A good friend celebrated her birthday this past weekend.  I could not be with her to celebrate, however because she moved all the way cross the country almost two years ago.  I decided to make her a gift of jewelry. 

I was very happy with how the earrings and bracelet turned out.  She is a silver kind of girl and I hope she likes these.  I am learning quite a bit from the kits I get each month and I am ready to start branching out on my own.  I have some jewelry I am going to try to match to make companion pieces.  I will show you when I complete them.  I find beading relaxing and I can't wait to start designing pieces myself. 

I also returned to a tutorial that I have used several times before-and I will several times more!  These watchbands from Cluck Cluck Sew are so addictive and fun.  I don't think I will ever have enough of them.  I get compliments every time I wear one.  I am thinking of ordering another watch face in a bronze metal.  I also love all the brightly colored watch faces.  Decisions, decisions! 





I also wanted to share a yummy treat I tried after reading about it in a link party a while back. 

They are pineapple poke bars and they were devoured pretty quickly.  My husband loves pineapple and this recipe uses fresh pineapple.  The sauce on top isn't too sweet as it is made with sour cream.  It is definitely a keeper recipe.  Don't you love to try new things you see on these blogs we connect with in the link parties?  It has really broadened the meals I serve my family and my crafting choices.  I love it! 

I ordered a memorial stone and had it personalized for Billie.  I really appreciate all of your kind comments and emails after my last post.  I have come to realize as time passes that she was very ill and it would have been nothing short of criminal to keep her here for my selfish reasons.  I feel confident my husband and I did the right thing letting her go.  In the mean time, Mickey is getting more loving than she can handle!  But I think she is ok with that because she misses her big sister too.

Have a great week.  Take care.  Nancy

Hi Again...

Hi everyone.  I have had another long absence from blogging and I have a lot to share.  I have discovered a very talented person and her blog.  Allison from Dream a Little Bigger gave me some great inspiration on how to jazz up plain, inexpensive sneakers.  I started out with white canvas tennies from Walmart at a little over five bucks. 

 


 I transformed them into fancy wingtip spectators with just a little fabric paint and a paintbrush.  I love how they turned out.  The picture just doesn't do them justice.  I have since bought another pair of white sneakers and I feel the need for some saddle shoes coming on!  Check out her blog.  She has some great ideas.

I also completed my latest kit of bracelets and an extender to combine them into a necklace.  I am really into this whole jewelry making thing!  Do you see the beautiful blue agate bead in one of the bracelets?  I found some more on E bay and purchased them so I can make a necklace to match.  You know how matchy-matchy I am!  I may dismantle the extender at the top of the picture and make earrings too!  I don't think I will ever use it to join them all so I may as well get some good use from the beads.  I have a friend with a birthday coming up quick so I thought I would make her a bracelet and earrings.  I will share how that turns out. 

On the food front, I wanted to share a breakfast-for-dinner menu I made recently.  I made lazy chiles rellenos from the Pioneer Woman.  I changed her recipe up a little by cooking up peppers and onions to put in the bottom instead of canned chiles.  I also serve it with warm flour tortillas instead of corn ones that she suggests.  I think you should make recipes your own.  It is half the fun of cooking. 

I also served buttermilk breakfast cake from Moni at her blog Zu Haus at Home.  It was wonderful.  The whole family loved it.  When I have breakfast for dinner, I try to make a coffee cake or serve fresh fruit to balance the savory with something a little sweet.  Our family finished off the rest of this cake at breakfast the next morning. 

On a sad note, we lost a very important member of our family recently.  Our beloved chocolate lab Billie got very sick and we had to make the decision every pet owner dreads.  We had to have her put to sleep last Saturday.  Our vet confirmed that we had no choice.  She had stopped eating and drinking and her organs were shutting down.  We couldn't bear to see her suffer any longer.  She would have been 14 on June 11th.  We had her ever since she was 8 weeks old.  She was the best dog, always loving and kind.  Everyone loved her.  The emptiness in this house and in our hearts is considerable. 

I hope you all have a great week.  I will be working on my flowers soon.  The weather here has been kind of goofy.  It was unbearably hot and muggy.  Now it is damp and chilly.  My thoughts are with the people in Oklahoma that have been devastated by tornadoes.  Take care and be well.  Nancy 

 

Hello There Strangers!

Happy Sunday everyone.  I took a little two week break from blogging and I missed you guys.  I have been very busy though and I am anxious to share what I have been up to. 

To start with, I want to share this yummy dish I served to my family.  It is called Chicken Rarebit and I played around with a recipe I found online and basically geared it to me and how I like to cook.  I began with a rotisserie chicken and pulled and shredded all the breast meat.  I am not a dark meat fan but my husband and youngest son eat that for lunch the next day.  Anyhow, I set the meat aside while I soften a finely chopped yellow onion in about two tablespoons of butter in a small frying pan.  You just want to soften it so try not to get it too brown-just translucent.  Add the shredded chicken to the jar of cheddar cheese sauce in a saucepan.  Add a generous dash of Worcestershire sauce and the onions you just cooked.  Let this mixture simmer on very low heat.  Meanwhile cook up some bacon-I cook mine in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Wash and chop up some cherry tomatoes.  Toast up some bakery Pumpernickel bread and slice it in half.  Assemble your open faced sandwiches in the way shown in the picture.  They are delish.  Everyone loved them.  Enjoy!

I also wanted to share my newest passion.  I have really enjoyed making jewelry.  The above four pairs are the earrings remaining in the earring kit I received that I showed you last post.  I am really learning a lot and I find it so relaxing.  Not to mention the fact that I love jewelry so it is a win/win! 

 

 

  I even altered an existing purchased pair that I only wore once because they were way too long and didn't look right on me at all.  I love the shorter version.  It is just what I wanted.   I can't wait to see what kit will come next! 

Last, but not least is some sewing that I did for my oldest son.  I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but he is going through nurse's training.  I decided to make him a scrub with his name embroidered on the pocket.  I used Simplicity 4644.  I really don't enjoy apparel sewing so this was a labor of love.  The neckline gave me fits and after I finished it, I realized it was a little big so I washed it.  Then I found out it will have to be ironed every time I wash it.  Well here is a well-known fact about me-I HATE to iron!  I only iron when I absolutely have to so there you have it.  I just made more work for myself and have no one to blame but myself!  Oh well, at least his name is on it and nobody else in his program will have one like it.  I wanted to show him how much we support what he is doing and we are rooting him on.  I think I accomplished that. 

I go back to work tomorrow after a week off.  It is going to be a long haul until June.  I started exercising again over my break so I hope I can keep that up.  It really does help me in so many ways.  It gives me extra stamina which I will need!  I am getting excited to get my flower gardens ready for nice weather.  It is still quite chilly here but the sun is warm and better weather is on its way.  I hope you have a great week.  Take care.  Nancy

Feeling Better and Crafting Like Crazy

Hi everyone and happy Sunday afternoon.  I am glad to be back crafting and blogging again.  This Spring has been just one illness after another.  I had the flu and that really wiped me out.  Of course, I followed it up with a delightful sinus infection for good measure!  I hope I can make it until the end of the school year as a healthy person.  Summer is usually my healthiest time of the year, so I would like to go several months without a trip to the doctor or an antibiotic. 

Well enough of my wish list and onto my finished projects. 

I think I mentioned before that I found a cute and easy game to make to work with my Pre-k students.  I made it and it was really quick to complete.  I found the instructions from Connie over at Family Home and Life .  I purchased some vinyl with the flannel backing like you would make a table cloth for your picnic table from.  I made her version of a cute little lunch bag to carry the game in.  I downloaded her label and loosely went from her patterns to cut out the components.  I didn't have tan felt for the bread so my sandwiches are going to have to be made with good old white bread.  I also used a clothespin to close my bag in place of sticky back Velcro.  I had my super husband cut out a 1 1/2 inch wood block for me and I cut out and glued on the felt pieces to make the dice.  I think my students will love it.  It cost me very little and was fun to make. 

  I also made another felt glasses case from the Woman's Day instructions I used before.  These are so easy and fun.  These sunglasses are always thrown in my school bag loose and now they have a cute little cozy to protect them.  Believe it or not, I still have glasses and sunglasses running around naked or, worse yet, in those ugly cases you get when you buy them.  I am correcting that situation one case at a time!

I know I have said before that I am involved in quite a few crafts and I didn't want to take up another one. (I don't now if I told you guys that, but I have said it.)  Anyhoo, my love for unique jewelry has lead me to attempt beading.  I have dabbled little-very little- in it, but I have gone and joined a beading club to dive in and learn all about it.  The picture above is what I received in the mail for my second kit.  I fell in love with several pairs of these earrings.  So, without further delay, here is my first pair:

I know, they look fairly simple.  Apparently I don't know my own strength because I snapped an earring wire while trying to attach the hammered part.  I am cutting myself some slack because I am new to this.  I did enjoy making them and I love the finished product.  It will be cool to actually be able to purchase and use some of the beads I have drooled over and torn myself away from in Michael's and JoAnn's. 

My goal this week is to attend all five days of school. We are having a poker party with everyone bringing food for my Mother In Law's 80th birthday coming up and I am trolling the blogs in search of what I will bring.  I hope everyone has a great week ahead.  Take care.  Nancy

A New Scarf and Yummy Pork Chili

Hi and happy Sunday!  It is slightly chilly here but it looks like Spring is around the corner.  One of my favorite things about blogging is trying out all the fabulous recipes and projects I see in my cyber travels.  Last night, my husband and I were in the mood for cookies so we tried the cherry white chocolate pudding cookies from Joan at Chocolate chocolate and more. 

They are amazing!  The cherry flavor is more subtle than I thought it would be which makes them more delicate and the white chocolate chips are delish- definitely a keeper recipe. 

I also wanted to share how I came to make a beautiful new accessory.

I had purchased the fabric for a scarf from the discount red tag table at my local JoAnn Fabrics some time ago.  I just hadn't decided what way I wanted to make the scarf.  You know how I love YouTube right?  Well I came upon The Crafty Gemini and her video tutorials.  She is an awesome teacher.  She has a video tutorial for an infinity scarf that I followed and it made the scarf easy.  I chose to make it really long so I could double it and it would be very full.   I have several sweaters and shirts this goes with.  I admit the silky fabric was a little slippery to work with-pins were sliding out all over!  But with some patience, I finished it.  Check out her tutorials, they're very helpful. 

I have another cold weather recipe for you that is comfort food at its best.  I made this roast pork chili in the crock pot and it was delicious.  I don't care for hamburger so I frequently make chicken chili.  This was a nice change. 

 Combine in a crock pot:

2 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can of kidney beans, rinsed
1 large chopped onion
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
and a 2-2 1/2 lb. pork shoulder roast.

Cook on low 10-12 hours.  Remove pork, shred and return to pot.  Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.  Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead.  I found a great homemade game idea on a blog that I want to make to work with my Pre-k students.  Take care.  Nancy