T Shirt Updo

I am mentoring a 6th grade student.  In Philadelphia, the students have to wear uniforms which in her school consist of a yellow shirt and navy blue pants.  I want to make the child feel special going into school this year so I decided to put my skills to use.  I let her look at my pinterest and pick out a shirt that she would want me to make for her.

Picture

Website

http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2010/03/ruffly-shirt-refashion.html

I didn't make hers from a long sleeve shirt.  I bought a white T Shirt from Michaels for $3 and yellow dye for $2.  The buttons were in a pack for $1.

My Shirt

Kids Ruffle Skirt

I'm a sucker for tutus and ruffle skirts for little girls.  I found one on pinterest that I loved so I had to try to make it myself.  As a note, I'm not to keen on following directions, so I kind of wing it.

Website

http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com/2012/01/cute-tiered-skirt-that-only-took-me-two.html

Here's Her Skirt

Here's Mine

 

Things that I would do differently:

1. I like how she folded the ruffles in half to prevent frays - I would do that!

2. I needed to use white thread for the ruffles instead of black.  I thought black would be ok since her skirt underneath is black.  Well you can see some of the seems.

It was my first article of clothing for a child and I like it!

Another one might be in my future!

Wallpapered Stairs

I thought this was a great idea to spruce up the stairwell.  I was going to have to paint them anyways because they were pretty scuffed up.  So I decided to cover up the marks instead.

Website

http://lovelycraftyhome.com/2011/11/28/a-new-love-textured-wallpaper/

About 1/2 hour and 40 bucks later, I have a new stairwell.  I love it!!  It went faster when I made a template and followed that.  Also the wallpaper didn't stick well the first time so I mod podged it.  Much better!!  I used paintable wallpaper so if I decide to add color sometime, I can!

My Pictures

Removing Labels

My husband and I are both teachers and we are always looking for ways to recycle things that we already have and can use in the classroom.  We have a special needs daughter that is 3 and we still have wipe containers.  I figured we could use these for storage in the classroom, but we needed to remove the label.

I came across a pin the tells you how to remove the labeling.

Website

http://2busybrunettes.com/2012/04/18/i-heart-earth/

Their directions call for a more work that I needed.  I guess these directions were for labels that are really imprinted.

So here's what I did:

Step 1.   Rub nail polish remover with acetone on the label

That's it!!  It took about 1 minute!

Mushroom Skewers

I'm a huge fan of mushrooms, but I'm the only one in my family.  So I made a side dish for myself yesterday.

Website Picture

Website Directions

Mushroom Skewers Recipe
4 servings
1/2 tablespoon harissa
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, halved lengthwise
Whisk the harissa, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and oregano together in a medium bowl.
Add the halved mushrooms and toss well to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or Preheat the grill, if grilling.
Thread the mushrooms onto presoaked bamboo skewers. Roast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or grill them, 5 minutes per side.

I just loved this recipe.  This will be made many more ties in our household.  If you love mushrooms, what are you waiting for?

My Picture

 

Crispy Potatoes

These potatoes looked so good on the picture, I just had to make them.

Website Pic

Website

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/11/ultra-crispy-roast-potatoes-recipe.html

Website Directions

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (see note), rinsed, peeled if desired, and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup duck fat (see note)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 12 sprigs thyme

Procedures

1. 1
   Adjust oven racks to lower and upper position and preheat oven to 500°F. Place potatoes in a large saucepot and cover with cold water by 1-inch. Add 2 tablespoons salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until exteriors are tender, about 5 minutes. Potatoes should show a slight resistance when poked with a paring knife or a cake tester. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
2. 2
   Add fat to bowl with potatoes. Season with pepper and more salt to taste then toss with a large metal spoon until exteriors are slightly bashed up and coated in a thin layer of potato/fat paste. Divide potatoes evenly between two heavy rimmed baking sheets. Spread thyme sprigs over potatoes.
3. 3
   Transfer baking sheets to the oven and roast until the bottoms of the potatoes are crisp and golden brown, about 20 minutes total, swapping top the trays top for bottom and rotating them once half way through roasting. Using a thin metal spatula, flip the potatoes and roast until the second side is golden brown, another 15 to 20 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs, and serve.
   
   
   
   

   I thought this was a good recipe.  I thought they were a little too crunchy, so I would cook them a little less, however, everyone else loved them being that crunchy.  So this is obviously a preference in the crunchiness of potatoes.  I will make this again!!  They tasted like potato chips!!

   
   

    My Picture

   

   
   

Watermelon!!!

This is a great site for info about getting and cutting the perfect watermelon.

http://fifteenspatulas.com/2011/04/25/how-to-pick-a-superstar-watermelon/

I picked and cut a watermelon (by following her directions) while I was on vacation at the beach.  What better time to have watermelon?  I have never cut a watermelon the way she instructed and it seemed like a lot of hassle.

DUE to a copyright stamp on her site, I can't copy and paste the directions to you.  At least I included the link.

Cutting the watermelon this way seemed to yield tons of watermelon.  We were in a house of 11 and we didn't even finish the watermelon.  That's just one watermelon.  We even froze it to keep it throughout the week and we still couldn't finish it.  You definitely get the most out of watermelon when you follow those steps!