Solo post!

Heather Beth here....

So sometimes, when I finish homework early or feel like ignoring the dishes, I craft.

Ok, I do it when I haven't finished my homework too. That's going to have to change!

Chris and I went to Michael's on Sunday to pick up some projects to do for the afternoon. Pinterest has really been making me excited for Halloween, and I have seen so many cute crafts that I wanted to try on my own! I found these little gems in the clearance section for 99 cents:

Now, something called to me about these. Perhaps it is my lack in Mod Podge skill, but I really wanted a cheap project to try it out. I used some Halloween scrap paper, a sponge brush, scissors, a ruler, a pencil, some clothespins (optional!), and Mod Podge matte.

First I measure out my scrapbook paper. I forgot to account for the lid (which won't fit over the scrap book paper) on the first two and ended up with lidless tins. Womp womp.

Then I laid down my Mod Podge and quickly adhered the scrapbook paper, being sure to press it firmly on each side to avoid bubbles.

Mod Podging make me feel like I am five years old. It might be the smell (my husband says it smells like Elmer's glue), or the sponge brushes...but it was a good time!

Because I was afraid the Mod Podge wouldn't hold on the edges, I stuck on some clothespins. I waited till the Mod Podge was mostly dry first, otherwise it would rip the paper when I took them off. Not that I did that or anything..that would be silly. All in all, this step was likely unnecessary. 

Then I added some chalkboard stickers to them and voila!

I think it was fairly successful for my first real Mod Podge project...what do you think?

Maybe these two will find a home on the desk at my work during Halloween!

-Heather Beth

Thursday Night Crafts 8/23/12

Hello! Heather Rae here :)

After our delicious dinner it was time for our craft project of the night. Heather Beth found this one on Pinterest and thought it was something we could all handle. The original blog can be found here: http://twogirlsbeingcrafty.blogspot.com/2011/02/painted-wall-art-for-non-artists.html.

The directions were simple and super easy to follow. Mostly because it was all in the form of pictures with few words. We all picked up the supplies we would need before heading over to Heather Beth's for the evening. Of course, Heather Beth has plenty of paints so that wasn't something we had to worry about unless we wanted specific colors. (Which of course I did so I brought some of my own and used some of hers too).

Alright, so here's a look at the paintings in progress:

Heather Beth's

Heather Rae's

June's

Meagan's

GROUP SHOT!

We took breaks throughout the process in order to let the paint dry. While our background colors were drying we went for a nice walk to hopefully burn off some of the cheesy goodness we had at dinner. Then while the branches were drying we helped Heather Beth clean up her kitchen, dinning room and the general mess we made while creating our Thursday Night Eats.

Now, back to the paintings. I think the dots were the hardest part. We all had different sizes of circle sponge brushes and all the different colors to choose from. It was difficult to decide where to start. But in the end I think we all had some pretty awesome looking, and equally unique pieces of art to hang in our homes.

Here's the finished products: 

Heather Beth's

Heather Rae's (Don't mind the crazy hair. It was a long day at work!)

June's

Meagan's (Nice photo bomb Heather B)

Well, that is all for this edition of Thursday Night Crafts. Not sure what we have planned for next time, maybe some Fall Time/Halloween crafts??

-Heather Rae

Thursday Night Eats 8/23/12

Heather Beth here...

Last Thursday evening we tried out two Pinterest recipes. We had to modify them to fit our cooking space and picky eating needs. We made Bloomin' Onion Bread and Four cheese baked skillet rigatoni.

First off...Bloomin Onion Bread. Heather Rae and I were so excited to make this! Due to some picky eaters, we modified it to be a garlicky version of the original, which can be found here: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/05/bloomin-onion-bread.html.

Here is how ours came out:

I found a loaf of crusty bread, because they had no sourdough left at the store. We did use the same cheese as in the original, but instead of the poppy seeds and other ingredients we just did butter and TONS of garlic. The assembly was pretty easy, June and Heather put it together in no time. It came out great and was devoured pretty fast. Group food friendly, which is always good for us.

The main dish for the evening was a very indulgent macaroni cheese. The original can be found here: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/03/four-cheese-baked-skillet-rigatoni/.

Here is how ours came out:

Now it may not look like much...but it was SO DELICIOUS! My alterations to this recipe included making the sauce in an electric skillet, and then mixing it with a box and a half of pasta (there was SO MUCH sauce) in a pyrex pan and baking it. I can't use cast iron on my glass top stove. A word of warning; the cheese is expensive, and you may want to have some helpers on hand (thanks June and Chris!) to do some of the shredding! We also used garlic Philadelphia cooking creme instead of marscapone, just because. The panko breadcrumb topping was amazing. I can honestly say this is the best mac and cheese I have ever made. The cheese melted together just right in the pan, and with Meagan stirring while I added the cheese, it was super easy. The leftovers were really good too. Mac and cheese often gets "weird" in the microwave, but this one did not.

So that's it! I hope you are encouraged to try a new recipe. Next week...hopefully something healthier will be on the menu ;)

-Heather Beth