Back From Vacation

Half Dome in Yosemite

Sorry I've been gone for so long with no explanation. I had planned on posting before I left for vacation. That didn't happen so I planned on posting when I was on vacation and that didn't happen. The next thing I knew, two weeks flew by with no updates. I'm sorry if I worried some of you.

We spent our vacation in Mammoth and Yosemite. Here's what we've been doing instead of blogging.

Horseback Riding

Sightseeing - Soda Springs in Tuolumne Meadows

More Sightseeing - Devil's Postpile in Mammoth

Exploring

Taking The Long Road

How To Upcycle Old Jewelry

Over the weekend I visited one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie. Just walking around that store gets my creative juices flowing. Honestly, they could take a piece of chewed up gum from the sidewalk and make it look good. So whoever is designing all of those awesome displays, YOU ROCK! Anyways, on my way back home I was on some kind of creative high and all these ideas were flooding my mind. Amazing what a little shopping and no kids will do to you. Well at some point it occurred to me that I could paint jewelry with nail polish. And it was in that moment that I wished I had a bunch of ugly jewelry. Oh the crafty injustice, no ugly jewelry. Whatever would I do...

Well I did what any crafty gal/guy would do, hit up the local thrift store. I purchased two pins for pennies. The earrings I already had.

*Jewelry that has tarnished or the gold/silver plate has worn away works perfect for a project like this.

I cleaned and wiped the jewelry dry. Then I just painted it with a couple coats of black nail polish. Once that dried I added a little glitter polish. That's it, simple right?

*Cheap nail polish works just fine, that's what I used.

I really think the jewelry looks much better in person. Try it out for yourself and tell me what you think.

Craft Experiment: Laptop Vinyls

I call this photo "Shameless Promotion"

I had some leftover vinyl from a project I did in the kid's room and decided to see what else I could make with it. I've always loved those cute laptop skins but never purchased one because, well you know, I figured I could make it myself. In case you're just tuning in to this blog I should warn you that I suffer from a serious disease called icanmakethat but don't worry it's not contagious, I think? But I digress, as you can guess I decided to make my own computer decals. Below is brief explanation of my process.

I started off with a basic vinyl that can be purchased at most craft stores.

I used my Cricut to cut out the letters. If you don't have a die-cutting machine you can always use the old school technique. Trace an image on the back of the vinyl (make sure it's in reverse) and cut out with scissors and an exacto knife.

Then I just placed the vinyls on my computer. Pretty easy, right?

The logo/letters came out a little wonky since I was in such in a hurry to test it out. You can also purchase transfer tape for vinyl which allows you to line up your letters perfectly before transferring them.

Recipe: Butter Mochi

I had planned on posting this recipe Wednesday but there was an incident with my computer. Long story short, I bought a new one and I'm back online.

This is one of those recipes that's great for potlucks as it's easy to make and feeds a crowd. I got it from someone at church who most likely got it from someone else, etc, etc. That said, I don't know where it originally came from. I just know it tastes really, really good. As in, stand over the pan when it's still hot and eat half of it good. Hope you agree.

Butter Mochi Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box Mochiko flour (16 oz.)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter melted
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can coconut milk (12 oz)

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Mix both together. Pour into a glass 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hour. Time may vary according to your oven. Cover with tinfoil if it begins to get too dark.

Let cool. Cut into 1 1/2" squares. Because mochi is so sticky, it's easier to cut with a plastic knife.

Enjoy!

Out to Life

(Husband & I water tubing)

Sorry there have been fewer posts lately. Instead of being out to lunch I've been out to life. Here are some pictures from a recent mini vacation.

Instead of blogging we're. . . .

sightseeing

playing games

being silly

eating - I don't like to brag but we're really good at that

fishing

picking berries

trying new things - this is me attempting to kneeboard but as you can guess it didn't happen. Trust me, if it did there would be pictures.

How are all of you spending your summer? I hope you're finding some time to enjoy it.