Monthly Archives: March 2014

Average is Beautiful!

I’ve done a few posts on body image over the past few months, as this is a subject close to my heart with a “tween” daughter. The stats on how young girls feel about their bodies is really quite alarming . A staggering number of children (girls as young as 6) are already comparing themselves to others and making comments about their perceived imperfections. My friend Kelly just shared this link on Facebook and I just had to pass it on.

Meet Lammily:


Lammily is a beautiful doll that has been designed with the body proportions of a typical 19-year-old female.  Her body reflects the beauty an average woman,  unlike Barbie, whose body proportions are so distorted she couldn’t even support her own weight. Lammily portrays an active, healthy life style and is a much better example for our young girls.  If you are interested in learning more about Lammily or her designer Nickolay Lamm, follow this link.

Check-out my previous posts on body image and/or raising a tween girl:

Barbie Blunders – get the real scoop on Barbie

The Tween Challenge – How to support your daughter as she enter puberty.

It’s Girl Talk – This is one of my favourite posts. There is a hilarious video embedded, so check it out if you have a chance.

I am really hoping that Nickolay Lamm can develop a really successful business based on Lammily. I think it’s time Barbie had some serious competition. Of course, there is a bit of a down-side. I think it is pretty safe to say that Lammily will need to be suited up with her own clothing line and won’t be the recipient of Barbie’s “hand-me downs”.

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Upcycled Book Display Rack

Custom Kitchen Storage

I am beyond excited about this project! I have had this project on my “Someday List” for years.  I originally saw this idea on a handyman website. It was basically a custom-built shelving unit for kitchen storage. I am not sure if is the same site where I first found the idea, but this the same concept.  I loved the idea, but my building skills are still quite limited and my husband is not fond of the “make work” projects that I suggest for him. So, I “shelved” the project hoping that someday I would develop the skills to build one for my kitchen.  As soon as I got this free book rack loaded in my car, I got that twinkle in my eye and knew exactly what this would become. I remember driving home with only one thing on my mind….will it fit??

Upcycled Book Display Rack:

Original Book RackHere’s a picture of the original book rack. Each panel is about 4″ deep and 2 feet wide, but I only have two of the original four panels. Lucky for me, one panel fits almost perfectly in the space between my fridge and the wall.  I say almost because the bank of cupboards that sit over the fridge have pieces of wood that extend down to the floor on either side of the fridge (they look like supports, but are perhaps there to give it more of a finished look than actually serve a purpose). The result is that the 2 foot width will not fit. In order to use the rack, I had to cut it down to 16″. At first, I was really ticked about this and although I am still not happy about the extra work and lost storage space, I did manage to figure out a little something that made it a little less disappointing.  I will share this in the final reveal as well, as I haven’t got it all figured out yet.

Steps to Transformation:

  1. First, I had to take the whole thing apart. It was primarily held together with screws and a few nails, so I didn’t have to fuss with glue and that made the dismantling that much easier.
  2. I was able to keep both sides in tact, but I had to cut all of the horizontal pieces and the peg board back down to 16″.  I was able to do this easily on the mitre saw, with the exception of the peg board back. My husband kindly helped me out by cutting it on the table saw.
  3. The plastic covered wire cords extending across the books were just attached with hook screws and were easily removed as well.
  4. The ends of the horizontal shelves actually fit into grooves in the sides. The problem was that the shelves did not have a straight cut end. The front couple of inches were straight, but the back part was curved. This meant I had to trace the curve and cut it with the skill saw. I did fine with this, but the curves did not match the original cuts perfectly.  For the most part it’s not noticeable, as the end of the board and my cut is hidden in the groove of the side board. There is a slight gap if you look closely, but it will never really be seen once it’s in use.
  5. The other tricky part was positioning the wheels so that the shelf would slide in and out easily while providing the stability needed for it to stand freely when not between the fridge and the wall. I am actually still playing with this and may end up buying 1.5″ flat ball casters as suggested by the poster of the above cabinet.
  6. Everything is put back together, holes filled and ready for paint.
Here is the narrow space between the wall and my fridge.
The original two panels I got for free.
Here is a “before” shot of the book display rack.
Wire cord that used to hold the books in.
Curved ends that had to be cut to match. This nice cut is the original not mine.
Cut down panel.
Panel is patched and ready for paint.

I can’t wait to get back to it and finish this project off, but the weekend is over and I have a super busy week ahead with Parent Teacher Conferences. Hopefully I won’t be too bagged after a heavy week and can finish it up next weekend. Stay tuned….

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Baked Apple Cinnamon Pancake

Cook the sliced apples.
Place cooked apples in oven proof dish.
Cover with batter.
Bake until brown and puffy.
Invert on platter.
Cut in wedges and serve.

This is one of my favourite pancake recipes. It is a little more work as you need to peel, slice and cook the apples prior to baking the pancake, but the flip side is you don’t have to hover over a griddle flipping the entire batch. I got this recipe from an old church cook book and I’m not sure of the original source, but this is a great recipe and ideal for serving to company or at a brunch.

Baked Apple Cinnamon Pancake:

Apple Mixture Ingredients:

  • 4 Granny Smith apples:   peeled, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Apple Mixture Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Melt the butter. Add the apples to the pan and sprinkle them with the sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 10 minutes or until the apples are tender and the liquid has cooked off. Transfer cooked apples to an oven proof dish (9″ X 13″ or 3.5 litre) that has been prepared with cooking spray.

Batter Ingredients:

  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup milk
  •  3 Tablespoons sugar (I suggest 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar as it is quite sweet.)
  • 1/4 cup melted butter

Batter Instructions:

Beat the eggs. Add the balance of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour the batter over the cooked apples.  Bake in hot oven for 25 minutes or until browned and puffy. Invert onto a platter and cut into wedges. Sprinkle with icing sugar (Oops! I forgot to do this today!) and serve with maple syrup and/or a dollop of whipped cream.

*If you are serving these for a fancy brunch or company, you can cook an additional apple and serve the wedges of pancake with whipped cream, a spoonful of cooked apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon. These are absolutely delicious!

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A Look Back: Before and After Slideshow

This is my 248th post. At the end of June/beginning of July, I played around a bit a managed to get a couple of posts up on my blog, but after July long weekend I buckled down and was committed to blogging daily. Since then, I have only missed one day and that was because I was brutally sick with Strep Throat. I must admit that some days are easier than others, but I am hoping that the sunshine, warmer weather (by that I mean less cold) and longer days will get me motivated and back into DIY project mode. The winter has been very long and my motivation level for doing projects has failed in comparison to my desire to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket. Anyways, I thought I would help to get myself motivated by taking a look back at some of my favourite transformation projects and share the before and after shots.  I have done entire posts on most of these projects, so you can check the archives if you want more information on what I did. Enjoy the show and hopefully this will motivate you to get out some paint and give something a new look!

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Life Hacks I Love #7: DIY Fire Starter

I am all about reusing and repurposing what others deem trash. I had found this idea on-line quite sometime ago and find it is a great solution to the “no kindling” dilemma we sometimes face when building a fire. We have a wood burning fire place and I often find that the fire wood box is lacking the bits of pieces of kindling that are key to building the perfect fire. The solution….paper towel roll + dryer lint = fire starter.

This is a great solution and is created from everyday waste that you have at home. Keep a stash of old paper towel rolls in your laundry room and stuff your dryer lint in the empty rolls. Throw one of these in with your logs when you are trying to build a fire. Once it catches fire, it burns longer than regular paper and thus provides the flame needed for the logs to catch on fire. The more compactly packed the lint, the better it works!

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Funky Scarf Jewellery

Thrift Shoppin'

Thrift Shop Scarves

You may remember that I picked-up several beautiful scarves while out “thrifting” one day. I got them for a buck-fifty each and felt like I scored big. I washed them and began to play with them, experimenting with different knots and styles. (If you are interested in creative ways to wear a scarf, check-out my previous post that featured a video demonstrating 25 ways to tie a scarf.) It didn’t take me long to realize that all of the scarves were similar in length and seemed to be quite a bit shorter than others I owned. I found them a bit difficult to work with because of their odd length. I decided that a clip or pin of some kind might help to make them “work” for me. Last week, I shared the t-shirt flower tie that works like a charm! You basically tie the flower around the scarf and then play with it until you achieve a style you like. Still, I couldn’t help but think that I would love to have a piece of jewellery that would serve the same purpose. I really wasn’t sure where you would purchase “scarf jewellery”, so I  did what all DIYers do…searched the web. I can’t say I really found what I was looking for, but Pinterest is packed with all kinds of ideas for re-purposing old cutlery. I figured I could modify some of the ideas that others shared and make it work for a scarf…why not? On the weekend, I went to a local antique store and purchased a handful of old silverware for $5.

Silverware Scarf Jewellery:

Although I really didn’t know what I was doing, I proceeded to bend and twist one of the old forks until I came up with what I deemed to be a funky little piece. Some of the on-line tutorials talk about heating up the silver with a torch, but others just used basic tools to get the look they wanted. I didn’t really want to” play with fire”, so thought that I would stick to elbow grease, pliers and a hammer for my first project. I think it probably helps if you know what kind of material the utensils are made of, as some work better with a heat source while others don’t require it. I don’t know what these forks and spoons are made of and really wasn’t interested in investing the time to figure it out. I saw some cool pieces on-line and just wanted to see what I could come up with. If I end up creating more pieces, I will make sure I am using the appropriate techniques to create a more “polished” finished product, but for my first attempt trial and error seemed like the best course of action.

I think it works best if you flatten the piece out with a hammer first.  I didn’t do this as I read this after fumbling through my first project. I had to work quite hard to get the prongs of the fork bent how I wanted them and even then ended up settling because I couldn’t get them into the exact position I wanted. I am guessing that the fork I started with probably would have worked much better with a heat source, as I found it quite difficult to manipulate.   I had to apply a lot of pressure and the tools ended up leaving little nicks in the surface of the silver. I did try to sand/buff them out, but they are still visible. I decided not to worry about it and just call the flaws “character”. LOL

Overall, I am pleased with what I came up with and will wear it. It is a simple loop, so you need to actually knot the scarf into it. I will definitely try more pieces like this. I love the idea of “scarf” jewellery! Next time, I will probably try to “test” my piece to determine what it is made of and then use a heat source, if necessary. I am a little nervous about that and will probably work on my basement floor, so I don’t burn the house down. Anyways, I will keep you posted and let you know if I come up with any cool designs to share. For this one, I added in one of the baked marbles I made earlier this week. I basically glued the base of it to the fork and then wrapped the bent prongs around it. Hopefully it will hold.

BEFORE: Antique Cutlery
Bent fork
Bent fork with baked marble
AFTER: Funky Scarf Jewellery

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That’s “Marbleous”!

baked marbles

The original poster added starter rings and created these really pretty pendants.

I saw this cool idea on Pinterest for baking marbles to make very cool looking jewellery. I loved the cracked look and thought that these marbles would be a cool addition to the “silverware” pieces that I have been messing around with. I picked-up a few marbles for 10 cents a piece at a local antique store, but they were the type with the little splash of colour in the center. I also had a few that were opaque. I followed the instructions from the above post, but found that I needed to bake them a bit longer to get the cracked  effect. In the end I wasn’t pleased with the result. The cracks weren’t even visible in the opaque marbles and the clear marbles with the fleck inside, didn’t look great either. (The original post did warn against this, but for 10 cents, I thought I would judge for myself.) I was determined to make this work, so I went to Michael’s and bought a bag of glass beads on sale for under $2.

“Marbleous” Marbles:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place TRANSLUCENT (clear or tinted) marbles on a foil lined pan. You can either use traditional sphere shaped marbles or the flat-bottomed glass beads/marbles, both work.
  3. Bake the marbles for about 20 to 30 minutes.
  4. Using a metal bowl, prepare an ice bath (ice cubes with enough water to cover the marbles).  Remove the marbles from the oven and immediately place them in the ice bath. The glass beads/marbles will immediately crack when they contact the ice water.
  5. Let cool and use in a project of your choice.
    Bag of glass beads for under $2.
    Place on foil lined tray and bake.
    Place in ice bath.

By following the simple instructions above, I ended up with these beautiful little gems! These could be incorporated into all kinds of projects:  wrapped in wire and used in a plant pot, for jewellery or glued on a project to add some interest. I absolutely love this look and you can’t beat the price at just pennies a stone.

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Enchilada Quinoa Casserole

I found this recipe last winter when I was searching for kid friendly quinoa recipes. I can’t remember if it was passed on to me or if I found it on-line, but I can’t seem to find the original source…my apologies. I have modified it slightly from the original. This Mexican recipe is tasty and can easily be whipped up in under 30 minutes. My kids request it often and it is relatively healthy which scores big points in our house!

Enchilada Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients:

1 finely chopped onion
olive oil
1 cup of cooked quinoa
1 can of refried beans
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoons quinoa flour (or flour of choice)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups of chopped tomatoes
4 tortillas
1/2 to 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
Sour cream, optional

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Sauté onion in olive oil until tender. Add cooked quinoa and cook for another few minutes.
  3. Melt butter in a separate sauce pan and add garlic. Cook for about a minute or until fragrant. Stir in flour until a paste is formed. Continue to whisk and add broth, taco seasoning, spices and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes.
  4. Reserve 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture and add the remainder to the quinoa and onions.
  5. Spray the bottom of a quiche plate with cooking spray. Lay down one tortilla. Cover it with about 1/4 of a can of refried beans. Top with about 1/2 or a bit more of quinoa mixture and a small amount of cheese. Repeat the layers until all 4 tortillas have been added. Add the reserved 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture to the top of the casserole just before the final layer of cheese.
  6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese melts and it appears to be heated through.
  7. Cut into wedges and serve with a dollop of sour cream.

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Protein Particulars

With age, I have come to know and understand my body so much better. It has taken me years to begin to figure things out regarding what constitutes a healthy diet for me personally and I still feel that I have so much to learn about proper nutrition and my body in particular. However, my experience with exercise programs and various fad diets has revealed a few things that I know for sure:

  • protein is absolutely essential to how I feel each day (I am quite conscious of my protein intake and try to have an adequate source of protein with every meal.)
  • I have trouble digesting many forms of meat. I am not saying I can’t eat meat, but I have learned what kinds of meat are “friendly” and easily digested by my body. I have also discovered that I must eat red meat in moderation (one to two times per week), fish rarely (depending on the kind) and turkey once in a while. For me, chicken is the staple that I eat several times per week.  I also try to plan a minimum of one meatless dinner per week.
  • For me, I get most of my protein from eggs, nuts, seeds and chicken.

How to Calculate Your Protein Needs:

I do not count or keep track of my protein intake, but it is sometimes interesting to reflect on what you are eating just to see if you are in fact falling short on your protein intake. Here is a link for a protein calculator.  I used two different ways to calculate my recommended levels and both systems came out about the same. For my age and size, I should consume between 74 and 80 grams of protein per day, depending on my activity level.

Protein Sources:

Despite the fact that we often equate “meat” with protein, there are numerous other foods that offer great sources of protein as well. It really wasn’t until recently that I discovered the value of seeds. I had always tried to incorporate plenty of nuts in my diet, but never really consumed seeds other than the not so healthy salted sunflower seeds we would eat over the summer months. It was The Plan that actually taught me the value of seeds and since then, a day rarely goes by that I do not eat seeds. Raw pumpkins seeds have become one of my favourite additions to my lunch time salads and I will often add raw sunflower seeds or chia seeds to soups and salads as well.  Seeds are packed with protein and when eaten raw, make a very healthy addition to any meal.  Below are some of my favourite protein sources with a quick comparison of their protein, fat and caloric values. Of course, there are many other nutritional elements in each of the foods below, but I am primarily looking at their protein values.  If you are interested in searching for other protein rich foods, Health Alternatives offers some great charts with nutritional information.protein chart

As mentioned earlier in the post, pumpkin seeds are one of the few foods that I eat almost every day. You can see how just an ounces of pumpkin seeds on a salad can boost your protein intake and help you to maintain that “full” feeling for much longer than when you eat vegetables only.  I found a post that highlights some of the many nutritional benefits of eating raw pumpkin seeds. To learn more about these protein packed little morsels, check-out this post on Young and Raw.

Next time you make a salad, add a handful of raw pumpkin seeds to it and see how much longer you feel “full”.  Also, when considering your breakfast choices, always consider how you might incorporate some protein into your meal.  We all know breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and including a good source of protein is vital!

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Just Add Tape!

This morning I challenged myself to a 10 minute project that began with no plan or goal. I was pushed for time and had no post planned for the day. I got out my crafting tape and basically started to “play”. In fact, Shay came in and asked what I was doing and I said I didn’t know. He proceeded to ask a few more questions about my project and I told him I really had no idea what I was going to do, but it all began by covering an old puzzle piece with tape.  Here is what evolved.homemade card

Materials:

  • card stock (for card base)
  • crafting knife
  • scissors
  • old puzzle piece
  • crafting tape
  • dollar store letter stickers
  • adhesive/tape

Steps:

  • Cover the puzzle piece in tape. I used 3 different designs of tape and randomly placed strips across the surface.

tape covered puzzle piece

  • Flip the puzzle piece over and use the knife to cut all of the excess tape off by using the edge of the puzzle piece as a guide. (Oops! No picture.)
  • Use the tape to create a border along the bottom of the card. I layered mine to get this look.
  • Adhere the puzzle piece to the card.
  • Add lettering to get the message you want.  (The “PEACE” Man! is a little lame, but I was in a big rush and wanted to incorporate the puzzle piece into the greeting itself.)  Of course, you could use any play on words with the peace/piece idea (Peace be with You, May you find Peace, etc.) or something like “love you to pieces” or “you’ll always have a piece of my heart”, etc.
  • The concept of this card is much less about the final look of the card and much more so about being able to create a great card without a roomful of scrapbooking tools. This is the epitome of simple, cost effective and the possibilities are endless. The puzzle piece simply adds dimension and a bit of interest. If you skip it, you could get the same effect by incorporating buttons, fabric, washers or other household items. I tend to find that some sort of dimension adds interest and a focal point to a card. It isn’t necessary, but more so my preference.

Next time you’re at the dollar store, pick-up some tape and card stock and begin to play and create. It is amazing what you can come up with simply by combining different patterns and materials.  This project took less than 10 minutes and that was without knowing that I was evening going to end up with a card.  This project is rated A for “anyone could do it”.  Have fun!

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