Fall wreath update- now a MisAdventure!

So my fall wreath, which has gottten tons of comments, is maybe not the best tutorial. I woke up from a nap yesterday to find this.

Hot glue does not hold well if exposed to heat!
Oops..

So now  it's back to the drawing board for an adhesive that will hold up to the full day of direct sunlight my front door recieves.
Stay tuned.

Mis-Adventure: Cleaning the oven

Somehow, I managed to make it the past almost 10 years of living on my own without cleaning my oven. Until tonight.

I made cheesecake for Prince Charming's birthday earlier in the week. (And I was so distracted making sure I didn't poison him this is the only photo I got with my phone)

 Having a brand new spring form pan, I didn't bother to line the bottom like both the recipe and University of Mom told me to.  So I guess it leaked onto the bottom of my oven. oops. No wonder it smelled so good baking.

Fast forward to tonight, when I decide I had better clean the oven before I cook in it tomorrow. So not knowing any better, I flipped the latch on the door, turned the dial, and let 'er rip.

The poor dog and I have now retreated upstairs with all the windows open to escape the smoke. Because apparently a "self cleaning oven" means it BURNS everything off the bottom. And there was some crusty stuff on the bottom.

Lessons from the University of Mom:

1. Listen to what Momma says. She's usually right.
2. Clean the oven before you clean the oven.

On tap for tomorrow: Fabreeze the entire house.

Mis- Adventure- Placemat Fail, part 2

*** Apologies for today's late post. The day got away from me at work, and I didn't finish this until late today! Thank you for reading!***

Several months ago, I fell in love with some placemats at One Kings Lane. Of course I can't find them now, but I think they were from Dransfield and Ross.  I did save this image from when I found them originally.

Hexagonal, Leather, Nailhead trim. I was in LOVE with everything about them. Well, except the pricey price tag.  So I set out to DIY some.

My first attempt was a total failure.  You can read about it here.
My second attempt was too, although I'm getting better.

I decided they needed to be hardboard like placemats, with a decorative top and nailhead trim, with a hard coating and cork back. Sounds easy right?

Off I went to Lowe's and found the 1/8" plywood project panels. I had Prince Charming cut them down for me to 12x24 rectangles.

Then I took some wrapping paper and ModPodge Hardcoat.

I put a layer of Hardcoat on the plywood, then laid my wrapping paper down. Then I smoothed it out with a credit card.  Half a bottle of Hardcoat later, I still don't have that built- up finish I'm looking for.

Then I read this post by Jen at Tatertots and Jello.  Lightbulb!

I need resin. And I think I"m going to try this with actual Masonite, some studs designed for clothing, and a pour on resin. 


Stay tuned and hopefully it will work this time!!!!

Birthday Cake MisAdventure

Yesterday was my birthday, and I was REALLY excited about making my birthday cake.  Years ago, I saw a recipe in Southern Living for a chocolate Groom's cake with blackberries on it- two of my FAVORITEST things.

source

My mom made it for my 18th birthday party. My twin sister made it last year. For them, it was a beautiful confection of blackberry chocolate delight.

Mine? Well, it tasted good.

The recipe called for a chocolate ganache made by melting chocolate chips and butter together, then stirring in sour cream. That was a lumpy seized chocolate mess- twice.  The garbage disposal thought it tasted just fine though.

Not to be deterred, I called up Sissy, who is a much better baker. She told me to make a butter cream. Off I go, happily dumping cocoa, powdered sugar, butter, and chambord into my mixer.

Me: "How do I know if it's ready?"
Sissy: " When all the powdered sugar is incorporated"
Me: "Gee, this sure is sticky and doesn't want to spread"
Sissy: " You should put more milk in, it's too stiff"
Me: " Too late, it's all on top of the cake now! "

Cue the uncontrollable laughter on my part as this homely cake takes shape.

Nonetheless, it tastes good, and it's my birthday. Therefore it's perfect. I just may have someone else make it next year...

A crafty misadventure

 

I  wanted to make placemats inspired by these I saw on One King’s Lane:

I loved the placemats, but not the $79 price tag. And since I thought you would too, I set out to make a tutorial.

However,  what resulted was this:

Something I’m not even happy enough with to finish.  Wrong shape, too small, too thick. Not to mention I’m having problems with straight lines.

Back to the drawing board- I’m determined to come up with something!

Ornament Wreath how not to, and how to

So, every year for like the past three years, I walk by the lush, pretty color coordinated ornament wreaths in cute antique stores and home decor shops. And sigh, because there is no way I"m paying $65 for a wreath. No way.

So this year, I'm embracing my craftiness and trying to do a lot of homemade things. And I decided to make my own ornament wreath.

So, I bought ornaments. And ribbon. And found a piece of foam core leftover from design school (Thanks Mom!)

I found a round platter that was a nice large size. And traced it on my foamcore. Found a pedestal that seemed the right size for the inner circle, and traced it too.

Cut it out with a very un-sharp exacto knife. It had lots of jaggedy edges, so I sanded it smooth.

And started gluing my ornaments on.

And it totally looked like crapola.

Got frustrated.  Tore everything off. Used a different, thicker sheet of foamcore. And changed the blade in the knife. Started over. Hated that you could still see the foamcore.

So, in desperation, I actually READ the tutorials all over blogville. I know, amazing concept. When all else fails, read the directions.

And I found this post from Better Homes and Gardens.

So, off to Joann I go. Bought my foam wreath.

And I glued them like shown in this post.

Starting with the inner circle, then the outer circle.

And then just add ornaments on top until you can't see any of the wreath form anymore.

I used hot glue and held them until set.  Use a lot of glue.

Once done, I  realized it's way too deep to fit between my front door and storm door. So I added it to my mantle instead.

I then decided to make a burlap and tulle wreath for my front door. Post on that coming soon! You can see the picture here.

How NOT to build a bonfire

While I was at Sissy's for Thanksgiving, we I decided we needed a bonfire to roast marshmellows.

Background: Sissy and her boy, Honey-do, have been having "bonfires" in her grill the past few weekends. Once I heard about it, I wanted a burnt marshmellow of my own. I love making smores.. I mean, eating the pieces separately- burnt marshmellows crispy on the outside and gooey inside, melty chocolate pieces, and crispy graham crackers. But primarily the marshmellows.

So Honey-do and I went out into the woods Thursday afternoon and gather up wood to have our bonfire with. 

Friday, it rains all day. But it stopped just as it was getting dark. I'm not about to let a little thing like humidity get in the way of having my marshmellows. Honey-do picks up dry firewood from the store, and off we go.

We used fatwood and newsprint, and at first it looked really good.

Then it burnt down to nothing. So more fatwood and newsprint, and it flares up again. And burns down and is almost out.

So, now out of newspaper, I start tearing up cardboard boxes from the recycle. Honey-do gets the charcoal chimney to hopefully get things going better.

And it looks really promising. Until it burns to nothing.

So, not to be deterred, Mom gets the lighter. And we light my marshmellow on fire with the lighter.

It was crispy and yummy and gooey and I loved every minute of it.

Sissy says on facebook: How to tell a good boyfriend- he builds your sister a bonfire in the rain because she wants one.

Honey do is definitely a keeper!

Lessons learned: Buy Sissy and Honey-do a firepit for Christmas. Don't build a bonfire in the rain. Wet wood doesn't burn well.

Of course, the afternoon after I leave, they have a bonfire and have marshmellows. Without me. Murphy's Law.