Left over paint chips? Make wall art!

After making the mobile for the nursery, I had a tonne of left over paint chips (okay, slight exaggeration).  Still inspired, I used two sizes of punches (1/2 inch and 3/4 inch) and punched between 8-12 of each shade.

From there, I just bought a white matted frame and used the paper that comes with the frame (with the prototypical happy family/couple/child pose).  I flipped that over, and started gluing the punched paint chips into a pattern.  As it developed, I realized that it was starting to look like the sky and the ground, so I added a few lighter pieces in the centre to make it look like a rain shower.

Certainly not Dali or Picasso, but I think it turned out well.

Paint Chip Mobile - Baby Nursery

There are a million posts on the internet about how to make a mobile using paint chips.  I really adore the look of these and decided to make one to hang from the nursery ceiling. 

I used paint chips including shades of browns and greens/teals that will match the wall colours (once they get painted).

I tied some beige string to an embroidery hoop.  I decided not to paint it and left the hoop in natural wood grain.

I elected to have nine strands hanging from the mobile (a centre strand - 12 inches, 4 middle strands - 10 inches, 4 outer strands - 8 inches) and started by laying out the design and order in which the colours would be set.  I cut the out necessary pieces with a 3/4 inch punch and also cut out larger squares for the centre strand.

Each strand was made by gluing two pieces together around the strand, leaving space in between each.

Once all nine strands were ready and had dried, I tied them to the embroidery hoop and also tied string to create a way to hang the mobile.

(As with all of the nursery decor, I will post an update with pictures once the nursery has been painted and set up.)

20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go

I haven't been baking or crafting much lately, in large part due to a significant change in our lives.  I'm pregnant and haven't had a tonne of energy to do too much more than work and nap.

Ive been feeling pretty good lately and now that we're at the half way point, its time to start preparing for our soon-to-be summer baby (due in July).

I pretty much have the nursery decided upon.  Our plan right now is that we aren't telling anyone the baby's gender - it will be a secret for my hubby and I to share.  As a result, everything I've been planning is pretty neutral.

The walls in the nursery are already a nice shade of brown and we are going to paint one of the walls with a feature colour with stripes going through the other walls.  (Pictures to come once painting actually gets done.)
The current colour is pretty close to this shade by Behr:



I've decided that the feature colour will be a shade of green and after looking at what feels like a hundred colours, have chosen Opal Silk by Behr (see below).



We have also picked out all of our furniture for the nursery, all of which will be white:





Apart from painting, I still have all of the decor to pick out and finish off.  I've already selected three craft projects to do rather than purchase store bought items:

1. Mobile
2. Animal Prints
3. "Art"

I will also be making the drapes, laundry hamper, and a wall design featuring the baby's name (one of the last things to be done, so that the gender surprise remains in tact).

In the next post, I'll start by showing the mobile.

A Quick and Easy Valentine's Day Treat

I hate when Valentine's Day falls on weekdays.  We don't celebrate much, but I always like making a nice dinner and a little treat.  When it falls on a weekday I don't have much time after work.  This dessert is a nice little solution to that problem.

There's really not much to it.  You can use your favourite brownie recipe or boxed brownie mix.  For the filling, I used Dr. Oekter's Chocolate Mousse Supreme.

Bake the brownies in a 9 x 13 pan, this way they are not too thick.

Make the mousse while brownies are baking and let it sit in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

Let the brownies cool completely.  When cool, use a heart shaped cookie cutter (at least three inches in size) and cut out an even number of hearts.

Scoop the mousse into a piping bag and pipe mousse onto half of the hearts.  Top with remaining half of the hearts.  Decorate with remaining mousse and/or icing sugar.

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Pie In February - Yes, please...

This past weekend we were hit with the winter storm that hit most of Eastern US and Canada.  Its been a couple years since we've seen a single snowfall like that.  While the hubby was out tackling the driveway (and three or four of our neighbours'), I felt inspired to make a summery treat to overcome the winter chill outside.

(My hubby had already done the driveway twice, not that you can tell.  In the end, our area got 30 cm and the blowing snow created drifts well over 50 cm high in some areas.)

The recipe is based, mostly, on the recipe for Lemon and Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie from oh my! Sugar High.  I think that may be one of my new favourite websites.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup milk
1 box Jello lemon instant pudding
1 can  blueberry pie filling


Steps:

Mix melted butter into graham cracker crumbs.  Press into 10 inch pie pan.

With electric beater or stand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.

With electric beater or stand mixer, beat milk and pudding until fully mixed and thickening.  Add cream cheese and mix until blended and smooth.

Spread a thin layer of blueberry filling on the crumb crust (be careful not to create any holes when spreading the filling).

Spread the lemon cheese mixture in the pie crust.

Top with remaining blueberry filling.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

In the words of my hubby - "That's f@#$ing awesome!"  I guess it turned out okay.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Cranberry Mayo

I've been making these for years and, for some reason, recently I've been asked for the recipe by a few people including my mum.  These are super quick to make and great any time of year.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers (makes six)

600 grams ground turkey
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/3 cup prepared mustard
2 tsp bbq sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 slices of cheddar cheese
6 large hamburger buns

Mix all ingredients together, except cheese.  Separate into six equal shares and separate each amount into two parts.  Make six patties (half of the meat mixture should still be left over to make the top side of the patties).  Place one piece of cheese on each patty.  Using the remaining mixture, make the six top patties and place on top of cheese.  Close each patty.

Winter instructions: Broil on High for 10 minutes, flip and broil for 8 minutes.  Optional - add more cheese slices on top and broil for one more minute.

In the summer, grill until fluids come out clear.

Cranberry Mayo

4 tablespoons canned cranberry sauce (with whole cranberries, not the jelly type)
2 tablespoons mayo

Stir until well blended.

Dress buns with mustard on one side and cranberry mayo on the other side.  You can, of course, add lettuce, onions or tomato slices depending on preference.

Last time I made these my hubby scarfed down four of them!

Homemade Granola Bars

As mentioned in my prior post, I've started eating smaller meals and more snacks throughout the day.  As a result, I've been looking for recipes for snacks.  I'm particularly interested in recipes for things that will either allow me to make bulk batches or eliminate/minimize chemicals in my food.

I'm a big fan of granola bars, but not such a big fan of some of the ingredients used to make mass produced products.  Thankfully, I recently found a few tasty looking recipes for DIY granola bars.  After looking at a few different recipes, I decided to use the following base recipe:

Homemade Granola
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups quick oats
1 cup rice cereal

Melt butter and combine with sugar and honey until both are dissolved and thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla and blend into mix.

Remove from heat.  Stir in oats and cereal.

Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with wax paper.

Customization (I split the recipe into 1/3 and 2/3):

#1 - Chocolate chip
I added 1/4 cup of mini-chocolate chips to the granola mix after letting the mix sit for a few minutes.   The mix was then pressed into one side of the cookie tray.  I sprinkled a couple tablespoons of the mini-chips on top and slightly pressed them in.

#2 - Coconut and Raisin
I added 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, 1/3 cup raisins, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  The mix was then pressed into the other side of the cookie tray.

I put the cookie tray into the fridge for an hour and then took it out and cut the granola into bars.