Feature Friday: Teri's Almost Finished Chalkboard

Okay, so I’m posting an almost finished project. I’m posting it early so I can join Shanty2Chic’s Gorilla Glue party. It just needs another coat of chalkboard paint and to be secured in the frame. I was going to post pictures of the process, but my camera has gone m.i.a. (I’m sure I set it down someplace in the house in my usual sleep deprived state). I am working on a second one, so I will post all the steps then. I used a large picture frame that I repaired using Gorilla Glue and short ?plate shelf? (not sure if that’s what it is) which I secured to the frame with Gorilla Glue (I got both of these items for free at my local thrift shop on their Free Friday, where they put out items that they can’t sell in the shop). The shelf is to hold chalk and an eraser. I primed both the pieces and spray painted them a glossy black. I then went to a local metal working shop and had a piece of sheet metal cut to fit the frame (you can buy sheet metal and snips at a home improvement store, but I’ll be honest, I don’t think I could cut the sheet metal myself, it would be like eating tin foil or fingernails on a chalkboard). I then primed the sheet metal and painted it with chalkboard paint (I bought the kind that rolls on, it was more bang for the buck). I am planning to coat the chalkboard again at least once and then secure it in the frame with a piece of foam core board behind it so the metal doesn’t bend when it’s written on. I made this for my nephew for Christmas for his room. It is pretty heavy, but i think it can be secure to the wall without difficulty. I promise I will post more fun details when I find my camera. (I took these pictures with a combination of my husbands and my daughters cameras, neither of which I am very familiar with, so please excuse the quality of the pictures).

This is kind of a funny angle, but it really is the best picture of it.

Total cost to me for this project was $22: Frame and shelf were free, $5 for Gorilla Glue (which I will get a ton more uses out of), $5 for piece of sheet metal cut to size, $12 chalkboard paint (which I will have many uses for). So in reality it was a fraction of that because I will be able to use the glue and paint on multiple projects.

This project is linked to Shanty2Chic’s Gorilla Glue party and Frugalicious Friday on Finding Fabulous.

Entered at Trash to Treasure at Reinvented
p.s. sorry about not highlighting all the “f”’s for Feature Friday, it’s been a busy week, and I just ran out of time to do everything and wanted to get this post up.

Guest Day Thursday: Shannon's Flower Girl Dresses

It was my brother in laws wedding a couple of weeks ago and my other brother in laws wife (my very talented sister in law Shannon) made the flower girl dresses. They turned out so cute. Of course I couldn't get them to stop goofing off for a good picture. :) The 2 little girls are my 4 year old nieces. We had such a good time and my sis in law got to show off some of her talent (and she has a lot of it).

What’s Cooking Wednesday Bonus: Mom’s Oatmeal Cake

Since we fell down on the job yesterday and didn't get a post written, you get a bonus today, an extra recipe. This recipe is one our mom makes (Teri loves it because it's a cake WITHOUT frosting). It's super simple but stays moist for a long time.

OATMEAL CAKE

1 ¾ c. boiling water
1 ¾ c. unsifted flour
1 c. uncooked oatmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. packed brown sugar ½ tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cocoa
½ c. butter
1-12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
2 xl (or 3 med) eggs
¾ c. chopped nuts

Pour boiling water over oatmeal and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Add sugars and butter, stir until butter melts. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together flour, salt, soda, and cocoa. Add to sugar mixture. Mix well. Add about ½ of the chocolate chips and stir to blend. Pour into a greased 9” x 13” pain. Sprinkle nuts and the rest of the chocolate chips on top of batter. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes.

Leave us a comment if you try it and let us know what you think. If you have any great cake recipes, leave us a link in the comments as well!!!

Also participating in Foodie Friday @ Designs by Gollum

What’s Cooking Wednesday: Teri’s Baked Potato Soup

Fall is such a great time to have soup, and this is a easy and yummy one that feeds a crowd, so it's great for a potluck or party (you could cut it down to suit, but I never have).

Baked Potato Soup

Approx. 5-6 lbs red potatoes, most of skin removed, diced in 1” pieces

2 green onions, chopped fine

1/2 of a small onion

12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 clove garlic minced

8 cups water

10 chicken bullion cubes

8 oz. Neufchatel cheese

3 cups cheddar jack cheese

½ cup half and half

Sour cream

Note: this fills a 6 quart crock pot about 2/3 full. Add all ingredients except cheeses. Cook on low about 4-5 hours until potatoes are soft. Remove about 6 cups of soup and blend in blender and return to pot, or use immersion blender to blend gently in pot. Note: you can leave the bacon out and use it as garnish if you like.

On stovetop:

Melt together cheeses and half and half over med-low heat. Add this to your soup after blending and cook about ½ to 1 hour more. Garnish with sour cream and a sprinkling of green onions and shredded cheese.

Super yummy!!! Let me know if you try it, or if you have any good soup recipes, leave a link in the comments.

Mystery Monday: Sewing Dilemma

Sorry this is getting posted so late in the day, but it IS still Monday. Our parents were here visiting me (Teri) this weekend, before heading down to Micki’s so I didn’t get the post written to autopublish, and today just got away from me.

I promised yesterday that there would be more in a future post about the costumes I made for my kids for Halloween. I will only say that there were many many swear words running through my mind, and only one or two made it out of my mouth. Here’s the auspicious start:

Ummm, yeah, how do you fit a round waist into a square opening? Okay, first confession, I don’t really sew. I enjoy sewing, but I am not a very good seamstress. Second confession, I attempted to make a poodle skirt without a pattern, because, let’s face it, who wants to pay $12 for a Halloween costume pattern. How hard could it be to cut a circle with a circle in the middle? Ummm, yeah, you can see above, apparently really hard. I ended up cutting this piece down to use to make a skirt for my 4 year old niece and buying a new piece for my daughter (explains why they are different colors). I also discovered that the patterns were on sale for 99¢ so I bought one. It made it a lot simpler (although I left out the waistband and just sewed some ribbon on the top). She wanted something a little different than a poodle, so we decided on stars (whew, much easier) which I adhered with Wonder Under. I also used the skirt pattern to cut out the ghost. I just cut the neck hole smaller. I improvised the hat (I thought he needed big ghosty eyes). Lets face it, I had to put the BOO on the front so people wouldn’t think he was dressed as a member of the KKK. It was all good when I finished them because they both loved their costumes. Here’s some pictures if you didn’t see them before. (Keep reading after the pictures, so you can help solve this weeks mystery). So my only tip today....don't get in over your head :)

Today’s Mystery:
Micki has an old sewing machine that is built in a cabinet and it needs to be serviced. How is the best way to get this done (take it out and take it somewhere or have someone come to the house)? How much can she expect to pay approximately? Is it worth it?

Thanks for any help you can offer!!!

We always love to join a good party, so watch for edits as we link to them throughout the week:

Made it Monday on The Persimmon Perch

Weekend Surprise: Kiddos Halloween Costumes

Just for fun, we thought that we’d post pictures of our kids in their Halloween Costumes. Hope you enjoy!

Teri’s kids: yes I made these costumes, more about that in a future post.

Micki’s kids: yes that is my DAUGHTER dressed as the hammerhead pirate from Pirates of the Caribbean.

We are linked to DIY Show Off’s costume party (at the very end of the Fall Festival post). Will edit if we join anymore parties.