Coffee Creamer Vase

What I used

Coffee Creamer Vase, magazines, napkins,  plastic container,  spider plant, acrylic paint, duct tape, school glue 

That's it ***

 

Decoupaging a Vase

 

I began with napkins, cut outs from magazines and
calendars. 

First,  I glued  some of the cut outs on the outside with the face of the picture turned toward the inside of the vase. I then added sparkles using  glitter nail polish. 

Gluing the pictures from the calendar face 
down on the vase from the outside.

This is how the vase looks from inside.

              

After the glued pictures dried, I painted the entire vase with white chalk paint.

Additional cutouts to be placed randomly on top of the napkins.

The finished vase

The same gluing method for the napkins and cutouts was used. After drying, the entire vase was sprayed with a  clear sealer. 

Gold washi tape was used around the bottom and top. NOT A GOOD CHOICE. I removed the tape later. Since this is my first attempt, I'm pleased. I'll use gold, bronze or silver leaf in the future for rim and base if I want sparkle. 

 

While this vase can hold water inside, it is not completely waterproof on the outside even with the sealant.  

That's it ***

Duping a $400 Bracelet

That's it***

Making a Stadium Chair Bag

 

That's it***

Descendants- the documentary

 Much information was derived and discovered from the Descendant documentary.   A must see for anyone interested in genealogy and African American history.

 

Descendant, an Oscar short-listed film is about the descendants of the survivors of the Clotilda, the last known ship to carry enslaved Africans to the Americas. The film centers on Africatown, a community in Mobile, where Clotilda survivors and their families bought land and built a life. Descendant explores the historical legacy of slavery here in Alabama, and how the impact of environmental harm continues to disproportionately fall on people of color.

Sierra Club

sponsored this FREE screening to Birmingham, including appetizers and refreshments along with live jazz music by Daniel Jose Carr.

Following the film, there was a panel discussion and Q&A with folks featured in the film along with direct descendants of the survivors of the Clotilda.

Though I didn't remain for the panel discussion, I learned much from the documentary. Though the movie shows numerous discoveries that were made following the location of the sunken Clotilda and descendants rejoicing, there is much more that will need to be investigated and legalities that need to be put into place.

That's it 🚢🚢🚢

 

Sewing Table Refresh

 The plans were big. The enthusiasm, Great! How hard could it be?

The plan was to place wheels underneath the legs so that I could roll my portable sewing machine to any room or in front of any sunny window to sew.  Sunny daylight is my favorite way to sew. 

It was my plan to drill holes in the bottom of the legs and screw in 4 wheels  and then to paint the table. But, when I checked, the legs had metal furniture glides underneath. I tried removing them using various tools but to no avail. I looked at  cup shaped casters with brakes that I might be able to set the legs in and screw on some way. They cost more than what I wanted to spend on a $13 table.

Finally, I found second hand U-shaped wheels with brakes on Amazon. Brakes are necessary to steady the table while I'm sewing. Otherwise, it'll scoot all over the place.

U-shaped casters

Here I am prepping things so that I can get started. 

51 second video

I did a post not to long ago  about the scandal that involved the Morse sewing machine company. I also talked about the facelift on my ~ 1950-60s sewing machine.  

The sewing machine facelift.

For some time I've wanted to try chalk paint. Since there was some blue in the pattern I went with  Waverly Night Sky. 

Washed down the table and then began painting. No additional
prep was needed before painting. 

Unfortunately, the leg bottoms were too large to fit the casters. So, I sanded them down, planning to complete each one with an appropriate sized screw to go on each side of the holes in the casters.

Placing the first leg on the table.  (18 second video)

This is when things started going downhill. I spent a lot of trial and error time trying to make the wheels fit on the table legs. When I finally sat the sewing machine on the table, two of the wheels collapsed. 

    

The results (28 seconds)

I was done. I'd been working on this project periodically from November 2022 until March 2023. The huge gaps of time were because of my frustration and trying to think of another tactic. Finally, I threw in the towel. I loaded the table into my vehicle and took it to the dump.  

Answers to your possible questions.

A. Why didn't I get someone to do this for me?  

    1.  I wanted to see if I could do it myself.

   2. I've been "burned" in the past when I got someone to repair something for me off site. 

 B. Why didn't you use the right tools such as hammer, nail, saw.

      1. I didn't want to add tools I knew I would probably never use again, and obviously I'm not good with carpentry.

C. How much did you spend? (some prices approximated)

     Sewing table                               $13.00

     Waverly Paint                               15.36

      Wheels/ casters                              9.93

       Screws                                            .59

       Extra wood                                   4.00

       TOTAL                                      $42.88 

It's all a learning experience.

That's it ***

Dried flowers and Greenery-SHORT

It was a  beautiful basket of flowers sent in condolence.  The colors were so bright and cheerful even at a gloomy time.

I've dried hydrangea blooms before . I decided to try my hand at these.

Greenery and blooms were dried for about 8 weeks.

The Results

The fragile flowers were unable to withstand

drying. Nor did I want to try pressing them inside a book. The roses did well.

                                                                            Greenery and what was a red rose. The greenery took on a silvery, sage hue. 

I may place a few glass beads in the bottom of each vase.

That's it***

Girlfriend, It's Just a Storm

 

I had the opportunity of attending a church play that had a friend and her daughter as part of the cast. The title Girlfriend, It's Just a Storm was performed at The Star once known as New Rising Star Baptist Church. 

The play concerns four friends who meet for lunch just to catch up after a number of years being apart. Each friend is experiencing  "a storm" in her life. None share their storm out loud in detail to  the others. Later, we see each one of the characters in her own vignette revealing what her life struggle is.

 Will  Jane's *  breast cancer surgery and reconstruction be successful?  Will her fiancé still want to marry her after such a body and life altering experience?

pictured  l.to.r. : Jane, Jane's, fiancé and  mother.

Between scene changes we were treated with humor by, 

                                                      Two Ladies and a Pocketbook

                                                                            ***

As a self-employed business woman, Diane is facing bankruptcy due to the pandemic and a backlog in shipment of merchandise.  This predicament finds her plagued by creditors, utilities in arrears and  repossession of her car.

 Since the death of his brother Shirley's  husband  no longer attends church service  or spends time with her, 

                                          Two Ladies and a Pocketbook

***

 Mary is a hospital worker whose mother has dementia.  The in-home caregiver's own mother has fallen and she'll be leaving immediately to take care of her. This leaves Mary in a dilemma. Who can she get to care for her mother on such short notice? 

In each scene, unseen by the characters, an angel comes to them with news of hope and trust in God telling them they're only going through a storm in life.

The Outcome

Jane*  is cancer free, her reconstruction  a success and her fiancé  still loves her

Diane receives  a letter stating that a rich relative has died leaving her $650,000.

Mary receives a call from the Home Care Service agency stating that they'll be sending out a Home Health Aide the next day along with improved meds for her mother.

Shirley's husband is visited by the angel. He prays and decides to reunite himself with the church and his wife.

When Shirley returns because she forgot her purse, her husband decides to attend church services with her.

                                                         ***

When the women reunite each one tells the storms they have experienced and how God made a way and saw them through.

 The cast of,  Girlfriend, It's Just a Storm

***

Playwright, Mona Dilworth, author of Girlfriend, It's Just a Storm, accepting flowers

* Jane- I was unable to remember the character's name so I named her Jane.

That's it ⛪⛪⛪

Roasted Cauliflower ,Stems and Greens

 

We all know that grocery prices have skyrocketed. This small head of cauliflower was $2.69 at ALDI.

 

After removing the core, leaves and stems  and saving them, I broke the cauliflower into florets trying to keep them about the same size.  

I tossed the florets in olive oil seasoning with Mrs. Dash, paprika, basil and  garlic powder. Regular salt and pepper will do the trick but, I'm trying to cut back on my sodium intake.

Placing the florets on a heat proof mat sprayed with cooking spray, I placed them in the oven on 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. I checked periodically to make sure they weren't burned.

I removed them from the oven, waited for them to cool off enough to eat and dug in. OOOO-delicious. As you can see there weren't many. That browning on the tips is not burning. It adds so much flavor.  I dipped 3 of them  in a tiny bit of Ranch Dressing just to see how it would taste. OOOO-delicious again. 

Next time I'll break them into smaller florets. That way they'll cook faster with even deeper flavor. It'll also appear as if I have more than I do. 😀

But, wait. There's more!

I wanted to know if the leaves and stems were edible. I Googled "cauliflower leaves and stems".

Yes, they are. After all I did pay for the w-h-o-l-e thing and I want to get my $2.69 worth.  I found numerous recipes online. They can be used in soups, stir fried, stocks, salads and even made into cole slaw.

That's what I did with the first cauliflower. The stems can be a little tough but if you peel them the inside is perfect. BUT!, I didn't peel them. After washing the greens and stems thoroughly, I finely chopped everything so that it would be more digestible.

 I put these fixings in a bowl, added mayo,  sweet pickle relish, a little cheese for color along with seasonings of choice and began my consumption.  It was good enough for me to want to make coleslaw with it again. Some of the recipes showed additional ingredients but I preferred to keep it simple. 

I stir fried the next batch along with white onion and seasonings. I added cooked chicken and a little sweet and sour sauce.  It was tasty. 

I didn't add a lot of "stuff" to my recipes since it was my first time trying it out. I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't turn out to my liking and I would have wasted the additional ingredients for nothing.

That's it ***

 

Mini Pot Pies

 A pot pie is a comforting food for me but, as with most comfort foods it is laden with calories.

I've been a subscriber to  One Dish Kitchen for some time. Joanie's   recipes for two have been helpful. She provides the directions for making small batches of huge recipes. 

However, the following recipe was on TikTok and I finessed it to fit my own needs. There are only four ingredients.  

As far as measurements and amounts, I have none. I did things "to taste."

The ramekins on the left are 4"x4" and the ones on the right are 5"x5". Each is no deeper than about 

1 1/2". 

I was sated with this small pie which I accompanied with steamed cabbage.  The additional pies were wrapped and placed in the freezer for future meals.

NOTE: Instead of frozen vegetables I will use canned next time. The veggies came out al dente`  since they were still frozen but, the pie was good just the same.  I had crescent roll dough left over. I allowed it to freeze and then placed it in a freezer bag🤞 for a future recipe. 

That's it 🍵🍵🍵

Box Glam up (Short)

 

tunein.com

That's it ***