Sprucing up the Door Mat

Bored yet wanting to feel constructive I decided the door mat needed sprucing up. When I bought it, there were subtle, muted colors shaded blue, pink, green. Over time and wear the colors faded so that now the entire mat was just black rubber.

I used acrylic paint with the idea of sealing it with a varnish once I'd finished. I'd seen this idea elsewhere online. 

Seasoned painters and artists may already know this but;

I took the mat outside, laid it on the ground and gave it three coats of spray *varnish ( see warning) at 30 minute intervals.

*WARNING:  The directions say to spray in a well ventilated area. I  sprayed outside on the ground without a mask, goggles or protective clothing. Unfortunately, a breeze came up and blew the varnish back on me and I accidentally inhaled it. Later, I was wondering why I had a sore throat and upper respiratory discomfort.  After reading about side affects from inhalation, I knew it was the varnish.  This is day three and I'm feeling much better. By day four it should be completely gone. So, if you use this product cover and protect yourself unless you just happen to have a spare HAZMAT suit hanging in your closet.

I'm very pleased with the outcome. The bright colors are welcoming to visitors.

next week Will my Garden Grow?

That's it***

REMIXES - Macaroni & Cheese, Stationery Pouch

"If at first I don't succeed, I'll usually try at least once more."

Remember this? 😩

I tried it again and things worked out a lot better. This time I used a recipe and I had all of the ingredients I needed. No shortcuts this time.

Here's the Remix

I've had this recipe for a long time and have used it on more than one occasion. 

I may not be the best cook but I can follow directions.😃

***

☹️REMIX-Stationery Pouch 

I enjoy crafting and sometimes things don't turn out the way I expect them to. I'll  put things to the side if I feel there is a chance they might be saved later on. And so it was with this stationery pouch which was supposed to be a clutch purse.

Anthropologie

Some time back, I'd observed a tote bag on the Anthropologie site made from canvas art with leather straps. 

As with most of their items price is an object and I prefer smaller handbags to larger ones. I still thought it was a unique idea. 

I headed to a couple of thrift stores to see what I could find. I didn't search high and low because I'm not a big fan of shopping. Jupiter has to align with Mars or something like that to make me WANT to shop.

😲 But, I digress. 

Nothing on fabric canvas was I able to find. I ended up with posters and fabric scraps that I had in my stash which  I cut to clutch purse size, sewed and glued together and sealed the paper with shiny Mod Podge.  

So basically I decoupaged it.💃Whatever.

I still wasn't satisfied so I put it aside until..

EUREKA!➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️ Stationery pouch. I hot glued a piece of grosgrain ribbon to the back to use as a tie closure and I was done.

That's It ***

Rap Snacks

I only went in to pay for gas and then I saw these. THEY definitely caught my eye. They’re unusual, colorful and they list curious flavors.

I'm not a rap music fan. Anything past the era of  The Sugar Hill Gang, Kool Moe Dee and Grand Master Flash, I drop off of the grid. 

Nutrition Stats

Rap Snacks consists of various flavors of popcorn, potato chips , cheese puffs, fries. Of course I had to try them. I didn't concern myself with the caloric content.

 

I tried the Cardi B Honey Dripped Popcorn because a Facebook friend, P.P. said it was good. Also, I like Cardi B's quick wit and humor though I've never listened to her music.  After pouring the popcorn into a bowl it yielded about 2 cups of popcorn. The flavor was just the right amount of salty and sweet. It had a light yellow coloring.

 I also tried the Migos chips..  I ate them before taking a picture so obviously they too were good. ☹️ Overall, I’d say these snacks are  as good as any others. 

Flavors include jalapeño, honey, barbeque, ranch, cheese, habanero, jerk and sour cream, all mixed in a variety of  ways. The snacks retail at $1.49 / 2.75 ounces

The marketing idea of placing pictures of rappers on the bags is a great concept in more ways than one. 

Who's the brain behind this idea?

James Lindsay is the CEO of Rap Snacks. After working for other companies he decided to venture out on his own.  He'd  had numerous successful food businesses before teaming with Universal Records in a project  featuring rap artists on his snack foods.

 Lindsay began in 1994 selling  his snacks under another name through a distributor. He sold out of 800 cases in 2 hours. The snacks were 25 cents a bag. Successful, but the business plan needed tweaking. After a five year hiatus James Lindsay came back with larger bags of the snack, more flavors and a deal with Universal Records to feature their rap artists on bags of his Rap Snacks. 

You can find a list of the various rap artists and their flavors

 here.