Mac and Cheese

 I am a good Southern girl. I love the comfort food that is native to the region. I have stated before that I am not an extremely talented cook. I woke up one morning with a craving for Mac and Cheese and not Kraft, but the real stuff. I looked around on the Internet and on Pinterest. I found this Alton Brown recipe.

Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/194851121347543856/
Recipe Website: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/index.html

Easiness Scale: 2
1 meaning super easy/ 10 meaning super hard

Tastiness Scale: 10
1 meaning not tasty/ 10 meaning DELICIOUS

Liam, the only child ever to hate mac and cheese, loves this recipe.

Cork Letters

It is no secret that I enjoy a good glass of wine. About two years ago, I began to keep the corks. I didn't have a particular plan for the corks, but I thought that I could use them for something in the future. Thanks to Pinterest I have now found a use for all those corks!

PIN: http://pinterest.com/pin/286823069987651142/

I created my own template for the letter S. It took a few trials to figure out which glue worked the best on the cork. I found that gorilla glue and E600 were the glues to use.

Here is my S. It looks pretty good on my shelf of knick-knacks. I do love a good knick-knack.

My next cork quest is to make a cork wreath. If things go well, I shall blog.

Glass Tile/Marble Magnets

While searching for the blog in the previous post. I saw where the blogger had made magnets for gifts. I loved the idea as an expensive yet cute holiday gift. Her step by step directions are extremely easy to follow.  I made the magnets for co-workers, neighbors and stocking stuffers for my family this year.
 Blog: http://sabbyinsuburbia.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-christmas-pendant-necklaces.html


My Pictures:

 In the bag

 On the card stock

 Just the magnets

*These are the best pictures my iPhone could take of these with the glare of the plastic and glass. Trust me they are much cuter in person.

I found that I prefer the square glass tile magnets to the marble magnets but I think that is a personal preference. I am a math coach in the non-crafting world and I am drawn to clean lines.

My step-son thinks styles are both pretty.

Glass Tile Pendants

I LOVE jewelry. I love funky jewelry. One day while I was pinning I saw a pin for glass tile pendants and fell in love! 

I cannot find the pin or the blog that I used help me to create my pendants. However this blog is similar and I like her step by step manner in her creation of her pendants. 
Blog here: http://sabbyinsuburbia.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-christmas-pendant-necklaces.html

I had to order the glass tiles, diamond glaze, chain and bails from an Etsy shop because the craft stores did not have all the pieces I needed. This is the Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/59372473/bundle-pack101-inch-glass-tiles10
Fast and Prompt!

I used the scrap book paper as suggested in the how to. See below.

But I have found that I like to use Japanese paper. It's made from Mulberry. I have forgotten the correct Japanese terminology for the paper.

(After reading this blog I then made the magnets- that will be my next blog.)

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kebabs with Aleppo Pepper

Pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/194851121347546389/
Recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/bestof/toprecipes/bestchickenrecipes/recipes/food/views/Yogurt-Marinated-Chicken-Kebabs-with-Aleppo-Pepper-353832#ixzz1dBayKr4o
 

I am not a fan of chicken. It really has no taste to me, however my step-son, Liam, loves chicken and could eat it for every meal every day. I was told to try this by a co-worker and fellow pinterholic. It is by far MY FAVORITE chicken dish ever.

Because I am stepping out of my comfort zone with cooking. I am also having to shop outside of my regular stores looking for ingredients. I am having a blast with doing that, because I am learning the area where I live better and I am getting to shop local- two huge bonuses! I am now a huge fan.



Easiness Scale: 5
1 being easy/ 10 being difficult. 
It does take preparation and time for marinating.

Tastiness Scale: 10+
1 being not tasty/ 10 being DELICIOUS.


P.S. We found that hummus goes very well with the chicken.

Paper Flowers

I cannot explain my adoration of paper flowers.  I believe it is because I truly have a brown thumb and cannot keep plants alive. I have tried and tried. Anyway, I have over 20 pins devoted to paper flowers. Some I have attempted and others I am still working up the nerve to attempt. I have found my favorite paper flower to make so far is the Poppy.

Once I figure out how to link the Pinterest page to this blog, I will do so.  Until then I will share the blog that was attached to the Pin.

This tutorial is very helpful. http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2009/how-tuesday-elegant-parchment-flowers-with-jeffrey-rudell/

Here is a sample of my poppies. I am still working on my technique. I also found that vellum is expensive. I used various types and thicknesses of paper to test out making a poppy. Vellum is by far the best medium.

I must confess...

I am addicted to Pinterest.com. I spend most of my free time either trolling the site or creating something I pinned from the site. Which yes, I know is the point of the site. However, I realized I had a real problem when the people at two different Michael's knew my name.
I created this blog to share the crafts I have because of Pinterest.
However, being that I am not particularly talented or artistic, I am sure you will not be jealous. Do not let my lack of artistic ability keep you from trying do create things yourself on Pinterest.

I am not only crafting crafts from Pinterest, I am testing out recipes.  I have a pretty limited repertoire in the kitchen. My family has a very advanced palate and my standard "American" cuisine was not cutting it. I will be sharing the recipes I test. I will save you those pictures as I am no Martha Stewart and my dishes are not magazine worthy. However, I will rate the easiness and tastiness- which are the two most important things for me in the kitchen.