Up Cycling an Old Door

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

An old 5 panel door that had been discarded ..

After carefully cleaning up the door I painted all but the center panels.

Using blue painters tape I taped off each center panel .
Black chalkboard paint was then applied to each center panel using a small roller .

It took 3 coats to get a nice base for writing on with chalk.
Sanding in between each coat of paint will keep your chalkboard surface smoother.
I used a 180 grit sanding block .

After the chalkboard paint was dry I carefully removed the painters tape.

I used a commercial saying for the Live,Laugh,Love.....
Using Sharpie brand markers it was fun ,fun adding the squiggles and swirls .
The grandchildren's names were added using stamps and free handing with  Sharpie brand  oil base markers .

No science here I just eye balled and winged it free hand!

This was the fun part!

I incorporated the door in my kitchen by mounting it to the back of the island ..
When hanging the door, holes have been placed at the top.
 This was my preference so the holes could be used to hang chalk that I put into a chalk holder.

Stuffed Zucchini

                                                 

,

Wash the fruit and gather the remaining ingredients.
1 Over Sized Large Zucchini
1/2-3/4 pound Jimmy Dean roll sausage.*
1 Cup long cooking white rice
1 Egg
Onion
2/3 Cup of grated sharp cheddar or  monterey  jack cheese.
1 TBS Italian season  I use Pampered Chef Italian season
1 TBS Tastefully Simple's Onion Onion
1 TSP Tastefully Simple Season Salt
1 TSP minced garlic
1/3 Cup Water
2/3 Cup Classico  sausage flavor  pasta sauce. You will need the rest of the jar to drizzle over the top when done.
Turn the oven on to pre heat  at 325

Directions:

Cut the zucchini in half and scoop out the seeds.Trim fruit to fit your pan end to end.

Mix all of the ingredients above.
The mix will be very wet as the rice needs a lot of moisture.

Spoon mix into zucchini, cover ,bake at 325 for 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 hours
.
At the end of 2 1/2 to 2 3/4  hours remove from oven top with remaining Classico sauce and grated cheese as desired.
Turn oven off
Put zucchini back in oven to melt cheese and warm sauce.

*I use Jimmy Dean sausage as there is no grease when cooked*

Sweet Potato Pie

A slice of Crafty Nana's Sweet Potato Pie

First let me say that cooking / baking ...not my forte'
My mother was a sous chef,a fabulously awesome cook !!
She tried her best to teach me the art but never had much success.
My biggest problem is that I have a hard time following recipes and I don't know why that is.
Making this sweet potato pie was no different. I found a simple recipe and started adding extras and changing the amounts....you get the picture.
I had to share this recipe because it turned out soooo damn good !!
                                       Sweet Potato Pie
3 1/2-4 cups sweet potatoes
5 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1- 12 oz can evaporated milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tbsp cinnamon..(I used Cinnamon Plus by Pampered Chef)
1 tbsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sifted self rising flour
2 frozen deep dish pie shells

Preheat oven to 350
Boil sweet potatoes till soft, peel and mash.
In a mixing bowl beat the eggs 
Add the sweet potatoes and mix with mixer
Next mix in sugar and evaporated milk 
Add brown sugar,vanilla,butter and mix
Then mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt  
mixing the flour in last.
Mixture will be a little thick and not really pourable. Pour/spoon into pie shells and put in preheated oven.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes then raise temp to 400 and bake another 15-20 minutes .
You will bake a total of 45-50 minutes(you know if your oven cooks a little faster or slower).
When the pies come out of the oven give them a light shake of nutmeg in the center for pretty !!
Don't forget the whip cream for the top and ice cream for the side ;)
P.S. Posting this was a little selfish. I didn't want to loose the recipe and knew it would be safe here ;)

Mom would have been proud of how this turned out !!

A Link To Starbella crochet

Steve and I ,Nana out for the evening . Look at how classy my Starbella scarf is !!

This is the link for information on how to make a scarf like I was wearing to the installation and shower this last weekend,January 14th and 15th.
We had all discussed the possibility of crochet vs knit....well here it is.....
You can crochet as well as knit,I knitted mine.
Don't be intimidated and think that it looks hard because it really isn't.
I did discover that aluminum knitting needles make a slick work surface.I was fooled at first and thought that was what I wanted but really I didn't. It was much easier when I purchased a pair of bamboo knitting needles.With the wood the yarn is not as prone to sliding off. If your work does slide off the needle don't hyperventilate as I did because you can work it back through,you will see where the needles came out and slip them back through.
The scarf I was wearing was made with about 3/4 skein of yarn as I wanted a shorter scarf. I have seen them done longer and they look great too. Length is a personal preference.
I did notice you can order the yarn directly from Premier yarns .com ,cool !!
If you follow this link back you will see yarn products available.Since I made mine they have some new yarn colors that I am anxious to try.
I worked mine in the black,white and gray called Night Clouds.
I also have Plum Preserves,a purple and pink on hand to try next ;)
I forgot to say.....I Love this yarn !!

Happy crafting,
Nana

Paper Folded Snowflake Tutorial

This is what your origami snowflake will look like when complete.
To complete this project you will need the following: 6 pieces of paper,I used a standard size sheet of copy paper for this demonstration, scissors,mono adhesive or tape and a stapler.
Fold each sheet of paper as shown above ,on the corner creating a triangle.You will have about a 3" margin left over.This margin is left because the snowflake is created from an exact square and copy paper is a rectangle..................just cut the margin or edge off.This piece of paper will not be needed for the snowflake. After you cut the edge off this is what you will have a triangle........

This is where it gets a tad tricky,so pay close attention to this part ;)
Pick the triangle up as it is shown above,by the point.You will fold the paper triangle up once more to make a smaller triangle.
When you have done this ,folding up,you will have a folded edge at the bottom and the wing/flaps at the top. I drew lines to illustrate where you will be making your cuts.When I am actually making snowflakes I don't draw these lines.I cut from the bottom where the fold is to about 3/4" from the top.You can cut as many strips as you want,for this snowflake I did 4 cuts,remember to stop about 3/4" from the top.

Carefully open your 6 pieces of paper and this is what they will look like.If you held the paper on the point and the fold at the bottom and the wing/flaps up you will get a diamond effect and this is what you want to have.

Next use your tape or mono adhesive to alternate,front then back in sticking the points together.

Notice above the little one was done 1st (sorry for skipping that photo) and then it was turned over to join the next on the back side.

This one illustrates turning it back over to the front side and joining the next.The lst one will be done on the other/back side.
Oops,same photo and I have not yet learned how to delete an individual photo.I tried earlier and deleted the whole tutorial and had to start over...ugh,not even trying right now as I am on a roll.....This is what one looks like finished!Yeah!!
Now work the same process with the other 5 .......6 all together,finished

I laid them out in a circle and can see the snowflake starting to happen here!!

Here I have gathered all 6 points together.......

After gathering, place a staple just far enough in that the complete staple catches paper...
.
Next where you can see me pinching/gathering the sides is where the next join will be.Each side will be stapled or taped.I like a staple here as it seems to hold best. You will have 6 sides to join on the complete snowflake.

Yeah!! You are finished !!!

You can do this with most any size square.This one done from a full size piece of copy paper and then trimmed is pretty large !!The smaller ones I posted were done from a half piece of copy paper.I cut the copy paper in half, folded and trimmed the edge off and went from there.

You will be surprised at how easy these snowflakes are to make once you get through the 1st one ;)

Once again,I am proud of myself!!I just finished my very 1st tutorial !!!!

Thanks for hanging in there with me !
Nana

Pretty Pink Origami Snowflakes

Origami Snowflakes

I recently learned how to make these pretty paper folded snowflakes.
Aside from the fact that they are fairly easy to craft, these snowflakes make a great party  or classroom decoration.
I want to teach you how to make them too,  but am still figuring this blog thing out.
I have an incentive though.....I am just dying to post a tutorial so it will happen soon !!
Please check back in for  the complete tutorial!
Nana ;)

My 1st Post

Wow this was fun !!!
So many choices to make when setting up a blog!