Doodling Time Again

I simply love how relaxing and therapeutic drawing doodles is for me! Here's one I did for my daughter for her birthday last year. This is VERY her!

My most recent doodle is the Tree of Life. It is very Zen to me.

Christmas Projects, etc.

Where has the time gone? Seems like it flies by faster and faster as the days go by. I intend to post crafty things on a regular basis, but then I get so wrapped up in creating those crafty things that I sometimes forget to photo my process. Quite often, I just don't take the time to post them. It really is a time intensive process and it makes me so jealous (and much more appreciative) of those people who do it on a daily basis!

Today, I wanted to catch up on a few projects that I have done and forgot to get posted.

Last month I made a cool beer caddie for my brother and one for my nephew-in-law. I got my inspiration from a few I saw on Etsy. There are several versions and frankly, I liked them all. I decided on a fairly basic style. Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute to finish it. (As usual.) I didn't have any good wood stain on hand, so I just had to use what I did have. It is a much lighter stain than I would have chosen if I had planned ahead just a little bit. Oh well, it was well received and I liked the outcome pretty good anyway.

I decided on the basic size and dimensions and bought some inexpensive pine wood to make it out of. Since I didn't prepare/plan very well, I just bought a couple of pieces of wood and some wood trim without really knowing what I needed. Next time, I'll know just what I need and won't have much waste. All in all, I didn't have much waste anyway.

The design I used on the end of the crate was a bird that has a special meaning to my brother. If I had a cool Cricut cutting machine, I would have created a much better stencil. As it is, I had to cut the whole thing out by hand. NOT VERY FUN.

I made a batch of home-brewed beer to put in the caddy for a much more personal and unique gift. I had a lot of fun making it and my brother and nephew-in-law thought they were pretty cool.

AND.....

I love the word "AND". It is so uplifting and full of hope. AND means there is more! More is usually better than less. Here's a zen doodle I did to celebrate AND! I hope you like it AND come back to see more.

I thought it would be cute as a Maternity Pullover top. What do you think? 

Mommy AND baby

Or maybe on a coffee mug? Coffee AND cream?

Revamp Your Cooler for Outdoor Parties!

My hubbie and I are about to buy a new house and it's got a basement that is ripe for converting to our new entertainment room. It has a garage door opening to it and we're already hard at work designing that new space. I also wanted to make an ice chest/cooler like one I had seen that converted an old refrigerator into a cooler.  During my search for it again, I stumbled on one that I like even better.  Probably because it seems like it will be WAY easier to do. I like that!  Instead of using an old refrigerator, it uses an old cooler. You just build a frame around it and put legs on it and that's it. Okay, it's just a bit more involved than that, but the results are great!

 

I found this at Killer B Design and there's a great tutorial to show you just how to do it. I think I'm going to tackle this project once we get moved into the new space. I can hardly wait!! If I actually end up doing this, I'll post my photos.



 

How To Make Your Own Almond Milk

Well, lately I've been trying to eat more healthy. I like a good smoothie from time to time so I can gulp down a whole bunch of veggies and fruits real quick without having to do any cooking. Sometimes I use fresh organic apple juice as my base (when I want it to be sweet). Other times I prefer a "milk" base. I use almond milk for that. The store bought ones are fine (but a bit pricey). I decided to make my own. Making your own almond milk isn't anything new. I actually don't have any idea how almond milk is commercially prepared, but here's my take on my own almond milk.

It was really easy, but just a bit time consuming. (A fact that I didn't entertain when I got up at my regular time and thought I could do it before work.) Lesson learned.

First off, you need to soak the almonds in water overnight in the refrigerator. That part means you have to pre-plan to make it.  Just put that in the refrigerator over night and the following morning, pour off the water that was in the cup. Rinse off the almonds and then throw them and new (filtered) water into a blender. Blend away! 

Then strain the liquid and voila' - Almond Milk! If you want to add anything to it such as vanilla or some kind of sweetner, add it in after you've strained it. I added a little bit of vanilla extract to mine because it makes my smoothie taste better. Without anything added, it pretty much tastes just like almonds.

The details:

Soak one cup raw almonds in one cup of water overnight in the refrigerator.

Next morning pour out the water and put the almonds into a blender. Add 3 to 4 cups of water. The amount you use is really a personal preference. If you add 4 cups it will be more liquidey than if you only use 3 cups of water. Bottled and/or filtered water is probably best, but if you don't have that, just use tap water.

Blend the heck out of it!  Several minutes should do it. At this point what I did was to pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. I used two strainers. While one was dripping out, I pressed the other one to get all the liquid out. Then I pressed the other one out and so forth.

 For my purposes, this straining was enough for me. I was using it in a smoothie, so it didn't matter that it still had a little bit of almond pulp in it. If you want it smoother, you'll need to strain with a nut milk bag.

The pulp that's left must be useful on it's own. I went ahead and saved mine, just in case I find something to use it for. Maybe almond butter?


I love being able to do this all by myself. This way I know EXACTLY what's in it. There is also that self-satisfaction from having made this instead of buying it. Get's me feeling like a pioneer woman or something. Next think you know, I'll be sloppin' the hogs!

I really think I could just drink this straight if I wanted to. I think it needs to be really chilled to make it better.

I'd love to know if someone knows what I can do with the almond pulp that is left over from making the almond milk.

Enjoy!

Bleeding Heart Zen Doodle

Wow. What do you suppose is going on in my personal life to draw out this zen doodle in me?  Lol. (Yep, I just said "Lol").  My personal life is just hunky-dorie, so I think it was that episode of Teen Wolf I watched that must have crept into my subconscious!  Anyhoo, without further ado, here it is.

 

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

All this extended and bitter cold weather always has me in the mood for comfort food. I made this Cream of Mushroom soup recently. You have no idea how comforting this was! I got the recipe from food.com. It was so delicious! I made a few tweaks to their recipe and mine is shown below the photo.

Here's how I made my version:

Ingredients

• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms , chopped
• 2 tablespoons onions, chopped
• 1 -2 garlic clove, minced
• 4 tablespoons butter (seaparated)
• 2 -4 tablespoons flour ( separated)
• 2 cups chicken broth (separated)
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onions, garlic, mushrooms, white wine and about 1/4 c. of the chicken broth. Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes then cut the heat down to low and cook for about 10 more minutes. Don't skimp on the cooking time. The mushrooms will really add more flavor to the liquid if allowed to 'stew' for awhile.
2.Start your roux while the mushrooms are simmering. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and stir in 2-3 tablespoons flour. Stir continuously until it is slightly golden. Do this for at least 7-10 minutes. (If you stop too soon, the soup will taste like flour.) Gradually add in the rest of the chicken broth. Adding the broth slowly keeps the mixture smooth, lump-free and thick. The mushrooms should be ready to add to this mixture by the time the roux is done cooking, so add them on in.
3. Put 1 tablespoon of flour in a small but somewhat deep cup or jar (large enough to hold 1 cup+). Slowly add a small amount of the cream into the flour and stir until it is kind of like a paste, but not too thick. If you don't add enough cream, it will be the consistency of mud! Add enough cream to get it creamy, then add the rest of the cream and the seasonings into the jar and stir well to mix it. Then, add that into the soup mixture. Mixing the flour with the cream before adding it into the soup will keep it from lumping up.
4. Heat the soup for 5 more minutes on medium heat and then dig in!

This recipe makes about 4 med cups or 2 large bowls.

This is really a fantastic recipe and although my directions may seem a bit 'detailed', believe me it's worth it. After making it a couple of times, you'll understand why it works best this way.

Enjoy!