Manic Monday

 

My beautiful kids

Foodie Friday-Quesadillas

Quesadillas?  Who needs a tutorial on how to make quesadillas?  Tortilla, cheese, oven, done right?  Well yes unless you live in Arizona where it is over 100 degrees and don't really want to turn the oven on and heat up your house even further...In that case make em on the grill!  I mean if you can make pizza on the grill then why not a quesadilla or cheese crisp (if you prefer)?????  

Here are some all grilled up and ready to go!

 

Grilling them was great since they got really nice and crispy without the use of any oil.  All I did was throw the tortillas on the grill, let it brown a bit, flipped them and added the cheese.  At this point you can either close the grill and let it melt for a cheese crisp or you can top it with another tortilla.  If you choose to add another tortilla I would flip it after a bit to get the top tortilla nice and crisp too.  You can also add any other toppings that you may like.

Easy Peasy Beaded Necklace

This is a super cute beaded necklace that took me a total of 5 minutes from start to finish to whip up.  Even though it's so easy to make I think it makes a really nice statement. There are also a TON of different ways this could be done.  You can have more or less beads, bigger or smaller beads, more links, any colors.....I mean the possibilities are ENDLESS!  I see quite a few more of these necklaces in my future! 

 

To get the full tutorial please visit Craftiness is Not Optional

Manic Monday

The Kids and I at the Big Time Rush Concert

Manic Monday

 

The kids at the Street League Skateboarding Show.  Adia has decided she no longer wants to have her picture taken :(

Felt Badges Round 2

I participated in Round 2 of Felt Badge Swap on Craftster. This time around we had to make two badges for our partners. Since I knew I was going on vacation I decided to only have one partner this go round. I wanted to do my badges a little differently this time and based on my partners Pinterest boards here is what I came up with.

 

I had intended this to actually have more than one flower on it and use lots of fancy stitches but once I started laying things out it just wasn't working.  Instead I did one flower and then did a random stitch for the stem.  I knew I wanted to use some lace around the edges to give it the look of a little pillow.

 

These Popsicles were based off some felt ones she had pinned.  This was my first attempt at needle felting and I am not sure if I like the way they turned out, but I guess it's not too bad for my first try.

Manic Monday

 

A few pictures from our family vacation to North Carolina

Foodie Friday-Chicken Strips

 

Have you tried the roasted veggies I told you about last week?  No?  Well what are you waiting for?  Oh, I know you want to make the chicken on the other side of the plate...

Well I really didn't use a special recipe for these strips but I did use a different cooking method on them.  I love chicken strips.  Breaded then fried until they a golden brown and crunchy, mmmmmm.  I could eat these a few times a day but golden fried goodness is really not good for me or you.  I have made oven baked strips but they never turn out right.  The bottom is always soggy, they aren't golden brown, and they just aren't as good.  As far as I'm concerned ovens weren't made for cooking chicken.  

Well this method proves me wrong. I did pan fry these babies just to get a golden crust on them THEN I cooked them in the oven.  These weren't as greasy as the strips that I normally fry cause they didn't sit soaking in an oil bath for the duration of their cooking time.  

 I soaked my strips in milk all day then used Panko bread crumbs and some other seasonings to make the breading.  I also spiced a few of them up by pouring a bit of Sriracha, AKA Rooster Sauce, on a few before I breaded them

Check out Can You Stay For Dinner to get the low down on cooking these babies along with a recipe for Buffalo Strips.

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Kids Craft Swap

I signed the kids up for the Kids Craft Swap on Craftster so that they could get some crafting in and get a package all to themselves for once.  Landon was much more open to my crafty suggestions than Adia was but they both did a GREAT job!  I started using Pinterest to find lots of ideas for them to choose from.  We found so many great projects that I wish we could have done them all!  Here is a round up of the projects we did along with a link to the blog that inspired them (if applicable).

Landon's Projects:

 

Landon made a summer fun kit that included instructions for making Moon Sand, watercolor paints, soap clouds, and a ton of other stuff that we found online.  We also included as many of the supplies as we could.

 

Here is a Lego Jar.  We glued a mini fig on the top them spray painted it.  

craft and creativity

Here is a mummy that Landon made using some fabric, popsicle sticks, and googly eyes.  We also included the materials so his partner can make his own. 

 

Melty bead magnet

 

An awesome Lego Display that can be changed up any time 

Three Paper Peonies

 

A shrink charm necklace made using #6 plastic

 

Freezer Stencil Spiderman Shirt.  I cut the stencil and ironed on but Landon did all the painting

Adia's Projects:

 

A book bag stenciled with Harry Potter.  Again I cut the stencil and ironed it on while Adia did all the painting.

 

Twilight Pendants

 

Oscar the Grouch Pendants

 

Shrink plastic jewelry.  A Harry Potter necklace to match the bag and some colorful earrings

 

Oscar the Grouch Bottle Cap Magnets

 

Finally Adia's very first embroidery project!  I showed her one stitch and she did the rest herself!  I think she did a great job for her first project.  I may have to start showing her other stitches and let her loose.

She also made an altered DVD case coloring kit but I can't find the pictures of it now???

We got the idea from Handmade by Stacy Vaughn

We all had a great time with this swap and will do it again in the future if it comes up!  We all hope that our partners enjoyed their packages.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

 

Manic Monday

Kids wearing the bacteria shirts they received from Averia in the Ongoing Wish Swap