Craftster Hoopla Along Month 1

 

This is the hoop I created for the Craftster Hoopla Along.  The theme of the month was to stitch up anything your heart desires.  Since I am a lover of Dia De Los Muertos artwork I made this sugar skull for myself.  I used a chain stitch for the first time ever on the birds, around the eyes, and the skull itself.  Everything else was done with a back stitch.

Foodie Friday-DIY Peanut Butter

I found a recipe for homemade peanut butter somewhere on the world wide web and really wanted to try it out.  The only problem was I didn't have a food processor which was a required tool.  Lucky for me I got a really nice one for Christmas!  

It's really easy to make and tastes pretty good!  So all you do is put the peanuts of your choice and a bit of sugar in the food processor.  Then turn that sucker on.  At first you think that nothing is happening and it's just making a fine peanut dust like in the picture below.....

 

But just keep going!  Eventually you will see it start to actually form into a nice smooth peanut butter.  Since we prefer ours to be creamy rather than crunchy I let it go for quite a while. 

 

In order to test it out, I put it all in an almost empty peanut butter jar that we had.  I wanted the kids to try without knowing it was homemade and see how it was received. 

Well since there were no complaints I think it was a winner!  So all natural peanut butter without all the preservatives in about 10 minutes at home is a win in my book!

New Shrine

This mini shrine was made for my partner in the Jar of Whimsies Swap.  We both like Dia De Los Muertos themed things and since this is a mini house it fits with the Whimsy theme. 

I covered the shrine in a patterned red paper and then ran an inked cotton ball over it for some depth.  The inside of the shrine features a skull wearing a crown sitting on a little brown dice.  I also added some paper roses around the roof.

 

 The back of the shrine has a golden sacred heart.  I have become quite addicted to making these shrines and even started a Shrine Swap on Craftster.  I will show off those creations next week!

BzzAgent

I got invited to participate in another BzzAgent campaign for FAGE Split Cup Greek Yogurt.  I have tried a few different brands of Greek Yogurt in the past and thought that they just didn't taste good at all.  The FAGE brand doesn't seem as sour as other brands.  It is thicker and creamier than regular yogurt and it has WAY more protein.  Another plus is the fact that you can use it as a substitute for a lot of other high fat ingredients when you bake and cook.  The one thing I don't like is the amount of sugar in each cup.  I am not sure if these are natural sugars from the fruit or if its added.  I would be okay with natural sugars but don't need anything added in... 

             Overall if you are a yogurt eater you should check out FAGE either online or at your supermarket and give it a go!