My Sweetest Things

Mod Podge. Love it! Super Fan I am. Years ago when we moved into our home I wanted to add a special touch to the walls. Something different. I decided to add some art in unexpected places. Switch Plates! Now that would be a conversation piece.  Many different types of papers can be used. I bought some textured art paper and pulled out my old Dali Calendars.They turned out great and I was thrilled with the results.

After living in the house for nine years I was ready to redecorate several rooms in the house. First came paint and next came the decorative switch plates.

Switch Plate Cover, Exacto Knife, Mod Podge, Foam Brush

Arrange cover on paper and leave room around the edges so you can fold the paper behind the cover.

I brushed two coats of Mod Podge on the top.

Place cover face down over the paper. Use Exacto knife to make a small cut in the middle for switch.

Fold paper back and apply more Mod Podge to secure it to the cover.

Use the pencil and gently rub around the rectangle to smooth the paper out.

Make cuts and fold over the back of  the cover.

Brush Mod Podge all over the back to secure the paper.

I set the cover on a container so the sides would not stick to the newspaper I was working on when the cover was drying. After it is dry, flip over and add two layers of Mod Podge to the front.

When the front is dry, use the pencil to poke holes for the screws.

Here is a second one I did using layers of a Dali calendar. I added some sparkle to this one!

When both covers were completely dry I used Low Odor Clear Finish to protect them.

I did not want to use the white screws that came with the cover since they would not match the artwork. It had to match!  I went to Home Depot looking for “artsy screws” and the nice gentleman at Home Depot looked puzzled when I tried to explain to him what I was looking for. We came up with these screws in Brown which worked well.

Tada! This beauty is in my Bedroom by my closet door. Salvador Dali – Mae West c. 1934

This beauty is in our downstairs bathroom. See how those Brown screws fit really well?

Here you can see a cover I did years ago for our bedroom. Not some old boring white switch plate cover! That’s another Dali! Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra c.1936

These are the covers I did nine years ago! I wanted you to see that they hold up very well. All of these covers are in high use areas. I added sequins and sparkle paint to some of the covers. If you use sequins add a small drop of Mod Podge to where you want the sequins placed and use tweezers to place it on top of the drop. You will spray with the clear coat to set it when the whole cover is finished.

I still have a few more covers to make and I am still working on my bedroom makeover. That’s new paint you see on the walls. They were Burgandy before!

Now, what to do with that mirror?

It’s all good ~ Donna

I recently moved my computer out of my bedroom and into a small corner of my husband’s office. I read that letting go of the T.V., computer, and exercise equipment gives you better energy…better Feng Shui. Sounds good to me so out it all went. Well, not the T.V. yet. That’s a hard one to let go! When I got the computer all moved I felt I needed to make the space mine with personal touches. It was perfect timing last week when I came across the blog A Nerd Like Me. I whipped a Memory Collage Frame that Evan shared and then I saw the Cork Board she put together. It seems we both have the same items hanging out in closets! I knew the cork board was going to be just what I needed in my little space.

Imagine all the things YOU can create with those items hanging out in your closet!

It’s all good. ~ Donna

Once again we were blessed with the beauty of snow. So lovely to see the world in white. Taking a walk with the one you love is a perfect way to spend a Saturday Snow Day. Our neighborhood has a beautiful lake so we bundled up and headed outside.  Here’s a peek of the lovely view that we enjoyed so much.

All this beautiful snow slowly melted away and by late afternoon it was just about gone. What a wonderful gift!

It’s all good ~ Donna

Oreos are my favorite store bought cookie. When I was pregnant with my first child, I sat and ate a bag of Oreos. Really. Dunked them in milk and enjoyed every minute of it. Never mind I weighed 202 when I gave birth. I am no where near 202 now nor have I attempted to eat a whole bag since. I rarely buy Oreos anymore but around the Holidays I came across them on Jessica’s blog How Sweet It Is.  Visit her site! She has loads of yummy treats.

The ingredients are simple. Oreos and Cream Cheese. They super easy to make and so delicious!

One package Oreo’s and one 8 ounce bar of cream cheese. I used the food processor to blend them together.

Hello. I love you.

Whip those Oreos into crumbs, then add the cream cheese. I cut the cream cheese into blocks first. The beer is not included in the recipe but it’s Blue Moon and quite refreshing while you are whipping up desserts. That’s my husband getting in on the Oreo action.

This is what the mixture will look like when it’s all blended together. Gooey Chocolate!

I rolled the Oreo’s into small balls and put them in the refrigerator for half an hour to cool. Once cooled I then dipped them into the Double Chocolate Flavor of a melted Ghirardelli Dipping Bar!

I was popping these lovelies in my mouth!

I topped them off with sprinkles and they were good to go! (The white balls in the back are a type of Spanish cookie…when translated into English =  Nun Farts…but that’s for another post)

These Oreo Truffles were off to a party and were a huge hit! All gone real quick. That’s how it’s done and it’s all good!

~Donna

Throughout our trip to Germany I saved and collected maps, train tickets, coins, and other small paper items for keepsakes. I am working on an album for the photos but was not quite sure what I would do with my collection. I bought a photo box to store them in but then I came across a blog post by A Nerd Like Me. Evan the blog author returned from a trip to Italy and came up with the idea for a memory collage using an unused picture frame. I happen to have a lot of picture frames in closets just because I know I will use them someday and someday finally came, so Saturday afternoon I created a Memory Collage. I love the result!

This picture I have had for years and recently took it down and kept it for the frame. It is gold with a crackly finish and I choose to change up the color of the frame from gold to brown.

I removed the paper lining, the back cover and the glass.

I lightly sanded the frame and applied one coat of Burnt Umber.

While the frame was drying I gathered the items I wanted to use for the collage. I created a small 5×7 picture collage using Picasa and photos from our trip. It is so easy to do and once the collage is created Picasa has a feature where you can send the photo to a local printer. I choose Walgreen’s by our house and one hour and $1.99 later, the photo was ready!

When the frame was dry I arranged the items and glued them on the back cover of the frame. I used a map as the background and glued all the paper items around it. I used hot glue for the coins and coasters.

The final result!

I love it and it makes me smile. It’s nice to glance at it and remember such an incredible trip! Thanks to Evan and visit her site A Nerd Like Me. She is fun and crafty with great ideas to share. I’m starting her Cork Board project today!

It’s all good ~ Donna

This past Christmas I was very happily surprised with a new toy! A Canon Speedlite 430EX II. I am not a fan of using flash when I take photographs but there are times when setting up the tripod is not an option especially for a quick in home shot.  I did some research and heard good things about the 430EX II and maybe said out loud a few times..”I have been looking at camera flashes” and someone (my generous husband) heard me (there must not have been a football game on at the time) and now that baby is in my pretty little hands!

The flash is very easy to add to your camera. It slides right into the shoe on top and locks in place.  Of course I did not read the manual, I was anxious to try it so I just turned it on and took a few shots to test it out. Please note that these photos have had no color adjustments made to them. Just a slight sharpen and crop.

This is the first shot. This is Toby and it was DARK in our living room and night outside. No lights on. Pretty Neat Huh?

The 430EX II  head can be moved up from 0 – 90° (5 settings), left from 0 – 180° (7 settings) and right from 0 – 90° (4 settings). I turned the flash to face the back wall which is painted a tan color. See how the color changed? Don’t point at tan walls unless you like this color cat.

This shot is taken with the flash turned backwards.

This horrific photo was taken with the flash that is built in my camera. Terrible.

Flash is pointing straight up to the ceiling which is white. Looking Good! Most impressed since there are no lights on and it’s quite dark in the room.

I am very happy with the results! The Speedlite 430EX II is quiet. The recycle time is fast. 20% faster (as compared to the 430EX) and since it is compatible with Canon’s wireless E-TTL, it can be used as an affordable “slave unit”.

Thanks Nitsuj for this wonderful gift of light! (This photo also taken with the flash in dark living room.)

Thanks Toby Cat for being such a sweet model. (Photo taken with flash pointed at tan wall. Beware of tan walls.)

It’s all good. ~Donna

Over the Holidays I did a whole lot of baking. Spices always show up as an ingredient for a recipe and I happen to have a whole lot of those in my pantry. Pumpkin Pie was on my list of baking goods so I reached in the pantry and pulled out some of my spices.  I set them on the counter and thought I had them for awhile so I went to check the expiration dates.  To my surprise there was no expiration date listed.  Really now? They have to expire don’t they?

These are the spices I pulled out to check. No date on the front.

No date on the back. There is an address though. Like I would write them? Hello. It’s called websites.

On the bottom they have these number and letter codes.  No date. No luck. I headed to the McCormick website for information and I found a nifty little spice checker! You can enter the code and then add the city the spice was made in.  The address comes in handy after all.

I entered the codes and the city and here is what I found.

This little message. “The 2000 election lasted way too long. Your spices have outstayed their welcome too.”  Your Spice was made on 5/4/2000

WHAT?? I was 33 years old when this spice was made? My husband was 20? Weeps. I packed and moved it twice?!

“Hobbits were everywhere and lawyers were blonde. If your spices are from 2002 it’s time to replace them.” Your spice was made on 9/13/2002

I can’t even remember what happened in 2002. Where was I? Who was I?

“Dinosaurs ruled the theater. If you have Jurassic spices then it’s time to make them extinct.” Your spice was made 9/19/1993

In 1993 my youngest son was 2 years old. I stilled lived in Texas. That means this spice was moved across County and State lines into Georgia into 3 different houses! This is bad.

“Baby Doll dresses and clunky shoes use to be a fresh look , but like your old spices, they’ve lost their flavor.” Your spice was made on 11/2/1995

I don’t know which is worse, that I still have the spice or that I still have the clunky shoes?!

This little spice did not have a code on the bottom. Well, thank goodness for that! I get the message. My spices are Expired! It seems I really did not use them very often as some of them were still quite full. They were sitting nice and pretty in the back of the pantry. Just hanging out sharing stories about Elections, Dinosaurs, Blonde Lawyers and High Fashion.

So long my old friends. Thanks for the few good times I enjoyed you. You are expired. Say Goodbye.

It’s all good ~ Donna

P.S.

The lighting in my house is not so great due to the beautiful large trees that surround it. I found a large box, placed a white foam board on it, took a small white box for the background and used a white poster board to reflect the light. I placed this in front of my back living room window and I was very happy with the results! No flash used only natural light with my Canon and 24-70 lens.

I’m Back! Well, I have been back for a week and two days. I’ve been busy catching up on everyday life. Our travel to Germany was an amazing, beautiful experience! I loved every minute of it. I took 1,749 images! It’s difficult to capture the beauty of the places we visited. There is so much feeling behind them. I have been busy editing them for our vacation album. In the next week I will be posting more on the travel experience. Beers, Food, Culture, Hotel and Transportation. Noticed how beer was listed first? I am not much of  a beer drinker but German Beers are so tasty! SO TASTY!

We arrived in Munich at 8:30 am Friday, January 15th. We took a train to our hotel and left our luggage since check in was at 3:00pm. We headed out for a walk towards Marienplatz.

We saw many bikes along the way. A popular form of transportation.

The temperatures in Munich were 30-32 degrees during the day. Snow covered the ground and the skies were white. We saw the blue sky only a few times. But we really did not miss it. The change of scenery for us was beautiful!

The New Town Hall (German: Neues Rathaus) is a town hall at the northern part of Marienplatz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The city government including the city council, offices of the mayors and part of the administration are located here. It was built between 1867 and 1908 by Georg von Hauberrisser in a Gothic Revival architecture style. It has 400 rooms.

This spiral staircase leads to the different office floors.

The details in the building of the Neues Rathaus are magnificent! This photo was taken inside the inner courtyard.

The Glockenspiel is located in the middle of the clock tower of Neues Rathaus. At 12pm it sprang  to life and more than 40 bells started ringing. The top level shows a French jouster fighting a Bavarian one. This is a reenactment of  the tournament held in 1568 for the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V and Renata von Lorraine. Below that is  “Schäfflertanz”, a jig traditionally performed by Munich’s red-coated coopers which commemorates the end of the plague in 1517.

You will see many people starting to gather and stand around looking up at the clock and waiting. It was awesome to see the movements and hear the bells ring!

Below is a short video clip I took using my point and shoot.  I am no Videographer as you will see in the camera shake!

Inside Neues Rathaus is an elevator to a viewing platform. There is a small charge to ride the elevator. (1-2 Euros) The views of the city are beautiful!

Marienplatz was lovely and a great start to our journey. More to come soon!

It’s all good. ~Donna