Tulips in Jar

I just finished this. It was kinda hard. But still fun.



Here's the YouTube video that I followed.

Poppies

I did this yesterday. It was fun. I'm thinking of making some poppy greeting cards next.

Here are some tips if you want to try for yourself.

1)  Use good watercolor paper (100% cotton is the best).
2)  Heavily dilute your paint with water to get the "see through" effect.
3)  Make sure each layer is dry before painting the next.



Here's the YouTube video by Emma Lefebvre that I followed.

Cleta's OMG-So-Ono Cheesecake Bars

Cleta brought this dessert to share at class yesterday, and it was like my title says "OMG So Ono".  AND me and Erick totally scored because a bunch of people were absent so she gave us theirs to take home. 😋

Thank you Cleta! And people-who-neva-show-up!

Cleta says: The original recipe calls for 2 cups of Apple Butter but since I didn’t have any, I used a bottle of Cherry Fruit Spread that I found at Ross.  I think any kind of filling will do.

CHEESECAKE BARS WITH YOUR CHOICE OF FILLING

CRUST:

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

CHEESECAKE LAYER: 

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temp

½ cup sugar 

1 large egg, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

FILLING OF CHOICE- no more than 2 cups 

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1-1/2 cups flour

1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

¼ tsp. salt

¼ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. You can use an electric mixer but I just used my hand to combine the crust ingredients together.  Transfer to an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan, pat the crust in and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool completely.
3. In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth on medium speed.  Add the egg and vanilla and continue beating until combined.  Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine the Streusel ingredients until the mixture comes together and forms coarse crumbs.  
5. Once the crust has cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the crust leaving a ¼ inch edge all around.  Spread a thin layer of filling over the cream cheese then sprinkle the streusel topping over the entire top.  Bake for 40 minutes, remove and cool completely.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it set overnight before cutting into squares.
6. Makes about 24 pieces.

A Father's Toast

This is a video of a father's toast at his gay son's wedding. It is a testament of love and my hope of understanding for all.

Yamagen

Yamagen is right next to the McCully Ross. It's been there for as long as I can remember, but it had been ages (dare I say 30 years?) since I last went there. 

I happened to be at Ross a little later than usual yesterday and noticed that Yamagen was open. So after quickly running through Ross's craft/art section I sneaked on over to get my lunch.


I got the Ten Don ($7.00) to go. I liked that they put the sauce on the side so that the tempura would stay crispy until I got home. It was good.


Here's the outdoor eating area. 

Monopoly

Anybody win anything good yet?  I've won a bunch of donuts/bagels and free game pieces.

Here's my best one so far. 

Latest

I copied artist Esther Gili again. 

I just looooove drawing and painting.  It makes me feel so relaxed and at peace.  

Sitting at my messy craft area is my absolute favorite place to be.

Whole Foods Cream Cheese Biscuit

Cleta introduced me to these cream cheese biscuits from Whole Foods' $9.99/pound breakfast bar. 

I bought three pieces and ate half of one there.  We ate it with a bit of butter while it was still hot! So ono! 


The three were a total of .9 pounds and came out to $8.99, so around $3 each. 

Painted Rocks

I still have a few more rocks to paint, but here are the ones that are pau! 

Ideas came from the internet, mostly from the cover of the book Scribble Stones Art Guide here. 

It's fun to do. Now I know why rock painting is so popular.

Latest Project

I painted some pebbles black today. I plan to paint them further and turn them into cute fillers for plastic easter eggs. 

Well . . . that's the plan. We'll see.

I'll post pictures of them later.

Unless they turn out crappy.

Then I won't even mention them again.

Half Price Strawberries

If you're an Amazon Prime member and have the app installed on your phone, you can get a tub of these organic strawberries for $2.99 from Whole Foods!  The deal is good to 4/16.

Fascinators!

I made 10. Cleta made 21!! Whoa, yah!

Cleta is giving me hers at art class tomorrow, and I'll  be delivering them all after class . . . way ahead of schedule. So happy!!

Here are 8 of mine.  The black ones that I made didn't photograph well in this lighting so I left them out. 

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Wendell's Beer-Batter Fish

Wendell made this dish last night using Alaskan cod.  The batter came out light and crunchy, and it was good good good. He found the recipe here at Allrecipes.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
• 8 (4 ounce) fillets cod
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer

Directions

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C). Rinse fish, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine flour, garlic powder, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Stir egg into dry ingredients. Gradually mix in beer until a thin batter is formed. You should be able to see the fish through the batter after it has been dipped.
3. Dip fish fillets into the batter, then drop one at a time into hot oil. Fry fish, turning once, until both sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels, and serve warm.

Fascinator Update

The headbands that I ordered from Amazon came in yesterday so the millinery factory kicked into gear.

Here's my messy work area. I'm using ribbon flowers that I made for a Dress-Up Photo Shoot that I did years ago. They sure are saving a whole lot of time. You can check out the photos from the shoot here if you like. 


I'm using a paper towel roll as a holding area. LOL.


Pal Cleta offered to make half of the fascinators.  I'm so so so so grateful because we need to make over 20, and I think I'd be small-kind stressed without her help. The Tea for Tutu is next week Wednesday.  

She showed me some of her works-in-progress yesterday morning. Isn't this so sweet!! I love the feather stalks so much I'm totally copying her idea.


Love. Love. Love.


Does the netting look familiar to you? So clever yah. 


Cleta, see you later today with the headbands so you can finish up.

Polar Plunge 2019

Here are some photos from today's Special Olympics' Polar Plunge!