Picture: Sailing

Picture: Tea on a Rainy Day

News Flash: Announcing Beyond The Walls

Announcing a children's' short story... written by yours truly.... it's... BEYOND THE WALLS!

"When a young princess's dream of going past the castle walls comes true, her idea of adventure is drastically changed. Pursued by a cruel traitor to her country, she must flee from the fate that lies with being captured."

Paperback available here. 

You can find the Kindle E-Book here.

Recipe Collection: Early Fall

Well, today was my first day of school. It wasn't half bad. :)

And, since I'm in the fall spirit for a few minutes, I feel like sharing some yummy autumn-ish recipes. But of course they're yummy year round. ;)

Hot Cocoa Mhmm, homemade hot cocoa for those cold rainy days.
Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and a dash of salt in a large mug. Heat 1 cup milk in microwave at high for 1 1/2 minutes or until hot. Gradually add milk to cocoa mixture; stir well. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.
(I like to make the mix ahead of time and use 1/4 cup of the mixture per mug.)

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies Super easy and super good, these are naturally gluten free!
Preheat oven to 350. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 egg. Place cookies on ungreased pan and flatten with fork. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
(Any kind of peanut butter works, crunchy or smooth. Add semi sweet chocolate chips for an added yum!)

Sour Cream Biscuits Quick, easy and very yummy, these are a great addition to your meal.
Mix 1 cup softened butter and 1 cup sour cream. Blend in 2 cups self-rising flour, mixing thouroughly. Fill ungreased mini-muffin pans with heaping teaspoons batter. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.
(I bet they'd be good in big muffin pans too!)

Capputeano Apple cinnamon steeped in boiling milk with brown sugar as a sweetener--yum!
Bring 2 cups milk and 2-4 tablespoons brown sugar to the boiling point in a small saucepan over high heat. Remove from heat and add 2 apple cinnamon tea bags, cover and steep 5 minutes. Take out tea bags. Serve in mugs.
(Add some whipped cream to the top for extra creaminess.)

DIY: Graphic T-Shirt

                                                                           

DIY Graphic T-Shirt

Blank shirt, any color
Regular clear Scotch tape
Fabric paint
Sponge
Cardboard
Paper plate

1. Lay t-shirt out on hard surface, place cardboard inside shirt to keep paint from bleeding to back.
2. Using Scotch tape, create the desired design on the shirt.
3. Squeeze fabric paint onto plate and spread around. Dip sponge into paint and attack your lettering/design and the area you want colored.
4. Paint layer will be thin and dry in 3-5 hours. Carefully peel back tape and admire your new t-shirt design!

P.S. You can also do this with diluted bleach in a spray bottle if you're using a colored shirt.

Recipe: Single-Serve Sun Tea Jars

Sun tea in mini jars, just add a label with tea flavor and bingo,  personal sun tea!

Who doesn't want an adorable jar of sun tea to themselves? And yes, I said adorable jar of tea.

1. Place a tea bag in a clean jelly jar and fill with water.
2. Screw on lid tightly and set out in sun for at least 4 hours.
3. Remove tea bag and stir in sugar to taste.
4. Refrigerate until fully cooled and/or add ice cubes.

If you make it, I think you'll see that it is cute. The jar is just the right size to double as a glass, so forget doing twice as many dishes! I found that I quite like small Smuckers jelly jars because they are the right size and have cute gingham lids. Yes, I'm hooked on the idea that these are cute. Sadly I could not take a picture of my jar of sun tea before it was consumed today. In all honesty it looks just like tea in a glass jar... but cuter. But the bright side is that there is sun every day, therefore I will make it again tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. Yeah, I think you get the idea I like this stuff.

No wonder my friend Jess kept talking about it! It's delicious! *whispers* And adorable!

*advertisement voice* Let the power of the sun unleash the flavor of this all new delicious tea. Infuses faster than ever!  *advertisement is over now*

Paper Sailboat Tutorial

 

Start with a sheet of printer, notebook, construction or origami paper. If you are using a rectangular piece, bring any corner to the opposite edge (to form a right triangle) and crease well. Cut strip off and unfold square. Now you are ready to begin the sailboat.

1. Fold paper in half, fold in half again to make a square. Unfold.
2. Bring top left corner and bottom right corner to center.
3. Fold bottom half up.
4. Bring bottom left corner to middle crease. Fold right corner behind to middle crease. (Note: You will be folding the squares in half diagonally, not just the single layer piece) It should look like a downward pointing triangle now.
5. Open the central 'pocket' and press the sides together.
6. Fold one of the top triangles down.
7. Fold the sail back up with 1/4 inch still touching the boat. Tuck the folded part into the boat.
8. Fold bottom inch back to form a stand.
Voila! Done!

And now for me helping you understand the parts of your boat. The smaller sail is called the jib, or genoa, those words can be used interchangeably. The bigger sail is the mainsail. The jib is at the front, or bow of the boat. The back of the boat is called the stern. The body of the boat is called the hull.

Try adding details like a creative name, sail designs, an anchor or even cannons!

Readers: Send me your boat pictures! I'd love to see them!