Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Duct tape dress

#s 75 & 78

I designed and made an entire dress out of duct tape.
First I made the top from an old tank top and added grommets down the back so I could get in and out of the top. It turned out pretty good. I then altered the neckline as I wanted once it was all covered.

Then I made the skirt. This was the most time consuming. I made the 'fabric' first by covering newspaper with duct tape. Then I cut the triangle parts of the skirt and taped them all together. I then re-enforced the inside bottom(shown here) with red tape to help hold the skirt together better. I wish I would have done this to the whole skirt, it was a little weak at some joints.

This is my finished product for my friend Mel's Birthday Prom, which you all should have been at. I also made all my accessories, my favorite being my tiny hat. :)

I was voted 'Best Dressed'.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Recipes!

One of the things on my list is try 25 new recipes. So far I've tried 2. Corn Flake Cookies and Salted Carmel Butter bars. They both were yummy, but not as earth shattering yummy as they would have you believe. But I will let you be the judge of that. 



Holycraptheseareamazing Cookies (Corn Flake Cookies)
Ingredients:
(Makes about 3 dozen cookies)
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz ounce) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I like creamy.)
6 cups corn flakes
3 oz good quality chocolate of your choice (I used Scharffen Berger Semisweet 62%.)
Preparation:
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until the mixture comes to a full boil.
Remove from heat and stir in the whole jar of peanut butter. Mix well.
Add corn flakes to a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over corn flakes and mix well, taking care to coat all of the corn flakes.
With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop out and form into 1-2 inch balls, depending on your preference, and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
Put the chocolate in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.

* I didn't add the melted chocolate but next time I make this I will add butterscotch chips


Salted Caramel Butter Bars
For the Crust:
1 lb. salted butter room temp
1 cup sugar
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs vanilla
4 cups all purpose flour
For the Filling:
1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels), unwrapped
1/3 cup milk or cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 T. coarse sea salt (optional)
To make the crust:
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.
Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust, and place the remainder of the dough in the fridge to chill.
Preheat to 325F.
Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown approx 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.
While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream and vanilla.   Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.
Pour the caramel filling over the crust.  If you are going to salt the caramel sprinkle it on caramel layer now.
Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.
 Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 – 30 minutes.
Let cool before cutting into squares.

I really liked these, but no one else in my family did. I've been mildly obsessed with Salted Caramel lately. And these were great for that. Super rich, super buttery(hello pound of butter). They were good but I gave away most of them cause I really shouldn't be eating that much rich, buttery, caramel goodness. mmmmmm They are best warm, it melts the caramel a bit. 

Who needs skinny jeans anyway?

Corn Flake Cookies from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy Blog

Salted Caramel Bars from Cookies & Cups Blog

Friday, January 6, 2012

These bright ideas, they just keep coming!

So inspired by my friend Katie D. I added more items and got rid of some of mine that I threw in at the last minute. But rather than adding a new 101 list every time I add a couple of bright ideas. I'll just do a monthly summary and show any additions.

Shout out to my Favorite Cousin Veronica June Moore Skarr for being my one and only follower!

Monday, January 2, 2012

#37 Polar Bear Plunge

It was like jumping into a brown slushie that was trying to drink me.


My entire body went numb as soon as it was submerged. I kept reaching for the bottom of the river to push myself up, I never found it. I looked up seeing only water and light getting further and further away from me. I knew I had to swim up, so I closed my eyes and swam up as hard as I could to the surface. I couldn't tell if I was at the surface till I opened my eyes and saw I was. Then I knew I had to swim fast to the shore. I swam with the voice of my last swim teacher telling me to use my hips. As I was approaching the shore I had a feeling my swimsuit wasn't where it started out. Not that I could feel anything on my body, I just knew that things had gone askew. So once I could feel the bottom I looked down to make sure all my bits were still covered and pulled it down over my belly. (stupid tankinis) Walked to my mom holding my towel, robe & cider at the ready. And asked her if I was dead. Once I was out of the water my skin felt like a combo of numb and on fire. We posed for some pics then went home for a long, warm shower. I'm really glad I did it. Later while warming up/resting in my bed and reflecting on the plunge, I had a personal revelation that gave me a whole new outlook on life. I just might make this a tradition. (but next year I head toward the shallows).