Craft: DIY Enamel Dots and Flowers

Based on message board posts and Pinterest, it seems like A LOT of crafters are making their own enamel dots out of Perler Beads. You remember those right? Use a peg board to create a design, add some heat, they melt, and ta-da, you have a cool plastic little toy!

A lot of the steps for making the enamel dots are the same as using the beads in the traditional way. There's tons of detailed tutorials already online, so I'll just give a quick summary (also shown in the following pictures). 

- Start with preheating your oven to 300 degrees (low and slow is best)

- Lay down a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet (I held mine down with a couple cheap knives)

- Line up a bunch of Perler Beads (yes, this does get a little tedious)

- Gently put the cookie sheet in to the oven

- Bake until the beads are nicely rounded and no middle dimple remains (times will vary...my oven takes 30 minutes)

- Leave on the sheet until cool

- And, they're ready to use....pretty easy, huh?

And when you get tired of dots, try making flowers! The following were made with six of one color surrounding a single other color. I think they turned out pretty good!

I mentioned earlier it is a little tedious to line up all the beads. However, when I look at the cost of a pack of enamel dots vs. a pack of Perler Beads, I'll happily take the time to set up the beads!

Happy melting!

Second Chance FUNdraiser - Two New Raffles

Two New Advanced Raffles have been added...again, you don't have to be present to win these!

1) THE "FLY AWAY" BASKET:

Two Roundtrip airline tickets, good on Southwest Airlines only, between any 2 cities within the Southwest Airlines system in the continental USA!

NO RESTRICTIONS, NO BLACKOUTS

GOOD FOR TRAVEL THROUGH 6/1/15

VALUE: $800

TICKETS: One for $10, Three for $25

2) THE "ULTIMATE PET TRAINING" BASKET:

At Home, 6 Session Private Dog Training Course with Train Your Pup’s Danielle O’Neill (within a reasonable distance for Danielle to get to!).

Danielle has over 15 years of experience training individuals to get the best out of their animals! She is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CCPDT-KA), and is an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator.

Danielle will also be providing a special performance on the night of the event with her Team Zoom Canine Entertainment!

VALUE: $450

TICKETS:

One for $10, or Three for $25

HOW DO WE GET TICKETS FOR THESE GREAT ITEMS?

PLEASE SEE www.2ndchancerescue.petfinder.com for info on purchasing tickets, and descriptions of ALL advance raffles!  OR, see the details below:

All tickets may be purchased by mail, check only, made out to: Second Chance Rescue. Send to:

Second Chance Rescue

4403 St. Rt. 725 Suite F

Bellbrook, OH 45305

You MUST include the following information: number of EACH type of ticket you want, and name, address and phone number for contact purposes.

Please make sure you have calculated the total ticket costs correctly!

For mail purchases, we will NOT mail back the ticket stubs to you. If you would like for me to call and confirm that we have received your request, I am happy to do that -- just please specify that!

OR, Tickets may also be purchased in person at Dr. Sue's Animal Clinic, 4403 St. Rt. 725 Suite F, Bellbrook, OH 45305. CASH OR CHECKS accepted in person.

Hours: Monday, Tuesday 10:30-1, 3-7; Thursday, Friday 10:30-1, 3-6; Saturday April 12, April 26, or May 10 10:30-1.

If you have any questions, please call me (Dr. Sue) at 937-848-9090!

Tickets for the event itself, being held at Temple Beth Or in Kettering (corner of Rahn and Marshall), on Saturday May 17, 2014, 6-11pm, can also be purchased by mail or in person as listed above.

Event tickets are $30 per person, and MUST be purchased by Friday, May 9!!!! If you purchase an event ticket by mail, we will hold the ticket at the door for you! Full details on what the event ticket includes are at www.2ndchancerescue.petfinder.com.

We hope to see MANY of you there, and please help support the rescue by purchasing tickets to these awesome raffle items!

Second Chance FUNdraiser Raffles

I mentioned in my last post and on Facebook about the upcoming FUNdraiser/raffle that Second Chance Rescue is hosting. Here is more info on the advance raffles including descriptions, values, and most importantly, how to get tickets!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here are the higher value raffle items that we will be pre-selling tickets for, with the drawing being done on the night of May 17, 2014, at our Spring into Summer! Event at Temple Beth Or!

You do NOT need to be present to win these items! We will have many additional great raffles at the event, which only the attendees will have an opportunity to win.

Instructions for how to get tickets for the pre-sale raffle items is at the end!

1) THE "MINI COOPER" BASKET:

A 2014 Mini Cooper Convertible (approximate value above $30,000) OR $20,000 Cash

TICKETS:

One for $100

see www.2ndchancerescue.petfinder.com

for complete rules in regards to this raffle!

minimum 400 tickets to be sold, maximum 600 tickets to be sold to award this prize

(otherwise there will be a 50/50 split of the ticket sales with the winner; must be 18)

2) THE "ULTIMATE FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT" BASKET:

CONTAINS GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR FOOD/BEVERAGE TO:

Amelias, Barleycorns, Blueberry Café, Bravo!, Carrabas, The Cheesecake Factory, Cherry House Café, Christophers,  City Barbeque, Cracker Barrel, Dewey’s Pizza, Edible Arrangements, Elsa’s, El Rancho Grande, Figlio, First Watch, GourmetGiftBaskets.com, Guilianos, J Alexanders, Krogers, Los Reyes, Mamma DiSalvos, Meadowlark, My Favorite Muffin, Original Pancake House, Outback Steakhouse,  Paragon Supper Club, P F Changs, and Rue Dumaine.

ALSO CONTAINS PASSES/TICKETS TO THE FOLLOWING:

Four Line View OR Two Terrace Line Tickets to a Cincinnati Reds Game, Two Center Orchestra Tickets to the Victoria Theater Association’s Broadway Series Musical “Million Dollar Quartet”, Danbarry Cinemas, Regal Cinemas, Fandango, Woodman Bowling, Wiley’s Comedy Club, The Funny Bone Comedy Club, Tudor Day Spa, Redbox Rentals, and two passbooks to the Victoria Theater Association’s 2012 Cool Film Series.

CURRENT VALUE: $1800

(and we are still adding!)

TICKETS:

One for $15, or Three for $40

3) THE "SAMSUNG" BASKET:

51” Samsung

Plasma HDTV

With Clear Image Panel, Wide Color Enhancer Plus, and Dolby Digital Plus

2” thick, and only 40 pounds!

VALUE: $1200 

TICKETS:

One for $15, or Three for $40

4) THE "GALAXY" BASKET:

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2”

32GB Tablet with Wi-Fi

Black

VALUE: $650

TICKETS:

One for $10, or Three for $25

5) THE "DISNEY" BASKET:

Four One-Day Park Hopper Passes (valid for 2 years)

Includes the following Disney Orlando Parks: The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom

VALUE: $516

TICKETS:

One for $10, or Three for $25

6) THE "PAMPER YOURSELF" BASKET:

Contains Gift Cards to Victoria Secret ($200) and over $200 in Victoria Secret and PINK Brand Merchandise

VALUE: over $500

TICKETS:

One for $10, or Three for $25

7) THE "PET PORTRAIT" BASKET:

VALUE: $450

TICKETS:

One for $10, or Three for $25

HOW DO WE GET TICKETS FOR THESE GREAT ITEMS?

All tickets may be purchased by mail, check only, made out to: Second Chance Rescue. Send to:

Second Chance Rescue

4403 St. Rt. 725 Suite F

Bellbrook, OH 45305

You MUST include the following information: number of EACH type of ticket you want, and name, address and phone number for contact purposes.

Please make sure you have calculated the total ticket costs correctly!

For mail purchases, we will NOT mail back the ticket stubs to you. If you would like for me to call and confirm that we have received your request, I am happy to do that -- just please specify that!

OR, Tickets may also be purchased in person at Dr. Sue's Animal Clinic, 4403 St. Rt. 725 Suite F, Bellbrook, OH 45305. CASH OR CHECKS accepted in person.

Hours: Monday, Tuesday 10:30-1, 3-7; Thursday, Friday 10:30-1, 3-6; Saturday April 12, April 26, or May 10 10:30-1.

If you have any questions, please call me at 937-848-9090!

Second Chance Rescue FUNdraiser

I've posted several times about my new furbaby Chloe. Today her adoption from Second Chance Rescue was finalized. During my search, I quickly discovered that some rescues are much better to work with than others and I'll leave it at that :) Second Chance was awesome to work with and Chloe is such a sweetheart!

They are a non-profit and depend on donations and fundraisers to place their fosters. A big FUNdrasier is coming up on May 17th. Information on the event can be found on their website or Facebook page. They also are having a ton of high value raffles that I'll discuss in another post.

Hall China Convention

I've been collecting Hall China for about 15 years now. Several years ago I found out about a collector's convention and have been attending ever since. This year I wasn't able to attend the entire weekend, but I did manage to make the Saturday Sale and pick up a 'few' new pieces for the collection :-) There wasn't any big piece I was interested in so I focused on smaller pieces.

Now, to find space on the shelves for the new additions........

Settling In

So, the last few weeks have been fun with having Chloe in the house. Yes, there have been some accidents, some barking, some hissing (from Zoe), and other adjustments. But it's all been worth having this adorable furbaby join the family!

New Furbaby :-)

After meeting Chloe and falling in love, the rescue brought her over for a home visit that went quite well. A few days after the home visit, Chloe came to live with me. We're currently doing a trial run before finalizing everything, but with the way the last few days have been, I don't think it will be anything less than permanent!

Cute, isn't she?????? :-)

My current furbaby, Zoe, is holding back judgement for now :-) Though, over the last few days, the hissing and barking has decreased and they're coming around each other more and more :-)

Expanding the Family

With a new furbaby....what did you think I meant??? ;-)

I got to meet Chloe, an adorable 14-month Japanese Chin a few days ago.

Such a cutie!

Now, we just have to see how Chloe gets along with Zoe (my current feline furbaby). Thankfully, based on her reaction to the clinic cats (where we met), she only seems curious about them. We'll see how Zoe feels in a few days!

Caturday :-)

This is Zoe. 

In theory, she's my furbaby.

In reality, I'm actually her human :-) 

Recipe - Quesadilla Waffle aka Pinterest....You're a Bad Enabler!

So who else spends A LOT of time finding all sorts of things on Pinterest??? I'm definitely guilty of that! Most of my pins seem to be recipes or crafts. I've been on a cooking kick recently so I've had several food posts to kick-off this blog.

I've pinned several ideas on using a waffle maker for non-waffle uses. On impulse one day at Wal-Mart I picked up a cheap waffle maker. I'm easily influenced I guess :-)

Before trying any ideas or recipes, I first skimmed through the owner's manual and promptly ignored the following warning:

I decided to try something simple first and thought a quesadilla would be a good start. I took two Carb Balance flour tortillas and spread a thin layer of Chipotle Mayo on both. Added about a serving of fiesta blend cheese to one and put that on the waffle maker. Added the second tortilla and closed the lid. After a few minutes I had a nice melty and crispy quesadilla. Plus, I had built-in lines on where to cut it into pieces. Success!

I served the cheese quesadilla with steamed veggies and Tex-Mex potatoes. The potatoes were another Pinterest find and the original recipe can be found here. I made a couple changes to the recipe. I used Mrs. Dash Taco Seasoning to cut down on the sodium content. I also used Light Ranch Dressing. Finally, I tossed about 4 green onions in prior to cooking and then sprinkled more at the end....I like green onions :-) This was an easy to prep, tasty recipe that I will make again.

Recipe - Buffalo Wild Wings Sauces aren't just for wings!

I eat at Buffalo Wild Wings (aka BW3s, BDubs) regularly. I'm there once a week with coworkers and some weeks more than that. I usually end up taking part of my meal with me and because of that, I end up with a collection of little sauce cups in my fridge.

It seems like a waste to not use them up, so I've been experimenting and trying them out in different ways. A couple recent keepers include Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower and Salt n Vinegar Potatoes.

For the Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower, I cut up a head of cauliflower into bite-size pieces and tossed it in a bag with some leftover Parmesan Garlic Sauce. After it had marinated a little bit, I dumped the bag onto a baking pan that had been greased with some canola oil. Then popped it into the oven to roast. I think I went with 350 degrees until golden brown. Turned out great....tasty way to get some veggies in!

The Salt n Vinegar Potatoes used one of BW3s dry rubs. I cubed a few potatoes, tossed them with some Salt n Vinegar rub, and roasted them at the same time as the cauliflower. I love salt n vinegar potato chips so this was like a hot version of them!

The potatoes went great with dinner...Sauteed cabbage with Kielbasa and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Morale of the post.....always ask for lids for leftover sauce when you're at your favorite wings place :-)

Recipe - Squash with Noodles

So...trash day for me is Thursday which means Wednesday evening I'm always cleaning out the fridge and deciding what goes, what stays. It also usually means I'm throwing random stuff together for dinner from leftover bits and pieces prior to the final clean out. Sometimes the concoctions are good, sometimes not so much.

Today was one of the good concoction days...I took a partial onion, a few green onions, and a couple summer squash, marinated them for awhile and then stir-fried everything. I finished the dish off with some already prepared noodles and a splash more of the dipping sauce I'd used as a marinade.

Some of the ingredients I used...

And the final dish...

I love it when a a few thrown together ingredients turn out to be a tasty dinner!!!

Brrrrr!!!

Stay warm everybody!!! Hot chocolate with some Peppermint Schnapps is definitely in my future sometime today :-)

Recipe - Baked Crab Rangoon Pizza

I seem to have a love-hate relationship with cooking. I'll spend a few weeks trying lots of recipes and thoroughly enjoying the time in the kitchen. Then I'll get sick of it and live on frozen/easy food for awhile. Then lather.rinse.repeat the whole cycle :-)

I guess I'm amping up for another round of cooking because this past weekend I tried out a recipe I found on Pillsbury's website for Baked Crab Rangoon Pizza. It was tasty and there's only a couple tweaks I'd make in future preparations. The original recipe can be found here.

I always like to follow the original recipe as close as I can the first time I fix it. That seems to make it easier to keep track of any tweaks I'd like to make. Of course, this is providing the first time around turns out tasty enough to warrant making a second time!

I made the following tweaks/substitutions :

• I used imitation crab meat (8 oz.), not real. I always have some in the fridge and never have canned crab meat in the cabinet. 
• I skipped the cornmeal step.
• I used light cream cheese and light mayo.

I would keep those same tweaks and add the following changes the next time I make this pizza:

• Increase the cream cheese a bit...maybe go from 4 oz. to 6 oz. The topping mixture seemed a bit skimpy when I was spreading it to the edges of the pizza. Maybe add an additional tablespoon or so of mayo as well.
• Decrease the green pepper to 1/4 cup and increase the green onions.
• Finely, finely, finely chop the green pepper.
• Mix it up ahead of time and let it set in the fridge so the flavors can develop.

I fixed this as a main dish, but I think it would be great cut up in small squares and served as an appetizer too!

Finally, here's a picture of the finished dish.Yum Yum!

Baby Cards

In my life it seems like there's always someone having a baby....I am surrounded by a lot of fertile people! I always like to make cards for special occasions and welcoming a new addition to the family is at the top of my card making list. I'm currently on a self-imposed crafty spending freeze for 6 months so I shopped my stash to create these two cards. The card stock and patterned paper are from Close to my Heart (Precious Paisleys), the flowers are by Prima, and the stamp is by Stamping Bella (BabyFellaBella).

P.S. This is my first time trying to upload a picture to my blog, so fingers-crossed that it works!

What's in a Name???

I chose the semi-generic name Jenny's Journaling because I've always liked the idea of having a blog where I wasn't limited in the topics I posted about. Oh, and alliteration is always a good thing too :-)

I guess if I were to label this blog, I would call it a lifestyle blog (though, that sounds kinda pretentious to me). I'll post about crafty stuff, recipes I've tried, Pinterest things I've tried, and whatever else pops into my mind. Basically, a little bit of this and a little bit of that!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's 2014 and I think I created this blog sometime in 2012. I think it's long overdue that I actually do something with it! The beginning of a new year seems like a great time to get started and blogging at least once a week should be a doable goal for me. Watch out blog world, here I come!!!