Halloween is coming

I found a new craft guru, more of my style than Martha Stewart! I got so excited to get this book called Glitterville Handmade Halloween, that taught me how to use new materials and techniques to sculpt. The author Stephen Brown uses paper clay for sculpting, and I found out it is so much easier than Fimo clay, for my purposes. So I made this head hunter to decorate my table, and we will have some delicious heads for our Halloween Party. Wait and see.

Hole in the Knee

I saw this great idea on one of my favorite websites, Living Locurto: how to sew monsters in the holes of those still good to use pants. They show the tutorial here. So, it gives a little longer life to pants that are still intact, except for the knees. And the kids enjoy them!

How can I make this boy eat vegetables?

I always thought it would be a natural thing to feed my kids vegetables, just the way I grew up. And if they refuse, just make them eat. Well, easier said than done. I tried all different approaches to feed my 7 year- old veggies. I tempted, asked, forced, bargained, threatened, hid, mixed vegetables in his food. And all I got was no thank you, hunger strike, cry, gag, and throw up. And if he feels the texture, he will throw up, no matter when or where (it actually happened at school on halloween day. He was dispensed and missed the party). But on my quest to make him eat better, my only solution was blend healthy items with something he eats. That's why I made these meatballs, mixed with everything that is not green, or it will not be consumed. Here is the recipe:
- 1/2 cup of carrots
- 1/2 small peeled and diced eggplant
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 cup cauliflower
- 1/2 small zucchinni
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
- 4 mushrooms
- 1 egg
- 1.5 Lb lean ground turkey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
Place all the vegetables, lemon juice,and the egg in a food processor, blend until creamy. Mix with the rest of the ingredientes in a big bowl with your hands. Then you can make in a shape of meatballs, burgers, or meatloaves. If you make round balls (about 2 inches), bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes. You can also use miniature muffin cups and bake the same way. I sometimes also cook the meatballs in tomato sauce, for about 20 minutes in medium heat, and serve with spaghetti. And finally he ate these veggies, but don't tell him that.

School is Here! And cake too!

My youngest son started pre- school this year, and to celebrate his first day, I made this school bus cake. The easiest way to make it, it is to use already baked loaf cake and ready to use frosting. I used this idea from Family Fun magazine, and you can see the video here. But since I had a round baked cake in the freezer, I decided to e adventurous and try the technique the people on TV use: carve a frozen cake. And I found out it works perfectly, because it does not crumble as much. And it easier to go around with the knife. Once it was in the shape desired, it went back to the freezer. Then with a few drops of yellow food coloring mixed with room temperature frosting, I covered the frozen cake. Another change I made was to use my friend Wonton Wrap, to make the windows in the bus. Of course using fondant would be easier and get a better finish, but I just wanted to try the wontons. I just cut the wrap with a knife to the size I needed, draw with food coloring pens, and baked the piece flat for about minutes at 400 degrees (or just before started to get brown). Then I glued the pieces with frosting and used gel food coloring to draw the details around the windows and door. And for the wheels I used a little chocolate cake in a 100 calorie pack, it was the perfect size for my cake. And for final detail and more color around I placed some M&M's in the bus and around the bus. Everybody ate their dinner to have dessert, and had a fun way to remember that first day of school.

Who knew? Wonton wraps.

I wanted to make something for first day of school, but I didn't want to bake a cake, or run to the grocery store to buy one. Plus we all had enough sugar for the week. That's when I saw the wonton wraps in the fridge, and I wondered if I could use the food coloring pens usually I use for edible crafts. After writing on them and making little holes with a straw, I baked for a about 5 minutes at 400 degrees, or right before it turned dark. After cooled, I used to place on top of a sandwich, but it also tastes great with peanut butter, or can be put in the plate with any food. They love because it is very crunchy. Just a little something to remind them this special day.

Personalized T-shirt for TOMORROW

Like every year, I forget something from the school list a day before school starts. This time was the art smock for my son. I gathered some painting material I had at home, and stole one of my husband's T- shirt. So I used this one product that amazed me, because it is a fabric paint, but you hold like a pen to write or draw, and gives a 3 dimensional finish to the painting, called ArtMinds 3D fabric paint. For some reason I can't find the same product online right now, but it is similar to Scribbles 3D Paint Pens It required a little bit of practice to squeeze the paint uniformly, but for any crafty person, it should be easy. Then it just need to dry overnight, and since it's been so humid, I'll leave next to the dehumidifier. It is great to have it at home so if you need a quick gift for the next day, you'll have it.