Playing with Your Food!

(By Lindsey Riley, The Crafting-Challenged Blogger)

Earlier this week, there was a recall on Kelogg's Mini-Wheats cereal for fear of metal fragments being present in boxes. It sounds like there was a faulty mechanism and there was a possibility that metal was packaged with the food.

Personally, I am never awake to eat breakfast food. I also am not a big fan of cereal, but I do love cereal boxes. I love walking down the grocery store aisle for cereal because there are hundreds of colorful boxes lining the shelves. All of them grab your attention one way or another, and I think that it's just cool. I know, I am strange!

As a child, I use to make various crafts with cereal and cereal boxes. Every year in elementary school, my mom and I would make a little mailbox out of the cereal box for my classmates to drop my Valentines cards in. I used to make play jewelry out of Cheerios and yarn and would then leave them outside for the wildlife to enjoy. Those were the days!

There's way more that you can do with cereal and its boxes these days than I ever imagined. You can do little things like make mosaics, postcards, and organizers. It's a great way to be green. Other ideas include:

Bookmarks

• You need: A cereal box, scissors, one sheet of clear plastic contact paper, a hole punch, and a small amount of yarn or ribbon.
• Open the bottom of the box and cut down one side so the box can lie flat. Use a pen or marker to trace the shape and size bookmark you want.
• Then, after the bookmark has been cut out, seal it with contact paper. The plastic coat will making it more durable.
• Decorate with your favorite designs!

 Sandals

• What you need: Empty cereal box, scissors, pencil, duct tape
•  Cut out the shoe shapes and straps. Tape the straps with the duct tape. Decorate as you wish!

 Beads

•  What you need: Cereal box, scissors, varnish
• Cut the flat sides of the boxes into thin and long triangles.
• Roll the cardboard and then dip final product into varnish.

DIY mugs and coffee cake before winter sets in

By Britny [self-proclaimed craft freak]

After  being sick for almost two weeks I am just about caught up on everything except of course this blog. I'll be putting up one for this week on Thursday, but to apologize to you all I'm including two crafts- yay you! First thing is first though, some daily knowledge to go with the craft.

Last year in America we had one of the weirdest winters in a long time. It was oddly warm and barely snowed in some areas that usually get a pretty decent amount of snow. It was the fourth warmest winter in recorded history and one of the least snowy according to ESPN Action Sports. Forecasters are predicting El Nino to set in this winter which would cause the northern and western areas in the United States would have milder and drier than normal weather while the eastern and southern areas will have colder and wetter weather according to Mike Steinberg, meteorologist for Farmer's Almanac. Some meteorologists are also forecasting for the winter-like weather to hit earlier than normal according to an article by the Huffington Post. Just like the weather changes though, so do the predictions.

To prepare you for the cold, or at least somewhat colder weather, I've decorated some lovely mugs that I'd like to share with you along with an awesome recipe for single coffee cakes!

Decorative Mugs

      Materials:

• mugs [I bought some plain ones from Goodwill]
• Sharpies
• ID: solid stick [I got this from Hobby Lobby for about $4.]

      How To:

• Pick a mug and set your oven on 400*F.
• Using Sharpies decorate your mug.

• Use the ID: solid stick and lightly go over your decorations. This is like a coating for it. Don't wipe it or it'll smear.
• Put the mugs on a cookie sheet bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool once they're done.

 Coffee Cake

I got this recipe off of Pinterest from Prudent Baby. The only thing I added to her recipe is the cinnamon sugar because I felt like it needed more cinnamon.

      Materials

• A MUG [maybe the one you just decorated :) ...hint hint]
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon sugar

AND for the yummy topping you'll need the following:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

• Place the butter into the mug and warm it for 8 seconds, just so it's softened.
• Add the rest of the ingredients. You don't need to use all of the egg, only about half so maybe make another single coffee cake for your significant other!

• Mix all the toppings in a seperate container and then put it on top of the mixture inside the mug.
• Put the mug in the microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds and ta-da, the best coffee cake ever is now all yours!

All That Glitters is NOT Gold... It's Pink, Too!

  
By: Mandy Whitaker

    The 2012 AMA nominations were announced on October, 9, 2012, by Christina Aguilara.  The AMA's will air on November 18, on ABC.  Artists of the year nominations include: Justin Bieber, Drake, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, and Rihanna.  Click here, for a full list of nominations.

 

     What better way to tie in my love for glitter than a night full of glamour, glitter, and beautiful people? I wanted to start off simple, but not lacking in beauty with tons of glitter! And when I mean "tons of glitter" that is truly what I mean. 

  

     I decided I wanted to make a little decorative jar covered in pink glitter!! Super simple, but equally as cute! A perfect addition to any room!

I purchased all these items at Hobby Lobby.

     I started off with a glass jar, glitter, and glue that adheres especially to glass! (Just read the labels, it will tell you whether the glue will stick to glass!)

                                                       Make sure to have a box or tray as your working space or you will end up with glitter EVERYWHERE! (Not that glitter everywhere is entirely a bad thing.)

Start by taking off the lid of the jar and begin painting on the glue. Let the glue sit for a moment until it's tacky. 

Then comes the fun part.  Pour glitter onto the jar and spread it around all over the glue.  Make sure every last inch is covered, we want this to be GLITTER CITY!!

      Let the glue dry and put the lid back on! For best results, place your newly glittered jar by a light source to make it sparkle! (I placed mine by pink Christmas lights.)

And Voila!  You added a touch of glamour to your room!

Easy but cute, right? Just like I promised!

Mandy: If it's not Glittery and Pink...Forget about it!

 Hi ya'll!  I am now a contributor to this blog as of a week ago and I am super excited! I am a Journalism and Telecommunications major and a 5th-year senior.  I started off a business major and realized, that route wasn't at all for me.  I mean, could you see the business-major students constructing a blog like this for a class? No way, Jose! This is much more fun than numbers and graphs!!

     Most of my DIY crafts will involve glitter and/or pink most likely, in one way or another.  Anything, glittery, sparkly, bedazzeled, you name it, I love it! Plus, I am not the craftiest of sorts, so my projects will be on the low-end of difficulty! I cannot cook to save a life, so my recipes will be for the cooking challenged!  Therefore, if I manage to make it, bet your life you can make it too! 

    Basically, if you are looking for some girly crafts, along with some easy recipes, you have come to the right place! Be sure to check out my Pinterest account! And remember: Glitter is good for any occasion!

                                    Happy Crafting, Folks!

    

Snacks to Support Anti-Bullying

By: Mallory Jordan, moderately crafty

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This recognized awareness month might have not been common knowledge to some, but it is becoming more well known. In an article published October 3, the Associated Press covered an anchorwoman's inspiring editorial story.

"Anchorwoman Jennifer Livingston of WKBT-TV in La Crosse, Wisconsin responded on air to a viewer who wrote in an email that she is overweight and a poor role model. Livingston says she has received well over a thousand supportive messages," (AP).

The video of the news cast has bounced around to multiple news channels. Livingston describes herself as very aware that she is overweight, but that does not define her as a person. She uses the hurtful email to prove to audiences that bullying exists. She was not hurt by the words, but she makes a point that those words could hurt a child. Children can learn bullying habits from parental figures and bring that into schools.



Coincidentally, September was National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Weight does not define a person. Boney is beautiful, fat is beautiful and average is beautiful. But, a healthy diet is important. As explained on the Choose My Plate website, the key to being healthier for all body types is eating smaller portioned meals and eating healthier choices, especially in the snack department. It is good for the body to have light meals and healthy snacks throughout the day.


I thought I could bring the two months, anti-bullying and obesity awareness, together and share some healthy snack ideas. I found a great article, 10 Super Snacks You Can Make in Under 5 Minutes, that presents a picture and caption based story in a very appealing way, and shares some delicious snack ideas.

I have picked my top 5 from the article and changed them a bit to my taste preferences.


1. Trail Mix



This is one of the most versatile snacks around. Dried fruit works great for trail mix, but I'm not huge on it. For those of you who agree, this trail mix is a bit different. I have my fruit: raisins. I used multi-grain Cheerios not just for the whole grain health, but also for the slightly sweet flavor. Honey-roasted cashews actually have slightly less calories than regular cashews, and I find them much tastier. Finally, if you want more flavor, add in some granola.



2. Ants on a Log



The perfect picnic food. Fast, easy, delicious and cute. Just three easy ingredients: celery, peanut butter and raisins. Cut the celery into bite-sized pieces. Then, spread some peanut butter in the middle and add "ants" or raisins on top.



3. Strawberry-Banana Smoothie



I don't care if it is summer or winter, smoothies are delicious and healthy. In a blender, mix 1/2 cup of strawberries with the leaves cut off the top, 1/2 cup of vanilla Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of skim milk, a whole banana and my personal touch, a tablespoon of peanut butter. This drink will fill you up and make your roommates jealous.



4. Make-Your-Own Yogurt Bar



Mashed potato bars and yogurt bars are the new buffet fad. You get to pick what toppings you want and it is easy to make a nice, colorful presentation with the ingredients. Healthier vanilla Greek yogurt with fruit and Special K granola is perfect for snacks and breakfast.



5. "Baked" Sweet Potato



A great fall snack, the "baked" sweet potato uses one sweet potato cooked for 5 minute in the microwave. Poke the potato a few times with a fork before popping it in the microwave. Mix in flavors to make that sweet potato sweeter. You can use cinnamon, brown sugar, honey and/or the pumpkin pie spice I used in my earlier Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe.



You can adjust the snacks to what tastes you enjoy best. Click on the article, "10 Super Snacks," above to learn all of the health benefits of each homemade snack! Be healthy and happy!

Black Walnuts!

By Lindsey Riley (the crafting-challenged blogger)

Hello everyone and again, happy Friday!

I'm sure that you are going to make your way outside during the weekend. If you live in the Ozarks, you may literally stumble on one of those green golf ball sized things that fall out of the trees this time of the year. I got a phone call the other day that my grandmother stumbled on one and hurt her ankle. It was then that I began to wonder exactly what they were. Upon researching them, I came across a couple of options: Crab Apples or Black Walnuts. There are no apple trees around my grandma, so I am going to guess that the green ball is a black walnut.

As I further researched black walnuts, I found some interesting news on them: There's a shortage this year because of the drought that struck across the United States. The amount walnuts, which the Ozark residents refer to as black gold, and the impact of the drought will not be known until companies begin cracking the nuts.

So what can you do with black walnuts? Well, we can eat them and use them for crafts. Their shells are great for artistic purposes. What we are going to do is cook, because I have no shells to play with.

I decided to make black walnut fudge. I used a good fudge recipe from my grandma and added the walnuts in before letting it sit. Here's the recipe:
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WHAT YOU NEED 

2 sticks of butter
4.5 cups of sugar
1 cup of regular milk
25 regular marshmallows
12 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips
2 squares of bakers unsweetened chocolate
13oz of Hershey milk chocolate bars
1.5 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of chopped black walnuts 

NOW WHAT

In a stove-safe pan, melt the butter and add sugar and milk…stir until warm. Add marshmallows. Bring the mixture to a boil…constant stirring….once at boil shut off fire. Add all of the chocolate. Stir until melted and add vanilla. Pour in 13x9x2 pan that is greased with butter and scatter the nuts on top…let cool

The Leaves are Changing, and not Just Colors

By: Mallory Jordan, moderately crafty

The uncommonly warm climate that Indiana had this winter has affected more than just the weather.

In an online article, The Iowa Department of Natural Resources have found in their weekly reports on fall conditions that the leaves are changing early this year.

"The 2012 drought explains most of the accelerated changes this season. The drought stressed trees. Many are shutting down production of chlorophyll (the component that keeps leaves green) early. That means the leaves' colors are coming through," Matt Milner explained in his article.

The actual report proving the claims from The Iowa Department of Natural Resources's research is at the bottom of the article.

This has not only been a problem in the midwest. In Australia, evidence exists that shows the leaves are shrinking. Science Daily and University of Adelaide researchers have linked the shrinkage specifically to climate change.

To better understand this leafy phenomenon, CNN posted a great article where, "Sharron, a science communication specialist with the National Park Service's Northeast Temperate Network in Vermont, explains the science behind the beautiful colors of fall." The article thoroughly explains why leaves change colors, and why the same specific colors.

But, you can create your own leaves this fall. You can even choose what color that the leaves will turn. Just get some gold spray paint, canvas, paintbrush and acrylic paint to bring the colors of fall into your own home.

To improve the image of the leaves post spray paint, use very flat leaves. Using some kind of adhesive under the leaves or contact paper that sticks to the leaves and the canvas will help this issue as well. Otherwise, the spray paint will blow the leaves out of place and get under the stem especially, ruining the contrast of the image as you can kind of see with the red leaves.

If you feel inspired by fall like I do and want to further your crafty side after this project, go out and take some photographs. In honor of fall officially being here, Gizmodo's annual shooting challenge has begun. Through November 5 they are accepting jpg photos that show the beautiful colors of fall. So pull on a comfy cardigan, grab a camera and send pictures to contests@gizmodo.com!