Chicken Salad

To get things started, you're going to want to cook your chicken. Lucky for us, we had a parade and chicken roast for the 4th of July in our hometown!

• We chipped up about 6 cups (48 oz.) of chicken to bite-sized pieces. If you're not fortunate enough to have a chicken roast near your house the next time you want to make chicken salad, you can roast 4 medium-sized chicken breasts in the oven for about 15 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, seasoned with a touch of salt and pepper.
• Once we broke down the chicken, it was time to dice some celery. We love celery, so added about 2 cups (16 oz.) for texture. However, you can add closer to a cup and be perfectly fine. Once the celery was added, we diced 1 small apple for more of a crunch, along with some sweetness.
• Looking at our pantry, we decided to add 1 small plum to the mix. It added a deep, vibrant purple color along with a refreshing tartness. The apple and plum measured out to approximately 1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) a piece. Just for some more color and a touch more sweetness, we tossed in a handful of cranberries.
• You can also add some nuts to the mix as well, such as walnuts or pecans for crunch and earthiness. Once we were satisfied with the main ingredients, it was time to put together the creamy aspect of the dish. We took a simple 1-to-1 ratio of sour cream to mayonaisse, and whipped them together (About 1 cup of each, respectively.)
•  To add a twist inspired by the Basil Chicken Salad Wrap at Roly Poly Subs, we added about 6 large leaves of basil to the sour cream mixture. We used a knife technique known as the chiffonade to produce long, beautiful strands. Once that was completed we incorporated the two mixtures together, folding from bottom to top to ensure every bit of chicken was coated. Adding salt and pepper to taste, you're left with a visually pleasing and flavorful rendition of your classic chicken salad!

Star Bright !

I want to wish you all a happy Independence Day!

This fun little bit of crafting is striking and economical. This is a paper star made to mimic the look of a metal star. I think a star would be nice for a birthday party or Christmas, as well as celebrating most anything.

I started with a scrap piece of light weight cardboard, (cereal boxes work great), and a star pattern. I got my pattern from Google. I traced the pattern onto the cardboard. I wanted my star a little larger than a standard size piece of paper that the printer allowed. I needed to add 3/4 of an inch to each side of the star to make it the size I wanted.

The next step is to score the cardboard from the tip of each point to the opposite side of the star.

When you are done scoring each point all the way across, you can then fold hills and valleys to make the dimensions of the star.

                                     
 Then paint your star any color that you find pleasing. Acrylic paint is the best option. I spray painted the entire star white to start with, then added color to each of the points.  After I got done painting I wanted to add some stars. I used a small star punch and scrap paper and some glue stick to add them to the blue field of my star.

I used regular paper glue, but Modge Podge would also work well.

I used and antique medium that I have on hand from some other project to add an aged appearance. I just used a rag to wipe on and wipe off the medium. I have been known to use shoe polish in a crafting "emergency".

Here is the finished project!!  I am very pleased with the results and will have this proudly displayed in my home.

Birthday Baseball Cupcakes

Today is Paul's birthday! I made a quick batch of regular cupcakes after work but decided to do a special frosting job to coordinate with our Monday activity, our softball recreation league! Heidi helped me frost the cupcakes by using a Ziploc baggy as a piping bag. She's so CRAFTY and our teammates loved them!

 Paul with his cupcakes!

Me frosting one of the cupcakes.

Perfect July 4th Nails

Happy First day of July!! Right around the corner is July 4th and I have found the perfect nail color to help you celebrate in style! 

This UV Light Soak- Off nail polish must be cured with a UV light. It is basically the same thing as "Shellac" that you see in salons but the cheap E-Bay version I found.

I think this is the perfect nail color for the 4th because it is a beautiful shade of red most of the time, but has flashy blue sparkles when the sun light shines on it just right. Fireworks for your nails?!

Interested? Here it is on E-Bay. Be sure to order number 093. The sparkles look purple in their photo, but they really are blue.  Also, my sister, mother, and I got the UV Light and Kit at amazon.com. We use it often and our nail polish stays on for 2-3 weeks. It really is worth the splurge!

Hot Pink Polka Dot Dress Refashion

Today I FINALLY had the time to refashion one of my free store finds! I starter with the dress since I wanted to wear it to church. I love the color of the material and it was in great shape, plus there was a lot of material to work with.

Dress BEFORE!

I decided to turn the dress into a cute yoga skirt I saw on Pinterest because it was too busy for my tastes as one solid piece and a knit. The instructions, from Sew Mama Sew, were VERY helpful and easy to follow, however, she forgot the mention that you should use a stretch stitch and ball point needle when sewing on knits. (In a lapse of judgement I also forgot this and have had to resew a few seams already!)

The major difference with my yoga skirt was that it was a refashion. I wanted to make the best use of the fabric so I cut my skirt and yoga waist band from the very bottom, fullest part of the skirt. I was strategic so that I could use the existing hem and side seams. TIME SAVER!

Measuring the skirt length.

Cutting the skirt.

Cutting the waist band.

Ta-Da!

Contrast

Contrast: It does a photo good.

Free Store Finds

A few weekends ago my friends Heidi, April, and I had a garage sale and it was a HUGE success. However, like any garage sale we had a few things left over at the end. We decided to take our extra things to our local "Open Door Free Store." The Free Store is a ministry of a local church where people can literally donate anything and take anything else they want - completely FREE! Needless to say, when Heidi and I dropped off our extra garage sale things we found a few things we couldn't live without. I found a pink jersey knit dress and a vintage clutch. Stay tuned to see how crafty I can be with my finds!