Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Cheez-a-Doodly Night

Brie and spicy jelly cream cheese

Last night was the great Vegan Artisan cheese unveiling at the Vegan Omaha meet up. 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, Lindsey and & have been busy little bees fermenting, curing, blending and shaping various cheeses as featured in Veg News magazine. 

They put together a brie, chevre, buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil kabobs three cream cheeses and a sharp cheddar. 

The sharp cheddar had some firming issues so it became a cheese ball rolled in chopped pecans...and many people's favorite cheese of the night. 

We met at House of Loom and had sandwiches delivered by Block 16 (YUM). But, I think the cheese may have been the hit of the night. 

cheddar cheese ball and chevre

chevre, brie and fruit platter

I don't want to exaggerate and say that the Vegans fell on the cheese and devoured it....but....Lindsey and & have customer one and two locked in for the next batch. A vegetarian (those who eat cheese thank-you-very-much) said these cheeses were some of the best he's eaten. The brie won raves from two former brie fans. And those who went up to the cheese bar went back twice, thrice or embarrassingly uncountable times. The bowls and plates were literally scraped clean. Not licked, that would have been tacky, but scrapped indeed. The only thing left on the plates were two tiny bits of chevre which was hidden under an apple slice, a tiny smear of mozzarella and fruit. In a group of vegans who know that sometimes fruit is the only safe thing on the plate, to leave it behind makes a statement. 

Success and kudos. Deliciously good time had by all.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Oreo Bars - Plain, Peppermint and Vegan

These suckers are delish.

3 TBSP Earth Balance (room temp)
2 TBSP coconut oil (room temp)
3 TBSP vegan cream cheese
1 Cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup flour (I used whole grain)
1/4 Cup chocolate chips (Veg of course)
12 Crushed oreos, Jo Jo's or Newman Os (set a handful aside for covering the bars)
 For peppermint 1/3 Cup crushed vegan candy cane or peppermints (save a small amount for topping)

Preheat oven to 375 and grease an 8 x 11 or 7 x 11 pan.

Mix Earth Balance, coconut oil and cream cheese together. Add sugar and vanilla and stir well. Pour in flour and mix. Finally add the chocolate chips, oreo bits (save some for topping) and if going peppermint add that and mix together.

Press into pan and add oreo bits and mint chips as topping. Bake 12-14 minutes.

Cool. Cut into bars.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Just a Thought...

Life is an onion and one cries while peeling it.  

~French Proverb

Scraps and Snippets ~ Feeling Cheezy?

Buffalo Mozzarella

Sprout and soak grains to make your own rejuvelac

Sometimes it's a little scary to spend time with like-minded people. After all, folks who may mesh with us on one level may be polar opposites in others....

We've met a few fun people via Vegan Omaha, a group that gets together to do meet ups at local restaurants several times a year.

The Vegan Cheese Issue

Anyhoo, Sarah and Lindsey are some of the fun Vegans we've connected with via Vegan Omaha. And we've started hanging out a bit here and there. This is probably dangerous on a few levels. A few weeks ago & and Lindsey came up with an EPIC idea.

For an upcoming meet up, Lindsey and & decided to make several artisan Vegan cheeses from the October issue of Veg News.

Cashews and unflavored, unsweetened soy yogurt - Vegan cheese maker's friends

Sweet and savory cream cheese, brie, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, chevre

And I got to help. Mostly by making snarky comments, laughing at mishaps, tasting and taking a picture now and again. 

Oh and filling cheese crusted bowls with water so they didn't turn into cheese cement.


This cheese making thing is pretty crazy cool.

Mozzarella

We now know how to make rejuvelac and this is not for the weak-stomached in the crowd. My usual readers know all about "Mother" (Kombucha). Well. Let's just say rejuvelac might be queen mother because of her stench. Rejuvelac is the juice that forms after about two days of soaking sprouted grains. I believe it is the Vegan cheesemaker's whey. 

Not all Vegan cheeses have rejuvelac. I think only two did. The sharpest flavored two which, after one whiff, only makes sense. 

Rejuvelac (Let's say smells like cheese + old sweat socks)

Each cheese takes DAYS to make. Even the cream cheese (which is amazing). Why? There are hours or days of fermenting that takes place on the kitchen counter or within the dark, cool recesses of a closet or troll-cave-like-pantry. 

Brie (Next to last step)

Throwing the components together is easy, and each cheese really doesn't have a crazy list of ingredients. I think the cheddar and mozzarella were the most involved ingredient-wise. (We finally opened that miso and it's not as scary as I thought it'd be.) Each of the steps took 5 - 10 minutes but the prepping, soaking and fermenting makes this an epic project indeed.

Chevre (last stage before curing for 4 days)

I'll be sure to post comments, reviews and pictures of the plated cheeses. Suffice it to say we ordered the Vegan Artisan Cheese Cookbook after tasting these in step one and two. In spite of the work/wait etc. making our own cheeses just might have to be a regular to do on our list.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Happy Accident Caramel Apple Pecan Shortbread Bars

So I had a Christmas decorating party Sunday night and needed to take a finger food. I whipped through a few cookbooks and found a delicious sounding shortbread bar. A caramel toffee chocolate bar. Win. Win.

I'd give you a review of that recipe but I totally flubbed the caramel. And therefore the recipe.

The shortbread crust went well. And tastes great. 

Crust:
1 Cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1/3 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients well and press into a greased 8 x 11 inch pan. Bake for 12-15 Minutes. 

Let cool. Then prepare the caramel.

Caramel Topping: (Amended in a panic)

1 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup coconut oil
4 teaspoons non-dairy milk
3/4 Cup applesauce
3/4 Cup oatmeal
1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Mix brown sugar, coconut, oil and non-dairy milk in a saucepan. Stirring constantly bring to a boil. Boil 1 minutes and remove from heat. Stirring. Add applesauce, oatmeal and pecans and stir well. Pour this over the crust and refrigerate at least 20 minutes. 

Cake. 

Once I fixed the fail. 

My fail was letting the caramel go too long. The first inkling of fear kicked up a notch when the sugar separated from the coconut oil after I left it on the flame. I was attempting to lose the grainy sugar texture and then, the bad just got worse. The caramel disintegrated into sugar again. Yikes. So. & suggested I turn it into a crumble topping. Problem, apple limitations. But I did have applesauce so I dumped it in to the sugar aka what once almost looked like caramel, stirred and was pleased to see things come together. I added chopped pecans and oatmeal and it was all good. Very good. Happy Fail.

Scribbles and Scrambles Makes A Black Friday

Posting from the coffee shop. Trying to any way. Black Friday = busy. I've been making coffees for customers. The fancy and intimidating kind: ). Coffees not customers. Gave out my first treat to Bella the Golden Retriever. A satisfied customer. Hope your Thanksgiving was the best. Happy shopping or not. Cheers.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Maple Cranberry Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes ~ Vegan Recipe

Maple Cranberry Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients based on four servings.

2 Large Sweet Potatoes baked at 350 until tender. Approx 45 minutes.

(This could easily work in a casserole dish as well, just discard the potato skins and grease the pan.) 

Scrape the cooled sweet potato innards into a bowl. 

Add the following: 

1/2 (small) can of mandarin oranges (minus the juice) crushed or half of an orange, pulp and juice only.
2 TBSP maple syrup
1/2 Cup dried cranberries. 

Mix well. 

Place mixture back into potato shells or in a greased casserole dish. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

Remove from oven. 

Top with: Sugared Cranberry Pecan Topping

3/4 Cup pecans
1/4 Cup dried cranberries
1 and 1/2 TBSP sugar 

Heat pecans in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir and watch/smell. When they become fragrant after a minute or two, add sugar and cranberries and stir until sugar begins to liquify. Stir until coated. Place in a bowl until ready to top the sweet potatoes.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Thanksgiving "Meat"Balls with Mushroom Sage Gravy

Thanksgiving "Meat"balls
1 baked potato, diced
1/2 Cup dried cranberries
1 tsp sage
2 Cups finely chopped mushrooms
1/2 Cup finely diced pecans
1 Cup garbanzo beans crushed
1 Cup oatmeal 
1 Clove garlic finely diced
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt (if using low sodium broth)
2 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 Cups Vegetable broth
2 Cup gluten flour

Combine all ingredients except gluten flour in a large bowl until mixture combined. Add gluten flour and mush together until gluten strands form. 2-3 minutes. Roll into small (less than golf ball sized) balls. Place in a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. Turn "meat" balls over. and bake an additional 30 minutes.

To serve pour gravy over "meat"balls. 

Mushroom Sage Gravy

1 TBSP Earth Balance
2 Cups finely chopped mushrooms
2 Clove finely chopped garlic
1/4 Cup flour
4 Cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt (I used low sodium vegetable broth)

2 teaspoons ground sage

Melt Earth Balance and saute garlic. Add mushrooms and saute until tender. Add flour and stir until vegetables are coated. Add vegetable broth, salt and sage and stir and simmer until it thickens.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Bubble, Brew, Boil and Trouble

One day. No latte art for me, yet.

I've secretly wanted to be a barista forever. Why? I suppose because I love me a good cup of coffee. Or because a coffee shop SCREAMS pampering, relaxation and melting away of tension. Right? 

On thinking this thru...I LOVE a good pedicure, too. The massaging chair, the foot soak, the forced relaxation....but I've never wanted to become a pedicurist...is that a word? Today, for that non-sentence it is. 

Anyhoo. A few months ago (after the amazing trip to Seattle/Portland/Olympia coffee houses) & stepped up into managing the local coffee shop she works at. Shortly after this move she wondered if I might not like to be trained so I could be a sub, a fill-in barista and a very part-time regular. Uh YEAH, baby. I said. 

Can I tell you how scary fun it is? For starters, this little gig is brain taxing. Three or four milk or non-milk options, cup sizes, 20 or so different syrups and each of these is an important part of a good cup of coffee or tea or frappe. 

And danger, Will Robinson, the water and milk get real hot. REAL hot. And lest you all forget my inability to walk and chew gum, spills on the treated urban cool concrete floor can scream disaster when a barista foot meets spill. Just sayin. 

All the different combos of drinks have a special key on the cash register, too. And if there are extras, there's a key for that. And then the drive thru intercom begins to sqwack while I'm dealing with finding the right key on the register and the right syrup to make a gingerbread spice latte with an extra shot, whip and a squirt of caramel. 

So working at a coffee shop isn't quite as relaxing as hanging in one. 

However, it's fun. I must say I love the challenge and maybe even the stress. It's a whole lot different than the stress in the medical world, that's for sure.

And the things I'm learning. And the people I'm meeting. And the coffee I get to inhale for an hour or two a few days a week. Pretty fun. 

Which would be exactly the reason I don't have a recipe today. I worked an hour before my real job (and made $7.00 in tips....hey, better than a poke in the eye, I say) and then took a shift for a co-worker after my real job. The best part was after the shop was closed, a man walked up to the drive thru window and knocked. He'd come hoping to catch us and get three quarts of ice cream. (You don't turn away a sale like that, ya know.) (And in case I didn't mention it, the shop makes it's own ice cream. & is working  on making non-dairy versions...so far they haven't been stellar but it's getting closer.) So a regular knocking on the window after closing and a pleasant conversation and sale would be one of the best parts of local business in Iowa. That and the smell of coffee, the whoosh of the machines and the whole "Norm!" feel of a local coffee house. 

Not working today. Recipe tomorrow. :  )

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Weekend Eats ~

Another busy weekend. We had an out-of-town drive-by visit from friends. One of &'s best friends, her husband and new baby. :  ). The 15 hour visit was quick but included food. Neither of them is Vegan and baby is still on the breast so feeding them caused a little concern....

& made sweet potato chili. I put together Monster Cookie Bars. (this recipe in bar form baked in a 9 x 13 for approx 23 Minutes and with the addition of Vegan candy coated chocolates.)

I also found a recipe for non-Vegan Oreo cookie truffles that are baked. Trouble is, I can't find the link to give credit. However, I did change ingredients and turn it into bars and it's almost printable. A tweak and trial and I'll get it posted. I used coconut oil for butter and they were a bit too coconutty for my taste. I'll tweak again and decrease the fat a bit as well.  Pretty sure my Thanksgiving peeps will be guinea pigs.


And & found this recipe for baked French Toast. She decreased the Vegan butter by 1/3 - 1 stick instead of 3. There was a decrease in sugar, too, and we sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on top and baked it in two smaller pans so each piece was crunchy on top.  Everything else the same. Delish. Even thought the picture of the pre baked batch looks a lot like chicken. UGH.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Just Some Stuff...That's all.

& and I made cakes for an omnivore anniversary/engagement  party. Nice to see omnivores falling upon Vegan cakes, I tell ya. 

Thanks Matt and Rachel for letting us experiment on your friends and family. Ha. Ha. 

Here's my killer raspberry fudge cake. A conglomeration of several recipes. I'll post it some day soon. 

And I haven't given a bunny update lately. Emma and Fannie were recently in a local high school play. Here's a picture for your enjoyment. Quite the adventure. Apparently, they were well-behaved though their time on the stage was pretty limited. They are naturals.  Emma is featured, Fannie is sideways in front with one ear up, one down.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Sinai Chop Salad

Sinai Chop Salad

Ingredients are cut into bite sized pieces so every bite has a little of everything.

One can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) (If you have dried around, make your own. A can = about 1 and 2/3 cup cooked beans.)

Three heads of Romaine lettuce washed and chopped

Two cucumbers. Remove most of the skin but leave just a bit for color and chop into bite sized pieces.

Four small dill pickles (chopped)

Purple onion ½ to a whole onion, depending on size and your preference (small chopped)

Four to six tomatoes (chopped)

Dressing: (Make this at least the day before so all the flavors marry)

2 TBSP tahini (Sesame seed paste with a very distinct flavor should be in internal section of the store.) (If this scares you, or you don't want a jar of tahini in your fridge you can use hummus)

4 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar (may need more or some water to get to consistency you'd like)

1 teaspoons oregano (dried) or equivalent in fresh

1 teaspoon dill (dried) or equivalent in fresh

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt.

Toss all the salad ingredients into a big bowl.

Drizzle dressing over salad. Serve with pitas. Feel free to toss chunked falafels into the mix, too.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Banana Bread French Toast ~ Vegan

Warning. This is involved. First you have to make the banana bread, then the other parts and pieces. It is delicious. So much so that I forgot to take pictures of my plate. One person who ate it decided it was too fusty and she wouldn't go to all the work. I'll hang onto the recipe because every once in awhile you just want a good brunch or breakfast recipe. The banana bread can be made ahead of time, sliced and frozen. The french toast mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated. The syrup as well. (However, you'll want to bring it back to room temperature or reheat it as the coconut oil will firm up in the fridge.) The coconut whip is great made two or three days before you need it as it thickens and gets even creamier as it ages.
This recipe was inspired, veganized and tweaked from one I found here. The French Toast recipe is one I use over and over tweaked slightly from here. 
 
French Toast Banana Bread

Banana Bread

4 Cups flour
1 Cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 ripe bananas
1/2 Cup non dairy milk
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1 1/2 Cup applesauce
4 teaspoons vanilla
Combine non dairy milk and flax and let gel in a small bowl. Mix coconut oil, sugar, bananas and applesauce together. Add vanilla and stir. Add spices, salt, soda and baking powder and mix well. Stir in flax/milk mixture until all incorporated. Add flour and oatmeal until mixed.

Grease two loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean or almost clean.

When the bread cools cut into approximately 1/2 inch slices.

Prepare French Toast Mixture.

2 Cups non-dairy milk
1 TBSP maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 Cup of flour

Mix well.

Dip the slices of banana bread into mixture. Cook on greased griddle or pan until golden on each side. Set in warm oven to keep until ready to serve.

Serve with:

Peanut Butter Syrup

1 Cup maple syrup
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Coconut Whipped Cream

1 Can full fat coconut milk (chilled for several days to separate cream from water. Scoop out thick white cream into a bowl. Discard or use water for smoothies, Thai recipes, etc.
Whip coconut cream until fluffy.
Add 1 TBSP maple syrup
1/4 Cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip all ingredients together until fluffy and whipped. Return to refrigerator until ready to serve. This will thicken as it chills so feel free to make it a day or two ahead.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Banana-Cranberry Bread. Vegan, of course.

 I've made this recipe twice and I'm calling it a keeper. Tonight I added dried cranberries and walnuts to one loaf, chocolate chips and walnuts to the other. Both are tasty.

I love that the ingredients include whole grain, bananas, applesauce and flax.  
 
Banana Cranberry Bread

4 Cups flour
1 Cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 ripe bananas
1/2 Cup non dairy milk
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1 1/2 Cup applesauce
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 Cups crushed walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 Cups dried cranberries or chocolate chips
 
 Combine non dairy milk and flax and let gel in a small bowl. Mix coconut oil, sugar, bananas and applesauce together. Add vanilla and stir. Add spices, salt, soda and baking powder and mix well. Stir in flax/milk mixture until all incorporated. Add flour and oatmeal until mixed. Toss in nuts and cranberries or chocolate chips.

Grease two loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean or almost clean.

Next time I'm going to add white chocolate chips and some orange zest with the cranberry version. I'm thinking it will be delicious. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Green Rice

Green Rice 

Back a long, tong time ago. Super long, like when I first got married, we visited my grandparents and I returned home with lots of recipes I copied from her file. 

Grandma's recipes are the real deal full of all sorts of dairy. And this is a dish I made often. 

It's a casserole that is full of cheese and eggs and flavor. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I want this casserole real bad. 

We have three butternut squash waiting for inspiration. I was successful with a butternut mac and cheese and thought I'd take it another step. Spinach would be my first choice, but we had chard that needed to be eaten up. 

4-6 Cups cooked brown rice (I used 4 but I will use more next time.)
1 Cup cashews
1 Clove garlic
1 Small onion diced
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2/3 Cup vegetable broth
2 Cups prepared butternut squash
1 teaspoon salt
4 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 Cups chopped chard (uncooked) 

Put cashews, broth, mustard, diced onion, lemon juice garlic in food processor and let sit while you prepare the rice. 

Grease a 9 x 13 pan and preheat oven to 350.

Whir cashew mixture. Add butternut squash and salt and whir. Combine rice, chard and sauce together until well mixed. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Links to Help Agencies for Hurrican Sandy Relief Donations...

Do you want to help with Hurricane Sandy relief? 

The following blogger folks I frequent have different ideas/places to do just that. 

Spabettie

Chocolate Covered Katie

Swagbucks member? Donate points that translate to dollars here.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Recipes Under Construction Kinda

Random recipes tried, tasty and not photographed. 

Vegan Banana Bread French Toast with Peanut Butter Maple Syrup

Coming soon. 



Butternut Squash Baked Macaroni and No Cheese

2 Cups cooked butternut squash
1/2  onion
3/4 Cup vegetable juice
4 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
 1/2 teaspoon salt

 
4 Cups cooked pasta.

Combine all but pasta in food processor and process until smooth. 

Grease casserole pan. Mix pasta in with squash mix. Put in casserole, cover with Vegan Parmesan recipe below and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Vegan Parmesan 

3 TBSP almonds
4 TBSP nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt


Rosemary Two Potato Soup

7 Medium Potatoes
1 Medium Sweet Potato
1 Small onion
6 Cups vegetable broth
1 TBSP Earth Balance
1 tsp finely chopped/ground dried rosemary
1 tsp ground smoked salt (adjust if using salty veggie broth)

Chop potatoes and onions small dice. Saute in Vegan margarine until browned. Combine with vegetable broth, rosemary and salt and simmer until potatoes and onions are tender.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Hump-A-Lump-A-Thoughts...

Election over. 

Nuff said. 

We dropped our land line last year and from what I hear from friends and family members who still have one, every communication over the past several weeks was political. Sorry I missed all that. 

In case you are all wondering why I've been silent on the Hurricane Sandy disaster, I am not heartless, my prayers include those who lost so much. Many bloggers and help agencies are collecting for the relief. Americans can be very self-absorbed but it warms my heart to see the way most people respond to tragedy. When flood waters threatened my home town last year folks from so many places rushed forward to fill sand bags. But, as you may have discovered, politics and commentary are not my general focus and so many others cover those so well. 

My big chunky piece of furniture that I redid needs one more tweak. Pictures will be posted when it's donza. And hopefully it will be donza. Crafting is not my forte, necessarily, either. 

And I'm a slug in the food department currently. I have not written down any recipes or taken any pictures for several days. Sigh. I think I could get used to it. 

However. I do have a few recipes I'm working on putting together. So there should be something coming soon. 

In the meantime I'll just chat a bit. 

Nuff said.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Ponderous Thoughts...

Things to ponder:

1) I had an ad on my page yesterday that I can't say I would support. But I have no control of the ads that are posted by the affiliate I'm associated with. Everything one reads on the internet is not necessarily the whole sum of reality. My ad had been replaced later in the day, and it certainly didn't tweak my reality. Just sayin. 

2) Pinterest can be a great thing. Or a really, really, really good way to use up stuff that lacks purpose or is destined for a landfill. It can also be a time-waster. In more ways than one. This letter K is an example. One would think wrapping twine around a cardboard letter would be simple and quick. Well. Neither. Hot glue = pain. Tacky glue = wicked mess. The final product is cute and cheap. But people. Trust me...any letter of the alphabet (expect maybe l, I know for a fact that G and E are two hour projects, too) will take two hours and make a crazy mess of your work station or hands. 

 3) I'm a big fan of not taking press completely seriously. Some of what we believe and embrace is clever marketing or agenda. Whether or not you agree with the information in this little infographic, it's worth considering.




Provided by: http://www.learnstuff.com/

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Weekend Project .... finally done

So I started a project two weekends ago. Or was it three? And I've had craft paraphernalia hanging out in all the nooks and crannies of my life for that long. The fact that most of my projects were big made for all the more fun and games, and the patient sighs from the husband. 

I got several pieces of furniture from a friend's mom a few years ago. Neat pieces, with potential and made like they used to make them back in the day. Quality and all that. But they were ugly. No way around it. One piece has actually lived in the shed for a long time. I just found it again. Yay. Hoarding has never paid off so well.

A friend introduced me to MacKenzie - Childs and mentioned that one of my ugly pieces definitely had potential for a makeover. And then there is the whole Pinterest suggestion of decoupaging fabric to wood pieces. 

So I bought clearance knobs at Hobby Lobby, crazy paint colors that incorporate my kitchen personality, and fabric.

I cut out the fabric and left a little extra. Once the glue/decoupage dried I used an exacto knife to slice off the excess. I put on two coats of decoupage and let it dry very well and covered it with a matte paint-on varnish. When and if I change my mind down the road I think I can just rip it right off, but it will stay put til I decide to go there.

The paint and knobs finished the pieces off. The wall cabinet is a flaky mess but I love the tri-color chipped feel. So I brushed the chips off and covered the whole thing in the matte varnish. I still have the looks without the flaking lead (probably) paint chips in the house. 

I mentioned craft supplies hanging everywhere...well...the project was finished about three hours before my family came over for dinner. Win. Win. Win. 

The chalkboard is a cruddy, falling apart table that should have been thrown away. My husband totally shook his head in wonder at my idea. I could almost see the thought bubble. "Why?! WHY?!?" forming over his head. I sanded the table top down, put on two coats of painted-on chalkboard paint. Let it cure, painted big poppies on it, then seasoned the board with chalk and while doing so discovered I loved the chalk dimension on the poppies. Rob sawed the legs off and we hung it. The printing is atrocious and I forgot to redo it before the party. But, hey. It is what it is. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Post MoFo

Whew. The last month has been a tasty bit of work. And I think I'm taking the rest of the week off. If you don't hassle me about it, I'll build you a cake or soneting. 

I'll be back Monday. And I think I'll be nibbling on veggies til I see you again.