0 T-Shirt Up-cycle

Saturday, September 8, 2012
I needed a new gym shirt but I didn't want to go to the store. Honestly, I hate shopping. Don't get me wrong I like getting new clothes as much as the next girl, I just seriously detest the process of shopping, the trying things on and what-not. Nothing ever looks like you expect it to off the rack, or at least not like I expect it to. So, when I decided I needed a new gym shirt I also took note of the abundance of oversize T-shirts I keep as pajamas. This is what I ended up with:
And here is how it started (this is a large men's t-shirt):
All you need are a pair of scissors and a bobby pin, no sewing skills required. 
Start by cutting off the bottom seam
Stretch it out so the edges roll up a little
Cut off the sleeves
And the neck..
Flip it over and on the back cut it like you're making a V-neck
Cut the back like you see here... ^^^
Remember cutting the bottom seam? Cut the stitching off of it. 
Like this..
Take the piece withOUT stitching and stretch it out
Gather the back of the shirt in your hand
Separate the two straps in your fingers like this
Tuck one end of the non stitched, stretched portion of the seam under your thumb, and start wrapping from the bottom up towards your hand. 
When you get to the place where the straps separate, start wrapping in a herringbone pattern
Like this..
 
Once you have gone up as far as you'd like (a couple inches are plenty), get a bobby pin
Slip the bobby pin onto the tail end of the stringy piece (you can cut some of the excess, there will be plenty, just make sure you leave yourself 5in or so)
Stick the bobby pin under the wrapped part
Pull it through and cut off the extra, you can put it through all the way to the bottom if it makes you feel better but this is far enough, I promise. 
And there you have it, a brand new gym shirt without going to the store. I regularly wear a size small in t-shirts, this shirt was a large, I also did this to a medium shirt, that worked out a little better. If you have the option, choose a shirt one size larger than your actual shirt size. 
Again here's the back.. 

Happy Crafting =]
Enjoy =]

0 Crayon Rain

Monday, September 3, 2012
Look what I made! =]
This is now hanging by my front door. Its pretty neat, I like it and it was easy enough to make. 
Here's what you need:
Okay you'll need to get a silhouette onto a canvas, I used sharpie markers, I did take a bunch of pictures of this whole process but my computer decided to be dumb and it crashed and I lost everything that wasn't backed up online. You can get a glue gun for like $3 at Walmart, painters tape is probably laying around in your garage or laundry room somewhere and I pulled various blue crayons from my stock pile. 
Tape off your silhouette and put a plastic baggie under your canvas, decide how much drip you want and angle your canvas accordingly. 
Shove the crayons into the glue gun as though they're glue sticks, you'll probably have to push them through, they don't fit exactly..
Alternate blues to get a god variety of color
Carefully peel off the tape..
And there you have it =]


**I will probably edit this later, I have pictures on my camera to add but it is currently "exhausted" and I don't have my charger with me. 

0 Beach Ice Cream

Friday, July 13, 2012
I made beach ice cream.. yeah, BEACH ice cream. I am a Florida girl to the core, I haven't been there in years but I'm pretty sure my very soul is made up of salt water and sand. Summertime in Kentucky just isn't quite doing it for me. Sure there's sunshine(the love of my life) and its hot out(really REALLY hot out- we just went through a heat wave), but it isn't enough. I have a friend who has a lot of food allergies, when I heard she couldn't eat ice cream I was utterly horrified. Soon after I stumbled across a website detailing how to make ice cream with one ingredient.. one ingredient? Yes, one ingredient. This magical item: bananas. So I got my friend on instant messenger as soon as I found this to ask if she was also allergic to bananas.. she isn't. I then directed her to the webpage I had found and demanded that she try it and let me know how it goes (she lives very very far away, otherwise I would've demanded that she be my guinea pig). More recently I made the decision to eat in a more health conscious manner(those of you who are familiar with my blog know what a big deal this is) and I now find myself having fierce urges to binge eat on anything with more than 13g of sugar per serving(this is how desperate I am). I actually caught myself at my parents' house one day with a tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other and decided right then and there that I needed to find a better alternative to deprivation, and I remembered the banana ice cream. So here is my take on banana ice cream, my beach ice cream:
Start with bananas.. you will want the more ripe ones, I made it once with less ripe ones because that's how I like to eat bananas but trust me after they're frozen they will have a distinctly green taste to them if they're under-ripe. 
This is what I added to mine to make the beach flavor =) I wish I would've had some pineapple on hand but I didn't.
You could also (and I have and it is good) add peanut butter.
Start by peeling and slicing your banana(s)
Freeze them... 
Blender time, if you don't have a blender, a food processor might work, otherwise you're pretty much out of luck. 
The blending process takes time.. like lots more than you are probably prepared to contribute.. I got somewhat frustrated the first time I made it because you have to keep smushing the banana mush around and it seems like it isn't doing anything
Until suddenly it does =) this is a victorious moment.
Once your banana gunk looks like a milkshake you can add whatever flavors you want.

Again, I am using these for my beach ice cream but you could just do peanut butter or make up your own, experimental ice cream is fun too 
You can eat it now or re-freeze it depending on the texture you want, this gooey stuff is kind of like soft-serve, once it is re-frozen it takes on a more ice cream type texture. To re-freeze I'm using my tiny jars (I love these things). 
These are different colors because the one on the right has peanut butter in it (I made this a couple days ago too) and the one on the left is the new stuff (and isn't yet re-frozen)

**Note** if I'm going to eat the re-frozen ice cream I like to let it sit out some before I eat it, it gets pretty hard and I like it a little softer. 

0 Apple Crisp

Monday, February 6, 2012
This was REALLY good =]
I liked this a lot and probably most of all because I didn't use a recipe. I will share it with you..
This is basically how it turned out (this is actually before it went into the oven). I'm sorry I didn't get a proper "after" picture but I actually took this over to a friend's house and baked it in her oven. 
Here is what you will need out of your pantry.. 
Of course you will also need some of these =]
I used a potato peeler on the apples
Then slice them up
Cut them to size and mix them all together (I used different kinds of apples, I like the variety in flavor and textures)
Dump the apples into the pan and spread them out fairly evenly. Mix equal parts of brown and white sugar in a separate bowl, add another part flour, throw in a little nutmeg and cinnamon to your liking, mix it really good then pour it evenly over the apples. Cut up some chunks of butter and scatter them over the top. 
Oh, I almost forgot, before you put in the apples, rub some butter in the bottom of your pan
Add  some graham crackers to the top if you want, then bake for 30-40mins @350F. When it's done you can add more graham crackers, I did, or not, either way it was delicious. 

This was a big hit at game night but I have to say I think my friends are getting a little spoiled, they no longer offer suggestions when I ask what I should bring to our gatherings they simply tell me anything I make will be perfectly fine. Which is great to hear don't get me wrong, but I'd like some ideas here and there... 

Happy Baking 
Enjoy =]