Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Amelia Earhart Aviator Hat

http://pinterest.com/offsite/?token=230-244&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcristophine.deviantart.com%2Fart%2FAviator-Cap-Tutorial-84150949
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024879855/

My daughters second grade class is doing biographies on historical characters. They had to pick  a few people (then the teacher made the final choice). The banana go her second choice, Amelia Earhart.
After asking around we found a friend who had a leather jacket to borrow for the report. We had a fake red scarf I made when my husband and I were supposed to be Eric and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She will wear her sisters brown pants and black boots.  We needed a hat. After pintresting it (my new word after "google it" ) We found an aviator hat pattern.
We went to JoAnns and used two  40 % off coupons and got 1/4 yard brown (that kind of fuzzy) fabric and brown binding for $2.50!! such a steal.

Heres what we did:

We went to the original posters page, printed the pattern. I made my own pieces larger (you could also try to just blow the picture up a little in paint.
Then I measured the fabric around my daughters head (because making a pattern seemed silly). I made a SMALL slit in the fabric to mark the length. For width I used the binding package.

I pinned the triangle pieces together and sewed them closed. When I was finished I double checked that it fit her still. Then I pinned the band and ear muffs to the hat

and sewed it together also.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE AIRPLANE

Monday, April 29, 2013

Sending Birthday Wishes

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024871004/
http://beinginspired-blog.blogspot.ie/2012/09/day-19-balloon-parcels.html


So my nieces birthday is on Friday and she is turning 13. We wanted to do something for her because she will officially be a teenager. We went out and got her a few silly things : cotton candy, 13 mini kit kats, a cupcake scented candle. Then we got her  of all hilarious things, a pack of Dr. Who socks she was looking for and a dress.
We still had a lot of space left over and so to fill it without over spending. That's when I remembered this pin. I know they had the whole box filled, but we still used the idea. we filled up 4 balloons with a total of $13 dollars and confetti in them.  Then blew them up.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Pita bread

http://www.beantownbaker.com/2010/07/pita-bread.html
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024624211/


3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar or honey
1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 tsp yeast)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature
2 Tbsp olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

Directions

Fun note: I took all these photos with my phone..

The original blogger of this made it a HUGE "how to" There really was not much to it. Simply combine yeast to warm water (add a sprinkle of sugar to activate it) Add other ingredients to a bowl or mixer (if bowl use wooden spoon).  I always let my dough be a little sticky because I've noticed the outcome is softer.
 When they are combines nicely shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl (make sure dough is fully covered in oil) Let it rise until doubled in size. Punch dough down and divide into 8 balls. Let set again for 20 minutes. 
 
About 5 minutes left on the clock start preheating the oven to 400. Place either a baking stone or an upside down cookie sheet in the oven with everything.


On LIGHTLY floured surface  roll the pita out and place in oven when its ready. It cooks in about 5 minutes unless you want them crispy. Then add more time.


Verdict: They are great as pita pockets. However, not so much as a taco shell (unless thinned out some more!)  It was so simple to make. Even my 8 year old liked them.




Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Ringtone from itunes for iphone 5


http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024888427/
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/10/26/ios-5-how-to-create-custom-ringtones-and-alerts-for-the-iphone/

I did it!   For reasons a mile long I kept a simple pay as you go phone and only used it in an emergency. In the end it really did kill my social life. I never text or called people if I was out unless someones leg was chopped off. So this weekend I finally jumped on the society train after 3 1/2 years I got a new phone. Not just any phone. A iphone.

I admit that after  only 3 days of fiddling with it, I'm impressed. I always have been with Apple, but man are they pricey! I saw it as an investment however, because my husband needs to know iOS for work and lucky me I got to be the next one who received the nice new toy :)

First thing I wanted to do was learn to make a new ringtone. I almost bought one, but just knew there was a way around it. Sure enough itunes makes it extremely easy!

STEP ONE:
Pick your song. play it and find the part you want to be your ringtone starts and ends (no more than 30 seconds)

STEP TWO
RIGHT click it, go to "get info" the little screen will come up

STEP THREE
Chose "options" in that tab there will be a part that says "start time" and "stop time"  remember step one? write those numbers in those spots and then click OK

STEP FOUR
Right click the song again and hit  "create ACC version" this will make a new copy of the song

Step FIVE
take the new file and drag it to your desk top. It should say the song nam

**IMPORTANT** If you haven't already you need to go to windows and control panel. Select folder options, then view Uncheck the "hide extensions file"

STEP FIVE and a half:
".m4a " change the "a" to an "r"  it will prompt you about changing the name, click OK

STEP SIX
Drag that file back into your itunes. It will be under "tones" when you go to the tab that shows you what is on your phone

STEP SEVEN:
Add the tone to your phone and sync

DONE!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Betty's Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookie

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/extraordinary-chocolate-chip-cookies/90fd6b2b-3d80-4755-8a85-538c40f9813d?nicam4=SocialMedia&nichn4=Pinterest&niseg4=BettyCrocker&nicreatID4=Post
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915024804272/


 Well, there is a lot ot catch up on over here! We were gone all of Spring Break visiting family, and then it was back to school. My girls and I wanted to bake something. We were going to make Krispie Kreme donuts, but I decided I didn't want anything deep fried after all the junk I ate. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but even a little when you're use to none can make your stomach feel terrible.

Anyway, we decided on cookies. There were a few. We found the pudding mix cookie, but didn't have vanilla pudding. We saw this cookie and liked it. After going to Betty's page we saw there were more. The only difference between all the cookies on her page were more or less butter and sugar. So we stuck with this one that had the least of everything.

What you need:

 1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4  cups granulated sugar
1 1/4  cups packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (24 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (4 cups)



In large bowl, combine  butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until light and fluffy.  Next, stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips.
 
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.
 
3 Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Verdict: Sorry, Betty. There is nothing "extraordinary" about these cookies. I've made a ton of cookies on this blog, and by far the best cookies are Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies.
However, the next day: they are pretty good. They are chewy (which I like) and have more flavor.
 
But be sure to come back, I still have to try pudding cookies!