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Air Dry Leaf Bowls

 

• Air Dry Clay
• Leaves – we used the leaves from a hydrangea plant. Use hydrangea leaves or preferably one similar as a maple leaf does not fold up as nicely to form a dish
  • Note: If you would like to make a leaf bowl instead, a maple leaf would work perfectly for this
• Acrylic paint – we used rose gold, gold and bronze
• Sealer – mod podge gloss
• Knife

First gather your leaves. We used  maple  leaves . Please  (feel free to try different leaf shapes as it is easy to roll out and start over if you do not like the way it looks).

2. Cut out a piece of your air dry clay. Roll it out and then stamp your leaf onto it. Press firmly and make sure to press on all parts of the leaf to get a complete imprint.

Take off your leaf and cut around the outline of the leaf with a knife .

Gently start to roll up sections of your clay. There is no specific pattern required, just leave a bit of space in between the rolls. Leave the tip of the leaf intact. If any portions of the clay are not smooth, dip a sponge in a bit of water and use it to smooth out portions of the clay.

Note: If you’d like to make a leaf bowl instead, place your leaf inside a small bowl to shape the clay into a bowl shape

Allow the clay to air dry and harden. Preferably on a cookie drying rack so that the bottom gets exposed to air as well. After 24 hours, check if the top of the clay is hardened. If it is, flip it over to allow the bottom to air dry. If not, let it dry for another 24 hours and then flip it the next day if needed. Paint and seal with Midge podge. 

Sunflower Art Journal

It's fun with paint

This week's art journal is a watercolor of a sunflower 

All about Art Journaling : 

Art journaling does not have to be expensive or complicated. It’s one of the most forgiving ways to make art because in an art journal, everything you make is safely contained within your own personal book. You may choose to never share any of your pages with anyone (or everyone!) so it’s a space where you can let loose and explore with colors, shapes, lines, and your words all at once. You may choose to leave your journals more free-form and expressive, or you may want to have more of a “finished” art product on each page.

Supplies:

• unlined journal
• Paint
• pencil
• extra: tissue paper, book pages, found objects 

Inspired from a visit to the Sunflower Festival in June in North Louisiana. 

Sunflowers have famously been depicted by impressionist and post-impressionist artists Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. While these two giants in the art world were European, the flower has a distinctly American origin.

The sunflower was introduced to Europe by the Spanish around 1500. Before that, sunflowers were considered an important food crop and may have been one of the first plants domesticated in the Americas.

 

Beef Enchilada Lasagna Casserole

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 medium Onion , chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 can stewed tomato, Not drained
• 1 can enchiladas sauce 
• 1 tsp dried Cumin
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 C Cottage cheese
• 3 C Shredded Mexican Cheese
• 1 C Cheddar Cheese
• 8 Flour tortillas 

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, enchilada sauce and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine egg and cottage cheese; set aside. Spread a third of the meat sauce into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the tortillas, cottage cheese mixture, cheese blend and a third of the meat sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

At Home with Dot

Welcome to my home and Dot is introducing us to our neighborhood chickens.....it's National Farm Animal week here.  .

You don't have to live on a farm to raise chickens . Your backyard will do ...

Please check your local zoning laws before starting your project...

My neighbor's chicken coop.....Flo and the girls 

What I'm making with my eggs

Tuesday 4

 

What Are You Going to Do?

Welcome to Tuesday 4 continued in the memory of Toni Taddeo, its original author

Here are a few questions for you to consider.

1.   What things do you enjoy doing when you have time on your hands?

Reading, crafts and trying new recipes.

2.   Last minute company coming tonight for dinner!   What do you cook?

Depends whats in the freezer. But probly Spaghetti. 

3.   You've got a day to do anything and the weather is perfect outside, how are you going to spend the day?

While Cool Im in the yard. When it gets hot Im lunching and Thrift shopping. 

4.   It's morning and you are asked out for breakfast.  What are you ordering?

My favorite French toast and bacon. 

Fall Stovetop Potpourri:

 

• 1/2 lemon sliced thin
• ▢1/2 an apple sliced
• ▢4 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢2 tbsp whole cloves
• ▢1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢water

• Put all of the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan and top up with water.
• Simmer on the lowest setting and enjoy!

Tips 

• Stovetop: Let this mixture simmer on the back burner of your stove on the LOWEST setting, for a couple of hours. But make sure to WATCH IT. You may need to top it off with water.
• Slow Cooker: Feel free to let this mixture simmer in a slow cooker on low. Again, make sure to WATCH the water level.
• Water Level: When the water level gets low, just top it up with fresh water.
• Spices: I like to use cinnamon sticks and cloves, but you can also add a pinch of nutmeg and ginger! A sprig of rosemary is nice too! See my printable recipe sheet below for more simmer pot recipe ideas.