Zebra Tray

I was feeling very crafty one day, my hands were just itching to make something. Since crafting is kind of expensive, I decided to use some resources I already had. I had some black spray paint leftover from a different project and done a few months ago and a pretty little tray that I keep on our automan to hold remotes, the Ensign magazine, etc. I purchased the little tray at Ross a few months ago. It has been serving it's purpose faithfully, helping us to keep track of our remotes and hold empty cereal bowls and cups until they are put in the dishwasher. I have really liked the tray except for one thing, it was all black except for the bottom which was zebra striped. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against zebras (in fact, I like them very much) but I didn't feel the need to have something zebra striped in my family room. So, I figured, spray paint it black! Heck yes!
Heck no.
I spray painted it outside and left it out to dry. When I thought it was dry I brought it back inside. I placed it in it's regular place and set the remotes and magazine on it. It looked GREAT. The only problem was when I went to take a remote and the magazine off of it. Some of the black paint may have peeled off onto the remote and half of the back cover of the magazine may or may not have stayed on the tray.
I thought it might just need a little extra time to dry, so I gave it PLENTY of time. The problem is, it is still extremely sticky and things don't hesitate to stick to it.

See the flower-type thing in the back? That's where the spray paint was used originally.

See that white mark? The big one. That's a piece of the back cover of the magazine.

It is currently in our back room until I figure out something to do with it. (I'm thinking maybe some modge podge will help?) So, now instead of our ex-zebra tray holding our remotes and magazine on the automan, it is the checkerboard my husband made in his 9th grade shop class.

The 9th grade project

A "Sticky" Situation

My husband and I were out of syrup. So, being the crafty/creative/clever lady I am, I made some syrup using water, sugar, and maple flavoring. The "situation" became "sticky" when I realized that we did not own a plastic funnel. I tried not to panic, but here sat 2 1/4 cups of "sticky" syrup in my pot with an empty plastic syrup bottle with a narrow neck. I attempted to pour the "sticky" syrup from the pot to the bottle, but to no avail.... if I did that, I would get "sticky" and so would my counter, the bottle, and outside surface of the pot! Can we say "sticky" situation? "Sticky" situation!
I got some wax paper.

This wax paper is Hy*Top brand Add caption

I cut a hole in it that was just smaller than the bottle opening. 

I stood behind so you could see the size of the hole

I then put the wax paper on top of the bottle opening. Conveniently enough, it was "sticky"!

Syrup bottle (almost empty)

I am not going to lie and say it went perfectly. You need to find a good speed rate to pour the syrup. If it is too fast, then the syrup will gather in one area of the wax paper, causing that part of the wax paper to fall and the syrup to spill on to the counter. This may or may not have happened to me. 

Add caption

After about 7 minutes, our syrup bottle was full! After about 17 minutes, our counter was un-sticky!

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A "Sticky" Situation Finished!

Basically, when working with syrup, it's going to be a "sticky" situation but thanks to my wax paper, it was an enjoyable one! Thanks wax paper! Thanks Hy*Top! Thanks maple syrup flavoring! Thanks readers for your support! 

Fair Warning to Be Careful With Recipe Searches

Our mom makes this absolutely delectable dessert called Candy Bar Cake. Needing a dessert for a gathering last night I googled "Candy Bar Cake recipe." None of the images that came up resembled what I was looking for, so I continued to allrecipes to do an ingredient search. I plugged in all the ingredients I could remember, devils food cake mix, sweetened condensed milk, toffee bars, caramel. And I was appalled at what I found. Let's just say to keep our blog at the desired G rating, I will not be telling you what the "s" stands for in "Better Than S-- Cake II." In-a-ppro-pri-ate is all I have to say. I should have just called my mom for the recipe. 

variation from recipe: while cake is still warm, poke holes with the dowel of a wooden spoon

I followed the suggestion to use twice the caramel and condensed milk in the recipe

topped with whipped topping and crushed milk chocolate toffee bars

The cake turned out delicious. It sat in the fridge for 24 hours soaked generously in caramel and sweetened condensed milk. It didn't survive long in the pan.

{CONFESSION: Okay, I knew what this cake was called the whole time. Our mouths would water when Mom would bring Candy Bar Cake to the table after Sunday dinner. Enough time since the last time we ate it would have passed that someone would say, "Isn't this really called Better Than Something cake?" censoring it for my little brother at the table as we all snickered a little. One time my brother piped up, probably eight or nine at the time and said, "I know what it's really called! Better Than Sugar Cake!" It was so cute. The name stuck. He's 16 now. Hope he doesn't kill me for telling this story. Love you little brother.}

DIY Cat Home

My husband and I recently adopted a sweet cat. When we first got her, we kept her in the guest bathroom. This was temporary, so after about a week, we moved her to the basement. We wanted her to feel it was her space, so we made our very own cat home!
We were so pleased with how it turned out, and Lady Bug (our cat) seems to really enjoy it.

First: Locate a futon (preferably an old one). You can look at the DI, Savers, Wal-mart, or your mom's basement. We got our futon from my husband's sister. She was getting rid of it, so we grabbed it! (Don't ever resist the opportunity to obtain a free futon.)
Second, buy a cat bed and blanket. We got our cat bed from Petsmart and the blanket came with Lady Bug when she was adopted. If you don't have a cat blanket, watch for upcoming tutorials on how to make them.

Third: Place the futon in the corner of the room you cat will be staying in.
Fourth: Place the bed in the desired place on the futon. (I chose to do it on the corner because cats seem to like corners.)
Fifth: Watch as you become your cat's new favorite person!
Note: Feel free to add your own twist! We put some toys on the futon and a scratching post next to it...express yourself and do what works for you and your cat.

Handy Car Paper (H.C.P.)

Handy  Car Paper

Recently my husband and I took a 40 hour car trip. I was put in charge of packing the car with supplies for our comfort. If I get a big response to this post, I can provide you with a list of all the things I put in our car. When faced with the decision of what to do for those little sneezes and runny noses that sometimes occur, I was perplexed. 

I don't know about you, but I did not want to spend that $2.53 on a box of kleenex! (We've got a turtle to feed.) Nor did I want to try and find a spot for that awkward shaped cardboard box! (We needed AMRAP <as much room as possible> for our trail mix and snap peas!) 

I thought over this dilemma for a good 48 seconds, when I really only had 47 to spare. (To read how I manage my time, click here.) Then, it hit me. I could use a common household item to solve my money and space issues! I ran to our storage closet and pulled out some toilet paper.  It wasn't Charmin, because my husband works at Walgreens and he had bought a different kind of toilet paper that was a better deal, but I'm sure that Charmin would have the same results.

What were the results?? Complete bliss for all of our nose needs. The "handy car paper" or H.C.P. as I like to call it, could squish so easily in between our gear shift and radio panel. Note that I did say squish. I had to put some effort into getting it in that spot. The nice thing was that as soon as I got it in there, it stayed put! As you can guess, when we used it, it got smaller in circumference, so it didn't fit there as snug, but we were okay with that. If it bothers you, you can try putting it other places once it gets to that point, like the jockey box, or the side pocket door, or under your seat! 

Next time you take a road trip, pack some H.C.P.! Words cannot express the accomplishment you feel when you can satisfy your loved one's car sniffles.

Meatballs?

The other day, I decided I wanted to try to make meatballs. I love meatballs, but I recently found out I have celiac disease. So, I found a recipe that uses rice and Chex instead of bread crumbs. Perfect solution! One slight mistake, if it calls for instant rice, it means instant rice. I decided to try to make the meatballs with regular rice. They stayed together great, they looked a little funny and they tasted AWFUL!! They tasted like uncooked rice, mixed with hamburger that wasn't seasoned enough. I love meatballs, but these were nasty. Better luck next time!