Faux Cinnamon Roll

 Hello!

I found air-dry clay at the Dollar Tree.

It looks like it's a terra cotta color

I wanted to test it out-

I immediately thought about cinnamon rolls....

Who doesn't love cinnamon rolls year-round ?

I cut the moist slab of clay

 in half lengthwise and rolled it out

 with a rolling bin wrapped in parchment paper.

I rolled it into one large cinnamon roll.

It was easy to roll.

The edges were smoothed out 

with a little water and fingertips.

It dried overnight-

The clay is dense and weighty-

No cracking.

I painted the swirls with Matte Mod Podge and real cinnamon.

I decided to paint the clay with acrylic paint.

I used white paint for the icing and let it drip over the sides.

After the paint dried, I went over just the icing with

GLOSSY Mod Podge.

The icing stayed glossy.

It looked real to me-

A delicious paper weight!

I enjoy making faux foods- it really fools the eye!

This clay was a win!

Definitely worth a try.

An 8 oz. package made 1 extra large roll or

 could easily make

4 mini rolls.

Have a great week!

xo Lisa S

Trash to Treasure- Monocraft Wood Cabinet

 Hi there!

The other day my Mom asked if I wanted this very old cabinet-

It's stackable-The top drawer is a separate piece.

YES!

I'll take it !

The drawers have dovetail corners.

It needed some work-

and a little wood glue.

One of the drawers still had

some dividers.

Some drawers had the dividers removed.

We used a sharp, flat scrapper to remove the

glue and wood pieces left-

It soon became a Mr. FreshVintage project!

 

We wiped it down and cleaned out the drawers.

I had this 'Old English'

Scratch Cover on hand.

It does an amazing job when you don't want to

refinish the piece of furniture

The color blends so well and the scratches disappear.

The cabinet was made with inexpensive wood.

It needed to have a bit more

 stain coverage in some areas.

I had some old stain-

I just used a soft cloth on the edges

 and in the dovetail sides.

It's nice and clean now.

I left the old labels just because I like it that way....

I can't help it.

The cabinet is a dark Mahogany color.

I immediately moved in-

The small sections are just the 

right size for all sorts of things.

Thank you for visiting!

I really appreciate you so much.

xo Lisa S

Simple 'Back to School' Vignette

 Hello!

Well it's been a while since I posted,

 in fact I've missed

all of July... and now summer is almost over.

To get back on track at our house I decided

to make a quick Back to School vignette.

I picked the desk near our front door.

I started with a clean slate.

It give me a chance to clean the area

and 'feed' the wood furniture.

I grabbed a few ideas to display.

Had to add a globe-

Brought over some books-

This little Koala named Blinky is adorable.

A few flashcards will stand up 

in a couple of vintage 'flower frogs'

This glass 'frog' will hold some pencils.

That was easy!

More books and some crayons.

One of my favorite finds was this Crayola chalk tin.

It was in great shape.

 I liked the color-and yes,

 I do keep my chalk in it.

I took a lunch pail thermos

from my kitchen.

We are all about the ABC's around here

right now!

These books came from my eBay shop-

I have quite a few vintage ones at the moment.

In the past I have shared 

my collection of  Early childhood readers.

I moved things around a couple of times!

That was fun to put together.

Thank you for visiting!

xo Lisa S

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Hi my friend,

It's July and I'm already making plans for Christmas.

This year I want to make some homemade vanilla extract 

for my friends and family.

It needs a good 6 months to make start to finish.

Now's the time to start the process-

It is incredibly easy and delicious.

I ordered my vanilla beans on Amazon

www.vanillabeankings.com

Madagascar Grade A

I purchased 10 beans 

I cut a slit in the bean lengthwise.

This will help to make the rich vanilla flavor.

It is best to have the alcohol 80 proof or higher.

I bought the least expensive Vodka from Trader Joe's

It was around $6

I put the vanilla beans directly into the

bottle. I plan to leave the bottle for the next

6 months.

At that time I will decant the vanilla into smaller bottles

for gift giving.

I put in away in the cupboard.

                                               After just a couple weeks, it already looks

                                                           like it's going to be good!

Now just let the vanilla do it's thing-

Just ignore it for now and go back to swimming

or hanging out at the beach-

I'll come back late November and share with you

how I package up the bottles for Christmas gifts.

Do you think you might give it a try?

Let me know if you do.

Thank you!

xo Lisa S

Herb Garden Clippings into Wreath

Hello, 

Our spring garden has been growing some beautiful herbs. 

 As summer approaches, it's time to do some trimming.

I don't like to waste any-

Let's make a kitchen wreath !

I have this wreath form with attached 

wire that can be pinched closed.

 

I started with small bundles of Rosemary.

Attaching to the form by dividing the circle into thirds

going in the same direction.

Then adding more bundles to cover the stems

I used some floral wire to secure and shape the wreath.

I cut small bundles of Rosemary, Thyme,

Oregano, Mint and Sage.

The herbs look and smell so nice.

Over time it will dry-

 I hung it high for a picture.

I will leave it low so I can use the herbs in my cooking.

after it looks shabby I can reuse

 the wreath form again and again.

 

Thanks for visiting!

xo Lisa S

Something special in the Garden -

.....That I never noticed before-

See the Garlic that is about to flower 

When the flowers burst open-

they leave the outer cover 

on the ground

I had not noticed these before now.

It resembles a beautiful delicate, paper-like

white dried flower-

I gathered a few and brought them inside

                                                                No, they don't smell like garlic.

They made me smile !

Have a wonderful day.

xo Lisa S