*~my house is cuter than yours~*: March 2015

Friday, March 27, 2015

In Search Of... Invitations

Operation 11 Candles
(aka PB's 11th birthday party)

PB wanted to have more of a 'hang out' party with his friends this year and informed me to not go all out as I have previous years past. He still wanted to have a theme though. He chose to base it after one of his favorite television shows
"In Search Of..."

The opening disclaimer of the show:

"This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we will examine."

"In Search Of..." (1976-1982) was an unexplained phenomenon and mysteries show hosted by Leonard Nimoy. The Ghosts episode gives me chills!

I decided to represent a few unexplained reoccurring mysteries as the common theme for his party:

UFOs, Big Foot, and Loch Ness Monster.

I constructed the invitation to appear to be a Top Secret X-file with various photos and newspaper clippings corresponding to the mysteries/subjects.

The pages on the right were fastened inside with clips so they could be flipped through.

There is a page for each (Aliens, Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot).

The classified paper inside the file on the left was a memorandum with the party info and details.

"Do not let this document out of your sight. Memorize contents and destroy if necessary."

I put a comical "Note to Self" on the top portion of each subject's document:

Aliens:

" Note to self: 1. Find UFO 2. Ask pilot about buying a light saber."

Loch Ness Monster:

" Would prefer to not be called Nessie. His name is Jeff."

Big Foot:

" Bigfoot and Justin Beiber have never been seen together. This means something!"

The Top Secret folder invite went into a Confidential and Classified envelope. They were then delivered to selected members of the southeastern sector by means of secret service agents wearing all black and keeping identities under wrap wearing Groucho Marx-esque glasses/mustaches.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Operation 11 Candles

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish I could convey the atmosphere... the background of this ...fantastic scene. Hundreds of cars are parked in a field in back of us. Police are trying to rope off the roadway leading to the farm. But it's no use. They're breaking right through. Car's headlights throw an enormous spot on the pit where the object is half buried. Some of the more daring souls are now venturing to the edge. ..."*

Welcome readers to the first of several posts covering the intricate details surrounding PB's most recent birthday celebratory observance.

It will be known here on out as....Operation 11 Candles.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this may the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed...Wait a minute! Someone's crawling out of the hollow top. Someone....or something. I can see peering out of that black hole two luminous disks.. are they eyes? It might be a face..it might be..."*

As parents are allowed to supply celebratory confections on appropriate dates to fellow classmates within the educational advancement building that PB attends, I obliged.

I constructed unidentified space crafts using common glazed donuts and their counterpart donut holes while also applying icing and silver sugar sprinkles within the diameter of the sugar ship. The saucer men are merely paper images attached to toothpicks...no matter what you have heard or think you know!

"A humped shape is rising out of the pit. I can make out a small beam of light against a mirror. What's that? A jet of flame springing from the mirror, and it leaps right to the advancing men. It strikes them head on!

Good lord! They are turning into flame!"*

The invasion has begun!

Keep your radio dial tuned here for further information!

* Excerpts from Orson Welles "The War of the Worlds" by HG Wells Radio Broadcast 1938

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Bow Tie Bonanza

I love a man in a bow tie (see!)! I made these bow ties as a gift for my hubbers recently. I started by searching online for vintage bow ties for purchase. They are quite pricey. Next option...make them myself! I scoured thrift stores and picked up a few vintage ties with interesting patterns, paying no more than 1 buck for each.

I then bought metal bow tie clips on etsy. In my normal " I've got to get this project done, no time for photos during the process" way I only have "after" shots.

They did not take too much time to make. I cut the skinniest part of the tie off and folded it into a bow tie form. I then cut a smaller piece of the skinny tie part as the wrap around the middle piece and sewed it in place. I then placed the clasp across the back and hand sewed it on. The clasp has little holes along the edges for sewing attachment:

Project bonus ideas! If you happen to have a tie that has chili cheese dog stains down the front it's still good! Use the skinny, clean, back section to re-purpose it into a bow tie! Also if the front wider section is in good condition (no chili cheese stainage) it could be made into a complementary decorative handkerchief for peeping out of the jacket's pocket. Or, ladies, fashion yourself a hair accessory from the scraps! Be Matchers!

If you need more tie crafting see some of my previous posts on said topic:

Stick Peoples Ties

Tie Wrist Cuff

Neck Tie Choker

Neck Tie Scarf Type Thing

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Sugar Free Cake!

Hello all! I am back with lots of adventures and fun stuff in general to share with you!

I thought I would start things off with a real...er, treat!

A friend of mine and I have been trying to find low cal treats/sweets and then I remembered I have a whole set of Weight Watchers Recipe cards from 1974 with a section called "Favorite Desserts". Well let's see what we have! The card for the Black Walnut Cake with Strawberry Fluff Frosting looked divine! There is no mention of calories involved but it surely can't be too high. The Weight Watchers folks wouldn't steer us wrong. They wouldn't jeopardize flavor and common sense to just deliver us a recipe for something low cal...or would they?

There is no real black walnut, or strawberry, or sugar, or frosting...it shouldn't really count as cake.

What the heck is in it then?! Hint...a bunch of stuff that normal rational people would never have in their arsenal of kitchen sundries.

For now let's marvel at how lovely it turned out before the truth is revealed.

Just as fluffy and alluring as the picture on the recipe card!

I added some of my thrift store finds..."Flora-Pics" and "Party-Pics" to complete the setting.

So what is in this thing? And how did it taste? And was I out of my mind to even attempt it?

So many questions, so many let downs....

Here is the recipe.

Try to keep your jaw from dropping too much as to keep flies from entering....

Yeah... you read that right...8 eggs.

How did it taste?

I could have just dumped all those artificial sweetener packs into my mouth and saved myself some time, energy, and money. It was horrid. The texture came no where near to cake-like. It was chewy...cake should never be chewy.

And lastly, was I out of my mind to even attempt it?

No... My friend and I have been talking about making this cake for quite a long time and it finally happened. Here is the 'best' part! I made it for her for her birthday as a surprise! I am not sure if that makes me a good friend or not though....

If you are desiring even more odd recipe concoctions from the 1974 Weight Watchers recipe cards I made a couple of them back when I did guest blogging for a website that sadly isn't around anymore called Swapatorium. Bring your extra large purse to purge in!:

Savory Salmon Slime

Wiener Crown Roast