Strawberries, Sprouts & Boards

I uploaded these to my Flickr photo stream and forgot to share them with you all (or should I say ya’ll?)

I made this beautiful dessert for the Mr PD’s company picnic. It got lots of oohs and aahs when I pulled it out of the cooler. It is a “Strawberry Pretzel Salad”. See, I added mint as a garnish so it totally counts as “salad.” Ok, no not really. This dish is most definitely a dessert. In fact every time I make it I am almost grossed out by all the sugar that goes into this baby. Almost. By the time the dessert is finished I choose to selectively forget the ingredients that went into it. This one is 100% not good for the waistline. For this very reason I only make it when it is guaranteed not to hang around the house because I could eat the whole thing.

I add a little crushed pineapple to mine. I also mix up the jello part while the center is setting, then I let the jello mixture sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours before placing it over the white fluffy part. This guarantees the distinct layers. Seriously though, this dish is a show stopper and super easy. People will think you slaved all day in the kitchen! I used a 12” spring form pan this time and the layers look great.

 

I  finally got around to painting the bottom part of this cabinet with chalkboard paint I had lying around. The key to avoid “ghosting” on your chalkboard is to “prime it” before use (once it has dried.) Basically you take a piece of chalk and use the side of it to completely cover the chalkboard. Then you take your eraser and erase it all really spreading the chalk dust into the surface. That’s it, it makes it super easy to erase too.

Do you like my bulleting board? I fell in love with the burlap message board by Ballard Designs, but it costs a whopping $89! I was able to make this board for a fraction of the price and it is actually a bit bigger at 24”x36”

Here are the basic steps:
I found an unframed cork board at Joann’s from the Board Dudes. It ended up costing me around $8 with a 50% off coupon. Then I bought slightly more than a yard of linen, again with a coupon (around $8.) I already had those nail heads (found in the upholstery section – they are actually cheaper at Hobby Lobby, again use a coupon!) I also used some spray adhesive (actually I sued my spray batting adhesive used for quilting, it’s repositionable.) You’ll also need a stapler. That’s it for materials!

Ok so basically you lay out your fabric on the floor. I chose to spray the board with the adhesive rather than the fabric. Then I pulled the fabric tight around to the back and stapled into place from the back. Next you trim your excess fabric off. Now flip your board over and insert the nail heads around the outer edges spaced out as desired. I have to warn you to be careful during this step. The pointy ends of the nail heads will stick out beyond the back of the cork board. So don’t do this on your heirloom dining table.

The first time I hung this up I choose to use yard stick to create a “frame” around the backside of the board where the ends of the nail heads were poking out. This time I decided to just hang it up there with the ends of the nail heads that are poking out. Basically I held it up to where I wanted it to hang and then used a hammer to bang on each of those little nail heads. There are 28 nails on my board so it’s up there pretty sturdy. I also put it up on the side of a cabinet so it’s on wood. I’m not sure if this would work right on drywall.

You’ll also notice that I used linen instead of burlap. I had a hard time finding a burlap that looked as soft and refined as the one from Ballard. I opted for the linen instead. I don’t know if you can see it in the picture but I made some fabric covered tacks to use on the board.

 

Finally here is some proof that I really am not hopeless when it comes to gardening:

I happen to be pretty good at sprouting seeds. Ok maybe it’s just the fact that seeds are genetically engineered  to want nothing more out of life except to grow!

~ Norma