Cork Art

My husband and I had a wine themed wedding last October.  We, along with several friends and family members, saved up hundreds of corks before the big day to use in our centerpieces.  After the wedding, all of the corks went into a box...We've been trying to decide what we wanted to do with them and finally decided to make some wall art with some of them.

My initial inspiration was from a piece of art that my parents own (partially seen behind my wonderful parents):

So, my husband envisioned something with a wooden frame, some twine and our corks.  We went to Lowe's and got the supplies we needed and got started.

We knew it would go above the pantry door so we made it so that it would fit with about three inches on each side of the wall around it.  

My husband sawed down the wood to the length we wanted and made 45 degree edges on each side to form the frame.  He fastened the wood together with corner braces.

We chose to do 13 rows of 12 corks each.  After evenly making the holes equal space apart, he drilled 13 holes through the top and bottom pieces of the frame.

We bought decorative wood to cover the frame, which he then measured, trimmed and fit to the frame.  He glued the decorative wood to the frame and secured it with clamps to allow it to properly dry in place.

While that was drying, he drilled holes in 156 corks so that we could have 13 rows of 12 corks each.  I strung the corks onto the twine however had to tape the edge of the twine to get it to easily pass through the corks.

I didn't want every row to be the same, so I would place a few corks on and tie a knot to secure them in place before putting more corks on and leaving about a half inch gap in between the previous corks.  I did a different 'layout' for each strand of corks.

When that was finally finished, we assembled the rows of corks on the frame, tying a knot outside of the frame on each side.

We trimmed close to the edge of each knot and our project was complete!

Here it is hanging above the pantry door!  What do you think?

Unfortunately we still have HUNDREDS of corks left....what cork inspired project will be should be next?

Linking up to:

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party 13

Hookin Up with HOH #50

Mango Salsa

   We recently had mango salsa at a friends party and since we had some leftover mango we decided to make some for our last party. I looked up several different recipes but really didn't find one that I liked in full.  So, I decided to improvise our own, based on those I found.

Here is what I used:
~ 2 cups of ripe mango ( I used two kinds because I had it, one regular and one champagne mango)
~ 1 jalapeno
~ 1 small cucumber, peeled
~ 1/2 a red onion
~ Approx 1/4 cup of cilantro, depending on taste preference
~ 3 tablespoons of lime juice
~ salt and pepper to taste

I chopped the mango, cucumber and cilantro but diced the jalapeno and onion.  I removed most of the seeds and ribs of the jalapeno before dicing as it didn't want it too hot for mixed company.

I added the lime juice and a little salt and pepper then mixed it all together. When I tasted it initially it was just okay.  However, after sitting over night and all of the flavors merging together, it tasted really good the next day in time for the party. The onion and cucumber had softened from the juices and it all had a nice fresh taste.

I also like it for the vibrant colors it adds to a food display!

Time, money and ziplines

***Not sure what happened, but this was originally posted (or should have been) on 5/8/11.  It took multiple attempts to upload the video and when it finally did upload, I posted this and then watched the video...Went to post about the grill today and this was missing...Anyways, here is the original post.

The last few weeks I feel like my projects have been on hold.  The ones I would like to do I can't do quickly and it feels like I never have enough time to start them.  I've also come to the realization that all of the projects I would like to do may get costly.  Hopefully I can find the appropriate balance.

In the meantime though, we did take advantage of a zipline adventure that my family had given us a gift certificate for.  Six ziplines in various lengths through the trees and over a valley.  The longest one was 900 feet long and took 32 seconds to complete.  We had a blast!



Here we are all geared up before hand.



And here is a video of the longest one.  My husband did the recording of his ride and then records me coming in.  Don't worry he doesn't fall off half way through like it looks in the video...he had to drop the camera (which was attached to his harness) so he could slow down at the end.

Grill-tastic

Just so there is no confusion, my husband is actually the one who put the work into reviving this grill.  However, I did pick the color :)

This poor thing had been broken and abandoned (it was my brother-in-law's but has been sitting in their grandmothers garage for several years now).

But after a little love and attention...

Sanded down and then sprayed with Rustoleum High Heat Paint.

Here she is now:

What a beauty!  Look, he even did the wheels to match!

Big thanks to my hubby the Grill Master :)

Embellished Nightstand

I've had these old Target shelves for several years now.  When we moved into the new house a few months ago, our intention was to find some unique nightstands that complimented our bedroom without being too much like a normal room set.  We had been using these to keep our stuff on and one day I walked into the room and thought, "let's just make new nightstands out of these". My husband was all-in!

Since they were already white we did not prime them, just sanded them down well.  Then we painted them.

My husband was clever enough to also spray the tabs that hold the shelf in place.

(as a side note, these should have been primed or sealed because the paint did chip off when the shelf was put in place and then later moved up a level.  You can't see it though, so I didn't worry about it.)

Once dry, my husband (is the artist, not me!) hand painted on a leaf pattern up the side, wrapping on to the top of each night stand.

Some paint accidentally dripped on to a spot that was not to be painted.  After trying to wipe it up, it ruined the paint (see spots on right below).  So he improvised and added another vine and more leaves.

Here are the two of them after being hand painted.

Finally they were sealed.

I added a storage bin to each shelf, as I prefer organization :)  And here is the one on my side finished!

I'm linking up to: 

House of Hepworths

Delightful Order

Molten Lava Cakes

My mom found this recipe on the Food Network from Paula Deen.  She raved about them and said we needed to make them as a surprise for my husband and dad when my parents came to town.  Chocolate? Lava Cakes?  No arguments here!

Here is the recipe:

6 (1 oz) squares of bittersweet chocolate (we used Ghirardelli)

6 (1 oz) squares of semisweet chocolate (we used Ghirardelli)

10 Tablespoons butter (1 1/4 stick)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons orange liqueur

Strawberries or raspberries for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grease 6 (6 oz) custard cups.  Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave (stirring after 20 seconds intervals) or in a double broiler.  

Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture.

Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth.

Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur.

Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups.

Place the cups in the oven (we put ours on a sheet pan for easy removal) and bake for 14 minutes.

The edges should be firm but the center will be runny.  We left ours in the custard cups to eat however the recipe says to run a knife around the edges and invert onto a plate.  Garnish with fresh fruit if desired (we used raspberries, which were great).

I think the empty cup says it all, don't you?