#Paula Deen’s Corn Salad #4th of July 2015

When you think of the 4th of July, what comes to mind? For me, it’s 6 simple words… Freedom, Food, Family, Friends, Fun, & Fireworks! (I’m not sure why they all begin with “F”)

I’m blessed to have wonderful friends & family to enjoy this great day with every year! Doesn’t that patriotic spread just make you hungry & grateful for all this country has to offer?! I love pot-luck type events… primarily because I love to cook & eat but also it’s a great way to try out new recipes. After sampling a delicious corn casserole this year, I had to find out who made it & get the recipe. Should have known it was one of Paula Deen’s recipes… love her country style cooking! Anyways, here is a crowd-pleaser for any cook-out occasion… and, bonus, it’s super easy & quick to make!

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Paula Deen’s Corn Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup green pepper, chopped
• ¹⁄₂ cup red onion, chopped
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) bag coarsely crushed Fritos chili cheese corn chips

Directions:

Mix first 5 ingredients and chill. Stir in corn chips just before serving.

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Yep that’s it… almost too easy… the only downside to this recipe is that it is going to go so fast that you might want to bring two! If you’d like to see a picture of the prepared casserole or would like to print the recipe, click here! Try it out at your next event & let me know what you think!

#USA Plaque

I can’t seem to get back into the habit of blogging like I once was. With school starting back, things have been super crazy around here. My daughter, Destiny, decided to kick off the 2nd week of school by getting sick & sharing those elementary school germs with her mom. After almost 3 days of doing nothing but sleeping & resting on the couch, we are finally feeling a bit better. It’s back to school for her tomorrow so she’s in bed, but due to all the extra rest, my sleep schedule is completely out of whack & when I should be getting to bed myself, I am WIDE AWAKE!! I figure I’ll wind down while I share a craft project I did for the 4th of July this year, once again better late that never! I’m not exactly sure what to call this creation… I used for the front-door but it would make a super cute wall plaque as well.

The finished product – a super simple, country-style decoration perfect for Independence Day or all year long to show your support for this great country 🙂

Supplies: *red, white, & blue paint *painters’ tape *paint brushes *wood plaque (I planned on making my own from an old pallet, but came across a pre-made one in the Wal-Mart craft section that looked exactly like I wanted which already had a rope attached for hanging & couldn’t pass it up – saved a bunch of time) *U, S, & A letters (wanted wood, but they only had pressed cardboard ones in stock so I settled for those – you’ll also notice that the S is smaller, not an artistic choice, I was just too inpatient to wait for them to get the bigger ones in lol) *E-6000 (definitely a good all-purpose permanent crafting glue)

Tape along the slats for nice clean stripes.

Paint your red stripes & allow to dry.

Remove the tape.

After you protect your red slats with painters’ tape, it’s time to paint the white stripes.

Remove the painters’ tape & let your plaque dry completely. It’s time to paint your letters a nice shade of blue. I painted the front, back, & sides of these in different stages, allowing them to dry completely in between sides. Not only did I want to cover the cardboard completely for aesthetic purposes, I also wanted them to hold up in the humid Florida weather & used the paint to keep out unwanted moisture & keep this decoration in good condition for years to come.

After all the letters were dry, I attached them to the front of my plaque with E-6000.

I forgot to mention that I also painted the edges of the slats because, well, it just looks better that way… you might have noticed I had taped them off, but I thought it would be easier to show you the effect in this close-up.

I love craft projects & was super-thrilled with how this one turned out. I had originally planned on incorporating stars into it someway, but kind of like how simple it turned out. I’m always telling the kids that sometimes adding too many details can end up looking gaudy so I decided to take my own advice. I would love to hear what ya’ll think of this project! I know I’m a month behind, but did your family make any patriotic crafts or recipes this year? I’d love to hear about them!

#Happy 4th of July 2015 #Patriotic Star Candleholders

Happy belated 4th of July!!

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. From fireworks to family cookouts while celebrating our country’s freedom, what’s not to love? What better to start my blogging come-back with than some super easy patriotic star candleholders? As with all my craft projects, decorating ideas, & party planning, I’m all about creating masterpieces without spending a fortune. Simple, easy, & inexpensive is the way to go!

Patriotic Star Candleholders

I made a set of 4 of these candleholders for under $10 last year & added a cute table runner from Target this year to complete the look. Ok, let’s get started…

Supplies:

• glass candle holders (Dollar Tree – I used square ones.)
• small white pillar or votive candles (Dollar Tree)
• red & blue tissue paper
• small paint brush
• scissors
• pen or pencil
• Elmer’s glue or any craft glue that dries clear

The process is as simple as the supply list! Lightly draw draw stars on your tissue paper & cut out. I free-handed my shapes so each star varied in size & shape slightly, but if that is too difficult, you could use a stencil for more uniform stars though if you do this I’d have at least 2 size stars for some variety. I used 12 stars, 3 stars on each size, half blue & half red, but this is purely an artistic choice. I wanted just a few simple stars though more stars covering the candleholder more thoroughly & overlapping would be another cool look. Once you have your star shapes cut out, use your paint brush to simply apply a thin coat of glue to one side of your star & press on your candleholder in the desired location. Repeat til all stars are in place. Make sure corners are coated well so they don’t peal up though if this happens you can also go back & paint this corners down with a bit more glue. While the stars are damp they tear really easy so be careful, but the good thing is tissue paper is cheap & the wet glue comes off easily with a damp cloth so any mishap can be quickly fixed. Once you have added all your stars, simply allow glue to dry & add the candle of your choice. Basically it took me longer to type this than your whole project & probably even gathering the supplies did (LOL), but as you can see adding a little holiday flair doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive. This idea could be easily changed up to fit any holiday. You could even give your candleholders a hot soapy water soak to remove the glue & tissue paper & reuse them. You could cut out some green shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, egg shapes for Easter, fall leaves, & maybe some holly & berries for Christmas… the possibilities are endless! Stay tuned for some other 4th of July decorating ideas & maybe a recipe or 2! 🙂