Blog | Lori Danelle: Maker of Things

I have lockers!!

By Lori on May 22, 2013 in Just Because

As an avid Thing-Maker & ReDo-er, I have a list of objects I would love to get my hands on at some point.

Lockers have been high on that list for awhile now.

Last week, while ~~escaping~~ ~~work~~ taking my lunch break, I opted to peruse a nearby antique store for some mental refreshing and came across these fun lockers.

As much as I wanted to take them home with me, the $350+ price tag kept them out of reach.

And so, the fire was lit & the search began.

Now, as I’ve said, lockers have been on my list for awhile. I have a habit of getting on Craig’s list and searching for lockers — along with whatever I really came there for. I never find them.

This week, I found 2 listings!!! (plus a couple of expensive 1-offs)

The first seems to be a school that was getting rid of theirs. But no one returned my call. :(

Then 2 days later a batch of 50 sets popped up for half the price of the others! Which allowed me to bring home BOTH of these!!!

You can now picture me doing a happy dance. It’s awkward & goofy, but full of joy.

Now on to cleaning them (fyi — lockers from random factories get really dirty), adding shelves and moving them to their new home. I happen to like the color, so I won’t be doing anything to the paint for awhile, at least.

I kind of want to go back for another set. . . must exercise restraint!!

I know one set will live up in my studio to store art supplies. I’m still debating on the other set, but am leaning towards dvd storage since ours are currently stacked in bins beside the TV — which I hate.

The only dilemma I have is this: Do I keep the “Made in the USA” sticker? or take it off???

xoxo Lori Danelle

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Gilled Mushroom Quesdillia

By Mr.Maker on May 17, 2013 in Good Food Friday

You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that a life saving grace to making meals at home for us was to cook whole chickens, then add the protein to other dishes. Here is a quesadilla that we often make with that exact recipe. You can also keep this recipe vegetarian by just omiting the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 mild Chile (Anaheim or Poblano)
2 jalapeno chilies (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb variety of mushrooms
1 tbsp. chicken of Chile powder
2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
1/4 cup of your favorite tomato based salsa
2 cups Monterey jack cheese
8 oz. of chicken (optional)

Fire up the grill and cook the chilies over the heat source until it blisters on all sides. Transfer to a container with a lid, I use a bowl topped with a plate. Sweat the chilies for about 10-15 minutes then peel, deseed, and finely chop.
Meanwhile in a bowl add mushrooms, olive oil, Chile powder, and garlic toss until well incorporated. Grill over direct heat until mushrooms are softened. Remove mushrooms from heat and roughly chop, add finely chopped chilies, and salsa mix until well incorporated. If you are adding the chicken finely chop the chicken and add. You may want to add additional spices listed above to taste (Lori does). Allow to cool.
While the mixture is cooling mark the tortillas one side over direct heat of the grill this should only take a second or two per tortilla.
Next place a tortilla on an oiled sheet of foil. Add cheese on one half of the tortilla, and then spoon the mixture on to the cheese with out overfilling the tortilla. Then fold the tortilla in half. Fold the foil sheet over the tortilla making a cocoon.
Grill over direct heat each side for 5 minutes, 10 minutes total.
Enjoy with a Negra Modelo.

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!
-Nate

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By Lori on May 14, 2013 in Uncategorized

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Buttermilk Brined Chicken

By Mr.Maker on May 10, 2013 in Good Food Friday

Chicken Breast is infamous for drying out on the grill. Buttermilk acts as a meat tenderizer helping the meat stay moist. Using bone-in, skin-on chicken will also insure the chicken will not dry out.

Instructions

4 lb. Bone-in Skin-on Chicken Breast or Thighs
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1 tbsp. Fresh Thyme
4 c. Buttermilk

Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry.

Measure out the buttermilk stir in the salt, pepper, and thyme until well incorporated. Submerge chicken in buttermilk allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (freezes well).

Grill over direct heat for about 8 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Tent for a few minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Breast per oz.

31 Kcal oz
3g of fat
27g of protein
1g of carbohydrate

Thighs per oz.

33 Kcal oz
10g of fat
23g of protein
2g of carbs

Remember food is only good for you if you can eat it!

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{DIY} Tooth Fairy Pillow

By Lori on May 8, 2013 in Creative Things, {DIY} Tutorials

I’ve discovered that the best way to be successful when it comes to a lost tooth is having an executable plan — and lucky for all of us, Phase 1 doesn’t even have to be stealthy!

I received my warning from the dentist, informing us at Big Sister’s bi-annual check-up that a tooth would likely be gone within 6 months. That got me thinking about tooth fairy pillows. From there I was able to work out what I envisioned for the pillow. So when she showed me the adult tooth already making its way through her gum, despite the baby tooth still in place, I was ready and had the pillow done the same night!

It can even be a lot of fun to include your child in the fabric choices. I let Big go through my fabric stash picking out her favorites for each piece of the house. As I said before, this part doesn’t have to be a secret!! In my world, that greatly adds to my chances for success!

Since I love you all so much, I’ve helped out with Phase 1. I’ve put together a pattern & tutorial for our Tooth Fairy House pillow. You can follow along here, or I’ve made a Printable version, along with the Pattern pieces that you can download by clicking on the image below:

You are totally going to rock this Tooth Fairy thing!! Enjoy!

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To get started: Print out the Pattern Pieces.

Cut out all the pattern pieces, ensuring that they have printed at 100% by checking the measurement of the line at the bottom of the page in the box titled Print Test. It should measure 1 inch.

Cut a piece of fusible interfacing slightly larger than the house front.

Follow the instructions included with the interfacing & adhere it to the house front fabric, then cut the piece out. Cut out remaining pieces as indicated on the pattern piece.

Prepare the pieces to be assembled:

Place the Door Front and Door Back fabric RIGHT sides together and pin in place. Stitch a 1/2” seam along the curved edge as shown by the dashed line on the pattern piece, leaving the bottom open.

Using a piece of interfacing that is just smaller than your stitching & 1/2” shorter (you can use the light grey portion as a pattern), iron interfacing to both sides of the door.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/4” and clip the curve as shown.

Turn the door right-side-out and Press flat.

Turn the open edge inside 1/2” and stitch closed 1/8” from the edge.

Fold the Pocket fabric RIGHT sides together and pin in place.

Stitch a 1/2” seam up each side, leaving the top open.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/4” and clip corners as shown.

Turn the Pocket right-side-out and Press flat.

Turn the open edge inside 1/2” and stitch closed 1/8” from the edge.

Fold the Tab fabric in half, RIGHT sides together and pin in place.

Stitch a 1/2” seam up each side & across the top.

Trim the seam allowance to 1/4” and clip corners.

Turn the Tab right-side-out and Press flat.

Following your sewing machine’s instructions, make a button hole, centerd on the Tab ~3/16” from the closed edge.

Assemble the House:

Center Ric-Rac or any other embellishment on the dashed line indicated on the pattern. Pin in place and stitch.

With RIGHT side down, align edge of Roof to the dotted line indicated on the pattern piece and pin in place. Stitch a 1/2” seam along the pinned edge.

Fold Roof up and press seam.

Flip the House Front over and cut the Roof fabric to match the shape of the House Front.

Pin the Roof to the House Front & Baste 1/4” from edge.

Using the dashed lines on the pattern piece as a guide, pin the Window in place and closely stitch around the raw edge a couple of times with a contrasting thread, adding window panes if you wish.

As with the Window, pin the Pocket in place. Stitch in the same way along the sides and bottom, leaving the top open.

Before attaching to the House front, stitch around the door the same as you did the Window & Pocket.

Using the dashed lines on the pattern piece as a guide, pin in place and sew along the Right edge, creating the door hinge.

Allowing enough room for the button, fold the Tab around the door as shown. Use the dashed line & circles as a placement guide.

Open the door & pin Tab in place. Stitch where indicated by dashed line. Trim excess as needed.

With RIGHT side down, place House Back on top of House Front.

Pin into Place.

Stitch a 1/2” seam along the edge, leaving open between circles
as indicated on the pattern piece. Clip top corners.

Reach inside the house to pull open the cut-out corner on one side. Flatten so that the seams match up, with the seam allowances folded
in opposite directions. Pin in place. Stich across with a 1/2” seam.

Repeat on the other side, making sure that the seam allowance on the bottom of the house is folded in the same direction on both sides.

Turn the house right-side-out & stuff.

Close the turning hole with a ladder stitch.

Put a tooth in the pocket and you are ready for the Tooth Fairy!!

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Now that the pillow’s done, it’s on to Phase 2. The money & the note. But don’t worry, I’m here to help on those as well! Check back soon and I’ll show you how to get maximum impact for very little effort! Your kids will love it!

xoxo Lori Danelle

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Tomatilla & Arbol Pepper Salsa

By Lori on May 3, 2013 in Good Food Friday

I’m taking over Good Food Friday today because I had to share the salsa recipe I made a couple of weeks ago for my birthday. Yes, salsa for my birthday. Much better than cake. (I feel confident Lesley at Recipe for Crazy would agree with me.)

I love Street Tacos, but what truly makes them great is the salsa. Though different than what I’ve had from a taco truck, this salsa a perfect mix of tart & spicy and is super flavorful! I just used the last of my birthday-weekend-batch last night and will most definitely be making some more!

Ingredients:

About 7 small tomatillos (10 ounces) with husks removed and washed
10 dried Arbol peppers (5 for mild, more if you dare. I think 10 is a good number to start with the first time you make it. Then you can adjust the next time around.)
3 garlic cloves — more if you love it as much as we do at our house
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Place tomatillos and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Roast until soft and brown, turning them to get all sides, about 18-20 minutes. Garlic cloves will be done faster, so remove when they start to brown and throw ‘em in your blender or food processor.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, quickly toast the dried Arbol peppers. It takes just a couple of minutes, so stay close. The peppers can burn easily and give your sauce a bitter taste. Once they’re done, cut the stems off and throw them in with the garlic.

From experience, we play it safe when handling peppers. (We also cut up Serrano peppers that day, which we definitely needed the gloves for!)

Once the tomatillos are done, quarter them, and add them in with the garlic and peppers. Add the salt and start blending until you get a slightly chunky sauce. Add water if needed, but my experience is that it rarely is.

Put it on your tacos, burritos, quesadillas, chicken, steak — whatever. I promise, it would be good on just about anything. I also suggest a margarita on the side. Can’t go wrong.