Oh! You Nutty Cheese Ball!

Oh! You Nutty Cheese Ball!
A holiday season is not a party season without my cheese ball!

Certainly one could easily 1/2 this recipe, but - honestly - WHY?

Ingredients:
4 packages of cream cheese
1 Tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Accent
1 bunch green onions - cut into small bits (amount should be your choice)
2 packages dried beef (cut up)
Chopped walnuts (to be the outside covering of the ball)


Make sure the cream cheese is somewhat soft, it makes for an easier mix.

 

 

 

 

The original recipe did not call for the roll in the nuts, but I'm the kind of girl who likes to roll her balls in nuts. (Yes. I said that.)

 

 

 

 

I use to think I could do this neatly with a spoon and the right amount of Saran Wrap. But honestly... nothing rolls your balls around in nuts like your hands do.

 

 

Honestly, they're good lookin' Nutty Cheese Balls - and they taste great!

The recipe should easily make 4 balls. But here's what I do - make three good size balls.....

And keep a little out to put in a bowl so that YOU can enjoy some pre-festivity cheese ball all on your own!

ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

All About The Chair - THE OVERVIEW

All About The Chair - THE OVERVIEW

This project was a fun one. From the $20 chair that I purchased for 1/2 price ($10!) through the final felt covering was placed on the foot of the chair. I loved the research, the purchases, and now I love to look at and sit in the chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture Coasters

Picture Coasters

A cute, easy way to give a personal gift. I did some research on ways to make picture coasters and found a few different ways to do it. I chose this way - which I think was the easiest and most cost-effective way to do it.

Basic supplies -
From Michaels, I bought:
Mod-Podge (I use matte finish)
Sponge brushes
I also purchased a wide Mod-Podge brush, but ended up not using it. The sponge brushes worked just fine!

At Lowe's, I bought:
4 x 4 tiles - they are super cheap. I did this project as gifts for several people, so I bought 50 tiles. They were only $0.16 per tile.

At home, I printed on my color printer pictures of the doggies in our world. I printed them on regular printer paper.

Make sure the pictures are less than 4 inches so they will fit on the tiles with plenty of room for a border.

Following the instructions on the Mod-Podge, and heeding the advice I read in blogs of those I follow....


Instructions:

Using a sponge brush, wipe a thin layer of Mod-Podge on a tile.

Sit the picture on the covered tile. Press it down, make sure that the edges are pressed down.

 

I recommend doing one tile at a time. If you don't, you will run the chance of the Mod-Podge drying before you are ready to place the picture.

Once all photos are placed, set the time for an hour (longer is fine).

Once an hour as passed, it is time to begin to Mod-Podge over the photo.

Paint a thin layer of the Mod-Podge over the photo - let it set for an hour (longer is ok).

Don't worry that when it goes on it looks like you've wiped glue all over the picture. It dries clear.

I recommend that you do three layers of Mod-Podge - which will take time (an hour to dry between each layer).

Once dry, felt pads on the back of the coaster will help make sure the coaster doesn't scratch surfaces. I've seen them with a full cork backing, but I don't find the full cover necessary.

Ultimately, this project takes about 5 hours to do and costs pennies per coaster -

Whether you use them for gifts or just make them to use at home (or office), it is a fun way to take a favorite picture and display it in a new way.

 

 

 

 

All About the Chair - Part 6: Filling and Covering

Filling and Covering

Choosing fabrics was an adventure. But I finally settled on this nice upholstery fabric from Hancock Fabrics. It was one of the first I picked out, and after going to three stores and looking at dozens of choices, I was pleased to purchase it. (And thankful it was 50% off the week I made the purchase!)

I started by covering the bottom of the chair -

I went to my local JoAnn's fabrics for the filling for this chair. Foam can be found in long sheets and I bought a yard of it.

I bought the 5 inch foam to fill the recess and still be comfortable. The electric knife worked great in cutting it!

 

When time to cover the back, I wanted some additional support. I had plenty of scraps of the chosen fabric - it is strong, sturdy upholstery fabric - so I didn't spend extra money on webbing. I stapled it into place inside the area where the back covering would go. 

I also took some of the foam that was left over from cutting the seat out. I cut it to fit the back, and cut it at about 2 inches in thickness. Then I wrapped it in a thin batting to smooth out the seams.

Using my stapler, I attached the back fabric on both the back of the chair and the front of the chair.

This is the staple gun that I purchased at my local Lowe's. A non-electric one would have been cheaper, but an electric one allows you to not have to worry about hand strength. And no matter how good a staple gun is, you will need a tack hammer to help those staples that didn't quite make it in.

Gaps in the seat were filled with more scrap foam and then the entire seat was covered with a few layers of batting in order to smooth out the seams.

Before stapling the seat fabric I added my love letter. A letter to whoever tears this seat apart in the future to tell them what I found, why I chose it, and who I am.

All that was left was putting on trim. I have seen the upholstery tacks, but felt like they were too formal for this chair, and so I decided to search for a fabric trim and use a simple glue gun to put the trim on. I may regret it later - it may come off. Time will tell.

And, finally, some felt pads on the feet of the chair.

And finally -

My chair was complete.

A few close up pics.....

This swirl. Oh, this swirl. My favorite part of the chair.

This was a fun project for me. Though there are a few flaws, it was my first refurbishing project and I'm very pleased with the outcome.