April 2017

Stencil Painted T-Shirt

When I created my personalized bike license plate, I realized that the weeded part of the vinyl letters from my name would be a perfect stencil for a T-shirt.

I’ve painted T-shirts before, but not since I bought my Silhouette Cameo. Blogs abound with the instructions for cutting vinyl for a stencil and then painting either fabric or wood signs, and I definitely wanted to try this technique.

And it turns out it’s pretty easy and fun.

Continue reading…

Black and Bleu Wrap

Layers of flavor make this Black and Bleu Wrap sandwich stand out. | suzerspace.com

The trick to eating with a focus on good nutrition and a tight budget is to think like a restaurant.

Besides frying everything, and using a lot of salt to make everything taste good, restaurants know that layers of flavor are the key to a good dish.

If you take a flatbread wrap, throw on some cheese and black beans and nuke it in the microwave, it’s a little bit soggy and sad.

But if you heat the beans first, and then layer the wrap with cheese, the beans, arugula and top with chunks of bleu cheese, suddenly you have something special.

Black Beans and Bleu Cheese Wrap

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 6 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients

  • 1 Flatbread (we use low-carb)
  • 1/8 cup Shredded Cheese
  • 1/4 cup Black Beans Rinsed and Drained
  • Arugula Washed and Patted Dry
  • Bleu Cheese Chunks* (see note)

Instructions

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat beans in the microwave for about 30 seconds, until really warm but not dried out.

  2. On flatbread, sprinkle cheese in center

  3. Layer on black beans, arugula and black beans. Add salsa on top if desired.

  4. Roll and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*Note: I don't actually like Bleu Cheese - Mr. SuzerSpace does. I make my version with Feta, but we still call them Black and Bleu Wraps. Sounds fancier that way 🙂

 

Teeny Tiny Tip: Protect Your Work Area from Glue

Save you junk mail to create a protective surface for using a glue stick | suzerspace.com

A glue stick is often my weapon of choice when putting together simple crafts. But the trick is finding a way to use it so that you can apply it and not turn everything else around it to a sticky mess.

Enter today’s teeny tiny tip – use your junk mail. Those magazines you get but you are positive you didn’t subscribe to? Perfect. Apply glue stick liberally to the item you want to stick together while it is on top of the first page of the magazine. Don’t worry about the glue that goes wide of the item. Keep moving the craft that needs to be glued to a safe spot on the sheet as you go, until that sheet is too sticky to use. Tear it off and recycle it, and guess what? Another sheet is ready to go, right below it.

Also visible in this photo is an even tinier tip – paperclips make great clamps for holding the edges of paper together as the glue dries.

 

Big Spring Flowers Picture Window

White flowers and butterflies cut from removable contact paper make a seasonal window display

In the back part of my kitchen I have a beautiful picture window. It lets in great light into the space, which normal people would use for an eat-in kitchen area.

I’m guessing you already know I don’t consider myself normal 🙂

Honestly, we eat at the coffee table in front of the TV. So that space in the kitchen has served as an office area for Mr. SuzerSpace for several years. Recently he vacated it so I could have it for my craft space.

And that big picture window is an excellent display space. Continue reading…