CELEBRATE: The 4th of July

Here are some great ideas to help make your Independence Day a little more festive from all of us at CELEBRATE!

Life is short, eat dessert first!

American Flag Cake

1 yellow cake mix of your choice

2 pints fresh blueberries

2 quarts fresh strawberries.

2 tubs of Cool Whip topping

1) Bake your cake mix following the manufacturers instructions for a 9x13 sized sheet cake.  Allow to cool completely and remove from pan.

2) Take a large bread knife and carefully cut the cake into two layers.

3) Place the bottom layer back into your 9x13 pan.  Cover in a generous layer of Cool Whip.  Slice 1/3 of your strawberries.  Top the Cool Whip layer with the sliced strawberries and a sprinkling of blueberries. 

4) Place the top layer of your cake over the filling and "frost" this with another generous layer of Cool Whip.

5) Cut the remaining strawberries in half.  Arrange the remaining blueberries in the upper left hand corner in a square.  Next, create red "stripes" using the strawberry halves.  You will want the end result to look like an American flag.

6) Serve and enjoy!

Can't afford that expensive bunting?  Find some inexpensive red, white, and blue fabric and drape, tying every 24 inches!

Make a festive garland!  Buy red, white, and blue construction paper.  Cut the paper into pennant shaped triangles.  Punch two holes in the wide end of each triangle and simple lace together onto cord or rope.

Liven up your table!  Add colorful crepe paper to the edge of your table using double sided tape. 

Create Fantastic Rockets! Fill a decorative bucket or planter with sand.  Next, cover paper towel or toilet paper tubes with red paper of your choice.  Cut a circle out of card stock and make a cut from the outside to the center.  When you overlap the cut edges this, it will create a cone which will become the top of your rocket.  Glue the top cone to the tube.  Glue red, yellow, and orange curling ribbon to the inside bottom of the tube.  These will be your flames!  Finish by gluing your "rocket" to a small dowel.  Stick dowels in the sand of your planter!  

Stars on your lawn!  Create a large star stencil approximately 9-12 inches in size out of cardboard or card stock.  Place your stencil on your freshly mowed lawn.  Using a spray bottle, heavily mist the grass within the stencil.  Next, sprinkle a generous amount of flour over the stencil and remove.  The flour will stick to the wet grass leaving festive white stars!

Place settings that go POW!  Create a fun place setting by placing boxes of sparklers onto white napkins and bundling them together with a festive red ribbon.

Jazz up ordinary bottles of water!  Remove the stick from miniature clothe or plastic flags.  Wrap over the bottle's label and secure.

Enjoy the day and drink responsibly! 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY FROM ALL OF US AT CELEBRATE!!!

Meal of The Month: June

2-Ingredient Nutella Brownies

Ingredients
4 large eggs
1 cup Nutella (slightly less than a whole 13-ounce jar)
Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts

Equipment
8 x 8-inch baking dish
Parchment paper
Nonstick spray or oil
Measuring cups and spoons
Microwave-safe bowl or cup
Stand mixer or hand-mixer
Mixing bowl
Spatula

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack placed in the middle position.
2. Cut a length of parchment and lay it in your baking dish with the ends hanging over the sides of the dish like flaps. Spray the parchment and sides of the baking dish with cooking spary. (A light spray of cooking spay under the parchment will also help hold it secure.)
3. Crack all 4 eggs into the bowl of your stand mixer or your mixing bowl. With the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs together. Begin on low speed and gradually increase to medium-high (7 on a Kitchenaid).
4. Continue whisking the eggs until they become light lemon-colored and billowy, and are tripled in bulk. This will take 6 to 8 minutes (slightly longer if you're using a handheld mixer). The more billowy your eggs, the better the texture will be in your brownies and the less "eggy" they will taste.
5. While the eggs are whisking, measure the Nutella and transfer it to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the Nutella for 1 minute, stopping every 15 seconds to stir the Nutella. When warmed, the Nutella should be loose and creamy.
6. With the mixer on low speed, drop spoonfuls of Nutella into the egg mixture using a spatula. (With a hand-mixer, add a little at a time and mix in between.) Continue mixing until all the Nutella has been added and the Nutella is thoroughly combined with the eggs.
7.  Use a spatula to stir the mixture by hand a few times, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl where the whisk might have missed.
8. Pour the Nutella mixture into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl clean.
9. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The brownies are done when they start to pull away from the sides of the dish and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the brownies comes away clean.
10. Let the brownies cool as long as you can. They are delicious while still warm from the oven, but will easily fall apart. For sturdy brownies, wait until they are completely cooled before cutting or removing them from the pan.
11. Store brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or so.

Thanks to The Kitchn for this month's recipe!

Idiot Proof Art!

Art doesn't have to be complicated or complex!  Not every piece needs to be the next Monet or Botticelli.  Art should be about expression and should be fun.  We have several ideas that will help you create fun wall decor and will also help to inspire and ignite your inner artist.

1)  Simple images created on Microsoft Paint (which comes pre-installed on every computer) can be printed, cut out and pasted onto colorfully paint canvases. The examples below were created for a bathroom and were super easy to create.  We suggest using latex, acrylic, or spray paints to color your canvas.  These paints are easy to use, dry quickly, and have great coverage. Be sure to apply a coat of clear acrylic sealer such as Modge Podge over the top to seal the work.

2) Circles Two Ways.  Don't hesitate to play around with geometric shapes. Take your canvas, draw a line from one corner to another, dividing the canvas into two triangles.  For the picture below, one triangle was painted grey and the other was painted black.  Once this is dry, use a circle template or various size cups to trace concentrically smaller circles from one corner to the next.  Paint the circles yellow and voila!  To achieve this look, you could also start by painting the whole canvas yellow.  Next, cut out various sized circles from contact paper.  Apply the circle "stickers" to the canvas, press the edges tightly. Finally, paint each triangle, black and grey using a small foam roller.  If you are spray painting, be sure to cover the first painted side before spraying the next to avoid paint misting. 

3) Stencils! Don't be afraid to use them.  You can find a wide selection in your local craft store, at yard sales, etc.  

4) Tape Art!  Its super easy.  Cover your canvas randomly with tape, again press the edges firmly to avoid bleeding.  Paint over the canvas as you see fit.  In the painting below, the tape was applied to an unpainted canvas to create white lines.  You could paint your canvas first, then tape, then paint again to create colored lines.  If the edges aren't crisp, just use a ruler and a permanent fine tip marker to clean up the edges.

5) Bubble Art!  Its just like blowing bubbles in your milk as a kid and just as fun.  Mix 2 tbsp of tempera paint, 2 tbsp of liquid dish soap, and 1/2 cup of water in a shallow ball.  Using a straw, blow bubbles into the mixture until they reach over the top.  Next, lay the paper or canvas over the top of the bowl to pick up color from the bubbles as they pop.  

Thanks Better Homes and Gardens for this image!

6) Get sticky!  Paint your canvas a color of your choice.  Next, apply stripes of patterned washi tape, large circle stickers, etc onto your canvas.  You can then seal your masterpiece with a clear coat!  

Happy Spring!

                    

HAPPY SPRING FROM ALL OF US AT CELEBRATE!!!

Meal of The Month: May 2014

GINGER, TURMERIC SPICED SPRING CARROT SOUP

Courteousy of gourmandeinthekitchen.com

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 to 3 small green onions, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• A pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 ½ pounds young carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1-inch piece of turmeric root, peeled and grated (or use ½ tsp ground)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 cups (1 quart) filtered water
• ¼ cup plain yogurt or full fat coconut milk for serving
• Chopped flat leaf parsley or carrot fronds for garnish

Instructions

1. Melt coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the green onions, garlic, minced ginger, and pepper flakes for 1 to 2 minutes or just until glossy. Do not brown or develop color.
2. Add carrots, salt, cinnamon and turmeric and cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until carrots are very soft, 20-25 minutes.
3. Puree soup in batches in a high speed blender.
4. If serving cold, chill soup for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
5. Divide soup between 4 to 6 bowls and place a spoonful of yogurt or drizzle of coconut milk in center of each and finish with chopped parsley or carrot fonds and a pinch of additional salt and freshly ground pepper if desired.

Eye Sore No More!

Here are a few ideas to camouflage those ugly, household necessities!

1) The fuse box in your apartment or condo is very important, but not very attractive!  Create a hinged door using a chalkboard, painting, or large framed photo.

2) Your thermostat is essential to daily life but it typically isn't a style object.  Try covering up with a press-board "cigar" box. Cut a hole in the box's lid large enough for the thermostat.  Next screw the lid to the wall around the unit allowing the box to act as a cover that can be flipped up!  You can decorate the outside of the box as you would like to match your decor!  You can also cover your thermostat with a deep stretched canvas.  Using a level, measure and place two nails on either side of  the wall next to the unit.  You could even use push-pins if you're a renter.  Next hang the appropriate sized, decorated deep canvas over the thermostat.

3) We all have speakers these days with surround sound systems for our TVs and other speaker systems for other audio systems.  These speakers are getting more eye pleasing but they often times still do not blend into your decor.  For small wall mounted speakers, you can create a deep box from pine framing.  You can then stretch any light weight fabric over the frame like an artist canvas and staple it into place.  The sound will pass through the fabric easily.  If you have larger, floor speakers from older stereo systems you can also spruce these up.  Create a box from 1/4 inch plywood and add a piece of lattice to the front of the box.  Of course the back of the box would be left open to allow you to slide the cover over the speakers.  Paint the cover to match your home.

4) The wireless router is fundamental in today's home but like speakers they are not always attractive.  You can hide your router in a wooden or press-board "faux" box.  You see these storage boxes disguised as books a lot at home decor stores.  Simply make sure to drill or cut holes for heat ventilation and for cords to pass through.  If you are ambitious, you can hollow out a large book you might find at early spring yard sales.

5) Finally, we can all agree that we can not live a civilized life without toilet paper but it just isn't visually attractive when sitting on the back of your toilet!  Try wrapping spare rolls of toilet paper in decorative tissue.  The tissue can be customized to your decor and can even be switched out during holidays!

What a great idea! Innovative Organization Ideas

This afternoon, we were organizing the Vanna White Fiber Crafts Room at our Colchester headquarters and the ideas just began to flow like sap in the spring time (a little Vermont humor)!

1. We were organizing our extensive thread inventory into drawer units and realized we could only see the tops of each spoil.  How can we tell them all apart?  We raced to our antique jam jar filled with magic markers and began color coding.  We colored all the blues blue, yellows yellow, etc.  Now we can quickly spot color groups and locate the exact color we are looking for quicker!
2. Marking the thread inspired us to take a look at our craft paints which were also stored in drawers.  Similar to the thread, we had to pull out several bottles before finding the right color.  Our solution? We painted the top of each bottle cap with a dab from it's contents.  Now we can easily locate that bottle of Moss green! 
3. After organizing our thread and craft paints, we became tired and needed a caffeine boost.  We went to the staff kitchen to grab a cup of coffee to go and couldn't seem to find the coordinating top for the travel mugs.  How do we solve this dilemma? Nail polish!  Once you have paired each set together, color code each set with a dab of nail polish...red dot bottom, red dot top, pink dot bottom, pink dot top and so on.  
4. We took our coffee back to the craft room to continue our organizing quest.  We found a bunch of embroidery floss.  Most of it was partially used and getting tangled.  Our solution?  A photo album with pages that have multiple pockets.  We separated the colors and slipped them into each pocket.  This now allows us to flip through and locate the perfect floss quickly.
5. We have ALOT of button, don't ask, don't judge.  We had been keeping them in a wholesale pickle jar.  We ever we needed a button, we would task Timmy, our intern to search for it.  He would have to dump out the entire jar and it took a lot of overtime.  Our solution? Small matching buttons are now threaded onto large safety pins.  Others are sorted by color and placed in zip-lock style bags and stored in plastic shoe boxes.  Now Timmy can find the buttons in a flash!
6. We had several full and partial skeins of yarn.  They had all been tossed in a large plastic bag.  Again the whole bag would need to be dumped out and untangled to find that perfect shade of fushia.  Our solution?  Sturdy file boxes which stack nicely and are not heavy when filled with yarn.  We snipped a piece from each skein and taped them to the top of the box.  Each skein was then placed in a zip-lock bag to keep them from tangling or picking up fowl odors from the lab.  Now when we need four yards of chartreuse yarn all we have to do is check the box top to see which holds which color.
7. After all this organizing, we were exhausted but we couldn't figure out what sizes all the different sheets in the lab's dormitory closet were.  Our solution?  Label with a fabric marker and fabric paints.  T for twin, F for full, and so on.  We marked the sheets in an area that would be tucked in and hidden from sight.