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Hi, I’m Regina and I’m nervous. This is my first post on MyWoodenRobot. My sister has cordially invited me to post about random crafts and dishes/meals that I make. Hopefully this will encourage me to continue to try new things because we all know how lazy we can get when we get used to things.
Alright, so my boyfriend’s parents are coming to LA to celebrate new years and meet my parents for the first time ever! I have been racking my brain about what to give them as a welcoming gift. I like gifts to have meaning or to show that I put some work into it. After brainstorming with my father and sister, we came up with a personalized antique-looking tray. It was a fairly simple project. It combines the technique of stenciling and some freehand painting.
Cost: < $20
Materials:
Wooden tray (I used finished – unfinished is fine too)
Acrylic paint
Print design
Hi-gloss finish (spray on lacquer- inexpensive, and very easy to use)
Tools:
Xacto knife
Paint brushes
Sponge
Stencil your design. Paint the base color onto your tray. Use tape to create straight lines and keep the paint off areas where you don’t want it. Once the paint is dry, use a sponge to dab the contrasting color through your stencil. Then use your paint brushes to touch up of some messy areas. Wait for the paint to dry, and finish it with two coats of lacquer.
Voila! Your very own personalized serving tray.
Stay tuned for more projects – cuz this gift ain’t done!
My sister (originally from California hence the name) currently lives in Boston, so I thought it would be fitting to ask her to write about her life crafting with Samuel Adams and other historical figures. So from now on, you can look forward to her posts about cooking, knitting, and other random crafts she makes. 
I’ve been on what my friend, Jennifer, calls a bit of a social vacation for the past few days and that included reading other people’s blogs. So, it was a surprise to find some familiar pictures posted on my friend, Meredith’s, blog of some stationary I sent her for a little Christmas present and a thank you for everything she did for me this past year.
“I just had to share this wonderful package that I got in the mail from my friend Jane over at MyWoodenRobot.…”
This is a pretty cool and informative video about how to customize shoes. Sergio’s been interested in customizing his shoes lately, so I thought this was a good reference guide on how to go about doing that. If you click on the video and click more on About This Video, WiggaTriggaTV gives you a list of places to buy the materials for this project.
If you do try this, then please send me pictures! I’d love to see the outcome.
My sister made these for her party and although she had her doubts in the beginning about the stuffing’s flavor, these bite-sized appetizers have an explosion of flavor. It was the first thing that “sold out” at the party and who could blame our guests? The mushrooms are stuffed with cheese and after you put them in the oven, the top becomes slightly crisp revealing a gooey center leaving everyone wanting seconds.
Mouth Watering Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
12 Whole Fresh Mushrooms
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
1 (8 oz) package Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
Directions:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
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Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
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When garlic and mushroom misture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion power, and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
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Bake for 20 minutes* in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.
*If you’re preparing these the day before, you can bake them for about 10 minutes, cool them, set them in the refrigerator, and bake them again the next day for the remaining 10 minutes right before guests begin to arrive.
I just woke up from an hour nap–it’s been a while since I’ve indulged in an afternoon nap. But I’m so glad to be back after a short blogging vacation. My sister is in town so it’s been hard to keep track of the blog and I haven’t really been able to make anything new since we’ve been so busy catching up (it’s different when you see someone in person as opposed to the phone).
I went to the movies twice this week and saw I Am Legend (for the second time) and National Treasure: The Book of Secretsrespectively. If you’re looking for some entertaining movies, then I recommend those two. I won’t say that they’re the deepest, well thought out, oscar worthy movies, but they’re definitely very entertaining.
My family hosted two parties back to back, one for my sister’s friends on the 23rd and one for our family on the 24th. Those two days were extremely hectic and we all had very little sleep. Although I’d have to say that the 23rd was exceptional because we went paint-balling before preparing for the party. Nothing like getting paint filled pellets flung at you at pretty high velocities to bring a family together. It was my first time and I walked away with about four bruises. That was about 10 less than I expected, so there’s some good news!
The food on both nights were so amazingly delicious. I wish I took some pictures because it was both impressive on the eyes as well as the tongue. I know the holiday season is almost over, but if you’re looking for a quick but surprisingly delicious appetizer to make, I definitely recommend Tomato-Mozzarella Basil Bites.
Tomato-Mozzarella Basil Bites
Serves approximately 12 people
Ingredients:
6 Small Tomatoes (or 4 Medium Sized)
8 oz Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil Leaves
Crushed Sea Salt
Directions:
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Slice tomatoes about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch horizontally (so that they look circular).
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Slice cheese approximately the same amount of thickness and size as the tomato.
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Top with a basil leaf, sprinkle some salt and insert a toothpick for easy eating.
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Enjoy!
It’s 1:25 a.m. which means that it’s officially the day before Christmas. Not to be confused with Christmas Eve because it’s not the eve before Christmas. We’ve still got over 12 hours until then. Anyway, we have a family party tomorrow and if dinner at my boyfriend’s house is early enough, then I’d really like to stop by there to spend some time with them. I’m so excited to give my mom her Christmas gift.
Thank goodness for secret santa. After only one trip to the mall, I got all my shopping over with, but if you still haven’t (and I hope you learned your lesson this year) then Megan Crow has some great holiday tips for you.
“So you have 2 days left until Christmas…and unless you want to go to Wal-Mart, you probably won’t find much open – or many choices. Here’s some ideas of last minute, sometimes green, gift ideas…”
I’ll be testing out some new looks for the blog in the next few days so don’t be shocked when the site looks different from the last time you saw it. Still the same content! Just new look. Knowing me though, I’ll probably just go back to the same theme I had last time. lol.
I just submitted my first YWrites post tonight. Since her blog is primarily about food, she asked me to submit recipes and other food related articles once a week, so keep your eyes peeled for those.
Anyway, tonight, I made (for the first time) pumpkin bread. Wow. I think I’m going to become a fan of pumpkin now because everytime I bake with it, it’s so amazing. The prep time for this really is only 15 minutes. The baking time is about 50 minutes, but during those 50 minutes, you can do other things like laundry, clean the kitchen, or watch some t.v. to pass the time. It’s worth the wait. I can’t wait until tomorrow so I can get another slice. (I have to have some for the guests to at least see…)
