Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tips, Tricks and Ideas - GREAT Stuff!

So this page is full of some really cool tips, tricks and ideas that will make so many things easier to find, organize, eat or just enjoy.  I have tried to list them by topic or categories as best I could.  Hope you like 'em.  I think they are FANTASTIC!  ENJOY!




FOOD and TREATS:
Hull Strawberries Easily Using A Straw

Stop Cut Apples from Turning Brown by Securing with a Rubber Band

Cupcake Carrier: Use Box Lid and Cut Crosses Into It
Bake Cupcakes IN Ice-Cream Cones
Add Popcorn to Brown Paper Bag.  Cook in Microwave.
Upside Down Muffin Tins, Bake Cookie Dough and Have Cookie Bowls for Ice Cream, Fruit, Whatever
Create Window Box Veggie Patch with Guttering










CLEANING and REPAIR:

Rub a Walnut Over Scratches in Furniture to Disguise Dings & Scrapes


Remove Crayon from TV or Computer Screen with WD-40

Nylon Stocking OVER Vacuum Hose to Find Lost SMALL Items










CREATIVE and FUNCTIONAL:
Put iPhone or iPod in Bowl to AMPLIFY the Sound






ORGANIZATION:
Store Bed Linens INSIDE Their Pillow Cases
How To PERFECTLY Fold a Fitted Sheet
RE-USE Wet-wipe Container to Store Plastic Bags

Install Tension Rod to Hang Your Spray Bottles

Travel Shower Caps are PERFECT for Shoes When Traveling

Bread Bag Tags Make Perfect Cord Labels
Magnetic Strip Behind Vanity Door to Hold Bobby Pins, Tweezers, Clippers, Whatever

Magnet in Bottom of Plastic Cup Placed in Muffin Pan

Add Velcro Strip to Wall to Store Soft Toys
Use WIRE to Hang Rolls of Wrapping Paper Against Ceiling

Egg Cartoon Store Christmas Ornaments Perfectly






FUN IN THE SUN:


Remove SAND from Skin with Baby Powder
Freeze Aloe Vera in Ice Cube Trays for Soothing Sunburn Relief

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Faith Cakes

So a friend made one of these and I thought hers was pretty impressive so I had to get details on how to make a Faith Cake.  So in finding it, I wanted to share it with you as well!  ENJOY!

FAITH CAKE:

To make this cake you will need:
2 boxes White Cake
1 box Devils Food Cake
and ingredients (below) for frosting.
4 round cake pans (8" or 9")
Rectangle cake pan

For Buttercream Frosting:
(If you like more frosting between layers make MORE frosting)
1 cup veg. shortening (Crisco type - do NOT use butter flavor.)
1 cup room temperature butter
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
8 cups sifted (sifting is a must!) confectioners sugar (powder sugar)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk

For Frosting Mix: 
White Cakes
Cream together shortening and butter until light and fluffy. And extracts, mix until combined. Add sugar, one or two cups at a time, until fully blended. The frosting should look dry. You can now add the milk to get a smoother, glossier, and easier to spread consistency. (if you need to add some milk AFTER the 4 cups of sugar you can).
Leveled White Cakes



For the WHITE Cake Mix: 
You will be using an 8in or 9in round cake pan (whichever you like) for the white cake. You will need to make four layers. I suggest you freeze the layers for at least an hour before assembling the cake. You can also freeze them overnight to save time if you like!


After cooling, level the white cakes.

Devils Food Round

For the DEVILS FOOD Cake Mix:
Devils Food Crumbled
After you have baked the devils food cake in the rectangle pan per the boxes instructions, cool it.  (Again, use the freezer for an hour or so). You will then need to use a round cutter (like a tupperware bowl or large cool whip container) and cut a circle from the rectangle cake.
Once completed, use all the leftover devils food cake and begin to  crumble it.

You may need to add some frosting to make it stick together.  (For one box of devils food cake add approximately 1/2 cup frosting. Blend with a fork or your hand to mix together.)


Three Layers From Side
Now, using the same cutter (the tupperware bowl or cool whip container that you used above to cut the devils food cake), cut the same shape out of the white cake.   That devils food is going to fit perfectly into the white cake then on layer number 3.


Now, to get started with assembly. Put one layer of your white cake on your plate. Add about 1/2 cup frosting and add another layer (this could be number 2). Add another 1/2 cup frosting and add your third layer (the one with the cutout).
                                      
                                                 Third Layer Without Insert
Three Layers
Chocolate Center Added
It should look like this above before you put the chocolate round piece (left)  in the spot cut out.  After you add the chocolate insert into the 3rd layer it should look like this image on the right.



NOTE:  Now you will have to find a round cutter that can cut the center out of your cakes stacks.  If you have a vase that is shorter, you will have to cut through the three layers now as your cake will get too tall with four layers to cut through.  If you have a taller vase, you can add the fourth layer and then cut the center out using the vase.

Three Layers with Center Hole

So with your decision made you also need to start frosting the sides too and then keep stacking up layers by adding the 1/2 cup frosting and then adding your fourth layer.


Four Layers Cut Out
With the fourth layer in place and your center cut out with a tall vase, we need now to begin the process of filling the center hole.


Again, you cave to have this longer vase about 50% smaller in diameter than the tupperware bowl or cool whip container you used on layer three and you have to have already cut the center out of ALL the four layers.  Go through all layers of the cake and get a fork or spoon and carefully scoop out the excess cake.

Cut Fourth Layer Cut Out

If you only add three layers and then add your fourth layer, you will need to guesstimate where the hole would go or you could try to cut is out before you stack it up.
Devils Food Crumbled


Now remember that devils food cake that we crumbled and added some frosting too to make it more pliable?  Well, now we are about to use it.


With the entire devils food cake crumbled, we are going to fill up the entire hole with the cake mixture.


Four Layers with Filling
Just  start stuffing cake mixture into the center hole until the hole is full.  (Again, this works MUCH better if your white cake is frozen or very chilled).   Click here for a tutorial on how to "crumb coat" a cake.
Crumb Coated Cake




After adding the crumb coat layer, put the cake in the freezer overnight.  The next morning, add another layer of frosting. Be generous with your frosting now because this is a big cake and it can handle the frosting.  That is why I use more frosting than called for above between the layers.


Frosted Cake
Now you are ready to decorate the cake.  I found these photos below.  You can practice with a piping bag and a decorating tip using a piece of paper.  Practice will help your technique.

Top View
Side View

     
Top View of Cake






Close Up of Decorating
And this is what you see after you cut into your cake.  A cross.  Hence the name, 'Faith Cake'. ENJOY!
Faith Cut Inside View

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

God's Pharmacy


God's Pharmacy
Stumbled across this and thought it was worth sharing!  In Genesis, God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish...all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before man was even created.

These fruits and vegetables are best and more powerful when eaten raw. 

We're such slow learners...God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!



                A sliced Carrot loo
ks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye.. And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.


A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.


Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.




A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function




Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.




Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.




Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).




Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.




Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.




Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.




Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.


Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

George Steinmetz

George Steinmetz took this photograph for National Geographic.  This could be one of the best photographs for 2011.  Look closely as you may be surprised what exactly you are focused on.Photo: Aerial view of camels and their shadows

This shot was taken at sunset and if you look closely you will see dark lines or spots under the "camels". What you think are camels are really shadows and what are dark lines are really the camels.  Amazing what perspective will do for you!

Since his first assignment for National Geographic in 1987, Steinmetz has completed more than 20 major essays for the magazine, including three covers.

Born in Beverly Hills, California, in 1957, Steinmetz graduated from Stanford University with a degree in geophysics. He began his career in photography by hitchhiking through Africa for 18 months. Today he lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife and their three children.

To hear him in is own words and learn more about this photo go to this link on National Geographic.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Circle Radius Diameter & Pi

Ok I am ALWAYS into new things to help teach kids and when I stumbled across this one I just had to share it.  Circle, Radius, Diameter & Pi is a cute song to help kiddos learn some of these "rules" they have to do for higher math classes.

Take a minute, don't forget to have your kiddos sit with you, and enjoy a different song and learn something as well!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Armless Archer - Matt Stutzman

A friend shared this link with me and I was simply amazed.  I struggle using my hands to get some jobs done and this guy uses his feet to do everything!

Matt Stutzman is an archer, as well as many other things, and is an incredible inspiration.  I can't imagine the patience he must have.  Simply an incredible story!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Synchronized Gymnastics

This was simply beautiful to watch and really incredible too.  I didn't even know there was an event called synchronized gymnastics but then again, I'm not surprised.  Amazingly talented people with great disciple and skill.  ENJOY!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Silhouette Dancing

This was an incredibly original dance, done by an amazing cast of dancers who are from the Denver, Colorado area and they call themselves the Silhouette's.

The song they danced to was by Kirk Franklin (a Christian artist) called Imagine.  I know a woman who used to be a BGV (background vocal) for his tour so this was kind of cool to hear his song in this piece.

Enjoy this very original dance!  It is like something you have never seen!