Restaurant style chicken nachos

I have made this several times and I love it and so does Scott and Aubrey. This is one of my favorite things to make because it is so easy, quick, and delicious. (I got the recipe here on allrecipes.com) Really when you want a quick meal you should try this one.

Only things I do differently is use a regular onion, leave out the tomatoes, and serve with sour cream all due to personal preference and what we have in the house.

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves garlic, crushed
Onion
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 shredded, cooked, whole chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup salsa
1/2 (12 ounce) package tortilla chips
shredded Cheese



DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pan, medium heat, cook and stir the garlic and onions in canola oil until it cooked. Mix in shredded chicken, salt and pepper. Toss until well coated with oil. Stir in the salsa.
Arrange tortilla chips on a large baking sheet. Spoon the chicken mixture over tortilla chips. Add your cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Serve with sour cream (or extra salsa)

Santa's Cookie

I saw this fun idea here. Its really easy and a great alternative if you don't have access to vinyl.
You need:
a clear plate ($1.50 at Walmart)
fabric
mod podge
letters (mine are cut from computer paper)

-Cut out your letters and also your fabric so it is slightly bigger then your plate.

-Flip your plate over (bottom side up) and add mod podge to the area your letters are going.

-Add your letters (make sure they are backwards so they are the correct way when you flip your plate back over).

-Add mod podge to the top of your letters and smooth out. Let it dry.

-Cover your entire plate with mod podge and carefully place your fabric on top. Smooth out all of the wrinkles and pull it tight. Add mod podge to the top of the fabric and again smooth out all of the bubbles. Let it dry (it took a little over an hour).
-Cut away the extra fabric and add to a little stand.

This was a lot of fun and I need to go and get a bunch more plates.

I am adding this to:

The Living Christ

I first saw these 4 years ago and instantly fell in love. They were on my "want to make" list forever. Last year I finally decided to try it. I made two different sized (the regular size and the huge size).
Here's what you need:
-"Living Christ" I bought my at the distribution center -the regular one (8 1/2 x 11) is FREE and the larger (11x17 one is $.15.)
-packet of 3x4 cards (I needed two and bought 2 different ones this one and this one)I bought them at Deseret book. They are around 4 or 5 dollars.
-Frame (I just went up one size from my original-It is very helpful if your frame comes with a mat)

First choose your pictures and arrange them along the edge of your "Living Christ". Measure and cut the pictures to fit your frame. For the smaller size you will need to cut a lot off. I used a ruler and a pencil on the front of the pictures-It made it a lot easier to line up and cut where I wanted. This is my before and after of the smaller size (maybe seeing it will give you a better idea of how I cut mine).

(notice the corner pictures)

The large size was a lot easier because there was a lot less cutting. I actually lined my pictures up with the mat it came with and over lapped the length instead of cutting it off. I sued the corner pictures as a guide (these are not cut like the smaller one) to line up and space the rest. The only tricky part is filling up the top and bottom line-It fits 2 long pictures perfect but I only had 3 so one side has 1 long picture and 2 tall pictures-Cut/overlap to fit. They look a little different but it doesn't bother me.

Its an easy project and looks beautiful. I still get comments on it and people are so surprised I actually made it (and even more surprised when they find out how). Really the key is to make sure everything is lined up. If you don't want to use The Living Christ you can always use the same concept for family pictures or something else. I have a variation of this project I am hoping to get to for a Christmas present. Also if you have any questions please e-mail me.

Here are the words to "The Living Christ-The Testimony of the Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints."

Christmas Silhouette

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

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This was a very simple project that took about 5 minutes. I used this image (used google images and typed in wisemen silhouettes). I copied and pasted it into a word document. I added the quote (Love this quote) and sized it to fit a 5x7 frame. I printed it off, cut it out and framed. The part that took the longest was choosing an image.

Variations:
1)If you don't want to use a lot of ink you can trace your image directly from your screen and cut it out of black paper (that same way I made my Halloween one). It would also give it more dimension.
2)Print it on Christmas pattern paper or any color to give it a fun look (wish I would have done that)
3)use black paper for the back and cut your silhouette and words out of white paper. This would give it a pretty reversed look.

I am adding this to Blue Eyed Blessings Craft Challenge and Somewhat Simple's Strut your stuff. Head to their blogs for more great ideas.

How to paint Particleboard furniture

Update March 11,2017:  My furniture is holding up great!  The paint has stayed on, no peeling or scratching.  I still need hardware!

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You probably will recognize some of these pictures my Big Reveal. My aunt gave us her entire bedroom set for free when we got married. It was old and beat up but it has worked. Once I realized it is possible to paint fake wood/laminate particle board furniture I jumped to it. It has taken a long time (I still need to finish my bed and do some minor touch ups) but it was totally worth it.

The befores

The afters-

You need:

sandpaper (120 and 220)
Primer (spray works best)
Paint and brushes
Clear lacquer (option but a good idea)

Here's how I did it.
-Start by taking all of the hardware off-If you are lucky like me half of yours will already be missing or falling off.

-Sand using 120 grit sandpaper (or something close to it.) You don't need to sand off all of the laminate just enough so its not shiny any more.-Prime-Spray primer works best. I used this kind.
-Sand lightly using your 220 sandpaper (just to make it smooth).

-Paint-I used at least 2 coats.

-Let it dry (It may take a few days don't rush it or it will feel sticky and you can ruin the paint)

-Add a coat of clear lacquer (it took away the sticky feeling)


A few extra tips I learned along the way:
-Use a power sander-I did mine all by hand and it would have gone a lot faster if I had just bought a sander.

-If you have chips like mine (one piece was really bad) you can use putty to fill it in. We used a spray on to cover the top of the long dresser-it was quick but make sure you give it plenty of time to dry.

-Also if possible keep the hardware-it is expensive. I couldn't because a lot of ours were missing and I still need to buy some.

Placemat makeover

This was seriously a super easy project and I love the results.

I ran across this placemat in Target and knew I had to have it. There was only one so I thought I could use if for a purse of something. When I got home I just couldn't cut it and I didn't want to interrupt the design because I love it to much.

So I ripped out some of the seam and stuffed it. I then sewed it back up. Luckily the entire thing is all top stitched so you can't even tell.

My finished Pillow!

I have a few more placemats waiting for a makeover-maybe they will also become pillows.

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