signed by tina

Sep 24, 2011

What a beautiful day!

This morning I had to get up super early because someone was coming to purchase my newly purchased :) cabinet... It's ok to feel sorry for me because I have a disease called "can't make up my mind - not even under threat". It is something that has come with age and I am not very happy about it....When the alarm went off it felt like I had just fallen asleep. Hate that feeling! Well, he bought my cabinet so that's a yay!

We have had the best weather here today...crisp blue skies, so we just had to go to the forest, picking chanterelles. Let's just say that we were not the only ones with that genius idea :) Well, we found heaps and heaps. Now we just have to clean and dry those little beauties. The goal is to have 10 liters of dry chanterelles before the first frost! I think that will last us through the winter?

On another note! Don't you have days when your body just screams for vitamins?

This was such a day! Went into the store and came out with fruit that could last a lifetime it felt :) Let's bring out the juicer!

How was your day?

Project Day....Luminaries

Learn how to make these Balloon Luminaries.

You will need:

High-melt paraffin wax

Party balloons

Double boiler

Cookie sheet

Fill a balloon with tepid water.

Melt your wax. Optimum working temperature for this project is 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Try to maintain this temperature for your wax while working by keeping it on a double boiler.

Slowly dip your balloon into the wax to just below the water level in the balloon. Warning: Do not dip the balloon into the wax past the water level. This could cause the balloon to pop.

Hold the balloon in the wax for a few seconds, and then slowly lift it out of the wax. Dip the balloon a few more times, allowing some time between dips to let the wax cool.

While it is still quite warm, carefully set the balloon down onto a piece of paper or a cookie sheet, making sure it is level. This will create a flat bottom for the luminary.

Dip your balloon a few more times until it is the desired thickness. A good target thickness is 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch.

Set the balloon on the paper or cookie sheet again and let it cool.

When the wax is completely cooled, hold the balloon over a sink or bucket, facing away from you. Carefully pop the balloon with a skewer or knife and let the water drain out. Throw away the balloon shards.

To level the top of the luminary, heat a cookie sheet on the stove and place the luminary top-down onto the hot sheet and carefully melt the edges until it is level.

Place a tea light or votive inside the luminary and burn on a candle holder in a dark area.