It's all about the Oven!

Not many things in the kitchen surprise me anymore, but I had NO IDEA you could make tons of grilled cheese sandwiches all at once...in the oven! Who knew? It seems like such a simple idea, yet I never thought of it. Trust me, I have wasted PLENTY of time standing over a skillet, making one grilled cheese after another, only to find that by the time they are all done, the first one is cold!
I went to my mom's house last night, and she made them in the oven..all at once. She works at an school, and learned this trick from the lunch ladies. (And I believe the lunch ladies have all of the answers!! :))

Here is how you do it:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

2. Assemble your grilled cheese sandwiches like you normally would, buttering the sides of the bread facing the outside. (Mom used one and a half slices of American Cheese in hers, and they were perfect.)

3. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 6 minutes.

4. Take them out and flip them over and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes, until they are done.

Now, you didn't stand over a stove for forever, and all of the sandwiches are ready to serve at once, and noone has to get stuck with the cold one! A revolution in sandwich making! :) So simple.

I also wanted to share a new Christmas gift idea--Personalized Casserole Dishes! :) I can make these with pretty much any design and any name. Aren't they cute?? Thank you Pinterest! (I am totally addicted to that website, but who isn't???) I am charging $30 for a 9x13, and $25 for a 9x9. (Including covers). I will ship for an additional $7.

Front

Back

These are oven safe and permanently etched! So you don't have to worry about any designs rubbing off with oven use, etc. Now you can take those dishes to your potluck, and KNOW you will get your dish back!

To order: Go to my Etsy store http://www.etsy.com/listing/84867209/glass-etched-casserole-dish or you can send me a message at amber_barber@suddenlink.net

**AMBER**

Cookies, Cakes, and Birthday Parties!

My girls just turned 4 & 2! Oh my goodness time flies, and I am so thankful that God put me in charge of two of his precious gifts: Addison and Macyn!

I can't be like normal people and just order a birthday party set off of the Internet and be done with it. I have to try to make things as difficult as possible, and make everything myself..so this is my homemade Pirate/Mermaid Party. I am already telling my husband to remind me to just ORDER next year so I can de-stress my life a little. He is going to have to probably print this out for me to re-read next year. It is fun to be crafty, but sometimes, it's just a LOT of work.

Bethany (my niece), Addison, Macyn

Here is the Happy Birthday Banner I made with my CriCut!

And see.. there in the middle are the pirate maps and pirate tattoos! I had to do something less girly for my nephews!

My nephew Seth

My nephew Devin

We let all of the kids..and Mamaw...play with play-doh and cookie cutters while we worked on baking the cakes and cookies.

Here is my sweet sister, Heather, who helps me with all of my projects, and who my kids and I adore.

Macyn is telling me she is 1..and technically this is true, if only for just a few more days.

Mamaw and Addison

Beth and Addison

Goodie Bucket: Goldfish, mermaid toy, coloring book, colors.

Here is another Goodie Box for all of the Mermaids out there, filled with tattoos and jewelry.

AND HERE ARE THE COOKIES!!! I just want you all to know, that I practiced and practiced making cookies for this party! :) I had never made cookies with royal icing before, so my friend Jo Slye taught me how. I am totally addicted to cookie making now! I know they aren't the finest cookies in the world, but I am still proud of them!

Glitter fish cookies

Beach Balls

Addison's birthday cake. I actually had a "disaster" the morning of the party. I thought it would be a great idea to go ahead and make the cake and add the suckers, then cover with saran wrap, that way the suckers kept the saran wrap from touching the icing. WRONG! It made the suckers sweat, and drip colored candy goo all over the top of the cakes. I had to go to the store and pick up more ingredients to remake the icing and try to cover up the colored goo. Lesson learned the hard way!

Macyn's Birthday Cake

And here is a pic of another batch of cookies I made for my Aunt Jane, who coordinated our trip to Women of Faith this year.

So as you can see, I am loving these sugar cookies with royal icing! I am having so much fun with it. I am trying to figure out the next occasion that I can bring cookies to! :)

Crayon Hearts

Apparently I am on a Crayon kick, thanks to the Crayon wreath yesterday. It got me thinking about all of the crayons we have lying around the house.. especially the broken ones. Addison and Macyn both love to color, but since they are only 1 & 3, well they leave them lying on the floor a lot. I end up stepping on more than my fair share of crayons. (At least the ones that Dixie, our Boxer, doesn't eat.) So as a solution to our Crayon problem, I figured we could make these Crayon Hearts!

*** I thought this was a solution until we came back from Nannie's house, and Macyn apparently forgot these were crayons and not candy! It took her two bites to realize they were really yuck.

First thing you need to do is to peel of all of the paper. Addison liked helping with this part. I usually don't let her peel the paper off, so this previously "forbidden" act was tons of fun for her.

Then break them up into small pieces and place them into a baking mold. Make sure it is oven-safe! If you don't have a silicone shape mold, you can use a mini muffin tin.

Place the desired colors together.

Place them in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Once they firm up, they should just pop right out of the molds, and are ready to use! (You can put the tray into the freezer if you are impatient...like me. Just make sure it's in there level, otherwise you will have a colored mess in your freezer.)

These are the perfect size for little hands to hold.

MK really liked them and did NOT want to share.

And here is the look I got when I told her she had to. This looks JUST like her Daddy.

Of course the pink and purple one is Addison's favorite!

-Amber

How to make a Crayon Wreath

Not too long ago, my sister and I were in Hobby Lobby, and we picked up a flyer for a Crayon Wreath. It collected dust with all of the other craft ideas we thought were cute. So when she called and asked about an idea for Teacher Appreciation week, well I remembered this. (Of course, I was thinking it was a clock.. which is much more intricate. A wreath is much better!)

It was a fun and easy craft project, and I think it turned out cute!

Supplies:

• 1 -8" embroidery hoop
• 1 -12" embroidery hoop
• 3 boxes of 24 ct. crayons
• Ribbon for bow and hanger
• acrylic paint
• sponge brush
• hot glue gun
• glue sticks
• Wooden apple cut out
• Wooden bus cut out
• paint pen

Steps:

1. Unscrew the screw from both hoops and hot glue the ends of the hoop together.
2. Paint the hoops with acrylic paint.
3. Lay the smaller hoop inside the larger hoop.
4. Lay all of the crayons on the hoops in the desired color order, making sure that "Crayola" is showing. (We just think it looks better.)
5. Glue down each crayon, making sure that all crayons are facing the same way. We placed one dot of hot glue on each hoop, and then laid the crayon in between both hoops. (See the picture below.)
6. Use the paint pen to write the teacher's name on the wooden apple.
7. Make your bow.
8. Take a loop of ribbon for the hanger and place it on the wreath where you want it to hang, and hot glue it in place.
9. Hot glue your bow at the top of the wreath.
10. Hot glue the wooden apple and wooden bus on.
11. Stand back and compliment yourself on the awesome Craft Diva that you are.

*Make sure you paint the insides and the outsides of the embroidery hoops, just in case it shows through!

*See how the larger embroidery hoop is on the outside, and the smaller hoop is on the inside? That's what we're looking for! Now place your crayons on in an orderly fashion people...and GLUE!

Now I think this is a gift any teacher will appreciate! :)

*Amber & Heather*