Blogger Showdown: Reveal 1- Repurposed Coca Cola crate

Hi y'all!  Well, it's HERE! The first reveal for the "Rehash that Trash: Blogger Showdown"!  As per the Trash List, the first project was to be a repurposed project! (Happy Evey Dance)

 Behold. My humble yet AWESOME new desk organizer! I have posted before about my quest for organization.  De and E can both vouch for my scatterbrainy mind. I need help, y'all! 

I found this sweet piece at a garage sale for $10.  It started its new life in my home as entryway decor.  I had even found a cute glass Coke bottle to sit inside of it, but when I decided to find something to repurpose, I knew this vintage Coke crate was just the piece I needed.  

 Anyone else have way too many paintbrushes?  This isn't even half. (I know I have a craft hoarding problem.  I'm working on it.)

I also have way too many Mason Jars.  I figured they would do the trick and hold all my supplies in the slots of the crate neatly.  They did.  It rocks.  The crate also holds my larger sized acrylic paint bottles that don't fit in my other desk organizer.  This makes me super happy, as I had NO idea where to put them and they were simply sitting on my desk always in my way. 

So what do you think?! Did I win this challenge!?  Or did De? Go check out her piece but keep in mind how awesome MINE IS! :) I didn't even have to paint or do anything to it! It was perfect as it was! Word.  So leave a comment here and on her page letting us know who won the challenge! :) Keep in mind, sharing is caring! So, share our posts with your social media friends and encourage them to vote as well!

xoxo,

Evey Owner/Creator, Evey's Creations Tel: 201-281-6696  http://sweetsongbird.eveyscreations.com FB: www.facebook.com/EveysCreations G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105370121686355288267/posts Twitter: @EveysCreations Instagram: @EveysCreations Hometalk: http://www.hometalk.com/eveya

Rehash that Trash- Blogger Showdown

WORD. That title says "Blogger Showdown"!  It's on like Donkey Kong, y'all! :)

I have this friend named De.  I like her lots.  She gets my quirky humor, understands when I get distracted while trying to get a point across, heck, she even knows when I'm ready to flip out and calls me on it immediately! :)

Awhile back she shared some news about getting "discovered" and how psyched we both were! Alas, the stars did not quite align the way we thought they would and so we have decided to have our very own version of said show RIGHT HERE ON OUR BLOGS! :)

Here's what's going to happen. Instead of two teams, we are going to put our skills to the test and face off AGAINST EACH OTHER on (3) DIY projects. Each week, we'll post both project reveals on our blogs and leave it up to ya'll to decide who gets the ultimate trash talking rights. Will there be 5k up for grabs? Not exactly. Will the world get to see our awesome faces on their flatscreens? Perhaps not.  (That in itself is a real tragedy, but what are you gonna do, right?!)  So here ya go:

The Contestants

~vs~

The Trash List

The Schedule

-June 10 - Project 1 Reveal

-June 17 Project 2 Reveal 

-June 24 Project 3 Reveal

-July 1 - Winner Reveal

The Fans

There are a bunch of ways for you to join in the fun. First, follow along on social media for 'in progress' photos, to offer comments/suggestions or chime in for moral support. Second, join the challenge by linking up your 'trash list' project too (via blog link, social media link, direct photo, etc.). Lastly, VOTE! You'll pick who wins afterall. Following each project reveal you'll leave a comment and tell us which is your favorite piece. Before the next reveal post the votes will be tallied by an independent party (or one of our husbands or something official like that). After all projects are revealed a final tally of post comments will determine the winner!

Here is how to find us around the web:

Evey: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook

Dee: Instagram / Twitter / Facebook

Remember, since the votes are based on reader voting any amount of sweet talking, blackmailing and/or coaxing of our friends and family is fair game!

The Stakes

The loser first runner up will pick up the tab for dinner at the restaurant of the Winner's choosing. The Winner will receive also the coveted honor of right-of-first-refusal for any and all photos taken/posted online for the entire night. Both contestants walk away with awesome memories and three - count 'em THREE - completed projects. That's already a win in my book.

In other words, I need to make sure I win so I have nothing to be blackmailed for! :) I'm READY, Game on, babbbyyy!!

xoxo

Evey Owner/Creator, Evey's Creations Tel: 201-281-6696  http://sweetsongbird.eveyscreations.com FB: www.facebook.com/EveysCreations G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105370121686355288267/posts Twitter: @EveysCreations Instagram: @EveysCreations Hometalk: http://www.hometalk.com/eveya

Gluten Free Fridays: Make ahead GF Chicken Fingers

Hi y'all! It's FRIDAY! Gluten Free Friday!  I thought I'd share my kids' favorite Friday dinner, Chicken Fingers!  I partially cook these in advance, then freeze them so they are readily available when you don't feel like cooking! They taste fresh when you finish them up right before serving.



Ingredients:

5lbs Chicken Tenders
3tbs Italian Seasoning (I make my own)
GF Bread Crumbs (I use Corn Chex)
GF All Purpose Flour
2 eggs (beaten, and thinned out with a bit of water)
2 cloves crushed garlic
Olive Oil

Method:

Set yourself up neatly with a row of plates and an assembly line.  Season EVERY step of the way.  This means, salt and pepper your flour, and bread crumbs.  Of course, also season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper to taste and rub it down with the Italian seasoning.  Heat oil (medium heat) in a large pan, and brown the garlic.  Remove it once it's browned or it will burn.  Burnt garlic is extremely bitter and no good!  You have infused the oil with the garlic even though you have removed it.  Start by coating the chicken fingers in the seasoned flour, shake off the excess, then transfer it to the egg wash, then to the bread crumbs.  The pan should be hot enough so that you hear a sizzle when you drop the chicken tender into it, but not too hot that it burns quickly.  Brown both sides, but don't let it cook all the way through, then transfer to a plate to cool.  When they are all cool, transfer them to a freezer Ziplock bag and freeze.  Make sure you label accordingly, as they will only be partially cooked.  The day that you use them, simply defrost then finish them off in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes or until fully cooked.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Evey Owner/Creator, Evey's Creations Tel: 201-281-6696  http://sweetsongbird.eveyscreations.com FB: www.facebook.com/EveysCreations G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105370121686355288267/posts Twitter: @EveysCreations Instagram: @EveysCreations Hometalk: http://www.hometalk.com/eveya

Captain Underpants: Lego game inventor

For those of you in the know, my oldest (aka Captain Underpants) has a sincere desire to become a Lego Master Builder. There really is such a job, just take a look at the life-size replica of Luke Skywalker's speeder that was just unveiled in Times Square.  Needless to say, I am definitely encouraging this as a job choice. He would basically get to be an engineer that plays for a living. Smart kid; at age 9 1/2 he has figured out how to play with toys and get paid to do it.
Recently, in the Captain's math class, the kids have been tasked with creating a board game. They have to come up with a game board, rules, playing pieces, etc. This has gotten the Captain all excited about games.  Of course, his project is highly detailed, but at home he keeps coming up with games, "just for fun, Mom" that he tries to entice us to play.
Today, while I was enjoying myself immensely by rearranging my boards on Pinterest, the Captain asked me if I had come up with any cool ideas that I could put on Pinterest myself.  When I mentioned that my main involvement with Pinterest has basically involved finding other people's cool ideas and then making them myself, the Captain shook his head and announced that he would come up with something that I could pin.  Clearly the child wants me to make a contribution of some kind instead of just poaching the good ideas of others. Go figure. To help me out, the Captain invented a quick Lego game and demonstrated it for me so that I could pass it on to you.
I will give you the instructions word-for-word as he wrote them down for me, as he has such a way of putting things...I have no hope of replicating it.

5 minutes. 30 pieces. (Variable time and number of pieces)
1. Pick 30 random Lego pieces
2. Set timer for 5 minutes
3. Start the timer, start building, and have fun!"

Then he drew a little box that said "picture...final" that was supposed to represent me adding in a picture of his final creation.  He also created the caption for the picture. Hilarious.
This is a stripped down version of the game Creationary, where you get two minutes to build a specific object out of Legos and your teammates have to guess what it is.  But, the difference here is that you have a limited number and limited time to create ANYTHING.