Picture This Finale!

The last post was about making a reclaimed wood picture frame. I had finished the actual frame, but it wasn't really usable because it didn't have glass or a backing. You didn't think that I would leave you all hanging did you? Get it? It's a play on words. ...Okay not a great one.

Since I had the frame, I took it to a nearby frame shop. They measured the insert, and cut the glass and the backing. The whole thing took about 5 minutes. Not only that, it only cost 5 smackers!

They gave me these to use to hold the backing.

I know that it is on the back, and no one will see it, but I wanted to change the gold and silver to something that matches or at least blends in with the dark ebony stain on the back. I used just a bit of this great rust-oleum spray paint that I had saved up to use for a future project.

I screwed in the six clasps, and painted the backing with regular acrylic paint that I already had. They gave me a white foam board, and that would have been too much contrast. Again, I realize that this is the back, but I don't want it to stick out like a sore thumb. This is what the back of the frame looked like in the end:

If you really wanted you could tack on another backing in order to make it a stand up frame. This is only another couple dollars from the frame store. Super easy, but unnecessary if you want to prop it up against a wall or hang it.

Here is the final product. Dun, dun, dun dunnnn......

And the detail shot:

And here is the price break down:

Wood to make the frame - $0 - I had this left over from a past project.
Elmer's Wood Glue - $0 - Already owned
Ebony wood stain - ~$8
Clear polyurethane - $0 - I had this left over from a past project.
Glass and backing - $5 - my glass and backing was about 7" x 9". It would have cost a bit more for a bigger piece.

Total = $13

Considering I found these two frames for about $40 each at the Rebuilding Center, I think that I came across on top.

Plus, I like mine better. :)

Picture This!

This past December I went to a trade show. I came home with a pile of goodies, but among the stack was this little number:

It is a 4x6 postcard that I thought it would be a nice addition to the guest room bedside table. The next step, to make a cute little frame to house it. As you may know, I have had a love affair with reclaimed wood furniture for a while, so I decided to use my faux reclaimed wood technique to make a country-chic picture frame.

I'm no stranger to making a picture frame-esque shape. In college I made a lot of canvases for painting. Tomato, tomato, right? Ya, except when it is actually a picture frame it has to look pretty. No hiding the uneven edges under a stretched canvas.

To start, I used some wood that we bought at the Re-Build It Center on N Mississippi. We got about 30+ pieces of cedar planks for about $30, although I think that we underpaid because the man who sold them to us didn't realize they were cedar. ...oops? Nabil used it for a bench that he built for our entry way, but we have quite a bit left over, enter new projects for Courtney.

The wood that we had was intended to be used for railings (I think). They came with a grove already cut in the back. 

This actually ended up working well for me because I only had to make one long cut instead of two. I basically just ended up cutting off one side of the groove to make it an even notch taken off the plank. Since I did this however, it meant that the glass will end up going in farther behind the frame, and because of that I will probably have to tape the picture to the backside of the glass. This will all make sense in a bit, once you see the cuts that I made.

After beating the crap out of three 8ft planks, I began cutting. You want to make sure to cut the notch out the back before staining the wood. I used my husband's hand dandy skill saw for the cut. My dad has taught me that to make a cut with a skill saw, make sure that you have another piece of wood next to the piece you are cutting. This will help keep the saw nice and straight while cutting. Our skill saw does have a laser guide though, so I'm not sure it was too necessary, but the extra wood pieces also helped to hold the plank tightly in our wood cutter. PS, this is not the safest way to keep the wood tight, but it worked for this purpose. Also notice the pencil line where I measured out where I needed to cut (1/4 in away from the edge).

After cutting the pieces, I sanded the edges using our orbital sander to make sure that nothing went higher than the original cut that came in the center of the back. This was my attempt at making sure the whole cut was the same depth. Once they are cut into smaller pieces, you will want them to line up as evenly as possible. You can kinda see in the pic below that the cut on the left was better than the right.

Sander and wood filler to the rescue! I used wood filler to make sure that the surface was even. Since the glass is going to be resting against this surface, it is important to make sure it is as even as possible.

Next is the fun part, staining the wood, followed by using the miter saw for 45* angle cuts. You can get the full tutorial for staining here, but when you are done, this is what you will get:

*on a side note, I did cut the wood into smaller pieces to make them more manageable to stain and cut. This step is optional, but if you do this, or are using smaller pieces to start with, make sure they were twice the size of outside edge. I used a drawing that I made before the project to ensure I knew correct sizes. I had to hone my 9th grade algebra skills. See kids, knowing your math facts does pay off.

Finally, miter saw, here I come! This is in my opinion, this most fun tool EVER. It's just so easy to use and looks so BA.

For the first cut, just cut the edge into a 45* angle. Make sure the pointed part is on the side that will be used for the outside of the frame. For the second cut, measure the inside edge to just a little shorter than 6 inches (or whatever size you want your frame to be).

You want to make two pieces that are exactly the same size. This will ensure that your frame stays a rectangle and doesn't turn into a diamond or some oblong trapezoid. That's right, I know my shapes. When the ends are flush on both ends, they are the same size. I had to trim one of the pieces just a bit to make them exact.

If they look like this, they are not the same size. Yup, I did that... Good thing I had extra wood.

Now repeat with two more pieces. Since I wanted to make a double frame, I had to make six more pieces. Here is what I had once everything was done.

The next part is lining the frame up tightly and using wood glue to connect all the pieces. Normally, I would stick a nail in side and then cover up the head, but A, I don't have a handy air compressor or a nail gun like the college art department had, and B, since it is just a small fram the doesn't weight much, the nails aren't really necessary, the wood glue will hold everything just fine.

When the corners dired, I flipped it around and applied a LOT more glue in the corner, and any evdent cracks.

Again, when that dried, I added a little more wood filler inbetween to boards. This is mostly for asthentic value. Stained wood filler looks better than dried wood glue.

I then sanded the back of the frame, and added a full coat of stain. I didn't treat the back like I did the front. I just left the stain as is. I also used the mostly dried brush to fill an imperfections in the front (i.e. the frame corners where the saw cuts took off some splinters to reveal the unstained wood below).

Lastly, I applied a few coats of polyurethane. The pain in the ass part about this (and any decorative paint project really) is that you have to apply a coat, wait for it to dry, and repeat as necessary. What is that expression? ...oh ya, It's like watching paint dry. Boring! To do the front and back, it took a whole week because I would apply a coat right when I got home from work, and then wait a full day before sanding and applying the next coat. I have discovered, that with polyurethane, it is best to use steel wool to sand inbetween coats. I ended up applying three coats to the front, and two to the back.

My favorite part about this project is the details up close. I love that beat-up/repurposed look come to life.

And now, it's done! ...until I finish the rest.

I hope that helps to show that although the process is a little tedious, it is actually pretty easy, and I just saved you over $30! The next post will cover how and where to get glass for the frame. :)

Until next time...



Stuffed Bell Peppers

Alright, so you may have gathered from recent posts, but Nabil and I are trying to be more healthy. Brother Yacine is in town, so this has been a little difficult, but last week we had a great healthy dinner. Stuffed peppers anyone? Yes, please!

Below are the ingredients. I initially thought I was going to include some tomato sauce, but I ended up leaving that out.

- 5-7 bell peppers 
- 3/4 C orzo
- 1 C white rice
- 3 1/2 C vegetable stock (divided)
- Approximately 8 mushrooms
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 T dill (finely chopped or dried)
- 1 T Italian seasoning (finely chopped or dried)
- 1 T parsley (finely chopped or dried)
- pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 C tomato sauce (optional)

To start, even the bottom, cut out the stem, and scoop out the seeds of the peppers. Then set aside.

In a sauce pot over medium heat, cover bottom of pan with olive oil and add orzo. Toast to golden and add rice, stir for about 1 minute.

Add 2 1/2 cups chicken stock and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a separate pan, saute the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Once the onions are translucent, add the turkey and cook until lightly brown.

Transfer to a bowl with the rice and orzo and stir to combine. Add spices, remaining stock, and diced tomatoes.

Stuff the peppers and place in a baking dish.

Bake on 350 for 30min. I also cooked some delicious brussel sprouts for a side dish.

I added a little parm cheese to the top of each pepper with about 10 min left to bake.

Enjoy! Until next time...

Onion Cry No More

So my brother in law has been back in town this past week (hence the silent blog, we have been very busy scurrying about). He has been living in London for a year and will be there for at least another year. That's right, phrases like "chip chip cheerio", "ello mate", "I live in a flat", "bloody ell", and "lets get pissed" are quickly becoming part of his vocabulary. All of which we imitate and make fun of relentlessly of course.

Unlike most bachelors, Yacine actually likes to cook and learn new cooking skills. It is one of my most favorite things about having him to visit. He has even taken a few cooking classes in Jolly 'Ol. One of the little tidbits that he brought back to teach me was how to cut an onion without crying. I don't really use onions, unless they are well cooked in a soup or something, mostly because raw onions taste disgusting, but this was a very good piece of cooking advice non the less. You will usually find me holding a few matches in between my teeth, which only works about half the time. No more!

So here is what I learned. It is actually the base of the onion that holds most of the amino acid sulfoxides. This is the enzyme that makes you cry when released into the air. Avoid the base.

To avoid the base, make the cuts into the onion but do not go all the way from end to end. Start by making cuts going towards the base, but stopping about an inch or so shy of the base. Cut from the top layer all the way through. See picture below to help clarify:

Next make a few horizontal cuts. Again stop cutting a few inches before the base. Lastly, cut the onion on the last axis. You will be left with your diced pieces. P.S. Those are my brother-in-laws way too short finger nails. It's a problem, but hopefully one that a little Internet humiliation will cure.

You will be left with a bunch of dice onions for your soup, pasta, etc, and the core of the onion.

...and no tears! Okay, the picture does look like there is one tear welling up, but in real life, there wasn't. :)

I hope this little tidbit helps you as much as it helped me!

Until next time...

Juice Cleanse

Okay so Nabil and I have been focusing on working out quite a bit over the last two months. We realized at the end of 2011, that we were being a little lazy. I tore my ACL last January, and spent most of last year trying to recover. While we may be kicking ass and taking names with working out, we have not been eating very well. In fact, we have been countering our new sweat drive with more yummy treats. No more! Enter juice cleanse.

Nabil and I actually do eat pretty healthy from day to day, but the chips and cheese was getting a little too much and too often. Our Euro-Trip is about four months away, which means we have for months to get into summer shape. We needed a fresh start. We based our juice cleanse off Dr. Oz's 48 hour cleanse. If Oprah gives it her stamp of approval, it has to be good right?

My dad got us this awesome juicer for Christmas, so making our own juice was super easy. We just shoved the ingredients down the hatch, and viola. Note, some fruits and veggies do have to be peeled or skinned first (i.e. citrus, pinapple, etc).

We started with a fairly common recipe. We found it on a few different sites, including Dr. Oz's. We did exclude the ginger though because ginger is gross, and it makes things taste totally awful. Here are the ingredients.
- 2 apples (more apples will make the juice sweeter)
- 1 cucumber
- 6 kale leaves
- 4 stalks celery
- I also added one pear

This made enough for me to eat and be mostly full for breakfast and lunch, but I did add a breakfast Odwalla juice that was much sweeter. Nabil had to use some of the Odwalla drink as well and also added a tomato juice that he made up a recipe for. I didn't take a picture of it because it looked terrible and had a taste to match.

Below was my breakfast/lunch on Tuesday. I'm not going to lie, the green juices were not very appetising. I had to convince myself to chug them and just get it over with. Later that night however, I did come up with a few more blends that tasted much better.

I think that this blend was the best tasting. I used almost the whole pineapple, a huge handful (or two) of kale, and a stem full of grapes. Naturally adding more fruit helps to make the juice taste better, but you can't add too much fruit because fruit is mostly comprised of sugar, and eating too much sugar in one day kinda defeats the point of a cleanse. I did use almost the whole pineapple with this juice, but I added A LOT of kale to make up for it.

I also made a strawberry-kiwi-spinach juice blend. Again, I used enough strawberry and kiwi to help the taste, but used a whole bunch of spinach.

After research and looking over all the recipes on-line to start the cleanse, the consensus was that the juice needs to be green from the veggies. As long as the juice is green, it is still "cleansing". Most recipes also recommended 2-3 days on the juice cleanse. I think that we will probably do two days with just juice and then the third day we will do only fruits and veggies. Yesterday Nabil said "my teeth are bored". LOL. It really is amazing how much taste and texture drive food cravings. Damn the person who brought chocolate truffles to work today. My mouth has been watering all day! Once we are done with the cleanse, we will make it a point to keep eating healthy. In other words, no more chips! Kale chips are acceptable though. :)

Until next time...