Howling at the Moon

In the previous weeks I've made some patterns from the book Pica Pau by Yan Schenkel as you might have seen ( Unicorn , Donkey , Gazelle , Cheetah , Alpaca ). I really love the patterns but if you want to try out before buying the book (I don't have any interest in you buying this book by the way, I just like the patterns) then here's a little pattern that's free !  Here are the made patterns from the book ~*~ The Unicorn Key Chain (link to free pattern!) that I made last week is featured by Oombawka Design and by Creative Jewish Mom !! Thank you very much, Rhondda&Amy and Sara!

As you loyal readers all know is that we have a Flemish Giant hopping around the house, who is our best decoration when it comes to Easter. But because my family is coming over for Easter and not all of them our evenly crazy for Haasje (the bunny's name), I thought it would be nice to start making other decorations. So I made this window pendant.  ~*~ My Valentine's Can Cake is featured by Crafts a la Mode this week! Thank you, Linda! ~*~  Alison Alpaca was featured by Creative Jewish Mom and Life on Lakeshore Drive ! Thank you very much, Sara and Kathy!

~Since I pinned lots of recipes on my Pinterest boards through the years, but never made anything from the pinned items, I've set myself a goal to try one recipe per week to reduce the overload~ So glad to tell you about the Avocado Black Bean Quesadillas that I made this week for the all Mexican Menu that I made for some friends that came over for lunch, because honestly, it's the best homemade Mexican dish that I ever made. I think it's the combination of avocado, cheese and red onion that makes it so super delicious. Those three together are great! You can find the recipe here ! ~*~ For next week I want to make this Tres Leches Cake that definitely looks like it's worth the effort to make!  

After a good colleague of mine saw the Unicorn that I crocheted for my daugther's birthday a couple of weeks ago, she asked me to make on for her too as a key chain. After I told her what the size of the unicorn was, she dropped the idea, but I searched another pattern for her from a much smaller unicorn. It's not as detailed, but cute anyway.      You can find the pattern here . 

Another pattern from the Book of Pica Pau by Jan Schenkel , the Alpaca. I made this one because it made me think of a trip I made some years ago to Peru. While I was wandering through Macchu Pichu a couple of alpacas followed me with their eyes. I kept away from them because you only have to be spitten on by an alpaca once in your life to avoid coming near them for the rest of your days. The smell; horrible! Not easily washed away either. Fortunately I was in a zoo when it happened, so I could wash my face thoroughly, but I will never forget that smell. Anyway, I liked to see them living in between the ruins of Macchu Pichu, because they belong there. They are so beautiful with their big brown eyes with long lashes and their fluffy hair on top of their head.     Just one more to make from this book: the wolf. I'm not really into spirituality and such, but when I heard about so called totem animals, I've always known that the wolf is my totem. 

~Since I pinned lots of recipes on my Pinterest boards through the years, but never made anything from the pinned items, I've set myself a goal to try one recipe per week to reduce the overload~ As said last week I would make the Corn Soup for the all Mexican Lunch Menu. The friends I had over for diner never had Corn Soup before and neither did I, so no frame of reference here, but we all found the taste was great! A keeper again. Find the recipe here . ~*~ Another one that I want to make for the above mentioned lunch are these vegetarian Avocado Black Bean Quesadillas . All ingredients in this recipe sound great: avocados, cheese, black beans and cilantro. Especially the last one. I know it's a herb people either love or hate, but I'm definitely a fan.   ~*~  Two of the recipes I made for Made It were featured by Strawberry Butterscotch , namely the Cheese Croquettes and the Vegetarian Enchiladas !   Thank you very much, Anna...

Just for the four of us, my daughters, my husband and I, I wanted to make a small cake for Valentine's Day. I only have large baking tins, but the idea popped into my head to use an empty vegetable can as a baking tin. I love the result! The cake is just large enough to cut into four pieces. ~*~ Sheila the Cheetah was featured by Oui Crochet , by Creating My Way to Success and by Creative Jewish Mom ! Thank you  so much, Susie, Jill and Sara!

~Since I pinned lots of recipes on my Pinterest boards through the years, but never made anything from the pinned items, I've set myself a goal to try one recipe per week to reduce the overload~ As promised I made the King Cake Bites , but I'm sorry to say: they don't look quite as nice as the bites in the pictures that came with the recipe. I'm used to that, when I bake sweet stuff like cake and cookies most of the time it looks like a total failure, so I hope you're not disappointed.  The taste was good, but the sugar and icing that I made to decorate the bites, didn't look like purple, green and yellow at all as you can see in the picture below.    So, oooon to the next recipe... ~*~ Next week some good friends will come over for lunch and I want to make an all Mexican menu from recipes that are on my Pinterest board for ages. The first one I'm going to try is the Corn Soup .  I never had corn soup, so the taste will be sort of a...

A while ago I told you about all the disposable vegetable jars I keep to use for whenever. I'm about to disappear underneath a layer of vegetable jars so I thought maybe it would be a nice idea to use some of them for Valentine's Day. I bought a white and red glass paint pencil and a chalkboard pencil, so I could draw what I wanted to see on the jars with chalkboard pencil first. The chalkboard pencil is easily wiped away in case of errors or if you just don't like your design. When totally satisfied, you can trace your drawings or writings with the glass paint pencil. After baking the jars in the oven,  you can wipe of the rest of the chalkboard paint.  Another tip: if you're not very good at handlettering or drawing you can place a drawing or text behind the glass and trace it directly on the glass with a glass paint pencil.  Some tealights in the jars will do the rest! Gives nice patterns on the walls, too!

The fourth pattern I made from the book Pica Pau by Yan Martel , was the cheetah. The cheetah was on request by my oldest daughter, who loves cats and every animal that looks like it. What I like the most about this cheetah, is the tiny buttons on the back of her dress. So cute! ~*~ The Bunting with Woodland Animals that I made for the just born son of a colleague was featured by Creative Jewish Mom ! Thanks, Sara!

Today the last in a long, long series of unicorn related party ideas for my daughter's birthday: The Unicorn Cake! ~*~ Gisele Gazelle was featured by Annemarie's Haakblog and Creative Jewish Mom this week! Thank you very much, Annemarie and Sara!

~Since I pinned lots of recipes on my Pinterest boards through the years, but never made anything from the pinned items, I've set myself a goal to try one recipe per week to reduce the overload~ This week I made the Vegetarian Enchiladas and I'm happy to say this is the best Mexican dish I've eaten in ages! And the even better thing is: the rest of my (non-vegetarian) family also loved it, so I can move this recipe over to my list of keepers.  The only thing I changed in this recipe was the amount of chili, because too spicy food means my children won't eat it.  To make this dish even better, I made my own gaucemole to go with it. For the guacemole you need:  1 avocado 1 tablespoon mayonaise 1 clove of garlic salt and pepper to taste Mash the avocado and mix it with the other ingredients. That's it.  ~*~ Mardi Gras is approaching, so I thought it would be nice to make King Cake Bites.