Santa Claw Update!

I said I would update when I got my prize in the mail (see my previous blog post: Santa Claw, World's Largest Claw Machine) and as promised, I'm updating! I got the envelope decorated all nicely with fun stickers and a label advertising where it's from.
Here's the envelope:





And the yellow bouncy ball I grabbed out of the machine when I played! Of course, it was deflated so I had to blow it up; I can't wait to use it in the pool this Summer.





Here's the label that was on the package, along with the little certificate inside!







Some may not be so excited by this but I love my bouncy ball, I never win anything from claw machines, so this is my first win ever!

Pre-Valentine's Day Blog Hop!

I just joined the Monday/Valentine's Day blog hop hosted by Tara at Give it to me Tara and Just Married with Coupons blogs! Click below to enter your blog in the blog hop!

Santa Claw, World's Largest Claw Machine!

I like to think I'm ahead of things and find out about awesome new stuff before other people do. Apparently I dropped the ball on this one. No pun intended and you'll see why!

I was bored, surfing around some blog posts and I found this one from GemCityTiffany, which interested me greatly; a post about the WORLD'S largest claw machine!
Read her post for some great background info and pictures!:
http://gemcitytiffany.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/what-is-the-santa-claw/


So of course, I had to try it myself! The wait times are really long, each time I've been on, the wait time was about 6 or 7 hours, so I would sign on and go about my day. I played unsuccessfully twice, didn't even get close to grabbing anything, then I lost my turn a couple of times because I forgot about it and came back to the computer too late, oops.
So this afternoon I signed back on and just got to play a few minutes ago, let the live feed show (yes, you can watch people as they're playing, it's kind of addicting!) and looked around for which one I wanted to try to grab. Well, the weird thing is that the camera view you see while in line isn't the camera you see when you're playing; instead, you see a view straight down from the claw and another from the side of the machine. It's kind of hard to get your bearings the first couple of times.
But tonight, I centered the claw over one of the larger yellow balls, grabbed, the claw got it and...it got all the way to the area where it drops it down the chute and it bounced off the side and back into the machine. I thought for sure I lost yet again.
Then a video played and it gave me a congratulations message showing that I won!! I was so amazed that they counted that as a win!

Anyway, I will update with the prize that I get (probably a fun bouncy ball!), it should show up in about 2 or 3 weeks. You only get one prize no matter how many times you win and you can only receive your prize if you live within the U.S., but you can play as much as you want!

Go here to play and good luck!:
http://www.thesantaclaw.com/


Photo via thelaughingsquid:

Making of...JRandall Resin Necklaces!

Being a JRandall fan, I wanted to make something for myself and other fans to help spread the word about JRan! Naturally, I figured a resin jewelry piece. I really need to get another mold because these take FOREVER as I only have one square mold and can only do one at a time. Once you see the steps, you'll see why this is frustrating. So, next step for me is to get another mold! The steps below can be used for any paper item you want to preserve in resin.

Step 1- Find pictures you want to preserve in resin. (Since these are printouts on computer paper, I gave them a little more thickness by gluing them to cardstock first.) Coat the pictures, back and front with at LEAST 2 coats of Modge Podge. I did the first two coats, then cut out the pictures, then did the backs and the edges.



Step 2- Mix your resin according to the instructions. I use epoxy resin, so I mix equal parts of resin and hardener. Fill mold just enough to hold the picture in, then place picture in and gently push down to force out any air bubbles. It looks goofy but I have the stir stick anchored to hold the picture down until the resin has thickened enough and I don't need to worry about air bubbles anymore (usually about 4 hours.)



Step 3- Wait...and wait...and wait until the resin cures. If it was mixed properly, you can usually feel that the piece is solid the next morning, but wait at least 24 hours to be sure that it really is cured.


Step 4- I wanted to use a solid colored back but didn't want to wait another 24 hours for the second layer, so I mixed my quick-cure Alumilite polyurethane resin (again, equal parts A and B), with a bit of shimmery white powdered color (I use powdered eyeshadow, works perfectly!) and quickly poured into the rest of the mold. This resin sets up FAST so you have to work FAST. The fun part of Alumilite is that it cures completely opaque and pastel colored depending on the powdered pigment you add to it.

In 10 minutes, the piece is ready to pop out! After that, I superglued a bail to the back and here is the finished piece!

Weekend Blog Hop!

I just entered the Friday Blog Hop over at Give it to me Tara! Visit the post and find some great blogs to peruse.

Toasted Almond Brittle Bars-So Yummy!

Normally, chocolate and peanut butter sweets are my weakness, but this year I tried a new recipe I found called "Toasted Almond Brittle Bars" from McCormick. They are absolutely delicious, they taste exactly like almond extract smells; a little like marzipan, just nutty and sweet. And despite the word "brittle" being in the name, they aren't hard at all, due to the softer crust. Here's the recipe, hope you enjoy them like I do! Photo below is my own.

Toasted Almond Brittle Bars

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Almond Brittle Topping

1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


1- Mix flour, 1 cup butter, confectioner's sugar and salt in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until coarse crumbs form. Press firmly and evenly into greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 20 minutes or until golden brown.
2- For the topping, mix corn syrup, brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter and cream in medium saucepan. Bring just to boil on medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in almonds and extracts. Pour over hot crust, spreading evenly.
3- Bake 15 minutes or light golden brown and until filling is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen bars.






Enjoy!

Easy Oreo Truffles, Easy AND Delicious!

Last Christmas, I made these truffles and they went FAST. The recipe is insanely easy and makes a decent batch, depending on how large you make them. I would suggest no larger than the recipe states, 1" balls, as they are rich. I've made these myself this weekend so below the photo from the Kraft foods website is my own photo. Also, please see my notes under the recipe to make it a little easier for you.


Easy Oreo Truffles

Ingredients
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 pkg Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 4 1/4 cups), divided
2 pkg. (8 squares each) Baker's Semi Sweet Chocolate, melted


Instructions
Mix cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended
Shape into 48 (1 inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.


My notes:
1- Upon crushing the cookies, I suggest placing a few cookies in a large zippered baggie and crushing them with a rolling pin. You will want to crush a few at a time because in my experience, it's a little to hard to try to crush them all at once and you need really fine pieces.
2- It's much easier to mix the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese with your hands (yes you'll be sticky, just have paper towels handy) and then scoop out the balls with a melon baller.
3- While dipping the balls, you can use 2 forks to roll them around in the chocolate and coat them better. This way, it's also easier to remove them from the chocolate and place them on the baking sheet.





After making them this weekend, here are my own!




Enjoy!