Quick Tips - Onions

I love onions, they give food amazing flavor, and aroma. But I hate cutting them. I am one of those people, who just has to looks at an onion, to start crying. So here's a quick tip that will save you so  many tears.

When I buy onions I get the ones on sale or clearance. This week, I picked up 8 large onions for 59 cents. They had a few bad spots, but for this idea they are perfect.

When I get home I threw the whole bag of onions into the freezer. Then I got everything else ready.

I got out freezer bags, and marked them with the label Onions Chopped or Onions Sliced. (Always mark everything you are putting in the freezer. You may think ," Ya I know what that is." But after a few weeks everything looks the same.)

After getting my cutting board and chef's knife out,  I pulled the onions from the freezer.  They should be cold, but not frozen. (This will keep some of the gas from leaving the onion cells.) Then I don my Diver's mask. (Yes I mean the underwater mask that covers you eyes and nose. You may look a little crazy, but trust me I have tried everything.  From sucking on a spoon, to having an open flame, and this is the only thing that has ever worked.)

After I slice the onion in half, I cut the top and bottom off of each side. Then remove the top layer, and cut out any bad spots.  I chop or slice the onions, and put them in their bags. After the bags are full I seal them, and place them flat in the freezer.

I love this idea, I can get it all done at one time. Then for months I have onions to put in chili, soups, stews, stir fry's, hot sausages, with steak and much, much more.

I also do this idea with bell peppers. I grow them in my garden, and when I have a too many to eat I start putting them in the freezer. Already chopped and ready to go, they last me all year long.


I also plant onion bulbs, and bunching onions to eat in the summer. There is nothing better then going outside, and grabbing something fresh from the garden.

Making Foam Armor - Part 3

Painting and Finishing

I coated all the pieces in a black spray paint that will cover plastic.

 

 

Then in the metallic bronze color.

 

Then I used black basics paint.   With a paper towel, I  brushed it on, and wiped it off.  You want enough black so that the shape and texture comes out. But not so much, that it over powers the piece.

 

 

 

Using some pleather I put the armor together. 

 

                                    This is my friend wearing her new armor to a party.

 

I hope you enjoyed this.   I hope it helps you crafters with ideas for you armor. 

Making Foam Armor - Part 2

Shaping and Sealing the foam

If you are using  1/2 to 1 inch foam you may want to get a heat gun to form your foam. Since I was only using thin craft foam, I just used a blow dryer. For a woman's breast plate I used a glass ball, heating the foam and then stretching it over the ball. I shaped the knee pads over the ball as well, to give them a rounded shape.

  

 

I pinned the breast plate and the back plate to my dress form, and shaped it some more.

 

 

After it was shaped the way I wanted it, I sealed the foam. For the breast plate and back plate I wanted them to be harder, so I used a mixture of wood glue and gesso.

 

                    I felt they were a little plain, so I used some foam letters I had laying around.  By using
                      the F's on the breast plate, and L's on the knee pads  I make this cute design.

 

For everything else I used a mixture of wood glue, school glue, and mod podge.

 

                                                Foam Armor will be finished in Part 3

Making Foam Armor - Part 1

For this armor I started by covering my model in clear saran wrap then covering it with duck tape. I was just doing a quick armor.  I didn't want to waste the duck tape, so I used cheap packing tape instead.  It worked well, but it not as strong. After I got the shape of her body, I drew a sketch.  It was in the style of a gladiator design.

 

Then I traced the pattern onto the tape with a sharpie marker. I cut out the breast plate and back plate of the armor as well as shoulder pads and knee pads. I improvised the arm bracers, just using my
wrist and forearm measurements.

 

 

I placed them onto the craft foam, traced them out, and cut the different layers. I used two pieces of foam for the bases, I just felt that one was to thin.

 

Then I cut a thin strip for the decorative edge. Using hot glue, I attached them all together.

 

The next step well be in part 2.

The Beauty of Mushrooms

Just got back from camping with my family, it was wet and rained the whole time! Even with all that rain something very beautiful appeared.

                                  These amazing mushrooms were all over the campground.

 

We have been camping here since I was a little girl and I have never, before seen mushrooms like these. The vibrant orange's and yellows were just so beautiful.

 

 

 

Even the tiny mushrooms were so cute.

         Don't worry I would never ever eat a mushroom with out a knowing guide to help me.