Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

I have a small stack of old frames from my last home.  Though the frames are outdated and worse for wear, I’ve hung onto them with the idea that one day they would be candidates for a makeover.

The first frame’s flat edges made it the perfect candidate to be covered in fabric.

Here’s how:

Here’s is the unmade-over frame.  Yes, I did buy it in the 1990’s.  Thank you for asking.

Carefully press the fabric.  Lay the frame over the top and trim the fabric so that there is enough fabric to wrap around the edges of the frame.  For my frame I trimmed the fabric with 1-1/2 inches of overlap.

Using a staple gun, I attached the fabric to the frame the way you would an upholstered chair cushion.  Like this:

Staple the middle of the top and bottom and then the sides.  Then working in the same direction of top, bottom, side, side work your way out to the edges.

At the corners, I stapled the fabric at the bottom right at the corner.  Then I made a fold at the side, like wrapping a gift and staple it into place.  For my frame I thought the fold would look better at the sides.

Here’s what the top of my frame looked like.  Now for the openings…

Working from the center, I cut an X out to each corner.

I stopped about 1 millimeter short of the corner.

Fold back the flaps and insert the glass, mat and photo. 

Once the frame back is secured, give the triangles sticking out a firm tug to tighten the fabric on the inside of the frame.

Staple the flaps to the frame if desired and trim away the excess fabric.   And I’m done.

This frame is going to belong to a picture grouping in my family room that celebrates our family.

The next frame is going to get a lift with a bit of spray paint….

And a new piece of glass.

The kids are out of school today… that means they woke up this morning, went straight to the family room and put on a movie.

That also means they wanted homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Sorry kids, not this morning.  I want something faster, cleaner, and easier.

OH BOY WAFFLES!

It doesn’t get much easier than Oh Boy Waffles.

I’ve eaten waffles made from this recipe since I was a little girl.  Our family got the recipe from our dear friends and neighbors, the Lunds, who loved to invite us over to their home for Waffle Parties.

Oh Boy Waffles is a perfect basic recipe.  It’s easy to spruce up with spices or mini chocolate chips.  My personal favorite is simply topping my hot waffle with butter and fresh berries.

But, since I try never to buy fresh berries in the middle of winter, today it was plain waffles with your choice of syrup… maple, blueberry, chokecherry, or my personal favorite, huckleberry syrup.  My son divided his waffle and tried all four this morning.

It takes much longer to write about it than it does to make Oh Boy Waffles.

In goes the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Give it a little stir.

Beat the eggs and pour into the flour mixture.

Pour in the milk.

Add oil.

Mix it up, but don’t overmix.  It’s OK if the batter is a little lumpy.

Pour the batter into the waffle maker.  I just got a new Waffle Maker for Christmas.  The jury is still out as to whether or not I like it as much as my last one.  Apparently it is the #1 rated maker from Cooks Illustrated.

It replaced my Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker which made the best waffles I’ve ever had.  But the darn thing broke in less than two years.

We were reluctant to buy the same model again with such a poor quality record.

Now that I’ve tried my new iron, I am torn.  Hopefully the new iron will be better quality, but I am missing the Waring’s amazingly delicious, lofty and light waffles.

Don’t you love when this happens.  At least I’m not cleaning up after cinnamon rolls.

This one is for my daughter.  She wants a little waffle with her syrup.

Yum!

If you think that looks good, here’s the recipe:

OH BOY WAFFLES

2 -1/4 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons salt

1-1/2 Tablespoons sugar

2 beaten eggs

2-1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Stir together the dry ingredients.  Beat the eggs.  Add eggs, milk and oil to the flour mixture and stir.  Do not overmix, the batter will be slightly lumpy.

Cook in your favorite waffle maker.