Being Artsy

A few weekends ago I finally mustered up the motivation to try a project I had found on Pinterest. My mom agreed to help (that assisted with the motivation issue) so while the weather was nice we hauled the supplies out and "got 'er done". I failed to take before and after pictures but basically, I bought the following supplies from Michael's:

• 9 8x8" canvases
• 3 bottles of acrylic paint- I chose red, orange, and yellow
• 1 tube of white acrylic paint
• 1 bottle of gloss medium
• A couple of paint brushes
• 1 small tipped squeeze bottle
• A paint tray

We laid the canvases out in rows of 3x3. Starting at the bottom left, the first square was painted straight red. The next 2 squares moving diagonally up were red mixed with orange. The middle 3 squares diagonally were straight orange. The 2 squares going diagonally towards the top right were orange mixed with yellow, and the final top right square was straight yellow. Once those were dry, we went over them with gloss medium which helped make them less flat and dull looking. After another bit of time to dry, I mixed the white acrylic and some gloss medium in the squeeze bottle, pushed all the canvases back together in the order I wanted them, and squirted out a random pattern. It took the white paint a while to dry, but the squares were then separated and mounted on the wall 1" apart. It's not the prettiest thing I've ever seen but I kind of like it!

Cookies and Cheesecake

AB and I have been craving cheesecake for almost a week now, so yesterday I did a Google search for "mini cheesecake recipes" and found one for cookies and cream cheesecake. Yum. I went and grabbed the ingredients from the store, came home, and got baking (but only after I made some more kale chips, which of course my husband refuses to try because of the smell). The recipe was very easy, and the cheesecakes are wonderful. They're even better today after sitting in the fridge all night than they were yesterday.

Ingredients:

• A bag of Oreos (because they're better than the cheap sandwich cookies)
• 1lb cream cheese at room temp
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 275. Line muffin tray with liners (I used foil) and put an Oreo in the bottom of each one

Beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth (so it REALLY needs to be at room temp) and then slowly add sugar, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, and salt. Once that's mixed, crush up some Oreos (I used around 10) and fold them into the mixture (not using the beater)

Fill each muffin cup with batter- I did all the way to the top- then pop in the over for 20 minutes

Once done, remove, let cool, and then stick in fridge. The longer they cool the better they get; it gives the bottom oreo time to soften up a little. Enjoy!

They were definitely a success- I think AB ate 3-4 before bed last night.

Next up on the attempt to be creative, I'm going to try an artsy-type project I found on Pinterest. I went to Michael's and bought the paints and canvases so I'll do an update once I get that done.

In a little while I'm headed to the vet to get the dogs started on Adequan; it's supposed to work wonders for arthritis and with both of the dogs getting old I don't want to wait until they're really uncomfortable!