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Jewelry Felt Green Masks Misc PC Purses

What Hot Glue Doesn't Stick To (DOD)

The purpose of this video was to show what hot glue will not stick to. I really wanted to share this with other crafters because I noticed that no one else was showing it when I wanted to know and before I came across it.
Watch here on YouTube! (Created: March 10, 2010, 11:50am)

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What Happens When You Put Hot Glue In Water? (DOD)

I made this video to show what happens when you put hot glue in water. It was a happy accident that I found out about and wanted to share.
Watch here on YouTube! (Created: October 06, 2009, 10:24am)

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How To Make Mensif/Mansaf

Materials

Mensif/Mansaf - the calcified rock formation of goats milk, the gravy.
Lots of white rice.
Meat: lamb, beef or chicken.
Olive oil
Almonds sliced
Parsley
Peta bread
Large serving pan

Instructions

Step 1: Take your calcified goats milk (mansaf/mensif) and drop about 5 or 6 rocks into a large pot of water to sit over night.
Step 2: Drain the clear water and put the rest into a blender, blending all of the mensif to a light, creamy texture.
Step 3: Keep adding water to it and then transfer it all into that big pot once again on high heat.
Step 4: The key to good mensif is in the stirring of it. You must not stop stirring whilst cooking on high heat.
Step 5: Add your meat and keep stirring until you see that your meat juices are in the mensif and your meat is cooked. (You'll need to take a bit of meat out to check it to make sure that it's cooked thoroughly.)
Step 6: When you find your meat is done, take a large serving dish and take your pita bread and rip them in half (front and back, not cut in half to make pockets) and lay them on the bottom of your large serving dish.
Step 7: Have a large pot of rice made and ready for this next step.
Step 8: Add a few ladles of the mensif (gravy mixture) on top of the layer of pita bread to make them moist and ready to make a mountain of rice on top of it.
Step 9: Add another few ladles of mensif to the top of the rice and then put the meat on top of that.
Step 10: Dice your parsley and add it to the top of the meat.
Step 11: Lightly cook your sliced almonds in olive oil to a golden brown. Then add this to the top of the parsley.
Step 12: Have some extra pita bread and mensif on the side so you can add to your section. Take a bit of pita, rice, meat, parsley and almonds, mixed with mensif, roll them into a ball in their hand and pop them into their mouth. YUMMY! Enjoy!

Photos

I could not find a clear photo of mensif/mansaf in any of my photo albums (only ones of us eating it up! LOL!), so I found some good ones here for you to see. Mensif/Mansaf

Notes

My ex-husband was from Mafraq, Jordan. He showed me how to make mensif/mansaf, a Bedouin food that his family always made for special occasions. Arabs always eat this in sections, like pie sections per person, on one huge platter and don't cross sections (it's considered not very nice to do that!). Be careful in the beginning it's always really hot and you could burn your hand or fingers!

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How To Schnitt

Materilas

Flat-bottomed shovel (Tools)
Good leather/suede gloves
Wheel barrel
Shaker screen
Helpers
The strength to dig

Instructions

Step 1: Pick out an area where you would like to dig.
Step 2: Remove the top or humus layer. This is the layer that has the grass and other organic bits.
Step 3: Make sure that you have a good little squared off area because you will want to dig down from here, meaning that you should mind the edges very well so as not to damage or make them crunch in. Make it look professional by not wearing shoes that leave marks (ie. wear sneakers that don't have much tread on them).
Step 4: After taking off the top/humus layer, you can start schnitting! Now the way that I was taught is that you only go down 1 cm at a time. Every shovel goes into a wheel barrel and is taken to the screener be shaken and screened very well. The excess dirt will be saved in a holding area to be put back at a later date.

Photos

Click on the photos above for a closer look!

Notes

When I had the pleasure of attending Florida State University's Archaeological Field School back in Spring of 1994, this is something that I learned. "Schnitting" is a term that is used by Anthropologists/Archaeologists. Basically, it is a certain way of digging with a flat-bottomed shovel so that very little amounts of dirt are removed at a time. This way, those little amounts can be put into a large sifter or shaker screen (which is usually a screen tacked on to four boards like a frame), thus sifting out all of the dirt and debris. It is at this time when an archaeologist will find those clues to the past. Whether it's a pot shard, a human bone, or a dinosaur bone, it's all carefully scrutinized and preserved. You will find all kinds of stuff when you do this and it is a lot of fun when you have a good team to help you. Also, you will get lots of blisters while schnitting. Try to be careful with the shovel and not cut your toes off! Use gloves while screening, and you may need to get a couple of pairs because screening wears them out fast. Try to keep a good record of what you find, where you find it because it could be a very important find! Provenience/Provenance is key here!

At the end, we had an, "Award Ceremony". Here is a copy of mine. I think that it's hilarious how those in charge of the awards picked up on my smile, LOL! :)

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How To Make A Paper Towel Roll Candle Holder (DOD)

Materials

Old paper towel roll
Construction/decorative paper
Mod Podge
Elmer's Glue
Scissors
Paper cutter
Pencil
Old Crystal Light (or the equivalent thereof) small containers
Hot glue (I used clear for this project, but you could use any kind you like)
Glass stones (decorative)

Instructions

Step 1: Cut paper towel tube to the height of your choice.
Step 2: Cut construction paper to the size of the tube and glue on with Elmer's Glue.
Step 3: Cover construction paper with Mod Podge making sure the ends are covered really good.
Step 4: Put the old Crystal Light containers on each end and wait for it to dry.
Step 5: Hot glue around the end to secure the containers really well.
Step 6: Hot glue the glass stones onto the tube until all of the tube is covered.
Step 7: Hot glue in between the glass stones for that extra hold and "grout" effect.
Step 8: Drop a tea light candle into one of the ends and there you go!

Photos

Click on the photos above for a closer look!

Notes

This project came to me one day when I was thinking about making gifts for all of the adults in my family. Then I was told that this year we were only giving gifts for the children, so I stopped making these. It's a very simple project with very lovely results. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did coming up with it. Just be sure that when you light your candle that there is someone in the room to make sure that there will be no fires. I watched mine and had no problems with it catching fire. Oh, and please use the little metal trays that the tea lights come with for extra protection!

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