DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

How to make Paper Clay I fell in love with sculpting with paper mache during my first project five years ago. However, I never really found a recipe that was worth the time and effort and mess that it took to get what I wanted. As a result, I used Celluclay for most projects. However, I recently stumbled upon an incredible blog called, Ultimate Paper Mache where Jonni (the artist and blogger) shares all sorts of tips, tutorials and recipes to help anyone on their way to successfully paper mache-ing. I am blown away by what Jonni can create, but I was especially grateful for the recipe she shared on how to make your own paper mache clay. Hot dog! It is easy as pie, quick, and works like charm! For my purposes, I ended up altering the recipe just slightly so that I could get the thicker consistency that I like. Here's my version of the recipe but I strongly suggest popping over to Jonni's site where she posts all sorts of details that you might find handy): Pap...

   Have you ever heard 18 000 voices singing at once? This emotional experience can be felt during Estonia's Song Festival, which occurs once every five years in Tallinn. Once in five years, tens of thousands of Estonians gather in Tallinn in the summertime to take part in the Song and Dance Festival. Song Festival tradition in Estonia is 140 years old    The Song Festival is an enormous open-air choir concert held at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds with the participation of hundreds of choirs and thousands of singers. The number of participants in the Song Festival can reach up to 25 or 30 thousand, but the greatest number of people is on stage during the performance of the joined choirs—there are usually 18 000 singers on stage at that moment, and their powerful song touches even the most frigid Nordic disposition.    Not every choir in Estonia is able to perform at the Song Festival. Due to the popularity of the festival, there is stiff com...

   This fine recipe comes from www.bakersroyale.com .  For that little snack before bedtime.  Goodluck! Yup, I took the classic profiterole and destroyed it with some crazy. Snickers craziness. I turned a classic dessert into a three layer affair with some peanut butter mousse, sliced Snickers and drizzles of chocolate and caramel. I’m sure someone out there is probably pretty appalled that I am even classifying this as a profiterole dessert. But if you can think of a better name-leave a comment. So while I started out with the intent of making a classic profiterole, you know pate choux filled with ice cream and then drizzled with chocolate maybe some crushed nuts, but then I figured you guys might be tired of ice cream recipes . From there my mind went to a pastry cream center, but I kinda already did that here (from way back). Then it occured to me to go completely sideways with this and make it like a mini Snickers cake. It was either goi...

    Dover’s Hill, above Chipping Campden and overlooking the Vale of Evesham, is a beautiful plateau commanding extensive views from the plains of the Avon and the Severn to the foothills of the Welsh mountains. Owned by the National Trust, it provides an ideal setting for open air games.     Each year, on the traditional date of Friday after Spring Bank Holiday (the date for the Games this year will be held on Friday 3rd June 2011 on Dover's Hill starting at 7.30pm), the hill echoes with the shouts and cheers of competitors and spectators as Robert Dover’s Cotswold ‘Olimpick’ Games (not Olympic Games) are celebrated. Bands march, cannon fire, rustic activities and wrestling take place, and the evening is brought to a close with fireworks and a torchlight procession into Campden followed by dancing in the square. World Championship Shin Kicking ... open to all comers. 400 Years of Olimpick Passion Shin Kicking - Olimpick-style  ...

   Some of man’s greatest discoveries have been made entirely by accident. If it weren’t for many of these things, life would be very different for us. This is a list of the 10 greatest accidental discoveries. 10. Viagra    Millions of men around the world owe a salute to the hard working stiffs in the Welsh village of Merthyr Tydfil where, in 1992, their hard work testing this new angina drug produced firm evidence of its unexpected sex enhancing power. This discovery would be much higher on the list if it weren’t for the fact that it is the cause of 90% of the spam I receive every day! 9. Chocolate Chip Cookies     According to Nestle, Mrs. Wakefield (owner of the Toll House Inn) was making chocolate cookies but ran out of regular baker’s chocolate, so she substituted it with broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate, thinking that it would melt and mix into the batter. It clearly did not, and the chocolate chip cookie was...