Hardware Store = Board Game

I know that board games aren't usually what comes to mind when talking about hardware stores but there are actually quite a few possibilities.

This round of Iron Craft we were challenged to make something using items found at a hardware store.

I had already made some plans for a board game made from hardware store materials but not gone very far with it. I had the needed items, just taking my sweet (slow) time.

The game is "Robo Rally" (sort of like battle bots meets chess). It's a real board game that can be bought online (I've not personally seen it in stores). Unfortunately I don't really have the money to buy the game so I determined that it wouldn't be hard to make my own.

I bought a flat board and got it cut into the size of the boards that come with the game. After sanding the edges I painted white then gray to be the factory floor. Next I marked out the square grid. Now the creativity, I added conveyor belts, holes, gears and walls wherever I felt. 

For the game pieces I picked a bunch of bolts, washers and nuts and matched them together in different patterns. I dipped each end into a color of paint to make them even more different. Last I added some paint to one wing of the wing nuts to signify the front of my "robots".

All that is left is to create movement cards to move the robots with and we're ready to play!

Deliciocity Friday: BBQ Ranch Vegeburgers

Time for something a little more healthy!

(we can't live off sweets alone)

I made this burger using a can of meatless Vegeburger from Cedar Lake. It's vegan so no meat and much healthier then many options.

Ingredients:

1 can Cedar Lake Vegeburger

1 cup uncooked oatmeal

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup BBQ sauce

1 Tbsp ranch dressing mix

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp dehydrated onions

A dash of garlic powder and salt

Many of the seasonings are a taste preference but it's a good place to hide the immunity boosting onions and garlic.

I mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, by hand or by fork.

While I'm mixing I have a frying pan warming up on medium heat. 

Shape the mixture into a patty and remember that is the shape and size you will end up with. (it doesn't shrink like ground beef) I usually get 5 large patties, however, if made closer to normal size it would probably end up making something like 7 or 8 burgers.

Cook on medium heat for a few minutes on each side. Since the Vegeburger is precooked, you are just heating, not having to worry about reaching a specific temperature.

 You may need a little vegetable oil in the pan to help keep the burgers from sticking and burning.

Dress your burger to your tastes and enjoy a very moist and healthier burger!

Find Vegeburger here, or at an Adventist Book Center near you.

 

Birdie Mobile

Time for another Iron Craft posting!

 This time we were challenged to make something for baby.

I started out making a little yellow felt birdie. My thinking was that it would be one of those cute dangling things on the handle of a car seat.

 Then I kept going.

I ended up making four different colored felt birdies to create a mobile for over a crib.

They are attached via thin clear wire to an embroidery hoop. There is a piece of ribbon attached to the hoop to pin it to the ceiling (or hook over a mobile hoop).

No, you didn't hit your head in the Acme desert, it's just a hand sewn bird mobile! 

DOMO Sewing Kit

Along with the Star Trek and TARDIS items I made for a swap on swap-bot.com, I also am making a DOMO sewing kit for someone else.

In this swap we are supposed to make some sort of kit in a tin that can be carried around.

The person I am sending to is a fashion design student who also mentioned she likes DOMO things.

I found some tins at Target for a dollar. They had "Spam" on the top but that's easily fixed!

I used felt to make the DOMO face to hot glue onto the top of the tin.

I am filling it with little things that are commonly needed for sewing.

Buttons, thread, needles, snaps, safety pins, etc.

Check out www.Swap-bot.com to find great swaps to join!

Star Trek Communicator and TARDIS Necklace

That's right, more geekiness going on over here.

I signed up for a swap on Swap-bot.com that is all about making something based on a few different geeky tv shows.

The options were: Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Battlestar Gallactica and Dr. Who.

I decided to make two things.

First, a communicator like the Star Trek characters wore on their chest. (no it does not work, only decoration!) I modeled it after the ones worn in The Next Generation.

Hand shaped out of air dry clay and then painted. The back has a pin to be able to attach to her shirt.

The second item I made is a small TARDIS. It's made out of air dry clay and painted. Part of it I actually painted with a toothpick. Strung on a long black cord it is ready to wear.

Both will be going out in the mail soon to my swap partner.

If you miss getting real mail, check out the website, www.Swap-bot.com for some fun, organized swaps.

Next time I'll show you the DOMO sewing kit I'm making for another swap!   

Ribbon Bookmarks

I live in middle Tennessee on the campus of a home for mentally challenged adults. My husband works here full time doing maintenance, I help out some here and there.

The home is called Cave Springs Home. It is a non-profit charity organization. It depends on donations to continue doing the work helping people and all donations are tax deductible.

So something I've been working on lately is making ribbon bookmarks to give to people who donate to Cave Springs in the near future. Donations are what makes this place able to stay open so they are very much appreciated by everyone here. 

So I'm making these bookmarks and donating them to the home to give as little thank yous.

Each bookmark has three ribbons but otherwise are each different. Different colors, beads, charms, etc.

While they make great bookmarks for any book they are especially helpful with Bible study. You can place one ribbon in a section you are reading and another at a corresponding verse you want to look at. Great for when the speaker says "hold your finger here and turn with me to..." you can avoid the juggling that comes with that statement!

You can check out the Cave Springs website at www.CaveSpringsHome.org 

If you would like a bookmark of your own, then donate soon to Cave Springs Home either by mailing them a check or via the paypal button on their website.

"And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me." -Matthew 25:40