Louisville Bloggers Meet and Greet

I have excit­ing news to share! Emily from Em Dash Designs and I have been work­ing to cre­ate a new group in Louisville — the aptly-named Louisville Blog­gers.

And our first-ever meet-up will be from 6 to 9 p.m. June 13 at The Hanger, a chic store owned by Louisville Blog­gers mem­ber Amanda Hinds. Light refresh­ments, door prizes and swag bags are in the mix.

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP on the Face­book event page or e-mail me at at diylouisville(at)gmail.com.

We have a closed Face­book group that all Louisville-area blog­gers are encour­aged to join, and please “like” our pub­lic page, where we hope to share posts from our members.

Work­ing together, we can learn about each other’s blogs, net­work and help each of us gain more expo­sure and skills. The hope is that we will con­nect via Face­book as well as through events, meet-ups and spe­cial train­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, where we’ll bring in experts in pho­tog­ra­phy,SEO, web design, etc. Sug­ges­tions are very much expected!

We hope to see you there!

~julee~

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Hello, Friday

  

Hello Friday and an end to this crazy exhausting week.  Hello never getting used to hearing my voice on television.  Hello to amazing friends who surprise you with delicious Mini Pies for Kentucky Derby.   Hello to raising a confident can-do-anything-I-set-my-mind-to girl.  Hello gorging on a big, giant bowl of my favorites.

Hello you!

You can follow along with all of my Instagrams @jlair if you’d like.  For May I’m (not very successfully) participating in a photo-a-day challenge with Freaked Out N Small.  We’d love to have you join in!

Have a great weekend!

~julee~

Linking up these simple moments with Life Rearranged, High Five for Friday.

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Make It: Canvas Photo Transfer

Lately, some of my favorite pictures have been on Instagram and I've been looking for creative ways to display them.  Turns out that transferring them onto canvas and wood is easy and gives the images a cool weathered touch that I really love.



You can find canvas or wood blocks that are square which is perfect for Instagram photos.  I've put together a tutorial showing how I made the canvas photo transfer.  The process is exactly the same for making a wood photo transfer.

Canvas Photo Transfer Tutorial / Wood Photo Transfer Tutorial

Supplies needed: 
Canvas or Wood Block
Image printed from an inkjet printer on regular printer paper (not photo paper).  Also, print your image in reverse if possible.  This is especially important if your image has words on it.
Gel Medium
Sponge
Mod Podge
Water and wet sponge or rag (not shown)



Step 1) Spread a nice, even, thin coating of gel medium on your canvas or wood block.  Do not let it get gloppy or thick in any spots or the paper will rip when you put the picture on.  Also, do not miss any spots or the ink will not transfer in that area.



Step 2) Carefully place your image face down on the canvas or wood block.  Make sure the image is straight and places where you want it because you will not be able to move it once it’s down.



Step 3) Use your hands to firmly press down and rub over your image.  Make sure not to miss any spots.  If you have any globs of gel medium underneath, try to push them out to the sides and wipe away any excess. 

Step 4)  Let your image dry over night.  You want it to dry for 8 – 24 hours.



Step 5) After the image has been sitting for at least 8 hours, use a wet sponge or rag and saturate the image.



Step 6)  Lightly rub and carefully begin removing the paper from the image.  I found using your hands instead of the sponge worked a little better.  The ink will be transferred to the canvas or wood.  When working with canvas, do not rub too aggressively or the ink will come off.  Alternately, if you want a weathered look in some areas or on the edges, rub aggressively in those spots and the ink will begin to pull away.



Step 7)  Once the image is how you want it, let it dry.  After it is dry, spread an even coating of Mod Podge over your canvas or wood block to seal the image.



That’s it!  Now you have a cool image to place in your home or give as a gift.

Happy DIY’ing!

~julee~

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Eat It: Homemade Enchilada Sauce

My mother-in-law is an amazing cook and her Mexican dishes are To.Die.For.  I have still never convinced her to make me a batch of homemade tortillas, but she’s always happy to oblige at least one hearty fete when she visits.

On her past visit she taught me how to make my own enchilada sauce.  This family recipe is officially called Aunt Sarah’s Enchilada Sauce.  This isn't your average from-the-can enchilada sauce; It’s more robust and thicker.  Plus, making your own means you can avoid undesirable ingredients such as MSG and other ilk.  Want to give it a go?
 

Aunt Sarah’s

Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup chili powder
3-4 cloves garlic (pressed through garlic press)
4 cups vegetable stock (can be more or less depending on the thickness you want)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt to taste

*Make a roux with the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder.  Stir in a large pot on low heat, until mixed, continuously for 15 minutes.  Use a whisk.  Avoid lumps.
*Once the roux is done, add garlic, continue to stir.
*Add in 4 cups vegetable stock (more or less depending on consistency you want).
*Continue to stir on low.
(Add more broth if it gets too thick.)
*Add a pinch of salt and cumin.
*Continue to stir until it’s the consistency you want.
*Taste test: Add salt if needed

The trick with this sauce is to never stop stirring.  If sauce is too thick, slowly add vegetable stock to get the consistency you want.  Unused sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.




To make a delicious cheesy enchilada, dip a warm corn tortilla in the enchilada sauce, saturating both sides.  Fill the inside with queso fresco, cheddar cheese shredded, chopped onion, and roll the tortilla closed.  Add cheddar, cojita crumbles, and crema Mexicana on top.  Add fresh salsa and guacamole on the side and eat up.  Yum!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

~julee~

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Hello, Friday

  

Hello, Friday. (Although it’s technically Saturday – but why mess up the meme, right?)  Hello finding leftover sparklers from last summer and writing my name in the sky like a delighted child.  Hello impromptu dinner and refreshing libations out with the bestie.  Hello vintage horses.  Hello Kentucky Derby and our city’s finest traditions.

Hello you.  What simple moments have you celebrated this week? 

I’m Instragramming a photo-a-day for May if you’d like to follow me there.  It’s not too late to join in on the fun, too.

Have an awesome weekend!

~julee~

Linking up these simple moments with Life Rearranged, High Five for Friday.

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Conscious Box Giveaway

Have I gone coo-coo for subscriptions boxes?  Maybe.  Perhaps.  Not really.  (But kind of, yeah.)

Conscious Box is a monthly subscription service that is dedicated to sending out a  generous sampling of eco-friendly, sustainable, and ethical products each month. 

The boxes are a surprise each month, but you will find each box full of healthy food, household, or health and beauty products from your favorite ethical brands.  You will also discover new products from conscious brands.  You can select to receive the classic box, vegan box, or gluten-free box.  It’s pretty awesome.

To add to the awesomeness, Conscious Box is giving away one monthly box to a lucky D.I.Y. Louisville reader.  Use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  If you visit their Facebook page, be sure to tell them you entered to win at D.I.Y. Louisville.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Photo-A-Day May Challenge

My sweet blogging friend Colleen from Freaked Out ‘N Small has talked me into doing something that has always looked fun but I’ve been far too non-committal to ever join before.  She has started a May Photo-A-Day challenge, and I’m finally setting aside my commitment issues to play along.  Well, I’m going to try my best to play along, that is.

It goes like this:  You take the theme for the day and snap a picture as you interpret that theme.  And then, if you feel so inclined, you share and tag your pictures with #freakedoutnsmall on your favorite social media.  Colleen explains it in more detail on her blog and she would love to have you participate as well.

So that’s what I’ll be attempting to do every day this month on Instagram.  Follow along with me there.

Have you ever done one of these photo-a-day challenges?  Were you able to make it through the entire month without skipping a day or quitting?   If you join us, let me know!

~julee~

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