Wishing everyone a happy and safe Mardi Gras! Laissez les bon temps rouler! Not close to a parade route? Check out the nola.com parade cam showing what's happening in New Orleans.
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Showing posts with label mardi gras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mardi gras. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mardi Gras: Parade Cam in New Orleans
Wishing everyone a happy and safe Mardi Gras! Laissez les bon temps rouler! Not close to a parade route? Check out the nola.com parade cam showing what's happening in New Orleans.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Easy King Cake
One thing I love about Mardi Gras season is the King Cake. There are many ways to have your King Cake, and I like them all! This method uses packaged cinnamon roll dough so it comes out as such. I used an 8-roll pack which makes a 7" cake. (Frosting was included.) For a bigger cake, use more than one package.
Open the canister so that you have a log of dough. I floured my cutting surface just in case the dough was sticky. I think it would have been fine without the flour. Cut the dough into three sections lengthwise.
Take each section and form one long log of dough. To do this, I had to form a ball with the dough, then roll and pull to form the log.
Pinch the three logs together at the top and begin braiding all the way to the end.
Transfer to a baking sheet. Connect the top of the braid with the bottom in a ring. Pinch the ends together well to make sure they do not disconnect in the oven. I followed the baking instructions on the package which said 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes. I had to bake mine for 14 minutes.
The cinnamon rolls came with regular white frosting. To make this step easy, I squeezed the white frosting in a sandwich bag and used a glass for support. (I divided the frosting into three--yellow, green, purple.) Food coloring was added, then I sealed the bag to mix.
Once all the colors were ready, I made a small cut in a bottom corner of the bag. My daughter and I took one color at a time going around the cake.
Voila...our King Cake. It's pretty easy and a fun activity for the kids.
Open the canister so that you have a log of dough. I floured my cutting surface just in case the dough was sticky. I think it would have been fine without the flour. Cut the dough into three sections lengthwise. 
Take each section and form one long log of dough. To do this, I had to form a ball with the dough, then roll and pull to form the log.
Pinch the three logs together at the top and begin braiding all the way to the end.
Transfer to a baking sheet. Connect the top of the braid with the bottom in a ring. Pinch the ends together well to make sure they do not disconnect in the oven. I followed the baking instructions on the package which said 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes. I had to bake mine for 14 minutes.
The cinnamon rolls came with regular white frosting. To make this step easy, I squeezed the white frosting in a sandwich bag and used a glass for support. (I divided the frosting into three--yellow, green, purple.) Food coloring was added, then I sealed the bag to mix. 
Once all the colors were ready, I made a small cut in a bottom corner of the bag. My daughter and I took one color at a time going around the cake.
Voila...our King Cake. It's pretty easy and a fun activity for the kids.Friday, January 22, 2010
Mardi Gras Mask
With a few items lying around the house, you can create a unique Mardi Gras mask. You will need:
A mask template (I used one from here.)
Cereal box or any other thin cardboard box
Colorful pages from magazines and/or colored tissue paper
Ribbon
Any type of embellishment (craft jewels, stickers, pom-poms, rick-rack, etc.) and/or paint
Hole punch
Exacto knife
Glue
Scissors
Crayon/Pen
My daughter chose the mask template she wanted. I printed it, cut it out, and layed it on the cardboard to trace. To get her involved in the tracing, we colored the outside edges of the template with a crayon.
As a result, we had an outline to cut out. I used an Exacto knife to cut the eye holes. While I was cutting, my daugther was tearing the magazine pages into small pieces. I had to help her with this because she was tearing them too small.
A mask template (I used one from here.)
Cereal box or any other thin cardboard box
Colorful pages from magazines and/or colored tissue paper
Ribbon
Any type of embellishment (craft jewels, stickers, pom-poms, rick-rack, etc.) and/or paint
Hole punch
Exacto knife
Glue
Scissors
Crayon/Pen
My daughter chose the mask template she wanted. I printed it, cut it out, and layed it on the cardboard to trace. To get her involved in the tracing, we colored the outside edges of the template with a crayon.
As a result, we had an outline to cut out. I used an Exacto knife to cut the eye holes. While I was cutting, my daugther was tearing the magazine pages into small pieces. I had to help her with this because she was tearing them too small.
When we were both finished, we covered the mask with glue and layed down the magazine pieces. It's ok to let the pieces run over the edges. They will be trimmed in a later step. Once the glue dried, we applied a layer of glue on top of the mask. This has a few purposes: 1. Seals down all the pieces, 2. Makes the mask sturdier, 3. Gives a uniform finish.
Once that coat is dry, the edges of the mask and the eye holes were trimmed of the excess magazine paper. We also punched holes on the sides to tie the ribbon.
Finally, the mask is ready for some spice. All I had on hand was paint so we added different shapes and designs. But anything can be used to embellish--stickers, sequins, beads, small pasta (color it with food coloring), rice (color it with food coloring), big craft jewels, feathers, Mardi Gras beads, etc. When it's dry, tie ribbon on each side.
Your reveler is ready for the big parade!
Once that coat is dry, the edges of the mask and the eye holes were trimmed of the excess magazine paper. We also punched holes on the sides to tie the ribbon.
Finally, the mask is ready for some spice. All I had on hand was paint so we added different shapes and designs. But anything can be used to embellish--stickers, sequins, beads, small pasta (color it with food coloring), rice (color it with food coloring), big craft jewels, feathers, Mardi Gras beads, etc. When it's dry, tie ribbon on each side.
Your reveler is ready for the big parade!Monday, January 18, 2010
Mardi Gras Parade Schedule 2010
Balls are in full swing and soon the parades will be too. Here is a list of parade schedules and other Mardi Gras events across the state:
If there is a parade/event not listed, please share it with us in the comments. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
DIY: Mardi Gras Pillowcase
Grab your sewing machine or borrow one from your tante! The kids will love their Mardi Gras pillowcase and it's pretty simple.
Materials:
1 yard of Mardi Gras cotton fabric (actually 35" would work better)
thread
ruler
scissors
iron
Gather your materials. Bring selvages (finished edges) together and fold in half. Cut fabric so it is 20 1/2" wide.
Open up the fabric so it is a rectangle. Along one short edge, press down 1" as shown in the picture above. This will be part of the banding at the opening of the pillowcase.
Once the 1" is pressed, then press down 4". This is all done on the same edge. Stitch down the band close to the bottom (the one with the 1" fold). To spice it up, you could use a contrasting thread and/or zig-zag stitch. You could also add rick rack once you have stitched down the fold.
You should have a band across the top of your soon-to-be pillowcase. Now on to the side. I use a french seam to keep the inside nice and tidy, but you can use a regular seam. Above is a picture of the first step of the french seam. With wrong sides together, stitch 1/4" seam. Once you have the 1/4" seam, turn the pillowcase inside out, open it up so the seam can be pressed flat. Then, fold the pillowcase in half along the seam you just stitched and press.
Stitch along that fold 1/2". Once complete, it will look like the above picture. Just to mention again, a regular one-step stitch will work, but the edges of the fabric will ravel. This is ok. It's just my preference to use the french seam. With the side done, move onto the bottom and stitch it closed. I used the french seam on this as well. I also made a 1" seam because the pillowcase was too long. Your pillowcase is now finished!
Here are the Halloween and Christmas pillowcases I made last year. This idea can go beyond holidays to include special days such as birthdays, the first-day of school, vacations, etc.
Materials:
1 yard of Mardi Gras cotton fabric (actually 35" would work better)
thread
ruler
scissors
iron
Gather your materials. Bring selvages (finished edges) together and fold in half. Cut fabric so it is 20 1/2" wide.
Open up the fabric so it is a rectangle. Along one short edge, press down 1" as shown in the picture above. This will be part of the banding at the opening of the pillowcase.
Once the 1" is pressed, then press down 4". This is all done on the same edge. Stitch down the band close to the bottom (the one with the 1" fold). To spice it up, you could use a contrasting thread and/or zig-zag stitch. You could also add rick rack once you have stitched down the fold.
You should have a band across the top of your soon-to-be pillowcase. Now on to the side. I use a french seam to keep the inside nice and tidy, but you can use a regular seam. Above is a picture of the first step of the french seam. With wrong sides together, stitch 1/4" seam. Once you have the 1/4" seam, turn the pillowcase inside out, open it up so the seam can be pressed flat. Then, fold the pillowcase in half along the seam you just stitched and press.
Stitch along that fold 1/2". Once complete, it will look like the above picture. Just to mention again, a regular one-step stitch will work, but the edges of the fabric will ravel. This is ok. It's just my preference to use the french seam. With the side done, move onto the bottom and stitch it closed. I used the french seam on this as well. I also made a 1" seam because the pillowcase was too long. Your pillowcase is now finished!
Here are the Halloween and Christmas pillowcases I made last year. This idea can go beyond holidays to include special days such as birthdays, the first-day of school, vacations, etc.
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