Make a Pinterest Collage

I love sharing recipes.  I spend so much time in the kitchen reinventing wheels that it makes me happy to let others in on the work so they don't have to.  Pinterest is one of my favorite ways to share.  I have lots of boards dedicated to yummy things.  (What can I say? I am Irish and German, and I married a man who is Italian and Jewish.  We're eaters.)

One of the great things about Pinterest is it is so visual. One of the tough things is it's so visual. It helps to create images that will stand out.  There are the obvious tips -- pick photos with good lighting, clear images, etc.  But some of the most popular pins are very descriptive.  Either catchy titles, or step-by-step pictures.  The ones that catch my attention the most are a bit of both.  For example, this is one my friend Cristi at Through the Calm and Through the Storm created.

I've tried to make some pinnable images, but struggled to get text and coloring right.  I use Picasa online to edit my photos, so I was trying to go with just that program. I was getting frustrated.  It took me almost an hour and a half to create this image.

It's pretty, but it's not as clean looking as Cristi's.  So I asked her how she made hers. I was looking for an online editor, because I sometimes used different computers (it depends on where the pictures are). She told me she actually used two programs. She's become a fan of PicMonkey to create the collages, and then adds the text in Picasa (since PicMonkey doesn't do text).  Aha!

So here's my first hybrid.  Not bad, I think.

Here's how I did it.

1. Look over the pictures you want to include, and chose the best one(s).  Decide if you want just the finished product, or to tell a story.  Edit them if you need to - crop out extra stuff, adjust color and lighting, etc. and save.

2. Go to www.picmonkey.com  and choose "Create a collage."

3.  Click on "Open Files" and choose your pictures.  Load them to the clipboard.

4.  Look at the far left margin. The second icon looks like a picture group.  Click on that to open the collage options. Choose a collage style. For me, this is the hardest part.  Having your pictures ahead of time helps. While you can edit the number of pictures in a collage, it makes a difference knowing if you want two or seven pictures.  I chose "L-egant" for my layout.

Note: The ones with a little crown icon require a paid subscription. I'm sure they're great. But honestly, with a little playing, the free ones are more than sufficient.

5.  Click back on the icon that looks like a picture of the sun over a mountain to return to your photos.  Drag the pictures into the collage.  If you want it in a pre-formed spot, drag and drop into that square.  If you want to add another picture in, drag it BETWEEN the squares.

See the little arrows at the bottom? Use them to rotate your collage.  For the pretzels one, I left it the way it generates. You can see in my "Make a collage" image, I rotated it so the smaller pictures were on the left instead of the right.

6.  Decide where you would like your text to go. I wanted mine across the top.  Insert another picture across the top...

and then click the little x in the upper right corner of the spot to delete it, leaving an empty space.

If you like, click on the edges of the image to adjust the size of the entire image.  If you click on the edges of the individual photos, you can adjust the size of those, too.  Play around and see what strikes your eye!

7.  Now, click on the artists palette icon.  This will color in your background and allow you to adjust your border.  Adjust your pictures - do you want them with more space between, rounded vs. cornered edges, etc.

8. When you're happy with your image, save to your computer.  Don't panic over the dotted line placeholder for the missing picture. That will not appear in your finished photo.

9. Upload your picture to Picasa Web Albums.  This also is a (mostly) free online hosting service.  I say "Mostly" because it depends on how much you have stored there.  I blogged for about 6 months, using Google's Blogger service, before needing (and having to pay for) more space. You will need a (free) Google account to access it.
 

10.  Edit your picture with Creative Kit, adding your text.

 You can also add any effects - adjusting lighting, temperature, etc.


Save to your web albums.  From there, you can either download the photo, or use the URL link to put it in your blog.  If you are just creating a photo journal of how to do something that doesn't need a blog post, you can pin the picture itself using the "Pin via URL" feature.



Give it a try!  I promise, it's not as hard as it seems.  Once you've made a couple of them, the hard part is designing, not actually executing!

Sharing with friends!


M is for "Make a Pinterest Collage"

©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

G is for Geologic Goodies!

This week, Jude started a new lapbook - The Earth  by A Journey through Learning.   One of the things he learned about were different kinds of rocks:

--igneous rocks - formed when hot magma cools and hardens

--sedimentary rocks - formed when tiny bits of things get squished together

--metamorphic rocks - formed when igneous or sedimentary rocks either get heated or squished

We made fudge as our pretend igneous rocks.  It's pourable when it's hot, and once it cools, is solid.   I remember making "Igneous Fudge" when I was in grade school.  I remember we were also experimenting with what happens to rock that is left alone to cool, and rock that is tumbled about.  Answer: left alone, the rock is smooth; mixed around and it is gritty and grainy.  Mrs. Petersen assigned my group to the "remain grainy" group (when sugar crystals are introduced while the fudge is still hot) and I have ever since made grainy fudge.  I don't know why -- it just has followed me for all these years.  I found a different recipe that doesn't use a sugar syrup, but instead uses powdered sugar mixed into a ganache.  Finally -- I can make smooth fudge!    Bonus is that the fudge is can be made without dairy products, so Jude can enjoy it!  The brands we used are indicated in (parentheses), but be sure to check labels every time to make sure they are safe for you. 

"Igneous" Fudge

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup coconut milk (So Delicious plain tetra-pak carton; canned or carton will work)
2 Tbsp dairy-free margarine (Earth Balance soy-free)
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Foods brand)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (Domino's)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (Hershey)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 Tbsp vanilla

optional:  1/2 cup mix-ins (chopped nuts or dried fruit, chocolate chips,  mini marshmallows, etc.)

Directions:

 Line the bottom and sides of an 8" x 8" pan with parchment or foil (I love the no-stick variety!).  If using regular foil, you will need another teaspoon or so of margarine to grease the pan; if you are using parchment or no-stick foil, you can skip greasing the pan.

Here's a trick:

Press the foil around the outside of the pan. Then remove it and slide it into the pan. It will slip right into the corners!

In a small saucepan, heat milk and margarine until the mixture just comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Pour in the chocolate chips.  Allow them to melt for a minute or two, then stir until smooth.  Pour mixture into a workbowl. 

Mix the sugar and cocoa powder (and salt) together.    Sift the sugar mixture into the chocolate ganache, about 1 cup at a time.  Whisk the sugar into the ganache, making sure each addition is thoroughly mixed in before adding more.

Add vanilla (and mix-ins, if desired).  Stir to combine.  

Pour the liquid fudge into the prepared pan.  Tap against counter to remove any air bubbles.  Refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours).

Turn the fudge out onto a cutting board.  Peel the foil/parchment paper from the top.  Cut into 1" x 2" pieces.  Makes approx. 32 pieces.  (I cut ours a little smaller - mostly so I could have two pieces and not feel guilty!)   Store in an air-tight container with parchment or waxed paper between layers of candy.

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©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Our Mother's Day Planters

We spent two days making these simple planters for "Arts and Crafts."  They could be made in a single day, if you started early enough in the day so the paint had time to dry. 

Day 1: Painting

You can use any metal can.  We used leftover Neocate formula cans, since those are what we had.  Remove the label, if possible, before painting. (We did not, because it would involve soaking it to remove the adhesive -- which we know from experience also compromises the can seam.)  We also used Apple Barrel acrylic paint because it is for indoor/outdoor use.  If you want to place them outside, I would recommend spraying them with a clear sealant, and using an indoor/outdoor ribbon.  These will probably stay inside, but the acrylic paint will also hold up better to any spills from watering them.  Make sure you punch a few small holes in the bottom for drainage -- I just used a "churchkey" type can opener to poke 3-4 small holes in the underneath. 

Let the paint dry completely.   Add a second coat if desired.  I recommend a second coat if you can't get the label off of the can.  Jude only painted one coat, and you can still see the label peeking through a little bit. 

Day 2: Planting

We went to a local nursery to pick up plants.  Jude first wanted blue flowers, but the ones we found had very small blooms, and he decided they were too small.  He then wanted purple pansies, but it's too late in the season for those.  He decided purple petunias would suffice. 

 

 Place a layer of small rocks in the bottom of the cans for drainage. 

 Fill the can about half way with potting soil.

Plant the flowers in each can.  Two flowers fit in each of our cans (they are approximate 4" in diameter). 

Finally, tie a ribbon around the can.  Jude chose blue, his favorite color. 

Happy Mother's Day! 

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©2012- 2013 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Celebrating Queen Esther's Courage with Purim Hamentashen.

We are working our way through the Bible, and this week's lesson had perfect timing.  Our lesson focused on Queen Esther's courage when Haman wanted to do away with the Jews in ancient Persia, but Queen Esther outsmarted him. Our usual routine is for us to read the textbook story -- usually a more detailed version.  We then complete the workbooks pages, which includes a simplified recounting. 

The front page of our workbook sheet asked the student to recall who was courageous in the story. Esther was brave for going to King Xerxes and telling him of Haman's plan to get rid of all the Jews, even though she knew the king might not listen.  But King Xerxes was brave, too, because he listened and recognized that Esther was telling the truth.    Haman was not courageous.  He was bad.

 

Then Jude was asked to choose situations where he could show courage.  Right away, he knew that not following the crowd was being brave.  Doing his work or reading the Bible takes courage.  But he was adamant that he wasn't interested in being brave enough to try new foods.

 

Our program always includes an accompanying Bible verse.  This lesson's verse was from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians:

The timing was perfect because Purim, a Jewish holiday that celebrates the defeat of Haman, is celebrated this week.  We have read two books about Purim.  One is The Story of Esther, which is a beautifully illustrated telling of her story.  Jude's favorite, though, was The Better-than-Best Purim.  His favorite character was the "pirate parrot."   In this one, the Little Old Lady asked for help making Hamentashen, and her animals were too busy.  She thought they only wanted to help eat, but they were busy planning a Purim party, complete with mishloach manot baskets. 

After reading the story,  we started our Hamentashen.  It's Jude's great-grandmother's recipe.  She used the same dough for her Hamentashen as she did for her Rugelach, so we did too.   We made ours safe for everyone's allergies - so no wheat/gluten, nuts, dairy, or soy.

Hamentashen Dough:

5 1/2 c. King Arthur Gluten Free flour mix
2 Tbsp xanthan gum
2 1/2 heaping Tbsp baking powder
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
2 eggs
6 oz/170 g. shortening, melted
1 c.  coconut milk

Fillings
Traditional ones are poppyseed filling, plum jam, or apricot jam.  We used chocolate spread (some with mini marshmallows to make s'more hamentashen) and cherry baker's filling. 



Vanilla is part of Mom Mom's recipe.  We forgot to put it in.  Oops!  But they still were yummy, so it was all good.  We also needed about 1/4 cup of extra water as well, because our dough was very dry.  If you're able to measure very carefully, you probably won't need it.  If you have a helper who is a little heavy handed with measuring flour, feel free to adjust accordingly.  The dough should hold itself together when gently pressed together - it should be neither crumbly nor sticky.

Preheat oven to 400* F.




 Combine dry ingredients.

(Jude quickly learned to be careful turning on the mixer -- if you turn it on too fast, it makes a mess!)










In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

Add the shortening and milk, followed by the eggs.

 Turn the dough out onto a parchment-lined counter.  (If you don't have parchment, liberally flour the countertop.  But I highly recommend parchment to help with no sticking.)

Roll the dough to about 1/8" (0.3cm) thick.

Using a drinking glass, cut circles out of the dough.

My understanding is Mom Mom made hers pretty large.  This was the largest glass we had.  A biscuit cutter would work too.  Don't go any smaller than 2" (5 cm) though, because otherwise you don't have enough room for filling.

Add a small amount of filling to the center of each round.  

Less than a teaspoon - we borrowed some of Damien's baby spoons.  

A regular spoon is fine, just keep the dollops small enough to be sealed within the dough.

Fold the dough over to create the traditional triangle shape.

Pleat the dough at "12 o'clock" to form the top peak.

Fold the bottom of the round up over the bottom, and pinch the edges to seal.  Make sure you pinch them VERY tightly - otherwise they will puff open in the oven and you'll lose your shape.






I think Jude could use a little more practice, but pretty good for a first try. 

 Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly golden.  Cool on a wire rack.

We got about five dozen 2" cookies from this batch of dough.

Mom Mom now lives in a nursing home near Luke's school.  When Neal went to pick him up today, he took her a mishloach minot basket filled with our hamentashen.  You can find instructions on how to make this at the Bible Belt Balabusta's website.  It takes literally less than two minutes.

Happy Purim!  May you be as courageous as Queen Esther!


Celebrating Purim with friends: