Blog - Gluesticks Blog

Everyday Grilled Chicken Seasoning

May 7, 2015 By Brandy 1 Comment

My husband is the master of the grill and takes care of dinner a couple of nights a week. I'm a lucky girl! Thank you Foster Farms for sponsoring this delicious grilling experience and dinner. Simple, yet flavorful, grilled chicken tenders served with roasted asparagus!

I love chicken because it is so versatile and easy to season. Here is a basic seasoning mix that I like to use on chicken.

Grilled Chicken Seasoning

1 ½ T. Kosher Salt

1 T. garlic salt

¾ tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. paprika

This seasoning packs a nice flavor, but don't go overboard. Chicken breast tenders don't need as much as chicken legs or a whole chicken would need because they are skinless and thin.

Sprinkle your pieces over 2 lbs of chicken tenders and let sit for 10 minutes.

And now for our favorite marinade. Soy sauce! So simple, inexpensive, full of flavor, and QUICK!

Simply pour 1 cup over your chicken and let sit while your grill heats up. That's it! No marinating over night or for hours. It only needs a few minutes. We prefer charcoal to gas grilling, but both will result in juicy tenders. Cook until the juices run clear.

Serve with seasonal vegetables for the perfect dinner!

Mother's Day Pedicure Gift Basket

April 28, 2015 By Brandy 3 Comments

A beautiful pedicure gift basket brimming with everything needed for a luxurious pedicure! Peppermint sugar scrub, foot cream, nail polish, a travel nail kit, and an electronic foot file. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser.

My mother in law lives in a remote town in Alaska on the Alaskan-Canadian border. She and my father in law go to Fairbanks a few times a year to get groceries and go to medical appointments. My husband lived in a cabin without running water until he was 10 years old or so and has some amazing stories. Seriously, he had an awesome childhood full of outdoor fun and adventure. Needless to say, my mother in law can't just go down the road to Target and pick up a new nail polish or something fun to spoil herself. However, I've noticed that her nails are always long and pretty, painted with a fresh coat of nail polish. She likes picking up new shades when she goes to town or comes down to the lower 48 to visit us. Last year she brought the girls and I a fun 3 pack of pink sparkly nail polish so that we could give ourselves ombre manicures. I thought it would be fun to send her a pampering pedicure gift basket for Mother's Day this year brimming with everything she needs (plus a new shade of nail polish!) to get ready for sandal season. Yes, it gets warm (even HOT) in Alaska, too!

I tucked the following inside of my pedicure gift basket: an electric foot file, a pretty bottle of nail polish, lotion, a travel pedicure kit, and a jar of homemade peppermint sugar scrub. I've made sugar scrub a few times with great results, and peppermint sugar scrub is great for feet, leaving them smooth with a fresh scent.

Peppermint Sugar Scrub {For Hands & Feet}

2 parts granulated sugar
1 part coconut oil
essential oil
Warm your coconut oil for 15-20 seconds in the microwave and mix with sugar. Add essential oil drops until it reaches desired potency.

Store in a sealed jar and use a clean, dry, spoon or scoop to apply. Do not let water get into your sugar scrub or leave the lid off or it may get contaminated over time.

And now the tricky part...carefully packing it all into a flat rate box to ship to Alaska!

If you liked this pedicure gift basket you might also like...

Homemade Lip Gloss

DIY Lotion Bars

Poppyseed Soap Recipes

For more homemade gift ideas check out our Homemade Gift board on Pinterest!

Sand & Water Sensory Activities

April 23, 2015 By Brandy Leave a Comment

As a child there is nothing better than running your hands through sand at the beach and playing in the water. We live a couple of hours from the beach and don't get there very often so we have a water table and a sand box to bring the beach to our backyard...kind of. Ruby's preschool teacher has a Step2 Cascading Cove Sand and Water Table and is so creative with how she uses it! As parents, we take turns helping at preschool and it is fun seeing all of the fun things that they are using their water table for!

How cute is this? Miss Kami gave the kids silk flowers and a plastic jar of pretend insects. They had a great time "planting" their flowers and playing with the little bugs in the sand.

She found this amazing play sand at Lakeshore Learning and I think I need some of it too. It is so fine and smooth, much better than the gritty stuff that I bought with our backyard sand box.

The sand and water table came with some accessories like this little shovel and pot, a few boats, and two small bridges. The little pot was perfect for this activity.

The week that they learned about dinosaurs she set up a little dinosaur dig for them. Miss Kami used small plastic dinosaurs and fossilized insects that she brought back from a trip to Utah.

They had fun using tooth brushes to dust off the fossils and "bones" that were hiding in the sand.

You can use water for both sides of the table, or sand, or both! Does the sand sometimes mix with the water? It sure does. Try as we might, those little ones love mixing the two and using the water to wash the sand off of their hands. Thankfully there is a drain plug on each side that makes changing the water quick and easy!

I thought the kids would have a fun time making little boats to float around in the water table so I brought the supplies to preschool last week. The Cub Scouts made these for their rainwater regatta last year and had a lot of fun using straws to blow them down the race course. I bought a pool noodle and sliced it into sections and then cut each small section in half.

The kids colored a sail (3x5 index card) and we used a wooden skewer, cut to size, to attach it to the pool noodle. They turned out pretty cute!

Ruby is very fortunate to have such a fun and creative preschool teacher and cute little friends to play with every week. I love being able to go in and play with them too!

I knew that Ruby's teacher had been looking at this water table so I inquired about the possibility of being able to get her one from my friends at Step2 as part of my ambassador partnership with them. They graciously agreed and thought it would be a nice addition to this little preschool in exchange for sharing some of the fun ways the kids have used it!

Here are some other great sand and water sensory activities!

No Sew Bob the Tomato Toy

April 20, 2015 By Brandy 1 Comment

Make a cute little Bob the Tomato toy with a pin cushion and scrap felt! And easy no-sew project for kids!

Are you Bob and Larry fans too? We've been VeggieTales fans since before they were cool. Back when they were on VHS, when they didn't have toys for sale, and before the animation was updated. They still had the same catchy songs ("Belly Button" song, anyone?) and biblical stories and messages that our boys loved.

Did you scream a little when you saw this photo? Yeah, it's a little scary.

As I mentioned before, finding VeggieTales toys was next to impossible when my boys first started watching the movies. Dallin was a HUGE Larry Boy fan and had several of the VHS movies. Me, being the enabling mother that I am, decided to make him a felt Larry Boy plush toy. That was in 2006, almost 10 years ago! Larry Boy is still around, a bit worse for wear, and has seen hours and hours of playtime. I've learned a thing or two about making toys over the years.

First and foremost... Do NOT create a plush toy completely out of felt! Poor Larry looks like he has leprosy. Fleece or cotton would have held up much better. Felt works fabulous for small details, but it doesn't take long to start to look fuzzy when your child is carrying it around.

My boys still enjoy watching VeggieTales on Sunday mornings, whether on DVD or on Netflix. They introduced the show to their little sisters who immediately fell in love with Bob, Larry, and the gang.

After seeing a similar one online, Aaron and I decided it would be fun to make a little No Sew Bob the Tomato. AND it uses hardly any felt! No leprosy for Bob, Yay!

Bob the Tomato Stuffy Supplies

We used a pin cushion, found in the sewing section at Walmart, for the base. How easy is that? Then we used craft glue and added the details out of felt. Done.

How cute would this be for a vacation bible school craft? It took less than 5 minutes, start to finish, and sits happily on his nightstand.

Simple Diamond Quilt

April 17, 2015 By Brandy 2 Comments

I am so happy with how this quilt turned out! Another extremely simple quilt top with an array of bright and pretty fabrics. My parents recently moved into a new house (new to them, it was actually built in the early 1900's...very neat!) and I thought my mom would like a new quilt for her new home. Her birthday was also coming up so it was the perfect time to make this special throw for her. Interesting fact, my mom and I share a birthday! I was born on her 21st birthday and always thought it would be neat to share my birthday with one of my kids, but it's not something you can really plan.

I used an array of 5" squares in the Somerset, Miss Kate, and April Showers prints from Moda.

Construction was simple:

Each block is made up of 3 of the 5" squares. One solid square for the center, and 4 triangles made by the other 2 squares that have been cut on a diagonal.

Stitch the 4 triangles to the sides of the square and the diamond quilt block is complete! I made this a throw size so I made 35 blocks and added two (4") borders.

Finished quilt size: 50" x 64".

I wasn't sure if the cream border would stand out enough from the white border, but I really like how it turned out. Subtle and soft.

I finished taking photos of the quilts that I made for my boys last year and can't wait to share those too. I'm still such a beginner so each quilt top is super simple. Basic shapes and seams. Hopefully they are helpful for other beginners too!

Stuffed Bacon & Cheddar Burgers

April 16, 2015 By Brandy 1 Comment

#KetchupsNewMustard #CollectiveBias

It's April which means that BBQ season has been here for a couple of months in California. Don't hate. The kids asked if we could eat outside on Saturday and it was just too nice outside not to. And miracle of miracles, it was a gorgeous night without mosquitos. I have no idea where they were because they are usually all over me! We made stuffed bacon and cheddar burgers, classic potato salad, and enjoyed fresh pineapple too. All on paper plates and diner baskets for easy clean up. My favorite kind of dinner!

Have you made stuffed burgers before? There are a couple of ways to make them and they are fun to customize. We kept them simple with cheddar and bacon, but you could totally add in green chiles, onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, cubed cheeses, the possibilities are endless!

Our basic burger patties start out with 2 lbs. of LEAN ground beef and 1 packet of dry onion soup mix. The onion soup mix gives such a nice flavor.

Separate the ground beef into 6 portions. Break off ⅓ of each ball and set aside. You will end up with 6 bigger portions and 6 smaller ones. Form the bigger portions into flat patties.

Use your hand (or the back of a cup) to make an indentation.

Press with your fingers to deepen the indentation and fill with your favorite add-ins.

Use the smaller portion of ground beef that your broke off and fill in the gap, covering in your add-ins.

Press around and seal all edges.

That's one way to make a stuffed burger. Here's another!

Use a stuffed burger press! I love mine because it makes uniform patties every time. Regular or stuffed and it also makes small sliders!

Grill those bad boys up to perfection! What I like about stuffed burgers vs. just mixing the bacon and cheese into the meat and grilling it all together is that you get less burn off. The cheese will come out slightly, but the bacon stays inside and is perfectly tender and juicy inside the burger.

What is your favorite side dish to serve with burgers? Mine is classic potato salad. I brought this to a potluck one time and my friend said, "You brought 'White Trash' Potato Salad, My FAVORITE!". Hmm...a compliment and an insult all in one, ha! She called it that because it was the basic condiment, nothing fancy kind of potato salad. Just mustard, mayo, and relish!

The dressing comes tougher super quick.

1 ½ c. mayo

1 T. New Heinz® Yellow Mustard

1 T. relish

salt and pepper to taste

Mix dressing into a bowl with 3 sliced hardboiled eggs, ½ c. chopped onion, and 6 potatoes that have been peeled, boiled, then cubed.

If you want to take it up a notch, sprinkle with dill weed and paprika. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

The only thing that I really need on my burgers is mustard. Everything else is just a bonus. I love the tang that it adds and add it to all my sandwiches, hot dogs, and corn dogs!

Sadly, I am the only one in my family who likes mustard. Crazy, right? This is why that big ol' bottle of ketchup is almost empty and my small Heinz Yellow Mustard is a smaller size, but I go through it pretty quickly considering! Does anyone else refuse to buy mustard that isn't in the "top-down" squeeze bottle? Nothing ruins a sandwich quicker than a big squirt of mustard water.

Mayo, stuffed bacon and cheddar patty, Heinz Ketchup, lettuce, red onion, tomatoes, pickles, and a big ol' squirt of Heinz Yellow Mustard and it was just perfect! The kids like helping with dinner prep, so they had a great time customizing their burgers. The burgers were so delicious and filling, but Dallin, who can now out eat both of us, came back for a second burger.

I made sure to save room for my "White Trash" potato salad. Seriously, I hate that phrase, but I can't make this potato salad without remembering that!

Heinz Yellow Mustard just launched in February at Walmart and is now being sold at other grocery stores too.

Now Heinz Ketchup isn't alone on the shelf, it's tangier cousin is right next to it! (And possibly behind a pole like it was at my Walmart). A secret blend of spices and vinegar, made from 100% natural ingredients, combine for the perfect balance of flavor and tang! And the best part? Heinz Yellow Mustard is a thicker mustard that sits on top of the bread which helps avoid soggy sandwiches. Yes.

Ketchup has a new mustard and you can read find great sandwich and grilling recipes at KetchupsNewMustard.com

Dishwasher Safe Frosted Glass

April 14, 2015 By Brandy 3 Comments

Ruby and I picked up a pretty bouquet of tulips the other day and had fun dispersing them throughout the house. Is there anything better than fresh flowers? I decided to do a little frosting action on this $1 milk bottle and turn it into a vase. I remember frosting mirrors in my high school art class with acid etching cream and painstakingly cutting out every detail with a craft knife. I even remember that I etched a very pretty rose onto my mirror. I've noticed a trend in a lot of DIY vases lately...they aren't dishwasher safe and sometimes they aren't even waterproof! I saw one on pinterest last week that was absolutely gorgeous. It was a glitter vase and after the directions showed how to make it they gave the disclaimer, "Do not use real flowers or water in this vase. To prevent the glitter from scratching off use a toilet paper roll inside and put your flowers inside that." Deal breaker! No matter how pretty it was it just wasn't functional for me. I've painted vases in the past with mixed results---the paint eventually scratches off unless you use glass paint and bake it on to cure. There are several ways to frost glass. You can use frosted vinyl or contact paper to decorate your project, you can spray frosted paint on it, or you can acid etch it. The only durable method is acid etching it. I am going to show you how to frost glass in a matter of minutes and have a vase that will last forever.

DIY Frosted Glass Vase

For this project you will need:

Glass vase

Clear Contact Paper

Acid Etching Cream (found at your local craft store)

Paint Brush

Scissors

Pencil

Penny

Begin by tracing your design on a sheet of clear contact paper. Cut out with scissors. Make sure your glass is clean and dry. Peel off the backing of the contact paper and adhere to your vase in whatever design/pattern you'd like!

Apply a THICK coat of etching cream with your paint brush.

Seriously, glob it on there. Let sit for 10-20 minutes (follow the specified time on the bottle).

My bottle of acid etching cream is 5 years old. This stuff lasts forever and you can brush off the excess and put it back in your bottle to make it last even longer!

Brush excess cream back into your acid etching cream container, if desired. Rinse thoroughly in the sink.

Do not panic if it looks clear! The frosted effect will show up after you dry the outside of the bottle.

Remove contact paper designs.

And that is it! It is fun to customize jars and vases like these. I made personalized jars for the kids' teachers one year. They were a hit! Go ahead and etch your name to your casserole dishes or monogram a cookie jar while you're at it.

And the best part? When you need to wash your vase don't worry about hand washing it. Just ~~throw~~ place it in the dishwasher with a Finish® Max in 1™ capsule and you are set!

I've used Finish® capsules for quite some time to really clean my dishes, especially my glassware. When we first moved into our house the dishwasher didn't seem to work well. It was brand new and we thought it was defective. It didn't dry the dishes well and it didn't seem to wash them that great either. The warranty technician came out to take a look and said that the dishwasher was fine, but there were a few things I could do to help it run better.

1. The type of detergent you use makes a big difference, to make sure to use a rinse aid (or a detergent with a rinse aid) to help with drying.

2. DON'T over crowd the dishwasher (GUILTY!!!!)

3. Run hot water into your sink before turning your dishwasher on. This is easy to do since I rinse my dishes with hot water before putting them in the dishwasher.

All of these tips helped and our dishwasher began to work like a charm! My glasses started coming out clear again and were DRY (or very close to it).

Oversized Floor Pillow

April 8, 2015 By Brandy 1 Comment

A reading nook, a movie pillow, a mattress, a dog bed...These easy-to-make oversized floor pillows are THE PERFECT hang out for kids! Adults will want one too.

Look at this pillow. I mean, LOOK at this pillow!

It is the perfect place to jump, sleep, lounge, and read books. An enormous hang out area for any child. Truth be told, I want one for myself! Never in the history of sewing projects in the Nelson home has a project caused so many fights! Serious cat fights. The girls both want to be on the pillow ALL OF THE TIME and have had issues sharing it. At first I thought that I should make another one so that they would each have one and then I decided against that. They need to learn how to share it. So it is a fun fluffy pillow and a learning tool all in one 🙂

It's even received use from the "big" kids. Aaron is 8 and fits snugly on it.

And it's a great place to get tickled.

I filled it with 4 standard pillows, and when it needs to be washed I can simply open the velcro closure and pull them out. I used plastic grocery bags in each corner to puff the pillow out a bit. Worked like a charm!

Since I used 4 big, fluffy, standard bed pillows, it folds over on itself to put away in corner. It can also easily slide under a bed.

I had a yard of this fun chevron print left over from a project and it was the perfect size for the top! 36"x45". I cut another rectangle the same sized for the bottom.

The sides are 8" tall and the width of the rectangle. (2) 36"x8" pieces and (2) 45" x 8" pieces.

Then I assembled it how you would any cushion and added a velcro flap for closure.

For a tutorial, you can check out the photo that I used for inspiration, using this link. I saw it online and immediately knew I had to make one for my kids! My dimensions are slightly different since I didn't follow her tutorial, but it's pretty much the same cushion.

Make an Easter Bunny Cake With 2 Round Cakes

April 2, 2015 By Brandy Leave a Comment

An easy Easter bunny cake to make for spring, using two round cake pans. A nostalgic cake that has been around for decades!

You might also like my chicken cake, Minion cupcakes, or adorable hedgehog cake.

Two white Easter bunny cakes on foil cake boards.

I thought my girls would have fun making their own Easter bunny cake to decorate, so I got out my round cake pans and made 4 round cakes, enough for 2 bunny cakes!

Why I Like This Recipe

old photo of baby in high chair and bunny cake

Nostalgic cake. Who else had a bunny cake on their birthday? This photo is of me on my 1st birthday. My mom and I share a birthday, so there were usually two cakes every year. This was a photo from our double birthday party in 1983. I also remember a similar teddy-bear-shaped cake for my 6th birthday.
No cake decorating skills needed. I love simple cakes like this that use basic cake pans, a single cake layer, and frosting. No tips, fondant, or excessive time involved.
Fun for kids to decorate. This is such an easy cake for kids to make. In the end, the kitchen was a mess, sprinkles covered the floor, fingers were sticky, and my girls each had a cute Easter cake to share with dinner.

What Others Are Saying

My momma used to make this cake for us! ---Suzie

I made them in the late 90's for my boys. ---Tina

My son was born in 1974, and every season I made a special cake for him. I think the bunny was one of the first cakes.---Marilyn

Yup I made one of these for Easter. Shredded coconut on top of the icing for the bunny fluff. ---Deb

[feast_advanced_jump_to]

frosted and unfrosted cakes shaped like a bunny

Tips and Tricks

Cake size. Bake 2 8" round pans to make a larger bunny cake or 4 smaller round cakes to make 2 bunny cakes. Bake according to the cake mix box directions.
Flavor. We made a white vanilla cake, but a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting would be so fun for Easter.
Decorations. There are so many ways to decorate a bunny cake.
- Shredded coconut flakes to look like bunny fur.
- Light pink frosting for the pinks inside of the ears instead of candy.
- Licorice for whiskers.
- Use jelly beans for the eyes, large candy eyes, or pipe on the frosting.
- You can also tint a cup of coconut green food coloring to resemble Easter grass, then sprinkle it around the edge of the cake.

Ingredients

Box of cake mix, eggs, water, bottle of oil, bottle of vanilla extract, bowl of cream, stick of butter, bowl of powdered sugar and pile of jelly beans.

Cake mix: I used white cake mix, but carrot cake would be a great option too!
Eggs, oil, and water: according to the package instructions.
Butter: I use salted butter to make homemade buttercream, but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
Powdered sugar: Gives the buttercream frosting a light and fluffy texture.
Vanilla extract: Add any extract you'd like; vanilla is my favorite.
Heavy cream: Used to thin out the buttercream frosting. You can use milk if you prefer.
Candy: Any kind of candy you'd like to decorate the bunny cake.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make an Easy Easter Bunny Cake

Step 1: Bake 2 round cakes according to the box instructions. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Step 2: Cool the cake completely, then cut each cake according to the diagram below using a serrated knife.

Step 3: Place the cut cake pieces on a foil-covered platter or cutting board. Spread buttercream frosting, with a spatula or butter knife, along the bottom of the bunny face cake to attach the bow tie. Spread frosting on the bottom of each ear to attach the ears to the bunny's head.

Step 4: Cover the entire cake in the frosting.

Step 5: Decorate the cake with candy, coconut, jelly beans, or any type of spring candy you'd like.

Easter Bunny Cake FAQs

What cake pan is best for a bunny cake?

There's no need to buy a bunny-shaped cake pan. You can easily use two round cake pans to make a bunny-shaped cake!

What candy is best for decorating an Easter bunny cake?

There are so many ways to decorate a bunny cake.
Shredded coconut flakes to look like bunny fur.
Light pink frosting for the pinks inside of the ears instead of candy.
Licorice for whiskers.
Use jelly beans for the eyes, large candy eyes, or pipe on the frosting.
You can also tint a cup of coconut green food coloring to resemble Easter grass, then sprinkle it around the edge of the cake.

How do you store cake to keep it fresh?

Cover the cake with plastic or store slices in an airtight container to keep it fresh for 3-5 days.

Can you freeze buttercream frosting?

You can freeze buttercream frosting for up to six months. Store in an airtight container and let thaw on the counter until it softens.

More Easter Recipes To Make

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Two little girls with two Easter bunny cakes.

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Easter Bunny Cake

An easy Easter bunny cake to make for spring, using two round cake pans. A nostalgic cake that has been around for decades!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

cool 1

Total Time 1 40

Servings

Calories 783kcal

Author Brandy Nelson

Equipment

2 round cake pans

Ingredients

1 box cake mix any flavor
3 large eggs (or according to box mix)
½ cup oil (or according to box mix)
1 cup water (or according to box mix)

Buttercream Frosting

2 cups butter softened
6 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Decorations

jelly beans, candy, licorice

Instructions

Bake 2 round cakes according to the cake mix box instructions. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Cool the cake completely, then cut each cake according to the diagram using a serrated knife.
Beat butter with an electric mixer for two minutes. Add sifted powdered sugar and mix until creamed.
Beat in heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Scrape sides of the frosting bowl with a rubber spatula.
Place the cut cake pieces on a foil-covered platter or cutting board. Spread buttercream frosting, with a spatula or butter knife, along the bottom of the bunny face cake to attach the bow tie. Spread frosting on the bottom of each ear to attach the ears to the bunny's head.
Cover the entire cake in the frosting.
Decorate the cake with candy, coconut, jelly beans, or any type of spring candy you'd like.

Notes

You will have extra frosting leftover. Store the frosting in the freezer for up to 6 months to use in another recipe!

Nutrition