Goodbye to Summer

Sadly our Summer eyeshadow theme is coming to an end. We’ve had some very pretty shades that have inspired us and some fun and interesting posts. One of my favourites was the 7 Day Wknd one with all of the holiday and vacation destinations. There were some pretty cool places that I never would have thought of going before. It was definitely an inspiring one. There were so many fun crafts and yummy recipes that we tried out as well that were all inspired by our eyeshadow shade of the week!

Our very last shade today is called “Aloha Beaches” by Tarte. It’s a matte brownish red shade, very calm and a good transition colour into Fall. We’ve decided to share with you some Summertime photos that remind us of the warm sunny Summer that we just had. A kind of goodbye to Summer collage. Enjoy!

Turtlette - Turtle Backpack Tags

We are starting a slow wind down of our Summer theme and this week we are looking at a shade called “Turtlette” by Tarte. I know you’re thinking green but this shade is actually metallic silver. Maybe they had a Silverback Turtle in mind? It’s a nice party shade.

We thought we’d do something for back to school. We had some of our key rings leftover from our Father’s Day post so we decided to make use of those and we are making turtle shaped nametags for kid’s backpacks.

There are a couple designs that we came up with so take a look below and see how to make your very own turtle backpack tag.

The first one is very easy and simple. All you need is a turtle template. We chose this one...

You will also need some green felt and some twine.

We printed the turtle so that when it was cut out it was about 4 inches long. Then we traced the turtle with a felt pen onto the felt and cut it out.

Instead of an eye we made a little hole where the eye would be and we strung through some twine. To make sure that the twine knot is secure, you can put white glue or clear nail polish on the knot to prevent it from coming undone.

Lastly, we wrote a name (with a felt pen r Sharpie) on the body of the turtle.

Our second turtle is a foam turtle.

We found another turtle template and printed that and cut it out. We actually printed it twice (more on that later). It measures about 4 ½ inches.

On a quick shop at the Dollar store, we bought some light green foam sheets and then also found a darker green foam sheet. The darker green was sparkly and also had an adhesive backing.

On the lighter green foam sheet, we traced the outline of the turtle. We used a black felt pen, it smudged slightly but we were able to fix it by wiping it off with a damp paper towel. You can use a regular ball point pen if you prefer or even a pencil might work.

Now cut that turtle out.

Next on that other turtle that we printed, we cut out just the shell pieces. We had six of them.

Then we traced those onto our sparkly foam. To keep track of them all, we numbered them so that we knew where to put them when we attached them to the turtle.

After tracing them all, cut out all of the shell pieces.

Punch some black “eyes” from a black foam piece (you could also use googly eyes) and glue them on with a glue stick and then attach the the foam shell pieces to the turtle.

When that’s all complete, we grabbed some floral wire and pushed that through one of the legs. Then we twisted it like a chain (feel free to use a chain if you have one) and then attached the end to the key ring.

Write the name of your child on the back in felt pen and you’re done.

Mint'd Mojito - Mojito "Recipes"

Sadly, we are getting close to the end of our fun Summer theme. We do have three more posts so that’s exciting. Today our shade is called “Mint’d Mojito” by Fenty and they call it a metallic mint blue.

We’ve decided to break down the Mojito so we’ve found a few interesting recipes featuring the mint and the lime. If you don’t already know, a mojito has both lime and mint flavours in it along with some alcohol. I’ve never had one myself but it always looks so refreshing and bright.

Here’s a recipe for one...

You need 2 ounce of light rum, 2 tsp. of sugar, 6-8 fresh mint leaves, a splash of club soda, and 1 lime cut in half.

Place the sugar, mint leaves, and splash of club soda into a highball glass. Muddle well to dissolve the sugar and to release the flavour of the mint.

Squeeze the juice from both halves of the lime into the glass and drop one half in.

Add the rum and stir well.

Top with club soda and garnish with fresh mint.

If you are in the mood for a different take/approach to a mojito then check these recipes (that we thought represented the lime and mint quite well) out and give them a try.

Here are a couple savoury recipes...

Moroccan Chicken

1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size cubes

2 cloves garlic

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp. dried chile de arbol, seeds removed (1/2 - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper)

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

1 Tsbp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 small to medium lemons grated & juiced

1 ounce jar marinated artichoke quarters

1 bunch asparagus, cut into quarters

Vinaigrette:

1 lemon, juiced & zest

1/2 a lime, juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. honey

Goat Cheese Yogurt:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Place the chicken in a gallon size ziplock bag or medium size bowl.

In a food processor add the garlic, ginger, dried chile de arbol (or cayenne), cilantro, parsley, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Process 1-2 minutes or until everything is finely chopped.

Stream in 1/2 cup olive oil. Stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss well. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

To make the vinaigrette... add the lemon zest and juice to a small sauce pot. Bring mixture to a simmer and simmer, about 1 minute or until the zest absorbs the juice. WATCH CLOSELY, you do not want the zest to get burnt to the pan.

Spoon the zest out of the pot and into a small bowl. Add the olive oil, parsley, salt, honey and lime juice. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

To make the minted goat cheese yogurt mix together the Greek yogurt, chopped mint, crushed red pepper flakes, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in the crumbled goat cheese. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates. Thread the chicken, asparagus and artichokes onto metal skewers (or wood skewers that have been soaked in water). I alternated with asparagus+ artichokes and then chicken, repeat. Place the chicken on the grill until the chicken is golden and no longer pink in the centre, about 5 minutes each side. You may also cook the chicken in a skillet if needed. Serve the chicken with the the lemon herb vinaigrette and the minted goat cheese yogurt.

Lime Shrimp Avocado Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. honey

2 limes, juiced

½ tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 shallot, finely diced

1½ cups sweet corn, frozen and thawed or fresh

1 can black beans

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

½ lb frozen shrimp, defrosted

¼ cup parsley, chopped

Instructions:

Cook your quinoa following directions on the package. Fluff the quinoa with a fork after it’s done cooking and set aside to cool.

Whisk the olive oil, honey, lime juice, chili powder, salt and pepper. Finely dice the shallot and mix in with the dressing. Set aside.

Prepare all the vegetables for the salad.

Spoon the cooled quinoa into 4 bowls and divide up the vegetables placing them on top of the quinoa. Next, add your shrimp to the bowls. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle chopped parsley over top.

For something sweet...

Mint Butter Cream Icing

4 cups of Powdered Sugar

1 cup Butter

1 Tbsp. Milk

1/2 tsp. Peppermint Extract

Yellow and blue food colouring

Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl.

Add softened sticks of butter

Add 1 Tbsp. of milk.

Beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated. Then move mixer up to medium-high speed.

Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry.

Add more milk, a little bit at a time until frosting is the proper consistency.

Add Peppermint Extract.

Mint Chocolate Popsicles

2 2/3 cups full fat coconut milk

3/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

peppermint extract (optional, and to taste)

food colouring (optional)

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Combine coconut milk and fresh mint leaves in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat for 5 minutes, until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and let steep 20 minutes. Strain infused coconut milk through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the mint with the back of a spoon. Whisk in sugar, salt, peppermint extract, and food colour (2 drops green, 1 drop blue) until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature, then cover and chill for 6 hours in the refrigerator.

Stir chopped chocolate into mixture and fill popsicle molds, leaving a 1/2-inch of space at the top of each mold. Freeze for about an hour, then insert popsicle sticks and freeze overnight. To unmold, let popsicles stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from molds and serve.

Key Lime Chex Mix

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex cereal

1 1/4 cups white chocolate baking chips

1/4 cup butter

4 tsp. grated key lime peel

2 Tbsp. fresh key lime juice

2 cups icing sugar

Instructions:

Measure cereal into a large bowl, set aside. 

In a microwave safe bowl put chips, butter, peel and juice uncovered on High for 1 minute; stir.   

Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.

Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add icing sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.