Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Crescent Ring

MY FIRST RECIPE! I seriously love cooking, especially little appetizers and snacky things, so hopefully I will be able to do more things like this! 

I first tried this recipe on Christmas Eve, and it wasn't that great, but I altered a few things and served it on Christmas Day AND New Years Eve (each time for different people) and people were raving about it! Here is the Pinterest pin that this recipe was inspired by and where all photos in this blog post came from. Here is the finished product:

Ingredients:

• One 8oz package of plain cream cheese, softened (set it out about 2-3 hrs before you're ready to begin prep)
• Two tubes of crescent rolls
• One can of cooked chicken (or you could use a breast of chicken, but the pre cooked can is MUCH easier), finely diced.
• 1/2 cup of finely diced celery
• 1/2 cup of finely diced onion
• 1/3 cup of hot sauce
• One packet of powdered ranch dressing mix.
• Ranch dressing for dipping (optional)
• 1/4 cup scallions, cilantro, or fresh herbs, finely chopped (optional)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• In a bowl combine the cream cheese, chicken, celery, onion, hot sauce, and ranch dressing mix. 

                   A note about the hot sauce: the original recipe called for 1/2 cup which is how I                    made it the first time. I like spicy foods. I really do, but this was entirely too hot.                    The ranch dressing dipping sauce only offered mild relief. The second time I                            made it I reduced it to 1/3 cup and it was leaps and bounds better.

• Pop open your crescent rolls (I always hate this part, it's like an adult Jack In The Box), and arrange on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper:

• It takes a little maneuvering to get the crescent rolls arranged as shown above but just keep trying, it will come together like a puzzle.
• Then, as shown above use a large spoon to scoop the chicken mix around the center of the ring, then fold over the crescent rolls.
• If some of them rip when you fold them over it's okay! Just squish them back together as best you can.
• Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. I found 20 minutes turned out best.
• Let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting. The filling needs to set! Warning: this will be difficult because it will smell amazing.
• Garnish with herbs if desired.
• Serve with ranch dressing in the middle.
• Listen to your guests rave.

Let me know in the comments how this recipe works out for you! Happy cooking :)

Magazine Basket

Happy 2014 everyone!! I'm sorry about the lack of posting. This is certainly not what I intended for this blog but hopefully y'all are crafting a little bit on your own! 

I recently completed a fairly easy yet time consuming craft called the magazine basket. I'm sure you have seen this one on Pinterest several times. I definitely have and it always intrigued me. Warning: this craft is extremely time consuming. Patience required. While doing this craft I listened to a lot of Vitamin String Quartet and watched a lot of Breaking Bad. I like to craft with calm music and stressful shows. I don't know. Here is the finished product:

Tools:

• Glue gun
• Scissors or a fancy paper cutter
• Mod Podge
• Sponge brush
• Ruler (optional)
• Thick marker (optional)

Materials:

• One thick magazine (I used InStyle cause I like to think I'm stylish but I can't afford Vogue) or a few smaller magazines.

Estimated Time:

• A long friggen time. Like a month or more depending on how fast you can roll and glue (not a drug reference).

My Cost:

• FREE! My favorite price.

The Steps:

• First, rip all the pages out of the magazine. If they come out a little sloppy, that's okay. So did my life. Anyway, then cut the pages in half. I just used scissors, but if you're lucky enough to have a fancy paper cutter then use that! Now that you have a half of a page, it's time to start to start folding. Fold the page in half three times horizontally. Or the hot dog way for all of you still in your youth. 

Tip: After folding the page three times I quickly ran a ruler over it. This flattens the strip, makes your creases tighter, and makes it easier to roll.

• Next it's time to make your base. Take your strip and wrap it around a thick marker, then put a little dot of hot glue on the end.

Tip: I found the marker to be a little challenging so for the rest of the circles I just used my finger.

You will end up with a little circle that looks like this:

• Next, just keep wrapping those strips around that circle until you get the width you are looking for. I didn't have any particular width in mind, I just kind of kept gluing until it looked decent. It ended up being about 6 1/2 inches wide.
• To wrap the strips around you basically have two options. You can either (1) hot glue the entire length of the strip, or (2) just glue on the two ends to secure it. If you choose the first way your base will be totally secure and you won't need to Mod Podge it, but it could be a serious waste of glue. If you choose the second way it will be really loose and you will be able to push it into a cone. Don't panic, once you Mod Podge it it will be stiffer than a..................

At some point your strips won't go all the way around and you will run into this problem:

It's completely fine. Just start your next strip where the last one ends. You won't even be able to tell once it's all finished. Here is my finished base:

• If you chose the second method of gluing the strips, you now need to Mod Podge the base. Just a thin layer on each side using a sponge brush should do the trick.
• Now it's time to roll. And roll and roll and roll and roll and roll until you literally can't see straight. You're going to roll your circles for the body of the basket the same way you rolled your original circle, using either a thick marker or your finger. 
• Then once you've rolled as many as you think you'll need, start gluing them to the base. I basically just glued around the side of the circle and slapped it on the side of the base.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Once you get to your second row you need to decide your shape. If you want it to go outward like mine does, you need to place your circle slightly off in line with the first row. If you want it to go straight up, just keep it in line. Regardless of which method you choose, you need to place your circles in the middle of the circles underneath, NOT stacking directly on top.

• Now you will continue stacking your circles until you get to your desired height. I finished it off by Mod Podgeing the entire basket. Again, just a thin layer. Let it dry and you are good to go!!
  

Like I said, this is extremely time consuming but it comes out really well, and it is fairly easy. I get a lot of compliments on it and most people don't believe that I made it! I feel like that picture on the right doesn't do it justice. I'm super proud of this one!

You could try to make a trash can using this method as well! If you try this craft, let me know how it goes in the comments, or ask any questions you may have!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Update!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give you a little update. I am finishing up this semester which is why I haven't been posting very much. My last final is tomorrow and then I am heading home, yay!! I have one craft done and ready to post for you guys, and another one that is about halfway done (it's a complex and time consuming craft that's taking me a very long time). So I should get those posts out soon! I am also looking into doing a few holiday recipes as well! Everyone enjoy your holidays!

Scrabble Name Frame!

Yay! This is the first official craft to be posted on A Glue Gun & A Prayer! It's a great gift for grandparents. Something personal, sweet, and something that they will be sure to keep forever. You will win grandchild of the year for sure! Here is the finished product:

Tools:

• Glue Gun
• Scissors
• One piece of scrap paper
• Pencil

Materials:

• Frame
• Tiled letters
• One Mardi Gras necklace

Estimated Time:

• 2 Hours

My Cost (not including tax):

• The frame I found at Hobby Lobby. It's actually just supposed to be wall art but since my grandmother lives in a shore house I thought this would go perfectly. It was originally $26.00 marked down 50% off so I got it for $13.00
• Hobby Lobby did have tiled letters, but they only had two bags (40 letters per bag) and I knew that I would need more. I checked Michael's and they had bags of 60 letters per bag for $5.00. I got two bags and had a 50% off coupon for one item so I got both bags for $7.50
• I already had the Mardi Gras beads in my house. 
• Total = $20.50

The Steps:

• First, arrange all of your tiles on your board. This is the hardest part because sometimes if you're short some letters (like I was with 'L') you need to ensure that those cross. You also need to make sure everything will fit, as well as make sure it looks somewhat symmetrical in the frame.

Here's what it looked like after I arranged everything. As you can see I had Michael spelled wrong. Have one or two people look at it to make sure everything is spelled right. Unfortunately I did not realize my mistake until after I started gluing.

• Use your hot glue gun to glue the tiles into place. The tiles that I purchased were not all uniform size, which I liked because it gave it an organic, homemade look.
  
• Here's what it looked like after I managed to spell Michael right. Unfortunately it caused Kaitlyn to be squished on the edge, but I think it looks okay.

• At this point I intended to be finished. But it still looked incomplete to me. It needed something else in the negative space. I went into my bedroom and spotted a box of Mardi Gras beads in my closet. I grabbed a purple one (only needed one necklace!) and cut the beads up.

• Then I simply cut a heart from a folded piece of construction paper, traced it with a pencil onto the frame, and started hot gluing the beads on. No need to trim that excess white string, just glue that side down!

• When I was finished I just took some tweezers and pulled the glue gun strings off from around the beads. Everything dried really quickly and now I have an awesome, inexpensive, personal homemade gift for my grandmother! I want to do another one for my other grandmother but she has 28 grandchildren! It would be a project but I might be up to it, who knows! If you try this project show me the final product and let me know what you did better than me!

Essentials For Being A Craftaholic

I was browsing around Hobby Lobby (the holy grail of craft stores) today looking for some supplies for a craft that I will be doing and posting about later in the week, and I had a thought: what if people have zero clue how to start doing crafts in general? And now with that thought I bring you my second blog post. 

This post will give you some basic tools, tips, and tricks on how to start your adventure of crafting. First let's start with tools. Below is a list of some very basic tools that are essential to most crafts. Have these items in your corner and you're off to a great start:

• Scissors - I recommend investing in a quality pair of fabric scissors
• Glue in various forms. ex) glue gun (duh), glue sticks, Elmer's glue, spray glue, etc. 
• Mod Podge - a high quality glue/sealer/finish. It get's pricy but I highly recommend it for first timers. Once you get the feel for the consistency and range of uses then you can venture into some homemade recipes to save some moolah. 
• Sponge brushes in various sizes
• Xacto knife
• Krylon Clear Gloss Spray (when did this item become essential for every craft?!)
• Ruler
• One inch hole punch (you could also splurge on some shaped hole punches like hearts)
• Paper clips/clothespins
• Ribbons, thread, twine, etc.
• Sandpaper
• Scrap paper, old magazines, scrapbook paper, etc.
• Patience. PATIENCE. PATIENCE. PATIENCE. PATIENCE.

While none of these items are essential for every craft I think having them at  your disposal whenever you need them is fantastic. It stinks to get to the very end of a craft and have to run out for some Krylon spray at the last second. Especially when its 4am and all you've eaten that day is a cheese stick and two mocha frapps. (trust me on this one okay?).

Now let's have some helpful handy tips:

• Find your local craft stores, browse all of them, pick your favorite, and stick to it. In my area the craft stores are Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and JoAnn Fabrics. I prefer Hobby Lobby. It almost always has what I'm looking for and generally has good prices. I say stick to one store because once you're in there 4 times a week you will get to know your way around, know when to look for deals, know the employees, etc. Most stores also have a rewards program for frequent customers. Unless another store is having a sale you can't pass up, find a store and make it your baby. 
• Pick a craft that works for you. Just because Pinterest gives you step by step instructions on how to make a 35 foot area rug, doesn't mean you should do it when you live in an apartment the size of a postage stamp. Before you commit to a craft think "Where can I put this?" "Will it look good?" "Will it fit?" "Can I use this?" Don't waste your time or money on a craft that will end up in your moms garage and give her another reason to call you any more than she already does.
• Pick a craft that's doable. If you can't sew, don't pick a sewing project. Just don't. You will get frustrated and start to cry. Find a craft that's within not only your price range, but your skill level as well.
• If you're not having fun, STOP. Crafting is supposed to be fun, relaxing, and enjoyable. If you're getting stressed or frustrated, just stop. Come back to it another day. Maybe this time with a vodka tonic in your hand. 
• Don't Over-Craft. If you start a project, finish it. We don't need 72 half finished crafts lying around. It's dangerous not only for yourself, but for your love life as well. One craft at a time people!

Alright hopefully these tips will help you get started on your journey to crafting. If you have some more tools or tips that you would like to add, comment below! 

Welcome To Glue Gun & A Prayer!!

Welcome everyone! I would like my first post to be a little bit about myself and what I hope this blog will be and then we will get into the crafting! First a little bit about myself:

I'm 22 years old living in a small college town outside of Buffalo, NY. I'm a Media Management Major with a Minor in Business. Currently I am the Vacations Group Coordinator at Darien Lake Theme Park and Resort. I graduate in May 2014 and I hope to move to Nashville, TN soon after that. I would love to work in the country music industry. Not sure what job specifically, I like to keep my options open. I truly believe I was born to be in the south. 

Most of the crafts/recipes that I will do come from Pinterest. While I have been on Pinterest for years I have only recently gotten into actually doing some of the crafts that I pin. Since my job is seasonal, I am doing these crafts on a limited budget with limited time. I am hoping this blog will allow me to document my journey from amateur crafter to full blown professional. Also spell check is telling me crafter is not a word? I disagree spell check. It is now a Monica-ism. 

On this blog I plan to document (with pictures!) the crafts that I do including tools and materials needed, time needed, and what I spent. I might even blog a few recipes I encounter as well! Hopefully I can give you some tips on how to avoid the mistakes that I will undoubtedly make along the way. 

I hope that this blog will be as enjoyable and rewarding for you as it will be for me. I am looking forward to multiple glue gun burns, Xacto knife cuts, spray paint stains, and some beautiful projects!

Don't forget the two things you need to complete a successful craft: A Glue Gun & A Prayer