Burlap Wreath & Winter Recipe Turned Summer

Hello there!
It's Monday again, which means that it's time to link up with 4th Grade Frolics for a very inspiring linky called Monday Made It.  If you haven't check out this linky yet, please do...I will warn you though, as soon as you do you will want to go out and start making things for your home and classroom.

I've got some fun news.... do you instagram???  Well Mrs. Bentin's Blackboard is now on instagram and I would love to find you, as well as have you follow me!  Just search: mrsbentinsblackboard, or click the link to the right of my blog to take you to my page! Comment below if you're on instagram with your username so I can find you too! I'm so excited for when the school year starts and I can take pictures of what we're doing and share them instantly!  Here's a sample of a few posts that I've started with! 

I've always wanted to make a burlap wreath for our front door.  I have all kinds of things to hang for the various holidays and seasons that come around, but there are just some times during the year where nothing really goes or matches.  So for those times when it's not decorated for a specific time, I thought making a wreath would be something perfect.  I've pinned a few on pinterest, and decided to go looking at the craft store for supplies.  I didn't necessarily have a theme in mind, I just wanted to use burlap.

I got all of my supplies at a great deal! I didn't realize how expensive burlap is.  At the craft store, a yard of burlap with metallic paint on it can but as expensive as $12.99 a yard.  I found this burlap 'ribbon' in the clearance section and got them for 50% off.  So in all I spent $6.99 on each spool that contains three yards. I thought it was a pretty good find, so that is where the silver polka dots became my theme.  I also got a wooden 'B' for our last name and some silver paint along with the metal frame to support the wreath.  

I used this tutorial from the internet to help me get started on making the wreath.  Due to the fact that there was a front and back to the burlap, I had to play around a little bit when it came to putting the burlap through the wire frame of the wreath.  Once I got started, it was a breeze to finish and I just kind of went with it making my own pattern up. 

To start I took the burlap through the base of the wreath to have an end point.  Then I gently pulled up between each section.  I just kept doing the over and over shaping the burlap as I went.

I used one and a half spools of burlap so approximately 4.5 yards.  When I was just over half done I went back and pushed the fabric closer together to make it more bunched up.  Then I finished the second half.

To end, I added a bow, which I tied through the base of the wreath so I can change it if I ever want to.  I did the same with the 'B' so I can take it off or put something else on it in the future.  

Jerk Chicken Brats with Lime Mayo on Pretzel Buns (With a surprise ingredient...!!!)

The inspiration to this recipe is a slow cooker recipe that my husband and I like to make in the winter to remind us of our honeymoon to Jamaica.  We ate the best jerk pork and chicken there! It's one of our most favorite recipes ever (we substituted chicken for pork) that we decided to change it up a bit for a summer recipe on the grill.  I also have to say there was a lot of improvisation with this recipe based on what we had in the house.  Sometimes those are the best meals....the ones that are by the seat of your pants!  I think the lime mayo dressing is really what my hubby likes...but you make your own judgement!

Ingredients: Mayo, onions, a lime, lime juice, garlic, and your choice of meat.  we used Chicken Bratwurst.  I don't think it matters what yo use, you can always season to get the jerk taste which we've done as well! This is just what we already had.

Lime Mayo:  1/2 cup mayo
                    1/4 cup onion (it calls for red onion, but I didn't have any...so regular it is!)
                    1/4 teaspoon shredded lime peel
                    1 tablespoon lime juice
                    1 garlic clove, minced

Mix together and refrigerate for an hour before use.  Are you ready for the SECRET ingredient now????.....

MANGO! :)  I never would have thought that it would be so good on something like this, however it's amazing, especially with the lime mayo sauce.  

 We only had burger buns left, so again that's what we used. We sliced up the meat and topped everything (including the mango) on along with a little lettuce.  YUM!

I''m excited to see what everyone else has made this week.  Hope you have a great week ahead.