| How to Make Fresh Mango Juice Posted: 20 Oct 2019 05:00 PM PDT If you're lucky enough to have access to fresh mangoes, create your own sweet mango juice! You can easily customize the flavor and texture of the juice. To make creamy mango juice, blend the fruit with a little milk and sugar. If you want the natural flavor of the fruit to really shine, blend mango chunks with water. For truly unique mango juice, blend in other fruits, spices, or juices. Try several and discover your favorite mango juice combinations! [Edit]Ingredients - 6 large mangos or 5 cups (525 g) of mango chunks
- of water or milk
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) of sugar, optional
- 1/2 cup (70 g) of ice cubes, optional
Makes 4 to 5 servings [Edit]Blending the Mango Juice - Chop the mangoes into chunks. To cut a mango, slice the flesh away from the seed in the center of the fruit. Score the 2 pieces with the most mango flesh into a grid and scoop the fruit out with a spoon. Then, carefully use a small knife to trim off the fruit surrounding the seed. You should get around 5 cups (525 g) of mango chunks.[1]
- Ensure that there's no peel on any of the chunks.
- You may need a different number of mangoes depending on the size and variety of mangoes. For example, alphonso mangoes are smaller, so you might need a few more of them.
- Put the chunks into a blender with water or milk and the optional sugar. If you'd like the flavor of the mango to really shine, pour of water into the blender. If you prefer a creamier drink, you could use milk instead. You can also add 3 tablespoons (36 g) of sugar if you want the mango juice to be even sweeter.[2]
- Try substituting coconut milk for the water or milk if you'd like another non-dairy option.
- You can use your favorite sweetener, such as honey or agave, or leave out sweetener altogether if the mangoes are very sweet.
- Blend the juice for 30 seconds or until it's smooth. Put the lid on the blender and combine the ingredients until the mango is completely pureed. Keep blending until the mango incorporates with the water or milk.[3]
- Pour the juice through a strainer if you want thin mango juice. If you used mangoes that had noticeable fiber strands, you may want to strain the juice. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher or measuring jug and pour the mango juice into it. The juice will drip into the pitcher, leaving the pulpy fibers in the strainer.[4]
- Discard the pulp once you've finished straining the juice.
- If your mangoes were smooth or you don't mind thicker juice, you can skip straining it.
- Pour the mango juice into serving glasses. If you'd like your juice to be cold, place a few ice cubes in each glass before you pour the mango juice into them. Consider sticking an extra sliver of mango on the side of the glass before serving the drinks and enjoy![5]
- You can cover the pitcher of mango juice and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can add to the juice to extend its storage time. For longer-term storage, consider freezing the juice for up to 4 months.
[Edit]Trying Variations - Add other juices to make a mango juice cocktail. Mango pairs well with other fruit, so you can mix the prepared mango juice with equal parts of your favorite juice. Try using any of these juices:[6]
- Pineapple
- Peach
- Orange
- Apple
- Cranberry
- Include ginger or mint to add a bright flavor. If you like slightly spicy mango juice, peel and thinly slice about of fresh ginger and add it to the blender before you mix the mango juice. To add an herbal flavor, you could put a small handful of fresh mint instead.[7]
- Play around with adding other fresh herbs. You could use different varieties of basil, such as lemon basil or spicy basil.
- Stir in plain yogurt to make a mango lassi. Blend 1/2 cup (120 g) of yogurt with of the prepared mango juice and 2 ice cubes. To sweeten the lassi, you could blend in around 1 teaspoon (4 g) of sugar or honey.[8]
- Substitute soy yogurt for a non-dairy mango lassi.
- Use flavored yogurt if you like an even sweeter lassi. Try mango, strawberry, peach, or vanilla yogurt, for instance.
- Mix the mango juice with lemonade to make tangy mango lemonade. If you like tangy mango juice, stir equal parts of lemonade with the prepared mango juice. Taste the mango lemonade to see if you'd like to stir in sweetener, such as honey or simple syrup.[9]
- To play around with flavors, try mixing the mango juice with limeade.
- Blend in fresh fruits or vegetables to make a nutritious mango smoothie. Create a healthy mango smoothie by adding around 1 cup (175 g) of fresh fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, peaches, or blueberries to the blender with the mango juice ingredients. If your blender is strong enough, you could even add sliced carrot, kale, or spinach![10]
- To make the mango smoothie even creamier, add 1/2 of an avocado.
- If you can't find fresh mangoes in season, check your store's freezer case. You should be able to find frozen bags of mango chunks.
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Blending the Mango Juice - Knife and cutting board
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Blender
- Serving glasses
- Fine-mesh strainer, optional
- Pitcher or large measuring jug, optional
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Bake Sculpey Clay Posted: 20 Oct 2019 09:00 AM PDT Sculpey clay is a type of polymer clay that can be molded into almost any shape and then hardened in your oven at home. It's a great material to use in jewelry making, sculpture building, and charm making. Baking Sculpey clay might seem intimidating, but if you mold your clay, bake it at the right temperature, and cool it slowly, you can have professional and glossy looking Sculpey figures in no time. [Edit]Molding Your Clay - Protect your surface with parchment or wax paper. Clay can be sticky and leave a mess if it touches surfaces like tables or countertops. You will be working on a flat surface, so lay a layer of parchment paper or wax paper down and secure it with tape before you start working with your clay.[1]
- If you do get stubborn clay stuck to your surfaces, rubbing alcohol can help dissolve the clay and makes it easy to clean up.
- Knead your clay gently for 3 to 5 minutes until it is soft. When you take your clay out of the package, it will be stiff and hard to mold. Hold a small piece of clay in between your fingers and knead it gently until you can form it into shapes. You can do this one small piece of dough at a time until you have enough to do your project.[2]
- Create the shapes that you want to bake. Sculpey clay is great for modeling tiny figures, beads, or even small jewelry pieces. You can make items that are as large and as detailed as you'd like. Large and thick clay will take longer to bake than small thin clay.[3]
- There are many specific tools you can buy at craft stores to use on Sculpey clay, like craft knives and rolling tools.
- You can also use kitchen tools like steak knives and rolling pins to help in your clay molding as long as you wash them before using them on food.
[Edit]Heating Sculpey Clay - Preheat your oven to . Most Sculpey clay is baked at , but you should double check on your package to see what it recommends. You should not have your oven at a higher temperature, because you want your clay to bake slowly so it doesn't burn.[4]
- If you want to be sure that your oven is at the correct temperature, you can use an external oven thermometer to double check. These are available at most home goods stores.
- Sculpey clay does not release toxic fumes as it bakes, so your oven will not be damaged.[5]
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Parchment paper will provide an extra protective layer for both your clay figures and your baking tray. You can also use wax paper to line your baking tray.[6]
- If you don't have parchment or wax paper, you can use aluminium foil, but it will leave a shiny mark on whatever part of the clay touches it while baking.
- Place your clay figures on the baking tray spaced evenly apart. Depending on the size of your figures, you can bake multiple clay projects at a time. If you do have more than one piece on a baking tray, make sure that they are not touching each other and have about in between them, just in case they fall over in the oven.[7]
- Bake your sculptures for 15 minutes per of thickness. Estimate or measure the thickest part of your sculpture and add 15 minutes to your bake time per of thickness. Check on your clay every 10 minutes or so to make sure that it is not burning.[8]
- If your clay starts turning brown or smoking, turn your oven down right away and take your figures out to cool.
- Take your clay out of the oven when your timer is done. There is no way to know if your clay has hardened fully until it is cool, so take your clay out of the oven once your timer runs out. It is better to underbake your clay than to overbake it, so you should take it out even if you think it needs more time.[9]
[Edit]Cooling and Glazing the Clay - Let your clay cool for 10 minutes. Leave your figures on the baking tray and let them cool for about 10 minutes. They might still look soft when they are warm from the oven, but they will harden as they cool down.[10]
- If your clay broke while it was in the oven, you can use Sculpey glue to attach two pieces together and bake them again. Make sure to do this before adding any paint or glaze.
- Squeeze your clay figures lightly to test their firmness. Test each of your clay pieces for how hard they are by gently pressing on them to see if they hold up. If your fingers make indents in your clay or your figures bend easily, they are not firm enough and you should put them back in the oven for 2 minutes at a time until they are hard.[11]
- Apply Sculpey glaze the clay for a glossy finish. If you want your clay figures to look sleek and polished, you can apply a glaze made specifically for Sculpey clay after your figures are baked. Use a paint brush and lightly coat your figure in Sculpey glaze and let it dry for 5 minutes, or until it is no longer tacky to the touch.[12]
- Make sure to wash off your paint brush after you use Sculpey glaze, because it will harden on your brush.
[Edit]Things You'll Need - 2 sheets of parchment paper
- 1 baking tray
- Sculpey glaze (optional)
[Edit]References |
| How to Make a Halloween Costume Posted: 20 Oct 2019 01:00 AM PDT Some of the best costumes you will see on Halloween are made by the people wearing them. Making your own Halloween costume can seem like a lot of work, but if you select a costume idea that you really love, pick the right materials for the costume, and give yourself some time to make it, you can make a great costume, too. [Edit]Choosing a Costume Idea - Decide how much work you want to do. Before you decide what you're going to be for Halloween you have to decide how much work you're willing to do on your costume. Do you want something you can just throw together or are you planning on making something elaborate?
- Evaluate how much time you have to complete the project. If you are attempting to make a costume the day before Halloween, you probably want to create a last-minute costume that can easily be thrown together using items, clothing, and supplies that you already have lying around your house.
- Brainstorm your favorite characters. Once you know you how much time you want to spend on a costume, you'll need an idea. A good place to start is to make a list of your favorite characters: from books, movies, or TV shows. Dressing up as your favorite character always make a great costume.[1]
- Think about current events. Another good place to find inspiration for your costume is in current events. Recent news stories, celebrity mishaps, or current pop culture references always make a great costume.[2]
- Start with your accessories. If you're still stumped for a costume idea, start by picking up some great costume accessories that you love – a hat or a cape or a tiara – and build a costume around the accessory.[3]
- You might consider building your costume around a DIY latex mask if you are up to the challenge or want a unique look.
- Decide on an individual or group costume. Costumes that require multiple people can be fun and impressive if they are executed well.[4]
- A few examples of group costumes include: bands, superhero groups, celebrity couples, or a set of characters from a book, movie, etc.
- Make sure everyone in your group is committed to the group costume. If anyone backs out, it might ruin the costume.
[Edit]Picking Your Materials - Brainstorm material choices. Arts and crafts stores are great places to look for costume materials, even if you don't know exactly what you want before visiting the store. As long as you go in with a costume idea, you should be able to find fabric to make it work.[5]
- Pick a fabric that's easy to work with. If your costume requires you to sew clothing, you will want to pick a material that is easy to sew or piece together, particularly if you are a beginning crafter.
- For example, felt is inexpensive and can be glued together using a hot glue gun or even stapled together to create clothing. Basic cotton fabric is easy to sew with a sewing machine or by hand.[6]
- Take your measurements. Before you visit a fabric store, you'll need to take exact measurements of your costume. If you're unsure how much you need for your costume, ask for assistance.[7]
- Visit a thrift or recycled clothing store. If you're not up for sewing your costume, secondhand clothing stores can be great places to find cheap, wacky clothes perfect for a costume. Sometimes these stores actually have homemade costumes for sale if you choose not to make your costume from scratch.
- Think about possible embellishments or accessories. When you're choosing your materials, think about embellishments and accessories you can add to it. Many accessories can be purchased cheaply at arts and crafts stores.[8]
- Look for accessories like crowns - from big tiaras to small flowers crowns - or capes or feather boas.
- Good examples of easy to add embellishments include fake flowers, buttons, and glitter glue.
- Check out what you have at home. When you're searching for costume materials, look in the back corner of your closet or the drawer you never open in your dresser. You might have the stuff you need right at home![9]
- Repurpose a cardboard box. If all else fails, a cardboard box can serve as a good base for a costume. The boxiness lends itself well to robots, washer or dryers, cars, or a TV.[10]
- Box cutters work best for cutting through cardboard.
- Decorate your box after you've cut out the holes for your arms, head, and body.
[Edit]Putting It All Together - Gather your materials. Even if you're not sewing together your costume, you should still gather the materials you've decided to use. Lay everything out and start to make a plan for how you're going to put them together.[11]
- Double check your measurements. Once you have your materials together, make sure you have the correct measurements for the clothes you're creating. Double checking these measurements before you create a template and begin cutting out fabric can save you a lot of wasted time and money.[12]
- For pants, you will need the following measurements: waist, hip, crotch depth and full leg length from waist to floor.
- For shirts, you will need the following measurements: neck, chest, shoulder width, arm length, armhole length and shirt length.
- For shorts, use the pant measurements you have, only shortening the pant length to the desired length.
- For skirts, you simply need waist and hip measurements. The length and fullness of the skirt will vary depending on what type of skirt you want to make.
- Make sure that the material you choose to use is not see-through or itchy if you are making clothing as part of your costume.
- Create a template. Creating a template for your costume on paper first gives you a chance to double check measurements. This is a good technique regardless of whether you're gluing or sewing your costume Transfer the template to a piece of felt with a pen and use scissors to cut out the template before gluing it together.
- Make the clothes of your costume. Using your template, make clothing for your costume out of fabric. This might require either sewing or gluing material together. It's best to take this step slowly as you double check measurements and try things on as you make them.[13]
- Add embellishments. Using a glue gun, paste on objects or embellishments to the clothing you've made or the existing clothing you're using for your costume. For example, you and a partner could cover a green outfit in real or fake leaves, wrap a toy snake around your neck, and hold an apple in your hand for a quick and easy Adam and Eve costume.
- Add accessories. Once you've got the base of your costume, add your accessories. This might mean gluing or sewing additional material, or simply draping a cape over your shoulders or adding a tiara.
- Try it on. You'll want to check out how everything looks together at least once before you wear your costume on Halloween. Once you have everything put together, try it on with all of the accessories and make sure you're happy with the result. You should do this a few days before Halloween so you have time for changes if they're necessary.
- If you are making clothing, be sure that it will not fall off of you or fall apart unexpectedly. You may want to wear clothing or spandex underneath your costume as a precaution.
- Be sure to include seam allowances in your measurements when you make a fabric template if you are sewing your costume.
- If you don't want to make a costume yourself but you want the homemade look, you can buy a homemade costume online from a website such as Etsy.com or check a recycled clothing store in your area for homemade costumes.
- Think about making a pun costume. Those are fun and easy to make.
- Take some fabrics from around your house that you're not using as clothes. Get some more fabrics, and when you think you're finished, sew it together. If your costume contains head accesories, or any other add ons, make sure you have the right stuff in your house. Like if you need to make a wig, take some yarn (if you have it) and cut it to the correct length and make sure it fits your head and your liking.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
No comments:
Post a Comment