How to Distress New MDF Furniture

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Make your new furniture look like it's been in your family for generations

The key to any good distressed finish is to create a plausible ‘history’ for the furniture or cabinet. We’ve all had hand-me-down furniture that has been scuffed, scratched, painted…and painted again over decades of use. With a little imagination, you can easily create a back story for your newly-built MDF or wood furniture that can guide you to making it look like it’s been in your family for generations.

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Make Your Own Gluten-Free Flour

Read more about the article Make Your Own Gluten-Free Flour
Mix your own gluten-free flour

My search for a easy to mix, easy to use, gluten-free flour recipe began a decade ago when I discovered I had celiac disease. While people choose to avoid gluten for a variety of reasons, anyone with celiac knows wheat, barley or rye will trigger an immediate reaction by your immune system on your digestive tract.

The alternative to feeling miserable and permanently damaging your digestive system is to avoid gluten. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop eating all the things you love.

Simply mix these 5 ingredients in equal amounts and you’re back to baking your favorite treats – gluten-free!

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Feeling a Little Wonky

JR’s grandmother was a Brit who used to talk about feeling “wonky” every now and then, when she was a bit unsteady on her feet (age, not vino) and had to sit down. I wonder if this (wavy-wobbly furniture) was the way she saw the world, at those moments!

The Mini Wonky Jewellery Box here, a little chest of drawers just under a foot high, is the bold primary version of a whole clan of these woozy dance-y little stash boxes from Canadian craftsman Paul Szewc at Masterpiece Cabinets

In fact, there’s a whole gallery of even more groovy one-of-a-kind hand-painted boxes (and full-sized cabinets, real furniture, as well) to gladden the heart of your Alice Through the Looking Glass.
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North and South Recipes for Fried Green Tomatoes

Growing up on the east coast of Canada, we frugally made the most of the garden harvest each year, right down to the last rock-hard green tomatoes left on the vine at first frost. It wasn’t until I grew up and moved away that I learned a whole chunk of the world has a completely different way to make fried green tomatoes!

Now, there are endless variations on the dish, of course, but I divide the recipes into two camps – northern style and southern style. Up north, it’s all about the bacon fat. Down south, you’re talking a delicious deep-fry delight. But one thing in common to both recipes is the distinctive sharp flavor of unripe tomatoes.
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