Simpler Times

Why I am always behind.... a Valentine's project

2012-01-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

The title seems ironic... Valentine's isn't here yet. How can I be behind?
Well, usually I am on top of holidays and ready long before they get here. And you could argue that since it is still a month away I could still say that. But I feel behind. And there is something to be said for that. Ever since having my kiddo I have felt perpetually behind. And I can't seem to catch up. Does anyone else feel this way? I always plan to get organized, to be prepared, to make elaborate things and REALLY get into holidays. But. Anyway. I have caught the Valentine's bug and had to make something today. All of this came from stuff I had lying around in my craft... blob. So, free. Bonus.

Wooden plaque. White paint. Heart cutouts. Bakers twine. Rub-on "love". Mod Podge.

You know the drill. Paint the plaque. Mod Podge the hearts down. Rub on the "love". Mod Podge to seal. Tie mini knots. Dip paint brush end in Mod Podge. Put paint on knot. Press. Dry. Voila! I have put mine resting in a black five by seven picture frame. Which is in a plate rack... thing. You could glue ribbon to the back and hang. You could drill holes. Whatever.

Have a happy day. Looks like we may actually get some snow. Better now than May, I suppose.

Cocoa bar plus a project I just thought I'd repost

2012-01-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

So, blurry. But. You get the point. I had a cocoa bar when some friends came over. I know it was before Christmas, but I thought I'd share it now. January and even February get me down. The cold and gray are really depressing. So why not have some friends over and do a hot cocoa bar to liven up the un-lively winter?
I did:
Crushed butterscotch candies
Crushed peppermint candies
Crushed Butterfingers
Marshmallows
Toffe bits
Coconut

Not very earth-friendly, but Styrofoam cups are inexpensive and easy to clean up.

And to top it off? Whipped cream of course! I didn't take the time, but you could cut some wrapping paper or scrapbook paper and wrap it around the whipped cream can so it looks classier. I had a soup tureen with the hot water, but I also had a pitcher of cold water because I'm always thirsty after so much sweet stuff.

Do you remember this post? Well it has been a while since I made a pair of these baby shoes from this site. After all, my kiddo has been in "real shoes" for a while. I have a fab new friend who is just about to have her first baby so I had to make her some; especially since I haven't had the excuse to make anything girly in a while.
These shoes are perfect for babies. They're soft and flexible so when baby is trying to learn to walk they can still feel the floor. Or, if they haven't started learning to walk they're comfortable for those sweet little baby feet.
Hint: you can enlarge (or shrink) the pattern with a copier. If you enlarge them, you could even make slippers for your grown up kids. If you shrink them, you can make them for newborns (the pattern said they are for 6-9 months).

Quiet Book: Christmas Gift Idea

2011-11-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

It is my personal goal to have each member of my family make something for each other every year. I love the idea of taking the time to do something special, show your love through your effort. This year I am making my buck-a-roo a quiet book. Using fabric, felt, my sewing macine, a pair of scissors and a little "Mighty Mend It" I will hopefully have something that will keep him happy for an hour at a time *fingers crossed*.

Bucky loves his Potato Head, but it's too big and noisy to take to church. I wanted to make him one that would entertain him but still be quiet. That's where the whole quiet book started. The background for all of my pages is flannel since felt 'sticks' to it. The large objects and all the little pieces are felt. I cute and sometimes glued all the little pieces for the house and the potato, but if there's something I think of later it is easy to add ot your collection of pieces.

Ooops. I realized this is upside down just barely. Anyway, it is grass and sky and the pieces I cut are farm-themed. There's a cow, hay bales, a white picket fence, etc. You could make a pool scene, or a little house with flowers and pets.... whatever you want. You can even make more than one set of pieces for the page.

My little one looooooves pizza, so I made him a page with a pizza on it. I cut a smaller circle of cream colored felt to serve as the cheese and then cut red circles (pepperoni), pink circles (canadian bacon), green strips (peppers) and brown globs (sausage). You could cut gray fish for anchovies, mushrooms from tan... whatever you felt like. The other side of this page is an ocean scene. I haven't cut the felt pieces yet, but I'm getting to it. I'll probably do some kelp, fish, a dolphin, a sail boat and maybe a treasure chest.

The cover pages are pockets where you can store all the little pieces for each page (in baggies). I did ties with ribbon, but snaps or velcro would work great, too. Maybe eventually I will sew little envelopes or baggies for each pages pieces, but for now I went with a plastic baggy.

Halloween Inspiration

2011-10-05T14:15:00.000-06:00

http://www.marthastewart.com/852559/hanging-bats?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/outdoor-decorations-for-halloween#slide_1

http://www.marthastewart.com/271198/paper-mice?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/creepy-crafts

http://www.marthastewart.com/273529/papier-mache-decorations-floating-ghosts?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/creepy-crafts

http://www.marthastewart.com/267447/felt-pumpkin-people?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/creepy-crafts

Browsing Martha Stewart today (I subcribe to "Craft of the Day" there) and just had to share these. There were a lot of cute ideas, but these stuck out the most to me. As I sit here on my couch with rain spattered windows and a sweater on I cannot contain my excitment for fall. Like many of you bloggers out there, my mania will manifest in crafts and cooking. Knowing my penchant for going overboard I was hoping to find inexpensive ways to do this as to not bankrupt us our first year in our new home (did I mention we bought our first?!). Of course, having a home instead of an apartment puts me in a tough spot since there's SO MUCH I want to do and SO MANY more places to decorate.... what's a girl to do? :) I liked these crafts for that reason. They are inexpensive but dress up a large space or can be used all over the place. I do not, sadly, have a lovely, large front tree, so the ghosts don't have a home, but I am thinking.... LAWN STAKES. What do you think?!

Question: I know of someone who has these ghosts made from upside down tomato cages and white fabric.... and the fabric covers the tomato cages and then they were dipped in something (water and paint maybe??) And had little faces. Has anyone made something similar and if they have.... What are they dipped in and do you have a pattern for the fabric bit?

Okay. Well, I hope you have a lovely day... and I hope it is drizzling for you as well.
One last link of inspiration for you (I made this for dinner last night):
http://www.food.com/recipe/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup-150384

I did not simmer for 20 minutes the first itme, I just cooked it until it bubbled and thickened and let it bubble for a minute (I also doubled the butter and flour bit because it is never thick enough in these recipes and I added them straight to the sauteed onions. Butter first, melted, then flour stirred until completely combined) and then added the (grated, not Julienned) carrots and broccoli. I simmered until the broccoli was soft (maybe 15 minutes), but not soggy (ew). It was.... yummmmmm. Soup season is the best season in the kitchen I think. I plan to make a LOT of soup this fall. If you have a favorite soup and feel like sharing the link in the comments, feel free!

Love, Me

Getting on the ball

2011-08-29T13:55:00.000-06:00

So summer is over for us. Phew. What a crazy couple of months! How was your summer? Kids back in school yet? Is that a relief for you or are you lonely and bored now? Maybe a little of both? I'm not judging.

We moved this summer and with that came a lot of projects and busy-ness. I had no idea. Truly. But. I learned some new skills, tried my hand at landscaping, and practiced deep breathing.

To start off... I bought these pantries for our last place. They are simple and plain. We have moved and our house doesn't have a pantry... go figure. BUT! As luck would have it our two pantries fit purr-fectly into our kitchen. But. They are plain. And we can't have that!

I had, at one time, painted these door handles black. With spray paint. I was hoping it'd give the pantries something. But. The paint chipped after a week and made a big ol' mess. But we lived with it.

Then I went to Hobby Lobby. And guess what I found. But they only had one. So I bought it and ordered three more. They never called. The day of ourhousewarming party we called and they had some more. Order must have gotten lost. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt.

And voila. Minus the baby proof locks... aren't they so much better. Still plain, simple, etc. but for the small-ness of our kitchen... perfect.

(static)

2011-06-27T10:52:00.002-06:00

just moved.... stay tuned... my life is in upheaval....

Yummy recipe

2011-04-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

Red Lobster-esque biscuits from bigoven.com

I made these the other night to go along with some lovely crockpot split pea soup. yum. They turned out really good, however I have an edit:

Instead of spooning/brushing the butter, garlic, and parsley at the beginning, cook the biscuits for 10 minutes and then spoon or brush the melted butter mixture on top. Bake for another few minutes or until they are nice and golden brown. If you put the butter on at first, they will burn!

A little catch up... again

2011-04-28T13:25:00.000-06:00

Embroidered this for my mama's birthday (and I sewed the towel too. Broadbent's has some awesome towle material)

Have you ever played that game, "I never" at a sleepover or whatnot? It's a fun get to know you game. The instructions I was told are as follows: Everyone in the group gets ten candies (individually wrapped it best, they will exchange hands a few times... yuck!) and then one by one you go around the room and say something you have never done. Anyone who has done that has to give a candy to that person. You can go around as many or as few times as you want. The person with the most candy at the end... wins!

So, we were playing this at an activity I helped organize and I was in charge of getting the candy. Using simple return address labels and my acrylics alphabet stamps I stamped a cute little seal and put them on four by six cello bags I had put ten candies into. I like the way they turned out. It made it so everyone had a way of keeping their candies together after the game and made it easy so we didn't have to pass out ten candies at a time when we were ready to start the game.

Mini quiches I made for the activity I mentioned above. I am not going to write out the recipe right now. If you want it... please leave a comment and I will post it.

Happy day!

Cousins, monsters, all.

2011-03-26T19:11:00.000-06:00

Remember when I made that monster for my lil' buck-a-roo? Well. It was a hit. So I made one for a nephew and then I made these cuties for my two nieces. I made them out of curduroy and flannel (though the flannel when pulled tight with stuffing ends up tearing so I suggest using thicker, better material). I cut a little tummy for these ones and sewed a bow on the corner of the heads and tied it in a bow before sewing the middle to keep the bows tied. I also embroidered eyelashes (3 separate, straight stitches) on them.

Whaddaya think? I think they turned out cute.

Pap, pap, papioca... PAPER

2011-03-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

So do you remember this:

from this post?

Well I bought the paper towel holder at Ross for 2 or 3 dollars. It was white and it had a rooster. I'm not a rooster person, not really. So I made it ME. I had hoped to make more as Christmas presents for my sisters but could never find any for a good price and it was hard to find any that were un-varnished.

Recently I was at my local thrift store and picked up two for $1.50 each. SCORE! They had clear coat on them but I just sanded them before painting.

One of these is for my sister. My other sister has one she likes so I just made over the other one for fun. Maybe I'll sell it at a craft/ yard sale I'm planning.

As always: Pick your coordinating paper, cut it out, mod podge, smooth, mod podge, and put together.

I did a smaller circle of a coordinating paper for some visual interest.

My sister has simple taste and her kitchen is black and white so I just did this paper. Simple, but cute. I could have painted the top black, and if she wants me to I still will.

And for the reveal:

Button, button, who's got the button?

2011-03-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

Target clearance is fab. I mean really.
I always wanted some fancy leather gloves. Totally Audrey, right? But I am not paying 15$-20$ for a pair of gloves. I'm just not gonna.
So I found this pair for $4.34 (or something), originally $18. They were missing a cute black leather covered button. They only had 3 instead of 4 buttons.
SO! Instead of chucking them aside and still not having a nice pair of leather gloves, I made a stop by my local fabric and notion shop and bought some cute white buttons and sewed 'em on.

Gorgeous, right?!?!

Valentine's gift

2011-02-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

So. This project is a little late but I think it would work for Father's Day, Birthdays, etc.
I purchased this baseball card display and instead of filling it with baseball cards... I scrapped 16 cards about why I love my husband or cheesy things about our love and on the backs wrote messages. Now he can have those messages to keep in an envelope and fill the display with his favorite baseball cards and hang it in his classroom.
But of course, he could keep the cards there if he wanted.
You could do this for children... and use mementos... or anything else.
Have fun! And let me know is you take this idea and run with it. I'd love to see what you come up with.

Happy Crafting!

Do you wanna know how much I love my family?!

2011-02-01T20:34:00.001-07:00

I had to find the hole, stuff the veg inside, and then tear up the skin and rub seasoning under it. This is not something I have ever done. I have cooked chicken, but have never done the yuckiest parts -- until the other day. But! Because I love my little family I sucked it up and did it. I hope to never do it again... but there it is. And p.s. home roasted chicken... very good.

You know on the new P&P they eat boiled potatoes when Collins comes to visit? They look so yummy, don't they? I finally broke down and made them. I want you to know something: They are as good as they look.

Peel yellow potatoes and cut any big ones. Boil in water with peppercorns, (plenty of) salt, and a bay leaf until fork tender. Drain. Melt butter and pour over potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and fresh, finely-chopped parsley and enjoy. YUM!!!!!

Let me know if you try them and what you think!

Check out this giveaway!

2011-02-01T18:15:00.002-07:00

http://sherbetblossom.blogspot.com/2011/02/giveaway-twinery.html

Manu

2011-01-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

My buck-a-roo is a big monster fan. Since he has just started talking he calls them 'manu' and gets very excited to see Sesame Street monsters or read 'There's a nightmare in my closet'. I decided to sew him a monster of his own.

I drew the outline of what I wanted my monster to look like and then cut it out.

I cut out two pieces of coordinating fabric (my pattern wasn't symmetrical so one needed to be facing forward and one backward) with a dark almost plain on front so his facial features would be visible.

I sewed circles of wool onto his face and then buttons. Then I cut out a mouth and sewed green wool inside. Make sure you do all the facial features on before sewing him together.

Put right sides together and sew leaving an opening for the stuffing. Stuff. Sew up the hole. Enjoy!

Finally, as promised.

2010-12-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here's the centerpiece for the Christmas party I did. The 'Candy Shoppe' Christmas table. I did cute whimsical ornaments with tulle as the chair decorations and used plastic snowflakes from dollar tree to dress up the napkins. They are just attached with ribbon.

Katsup

2010-12-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am playing catch up. I'll post pictures from recent projects (or not so recent) and if you want to see a tutorial leave a comment otherwise take them as ideas for your own!

Remade this simple paper towel holder into something I could LOVE!

Decorative cans for my teacher hubby's desk.

Father's day wrapping job. Isn't it cute?! Got this inspiration from a napkin folding book.

Used acrylics to paint this for my sister's little girl's room.

I didn't make this, but I used mod podge and glittered the edges with fine black glitter and added the ribbon

This is what my porch looked like at Halloween time.

My friend's nursery is decorated in old fashioned plane style. This was what I made her for her shower.

I also made this cute piggy for her nursery. Don't you just wanna squeeze him?

Matching card.

Made my own 4th of July t-shirt for my buck-a-roo.

My sister wanted patterns on the painting so here's the final project!

Made Scrooge's candle for my hubby's classroom. They read 'Christmas Carol' so we made some props and decorated the classroom.

Made Scrooge a top hat, too.

Made my in-laws this stocking for their care package. I think I'll make stockings for my family next year.

Okay. So. Now I have cleaned out my archives for a minute! Thanks for reading.

Valentine's project!

2010-12-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

I must admit that I love Christmas but the very next day I want my tree down, the clutter gone and the house to be organized.
Most years I am actually able to get the tree down and the decorations put away very quickly. This year was no exception and I am loving the open, fresh, clutter-free feeling.
But. There's still snow outside and that depresses me.
I set a goal for myself that I would stop looking so far to the future and enjoy what's happening now. I guess I'm not doing a very good job ;).
About this time each year I get excited to spread spring through my house. Spring is reaching for it, I suppose and so I settle with throwing some pink (a very springtime color) into my life.
I do not, however, own Valentine decorations. I know. I just never really bought any. And then last year I was going to make a door hanging, but I didn't start it until the week before Valentine's day and it took too long so I made a spring one instead. Here's that post.
So I made my first ever Valentine's Day decoration. Let me know what you think!

As always, not great pictures, but I think it turned out kind of cute!

I used a wood plaque and then the large "Be Mine?" card from the "Vintage Valentine" Valentine Cards paper from Fancy Pants Design (Nancie Rowe-Janz apparently designed it).
Painted the plaque with a mix of sea foam green and moss green paint (dull down the sea foam). The paper has the light green as the "Be Mine?" background and in the polka dots so I thought I'd do something other than standard pink and red.
Mod podged a layer, papered, then mod podged again.
Used my hot glue gun to attach tulle (pink and aqua), yarn bits that look like feathers, paper flowers, and a bronze flower.
I used dimensional magic to go over the frame on the paper once the Mod Podge had dried and in the center of the middle flower.

What are you planning to make for Valentine's Day? What colors are you thinking about using?

Another reason why I love IKEA

2010-12-17T13:18:00.001-07:00

Firstly: apologies. Food week didn't happen. Go figure. Have any of you noticed how ridiculously, insanly busy Christmas is? I have. So. I am sorry I didn't post recipes and have food. week. Maybe next week?
No promises.

But I wanted to share with you my 25$ bedroom make over (not complete make over, but it makes a huge difference).
I have a philosophy when it comes to my decorating that if you pick one big thing to change out, you get a fresh feel and look without having to completely re-do a space. It can be as easy as buying new bath towels, or adding a few pillows and knick knacks that incorporate a new color into a space... it doesn't have to be a $2000 room makeover.
Like a ayear ago I bought new towels and a new shower curtain and my whole bathroom had a face lift from it.

So. My wonderful husband bought me this lovely down comforter ($50 at Ross) that come with two pillows. I noticed a little spot on it and stuck it in the wash. Then. I stuck it in my dryer. I am so mad at myself. My dryer scorched it!!! It's a really big dryer too. Who would have thought?!
So there is this whole huge scorch mark all over one side of my beautiful comforter.

Trip to IKEA yesterday for my birthday. (Yesterday was not my birthday, we just went because of my recent birthday) I found this beautiful cover for my comforter (what it's acutally called is escaping me right now). It was $15!!!!!!!!!!!! I got the cover and two pillowcases and I loved it best out of all of them... even the $60 ones.

Then they had a bunch of fabrics on sale for $4.99 a yd. It's the nice thick fabric, too -- the kind that is perfect for pillows and drapes. I sewed three pillow covers in half an hour last night and now my bedroom has a fresh feel. I am going to watch out for some red knick knacks to add and I think it will be lovely!

My lamp may need a new shade... Or I need to make a small pillow with some fabric that has red and yellow on it to make sure the yellow still fits in... whatdo you think?

Candy Shoppe Christmas Table

2010-12-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Candy Shoppe Christmas Table

vote for my submission in Dollar Tree's contest! Pretty please with a lolly on top?!

Coming NEXT WEEK!

2010-12-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for some of my favorite holiday recipes. A new recipe each day next week and some of my tips and tricks!!!

Perhaps I'll even figure out how to do a McLinky for Friday. If you have tips... leave them here!

"Lollipop, lollipop...."

2010-12-02T15:36:00.002-07:00

So. Church Christmas party tomorrow. I am decorating a table and had a fun idea to share with you all.
The theme for my table is 'Candy Shoppe Christmas'. Basically everything will be bright, sparkly, snowy, and sweet.

Lollipops made from styrofoam circles (dollar tree. They come in a 2 pack). Cut paper the size of the cirlces and the sides. Mod Podge it on and let it dry. Then use clear glitter glue (also from dollar tree) and make a sparkly spiral to give it that old time candy shop lollipop look. Add some embellishments or whatever you like. Then take cellophane squares and wrap 'em up like candy (can buy cello wrap at Dollar tree, too). Add bright ribbons and real candy to a vase and voila. Super cute.

Those fab hot pink candy canes are also from dollar tree. The snowball ornaments are from a local craft store but dollar tree has some cute silver ones that would work!

6 pack of sparkly snowflakes from dollar tree attached to rolled napkins with bright ribbon: fun!

I will post pictures after I get the whole thing set up tomorrow. I am planning to have tulle tied around the chairs with a funky ornament and some ribbons hanging out from the bow.

dunno if you can see it, but I also have a big 17" snowflake from DT and sprayed it white and then sprinkled glitter. It'll act as my base for my center piece. PRETTY! You can't get the whole effect, but there's a little teaser 'til tomorrow!

Comin' at ya again... real quick!

2010-11-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

Okay. So I haven't posted in a while... I am a slacker, what can I say?! But I have been working hard and just want to share what I am doing.

P.s. Hint for you: Dollar tree has 15 ft. pine garland right now. It's simple and not great but I am really impressed with how it looks up in my house. I will post pictures soon, but go check out their Christmas stuff. They've got some good things!!!

Onto other news. You remember that funny blue table? Well. I have been working my patootie off trying to get my dining area nice.

'Cept I need your advice... but I'll get to that in a minute.
First I want to brag a little!!

LOOOOOOOOK! Isn't it pretty?! Much better than the chandy-gone-bland-y that I tried to make :(. Love it?! 20$ 20$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just bought some fab LED flame less votive candles and whatnot from Costco so those will work perfectly! I am in love.

Look at this. Superior to the blue, no?! Bad picture, but trust me... it's gorgeous and lovely and classy in real life.

But I need to confess. I am struggling! I bought some spray stripper. I thought it was this fab thing that was new and wonderful. After THREE coats of it there was still a ton of blue on the table and after two coats the chairs were still coated in varnish. None of it came off.
Do any of you refinish furniture? I need your advice.
I got fed up and thought I'd try to just make it work as it was. So I coated it all in stain anyway. It looks really pretty and distressed and old having the stain over the old paint. I coated all of it in varnish because after drying for days it still felt tacky. It's doing okay but the stain is chipping.
:(
What would you do?
I mostly think someday I will break down and buy a table I love from the beginning and then I won't make silly mistakes!

Have a great day and happy crafting!

Copy-cat me makes a pendant light

2010-11-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

;) so you all have such good ideas. I found this one and knew I HAD to make it for my buck-a-roo's room.
Remember his safari room? I just had to had to had to add this lamp.

What do you think?! Check that link above from where I got the idea and you can get the tutorial. Time consuming but easy project and I am in LOVE!

wow. Time flies.

2010-10-21T11:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I posted (again) but I have lots to share with you! I do. All the pictures are on hub's computer, though. But I did complete a project today that I am excited to share.

A few months back I made my hubby a giant, magnetic wall hanging that looks like a retro 'big chill' fridge (pics and tutorial to come soon!) to hang his students' work on. He needed magnets and any old thing just would not do! So I made him the following.

So. I love how bottle caps look so fabulously retro. Don't you? They fit perfect with the retro fridge.

Using multiple colors or whatever color you like spray paint your bottle caps. I chose orange because I picked funky ecelectic papers and wanted it all to stand out.

Cut circles for the center of all or some of your bottlecaps. The should sit a little inside because bottle caps are rounded and if you make them the exact size, they won't glue down all the way. Mod Podge the circles on and then Mod Podge over them again.

Using Mod Podge dimensional magic or Glossy Accents create a clear epoxy-like finished top to your magnets.

Then using carboard or foam or anything else you can find, (you need this so the magnets will line up with the bottom of your bottle caps or they won't work as well) glue the filler in with hot glue and then glue a high powered, light weight ceramic magnet inside.

I know, I know, I don't take great pictures. But you get the gist. Aren't they cute?!

A spicy kick to chicken salad

2010-09-16T10:38:00.000-06:00

So listen. I love chicken salad ('cept without grapes or nuts.) I also love, love, love buffalo sauce. I began my love affair with buffalo sauce after I got married. I had always enjoyed wings but that was as far as that went. But then I married a man who loves hot sauce, buffalo sauce, hot salsa, etc. I began making homemade wings, chicken strips with buffal sauce, buffalo chicken salad... anything and everything.

Then a few weeks ago I had leftover chicken and nothing to do.

So I created this recipe.

It's BUffalo Chicken Salad.

Yum!

Take chicken, tomatoes, celery, bleu cheese crumbles (opt.), buffalo sauce (I LOVE Texas Pete), and sandwich rolls.

Dice your chicken, tomatoes and celery. Mix with buffalo sauce in a bowl. I did not (for the record) add bleu cheese crumbles so I also mixed in ranch. You could mix in bleu cheese dressing if you are more of the traditional bleu cheese, celery and wings kind of chef.

Fill your rolls and dig in.

Hope you enjoy. Happy cooking!

Compartmentalize you life

2010-09-09T08:37:00.000-06:00

Just to let you know I am not advertising for any company in any way for pay. These are just something I found that I LOVE and I'll let ou know the store I bought them at and for what price. You can find similar things at lots of stores made by different companies.

It's kind of a running joke at my house that I live for these storage containers. I buy them all the time and whenever I need to re-organize I buy some more. But listen. They are AWESOME. I cannot live without them (completely hyperbolic of course). So. Just wanted to share these with you. They stack and they're small enough to fit in a number of places.

.94$ at Wal-Mart means you can't go wrong!

This is a smal pantry we bought because we moved int this apt. and there was no place for food! But if I had left it as is I wouldn't have fit half this stuff so... brilliant!

So if you live in a small space or you just want your cupboards to look cleaner and more organized, go out and get some!

Oh. And of course, you can label them. The ones in my buck-a-roo's room are labeled, but I can't get a picture since he is sleeping (blessed sleep!).

Happy Organizing!

Freeze'yer cookies

2010-09-08T12:05:00.000-06:00

Okay. I don't know about you guys but when I make cokoies I have WAY too many on hand after. I can give them away or eat them all and make myself sick. BUT. I really don't want to quarter my recipe or anything to just make a batch of cookies when I feel like it.

Plus. Remember how I want to be one of those typicla 1950's moms who has cookies for her kids when they come home from school and stuff? But baking a batch of cookies every day... not so much.

SO.

Listen. I came up with this great idea (and I know I am not the first to do this):

Make your recipe. Bake the cookies you want or need for the day.

THEN. Separate the rest of your dough into balls. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and stick 'em in the freezer. Once they are frozen transfer to a freezer bag. You will have homemade frozen cookie dough.

The benefit:

If you want to make a dozen cookies for your kids and/or their friends, if you need a quick plate of cookies to take to a sick neighbor or new mommy you will have dough readily available.

I do this with chocolate chip. I am sure you could do it with any other kind of dough.

My tip: bake on a lower setting for longer once you pull the dough out of the freezer for baking. I just made a batch from the fridge and they browned before they were 100% cooked on the inside.

Have you done this before? Which types of dough did you freeze? Was it worth the time?

Happy baking!

p.s. my recipe is jut the Nestle Toll House Recipe BUT use 3 C. flour instead of 2 1/4 for fluffier, softer cookies. AND I usually lower the amount of salt I put in recipes, but trust me, you need all the salt they call for or your cookies will be over-sweet.

I try to make them a little healthier by using 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 whole wheat. Other than being able to a little bit feel the different texture, I think they taste the same otherwise. PLUS, if your kiddos are getting cookies they probably won't notice they are almost healthy!

Free Taste of Home Magazine subscription

2010-08-24T17:08:00.000-06:00

Fill out your info here

for all you cookers: CLick above to fill out a form for a free 1 yr. subscription to taste of home. Woot!
thanks to the Freebie Junkie

In case you're interested

2010-08-20T11:48:00.000-06:00

I am not fully invested like I should be in it, but I have another blog.
I wear a lot of hats because I cannot settle on one. I don't know that I'd be happy doing one thing my whole life.
Maybe I am just shirking responsibility by never focusing so I never have the accountability of becoming really great at anything.
Maybe. I Really hope not.
My other blog is for writing. I love to write. LOVE to write. I love reading too so it has some book reviews too.
But I kind of hope you check it out if you like to read and/or write.
I update it every couple of weeks. Sometimes more. Sometimes less.

http://writerswriteon.blogsopt.com/

there's the link. Check it out. I love discussing books and even writing so if you feel like it check it out. You can follow me if ou like, but if something catches your eye and you agree (or disagree) please comment. We'll chat. We'll share books, even.

p.s. since I never get to brag

2010-08-06T21:02:00.000-06:00

Since I rarely get to brag about fab finds.... I GOT ONE!

I have a little table from IKEA (one of those simple side tables) in my little bud's room. I've wanted some sort of organizing system for toys/ colored pencils or whatever on the table....

LOOOOOOOOOOOOK! $5.00 at a garage sale.

Inside it looks lilke there used to be drawers so I need to buy some of those things like when you're putting together a target bookcase that shelves rest on and then some wood to make shelves, but I am pretty darn excited. I don't even think I have to paint it.

OOOh. Idea. What if! I painted the inside a funky color????!

What color would you choose?

Dining room makeover 50% done

2010-08-06T13:15:00.002-06:00

So I live in an apartment. I make space where I can and I maximize design to the best of my ability. It's kind of hard. When we moved in there was clearly a space for a table in the corner of a nice-sized kitchen and there was a large spot in the front room off to the side that seemed far better for a formal dining area. Cupboard space was extremely limited and there was no place for my china, our dishes, pots and pans, AND food. We bought a couple of storage cupboards that serve perfectly as free-standing pantries for the kitchen and moved the table out into the front room.
You remember this post? All about making over my dining room table.

This is my before picture of how my dining room looked. Kind of bare (I really don't like the blue of the table anymore) and unfinished.

This is my dining room now. I am in love. Okay. I am admitting (for probably the tenth time) that I am not a very good photographer and my camera is not the best. I can't really capture just how great this looks.
BUT I say 50% done because... I am re-doing my table again! I bought some wicked awesome stuff that I am so excited to try out. It is stripper in a spray can!!!!! Should make it a little easier to get the table and chairs done. I am going to stain it this time maybe espresso, maybe provincial. I am doing the chairs too this time and they will probably all be the same color. What do you think? If you have suggestions PLEASE leave me a comment about it. I would super, super appreciate it.

The mirrors are what I had you guys vote about a few months ago and I finally got around to painting and Mod Podge-ing them. I found the perfect paper with a vintage feel but also looks kind of fancy and french. It also draws out the creamy pale yellow, reds, and deep browns in my painting. Just the colors I wanted to highlight.

And yes, that is a chandelier and yes, I made it!

So: three different size macrame rings. Spray paint. Attach to each other with beaded wire (four for each)
Make dangles using two different sized crystals and then some smaller beads on wire.
make sure four of your dangles on your top ring have jump rings attached for hanging the chandelier once you are done.
Hang the dangles spaced as you like them by wrapping the wire ends of your dangles around the rings. Glue them in place with kraft glue.
Touch up chipped paint and paint your visible wire with white acrylic paint.
Bead more wire that can wrap around your rings. Hot glue in place.
Hang with ribbon, wire, or painted chain.

I plan to wire this so it can light up, but for now it's more like ceiling art. Sparkly, lovely ceiling art.

Have fun!

I'm linking up to SNS at funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com
and to
the Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello

HEY!

2010-07-30T21:14:00.001-06:00

So. Sorry it's been a minute. Hubby's a teacher and baby and I are soaking up as much time with him as we can. We've grown positively humongous from all of the wonderful memories and moments we've had this summer.

I don't have much time this evening (date night and all) but I created a recipe for dinner. I think I do my best work when I have 10 minutes to throw together something nutritious and wonderful) and this was definitely one of those evenings. Through a series of events our plans for going out to dinner were scratched and (luckily I had cooked some country style ribs earlier to save them from going to waste) I created this recipe to share with you.
Have fun with it. Mix it up and make it your own!

Drum roll............................. ( I know maybe the picture isn't the best but I had another picture taken from an aerial view and the ribs looked inappropriate)
Southwestern Bruschetta! And can I just say... YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(If I am not mistaken, bruschetta is sliced baguette with a tomato topping).
So! I have Texas Toast (garlic bread) toasted and then topped with steamed: bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, corn, and summer squash all diced and stirred up with some chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, canola oil, sea salt, and lime juice. (All of this is to taste. You can add your own seasonings, but I recommend (since you have so many hearty things that are delicious and shouldn't be skimped on) using the Texas Toast for a more southwest feel. Nevertheless, do as ye will.
So I top the lightly browned garlic bread with the mix and then broil it just to get the veg some extra color.
Voila. AMAZING!

p.s. for some amazing ribs (I hate eating off the bone, I feel like a cannibal or feral child doing that) I buy boneless country-style ribs and braise them on each side for some nice brown color with a little sea salt. Then I lay them in a 13 by 9 baking dish and pour in 1/4 c (about) chicken broth (you could use beef but I use chicken with pork when I am doing a light taste and beef when I want something more hearty) and then about 1/2-3/4 c. of liquid salsa seasoning (mine is honey, garlic, and herb) and stick a quartered onion in with it.
Slow cook them for 2 hrs or more at 250*.
I broiled mine again at the end to make sure the bits that sat in the juices (which helps keep them tender) weren't soggy.

I made sauce with 1 C. of the juices from the pan and 2 T. each flour and butter. Melt the butter, whisk the flour, then pour in the juices and stirring constantly cook until thickened and bubbly. Season to taste if it's bland. This is a no-fail way to make gravy! I never get any lumps!

Happy cooking!

Free E-cookbook

2010-07-15T10:41:00.000-06:00

http://www.mrfood.com/
Go to Mr. Food to download a free e-cookbook called decadent desserts. (thanks rockin' deals). You have to sign up for their free newsletter but then you get the pdf download! Kinda cool, thought I'd share since I know we have a lot of cooks out there.

http://www.mrfood.com/

Straw Bale Garden

2010-07-12T10:36:00.000-06:00

check this out
ok. So. I am not advertising for this person (although I suppose I really am) but I do a garden every year in pots (apt. living... what can you do?) and saw this ad on FB. Clicked the link and was very intrigued. I don't know if I am going to buy the book or not but it's definitely something to think about. Click 'check this out' to look at what I am talking about.
Have you done anything random for planting? What's your favorite way to garden? Normal (in the ground), square foot, pots, topsy turvy (has anyone ever done those? Do they work?), etc?

Let me know what you do!

What's my style? The hyper chameleon.

2010-07-03T23:57:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but I don't have a million dollars to hire a decorator or to go pick out everything coordinating from a store all at once to decorate my house; therefore I usually end up struggling to know what I want to do with my space or wondering if the new lovely bauble I found would really go. I also kinda struggle to know what my personal style is. Do you? Maybe you have it in your head and you know exactly what you like. Lucky. I am the same way with my clothing choices, by the way. Oh. and my make-up.
I tend to wear whatever strikes me and sometimes I am casual with a little 'bling' for fun and other times I do my best to dress like Penelope... I don't have that much in my closet that really goes because every time I go to the store I pick out what looks cute and then get it home and I have nothing that goes with it. Do you struggle with this kind of stuff????
I came across this kind of fun thing. Ethan Allen has a little style quiz on their web-site. You click the picture that sticks out to you first. Do this a couple of times and then they try to define your style and show you pieces that fit you. Kind of fun. click the 'style quiz' below to try it out.
What was your style? Was it accurate? Did it surprise you at all?

Style Quiz

4th of July wreath project

2010-07-02T17:01:00.000-06:00

So. No. this is not a wreath. BUT. I have this fab wreath. Simple but perfect for spicing up for each holiday. Thought I needed something for the 4th. I don't have any decorations for this holiday. Considering I am up for a party any time and love holidays because they provide the opportunity to do just that... this is a weird thing!

I got this really awesome frame at the thrift store. Big, chunky, awesome. Ugly, too. That's where my plan began.

I bought some thin carboard at my local craft/school supply store and used their die cutting machine to cut out the star. I cut out two carboard stars so I could glue them together to make it more sturdy.

Using spray adhesive I glued the two cardboard stars together and then glued my paper on. I had traced my stars onto the paper and then cut them out. Had I been thinking I would have just die cutted my paper stars too. oh well, huh?

I sanded the edges where my paper hung off. If you die cut you can skip this part. I took barn red acrylic paint and just painted the edges of the star where you could see the cardboard.

I then had my ultra-strong hubby punch a hole through the star.

Mod Podged the whole thing front back AND edges/sides.

Spray the frame and the star with clear coat (I use matte) so it will hold up outside.

I used one pattern on one side and then another pattern on the other so I could have a more cute one and then a fancier one. I might layer a smaller star in the middle, add some glitter... but for now I wanted to put it up AND I thought it was pretty cute as is. Just hang the star by a thread so you can flip it if the mood strikes.

Have fun and happy Fourth.

2010-07-01T21:14:00.000-06:00

On thrifting and party week

2010-06-26T18:44:00.001-06:00

So. I kind of dropped the ball on party week. Sorry about that. I do have more projects to share and I hope you enjoyed the 3 (plus a few from before) party crafts/ideas.
What can I say? Life has a way of sneaking up on you. I am trying to prioritize more and spend more time with my family and less time on the computer. It's hard work!

On thrifting:

Does anyone else feel like everyone else out there has way better thrift stores with way better finds? I do. I go and have some idea of something I'd like in mind or I try really hard to see the possibilities but I rarely seem to find anything that is as wonderful as things I have seen on blogs.
I will say this: I think it is absolutely wonderful that thrifting is 'in'. Five years ago (rough estimate, actually I just threw a number out there) no one would be caught dead in a thrift store unless they were down and out and couldn't afford anything else. Now I can walk into a thrift store and it is teeming with ladies looking for a ready-to-make-it-into-an-absolute-treasure find. (That's where all the good stuff is going!) I think that is one of the most hopeful things to see. How wonderful that it is trendy (an hopefully one that will last) to save money, to create, to refinish... all of that fab stuff.
Now. I tell you what... I wish houses were like thrift store finds. I saw this house... this AMAZING house. Huge white colonial style mansion with a matching greenhouse. I drove past this house every time I visited my dad and I loved it. It was vacant. Oh how I longed to buy and save that house.
Then.
Graffiti (how lame can you get?!).
Then.
Demolition (even lamer!).
I am sure the house was probably condemned, but I hated HATED to see that treasure die.
NOW they are building some modern monstrosity on the property... No charm. No beauty like that found in a period-style, classic home. :(
If I had had the money...
that would be my huge thrift store treasure ready for fixing up.
Oh well.
Have a good night and good luck thrifting!

party week #3: Do me a favor

2010-06-23T17:28:00.004-06:00

PaRtY wEeK

Do me a favor!!! For the third post I am going to give you another favor idea. This time it is for a grown-up girl party. I did these for a bachelorette shower but they would be really cute for a baby shower... spa/pamper mommy theme.

remember this post in which I showed you a super simple and silly favor for a bachelorette shower (since I wasn't around to throw a bridal shower until the night before the wedding)? Well. I had those out in the middle of the tables and I also had these for people to take home:

Inside:

Homemade sugar scrub was included minus the olive oil. These were travelling across 2 states and I didn't want to deal with the mess. (recipe here). I made a big batch of sugar scrub and then divided it between cello bags. It was about 1/4 c. in each.

Below is a picture you can save to you computer/ copy and paste into a word document. I printed out a few sheets of these, cut down the papers, and included one in each kit.

Have fun!

Party Week #2: fab favors for kiddos

2010-06-22T08:36:00.000-06:00

SO! I had this idea.......

What if you gave a favor at a party to the kids BEFORE the party? What if it was filled with activities for those lulls in time?? Especially when kids aren't the main focus of the party.

I.e. had a b-day party for my little guy, but all our families are just getting started so there aren't a lot of kids for games and my buck-a-roo was turning one: hardly the age to care about what goes on at a party.

SO! I wanted the kids to be able to have fun without parents having to entertain them the whole time.

Here's what I did.

This was a jungle safari themed party so I tried to have activities that fit with that.

I put the following items in a cello bag: chalk, bubbles, a capsule with a sponge-y animal inside that you soak in water to make the animal 'come to life', crazy straw, a jungle animal with a parachute, and (not pictured) a small coloring book made by getting free clipart of jungle animals and putting four pics per page in a word document.

It ended up being bad weather (go figure) so the kiddos couldn't do many of the activities but near the end of the party they were able to and seemed to have a lot of fun.

SO! Next time you're throwing a mixed adult/children party make favor bags for the kiddos to hand out at the beginning and have a ball.

ALSO! Instead of party hats for everyone: I bought some animal masks and crayons and had the crayons laid out on the kiddie table and the kids were able to color their own masks. No supervision was required (although you might need to supervise your group) during the activity and the kids had lots of fun coloring their own and making the animal noises after.

If I had a group of older kids I also would have put out feathers, glue, glitter, sequins, buttons, pom poms, etc. for really dressing up the masks.

Have fun!

Party Week #1: custom napkins

2010-06-19T16:57:00.001-06:00

PaRtY wEeK

To start off party week......

The easiest and least expensive detail in making a shower/party perfect. If you enjoy throwing parties or do a lot of it you know that all the little details really make it all special. I recently threw a baby shower for my cousin and I have this STAMP that I love <3. Plus shower... umbrella... get it?!

SO. today's tutorial is: custom napkins.

Take a stack of colored napkins that 'go' with you party theme. Pick a coordinating stamp color but make sure it will show up on your napkins. Take one napkin aside and use it to test ink colors on if you aren't sure or if your napkins are dark and you need to make sure.

Stamp in the corner of the napkin. You can stamp a small symbol like I did or stamp a name, a date, a phrase, etc. If you are doing your own wedding OR a bridal shower you could stamp the wedding date or the names/ initials. Possibilities are endless. Just make sure it isn't too long! I stamped 40 napkins in 10 minutes or less so this isn't a crazy undertaking. SO! Don't pay for your party store to customize your napkins if you think you'll have time to do your own!!!

Have fun!

Who is going to win the PENNANT?

2010-06-19T16:54:00.001-06:00

Party week preview! Here's a little teaser. A small project to get you excited for Party Week on simpler times.

I am going to take all next week, starting Monday to give you some ideas and show you some things I've recently done for parties. Are you excited? I am! Make sure you check back every day for new and exciting and inexpensive party ideas all next week.

So. Pennants. Cute? very.

Quick tutorial on making a pennant. The one I made was for a safari birthday but you could do 'happy birthday', 'it's a boy/girl', 'boy, oh boy'(that's one I just did for a shower I threw but of course forgot to take a picture in all the festivities), etc. etc. etc.

Draw the shape of a triangle. Ideally you have an isosceles triangle{long rather than a short and squat} but I suppose if you like the look of short and squat you can do that. Cut it out with scissors or your paper cutter (I used this to achieve a straighter edge).

You've made a template! Trace out your template onto the back side of the paper you want to use making sure you have enough for all of your letters.

Then you have all of your 'flags'. Cut out embellishments. letters, etc.

I wanted this plain but the baby shower one I made had cut outs of babies, hearts, and umbrellas by the letters.

Hang and enjoy.

Notebook makeover!

2010-06-16T21:31:00.000-06:00

SO by the way. I have been a slacker. naughty, naughty. BUT. I have posted on project already and am about to post another. I will bombard you with projects!

This one was made for the bachelorette shower I just threw my sis-in-law. I made an advice book for everyone at the party to write down awkward wedding night advice or just good old fashioned marital advice in. You could, however, use this same process to make a new-mom advice book or a cute journal or notebook for yourself.

Take a plain notebook. punch a hole in the cover in the front and the back and thread ribbon through on each side. I threaded a loop through and then threaded the ends through the loop to secure. Make sure you have plenty of ribbon so you can then tie it in a bow.

Cut paper the size of your cover. I only cut paper to cover the front and back but NOT the binding. You still want to be able to open up the book and if you decoupage on the binding you won't be able to bend it.

Put a piece of paper between the cover and the front page.

Layer of mod podge.

your paper smoothed out nicely (unless you want the wrinkled effect which might be cute if you're trying to make it look like an heirloom).

trim/sand with an emory boar the edges for a finished look

distress edges with ink (optional)

I took a 1 1/2 inch ribbon and hot glued along the front, folded it over and hot glued along the back.

I still had that funky orange showing so I glued more ribbon and rick rack on to fill in the gaps.

Turned out to be kismet. I LOVE how it looks with all those ribbon layers.

*Note: I did this step later but wished I had thought of it before. I glued a long strip of ribbon under the 1 1/2 inch ribbon (onto the actual notebook)to use as a book mark.

Embellish as desired.

Voila. A cute and personal notebook/advice book/ journal.

BIRTHDAYYYYYYY

2010-06-16T21:00:00.000-06:00

Birthday hat. Siimple, inexpensive, a little silly, and definitely cute!

Take yourself a large dinner plate that almost fills up a 12 by 12 sheet of paper. I bought some flocked paper that looked like fabric but cut like paper!

Draw a circle and cut it out. Cut it in half and you have your start.

roll the ends to each other and keep rolling until your hat is as big or small as you want it. Make suer you don't have a gap at the top.

Hot glue a large pom pom to the tip.

Hot glue pom poms around the bas of your hat.

Sorry. Bad pic. Poke SMALL holes in the sides and thread elastic through tying each side in a knot once you have your desired length for your kiddo.

Voila. Your very own b-day hat.

clothespin wreath update

2010-06-09T15:53:00.000-06:00

Here is a final picture of my clothespin wreath. I finally got it up in my laundry room today. Woot!

In case you missed the project click here.

As Advertised

2010-06-09T08:27:00.000-06:00

WEll... before the long vacation I promised to have some party projects for you.
Well. I sure do.
Today I am going to start with a very simple favor for a bachelorette party.

I made a tag for the favor using black cardstock and the picture below. I created the picture below and then copied and pasted it into a word document re-sizing it until it was the size I wanted and printed out two pages of 6. Feel free to copy and paste this into a word document, but! the rights are still mine!

Put a ring pop into a 4 by 6 cello bag and tie up with ribbon or tulle.

Print out your tags and paste onto cardstock. Trim leaving a little space for punching a hole.

Thread onto your ribbon and... voila! A simple and silly favor for a bachelorette party.

On Hiatus...

2010-05-28T13:30:00.000-06:00

All right. I am on hiatus. BUT! I have 2 big bashes coming up while I am away and (as much as I wanna share my projects and ideas with you, you'll have to wait) and I have some FUN things to show you how to do and to share with you.

BUT! I promised a reveal of my baby's 1st b-day party theme: JUNGLE SAFARI. Now, this isn't going to be really cute-sy and stuff. I got some fun animal print paper and other stuff and can't wait. I DO have to decide what I am going to do for the cake. My baby drinks milk and stuff already so I am not worried about first-time exposure to dairy, wheat, egg protein, etc. but as far as cupcakes v. a mini cake for the birthday buddy and cake vs. cupcakes for the gifts. PLUS. I reserved a park from 9-sometime and so the party is at 10:30. Are people getting ready for lunch, is it too early for a lot of sweets, do people not wanna eat at 10:30 a.m.?? These are all questions I am asking myself. Please weigh in about what you did, what you would do if you were me, or other ideas I didn't think of. Please?! I am kinda hoping I come back to a lot of comments telling me just what to do. Gotta be honest.

Okay. Well. You all have a really, really great week and a wonderful Memorial Day. So many, many thanks to the men and women who have served and who still serve our country so that we have the right to live a life that makes us happy and to raise our children how we best see fit. So grateful to those in the armed forces. You/they are all in my prayers.

It's all in the packaging...

2010-05-25T14:10:00.000-06:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year.... one more week of school from where I sit, and I am sure most of you are about 1-3 weeks 'til the end too. So it's that time when we want to let the teachers know how much we appreciate them and give 'em a little something. Typically we turn to treats, no? So instead of a Styrofoam plate or a Ziploc baggie with some homemade (or store bought) goodies, why not do something SO simple that looks extra special? After all most of the time hand cooked and hand made gifts carry the most meaning for the fewest dollars.

I started with a 4 by 6 cello bag and used it as a template to cut my rice krispie treat to size (note, because the treats are thick you will need to cut it about an inch smaller than the actual bag).

I stuffed the treat inside, folded the top over, stuck a sticker that matched the thank you card I made.

and voila. A simple, inexpensive, but absolutely darling way to say, "thank you". You could use this idea for a neighbor gift or a gift for visiting teaching wherein you could include the message and a goodie... the possibilities are endless. If you don't like, are opposed to, or didn't make Rice Krispie treats, stick a couple of cookies or some candy inside instead.

Sassy Scoops

2010-05-25T09:52:00.000-06:00

There are always people advocating others to support local businesses, but here's a company that not only asks others to, but makes sure they do everything they can to help.

Sassy Scoops checks out local businesses and reviews them for us, they do giveaways to help people try these places out, they make sure people can find them so they can send people (electronically of course) off to other websites, and they advertise for businesses so we know what's out there.

I know I personally love to find a new place to eat or shop, but also that that happens once in a blue moon. Not now. Thanks to Sassy Scoops I can pop onto their website and hear about all sorts of new places that someone else has already checked out first to make sure it's worth it.

Thanks Sassy Scoops.

Stay Tuned!

2010-05-21T13:07:00.000-06:00

Get Ready to Partay!!

Hey all and welcome to those new followers! I am so excited to have you and glad you found me. I hope I can teach you something new or give you some good ideas. Thanks for joining me!

I will not post anything new until the end of the weekend or beyond probably, but I wanted to let you know what I have planned for coming up in the next week or two.

I am going to be doing a birthday party series. My baby is turning one and I am planning a really fun party. I am making favor bags, a party hat, food, a banner, decorations, etc. All the things I do will be for the party I am throwing so make sure you keep an open mind and your idea book close at hand so you can imagine the projects for your own parties. I will include tutorials for anything I can and if I show an idea and do NOT do a tutorial but you would like me to, make sure you leave me a comment letting me know and I will get on it right quick!

I will reveal the theme of my party tomorrow along with (I hope) a quick tutorial on digiscrapping your own invites!

Happy Crafting!
Brooke

Clothespin wreath

2010-05-19T11:27:00.000-06:00

Had this posted yesterday as a guest post at thecountrychiccottage.net

So. Today I am going to show you a craft I imagined up while doing laundry. Our laundry rooms are often bland, but I thought it would be fun to make a wreath out of clothespins for my laundry space (note, my 'laundry room' is the back half of my bathroom and shares space with the toilet. They get along swimmingly.).

Supplies:

A wooden wreath form (or cut one out of cardboard to save $$$), scissors, matte Mod Podge, Foam brus(es), 36 clothespins (one package from the dollar store!), various coordianting papers, paper cutter, nail file, acrylic paint.

Paint your wreath form along the outside and inside white. Paint any other part that might show, too. I.e. I am hanging mine on a mirror/window in my laundry area and so the back will be visible. I painted the back white as well.

Trace and cut paper to cover your wreath form. I wanted my background to be simple so I chose white. Measure and cut two 12" by the width of your clothespin of each of your papers. If you have double sided paper cut four strips.

Mod Podge your backgroud paper onto your wreath form, trying not to get any bubbles in your paper. I got a few but since I am covering it up it wasn't a HUGE deal. Use the nail file to 'sand down' any paper that hangs off the side.

Mod Podge your strips of paper onto your clothespins. Coat a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the clothespin and then carefully attach your paper strip. Using scissors trim the strip off at the end of the clothespin.

Repeat for each clothespin. Then finish them with a couple of coats of Mod Podge to seal.

Lay out your clothespins on your wreath to arrange how you would like the to look. You can do more clothespins for a tighter look, just buy a second package!

Hot glue your clothespins one at a time to ensure the spacing stays how you want it.

I like simple and clean and fresh in a laundry room so I am not planning to embelish mine (although I may buy some wooden or chipboard letters to spell out 'laundry' and attach them later) but you can add a bow, or flowers, or words... it is completely up to you!

Hang in your laundry room and enjoy!

Two quick ideas (that are really the same idea) for Mod Podged clothespins. Think about Mod Podgeing clothespins and attaching magnets to the back and then using them either:

On a magnetic message board in your kids' room

On your fridge to hang your child's art or grades. You can use paper to make them match any decor.

You can also spray paint the clothespins first for a less 'natural' look. I wanted my clothespins in my laundry room to still look like clothespins, but if you sprayed them hot pink first and then Mod Podged girly paper on them, they would look SO stinkin' cute. I would embellish with buttons, glitter, sequins, ribbons, stickers, etc. if I were putting them on a message board in my kid's room

Guest Posting today... head down the street to visit me at country chic!

2010-05-17T20:47:00.001-06:00

HEY! I am guest posting today at The Country Chic Cottage. Pop on over and check out my fun idea for decorating your laundry room and while you're there check out some of her darling ideas. Love her!

Oh. and Mod Podge rocks featured it on her FB page! Check it out here!

Happy Crafting!
Brooke

I'm linking up

2010-05-14T21:28:00.000-06:00

to New Friend Friday over at:
http://www.thegirlcreative.blogspot.com/

Friday's Freebies - Any Handbag of Your Choice

2010-05-14T10:19:00.000-06:00

Friday's Freebies - Any Handbag of Your Choice

plus they are having a 50% off sale. Check it out!

I'm linking up to SNS at funkyjunk interiors!

2010-05-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

Head on over and check it out! She's set up a huge link party with three different categories to link to.
I entered all of my lamp re-dos and my dining table.
Let me know if you link up!

Mother's Day Wrapping Challenge in which I post a REALLLY long post.

2010-05-06T21:14:00.000-06:00

So. Mom's Day. We've all given and gotten those gifts that are wonderful (or not so much) but are as plain as they come. Whether or not your wrapping paper has a design on it simply doesn't matter. My philosophy is: the time you take on wrapping can be a present in and of itsself too! There may be some of you out there who are convinced it is a waste of energy or resources to worry about the way something is wrapped. That's okay too. My challenge is for those of you who would like to dress it up a little. I will not bother with mclinky's yet (I don't have enough followers and mostly I am just being lazy), but if you wrap a present and dress it up tack you url on a comment for me to see. I want you to get creative, ladies!

So. That was the preface to my post. I would like to give you a little tutorial on paper bows. I think this would be cute done with wrapping paper that matches/coordinates with your wrapping paper, and I have seen similar things with newspaper or book pages. I make mine out of scrapbook paper. Oh. and I LIVE for plain, brown, simple wrapping paper. I also like white but it is typically see-through.

Here's the thing: you can stamp, write, color, embellish plain brown paper. Ink doesn't smear since it isn't coated and there's just something about 'brown paper packages tied up with string....' so scrapbook paper works great since I start with simple and that way I have SO many options. If you live in my area XPEDX has a GREAT price on a big roll, but I know you can sometimes find it at the dollar store, Target, etc.

So: 12 by 12 paper (double sided is great but not necessary) cut in half so it is 6 by 12. One half sheet of 12 by 12 makes one bow. I like to mix up papers so I typically take 2 coordinating pieces of paper and make two bows at once. Double sided paper is nice because then you use one side for some of the steps and the other side for the other. You will see what I mean later.

Cut eight 6 by 1 inch strips.

Turn your paper and cut ONE 4 by 1 inch strip (you MUST do this before the next step. If you don't you'll have to waste more paper for the center piece. Trust me.)

Turn your paper back and cut four 5 by 1 inch strips.

Yours should look like this.

You need 3/4" brads. They MUST be this long or longer. Otherwise it won't work. Bonus: you can get these for super cheap at Target or Wal-mart, etc.

We're going to start at the top and work our way down. This is how I do it, if you want to find a different way that's fine too (P.s. I apologize for the paper change mid-way through. I was making multiple bows in multiple colors for the presents I was wrapping). Loop you 4 by 1 inch strip, punch a hole (standard circle hole punch like your teachers used, unless you have something that woks better for you), and insert your brad. OPen it to hold your loop in place.

Take you 5 by 1 inch strips. These are the next layer. One at a time bend the ends to meet forming a point. Should look like this. unch a hole and one by one slip the brad through and the re-open it to hold it in place. you can use glue dots throughout the process. That's the way I started, but I went through them WAY too quickly and it was going to get expensive so I gave up on that and just kept opening and closing my brad while putting the bow together.

YOu should have a ninja star when you are done.

Note: I am using double sided paper. When doing this it is cute, but not necessary to alternate which side is up for a cute effect. If you use multiple types of paper that can be cute too. Just alternate. I have done four different types of paper before (all my Christmas bows were like that) and that was VERY cute.

Take four of your 6 by 1 inch strips and copy what you did above. You should have this.

Put on you final row using the last four of your 6 by 1 inch strips. Voila. You have a paper bow. Now. You can easily leave it like this and people will be impressed. I like to add a little pizazz.

I cut another 6 by 1 inch strip and clip triangles from the end to give it a ribbon effect. Then I punch a hole in the middle like so:

and attach it. I embellish with stickers, buttons, rhinestones, etc. I have taken2 to 4 thin strips of paper 6 by 1/4 inch and twisted it around a pencil so it has a corkscrew effect. I then punched a small hole at the bottom and attached them instead of what I just showed you and it gave the bow a fun party feel.

I used a letter sticker with the initial of the giftee to personalize and then added rhinestones to make it *s*p*a*r*k*l*e*.

attach tulle (my other favorite wrapping must-have) or ribbon and the bow using hot glue, tape, glue dots, tacky glue etc. I found hot glue worked best but if the receiving end wants to keep the lovely bow you made them it does make it a little trickier.

Voila. You take an otherwise plain, drab, run-of-the-mill, cokoie cutter present and make it special and just think how special mom will feel when she knows the time you took not only on the pret, but also in wrapping it. Nothing says "I love you" like taking that extra bit of time for someone.

(here are my presents for my sisters and my mom. I coordinated the bows and cards since I coordinated presents but even though they match each one is a little different just like us! (I am reminded of the Cheetah Girls song: Our spots are different, different colors, we make each other stronger though we don't look the same.... or something along those lines...but I digress)

Please comment with your URLs for your Mother's Day Wrapping ideas and show off what you came up with to show mom you extra care!

Have a wonderful day!
B

Makeover Monday

2010-05-03T22:28:00.000-06:00

A little late, but technically it is still Monday! And that is good enough for me.

I will apologize in advance, bloggy friends for the disaster in the background. I dumped my craft tub looking for just the right embellishments. Another word for embelishments: additives. Isn't it funny that we really are quite against additives in our food as a general rule, but additives in crafts just make everything... more yummy?! They make food more yummy, but we know the down side to putting them in our bodies. I don't think there is a down side to additives in our crafts! But I digress.

So. I found this cute sign and in reality was pretty fine on its own.

But we aren't satisfied with fine, are we ladies?!

So makeover Monday this Monday is making something new even better and more delicious with additives. We'll veer away from my traditional course of taking something old and making it better. We're going to personalize one of those cute, but run-of-the-mill signs we see everywhere so that it really is something special.

Using various sizes and textures of rick-rack and cloth ribbon I added some framing to the sign.

I used MIGHTYMENDIT! and glued the ribbons to the back of the sign on the top and bottom with a dot of MIGHTYMENDIT! in the middle too. I liked the contrast of the black and cream and I felt it really stood out from the dark with dark lettering.

Then even though the sign came with hangers on the back I felt like it was just one more opportunity to add somet extra special. I found some cute cream with blak dots ribbon and tied it to the hangers. Then I tied little bows to the bottoms of each side to a.cover up the little tail of ribbon that hung off when I tied the ribbon to the sign and b. I thought it looked really cute.

Voila. You probably won't have the same sign as me, but I hope this inspires you to take something that was cute but generic and really make it your own. Happy Monday!

An FYI

2010-04-29T21:12:00.000-06:00

It is a good idea if you are using thin fabric to recover a lampshade to begin with a plain white (or close to it) lampshade or to re cover your shade first with a plain white (or close to it) cloth and then re cover again with your fabric of choice.

Makeover Monday

2010-04-26T09:16:00.001-06:00

So. It's been a while. I do apologize!
But I believe that I have a really exciting project/ concept for you today.
If any of you have furniture you hate or are bored with, but can't or don't want to have to buy something else, seriously consider giving it a face lift. This can be very simple and as basic as just painting it a different color. And can be as complex as re-upholstering, stripping, re-staining, accessorizing, etc.

For me I painted and then added embellishments I got from the hardware store.
The embellishments came because I was unhappy with the color the paint dried to, but didn't want to repaint and also because I looked at the mission/contemporary vibe the table was giving off and wanted something softer, fancier, and more 'French Provincial'.

I bought eight squares that one normally uses for window trim and about 13 feet of Trim. For the look I was going for I bought the 'egg and dart' style trim.

I cut my moulding to size and sanded any excess so they fit somewhat snugly.

I painted all of my trim pieces white. (I had a picture of my table in the blue I painted it but is lost so if you are curious to see the table before any trim check the previous post!)

Using a foam brush I painted 'provincial' stain by Minwax all over my pieces being particularly diligent about getting it into the grooves which is the main place you want to 'dirty it up' when trying to age something. One could do this with glaze but stain was far less expensive.

I wiped the excess off with a rag (wear gloves!) but found I needed to repeat this process a number of times to make sure I got it just how I wanted it. I also found I had to let it dry for about two days. Be wary of this. You might destroy your project on the next step if the stain isn't dry.

(see how great and antique it looks?)

Using liquid nals and clamps I glued my pieces into place and let sit. The liquid nails take about 30 minutes to dry and 24 hours to cure. Make sure you keep your clamps in place for 30 minutes at least.

I need to decide what to do with the chairs, but for now... I am loving my table. Eventually I will have a chandelier (made y me, of course!) hanging over the center of the table. Or perhaps I may just ave something decorative hanging. Only time will tell.

I hope that tis inspires you to take that piece of furniture that you hate, or that you wish really made a statement and do something with it! The weather is perfect for outdoor projects like stripping, sanding, painting, etc. So get on it!

Thanks for reading!

-B

Makeover Monday Crafting Rut...

2010-04-19T10:08:00.000-06:00

So. I have been SO busy... and also kind of in a craft rut... A Crut? Well, whatever.
But I did manage to get some spray painting done with the gorgeous weather we have been having and I need YOU to help me!!!!!
The basic spray painting is done, however, I do not think that the pieces I painted are quite finished and I need some advice on where to go from here. So. Posted are the pictures of the various projects I have painted. Please PLEASE vote on the poll what you think I should do and if you have an idea I would love for you to comment here and let me know what you think.
Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my 'crutted' heart!

First. My dining room table. It used to be the color of the chairs. I lie the blue particularly with my painting. However. The color is slightly off what I was hoping cause I was lazy (naughty, naughty) and didn't want to strip it and sand it and then paint it. So I found a spray paint color (spa Blue by Rustoleum) that LOOKED lighter in the store and seemed to be just the color I wanted. It is not. But I can live with it. The real question is (since I am going for French Provincial and this table says IKEA Modern) How to dress it up to fit more with what I am wanting to do. Here is where you come in. Please vote in the poll.

Secondly. I loved, LOVED, LOVE the lines of this bedside table. BUT. Stain finishes are very hard to match and I have a MAJOR pet peeve. Mismatched wood. Now. I have seen mismatched wood in some houses and on some blogs where the designer/homeowner/blogger was able to match without matching and really put together a great room. I do not have this ability. Therefore I would rather paint things. So I painted this. I need you to tell me where to go next. By the way, notice the placemat that I also mentioned HERE ?So. Please vote on the poll!

Finalement. I have spray painted a black curtain rod the color Nutmeg by Rustoluem. I think it is nice-ish, but I would love, LOVE to make the little balls at the end really something special. What do you think? Please vote!!!

Thank you all. I am so grateful (in advance) for your much-needed input.

Merci Beaucoup!

Hey All...

2010-04-12T20:18:00.002-06:00

It's been a while. To be honest I have been pretty busy preparing for a few weddings (congrats, daddy!) and a vacay to see the in-laws.
So I just wanted to let you know I haven't died or given up on my blog. Look for a post hopefully by the weekend ;) !

Romance your Home with Simpler Times

2010-04-05T10:14:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been thinking that with a baby in the house the hubby and I need a little space just for us that is special and wonderful and romantic. I have done a number of small things but my most recent project that I feel really brings the whole thing together is this homemade, completely custom chandelier. Yes. YOU can make one too!

Start with a wire hanging basket. Spray it and its chain the color you choose. I used the color 'nutmeg' by Rustoleum. Buy 10 ft. of white 2 wire cord and a white plug. I got mine at Home Depot. They connected them for me so I had what is called a 'whip'.

Then purchase a lamp socket. Mine was black so I stuffed newspaper inside and spray painted it white. At Home Depot they will connect this for you as well.

I got lucky. The guy who helped me at Home Depot was SO helpful. He helped me find the pieces I needed and helped me customize anything that wasn't exactly right.

Buy a washer and some plastic connectors, too.

The guy at home depot filed the washer so it fit exactly inside the 'top' hole and then we super glued it in place. Make sure you do a line of super glue along the top and the inside. Once that is complete you can spray paint a touch up coat OR spray paint for the first time.

Strip the ends of your wire and stick inside the plastic connectors. Using a lighter melt the plastic until it is sealed. This will help it to be safer and keep the connectors on. Then unscrew the little screws on your socket, put the round ends of the connectors on the holes and then screw your screws back in. Don't forget to buy a light bulb making sure your wattage isn't too high. I went with 25 watts. Perfect for my project. Soft light that won't melt the plastic.

NOTE: I am NOT an electrician. I had the Home Depot electrical guy do everything so I wouldn't electrocute myself. Be careful!!!

Put the end of your socket up through the hole and then use the washer to keep it in place. The chain can be used to hang your chandelier. It is a good idea not to rely on the cord to hang your chandelier. It's better to use the chain and just drape the cord up over the ceiling hooks to get it out of the way. Doing this insures that your chandelier will hang level.

I couldn't find any 'crystals' at the craft stores so I bought a strip of trim that had them on it and just cut the bits I needed off. I kept the fabric of the trim for a little later in the project.

Using a cricut machine set on 3 and 3 1/2 (NOT real dial size) with the 'Wild Card' cartridge I cut birds from one side of the paper and the back side so I could have them double sided with the print of the paper I like showing on both sides.

Using various beads that coordinated I made three crystal hangers that I hung off the place the chain used to connect. I embellished my birds once they were cut out.

I also added a little 'bling' at the bottom of the string that I hung my birdies from. This weights it down and adds a little embellishment. With the birds 'open' put a glob of Tacky Glue and then stick your birds together over the thread. This seals the thread in and glues your two sides together.

Do as many on a string as you like/ as will fit. Mine each had four birds. I hung them from every-other curlicue so they wouldn't be too dense.

When I was done I felt it was a little plain so I glued (with tacky glue, I figured hot glue couldn't hold up to extended heat from the light bulb) some fringe around the bottom and around the socket (note: the fringe on the socket is the fringe leftover from where I got the crystals).

I added some tulle around the hook to disguise the hook a little.

And voila! Your own custom chandelier that adds a little romance to your home.

Guest Posting Today

2010-04-02T23:45:00.000-06:00

All right all of my faithful followers! I am moving up in the world! I am guest posting today (Sat.) at firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com Head on over and check it out! I made a WICKED awesome craft. If you have any questions about how I did it or if my steps aren't clear pop back over here and leave me an old message-roni. k?! Love 'em over there at F & J. Super crafty!

Re-vamping a lamp 3

2010-03-26T22:53:00.000-06:00

I always loved this lamp I bought from Target. The shape was great but the colors I bought didn't ever go with anything I tried to design. Go figure. So I decided that I would help it along and make it fit into my new room idea.
Tutorial Here for re-vamping a lamp.
We'll do some quick steps here but for more in-depth steps click above.

Trace and cut from seam to seam. Spray adhesive and carefully wrap your old lampshade in your fabric of choice.

Cut slits in the fabric up to the shade. Hot glue or Tacky glue them under for a finished edge.
Take large rick rack and glue along the bottom and top. Leave it hanging on the bottom for a lacy feel. Fold over on the top for a finished look that doesn't look funky. I tried leaving the top but it looked REALLY weird so I folded it over, glued it and it looked a lot better.
Oh. At first I spray painted my lamp base heirloom white from Rustoleum. It used to have a dark bronze finish.

Voila. A plain, ill-fitting lamp to just what I needed to amp-up the romance and serenity of my room.

Re-vamping a lamp 2!

2010-03-24T22:18:00.000-06:00

I got this lamp at Target a few years ago and always thought it was really plain. Today I decided to do something about that. I bought various sizes and textures of black ribbon and rick-rack and glued it on! Easy, simple, and yet... it makes a world of difference.

I made the bows on the sides mainly to cover up where the rick-rack didn't meet nicely. Simply take a piece of ribbon and glue the ends together. glue the middle together. wrap one piece around the middle and then glue the whole thing on. Voila.

Friend Makin' Mondays

2010-03-15T20:53:00.000-06:00

Friend Makin' Mondays at Friend makin' Mondays

I am.... sick at the moment

I think.... my in-laws like me better than my family does

I should... go to bed early tonight

I dream.... of a house of my own

I want.... it to be old and fabulous

I know... it will happen someday

I don't like.... days with out naps for the babe

I smell... Taco meat that the hubby made

I hear.... a band practicing down the street

I fear.... everything. Especially dead bodies and spiders

I usually... stay up too late and blog too often!

I search... for inspiration

I miss.... being young and making friends just because you wore the same color

I always... brush my teeth

I regret.... not saying just what should have been said

I wonder.... if anyone reads my blog

I crave.... ICE CREAM and chocolate shakes

I remember... summer. Where is it now?

I need..... fabric for a lamp I am re-purposing

I forget.... how much I love my husband

I feel....blah. and a little alone tonight.

I can.... do anything

I can't.... spend any more money this month on crafting!!!! Eek.

I am happy.... holding my baby and writing and painting

I lose..... track of time

I sing.... The one or two lines I remember from a song over and over again

I listen... To so many things

I shop..... at TARGET!!!!!!!! And sometimes Wally world.

I eat.... home cooking almost every night

I love..... my family and my hobbies

Make over Monday

2010-03-15T13:35:00.000-06:00

I think it's fun how lots of you out in blogland have a themed day or two. I think I am going to try to post something I have made over every Monday. Hopefully it will inspire you to find things around your house that you either hate, are sick of, or don't know what to do with and turn it into somehting you LOVE.

I did that with this frame.

A lot of people know how to Mod Podge a frame but I figure there might be someone out there who doesn't OR has been too scared to try it. If not I hope the look of the frame can give you an idea for how you want YOUR frame to look!

get your frame

cut your paper pieces. I cut mine a little bigger than what I needed and I will tell you why.

paint the bits that won't be covered in paper.

Mod Podge your paper onto the frame.

Using a nail file or sanding block sand along the edges of the paper that is hangin over the sides. This trims your paper to the perfect size and lends a shabby touch!

using a dry paint brush 'dirty up' your frame/ distress it by painting in crevices and streaking on the paper and/or paint.

Mod Podge the whole thing.

Pull one side of wire from wired ribbon to bunch up one side of your 'flower'. Twist until it is a flower shape. Take some felted wool (or just felt) and cut it into a circle. Using pinking shears (or just do it by hand) cut along the outside of the cirlce to create a jagged edge. shove that down inside and hot glue the whole thing onto your frame. The hot glue should hold the center in place and glue the entire flower onto your frame.

A DELICIOUS 3 ingredient recipe

2010-03-11T21:04:00.002-07:00

Okay. You HAVE to try this if you like squash. If you don't... well, make it with pasta!
To be honest, I usually do make this with pasta but tonight tried it healthier and it was DELICIOUS.

So. "What is it, already?!" you are asking. Browned butter and Mizithra cheese over spaghetti squash.

Here's how you make it:

Bake your squash in the oven at 400* upside down until fork tender (about 40 minutes?) on a cookie sheet. You can put a little melted butter on it if you want.
scoop it out. You should have long stringy spaghetti noodle like bits of squash.

Note: I used half a squash. I steamed the other half and then blended it to make my buck-a-roo some more baby food.

Melt 1/2 a stick butter in a sauce pan stirring constantly until BARELY browned.

Grate Mizithra cheese (you can buy this at your local grocery store). Mizithra cheese has a creamy, slightly tangy and salty flavor. It is INCREDIBLE and far and away one of my favorite cheeses.

Put squash (or cooked spaghetti noodles) in bowl and pour browned butter over. Toss to coat. Then sprinkle a handful or two of grated cheese (really up to your personal taste). Toss that and EAT!

YUM!

The Old Spaghetti Factory makes a browned butter and Mizithra cheese pasta and I attempted to copy it. Turned out pretty well if I say so myself.

If you need a blog button...

2010-03-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

http://oikology101.blogspot.com/2008/09/make-your-own-button-for-your-blogger.html

Check out this website. So easy. You copy and paste a few things and follow simple instructions and you'll have a blog button in no time.

Well... you do need to create one first (in some sort of photoshop/illustrator/digiscrap program)

So. I have a button. Grab it and let me know you did and I'll come 'round and grab yours. Sounds terribly inappropriate... love it!

Hint: This is not my button... just a picture of what my button looks like!!

Simple Decorating at its... simplest?

2010-03-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Like me you probably have either nothing on your washer and dryer because it would fall off and break or every thing piled on it (i.e. detergent, towels, cleaners, &c.). Well... what if I told you this whole bit cost me about $7 and it TOTalLy re-invented my washing area?!

Vinyl placemats from Target. They were already coordinated and everything! about $2 each on sale

Plastic drink tub form Target $2.50 in the dollar section

A few sheets of tissue paper on sale at Target $.50

Mod Podge (had on hand)

Now. You need to know. PLacemats aren't just for your dining table anymore. I have a placemat (but no picture since it is messy) on my bedside table that a. protects it from cups of water and b. dresses it up, makes it cute, acts as a table cloth so-to-speak without covering up my cute table. Love it!

As you can see in the picture my washer and dryer are low enough that you can totally see the tops of them. These placemats will be easy to clean in the event that I spill detergent (likely) or they make a nice folding surface. I don't have any cupboards near my washing machine so I bought that tub and decoupaged it to match the room. You can't see it but I found this fab chindi rug at Target for like $5 and it is various shades of blue, white, and teal. That's where the teal comes in!

The tub was originally a strange blue color that wouldn't work so I tore strips of tissue paper and Mod Podge them on. I wanted it to be crinkled so I wasn't super careful. I plan to add some embellishments later once I figure out where I am going with it...

I have another SUPER great idea just for the laundry area but I have to track down a wire wreath form first. Any ideas?

Book page wreath... my version

2010-03-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've seen a few different versions of book page wreaths around. This is my version.

I made this for an English teacher hence the 'Bibliophile'. You could do any number of things but the English Teacher is a guy and didn't want anything girlie (with good reason) as decoration. I also wanted to use book pages for as much as possible.

First I covered my foam wreath form with book pages torn in half length-wise. I then mod podged it (I needed it to hold up since it will be in a classroom).

Then I started at one corner of the a book page and rolled until I formed this. repeat, repeat, repeat.

I glued them down using Elmer's glue. I decided after that I should distress the edges with ink.

bad idea once they are all glued down. I used a cotton ball squished onto my ink pad and then distressed the edges that way. If you want to do this to yours I suggest distressing them the regulkar way BEFORE gluing!

Make your embellishments! I used 1, 2, 3, and 4 book pages (taped together) folded 3 times and then rolled around a skewer. I glued them with Elmer's glue at the end to keep from unrolling.

Paint your rolls any color(s) you like and once the paint is dry mod podge to seal.

Fold a book page a number of times until you end up with a triangle. cut three points (kind of like making a paper snowflake) and unfold. I did four small and two large. I double them up and connected each burst with a brad. I carefully mod podged them so they'd hold up a little better. Keep them kinda squished up so they look more burst like.

Cut out letters with your electronic cutter or on a die dut machine that you can use at certain scrapbook stores (Archivers has a die cutter in the back).

Arrange all your embellishments, hot glue it all down, and then seal it all up with mod podge again.

There you go!

Charming...

2010-03-07T14:00:00.003-07:00

Got the basics for this from my friend Candis... Amazing!

Want to know how to make your own charming charms???

Read on.

Take some charms you don't care for but got on sale....

Take some paper you love.

Find a bit of your paper that has a design you like. I picked a little birdie since I am in the mood for spring.

Trace your charm. Cut and then cut down until your paper is in a little circle that fits just inside your charm. I left a little bit of the silver showing as a frame to my bird. There has to be another way to make this easier and better. Probably you could find a circle punch that is the same size as the inside of your charm, but oh well.

Mod Podge your paper circle into the center of the charm. I added a little rhinestone to the bird's wing to dress it up a little. Before any embellishments Mod Podge again and then add your embellishments.

Once the Mod Podge is dry coat it carefully with 'Glossy Accents' (can buy at your local craft store) Mine cost 8.99 but I had a 40% off coupon so it was less.

Let it dry until completely clear. It says 15-60 minutes but I had to leave mine much longer.

Once it is completely dry you are ready to string it on a chain, a ribbon, or anything else. You could add it to a bookmark or anything else you can think of!

I'll post soon about wire and ribbon bookmarks and we can highlight using a handmade charm to personalize it even more.

Spring Door Hanger

2010-03-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

I saw this done with hearts for Valentine's Day, but by the time I was going to do it, V day was four days away so I thought I would do what I love to do best and take an idea I liked and make it one I loved.

This, of course, is the 'long-awaited project' that I posted about a while ago.

Warning: THIS TAKES A LONG TIME. The results are definiteyl worth it, but make sure you give your self multiple hours and if you have children... mutiple days!

You need:

1 24" by 12" (at least) piece of styrofoam. Don't use that funky floral foam that breaks apart and feels grainy. I used green styrofoam because it was less expensive than the white and I got more.

A couple of yards of fabric in whatever colors you like. I used five different yellows and 4 different whites.

Hot glue gun.

Shape you like.

Styrofoam half-balls

Ribbon or tulle to hang

Marker

I used a highlighter that my hubby had that hadfive different colors all around it and looked like a flower. I traced it onto a transparency and then projected it onto a 12 by 12 piece of paper. Traced that and then shrunk it and traced it again onto a new piece of paper. You could find a cut out you liked at a party store or even draw free-hand. It doesn't have to be perfect!
Once I had cut out my flowers I traced them using a permanent marker onto the styrofoam and then cut the flowers out with a serrated knife.
The two styrofoam half balls: I left one as is and the other I cut (as straight as possible) across to shrink it and then I shaved the sides a little too so it wasn't so round as the bigger one. I centered and then attached these on the flowers.

Tear and then cut some of your fabric into 2 (or 2.5) inch squares (DON'T need to be perfect) for the larger flower and 1.5" for the smaller flower.

I used a pen so I wouldn't burn my fingers with the hot glue. Fold your fabric over the pen, apply hot glue to the tip and then press and hold onto your styrofoam for a few seconds.

Should look like this. Cover the entire center with one color and then the rest of the flower with the other.

If you use tulle I suggest layerong one piece of fabric under a piece of tulle (the holes in the tulle assure that the glue gets on both pieces). This way you won't get hot glue everywhere!

Voila. You can trim any crazy bits that stick too far up. I also trimmed where the petals met eachother because I felt it needed more definition.

Repeat with the other flower and then attach ribbon or tulle to the backs of each to hang it from your door.

TA DA!

Make any shape you like. A shamrock done in various greens would be SO cute. And if you don't like the double you can always just do one and hang it alone or in the center of a simple wreath.

Oh.my.kismet.

2010-02-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

ROSS. I went there today, you know. And browsing down the aisles I came upon the most spectacular find.
Remember how I did that safari/world traveler room? Well. I have a confession. The whole 'world traveler' part came about because I had an empty space on the wall and some nautical-themed wall hangings. Figured I wouldn't ever find something that I wanted for that space so I re-thought my original design.
Guess what.
Now I don't have to!

WONDROUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

SAVE THE VEGGIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

How many vegetables have gone to waste because they get wilty and limp before you use them all? I usually use a stalk or two of celery at a time, plus some leaves and that is all. The rest... wasted. They aren't moldy, but they don't have that crunch they need to be appetizing.
So, to put that *snap* back in your celery or carrots try this!

Soak your veggies (don't know if this works for anything but carrots and celery, but it might!) in an ice water bath to 'reconstitute' them, so-to-speak.

Great way to save money and save your veggies!

In the words of Rachel Ray, "What's for dinner tonight?"

2010-02-24T10:27:00.001-07:00

In our case: Pork medallions with roasted asparagus and Kale.

Does that sound daunting? I just made it up and I like to sound elegant. Really this was like five steps.

I took a pork picnic roast that I got on sale and sliced it into about 1/2-1 inch medallions. You could very easily do this with a pork tenderloin or with just plain pork chops.
I sprayed them with cooking spray and sprinkled on paprika (KILLER with pork), seasoned salt,crushed red pepper flakes (hubby likes the heat), pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. I did the same with the veggies.

Stick on your roasting pan, indoor (or outdoor) grill, or George Foreman.

If you're doing it in the oven like I did set it to broil!

Your asparagus will be ready before the meat. Remove it and tent with foil to keep it warm. Just cook them until fork tender (I never pay attention to cooking times. For shame.)

Replace asparagus with seasoned Kale. Cook that until wilty. Your pork should be done at the same time. The best way to tell if any meat is done without cutting into it: pick the fattest piece of meat and stab it with a fork. Press on it if need be to get juices to run out. If they run clear not red you are good to go!

Plate and serve!

A note about Kale: I love cabbage so I really liked kale. I had never cooked with it before but was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. If you do not like brussel sprouts or cabbage kale will not be for you.

CHALLENGE: Pick out a vegetable or leafy green that you have never tried before and cook it up. You will easily change up your routine (you know how you kind of cook the same 14 dinners over and over again?), you will add SUPER many good nutrients to your meal, you'll impress whoever you are cooking for, and you may even find a new favorite veggie.

Some of my favorites that came about this way:

Asparagus, brussel sprouts, Chard (very good on paninis), and Kale.

Sometimes it's better to do it simple

2010-02-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

than not at all.

Last night the hubby and I decided banana cream pie sounded delicious, but I was NOT in a place emotionally, spiritually, physically to make it all by hand... okay. I admit. I was being lazy.
But, if you, like me, want a SUPER easy way to make banana, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, etc. cream pie check this out.

ingredients: banana 1 or 2 depending on how much you like in your pie, vanilla pudding mix, milk (2 cups or whatever the pudding box calls for), graham cracker pie crust, whipping cream (canned or carton, I like carton best), vanilla and powdered sugar for making the whipped cream.

make your pudding according to the box

Slice your bananas and layer in the bottom.

cool your pudding for at least 5 minutes on the stove top (make sure you stir sporadically as it cools to avoid pudding skin and chunks). Pour pudding over bananas and chill in fridge for a few hours.

Make your whipped cream (1c. heavy whipping cream [or just whipping cream], about 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and about 1 t. vanilla extract. Combine and whip until stiff peaks form. make sure you don't whip it too long or you will have homemade butter!)

Top your pie and serve!

See. Lovely and simple and still really delicious.

Variations:

Chocolate cream pie:

A graham or chocolate cookie crust, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream. his is definitely my favorite. you can sprinkle chopped chocolate or chocolate prinkles on top, you can mix in cookie crumbles, etc. You could even cover with crumbled Oreos or other chocolate cookies and gummy worms and make a family-sized edible dirt cup.

Coconut cream pie:

Toasted sweetened coconut, graham crust, vanilla pudding, whipping cream. Toast the coconut and mix about half in with prepared pudding. Pour into the pie crust and sprinkle the rest of the toasted coconut on top.

SUPER easy toy chest.

2010-02-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I almost threw this box out, but decided (luckily) to save it a little longer. My hubby made this wooden box in scouts when he was younger. I was upholstered in BLUE VINYL, but I fixed that. ;)

So. I saw this cute saying on a vinyl cutting web-site and decided I love it but didn't want to pay the fee to have someone cut me some vinyl lettering, plus that would take WAY too long and I had to make this right away.

I picked a font I liked and studied the letters (you must be able to envision it to draw/paint something specific) and then drew light lines in pencil (measuring for height nd width of course) to block in the letters. I then drew (LIGHTLY!!!!!!!!!!!) the letters and then filled them in with paint. It looked a little plain when I was done so I used the end of my paintbrush, dipped it in paint, and then made dots.

A quick tutorial on VERY simple upholstering:

Detach whatever bit of the furniture you are going to re-upholster (mine was the top of the chest) remove any hardware, upholstery nails, staples, fabric etc. Get a piece of foam and cut it to size (I just used what was already on there since it was still in decent condition) glue it down to keep it in place (I would, but you don't have to I suppose). Pick and then cut fabric to cover. Make sure you have a couple of inches extra (you'll need it to go over the sides and wrap 'round part of the bottom). Lay your bit of furniture upside down and using a staple gun staple ONE side of the fabric just to get something to pull against. You must pull your fabric as tightly and smoothly as possible. I would start with the opposite side of the first side you stapled. Stretching and smoothing staple one side at a time to the underside of your bit of furniture. I made a loop of ribbon and stapled it in the center of the front so there would be a little handle to lift the lid. If you are upholstering a seat cover you are probably done and can re-attach what you've upholstered. If, like me, you've done something where your staples are visible, you'll have another few steps. Find a carboard box or bit of wood. Cut to the size of your newly-upholstered furniture piece. Using hot glue cover much like you did the last piece with fabric. there should be one side completely smooth and covered and one side that has fabric pulled over the edges. Hot glue (or use your choice of gluing-medium) the thin, covered bit in place making sure all your staples and edges are covered. Voila! You have now re-upholstered something!

GOod luck. I make NO promises, but it worked for me! Leave your questions!

Safari/Explorer Room

2010-02-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

SO, I originally planned to do a vintage baseball room for my Buck-a-roo, but after a move and never finding a way to do everything I wanted I settled on a completely different, but equally fun, room. Above are pictures of the pillows I made for his crib/floor pillows. My thinking: one spends so much time on the floor playing with baby, you might as well have a cushion under your bum. PLus, we all know pillows and babies don't mix, but pillows are a fast way to cozy up and personalize a room.

These are 18" pillow forms I bought and the covers are SUPER simple to make.

p.s. not paying 15 to 30 dollars for ONE pillow at the store and every pillow I have hand-stuffed turned out stupid and went flat within weeks.

Start with a square of your chosen fabric slightly larger than one of the sides of your pillow (gotta leave seam allowances, plus your pillows are fluffy not just flat !). Then have two more pieces one that measures about 3/4 the size of your pillow and the other measuring about half.

with the two smaller pieces make a small fold at one end. sew. fold over again. topstitch. You should have two peices of fabric with one nicely folded sew edge and three unfinished edges. lay these wrong-side-up (so your fold is visible) on top of the right side of the square of fabric making sure the two smaller bits overlap (I like the bigger to be on top once it is sewn together and flipped right side out). Pin and then sew all around your pillow going back and forth once or twice where the fold is. flip right side out, pick out your corners, topstich if you want, iron if you want, and then cover your pillow. Voila. If it is too big, you can always sew a little more!

If you have any questions, leave me a comment. Once everything was cut this took me 15 minutes at most per pillow. This was the first time I had ever made pillows that looked good and the first time I ever did it this way. I loved it because I love being able to wash them (by hand in the sink with cold water since I don't know what type of fabric it is or what the care instructions are) and I like being able to take them off and replace them easily!

One other thing I did was to make a smaller one (whatever size you like) to keep the jams in when baby's dressed for the day. I am lucky enough to have a mom with an embroidery machine so I commissioned her to embroider his name on a seperate piece of fabric (muslin) and then sew it on using a decorative stitch. I did it this way because inspiration for the embroidery came after the jam pillow was sewn.

I started making a map for the room by projecting and then tracing... it was taking FOREVER. SO I went to my local craft outlet store and by jove.... exactly the thing I had wanted but figured I ouldn't find without paying an exhorbitant fee.... so I bought it for $3!!!!!!!!!! It ended up being too big for my frame so I cut it down a little, using the cardboard backing of the frame as a stencil. This frame I got for %50 off at my local craft store (Robert's). It was white and since I am renting I can't paint the sterile-white walls so the frame got spray-painted instead! The map was perfect because it tied the explorer theme into the room and also the oranges and yellows in my fabric. The giraffe-print pillow is another pillow I made. The chair I got at IKEA and it came with that teeny little pillow and with the shape of the back of the chair it looked sad. Quick fix PLUS way more comfortable.

The stars are a. a tin blue star I also found at the craft outlet store and b. the orange star I found at the same place and hand-painted (as shown in an earlier blog post).

Still don't know how to feel these, but my landlord some awful motel-style drapes up and I couldn't deal with it. The tan curtains I got at IKEA for $14 a set. CRAZY!! They come with an unfinished bottom and some no-sew iron on type stuff so you can hem them to whatever length you want. BRILLIANT, by the way. So, my mom and I sewed two flat pannels of some remnants of the striped fabric I picked out for a bed skirt, and sewed a loop for a curtain rod at the top. I got them home and they weren't long enough (naturally) I sewed three pannels of the blue fabric but then after a trial the hubby and I decided the one e middle looked best. I thought it would look ky and ou may too, but I thought it wasn't too bad. We installed a curtain rod I had above the drapery rod and that covered up all the weird little attachments on the rod. A quick valance-type-thing and all wi left-over fabric.

Here's a picture of the paintings I did with the lamp I re-vamped. Now you can see how it all ties together!

Kind of a funky picture (ever notice how great something looks in a room in real life, but as soon as you take a picture it looks all stark and dis-jointed?), but I got a leaf canopy at IKEA for $14 (I love those netting canopies, but hubby says it's too girlie). You're supposed to install it directly on the wall but I didn't have the right size screws, but I HAD to have it up immediately (you know how it is) so I covered a bar of the crib with muslin to protect the wood and then used those plastic zip ties (we used probably 12 to make sure it was secure) pulled as tight as possible and then trimmed off the ends. It worked wonderfully and I was able to place it exactly where I wanted to over the crib.

FAB!

All right, let me know if you have any questions!

"Like Butta'"

2010-02-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

As a newly married bride I was terrified by the thought of a classic 1950's style family dinner. I never thought I could make a pot roast, let alone one that tasted good. But I was determined to be the kind of wife that cooked lovely Sunday meals where the family and any friends that wanted to could gather together and have some warm, comforting food and good times, too.
I was wrong about not being able to do it, and you know what, if you believe that... so are you!
I have decided recently that a good cook is a bold, confident cook. If you believe you will be able to cook something, get a recipe for it, and are brave enough to try - you will be able to cook anything. Perhaps it won't be perfect the first (or first few) times, but in time you will be surprised at all the things you can learn how to do.
So. My tips for a pot roast that will melt in your mouth and please everyone at the table:

A. Brown it first. (I suppose I could tell you first buy a good cut of beef but I don't know what that would be. I think with the right kind of cooking any portion of meat will be good.) This gives it a nice color. I was watching Alton Brown once and he did an experiment to see if browining your meat first REALLY helped lock in the moisture. According to him it didn't matter. Thing is, regardless of the moisture thing, an un-browned roast looks the color of a corpse. So. Eat with your eyes first, right? BROWN YOUR ROAST! Plus it gets all these lovely crumblies in your pan that you then use beef broth to de-glaze and have delicious little meat particles that add flavor as your roast cooks away.
B. Cook it with veggies. Use the aromatics- onions, carrots, and celery (including the leaves). I know, I know, "EW. Leaves?!" but seriously. You don't eat them, but they really do add more flavor. I like to brown my onions while I brown my meat, get a little more of that flavor going and what not, but probably it doesn't make a huge difference
C. Find a seasoning combo you like.

This does have MSG (AGH!!!!!!), but I have to say that this is the BEST tasting seasoning for beef I have ever had. Essentially it is brown sugar, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic, and hickory. I could imitate it 'cept how does one get hickory? WHen I find this out I will sit down one day and make my own
MSG free seasoning. Until then I use it sparingly (as in not often. I douse my steaks in it).
I usually rub some of this on before browning my roast and dump a little in while it is simmering. Delicious.
D. Pour beef broth in, bring to a boil and then simmer for a few hours. I don't have an exact time (check Better Homes and Gardens [p.s. if you don't own this cook book, run out and get it. I couldn't live without it]) but when that is up you will have a moist, flavorful, and fabulous pot roast!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, friends

2010-02-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

I made sugar cookies for my craft night with my friends and in honor of Valentine's Day. I made some of them monsters for the guys in my life so that I could make 'masculine' love monsters instead of flowers and lips and hearts (which of course I made for myself and my friends).
My recipe for cookies is KILLER. SO stinkin' delicious. I can't take credit, though. It is my mom's recipe.

Get the recipe here

Click above to get the recipe for the cookies and some AMAZING frosting.

A few notes:

For the cookies:
I ended up using almost 5 1/4 C. of flour. Make sure your dough isn't so sticky that you can't work with it or roll it out. Try not to have to knead in too much extra flour once the mixing is done so your cookies don't turn out tough. I also ended up (but my oven is old) baking the cookies for about 9 minutes.

For the frosting:
Adding 1/2 t. or so of lemon extract makes these ultra delicious.
Less powdered sugar means a more glaze-like frosting that coats nice but you can't really do any frosting decorating (you can use sprinkles, though) More powdered sugar makes a frosting good for piping &c.
I always split mine into bowls and then color it because I like various colors and I always like having some extra white frosting on hand during decorating in case I run out of one color, decide I need another, or just so I can add some white accents to my cookies.
p.s. I have some black food coloring (comes in a tiny jar, made by Wilton, can buy at Wally World) that is indispensable. It is perfect for outlining, faces, &c. Plus nothing is more dramatic than black on white or vice-versa.

I LOVE IKEA

2010-02-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

SO many things at IKEA for such good prices. Yesterday I got a rug for 30$ that goes under my dining room table, I got a big leaf that creates a canopy-type feel for the babe's crib (we don't like anything girlie and the hubby says netting is), and the thing I am most excited about......

Guess how much I paid for this. Guess!!! okay. I will tell you. .47$ yes that is a period and then a 4 and then a 7. WOot! I got four of them. Who wouldn't?! They are unfinished wood and probably need a little wood filler in some spots but come on. Less than half a dollar?

I have this painting in my house hanging above my dining room table. I plan to do my entire dining room around it. Oh and guess what. I got this original oil painting for $20. that's right. not $200, but $20. It is one of a kind. You may ask where I got such an amazing, wonderful, terrific deal. The Starving Artist Art Sale that comes 'round once a year or so. LOVE IT. The only paintings that were this size and were $20 were all of fruit (motel type, you know the ones) but somehow among all of those I was able to find this for $20. And it is exactly what I loved and wanted. Talk about Kismet.
So anyway (that wasn't completely random) I love the painting but it looks a little sad up there all by itself so I plan to hang mirrors on either side of it. At first I planned to go around to thrift and antique stores to find old mirrors to fix up. I still may do this. But when I saw those mirrors at IKEA I thought it would be kinda cool to hand-paint each one and hang two on one side and two on the other.

What do you think?

Making your own vinyl wall boards

2010-02-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Love my cricut.

If you didn't know you could... you can cut vinyl with your cricut machine. I bought this darling tin sign at Roberts (using 50% off, of course!) and bought some brown vinyl by Provo Craft (bought it later using 50% again!) and cut this out for my bathroom.

the sign was maybe five dollars after the coupon and the vinyl was five, but I only used 1/4 of it.

If you have a regular cricut machine and you buy the Provo Craft brand vinyl (it's the only kind I have bought so I don't know how much comes in other brands' packages) you cut each sheet in half hot dog style and you get four perfect 6 by 12 pieces to use.

So, if you own a cricut or have a friend who has one you can borrow, don't pay crazy high prices for custom vinyl signs! Next time... make your very own.

Hint: If you like the painted signs you can cut some vinyl (doesn't matter the color) and place it on a dry board that has been painted the color you want the letters. Once the vinyl is in place paint the board the color you want the background. Once that is dry peel the letters off and... voila! Perfect.

Hint: Have a cricut cartridge swap with your friends so you can try various cartridges before investing in all of them. That way you won't be disappointed by what you get OR you can just save money by doing the one or two projects you would normally buy a specific cartridge for when you borrow the cartridge. I know I have a cartridge or two that I was so excited about, used once or twice and then never again because there was one thing I wanted to do with it and once I was done I rarely touched it again. I also borrowed a few cartridges, fell in love with them, and knew they would be worth buying.

Happy Crafting!

PREVIEW

2010-02-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

Next project that I am doing this Thursday with my friends will use a sheet of foam, ribbon, other foam forms, and some fabric....

STAY TUNED!!!!!!

p.s. don't you LOVE that yellow ribbon? Totally different and fun. SO excited to use it.

p.s. the best part: it was on SALE at Robert's craft (.70 a yard)

It paid off

2010-02-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

The late night grinding session paid off. My little buddy LOVES the barley cereal the very best. The rest are okay with him but the barley is a definite favorite. Yay!

I am attempting to decide on the next skill I want to learn. I need to post pictures of a recent project as well. I learned to sew pillow covers for 18" pillows. Look at me!!!

"They all paint tables and embroider cushions" -p&p the movie

2010-02-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

I was watching the newer version of Pride and Pedjudice and heard the quote, "...They all paint tables and embroider cushions...." and thought to myself that THAT must be a lost art too since I never really hear of anyone handpainting tables.
I got the project bug and decided I had to paint a table... immediately.

Probably it isn't as fancy or refined as the tables of old, but this is my funky, personal version of a painted table.

Thing is, it is completely custom and completely 'me' and it cost me around five dollars.

I bought a 'decorator's' table at Target on sale for five dollars. Pretty much it is a circle and three legs out of MDF board. Typically people buy a 70" round table cloth and a circle of glass (also sold at Target) and call it good but I couldn't for the life of me find a table cloth I loved and that matched my living room.

First I painted it red and had every intention of painting a checkerboard onto the top (still want to do this some day) and make it a fun little game table. I never did that and when inspiration struck I was glad I hadn't.

I love paisleys. Just so you know.

So, I painted my table with acrylic paints (first laid the background [rule of thumb when painting....background goes in first] and then painted the individual paisleys) and then when it was dry I varnished it so people could put cups of water etc. on the table and all my hardwork wouldn't be ruined. This means that if I ever want to change the table I will have to remove the varnish with that awful, harsh stuff (I can't remember what it is called at the moment... paint stripper?) and sand and then re-paint. But I love it an don't plan to have to.

So now, I am in my own way (according Charles Bingley anyway), an accomplished female because I can paint tables! ;)

Amazing things happen with a fresh coat of paint.

2010-02-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Spray paint is one of the most economical ways to change or update something and it takes relatively little work. Most of the time.
2 1/2 cans later my cute, but boring black bench got fifteen hundred times cuter.

The color is Summer Squash and I got it at Home Depot. Note: spray paint is less expensive at Home Depot (as compared to Wally World) and they have a WAY bigger selection.

I got this at JoAnn's. It was a bronze color but I had to paint it. I got this last year at about this time. The time of the year when I am DYING for spring and it just isn't coming fast enough and I have to do something around the house to usher it in.

Before

After

I loved the red star but it no longer matched the room it is in so now... it is orange.

I mixed orange with a little brown paint to make a color I wanted (I didn;t want it too bright) and then I used a dry brush with ome brown paint to make it look distressed by just swiping it lightly across the star all around it til I thought it looked good.

LINK

2010-02-09T09:09:00.002-07:00

Here is the link for the Baby Shoes that I made.

SHOES

2010-02-07T22:51:00.001-07:00

I. made. baby. shoes.

k. got this pattern off some of my friends' blogs and couldn't wait to try it out. It is late and I am tired so I will post links tomorrow, but I just wanted to share a picture.

Disclaimer: These were a first try done with some scrap fabrics I had and I threw them together and didn't take as much time as I should have so they aren't great, but I am still impressed with the results.

And I made a few more paper bows this weekend. This was my favorite. Thought I'd post it. It's for a wedding so I sprayed it with glitter spray (hard to tell in the picture. but it adds a little something).

Wooly whatnots

2010-02-05T11:35:00.001-07:00

We love wool, right? Doesn't fray and always lends to feeling cozy. Wool's expensive, though.

SO! Thanks to a fabulous friend I found that you can go to the local thrift store, buy 100% wool sweaters and felt them in the wash.

HOW??????

SO simple. You throw the sweaters you buy into the wash and wash them in HOT water with detergent (MUST use detergent, it is part of the reason the wool felts) and then dry them (I did on high). Repeat, repeat, repeat until your wool is felted. It should look and feel like fabric and you shouldn't be able to tell it was ever knitted.

Your sweaters should be ready to cut and turn into projects. I am planning to make wool cupcake pincushions. Will post once that happens, but I have to build up my store of colors of wool first. Right now those pictured above are the only colors I have.

Alos, tip from the same friend. If you like a sweater you find for a child, but it is an adult size, you can just shrink it in the wash until it fits your kid. Cute!

I plan to use wool for:

baby shoes

pincushions

flower pins and hair clippies

embellishments on sewing projects

(am learning blanket stich for this very reason)

who knows what else!!!

an update about cereal.

2010-02-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Barley cereal. The most favorite. Rice cereal is second, and oat cereal third. That is what my little prince likes. I have loved making the cereal fresh and warm every morning and evening and I don't mind having a little fresh, homemade oatmeal either.

Coming soon to a sewing machine near you....

2010-02-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

http://family-centered.com/life/soft-shoe-tutorial/

These are my next project, I think. I figure I can just use masculine material to make them for boys, right?