Halloween Decorations

Halloween is basically awesome. It makes me ridiculously happy. I usually try to hold off till 
October 1st till I start decorating, so far I have never made it ha ha.  This year was no exception. I was especially excited this year, because last year, I did very little because I was pregnant. So I put extra effort into it this year to make up for it. I just wanted to show off my apartment. Hopefully it will inspire you and get you pumped for the season.

September Decor

September is one of the few months of the years where nothing really exciting happens. So coming up with decorating ideas is tough. But nothing screams September like apples and sunflowers. This year I didn't do any sunflowers, but I did do apples. I just wanted to show you my burlap apple banner. Enjoy

Cupcakes

I made these for the teachers at the jr. high for a welcome back to school treat.  They are easy, but time consuming if you do different flavors.  I would stick with on or two if you are doing a large group.

1 step:  Make cupcakes.  If you would like some recipes you can check out Charissa's blog little delights cafe

2 step: Unwrap your cupcakes and place into a 9 oz cup

3 step: Frost cupcakes, it is easier to pipe the frosting on when they are in the cups.

4 step: Slide cup into a cellophane bag.

5 step: Tie with bakers string or a cute ribbon, and tie on the spoon.

Refinished Stool

My neighbor recently moved to Texas. She was unable to fit everything,so I got lucky and she gave me this awesome stool. I thought it would be perfect for my sister in law. She just moved into her first apartment and her room needed some color. 

In this tutorial I will be giving tips on refinishing furniture. My husband has been working in carpentry for  years. It's nice having a professional hanging around the house when doing this stuff :) 

I used two colors of paint. It adds more definition when you go to do a rub thru. I used spray paint for the first color and chalk paint for the top color. I will include a reciepe for chalk paint.

Step One

Scuff your project.

Tips

Scuffing is vital. It opens up the wood to receive the paint. Without scuffing your paint will peel off! Scuffing can only be done 24 hours before painting, otherwise the wood will close. 

For scuffing you can use steel wool, a scotch brite pad, or sandpaper.. I prefer sandpaper. Use a grit of 180. 

Step Two

Wipe off any debris that accumulated while scuffing.

Step Three

Apply first color of paint.

 

Tips

I used spray paint for this.  If you spray paint, start spraying off to the side of your project then spray in a linear motion (do not do circles)  across your project. Every time you cross your project stop spraying. Repeat this process till project is covered.

 This is my favorite spray paint:

Step Four

Let paint dry for hours.

Step Five

Buff your paint till smooth.

Tips

Use a scotch pad or 220 grit sandpaper. The sandpaper works better if attached to the sander and if your project is mostly flat surfaces. The stool had more rounded edges, so I used a scotch brite pad.

Step  Six

Wipe off any debris from buffing.

Step Seven

Apply second color.

Tips

You can use spray paint, chalk paint, or lacquer based paint.  Do not use latex paint unless you make it into chalk paint.  I used chalk paint.  The reciepe is below. I applied it using a bristle brush.

Plaster of Paris Recipe

3 parts Paint

1 part Plaster of Paris

Water to mix

Step Eight

Buff second color.

Step Nine

Antique your project.

Tips

This can be accomplished with sanding and using an antiquing glaze. I like Valspar Antiquing Glaze. If you over do the glaze (been there done that) you can use a spong brush and lightly brush your second color to cover up your mistakes.

Step Ten

Spray on top coat to protect your paint. I used :

Step Eleven 

Measure and cut your fabric.

Step Twelve

Fold and staple fabric to cushion.

Yeah you're done !!

Ranch Popcorn

4 Quarts Popped Popcorn

4-6 tbs. melted butter

1-1   ½ tbs of Ranch Dressing Mix

1/4c Parmesan Cheese

Pour melted butter over popcorn then mix, add seasoning and cheese and toss again.

Strawberry and Banana Kabobs

Kabobs

Strawberries(2 Large per Kabob)

Bananas (1/3 per Kabob)

Cut Strawberries and Bananas in slices.  Slide fruit on a skewer alternating strawberry and then banana.  It looks better if you keep the slices of the same strawberry together.

Dip.

¼ c Strawberry Flavored cream cheese

1-6oz strawberry greek yogurt

¼ c Low fat or fat free sour cream

Mix all ingredients together.

Carrot Door Hanger

Supplies

Carrot (purchased at The Wood Connection)

Orange Paint

Green Paint

Brown Paint

Sandpaper (just in case)

Painter's Tape

Embellishments of your choice

Step 1

Tape off the carrot from the stem.

Step2

Paint carrot orange. I used three different colors and used the "dry brush technique" to create more "definition." Let it dry thoroughly. 

The colors I used are pictured below.

Step 3 

Tape the stem off from the carrot

Step 4

Paint the stem green. Use different colors to create "definition."

Step 5 (optional)

 "Highlight" the stem by using  a lighter green. Do this all around the edges of the stem. 

Step 6

Contour the carrot by using brown paint. This is very important. It just adds a ton to the finished product.

Step 7

After everything has dried add your embellishments. You can do whatever makes you happy. I used white tulle, green  polka dot ribbon, and rusty wire (you can find it at any craft store.) You could also modge podge glitter around the border of the carrot. I was going to do this, but i liked it with out it.

Step 8

Display your cuteness.

Easter Inspirations

I am going to be doing post that are simply to give you ideas. Basically no tutorial will be given just some pictures and suggestions on what I liked and didn't like about it, so you can learn from my mistakes. It will be mostly banners and things that already have a million tutorials.

Burlap Banner

What I liked:

I loved the shape of the burlap. 

The colors.

The ribbon. 

What I would do different:

Made the burlap an inch taller. 

I would've made the ribbon one long strip that connected all the flags together, instead of using string. 

Easter Buckets

I was really happy with these. The only thing I would do different is the ribbon. An easy fix, but I was too lazy to run to the store. The buckets can be purchased at Hobby Lobby in their summer party section.

Front Door Vinyl

 I do vinyl on my front door for all the holidays, so you will see a ton of these. 

 I think it would have been fun to do all the letters in different colors. 

I hope these pictures will give you some ideas for your Easter Holiday.

Easter Block Letters

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. It kicks off the spring, and spring is nature's way of celebrating. Plus winter in Utah is depressing, so spring is freaking marvelous!  Any who... I am pumped for Easter. My husband left for the weekend to train with the military, so i crafted myself into a coma.  I made these Easter blocks and if you want to see how i did it stay tuned...

Supplies

Six Wooden Blocks (Mine our 4"x 6")

Coordinating paints of your choice

White Paint

Vinyl letters or stickers (I did mine on my Cricut)

Paint Brush

Step 1

Paint the front side of your block with all the different colors of paint. Let it dry.

Step 2

Apply your letters.

Step 3

Paint all sides of the block white. This will take quite a few layers of paint. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly. I waited two hours.

Step 4 

Remove vinyl letters slowly. Then you are done.

Neopolitan Cupcake

Vanilla Cupcake

3 eggs

1 ¾ cup Sugar

½ Cup oil

¾ cup Buttermilk

1 cup Sour cream

2 tsp. Vanilla

½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Powder*

2 ¼ cup All-purpose flour

Mix eggs and sugar until lemony color. Add the oil, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla and then mix.  Add the flour, salt and baking powder.  Mix until smooth.  Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.  Bake 350 15-18 min.  After cupcakes have cooled take off wrappers.   Makes 24
*If you live at a low altitude you will need to put in 1 ½ -2 tsp. of baking powder.

Chocolate Shell

1 cup Chocolate wafers (the melting discs)

1 Tsb. Coconut oil

(You may need to make 1 ½ batches of this to cover all the cupcakes)

Place ingredients in a shallow microwave safe boil. Cook for 30 seconds, and then stir.  Cook for another 30 seconds.

Dip the bottom of the cupcakes almost to the rim, then place upside down on a cookie sheet and place in the fridge until chocolate hardens.  After chocolate hardens you can place cupcakes in a new cupcake liner.  Then Frost

Frosting
3/4 c. Butter

2 Pounds Powder Sugar (8 cups)

1 tsp.  Vanilla

1 cup Freezer dried Strawberries blended into a powder (it should be about ¼ when all blended)

1/3 c. Milk (you may need a little more)

Allow butter to stand at room temperature for about 30 min.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Add powder sugar, vanilla extract, strawberries.  Beat in milk until frosting becomes spreading consistency.  I like to pipe the frosting on with 2D star tip.
posted by Charissa

Luck of the Irish Rolls

My Mom always celebrated the holidays with holiday themed food. In celebration, of St. Patty's Day I did crock pot beef stew and festive dinner rolls. A very simple way to make the day a little more special.

Luck of the Irish Rolls

1 Cup Warm Water

1 Tbl. Yeast

2 Tbl. Sugar

2 Tbl. Oil 

2 Tbl. Gluten (optional)

1 tsp. Salt

1 Egg

2 1/4 Cup Flour

Green Food Coloring

Mix the first 5 ingredients. Let rest 5 minutes. Then add salt, egg, and slowly add the flour till dough is no longer sticky. (Most likely you will need more than 2 1/4 cups) Add green food coloring during this time. Add whatever amount you need to reach the desired color. Knead for 5 minutes. Let raise for 20 minutes. 

Cut pieces off to form balls of dough. I just eyeballed  it.

 Then place three balls in  each spot  of a greased muffin tin. 

Let raise. Bake at 400 for 10-18 minutes.

Carseat Canopy

I am expecting my first baby in June. A little girl. This is the car seat canopy that I made for her. It is a combination of two tutorials. One had an awesome template for the handles, but I did not care for the canopy template, so I used the measurements for another canopy.  My tutorial is down below.

Supplies

1 1/3 yards of exterior fabric

1 1/3 yards of interior fabric

6-8 inches of Velcro

Pencil

Buttons, Ribbons, any sort of embellishment (optional)

Handle template (go to fleecefun.com click on the canopy tutorial . Download the the template. The download is 15 pages, but you only need page 12 and 15. You can specify that in printing options. A cool trick I learned from super hot/nerdy husband.)

Step 1

Cut the the interior and exterior fabric 32" x 42".( I did mine 36" x 42" and wish I hadn't done it so wide.)

Step 2 (optional)

Round the edges. I traced a plate  to accomplish this.

Step 3

Sew the interior and exterior fabrics together. Make sure the pretty sides are facing each other. Be sure to leave a gap, so you can reach in to turn the fabric right side out. I left about 8 inches.

Step 4

Take your handle template and cut out four handles on the interior fabric
.

Step 5

Sew the handles together; pretty sides together. Leave a gap of  2 inches, so you can turn it right side out.

Step 6

Sew the gaps on the canopy and handles closed.

Step 7

 Draw the gray box from the template on handles. I recommend using a ruler.

Step 8

Pin the Velcro to the handles.  This is very important,  be sure to put one piece on the front side and one on the back side or your handles will not work and you will be sad.

Step 9

Pin handles to the canopy. It is best to do this with the actual car seat since all car seats are different. This will help you place the handles in the best possible position.

 Step 10

Sew handles to the canopy. Follow the lines on the box you drew on the handles.  Make sure that all the fabric is flat, so you do not have any unsightly bunching. 

 Step 11

Attach buttons and embellshiments. I did mine with a needle and thread. You can glue it or if your super cool you can do it with your sewing machine. I'm not that cool.

Ta Da!! You're done!

Butterscotch and Peanut Butter Chex Mix

9 Cups Chex Cereal

¾ cup Crunchy peanut butter

3 cups butterscotch chips

2 cup Powder Sugar

Measure the cereal into a large bowl.  In a microwave safe bowl add peanut butter and butterscotch chips.  Cook in Microwave for 1 minute, and then stir.   Cook for another 30 seconds, and then stir.  Continue cooking and stirring in 30 second intervals until the chips and peanut butter are melted.  I only had to cook for a total of 2 minutes.   Pour over chex cereal and mix until coated really well.  Add powder sugar and mix until the cereal is well covered.  Then let cool.

Heart Sign

This is a fun sign that can be super cute for Valentine's Day. The technique could be applied to a variety projects. It would also be fun to make one for the different holidays. For example, instead of a heart you could do a shamrock, a bunny, a pumpkin or a watermelon for August/September. Just to suggest a few ideas. The only thing you would need to do is change the stencil. The following steps will be for the heart.

Supplies:

Heart Stencil

White, Red, and Black Paint 

A Dry Stiff Bristle Brush ( I like the wooden handle ones you get at Home Depot for $2)

Sponge Paint Brush

Wooden Sign (mine is 11x11 purchased at the Wood Connection)

Valspar Antiquing Glaze (There is a picture below. It can be purchased at Lowe's For $10. You could use black paint instead if you don't antique stuff enough to make it worth the investment.You will achieve better results with the glaze.)

Step 1:

Paint the board white and let it dry.

Step2:

Follow in the instructions on the antiquing glaze. Focusing on the grooves. If you are using black paint use the the dry bristle brush to apply it. Do not put a lot of paint on the brush. You can  use a damp cloth to create the "smudging" effect. Let that dry completely.

Step 3:

Tape stencil down and paint the heart red.

Step 4: (optional)

Use the antiquing glaze or black paint to create a more rustic looking heart using the same technique you did on the white part of the board. Let it dry. Then you are done!

Dry Erase Menu Board

This is a menu board I made to help me plan my weekly meals. It was created to look like a chalkboard menu, but is designed to be used with dry erase markers instead. I can not stand the texture of chalk. It makes me gag, thus the markers. I made this out of an ugly framed picture that I found at a thrift store for $4. If you would like to know how I did this just follow the steps below.

Supplies:

• A picture frame that still has the glass. (Mine is 20x16) 
• Cardboard cut to fit in the frame ( I used the back of the picture that came with the frame.)
• Paint of your choice for the frame ( I used chalk paint. A recipe is easy to find online.)
• Black and white paint for the cardboard backing. ( I used acrylic paint.)
• Paint brushes

I cut my lettering out of vinyl on the Cricut Mini. I know a lot of people do not have a Cricut or a Slihouette Cameo, so you could use a stencil or scrapbook material to do your lettering. Whatever works best for you.
You may also notice that I do not have a day for Sunday. This is because my sister and I get together every Sunday for dinner. So I am not crazy :)

Step 1:
Take the picture apart.

Step 2:
Mix your black and white paint till you reach the desired shade for a "chalkboard." Then paint the cardboard. You will need to do a few coats till the cardboard is completely covered.

Step 3:
Paint the frame. 

Step 4:
After the cardboard has dried,  apply your lettering to the cardboard surface.

Step 5:
Clean the glass super good! I learned this the hard way :(

Step 6:
Reassemble the picture frame and backing.

Step 7:
You will need to secure the backing in. I used duct tape. Ghetto but effective. You could staple it or glue it. I do recommend the duct tape, because if you decide to change the colors in the future it is easy to take picture apart.

Step 8:
Hang your completed menu board! I hung mine on the fridge with magnets. If you go this route, you will want the huge industrial ones. You can purchase those at Home Depot. Use your favorite strong glue to attach them. I love Gorilla epoxy glue.  Do not use the craft magnets! I did this with my first menu board and it fell off the fridge and died a horrible death.

Mini Mousse Pies

I made these little mini pies for a dinner I did for a school for parent teacher conference.
They were a big hit.

8oz Chocolate Chips

14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 teasp. Vanilla

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream Whipped

12 small graham cracker crusts (Keebler makes great ones)

Canned Whip Topping

Whip heavy whipping cream until stiff.  Melt Chocolate Chips in the microwave until melted. (When melting chocolate in the microwave you only want to cook 15-30 seconds at a time).  Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, mix together.  And then fold in the whipped whipping cream. And then spoon into mini pie shells.  I topped it with Whip Topping from a can and grated a little chocolate on top and make this little design out of some melted chocolate.  Makes 12