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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Amy's Post-An Awesome, Interchangeable Wreath, ready for the 4th of July


Our dear friend Amy made an incredible wreath and we've encouraged her to do a guest blog about it! Amy's inspiration was from  here . I saw this wreath and thought it was precious.  So, I shared it with Amy and then forgot about it.  Well, she didn't forget... read on and see how she turned this into her own masterpiece. Thank you, Amy!  We're glad you're a fellow crafter!

I cut a 2" strip of burlap, from a huge piece. I'm not sure how long the strip ended up being.

I wrapped it around a straw wreath that was still wrapped in plastic. I used my glue gun to secure the bitter end to the wreath and started wrapping, slightly overlapping the edges, trying to keep the edges parallel...(that's my OCD coming out...)

I picked out these two scrapbook papers and 3 different sized stars at Hobby Lobby. I traced the stars on the back of the scrapbook paper and cut them out.

 I like using the "gloss-lustre" Mod Podge.

I used it to "glue" the scrapbook paper to the wooden stars. Then when it dried, I painted on a nice thick coat, until it almost looked white.  I found that the thickness of the Mod-Podge kind of helped save my wreath, as I had it hanging on my front door during several of our crazy thunder storms! 

Using my glue gun and Scotch Velcro tape, I created 3 clusters of stars.
Again, the OCD kicking in, I did a pattern with the stars & stripes patterns.
First, I stacked & hot glued the stars in their 3 clusters.
Once they were dry I positioned them on the wreath to space the clusters out.

Next I cut 1" strips of the Velcro tape. I glue gunned the hook&loop piece onto the back of each star cluster & then I glued it's catch piece onto the wreath. 
The great thing about using the Velcro tape is that now I can make other clusters and change out the theme for the wreath as the seasons change!

Here are some patterned paper and flowers for a future wreath!

I traced the pattern on the backside of the paper.

...and cut the shape out... you know the drill... next comes the Mod Podge and gluing the shapes in clusters.  Fun stuff!

Happy 4th of July!
Amy
 
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Birthday Decorations

It's birthday week at our house!  My husband's big day is right around the corner.  I get our birthday decorations out a week before each birthday. Here are the decorations I have, so far... I'm always on the lookout for more to add to my collection!
This is a photoboard I created. I'll stick birthday pictures, of the birthday person, on the board the week of their birthday.
Here's a tutorial for making a photoboard:

Here's the balloon wreath I created last year, thanks to HowDoesShe! I have no idea how they made their beautiful wreath with only 144 balloons. I used more than twice that.
Here's the tutorial for the birthday wreath:


This is another HowDoesShe birthday decoration. It's a countdown to the birthday board. You simply pop a balloon for each day before the birthday.  As a bonus, you add a slip of paper to each balloon, with a special treat for the day. For example: a stop at the ice cream shop.
Here's the tutorial for the birthday board:

Yet another great HowDoesShe birthday decoration. This is a fantastic way to celebrate your birthday all week!
Here's their tutorial:

Here's a door mat I made with a 99 cent IKEA door mat.
This is the simple tutorial:

Birthdays are BIG deals that should be celebrated as such.  If you have any fabulous birthday ideas, please share them with us!
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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Strawberry Slippers

Check out the new strawberry slippers I have been making.  I'm on my third pair.  I made one for someone special (it's a surprise, hopefully she will get them soon), Shannon and myself.


These slippers came from two of my favorite people! The slipper pattern is called the Oma House Slipper from one of our sponsors, Mamachee Crochet Patterns.  I got the idea of the strawberry effect from one of our followers, Amanda of Sugar Mama's Sweet Bowtique.  I am a huge fan of her shop.  Amanda is very talented and takes great patterns and goes beyond them.  Thanks for the great idea, Amanda!

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Friday, June 24, 2011

Super Summer Desserts

Raise your hand if you love desserts!  Okay, put your hand down and navigate through this post. There are 7, count them 7, delicious desserts perfect for summer.  That's just enough to have a different dessert every night for a week.  Warning: if you opt for making all of these in one week, and indulging, you'll probably need to go shopping for new clothes. Unfortunately, these aren't low fat or low calorie. But, in moderation, they are so good!  Bake and share with friends and then let us know what you think!

Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is super easy and super good!
Follow the directions on a lemon cake mix.  Prepare cupcake cups.  Pour lemon cake batter 1/2 way up in cupcake liner.  Add 6 blueberries.  Pour batter over the blueberries until cupcake liner is 2/3rds full. Bake cupcakes as directed.  Let cool completely. Frost cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle yellow decorator sugar on top.  Use mint leaves and blueberries to decorate the top. Yum!

Lime Sherbert with Blueberries
This is an easy one my mom makes. Take lime sherbert.  Add fresh blueberries. Let them sit a few minutes and the blueberries start to freeze.  It's refreshing and delicious!

Strawberry Ice Cream with Fresh Basil

The girls from HowDoesShe shared this wonderful goodness. This is one of our family favorites. We even use strawberry frozen yogurt for a lower fat dessert. The basil freezes and has a great texture in the ice cream! http://www.howdoesshe.com/strawberries-meet-basil

Baked Alaska

Oh, I love Baked Alaska. 

First, make a pan of brownies. My favorite is Betty Crocker's Hershey's Triple Chunk. Let the brownies cool.  Beat 8 eggs whites, 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar, and 1 cup of sugar until stiff.  Put ice cream, that has been frozen solid, on top of the brownies. Cover the ice cream and brownies with the egg whites.  Set your oven's broiler on low (or your oven temperature to 500 degrees).  Put the Baked Alaska in the oven until the egg whites turn a light brown.

Pink Lemonade Cake
Yum, yum, yum!

1 yellow cake mix - 2 layer size
1 qt vanilla ice cream
6 drops red food coloring
1 6 oz can frozen pink lemonade - thaw
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar
Pepare cake, in 2 layers, bake and cool.  Stir ice cream to soften; stir in food coloring and 1/2 c lemonade.  Spread in foil lined cake pan and freeze til firm.  Whip cream with sugar and remaining lemonade until stiff.  Put cake together with ice cream as center layer.  Frost with whipped cream. Return to freezer at least an hour. Enjoy!

Jello Cake

This is a great, lighter cake.

1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 cup  boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1/2 cup  cold water
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed


PREPARE cake batter and bake as directed on package for 13x9-inch pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.
ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; pour over cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.
FROST cake with COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 1 hour.

*Options: you can use an angel food cake for a lighter option.  You can substitute any flavor Jello for strawberry. You can also use sugar free! Finally, I prefer homemade whipped cream. Cool whip works fine as well.


Coca Cola Cake
This cake is so good, but so rich!

2 cups self-rising flour

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup Coca-Cola

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon cocoa
6 tablespoons Coca-Cola
1 box confectioner's sugar, (1pound)
1/2 cup chopped pecans


Preparation: 


Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan and set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour and sugar. In a saucepan combine the cocoa, Coca-Cola, butter, and marshmallows; bring to a boil. Combine the boiled mixture with the flour and sugar mixture.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, and vanilla; add to the first mixture. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, until cake tests done.


Frosting:




In a saucepan, bring butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola to a boil. Stir in the sugar and mix well. Stir in nuts. Spread over the cake while both cake and frosting are still warm.
Serves about 16. Serve with a dollop of homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.




My favorites, in order from "yummiest" to "yum": Coca Cola Cake, Baked Alaska, Lemonade Cake, Strawberry Basil Ice Cream, Lime Sherbert with Blueberries, Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes, and Jello Cake.





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Thursday, June 23, 2011

A 2x4, Fourth of July, Decoration

Here's a GREAT idea for a Fourth of July decoration, courtesy of the girls from HowDoesShe.  I made about ten of these last year!

Isn't this adorable?

Here's the tutorial: HowDoesShe 2x4 flag
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

This Year's Father's Day Gifts

My crafting buddy, Lesli and I, searched for months for Father's Day presents.  Unfortunately, we didn't start making them until a week before so we were in quite the time crunch.  But, we worked hard and came up with some wonderful, very inexpensive gifts!

Freezer Paper Stencilled TShirts-

Both of our husbands are iphone addicts so Lesli designed this shirt. Using her Cricut and the freezer paper stenciling method, we made these in just a few minutes! We got these green tshirts on sale for 97 cents so this gift was under $1 woot woot!

This one took a little longer since we cut it with an exacto knife but it still didn't take long and was just a few dollars.  Have you seen our freezer paper stencilling before? If you want directions refer to this post: http://www.oursevendwarfs.com/2011/06/camp-shirts-and-totes.html

Hand Tree-
Inspirational Piece: http://www.coolmompicks.com/2011/06/fathers_day_gifts_made_from_childrens_artwork.php

The inspirational tree was printed on paper. I used an 11x14 canvas, painted it white, and let it dry.  Then, using a pencil, I sketched a tree on the canvas.  I painted the tree brown. I let my kids pick the green paint they wanted, painted their hands with a foam brush, and had them fill the tree. I've never seen handprints used this way before! I cut vinyl on my Silhouette for the line and words and applied that. This project was less than $4 and one of my favorites, by far!

Subway Art-

I made this one for my husband, John.
I made this one for my Daddy.
I used the same method to create these subway arts as I did my Uncle Jim's Memorial Board. Here is the tutorial for that: http://www.oursevendwarfs.com/2011/05/memorial-sign.html

2x4 Photo Holder-
Inspirational Piece: http://www.howdoesshe.com/2x4-to-we-love-daddy

This is the one I made for my husband. 
Instead of bull clips, I used mini clothespins I stained to match the boards.
I made this one for my Daddy.

Etched Mug:

I bought this mug at the Dollar Tree for $1!  Using Jill's etching cream and tutorial:
I made this! 
This is the back... tools for my handy hubby!

Idad Card:

Lesli found this cute iDad card (get it iPad) online and made these for our handsome hubbies. We wrote special little notes under each app button. 

Care Package:
Because Father's Day only comes once a year, and I only spent about $10 on the gifts I bought for John, I added a great care package with all of his favorite things. Last year, I printed great labels for his care package.  This year I ran out of time; but, I'm ready for next year.  Here are some great sites for Father's Day printables!
http://www.livinglocurto.com/2011/06/fathers-day-printables/
http://blog.catchmyparty.com/2011/06/12/free-fathers-day-printable-roundup/
http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2011/06/fathers-day-photo-collage-free.html
http://athome.kimvallee.com/2011/06/5-foodie-fathers-day-printables/
http://www.u-createcrafts.com/2011/06/fathers-day-cards-free-printables.html

I hope I got your head spinning with gift ideas for next year!  We had a great time creating!
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