Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Up-cycling

This is my effort to up-cycle. I made these purses for my girls from Caprisuns we saved on a previous lake trip. I was a little concerned about sewing them on my sewing machine, but they sewed up just fine.


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cute little DI find

I found this cute little rocking chair at the DI (second hand store) for $5. I should have
taken a before shot. It was a dark brown color. I'm really loving torquoise these days and I love
it on this chair.  And I must say that after awhile of not painting or crafting anything (this pregnancy has really rocked my world! :)) it felt so good to do something again and get those juices flowing. I am feeling a bit better, so hopefully I can get going on some of the projects I have on my list.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Guiltless Key Lime Pie

This is an easy, yummy and guilt-free dessert:

1 pre-made low-fat graham cracker crust
3 light yoplait key lime pie yogurts
 3 oz. sugar free lime jello
8 oz. cool whip

Mix jello with 1/4 cup boiling water. Stir until completely dissolved. Add yogurt one at a time and mix well after each one. Fold in cool whip. Pour into pie crust and let set up in the fridge.
It's also really good using lemon yogurt and lemon jello.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Desk Redo

Quite a few years ago my Uncle gave me this old sewing table. It's been sitting at my parents house because I havn't had room for it, but now that we have a house I had the perfect spot for it.
Just off of the kitchen.
I removed the old sewing machine. It didn't work and was sooo heavy.
Then I gave her some love. I sanded, primed and then painted.
I love the old handles and left them just as the were.

Before:

After:


Monday, April 5, 2010

Did you know...

that today is Cafe Rio day?
Check it out here
I have great love for the Rio.
It carried me through two pregnancies. Oh so good.
Go out and get some good eats at Cafe Rio. I think I will. :)

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to you and yours! Hope it's a wonderful day!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Paper Fan Border

I love scrapbook paper, but I'm not a scrapbooker. I love looking at all the cute patterns and color combinations. One day while I was looking at the paper at the craft store, I got the idea to make a border around the girls' bedroom out of paper fans. I waited until the paper went on sale and then stocked up and started making the fans. I took a little bit of time but pretty soon I had enough to go around the entire room. I hung them to the ceiling using fishing line and push pins. It really adds a lot to their girly-girl room.
(Sorry,the pictures aren't the greatest)


http://thepersimmonperch.blogspot.com/
DIY Day @ ASPTL

Monday, March 22, 2010

Yummy Chocolatey Bird Nests

These are fun to make with your kids and are really tasty too!

Ingredients:
 12 oz. chocolate chips
1/3 cup Peanut butter
3 cups chow mein noodles
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir to make sure all is melted. Stir in peanut butter. Microwave 1 minute more.
Then stir in the noodles and cereal like so...


And taste it to make sure it's alright :)


Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper, form into nest shapes. Put eggs of your liking in the nests, we used Peanut M &Ms (they are our fave around here)
Let cool in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Downeast Outfitters inspired Flower Belts

Have you seen these at Downeast Outfitters?

I saw these about a month or so ago when the catalog arrived at my house. They also have them in creme which is the one I really wanted to buy
  but didn't want to spend the money on it. Then I got thinking how I could mimic it and make one for myself.  This is what I came up with...


A friend showed me how to make flowers out of fabric awhile back, singe-ing the edges with a candle and then layering with a hot glue gun. I basically did this except for instead of using a hot glue gun I actually used a needle and thread and sewed it in the back of the flower until it resembled the shape I wanted (sorry I should have snapped a pic of this part!) Then I glued the flowers on the ribbon and used buttons I bought at Wal-Mart for the middle. I cut the ribbon long enough so that I can tie a bow in the back. I also singed  the ends of the ribbon so they won't fray.

I also made some in black for the little ladies of the house for their Easter outfits I'm working on.

I measured their waists' and used stick on velcro for theirs.
When I was trying to figure out the cost, I estimated about $1.50 per belt. Not bad at all!
I used fabric from the $1 bin at Wal-Mart. 
I got a 1/4 of a yard of black and the creme color and still have some left.

Linking up here:

 




Photobucket



Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My silhouette Wall

I love silhouettes. I love their simple, yet classic look. 
And I love how you can capture certain features like the mullet our three year old has,
the way she sucks her thumb
and the profiles of our girls' cute little noses.
It was a bit of a challenge getting them to hold still for the larger ones.
For the smaller ones I used photos that I had taken, cut them out and then traced them
onto black paper and then cut them out and glued them on white backgrounds.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Under the rug and dreaming...

My three year old put her barbies down for their nap under the rug. Now if only I could get her to do the same. Take a nap that is.
Check it out
The Girl Creative

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Moss Wreath Plaque

This was fun and inexpensive to make. I had the wood on hand already so I just cut and glued the pieces together to make a plaque. Spray painted with white, distressed and wiped down with some stain. For the wreath I used a styrifoam wreath from the craft store, fresh green moss also from the craft store (Roberts) and then began glueing with my handy dandy glue gun until it was completely covered. I tied it with some ribbon and tacked it to the back side and there you have it!
Cost breakdown:
wreath-$3.00
    moss-$3.00
That's it! $6.00. not too bad! I already had the other supplies on hand.

Linking up here at these great sites:
The Girl Creative

DIY Day @ ASPTL
Extreme Personal Measures

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This is my Mom's spaghetti recipe. It's very simple to make and oh so good!

1/2 to 1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook ground beef and onion together. Drain and rinse. Put it back into the pan and add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 10 min.
It is also good with chicken in it, green peppers and mushrooms.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Bargain Barstools makeover

I found these barstools at the D.I. (second hand store) for $5.00 a piece. They were in good shape, just in need of some love. I took me awhile to decide what to do with them. I sanded them down and began painting.
I gave them a couple of coats of paint and then sanded around the edges on the seat of the stool. Then I rubbed on some dark walnut stain, because I am to cheap to invest in some glaze. I also put on some polyurethane, because I am positive they are going to be spilled on a lot!

And here they are in their new home at the bar. Since I had the paint already the total cost was $15.00. Not too shabby!
I'm linking up at these sites this week:

giveaways






Get your craft on Thurs.
The Girl Creative
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/?

The Shabby Chic Cottage

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Spring on my front Door

I'm so ready for spring. It was a semi-spring day today. Just windy as can be. It's all good though. It'll be here to stay one of these days.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Oatmeal Cream Pies

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves (optional)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups oats
Beat margarine or butter. Add sugars, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Mix well. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Beat in flour. Stir in oats. Roll into balls and put on cookie sheet. Press down with a cup or glass to flatten. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 min. Cool and then frost.

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups powdered sugar

Monday, March 1, 2010

Molding Clay

A few simple ingredients = hours of fun!



Here's the recipe:
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups salt
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 cups boiling water
4 tsp. vegetable oil
Food Coloring
Combine dry ingredients. Add oil and boiling water. Mix well. Add food coloring. Store in air tight container.
Spring please hurry, my indoor creativeness is running out!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Empty frames turned into Wall Art

This was a fun and inexpensive project. I gathered frames from a second hand store, painted them,  sanded them and then finished them off with some dark walnut stain.  I put some scrapbook paper in the one in the center and there you have it! 

I'm linking up here at these sites:
giveaways



Life as Lori



Monday, February 22, 2010