So I made a status update on my Facebook page a few weeks back where I promised myself (and all of my friends) that I would use this summer to actually utilize some of the recipes, projects, etc that I have been pinning onto my Pinterest boards.
My Boards
I have done a few things already and have taken pictures of the process but never posted them anywhere or really talked about them. Then I remembered duh. I have a blog I can use.
Over the course of the next two months I am going to blog about my Pinterest project and have pictures as well :)
OF COURSE I cannot take on such a project without making a project out of it! So what I am going to do it choose a couple dozen (maybe more) of my pins, print them out, organize them, and what have you into a binder. When I have completed a project, I will blog about it complete with pictures.
Stay tuned!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Photo Album
I did not make this photo album...my mom did :) It holds 100 4x6 photos and is completely customizable!
She made this for me to give as a gift to a family Packer fan. She has done so many different styles\themes from weddings, graduations, babies, holidays\seasons, everyday, etc. She has also done different size albums as well. Each one is truly OOAK because she refuses to make the same one twice, unless specifically asked.
I'm trying to get her product out there because she is doing an arts and crafts show in September and would LOVE to open her own Etsy shop. In fact, keep an eye on my Etsy shop because I will be listing some of her albums for a trial run in the near future!
She made this for me to give as a gift to a family Packer fan. She has done so many different styles\themes from weddings, graduations, babies, holidays\seasons, everyday, etc. She has also done different size albums as well. Each one is truly OOAK because she refuses to make the same one twice, unless specifically asked.
I'm trying to get her product out there because she is doing an arts and crafts show in September and would LOVE to open her own Etsy shop. In fact, keep an eye on my Etsy shop because I will be listing some of her albums for a trial run in the near future!
Thank You Card
With an upcoming baby shower, I wanted to make my own thank you notes. I recently bought some block 'thank you' stamps and used the cards and paper I had on hand. For some reason, I did not want to go with a baby theme, or even the theme of the shower (rubber duckies). Spring is on the way and I thought some nice bright colors would be fun to look at.
I cut the scallop shape from my cricut (accent essentials)on white cardstock and stamped the sentiment in black. Before I attached the scallop to the card, I thought it looked a little blah, so I colored the scallop with some of the colors that are in the card itself. With this one, I used three colors, but I'm thinking for the rest of them, I will just use one color. If I had matching inks or markers, I most likely would have done the stamp in a coordinating color.
I attached the scallop with puffy adhesive dots so it stands out a bit from the card. And because I've been having issues with glues lately, even the tiniest bit causes my paper\cardstock to curl. I have glue that is specifically stated for scrapbooking and papercrafting, too. Anywho. The scallop doesn't stand too far out from the card itself and now that I'm thinking of it, I should probably take a side picture to show the dimension....
The inside has another stamped phrase. Sometimes a completely blank inside can be daunting!
And of course, the back is stamped with my Little Princess 'brand' :)
Here is the one card that is 100% completed. I'll post again when I have them all done, since there are a few different pattern\color styles to the cards :)
I cut the scallop shape from my cricut (accent essentials)on white cardstock and stamped the sentiment in black. Before I attached the scallop to the card, I thought it looked a little blah, so I colored the scallop with some of the colors that are in the card itself. With this one, I used three colors, but I'm thinking for the rest of them, I will just use one color. If I had matching inks or markers, I most likely would have done the stamp in a coordinating color.
I attached the scallop with puffy adhesive dots so it stands out a bit from the card. And because I've been having issues with glues lately, even the tiniest bit causes my paper\cardstock to curl. I have glue that is specifically stated for scrapbooking and papercrafting, too. Anywho. The scallop doesn't stand too far out from the card itself and now that I'm thinking of it, I should probably take a side picture to show the dimension....
The inside has another stamped phrase. Sometimes a completely blank inside can be daunting!
And of course, the back is stamped with my Little Princess 'brand' :)
Here is the one card that is 100% completed. I'll post again when I have them all done, since there are a few different pattern\color styles to the cards :)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Franken-Mallows
I wanted to try something different than just the same ol pretzels that I had been doing for Lea's class. I thought about a couple different treats that would utilize what I had on hand as well.
I had marshmallows, lollipop sticks, and candy melts. For grins, I thought about putting the marshmallows on the sticks and dipping them. I made a couple and my kids loved them so that was it. Since it was Halloween, I tried to figure out how to make them holiday-appropriate. They were the perfect shape for Frankenstein heads!
Stuck the marshmallow on the stick. Dipped in melted green candy melts and stuck them in a box to dry. As they dried, I melted chocolate melts for the hair\top of the heads. I dipped just a bit of the top in the chocolate and stuck them back in the box to dry. I had some cake decorating gel pens that I drew the faces and neck screws on with.
I initially wanted to stick them in individual bags and tie off with Halloween ribbon so the kids could just take them home. But the decorating gel doesn't really dry and the bags would have ruined the look. I kept them in the box, covered with foil and just handed them out. They were a BIG hit :)
I had marshmallows, lollipop sticks, and candy melts. For grins, I thought about putting the marshmallows on the sticks and dipping them. I made a couple and my kids loved them so that was it. Since it was Halloween, I tried to figure out how to make them holiday-appropriate. They were the perfect shape for Frankenstein heads!
Stuck the marshmallow on the stick. Dipped in melted green candy melts and stuck them in a box to dry. As they dried, I melted chocolate melts for the hair\top of the heads. I dipped just a bit of the top in the chocolate and stuck them back in the box to dry. I had some cake decorating gel pens that I drew the faces and neck screws on with.
I initially wanted to stick them in individual bags and tie off with Halloween ribbon so the kids could just take them home. But the decorating gel doesn't really dry and the bags would have ruined the look. I kept them in the box, covered with foil and just handed them out. They were a BIG hit :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Birth Announcements
I know I just posted, but I wanted to get this on here before I forgot!
I don't like to have to rely on some ginormous company to relay important information to family, like a birth announcement. So for my first 2 kids, I made my own. LOVED Lea's, I'll have to find it and post it. Topher's was along the same lines as Lea's but more hastily thrown together, and I think it showed. With unknown -gender Number 3 due at the end of March, I figured I should get started on them now so all I have to do is fill out the important info, add a picture, and off they go!
Lea was 3 months old before her birth announcements went out.
But..uhh..that's neither here nor there... *cough*
I thought of using paper to create a pocket to add in the stats and a picture because some people will want to keep the picture but not the rest of the info. I found some cute printed paper that I feel is gender neutral but at the same time, not nursery\baby-ish. And a nice solid to go with it.
Also in my mess of stamps, I had not one baby themed stamp! So I got to buy some! This was also my first venture into the acrylic cling stamps. LOVE THEM! And such a space saver! No more blind stamping or bulky wooden blocks..yay! And in some cases, an entire sheet of stamps costs less than one wooden block stamp! The sheet that I got has 20 individual stamps on it. (http://www.joann.com/fiskar-clear-stamps-special-delivery/zprd_02315471a/)
The clear blocks you put the stamp on are a little pricier (always depends on the brand too), but those tend to be one-time purchases. I got a 2 pack that has a small block and a medium one.
Anyway....this is what I came up with. The end product measurement is 6in x 6in. The stat card (which is clearly my sample piece, can you tell I need new ink?) is 3.75in by 5in, and I will most likely color in the buggy with colored pencils. The pocket is also big enough to hold a 3.5in by 5in picture.
I LOVE how it turned out. And it can be easily changed to pink, blue, characters or whatever your theme is!
I don't like to have to rely on some ginormous company to relay important information to family, like a birth announcement. So for my first 2 kids, I made my own. LOVED Lea's, I'll have to find it and post it. Topher's was along the same lines as Lea's but more hastily thrown together, and I think it showed. With unknown -gender Number 3 due at the end of March, I figured I should get started on them now so all I have to do is fill out the important info, add a picture, and off they go!
Lea was 3 months old before her birth announcements went out.
But..uhh..that's neither here nor there... *cough*
I thought of using paper to create a pocket to add in the stats and a picture because some people will want to keep the picture but not the rest of the info. I found some cute printed paper that I feel is gender neutral but at the same time, not nursery\baby-ish. And a nice solid to go with it.
Also in my mess of stamps, I had not one baby themed stamp! So I got to buy some! This was also my first venture into the acrylic cling stamps. LOVE THEM! And such a space saver! No more blind stamping or bulky wooden blocks..yay! And in some cases, an entire sheet of stamps costs less than one wooden block stamp! The sheet that I got has 20 individual stamps on it. (http://www.joann.com/fiskar-clear-stamps-special-delivery/zprd_02315471a/)
The clear blocks you put the stamp on are a little pricier (always depends on the brand too), but those tend to be one-time purchases. I got a 2 pack that has a small block and a medium one.
Anyway....this is what I came up with. The end product measurement is 6in x 6in. The stat card (which is clearly my sample piece, can you tell I need new ink?) is 3.75in by 5in, and I will most likely color in the buggy with colored pencils. The pocket is also big enough to hold a 3.5in by 5in picture.
I LOVE how it turned out. And it can be easily changed to pink, blue, characters or whatever your theme is!
Pretzels!
Growing up, I always only ever had chocolate covered pretzels when I would join my mom at craft shows. As a kids those were super boring, so I rarely had pretzels :)
When I tried, and failed, at candy making, I still had molds and melts leftover that were too good (and expensive) to throw away. We had some pretzel rods and thought why not? Plus it was in time for one of Lea's class parties, so who better to be guinea pigs than a room full of kindergartners? The first party I got to do them for was Christmas\Holiday, but I didn't get a picture. The first party I got a picture for was Valentine's. The kids loved them, the teachers loved them and I got a request for them for the next party :)
The next time I made them I did some for St. Patrick's Day. No party, just a treat.
I definitely need to work on my drizzling skills..LOL. I like using fun sprinkles to make them cute to look at as well as taste yummy. Thinking of maybe playing with different types of 'crunches'; cookies n cream, caramel, chocolate, etc, to try 'gourmet' type flavors.
For their Easter\Spring party, I was short on cash so wasn't able to get cute sprinkles or sugars. Instead I bought the color burst melts which are white (vanilla) melts with colored sugars (I think sugars) mixed in. That way, there was color involved at less cost (and work) for me.
Cell phone picture, so the colors may not appear nicely.
When Chris transferred to a different plant at his job, he wanted to bring in a treat for his then current co-workers. I had two bags of melts and a tub of pretzel rods, perfect. Even better, the melts were green and yellow. Living in a Chicago suburb, we catch a lot of flack for being Packer fans. Luckily Chris' co-workers liked to playfully tease him about it, so I made Packer pretzels for his last day. :)
Drizzling has gotten better, but I need to figure out how I can do several at a time, in a small space, without them getting stuck together!
When I tried, and failed, at candy making, I still had molds and melts leftover that were too good (and expensive) to throw away. We had some pretzel rods and thought why not? Plus it was in time for one of Lea's class parties, so who better to be guinea pigs than a room full of kindergartners? The first party I got to do them for was Christmas\Holiday, but I didn't get a picture. The first party I got a picture for was Valentine's. The kids loved them, the teachers loved them and I got a request for them for the next party :)
The next time I made them I did some for St. Patrick's Day. No party, just a treat.
For their Easter\Spring party, I was short on cash so wasn't able to get cute sprinkles or sugars. Instead I bought the color burst melts which are white (vanilla) melts with colored sugars (I think sugars) mixed in. That way, there was color involved at less cost (and work) for me.
When Chris transferred to a different plant at his job, he wanted to bring in a treat for his then current co-workers. I had two bags of melts and a tub of pretzel rods, perfect. Even better, the melts were green and yellow. Living in a Chicago suburb, we catch a lot of flack for being Packer fans. Luckily Chris' co-workers liked to playfully tease him about it, so I made Packer pretzels for his last day. :)
Drizzling has gotten better, but I need to figure out how I can do several at a time, in a small space, without them getting stuck together!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Cupcakes!
I love cupcakes. I mean, who doesn't? I very much prefer mini ones over regular size because then you don't feel so bad for eating more than one. And you can sample several flavors that way.
This summer, I tried two different kinds. I made rainbow\tye-dyed cupcakes for Lea's t-ball team's end of season picnic. It was super hot and I didn't want the frosting to melt, so I had a can of whipped cream in a freezer bag full of ice. That way I was able to top the cupcakes as fast as little hands were grabbing for them.
Of course, this was when I was only taking pictures of finished products, not step-by-step. BUT these were a hit so I'm very sure I will be making these again. All I did was..
Prepare a box of white cake mix.
Divide the batter into freezer bags, one bag per color desired.
Add food coloring to each bag and mix well.
Snip a small corner of the bag. This makes it SUPER easy to measure the batter into cups. If you are doing mini cupcakes, snip the smallest hole as you can so its easier to manage.
Squeeze just a small amount into the cups, when you add all the colors, you want the cup about 3 quarters full. Just as if you were making regular ol cupcakes.
Bake as normal and the end!
Another day, after grilled burgers and veggies, I thought about hamburgers in dessert form. So I prepared yellow cake mix to make mini-cupcakes and a pan of brownies. Sliced the cupcakes in half for the 'bun'. Used a small circle cutter to cut circles out of the brownies. Melted some yellow and red candy melts, tinted some vanilla frosting green and put it all together! I wasn't 100% happy with the turnout but because it was the first time and I had done it on a whim, I was glad with how they did turn out. Definitely a little more prep-work next time.
This summer, I tried two different kinds. I made rainbow\tye-dyed cupcakes for Lea's t-ball team's end of season picnic. It was super hot and I didn't want the frosting to melt, so I had a can of whipped cream in a freezer bag full of ice. That way I was able to top the cupcakes as fast as little hands were grabbing for them.
Of course, this was when I was only taking pictures of finished products, not step-by-step. BUT these were a hit so I'm very sure I will be making these again. All I did was..
Prepare a box of white cake mix.
Divide the batter into freezer bags, one bag per color desired.
Add food coloring to each bag and mix well.
Snip a small corner of the bag. This makes it SUPER easy to measure the batter into cups. If you are doing mini cupcakes, snip the smallest hole as you can so its easier to manage.
Squeeze just a small amount into the cups, when you add all the colors, you want the cup about 3 quarters full. Just as if you were making regular ol cupcakes.
Bake as normal and the end!
Another day, after grilled burgers and veggies, I thought about hamburgers in dessert form. So I prepared yellow cake mix to make mini-cupcakes and a pan of brownies. Sliced the cupcakes in half for the 'bun'. Used a small circle cutter to cut circles out of the brownies. Melted some yellow and red candy melts, tinted some vanilla frosting green and put it all together! I wasn't 100% happy with the turnout but because it was the first time and I had done it on a whim, I was glad with how they did turn out. Definitely a little more prep-work next time.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
So much ground beef ....part 2
I had seen a recipe for a mexican lasagna and thought 'that's something Chris would eat'. I found a few different recipes and they all had roughly the same ingredients and steps, so I made out my list knowing that we were heading to the grocery store that week.
I opened up a small can of enchilada sauce (mild, boo) and poured just enough to coat the bottom of my glass cake pan so the tortillas wouldn't stick. I added the rest of the sauce to an envelope of taco seasoning (again, mild..gah!)and the ground beef that I fried up.
I tore tortillas in half so I could have a flat edge against the side of the pan. Oh, I was using flour tortillas, 6 inches? The smaller ones you would typically get for fajitas.
Then it was layering. Tortillas, seasoned beef, refried beans (I did beans on half, not sure if Chris liked them or not), sharp cheddar. I was able to do each layer twice for the size of my pan.
Topped it with a heap of cheese and tossed that bad boy into the oven. 350 for approx 20-30 minutes. the cheese was melted and the beans and beef were bubbling around the edges.
Chris took some to work that night. Since I was already full thanks to a stuffed pepper and a couple hours worth of taste-testing, I was waiting to hear his critique. When he got home this morning he said he really liked it and would like me to make it again sometime. YES! I rarely get that when I try new\different recipes. I hate living with 3 picky eaters!!
I just finished a portion of it for my lunch. My only complaint is that it's not spicy\hot enough. If I could have, I would have used spicy\hot enchilada sauce and taco seasoning. Maybe even a layer of jalapeno peppers. If I had a jar, I would have put a spoonful of salsa on top of my portion.
All in all, a success! Yay! :dances:
I opened up a small can of enchilada sauce (mild, boo) and poured just enough to coat the bottom of my glass cake pan so the tortillas wouldn't stick. I added the rest of the sauce to an envelope of taco seasoning (again, mild..gah!)and the ground beef that I fried up.
I tore tortillas in half so I could have a flat edge against the side of the pan. Oh, I was using flour tortillas, 6 inches? The smaller ones you would typically get for fajitas.
Then it was layering. Tortillas, seasoned beef, refried beans (I did beans on half, not sure if Chris liked them or not), sharp cheddar. I was able to do each layer twice for the size of my pan.
Topped it with a heap of cheese and tossed that bad boy into the oven. 350 for approx 20-30 minutes. the cheese was melted and the beans and beef were bubbling around the edges.
Chris took some to work that night. Since I was already full thanks to a stuffed pepper and a couple hours worth of taste-testing, I was waiting to hear his critique. When he got home this morning he said he really liked it and would like me to make it again sometime. YES! I rarely get that when I try new\different recipes. I hate living with 3 picky eaters!!
I just finished a portion of it for my lunch. My only complaint is that it's not spicy\hot enough. If I could have, I would have used spicy\hot enchilada sauce and taco seasoning. Maybe even a layer of jalapeno peppers. If I had a jar, I would have put a spoonful of salsa on top of my portion.
All in all, a success! Yay! :dances:
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
So much ground beef ....part 1
I had a couple pounds of ground beef that I had sitting in the fridge, screaming 'cook me already!'. I kept putting it off and finally decided to do something about it. I made 3 seperate meals because I didn't want to cook some and freeze some (which I would forget about).
First thing, I had a leftover green pepper from making chicken fajitas over the weekend and I thought, 'hmm a stuffed pepper sounds appetizing.'
So from the poundage of ground beef, I took out approx a half a cup and set it aside while I cooked up the rest of the beef for 2 other recipes.
When I had a free pan, I sliced the bottom and top of the pepper off, chopped it and some onion and tossed it in the pan with the half a cup of beef.I really cooked the piss out of it, so the beef actually got a bit of a crust on it...YUM!
While that was cooking up, I made a third a cup of rice and added it to a few tablespoons of garlic and onion tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was also reserved from another recipe tonight. When the beef\pepper\onion was done, I added it to the bowl. I added a sprinkle of onion powder and garlic salt to taste.
Next step was to...well...stuff the pepper! Amazingly, everything fit! The only thing I truly measured out was the rice, but even then, the amount was a guess. Topped with some mozzarella cheese, placed it in one of my crappier cake pans, and popped it in the oven. Since the the oven was already being used, it was set at about 350. I kept the pepper in til it was soft to the touch and the cheese was melted, everything else inside it was cooked so I wasn't worried about that.
As you can see, I only made one. No one else in the house likes green peppers or rice but me. Now that I know that I can just scoop a bit of beef out from another recipe, I'm sure I'll make this more often :)
I haven't dug into it yet, its still cooling and I'm kinda full from 'taste testing' everything as I was cooking!
First thing, I had a leftover green pepper from making chicken fajitas over the weekend and I thought, 'hmm a stuffed pepper sounds appetizing.'
So from the poundage of ground beef, I took out approx a half a cup and set it aside while I cooked up the rest of the beef for 2 other recipes.
When I had a free pan, I sliced the bottom and top of the pepper off, chopped it and some onion and tossed it in the pan with the half a cup of beef.I really cooked the piss out of it, so the beef actually got a bit of a crust on it...YUM!
While that was cooking up, I made a third a cup of rice and added it to a few tablespoons of garlic and onion tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was also reserved from another recipe tonight. When the beef\pepper\onion was done, I added it to the bowl. I added a sprinkle of onion powder and garlic salt to taste.
Next step was to...well...stuff the pepper! Amazingly, everything fit! The only thing I truly measured out was the rice, but even then, the amount was a guess. Topped with some mozzarella cheese, placed it in one of my crappier cake pans, and popped it in the oven. Since the the oven was already being used, it was set at about 350. I kept the pepper in til it was soft to the touch and the cheese was melted, everything else inside it was cooked so I wasn't worried about that.
As you can see, I only made one. No one else in the house likes green peppers or rice but me. Now that I know that I can just scoop a bit of beef out from another recipe, I'm sure I'll make this more often :)
I haven't dug into it yet, its still cooling and I'm kinda full from 'taste testing' everything as I was cooking!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Love Cards
I've been forgetting to take pictures along the way, but I ALWAYS make sure to get a shot of the finished product. Here are some cards I've been working on :)
This one needs something...a small knot\bow in the middle?
I tried a heart out of buttons, but turned out horribly. Definitely wanted to do something with buttons tho. Although, not *too* crazy about this one.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Valentine Love Bugs!
Since I got my table cleaned off, I started to work on a Valentine's project. I decided on love bugs :) 
-Start with supplies!
-Cut out pieces. I used the Simply Charmed cartridge for the Cricut.
-Glue the pieces together and voila! Love Bugs! :)
-Add to cards if you want! I used other embellishments and papers that I had on hand. In fact, that is one thing that I an intent on doing, using what I already have. I have so many scraping and paper crafting items here that are taking up space, its time they get used! I am planning on only buying new items if someone asks for something very specific.
I am really hoping to turn this into some sort of part-time business, just to get some extra cash in for savings. With (almost) 3 kids and the need for a bigger house in an better town, we could use all the extra cash we can get!
-Start with supplies!
-Cut out pieces. I used the Simply Charmed cartridge for the Cricut.
-Glue the pieces together and voila! Love Bugs! :)
-Add to cards if you want! I used other embellishments and papers that I had on hand. In fact, that is one thing that I an intent on doing, using what I already have. I have so many scraping and paper crafting items here that are taking up space, its time they get used! I am planning on only buying new items if someone asks for something very specific.
I am really hoping to turn this into some sort of part-time business, just to get some extra cash in for savings. With (almost) 3 kids and the need for a bigger house in an better town, we could use all the extra cash we can get!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Starting Anew...
I started the year off well, I got my craft space (folding table and one shelf) as organized as I could. 
These are the before pictures. Scary.
The lack of wanting to clean\organize kept me from starting and completing projects.
This is after. I need another shelf and some more bins to really be able to get as organized as I'd like to be. But gotta make do with what I got!
These are the before pictures. Scary.
The lack of wanting to clean\organize kept me from starting and completing projects.
This is after. I need another shelf and some more bins to really be able to get as organized as I'd like to be. But gotta make do with what I got!
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