The Blogiversary Celebrations are coming to a close with only 2 more posts left but the giveaways are still active and you have a few more days left to enter. Sendafrizbee – Personalized frizbees that get shipped with just a mailing label. No packaging. No envelope. Acts as both a gift and a card! Pick Up Some Creativity – 3 sewing patterns that come with a commercial use license. The Cottage Market - $35 Gift Certificate to The Cottage Market Shop Pickle Doodle Designs – Printable Invitation Package & Coordinating Designs Hooked on Needles - $25 Gift Certificate to Etsy Shop Some of these have low entries so your chances of winning are very good. :) We have a very great advertising special coming up. For $15 you will get 2 months (November & December) of … [Read more...]
DIY Letterpress Monogram – Guest Post
Michele from The Scrap Shoppe is here today sharing her tutorial on a DIY Letterpress Stamp. Please stop by her blog and say “Hello!”. ***And I'm always trying to think up new creative ways to make more to add to my decor!This is my latest inspiration: source I present you with the DIY Letterpress Stamp! The materials needed to make your own oversized letterpress stamp are pretty basic.I used a large paper mache monogram letter and a couple of pieces of wood cut about a 1/4" larger than the letter.Just stacking everything up you can see what I'm going for with these three pieces.Now to start putting everything together!The two pieces of wood were glued together then wood putty was used to seal the cracks between the two pieces. It was then sanded and primed. You can see that you … [Read more...]
Guest Post: Love Sign by Young and Crafty
Hannah from Young and Crafty is here to share her “Love Sign” Tutorial with us. Be sure to stop by her terrific blog and say Hi! I'm sure you've all seen this headboard made by House Tweaking. It's been on my mind ever since I first saw it. When someone asked me to make them some wall art for their master bedroom I immediately thought of this! She wanted the shabby chic look and here is what I came up with: I used old pallets for my wood. I wanted the worn wood look. Wood pallets are hard as heck-o-la to take apart! They build them like they have to hold heavy materials or something... I ended up cutting off both sides and then pulling the nails out of the middle part. By this point I was dripping sweat. It was hotter than hades outside. I don't even sweat … [Read more...]
Tiered Trays {Guest Post}
Jamie from the Backless Shirt blog is here to share her tutorial on Industrial Tiered Trays. You are not going to want to miss THIS! Her idea is genius! Please go visit her blog and show her some love. i am a fan of tiered trays. i especially like them for the efficiency and space savings they offer. which is why i have been happy to see so many fun tutorials on how to make them. after taking a look at several tutorials, i started thinking about how i could build one that would suit my style: simple, modern, functional. i took a quick stroll through the nuts and bolts aisle at Home Depot to see what i could put together. it's not for everyone; i love it! and here's how to make your own! here's what you'll need for a two-plate serving tray: 2 melamine plates (of different … [Read more...]
Creative Canvas Wall Art
There was a large wall looming in my living room...I couldn't figure it out...what to put there??Do you have a wall like that? My living room is awkward, so small framed photos didn't work. Then I purchased some 16x20 canvas photo prints...they looked odd too...and were expensive.Trying to be creative and thrifty at the same time, I came up with this plan - I'd create my own canvas wall art that is cheap and easily changed with my whims (which I get a lot)! The papers I chose had browns in them, so I added some oranges and aquas to go with the theme of my decor and the fall season. If you tire of your color choices you can easily prime the canvases white again and choose another paper.It's easier than you might imagine and you can come up with your own method, of course. Plus you can … [Read more...]
Garden Tomato Sauce
Yes, I'm still writing about tomatoes. I'm also still picking them, canning them, cooking them and eating them as my garden's become a tomato factory. Today, I thought to share a fantastic fresh tomato sauce recipe with you. I've been on the hunt for a good one over the last month or so - I had to do something with all the tomatoes! One of my cousins in Florida, Tommy, shares my passion for fresh tomatoes and fresh, homemade pasta sauce. I'll tell you this; once you've gone fresh with tomato sauce you'll never go back to canned stuff. I kid you not. Round #3 Ripening From the Garden, or is it Round #4...!? Normally, I don't do a full photo tutorial for recipes. With Tommy in mind, I added more photos to this post - he likes a lot of pictures. (smile) You'll get to see … [Read more...]
Brown Sugar Banana Bread
Banana bread first crossed my pallet when I was in my late teens. We were visiting family in the hospital and had dinner in the cafeteria on the lower level. Yikes, I know. It was good though and over the years I was always in search of banana bread with good balance. The sampling from the hospital as well as all the rest I've had were always either too dry, too moist, had too many nuts or screamed a violent death with too much of one spice. So, I'm picky. (smile) Since I stared baking for journaling, I've experimented with several recipes. A few fell like the Grand Canyon every single time, others had some of the problems I listed above. Last month I decided to throw a few different recipes together and see what happened... I'll tell you what happened - I finally baked a … [Read more...]
Sunset Cake
I do a lot of things on my porch now with the lovely weather. I eat cake there too. (smile) I had just tucked Madelyn in for bed when the need for tea and cake arose. I didn't feel like whipping out all my baking artillery at 7:30 in the evening - so I whipped up this instead. This single-serving cake is made in the microwave (all bakers can cheat every now-and-then) and takes all of five minutes to prepare.Lemon cake mix starts the recipe with the addition of water and a drizzle of Apple-Dip. Now, just because I neglected the armed forces didn't mean I'd deny being artsy-fartsy. If you've read my former baking blog at all I'm sure this reads familiar. I remembered my chopped pineapple in the fridge, diced a few chunks and plopped them in the batter unceremoniously. … [Read more...]
