Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

I made this treat a while back it was really really amazingly delicious!!!! Four simple ingredients and I couldn't believe how good they were.

You need:

Bananas (as many as you are going to make, one banana makes 5 bites)
Semi-sweet chocolate morsels
Smooth peanut butter
Chopped pecans (could also use shaved coconut or something of that nature)

With some tooth-picks, microwave, parchment paper, and a freezer you are good to go!

I peeled a banana and cut the bananas into 4-5 pieces for medium sized bites. I melted 2 parts chocolate and 1 part peanut butter in the microwave until smooth in a small bowl. (2-3 minutes)
I put the banana bites onto toothpicks and dipped the banana into the melted chocolate and peanut butter.
I sprinkled the chopped pecans onto the chocolate covered bananas and put them in the freezer for an hour and a half.
Serve them immediately, and if they get too frozen you need to take them out sooner than an hour and a half!

And they are ready to serve for a quick snack at home, at a party, or by the pool on a nice summer Saturday!

Purple and Silver: Keeping it Real

These nails were painted by my family's new sister, Anna, our foreign exchange student from Finland! She thought of the idea of using painters tape to make half and half with purple and silver!

Super easy, just paint, wait to dry, put the tape down, and then paint the other side! Using O.P.I. and then silver polish from Forever 21 for less than $3!

Nails for Christmas to New Years

Got this inspiration from my Aunt Amanda! I painted my nails the day after Christmas, I used O.P.I.'s "Color So Hot it Berns" red. Last week, I got a pedicure using the same color! Then I took Sephora O.P.I. "Only Gold for Me" Top Coat and painted a light coat over the entire nail. Then I went back with the big pieces of glitter over the top for a french manicure effect with glitter, the end result was a great mixture that I can wear from Christmas until New Year's Eve celebrations!

Christmas Crazy Cam

Hello, I realize I've been out of commission for a little while, but as the holidays wind down, it will be easier to post things! For Christmas Eve, we always spend the day at my parents house with my mom's side of the family. With 15 of us in the house, it always gets crazy!! Also with two little ones, I started brainstorming ideas for Christmas day fun!!

Recently a lot of weddings have been featuring a crazy cam photo booth where people can put on silly things and take pictures. Well I thought, why not do the same thing with Christmas day?

It was actually a lot more simple than you would expect. I set my computer (macbook pro) on a bar stool facing a bench. I opened Photo Booth, on my computer (available on any Mac, iPad, or MacBook) and let people click the photo booth button themselves. Behind the bench, I hung a Christmas table cloth for a background. I set some santa hats on a side table nearby. I let people come by and take pictures of themselves and at the end of the day, we had memories that will last forever.

Using iPhoto I compiled the pictures into a slideshow, added some music and uploaded it to YouTube. Really simple if you have even the slightest bit of computer skill. Please message me if you want directions on how to do this!

Here is the link to my YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF95CUo1C04

Simple Stockings

I made these stockings out of spare fabric from another project about a year ago! I traced the pattern out of a 97 cent stocking from wal-mart and sewed the fabric with a simple straight stitch. Around the top of the stocking I hot glued a piece of crocheted lace for an added touch. With the lace on the top, I didn't even have to hem the top of the stocking. I took little pieces of the fabric and sewed in a loop to hang the stocking. 

Really simple and unique, you can make a stocking to match any decor. I added a glitter letter ornament to the top, hung through the loop, for my roommates first initial. Without a fireplace in my house, we improvised and used the tv stand as our "mantel". We also had a fun stocking exchange where we each put different things in each other's stockings!

I was able to make these really cheap: 

-The fabric I already had but was about $10 for 2 yards

-One roll of lace for $3

-Each ornament was less than $1

Pink & Gold Make the World Go Round

Here is a really simple way to do nails for people who like unique nails without the hassle, if you have a spare 20 minutes, you can do this!

This is a metallic gold and hot pink, alternating every nail with the other color painted lightly on the tip.

Heading Gnome for the Holidays

I thought this was funny: last year for my little sister's birthday, we were desperate for gifts. We ended up going into wal-greens and buying last minute items!

My older sister bought a ceramic garden gnome and a ceramic squirrel and spray painted them gold! If you are in need of a gift idea, this is a great item for any free spirit that loves the less than usual gift! My sister loved it, although her birthday was not all that birthdays are supposed to be!

With Christmas coming up, it's a simple way to make something funny as a stocking stuffer or just for someone you don't know what to get?!

Keeping it Calm

Just remember to keep calm!

Christmas Light Fun

I am driving around looking at Christmas lights tonight and I happened to run into a great lights show set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra! There is always a line around the block waiting to see the famous house off of Indiana. This year the next door neighbors decided to decorate very simply! Merry Christmas y'all!


...and ditto.

Simple Trash to Treasure

I reupholstered these chairs from a table I got for free. Someone was going to throw it out, so I took it, cleaned it up and recovered the chairs with fabric that matched the curtains and throw pillows for the couch. I removed the seat and stapled the fabric over the original seat cover, making this a 30 minute project!

The finished dining table project with green and navy!

So don't pass up the opportunity to make trash into something greatly treasured!

Christmas Card Cuteness

With Christmas coming around the corner, and many christmas cards coming in, where do you put them all without too much work on a display? I collected several different ways to display your cards without them piling up on your desk or kitchen table!

Simple ribbon strung across a window with keychain holder with ribbon:

Old shutters painted red with cards inserted in. Could also be used for mail for the rest of the year!

Tree with Christmas cards hung as ornaments:

Christmas cards hung on the garland on the staircase:

Taped or hung with a command tape on the wall in a shape (tree, star, etc.):

Old frame strung with lights and clothes pinned onto the light strand:

Don't let those Christmas cards pile up anymore! Use them as decoration for the holidays!

Strawberry Cake

I made this strawberry cake on a whim and decorated it with sliced strawberries shaped like a heart!

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25-ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 (3-ounce) box strawberry-flavored instant gelatin
• 1 (15-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• Strawberry cream cheese frosting, recipe follows
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 7 cups confectioners' sugar
• Freshly sliced strawberries, for garnish, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting:

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup of the strawberry puree and the vanilla extract. (The rest of the puree is leftover but can be used in smoothies or on ice cream for a delicious treat.) Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth.

Spread frosting in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries.

Dressing Up My Dresser

I used to have a plain white dresser and I really needed more color in my room. With a light blue and orange color scheme I knew I wanted to go with one of those colors. I will first start with several years ago when I got the dresser. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from before I owned it, it was plain, ugly, unfinished wood. I painted it white with regular Behr Interior Eggshell Enamel from Home Depot.

Then after several years of boring, I decided to spice it up with some color. I am extremely unartistic when it comes to painting things, so painting was not the option for me. Instead I decided to Mod Podge my dresser. This idea would also work with scrapbook paper or tissue paper, but I decided to try something new and different. I Mod Podged fabric onto my dresser....

Things you'll need:
1. A Dresser
2. Mod Podge matte
3. Sponge brush
4. Screwdriver
5. Super Cute Fabric (I used a pretty thick orange and white fabric)

Steps to Mod Podge your dresser:

Step 1: Take everything out of your dresser, clothing, items, etc.
Step 2: Take the drawers out of the dresser, makes it easier to measure fabric.
Step 3: Take the handles or knobs out of the dresser drawer.
Step 4: Cut desired fabric into the shape of the front of your drawer (only the part seen when the drawer is closed) leaving a 1 inch margin around the edges.
Step 5: Using the sponge brush, paint the Mod Podge onto your dresser drawer. Do this step quickly and thoroughly because you need to stick the fabric to your drawer next.
Step 6: Place the fabric onto your dresser drawer and smooth out with your hands. Making sure the fabric is in any and all crevices.
Step 7: This step gets messy, so you might want to lay down a towel, newspaper, etc. Mod Podge over the fabric and make sure all corners are laying flat. Tuck the extra inch of fabric around the drawer and Mod Podge the corners very well. (Hint: You may have to hold it for a second while it dries a little in order to make it stick.)
Step 8: Let the drawer dry(20-30 minutes).
Step 9: Put handles back on, I used scissors to poke holes through to get the screws back in.
Step 10: Put the drawer back in its place and put back in items or clothing.

Mine turned out like this.

Looks like a painted dresser without the hassle of paint!!!!! Has a neat texture too!!!!!!

Pinspiration

Whenever I find something on Pinterest that I absolutely have to do, I call it a Pinspiration! Whenever I moved in August I got a Pinspiration for my tv stand. I was actually pretty easy to pull off with stuff I owned already and a quick Hobby Lobby run. I encourage everyone to get out there on Pinterest and find something that you too can copy!

Here was my Pinspiration:

And then was my end product:

Now go Pin and make it happen!

First Post: Wreaths

I have wanted to start a blog for some time now with all of my creations I get into. I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. Who doesn't get inspiration from Pinterest these days? Well since Christmas is two weeks away and decorations are underway, I thought I'd post some wreath love on here. I love Christmas and making the right wreath for your front door is an essential part of letting everyone know "Christmas happens here." or simply that "I like pretty things."


This wreath I got from Pinterest, I really think this a good one, just a foam circle covered in gold tacks. I love gold, and with this you can really draw attention, you could even add a "Merry Christmas" to this and take it off for the rest of the year for just a pretty wreath. 

This wreath I made myself this past summer, it would be really cute in any color, especially Christmas colors with some big red flowers! I bought a foam wreath from Hobby Lobby and wrapped it in yarn and added two flowers by tying them on. 

These next two were inspired by Pinterest, just a wire hanger with ornament balls strung on and arranged to fill any empty spaces, I made one and my sister made one. Super easy, although I would suggest non-breakable ornaments from Wal-Mart, cheap ones from the Dollar Store can break! 

Get out there and get some wreaths done! There is so many to choose from, only so little time until Christmas!