Kids St. Patty's Day Projects

Check out our latest post on Creating Our Cozy Home!  Kids St. Patty's Day Projects, have fun celebrating!

Announcement

It was nice to have a break from the computer world.  The hubs got a new job so our schedules are pretty close to opposite!  The past two weeks we were able to hang out a few times, where normally I would be a little too focused on my crafts!  Not that I don't enjoy this blog, it is really relaxing for me, but I realized I need to take time now and then to focus on my family! :)  So because of his new schedule and wanting to find more time to spend together now comes the Announcement! 

My sister Melissa and I will be joining our project blogs to create Creating Our Cozy Home!  We are so excited to work on this together!  Melissa is a mother of two beautiful girls (I may be a little biased but it is so true!), and has so many wonderful talents!  She is so great at organizing and finding fabulous easy meals to make for her family.  She loves to create whether it is scrapbooking, or crafting with me!  I hope that all of you will join this new creative collaboration, we are going to have so much fun!

{Just For You} St. Patty's Day Printables!

I am very excited to share my first Printable with you today!  I hope you find them as fun as they were for me to create.  I wanted to post them today so you would be able to have them printed and ready at the beginning of March! 

The first is White background with Green lettering!

The second is Green background with White lettering!

The second is definitely my FAVORITE!

Now choose the size you will need for your project (I choose 5 x 7) and print!  I hope you enjoy this free printable, and check out many more to come throughout the year!  I will post pictures of what I did with this printable soon!



{Inspiring Blog} Brassy Apple

I was ecstatic when Megan from Brassy Apple agreed to be spotlighted today!  She is such a talented mother and wife, who is nothing short of amazing!  I have been following her pretty much since the beginning of Brassy Apple!  I am always finding inspiration from her and appreciate to time she takes to share her creativity with her readers. 

I like to ask my spotlights "What their favorite project has been?" So when asking Megan I thought I would ask "What her favorite has been so far this year?!"

And Megan's response.... "Favorite project of 2011 so far, Sweater pillows!"

"This project is simple, but makes a BIG impact! They add great texture, color and design to any room. I love that they are each unique and can be created on any budget."

I am in love her Heart pillow!

Now that Valentine's Day has come and gone I thought that I would ask those I spotlight to tell us what they did to celebrate?!

Megan: "Valentine's day means more crafting around my house.  Each year we create valentine boxes to slip our own love notes into.  This year we got really creative.   My daughter took an oatmeal canister and turned it into the Queen of Hearts. My son transformed a cereal box into a Valentine hungry monster, and my little guy's went from pizza box to "Infinity and beyond!"  He just loved to make it fly around the house.  Of course my hubby and I needed one too.  I covered a shoe box with book pages and used some playing cards to represent us the King and Queen."

"We also spent the night before Valentines cutting out and hanging hearts over our dining room table.  Then on Valentine's day we spent a great evening together sharing a meal as a family and opening our cards under a shower of love!"

What a perfect day.  Your family is so creative, I love all of your boxes!

Thank you Megan for your inspiriation, go check out her amazing blog full of fabulous tutorials and more!

{Inspiring Food} by Mel's Kitchen Cafe!

Mel's Kitchen Cafe I am telling you I can't get enough of her recipes!

Poor Man's Stroganoff

Ingredients:

*Serves 4-6

1-2 teaspoons olive oil
6 ounces turkey bacon, diced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 medium red or yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup sour cream, light or regular
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried

Cooked egg noodles or rice, for serving

Directions:

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1-2 teaspoons olive oil and saute diced bacon over medium heat until crispy. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside, leaving any grease/oil in the pan. Add sliced mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for about one minute (if the pan is too dry, add a teaspoon of oil as needed). Add salt. Continue cooking until the mushrooms are softened and have given up most of their juices. Transfer them to the same plate as the bacon.

In the same skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the grease.

Stir in the flour and tomato paste to the meat mixture and mix to combine well. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add the beef broth and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking to combine all the ingredients. Simmer vigorously for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is slightly reduced and thickened. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and paprika. Cook until flavors blend, about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add sautéed mushrooms and bacon back to the skillet. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sour cream, mixing well to avoid lumps. Stir in the parsley. Serve over egg noodles or hot, cooked rice.

Go check her out!



{Book of the Month} Princess Academy

I have to say that the Princess Academy is an all time favorite of mine!  My mom told me about it, so I knew it would be pretty good.  Shannon Hale is such a great writer.  Her books are considered for young adults, but I think most of her books can be for all ages!  She never fails to bring the characters to life!  You instantly fall in love with Miri as you go along this interesting journey with her. 

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did, let me know what you think!

A Valentine's Breakfast

Swedish Pancakes

Ingredients...

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 c. flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 tbs. oil

Directions....

• Mix the eggs and milk together.  Add dry ingredients; flour, sugar, and salt.  Then add the vanilla and oil and whisk all together.  Medium heat (not hot)! 

•  Last add a little or a lot of syrup and/or jam! They are delicious!

~Have a Happy Valentine's Day!~

From beautiful to ELEGANT!

Now don't get me wrong, I really love this project I made last year.  I think it just needed a little more to it and I could never figure it out what?!   Last year I posted about this project on my Top 5 handmade crafts, it was #4.  It gives a little more background into why I made it in the first place! 

• I used some plywood I bought from Home Depot for .51 cents! 
• Wrapped the fabric (bought at Jo Ann's) around the front and hot glued it in back! 
• Then found a wooden letter for our last name, painted it black, and sanded the edges for a distressed look.  I also hot glued the letter and the metal sheet to the fabric, it seems to hold just fine.  It was a simple DIY project that came together perfectly! 

 

I was organizing my room a couple weeks ago and found this awesome frame that I have never used.  Then it just came together! 

You know from previous projects that black spray paint is a must for me.  I know I should really try some other colors in my home, but black just fits my style!  It is such an elegant color and that is why painting this frame black made this project for me.  The plywood I used for the original project didn't fit the frame, so I just used the board that was already in the frame and re-glued the fabric to it! 

What do you think?  I think the frame fits it perfect!  Have a wonderful weekend ladies!

I linked with: Craft-O-Maniac, Finding Fabulous, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Gluesticks, I heart Naptime, It's a Hodge Podge Life, Just a Girl, Sassy Sites, Serenity Now, Sew Many Ways, Tatertots and Jello, and Under my Umbrella.  A big THANK YOU to these ladies for their fun parties this weekend!

{Inspiration of the Month} and Love Bird Centerpiece

..................................................................................................................................

A big SORRY!
No recipe post this week.  I am just now feeling up to making dinner again after being sick most of week.  I also didn't get a spotlight on time for today because of last week.

I did, however, promise to show you the Centerpiece for my table!

You will need...

• Candle holder, which was originally brown!
• Black gloss spray paint (For the candle holder, I use this a lot!).
• Glass candle holder.
• Red and Pink berries.  I didn't use a wreath, just two of the stemmed berries to wrap around the candle, but you could use either!
• A red candle.
• Pink sparkled heart to glue to the berries!

I had the wooden "Love" from last year, I though it was a nice addition.  The love birds were a bonus given to me by my mom, isn't she a sweetie!

Friday: From beautiful to ELEGANT!

I linked with: Craft-O-Maniac, Finding Fabulous, and Fingerprints on the Fridge.

~Be Mine~

Hey ladies, I hope you've been having fun with all these amazing Valentines Day crafts going around.  I am amazed with all the talent out there!  For my next project, I needed/wanted some more decor around the house and came up with this simple framed "Be Mine"!  I've been loving sparkled everything for my Valentine's projects, so bare with me.

First you will need...

• A frame
• Some thin wire (from Jo-Ann's)
• Black spray paint
• A heart. This can be from anything, such as clip art from your computer.  I printed mine from picnik.com, then remembered a red sparkled heart I had left over from my "Valentine Framed Wreath" project, then just cut it to size.  I also used the sparkled hearts for my center piece on my table which I will show you next week!
• Last you will need your words "Be Mine" which I also printed from picnik.com!

*Disclaimer: Being sick is not a good idea when taking pictures, sorry.*

 I wanted the words to pop out so I added a little sparkle and some black damask scrapbook paper for the backing.

I spray painted the silver frame and the silver wire a gloss black to match!  Hot glue your wire to your heart, and while the glue it still hot place it onto your picture.  Place your picture in your frame and Wha La!

Have an awesome weekend full of creating!

I linked with: Lil Luna, Gluesticks, Someday Crafts, Finding Fabulous, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Just a Girl, Tatertots and Jello, and Whipper Berry!  Lots of fun parties, thanks ladies!

{Inspiring Blog} Gluesticks

I couldn't wait to feature this adorable blog called Gluesticks.  Brandy is so inspiring with whatever she creates, I have yet to see her run short of ideas!  I asked her to pick one of her favorite projects and tell us why she chose this specific one to share.  Her project was called A "Cute as a Button" Baby Shower!

Brandy:  The baby shower was one of those projects where everything came together without a hitch. I had a vision and was able to carry it out---and that doesn't always happen! My favorite color scheme is blue and brown, so that, along with the fact that it was winter time, was the reason for the turquoise and brown colors. Bright and Clean. I also thought that the chocolate buttons were a fun addition as shower favors.

Thanks Brandy, this is so adorable.  Go check out her whole post of how to make these delicious cupcakes and more here!  Enjoy many more of her inspiring ideas by clicking the button below!



Fabulous Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo



Sorry there is no picture, when I make this dish again I will try to remember!  We made this a couple weeks ago for Family Night with my brother-in-law and his wife so I completely forgot to take pictures.  Just trust me on this one, it is the best!  The hubs also found this recipe from cooks.com a few years ago, and we have kept it around ever sense!

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1/2 c. chopped green onions with tops
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. whipping cream
1 pkg. McCormick Pasta Prima Alfredo Sauce
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
15 oz. can tomatoes, drained and diced
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. dried basil
1 lb. hot, cooked fettuccine
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, green onion, and garlic; saute until chicken is lightly browned. Stir in cream, sauce mix, mushrooms, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. Stir in parsley and basil. Remove from heat. Toss pasta with sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6 to 8.

Come back for more on Wednesday to check out an Inspiring Blog!!!!

{Inspiring Blog} & Sweetheart Plaque

When I first posted about the new addition called "Inspired by You" I said that it would be featured on Wednesdays.  I am sorry that this was not posted on Wednesday, it has been such a busy week for me.  So I will be giving you a double treat to start off the weekend! 

First, I will be featuring an Inspiring Blog called Black Persephone!  Aubrey has so many talents and picking one of her most recent projects to share with you was difficult!  The project is her Friend Book, which she made spending only 10 bucks! Thank you Aubrey for your inspiring creation.  I cant wait to make one for the pile of pictures I have from Christmas cards!

Check out her awesome blog and the complete post here!



Now for our Second addition...

Valentines has never been a holiday where I bring out the decorations, maybe because I had one or two knick knacks to put up!  This year has been fun for me as I have made some of my own decor.  This project is a little twist on a plaque I found at Smiths after Christmas for $6.  I wanted to be able to put it up right away how cute are those crystal hooks!  Then came the idea... 

What you will need:

• 12x12 scrapbook paper of your choice!
• Twine
• Styrofoam heart
• Spray paint
• Velcro with adhesive
• An adorable plaque with hooks

• On the front of the plaque I placed a very small amount of double sided tape to the bottom corners which holds my paper in place (this will also help during the next step).  The reason I used a small amount was so I could replace this design with another for each holiday/season!  You decide how to place you paper, it will also depend on the length of the plaque.  I used two 12x12 scrapbook papers.

• On the back of the plaque place your first pieces of Velcro to the top corners.  When you fold your scrapbook paper over the edge you will place the second pieces of Velcro to the first pieces.  The folded paper will then be placed onto the adhesive parts of the Velcro.  I hope this makes sense!

*Make sure to measure your paper so there is enough to attach it onto the Velcro. 

Now for the design...

• I used the cricut for my word, but you can use anything.  I was going to use black paper for the word, but it just didn't fit.  I found some pink paper which matched perfect!  For the styrofoam heart I wrapped the twine around and around, then spray painted it red!  Just use hot glue as you go, if not it will unwind.

I hope you have fun creating your own design for your plaque!

 I linked with: Some Day Crafts, Serenity Now, Whipper Berry, and Sassy Sites!  I know of many more great linky parties but I am all partied out for now.  My head is spinning with fun ideas!  Have a great weekend!