DIY Up-cycle Home Decor

I love monograms.  There is just something so classy about them.  A while ago I saw this framed monogram over at The House of Smiths and really liked it.  I wanted to make something similar and kept my eye out for oval frames for quite a while.  I finally snatched this one up at a garage sale for a few dollars.

I then went on a search for the perfect monogram.  JoAnn's, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby all carry wooden letters of different sizes and styles.  This one from Hobby Lobby was just what I wanted.

I gave the frame and letter P a few coats of spray paint and then added some fabric to the background.  I love how it turned out.



I originally had it sitting on my fireplace mantle but later decided to move it over here to the wall.

It really helps fill up the empty wall space.

Do you have any monograms in your home?

Chocolate Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

It seems the secret is out.  The secret to wonderfully soft, fluffy chocolate chip cookies is adding pudding to your cookie dough.  I discovered this secret several years ago and recently wondered what it would taste like if I subbed chocolate pudding for the called-for vanilla.  So I finally decided to give it a try.  And the verdict is: 2 thumbs up!

Here is my adjusted recipe:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c butter, softened

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

1 (3.4 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the pudding mix until blended.  Stir in the eggs and vanilla.  Blend in the flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls (on the small side) onto ungreased or parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-11 minutes.  Edges should be barely golden brown.

*This recipe is adapted from Rookie Cookie's Chocolate Chip Cookies . . . which is no longer available on her site.

Book Review, Kids Craft, and Giveaway

I recently received a few craft books from Stackpole Books, Painting with Mixed Media, Christmas Crafts Scandinavian Style, and Artful Collage from Found Objects  I've always enjoyed art and had fun looking through these books.  There were a ton of inspirational ideas.

I love the Scandinavian style Christmas decor.  This book, Christmas Crafts Scandinavian Style, is full of beautiful and festive ideas.  Handmade fabric bags make a perfect touch for delivering a special gift, darling embroidered motifs, dainty Christmas ornaments, and one of the classiest advent calendars I ever did see were a few of my favorites.  I love that the book includes templates in the back so you can easily duplicate each craft.  There is even a guide for the different embroidery stitches for people who like me who have no idea about those kinds of things.  I really want to incorporate some of these ideas into my decor come Christmastime.  They'll go perfectly with the look I'm trying to create in my family room.

My kids really loved looking through Artful Collage from Found Objects with me.  On just about every other page my daughter would tell me, "Ooooo.  I want to make this one!"  This book is all about giving new life to what's inside our junk drawers and believe me I have plenty of "scraps" left over from previous projects that I'm happy to use for crafts like this.  It was a tough choice but she declared this Under Water project her favorite.

This project made for the perfect afternoon activity one hot muggy day a few weeks ago.  My daughter and I brainstormed together how we could recreate a similar scene using items we had on hand.  She decided to make seaweed by water coloring some packing paper.

She then cut it out into strips and crinkled it up.

We gathered a blue poster board, the water colored sea weed, some green tulle, and made shimmering fish out of aluminum foil.  Then everything was ready to be glued together.

My daughter had a blast with this project.  She mentioned over and over again how this was the funnest fish project ever! 

She was proud of her artwork and had a so much fun using her creativity to put it together.  Artful Collage from Found Objects was great inspiration for this craft and I think we'll be using it for many more.

The kind people over at Stackpole Books have offered to giveaway one of these books, Painting with Mixed Media, Christmas Crafts Scandinavian Style, and Artful Collage from Found Objects to three lucky readers.  Enter through Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Good luck!

*Giveaway open to U.S. and Canadian residents only

Simple Frame Makeover

I wanted to let you in on a great deal going on right now at Paper Coterie.  All first time customers can get a free $40 credit off their first order!!! Plus there's no minimum purchase. Enter code WELCOME2012 to get your free $40! They have books, cards, calendars, decor, journals, memory keepers, planners and more. Take a look.

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This is my latest dollar store project.  You just never know what little treasures that store is going to have.

I just couldn't resist this little easel when walking through the dollar store.  I thought it was so cute . . . and only $1 so I had no excuse.  I thought it would be the perfect thing to put in my kids room with a picture of them all together.  They are siblings, but I want them to be best friends too.

Next I needed a frame.  The dollar store has plenty of those too.   I thought this one had some potential. 

I spray painted it in a glossy white and love how it turned out.

This sweet little reminder of friendship now sits so nicely on the kids bookshelf.  Now to clean off all the other clutter on there and I think it will look pretty good . . .

Simple little project.  Simply lovely.  Total cost: $2.

What are your favorite things to pick up at the dollar store?

Raspberry Lemonade

For our back to school feast I wanted a fun drink for our cute little mason jars.  Raspberry lemonade  is always a favorite of mine . . . if it's the real stuff.  So I set out to make some.  I looked on pinterest and found a bunch of recipes all of which entailed me squeezing my own lemonade.  Not quite simple enough for me.  So I decided to make up my own recipe.

Here is what you need: 

*frozen lemonade concentrate

*frozen (or fresh) raspberries

*water

First I placed my raspberries (about a cup?) into a pot of water (around 1 1/2 cups?) and brought them to a boil.  Once they boiled for about 4 minutes I strained the berries--getting as much juice from them as possible--and kept the raspberry water.  I then followed the directions on my can of lemonade--using the raspberry water instead of plain water.  I didn't have enough for all 4 1/3 cans called for so I used plain water for the rest . . . which was perfect!  (I think it would have been too strong had I used all raspberry water.)

I then put it in the fridge to cool it off.  When I served it I dropped a few frozen raspberries in for garnish.  It was a huge hit at my house and a perfect summer-y drink.