Carissa's Creativity Space

How to Build a DIY Play Kitchen Part 1: Selection and Prep of a Great Entertainment Center

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:32:00 +0000

I was so excited to show you my DIY play kitchen earlier this week. A project like this can feel pretty overwhelming if re-doing furniture is not something you already have as a part of your crafting repertoire so I'm planning to break down the process for you so you can follow along and end up with your own fabulous play kitchen as well.

Why make your own play kitchen?
In addition to saving money (brand new play kitchens start around $100, nice ones start at $200) making your own play kitchen allows you ultimate customization. Want a bright pink play kitchen with zebra stripe curtains?

Made by Lindsey at Better After

You can do that! Got a little boy who needs something a little more manly?

Made by Britt from Britt and Her boys

You can do that, too!

One of the other reasons we chose to make our own play kitchen was control over the materials. Common play kitchen materials like particle board, normal paint and plastic all off-gas and release small amounts of toxins into the air in your home. Because I'm the one that made it, I know what went into making it and I don't have to expose my kid to toxic materials (even in small quantities).

Before you start shopping...
Before you start looking for an entertainment center, I would take a look at kitchens others have made. You can image search on Google for "DIY Play Kitchen" or check out some things on Pinterest. I conveniently have a pinboard with lots of great examples of play kitchens call "Play Kitchen Palooza" that you can look at as well.

Once you've seen some ideas, evaluate your space. Is your play kitchen going to have to fit in a particular spot? If your available space is small, you may need to look at a more compact solution out of a dresser. If you have more space, an entertainment center style kitchen might work for you.

Start Shopping

Once you've got an idea of what you're looking for, start shopping. Great places to look are Craigslist, thrift stores, or you may even be able to score something for free on Freecycle.

Don't just look at your local thrift store; get to know the "rules" that will help you save more. Goodwill has one color tag that is 50% off each week. Salvation Army gives you 50% off items that have been in the store for a certain amount of time. If you have a Goodwill Outlet near you, you can get even better prices. If you head to a thirft store, ask an employee if they have discounts on certain items or certain days when they have sales.

Things to look for
Regardless of which style of play kitchen you're planning on, you want to make sure the part that will be the "work surface" will be a good height for the kiddo you're making it for. If you're making a play kitchen for an 18 month old, you'll need a "countertop" lower than if you're making it for your 6 year old.

You also want to purchase something solid. Anything kids are playing with will take some abuse. Don't start with something broken or wobbly...it's not going to get any better and could be a safety hazard.

Materials are important, too, especially if you're planning on painting it. Laminate furniture, for example, is a little trickier to paint than something made of real wood. (if you end up buying something made with laminate, check out Lindsay's great tutorial for how to paint it)

Keep an eye out for details you can work with. For example, part of why I loved the entertainment center I picked was because I liked the layout.

(sorry the background photo is blurry....I took it straight from the craigslist listing)

The work station part was a good height. There was a cabinet I could transform into a fridge on the side and the detailing on the cabinets below was perfect for transforming into an oven.

Before you paint and prime
Once you've got your base piece of furniture home, you need to make a few decisions before you can jump into painting

Step 1: Remove anything that can be removed
Remove all hardware, doors, shelves, etc. I highly recommend putting hardware in baggies and labeling them (lower cabinets, side cabinet, etc) to make it easier to put everything back together later.

Step 2: Decide what you will do for your countertop
Are you going to just paint your counters or are you installing some kind of countertop material? If you're going to paint it, you will want to cut holes for your sink (and faucet if necessary) before the next step. That means you'll need to buy a "sink" first so you can cut the hole to fit. I used a stainless steel bowl with a bit of a rim. I've also seen kitchens with round or square cake pans.

If you're going to install some kind of countertop material like I did, I would wait on cutting your holes until the countertop is installed (please note: you will see a sink hole in my priming pictures because I cut my hole first and shouldn't have...it definitely made things harder for me).

Step 2.5: Cut the hole for your sink
Remember: only do this if you are going to paint your countertop rather than install a countertop material.

Once you have the bowl or pan you'll use for your sink, flip it over and trace an outline with a pen. Then use your jigsaw to cut just inside the traced line so that you leave enough for the rim of your bowl or pan to catch on.

Step 3: Sand your piece
It is especially important to sand if there are rough spots, flaking paint or if you are using laminate furniture (see laminate furniture painting tips here). If you aren't facing any of the above situations, a quick once over with your hand sander will help the primer stick.

Step 4: Wipe it down
Once you're done sanding, wipe down the surface to remove any dust and dirt.

Paint and Primer
I mentioned earlier that materials were a big deal for us so we chose zero VOC paint and primer (not sure about the VOC thing? Read a quick primer on why VOCs are bad). We had some eggshell semi-gloss Freshaire paint (a zero VOC paint that's available in a variety of colors) leftover from painting the baseboards in our house. We also chose the "Clean Start" zero VOC primer from Kilz. It cost a little more than regular primer but I have a ton leftover and I'm sure I'll put it to good use! Both of these products are available at Home Depot.

You may be wondering if you really need to use primer. In an answer: yes. I hate additional steps as much as the next girl and am frequently known to skip priming if I can help it. Painting furniture (especially furniture that's going to get a lot of use) is one key time that you want to use primer. So suck it up, buy a can of primer and make sure you don't skip this critical step!

It's important that you're painting somewhere that's at least 50 degrees so that the paint and primer set up properly. It's the middle of winter, so I laid out a tarp in my living room and painted inside. That's another bonus of no VOC paint....there are no harmful fumes so you can paint inside. Winning!

I used a foam roller to do one coat of primer on all surfaces. I came back and added a coat of paint another night. I only needed one coat of paint since my primer was white and I didn't have to worry about show-through. If you are using a color, you may need to do a second coat of paint.

That's it for now! Come back in a few days so learn how to gussy up the fridge. Or better yet, subscribe by e-mail so that the new posts land directly in your inbox.

This post is part of a mini-series on how to make your own play kitchen from a re-purposed piece of furniture. The beginning of the series with photos of the finished play kitchen and links to all subsequent posts lives here.

DIY Play Kitchen Reveal!

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:32:00 +0000

I have been dreaming this up since November and I am so excited to show you what I think is the biggest and coolest thing I have made. Prehaps ever. May I present to you my...

DIY Play Kitchen!

I wanted to make my own play kitchen for three reasons:

I needed to save money (brand new play kitchens start at $100)
I wanted control over what it was made of so I could use healthier materials
I needed something that wasn't girly

How did I do?
The total cost of my play kitchen was $55.56

Here is the break down of where the money went:

Some of these things I could have admittedly done for less money if I had waited out Freecycle a little longer or had lived in an area where I could cruise town on trash day to pick up some furniture "roadkill."

Want to see more pictures?

Can't get enough? You can also watch a video tour of the kitchen:

If you have been thinking about making a DIY play kitchen of your very own, I will be doing a series over the next couple weeks breaking down each step for you. It will not be an all-out tutorial BUT I promise to try and show you the details of how I made this and hopefully inspire you to strike out on your own to try making your own play kitchen.

How I Did It:
Pin this post to come back and check on later or subscribe by e-mail to get each step sent directly to your inbox. I will link up the individual parts as a post how I did them to the bottom of this post

Pin It

Topics in This Series

Part 1: Selection and Prep of a Great Entertainment Center

How to: Refrigerator (coming soon)

How to: Countertop and Stove Area (coming soon)

How to: Undersink and Oven (coming soon)

I hope to see you back here soon!

I am linking this post up to the following parties:

* Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou * Monday Link Party at Craft-o-Maniac * A Pinteresting Party at Tutu's and Tea Parties * Make it Monday at Brassy Apple * My Homemade Year at Blissful and Domestic * Craft Monkey'n Mondays at Craft Monkey * More the Merrier Monday at DIY Home Sweet Home * It's Party Time at So Very Cheri * Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. * Metamorphosis Mondays at Between Naps on the Porch * Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative * Made With Love at Sew Chatty * Get Your Craft on at Today's Creative * Time to Shine Party at A Diamond in the Stuff * Ta-Da Tuesday at Mommy by Day Crafter by Night * Inspiration Board at Carolyn's Homework * Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Hand Man Crafty Woman * Whatever Goes Wednesday on Someday Crafts * Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design * Lil Luna Link Party at Lil Luna *

How to Make Peanut Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Back in November, news stations around the country were warning that peanut butter prices would skyrocket due to droughts and poor growing conditions in the areas of the country where peanuts are grown. That same week, my local grocery store had a 10 for $10 sale on 14 ounce bags of dry roasted (and salted) shelled peanuts. JACKPOT!

Making peanut butter is super easy and is a great way to save money....especially if you can find dry roasted peanuts on sale. You also have maximum control over what goes into it...you can do salt or no salt, honey or agave or no sweetener at all!

Following this recipe, I made 16 ounces of peanut butter for approx $1.25. Even the super cheap, preservative laden peanut butter is $3 for 16 ounces. You will save even more if your family is used to buying Adams or another premium natural peanut butter.

Ingredients

14 ounces (by weight) roasted shelled peanuts*
2 Tbsp pressed coconut oil
Agave syrup or honey to taste (optional)
Sea salt (optional, though you will probably want a bit if using unsalted peanuts)

*Either salted or unsalted will work. Unsalted gives you maximum control over the salt content. I just use whichever kind is on sale
Yields 16 ounces (by volume) of peanut butter

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How to Make Peanut Butter

Pour the peanuts into your food processor

Lock the lid and process on high approximately 2 minutes

It may start to look gritty...like finely chopped peanuts

Keep Going

Check your peanut butter

If it's not smoothing out very well, melt a couple tablespoons of coconut oil (which is solid at room temperature) in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Add to the peanuts and process 30-60 seconds.

Add agave syrup or honey to taste (I added a little less than a tablespoon of agave). Taste and add salt if desired when using unsalted peanuts.

Process another 30-60 seconds

Stop here if you want chunky peanut butter

Keep processing if you prefer smooth peanut butter

Pack your fresh peanut butter into a 16 ounce jar with a lid.

Make the tastiest peanut butter and organic strawberry jam sandwiches ever.

Feel good that your kids are eating peanut butter with no preservatives or dangerous ingredients. Smile that you just saved money, too.

I'm sharing my recipe with...

* Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma * A Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday * Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain * Lil Luna Link Party at Lil Luna * DIY Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty 101 * Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts * Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man Crafty Woman * Homemade Year at Blissful and Domestic * Pin Inspirational Thursdays at The Artsy Girl Connection * A Pinteresting Party at Tutus and Tea Parties *

Kids Thank You Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:58:00 +0000

As I'm trying to help my son develop lifelong habits, I'm trying to involve him in the process of the task as early as possible. In regard to thank you notes, I believe that once children are old enough to sit up and hold a pen, they are old enough to be involved in the writing of their own thank you notes. No knowledge of the alphabet necessary!

These are the thank you notes my kiddo and I made this evening for some of his Christmas presents. The recipient gets a thank you plus a toddler mini masterpiece:

The supplies are things most moms already have on hand:

Cardstock
Crayons or Markers (we like the crayola twistable crayons)
Permanent Marker
Regular Pen

First: Fold the cardstock in half length-wise and cut in half. Give to your toddler to color.

Next: Use your permanent marker to write Thank You on the cover of the card.

On the inside allow your munchkin to scribble his thank you note with the regular pen. Once he is done, you can add a translation for the recipient.

That's it! Easy peasy. Hope you enjoyed my tip for a great way to involve even your littlest kids in writing thank you notes. Now go forth and spread thanks!

I'm sharing this project with...

* A Pinteresting Party at Tutus and Tea Parties * Get Your Craft on at Today's Creative Blog *

2011 Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:59:00 +0000

As 2011 comes to a close, I want to let all of my readers know I am so grateful for you! Whether you subscribe via e-mail, check me out through a reader or just dropped in from Pinterest, thanks for reading! In 2012 I hope to have more great tutorials, craft ideas, recipes and green parenting tips to share. I hope you'll stick around for the fun!

And in keeping with year-end traditions everywhere, I wanted to share with you my 2011 bloggy year in review (as determined by readers!).

Make Cute Alphabet Magnets!

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:20:00 +0000

We love magnets as a learning tool in our house. My son got a great set of animal magnets for his first birthday and they've really helped him learn the names of lots of different kinds of animals. He's beginning his journey into the alphabet so I wanted to get some ABC magnets for him.

Problem: Many alphabet magnets are plastic and have tiny magnets that fit into that back and pop out and become choking hazards. Also, we just aren't fans of plastic.

Solution: Make your own!

There are a few different great ways you could do this (a quick search of "Alphabet Magnets" on Pinterest turns up lots of fun options). Instead of starting totally from scratch, I decided to get a head start with the alphabet magnets they have at the Dollar Tree (they have number magnets in the same style right now, too!). I like these because the magnet covers the full back of each letter and cannot detach. Jazzing them up with paint gave me the opportunity to use more colors and also make them with interesting with patterns.

If you have older kids, this would be a fun project to get them involved with...especially if you have tactile learners!

Here's How You Do It:

Gather your supplies. You will need: 2 packs of full back coverage alphabet magnets from Dollar Tree (I got two so I could spell things with double letters) and an assortment of craft paint and paint brushes. You'll also want newspaper or something to cover your work space.

Prep the magnets. Cover your workspace in newspaper. The magnets can get a little banged up and dusty from their trip overseas. Make sure you wipe them down as you lay them out so that the paint has a nice clean surface to adhere to.

Choose your base colors and start painting! The set I bought came in four colors: red, yellow, green and blue. I tried to paint over similar colors (using blue magnets for the ones I wanted to paint purple or yellow magnets for the ones I painted orange, etc) to avoid weird show-through and not needing to use as many coats of paint. I also painted the sides instead of leaving them raw as they came.

Add some patterns once the base coats are dry. I used a mix of dots, lines, squiggles, hearts, glitter and more. Really the sky is the limit! If you want them to all be shiny at the end, you can top them off with a glossy acrylic sealer.

That's it! Once they're dry, throw them on the fridge and enjoy!

I'm sharing my project with these great parties:

* Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog * Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs * Mad Skills Tutorial Party at Mad in Crafts * Time to Shine Party at A Diamond in the Stuff * A Pinteresting Link Party at Tutus and Tea Parties * Ta Da Tuesdays at Mommy by Day Crafter by Night * What We Wore and Made at Rae Gun Ramblings * Tute in Tuesday at Oops I Craft My Pants * The Inspiration Board from Homework * Pinsperational Thursday at The Artsy Connection * Shine on Friday at Happy Go Lucky * Feature Friday Linky Party at Blissful and Domestic *

Last Minute Crafty Christmas Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:58:00 +0000

What's that you say? We're less than two days from Christmas and you still haven't figured out what to get for Aunt Mildred. Or Grandpa Eddie. Or your sweet little niece and nephew? You love handmade gifts but have run out of ideas and you might just buy a gift card.

Before you run out and drop your hard earned cash on a piece of plastic check out these great gift ideas that you can make (even last minute), sometimes even with things you already have on hand. You'll be able to give a clever handmade gift and look super thoughtful doing it.

Food Gifts

1. Homemade Chocolate Syrup from Small Notebook. Most chocolate syrup bought in store is full of ooky mystery or genetically modified ingredients. I love that you know everything that goes into this one and it's a gift any mocha drinker or parent of children who drink chocolate milk will appreciate.

2. Homemade Ginger Syrup (my recipe). This is super easy to make and is also easy to make in large batches so if you need to make a gift for several people, you can crank out several bottles of this with less than an hour of hands on time from you.

3. Cookie Mix in a Jar from Bakerella. This is another one that would be great for making in multiples. Just set everything up assembly line style and crank out a dozen in an afternoon.

4. Candycane Hearts from In His Grip. These look easy enough to make and would be a fun project to involve kids with, whether it's dolloping chocolate or sprinkling crushed candy canes on top. If you have a stoneware cookie sheet, make these even faster by freezing your stone for a a few hours and then making the hearts on parchment paper placed on top. This will set the chocolate even faster.

Gifts for Parents and Grandparents

1. Framed Art & Artist Photos from Southern Exposure. Let your kids create a masterpiece and snap a photo while they're doing it. Frame both together and you've got a winning combination!

2. Thumbprint Holiday Cards from Meet the Dubiens. Pair one of these with a store bought gift to add a personal touch.

3. Personalized Candles from A Girl in Paradise. Let your kids draw or decorate a design that you transfer to a candle with a little help from a grown up.

4. Front and Back Bookmarks from Having Fun at Home. Snap some pictures of your kiddo(s) from both sides, upload to a site like Shutterfly or Walgreens that lets you swing by to pick up the pics later and you've got a fun meaningful gift that will be used by a bibliophilic grandparent.

Gifts for Children

1. Mustache Binkies (my project). They only take minutes to make but they are tons of fun for both kids and grown ups.

2. Tool Belt or Art Apron from Outnumbered. Nikki writes a great tutorial for making a tool belt for play toys. You could also follow the same tutorial to make an art apron that crayons or markers fit into.

3. Personalized Board Book from Chef Messy. Raid your photo archives or scan facebook for photos of family members to make a personalized board book. If you don't already have a spare board book lying around, check out Dollar Tree as they frequently sell two-packs of small board books for $1.

4. Gingerbread Playdough from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle. Whip up a large batch of heavenly scented non-toxic playdough for all the kiddos in your life using ingredients you already have in your pantry..

Or just add some bling...

At the end of the day if you decide to give a gift card anyway, you can always give it a festive DIY touch by packaging it in a fun snow globe using this tutorial from The Creative Mama.

A big thanks to all the bloggers who shared their great ideas to help us procrastinating crafters come through with great gifts just in time! If your project was featured, please feel free to grab a featured button:

And if we don't see each other until then...

.Merry Christmas!

I'm Dreaming of a . . . DIY Play Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Edited 01-16-2012 to add: I've done it! I finally finished my play kitchen. Please come check out my DIY Play Kitchen Reveal here!

My son is 19 months old and is just beginning to discover imaginative play. A few months ago, he decided that his stuffed dog needs to be walked outside on a regular basis but that was really the extent of pretend play until last month. Over Thanksgiving while my sister and I were cooking in the kitchen and wearing our grandmother's vintage aprons, my son came in the kitchen and decided he needed to wear an apron, too. We happened to have the apron my grandmother made my brother when he was a little kid so we threw that on him and he was happy as a clam. A few days later, he was carrying around baking pans and pretending to mix things up inside. That's when it dawned on me: he would totally dig a play kitchen.

So I started checking out play kitchens (to purchase) online. Most of them where huge chunks of plastic OR super expensive. Not our style and not in our budget. So I did what any crafter would do: I turned to Pinterest...and then I cruised Craigslist for a week and bought this:

(This is the photo from the Craigslist posting)

Several bloggers have been making play kitchens at home from cast off furniture. A lot of them are moms to boys who needed non-pink play kitchens or green moms on a budget who didn't want to sink money into a huge piece of plastic. Since I definitely fall into both of these categories, I can learn from these ladies!

Reasons why I'm loving the idea of a DIY Play kitchen instead of one from a box:

I'm saving money
I have complete control over the look and color theme of the finished piece (which is important since the downstairs of our home, where it's going to go, is an open floor plan)
I can choose green materials to reduce toxins and VOCs
Way more love goes into making something than buying it

If you're dreaming of making of play kitchens, too, check out these awesome inspiration pieces. These are all links to real blogs that show awesome in-progress pictures as well.

Chelsea from Finding Joy made a great play kitchen for her son, Jarvis.

Amy from Giggleberry Creations blogs about the awesome play kitchen her parents made for her daughter.

Britt from Britt & Her Boys blogs about the play kitchen she made for her son including how she did a lot of the details like the "granite" countertops.

Jenna from SAS Interiors made this great play kitchen from an old nightstand. Perfect if your kitchen needs to fit in a smaller space.

Read through the great links above (they all show useful in-progress photos) or check out my "Play Kitchen Palooza" pinboard where I'll continue adding great play kitchen and play food ideas. And of course don't forget to check back here over the next couple weeks (or better yet, subscribe by e-mail!) to see the big reveal of MY play kitchen and, of course, learn how I made all the details that's going to make mine unique.

Thanks, also to the great bloggers featured above who shared their work with the world. Please grab a featured button if you'd like:

Snowy Wonderland Christmas Ornament

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:34:00 +0000

I bought some great Christmas ornaments at Michaels a few weeks ago. I was actually looking for plastic ornaments (I do have a toddler) and thought that's what I bought....until I sat down to craft with them! I'm probably going to bring most of them back but I did really like the four pack of round, kind of flat ornaments I had and decided I'd make something...we'll just have to hang them up higher on the tree!

Here is how it came out:

Snowy Wonderland Christmas Ornament

I really like how painting the front and back of the ornament gives it some dimension. It's almost like you're looking across a snowy field to some trees in the distance.

Supplies

Glass or plastic Christmas ornament with removeable top
Martha Stewart self-adhesive holiday stencil pack
Paint brushes
Paint in the following colors:

Green satin finish
Green glitter
Metallic silver
Red
Clear with white or clear glitter (like 'sugar cube' from the martha stewart line)

Epsom salt
Funnel
Glass or craft adhesive

What I Did

Obviously not all the supplies are pictured, but this is what the stencil pack and the kind of ornaments I used look like (in case you need them for reference when you go shopping to make your own awesome ornament!). All these supplies are available at Michael's.

Paint the Tree Line

I cleaned the ornament so there was no grime that would keep the stencil or paint from sticking. I took the tree line stencil of the sheet and stuck it on the back of the ornament. The baseline of the trees was about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom. The self adhesive qualities of these stencils are great. They stuck to the curved surface really nicely and kept the paint from seeping under.

I painted the trees with a green satin paint and then painted over it with the green glitter paint while it was still wet. Then I peeled up the stencil and moved it over to do a second set of trees.

After I peeled off the stencil, I used my paint brush to fill in the gaps between the groups of trees, so it was one continuous foresty line

Paint the Front

Normal people would have waited for the back to dry first but I'm impatient. So I just carefully held the ornament at the top and bottom so I would not smudge the paint on the back (that tissue you see is actually on the floor...it's not touching the ornament).

I took the large tree and the "Merry Christmas" stencils from the same pack and placed them on the front. The tree line you see in the picture above are trees that are actually painted on the other side of the ornament...I didn't place the big tree on top of them.

I used the same satin green and glitter paint from the previous step. Painting on glass requires a little extra paint than on fabric so I made sure to use my visible brush strokes to my advantage by kind of feathering them out in layers to make it it look like layers of branches on the tree.

I peeled away the tree stencil and painted the Merry Christmas with metallic silver. Once I removed the stencil, I filled in some of the gaps with a fine paint brush.

Once that stencil had been peeled off, I painted a really thin coat of glitter paint to simulate snow (it's the "Sugar Cube" paint from Martha's glitter paint line) on the shoulders and across the back of the ornament. And by thin, I mean really thin. I dipped into the paint, wiped it off on a paper towel and blotted any glitter that remained onto the ornament. So kind of like dry brushing. But with glitter paint.

Let it Snow!

I really carefully removed the top and used a funnel to fill the ornament with epsom salt up to the level of the tree line along the back.

Finishing Touches

Once the salt was in, I decided the front looked a little bit too plain, so I added the date free hand using a thin detail brush and red pearl paint.

And while it probably would have been fine, I was a little nervous about how much more the ornament weighed now that it was 1/3 full of salt so I used glass and metal glue to glue the cap down once I reinserted the top/pin.

I'm really happy with how it turned out

I'm sharing my project with these great parties. Many of them are a collection of great holiday ideas! Come join the fun.

* Christmas Cheer Party at Hi Sugarplum* Holiday Happenings at What Che Said * DIY Holiday Crafts and Ornaments at Centsational Girl * Time to Shine at A Diamond in the Stuff * Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog * Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou * Mad Skills Party at Mad in Crafts * Dare to Do It Yourself at Newly Woodwards * Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z * Holiday Link Party at Momnivore's Dilemma * Handmade Christmas at Cup of Delight * Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Lane *

full disclosure: I had been sent the Martha Stewart paint and stencils as part of a campaign they did last month, for which I wrote this post on how to make stenciled holiday place settings. I have not been compensated for this post, though I am using leftover free product from the previous campaign. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

2011 Advent Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:05:00 +0000

So I'm a little behind with my Christmas Advent Calendar. I'd had this idea (or something similar) a while ago but since it required purchasing 24 books (we only owned 1 Christmas book before starting) it took a little while to find an affordable way to do this. FINALLY this week Dollar Tree got Christmas books. And even better...some of them came in a two-pack! Woo hoo! Fifty cent books baby! *Ahem* Sorry. Let me stifle my inner book nerd and regain my composure.

Anyway, Dollar Tree finally getting Christmas books was a huge relief since even the books at my local Goodwill were more than I wanted to pay.

So what did I do with them?

I have 24 different books or small presents wrapped and numbered under a small tree in the corner. I could not find 24 books I liked, so I do have some small presents like bubbles, coloring books and markers for 6 of the items. Next year I'm hoping to have all books (Christmas clearance shopping here I come!).

So we get to open one present a day and after Christmas, we can pack them all books up to reuse next year.

What about the gift wrap?

The gifts themselves are representative of the gift that God gave us when he sent us His son to live amongst us and save us from ourselves

I used plain brown paper wrapping to represent the humble way in which the Christ child came into the world. Despite being a person of great value, He was born in a plain, humble way: In a manger and without fanfare or glitz

I adorned the humble packages with scarlet yarn. Scarlet yarn is talked about a lot in the Bible for the building of the tabernacle. When God gave instructions for how to build the Tabernacle, he had the artisans use scarlet and other colors typically reserved for royalty. So how fitting, then, to tie in the scarlet as we celebrate the time when God came to Earth to dwell (literally: "Tabernacle") amongst his people?

I wrapped the yarn in a different way for each package:

Here's my budget breakdown:

Christmas Tree- On Hand (from our first Christmas)
Tree Skirt - On Hand (just draped a red tablecloth around the base)
24 books / presents - $12 (from the Dollar Tree)
(you could also do this for free or supplement the books you already own by getting some from the library)
Brown Wrapping Paper - $1 (from Dollar Tree in shipping supplies section)
Scarlet Yarn - On Hand (although I did see some at the Dollar Tree while I was there

Total Advent Tree Cost: $13

(not too bad considering I can keep re-using the books and tree)

Credit where credit is due:
I love giving shout outs to the people who inspired me even if my stuff ended up totally different from theirs. So...thanks to KatherineMaries.com for sharing the great idea to use books to countdown to advent and Jessica from Mad in Crafts who is also doing beautiful scarlet Christmas decorations, though from a different chunk of scripture.

I'm sharing with these great parties. Come join the fun!

* Holiday Happenings at What Che Said * Holiday Link Party at Momnivore's Dilemma * Christmas Cheer on Hi Sugarplum * Handmade Christmas at Cup of Delight *

A Green Family's Gift Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Have you seen the piece that Fox did this week on the 7 foods you should never eat? These are things green moms have been talking about for a while, so I'm glad to see it getting some mainstream attention! Seeing lists like this can be overwhelming, though. I mean, how do you live without canned tomatoes?! (ps I have an answer). If you have a green family on your list who is interested in cleaning up their family's food act, these might be some great presents to consider giving (or putting on your own list for Santa!).

What: A Pressure Canner (and canning supplies)

Why? Commercially canned foods almost universally contain the hormone-disrupting chemical, BPA. High acid foods like tomatoes, cause even more BPA to leach into food than with lower acid ones. BUT you can can your own tomatoes, beans and more at home. In glass jars. This severely reduces the amount of BPA that your family is exposed to - especailly if you are big on canned food items like diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.

Where to get it: This pressure canner from Presto is affordable and basic. For a little bit more you can get a canning starter set that includes everything you need except for jars. You'll want to make sure you get a pressure canner that comes with a pressure gauge. You can pick up jars in varying sizes at your local grocery store.

What: A Glass Popcorn Popper

Why? Chemicals that line bags of microwave popcorn like PFOA are linked to human infertility and certain types of cancer. Manufacturers are promising to phase these chemicals out by 2015. But let's be honest. That's a long ways away. In the meantime, do microwave popcorn the non-toxic way with this rad popcorn popper (which on my personal Christmas list this year). There are a variety of air poppers on the market, too. But this one won't blow a fuse and it can also go in the dishwasher.

Where to get it: This is pretty much the only glass popcorn popper I've seen on the market. Punch "glass popcorn popper" into google and a dozen sites will pop up that sell them. Pair it with a sampler of different kinds of popping corn. You can pick up fun popcorns at Whole Foods or Target, or get a ready-made sampler from Etsy Seller DellCoveSpices.

What: A CSA Membership

Why? Many kinds of non-Organic produce like apples and potatoes still retain traces of the pesticides used to grow them on or even in the fruit or veggie itself. Plus when the fruits and veggies at your corner store had to fly halfway across the globe to get there, the carbon footprint is high and their nutritional value is reduced. Enter the CSA: CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture." You pre-pay a local farmer for a share of the harvest and every week you get a box full of locally grown (many times organic) produce and sometimes eggs or milk, too!

Where to get it? Check out Local Harvest for more information about CSAs and for help locating a CSA program in your neck of the woods.

What: Glass Food Storage Containers

Why? Even if you use BPA-free plastic containers for your leftovers, other hormone disrupting chemicals called phthalates can still be lurking. In fact, some BPA-free plastics have even higher levels of phthalates than those that kept BPA in the mix (read: bad news). In a world of green-washing and marketing hype, go with glass. Know for sure that you're keeping crazy chemicals out of your leftovers and use pretty containers that can also go in the freezer, microwave, oven and dishwasher.

Where to get it? The pyrex set above is available at most department and home stores like Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond. Other brands make similar products but Pyrex is the one we use and love in our home.

What: Non-Toxic Nail Polish

Why? Most nail polishes contain a long list of highly toxic ingredients like formaldehyde, phthalates, actone and more (read more about it here). These chemicals don't just go on your nails - they get into your lungs even long after the polish is dry as the chemicals continue to off-gas for days. Keep toxic chemicals off your hands and out of your lungs by using non-toxic polishes like the ones from Piggy Paint or Gaiam.
Where to get it? Piggy Paint sells their full product line on their website. Also check naturals stores like Whole Foods or your local cloth diaper store (the Cotton Babies store in Vancouver carries these!). Hint: "Like" Piggy Paint on Facebook as they frequently post promo codes for discounts on certain colors or sets.

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I hope I've given you some great ideas as you shop for loved ones or put together your own wish lists. If you're a green mom or dad, leave a comment and share what you're jonesing for this year!

This is a non-sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine. No free products or compensation were given by the companies mentioned above for including their products or naming them in this guide.

Easy Upcycled Sugar Jar

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:22:00 +0000

This is a pretty simple project...but sometimes those are the best kind. It's not elaborate or fancy but fills a need and looks cute doing it. PLUS I had everything I needed on-hand so it was a zero-cost craft. Love that!

A couple weeks ago my church ran out of sugar on Sunday morning for the table with coffee. Yikes! One cool thing about my church is that it's smaller and so every pitches in to make things happen. A call was put out on facebook to see if anyone could grab more sugar canisters (kind of like these:)

...which is what we'd been using. They are admittedly un-cute. Plus the store name dropped in the post where more of these was available to purchase wasn't anywhere near my house. But come Saturday night nobody else had stepped up to volunteer to bring sugar. I had plenty of sugar at home....just not in a canister or other cute container that can sit out on the table.

What I did have, however, is a collection of glass jars that I like to use for crafts or storing leftovers. I went to my glass jar stash and found this baby which use to house organic apple sauce from Trader Joe's:

Perfect! Now it just needed a label. I pulled up Microsoft word on my computer and found a font I liked called "constantia".

Leaving it up on the screen of my computer, I grabbed a sharpie and free handed the letters onto the glass. I could have printed it off, taped it inside the jar and traced it....but I didn't want to chance waking up my sleeping kiddo (the printer is about 10 feet from the door to his room). I think it turned out alright:

Easy peasy! The lid screws on tight for storage plus this will be easier to refill (and cost way less to refill) than the disposable canisters we were using before. Green, frugal, free....it just doesn't get much better!

I'm sharing with these great parties. Come join the fun!

* Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma * Hookin Up with HoH at House of Hepworths * Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday * DIY Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty 101 * Lil' Luna Link Party at Lil' Luna * Show Off Your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans * Show and Tell with Blue Cricket Design * Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage * Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring * Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Lane * Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest *

Peppermint Pretzel Rods - Nailed It!

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:52:00 +0000

My good friend Niina who blogs at the Niche comes over to my house once a month or so with her husband and daughter. We usually make dinner together while the kiddos play together. Once dinner is done, we bust out our favorite card game of all time: Dominion.

This week, when they got to my house Niina told me she brought pretzel rods, chocolate chips and Andes mint baking chips because for dessert she wanted to try and recreate some dipped pretzels she had seen on Pinterest.

Photo and tutorial of non-fail pretzel rods from Rhodey Girl Tests

How hard can this be, right? Obviously we don't need to look at the recipe.

So we dumped the bag of chocolate chips in a glass measuring cup and put it in a pan of boiling water to do something kind of double boiler style without, you know, a real double boiler.

And it started to work but the chocolate needed to be thinner. Thinking the thickness of the glass was what was preventing it from getting meltier (that's totally a word), we popped it in the microwave.

And a weird thing started happening....the chocolate actually started clumping together and getting lumpy and hard.

So we put it back in the "double boiler" but it was no use. The chocolate itself kind of tasted like fudge but wasn't going to be suitable for dipping.

So we moved on to plan B: I had some pink colored "white chocolate" candy wafers in the back of my pantry. The instructions on the bag specifically said you could microwave them. So we put them in a bowl and microwaved in 30 second intervals until they were melty. But after dipping a couple of pretzels, we realized it really wasn't very runny so we tried microwaving some more to make it melt again....and the same thing happened! It started getting clumpy and hard. We managed to salvage some of the clumpy dip...got it on the pretzels and sprinkled it with chopped andes baking mints.

And they tasted awesome. But they were definitely not a pretty sight. Puke on a stick, anyone?

I hope I've inspired you to laugh at your own cooking and craft blunders this week. For more awesome Craft Fail moments, check out my friend Heather's website --> CraftFail.com.

This craft fail was too bad to not share with:

* Show Off Your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans * Friday Free for All at Young and Crafty *

Shutterfly Houseparty and Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:23:00 +0000

This Giveaway is Now Closed.

Congrats to Winners Kim D, Jennifer S and Ciji C!

A couple weeks ago I was delighted to be chosen as a Shutterfly Holiday Card House Party host!

What does that mean?

It means Shutterfly sent me a box of fun goodies including samples of their holiday cards as well as goodies like free promo codes for cards and calendars. All I had to do was have people over to my house to check everything out!

A couple weeks ago, I had friends over for coffee and apple pie and we took at look at all the fun goodies from Shutterfly. I love love love Shutterfly's cards (we've ordered birth announcements and holiday cards from them in the past). Whenever I've ordered cards or photobooks or prints from them before, I've been delighted with their quality. And of course the only thing better than things from Shutterfly is FREE things from Shutterfly!!

Shutterfly sent me enough goodies for all my guests to go home happy AND I have a few left over. You know what that means....

Giveaway Time!

I am giving away Shutterfly party packs to THREE different blog readers.

What could you win?

Each party pack includes:

A promo code good for 15 personalized holiday cards from Shutterfly.com
A promo code for a personalized 12 month wall calendar from Shutterfly.com
A $10 shopping card from Plum District

(Shutterfly promo codes must be redeemed by December 15, 2011. Plum District card must be redeemed by January 31, 2012.)

How to Enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite kind of holiday card is.
(cards with photos, cards that come with a newsletter, serious cards, funny cards, multi-holiday cards, Christmas cards, Hanukkah cards, New Year cards, cards with snowmen, etc. There is no right or wrong answer!)

Get Bonus Entries

You can also earn bonus entries for doing any or all of the following. After you do each one, leave a separate comment letting me know which thing you did to earn your bonus entry.
Don't forget your e-mail so I have a way to contact you if you're a lucky winner!

FOLLOW Carissa's Creativity Space with Google Friend Connect (that's the box that has the "join this site" button on the right side of any blog page underneath "My Fabulous Followers") or tell me if you already do
LIKE Carissa's Creativity Space on Facebook (or tell me if you already do)
SUBSCRIBE to Carissa's Creativity Space via e-mail or with Feedburner (or let me know if you already do)
FOLLOW ME @Carissa_Marie on Twitter

Other Contest Details and "Small Print"
This is a sweepstakes style giveaway. No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning are based on number of entries. Sweepstakes entry period is 7:15am (PST) on November 28th, 2011 through 11:59pm (PST) December 2nd, 2011. Each person may enter a maximum of five times and win only once. Three winners will be chosen at random using random.org. Winners will be notified via e-mail provided in comments on December 3rd, 2011. Winners will have until Monday, December 5th at 5:00am (PST) to respond to e-mail with a valid US mailing address to which the party pack will be sent. If winner does not respond in time, an alternate winner will be chosen, also by using random.org. Dollar value of goods redeemable by each prize pack is approximately $70. Taxes, shipping and handling fees will apply and will be the responsibility of the redeemer. Entrants must be above 18 years of age and have a United States of America mailing address. Shutterfly promo codes must be redeemed by December 15, 2011. Plum District card must be redeemed by January 31, 2012. While the promo codes are party packs being given away were provided by Shutterfly in conjunction with HouseParty.com, I have received no compensation for this blog post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

Best Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:50:00 +0000

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always a special time for us as a family because it was on Thanksgiving 7 years ago that my husband and I figured out that we liked liked each other in more than a best friends kind of way.

(Look at us that day...we look so young!)

This year we did Thanksgiving up north with my mom, stepdad, all my siblings (it's been a while since that happened) and my brother in law's parents. We had 14 people total, which I think is a record for Thanksgiving with this side of my family.

I was responsible for cranberry sauce and rolls. The rolls weren't anything fancy...just boxed sourdough bread machine mix which I let my bread machine handle and then I just turned it into rolls. The cranberry sauce on the other hand....awesome (if I do say so myself).

I know it's too late for you to make it for your families Thanksgiving dinner this year BUT you can pin it and come back later. Or use it for Christmas dinner. Or serve it warm over ice cream or waffles (yum!).

Best Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ever

Ingredients

1 cup Orange Juice
1 cup sugar
1 bag cranberries
zest, juice and pulp of 1 orange
1 apple

Add your orange juice and sugar to a sauce pan. Heat over medium high heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

Pour your cranberries into a colander. Rinse and pick out any smooshed or ugly berries. Add berries to the pan and stir to coat in OJ.

While berries are cooking, zest the orange. Cut orange in half squeeze halves by stabbing center with a fork and pressing orange halves around it. Scrape out some of the pulp as well. Add zest, juice and pulp to pan.

While berries continue to simmer, peel, core and chop apple into small pieces. Once most of the berries have burst, add apple pieces to pan and stir.

Cook for 5 more minutes then remove from heat.

Serve warm over waffles or ice cream. If using for a turkey condiment, allow to stand for about 15 minutes, then pour mixture into a glass bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

I'm linking up with some of my favorite parties...

* Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff * Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest * Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou * Show Off Your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans * I'm Loving It with Tidy Mom * The Holiday Link Party at What Che Said *

Stenciled Holiday Place Settings

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

I love seasonal decorating. But I'm also ~~lazy~~ short on time, so I really like having holiday decor that I can use for more than one occasion. I am currently in need of some holiday table decor that I can use for Thanksgiving, Christmas and maybe even into late winter. So when a big box of paints and stencils from Plaid's Martha Stewart line showed up on my porch, I knew exactly what I was going to use it for!

This post is brought to you Plaid's Martha Stewart line of paint and stencils. I received product and payment for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

Holiday Place Settings for Four

A tablecloth, placemats and napkins

Supplies Needed

1 twin flat sheet in red
1 twin flat sheet in taupe
Matching thread
Stencils
Stencil Adhesive Spray
Masking Tape
Paint brushes and pouncing sponges
Paint (all are from the Martha Stewart Craft line)

Multi-Surface Metallic in Copper
Multi-Surface Pearl in Mother of Pearl
Multi-Surface Glitter in Sugar Cube
Multi-Surface Satin in Habanero
Multi-Surface Glitter in Garnet

Make the Placemats and Napkins

I could have purchased napkins and placemats that were already ready for decorating but making them was the best bargain. For $10 (flat sheets are $5 each at Walmart) I got enough fabric to make a tablecloth, 4 placemats, 4 napkins and have plenty of red fabric leftover to use for something else. In general, this is one of my favorite ways to buy plain cotton fabric as the sheets are rather wide (about 68") and give you just about 3 yards of fabric bringing your cost-per-yard to about $1.60.

Prep Fabric

As mentioned above, I used twin sized flat sheets from Walmart. You'll need one in red and one in taupe. Wash and dry the sheets to get out any finishing chemicals in the fabric and to pre-shrink.

Cut Your Pieces

For the placemats, I just traced around a placemat I already had, giving myself about 1/2" buffer on each side. My rectangles ended up being 14.5 x 16.5 inches (you will need 8). The Napkins were 17" square (you will need 4) and were cut from the end of the sheet. The rest of the sheet will be used for the tablecloth.

Assemble The Placemats

Load your machine with matching red thread and using a long straight stitch, stitch all the way around the placemat, leaving an opening on one side in order to turn it right side out (use the yellow line as your guide).

To make the finished corners nice and crisp, clip the corners off at an angle (be careful not to cut through your stitches!) before turning the placemats right side out. Use your iron to press the placemats nice and flat and tuck in the edge where the opening was. Top stitch around the edge of the placemats using a medium length straight stitch, about 1/2 inch in from the edge.

Hem the Napkins and Tablecloth

Fold the edges of the napkins under twice and press with your iron. Repeat with the raw edge of the tablecloth (if you are using a twin sheet, the other three edges should already have a factory hem). Swap out your thread to match your napkin fabric and using a medium length straight stitch, stitch as close to the edge of the fold as possible.

Stencil Time!

The stencil pack I used came with several stencils. I chose a bird circled by a wreath for the placemats and a small matching leaf motif for the napkins.

Prep Your Stencils

Cut out the stencils you want to use and test their placement on the fabric. Once you know where you'd like them to go, flip them over so the part that will be against the fabric when you are painting is up. Move them to a covered work surface.

Grab the stencil adhesive spray and shake it really well. Holding the can about 8-10 inches from the stencils, lightly spray the back of the stencils until the surface is covered. Let the adhesive dry until it is no longer wet and is tacky to the touch.

Paint the Placemats

Grab a placemat and place the stencil where you'd like. I placed mine right in the center. Press down all around the stencil, paying particular attention to small and detailed sections, to make sure the stencil is well adhered so that paint can't creep underneath. Use masking tape to give yourself an additional buffer zone on any parts of the stencil that come close to the edge.

Squeeze some of the "Copper" colored Multi-Surface Metallic paint onto your palate. Dip the working end of a pouncing sponge in your paint and dab it around on your palate so there isn't any excess on the sponge. (I love the Martha Stewart pouncing sponges. They are contoured to make them easier to hold and they feel really good in your hand). Pounce your sponge around the wreath, being careful not to go over the edge or inside the bird. Come back and fill in smaller areas the big sponge missed with a wood handled foam brush if necessary.

Next, using the same dab and pounce technique, use a wood handled foam brush to lightly fill in the bird with "Mother of Pearl" colored Multi-Surface Pearl paint. Immediately following the pearl paint, use a different foam brush to lightly dab some "Sugar Cube" colored Multi-Surface Glitter paint over the top of the bird as well.

Double check to make sure you got enough paint in all the little nooks and crannies and if it looks good, peel up your stencil (it's important to do this while the paint is still wet). Looking good!

Now repeat the previous steps with the other three placemats.

Paint the Napkins

Since the napkins are only 1 layer of fabric thick, make sure you place something underneath the fabric while you are working to protect your table from any paint that might seep through.

Grab a napkin and turn it so the corner is pointing toward you. Place your small stencil in the corner and press down to make sure it well adhered.

Get a brush and use the same dab and pounce technique as before to fill the stencil in with the "Habanero" colored Multi-Surface satin paint. I used a regular paint brush here but you could use a foam brush or a sponge. Once it's filled in, lightly go back over it using the "Garnet" colored Multi-Surface Glitter paint.

Peel away your stencil and smile. Repeat the process with the other 3 napkins.

Now that your painting is done, set your placemats and napkins out flat so they can dry. One of the great things about the Multi-Surface paint is that there are no additional steps or extra things you have to add in order to make it fabric friendly. You do want to make sure to clean up your brushes and stencils right away, though, as wet paint is a bazillion times easier to clean up than dried on paint.

Set the Table!
To set the table, I first laid out the tablecloth I made and then layered a large piece of burlap from my stash over the top for texture. I only have 2 napkin rings, so I put half of the napkins through napkin rings and the other half were tucked into the wine glasses with the pretty part peeking out of the top. I added some candles and pumpkins for Thanksgiving but these are all easy things to trade out when it comes time for Christmas dinner!

This post is brought to you Plaid's Martha Stewart line of paint and stencils. I received product and payment for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. You can check out Plaid's full Martha Stewart product line here.

As is my custom, I'm sharing this great project with...

* Made by You Monday on Skip to my Lou * Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog * Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design * Tip Me Tuesday from The Tip Junkie * Freshmen Friday at Home Savvy A-Z * Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest * The Project Parade at the DIY Showoff * Holiday Link Party from Momnivore's Dilemma * Friday Free For All at Young and Crafty * Creative Bloggers Party and Hop at Homemaker on a Dime * Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming * Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring * Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Lane * I'm Lovin It at Tidy Mom * The Holiday Link Party at What Che Said * Handmade Christmas at Cup of Delight * Homemade Year at Blissful and Domestic *

Check out the other great projects in this campaign:

A Few of My Favorite Things: Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Now that Halloween is over, there is only one thing standing in the way of me and Christmas: Thanksgiving. That and about 36 days. Don't get me wrong: I love Thanksgiving. I love food and fall colors and family...what's not to love?

These are some of my favorite things from around the internet that may inspire you to make your Thanksgiving even more fabulous.

Fabulous Food

Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust by Taste for Adventure

This pie crust was originally designed to be used to make a sweet potato pie. I'll be honest: I don't like sweet potato pie. Or sweet potato anything, really. But you know what I do love? Cinnamon rolls. And this pie crust idea blows. my. mind. Use this great tutorial to make an amazing pie crust for what ever kind of pie you fancy.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans by Just Cook Already

Nobody will want to eat Aunt Mildred's green bean casserole once you wow your family with this super tasty (and vegiphobic family member friendly) green bean dish. Sign up to bring the veggie dish and you may even steal the show from the turkey.

Turkey Cake Pops from Bakerella

A fun alternative to pie for the kids or the pie-adverse (or something to bring just because they are super fun!). I heard a rumor my brother's girlfriend is going to be making these for our family for Thanksgiving. Sounds like sister-in-law material to me! Don't worry, Chantal. I don't just love you for your cake pops.

Divine Decor

Stacked Pumpkins in Skinny Vases from FallWeddings.com

I love the look of fun things filling vases. Their different sizes and lopsidedness makes them more fun and whimsical just simply filling vases or bowls with nuts or cranberries.

5 Minute Autumn Centerpiece from SAS Interiors

Facebook fans will recognize this project from SAS Interiors that I linked to last month. It's so simple, beautiful and easy that I just had to spotlight it here, too! Jenna's great tutorial walks you right through how to make this easy but impressive looking centerpiece.

THANKS Glasses from Naptime Decorator

If you have more than five minutes, check out this beautiful mantle decoration that Liz from Naptime Decorator made from Dollar Store materials. This would look great along the back of a buffet table, on a bar, the top of your china cabinet...or pretty much anywhere! Liz walks you through how she made it with great pictures on her blog.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I hope you found a little bit of inspiration for how to make your Thanksgiving even more special this year. If I featured your project, thank you for sharing your creativity with the blog community. Please feel free to grab a button!

How to Make Apple Sauce in Your Slow Cooker

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:13:00 +0000

It's slow cooker week over at The CSI Project! I love to use my slow cooker for all kinds of things from dyeing yarn to making dinner. So when I bought close to 50 pounds of Apples (and was then subsequently gifted about 10 more!), I recruited my slow cooker to help me make apple sauce.

It's not hard to do and if you like to can, it puts up really well using either a boiling water canner or a pressure canner. Don't can? That's okay! It keeps in your fridge for up to a week and you can share the extra with a friend.

I make my applesauce without sugar because most of the time, the apples are plenty sweet without it. Plus my toddler inhales bowlfuls of this stuff and doesn't need extra fillers like sugar. Adding cinnamon and nutmeg give the applesauce a great flavor but you can leave it out if it's just not for you!

Of all the times to invest in organic, any recipe using apples as the key ingredient is the time to do it. Conventional apple farmers use 56 or more different pesticides to keep those apples picture perfect and in 92 percent of apples tested this year, at least 2 of those pesticides remain on the apple even after they have been initially washed and brought to market (you can see more info about 2011 testing at Grist.com). What does that mean? It means you use conventionally gown apples, you may be getting a side of poisonous chemicals with your fruit. If you're going to go through the effort of making homemade apple sauce - do it right and do it chemical-free.

Ingredients

About 10 pounds (or however many you have) of organic apples
2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional) to help preserve color
Water as needed
1.5 Tbsp ground cinnamon (more or less to taste)
1.5 tsp nutmeg (more or less to taste)

Instructions

1) Wash your apples - even if you bought organic - to get all the dirt and dust off.

2) Peel, core and slice your apples. I LOVE my apple peeler slicer corer. It clamps to your counter or a stand and peels, cores and slices your apples with the turn of a crank. If you spend any amount of time baking with apples, it's definitely worth the investment because of all the time you save! Here's what it looks like...

So back to what we were doing...

Once you run the apples through this, you have a big long apple slinky (it's sliced in a spiral). Just cut the apple in half from top to bottom after running it through.

If you don't have one, just peel your apples and then core and cut into chunks or us one of those core and slice tools that you push straight down onto the apple.

3) Fill your slow cooker. As you peel and slice your apples, throw your slices into your crockpot. Just keep going until you run out of apples or space in your crock pot...whichever comes first.

4) Add Water. Add your lemon juice and some water to the crock pot. You don't need to cover the apples. For this full pot of apples, I probably added about 4-6 cups of water. If you add too much, you can always take the lid off and cook it down later, though that will add some time to the process.

5) Cover and Cook. Place the cover on your slow cooker and turn it on. If you set it on high, the apples will be ready in about 4 hours. If you're going to be away, set it on low and leave it to cook for 8-10 hours. You'll know your apples are ready when they are really soft and look about like this:

6) Blend or mash. Depending on what kind of texture you like for your apple sauce, you'll want to blend or mash your apples. I like to use an immersion blender and mostly blend it but leave it with some small chunks. Blend or run through a food processor until it's the texture you like.

7) Cook Down if Necessary. Evaluate how watery the applesauce is. If it's a bit too runny for your preferences, remove the lid and cook on high until it's the way you like it. Already like the texture? Move on to step 8.

8) Spice it up! If you're making spiced applesauce, now is the time to add your chosen seasonings. I usually add about 1.5 Tablespoons of cinnamon and 1.5 teaspoons of nutmeg for a full crockpot. Add what you like and keep tasting it until it's just right. If your applesauce isn't sweet enough for you, you can sugar at this point as well. Allow it to cook for about 5-10 more minutes to allow the spices and sugar to fully permeate the sauce.

That's it! You're done!
At this point, you can can your applesauce OR just chill and serve.

If you're going to can....
(disclaimer: these canning instructions are targeted to those who already know canning basics and technique. If you are a canning newbie, check out FreshPreserving.com's Guide to Canning or pick up a copy of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving and then come back!)

If you're going to can your apple sauce, go ahead and prep your jars (quarts and/or pints), lid pieces and chosen canner type (you can use either a boiling water canner or pressure canner for this recipe).

My shortcut from prepping jars is to fill clean jars with about 1 inch of hot water from the tap and load them into my microwave. Then microwave on high until the water boils - and then for about 2 minutes beyond that. It helps sterilize the jars with steam and warms them up. Then you just leave them in your microwave until it's time to fill.

Once everything is ready...
Fill your hot jars with hot applesauce, leaving 1/2 inch head space.

Wipe the rim, add and adjust your lids and load into your canner.

Processing times for pint and quart jars of Applesauce
Boiling Water Canner: 20 minutes
Steam Pressure Canner: 5 pounds of pressure for 8 minutes

Thanks for joining me! Now go fire up those slow cookers!

Want a printer-friendly version of this recipe without all the pictures? Check out the BakeSpace entry for this recipe here.

I'm joining these fabulous parties this week. Won't you join me?

* Mad Skills Party at Mad in Crafts * Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog * Lil' Luna Link Party at Lil' Luna * These Chicks Cooked Party at This Chick Cooks * What's Cooking Wednesday at The King's Court 4 * Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design * Tutorial Tuesday at Newlyweds on a Budget * Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma * Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty 101 * Strut Your Stuff Saturday from Six Sisters Stuff * Savvy Homemade Monday at Home Savvy A-Z * Inspire Me Fridays at The Joyful Stamper * Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest * Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating * Homemade Year at Blissful and Domestic *

Join me at the CSI Project!

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:33:00 +0000

I'm so excited to say that today I'm sharing my tutorial for how to dye yarn in your crock pot over at the CSI Project!

See this yarn? Made it in my crock pot!

(okay....techincally, I bought the yarn. I did, however dye it in my crockpot)

I have always been inspired by The CSI Project so it's a real honor to help them kick off Slow Cooker Recipes and Crafts week with my tutorial. If you are unfamiliar, make sure you add them to your blog roll! They have a different themed challenge every week where they feature 3 different tutorials (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and then on Thursday, they host a link party where you can link your blogged projects and enter to win great prizes!

If you would like to learn the ways of crockpot yarn dying ninjas, please join me over at the CSI Project today!

Divinely Inspired Comfort Food

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:32:00 +0000

One of the things I love about my church is that we do life together. One of the ways we do life together is the monthly cook-off challenge. Everyone loves food and our church is full of artistic people whose creative endeavors definitely cross over into the culinary realm.

The most recent food challenge we had was a "Comfort Food Cook Off." There were two categories: Savory and Sweet. You were also supposed to tell a story about your dish. Judging criteron included: your story about why your dish was the ultimate comfort food, appearance, overall taste, level of comfort brought by the dish and creativity.

Up until the day before the event I was thinking I was going to make a super cheesy Spinach and Artichoke dip. Comforting because it is gooey and cheesy and also because you can eat it with healthy things like celery and carrots, thereby appeasing any guilt you might feel over consuming large quantities of a gooey cream cheese based dish - and allowing the comfort to better permeate your soul. I even tested two different hot spinach and artichoke dip recipes on my husband the night before (we may or may not have consumed mostly hot spinach and artichoke dip for dinner that night). I had a plan. It was perfect!

Except that I woke up the morning of the challenge and all I could think about was cheesy, gooey, chicken enchiladas with green sauce. I mean seriously, ALL I could think about. Maybe it was divine intervention. Maybe it was my hormones. Either way, I needed to have creamy, cheesey, chicken enchiladas. Like now. For breakfast even. I talked to my husband hoping he would help me see reason. That I should stick with my tested recipe. But in the end, my gut feeling (literally) prevailed.

Having a known issue with regular enchiladas falling apart, I was trying to figure out how to counteract that. But while cruising for inspiration, I saw a recipe for enchilada lasagna and I thought it was exactly the construction I needed! I would make the enchiladas I craved in a lasagna format and win the day!

And I did. Despite having the stupidest story ever.

Because even though the above story isn't too shabby, that's not the story I told the judges. As I was plating my dish in the kitchen before presenting it to the judges, someone came in and told me "Hey, you know you're supposed to have a ridiculous story to tell the judges, right?"

"Really? But I don't have a ridiculous story."

"Then you have to make one up. It doesn't even have to be true. Think of something that will move them or make them cry. You got this recipe from your grand mother. On her death bed. Or you traversed the world to get it."

"Oh. Hmm. Okay so.....this lasagna is a delacacy because it grows on trees in Italy?"

""Perfect!"

So that's the story I told....it grows on trees in Italy. And whenever I want comfort to remember my home country (Home country? I'm a 3rd generation American!) I want gooey, cheesy enchilada lasagna. Like the kind that grows on trees. In Italy. The end.

No joke.

I don't know what I was thinking either. And honestly, I'm pretty embarrassed to be telling you I had a moment of SERIOUS lapse in judgement and told this horrendous story instead of the legit one. And I won anyway. I know. I can't believe it either. Because I had some pretty intense competition. This is the winning circle:

The "Story Teller Spirit" Award went to my friend Sunita who is an award winning song writer. She told a (true!) story that I hear was pretty fabulous about her African Peanut Stew. And no doubt. I wouldn't be surprised if she sung it.

The winner of "Save My Soul Satisfying" (AKA the savory category) was Trenton, who make a colossal 5 cheese blend grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough. Practically large enough for its own zip code and full of gooey cheesiness.

The "Sweetly Sentimental" award for the best sweet dish was Leanna, who made a mini cupcake trio of french toast cupcakes with maple syrup frosting, red velvet cake, and a herb cheese biscuit with goat cheese topping. WOW. I'm trying to get her to start a cupcake blog and/or do a guest post here about the french toast cupcakes because it may have been one of the best cupcakes I have had ever. And I have had some cupcakes.

And me. I won the title of "Comfort Food Champ" which is pretty humbling especially when you consider the combination of how fabulous my competition was and the embarrassment of how stupid my story was (word to the wise: don't let people change your story pre-competition. For real.)

But now that you've made it through that whole story, you deserve to be rewarded. How about with the recipe?

Green Chicken Enchilada Lasagna

Ingredients

1.5 pounds raw chicken OR 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 large can green enchilada sauce
16 oz. cream cheese
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped (stems discarded)
4 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided
1 medium sized onion, diced
12 corn tortilas

Notes:

This enchilada lasagna is assembled in a 2 piece, covered stoneware baker (I use the Pampered Chef "Deep Covered Baker") and then cooked in the microwave. Alternately, you could use a glass casserole dish with a microwavable lid. If you do not have a two-piece microwave safe dish of suitable size, you could a deep caserole dish and bake it in the oven at 350 for approx 45 minutes.

Instructions

If using raw chicken, pour enchilada sauce into a large skillet. Cook chicken pieces over medium high heat in enchilada sauce, turning every 10 minutes or so until cooked through. Remove chicken from sauce, and shred. Set aside. Leave sauce in the pan.
OR
If using pre-cooked chicken (such as from leftovers), put shredded or chopped chicken in a bowl and mix with 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. Toss to coat. Pour remaining enchilada sauce into a deep plate.
Place cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until cheese is very soft and easy to stir. Mix in chopped cilantro and 2 cups of the shredded cheese. Set aside.
Spread approximately 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of your deep covered baker. Assemble lasagna layers like so:

Dip 4 corn tortillas in the reserved enchilada sauce, and place in the bottom of the baker (overlapping and tearing as necessary to fit the shape and cover the whole bottom)
Drop half of the cheese mixture in little blobs on top of the tortillas. Smooth out with an offset spatula.
Add half of the chicken
Top with 1/3 of the diced onion and 2/3 cup shredded cheese

Repeat the layers 1-4 one more time. Top with last 4 sauce-dipped tortillas, remaining enchilada sauce, shredded cheese and diced onion.

5. Place cover on baker and microwave for 15 minutes (or bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes). Allow to stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with fresh pico de gallo salsa and sour cream.

I'm linking up this week with these fabulouso parties!

* Catch a Glimpse Thursday from A Glimpse Inside * Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma * These Chicks Cooked Party at This Chick Cooks * What's Cooking Wednesday at The Kings Court 4 * Show and Tell and Blue Cricket Design * Tutorial Tuesday at Newlyweds on a Budget *

Better-Than-Canned Pumpkin 101

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Last week I had the opportunity to share a guest post over at The Green Kids Guide. If you are like me and are always looking for ways to help eliminate BPA exposure (or just like learning new cooking techniques), come check out my post, "A BPA-Free Halloween is as Easy as...Pie!" where I'll teach you how easy it is to make fresh pumpkin puree instead of having to get it from a BPA-lined can.

PLUS you'll get my recipe for chocolate pumpkin spice cake....which is a fabulous way to sneak some fresh veggie nutrition into your husband's or child's diet and they will love you for it!

While you're there check out Erin's awesome resources including her Green Kids Biz Directory that highlights companies that make or sell natural products for your natural family.

The Candy Fairy

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:05:00 +0000

Halloween can be a funny holiday. I have never enjoyed the creepy, gross-you-out, super scary things that some people like to do for Halloween. But I do love pumpkins, leaves and costumes (non-scary ones of course). As mom to a little guy, though, Halloween brings a whole new dynamic....what to do with all that candy?!

Last year, we didn't go trick or treating. I made K a Yoda costume, Joe was a Jedi and I was Princess Leia. We went to a Halloween party and K was so little we just wore him around in the sling all night. We had a blast but because we didn't go trick or treating, there was no need to worry about piles of candy when we got home.

Halloween 2010 - K is 5 months old

This year was a little different because K can walk and could actually go trick-or-treating. K's friend Evie came over and we took them out trick-or-treating. Evie was a cheerleader and K was a monk (You can even check out my monk costume tutorial), although he was also frequently mistaken for being a Jedi. We just went around our block but still came home with a nice little bag of candy.

Halloween 2011 - K is almost 18 months old

So now, what to do? We have a bag of candy and we don't really eat candy. K, especially, doesn't eat candy. I got a lot of "let him have one piece a day" advice (and a lot of looks from people who thought I was nuts for wanting to avoid giving my 1 year old candy), but I just didn't feel comfortable going from one piece of candy or a bite of a cookie about once every 10 days or so to once a day. Why? Primarily because most candy has high fructose corn syrup as a main ingredient - which is made almost exclusively from genetically modified corn. Most candies also include artificial food dyes, which studies are starting to show can cause behavior problems in some children, especially those with an intolerance to food dye, like my nephew. So, uh, no thanks.

But back to my original question....what are we going to do with the candy? Enter...

The Candy Fairy!

I read about the Candy Fairy online and thought it was such a genius idea that we decided to adopt it. The Candy Fairy, you see, is a cousin of the tooth fairy. Her job is to help her cousin's mission of pristine teeth by removing excess candy from homes post-Halloween. Once you are done trick-or-treating, you can pick out one thing from your bucket for every year old you are. Everything else gets left for the candy fairy. She comes overnight and takes the candy away and leaves a cool toy in it's place!

The Candy Fairy is also industrious enough to wrap presents in a blankie and ribbon from Mommy's studio

Whoa! Cool alphabet toy!

What do you do with all your Halloween candy? Does the Candy Fairy visit your house? Do you bake it into cupcakes? Do you give it away? I'd love to hear about it!

The Littlest Monk: A Halloween Costume How-To

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:36:00 +0000

I had these great plans for Halloween in my head. Fancy costumes for our whole family including hand-sewn retro style dress for me. Fabulous! Until it was 3 days before Halloween and I had neither time nor a Halloween costume budget. Snap! What to do?

When I was talking through my conundrum with my husband he suggested we make K a monk. And while it sounds like an odd choice, our son does have a physique to pull it off....a cute little toddler belly and so little hair on the top of his head that he almost looks bald. It also has the added geeky appeal of it doubling as a "Reformation Day" costume (Luther is one of my husband's favorite movies. Ever.).

It was cheap and easy to make. Less than $10 in material and less than an hour of time. Depending on how you accessorize this, you could be a more specific character (St. Francis of Assisi? Luther? Friar Tuck from Robin Hood?), too

You'll need:

About 1 yard of brown polar fleece (In my stash. Purchased months ago for $3.99 on sale at Jo-Ann's)
1 1/4 yard of upholstery cord ($4.39 at Jo-Ann's without a coupon)
A long sleeve shirt, a pair of pants and a hooded jacket or coat that currently fit your child (for sizing the pattern pieces)
Brown Thread
Sewing Machine

Cut Out Your Pieces

The monk habit is only 4 pieces: a front, a back and a 2 piece hood. To cut your pieces:

1) Lay out your material, folded in half (the way it came off the bolt). Grab a long sleeve shirt and a pair of loose fitting long pants that currently fit your child and lay them out on top of the fabric.

2) Cut around the outline of the clothes. Give yourself about 1/2 inch allowance along the upper edge of the sleeves. Cut the cuff-end of the sleeve to end where the shirt sleeve ends. For the bottom edge of the sleeves and along the sides, give your self a 2 inch buffer.

When you're done, it should look something like this:

3) Remove the clothing and cut a swoop for the collar line

4) Because you had your fabric laid out double, you should now have 2 identical pieces that look like this:

5) Cut out the hood pieces by laying the hood of a coat or sweater that already fits your child on top of 2 layers of fabric so the front edge lines up with an edge like so:

Cut around the outline of the hood, giving your self 1/2 - 1 inch of buffer. Cut the bottom edge of the hood at an angle, following the line of the seam on the garment you are using for a template. Like so:

You should end up with 2 identical pieces that look like this:

Let's get Sewing!

Thread your machine with matching brown thread and set your machine to do a long, straight stitch.

Next, you'll want to decide which side of the fabric you would like to have facing out as your child wears it. My fleece had a fuzzy side (usually considered the right side) and a flat, boring side (usually considered the back side). I wanted my monk to look plain, so I chose to have the boring side out and the snuggly, fuzzy side in. Decide which side you would prefer to having showing and proceed.

1) With (what you have decided will be) the right sides together, sew the body pieces as marked with the yellow lines. Now, turn the body right-sides out so the seams are inside. optional: You may choose to hem the cuff ends of the sleeves and the hem if you would like. I chose to hem just the sleeve and leave the hem raw.

2) Next, with right sides together, sew the hood pieces as marked:

Turn the hood right-side out.

optional: The raw part of the seam will be inside the hood BUT if the hood is hanging and not on your child's head, you will see the raw seam. Decide if this bothers you. If it bothers you (it bothered me), with the raw seam turned inside the hood now (right side of the fabric facing out) sew along the same edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. This will contain the raw seam. Again, this is optional.

3) Attach the hood to the neckline by first inserting a pin to mark the center, back of the neck. Then lay the hood on the body, lining up the center hood seam with the pin.

Moving from the center seam out, pin the hood to the body.

With a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew the hood to the body, removing the pins as you go.

optional: If the raw nature of this seam bothers you (it bothered me...apparently I'm neurotic), you can stitch down the inside of the raw seam with a wide zig zag stitch. Once you have stitched the seam open with the zig zag, you can trim any excess raw edges, being careful not to clip the threads.

Get Dressed.

Slip the little robe on your kiddo. Don't they look snuggly and warm? Tie a knot in each end of the upholstery cord you chose to use for a belt and wrap it around their waist. That's it! Enjoy your cute little monk!

I'm linking up with these great parties...

* Made By You Mondays at Skip to My Lou * Mad Skills Party at Mad in Crafts * Get Your Craft On Tuesdays at Today's Creative Blog *

Playing with Silhouettes

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Did you guys know that I Heart Faces now has their own web-based show hosted by My Craft Channel? Well they do! I was checking out the latest I Heart Faces episode and they talked about how to use Picnik or Photoshop to turn a photo into a silhouette that you could use for all kinds of crafts. I'd seen silhouettes in magazines and in craft blogs but have never actually made one myself.

So, inspired by the show I spent part of my afternoon playing around with photoshop and a great side profile picture of my son and my cousin's daughter and got this:

from this:

(okay, this one is cropped a bit for modesty since it was a super hot day and Lillian is just wearing a diaper)

If you crop a bit to focus on just my kiddo, I've got this one now, too:

Love it!

I feel all kinds of crafty and accomplished and I haven't even done anything but make the graphics yet. Amy and Angie (the I Heart Faces ladies) had some fun ideas for framing the silhouettes against fun patterned paper. I think they might look fun on a pillow or as a Christmas ornament of some kind, too. Or since halloween is coming up....maybe a pumpkin carving stencil?

So many ideas...so little time! I'll keep you guys posted on what I decide to do with my fun new graphics. But won't you join me? Follow their easy instructions and get your own tutorial and let me know what you decide to make with yours!

As usual, I'm linking up with some fabulous parties:

* Made By You Mondays at Skip to My Lou * Creative Creations Tuesday at Nothing but Country * Get Your Craft On! at Today's Creative Blog *

Fall Wreath Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (Carissa) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:09:00 +0000

I love me some fall decor! And while I love seasonal decor, I'm also lazy. I want to decorate for fall but I don't want to have to swap out my fall decor until I'm ready to put up my Christmas stuff. Which means I like fall decor that is generic enough to last from September through the end of November - not anything too Halloween or Thanksgiving specific.

I showed you my current fall wreath a couple weeks ago but wanted to share a few of my other favorite fall wreaths from around the internet for your crafting (and in one case, purchasing) enjoyment...

Autumn Wreath from In His Grip

Judy from In His Grip crafted this fabulous fall wreath using burlap strips, jute twine and other scrappy embellishments. She shows you step-by-step what she did so you can make your own fabulously rustic looking monogram wreath for your door, too.

Ombre Effect Wreath on Every Creative Endeavor

Bev from Flamingo Toes shares a guest post over at Every Creative Endeavor for how to make this beautiful ombre rosette wreath. It's a complete tutorial including how to make the fabric rosettes and how to print on fabric (it's surprisingly easy) to make the cute little bunting.

$10 Fall Wreath from Shanty 2 Chic

Whitney from Shanty 2 Chic is due to have a baby any day now but it hasn't stopped her from crafting up a storm. This cute wreath is made from Hobby Lobby finds and looks super high end but cost less than $10! Love that! Go check out her tutorial and wish her luck with her new little bundle of baby.

Mossy Pumpkin Wreath from Etsy Seller TwoInspireYou

Want a super cute wreath but you're out of time with the Halloween frenzy coming up next week? Pop over to Etsy seller TwoInspireYou's shop and pick up this cute mossy wreath with little pumpkin accents and burlap ribbon hanger. Adorable!

I hope you guys enjoyed my fall wreath round up! If you love wreaths like I do, I'm always adding more to my wreath board over on Pinterest. Also.....if you were featured, please feel free to grab a button!