CraftYay

Chicken Mozzarella Sandwich

2012-02-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

Chicken Mozzarella Sandwich

(SOOOOO Easy!!!)

You will need:

1. Cooked Chicken
2. Stewed Tomato's

3. Italian Bread
4. Mozzarella Cheese
5. Spinach

Fry up some chicken & add some pepper. Pretty simple. :)

Crush up a can of Italian Stewed Tomato's.

(Or you could use a spaghetti sauce)

I used a fresh loaf of french bread & toasted it. (mmm soo good!)

Top your toasted bread with chicken & Mozzarella Cheese &

microwave it for a few seconds until the cheese melts a bit.

Top with your smashed stewed tomato's.

Top with Spinach

Mmmmm....
Super Easy Super Yummy Sandwich!

I have a serious problem when it comes to Carbs. I am addicted. Bread is my friend. If I was stranded on an island and could take 1 thing with me, it would be enough bread to last me a life time. For real. But I do try to eat healthy so I made myself a sandwich a little different. Toasted 1 slice of bread, topped with sauce, added chicken, then cheese, popped it in the microwave for 15 seconds & topped with extra spinach. It was Wonderful.

Healthy Banana Ice Cream

2012-02-14T08:43:00.000-08:00

Healthy "Ice Cream"

My 5 year old son Braiden & I are on a "Health Kick" Anything that is healthy, we are interested in it. Especially if it is delicious and we can call it a dessert!

You will Need:
Banana's (I used 4 large bananas) Pealed*
Cocoa Powder (Optional)
Peanut Butter (Optional)
Vanilla (Optional)
Whipped Cream (Optional)
(As you can see by all the "Optional's" you can pretty much make this how ever you want!)

First cut up all of your bananas in chunks & freeze them uncovered

for at least 2 hours (over night is just fine) I froze them in a Tupperware
container stacked on top of each other kind of zig zagged so they would

be easy to break apart.

Place your frozen bananas in your blender & Blend, Blend, Blend!

This is a good 10 seconds into blending...

30 seconds...

This is about 2 minutes into blending. You can see that its starting
to look like Ice Cream but not quite all the way there. Still some
Chunks of banana that need blended.

This is my blended banana! Awesome!
You can eat it just like this if you want! Tastes Great!

I added 1 tablespoon of PB, 1 tablespoon of Cocoa Powder & 2 Teaspoons of Vanilla
(My husband is not a big Banana Person so I was trying to make it not taste like banana)
Now Blend! ;)

We topped it with Whipped Cream & sprinkles to make it fun.

Kids LOVED it!Husband, not so much. Tasted too much like Banana Pudding for him...

But Here is a tip if you don't like Banana's all too much... the riper you let the bananas get, the less they will taste like banana. I used YELLOW bananas. So go ahead and wait until they are spotty brown on the outside & then freeze them (Pealed & Cut)

Also, make sure to serve this immediately! If you spend any time doodling around it will become "pudding like" ... Could be another reason my husband didn't like it as much.... I of course had to take pictures so there was a slight delay getting his ice cream to him. :)

You know what I JUST realized??... My husband is a pain in the butt... He LOVES Banana Pudding... Yet he didn't like this? Maybe its because he was expecting Ice Cream... haha he's so stubborn!!

Braiden's Ice Cream

Alexis's Ice Cream. (She's a Weirdo & doesn't like Whipped Cream.

Yet she likes Cool Whip!? Yup, Weirdo!)

Mustache Valentine

2012-02-13T23:29:00.000-08:00

I didn't get around to sending Christmas Cards last winter so I have been determined to do something soon to send to family & friends then I first saw this on Pinterest & decided to make my own to send out to family and friends.. and guess what? I am late once again and will be mailing them on Valentines Day!! I have a serious problem.

What do you think? Cute!?

The first mustache valentine I saw was on the Craft Monkey Blog. Heidi, the author of the blog made one of her son & attached a fake mustache to the photo on her sons face so it appeared he was wearing the mustache. I loved that idea but when working with 2 kids it made it impossible & I had to change things up a bit so I just attached the fake mustache on the back of the photo w/ a glue dot & it worked perfectly!

First in order to do this I had to make Mustache's. This was pretty simple but I would have benefited a lot if I actually read Heidi's instructions in the first place... haha who would have thought that reading instructions would be less stressful!? Anyone!? ;)

This is what you will need for the Mustache's

1. Black Felt
2. Cardboard/Paper plate
3. Marker
4. Scissors
5. Double sided tape
6. Mustache Template (Optional)

As you can see I free handed my mustache's, I did not use a template. I did these 2 on the back of a paper plate. You will want to make 1 side of your mustache at first. When you have them drawn just the way you want them cut them out.

Now you will want to trace your own mustache template that you just cut out.

This way your mustache will be even on both sides. :)

(The first 2 mustaches I made I used my kids leftover happy meal boxes to cut the mustaches out.)
Now that you have your mustache templates you will want to tape them to your black felt.

Now you can cut them out. See not so hard to do! :)

I dressed my kids up in their Valentines Day outfits & took them to the park to take some photos, we had some bad luck since I chose to take them out on a rainy day so we didn't get a lot of photos taken, this was the best & I am settling for it. My son's mustache was falling forward and every time I look at it it drives me crazy but oh well! :)
(This is the part where I wish I would have done a little more reading on Heidi's blog. She used a black felt that had a sticky back. Really? They make that? Would have been a tad easier than dealing w/ tape. )

I used this picture (above) & edited everything on PicNik (Its Free!). Including the border, heart, & writing. Picnic is really simple to use. I love it!

I was impressed at the quality of the picture I took, it looks a little "light" because of how much I cropped it in PicNic. The quality looks better on the actual photo but my pictures were "chopped" by Walgreen's so that was a little upsetting but it is what it is and they are still fun! Maybe if I wouldn't have gotten sick & rushed things last minute I would have been a little pickier w/ the photos & prints.. so my final tip for this project... Don't wait till the last minute!!! :)

Felt: $.29/sheet (I used 2)
Glue Dots: Already had them
Double Sided Tape: Had it on hand.
Photo Prints: $.19/each @ Walgreen's
You could definitely get prints cheaper if you plan ahead or take the time to go to Wal*Mart & use their "instant" machines. I believe they are $.9/photo

So as you can see this project did not cost much at all, is very creative and a whole lot of fun for your kids.

Magnetic Make-Up Board

2012-02-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Magnetic Make-Up Board

I first saw this idea on Pinterest & loved the idea so I decided to make my own.

It was Extremely Easy & not too time consuming at all!

I purchased this mirror at a local goodwill for $4.99

I planned on re-painting the mirror but liked it way too much so I left it the way it was. It looks like someone decided to paint it a bronze/silverish color but they only did 3 sides over the gold & it grew on me. Made it seem a little more "Vintage" to me.

I purchased a piece of 1ft X 2ft piece of metal at Home Depot. It was already pre-cut at the perfect size I needed.

I also purchased a piece of fabric from Joann's to cover the front of the metal . I glued the fabric to the back of the metal with super glue.

I then folded the edges tightly to try not to leave any access wrinkly fabric in the front then I left it to dry.

Then I took all of the makeup I use most & hot glued the back of them.
(If you have loose stickers on the back of the makeup you will want to remove them unless they are completely secure.)

Then I placed the magnets on them.
(Make sure you wash the magnets before you hot glue them)

Give the glue time to dry.
When they are done drying (Only takes a few minutes) plop them on the refrigerator & see if they stick. For heavier objects you may need to add an extra magnet. I put 2 magnets on a few of the items.

Place the piece of metal in the frame like you would normally.

Make sure you seal the back.

(I used my hot glue gun)

Tada! This is what it looks like with fabric, looks way better than it would have with an icky piece of metal.

Now you can hang it in your bathroom & add your accessories!
As you can see I made a cute matching magnetic closed case to hide some small things like tweezers, you can find the steps I made to make the Hidden Case Here.

Frame: $4.99
Fabric: $1.68
2ft X 1ft Metal: $8.29
Magnets, Case of 8 (2), $2.89
I had the hot gun/super glue & make-up already.

Suggestions

*Make sure to iron your fabric before glueing it to the piece of metal. As you can see I did not & there are a few wrinkles. Not Extremely noticeable but still. Not Cool.

*Make sure to wash your magnets. They are black & there is a chance they will have some grease on them. Like Mine!... Left a few black marks on my light colored fabric. Again, Not Cool.

*When you glue your magnets onto your makeup use a glue gun. Glue from a glue gun is pretty secure but it can be pealed off. This way when your makeup runs our you won't lose your magnet. (Pictures Below)

Hot Gun Glued Magnet

Came off perfectly.

Home Made Coffee Creamer

2012-01-26T00:23:00.000-08:00

Yumm...

First thing in the morning,

sometimes in the afternoon

and often times in the evening....

I want my COFFEE!!

And Nothing makes it better than Home Made Coffee Creamer!
This is sooo simple to make!

You will need:
*1- 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
*14 oz of Milk (Any Kind You Prefer- I Used Almond Milk)
*You will also need a jar or container w/ a lid.
*Flavor (Optional)

Put your Sweetened Condensed Milk in your jar.

Then your milk! :)

Now, if you want a flavor you can add a tablespoon or two, Or more. :)

I Love Vanilla Coffee Creamer so I used Vanilla
You don't have to use flavor if you don't want to.

The mixture without any kind of flavor is great. Gives it some Sweetness but keeps the Coffee Taste!

Perfect! Soo Good! :)

Tips, Hints & Other Helpful Information

This contains milk so you will want to keep an eye out for the expiration date & discard when expired.

Home Made Almond Butter

2012-01-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Home Made Almond Butter

I have been trying really hard to eat healthier lately & learn how to make my own less processed foods that I will enjoy & that actually taste GOOD to ME. It has been a fun adventure so far. I think its totally Awesome when people can make their own stuff at home. I have yet to do anything complicated, only easy stuff, so no worries, if I can do it, you can do it easily!

I was on Pinterest Yesterday when i saw this Delicious breakfast that I had to make called Almond Banana breakfast Oats. I didn't even know the ingredients, i just saw it and was like "Oh Yeah." One of the toppings was Almond Butter (I had never heard of Almond Butter before) The Author of the blog (Caitlin) posted the recipe told me how to make it. *YAY* Seemed Simple so I tried it out. I also made her oatmeal per her instructions on her blog. Tasted Great! Even without the Almond Butter! But of course I still had to try it just the way her recipe states.

This is what you NEED.

Almonds. As many or as little as you want.
*Oven * (PreHeat to 300 Degrees)
*Blender
*Airtight Storage Container

Take as many almonds as you want & spread them evenly on a pan.
(I had a quart bag full of almonds that I used)

Now you need to bake your almonds for 10 minutes.
Take them out, turn them over
& bake for an additional 10 minutes.

See how they are darker? They are Now Toasted Almonds.
If you are wondering why you need to toast them, its because they get soft so they will blend a lot easier. I was wondering the same thing until I ate one of the toasted almonds and was like, "Oh, they are soft." LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Now its time to blend them. You are going to be blending A LOT...
like, A lot.. A lot..!

So make sure your blender is up for this. If you don't have that great of a blender I would borrow someone else's blender or get a new one. (I am speaking this from experience... as I bought myself a new blender today because my little mini blender couldn't handle making this last night so I had to put my almond butter on hold! I was not a happy camper!)

Okay, now start blending. This picture above is "In Motion" & I took this right after I started blending, a good 3-5 seconds in -this is is what my almonds looked like. Its kinda crazy how fast they blend in the beginning.

About 2 minutes later.

4-ish minutes later.

Oh, i should tell you, I didn't blend them all at the same time, I put half of my toasted almonds in the blender to start off with - the other half I added in the picture above but had previously blended them in my other mixer- (the one that didn't want to keep up with how much I was blending)

Okay, now after a while the almonds will start to clump together a little. From what I understand it does this because the oils are slowly starting to come out of the almonds.

This is a good 10 minutes into "blending", the Natural oils are starting to leak from the almonds making it pasty. But its not done yet.

Its getting there but its still not done.

Almost Done.

You will know when its done. You can just tell. You can see the natural oils in it and it is very smooth. Looks like Organic Peanut Butter. Only it tastes SSsOOooooo much better!
Now put it in your airtight container, when you are done tasting it 500 times like me.

I am a HUGE Nutella Lover. I could eat a jar of it without trying easily. But its not very good for you so I try not to. haha. but I always find myself eating it when i want something sweet. I could replace any kind of junk food for a jar of Nutella.

Okay, so This is what I did, I left about 3/4 cup of almond butter in my blender & added 2 tablespoons of Nutella. YUMM... This tastes soo good... Not a huge nutella taste but definitely noticeable. You could always add more...... ;)

Now we have Nutella Almond Butter too!
So if your craving chocolate, Voila! you have a little bit of a "healthier choice".
I play mind tricks on myself so knowing that there is nutella in here I will probably choose this as my dessert of choice. :)

Home Made Nutella Almond Butter & Almond Butter
I totally love how when I am taking pictures in my glass bowls it makes a reflection that looks like a heart. So neat.

Tips, Hints & helpful thoughts

You can make your own "Butter" out of any kind of nut. You would think I would have known this before yesterday but no, I didn't. Didn't have a clue you could make something like this at home. When my Nutella is out I am going to try and create my own with Hazelnuts!

Be creative, I added Nutella to some of my Almond Butter but you could easily add Cocoa Powder, Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, just about anything. Or just leave it plain. Seriously, I am loving making my own stuff. I feel so Awesome about myself right now! :)

Home Made Butter & Buttermilk

2012-01-18T15:05:00.000-08:00

Talk about Feeling Accomplished & Awesome with little effort.

This is SO COOL!

You have to do it.

You just have to.

Make Your Own Butter!

This is My, "Braiden the Barbarian Beaver the Bear".. (that is just one of his nick names...)
He is helping me with my Tutorial today! (Well, more like he tried.)

Here is what you will need:
*1 or 2 Jars w/ lids (I used a Mary Calenders ranch dressing container)
*Whipping Cream OR Heavy Cream

*Sea Salt (Optional)

Yup! 2 Things, that's all you need!

Have your little helper pour the Whipping Cream in your container.
(Surprisingly he did that without making a mess!)

Don't fill it all the way (A little less than this actually)

Now,

SHAKE IT!!

SHAKE IT!!
&
SHAKE IT!!
&

SHAKE IT SOME MORE!!

........Until you (Or your slave) is tired of Shaking it!.........

(Braiden lasted like 3 minutes.. such a wuss!)

Then Blend it!

Blend It!

Blend It!
This is Soooooooo much easier!!!-Most recipes for making butter insist that it must be shaken for 20-30 min. Paleeese! Not gunna happen!
(In the picture above you can see that its starting to turn into a whipped cream)

It will start to clump after you have blended (or shaken) it enough.

Keep On Blending for a little longer.

(You can clearly see the Butter & the Butter Milk)

Now when the butter all clumps together like this, its time to drain the Butter Milk.

Now you have homemade buttermilk as well!

You don't have to keep it if you don't want to but why wouldn't you, right? :)

Now all you have is the butter left!

Rinse the butter with Ice Cold Water. (1/4 cup water or so) & squish the extra buttermilk out of the butter with a fork or spoon.
(You may need to do this a few times.)
Your goal is to have clear water when you mix it with your butter then Drain.

Now you have a jar of homemade butter & a jar of homemade Butter Milk!
How cool is that?

(At this time if you want to add a pinch of salt do so. I didn't have any on hand so I skipped that step.)

It made about a cup of butter & a little over 3/4's cup of butter milk. I did not use my entire jar whipped cream. The jar that I made it in was just too small.

I didn't waist any time! I made toast right away & it was sooo good!

Tips, Hints & Thoughts

Make sure the water you mix with your butter is clear. If you don't get all of the buttermilk out of the butter it will spoil faster.
Many recipes i found online to make butter suggested you use room temperature cream, they said it makes it less sweet if you do that. I did not, I used it cold out of the fridge.
You can replace sea salt w/ regular salt if you want. I hardly add salt to anything so I didn't.

I have researched this a lot and I am happy I decided to make my own. It was very rewarding & was not time consuming or expensive like other stuff I want to try. I did find out that you can get Heavy Cream (In Most States) from a local farm for an inexpensive price if you want to make your own & save money. But it is illegal in some states. Not exactly sure about the reasoning behind that.

Paper Mache Paste 1

2012-01-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

There are many recipes is flying around Pinterest being advertised as a recipe to replace your expensive mod podge. I am a Review Reader- Big time. It is almost addicting to me. While reading these reviews many people said they worked great & many others said the recipes did not, so I decided to try a few. Mod Podging anything is my favorite craft. I just LOVE it! But Mod Podge is very expensive to purchase..

1st "Recipe"

This is what you will need (Plus a few extra kitchen items)

1 1/2 cups Flour
1/4 of a cup of sugar
1/4 tsp oil
2 cups of Water

an air tight container
Pan
Stove
Spatula

Put 2 cups of water in your pan & heat your stove top to low-med.

When water gets warm Add All Ingredients

Now Mix & Mix (see how its starting to become a soupy mixture?

There will be flour clumps, try to blend it as much as possible & reduce your stove to low heat.

Let the mixture sit for approximately 10 minutes (stirring occasionally)

IF your mixture still has large chunks of flower strain it over a bowl.

The runny parts will run through the strainer

The clump parts will not (For the most part)

There are still some small flour clumps in my mixture.

Now its time to test it out. (I used the back of a canvas that I plan on deco-paging when I get a few other projects out of the way)

As you can tell by the photo it looks creamy- Many Many Reviewers said it was creamy but Dried clear. Just like Deco podge is white but dries clear.

I placed a small piece of paper on the "mixture" & brushed some more on top of the paper & let sit over night.

This was my final outcome in the morning. Not so pretty. BUT it did in fact work. The paper was stuck to the canvas just like promised.

*~* My "Review" of this homemade product. *~*

This is NOT a Mod Podge Replacement. At all. But is a good Paste if your looking to paste something together & it does not have to look perfect. (From what I have read often times people use this "recipe" as a cheep method to paste paper together, then they take something like Mod Podge & use it as a sealer to give it a nice overtone.)

Nutkoa Smores at home

2012-01-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

I Love Nutkoa.

If your wondering what Nutkoa is, well, its very similar to Nutella. It is almost exactly like it but just different. Nutkoa is usually 1/2 chocolate hazelnut spread & half milk spread. Very Yummy! But has a little less Oh My Goodness That's CHOCOLATY taste.

Go Ahead, let your kids make their own! This is really an easy one for them to do on their own.

This is what you will need. :)

1 tablespoon of Nutkoa or Nutella
1 Graham cracker split in two
1 marshmallow

Spread the Nutkoa on one of the Graham crackers.

Now put your marshmallow on top of your other Graham

cracker & place in the microwave got 10-30 seconds.

Now smash them together!

And look what ya got! So Simple!

Yet So Good!

Tips, Hints & Other Information

When I first saw Nutkoa at the store I stood there and read it for like 5 minutes debating on if I should try it or not because I was not totally sure what it was. A woman walked by, stopped & put 1 in her cart, then 2, then 3, then 4.... so i asked them what it was. She said it was a hazelnut spread but also a milk spread. I can't for the life of me remember where she said she was from (Romania I think) but she said it was more like a traditional product that is popular in her country. A little different than Nutella but more like home. So I gave it a shot and I totally love it.

I have only seen it at one place, that was Big Lots where I bought it from! I believe it was $2.25? Very inexpensive.

Nutritional values are very similar to nutella. These products are very advertised as being Good for you, but they are really not. Makes a great "Treat" but limit yourself. :) I know it can be hard! Especially if you get addicted to foods! -- Like me!

Homemade Hair Accessory Holder

2012-01-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well its about time Kayla! You make a New Years Resolution 4 days late, you create a CRAFT Blog to motivate yourself & then you don't actually craft anything until a week later!... Sheesh! What a slacker!

Your not a slacker, are you? I bet your not or else you wouldn't be here reading my Craft blog. Or... maybe your like me and you really are a slacker that pretends not to be...? hmm.. either way, I think you will LOVE this, especially if you have a sweet little girl with WAY TOO MANY Hair clippies! Like my Baby Girl Alexis. She is a sassy little Cutie with more shoes, hair accessories & clothes than I do! Its just not right.

Step One: Eat Lots & Lots of Oatmeal! Haha... Kidding! :)

Here is what you will need!

Quaker Oats container w/ lid
2 pieces of Scrapbook Paper (Anything you like!)
Heavy Duty Glue (I used E-6000)
Scissors
Ribbon (Optional)
Craft Tape/Double Sided Tape (Optional)
"Base" (Optional)

Glue the Top & Bottom of your oatmeal container & in the middle a little too. Then line the piece of paper up around the rim of the opening. You will most likely need 2 pieces of paper for this. You will need to cut 1 of them to make sure your paper fits all the way around the container.

Tada! Its glued on! That was simple enough!

I purchased this candle holder Today at Goodwill for $.79+ Tax. You don't have to buy anything like this if you don't want to but it will make a great Base to your container. It will make it a bit fancier! & girls like Fancy!

For this project I turned it upside down so the bottom is larger & sturdier. Well, also because the larger part was a little bigger than the oatmeal container. I could have made it work but I didn't want to.

Glue the base of the candle holder.

Now place the container on top. Make sure to try your hardest to center it because if you don't you will regret it later!

I HATE things not being symmetrical or Exact like they should be. GRRR

Okay, now with the leftover paper cut a circle around the lid. You can use a box knife or you can trace it with a pen & cut it out with scissors.

Glue around the edge of the lid & place the paper on top & press firmly so it sticks.
You can decorate the sides with ribbon if you would like. I just left mine blank for now.

YAY! Its Lookin Pretty Fancy Schmancy right now!! ;)

Let it sit until it is completely dry. I would say 1-2 hours but it really depends on the kind of glue you use.

Now take ALLLLLLLLL of those hair clippies & Start stuffing them in the container.

Take the headbands & put them on the outside of the container.

Cute Huh!?!?

I Love It! & what I love even more is that it didn't take much time, effort or cash to get it done!

*** Tips, Hints & Comments. ***

*You can glue ribbon on the container where your scissors paper cuts are to cover them. I did, but forgot to show it. I am leaving those parts on the back so they are not even noticeable.

*You can buy a "base" (Such as the candle holder I used) or use something similar you have at home. You can Always paint if you want too. I liked the gold & cream candle holder I bought so I used the gold & brown skull paper because it matched & I thought it was really cute together.

*Remember you are going to be putting hair clippies on the container so it really doesn't matter if you use Fancy paper or not. You could use a solid color or even white & it would probably look just as cute.

*Thin paper (Not Stock Paper) will be easier to glue to the oatmeal container.

Bread Crust Pudding Pancakes

2012-01-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

If you love bread pudding you are going to love these pancakes. If you don't like bread pudding, well, you still might like them. They are pretty darn Delicious. But they do in fact taste like bread pudding. Just an FYI.

!!!YummmmmY!!!

Here is what You will need.
(You will most likely have it all.)

Leftover Bread Crusts from 1 loaf of bread3/4 cup flour2 tablespoons sugar1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2 cups milk1 teaspoon of vanilla1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon2 large eggs3 tablespoons butter

You know what is totally strange? The Original recipe I used to create this called for you to cut crust off of your bread & discard it. Well obviously I changed that! What a waste!!!
IF you are finding this recipe & don't have extra crust- that's okay, just chop up some bread (Including crust) about 7-8 slices.

Okay, Take all of your bread crusts & chop them in small pieces & place them in a large bowl.

Add all of your dry ingredients in the bowl with your bread.
3/4 cup of Flour (I used Wheat flour)
2 Tablespoons of Sugar

1 tablespoon of Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon of Salt

Mix them all together.

In a separate bowl combine your "wet" ingredients including cinnamon.

2 large eggs- Beaten
2 cups milk (I used 1% because that is what we had. You can use Whole Milk if you would like)1 teaspoon of vanilla1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a separate bowl

Now combine everything together & mix well. Squish the bread crumbs.

See how its lumpy? Its because we used Crust- No Big deal! Just mix it up a little more squishing the bread crumbs. Then let sit for 10 minutes & go make yourself a Coffee! That's what I did! Oh, & I started cooking some bacon per Alexis's Request!

This is what your mix will look like after it has sat for about 10 minutes. A LOT less lumpy!

Now its time to put it on the griddle! I was so excited to try out my new griddle, Its nothing special - Besides the fact that it was my birthday present from my handsome husband! I am so happy he listened to me & got me what I wanted!! This is my first stove top griddle! :)

Okay back to the pancakes, I know the light is a little different but as you can see the pancakes are ready to be flipped! They have thickened & start to have air bubbles in the top. You know they are ready to flip!

Looking good! They look a little "Dark", they all will be, but they are not burnt. Don't worry, I am not teaching you how to make burnt pancakes! haha ...

Yummm... Now look at those! Aren't they yummy? I topped this one with butter & syrup. My son LOVES ~~Pancakes~~ Syrup! "Waffles"are his favorite food. He is always asking for waffles & syrup. It doesn't matter if I make pancakes, waffles or french toast, they are Waffles to him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tips & Hints
I topped my Bread Pudding Pancakes w/ smashed banana. Sounds weird- but its good!

You can also add any type of smashed fruit into the batter to make it a little healthier. You could add smashed banana, smashed apples, raspberries, ext. Just use your imagination! Change it up a bit.

Often times we saute apples in butter, cinnamon & apple pie spice and eat as a dessert, the author of the original post I found for bread pudding pancakes did the same thing (well similar enough) & topped them on her pancakes. Great idea! If I had some apples I would have done it myself! So Tasty!

Mom, Did You Sell It?

2012-01-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

So I am sitting here thinking about my blog and what I should write about next. Not like I don't have 100 things already on my list I want to blog about already but my kids at this moment are my inspiration for tonight's blog. I have a little story to tell you, but before I get to that I need to tell you a little bit about my addictions.

Craigslist, EBay, Amazon, Yard Sales & Goodwill

Shopping & selling is MY Addiction in life. I shop yard sales & goodwill weekly & resell my finds on Criagslist, eBay & Amazon. So much fun! & Profitable! (I could go On & On about this... but I wont get into that right now although I am just dying to!)

I started doing this when my kids were about a year old. They would play with something one day & then never play with it again but when you have kids that age you have to keep them entertained or they are going to get into everything or they drive you crazy because they want attention all day long (something I could not handle having two of them), so I started thrifting. I would find an awesome toy for cheep, buy it, clean it up, kids would play with it & a few weeks later I sold it for more than I paid for it. I have done this the past few years & it has worked out great for us. I get my shopping addiction fix & then make a profit in the end. Its all a Win-Win situation, right?

Well it USE to be.. Until now. My sweet little Lovebug's Braiden & Alexis are getting too old for this. Now I know what your thinking, too old for this? what do you mean? Well... this is what i mean...

Braiden & I were walking down the toy isle at Walmart a few months ago when he saw a fancy red firetruck toy, that had all the cool buttons & whistles. He got so excited when he saw it & picked it up. My very first thought (totally not even kidding) was "He use to have a fire truck exactly like that and Never played with it." Just as that thought passed through my mind he looked up at me with a look in his eye and said, "I wish you didn't sell my firetruck. I loved that toy". I kinda felt bad but thought it was kinda funny at the same time but I explained he has plenty of toys & we moved on.

Last week the kids & I were at Fred Meyer getting a donut. (If you don't have a specialty donut store but have a Fred Meyer, it is THE place to get donuts... Seriously.. they are so good!).. Anyways... So we are sitting there eating our donuts when the kids decided it was time to have a little talk with me about me selling their stuff. "I don't like when you sell my toys, I wanted that Train tent, i really liked it a lot (I forgot all about that darn tent, he had it when he was like 2 and NEVER use the thing... I don't understand how he remembers so much stuff!?!?) .... Now do you know how embarrassing it is when your 5 year old kids corner you in a conversation like this with a bunch of strangers around? Well I do, and boy was I embarrassed. I can only imagine what they were thinking.... but prefer not to.

Yesterday Alexis was playing with a little puppy toy & she misplaced it, I knew she was walking around the house looking for it - she was calling it by her name. Well a few minutes pass before She storms in the living room "MOM, DID YOU SELL MY PUPPY? I LOVE THAT PUPPY, I DON'T WANT YOU TO SELL IT..." On & On She went! And all I could do was laugh while my face turned bright red (I could feel it). I was embarrassed even without anyone else in the room! She was not happy, the more I laughed the more she scolded me. She was very upset. Imagine her sweet little mothering personality with her girly high pitched voice literally bitching me out with so much confidence & anger in every word she spoke. I couldn't even understand most of what she said she wasn't even making any since by the end, I think she just NEEDED to keep yelling at me. She honestly thought I took it from her & sold it. Poor Girl, we found it & I assured her I would not sell it.

Can you imagine the anxiety problems my kids must have? Thinking I am going to sell their stuff when they are not looking... haha... Poor Kids.

Oreo & Peanut Butter Brownies

2012-01-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

You ever wake up at 4 am & CRAVE chocolate?

Well I sure did this morning.

So you know what I did?

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

I made a masterpiece.

I know you are going to make them so scrounge up the ingredients!... I will wait! ;)

This is what you need.

*1 Package of Oreos (Fat Free)-... What? :) hehe

*Brownie Mix
*Check your brownie mix recipe & gather what you need. In my case I needed 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil & 1/4 cup of water)*
*Throw Away Cupcake tins
*Cupcake/Muffin Pan

* Jar of Peanut Butter (Optional)
*Instant Coffee (Optional)
*Marshmallows (Optional)
*Your favorite kind of nut or candy (Optional)

Okay, now it just gets easier from here! Seriously! Don't you love these Amazing recipes that look fancy yet take hardly any effort to make? I know I sure do!

Now Prepare your brownie mix just as the box describes.

Now just look at that!... You can totally stop here if you want.

Does anyone actually ever listen to the "Don't Eat Raw Egg Rule"?? I sure don't.... Who can resist that?

Okay.... set the batter aside, its time to move on.

Fill your muffin tin with your disposable cups. You don't NEED these, but I recommend it.

Now place 1 Oreo in each cupcake tin & top with whatever you would like.

On the left I didn't top the cookie with anything.

In the middle I spread the cookie with peanut butter.

And on the right I topped with 3 mini-marshmallows.

Now its time to start adding another layer! If you want to that is.

I added some instant coffee to a cup of the brownie mix to top off some Oreos- Yumm!

Now start filling your cupcake tins with brownie mix. Make sure you cover them all the way. I used about 2 tablespoons of brownie mix in each tin but the double Decker cookies took a little less.

Now your ready to put them in the oven! But keep in mind, the double decker cookies have less brownie mix & will cook faster than the others, make sure to check on them.

Double Decker Cookies take about 20-23 minutes.
Brownies with only 1 cookie take about 35-40 minutes to cook.

YAY! They are Done! That was sure fast wasn't!?

This one has marshmallows, Looks pretty darn good doesn't it? Well I promise, it looks better in your mouth! haha well probably not really.......

Yummy..... (I might have over used the word Yummy in this blog)....

hmmm nope, I don't think I did.

Tips & Helpful Hints:
Make 1 batch of Oreo Brownies & a small batch of regular brownies.

They Freeze Great so Don't feel the need to shove them down your throat in one day! (Oops, that was a reminder to myself!)

If your in a rush & need them done sooner than later make sure to use 2 cookies, it takes 1/2 the time to bake.

Also, remember that just because you take something out of the oven doesn't mean it stops cooking. Take them out of the pan & put on a baking sheet so they cool faster. If you keep them in a warm tin they will keep cooking until they cool down.

Grilled Cheese Rolls & Tomato Soup

2012-01-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is a great kid recipe. Turn ordinary grilled cheese into something a little more on the fun side. Have you ever been around a 5 year old who doesn't like to "dip"? ...Yeah, I didn't think so.

Looks Good, Huh?

Grilled Cheese Rolls

This is what you will need.

1 Loaf of Bread

1 pack of sliced cheese

Butter (Optional)

1 can of Tomato Soup

Rolling Pin

Lunch Meat (Optional)

**This makes approximately 16 rolls**

Pre-Heat your oven to 350 Degree's.

Slice the crust off of the bread & set aside.

Take your rolling pin & roll out each slice of bread. Make it thin, roll it a few times.

Unwrap a slice of cheese & place it on the flattened bread. If you want to add Lunch meat this is the time to add a slice on top of the cheese. I always add turkey to my Grilled Cheese but sadly was out tonight when I made these. (I am not a HUGE cheese girl, but I HUGE Sandwich Girl!)

Now roll it up & squish it a little bit so the bottom of the end of the bread sticks & does not unroll itself.

Place in Oven Safe Pan.

Butter the top of the rolls (If you want to) I personally prefer not to add butter, saves calories & gives the bread a little more "crunch" when you take it out of the oven.

Now place it in the oven.

This is when you will want to prepare your tomato soup. Follow the directions on the can.

As you can see this is my second batch pictured below, I just took them out of the oven, this batch I made w/o butter & it was my personal favorite.

!!!!!!RECYCLE!!!!!

Look at all those plastic wrappers! What a great time to recycle.

And Don't throw away that crust! Save it, we will make something Delicious with it, I promise!

I got a thumbs up from my little Braiden Boy. :) He's a cutie isn't he!

Tip & Helpful Hints:

Use the "Ends" of the bread. They will come out thicker but they are still edible!

so Don't toss em! ;)

The only downfall for this recipe is you use a lot more food to feed your family. I use an entire loaf of bread & an entire package of cheese, This recipe will make approximately 16 rolls, enough to feed my family of four with some leftovers.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-01-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems that making your own Homemade Laundry Detergent is the "IN" thing to do right now, so of course I wanted to give it a try!..

I researched what seemed like dozens of websites to check out what everyone was doing & in the end I combined different ideas to make what I thought would be the best detergent. Did I have ANYTHING to make it? Well, Yes, Yes I did (That was the Phineas & Ferb in me talking) I had Oxi Clean. Yup, that's it, 1 thing out of the list of ingredients I needed & in every "recipe" I looked at it was an Optional item.

Now if you have read my profile you know I am new to all of this and don't have a whole lot of experience in ... well... anything really... but I have to say, I am very proud & happy to say this stuff works great! But I get that you might be hesitant as I was too, so if you decide to go with my Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe you can make a "Sample" version. (Pretty smart if I do say so myself...)! ...That way you can try it out and see how you like it. if you do, YAY, you can make a bigger batch (Instructions Below), and if not you have only used up a little bit of your "New Investment" & you can go on and try out another recipe!

Okay, Now lets get this party started!

This is what you will need.

1 Box of Borax (Laundry Booster)

1 Box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Laundry Booster & Household Cleaner)

1 Box of Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

1 Bottle of Oxi Clean (Stain Remover) (Optional)

1 Bar of Fels-Naptha Bar Soap (Good for Pre-Treating Stains)

1 Bar of Scented Soap (Optional)

What you will need to prepare...

A Cheese Grater

1 Zip Lock Bag
1 Towel

1 airtight container with lid

First, lay out your towel on the surface you are going to work on. That way if you make a mess (which you will) you can just toss it in the washing machine. for a mess free clean up.

All Right, First Up

Grate your Soap & Put in a plastic bag.

Isn't this such a wonderful little grater? (Okay so I realize you can't see this but there is a container on the bottom of it so it fits together like Tupperware) Got it at The Dollar Store. :)

REMEMBER... THIS IS NOT CHEESE, DO NOT EAT IT!!!
(See, I told you, there is the Tupperware container)

This is what it will look like once you have mixed the soaps together.

Now its time to work on the Powders.

Add 1 Cup of Borax to your Container (See the mess... Its inevitable)

Add 1 cup of Super Washing Soda

Add 1/2 cup of Pure Baking Soda

Add 1/2 cup of Oxi-Clean

Now Add 1 Cup of shredded soap & Shake It!

Use 1 Tablespoon of detergent per load

Now you have a small sample size of this Laundry Detergent to try out. If you don't like it search the web, there are dozens upon dozens of Laundry Detergent Recipes out there. Powdered, Liquid, Ext.

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If you are curious like me you are probably wondering if the bar soap will dissolve in the washer because if it doesn't this would not be good! Well, I tested a very small amount in a bowl to show you that it will. :)

The water is soapy & there are no chunks of anything leftover. This is about 15 minutes later..

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Here are instructions on preparing a large batch of Laundry Detergent

6 Cups of Borax

6 Cups of Super Washing Soda

1 Cups of Pure Baking Soda

3 Cups of Oxi Clean

2 full bars of shredded soap

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Tips & Helpful Hints:

Keep in mind you do not have to use a scented bar of soap. I did because I wanted a girly smell. The Fels-Napa soap is made for laundry and has a slight "Clean" smell. I actually debated if I should grate a bar of Pomegranate Mango soap like I did because I enjoyed the "clean" smell but I did it anyway. I suggest you grate your soap on the small part of your grater. I used the large side and blended it in the blender like another blogger suggested to make the chunks smaller, kind of a waste of time so just be smart and grate it small in the first place.

Chocolate filled Raspberries

2012-01-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest & was amazed that I have never seen this before... or better yet thought of it on my own!! Chocolate filled Raspberries.. easiest thing you could possibly make!

I am not sure if you could call this a "Recipe" or not... but the original "recipe" called for Dark Chocolate Chips & White Chocolate Chips. I only had Milk Chocolate at home but I made them anyway. And Guess what?

PERFECTION!!!...

Literally all you do is rinse off your raspberries, let them dry, then take a chocolate chip and stuff it in the raspberry. Nothing could get easier than this! It is kind of funny how fancy they look!

I am taking them to my MOPS Christmas Party tomorrow! We will see how everyone likes them! :)

Baked Zucchini Sticks and Sweet Onion Dip

2012-01-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest & had to try it! In fact I went out the very next morning and bought Zucchini to make it. I loved that I had everything else (kinda) @ home to make it! Its not one of those 'Have to go out and buy every single ingredient' kinda recipes!

This recipe has been a little modified by me from the original but I promise, it tastes great!

Okay, so I am new to this whole Blogging so please forgive me- I was so excited about blogging & sharing this recipe that I got so caught up in the making of the Zucchini & Sweet Onion dip that I totally forgot to take pictures until I was like half way through! lol yup... I'm kinda spacey sometimes! Oh and I am a HORRIBLE speller! ...If you have not figured that out already!..

Well Here is the recipe... :)

(Can you believe on the original site that I got the recipe from I had to scroll and scroll and then scroll some more while I read every single word to find out what ingredients to use. They didn't give an ingredients list. If I ever do that- You tell me whats up!!)

Baked Zucchini Sticks

2 Zucchini's -Cut in half- then take each side and cut into 4ths

1 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs (Or 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs)
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
*If you use Planko bread crumbs or any regular bread crumbs add some Italian seasonings*

1 teaspoons of Salt

Sweet Onion Dip

2 Medium Onions
2 tablespoons of Honey
1 tablespoon of Mustard

1 cup of mayonnaise

Okay now this is where I really wish I would have taken step-by-step photos but I think I still did pretty good!

1. Take your zucchini & slice off the ends. Then cut the zucchini in half, then take a half & slice it in 4th's, so you then have 16 slices from 1 Zucchini. You can of course cut them in larger pieces if you would like but the next step is why I decided to cut them thin- so they have a better chance of getting a nice crunch!

2. Place the zucchini sticks into a colander & place it in the sink (or over a bowl) & sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of salt. Let them drain for about an hour. (I know... I know... this waiting period stinks but you will be able to start & finish your sweet onion dip while you wait) You will want to make sure you don't skip this step. Zucchini is very moist and by following this step it will help remove some of the access water and will give it more of a crunch after it is baked- also why i made the slices thin, I like CRUNCH.

3. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan & add 1 sliced medium/large sweet onion. Cook them until they caramelize.

4. Once the onions are caramelized place all of the dip ingredients into a food processor and blend until blended (Okay, there might be a better way to say that but I just can't think of it at the moment) then TA DA, your dip is finished! (go ahead, taste it, I know I did!)

Okay, now back to the zucchini!

5. Rinse the zucchini to get the salt off, then pat them dry (I used paper Towels).

Right about now you will probably want to preheat your oven to about 425°F. If you have parchment paper go ahead and use it, if not just make sure to spray your baking sheet.

6. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese & Italian seasonings in a bowl.

7. In a separate bowl crack open 2 eggs & scramble them. :)

8. Once you are ready & your zucchini is dried from access water dip a slice or two into the egg mixture & then in to the bread crumb mixture then place them on your baking sheet. Repeat this until all of your zucchini is ready to be baked.

Bake @ 425°F for 10-12 minutes, take out of the oven, flip & bake for an additional 10-12 minutes.

Approximate Prepare/Wait/Bake time: 1 hr & 30 min.

This is the final outcome!

SssOooo Yummmy!

Here are are couple thoughts I think I should share.

*Okay, so when I made this I used Italian bread crumbs because I didn't have panko bread crumbs, when i read the recipe all I saw was "bread crumbs".. apparently panko bread crumbs have a very crunchy outcome so I will definitely try them next time, but to be completely honest mine had a good crunch to them w/ just regular bread crumbs...

*The Original Sweet Onion Dip called for 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar... I don't like vinegar so I didn't use it & I definitely didn't miss it out by not using it.

Overall this recipe is rated an 9 in my book. I will definitely make again. I sure hope you try it!

My Very First Blog! Yay!

2012-01-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

haha, well I am sitting here in my living room thinking of how exciting a blog of my very own will be... and I am like ... "no one even knows I have a blog!" Kind of a bummer... but in time, that will change, (I Hope!) but for now I will pretend you are reading this now and not days/weeks/months from now! :)

So, One reason I decided to make a blog is because I LOVE crafts, I love to scrapbook, Decoupage (my top favorite), Paint... just about anything that is not nothing... ! but I have 2 5 1/2 year olds so I don't Craft as much as i would like. I decided if I had a blog and people who were interested in that blog, I would have to make a bigger commitment to crafting.. which is something I would LOVE!!! So this is my New Years Resolution as well, to be more crafty and be more dedicated to doing something I love. Don't you hate when you realize you put all your wants and desires on the back burner? Such a bummer. Well, not this year. I will manage somehow!

I have called my blog Craft=Yay Because well I love to be CraftY and crafts equal fun which includes me saying "yay" :) ...its kinda tough to figure out what to name a blog becuase once its named your stuck with it!

Well, I have a few things I have in mind for trying soon, I want to make my own laundry detergent, dishwasher soap and a few new recipes to try out as well plus I have printed off some photo boards of our most recent family pictures & I am trying to create a fun modern way to display them.. so we will see how all this goes!

Oh and P.S. I am not a photographer but will try my best to capture my creations! :)

Wow do I feel silly not talking to anyone right now!!