I Did It Blog Feed

An Epic Fail

astanwood — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Wed, Dec 19, 2012

Well, I can't really say I did it this time . . . but I tried!

If you are on Pinterest you may have seen one of many variations of this project:

In theory, you are supposed to be able to write on a Dollar Store plate with Sharpie, bake it in the oven, and then the ink will be permanent. Wow! So easy, so cheap, so cute. I was planning on doing this for some Christmas gifts this year. Luckily, I had the good sense to try it out first. Here is my sample plate before it goes into the oven:

Not bad for 5 minutes of work. I followed the instructions: Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then let cool in oven. Theoretically the ink is now permamently baked on and you can safely use and wash the plate. Theoretically. The day after baking my plate I washed it to verify that the project worked. This is the result:

Yes, quite a bit of my original "art" has gone missing. Grrr! I am so glad I didn't buy a whole bunch of plates for this project. At least this way I only wasted $1.00. And I used the plate (after scrubbing off the rest of the Sharpie) to send truffles to my husband's holiday work party, so I guess the $1.00 wasn't a total loss. I still see the project popping up on Pinterest regularly, so maybe I just had a defective plate, but I wouldn't waste time and money on this project.

I did it! I failed utterly and completely at my latest Pinterest-inspired project. If you have already tried this one, let me know how it worked for you. If you haven't, I just saved you $1.00!

crafts

Amy

Nutella Cookie Cups

astanwood — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Wed, Dec 5, 2012

I did it!

The other day I was craving something sweet, but didn't want to put a lot of effort into it. I remembered a post I saw on Pinterest about Nutella Cookie Cups and thought that sounded perfect. Well, after I looked it up and realized that the pinner wanted me to bake the cookie cups from scratch, I decided to scratch that idea and do my own lazy-man's version. I gathered up my materials and got to work:

Yes, that's right. 1 pan, 1 package of Nutella, and 1 package of cookie dough. That's all it took. (Plus some cooking spray to grease the pan, but that wasn't glamorous enough to make the shot.) And the results were delish!

Here's what I did: put 1 round of cookie dough in each well of my mini muffin tin. Baked the suckers according to the directions on the package. When I pulled them out of the oven, I thought I might have to create the wells for the Nutella (the original recipe mentioned using a shot glass or spoon to make the wells), but I found that my cookies naturally sank and formed little cups.

After letting them cool for a few minutes I spooned Nutella into each cup and voila! Little bites of tasty goodness.

These were so simple and so tasty. I used sugar cookie dough, but they would be amazing with peanut butter cookie dough or chocolate chip cookie dough. I highly recommend trying this one yourself - for minimal effort, you get maximum yumminess. These would be great to make for a cookie exchange or to share with neighbors for the holidays. And if you are less lazy than I am, I'm certain that if you made the cookie dough from scratch they would be even better.

I did it! I satisfied my sweet tooth without having to make an effort. Try it for yourself and let me know how it goes for you!

cooking

sweets

Amy

Art Table Makeover

astanwood — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Wed, Nov 21, 2012

I did it!

A few years ago I inherited a kid-sized wooden table and chairs. How perfect for all the art projects the girls do! It was in great shape and really well made, but not so pretty to look at:

Yes, that is years of caked on paint, play doh, stickers, and crayon. While functional, this set did nothing to add to the décor of our house. So I decided to give it a makeover! My plan: paint the whole set glossy white and add fun colored polka dots to make the girls happy. The 5-year-old and I headed to Home Depot to pick up our supplies: some sandpaper, primer, and lots of spray paint. I let her pick out the accent colors: purple (of course, it’s her favorite color) and a bright pink. On a beautiful, sunny Saturday (when the 5-year-old had two birthday parties to attend – perfect way to keep her out of the way during the actual painting. No way I want her to have a can of spray paint!) I set up in the driveway. A word of advice: if you don’t want paint on the surface you are working on, lay down a tarp! We are planning on seal coating the driveway again soon, so I didn’t bother. Here are our gathered materials:

First, I sanded the surfaces a bit to get off the crusty layers of stuff. Of course, the sanding also helps the paint to adhere, so even if the furniture you are painting isn’t in such bad shape it’s a good idea to sand lightly first. The 5-year-old got to help with this step – put those arms to work! Once the surface was sanded enough, I wiped it down with a damp rag to clean off the dust. Then I took the kid to her first party. Time for the real work to begin!

First painting step was to spray primer on each piece. This helps the paint cover better and also helps adhere it to the table just that much better. It’s definitely worth taking the time for this step. After the primer was dry (and with spray paint, it doesn’t take long!) I did the first coat of white. It’s key to use smooth, slightly overlapping sprays. This helps with even coverage. I did a second coat of white (it is sooo important to make sure the first coat is dry before you do the next coat – otherwise you can get gloppy streaks. Trust me on this) to make sure it was really well coated. After the white was fully dry, it was time for polka dots. I had a secret weapon in my arsenal to make the perfect circles: mushroom cans. Yes, that’s right – mushroom cans. I used the mushrooms in pizza puffs, then cut off both ends, washed out and saved two cans (one per color). They were the perfect size for my circles, and I didn’t need to worry about creating a stencil. I just put the can where I wanted the dot, put the spray paint right into the top end and sprayed. Voila! Perfect circles! After everything was dry I sprayed it all with a coat of polyurethane to help protect the finish. Here is how it turned out:

I did it! I gave new life to an old set of furniture! It was actually a quick and easy job, and the girls adore their “new” art table and chairs. Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you!

Personalized Garden Stepping Stone

astanwood — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Wed, Nov 7, 2012

I did it!

For Mother’s Day this year I decided to have the girls create something special for Susu and Nana, their grandmothers. It had to be something that would last and that wouldn’t clutter up their houses, which ruled out a number of potential projects. They both enjoy gardening, so we decided on making stepping stones with the girls’ handprints. Naturally I wanted one too, so there went the surprise of my Mother’s Day gift!

Cute, no? Very easy, too. We used Quickset cement, a plastic plant tray, and various stones and shells we had on hand from a fairy house project we did last year. All you do is mix the cement, pour it into the tray, and stick the hands (or feet) into it for a few seconds. I let the five-year-old go to town adding embellishments while the two-year-old played with her bike. Both grandmas (and the mama) loved these stepping stones. In order to make them last, they will need to be brought inside over the winter, but that’s a small price to pay for such a neat reminder of how cute their little hands are.

I did it! I (okay, this was definitely a “we” project) made personalized garden stepping stones. Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you!

crafts

gifts

Amy

No-sew Stuffed Owl

astanwood — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Wed, Oct 24, 2012

I did it!

I am a Pinterest addict. Yes, I will freely admit it. I find a ton of recipe and craft ideas there. The surprising part is that I actually try many of them! This project, a cute stuffed felt owl, was an idea I found on Pinterest (originally from the blog NatSprat: http://natsprat.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-sew-owl-plushie-tutorial.html) that was just too adorable to pass by. It was quite easy, and turned out well, don’t you think?

One thing I would do differently next time is make the owl a little smaller. In fact, for my Creative Journey program I had the participants do this craft using this smaller template (printed full-sized 8.5x11):

They all turned out super cute, too. Here’s what you do: Gather supplies (felt or fleece, poly-fill stuffing, fabric glue, fabric markers, scissors) and your template. Once you cut out your template, pin it to the fabric (or trace it onto the fabric) and cut your fabric pieces. If you want to do any decorative stitching on the wings, I would suggest you do that now, before you begin gluing. Once you have your fabric pieces ready, glue your top and bottom together at the edges, leaving a small opening for the stuffing. Once the glue dries, glue on your belly and the first eye layer. Again, wait for the glue to dry, then glue on the wings and next eye layers. Once the glue is dry you can add a triangle for the beak and either draw pupils onto the eyes with a fabric marker or glue on felt pupils. Another idea is to sew on small buttons for pupils before gluing down the eyes. Add a small triangle for the beak and you are almost done/ Stuff your owl with poly-fill and glue the stuffing hole. Voila, you are done! I decided to add a simple stitch around the edge just to add color, but it isn’t necessary. This is a project you can embellish as much or as little as you would like.

I did it! I made a cute stuffed owl friend without any real sewing involved. Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you!

Steampunk Journals

astanwood — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Wed, Oct 10, 2012

We did it!

That's right, I said we. This time I shared my experiment with the Creative Journey Group at the Library. For those who don't know, Creative Journey is a program that meets every Tuesday from 10:00-12:00 to do various creative activities. Back in September we hopped on the Steampunk train and jazzed up some composition books (which, thanks to post-back-to-school sales only cost something like 22 cents each - score!) with leather-look covers and steampunk embellishments. It was a lot of fun and everyone's journals turned out great.

In order to make the leather-look covers (without breaking the bank on actual leather) here are the steps we followed (I found the project at flowerfoot.blogspot.com):

1)lightly spray brown cardstock with water (do not saturate - just mist)

2) crumple and unfold cardstock carefully. Repeat until the paper is as distressed as you like.

3)flatten as best you can and sponge dark brown ink. Some of us repeated step 1 at this point. Be careful, though, as the cardstock will rip if it gets too wet and crumpled.

4)flatten and allow to dry. To get the shiny leather effect, paint with a light coat of Gloss finish Mod Podge.

In addition to "leathering" our covers (which were mod podged to the composition books) we also used Steampunk and Victorian stamps (in brown, gold, and silver inks), cutouts of steampunk images (free clip art), and metal bits from the scrapbooking section of Hobby Lobby. There are any number of embellishments you could add: feathers, flowers, ribbons, etc. Let your imagination run wild!

One thing I loved about this project was how even with the same materials, each person's finished journal was their own unique expression. This would be a fun project to do with older kids (tweens and teens would probably get a kick out of it) but would definitely be a bit too complex for the younger ones. All of the adults who made a journal really seemed to enjoy it.

We did it! We took ordinary, blah compositon books and turned them into works of art worthy of great writing. Or in my case, probably grocery lists. Whatever. Steampunking our journals was a fun and creative project that I would definitely recommend. If you are interested in Steampunk, I would also suggest that you come to Steampunk Saturday on October 13 from 10:00-2:00 here at APL. There won't be journals, but there will be other fun Steampunk activities, costume contests, and guest speakers. Try it for yourself and let me know how it goes for you!

Chicken Caprese Pasta

astanwood — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Wed, Sep 26, 2012

I did it!

The other night I decided to try something new for dinner, just to break us out of our rut. I also made the brave decision to just whip something up on my own instead of relying on Pinterest, my new best friend, for a recipe. What did I have on hand? Thin sliced chicken breasts, two large ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil, all of which needed to get used before it became dangerous to eat. What to make . . . well, if I added in pantry staples like spaghetti (whole wheat, of course), parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar I could whip up a pretty tasty Chicken Caprese type pasta. Here’s what I did:

Cut chicken (about 1 lb.) into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper

Dice tomatoes

Shred basil (I used a small handful. Sorry, I’m not a measurer. I just eyeball things. I’d guess it was about ½ a cup or so)

Heat 1 glug of olive oil (maybe a tablespoon) in a medium skillet over medium heat and add in chicken. Cook until evenly browned. Add in tomatoes and several sloshes of balsamic (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup). At this point I discovered that I still had a little heavy cream in the fridge from a recent recipe, so I stirred in a glug of that as well (1-2 tablespoons). Turn heat to low and cover.

While that was simmering and the flavors were blending I boiled my noodles.

About 5 minutes before serving I tossed in the basil and a small handful of parmesan cheese (about ¼ cup). When the noodles were ready I dumped them into the skillet and mixed it all together. After plating it I sprinkled each serving with a bit more parmesan. Yum! You definitely need to serve crusty bread with this to soak up the creamy, balsamic-y goodness.

Here’s what it looked like before plating – why I didn’t take the picture once it was plated and ready to serve I don’t know.

I did it! I created a healthy and yummy dinner that the whole family loved! (Okay, the 5-year-old didn’t love it, but she’s going through a phase where she doesn’t like anything. The 2-year-old couldn’t get enough of it, so I consider it a success). Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you!

cooking

dinner

Amy

Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit Muffin

astanwood — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Wed, Sep 12, 2012

I did it!

As a special treat for the family I decided to make bacon egg and cheese biscuit muffins that I found on Pinterest (where else . . .). This recipe originally came from the blog Cooking with my Kid (you can find it at http://www.cookingwithmykid.com/recipes/bacon-egg-cheese-biscuit-muffins-veggie-option/). Here’s the recipe:

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Prep Time:5 mins Cooking Time: 20 to 25 mins

Ingredients:
1 package biscuit dough (10 biscuits)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup of shredded cheddar
4 slices bacon (we used turkey bacon and veggie bacon)
salt and pepper

Cook the bacon in a pan or in the oven until it’s almost done. Chop into small bits and set aside. (Note: if using veggie bacon do not cook it ahead – simply defrosted it and chopped it up.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together eggs and milk, a pinch of salt and some cracked pepper to taste and set aside. Meanwhile, roll out each biscuit until it’s slightly bigger than the circumference of your muffin tin. Grease the muffin tin with cooking spray and push one biscuit into each muffin cup being sure to push it all the way down and to the sides. Leave the ridge hanging over the edge. Divide the cheese evenly in each of the biscuit cups and then pour egg in, filling each cup only 1/2 way. They will look empty but resist the urge to top them off. You must account for the biscuits puffing up – otherwise you’ll have a mess on your hands. Sprinkle bacon atop of the egg and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden and eggs are set. Use a butter knife to loosen each muffin and serve warm.

Here’s how they looked:

These bad boys were seriously delicious, but I did learn a few things that I will pass on to you:

1) I’d suggest using jumbo muffin tins. I had difficulty getting all of the egg mixture into the cups without overflow.

2) Also suggested: Use a drip pan. (You know, a cookie sheet under the muffin tin to catch any drips.) I had serious problems with overflow. So bad that there are currently several little egg mounds still cooking on the bottom of my oven whenever I use it. I know, gross. I really need to clean it but it’s too darn hot. And I’m too lazy. Even though it has a self cleaning feature. Don’t judge!

I did it! I cooked a super yummy breakfast that the whole family loved! Even the 5-year-old was nuts about them, which says something. Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you!

cooking

breakfast

Amy

Summer Wreath

astanwood — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:05:30 +0000

Tue, Jul 31, 2012

I did it! At our house we like to have something different on the door for each season. Winter is no problem, what with the holidays - snowmen, wreaths, easy-peasy. Summer has always been a bit more of a challenge for me. Especially since I am frugal, and when I see seasonal decorations for sale I generally tend to gasp dramatically and say to myself, “They want HOW MUCH for that? Ridiculous!” And so for years now summer (okay, spring, too) has had to make do with a metal hat/birdhouse thingy with flowers on it. That fell off the nail almost every time we shut the door. Which meant that most of the time it was sitting down at the bottom of the door waiting to attack the ankles of anyone foolish enough to open our screen door. Sort of like a not-so-cute decorative burglar alarm. Well, this year I decided enough was enough. I saw a cute wreath on Pinterest and figured, “I can do that. It will be a fun project with the 5-year-old.”

A few days later, off to Hobby Lobby we went to gather our materials. Here’s what we needed to make two wreathes (the 5-year-old wanted one for the front door and one for the back door). All prices are approximate - my memory isn’t what it used to be, and of course I didn’t save the receipt:

2 foam wreath forms $5.00 each

2 skeins fun fur yarn (I have also seen it called eyelash yarn) $5.00 each

1 spool ribbon $4.00

2 bunches silk flowers $8.00 each

To make the wreath all I did was wrap the wreath form with the yarn, making sure that each loop was close enough so that no white showed through. If you can score a green wreath form, you wouldn’t have to be quite as careful as I was. I thought that the 5-year-old would get into helping with this portion of the project, but she thought it was boring and scampered off. So I wrapped alone. It’s pretty mindless, though, so I was able to catch up on some DVRd episodes of House Hunters International while I wrapped. To secure the end once I was finished wrapping I simply tucked it through earlier loops. In hindsight, it would have been even easier to simply shoot it with a staple on the backside of the wreath. Next time.

Once the form was greened up, it was time to decorate it. Cut a long piece of ribbon, loop it around the wreath twice and tie a bow at the top. The next part was the 5-year-old’s favorite: the flowers! Cut the flowers from the bunch so that they have a short stem, and poke the wire into the wreath wherever you want the flower to be placed. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Here is the result of our (mostly my) efforts.

It looks really cute, and since I used a coupon for some of the materials and we had yarn, ribbon, and flowers left over each wreath cost less than $20.00. This is an idea that you can use for almost any season/holiday. I’m thinking red, white, and blue yarn with little flags for the 4^th of July; autumnal colors with clusters of leaves for fall; black and orange with pumpkins, black cats, and/or witches hats and broomsticks for Halloween; green with ornaments for Christmas; white with snowflakes for winter; red and white with hearts for Valentine’s Day; white and green with clover for St. Patrick’s Day . . . somebody stop me!

I did it! I made a seriously cute seasonal door wreath for much less than I’d have to pay in the store. And even though the 5-year-old wasn’t a ton of help, she’s really proud of “her” wreaths. The 2-year-old could not care less. Try it yourself and let me know how it worked for you!