Project Housewife

Good Ol' Ebay

2012-07-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

I have a confession...I am sort of an Ebay junkie. Mainly vinylmations (see here) but I have bought a few purses as well. More than just buying though I love to sell things on ebay. I dont really have a lot of big items for a mass of things so it makes no sense to have a garage sell but at the same time there are things that I want to get rid of but try and make money from at the same time.

The last month I have been on a selling tear, going through every room in the house and posting whatever I can to try and get rid of things in the house. So far I've made over $200! Pretty impressive right! I was actually shocked when some things sold but very happy all the same.

I know Ebay can be a little tricky for the first time seller so I decided it might be a good idea to give you some tips.

Make a detailed title description to cover as many searches as possible
Be accurate in your product description, make sure and mention any defects/marks/imperfections
Be reasonable in your shipping charges, I like to use the fixed rate boxes so I know exactly how much shipping will be
Ebay now allows 11 free pictures, dont get carried away with pictures but post as many as you need to give potential bidders as much detail as possible
Do a little research before posting on prices so you can be fairly priced. You want to be in the same range as like items so you dont price yourself out of the bidding
Honestly...nothing is too silly to post and get bids on. I have sold a few things on ebay that I thought would never sell.
Make sure when the items sell you send invoices out same day and once payment is received you prepare the item for shipping same day. Remember that buyers leave feedback based on shipping so you want to get the items out as fast as possible.
When taking pictures you want a clear background with nothing in the background to distract from the item. Research says red backgrounds draws people in but I just use plain white to keep it clean and simple.

Of course I dont post my blog address on the picture on ebay but it gives you an idea of how my pictures look. I have sold a lot of things on ebay and to be honest I have no clue if there are buying trends but rest assured posting in December is more likely to be a busier bidding time than any other time of year, what with Christmas shopping and all.

I hope these tips help you with selling on ebay and dont forget me when your little ebay shop becomes so successful you can retire and live off the profits...ok that probably wont happen but one can dream!

-Rachael

Vanilla-Rhubard Jam

2012-07-15T17:25:00.001-07:00

Back in April I was at a fancy black-tie event that had favors for each guest to take home. The theme for the party was Titanic, but search me as to why the favor was Vanilla-Rhubard Jam. I have to say though, Im glad they did that because it ROCKED MY WORLD. I have never had rhubard anything before I always thought it was a little weird but I had this jam on a biscuit and nearly died from taste bud happiness.

This jam had a nice mix of rhubard, lemon, and vanilla bean. You had me at vanilla bean :) I decided to try and make it myself because, well I ran out and was craving some :) I was to be real up-front with you guys...rhubard is not cheap. When I found it the price was $4/pound and I needed 5 pounds (for a double batch). I dont know the season for rhubard so maybe it was an off-season but I just want you to know that its not cheap. Oh and vanilla beans are really expensive too but I think thats pretty much common knowledge lol. If you are prepared for the cost then prepare your brain for some delicious goodness that Im bringing your way!

Vanilla-Rhubarb Jam

(A Food in Jar.com recipe, modified by Rachael)

Servings: 4pints Prep Time: 5min Cook Time: 15min Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

· 10 cups of chopped rhubarb (approximately 2 1/2 pounds of stalks)

· 5 cups sugar

· 1 cup water

· 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

· 1/8c lemon juice (more or less depending on your flavor preference)

· pinch of salt

· 1 packet liquid pectin

Instructions

Sterilize your jars in a large pot of boiling water. If you’re making refrigerator jam (it will keep nicely unprocessed in the fridge for 2-3 months), skip this step.

In a 4-quart, non-reactive pot, bring the rhubarb, sugar and water to a boil. Add the vanilla bean, lemon and salt to the pot and let it bubble gently for about ten minutes. After ten minutes have elapsed, add the pectin, stir to combine and let cook for a few more minutes.

At this point, dip a spoon in the jam and see how it coats the back of the spoon. If you get a nice, even sheet, the jam is done. Its important to note that your jam will NOT be the consistency of jam but more like a very runny caramel so dont be alarmed if your jam isnt thick, this will happen as the jars cool.

You can also taste at this point, to see if you like the balance of flavors. Add a little more lemon juice if you feel it needs additional brightening or additional vanilla to match your preference.

If you are making freezer jam pour the jam straight into containers but if you are going to store jam in the pantry or give as gifts follow the next steps.

Pour into hot jars, wipe down the jar to remove any spillage then apply lids/rings. Place jars in a boiling pot of water with the water covering the tops of the jars for at 10 minutes. Remove jars with tongs or special jar tongs (you can find them here) and let cool. I like to place my jars on wire racks to help with the cooling process (like when you cool cookies). As the jars cool you will hear popping noises, this is good it means your jars have sealed properly. You can check your jars to make sure they sealed by pressing the tops if they are popped out in the middle they are sealed, if not then you can reprocess them in the hot water bath.

When its all cooled ENJOY! I love this on biscuits and english muffins but Im sure you savvy people out there can find some really great uses or it as well. If you have a really great idea share it! I would love to hear what you would do with it!!

-Rachael

German Chocolate Goodness!!

2012-07-10T16:04:00.002-07:00

I think its about time we have another dessert posting because desserts make everything better...especially a dessert that has chocolate and coconut. I love coconut it makes me happy :)

On a side note, I do hope to not make this completely a food blog because I by no means am a chef and as of yet cant really 100% make my own recipes so Im just sharing other recipes (with some tweeks of my own). I always link back to the original source so please make sure you stop by their blog, let them know I sent you and if you really love their blog as much as I do then follow them!

Today's recipe is from Six Sisters Stuff blog. These girls are seriously talented and have some super stellar recipes that I have used on multiple occasions with always fantastic results. Today's recipe is no different and to tell you just how awesome this recipe is...my dad had me leave 4 with him! He never asks to keep desserts because he likes to eat healthy and doesnt eat a lot of desserts. Its really a high compliment if he wants seconds :)

German Chocolate Cake Bars

(A SixSisters’ Stuff blog recipe)

Servings: 16 Prep Time: 7min Cook Time: 24-30min Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Crust:

1 box devil's food cake mix (not with pudding added)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg

Filling:

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (fat free is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter and egg, and press into the bottom of the prepared pan. The crust should not come up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes and remove from the oven. The crust will not look done.

While the crust is baking, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, egg, pecans and coconut. Pour evenly over the warm crust and sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips. Bake for 24-30 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.

Now get out there and make some baked goodness! I really loved these and I know you all remember that Im not a huge fan of chocolate :) You know I think I might just have to go and make some more they were THAT good!!

-Rachael

Yummy Chicken Bundles

2012-06-26T16:06:00.002-07:00

What's this...2 food posts in 1 week! It must be your lucky day!! Truth is I cook a new recipe each week whether we make a new project or not so I pretty much an guarenteed to have at least 1 recipe to share with you. Since its been about 3 weeks since my last post I have a couple recipe posts waiting in the wings to share!

Since yesterday was a dessert post I want to share main course recipe with you today. I have made this one a few times because its fast, easy, and makes great left overs! Doesnt get much better than that right?!? So are you ready to try a new recipe?? YES!! I was hoping you would say that!

Chicken Enchilada Puffs

(A TidyMom blog recipe, modified by Rachael)

Servings: 8 Prep Time: 15min Cook Time: 15min Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

· 2 packages regular crescent rolls

· 3 oz cream cheese

· 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese

· 2 cup cooked chicken (diced or shredded)

· 2/3 cup enchilada or taco sauce

· 4 teaspoons enchilada or taco seasoning mix

· 1/2 cup Mexican shredded cheese for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375° and line cookie sheet with foil and spray with no-stick spray

Place cream cheese and Mexican cheese in small bowl and microwave for about 30-40 seconds, to soften.

Add seasoning mix, sauce and chicken to cheese mixture and stir until combined.

Unroll crescent rolls (leave the 2 triangles of each section together to make a square) on prepared pan.

Scoop 1 large heaping tablespoon of chicken mixture into the center of the two short ends of the crescent roll.

Pull outer corners of the crescent roll over the chicken mixture, and then pull the long end over, completely enclosing filling.

Sprinkle tops of puffs with additional shredded Mexican cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I doubled this recipe because it only made 4 and thats not enough left-overs for me and its just too easy to make this doubled. I serve this with steamed veggies and rice (if I have it on hand) because...well just the puff a balanced meal does not make :) I hope you are your family enjoys this version of the chicken bundle as much as mine does! Oh and by the way we have tried 3 different versions of the chicken bundle and I found that this version was our favorite...if my opinion counts for anything :)

-Rachael

Long Time No See!

2012-06-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hey gang! Sorry for the radio silence but with the new job and lack of funds there have been no new projects for me to share. Right now we are working on a plan to make a shelf in the laundry room and a bookcase in the study but until we have the funds to get all the materials those projects are waiting in the wings. Its not really a bad thing though because my creative juices havent really been flowing lately and I havent been inspired by anything either :(

What I have been doing is cooking...probably too many desserts but who cares!! To make up for the absence...(well not really since its just one dessert post, but its a good one) I want to share with you a cookie I made a while back and have been waiting to post about it. These are tasty and light and not too terribly bad for you...as far as cookies go that is. I think this is more a holiday time cookies, but I dont think any cookie (save eggnog cookies for obvious reasons) should only be made 1 time a year!! I hope you try these and love them

Lemon-Coconut Snowballs

(A Myrecipies.com recipe)

Servings: 2dozen Prep Time: 25min Cook Time: 20min Cool Time: 35min Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

· 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (if you only have salted butter just leave out the salt!)

· 1/2 cup powdered sugar

· 1 teaspoon coconut extract

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind (I used jarred since I dont keep fresh on hand and it worked fine)

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted

· 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and extracts, beating well. Add flour, lemon rind, and salt, beating until combined. Stir in coconut. Cover and chill dough 30 minutes.

Shape dough into generous 1" balls; place 1" apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden on bottom, but pale on top. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool 5 minutes.

Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a bowl, and roll warm cookies in powdered sugar, coating well. Cool cookies completely on wire racks. Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar again, coating well.

My husband took these to work and they liked them...not as much as my fantastically awesome sugar cookies but they did like them. My problem when I made these was I cooked them about 2 minutes too long so they were a little dry. In my opinion its better to cook a little less, you can always add more time later. I also used my silicone baking sheets rather than the parchment paper so the bottoms didnt brown. Nothing wrong with parchment paper I just prefer the silicone baking sheets for a more even color.

I hope you enjoy these!!

-Rachael

Foodie Friday #28

2012-06-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Oh its Friday and that means Im getting on a plane tonight and am going to Orlando!!! Oh I cannot wait!! So its only a weekend away and its not really a whole lot of time away but its going to be fun and its going to feel like a vacation and thats all that matters to me :) What are you doing this weekend? I hope its not seeing Snow White and the Huntsman because Kristen Stewart doesnt need any more money to support her terrible acting. Sorry but we all know its true, she is terrible.

The recipe I have for you today comes my Six Sisters Stuff. I love their blog and I love their recipes. We tried this one out and it definitely became one of our favorites. It was great leftover as a nacho-esk lunch. MMMMM I cant WAIT for you to try this and then come back and tell me how much you love it and of course go and follow Six Sisters Stuff because they are some very talented ladies.

Light Taco Casserole

(A SixSister’s Blog recipe modified by Rachael)

Points: 4 Servings: 10 Prep Time: 5min Cook Time: 15-20min Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

24 Tortilla Chips (+ additional for serving)
1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 lb. extra lean ground turkey
3 TBSP Taco Seasoning
1 can Black Beans, I actually used Kidney Beans and that tasted great too
1 cup Salsa
2 cups Shredded Fat-Free or Reduced-Fat Cheese
Other toppings to taste---ie tomatoes/sour cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat oil and add onion and garlic - saute for about 5 minutes until soft. Add meat and taco seasoning, cooking until meat is browned. Add beans and salsa. Mix well and cook to thicken.

Line the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with tortilla chips. Gently press down the chips to break into bite-sized pieces. Spread the meat mixture over the chips. Top with cheese.

Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Add topping when serving. Keep in mind if you are going to have leftovers that things like lettuce/sour cream/tomatoes arent really great if you re-heat them so I recommend putting them in a separate container and not putting them on until after you have re-heated your food.

Looks easy right! I know I was in love over this recipe and cant wait to make it again. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Project Housewife Out!

Thankful Thursday

2012-05-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday everyone!! I cannot wait for the weekend...because Im going to a good friend's wedding and I cant wait...and as a matter of fact, thats what Im thankful for today!

Ok ok so they may be getting married at Disney World and that may be a great reason to visit but more than that I am so thankful to be sharing in their special day. I have know the bride for a while now and am so happy she is getting her happily ever after. Her fiance is such a great man and they are so gerat together.

I am always so happy to see friends get married, but its been a while since a friend of mine has gotten married and I was able to go to the wedding. I love being around all the happiness and joy, seeing the love on the couples faces and just being there to celebrate the new union. I find it doesnt matter how much the wedding costs, as long as your friends are there, and there is good music, a good time is going to be had! The good music is a sticking point though, how are you going to dance your booty off if you dont have good music :)

So here's to all those couples getting married this weekend...or anytime...and here to all the couples who are still married and making it through the tough time and the fun times as well!

I hope you all have a great thursday...and here is Oreo :)

Project Housewife Out!

Pineapples Make me Happy

2012-05-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

How was everyones Memorial Day Weekend? I finally saw the Avengers and it was awesome...cant wait for the Avengers 2 its going to be epic. We also went and picked blueberry at Morehead's Blueberry farm here in Spring. It was pretty hot but we managed to get almost 15 pounds worth of ripe delicious blueberries. I didnt realize how much we had until the guy weighted it...they take up a whole shelf in my freezer. Cant wait to make some awesome blueberry desserts and pancakes!!!! If anyone has some awesome blueberry recipes I would love to hear from you, cant wait to try some new things!

Today I want to share something I made but am not sure if its worth sharing a tutorial on...see Im not sure if I love it or not and if I dont love it Im not sure anyone else will. So Im going to show you what I made and I would love to hear if you would like to know how I did or...or if you like it...or if its crap. If its crap I can take it I need a dose of truth!

So there it is. Joe made the pineapple shape for me and I did the beading and the chain. What do you think, is it worth making another one and giving you a tutorial??? I would love to get your feedback!

Project Housewife Out!

Foodie Friday #27

2012-05-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

Im so happy today is Friday because that means I get to share my awesome Mother's Day dessert with you!! I was so happy to make this for my mom because its light, fresh, and as close to healthy as a dessert can be. My mom isnt a big fan of sweets so this was the perfect one to make. I think the lemon and raspberry help tone down the sweetness and thats just fine because its the perfect blend of happiness in your mouth. Great summer dessert too since summer berries are now fully in season and wont cost you an arm and a leg to buy! Truth be told I forgot to add the Cool Whip and berries on the top but I remembered for the picture so thats what counts. You can serve without the topping but it does seem like its missing something.

You could probably go crazy with the flavor combination but I love lemon so that will always be lemon. I did sub blackberry preserves for the raspberry and it tasted great too. Just make sure if you are going to sub you use preserves, jelly doesnt have the same consistency as preserves and wont set the same. Now on to the dessert!!

Lemon-Raspberry Mousse Squares

(A Kraft recipe)

Servings: 12 Prep Time: 15min Cook Time: 0 Cool Time: 4hrs Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

· 48 NILLA Wafers, divided

· 3/4 cup boiling water

· 1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Gelatin

· 1 cup ice cubes

· 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

· 1/4 cup sugar

· 2 tsp. lemon zest

· 1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

· 1/3 cup raspberry preserves

· 1-1/2 cups fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, sliced kiwi, sliced strawberries)

Instructions

STAND 16 wafers around edge of plastic wrap-lined 8-inch square pan. Add boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in ice until melted.

BEAT next 3 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gradually beat in gelatin. Whisk in 2 cups COOL WHIP.

POUR half the gelatin mixture into prepared pan; cover with 16 wafers. Microwave preserves on HIGH 15 sec. or until melted; brush onto wafers. Top with remaining gelatin mixture and wafers.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Invert dessert onto plate; remove pan and plastic wrap. Top dessert with remaining COOL WHIP and fruit.

I love this dessert its so light fresh and delicious. I hope you enjoy it too!

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up! Come check me out at Joy in the Jumble, Bacon Time, Create Craft Love, Addicted2Decorating, Petals to Picots, Serenity Now, Days of Chalk and Chocolate, Six Sisters Stuff, Flour me with Love, Aldeberry Hill, Add a Pinch, Positively Splendid,Ginger Snap Crafts, Tip Junkie, DIY By Design, Crazy for Crust, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife,Chef in Training,My Girlish Whims, Lil Pink Pocket, Beyond the Picket Fence, Southern Lovely,House of Hepworths, Michelle's Tasty Creations,

Thankful Thursday

2012-05-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

You know if I ever write a book its going to have to be in a quiet place with no noise. We are watching Cougar Town and its very distracting trying to write a post! Ok so I probably wont be writing a book...ever...but its good to know :)

What have you guys been doing this week? I havent been getting great sleep this week so my creative juices arent flowing like normal. What has everyone been working on this week I would love to hear from you!!

Today Im thankful for holiday weekends! I have changed jobs twice this year so I dont have any vacation time stored up...no time off for me unless its a paid holiday. So a 3 day weekend is just what the doctor ordered. I have great plans for this weekend and one is getting a new haircut/color and get my nails done. As long as it looks good Ill share with you when I get a picture :) I have another fun plan for Monday but I think Im going to make a post out of it so Ill hold of on sharing that with you until later. Do you have any fun plans for this Memorial Day weekend? Hopefully my dad will be barbequing this weekend, I love a good barbeque, especially when its not me who is hosting! Hmmm what dessert should I make :) So Im thankful for an extended weekend where I have fun plans that dont involve me cleaning the house in preparation for people coming over (2weeks in a row is too much).

My beautiful Oreo, doing what I wish I was doing all day today...napping. Such a good dog, at night he comes and sits by me and sleeps on me. Some people dont like it but its relaxing having my puppy dog sleeping by me :)

Project Housewife Out!

Products I Love

2012-05-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit this but I am in a lazy phase...a phase where I dont want to do anything I just want to sit on my butt and read Harry Potter...ok so my laziness may be due to the fact I am re-reading the series but whatever dont judge me!

So today, since I dont have any fantastic projects to share with you I want to share a fantastic product with you! I use a lot of items in my every day life, some of which I have shared with you already. I think today I want to share my love of home scents with you.

I have been using wallflowers from Bath and Body works for ages now (always buy them on sale thank you very much) and have finally found my signature season scents. Wow that was a mouthful! This summer, walk into my house and Peach Bellini will welcome you in! I love that its fresh and crisp and oh so summer. Thats just for summer though, for the fall its Leaves, that smell I would love to do year-round but its not available year round so that not an option.

(buy it here)

What I love about the wallflowers is they make my house smell like we dont own a dog. I hate going to a house that smells like the own an animal. Im sure you know what I mean, a house that is clean but doesnst smell clean. Thats my biggest fear in the world, having a house people say smells. I know its silly but a lot of things about me are so I deal with it :)

Now Bath and Body works has some really cut wallflower holders for your house too so you can do seasonal ones if you want, or have year round awesome ones. I have pineapple ones but they sell out fast so those are gone for the season. This anchor one is so cute...I would totally have this in my house if I had a nautical theme going on.

(buy it here)

What products do you use to keep your home smelling great? Oh and I use the awsesome candles as a compliment to the wall flowers to help when someone (*cough*husband*cough*) forgets to do the dishes and the nasty dish smell is creeping or when we make bacon and the house smells like bacon for hours, yeah I hate bacon dont burn my house down its not healthy and I really hate that it stinks up the house.

Project Housewife Out!

Foodie Friday #26

2012-05-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Are you as ready for Friday as much as I am?? I am hoping to see the Avengers this weekend and cant wait its gotten so many excellent reviews, and hello Robert Downey Jr is in it!!! Do you have any great plans this weekend?

I've got a real treat for you today! Zucchini!!! Im really excited to share this recipe with you because number 1 it was delicious, number 2 it is great leftover and number 3 its healthy! Its a triple threat! I love that is zucchini as the base because I honestly dont know how to cook zucchini but love the flavor and any excuse to use it makes me happy. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did...so what are you waiting for, go and try this!!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

(A RecipeGirl blog recipe)

Points: 6 Servings: 6 Prep Time: 30min Cook Time: 30min Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

Three medium (8-inch) zucchini, ends trimmed, then cut in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
3/4-pound lean turkey sweet Italian sausage
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup tomato-basil marinara sauce
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Use a small spoon to scrape out the insides of each zucchini half - the pulp. Don't scrape the zucchini all the way to the skin- just make a deep pocket where you'll be able to put the stuffing. Save the pulp and chop it.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini pulp, onion, garlic and sausage. Cook together 4 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are softened and the sausage is cooked through. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve to drain the excess moisture. Transfer the meat mixture to a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, mix the cheeses together. Remove two tablespoons of the cheese and set aside. Add the rest of the cheese to the meat mixture, along with the marinara sauce and basil. Add salt and pepper, as desired. Divide the meat mixture between the hollowed out zucchini, filling and mounding into each one. Set the stuffed zucchini into the prepared pan and sprinkle the reserved cheese on top. Bake 30 minutes, or until baked through and tender.

Notes: These are delicious on their own, but they're also good served over herbed rice.

Nutrition

Serving size: 1 zucchini boat, Calories per serving: 241, Fat per serving: 13.5g, Saturated Fat per serving: 4.8g, Sugar per serving: 3.9g, Fiber per serving: 3.9g, Protein per serving: 19.2g, Cholesterol per serving: 51.6mg, Carbohydrates per

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up! Come check me out at Joy in the Jumble, Bacon Time, Create Craft Love, Addicted 2 Decorating, Petals to Picots,Six Sisters Stuff, Positively Splendid, Southern Lovely, Alderberry Hill,Ginger Snap Crafts, Tip Junkie, My Girlish Whims, Lil Pink Pocket, A Bowl full of Lemons, DIY By Design, Not Just a Housewife, Romance on a Dime, Michelle's Tasty Creations, House of Hepworths, Blissful & Domestic, Beyond the Picket Fence,

Whats that smell?

2012-05-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hey gang how was your Mother's Day? Joe made a brisket for my mom and it was pretty good. We have a gas grill and did wood chips in the gas grill and it turned out pretty well. I made a fantastic dessert too but Im not going to share that with you until next Friday...oh the suspense!!!!!

I dont have a project today but rather a tip! Some of you may remember that I am on a quest for the perfect sugar cookie...and on my way with that quest I bought some silicone baking sheets from Wilton that I LOVE! You can buy them from Amazon.com here

(source)

I have used these a couple of times now with fantastic results. But thats not the nature of today's tip and you might have guessed from the title of today's post. My husband is a bit of a procrastinator and lets the dishes sit in the sink for a few days (drives me crazy but Im not about to do them). Thats bad for silicone...very bad. We had cooked chicken that same week so the chicken dished and the baking sheets were sitting in the same area and absorbed the stink...it was pretty nasty. It was worse than a nasty sponge...you know the smell, the kinda you need like 2 lemons to get the smell off. G-ROSS. Wanna know how to get rid of it?!

Not to worry, you dont have to throw those expensive mats away all you need is water and baking soda! Equal parts water and baking soda to make a paste. Spread the paste over the mat front and back then rinse it off with water. Pat the mats dry then store them away...and try not to make them stink again :)

So easy, so quick and such a money saver! I thought they were ruined but after a little head scratching (and a few wrong attempts...vinegar doesnt work by the way lol) I figured this beauty out! I hope this helps you as much as it helped me!

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up! Come check me out at Tip Junkie, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Romance on a Dime, Not Just a Housewife, Southern Lovely, DIY By Design, House of Hepworths, Michelle's tasty Creations, My Girlish Whims, Ginger Snap Crafts, Joy in the Jumble, Bacon Time, Create Craft Love, Addicted 2 Decorating, Petals to Picots, Six Sisters Stuff, Positively Splendid, Add a Pinch, Alderberry Hill,

Foodie Friday #25

2012-05-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Im so happy its Friday! I cant wait for this weekend, Joe is going to try and smoke a brisket and I love a good barbeque!! You know what goes great with brisket...a good sorbet! This one tastes like those italian ice things, but is much easier to scoop which is awesome in my book. The best thing about this sorbet is how easy it is to take, bonus its tangy and sweet and cold. So refreshing and delicious you need to go out and try this.

Raspberry Lemonade Sorbet

Servings: 6 Prep Time: 5min Freeze Time: 30min Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

· 12oz frozen minute maid raspberry lemonade concentrate

· ¼ c honey

· 1 ¾ c cold water

· ¾ c frozen raspberry

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process on high speed until smooth and creamy.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker and blend according to mixer instructions.

Put in freezer until sold and serve

So easy right! I hope you go and try this one because its great for this warmer weather coming out way. What recipes do you love making, this one is going to be one of them now!

Project Housewife Out!

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Thankful Thursday!

2012-05-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday...one day closer to the weekend...one day closer to Mother's Day! Im not a Mom myself, but I have a mom...and that is going to be the "thankful" theme today.

Not that you need an excuse to be thankful for your mom, but since Mother's Day is coming up I figured today would be a great day for a Mom's post!

That's my mom when she was visiting me in Vegas. So this pic is a few years old but whatever! One of the many things Im thankful for and this picture was actually one of those times. I had moved out to Vegas and my fiance (at the time, now husband) wasnt able to come out for my birthday (he hadnt moved yet) and I was totally bummed, so my mom came out to hang with me it was great.

Moms are great, my mom especially because she does so much for me. All my cooking/hosting techniques I got from her. She taught me to be crafty, hard working and independant. Some of the best qualities I have learned from her and thats a lot to be thankful for.

When I was growing up my mom was a stay at home mom, and I have great respect for mom's who make that decision. I will always love the fact that my mom was home making sure us kids were taken care of. I also am thankful that my mom was so supportive of my independence, never wanting me to settle or be dependent on someone. I think too many girls these days feel like they have to have a man to be happy and that makes me sad. You can be whoever you want to be if you believe in yourself and you dont need a man, or anyone else for that matter, to make something of yourself.

As I get older, its true, I do realize how much she did for the family and the respect for my mom just grows and weaves its way into my life as well. I cant wait to have my mom over for Mother's day because its our chance to host for her and of course I know my mom is going to appreciate what I make so who KNOWS what Im going to cook up!!

And a Thursday is not a Thursday without a picture of Oreo. This dog loves being in the car, and for those of you who dont believe me here is more proof! Sleeping in the floorboard of the car while we, presumably, are working on a project. Such a good dog :)

What are you thankful for today?

Project Housewife Out!

Not Your Grandmother's Pearls

2012-05-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Do you have a piece of jewelry that you love? You create outfits just to wear this piece? I had a great pearl piece like that I bought on the cheap from Charming Charlie. Do you have a Charming Charlie by you? If you dont its a giant awesome Claire's (costume jewelry) store that has everything separated by color...for those OCD's out there Im sure that makes you happy :) I love this store I find some many awesome things there and my pearl necklace was definitely one of them. So you can only imagine how sad I was when it broke. It was so weird too because I was sitting eating pizza across from my dad and the thing just broke and all the pearls fell in my lap. Luckily they did fall in my lap and I only had to pick 2 up off the ground...and yes I did pick them up, I didnt know what i was going to do but I knew I had to save this necklace!

Here and the supplies with the broken necklace. I dont know why the maker used thread for such heavy pearls but they did. My dad gave me the great suggestion of using fishing line to replace it so its more sturdy and wont break again. So what you need to fix a necklace is something to thread the beads on, scissors to cut the excess, your necklace, and the beads in question.

Cut a nice length off the fishing line and tie that to the first point that the necklace broke from in the first place. This is usually at the clasp so make a really strong knot, pull it as tight as you can so it doesnt come out. Sorry the picture isnt great, it was really hard to get the camera to focus on such a small detail.

Once your knot is good and tight, start threading your beads onto the thread. This is the easiest part yay!!

After all the beads are on knot the other end to the other place where the necklace broke. Get the knot as close to the beads that didnt fall off as possible so that you cant see where it broke when you put the necklace on. Again hard to take a picture but I tried my best here.

Make sure all the knots are good and tight then cut off any excess thread so that doesnt show...you dont want people to know you fixed it right!! After that you are done and can wear your awesome necklace!!!

You know the more I look at it the more I think I could make this myself...maybe next time this will be a "how to make it" post rather than a "how to fix it" post!

Project Housewife Out!

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LUMOS!

2012-05-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am pulling out my nerd card today. Sometimes I cant help it, being a nerd makes me happy and lets be honest its just more fun to be a nerd! Im totally geeking out about the Avengers movie...but I am of course going to wait until its been out a little longer so I dont have to sit in a packed theater. But Im sure the title LUMOS makes you think of something other than Marvel, and good! Because today is a Harry Potter post!

I have seen posts all over etsy of lightswtich plates for Harry Potter but I didnt love any of them enough to buy them. You know what that means...I better make my own! That also meant using Mod Podge. Truth be told I have never used it before and was very nervous about it. I looked online for some good tutorials but didnt really find anything that matched what I was doing so I just read the back of the bottle and went with it.

First things first you have to create your art! Of course you could draw on the light plate itself, but I cant draw so I googled some clipart. I wanted day and night and for them to merge seamlessly so that took some time for me to find the perfect images, but I eventually found it and it looks awesome!!

Above is the art I made. I forgot to take a picture of the first step because I was so excited to get this going. First step is to print out the art, cut it out and then mod podge it to the front of the plate. To do this cover the back of the art with mod podge using a foam sponge and line it up with the edges and press down. Make sure you roll over the edges to make a seamless look. For me I put a little tiny bit of mod podge around the edges and pressed down, going one side at a time to make sure it stuck. A note here, make sure you use a thin layer that way it doesnt ooze out the sides.

Once you get the art down, cut out the holes for the switches. For this leave one side attached so you can have a seamless look here too.

This is the back of the plate and you can see I pulled the art back through the hole, applied more mod podge and adhered it to the back of the plate. For the holes for the screws, I didnt pull that back through all I did here was make a hole (which you can barely see) so that I can push the screw into the plate and make it looks great!

Let that dry for about 5 minutes and then apply a thin coat of mod podge over the top of the art. Something I learned the hard was to be careful of the ink spreading. I think if you let the plate dry for about 5 minutes this should help, but what i ended up doing to make the color stop bleeding was to do the top 1/2 first then go to the bottom 1/2 that way the colors stayed in their respective areas. You can kinda see the blue from where I tried to get the blue off the sponge to have a fresh start. On the plate itself you can see the white lines of the mod podge. You will be able to see the lines when it dries so remember that.

Let this sit for 15 minutes and repeat 2 more times to make it good and solid. Remember that you are going to be touching this a lot with oily hands so you can a good layer to protect your art.

After the last coat let that dry overnight and then screw it into place. Looks pretty good right?! Although I have to admit I am a lover of glitter and am pretty confident I am going to add a layer of glitter to this to make it pop even more. Thats what I learned about mod podge is you can layer stuff and thats awesome! Now I can just go back and add it without having to make a new one!!

Check out my nerdness in all its glory. I made that poster for the wands I got at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter...its Hermione and Dumbeldore. Dont judge :) So what do you think? Have a great spot you could put a cool decorative light switch?

Project Housewife Out!

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Raise Me Up!

2012-05-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Those 3 words always make me think of Joshie Groban's amazing song You Raise Me Up. Oh and yes I know his name isnt Joshie but thats what I like to call him around the house because he's so cute like a little boy he is just Joshie...dont judge :)

I have a great project to share with you today! This one has been on the list for a while because, well the materials had the potential to be expensive. Lucky for us we were able to scrape together all the supplies and not have to spend a single penny. So this project is technically free, but if you had to buy the materials I would guess the total to be around $100.

This past weekend we built a platform for our media room. The platform is so that we can have 2 rows of seating, with the back row able to see over the 1st rows heads. First we had to measure the space, so length and height was easy. Height needs to be the same height as a stair which is 7inches (FYI) and the width was wide enough to walk around on one side and even with the column in the room on the other. The width and length will be specific to your room requirements but the 7inches is kinda standard. For the width I sat in my popisan chair (from pier 1...i love that thing) and Joe measured to about where my feet stopped. That way I can sit in the chair without kicking the chair in front of me, smart right?! Because lets be honest, aside from someone talking on their phone during the movie, the second worst thing is being kicked in the back of the chair. Always pisses me off.

Now that you have your measurements go and get your materials.

This wood is framing wood that was leftover from a construction site. It was really long and that was great since when we got it we didnt know what our final measurements would be. You can use regular 2x4's or whatever length you need...I havent had to buy wood like this in a while so I forget how they come.

You will also need sheets of plywood. 1inch thickness is the best since you are going to be walking/sitting/standing on this wood and you need it to be a little sturdier than other projects. This was also leftover from the site and let me tell you this stuff is heavy so be prepared to have a helper so you dont kill yourself. This will also be the more expensive part of the project. My dad who does small time carpentry says this stuff is about $40/sheet (you can see why we were putting this project off since we needed 2 sheets). Make sure you get enough for your dimensions, and for us that meant 2 sheets.

You will also need carpet if you want a finished look, or you can put a rug down or you could just stain it. That part is really up to you. Again, at a different construction site, we found a whole roll of carpet in the trash pile...well baby it was the exact same color and texture as our carpet so we snagged it! Awesome right?!

Now I bet you want to know how to put it all together right. Ok. So first you need to build the frame. That part is pretty easy, you are just going to make a box with your framing wood. Oh and to make things easier on yourself you probably will want to use a nail gun for this since you are going to have to hammer really deep on this part. Of course if you are Hercules then no big, but most of us arent so the nail gun is probably best.

After you get the frame done you need to add support beams down the middle and down the length so that it doesnt cave in on you. Im not calling you fat, but we all could use a little support you know :)

Oreo had to make sure the boys were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Dont ask me why the boys did the supports the way they did, if it was up to me there would be the 2 long ones going the whole length and 3 more going down the width, but no one asks the wife so I just let them be since they are making this monster. If you want to have this as a permanent structure screw the platform into the floor. To do that at the edges screw a screw in at an angle so that it goes through the wood and into the floor as well. Make sure the supports are nailed in really well also and now you are ready to add the top.

Probably the easiest part...put the plywood on top of the frame and nail it down. You might have to cut one of your pieces of plywood like we did here but thats not too bad if you have a circular saw. Make sure when you are nailing you are nailing into the support wood and not into nothing because that would be pointless.

Are you ready to carpet that bad boy? Looks pretty cool right. Cant even tell that the carpet isnt the same type. To put carpet on lay the carpet out over the platform and line it up evenly. Start stapling with a staple gun being very careful to staple as close to the bottom as you can so you cant really see the staples. When you get to the edge curl the bottom and cut it a little past the edge so you can squish the edge behind the next edge you are going to work on. make sure you pull tight as you go and do the same thing all the way around. Once you get the carpet night and tight and stapled down you are done! Of course you could paint or use a rug but thats the last step yay you are done!! Looks pretty cool right?! I cant wait to get more furniture up there and start making it look like a real media room.

What did you work on this weekend?

Project Housewife Out!

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Foodie Friday #24

2012-05-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

How happy are you that its Friday!! I know I am...because we are getting new phones this weekend and that means that my husband will stop asking for new phones...its a win win!!!

This week was a good week, I made some new recipes that turned out great and Im excited to share one of those with you. I have actually never made curry before so this was a first for me. I was pleasantly surprised out how great it was and it might be one of my new favorite shrimp recipes. Now Im going to share it with you and hope you like it as much as I did.

Red Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

(A Skinnytaste.com recipe)

Points: 3+ Servings: 4 Prep Time: 5min Cook Time: 15min Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

· 1 tsp oil

· 4 scallions, whites and greens separated, chopped

· 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste

· 2 cloves garlic, minced

· 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

· 6 oz light coconut milk

· 2 tsp fish sauce

· 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

· salt to taste

Instructions

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add scallion whites and red curry paste and sauté one minute. Add shrimp and garlic, season with salt and cook about 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk, fish sauce and mix well. Simmer about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through. Remove from heat, mix in scallion greens and cilantro. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Notes: I didnt separate the whites from the greens, in fact I didnt have whites at all so it was all green and it tasted fantastic anyway. Oh and coconut milk from the can needs to be shaken before you use it...I didnt know that and it was surprising to see the separation when I I opened the can. Also, fish sauce smells really bad but it was only like $1 for a big container of it so just go with it.

Project Housewife Out!

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Thankful Thursday

2012-05-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! How's your week going? Mine's going ok...not fast enough though I always cant wait for the weekend! What are you thankful for this week? Me...Im thankful for sleep! Thats right I said sleep and let me tell you why...

Sometimes you dont realize how much you need something until it goes away. Remember I got a new job last week and new jobs make me lose sleep. I havent have a good sleep in 3 weeks and its starting to take its tole on my attitude towards my husbadn...because lets be honest its so much easier to be mean to the ones we love and thats a horribly sad truth of life.

Its not like my sleep isnt long enough, its that its not the restful/peaceful kind that when you wake up and you feel refreshed. Mine is the kind full of real life dreams and my mind waking me up thinking I need to go do something...and that makes me feel like I never went to sleep in the first place. I have to be thankful for sleep so that maybe it will come back to me and make me nice and happy again!

Back to the husband thing...he isnt even home yet and Im annoyed. I seem to think that he asks 1million questions when Im irritable but really its just the same amount I just dont have the patience to listen to them all. Pathetic right?! It wouldnt be the case if I had sleep!!! Sleep come back to me, I promise I wont take you for granted any more! I love you I miss you!! And my husband would really like you to come back so I can be back to my normal crazy self :)

The only person not affected by my lack of sleep if Oreo, he always gets the same love because how could you not love those puppy dog eyes.

And he is a great supervisor of projects...the one you see here is coming to you next week, its going to be epic!

Project Housewife Out!

What to expect when your...donating?!

2012-05-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Does my title make you curious?! I recently decided that I wanted to share something with you that for a while I thought was really private and, well, not really something I wanted to share with people. What changed my mind is the amount of people who ask me about it and arent judgemental about it so Im going to take a leap of faith and think you guys are going to be the same.

2 years ago I started donating my eggs to couples who wanted to have kids but otherwise couldnt. It was actually a hard decision to make because I wasnt sure how I would feel about giving a part of me to some random person I had never met before. These fertility institutes are smart though, they have you meet with a psychiatrist for your first donation cycle to make sure you are emotionally/mentally ok with the whole process. I realized that any child that came from the donation wouldnt really be mine, my child is 1/2 me and 1/2 my husband. I realized that you know what, I may not be ready to have kids but there are some couples out there that want to have a baby so desperately but for some horrible reason cant have a child on their own, but have decided to take on the incredibly difficult journey of invitro. I have to say the whole process, from being chosen by a couple because I either look like them or have the same blood type or am incredibly smart (ok so that last part is my wishful thinking but I can count it right) was really rewarding and pretty easy on my part (which I will explain in a few). I havent openly talked about this before because I feel like people will judge me for giving away 1/2 of myself to someone I dont even know. But the more people who have found out and asked me about it the more I find that people are genuinely interested in the whole process.

(My friend gave me this giant egg cell for Christmas, I though it was cute so its on my desk at work)

On to the whole process so in case you are interested you can know what to expect! First step is to apply with a credited agency. Once you apply they will contract you for a few pictures of yourself for potential recipients to see of you. Most agencies will ask for baby and adult pictures so the recipients can have an idea of how their child will look. After you get put into their donor book its just a waiting game. A couple has to choose you for their donor and then you start the fun stuff! You have to give blood for testing on a full spectrum of dieases and the like, but on your part its just giving blood so dont worry thats not so bad. Once you go for the first visit you will get your injections that you have to do daily until the nurses tell you to stop. These injections dont really hurt, they are a little uncomfortable for a few minutes but thats really it. I had 2 shoots to do each day but everyone is different so if you choose to do this it may not be the same for you. You do have to have 2-3 doctor visits a week to monitor the growth of your eggs, and this truthfully was the most uncomfortable part because they use that wand thing to measure the eggs. Once the eggs are large enough you take one more shot at a specific time to have the eggs release from the walls to make it easier for extraction. Ok so the part you guys are most worried about is the extraction...honestly I have never had any type of surgery done before, I mean I still have my tonsils and wisdom teeth! The worst part was getting the iv put it, it was pretty painful and scary for me but once that was in I was good to go. They take you back to the prep room and thank GOD you cant wear your contacts because Im pretty much blind without them and couldnt see all the scary stuff thats in an operating room. Once you are in the room you lay on the bed thing and then they give you the happy juice. I never got the same stuff twice but it knocks you out in about 30 seconds. Next thing you know your significant other is taking you to Chick Fil A to get a breakfast sandwich (because you cant eat or drink anything after midnight) and you are falling in and out of sleep because of the anesthesia. Stop at the pharmacy to get your pain pills and sleep it off for the rest of the day. The next day you will be a little uncomfortable (although my other friend couldnt go to work the next day) but I was able to work a 1/2 day of work then go home and rest. Take it easy for about a week and dont work out until you get your next cycle then you are back to normal! Not too bad right?!

Some side notes---as the eggs get bigger you will feel super bloated so watch out for that. I needed my husband to give me the shots because I cant do that to myself so you may need help. Different agencies do things differently so make sure you feel comfortable with the agency you choose. Oh and ok probably the best part is the financial aspect. The agency I went with paid $5000 each time (not taxed, so remember to put away money to pay taxes on that when April 15 comes around) but other agencies are different but keep in mind legally agencies are not allowed to pay more than $10000 per donation. Individuals may pay more but Im not so sure I would trust an individual over a credited agency. There is some disagreement on how many times you can donate but I have heard 6-10 with 10 being the complete total max. The agency I went with only allowed 6 so keep that in mind.

I think I covered about everything I cant think of, but as always if you want to know more please contact me and i would love to talk to you more about it. I hope I helped some of you make a decision to help some couples out there. The way I see it, if the couple goes to all this trouble financially and emotionally then I think they can handle a baby and will love it so much, probably more than I am capable of right now. If this post accomplished anything I hope that it was I opened more people up to the idea of donating to help a couple who desperately wants a baby.

Project Housewife Out!

The Purple Dahlia

2012-05-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today I have a real treat for you, and just in time for Mother's Day! I have had this project pinned for a really long time now and have been putting it off because it just looked too hard, but hey guess what its not too bad! Ok so I may be comparing this to the curtains which took a really long time to do so anything seems easy at this point but whatever :) Today's project is a dahlia flower pin and Im super excited to share with you! Below is the original inspiration for todays project.

A good tutorial is from Make and Do Girl, she has the patterns I used to make the petals for the flower. Go to her site, poke around, give her some blog love and check out her patterns that were seriously just perfect! She also has tips of different kinds of felt, but since Hobby Lobby only has one kind to chose from I didnt really pay attention to that.

Check out all my felt colors! 4 for $1 makes this project $4 for the felt. Turns out you can get 1 flower per felt sheet so that a potential of 16 flowers I can make, how great is that!

Here is all the shapes I needed cut out. Again go check out Make and Do Girl for the patterns, I didnt come up with them so I wont take credit for them. She even tells you how many to cut out which out of everything was the most useful bit by far! Oh and the cardboard is to give the flower a little stability, which you will never even if you dont want to make this a pin, so dont forget this step. You can use a cereal box so dont go and buy cardboard Im sure you have something you could us around the house!

After you get all your petals cut out, warm up your hot glue gun and get to ready to start gluing. I forgot to take a picture of this next step but there are 2 size circles for the backing. First glue the larger circle to the cardboard circle. Make some cut around the edge of the circle (the part of the felt that sticks out around the circle) then apply some hot glue small sections at a time. After you apply the glue flip the edges over the circle to make a nice smooth edge. Once you have made it all the way around the circle you can glue the smaller circle over the other side of the cardboard so that way you dont see any cardboard and all you see is smooth pretty felt.

Next up is gluing the petals together. There has been some argument on what adhesive is best to use, but in the end I think hot glue was the best because it sets the fastest. Yeah you run the risk of burning your fingers but that totally shrinks in comparison to how long you have to wait for the glue to dry with other options. In the picture above you can see i glued the bottom square edges together...I want to tell you this is actually the wrong way to do this...If you make it pointy like that it wont sit flat when you go to glue the petal to the base. So even though its a little more work ou need to fold the two sides in half and have them meet in the middle of the petal to form a flat bottom for you to glue to your base.

You can see here how they are pointy and not sitting flat. Also, make sure you glue each petal down one at a time. Apply a little to the back of the part you glued in half and then press that portion of the petal down onto the backing. So the only part of the largest petal you are going to glue down to the backing is the bottom 1/4 of the petal that you glued together. From the picture above you can see the gaps and that because I put them all down at the same time. If you glue them down one at a time you can make sure they are all lined up evenly and make sure the petals overlap correctly so be careful there.

Same song second verse for the middle size petals.

Final verse, do that same step again for the smallest petals, and here is where you can really have some fun! I had a crystal button left over from doing my headboard which I hot glued here. A note, if the button is flat on the back it wont work as well as one that has a hook like part on the back since the hook-thing can go down into the flower and sit a little better.

If you dont want to do a button/jewel you can just cut a thin strip of felt, roll it up and glue it into the center of the flower. Which you can see above, and on a side note this is also the flower I did the correct way.

Here the 2 flowers are side by side and you can really see the difference here. Of course do what works best for you but you can clearly see that some methods work better than others. I love the ivory one and cant wait to share the interesting way I am going to use this one!!

For Mother's Day though, all you need to do is add a pin backing with hot glue so they can wear it as a broach and you are good to go! Super easy right?! Well the cutting does take some time but you know what I think they are so cute and cant wait to experiment with other colors! What are you going to do with yours?!?

Project Housewife Out!

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Go Your Own Way

2012-04-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

As promised the sign is done! As a reminder from where we started check out my original pin from pinterest

(original pin)

Im so sorry I dont know where this originally came from, I cant find the original source but I had to share the picture.

Since its been so long since the first post on the idea, Ill just make this a big post with all the details! To start with I downloaded fonts that I though best reflected the place that I was going to mark. Thanks for www.1001freefonts.com for all the great fonts that we used.
If you would like to use the names I did click here. I printed the names out and had those ready for when the signs were ready to be marked.

Now what is a sign without a good post?! Since the drought was so bad here last year my mom had a lot of fallen trees on her property, and we scored and awesome trunk from her.

Good post right?! Not that we have the post, we need the arrows. I didnt need them to be all fancy but Joe decided to make them look like arrows which is fine with me they were cute. It wasnt that hard to make these all you need is a 2x4 or pallet wood or whatever you have laying around. You can break the wood piece to have an angle that points or you can use a compound saw and cut angles that you want for an arrow, just do whatever you think is best for your sign here.

After you cut all your signs out now you are ready to burn/paint the words onto the signs. We had a soldering gun that had a wood burning attachement. Thankfully Joe is a great artist and drew the words onto the wood pretty much just like they were on the paper. You can do whatever works best for you, I thought of buring over the paper or using an excto knife to cut into the wood and burn over that in case Joe couldnt draw them, but seeing as he could I never had to test those theories. Honestly it was really time consuming to do all the burning and thats what it took so long to get this done, but it was well worth it since I think it will last the longest. After you get all the arrows done now you can attach them to your post, and thats the fastest part. If you use a nail gun it will be even easier.

If you put them on at funky angles that gives it an older cooler feel too. But if you are more meticulous then of course you can make them perfect, its your sign make it fit you! Now that all the arrows are on plant it in the ground. If you have a hole digger you can use it or a shovel, but the hole digger makes it a litter easier to dig a hole. Make sure the hole is about 2 feet deep so that the post is sturdy in the ground. When the hole is dug stick the post in, re plant the soil and pack it tighthy. Once thats done YOUR done! Step back and admire your awesome job on an awesome sign!

What a fun way to make a fun statement in your yard. We ended up putting ours in the back yard so as not to start any trouble with the HOA, they stress me out. So what do you think? All that work, was it worth it? I sure do think so!

Project Housewife Out!

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Foodie Friday #23

2012-04-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

Its Friday and Im super excited about it! I started my new job this week but am happy for the weekend to finally be here and take some down time to...wait for it...FINISH THE SIGN...if you dont know what Im talking about then just tune in Monday because shock of shock I will finally be posting the epic conclusion to this masterpiece. I have to say my husband is extremely talented and it looks fantastic!

For the recipe this week, I made these for my new work buddies but ended up eating them all myself. Possibly next time I will leave out the Peanut Butter because they were pretty hard not as melty as I normally like my Krispie Treats. I am a sucker for Butterfinger though and had to try these and were overall totally in love. Try these out and let me know what you think!

Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treats

(A RecipeGirl blog recipe, modified by Rachael S)

Servings: 9 Prep Time: 25min Cook Time: 5min Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 tablespoon salted butter
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag large marshmallows
4 cups Rice Krispies
8 pack of .65-ounce Butterfinger candy bars chopped into chunks

Instructions

Spray an 8x8-inch pan with nonstick spray.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and peanut butter together over medium heat. Add the marshmallows- stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the Rice Krispies. Stir in the Butterfingers (setting about 1/4 cup aside for the topping). Scrape the mixture into the prepare pan and press it evenly into the pan with clean hands. Let it cool.

Cut the Krispie Treats into nine equal pieces and store them in a covered container.

What are you waiting for, go try these out an be prepared to want to eat them all!

Thankful Thursday

2012-04-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Its that time of week again...a time to reflect and be thankful and you know what Im thankful for this week...YOU! Thats right YOU! Im thankful for everyone who has been with me from the beginning, those of you who just found me today and of course everyone in between. You guys keep me wanting to be creative instead of just sitting on my butt doing nothing. Sometimes its hard to get motivated and knowing people like what I create totally makes my day.

Thanks everyone for stopping by, leaving comments and following me it totally makes my day everyday when I log on and see how many people have stopped in. I wanted to tell all of you that Im thankful for you and am so happy we are getting to know each other through the wonderful blog world.

If you have a project you would love to see me create let me know I would love to have some new ideas since Pinterest has been letting me down lately. And what would Thursday be without a picture of Oreo!

Such a happy puppy, wish he didnt love sitting in dirt though :)

Project Housewife Out!