DIY Earrings

It's been a while since I posted, but with Christmas around the corner I have been getting a little more creative. Here are some earrings I made the other day.

Supplies:

• Spare parts (the scrapbooking embellishments)
• Jewelry/metal glue
• Earring backs
• Scissors

1. Twist or cut the stems (what are they even called?) from the back of the spare part.
2. Put a small amount of glue on the flat part of the of the earring back.
3. Press the earring back to the back of the spare part, hold it for couple of seconds.
4. Wear! Once the glue is dry of course! Super easy and super cute!

These earrings are Kate Spade inspired...a simple furniture button, half painted and half left wood. Glue the earring on the back on the back and you are done. You can free hand the paint or use painters tape to get a crisp line.

No Knead Crock-Pot Artisan Bread

No Knead? Crock-Pot? Yes really! In fact it is even a No Rise recipe as it does that in the crock-pot!

 Supplies:

• 3/4 Tablespoon Yeast
• 1 1/2 Cups of warm water (as hot as your tap water will go is fine)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Salt
• 3 1/4 Cups of Flour (I used unbleached bread flour)
• Parchment Paper

1. Mix your warm water and salt in a bowl. Add in the yeast and let it stand for 1-2 minutes, don't worry if it doesn't all completely dissolve.

2. Now add your flour. Be as exact as you can. Fill your cup and run over it with a knife to level it off. If you would like to add some seasonings or extras for taste do it now before your start to mix.

3. Using a spatula mix your dough. Form it into a ball and place it on some parchment paper.

4. Lower your parchment paper and dough into the crock-pot and set it to high. Cook time will vary with each crock-pot. Mine took about 1 1/2 hours.

5. The bread is ready when you poke it and it springs back up. The one down side to the crock-pot method is that it doesn't really crisp the outsides which is a big part of Artisan Bread. I just popped the bread in the oven on broil until it was crispy enough and it came out perfect. Make sure to broil the top and bottom. The loaf below has basil and sun-dried tomatoes per request of my husband.

6. Let the bread completely cool before eating otherwise it may seem a little under cooked. Go ahead and heat it up later and enjoy with some butter or spread of your choice

Painting Laminate - End Table

I have been in search of a cute end table for a while...I wanted something more unique than a $10 Ikea table so I searched the classifieds. I found this dresser for $5, unfortunately it had a laminate finish, but I decided I could work with that. After a little anxiety at points thinking there was no way the end product would look good I am surprisingly happy with the end result.

 Supplies:

• Furniture of choice
• 1-2-3 Primer...this means no sanding...seriously!
• Paint color of choices
• Cabinet roller
• Paint bruches
• Paint tray
• Protective cloth

1. Dust off your piece. Take draws out and paint the whole thing with primer. It is a little tedious if you have some grooves like I did. I ended up doing two coats of primer. Let it dry for the specified time (ok maybe I didn't wait that long, but hey it still worked!)

2. Yes Dr. Pepper was apart of my supplies...Next is the fun part, applying your color. Be patient! Due to the laminate finish you are going to need to do multiple coats...and by multiple I did about 6, make sure you let the paint completely dry between coats! Let it dry after the last coat and place for all to see! It is such a great way to add a pop of color to your room!

3. It really is pretty easy, you can also do the same thing with spray paint primer and color, but using the flat paint gave me a more rustic looks rather than a glossy look that you would get with the spray paint.

Mini Cheesecakes

I love cheesecake! I have seen some recipes for individual mini cheesecakes and have tried some out. I can't say I completely loved everything about one specific recipe so I decided to combine and adjust multiple recipes.

Supplies:

• 1 Packet of Graham Crackers
• 3 tsp butter
• 16oz Cream Cheese
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tbs Flour
• 3/4 Cups Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tbs Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 
• Cupcake Liners
• Fillings of your choice (fruit, cream, caramel, pie filling)

1.  Put one packet from your box of Graham box in a zip lock bag. Use a rolling pin to crumble the crackers. 
2. Once crumbled put the crackers in a bowl, melt the butter and mix. The cracker crumbs should start to clump together.

3. Put your liners in your cupcake tin. Line the bottom of each liner with a layer of the cracker crumbs. Using a spoon press down the crumbs so they stick together and to the bottom of the liners.

4. Using an electric mixture cream together the Cream Cheese and Sugar.

5. Add flour and baking powder and continue mixing.

6. 1 at a time at your eggs, lemon juice and vanilla.

7. Mix for 5-7 minutes on high. You will want to make sure you mix the mixture really well so you   aren't left with clumps of Cream Cheese.

 8. Fill each liner all the way to the top with your mixture. Don't worry about it rising too much. Once it has cooled down it will dip in the middle.

9. Cook on 375 F for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The longer you cook them the deeper the dip will be when it cools.

10. Let the cheesecakes cool completely and put in the fridge for a few hours.

 11. Fill the  cheesecakes with your choice of topping.

Honestly, these came out looking kind of ugly this time. I'm not sure why, but regardless of the look they are yummy, yummy, yummy! Good luck!

Carmel Popcorn

We love us some popcorn in our family. Tonight we decided to try and make some Carmel Corn. We found our recipe at the amazing site Our Best Bites.

If you are looking for healthy, this is not the recipe for you, if you are looking for yummy, you are in the right place! 

Happy Sunday!

Princess Hat

Do you have a Princess in your life? If so, this is a simple, quick and fun craft for her. Miss L. and I completed her Princess hat in about 30 minutes this morning.

Supplies:

• Cone (you can either buy one of these at a craft store or make one yourself)
• Cardstock/Paper (12x12)
• Ribbon
• Embellishments of choice (Fabric, stickers, jewels etc.)
• Glue/Staples/Tape

Step 1: We got some Cinderella scrapbook paper and cut out the picture of Cinderella.

Step 2: Using the rest of the paper cover the cone (you could also make the cone out of the left over paper if it is sturdy enough).

Step 3: Measure your ribbon so that it is long enough to be tied around your Princesses chin like a bonnet. Cut in two.

Step 4:Secure the ribbon on each side.

Step 4: Add embellishments. This is where we added a purple rim from foam, a cut out of Cinderella and some tassels on top.

Now you have one happy Princess!

Bubble Art

 Another project I did with Miss L. this week was Bubble Art. She LOVES to blow bubbles and she LOVES to paint, so why not combine the two?

Supplies:

• Bubbles (buy or make your own)
• Food Coloring
• Straw
• Paper

Step 1: Mix your bubbles and food coloring

Step 2: Stick your straw in the bubbles so that you get a colored film on the end

Step 3: Blow through the straw on the paper

Step 4: Pop any bubbles that land on the paper (this was Miss L's favorite part)