Crayon art

This was a fun craft but can become messy very quickly. I started by just finding an image from Google that I liked. Once I found the perfect silhouette I printed it out on regular printer paper, cut it out, then used Modge Podge to paste it to the canvas.

Once the Modge Podge had dried I covered the people in tinfoil and used scotch tape to hold it in place.  This is all I had on hand but it still worked great! I also used the tinfoil to make a wall so that the wax wouldn't just stop at the tinfoil but drip down like rain on an umbrella. My next step was to set up my working area. I just used newspaper, I doubled up the paper at the bottom of the canvas because I figured there would be a lot of dripping, I was right :)

After I was all set up I let the glue gun heat up while I peeled the crayons.  I almost gave up when trying to peel the crayons this was no where near as easy as I remember it being in elementary school. I finally had the brilliant idea to soak the crayons in water! This worked great there were a few stubborn papers but for the most part the paper just unraveled once soaked.

Once the glue gun was warmed up I inserted my first crayon just like you would a glue stick,  Once the crayon was melted the wax pretty much just dripped out of the tip of the gun. Occasionally I would need to pull the trigger this created a much longer stream of wax. I just continued this process until I had used all the crayons I peeled.  I used 10 crayons for this project, I did not do anything special to come up with this number I just pulled all of the blueish crayons out of a 64 count Crayola box.

To get a steady stream of wax to drip I had to push the crayon into the back of the glue gun, I remember having to do this with the regular glue sticks so this is nothing new. The crayon melts much faster then glue so if you push too hard the wax will splatter. An example is in the picture below. I know this because it it happened to me, I even splattered wax on the wall of my apartment! Thankfully a magic eraser removed it, I was not going to lose my deposit due to a pinterest craft gone wrong!

Finished product! I would really like to do three more in red, yellow, and green and hang them on a wall in a square similar to something Andy Warhol would do.

Tips or tricks?! Do they really work

We have all scrolled past those Pinterest tips that are supposed to save time or seems so easy we wonder why we didn't think of that ourselves. Fruit and veggie prep is something I spend a lot of time doing because if I don't clean, cut, and portion out my fruit and veggies I end up wasting them.

The first trick I tried was to precut an apple then put it back together with a rubber band around it to keep it from browning in my lunch bag at work.  This was not successful :( but not too much is lost because a brown apple still taste good!

Next I tried peeling an orange by cutting off each end of the orange and then slicing the peel in between two sections of the orange. I then just rolled the peel flat.  This worked pretty well. No more wasting ten minutes getting the peel off the orange before you can enjoy it!!

I love Kiwi but always ended up eating 3 at a times because once I had peeled the kiwi much of the fruit was cut away with the skin.  This tip works great and saves so much tasty fruit!  Cut off both ends of the kiwi then take a spoon and wedge it between the fruit and the skin.  Once the spoon is in place just twist the kiwi in your hand and the spoon will gently peel away the fuzzy skin. 

Voila! Slice and enjoy!!

Baked Oatmeal Casserole

This yummy recipe was originally Pinned by my cousin Kendele and she loved it so much she told me I needed to make it! She was right this is delicious and will be breakfast for the rest of my work week :)

The recipe states that the blogger used strawberries but her pictures showed raspberries. I had both blackberries and raspberries on hand so I used those, I am sure it wold be great with strawberries too!

I am also very proud that I used all Trader Joe's products for this creation, I need to get better about shopping at Trader Joe's because they are such a great employer to Sam <3

Here is the recipe I followed

Finished product, only thing missing is a cold glass of milk!!

Spicy spaghetti squash with black beans

This is a great recipe and it tastes just like Chipotle without all the fatty extras.

I roasted the squash in the oven as instructed then removed seeds and scraped out the middle. This part reminded me of cleaning out a pumpkin :D

I cut everything up while the squash was roasting and sautéed in the pan following the recipe.

Then I served with my favorite salsa and tortilla chips! Delicious!! This is the recipe I used

DIY Beach Curl Spray

1 cup warm water

1 tbs sea salt

1tsp coconut oil

1 tsp hair gel

I mixed all of these ingredients in a measuring cup until the salt and coconut oil dissolved then poured into the spray bottle. Then once out of the shower I towel dryed my hair but I did not brush it. Then I sprayed my hair with the Sea spray.  I sprayed enough to make hair wet again but not dripping.   I scrunched my hair a few times with my hands and walked out the door.  

After finishing my errands I spritzed my hair again and scrunched it a bit more with my hands and this is the finished product below!

Button bowl

This project seems pretty easy then became tedious quick.  I started my drizzling glue on the ballon and then just sticking the buttons on but that was not a good idea.  The glue made the buttons slip around all over the balloon so for this part of the project less is more.  Eventually I started flipping the buttons upside down and putting one drop of glue on it and letting it dry a bit to become tacky then I stuck it to the balloon where I wanted and this method worked much better. Once I was satisfied with the shape of my button bowl I let the glue dry over night.

Once step one dried over night, I coated the buttons with Modge Podge.  I suggest only coating the buttons and not any portion of the balloon. If you get Modge Podge on the balloon it will dry leaving a layer of Modge Podge around the edge of your bowl that you will have to cut or tear off. I know this because that is what I did ;) I then let the layer of Modge Podge dry overnight before popping the balloon.  Once you have popped the balloon you may find that the glue or Modge Podge is not completely dry. I just let my bowl dry overnight again before I placed anything inside of it.

I am very happy with the result! I think it is a great colorful addition to my sofa table!!

Summer lanterns

This is a simple project that produces amazing results!  The color scheme on my patio is teal, pink, yellow and green and that is why I made these lanterns colorful!

These lanterns are so whimsical and match my patio perfectly I am very proud of this project!!

Orignal pin

Here is the tutorial I referenced

Re-purposed Tennis Racket

For this project I really only have a picture to reference, in the picture it looked like the original creator used different colored thread, that looked like a lot of work so I just chose yarn that faded into multiple colors. This allowed me to just keep wrapping and not having to worry about what color would look best next.

I started by finding the middle then counting six spaces out and that is where I started. Now this is really when you have to pay attention. Once one section is wrapped in yarn and you move on to the next you need to make sure you wrap it through the right square.  Some parts of the heart are taller then your last section and some are shorter. I had to keep referencing the original photo and I even had to redo a few sections because I wrapped it through the wrong square.

I just cut up a few sections of yarn so that it was easier to pull through then a long string of yarn, so once my string of yarn ran out I tied it off in the back of the racket so it could not be seen from the front.  It was a bit of a challenge to tie a good knot while still keep the yarn tight. I was not very confident in my knots so I just dabbed a little bit of Elmer's glue on each one and let it dry that way they will never come undone.

Here is the finished product! I love it, it is super funky. Now I just need to find a fun place to display it!

Below is the photo I used for my inspiration.

Toilet paper roll flower

I started this creation while enjoying my morning coffee, that why it happens to be in the first photo.

I started by pressing the paper towel rolls flat then using the ruler to mark every 1/2 inch, so each of the paper towel roll "petals" are an 1/2 thick.

Then I used Elmer's glue to glue all of the "petals" together to make one great big flower. This is where you can be creative, making your own shapes and structures. There are so many possibilities!!

Then I just spray painted the entire flower, making sure I covered every nook and cranny.  I selected a hammered metal color but I think it would be lots of fun to make a collages of different sized flowers and paint them different colors like pink, teal, yellow, etc. I see another project in the making ;)

I hope to make a whole wall collage of these once completed I will post another picture. I do not really have a link for this creation so I hope this post explains enough. If not please let me know, I am more then willing to answer any questions you might have!!

Ruffle Necktie Shirt

This is by far my favorite pinterest creation yet! Super easy and it turned out amazing! There are so many color combinations that I think would be amazing! I'm sure I'll be making more Ruffle Necktie Shirts in the future!

Follow the link for the tutorial :D

Newspaper print nails

This is probably the easiest nail design out there other then the clear top coat.

It works best if your polish color is a light color so the newspaper print is easy to see. I used ballet slipper by Essie.

I cut a newspaper into squares a little bit bigger then my nails. You don't want to start this design unless your polish is completely dry. Then just dip your nail in alcohol. I used rubbing alcohol I have heard others use vodka. I didn't want to waste vodka and rubbing alcohol is cheap! Then lay the newspaper on your wet nail and rub the paper so the print rubs off. Then peel away the paper. Finish the rest of your nails and finish with a top coat. Once that is dry you can wash your hands normal to remove any newspaper print that transferred to your skin. Have fun!

Crock pot buffalo chicken lettuce wraps

I love buffalo sauce and I love crock pot recipes so this was right up my alley!!

I used Frank's red hot buffalo sauce which is a bit different then the recipe but was great!

Here is the recipe I followed

Cupcake crayons

For this post I had a little bit of help from my friends Stephanie and Sophie. Who am I kidding I had a lot of help they did the whole thing! ;D

They took old broken up crayons that were doomed for the trash and turned them into new ones!

I thought this was a great idea and will do this someday when I have children of my own.

Here is the how to guide.

Turkey Herb Meatballs

I was getting bored with the standard ground turkey recipes so this one caught my eye and turned out great!

This is the recipe I followed

I just used the only green leafy stuff I had which was baby spinach and I spiced it up with Italian seasoning, oregano, and dried bay leaves. I also used two cloves of garlic which gave the meatballs a great flavor kick!

I served the meatballs over spaghetti and also over sautéed red skin potatoes and steamed broccoli. So yummy!

I will be making these more! Enjoy!!

Retro picture upcycle

This is not my best Pin but it's not awful so we won't call it a complete fail.

First thing I would do differently is not make the coat of paint so thick. I would keep it light so the picture shows through a little bit.

The second thing I would do differently would be to peel the letters a bit slower because a few that I peeled off ripped the painting beneath.

And the third and final thing would be to draw a straight line across the painting where I want the letters to make sure they are all straight. The letters are a bit crooked but oh well!

I followed this link and took the authors advice and used spray paint and none of the paint bled into my letters. One thing I did right :)

Here is the finished product, doesn't look to bad once it is placed in my bedroom.

Sam thought this project was a bit boring...

This is when I should have stopped painting but instead I put another coat.

Bleach stain T-Shirt

This was a great project for an old shirt with a stain on it.

I don't have a cricket cutter so I just printed the design out on regular computer paper and cut it out with a box cutter. I'm could have also used contact paper but I didn't have any on hand but I was still happy with the end result.

This is the site I followed for guidance and I printed the design out from.

Homemade dotting tool

This one is self explanatory and works just as good as those $8 dotting tools you can find at Sally's. Just find a pin and stick it into a pencil eraser. You can even vary the needle heads to vary the size dot it creates


Then I used this dotting tool to create the heart on my nail. Turned out pretty nice and was easy to do!

This is the tutorial I used for the heart

Easy eggs!

I love this recipe! It is great to make ahead of time and just grab in the morning before work.

These are the ingredients I choose to use but really you could use anything you want.

I used six eggs because I had a muffin tin that made six muffins, I did not measure any thing that I added. easy enough right?

I sprayed the muffin tin with olive oil spray so the mixture would not stick, then I just poured the mixture into the muffin tin.

Then baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees,  they really popped up!

Here is the link to the site I followed

Topsy tail with a messy bun!

Pinterest strikes again!

This is a great hairstyle, and super easy to do which isn't normally the case with Pinterest hairstyles.

I do not have cute bangs like the original poster so I started with my hair curly so I had something to frame my face, I must say it worked pretty good for me :) of course with any up-do it always works better with dirty hair.


Here is the link to the video I followed:

Silk Dyed Eggs

Easter has past but this is a great project for next year. I think it is a ibit more work then your normal egg dying steps but it is different and unique. 

These are the instructions I followed.

Step one:  Wrap the eggs in silk.

Step two: Wrap the eggs in light cloth, just like you did the silk.

Step three: Boil for twenty minutes, I put the eggs in cold water and brought them to a boil to keep the eggs from cracking just like I would any other time i am hard boiling eggs.

Step four: Let eggs cool and unwrap, then snap lots of photos!!

This egg was my favorite, and it was actually created by being wrapped in the lining of one of the ties :)