Thursday, September 25, 2014

Quote Pillow


Almost an eternity ago I shared this pillow on instagram, but I had actually taken a few pictures for a little tutorial to share! It's amazingly simple and I love the outcome.


Start by sizing your freezer paper to the size of a computer sheet and print your quote in block letters directly onto the freezer paper. (Make sure the the shiny side is up so it prints on the paper side.)
The rough cut them out and iron them into your felt. You can do it randomly or plan so the colors are spread out.


Now the most tedious part, cutting out all the letters! 



Once you're finished pull off the freezer paper to reveal those gorgeous perfect letters!



Lay out your letters to get the spacing and color juuuust right. Then I simply used fabric glue to attach the letters to the pillows rather than trying to sew each little letter.


Ta-da! For those wondering, this quote has been one of my favorites for a long time and was even my senior quote in my high school yearbook! It's from Abraham Lincoln.
This pillow goes in my son's room but you can easily adjust the colors and words and put one in your master bedroom or living room!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Modern Boy Bedroom Art with Stencil1

This post is sponsored by Plaid FolkArt; I was compensated for this post but all ideas and opinions are my own.


Heres a super fun tutotial to make some modern bedroom art for your boy (or playroom or even 4th of July decor!). The stencils & paints I used are from FolkArt Stencils & Paints and I'm obsessed with how thick and creamy the paint is!


Supplies: FolkArt Stencil1 (NYC pack)
FolkArt paint (I used a black, aqua, yellow, grey & silver)
FolkArt Stencil adhesive
foam brush
3 canvas boards
(All the paint and stencils can now be purchased at Michaels!)


After much trial and error I found my favorite way to do the "swiss cross" was to take a pencil, eyeball where I wanted it and then use the foam brush to freehand them. You can obviously tell that's what I did, but I like the ecclectic feel of it and it take 80% less time than measuring taping, re-taping and re-taping to make them perfect! So, embrace the imperfections!


While you're letting them dry, prep your stencils. Read the instructions and then apply to the back of your stencils and let dry. The awesome thing about it is it makes the stencil stay in place but is repositionable. It will dry clear and cleans up with soap/water.


When your stencils and canvases are dry, position your stencils on your canvases, pressing down to keep them in place.


Using a stencil brush or pouncer, apply your FolkArt paint over stencils.  To get my "graffiti" effect, I over-saturated the brush before applying to stencils. For the manhole stencil I let the grey dry and applied a thin layer of the silver paint.


Remove stencils and let dry completely before hanging or resting on shelf. My other favorite thing about the new FolkArt paint is that they're multi-surface so they can be used for more than just "normal" paint stuff.


Follow Plaid & Stencil1 on social media for even more fun crafty ideas!
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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Captain America Superhero Party with M&M's

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias



I am SO thrilled to share this party I threw!  This party featured Captain America, M&Ms and inspired kids & adults to "Be Your Own Superhero" because #HeroesEatMMs.


I went to Walmart & got the most important party prop....M&M's. I got a Large bag of regular M&M's and a bag of the MEGA Peanut M&M's. (Pst: get a coupon for your M&M's here!) Then I grabbed the rest of my supplies some of which included cake mix & frosting, soda, juice, party cups, mini pies, napkins, popcorn, straws.



I put the MEGA Peanut M&M's in clear baggies (from the party section) and topped them with striped paper I folded over, stapled and wrote "Be Your Own Superhero" on the top.


The cake may be my favorite part & mimics Captain America's shield.  I outlined the shape of the star with blue M&M's and filled in the rest of the top with red ones. Then eye-balled a line 2 M&M's wide around the cake.



This snack mix is so easy to whip up for your party! Here's the recipe:

-1/2 C. milk chocolate M&M's
-1 bag popped popcorn (kernels removed)
-1 C. pretzels
-1/4 C. peanuts (optional)
-1/2 bag melted white chocolate chips
Directions:
Pour melted chocolate over all ingredients, mix until evenly coated. Spread in even layer on cookie sheet and let cool. Break into pieces and serve.




The mini pies were purchased at Walmart in the bakery section. Tied up with a napkin and fork and topped with a toothpick paper flag with the flavor written on it.



We had a fun activity for the kids to do while the adults socialized. I printed out blank mask templates onto card stock and set up a kid table with crayons and markers for them to decorate their very own superhero mask. It was a hit!



The kids loved all the treats- especially their very own bag of huge M&M's!


Everyone loved enjoying their M&M's while feeling fueled to be their own superhero like Captain America! You can have some superhero fun too! Head to HeroesEatMMs.com to discover the superhero in you!

Friday, September 12, 2014

Personalized Loaded Nachos Recipe for Gameday with Smart & Final

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias

So let's talk football food! Obviously it's football season- if you don't know that, then I kind of envy you! In my family, if there's a game happening (college or pro), you can bet it's on.  Other than cheering for my Fighting Irish, I'm only in it for the food! I created this easy, customizable, crowd-pleasing recipe & it'll make your life even easier on game day! 


I shopped for my ingredient at Smart & Final and grabbed most of them from the canned good aisle and at the end stopped in their produce section and grabbed the rest! Smart & Final carries warehouse size items without a club fee, making shopping easy, less expensive and less daunting to shop in than a big warehouse store. Smart & Final is a perfect place to shop for all your food needs. Easy as can be & their First Street products stood up to the crowd taste test.


So once you've got all your goodness home for a great price, prep it by rinsing, chopping and throwing it in some bowls.


Here's what I use- green onions, avocado, corn black beans, tomato and shredded cheese. Obviously if you're using tomato you'll need to chop it up....I'm not a fan so I opted not to! Make sure your tortilla chips are bite-size so they fit in those cute party cups. They look like short, wide paper cups. Be sure everyone writes their name on theirs so they get the ones they made!

Heat oven to 375 & start by layering chips in your bowl, sprinkle some cheese, corn & beans...

add your avocado (and tomatoes if you choose) then pack on the cheese...

Top with green onions and throw everyone's on a baking sheet & bake for 8-10 minutes.

Hand those out and everyone's got exactly what they want on their nachos! Instant crowd pleaser and little time and effort from you. 

#ChooseSmart with Smart & Final:
follow on facebook  (check out their photo contest for a chance to win $1K!)

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Never Forget.


Today I took a few moments to look, listen and reflect on the events of September 11, 2001.  No words can accurately describe the feelings I have, but the tears always come every year.  I was only 11 when it happened, I remember how I found out, where I was when I found out and who told me.  I believe that is something none of us will ever forget.  


We came together as a nation, over this terrible tragedy.  I hope you, too will take a moment to reflect on those who lost their lives and gave their lives to help others.  I am eternally grateful to live in this country, to have the freedoms I have, and to witness the love of complete strangers in times of any devastation that effects this nation.