[Re]beautify

THE cookie.

2011-05-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

When I was first married I was making cookies for the first time as a wife. I was so excited to make cookies on the new cookie sheet, with my new mixing bowls, using my new spatulas and a bunch of other supplies I got as gifts from our wedding. I was so excited. It was MY kitchen in MY apartment with MY new husband. I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing and thought everything would turn out fine. I mean who doesn't know how to make chocolate chip cookies? Right?

For some odd reason during the process I decided to use I can't believe it's not butter spray as the butter. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure I was out of butter and was just trying to make do with what I had but really, how did I think they would turn out?

Anyways, the cookies came out paper thin and super hard. They were gross. Not even good enough to pick out and eat the chocolate chips. My husband said they looked like frisbees and i'm pretty sure he even chucked one across the room to see if it would float like a frisbee. Ha! He has referred to those cookies every time I make anything that doesn't turn out.

Don't even get me started on the time I tried to make home made chicken nuggets. Chicken Nuggets? Who does that?!

Anyways, over the years I have made my husband plenty of cookies and slowly got back my confidence in making cookies. For the past few years I have been on the hunt for...

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever!

Thanks to Sara and Kate at Our Best Bites, I found it. It's perfect! Not too gooey on the inside, crispy on the outside, holds it's shape, not too thin and... best of all, it's not a frisbee cookie! Yay! I use the ghiradelli chocolate chips. I like that they're big chips.

Here's the recipe...

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Delicious Apple Cider

2010-10-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from my sister this morning and couldn't wait to try it. It's so good! It was the perfect drink to cure my sweet tooth, warm my bones on a cold evening & made my house smell like fall. One thing that I love is that it tasted just like this smells. It's pretty much the same ingredients except for the cider and sugar. It's the perfect twist on cider.

2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole allspice
2 qts apple cider which is 64oz
1/c c brown sugar
1 orange sliced

enclose cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice in cheesecloth, creating a little bag. In the photo can you see my bag floating under the oranges?

Pour cider and brown sugar into crock pot. Stir and let it warm up until brown sugar is disloved. Add cheesecloth bag. Slice up one orange and put slices in crock pot.

Cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.

Discard spice bag and serve.

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-10-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

Cookies

3/4 C sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1 C canned pumpkin
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add maple syrup and eggs mix well. Add pumpkin and mix well.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves.

Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix well. Don't over mix though. Drop spoonfulls of batter onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 11 minutes. The cookies don't even out and become perfectly round. The batter pretty much stays the same shape and size as they cook so watch them closely. 11 minutes is pretty much all they need.

Cool on racks and then frost with this recipe...

Cream Cheese Frosting

In a mixer cream 2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, 1 C powdered sugar, 1/4 C Milk,1 Tbsp vanilla and zest from 1 lemon. Not the whole lemon but 4 good sized spots. The lemon adds the perfect zing to the frosting but you don't want too much!

CTR Towels

2010-10-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know this blog has been so dead lately. I'm slowly getting things back in order to get posting again.

I wanted to post this though. In our church I was just called to be the teacher for the CTR 7 class. That means that all the kiddos in my class are the ones that will be baptized when they turn 8. So, I wanted to find something special to make for them. A long time ago I saw this tutorial on one of my favorite blogs,
Made With Love and Glue and put it in the back of my brain (and also bookmarked it on the computer) as a fun thing to do as a gift for someone. Anyways, I made it for a girl getting baptized tomorrow.

It was such a fast easy project and pretty much the same thing as these but Rachel has a great tutorial here, and there is also a really cute poem that goes along with it, of course not pictured here. Here is the one Rachel did on her blog...

Such a fun gift to give!

Just peachy!

2010-09-28T00:22:00.000-07:00

Okay folks. It's peach season and we have these beauties all over the house. I canned some but still have a lot left over. They were starting to get pretty ripe so the spouse and I went on a mad peach binge. Not kidding we made this, this and this within a 24 hour period. We don't plan on stopping anytime soon either!

The last 2 we made together one night while the kids were in bed.

Spouse and I both had never had peaches and cream before. You know the old fashioned way. We basically poored heavy whipping into a sauce pan added some sugar to sweeten it up and let it heat up a bit. It never got to the boiling point, just nice and warm. The heating up part was all spouses idea and he was pretty proud. Then poored it over fresh, sliced, peeled peaches. It really was a very delicious and simple dessert.

Oh, and the sour cream tart wasn't our favorite. Very sour creamy. Too sour creamy. I think it needed to be sweeter and maybe some cream cheese mixed with the sour cream or something. I'm just sayin'.

What are your favorite fresh peach recipes?

Hi it's me, Shawna's amazingly talented and beautiful sister Tifani........

2010-05-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Okay so now that I have you here I won't lead you on any longer!!! I really am not that Talented and Not very beautiful either but I try to find things that interest me and go with it!!!!
I love accessorizing with my outfits and when I find a cute and cheap thing to do I am always loving it!!!
This is cheap and oh so easy and there are endless things you can make these out of!!!

First you cut out 3 different sizes of circles out of felt, and one large circle about the size of a cup opening!!

You then find some ribbon of your choice or zippers, I have seen these done out of zippers and they are stinkin cute!!! You start on the outside of each felt piece with hot glue as you go and twirl your way to the middle,cutting off the xtra, tuck with hot glue in the middle and you are done!!! seriously that easy!!!

Then you position all three to the big piece of felt as you wish, I put a pin on the back of this one but you can also do an alligator clip and use it for your clothes, handbags or hair!!! Oh the possibilities they're endless, I need to scream!!!!

I didn't have a pic of me actually doing it so if you have ?'s go here! I hope to take pic's soon of more!!! SO go, go get some ribbon or zippers or what ever your fancy and start twirling!!!

Thanks to my Amazing sis shawna for asking me to guest her blog today!!!! Love ya shamom's

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

There's still about an hour left before Mother's Day is over. So, instead of cleaning up a bit before I go to bed, I'm blogging.

A cute friend of mine had to spend Mother's Day alone since her husband is out of town for a job interview. I thought she needed a little something on Mother's Day since she is an awesome mother and such a good example to me. I whipped up these little cups of goodness. I know they were goodness because I had 2 of them and spouse probably had 3. He knows a good baked good too.

The reason for this post is not to share some amazing cupcake recipe that I use. It is to give you a little trick that I have found that makes boxed cake mixes a lot better. Maybe it's not new to anyone, maybe it's not a trick, maybe it's not as good for you as I think it is. I don't care. It makes me feel so much better about eating a cupcake, thinking that is better for me.

Here's my trick: Whenever I am making a cake out of a box I follow a few rules.

* never add the yolk of the egg, only whites plus one more white

*never add oil, add applesauce

For example, the box my mix came from said to add:

1 1/3 C water

1/2 C vegetable oil

3 eggs

I added:

1 1/3 C water

1/2 C applesauce

4 egg whites

I also fill the paper baking cups to the top and bake it for the minimum amount of minutes. So, if it says to bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, I bake them for 20

I have used this on all different kinds of cake mixes and it has never not worked. They come out so fluffy, moist and light. Never undercooked. I don't know why, it just does. Try it!

Let me know if you have any questions...

The cute cupcake toppers I got from TomKat Studio

They just happened to match some cupcake liners I got from hobby lobby a while back.

I also used this recipe for the icing and it was delicious! I think it was from Wilton but I can't remember.

Icing

1 stick softened butter

1 stick softened neufchatel cheese (cream cheese)

4 C powdered sugar (1 box)

1 Tbsp. milk

cream butter and cheese until smooth

add sugar one cup at a time

add milk and mix until smooth (about 30 seconds)

This was the perfect amount for 18 cupcakes. Double the recipe and you'll get 5 1/2 cups of icing.

Sugar Cookies

2010-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Deb posted this recipe on her blog. She really is an amazing cook so when she talked about how good these cookies tasted I really wanted to try them. She was right. They're amazing. They're thick, soft, moist and really good. Here's the recipe.

Sugar Cookies (Marcae R's recipe)

6 c flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 c salted butter (softened)
2 1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
4 TBSP milk

preheat oven to 375

whisk together flour/salt and set aside

cream together butter and sugar

add eggs, milk, vanilla

add flour mixture slowly and beat on low until combined

Divde dough in half and form into two balls. Flatten into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour

On a floured (or p sugared) surface roll out dough to desired thickness (they will not puff up a ton so if you want them thick- as she made them- roll them out as thick as you want them to be). She used a big flower cookie cutter so they were delightfully giant.

Bake for 10-12 minutes- she usually takes them out early- like 8/9 minutes. Let them set on pan for a min or two if you do.

Cool and frost (delightful receipe to follow)

ICING

8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/4 c butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
powder sugar

mix cream cheese, butter and vanilla til creamy then add powdered sugar to desired consistency.

I didn't make the icing but I will on the next batch

Valentine Jars...

2010-02-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

If you've read my blog before you know I have a hard time throwing things away. One thing I keep a stash of is jars. Spaghetti, salsa, spices, you name it. There is so much potential. I made these jars pretty much like the Thankful jars here. Just different goodies. You really can't mess these up and can make them for any holiday. Cut a strip of paper wide enough and wrap it around your jar. I decoupage mine but you could use tape or a glue stick or whatever you have to make your paper stick together at the ends. Just make sure you pull it tight so it stays after the glue dries. Then do the same thing to the edge of your jar lid. Then fill jar with sweets. So easy!

Don't forget to give it a little bling bling. I used ribbons and chip board letters on these. I just used a hole punch on the chip board letter big enough to feed thin ribbon through and tied it.

I have a space in my cupboard that I keep my stash of jars. Some are ones I decorated a while ago, waiting to be used. And don't worry about the sticky labels on the jars. A little goo gone and they come right off.

What do I use the cinnamon jars for?

It just so happens that when you buy these on clearance after the holidays. Like cheaper than a quarter clearance.

You can mash them up into fine powder (or really fine chunks) and they make a cute little jar of something sweet to give away with hot chocolate or sugar cookies or whatever you can add peppermint powder on. It takes a good beating to get them powdery so it might help if you think of something really frustrating and let it all go as you're beating your candy canes.

They already come with the little tops for dispensing powder so it's perfect.

Next time you make spaghetti or nachos don't throw the jars away. Store them for a rainy day and [re]beautify them into something cute!

Help Me Say Thanks...

2010-02-08T09:15:00.001-08:00

So, I have this super, awesome, amazing sister. Tiff...

(Tiff and Brian 11/06)

She has helped me in so many ways. She has bent over backwards many many times to help me out. I had a harder time than I thought while Ben was gone on his rotation. When I told Tiff that after him being gone for about a week she said, "we'll get you up there, we'll find a way".She came and got my kids for me and watched them so that I could make the trip up to see Ben.

While I was in Alamosa I went to shop after shop looking for the perfect thing to say Thank You! I couldn't find anything that really did the trick. I left bummed thinking I was going to make her something for the baby. The drive home from Alamosa was about 11 hours so she ended up bringing the kids back to me so that I wouldn't have to travel the 3 extra hours (on top of the 11 hours) to Safford to pick them up. She brought them all the way back to me. She is so caring. This isn't the first time she has helped me out either. She'll call and ask me when she can take the kids so that Ben and I can get away. Not only is she this way to me but she is this way to everyone she knows. She's a great example of serving others.

A very talented photographer, Holly Brimhall is having a little contest for a newborn photo shoot and I nominated my sister as a way to say thanks for everything she has done for me. Her baby is due in March and it was perfect timing to qualify for this photo shoot. I was so excited when I saw this morning that Holly had chosen her as a finalist in the contest. Here's where I need your help. Vote for her. Tifani Cluff.

She is an amazing person and has also endured a very tough pregnancy and she deserves this. She'll pee her pants if she wins. Not only from being 8 months pregnant but from excitement too! Help me tell her Thanks for everything she has done by voting for her!

Go here and vote

Thanks a million!

Tomato Cage Trees

2009-12-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

Every year at Thanksgiving my mom, sisters, aunt and I do a craft. This year we did tomato cage trees. My sister's ward did them as a craft and we loved the idea. So here's how we made ours...

Start with tomato cages. I bought all of these at home depot for about $2.80 each. They were the larger 4 tier ones.

Then we started by bending down the points. This was a team effort. The purpose for this was to give a place on top of the tree to add the bow. It would just sit in the middle of the bent wire.

Then we found some garland at wal mart $4 for 9 ft. Later I found some for $2 for 9ft but it wasn't as thick. I bought it later and used and it worked fine though.

Start at the bottom and work your way up. We wrapped the garland around the outside of the straight sides and then every once in a while wrapped it around the round layers to hold it in place. Once you get to the top you can just cut the excess garland off with wire cutters.

They work perfect in kids rooms. As soon as we got home the kids each picked a tree and took it in their rooms to decorate. A strand of 100 lights filled the trees perfectly. I had other ideas for the trees but the kids were so excited about them that I just let them have them and decorate them how they wish. I had bought some pretty Christmas ribbon for a bow, some berry garland and red beaded garland but oh well.

Sorry for the bad photos.

A purple one for Sydney...

and blue lights for Theron. Seriously, how cute is this...

I think the total cost per tree was about $12 including the lights!

Awesome giveaway!

2009-12-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

Totally want to win THIS! Check it out!

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? cricut, pots &pans, wheat grinder, camera strap

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? hand made ornaments from my son

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? a quilt, the binding is scary.

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? my cabbage patch kid, I was sooo excited!

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?scooters, leapsters and anything princess and star wars

6. What is your favorite holiday food? easy, mom's yams

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays? necklaces

8. What is your favorite holiday movie? White Christmas & Miracle on 34th street

9. Favorite holiday song? All I want for Christmas is you

10. Favorite holiday pastime? Our Annual Family Xmas party

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

2009-11-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

I'm really sorry to anyone that checks my blog. I have been wanting to post for days now. If I'm blogging it's usually on my personal blog and even then that has slowed down. Child 1 had the swine flu and I can't get my husband healthy. He is going on 2 weeks of feeling awful. Urgh!

However I will post this awesome recipe for cinnamon roasted almonds. These are really really good!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cold water
1 egg white
4 cups whole almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar

preheat oven to 250 and grease a cookie sheet. Preferably one with edges.
Mix the egg and water until egg becomes frothy. Add the nuts and mix it around until the nuts are coated with the egg. Mix together the sugar salt and cinnamon and then sprinkle it over the nuts. Toss until nuts are evenly coated. Spread into the greased pan and bake for 1 hour. I stirred mine every 20 minutes or so.

Tip: I think the nuts are a lot better once they're cooled. They're good warm but I liked them after they've cooled so the nuts aren't so soft.

Store in a air tight container.

Zucchini Bread

2009-10-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

This recipe is amazing. Really it is! It's really moist, fluffy and filling. I don't think I'll ever use another recipe for plain ol' zucchini bread. Sooo good! I found it online and changed it a little to cut out some sugar. Here's the recipe...

3 C flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C applesauce
1/2 C white sugar
1 C brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3-4 C grated or chopped zucchini. I actually used close to 5 cups.

preheat oven to 325.
sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda & cinnamon together.

In separate bowl, beat eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce & sugar. Add sifted ingredients. Mix well. Add zucchini. Bake in 2 greased pans 50-55 minutes. I think mine were done in about 60 min.

Tip: some recipes for zucchini bread say to squeeze all the water out of the zucchini after it has been grated. Don't do that for this recipe. All the water in the zucchini is what helps keep the bread so moist and keeps it from drying out.

If you're looking for a different zucchini bread recipe try this.

2009-10-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a way to [Re]beautify something, give a fun gift and help keep kids germ free during this flu season. O.k. there is no such thing as a kid ever being germ free but you know what I mean.

These are going to Theron's teacher...

The funny thing is that This popped up on my google reader this morning. No way! Someone was totally on the same wave length or something. We have to be friends. I need to meet her! Our projects look way to much a like for us not to be friends. How cool is this?

Easy home made potpourri

2009-09-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

This stuff will make your whole entire house smell soooo good. So good, you might just start licking your walls.

Here's what you need:

1 lemon
1 orange
3-3 inch cinnamon sticks
6 bay leaves
½ cup whole cloves

Combine all ingredients in a pan with water and simmer on low all day. Keep filling with water as needed.

One of my favorite things about this time of year is all the yummy smells. The cinnamon, vanilla, sugar cookies, fall, pumpkin, spice, fire places, hot chocolate, thanksgiving turkeys, Christmas trees. All of it. I love it! This is the perfect scent to welcome fall. Even though it's still in the upper 90's here, I'm doing everything I can to make it feel like the summer weather is almost over.

Thanks Jackie Lee and Stacey for the recipe!

2009-09-02T18:07:00.001-07:00

Last fall I was busy with my enrichment calling and other things. I didn't get anything done that I wanted to. So, this year I'm starting early, to make up for lost time. First off, pumpkins...

Go here for the tutorial. Holly is so cute and creative. In fact go to her blog anyways so you can see how the pumpkins are supposed to look. Good thing I was going for the homemade look and not perfection. Mine turned out so ugly they're cute.

Hooded Towel

2009-08-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

Hooded Towel Tutorial. Grab a full sized towel and a hand towel and [re]beautify it.

I'm leaving for the weekend and I should be packing and getting ready to go but I'm not. I'm sitting here on my big rear typing away & stressing about everything that still needs to be done. I'm excited about this tutorial though.

Here's how I did it...thanks to my friend Beth.

Start with a font you like and enlarge it to the size you want. I chose this font but it wasn't thick enough so I printed it and then drew an outer line to make it even thicker. Cut out your letters

Then I got some iron on adhesive. The one I used was Heat N Bond but there are others like Wonder Under. Make sure you get the one that allows you to sew after it's been applied. Next you're going to adhere your fabric to the heat n bond. Place together the bumpy side of the heat n bond and the wrong side of your fabric. Iron over it until it's stuck to the fabric. Here's a picture, bumpy side of adhesive and wrong side of fabric...

Next, you take your cut out letters and trace them backwards on the other side of your heat n bond. This way, you letters come out facing the right way. You'll see what I mean in the next step. So, trace your letters backwards on the paper side of the heat n bond and then cut them out again.

Next, get a hand towel that matches the towel you'll be using. Cut the hand towel in half.

Now, fold up the end of your (half hand towel) towel so that the letters will fit. This is where the letters will be sewn so make sure you give them enough room. Space them out and remove the paper side of the heat n bond. If you look you'll see there will be a shiny residue on your fabric and this is what will make your fabric stick to your towel so you can stitch it on there. Remove the paper and lay the letters back down on the towel...

and then iron those bad boys on there.

then you're going to stitch the letter to the towel. The zig zag stitch is probably the easiest to use, I think. Don't look to closely at my stitching, my poor old ancient machine has been giving me heck. My pedal has started sticking so my stitching gets a little crazy. Before you start stitching, make sure you unfold your towel. You don't want to stitch it folded yet. Stitch all your letters on!

Once all the letters are stitched on, then fold your towel back on the line and pin. Then stitch along the top of the letters like the photo. Don't worry about stitching straight. You won't even see your thread once you're done.

You're almost done with the hood of the towel. Now take your towel and fold it with the letters on the inside like so. You're going to stitch the top of the hood. Pin along the top and sew straight across.

Here's another photo. See the pins on the top? The letters are also on the inside of the fold. Stitch right across the top.

Remove the pins and fold the towel right side out. You made the hood. There is only one more step. You just have to attach it to the towel.

Okay, take your full sized towel and fold it in half. Pay attention to the half way point of the towel because that is where you're going to line up the hood. You want to attach the hood in the center of the towel. Put a pin or something there to mark it. Then take your hood and line up the center of the back bottom of the hood to the pin that marks the center of the towel. You'll line them up with the letters on the hood facing up. Pin it so it will stay in place while you stitch. Your machine will be sewing through a few layers of towel so it will be thick.

Here's another photo...

Of course I forgot to take a photo of the towel all done and unfolded so you could see it. I did however take a photo of how I like to fold them after they're finished. I made 2 towels. I bought 2 full sized towels and one hand towel. I just used the other half of the hand towel after it was cut for the other hood. I also buy all my towels at target when they go on clearance. I stock up.

They also look cute with a bottle of bubble bath tucked in there too!

There might seem to be a lot of steps and I hope I didn't make it too confusing. They're actually really easy. let me know if you have any questions or if I need to explain a little more. Go make one and send me pics. I'd love to see your creations!

Also, I took some good advice from Beth. I made a towel for my 10 year old niece too. Since she was so tall the hooded towel wouldn't really fit right. Her bum probably would have hung out the bottom. So, when I made hers I just put her name at the end of the towel instead of making a hood for it. Still so cute!

p.s. are you as excited as I am to get those picture of my toilet off the top of my blog?

2009-08-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

If your toilet seat become loose, do you know how to fix it? I had no idea. After watching a plumber come and fix it for me and look at me like I'm stupid for not knowing how to fix something so easy, I learned. I'm going to spare you the embarrassment and share how to fix it. I'm convinced that after fixing things in the home all by yourself you should be called "queen of the castle".

You pop off the plastic cover to the thing on the back of your seat. I never even knew these things came off. I took the screw out in this photo because I was cleaning it off. Apparently it is a major trap for pee from a 5 year old that has a really bad aim. Gross! Just pop off the plastic cover so you can see the screw head.

(sorry, I didn't get it as clean as I wanted for the photo, and I scraped the crap out of it as I didn't realize there was a nut on the underside so I was trying to pop it out insetaed of unscrewing it. oh well!)

Then reach around the underside of the toilet and there will be the bottom half of the screw hanging down with a nut attached. I didn't realize in this photo my nut is missing because I took it off and didn't put it back on before I took the photo but there will be one there. (there was pee on the underside of the screw too) Just grab the nut and hold it tight while tightening the top part of the screw with a screwdriver.

Who knew it could be so easy? I'll be removing mine regularly for cleaning.

I'll post more about becoming the "queen of my castle". I have a feeling I will have to learn more as Ben will be gone a lot this year for rotations and I'll be on my own for repairs. This could get ugly!

2009-08-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

I promise I am almost done with my bucket posts. I just needed to get on here and publicly thank my sister Tifani for her help. You see she helped me realize that I have an addiction. I really didn't know it was there, but it is. I had never really thought bout the way I feel when I get near my weakness. Something comes over me and I give in without even hesitating or even thinking about it. I am working on trying to fix it and I'm not sure there is a rehab for my sickness...

I am addicted to buckets.

Now that I think about it. Every single one of these were purchased at Target in the dollar spot. Go and get some, before I do.

2009-08-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple more ideas for the candy buckets

York peppermint patties

scraps of paper torn...

hershey's hugs...

This hugs bucket was kind of a pain. The wrappers took longer to get off and they tore really easily. I had planned on making a design with the lines on the wrappers but since most of them tore, they just got slapped on there every which way. I thought it still worked because the flowers and ribbon with the embellishments don't make the lined stand out too bad. I think the bucket should have been spry painted brown first though. Maybe I'll just try to paint the handle or add brown ribbon. We'll see.

Alright you crafty people, grab a bucket and [re]beautify it... and then send me pics. I'd love to see them!
shamoms[at]cox[dot]net

My super cute sister Tiff made a starburst bucket. So fun!

A gift of memories

2009-08-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

This is my most favorite gift I have ever given. This is about the time year last year when I started to put this together. You see, for Christmas last year I asked my 4 siblings if they could send me photos of them and their families. Photos from the entire year of 2008. It was quite the task so I wanted them to have plenty of time to look through their photos and choose ones that they wanted. After they sent me all their photos I put them together (with the help of my husband) with music and made a video for my mom and dad.

It was so fun to see the end result. It took quite a bit of time because it was my first video but Ben is a pro and showed the ropes and gave me a few pointers. I just used some software that Ben had on our computer. I think it's Pinnacle. I know there are a ton of versions out there but I'm pretty sure it's this one we have. Our version is old because he's used it for a long time.

I thought that the perfect gift needed the perfect wrapping so this is what I came up with. I decoupaged a can from the Pepperidge Farm cookies. I can't remember the name of the cookies but it's a tall can. The cookies are shaped like sticks. Someone help me out, this is going to drive me crazy...what are they called? Oh dear!

Then I cut some scrapbook paper to fit inside the sleeve of a dvd case we had. You can find some like it here .
Front of case...

back of case...

You could be really creative with how you decorated the case. My mom is more simple so I didn't do too much to hers. You could decorate it for the season or just something to match the decore of the home. Inside the can I filled it with goodies to eat while watching the movie.

I ended up making copies of the video for my siblings and a few other family members. It's such a fun thing to sit and watch. It's amazing to watch it now and see how much all the kids have changed in just a years time. I would love it if I got a gift like this...hint hint Benji.

I didn't worry too much about the length of the movie so it's pretty long. I knew there was a lot of photos to fit in there & it ended up being about an hour or so long. I just had to find enough songs to match the amount of pictures.

It's so fun to make it personal and include inside jokes and things only my family would know. Here's the video...

2008 Family Moments from Ruprick on Vimeo.

2009-07-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Sydney helped me draw a winner today. At first she drew this number from the bucket. Sorry it's blurry...

but #7 was a comment from my sarcastic husband. In case you're wondering why his photo ID is the Hoff, here's why. I think he secretly wishes he was the Hoff. Ha!

Sorry honey, you're not allowed to win. You can share our bucket with the kids.

So Sydney drew another number and she drew Buscando la Luz.

I just happen to know this cool girl and I'm excited to give it to her!! Woo Hoo!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments, you all made my day.
I'll be posting another idea soon. It's my absolute favorite, most meaningful, funnest gift to give.

Crazy Candy Wrapper Buckets

2009-07-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

[Giveaway Closed, Thanks everyone!]

The kids needed a new bucket for their crayons. The old plastic Willy Wonka lunch bucket from Sea World could only hold up so much longer. I wanted something fun and different. I [re]cycled tootsie roll wrappers, this is what I came up with...

I love how crazy it turned out. I was going to do a tutorial but I forgot to take pictures as I did it. It's o.k. though, you can make one too, it was sooo easy. You'll need:

a bucket (any size)
brush
mod podge
candy wrappers (enough to cover the bucket)

My bucket was from the dollar spot at Target. I just unwrapped all the candy and then tore the ends of the wrapper off. Then, brushed on some mod podge, big enough to hold a wrapper. Applied a little more and added another wrapper. Work your way all the way around the bucket overlapping wrappers until it's all covered. Then apply one or two more coats of mod podge and let it dry.

Then I double knotted ribbon around the handle. I think I used 7 different kinds of ribbon. So fun. Be creative, you could use a fun bucket like this for anything.

*put the unwrapped candy back in the bucket as a party favor or table setting at a shower or party.
*holding hair ribbons or bows
*a perfect bucket to hold a small gift for a friend

My sister made one with starbust candy and it was cute as well. Tiff send me a picture of your finished product.

If you like this super fun bucket, you're in luck because I made an extra one. (made from tootsie roll wrappers but it still looks a little different) Leave me a comment and I'll have the kids draw one lucky winner Wed, July 29!

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

2009-07-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for this? No really, are you ready for this.

I got his recipe from my friend Melanie...

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 c. zucchini (grated)

3 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg until foamy. Add oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini.

Then add:

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. cinnamon

dash nutmeg

Sift together and add to egg mixture.

Add:

1 c. blueberries

1/2 c. nuts (optional)

Bake in greased and floured bread pans at 325 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes two loaves.

Creme Brulee French Toast

2009-06-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Ben loves this recipe. His birthday is coming up next Saturday and I plan on making this for him for breakfast on his special day. I thought I'd share the recipe since it's amazing and easy.
I love that all the prep is done the night before and then refrigerated until the next morning. I'm pretty sure this recipe is pretty popular but just in case there is someone out there who hasn't tried it...you have to.

Anyways, here's the recipe...

Creme Brulee French Toast
INGREDIENTS
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• An 8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier or Orange Juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish. Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350° F and bring bread to room temperature.

Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot French toast immediately.

(Ben likes his with a little bit of warm real maple syrup. Not the fake stuff. You know the goodness from a tree stuff).

4th of July Dress...

2009-06-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

I love all you crafty bloggers out there. You have the most amazing ideas that I can use on my almost nonexistent budget. I was checking out Trey and Lucy and saw the cutest bandanna dress that gave me an idea for a 4th of July dress for Sydney. That day is Ben's birthday after all, so we try to dress for the occasion. Here's the one I made for Missy Moo, and it really did only take me about 15 minutes. Okay, maybe 23 or so but it was my first one...

I bought the bandanna's at Joanns for about $1.25 each. The ribbon, I [re]used from another project so the dress cost a whopping $2.50 to make! Woo Hoo!

Click here if you want a tutorial on how to make one

2009-06-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Birdseed cookies...

These were fun and easy and very kid friendly. Got the idea from
Let's Explore . Click on the link to get a little more info on the craft and what to do to make it go smoothly. So fun!

Here's the recipe:
Birdseed Cookies

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
4 cups birdseed

Mix it all together.

Pat it all out flat on a cookie sheet and cut with cookie cutters.

Transfer to another cookie sheet and let dry. To transfer the cookie, you might need to scoop the birdseed with the cookie cutter still around it for it to hold it's shape. Once it's transferred you can remove the cookie cutter and it should hold up fine.

Make sure to poke holes in the top to put ribbon through. You could use a straw or a skewer for the whole.

The kids have had fun looking at the cookies throughout the day to see how much has been eaten. It's also been fun to watch all the birds come into the yard.

2009-06-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Tip Junkie is having a huge Dot Com Birthday Bash with lot's of fun giveaways. She has changed her site around and there's lot's too see. Go check it out! Her link is on the sidebar too.

2009-02-11T10:19:00.001-08:00

I always struggle with ideas for gifts for Theron's teacher. He's a guy and a lot of the ideas I have seen and wanted to make are way too girly. I came across this idea on another blog and thought it would be perfect. It's not girly and Theron could help me make it.
Of course, before starting a project I have to scrummage through my craft supplies to see if there is something I can [re]use first. I found this 2 pack of frames that I had bought on clearance and got stepped on by one of the kids. Oops!

That's o.k. though, I knew there was a reason I couldn't part with those frames even though one was broken. I paid $1.24 for those bad boys. I was too proud to let my cheap find go to waste.

I did buy a new 24 pack of crayons. I figured I could splurge $2 for the project.

There wasn't a tutorial on the blog I got the idea from so I kind of had to figure it out as I went. Which wasn't hard but there might have been easier tools to use. The girl said she used a tool but it made such a mess with little crayon shavings every where that I just used a steak knife. It worked fine and there was minimal mess. Theron and I just guessed and played around with the sizes to form the letter J. It really wasn't hard. Just a little time consuming. I kept wanting to get anal and make the crayons the perfect size but I kept reminding myself..."this is Theron's gift".

I removed the broken glass and paper from the frame so I could see the inside of the back part of the frame. You know the piece that has the stand attached to the back. So basically it's just the frame and the backing chipboard part that has the stand. Does that make sense? The J is actually on the inside of the back piece.
maybe this photo will help

I attached a white piece of card stock and used that as my background of the letter. I couldn't find my low temp hot glue gun so I used the mod podge to attach the crayons to the paper as well. It's holding up great so I'm not worried.

Then I just wrote his name in it. Vinyl or stickers would have been so much better but Theron was so excited to get it done that I just wrote it quick. Theron loved helping with this and glued most of the crayons himself. I think it turned out pretty cute. The J looks a little like a stocking but Theron is sure proud!

Since we're all about [re]cycling and the cut up crayons are too little to color with, we took the left over crayon pieces and removed the paper. We lined a muffin tin with cupcake liners and threw the little crayon pieces in there. We only had enough to fill 2 papers but that's okay. Baked them at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes or until the crayons are liquid and then take them out of the oven to cool. Remove the paper liner and voila!
The perfect way to [re]use tiny crayon pieces

I'm still learning how to write great, clear, understandable, informative tutorials so please let me know if you have any questions.

2009-02-03T08:04:00.001-08:00

A couple of things:

First: I actually learned the other day that I have more than 3 followers. Ha! I had no idea. My sister was hounding me telling me that she was tired of there not being a new post. Ever since then I have been trying...I promise. It has been pretty busy around here. For instance:

younger brother moved in with us
we celebrated both kids birthdays
new calling in church
getting ready to take a little weekend trip with no kids (which means house has to be grandma worthy so I'm not to embarrassed when she's here for the weekend to watch the kids.
getting audited for 2004 (our accountant was a scum bag and being audited sucks, anyone that used this guy that year is being audited so I'm sure there are a lot of people as annoyed with him as we are).
soccer practice/games
dance class
putting my blog into a blurb book and that is way more time consuming than I thought.

see! I really have been busy. I would give anything to have things slow down for a while to share some of the ideas I have come across and been brave enough to try out.
When I do get time it will be good I promise! I promise!

So, thank you to my 4 followers who even care that I share crafts Ha! You're the greatest!

Second: I changed the name of the blog to the idea I had originally had, but chickened out. I mean, I do like Martha and love her magazines but not enough to name my blog after her. My original idea was to share ideas on how to [re]do, [re]use, [re]cycle, [re]furbish anything to [re]beautify it. So, I'm sticking with that.

Welcome to [Re]beautify!

A Touching Gift

2008-12-16T23:16:00.000-08:00

Since I've been posting about gift ideas, here's a gift I got today from my friend Lani. It made my whole day. It was the perfect gift and so thoughtful. Isn't this the cutest idea?

Inside this cute little tin...

were these adorable little magnets...

The thing that touched me the most about this gift was that she spent the time choosing images that describe our family for the magnets and made the magnets by hand. The B for Bryan, the superman for Theron, love for our family, Sydney loves ladybugs. It was all just so thoughtful and I loved it! It was her way of saying Thank you to me and I feel like I can't say thank you enough to her.

Cookie Exchange

2008-12-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

I was invited to a cookie exchange last Friday. It was so fun! I spent the whole day baking my cookies. I was told to bring a 1/2 dozen cookies for each person attending the exchange. There were 19 people attending so I had to make 19 half dozen cookies. I went with one of my favorite cookie recipes. I've posted this on my personal blog before and also my family website but you can't go wrong with these. They're so good! It's another cookie recipe that involves a cake mix, which equals an arm work out, so they're sooooo worth it in the end. You have to work for these bad boys so dig in!

Chocolate Rolo Cookies
1 devils food cake mix
1/2 c. butter softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 bag of Rolo candies

Mix by hand 1/2 cake mix with softened butter, vanilla and eggs. Stir until smooth. Add remaining cake mix. Stir until smooth. Wrap dough around the unwrapped Rolo, just enough to cover the Rolo. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Although the recipe doesn't call for the company of an adorable 4 year old, I recommend it. It makes eating the cookies so much more fun!

[Re]furbished Frames

2008-12-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

Another idea I sampled was these frames. Super cheap. I think these might even be from the dollar store. I bought these so long ago, I can't remember where they're from, but any wood frame would work.

I basically sanded them down, painted them red, sanded the edges some more, added ribbon and a rub-on. viola!

Ribbon Tag Blanket

2008-12-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

I got this idea for a blanket from my friend Jill. It took about 3 hours from start to finish. Here's how you make it: (and don't be afraid to post any questions in the comments section. I'm not so good with the step by step thing).

Choose your fabric and ribbon. You can do as much as you want with the ribbon. It will get more expensive with the more ribbon you use. I had all of this ribbon on hand so I didn't have to buy any, that's why I used 6 different kinds. You could use different ribbons or you could use the same ribbon. Either way would be cute! The thing that attracted me to the blanket was the cute ribbon and the soft textured material. I don't even know the name if it but it is sooo soft and sooo cute. I bought it at Hobby Lobby for $12.99 a yard but use a coupon and you an get it 40% off.

First thing you do is decide where you want to place your ribbon. I just did mine on 2 ends of the blanket. Cut your ribbon in 4 inch strips. Fold it in half and iron it so it will stay creased and it will be 2 inches. This ironing the ribbon part is what took the longest to do. Everything else went by so much faster.

After the ribbon is ironed, pin it to the good side of one of your fabric. Make sure to pin it on with loop of your ribbon facing in towards the blanket. Pin the raw edges of the ribbon and the fabric together. Here's a couple of photos to maybe make a little more sense...

Once you have your ribbon pinned on... sew it together.

Like I said I did ribbon just one 2 sides of my blanket. My friend Jill did 4 sides of the blanket she made and it was adorable. Once the ribbon is sewn on you'll lay the piece of fabric with the ribbon on top of the textured fabric. Good sides facing each other, in this picture I just flipped up the corner to give you an idea of which way is correct. Good sides touching...

and pin it together to stay in place while sewing. Pay attention to where you start sewing because you're going to sew all the way around the blanket. All 4 sides. When you get back to the side you started on leave a good 3 inch opening and end your stitch there. You want the the opening because this is where you turn the blanket right side out. So your good sides of the fabric are on the outside. Make sure you remove the pins before you turn it though. They're hard to remove when the pins are on the inside of the blanket. I didn't take a picture of this step... I forgot because I was too excited to see the final product. Once the fabric is turned right side out stitch the 3 inch opening closed by hand. I think Jill said at this point she actually sewed all the way around the blanket but I just left mine.

I don't know how I forgot to take a picture of the final product but I the only one I have is while it's being used. Ha!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

2008-12-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

These cookies are so delicious but you have to work hard to get them. O.k., so not hard but the dough is really tough to stir. Total arm work out. But man, are they worth it!

2 packages devils food cake mix
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 c. vegteable oil
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
3 to 4 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
red and/or green food coloring, optional

In mixing bowl, beat cake mixes, eggs and oil (batter will be very stiff, this is where the arm work out comes into play. Feel the burn). Roll into 1 inch balls & place on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Cool. In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla, mix until smooth. Divide frosting into 2 separate bowls and add red food coloring in one bowl and green in the other. Spread on bottom of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

I used Wilton food coloring to get the bright colors in the frosting.

Thanksgiving Mix

2008-11-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me well knows I keep everything. I'm a pack rat. My wheels are constantly turning, trying to come up with ways to [re]use things I already have, which forces me to keep everything. In this case...spaghetti jars. I also kept a little poem that was given to me by some amazing visiting teachers I had for about a year after my son was born. Combine the two and you'll get a cute little jar of Thanksgiving goodness.

Start by thoroughly cleaning the jars and removing the label.

I didn't use any measuring for the next step. I simply just cut a fat strip of paper and decoupaged it on. I love projects where I can use my scrap paper. I just found a bunch of scraps with fall-ish print.

Wrap the paper around the jar and glue it end over end. Make sure to pull it tight enough so it won't come loose and slip down. You could even apply Mod Podge to the jar since it dries clear and the paper would stick to the jar. I was just using the "quick, throw it together, not think about what you're doing" method. I use that method a lot.

Trace the lid on matching paper cut it out and decoupage it on the lid.

Fill the jar with Thanksgiving Mix ingredients and screw lid on.

Add embellishments.
Here's a picture of what goes into the jars and what it means.

The bugels were bugels brand, found in the chip isle at the grocery store.
pretzels were the braided pretzels
candy corn was the regular brachs candy corn
fruit was the sugar fruit slices that come in the shape of orange slices
peanuts were regular peanuts.

Super easy and cute too! Makes for something fun to give to a neighbor a child's teacher or a friend you visit teach. We gave one jar to our pediatrician.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-11-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

Just sharin' some pumpkin love. Seriously these are so good!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies
1 can canned pumpkin
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 C. chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil & egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. Dissolve baking soda in milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add vanilla & chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonfull on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 about 10 min. or until light brown and firm. My cookies were a heaping spoonfull size of batter and they were perfectly cooked at 13 minutes.

Tie-dye

2008-10-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

Hubby transformed into a hippy this evening for Halloween. Went to Jo-Ann's, found a shirt for $3, bought some Rit dye, came home and went to work.

I wrapped the shirt in rubber bands all over. No method to it just wrap and make lumps. Although the lumps where I wrapped more rubber bands on top of each other turned out better (What can I say it was my first shirt). I boiled water in an old pot. I would recommend a stock pot. Something deep. The water and dye actually were overflowing when I put the shirt in. I was FREAKING out at this point! Aren't you so glad I'm telling you all of my mistakes. Don't let that happen to you.

Look at the mess I made. All the dye on the outside of the pan was nothing compared to the mess I made. You can see the residue of it overflowing.

I used an old spoon too. Anything that touches the dye will stay that color. After the water is boiling, add the dye. The more dye you add the darker the shirt will be. Boil for about an hour stirring constantly.

After the hour, drain the water and rinse the shirt until the shirt rings out clear water. Remove rubber bands and voila... see the circles on the bottom right? That's the look to go for. The trick is to wrap the rubber band around a lump of shirt and then do another one right above, maybe even 2 or 3 more. It gives it a layered look if you know what I mean.

Sexy I know. Sorry ladies, he's taken!

The bottle of Rit dye has directions on it if you have any questions. Happy tie-dying!

Banana Bread

2008-10-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

I think everybody knows what to do with bananas when they're too ripe to eat...

make banana bread. Duh!

Don't throw them out. You can get two yummy regular loaves or 4 mini loaves out of 3 bananas, depending on the recipe. Here's a recipe I found on another blog (can't remember which blog) that has a few ingredients you probably already have on hand. I love that in a recipe. When it's simple and you already have all the ingredients Here it is:

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 ripe mashed bananas

Mix butter, sugar and eggs set aside. Mix dry ingredients. Combine two mixes and add mashed bananas. Poor batter into 4 mini loaf pans that have been greased. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake @ 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Tip: load on the sugar and cinnamon. When it bakes it creates a sweet crunchy crust on the top of the bread that is so delicious!