Delicious Ranch & Pepper Crackers

I found this recipe some time before Christmas but didn't get a chance to actually try it until now. I made these crackers for Christmas as a snack and now I am making a batch all for myself -- because they are so addicting!

I have used Saltine crackers as well as Ritz crackers for this recipe. I personally liked the Saltines better but both were very good.

Toss some Ranch seasoning into a plastic baggy. Toss in some Red Pepper flakes. (Note: these are spicy!!!) Then add some olive oil in the baggy. How much of everything depends on how many crackers you are making. Zip the bag closed and mix the ingredients together by squishing the baggy around. Then unzip - and toss in crackers! Keep flipping the bag around every 10 or so minutes to make sure all crackers get some of the mixture on them. Let them soak for a good hour or so - if you eat them any earlier they are oily because the crackers have not had time to soak up the oil yet. After about an hour you may enjoy! Save any extras in plastic ziploc bags or airtight containers. Yum!

Finished!

DIY Lip Gloss

This one was fun.

I had seen several "recipes" for making your own lipgloss, but didn't feel like paying a bunch of money for all of the supplies needed. But this requires very little!

All you need is some petroleum jelly and some old makeup that you don't wear, like pink eye shadows or any other color you would wear on your lips.

And of course you need some type of small container to put the finished product in. I had some small 2 ounce plastic jars for mine.

You need a glass bowl and a microwave safe bowl. Put a 3-4 tablespoons of petroleum jelly in the microwave safe bowl. Heat a pot of water to boiling on the stove. When boiling, remove from heat and pour in glass bowl. Then place your microwave safe bowl holding your jelly into the boiling water. Stir the jelly constantly and it will begin to melt. Once melted, stir in any of your makeup colors! Stir until everything is mixed together, then pour into your container. Stick it in the freezer for about an hour, or until firm. Then it's ready to use!

Cheesy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and had to give it a try. They were even husband-approved, and he doesn't typically like anything with sour cream!

What you need:

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

The original recipe called for green chiles as well, but I left those out. Not a big fan of chiles.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

 

1. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. 

 

2. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

 

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until it thickens and starts to bubble. 

 

4. Stir in sour cream. Do not bring to boil, because this will make your sour cream curdle.

 

5. Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

 

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese. Keep an eye on your enchiladas to make sure the cheese doesn't burn on top. Mine got a little extra browned - so that is why there isn't a finished photo. :)

Baby Girl Gift Basket

I made this cute basket for someone at work who is having a baby girl soon! I began the project with intentions to make a diaper cake, but it was not turning out to be very pretty. So after a little brainstorming, I found a basket that I was intending to give away anyway since I did not need it!

Inside the basket, I used a pink baby blanket as a "liner." Then I filled the basket with diapers and a cute bib. I also had some pink ribbon and pink buttons that I decorated the basket with. So easy, fun and not expensive at all. And even better - she loved it!

Christmas Decor Glass Bottles

OK - these were one of the easiest projects I have made so far. They are also one of the prettiest!

I took two glass drink bottles in varying sizes and spray painted them. I painted one a matte white color, and the other  a shiny silver color. To create the "snow" effect on the white bottle, I sprayed it with aerosol glue and then rolled it in epsom salt. So easy and it looks great as winter decor!

I found the GREAT wintry/Christmas-y floral accents at Wal-Mart. I stuck them in the top of the bottles and that's it!

Handmade Christmas gift for my Brother-in-law. Would also be wonderful as a Fathers Day gift!

I saw an idea for this on Pinterest and thought it was the sweetest thing ever. And I gave it to my brother-in-law yesterday and I think he almost cried because he loved it so much. It is so true too... "A dad is a son's first hero and a daughter's first love." How true and sweet!

I cut out the words with my Cricut and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. The rest is so simple -- I purchased a 12"x12" frame at Michael's, where I also found a silver, glittery piece of cardstock for the background. The letters were cut out from blue, vinyl. And then I took two photos of my neice and nephew from my wedding and glued them on! I let it dry and placed it in the frame. Wrapped it up and it was a successful DIY gift with lots of meaning.

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone has their most blessed Christmas yet. Let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus.

I got a new haircut!!!

For so long I've been trying to grow my hair long, but it was all one length and boring. So yesterday I got a haircut and although scared of layering it up at first - I'm very glad I did. Now if it would just grow longer. The picture of Hilary Duff is the long look I'm going for. But I have a LONG way to go!

Polka Dot Pedicure

I saw a pin on Pinterest where someone had done a manicure like this. I thought it was so cute, but wanted to try it on my toes first! It was very easy.

I have tons of nail polish colors, so I didn't have to go buy any new ones for this.

All I did was paint my toes with two coats of white nail polish. Then I bent open a couple of bobby pins, and dipped the rounded ends in different color polishes. Just dab the different colors onto your toes in any pattern you like!

When finished with your dots, paint a clear top-coat over your nails and you're finished!

Wall Decor Tiles "LOVE"

These were a spur of the moment idea! I found the small 4"x4" wooden blocks at Michaels Craft Store and had a totally different intention for them, but that didn't work.

I spray painted them white and decides to make them a decoration for the wall.

All I did was cut out 4- 4"x4" pieces of scrapbook paper. I used fun, funky animal prints in black and white. I love animal prints.

I coated the back of the papers with Mod Podge and pasted them onto my little blocks. Then I coated the top with Mod Podge and let that dry, repeating about three times.

I used my Cricut and my Jasmine font cartridge for my letters. I needed a four letter word, because I only had four blocks! So I went with "LOVE." I cut out the letters using my machine in a hot pink colored paper. From the same cartridge, I also cut out some diamond and star shapes. I used blue for the diamonds.

I positioned all shapes and letters how I wanted and used Mod Podge to secure! Let those dry awhile and attach some picture hangers for the wall on the back. Then what better place to hang them up, but on a wall with some wedding photos!

Personalized Monogram Letter

I bought a plain wooden letter "D" at Michael's a few months ago and have been trying to decide what to do with it. So the other evening I finally got to work! I decided to use two different scrapbook paper patterns/prints, along with a heavy dose of Mod Podge to decorate it.

Since the letter was plain white wood, I spray painted it a bronze metallic color first, so the edges of the letter wouldn't stand out so much like they would if they stayed white.

Items used in this project:
2- 12"x12" sheets of scrapbook paper

2- Decorative fabric flowers I found at Jo Ann's Fabric Store
Mod Podge
Foam Brush
Sparkly Ribbon I found on Christmas Clearance at Jo Ann's

All I did was trace my letter D onto both of my scrapbook paper sheets.

I placed one color on top of my letter and used Mod Podge to secure. I coated both underneath and top of the letter and let dry for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I decided I would only use my second color on the very top and bottom parts of the letter. I cut out how much i wanted and positioned them, then secured with Mod Podge. Again, I coated the underneath and the top with Mod Podge. Let dry for another 20 minutes. There are SO many different ways you could decorate your letter!

To conceal the places where my two colors meet, I secured a piece of sparkly ribbon over of these places. To my surprise, after securing with Mod Podge and letting it dry, the glittery ribbon still had its sparkle!

Then I attached two cute fabric flowers. Voila!

North Pole Cupcakes

These cupcakes we a blast to make. I had not seen a "recipe" for them, only a photo of them on Pinterest.

I decided that I wanted to make these to bring to work!

If you want to make these precious cupcakes - here is what I used:

1 box of White Cake Mix, plus the ingredients it calls for, i.e.: eggs, vegetable oil
1 large tub of White Fluffy Icing
Candy Cane Sticks
White or Clear Sugar Sprinkles
Piping Bag for icing application ( I didn't have one; I improvised and used a Ziploc, worked just as well )
North Pole Signs, preferably printed on Cardstock ( Click Here for a Printable Example )
Red Hot candies

Now you are ready to make these little cuties!

Cook the cupcakes as directed on package. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes so your icing doesn't melt!!

Fill a Piping bag ( or a Ziploc bag in my case ) with your fluffy icing. Cut a corner off of the bag. Squeeze the icing out and apply in a circular pattern on the top of each cupcake. (I hope that makes sense!)

Top icing with some sprinkles for a snowy effect. This also adds a tasty little crunch to your cupcakes.

Dab a small amount of icing of the back of each North Pole sign. This will serve as "glue." Then stick a sign on each candy cane stick. Then dab a bit of icing on each Red Hot candy and place one on top of each candy cane stick. Insert into cupcakes!

Your cupcakes are now complete and oh so precious. If you cover your cupcakes, the humidity in the container will most likely make the candy canes a sticky mess. So try not to keep them covered for too long.

Yummy Pizza Rolls

I saw this recipe pinned on Pinterest and just had to try it!

All I used was about half a pack of Hormel Turkey Pepperoni (gotta cut back somewhere! It's much healthier.) and about 2 cups of part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded. I bought a Pillsbury rolled up pizza crust and rolled it out on a large baking sheet. Completely covered with a layer of pepperoni and spread out the shredded cheese. Then I carefully rolled it up into a long roll. I spread a little butter on top and stuck in the over, preheated to 400 degrees, for 15 minutes. When the top is hardened and golden brown, it's finished!

Cut up in slices and dip in warm pizza sauce. Mmmmmm.

DIY Hot Oil Hair Mask

This is the easiest thing to make and it worked very well on my extremely damaged hair.

All you need is honey and olive oil.

Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of honey in a saucepan. I doubled this because I have very thick hair.

Heat until boiling. Do not overheat or leave unattended. I found out the hard way. :) It will turn to a big piece of black tar and smoke up your entire kitchen.

Remove from heat and apply to hair after you have given it time to cool down.

Leave on for 15-30 minutes and then wash hair as you normally would. Really works! And really cheap to make.

Cheesy Chicken Croissants

This is a yummy treat and very easy to make.

All you need is:
1- 10 1/4 ounce can Cream of Chicken Soup
1- cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more if you please!)
2 or 3- 4 ounce chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small chunks
1- can Pillsbury Croissants (any brand will work)
1- cup Milk

1.Prepare the soup as you normally would, but use the milk instead of water.
2.Unwrap the croissants and place some cheese and few small chunks of Cooked chicken in each croissant.
3.Wrap the croissants and tuck in the ends, kind of like a burrito.
4.Place in a baking dish and pour the prepared soup on top. Put more cheese on top if you love cheese like we do!
5.Bake in oven preheated to 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

I made this the other night and it was very tasty. See my picture of how it looks!

DIY Pore Cleanser "Pore Strip" Mask

I saw a pin on Pinterest today detailing a super easy recipe for a pore mask. This mask was said to harden and remove blackheads when peeled off, just like those expensive pore strips. Being a lover of pore strips, minus their typical expensive price, I HAD to try it!

I ran by the grocery store on my way home from work to get what I needed.

Only two ingredients required are plain, unflavored gelatin and milk.

I had a hard time finding unflavored Jello but got lucky at Publix.

Ok so all you have to do is mix 1 tablespoon gelatin and 2 tablespoons of any kind of milk.

Microwave for ten seconds and spread on your skin. You may want to use a Popsicle stick for this part. And be forewarned, the mixture smells absolutely horrible!

Avoid your hairline and eyebrows, I learned the hard way!

Let it dry, about 15-20 minutes. Then peel off. If any of the mask hurts too badly, just wash it off.

Button Christmas Tree!

I found the idea for this on Pinterest. The idea I saw had this done inside a frame, but I used a canvas instead.

All I used for this project was a 12x12 canvas, yellow acrylic paint, glitter acrylic paint, paint brush, a variety of green buttons, hot glue gun, a piece of red felt and a cute pack of Christmas gift foam stickers that I found at Michael's.

First, paint your canvas with the acrylic yellow paint. This just creates a pretty backdrop for your tree.

Let that dry completely.

Add a thin layer of the clear glitter acrylic paint on top of the yellow.

Let that dry.

Heat up your hot glue gun.

Cut a circle out of the red felt. This will be your tree skirt. Glue it near the bottom of the canvas.

Then arrange your green buttons on the canvas to see what tree pattern you will use when you begin gluing them on.

Once you decide on a pattern, take the buttons back off. Then you can begin gluing them back on, one by one. You can layer them for a more dimensional look. I have buttons on top of other buttons in some places to fill in any gaps.

Let it dry.

You can add beads or anything else for ornaments. I haven't done this step yet, but plan on it.

Display and enjoy!

Easy Holiday Centerpiece!

This was a quick decor idea that popped into my head. I wanted something pretty to sit on my coffee table during the wintry months. I took a walk in the woods and collected some acorns, leaves and pine cones that had fallen to the ground and brought them home. All I did was paint them with glossy silver spray paint and let them dry. I had a large glass bowl available to use, so I put a piece of silver tinsel garland in the bottom, and added all of my spray painted items on top. Arranged them in a pretty fashion and placed on my coffee table. Beautiful!

Handmade Christmas Wreath!

So, I made a pretty awesome wreath for my door to display during the holiday season.

I got my inspiration from Pinterest of course, but the example that gave me the idea was a mixture of different greens. I wanted to add more dimension to my wreath.

All of you need for this project is:
-A few hours of spare time, depending how quick you are at wrapping yarn around styrofoam balls.
-15 to 20 various sized styrofoam balls
-Red, green and white yarn
-18" wire wreath
-Floral wire
-Christmas tree garland

I was able to find all of my items at Michael's craft store, minus the garland which I already had!

1. Start by wrapping all of your styrofoam balls in varying colors of yarn. Sit them on the wreath frame as you go so that you will know when you have enough.
2. Attach the styrofoam balls onto the wire wreath frame using the floral wire.
3. Loosely wrap the garland (optional) around your wrapped styrofoam balls to add a little something extra. It will also help to fill in any gaps you may have between the styrofoam balls.
3. Hang on your door - you just made your very own wreath!

First Post

I'm as new at blog writing as I am new at crafting! I've never had a blog before, but been inspired lately.

My name is Whitney and I am new to the world of DIY-ing and crafting. I've never been much of a creative type or a crafty type, but joining Pinterest has completely changed that. I still sometimes lack creativity, but Pinterest gives me great ideas that I can work with. Just in the past week I have made a few Christmas decor items for my home, as well as a Christmas gift for someone on my list!

I'll use this blog to share any projects that I complete or any that I want to try. Hopefully it can inspire some of you to get crafty too. Ill prove that anyone can do it!

Join Pinterest here, for a little inspiration of your own:
www.pinterest.com




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