Quote Canvas

I have not posted in so long! Sorry about that. I'm not sure I have any followers anyway!

I made this awesome quote canvas for my wall. All I did was use Mod Podge to glue scrapbook paper to the canvas and then let it dry for one day.

Then I used my Cricut to cut out the letters. I placed the letters and spray painted white over the top. When that dried I peeled the letters off! That's it. Now it hangs in my living room.

Printables - Wake Up every morning quote

I'm beginning to play around with making my own printable word art. So fun, because you can create ANYTHING you want! I saw this quote and decided to make it my first printable item for our bedroom wall. Feel free to use link to download this item also for free. It is designed to be printed 8x10 size.

Wake Up 8x10 Printable

Honeymoon Collage

Honeymoon Collage

Pretty DIY Candle Holders

I had a few clear votive candle holders around the house that I had purchased from a yard sale. I wanted to do something to make them my own.

This is super easy, anyone can do it.

I wrapped rubber bands around my candle holders in various patterns. Then spray painted them white! Let dry and remove the rubber bands and you have a pretty display for your home.

Mod Podge Tile Coasters

I have officially made my own personal drink coasters! I had seen this idea all over the DIY/Craft category on Pinterest and had to try it. I made one set of four coasters and plan to make a second set pretty soon in a different pattern.

Very easy. All you need is a few 4"x4" tiles. I found mine at Home Depot. You will also need some felt or some of those little pads that you put on the bottom of furniture to prevent it from scraping the floor ( the proper name of those things has left me at the moment ). Other than that, all you need is a sponge brush, Mod Podge and some scrapbook paper in your favorite pattern! I did a little mix and match, and used two different patterns. One is plain and one is polka dot. You can see that in the photo!

Basically you just trace your tile on the scrapbook paper. Then, cut it out. Cutting it about 1/4" inside the line you traced will make it just right. Next, smear some Mod Podge on the under-side of your paper and smooth it onto one of your tiles. Smooth out any ripples that may appear. I let that layer dry, then painted over the top of the tile/paper with a coat of Mod Podge. I let this dry, then repeated. Let it dry again. Repeat again. I repeated this process 6 times, to be sure I had a nice finish.

All done!!

Red Velvet Layered Cheesecake...Like the one at the Cheesecake Factory !!

I had the most amazing cheesecake I have ever tasted at the Cheesecake Factory restaurant. I decided to try and make a similar cheesecake and this is the recipe for it. It is amazing... but not going to lie, it is a pretty advanced recipe.

Mine did NOT look this good - so this is what the Cheesecake Factory's looks like!

Ingredients

Serves 10

32 ounces cream cheese

3 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp lemon juice

4 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp red food coloring

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

12 ounces butter

3 cups confectioners sugar

 

Directions for Red Velvet Layered Cheesecake

1

For cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Start a pot of boiling water.

2

Using a mixer, beat 20 ounces of cream cheese on medium until it becomes fluffy. Gradually add 3/4 cups sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest and lemon juice.

3

Beat in two eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream.

4

Line the bottom of a cheesecake pan with parchment paper. Wrap bottom half of pan in foil. Pour in cheesecake mixture and place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water until it reaches halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake about 45 minutes or until set in center. Remove pan from water and let cool for 20 minutes.

5

Cover cheesecake and chill overnight. Then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze it.

6

For the cake:

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa poweder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat in remaining two eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and vinegar in large bowl with an electric mixer. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about two minutes.

7

Divide batter between two greased and floured round 9-inch cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes then put each on a plate and then onto a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely.

8

For frosting:

Beat remaining cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract together in a large bowl with electric mixer until combined. Add remaining sugar and beat until fluffy, about 7 minutes.

9

Assembly:

Place bottom red velvet layer on a cake stand. Remove cheesecake from freezer and unwrap. Place cheesecake layer on top of the bottom layer of red velvet cake. Place top layer of cake on top of cheesecake. Coat with a generous layer of frosting. Refrigerate about 30 minutes then frost with remaining frosting.

Recipe for New Years Blackeyed Peas!

Many people cook and enjoy Black-eyed Peas on New Years Day to ring in the new year and supposedly grant good fortune for the year to come. These are very tasty!

Ingredients

Serves 8

16 ounce raw Blackeyed peas

8 cups water

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup palm oil

1, chopped onion

2, diced tomato

1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon paprika

 

Directions for Recipe for New Years Blackeyed Peas

1

Wash blackeyed peas in a strainer.

2

Add the blackeyed peas to a large pot (3 quart or larger) and boil on high for 15 minutes.

3

Add seasoning salt and regular salt.

4

Once brought to a boil, reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer for about 60 minutes. Stir occasionally. When completely cooked, the blackeyed peas will become brown.

5

In a separate pan, saute onion in palm oil for about 10 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, curry powder and paprika and cook for about 10 more minutes.

6

Add tomato and spice mixture to the blackeyed peas and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Easy 5-Step Apple & Walnut Coffee Cake

Ingredients

Serves 6

1 cup All-purpose flour

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/8 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Shortening

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1, chopped and cored Apple

1/2 cup Sour cream

1/4 cup Chopped walnuts

1/4 cup Brown sugar

1 tbsp Butter

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions for Easy 5-Step Apple & Walnut Coffee Cake

1

Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

2

In a separate mixing bowl, beat together sugar and shortening. Continue beating until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in 1/2 of the dry ingredients from step 1. Mix in the sour cream and remainder of dry mixture. Mix well until blended.

3

Mix chopped apple into the blended ingredients. Spread mixed ingredients into a lightly greased and floured 8-inch pan.

4

In another small bowl, combine nuts, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon until the mixture becomes crumbly. Sprinkle over the top of the coffee cake.

5

Bake the coffee cake at 350 degrees in oven for 30 minutes or until cake is done. Serve cake while warm.

Cheese Dog Treat Cookies

I'm sure you love your pooch with all of your heart - so why not make him some homemade doggy treats!

All you will need is:

2 cups All-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups Shredded cheddar cheese

2 cloves Garlic

1/2 cup Vegetable oil

4 1/2 tbsp Water

 

It's simple:

 

1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2

Mix together flour, cheese, garlic and vegetable oil in mixing bowl or food processor. Mix until the mixture is the consistency of coarse meal. Slowly add water until mixture becomes a ball of dough.

3

Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out treats. Transfer cut-outs to an ungreased cookie sheet.

4

Bake in the over for approximately 12 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are browned. Cool on a cooling rack and store in an airtight container

 

 

Martha Stewart Spinach Dip Recipe for Christmas dinner!

Delicious, finished product.


I had never made any kind of spinach dip before, but I absolutely LOVE eating it. I was told to bring an appetizer and a side dish to our family Christmas meal, so I decided to try to make my favorite appetizer. I searched the internet for a recipe that sounded yummy and I found one my Martha Stewart.

All you need is:

Ingredients (This list will make 3 cups. I doubled everything so that it would make about 6 cups when finished)

1. 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for baking dish
2. 1 medium onion, diced
3. 2 garlic cloves, minced (I used minced garlic instead, to skip mincing it myself)
4. 2 pounds spinach, cleaned, trimmed, and coarsely chopped (I used frozen spinach from Walmart)
5. 1/2 cup milk
6. 6 ounces reduced-fat bar cream cheese
7. 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
8. 3 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco
9. 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
10. Coarse salt and ground pepper
11. Baguette slices, breadsticks, or crackers, for serving (I used crackers)

Directions

You can complete through Step 2 up to three days in advance. I did it the night before to save time.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add spinach in two additions, letting the first batch wilt before adding the next; cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a strainer; drain, pressing to release all excess liquid.
3. In the same pot, warm milk over high heat. Whisk in cream cheese until melted, about 3 minutes. Don't let your milk burn!
4.  Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1/4 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour into a lightly oiled 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

Bake until cheese is melted and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot with crackers, or as desired.

DIY Oatmeal & Honey Mask!

This was a fun project to try... and I will definitely be doing it again.

Apparently honey has some amazing benefits for skin. I personally have acne-prone skin. My skin is also classified as combination -- it is oily in areas and dry and flaky in other areas. It is also frequently red. I have had a professional facial a few times in my life, but simply cannot afford it anymore. I know the lady who gave me my facial used an oatmeal mask of some sort on my skin, as a calming mask. I began searching on Google for different oatmeal masks that I could make myself.

After reading about everything honey can do for your skin, and personally knowing how calming oatmeal can be to the skin, I decided to mix them together for a mask.

All you need is plain honey, plain oatmeal and water.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of honey into a small microwave-safe dish. Heat it for about 10 seconds. CAUTION it will be very hot.

Grind some PLAIN flavored oatmeal in a coffee grinder or food processor until it reaches a powdery texture.

Mix a little hot water into the oatmeal and then combine with the honey. I liked the fact that what I was about to put on my face was something that I could actually eat because it is completely natural.

Make sure it is not too hot, and smooth it all over your face. I had some left over so I put it on my shoulders and neck as well. It will feel  a little strange on your face... I felt like I was wearing baby food or my breakfast on my face.

Leave on for about 15-30 minutes and then rinse!

After using this, my face looked less irritated and it actually helped my acne blemishes look less red and irritated as well. I think that it actually helped clear them up. It made my skin so soft, but not greasy or oily at all.