Thursday, September 26, 2013

DIY Vinyl Wall Decals

I don't know by definition if you would classify this as a DIY since Cricut did most of the work but still someone had to push the buttons and tis I!

I love this quote, I think it's perfect for my bathroom and I think at one point I did stumble across this vinyl quote in my shopping (Hobby Lobby, I think) but I didn't quite like the font or the layout so I decided to do my own.


Here are the tools and quick/easy instruction:

Cricut Vinyl paper
Cricut Transfer paper (tricky)
"Be your own kind of"  Nate's ABC
Size: "B" 3/12 and the rest in 2 1/2
"Beautiful" Sophisticated
Size: 8 3/4

Once you have your words cut out apply transfer paper.
My transfer paper experience was....meh.  I ended up peeling it off ever so carefully with rubbing each letter on the wall as I was peeling.  Tedious but have patience.  The outcome is beautiful.  ;)

OH and the star I found at a flea market....sorry!!!  But I'm sure Hobby Lobby has or you can be creative with a cardboard one from Michaels. :)

Enjoy mucho!




Friday, September 6, 2013

Healthier Cake Pop Mission....

I love Starbucks...turns out my 2 year old does too....but not for the same reason.  She really enjoy those cake pops (a bit of cake on a stick).  Every once and a while I don't mind indulging her with one.  Thankfully, more times than not half of it falls to the floor so she's essentially only having half a cake pop which is enough sugar/junk for mama and toddler to be satisfied with. (waste of money...i know)
BUT...my toddler loves the idea of a cake pop and...so do I so I've been trying to come up with healthier solutions to divert the sugar and the Star$$BUCKS spent on it.

Option #1 (so far)

Yogurt Pops!!

Sounds great...in theory.   Typically a summer treat...so the littles can eat this outside.  It can get a bit messy.
I used a coconut based yogurt (dairy free) that had strawberry/banana mix.
added a 1/2 teaspoon of honey
and poured it into my cake pop mold tray and froze it.
Took an hour to freeze....about a half hour into it is when I put the sticks in so they stand straight.



PS. I got the mold pan and pop sticks from Michaels Arts & Crafts

Pros:  Healthy and delicious summer treat!
Easy for toddler to handle.
You could probably eat this before it actually melts.

Cons: For a toddler to eat before it melts: almost impossible.
Can be quite messy.
Not easy for toddler to put this down and pick up again.
My toddler was into it for maybe a minute then the novelty wore off.

Back to the drawing board........stay tuned. 

Option Two:

Bobs Red Mill Vanilla Cake Pop - Gluten Free

TAKE ONE:
Ingredients:
1 bag of Bobs Red Mill Vanilla Cake
1 cup of Coconut Oil
3 egg whites (carton = 2/3 cup)
1 cup of water

Mix all ingredients together; pour batter to just top the bottom half of cake pop tin; bake in oven @ 325 degrees; for 25 minutes

Icing:
2 tbs of Simply balanced (berry blend freeze dried fruit) (TOO MUCH SUGAR)
1 cup of Chobani Greek Yogurt (strawberry banana)
1 tsp organic vanilla
2 tbs of organic powdered sugar (Woodstock) (NOT ENOUGH POWDERED SUGAR)

The outcome:
The cake was DELICIOUS!!!  The icing tasted great BUT the consistency wasn't that great.
Even though I put it in the refrigerator to harden a little bit....it didn't do much.
I looked at other recipes and I definitely notice a 1 cup Greek yogurt to 1/2 cup powdered sugar ratio.


TAKE TWO:
Cake recipe same as above.

Icing:
1 cup Chobani Greek yogurt
1 tsp organic vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar (Woodstock)
1 DANNON Danimals Smoothie (Strikin' Strawberry Kiwi)
1 tsp Agave Nectar

Whip together; refrigerate for 30 minimum

The outcome:
The cake was once again DELICIOUS. 


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

DIY NO SEW Shower Curtain

This was an awesome project because the sewing machine and I...as I've stated before...we have a love-hate relationship.  So the less I'm around it....the better!!  =)))

My shower curtain....I couldn't quite find a pattern or color that I liked in the shower curtain selection that I searched BUT I was able to find the perfect sheet set in the color and pattern that I did like...what is a diy girl to do?!?!

Well...first I bought the sheet set at Macy's for like 18 dollars...super cheap!  (Queen size)
Then...I bought NO SEW grommets at Michaels Arts & Crafts.  (Brilliant)
and then I figured out the measurements between each grommet (approx. 10 in)
I marked the circle (provided with grommets)
Cut and snap these puppies in!  So awesome!




As for the hem.....well the sheet was a bit too long for what I wanted in my shower so I cut it to desired length with leaving a half inch to hem.   Dum dum dum...hem = sewing machine.  Ah...but not always.

Once again, Michaels Arts and Crafts come to my rescue with Heat n Bond Ultrahold iron-on adhesive.
All I needed was an iron and maybe some pins just to keep things straight.





Voila....very proud of my bathroom so far!!!!