5 Minute Ghost Handsoap

5 minutes...sometimes I feel like that's about all I have these days :)...but that is really all it took to make these cute guys.  

Just took a couple bottles of SoftSoap, scrap vinyl pieces, scissors and some ribbon.  You can of course break out the Silhouette or Cricut to make the ghost faces, but I opted to draw my own shapes and cut them with scissors.  

Then just stick your faces on, and I added some ribbon that I already had.  The kids really like them too...anything to make washing hands more fun :).

Happy Haunting!

Clay spiders

I've loved these clay spiders since I saw them in the October 2010 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. Magazine.

I made the lollipop last year, but I'll be honest these little guys just stole my heart, so I had the little one leftover from last year and decided to make the momma to go with it. This is so easy to do and adds a little flair to your decor on a shelf. I aged them with glaze, otherwise as you will see below you can keep them a deeper black and the eyes bright white. 

This is my favorite baking clay to use....beware though...the little ones think this is candy!

So basically it comes in 4 bars, to make the big spider I used 2 for the body, but for the little guy I used 1, then the remaining 2 bars I cut into 6 pieces and rolled out for legs (yes I know spiders have 8 legs, but this is how it works best, 8 legs on this guy just is too crowded :) ).

So basically just 3 legs per side, I pressed the top in and then folded it down to make little feet. Then I put the spiders in a glass baking dish at 275 degrees for 15mts.

See the pix below how stark white the eyes are? I wanted the spider more aged......

The very tiniest dab of paint added to the medium helps give it an aged look. Wait until the spiders are completely dry from the oven before you paint.

Heres my lollipop with the spider attached. I think I might make more, I bought like 4 of these Bake Shop clay packs, it literally took me all of 20mts to do. This is very kid friendly as well! 

Enjoy!!

Love this time of year.......

I feel like I just might be getting my "Mojolicious-ness" back......

Cute and Simple Gift Idea

It seems like I am often needing a little gift for one thing or another and then I find myself scrambling for something at the last minute.  The last time I was in this predicament I just happened to be at Trader Joe's grabbing some grocery items.  My plan was to get what I needed there, and then probably go from place to place to place trying to figure out what to get for a gift (but who wants to do that when it's 110 degrees outside)???  Then I came across their bar soaps...I had seen them several times before but never thought to use them as gifts.  So I grabbed one of each 'flavor' (Lavender, Lemon Verbena and Green Tea) and hit the check out line!

All I had to do was stack them up (I added a piece of double stick tape between each bar to prevent them from slipping), wrap them with some coordinating ribbon...

...and print out a little tag on my computer.  Super easy!

The soaps are just over 3 bucks each and they smell so good!  Mine was for a birthday but it would make a great little hostess gift too...without breaking the bank!

Oreo Peanut Butter Pies

So my friend invited us over for a dinner party, then unfortunately her daughter became ill so we had to postpone...she told me though that she made these Oreo Peanut Butter Pies for dessert...I was literally salivating thinking about them. I had to put a plan in action and make my own now because there was no way in H-E-double hockey sticks I was going to miss out on this treat. 


My friend got a recipe from The Picky Palate, so I decided to go for it...mine aren't as  pretty..BUT in my defense I have "slight" A.D.D. so I can only handle the project for so long and then I get bored...but all the combos still taste the same right???? Maybe next time I'll slow down a bit...I was just completely interested in getting these puppies done and shoved in my mouth at warp speed. 

Here's all my ingredients...literally that was it...I hate that the Smart Balance lid is backwards...
there is my tiny bit of O.C.D. coming out...

Just cut out 4in circles, press into the muffin pan....THEN....

Layer these puppies...Oh my...I love peanut butter and chocolate!

 Then place in the muffin shell

Cut little strips with leftover pie dough and do a lattice pattern...yes I was sloppy but as I explained above I was in a mad hurry :) Brush with melted butter and sprinkle sugar on top

Bake at 350 for 24-27mts 

and here they are.........

and the inside of them....so yummy!

So thanks "you know who" for teasing me with this dessert because it got me to try making them and I will definitely be making these in the future, they were super easy!

Night Stand Makeover (Part 1)

Thought I would ease back into the blogging world now that we are back from vacation and pretty much done with the kids' summer activities :).  I haven't been doing a whole lot of crafting, but I have a growing list of projects that have been on my "TO DO" list that I'm trying to tackle.  Last year my daughter wanted a nightstand  next to her bed so instead of buying one, I had an old one from before my husband and I were married (I know...not very stylish but we were on a budget, and besides, it matched our lodge pole bed).

Anyway, I sanded and painted it...the knobs too, and transformed it into this...

I loved the way it turned out and so did my daughter BUT because the drawers aren't on rollers, they stick and are difficult to pull open :(.  She has lived with it for over a year now without too much complaining, so I hadn't made it a huge priority to find another option.  Well, earlier this year we had a community garage sale and I took this little beat up nightstand off my neighbor's hands for 5 bucks!  

This is the perfect size and the drawer and cabinet open easily.  Soooooo...I got this back in February, bought the paint for it in March and sadly, it is still sitting in the corner waiting to be made over.  I hope to have this one done within the next month so stay tuned...

Bacon Wrapped Artichoke Hearts

Lauren here...spent 4th of July with my brother in Huntington Beach....he made these amazing Bacon Wrapped Artichoke hearts on the grill for an appetizer...they were sooooooo good. What a great summer recipe when you are having a backyard BBQ. 

Photo from Zula's Cafe

I found a recipe for them at Zula's Cafe. My brother used Apple smoked bacon and a very thick cut. 

So yummy, if you love artichokes you will love these!

On Vacation

Michele and I are both on summer vacations, she is chillin' out in the mountains and I'm going to soak up the sun at the beach. We will return in a couple of weeks and be refreshed and ready to roll again. 

Happy Summer everyone! 

Cowboy Ciao Stetson Chopped Salad

There's a restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale called Cowboy Ciao that serves the yummiest chopped salad.  I've had it several times, but it never dawned on me (until just recently) to look up the recipe online so I can make it at home...and I'm glad I did because it is sooooooooo good!  Although the salad itself contains some unique ingredients, it is pretty easy to put together.  It's the dressing that takes a little bit more work, but in my opinion it's worth it!  

It even looks pretty :).  This is how they serve it at the restaurant...and then they pour the dressing over it and toss it at your table.  Their original chopped salad is served with smoked salmon, but it can be ordered with chicken.  I like both, but I chose to make it with chicken.

I found several recipes online and they were all similar, but I pretty much followed this one on Flickr that is a printout from the actual restaurant!  The dressing recipe makes a lot so I halved it...was plenty to serve 2 and have some leftover.  

So here is the recipe for the salad (serves 2):

2/3 cup cooked chicken breast, diced (or smoked salmon)

1/2 cup Israeli 'pearl' Cous Cous, cooked according to package

1/2 cup arugula, chopped

1/4 cup pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds)**

1/4 cup black currants**

1/4 cup Asiago cheese, crumbled**

1/2 cup super sweet dried corn

1/2 cup Roma tomato, diced

**combine these 3 items and use as 1 row of the salad.

Arrange the above ingredients into 6 rows on 2 plates or large shallow bowls.

Recipe for the Pesto Buttermilk Dressing:

1/4 cup basil pesto*

1/2 shallot, roughly chopped

1/2 cup aioli*

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp coarse pepper

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

*I actually made my own basil pesto and aioli, which is probably why the dressing seemed so time consuming.  Next time I will use prepared basil pesto, which I found at Trader Joe's.  You can make your own simple aioli by mixing 1/4 cup mayo, 1/3 cup olive oil and 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic in a food processor.

For the dressing, combine basil pesto, shallot and aioli in a food processor and blend.  With the motor running, add buttermilk and the rest of the ingredients...mix well.  It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.


Serve dressing on the side...when you are ready to feast, pour it over the salad and toss.  DELICIOUS!!!

We're back....

Happy Summer everyone!!!

We've been on a hiatus while school was getting out and we are back and ready to share again. So stay posted to check out some of our projects!!

Enjoy your summer!

29 Ways To Be Creative

Who knew there was a list of ways to be creative, I would've checked this out a long time ago!
A friend posted this today from Life on Michigan Ave. Reading this really kinda was a refresher and honestly something that I'm going to print up and keep with me to refer to. I'm definitely a #1, just started the #2, do too much of the #6, never do #7,  love #8 of course, and my most favorite is #28. Why are we taking life so seriously....just have fun! 

Kozie Kuties Winner!

We have a WINNER!!!

Congratulations to 'Cinchworm' (Alyssa)!!!  She is the winner of this adorable Easter ensemble from Kozie Kuties...you lucky gal!  We hope you enjoy your prize!  And a big thanks to Lisa at Kozie Kuties for putting together such a cute basket!  Remember if you live in the Phoenix area, Lisa will be at the City North Farmer's Market this Sunday (4/17).  You can also find her products locally at Moonbeams and Girly Girlz.

Easy Paper Easter Basket Tutorial

Well Easter is less than 2 weeks away so I figured I would break down and do an Easter craft :).  This is another one of those holidays that I like, but typically don't decorate for so I usually stick to making stuff for the kids.  Last year I picked up a couple little treats to give to my neighbor's kids and when I went to put everything together, I realized that I forgot to get something to put the treats in.  Luckily, Lauren and I had been at Scrapbooks Etc. a couple weeks earlier and saw a super cute little Easter basket made of scrapbook paper so I whipped up a couple of my own!  This is a quick and easy project, and since I already had all of the supplies on hand it was FREE!  Well...if you ask my husband he would disagree and say that I had to buy all the stuff at some point in the past so it's not technically free, but WHATEVER!

First, a preview of the finished product...

Here's what you'll need:

1-12 x 12 card stock for basket (plain or patterned)

1-12 x 1.75 strip of card stock for handle

6-3.75 x 3.75 paper squares in coordinating paper (if desired)

pencil

ruler

scissors/paper cutter

adhesive  

brads, ribbon, flowers or whatever else you want to embellish with

And here's what you do:

On the wrong side of the 12 x 12 paper, divide it into 9 equal 4 x 4 squares and mark it with a pencil.  I labeled below where to make your cuts for the next step.

Make the 4 cuts and then crease the paper on the remaining lines...it should look something like this when you're done. 

This next step is optional.  Since I used solid card stock for the main part of the basket, I wanted to make it a little more fancy with a coordinating patterned paper.  I cut 6 squares (3.75 x 3.75) each.

Flip over your 12 x 12 paper (right side facing up) and glue your squares like so...

Now flip your paper back over and fold the ends in toward the middle (kinda hard to explain but like in this picture).

Apply glue to secure both sides in place...

...so it looks like this when it's all put together.

Now cut a 12 x 1.75 strip of card stock for the basket handle.

Apply glue to both inside ends of the strip.

Attach handle to basket.  I added a brad to each side for extra support since the basket holds a pretty decent amount of goodies! 

That's it...super easy!  You can leave it nice and simple or add extra embellishments for fun.

I also tried a smaller version using 6 x 6 paper for the main basket...I thought these might make cute little treats for my son's preschool class.

 Here are the ones I made last year for my neighbor's kids: