Yard Stick Star

  
 I went from not posting anything for over a year, to posting TWO blogs in a week! What is going on?! Anyways, I wanted to make this star for awhile now and I thought Christmas would be a great time for it.

 

 

    The first thing I did was paint 5 yard sticks white, you could paint them any color you want. Of course, you do this on plastic bags in your living room. Where else would you do it?!

  

 

    Next, I laid out the yard sticks in a star formation and tied each end with twine.

 

 

Then, I wrapped each end with twine several times to make sure it was secure. Then tied it in a knot on the backside. I used wood glue to secure the yard sticks in the middle, otherwise they were loose.

 

 Here is the finished project. Not the most difficult project, but I think it turned out nice. I wanted it to look a little rustic with the twine holding the ends together. I think all I need now is to add some white lights around the edge and hang it outside for Christmas.

 

Easy DIY Christmas decor

Hey everyone! It's been quite a long time since I've written on here or made a craft for that matter. I decided that I wanted to make a quick and easy Christmas picture to hang in my undecorated hallway, so this is what I came up with. It was extremely easy and adds a nice touch to our hallway.

Christmas Ornament

I saw these bad boys on Pinterest and thought I'd give them a shot. For me, they were FREE, I didn't need to buy anything extra, so that was nice. I made one for each woman in the family for Christmas. I thought they turned out pretty cute! :) Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Garlic Mushrooms

I made these for the first time last night for our "steakhouse" dinner at home. I don't know if it's the most *amazing* recipe, or the hardest, BUT they were delish! =] Here's how to make these scrumptuous mushrooms...

You will need:
1 lb. of mushrooms (I used a mix of baby bellas and white, but you can use whatever you want)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 T olive oil, divided
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up 2 T of the olive oil over medium/medium high heat. When heated add garlic. Let simmer about 1 minute. I just grated my garlic over the oil...I love my new grater!

Add your mushrooms. Saute 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly. You may need to add a little more oil if they are looking dry, not a whole lot, you don't want them to be greasy.

In the meantime, mix the rest of your ingredients together in a small bowl. I hate when recipes say to "constantly" stir something, but wait! You have to do this over here too! I don't have 4 arms, they'll be fine for a minute...

I smashed my mushrooms up while they were in the skillet, I didn't care if they looked pretty, it was only me eating them. But, you can slice them up or buy them pre-sliced at the store. It's all up to you! =]
After the 5-6 minutes, add the sauce to your mushrooms and serve immediately. Enjoy! They are amazing, well I thought so anyways. I had never made mushrooms for myself, and I don't know why, I looove them. But, this is extremely simple and so good.


Here is our "steakhouse" dinner at home. My husband manned the grill and I cooked the shrooms. =] This will definitely be made again! Hope you love it as much as I do!

St. Patty's Day topiary

This probably isn't the best picture, but oh well. I made this St. Patty's Day topiary for one of my friends to use in her classroom. I thought it turned out pretty cute. I used the same method on this that I used on my previous two wreaths. Very simple and fairly inexpensive. =]

X's and O's

I'm really out of control with all of the V-day crafts I'm making! haha...but I love it, so that's all that matters! So here I've made some x's and o's to display around the house. Very easy!

Supplies:

- 2 "x" and 2 "o" chip board letters

- scrapbook paper

- any embellishments that you want

- Mod Podge

- glue gun

- scissors

First I traced each letter on whatever paper I wanted to use for that particular one. Then cut out.

Next, I used Mod Podge to glue it on.


Then, I added some embellishments. That's it...simple! All I had to buy were the letters and they were 2 for $ 1.00 at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. I love them! =]


I switched this one up a bit and used two different papers.



I'll be linking this up to these spectacular blogs:

Epsom salt V-day candle

Check out my new weekend link party "wonderful weekend" going on now until Sunday night! Let's get the word out and get some more link ups! =]

Here's another easy Valentine's idea that anyone can do!

Supplies:

- candle

- Epsom salt

- glitter (optional)

- Mod Podge or glue

- ribbon, decals (optional)

- clear coat

I added about 3-4 tablespoons of Epsom salt into a bowl and added some pink glitter to jazz it up a bit. I started painting on the Mod Podge to the desired height of the candle. Then sprinkle your salt/glitter mix onto the candle. Keep doing this all around the candle.

Next, I added some pink, fuzzy string that I had to jazz it up a little more.



Finally, I sprayed the salt/glitter with a clear coat, I'm hoping this will help it stay on longer. Then I added a single white heart to give it even more jazz! This is extremely easy and cheap! I already had the candle and string from about 8 Valentines ago. All I had to buy was the salt. Simple and cute. Enjoy!

I'll be posting this tutorial at these fine blogs: