Fancy Dish Soap

Let me just start out by saying, this didnt come out the way I wanted it to. Nevertheless, I love it. It looks soooo amazing in my kitchen. And it works very well. No more ugly dish soap container for me. I absolutely love it. And it cost me 3.99 for the the glass bottle. I just etched Dish Soap on the side of it, I think it looks wonderful, but the etching doesnt stand out as much as I would have liked. Either way Its beautiful. :o)

Pictures on Wood

This one was made for my mom, the dog on top died 7 years ago- Poppy, she was my dog growing up. The one underneath- Roshi- my mom got when Poppy died. Roshi passed about a week ago- I thought this would be a good way for my mom to hold on to their memories forever.

I made this for my best friend.. Recently this dog-Taz-went to heaven.. She loved this dog, as did I. He was part of the family. And his death was a tragidy, she is very torn up about it. The concept is easy, but it does take some time.

You need:

*A picture- Printed on paper- whatever size you would like

*Gel Medium (can be found in painting section of craft store) I used Basics

*Mod Podge

*Piece of wood- that matches size of the picture you printed out. (also found at craft store- in wood section)

*Sand paper- Fine

*First you print out picture- the ones on top were 5x7s- the one on the bottom was 8x10. Sand the area picture is to be applied- makes everything stick and hold better. You apply the gel medium to the front of the wood and make sure its totally covered. It doesnt have to be very thick- just needs to be covered.

*You lay the picture down- face down onto the gel. Make sure you press down firmly- getting all bubbles out.

*Wait.... You can leave it overnight- or let it dry at least 6 hours to make sure its totally dry.

*Get a wet cloth and soak the back of the picture- making it kinda transparent.

*Start to rub- gently rub off the paper- this takes some time, and some of the color will rub off- but it gives it a rustic look. I usually rub off the topmost layer and let dry a minute until it turns white again. Then apply cloth to small parts at a time- rubbing til you cant feel anymore paper left. Once all the paper residue is gone, let dry again for about 5-10 minutes.

*Apply Mod Podge across the top of the picture. let dry about 10 minutes and add another layer.

I stained the wood around the bigger one since it was a thick wood block- if you do decide to stain the wood surrounding do it while the picture is still covered in paper- if any stain gets on it will come right off with paper. Make sure you apply Mod Podge to stained areas also to get that shine.

 Thats it! You can hang these with ribbon to hang on the wall, or you can put them on little canvas stands. anything goes- the wood is usually thick enough that you can add nails or little hanging clips.

Lemon-Lime Soap

4 ingredients! No artifical colors or fragrances!! I was talking to my mom about the other soap creations i've made, and how I come up with these ideas. And it hit me, I can use all kinds of everyday stuff to put in these bars to make them amazing and really good for your skin. So I decided lemon & lime zest. I melted down the Shea Butter base- zested 2 limes and 2 small lemons- added in a spoonful of coconut oil, and Voila! they are perfect. They smell amazing. Will make your skin really soft and moisterized, and they are all natural! I didnt have to add any fragrances or colors at all. Love it! I'm excited to give them away :o)

More Cake Pops!

More, more, more....  I made these for a friend of mine for her Bday today. Her fave color is green. Just thought of this new way to display them and wanted to try it out. I think it looks pretty good!

Alcohol Inked Vase

Alcohol Inked vase.. I got the Idea from the projects list on Michaels.com.. I decided a few days ago that I was tired of having my straws in a drawer and difficult to grab, I saw this and thought its the perfect solution. A piece of art to hold them in. A sophisticated way to contain my childish love of straws.  

You need:

A vase

Alcohol Ink (usually found in scrapbooking section)

Alcohol blending solution

Paper Plate

Paper towels

Spray bottle (optional)

Make sure you wash the vase first and remove any stickers. Place it ontop of paper plate to catch the mess. If you get any on your counter- the blending solution will get rid of it, just pour a few drops on and let sit for about 30 seconds and wipe off with towel.

Open up the ink and start dripping it down the side, any way you want. Its your art. Go all the way around until covered. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

With the blending solution, your going to either put it in a spray bottle, or just squirt it down the side in certain places to blend the colors where you would like them blended.

Once done, let it sit for about 30 minutes. You can either bake the vase @350 for about 5-10 minutes. Or you can spray with Varnish. The varnish will need about 24-48 to completely dry. Make sure you dont use too much- as it will get heavy and pull down color.

Voila! You can use your vase for anything, I chose straws because I wanted a place to put them that would look nice in my kitchen. Good Luck!



Hand made Gifts

One of my favorites. Made this for my mom for Christmas. They asked for stuff for the house for Christmas gifts. I figured she needs decorations because the house is pretty plain. And I usually make her something craft every year. So I decided a new center piece for the table they just bought would be perfect.

I bought a pine serving tray from Micheals for a few bucks. Painted it black and applied clear topcoat. Bought a vase and a couple small candle holders for cheap. Bought the stems and the "water" there too. It was a very quick project. I even painted some of the river rocks with meaningful words. She loved it.

Homemade Gift Basket

I finished it! Took it to my Bestie today, she loved it. I bought the basket at Micheals for like 5 bucks. The jars were a total of 5 bucks also. I painted us both a picture so that we will alway have matching pictures. We have tons of matching stuff. Anyway, the basket includes:

Coconut-Rose Sugar scrub

Cranberry-Almond Granola

Coconut-Oatmeal shea butter soap

Apricot-Grapefruit shea butter soap

Hibuscus Painting

I also included a little note telling her what everything was. It said how much I love her and that I'm going to miss her when she moves..

Creating Memories is priceless with those you love.

At home fun!

My Babe and I made Gak! lol or something like it. Saw this on Pinterest and thought it was pretty cool. My boyfriend got super excited and wanted to try it, so we did. Its super easy and fun to make- great for the kids! I used mine to clean my keyboard just now and it worked like a charm! :o)

You need:

Borax Laundry Booster
Elmers Glue
Water
Food coloring
Plastic cups (you can use bowls or glasses too- very easy to clean)

So you mix some borax in container that has a lid so you can shake it. Use 2 parts Borax to 1 part water. You really only need about a 1/2 cup total. Set aside.

You fill a cup about 1/3 of the way with Elmers, then another 1/3 water. mix well, getting any excess glue off the sides of the cup. Put in food coloring of your choice. Mix well.

You will then pour in Borax solution just a little at a time. Continue to mix. Repeat until it is all mixed together and just one large glob. I used a butter knife to mix mine, it cleaned off in seconds.

Bounce it. Shape it. Throw it. Enjoy!

Coconut-Oatmeal Soap

Here is the coconut-oatmeal soap I made today. Its so pretty and smells amazing! I love it! I'm excited to get my gift basket all put together. My bestie is going to LOVE it :o) Its so easy to make, I bought all the stuff I needed at Hobby Lobby. I bought Shea Butter soap in bulk. Melted it down as instructed. Added my color and scent, then poured into my mold. I just used a Pyrex dish, but they sell molds at the store. I think its more unique this way. I put the oatmeal at the bottom of the dish first, then poured in the soap mixture. Let sit for about 20-30 mins and cut out. Its really easy to do, and there are so many combinations that can be done.

California Club Rolls

California Pizza Kitchen has this amazing appetizer called California Club Egg Rolls. They are so good that I usually order them as my meal. Anyway, I decided to try and make them, without a recipe... I just got finished eating them and they were just as good an not very hard at all to make.

You need:

3 Pre-cooked grilled chicken breasts

2 Avocados

1 Roma Tomato

6 Strips of bacon- cooked

1/3 A block of Monterey Jack cheese

10 Egg Roll wraps

Salt & Pepper

Garlic powder

Your going to dice the tomatoes, cut chicken into strips, half avocado and cut lengthwise. After cooking bacon, you want to dice it. We want the cheese cut into strips also. Place ingredients in in a pile. Add salt, pepper and garlic to taste. Wrap like you would normal for egg rolls. Fry in pan until golden on each side.

Service with Ranch, or Chipotle garlic ranch. Enjoy.