Valentine's Day Shadow Box

My daughter made this for her husband this year for Valentine's Day....so he hasn't received it yet. She showed it to me and I thought it was so clever, I wanted to blog about it. It's inexpensive, quick, VERY personal and it also lasts all year long!!

Items needed:

~ 9x11" Shadow box

~  Scrapbook Paper of your choice

Directions:

(1) After opening shadow box and removing background piece, cut paper to size for the background. Before attaching anything permanently, fool around with the papers and embellishments to make sure you're satisfied with the final product. Decide on the size and color of the paper for the 'I love you because" banner when arranging the other items...just to make sure you love it!! You want to make sure this is the first thing your eye is drawn to when looking at the box.

My daughter used paper that looks like a love letter directly behind the banner (left), and also matted it on the red paper to make it stand out. (Good idea)  The birds (bottom right) were cut from another paper and placed in front of the striped background paper.

If you're planning to add embellishments at the front of the box (like the butterfly, top right, and the card with birds, bottom left) prepare those at this time also, rearranging everything until it looks the way you'd like.

(2) Attach all papers and embellishments. Slide the close-up embellishments between the glass and the inside lip of the frame. (They end up looking as if you slid them into the frame edge, but they are actually inside the glass where they can't be moved.) Close up box.

(3) Using an erasable-on-glass marker (Sharpie was used here. It comes off with Windex), write across the front of the glass the first "I love you because" reason... Of course, as seen in the photo, my daughter wrote "You buy me flowers". (He does buy her flowers all the time...) The beauty of this gift is that it can be erased monthly, weekly or even daily, however often you'd like, and a new 'reason' can be written..."You're a great  Daddy", "You're a hard worker", ""You pick up your own socks!"...or funny stuff that you DO appreciate: "You don't make weird noises when we have company" or "You don't lift up your shirt & scratch your belly in public"....and on and on. Have fun with this one & have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

This picture shows how the 'reason' is written across the front of the glass,
making it possible to change as frequently as desired.

Sweet....

Homemade Foam Soap

What a quick & easy $$$ saver!!

This is so easy and quick and will save you lots of $$$$!

What you'll need:

(1) 1 new or used foam soap container (I purchased mine full of soap, used the soap, then made more!)

(2) Any liquid soap/body wash/dish soap/ baby wash, etc without moisturizers or lotions. (If you can't see through the soap, it won't work well in the pump.)

*Optional (3) Another cool option is to simply purchase clear liquid soap refill containers and add a small amount of food coloring to make the soap match the room it will go into!

STEP 1: Clean out used container.

STEP 2: Add: 2 tablespoons liquid soap of your choice & 2/3 cups water. If you're adding coloring, do it now. Just a few drops at a time.

STEP 3: Put the lid back on and gently agitate, mixing the soap with the water without creating lots of bubbles.... DON'T SHAKE!!! Or you can just use a straw or chopstick to gently mix,.. even a butter knife will work.

That's it! Enjoy your super cheap and highly color-coordinated homemade foam hand-soap! (Whew...tongue twister!)

Photo Tile Coasters



Quick & easy project to give as gifts or keep for your own~

I know this idea has been around for a while, but it's my first time to try it out. My son and his wife gave us our first grand-daughter this past fall. They had also just purchased their first home. I thought it would be ideal to make them a set of tile coasters with pics of their beautiful baby girl.... to protect their new furniture. They were planning to go with black & white for a majority of the living space, with a few different shades of pale greens for a bit of color. I thought the black & white photos would look great!

Supplies:

A set of 4"x 4" white ceramic tiles.

Black & white photos cut to fit on tiles

Mod Podge, Hard Coat

Sponge paintbrush

Felt or cork to protect the bottom

STEP 1: Make sure your tiles are free of dirt or any oils. Using Mod Podge, apply the photos to the tiles, according to manufacturers instructions, being careful to center them on the tiles. Allow to dry overnight.

STEP 2: For my tiles, I was going with the black and white theme so just carried that over by painting a black line around the outside edges of each of the tiles. Once dry, I sprayed 2-3 coats of an acrylic sealer. Allow to dry between coats.

STEP 3: Hot glue a matching square of felt or cork to the bottom of each tile to protect your furniture from any possible scratches the tile might make. I chose a felt bottom.

I used some felt that went with my black and white theme...

...then I just hot-glued the felt to the underside of each tile...

Lastly, I painted the date each photo was taken on its' edge,
just because I know I'll never remember!

For another tile coaster idea using napkins, click here.

Belly-Busting Berry Smoothie

Delicious & cheap: Belly-Busting Berry Smoothie

Everyone already seems to be aware of the health benefits involved in consuming fresh fruit or fresh vegetable smoothies. So I'm not writing this to try to convince anyone, just to pass on a truly healthy & great-tasting recipe.

I'm sorry to say, I can't take the credit for the recipe, it's in the book, "the Abs Diet for Women", by David Zinczenko. It's an awesome book, and I suggest you buy the book since it's loaded with many, many more delicious recipes! Recipes for lots more smoothies, breakfast meal ideas,  lunch & dinner ideas, recipes, and snacks! If you follow the 'diet' as detailed in the book, I would say without hesitation that you will most definitely lose weight but you WILL NOT FEEL HUNGRY!! It's incredible! Don't forget another added bonus: making smoothies at home will also save you lots of $$$$$!

Anyway, back to the recipe.

Yes! That's real ice cream!

 Ingredients:

1 scoop low-fat vanilla ice cream (Pretty awesome, right!?)
1/4 cup each frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries (I get mine from 'Schwans Home Delivery' or Costco)
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1 Tbl vanilla whey protein powder
3 ice cubes


Just dump the ingredients into your blender & blend until smooth. In less than 3 minutes you'll have a delicious & healthy meal supplement or snack! For extra volume, the book says just to add more ice.

Quick & easy... and good for you, too!

Makes 1- 8 ounce serving

Per Serving: Calories: 251;  Protein: 15 g;  Carbs: 38 g:  Total fat: 4 g;  Saturated fat: 2 g;  Sodium: 116 mg;  Fiber: 4g

Homemade Waxing Supplies

For under $10.00 you can purchase enough
 supplies to last quite a long time.

Waxing at home is simple & inexpensive if you have the right equipment. Once you've got your Homemade Sugar Waxing Recipe made, you'll need just a few more items to make this a relaxing & effortless experience.

This is a basic list with no details on size or brand. I purchased the jumbo craft sticks (Above, left) at the craft store along with the popsicle sticks. (Center) The sticks on the far right are wooden coffee stirrers. You can buy these by the hundreds, if desired. The fabric is just plain muslin, purchased at the fabric store. One yard will go a LONG way! Make sure you've washed & dried the fabric once you get it home, as some fabrics have a residue on them which resembles Scotch Guard. (This inhibits the absorption you'll need from the fabric.) My small strip was cut straight, while most purchased muslin strips have an edge that resembles small teeth, which can be achieved with some pinking shears.

Now of course, you can go ahead and purchase any of these items from the beauty supply store, if desired.

Wooden sticks

Cornstarch

Muslin strips

Mild Cleanser

Baby Oil

Aloe Vera or similar product to soothe & cool

STEP 1: Use the mild cleanser first to clean the area of dirt & oils.

STEP 2: Dust a light coating of cornstarch over the area. This will help absorb any remaining oil your skin has produced, causing the wax to adhere solely to the hair, not your skin! (This really helps with the ouch! factor when the strip is pulled off.)

STEP 3: Apply warmed wax to the area with the wooden applicator of your choice. Apply the wax in the direction that the hair grows. Don't apply wax to an area any larger than your muslin strip!

STEP 4: Apply muslin strip, rubbing over the area to insure it adheres to the wax sufficiently.

STEP 5: Quickly remove muslin strip in the opposite direction of hair growth. (Rip it off! FAST!!) Repeat as necessary.

STEP 6: Once the area is free of hair, use the baby oil to remove any wax residue.

STEP 7: Use your mild cleanser once again to wash off the baby oil.

STEP 8: Apply Aloe Vera to any areas that require soothing/cooling. A cool rag works well if you have no Aloe Vera.

Homemade Fabric Softener

One recipe fills these two containers perfectly!

I usually try to stick with recipes that are completely homemade, but this is one exception. I've tried other fabric softener recipes and I just prefer this one. It isn't made from all-natural ingredients or from organic food-stuffs,... but it IS cheap! Much cheaper per ounce than what I'd purchase at the store. So until I get something better, I'm going to stick with cheap!

6 cups HOT water (If using baking soda, use 4 cups water)

2 cups hair conditioner (OR 2 cups baking soda)

3 cups white vinegar

STEP 1: Combine the HOT water with the hair conditioner. Stir gently until conditioner is fully incorporated into the water.

STEP 2: Add in the vinegar. Mix well.

STEP 3: Store in a container with a lid. (An old fabric softener jug works great, obviously! There will be no need to label what's in it or mark the jug with usage instructions.... & the family doesn't seem to question the contents when doing their own laundry!)

This bottle of hair conditioner makes one recipe, with plenty left-over.

*Want to try to make some homemade laundry soap, also? Check out this recipe!

Tile Coasters

These tile coasters make a great gift idea, too!

These are so easy, you could even do this as a children's craft! Yet, with a little finesse, they can look like very classy additions to the most sophisticated decor....and...you guessed it!...it's CHEAP!!!!!

STEP 1: Purchase 4 or more 4 inch ceramic tiles from your local hardware store. (Mine were purchased at Home Depot for .16 cents each!!!) I used plain white to start out, but use any color that catches your eye.

STEP 2: Choose your motif and purchase your item accordingly. For instance, I saw these cute beverage napkins with four cupcakes on each napkin. So I figured I could use these by cutting out the cupcake on each, and using the cupcake as my motif for this first set. I also figured this was a good investment because if it didn't work, I was only out a few bucks. But if it does work, these would be so cute!

TIP: You can use just about any paper item to make these...gift wrapping tissue, or regular gift wrap, cute napkins (which I did), gift bag design, any scrapbooking paper, etc.

STEP 3: Cut out your motif carefully. Just remember that any extra paper around the outside of the design will show up once the tile is dry. For mine, I chose to leave the motif along with its bottom pink border.

Here is shown a motif cut directly around its border.

Here is shown a motif cut with the entire panel along with it.

STEP 4: Make sure your tiles are free of dirt or any oils. Using Mod Podge, apply the cut-out motifs to the tiles, according to manufacturers instructions, being careful to center them on the tiles. Allow to dry overnight.

STEP 5: For my tiles, I went with the pink bottom border that was on the napkins and just carried that over by painting a matching pink line around the outside edges of each of the tiles. Once dry, I sprayed 2-3 coats of an acrylic sealer. Allow to dry between coats.

STEP 6: Hot glue a matching square of felt to the bottom of each tile to protect your furniture from any possible scratches the tile might make. I chose a soft pink that matched the pink bottom border.