My Top 10 Backyard DIYs

I love the outdoors, and I love DIYs!  Not having a yard is one of the hard things about living in an apartment, but it can't stop me from building dreams of projects I want to do when we do have one!
Pinterest has become my craft/idea hording place :D It is absolutely wayyy to much fun to get on there, but it is such a danger hazard to losing a good chunk of my day on there too. 

All summer long I've been thinking of fun things I would do if I had a backyard.  I miss just sitting and being surrounded by green life all around me.  I've put together some of the ideas that I've been dreaming of to share. Maybe you will have some time and will add one of these fun DIYs to your lovely space! (If you do, please invite me over. I will even help with the DIY!haha ;-) )

So, here they are, my top 10 backyard DIY dreams (In no particular order, I just love them all).
I'm sure there will be plenty more than 10 when I actually do get a yard though ;-)
Enjoy!

DIY mosaic table

Outdoor Pizza Oven

DIY Standing Wooden Cooler

Painted Canvas Rug

Outdoor Patio Seat Cushions-Tutorial!

Tree Swings...get inspired with these fun swings!

 Horse Shoe Pit

DIY Outdoor Theater (Projector Screen)

Pretty Lighting

Adjustable Shade

Picnic Table Gutter Cooler

Nope, you didn't count wrong, there are actually 11 DIYs that you just viewed.Oops. ;-) I couldn't help but add that last gutter cooler idea. SO neat, right?

And, just because I'm on a roll, I'm going to share one more. It's a beauty, and will make you want to be right in the picture. 

Ultimate Hammock-DIY Pallet Swing Bed

Awesome! Don't you think? It makes you relax just to look at it :-)

I hope you all have a good weekend! Maybe do a DIY! If you do, please share it!

God bless!

Here is a sneak peak at a upcoming post!

Yes! It's a Big Sister photo shoot! We are excitedly awaiting a new Kennedy baby, due April 2014!
Keep a lookout for the newest baby news post & Alicia's Big Sister photo shoot!

Organizing & Cleaning Inspiration! - My Pinterest To-Do list ;-)

I love being organized. But I am one of those people that has things for almost every kind of craft or project, so being organized can be a challenge.  I have been completely organized though! I truly have! And I love looking back on those days...Everything in its place, everything pretty and organized.  I have had a hard time getting organized since I got married.  All of a sudden their is twice the amount of stuff and then baby comes along and you have all things baby to organize as well.
Well, I am still determined to get organized, and I thought I would share some things that are helping to inspire and motivate me to get it done! I've picked 4 areas that I really want to master in our apartment before I move onto other things...

#1

My Thinking Spot

 

I've been wanting to get my sewing/crafting/scheduling/planning(etc ;-) ) space organized.  I am loving everything dry erase friendly for my planning needs right now.  I used photo frames in my kitchen (dry erase markers work awesome on them) and printed out a blank month sheet and a blank sheet with 'Shopping List' on it and framed them (You can find the tutorial here ).  I am loving them! I use them every single day!
 

 #2

 Utilize My Small Spaces

 

In any home the art of using your space wisely is something to master, but I think this is especially true if you live in an apartment. I am so thankful that we have quite a few closets in our place, unfortunately, they seem to fill up way to quickly! 

Something I've noticed in almost all homes and apartments is that the space under counters and sinks is always huge and has FEW-to-NO shelves for storage.  This leads to lots of unused, wasted space, but it doesn't have to be if you know how to get creative with it! Little stand up shelves, stacked baskets, or tension rods like in the picture above free up space and help keep things organized and accessible. I am hoping to give some ideas like this a try in each bathroom and in the kitchen. Might post a picture with the finished product ;-)

 #3

Clean & Tidy Fridge

 The fridge...that small area of your home that you wish would just stay clean, because honestly, who enjoys cleaning the fridge?  I've been wanting to figure out a few ways to make it harder for the fridge to become dirty, and while I've been using a container idea like this for a while, I am planning on using more, almost like drawers, to save space and keep my fridge a little cleaner.

 #4

 Consistency With My Cleaning

 I have been terrible about doing a little cleaning here and there to cut down on the amount that needs done at once. I end up needing a big cleaning day.  

I love this cleaning schedule by tipsandpix.  It is so much more manageable to know what you are doing and on what day so that you don't become overwhelmed with everything all at once.  I will let you know how it goes!

More organizing ideas can be found on my pinterest board, Get Organized!! Make sure to check out some of my other boards for cleaning (Look at board, Handy Home Help) and other fun DIY ideas!

#Babylove

Baby date :D She couldn't take her eyes off of him. haha :D

Weekend is only one day away! Enjoy!

First Week of August, 2013 - Baking and DIYs

 I've been making cloth diapers for our little one.  I've done a little research on the different designs.  The design I decided on is a little different, but similar to the Bum Genius brand. The biggest problem I have had with cloth diapers is that they either are thin, and leak, or overly bulky, but catch most everything.  I have been playing with the design to see if I can fix the problem and find a nice medium.  Any thoughts or advice, cloth diaper mamas?

(Most diapers look a little different than the finish product I'm showing here. This one is a size S while the rest I did with the one-size fit all idea, I'm liking them a lot more. I will post some pictures when they are all finished!)

My sewing buddy, Aja.  She knows she is not supposed to be on any tables, but she likes to be close to me so she jumped up on the table and tried to hide :-) lol.

I've been wanting to try this out for a while. I've had several wooden object (I got each for $1. Some are from dollar store some are from Joann's) that I planned on painting with chalk board paint (How to make your own, here). I've had the supplies for a while, just haven't set aside the time to try it out.  This past week I decided to make it happen, and I did! I'm really happy with how they have turned out, and I can't wait to do a few more fun things for around the home :-) (some may end up on my etsy site! :D)

I made these cookies TWICE this past week because they were so good!

Use your favorite chocolate chip recipe (you can try my favorite here) and add chunks of Reeses to it. SO YUMMY!

 And something new and fun; Homemade Carnival Corndogs! They were amazing! I've never been a big fan of corndogs, but for some reason I was craving them and wanted to see if I could make some, so I gave it a shot! Mission accomplished! These were soooooo goooood. (Planning on putting together a blog on the recipe I used ;-) )

Hope Monday has been easy on you! You can smile, it's over! Have a good rest of the week! You are one day closer to the weekend! ;-)

How To Make Your Own Printables! FREE!

You've seen printables everywhere. If you have photoshop (I should say, if you have it and know how to navigate the designing aspects of photoshop) then you can make yourself pretty much whatever kind of printable and design you like.  But, if you are like me, and don't own photoshop, then you have to get creative, and you wont have quite so many options. But, you can still make yourself some fun and lovely printables, and I'm going to show you how!

I do most of my design work through a site called picmonkey. There is a lot you can do for free. If you want to get full use of all their features then you do pay a little, but it is very inexpensive.

Here are a few examples of some very simple party printables that I did in under 5 minutes (each) using the free features. 

These are fun for snack or goodie bags.

They also have some cute things to make printables for boys.

Here is how to make your very own!

First, go to www.picmonkey.com

You will see that you have two options, you can 'edit a photo', or 'create a collage'.

If you want to add text to a picture, simply go to 'Edit a Photo' and upload the picture you want to work on.  Once it is on the site you will see all of your options for editing on the left side of the screen.

THE PHOTO EDITING ICONS
Click on the first icon to crop, rotate, re-size etc.
The Second to add an effect to the whole picture.
The Third icon allows you to do detail touch-ups, like teeth whitening and removing blemishes.
The Fourth is where you add text boxes. You can add as many as you like.
The Fifth is where you get shapes, labels and graphics.
The sixth allows you to add a border or frame to your picture.
The Seventh lets you change the texture.
and the Eighth lets you create a theme.

Now, if you want to completely use their graphics and create something new, go back to the main page and lick 'Create a Collage'.

There will be a default collage setting, but you can change that by clicking on the second icon and going through their options, or, you can scroll over that default collage and click the little "x" that is inside of each photo box (in the right corner) to delete some of the areas.  In a like manner you can add more pictures by dragging a picture next to one of the existing boxes and dropping it there (it will take up half the space of the box next to it).

If you scroll over the lines in the collage you will see that you can change the size of any box to suite your needs.

Back to the icons

THE COLLAGE EDITING ICONS
So, the first one is where you download the pictures you want to use in your collage.
And the second one is where you can choose a collage style.
The Third one has an assortment of swatches that can become the background to your collage.
And the Fourth one changes the color of the background (don't have to use a swatch at all), and the shape of the photo boxes (you can round the edges).

If you want to use a plain white background, don't do a thing to the collage. Simply add your photos and go ahead to the photo editing.  Likewise, if you want just a plain white surface to edit with graphics, then simply click 'create a collage' and then go straight to photo editing (don't even worry about sizing it here unless you want a specific size they offer).

To get to the Photo Editor from the Collage:
You will notice these options at the top of the collage page.

'Open' 'Save' 'Share' 'Edit' 'Auto fill' 'Clear All'

Cick 'Edit'. This will take you from the collage section, to the photo editing section.
You will see that you have a clean white board to begin your work.  You can re-size (first icon), add text (Fourth icon), place graphics (Fifth icon), or do whatever you like from here, and when you are done, simply save it to where you want it on your computer,
and Whala! You have your very own printables (or anything else you want to use it for!)

Hope this helps some of you busy budgeting mamas!  I know it can be frustrating to either not know how to make these fun things, or not have the means to buy them! I'm budgeting too!
Hopefully this will help some of you out!
If anything doesn't make sense or you need some additional help feel free to ask in the comments!
Enjoy!

My Favorite Kitchen Seasonings!

I have an assortment of seasonings that are not the run of the mill, salt, pepper, garlic salt, etc.  Some I grew up with and others I have added over the past few years.  My husband and I love a little spicy kick in our food, as I think you will see ;-).
These are some of the seasonings I use on a regular basis.

Make sure to check out the yummy recipes at the bottom as well!
And some baby cuteness...always fun. :-)

 

I love a good seasoning.  Having some awesome seasonings that you love can make your meal planning and making SO much easier and faster! 

These are what we like.

As I said, my husband and I like it a little spicy.

I'd say at least two of these are used on a daily basis (in particular the N'Orlean's Cajun and Tony's Creole...yum, yum!)

So, on the spicy list, we have.

Franks RedHot

Weber, N'Orlean's Cajun

Stubb's Pork Spice Rub

(Stubb's BBQ is really good as well...not spicy- ;-) )

&

Tony Charcher's Creole Seasoning

Here is a closer look :-)

Yeah, I know it does take a pretty picture. As you can see it is hard to ever have a full bottle around here...it goes fairly fast. (we even add this to our pizza sometimes. SO GOOD!)

Our Favorite use for the BBQ rub is on Crock Pot Pork Shoulder. Simple,
not overwhelming, great flavor. 

 

Tony's Creole-says it is great on everything...I would have to agree, pretty much an awesome addition to any fish or meat for a little kick.

 

Spike. Such an awesome seasoning. I highly recommend this to be in every kitchen cabinet.  My favorite use has to be on chicken.  It was a regular (and as I put on the picture, family favorite) to have chicken and rice seasoned with spike growing up.  Another favorite use (especially as kids) was to melt a slice of cheese on toast and sprinkle a little spike on top.

(Give it a shot! You will thank me! ;-) )

 

This is a great seasoning for any type of pasta dish. Also terrific on fries!

 

Making a tuna salad or sandwich? Add some Mrs. Dash for some great flavor!

 (This is a Friday regular!)

 

Toronto Steak & Chicken Rub is the newest addition to our cabinet.

I used it this past weekend on a whole chicken (pictured below)...it was so good!!!!! 

My husband's immediate response after tasting the chicken "This is good, Babe! Really good!"

Here are some instagram pictures I took of a few of our meals from this past week.

 

 This chicken was pretty simple and we were very happy with the flavor!

I put half a bunch of garlic (4-5 some cloves) and one sliced apple inside, I then mixed butter, Toronto seasoning and just a little Creole and rubbed it onto the chicken underneath the skin (I also rubbed a little inside). I put a little water in the pan along with potatoes and carrots, and cooked in a 350 oven for about an hour and a half.  

This is fried flounder with green beans and corn.

I make my own batter to fry my meats and fish.  I have tried a few different things, and although the seasonings I use may vary (depending on what I'm going for),  this particular combination is great for fish, chicken or fried steak.

I use a flour mixture and an egg/milk mixture to make the yummy fried goodness.

The flour mixture most used is: flour, Cajun seasoning, Creole, garlic powder or salt (depends on how salty you want it), and sometimes a little spike (I use more spike when I am doing fried steak).

Egg mixture is just that, an egg with some milk (maybe 1c. to 1 egg).

 Have both mixtures (separately) in a big enough bowl or pan to lay flat.

Take the fish, put it in the egg and milk. Be sure it gets completely coated in it.

Then, do the same in the flour mixture. You may need to sprinkle it as you coat it in it as well.

Fry for at least 4 minutes (2 on each side-you can always test a piece, like I did, to make sure that it is enough time for it to completely cook)

 Serve with veggies and enjoy!

 

Hope you have a good week! 

Monday is over! Smile!

Easy, Framed Shopping List Tutorial!

I've been a bad blogger this past week. Working on way to many projects at once and I can't seem to finish any and take a long enough break from everything else in life to sit down and post about them.  So here is a simple DIY I did today. Pretty self explanitory, but here is a walk-through just in case! 

Have a great week!

I don't know about you, but I will think of half a dozen things to put on my shopping list while I am cooking or cleaning and will forget about them before I can find a pad and pen or my phone to write them down.  Something that worked well for me in my last apartment was to hang a picture frame in (or right outside) the kitchen with a dry erase marker and jot things down there whenever they came to mind.  

Well, I am going to be using the white picture frame I used then in my daughters room and decided to put together my new one today. Here is what I did :-)

What you need (so simple!):

1.Paper of choice to frame 

(I printed out 'Shopping List' in a fun font on some light blue card stock)

2. Picture Frame

3. Cutting Board or scissors

 

1. Choose some stationary, scrapbook paper, or print off "shopping list" on some cardstock (Like I did. Download PDF and print here), or whatever you want to put in your frame.

2. Cut down to frame size.  I usually do this by taking out the picture the frame comes with, measuring it or holding it up to what I'm framing and then cut accordingly.

3. Using everything that was already in the frame, simply place your piece in front. This will help keep it looking flat and crisp in your frame.

4. Select where you want to hang your easy to use shopping list! Then, grab a small dry erase maker and set it on top of the frame to make it quick and accessible when you want to jot down things you want to remember for your next shopping trip. 

Enjoy!

I've got lots of big projects whirling in my head that I can't wait to work on and share!

What are some things you would like to see?

DIY/Tutorial for Sewing clothing or maybe a home Craft?

What are your needs or what do you want to know how to do?

 Comment with requests and I will see if I can make them happen!

To finish off this tutorial I thought I would share something to make you smile.

Here's something for all the moms out there...:D Enjoy!