DIY Cooking at Home

I've been bit by the Instagram craze! Hey, I'm not a photographer but this thing makes me look like one. Between my new iPad and now Instagram , I'm a discombobulated mess trying to figure out how to fit this technology into my already busy life. It's a really good thing I don't have a new camera yet or I'd really be a wreck. For now, Instagram will do the job just fine. Anyway, I was inspired by the stenciled window shade I featured earlier this week. I've been thinking the window in our entryway needed a little something, so I decided to hang an actual birdcage there instead of stenciling one on the shade. Then I put a plant in it because that window gets a lot of natural light. I love it! It's just what that space needed. Actually, several hanging in a group would be really cute, too, but I didn't want the space to look too crowded. Here are some more pictures of birdcage decor to inspire you.  

How cute is this idea from Country Living ? What a great idea for a window you don't want to cover with a busy window treatment! I personally think the bird cage is perfection, but you could certainly choose something else suited to your own tastes. Oh the power of paint!

Hey all...thanks for all of your support lately! My post on wallpaper has received a lot of attention (thanks to Better After ) and several of you left such sweet comments. Muchas gracias! Have you all heard of The Graphics Fairy ? It's an amazing site full of free clip art and project inspiration. I made this little picture for our entryway shelf by super-imposing a bike silhouette from Graphics Fairy onto a .jpg of an ikat print I found using Google Images . Then I just popped it in a floating frame. I like it a lot...and it was so inexpensive and easy to do. DIY Bicycle Art Nap Rating = less than 1 Materials Computer with image-editing software (I used Picasa ) Color printer (or just take it to a kiosk) Floating frame Steps Search a site that has free clip art (like Graphics Fairy ) Once you locate an image you want to use, right click it and save it to your computer. Silhouettes work best if you plan to use superimposing. Search a site that has free clip art or ju...

Oh for the love of Sharpies! I was inspired to write this post after seeing the awesome monogrammed pillow below on Simple Details. So pretty, and like her blog says...so simple! Here are a few more things you can make with your trusty Sharpie: Stenciled Pillows Wit & Whistle Cellar Door Stories Live Love DIY DIY Lampshades Young Wifey A Little Glass Box Inspired Furniture Fashion an old table into a vintage-looking crate like this one from Curbside Collector. Table Decor Don't have placemats? No problem! Draw your own like Kim did on Today's Creative Blog. Or make your own tablecloth inspired by subway art like this one on Blue Cricket Design . Wall Art If you really want to get crazy, draw on your walls with Sharpies to create cool murals and faux wallpaper. Are you brave enough to do this ? Or this ? How about this ? Probably this... Blue Cricket Design. Inspired yet?

You may have seen a pin or two on Pinterest illustrating the "marble in the muffin tin trick" to making heart-shaped cupcakes last Valentine's Day. Welllll...we tried it. And here's what I have to say about that: a picture is sometimes NOT worth a thousand words. So here's a word to the wise for all you Pinterest junkies out there. If you want to try something, take 2 minutes to follow the pin to its source in order to get full instructions. But in this case, it seemed pretty self-explanatory. Stick a marble between the cupcake liner and muffin tin, and voila! Heart-shaped cupcakes to delight the youngsters! I didn't have marbles so we balled up tin foil instead. Then I filled the cups too full so that when they baked, the heart shape was totally lost. I didn't even take a picture because why bother staging the photo and worrying over lighting for a total flop? (Afterwards, I Googled the idea again and came across this site that gave some helpful...

I thawed some ground beef for burgs on the grill tonight but what to have for a side? My inner dialogue went something like this: "Hmmm...(fridge opening and shutting about 3 times)...sick of frozen veggies...(opening pantry about 6 times)...what to have, what to have? Do I have any potatoes to roast? Shoot, they're all sprouting and wrinkly. I could peel them for mashed potatoes. Nah, not with hamburgers. Oh yeah! Scalloped potatoes! And I even have some leftover bacon!" This is one of those "recipes" handed down in our family that's really never been written out, but we all just know how to make it. Do you have any of those? You kinda take them for granted and think to yourself that everyone knows how to make XYZ...but then again...maybe not. So that's why I'm sharing it with you. Please forgive the in-exact measurements and instructions. That's just how I roll for ol' hand-me-downs. Measuring everything out in exact quantiti...

Ok guys you'll have to bear with me over the next couple of weeks. My sweet, supportive husband wowed me with an iPad for Mother's Day, so I'm spending quite a bit of time fumbling around with it and trying to become more mobile with the goal of being able to post from anywhere! In the meantime, I may not be posting as often. I'm not the quickest learner when it comes to this stuff so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you! Is there a class for this kind of stuff?? Anyway, here's a quickie craft idea for you from Organize and Decorate Everything . Cute for a nursery or little girls' room, I think. Speaking of which, we recently moved our youngest from a crib to a toddler bed so I'm having fun dreaming up ideas for making her room more "big girl-ish" like we did with our oldest's . Probably a couple of posts regarding that in the coming weeks... Happy Monday!