DIY Cooking at Home

Hey, hey, how was your holiday weekend? I know. It's Tuesday. I just had to have a day to recoup from our big Fourth of July party this year so I cleaned the house and took a break from blogging yesterday. I'm here today, though, to show you how easy it is to make these concrete leaf stepping stones. I was inspired by ones I found on Pinterest and featured in my roundup of DIY Concrete Projects . Although I couldn't find step by step directions, I figured it wouldn't be too hard, so I gave it go, and now I know...there's no need for step-by-step directions. It's so easy! My whole family got in on this project one rainy Sunday in the garage and it was a lot of fun. Concrete Leaf Stepping Stones Nap Rating = 1 nap (not including cure time) Tools and Materials Large leaves (ours were about the size of dinner plates) 2-3 bags of Quikcrete (we used 3 bags to make 7 stones) 5 gallon bucket Paint stirrer Large pieces of cardboard Trowel or handheld garden spa...

Hey there! So right off the bat, I'm gonna tell you I cheated a little with this Anthropologie knockoff project because I already had the glass globe planted with a succulent. So for this project, all I had to buy was a small bag of Quickcrete. However, I priced the globes online and you can pick them up for around $7 or $8, and the rocks are only $1 at the dollar store, so you're still saving a ton of money by making your own planetarium terrarium, and it looks just like Anthropologie's , which have the nerve of selling for $58 without the plant! (I love their style, just not their prices.) Here's the how-to: Anthropologie Planetarium Terrarium Knockoff Nap Rating = 1 nap (not including the time it takes for the concrete to set) Tools and Materials 1 small bag of Quickcrete Plastic bucket Paint stirrer Garden hand spade 1 large empty oatmeal container 1 small empty oatmeal container 7" glass globe Small amount of potting soil Decorative pebbles 1 air plant or...

Hi there! Our family went to see Inside Out at the drive-in movie theater last weekend and it was so fun! Ok, there were a few hassles: it rained, so we all had to pile into our Subaru (cozy!) and we spilled snacks (more than once). But other than that, we had a great time. The next day, I made these snack trays out of cereal boxes to help with spillage the next time. Here are the instructions for how to make cardboard snack trays for the kiddos. I'm betting these things will be a lifesaver. It's really hard to keep track of everyone's drinks and avoid spills during a foray to the drive-in, so these should definitely help. Cereal Box Snack Trays Nap Rating = 1 nap Tools and Materials Empty cereal box Duct tape Scissors Ruler Red Sharpie Utility knife Paper lunch bag Chalkboard labels (optional) Steps Cover the cereal box with strips of duct tape. I wanted ours to resemble red and white striped popcorn containers, so I used white duct tape, but you could pick out ...

Hi there! I'm really excited to be a part of Sugar Bee Craft's Red, White and Blue series! Check out a ton of inspiring ideas for July 4th over on Sugar Bee Crafts ! Today I'm showing you how to customize votive candles to dress up your patriotic table with a vintage vibe. Handkerchief-Covered Votives Nap Rating = 1 nap Tools & Materials Glass votive candle holders with smooth sides Vintage handkerchiefs (I used ones in red, white and blue for this holiday project, but you could use any you like. I also mixed in some votives I made with denim-blue origami paper) Flatbed scanner / color printer Pencil Outdoor Mod-Podge Foam brush Scissors Steps Make a pattern of your votive candle by placing it on a sheet of plain paper and rolling it while you trace both the top and bottom edge. Cut the pattern out. Iron your handkerchief(s) to get rid of fold marks Place your handkerchief on a flatbed scanner, right-side down and scan the cloth. Print out the scanned image. Ligh...

Guys, you don't even know. These shelves have been in a state of half-done-ness for oh, I dunno...maybe a year?? I'm so excited to finally be able to take pictures of them for you. First off, I do want to admit that I wasn't positive I'd love the function of open shelving but I loved the look enough to go ahead with it anyway. I'm so happy to report that I love every aspect of them! That being said, I only have stuff on them that we use literally every day, so things are getting washed constantly and don't have a chance to collect dust. I think I'd feel differently about our open shelves if they were styled for looks, not practicality. Secondly, I learned a couple of things about how to make them look nice. I think it's important to stick with a color palette. Stacks of white plates look best, in my opinion, with pops of color on other things like mixing bowls or glasses. It's a good idea to repeat colors on the shelves. For instance, I ha...

Hi there! Hope you had a great weekend! So if you follow me on Facebook, then you might have seen that our youngest broke her arm about a week ago. What a way to start the summer! We had big plans. Now I'm kinda scrambling to figure out how to help her have a great summer anyway. Doctor's orders are for her to keep 2 feet on the ground, meaning no swings, scooters, slides...sigh. She can swim (it's a waterproof cast) but only in chlorinated pools and only if it's just light splashing around. In her words, "all the boring stuff." So, I've been brainstorming for ways to fill our hours. If you have a child with a broken arm this summer, maybe you'll find it useful! Take a hike (a light one) and collect nature specimens. Look for wildflowers and press them in a book when you get home. Use the pressed wildflowers to make notecards, bookmarks or a suncatcher . Pack a picnic and go outside to eat. Can't do a playground? Go to a river or la...

Hey, good morning! Just jumping on quick today to let you know about a resource I put together for you on where to buy cheap curtains . You may be surprised at a couple of the sources! Check out my About.com article on where to shop for all of these affordable curtains . Still don't want to buy something "off the rack?" Check out these other posts: Clever Curtain Tie-Backs Low-Sew Curtain Ideas Curtain Rod Hacks Between all of these sources, I've got you "covered"! :) Until next time...