Making a Pleasant Chore out of a Mundane Task

You know that dreaded day! The day you have to do the laundry/clean the house/de-hazard the fridge! I hate that day!! (and many times it's DAYS with an S). I know I am not alone in that boat. We both know we'd rather be out shopping or lazying around in our pajamas doing nothing but stuffing our faces with bon bons watching Oprah {HA!!! like that's ever going to happen, right?} Well over the past few months as I silently cursed reflected upon such dreaded chores, I came to a conclusion: Make lemonade out of lemons! Hello!! Why not turn my most dreaded chore-LAUNDRY-into something semi pleasurable (read: bearable). So I thought about all the gorgeous laundry rooms I have seen in decorating mags and blogs and set out to make mine look just like theirs. Well, let's just say it's still a work in progress :( Except today I decided to finish up the first half. I used a few things around the house. My intention was to make it as fresh and pretty as a spring day :) I d

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{Creative Ways} to Use Your Printer and Paper Bags

I love learning new ways to craft! I especially love to use things that we may have around the house. Here are some of my favorites that I will personally be using this Holiday Season and year 'round: Over at Colleen's Corner she has SO many cool ideas and I think this is about the best one! {at least for me} The posibilites are endless. Check out her tutorial here >>> Printing on Fabric And Beth over at It is what it is has posted a "how-to" print on paper lunch sacks! Pure Genius! Go there to see it- Halloween Lunch Bags And here's something I'll be working on with the little guy this week. Paper Bag luminaries! Crafts by Amanda How about you? I'd love to see any fun and easy crafts you've done on the printer or by using simple household items. Email them to me with your link to Salmar70@gmail.com Happy Crafting :)

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Halloween {Hallow's Eve Fun } Mantle Decorations

Tonight my little guy and I decided to make our annual Halloween decorations. But this year besides our usual Jack-O-Lantern carving and pumpkin seed roasting, we decided to decorate our mantle as well. I wanted to use only things that I already had around the house. I started several weeks ago by getting some branches off our willow tree. I forgot left them outside to dry a bit and then I simply spray painted them with black paint. I used the same Rustoleum Black Hammered paint I  had left over from the patio table project I'd done over the summer. I then took my new favorite metal bucket that I found at this cool, little, downtown antique shop (which I blogged about here. )  I also found the three medicine bottles during that bargain shopping excursion. I decided to make some spooky labels and remembered that I had seen some pre-made! Yippee for me! All I did was resize them to fit my bottles. It would have been so much easier, I think, if I had printed them on label pap

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Mini Apple Empanadas {Bites}

I love the smell of apples baking in the oven. And I love to sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar...wait-apple empanadas is what I am craving. So tonight I decided to make my favorite apple empanadas except to make them bite sized :) I simply followed my original recipe posted here  but instead of using my Tupperware empanada maker, I simply used a cookie cutter. I then filled it with about 1/4 teaspoon of the apple filling and brushed egg all the way around on both sides of the "bites". Make sure you don't overfill because it will seep out. Take care to pinch it closed and brush with the egg so it will bake closed. Also, if your apples are too juicy and the filling too watery, strain it. Bake for 10 mins. and enjoy :)                                                        Yummy goodness :) Two pie crusts yield about 36 mini empanadas. If you'd like to win your very own Tupperware empanada maker look at the post below this one. You can win one and a Betty C

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{A baking} Giveaway!

                                             **CLOSED** Since it's the beginning of the fall season and with that we all feel like getting crafty and bakey (is that a word?) I am feeling generous and so will be hosting a giveaway. I love to bake. I especially like to bake apple empanadas. I am even more delighted that my apple empanadas have been so well received and I have people ask for them all the time. I posted the recipe here.  Soooo I have decided to giveaway a brand new Tupperware empanada maker! This little gadget is wonderful for making empanadas, apple fritters or turnovers. It's basically non-stick and so easy to use. I am also including a brand new Betty Crocker cookbook featuring the cake pops I'll discuss below. It is filled with great recipes that tear off to get you started with baking. And to top it all off I am also including a BLT dip mix from Celebrating Home to the package giveaway. This delicious mix will be a hit at your next football watching pa

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How to Make Pretty Halloween Cookies

You know I've always wondered how people, just ordinary people, not professional bakers, make their cookies look so pretty. Mine always seem to come out misshapen and the icing all cakey and gross. I never seem to hold the gel frosting pen just right to draw the lines on the cookie. Well after some research I went on my quest to make "pretty" cookies. And boy did I find out some neat tricks. So this post is for those people like myself who will go "Woah! I didn't know they made edible ink!!"That's right, folks, edible ink! As in some of it goes into cartridges and you can print things out on cakes! I always wondered how they make those photo cakes in the stores. So here's my little tutorial: First you'll need some Halloween cookie cutters  A couple of "logs" of sugar cookie dough in the refrigerated section of the store Parchment paper, rolling pin Non-stick surface to roll dough ( I use my Pampered Chef baking stone since it's

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