Hand-painted Wooden Name Sign [Tutorial]

My cousin-in-law did an awesome project on her blog (Mine for the making) and I wanted to try to duplicate it! I didn’t make it exactly how she made it but I attempted  it!!!!

What I did first was had my husband cut the wood to what I wanted it to be. I then painted it white. I did 2 coats on the wood:



I then took the brown paint and put it on one of the rags and smeared it all over the boards. I used the sandpaper to make it look more faded.


I then used the cricut and cut out all the letters and placed them on the boards. I used three coats of Mod Podge to make sure the letters were securely on the boards.




My husband needed to cut the wood a little bit more for me and then he hung it above our front door!
Finished product:
 
I think it came out pretty cute!!

Materials/Cost:
- wood = $4
(My husband cut it to the length that I wanted it to be. It all depends on what you are looking for.)
-white paint (free I had it)
-brown paint (free I had it)
-paint brush (free I had it)
-sandpaper (free I had it)
-Rag (i used the box of rags  which I had
-Mod Podge (free I had it)
- Black vinyl...$10 (at Michael's )
-Cricut...borrowed from friends = free

Total cost $14

Thank you again my dear cousin-in-law your ideas are fabulous!!

xo

My first bloggy award!!

My creative sister over at  Creatively Cutting Corners awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award!! Thank you!! I just started blogging  a couple months ago but only started to really get into the blogging world with my craft blog recently! I am truly enjoying it and hoping that I will learn more about the blog world as I go along!!! Thanks again my sister!!!!

Rules:
-Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.
-Share 7 things about yourself. 
-Pass the award to 15 blogs you love and enjoy!
-Let those blogs know they've been given the award.
Seven things about myself...
1. I love the color pink
2. I could live off of pasta
3. I love my new puppy Jack!
4. I just got married in March to the love of my life
5. I just got my degree in Elementary Education
6. I just started my masters in Special Education
7. My vice: Reality television
Fifteen blogs I {heart} to read...
Creatively Cutting Corners
Katie Cakes
Mine for the making
Making Home
Under the Table and Dreaming
Joy in the Little things

Craft O Maniac
Stampin’ When I Can
Infarrantly Creative
Today’s Creative Blog
The Silhouette Blog
Tatertots and jello
cheap chic home
easypeasy grandma
Made With Love And Glue

xo

Glass Jars= Candle holders!

I  love Christmas time and wanted to start on some projects a little early! I know, I know September is really early…but have I mentioned I LOVE Christmas!!!

So I was in Michaels and found these clear glass jars. I picked up three of them and walked around the store trying to figure out what I was going to do with them!

I saw this video on you tube of these woman who used alcohol ink to change the color of the jars. Check it out:


What I would suggest:
1) wear gloves…the ink stains!
2) use a plate so that the ink can run down the holder on to the plate…use newspaper…again it will stain your countertops! I had to use nail polish remover to get it off everything!!
3) I did three coats of this ink. The more you do the darker and cleaner looking it will be!
4) the ink dry's VERY quickly so take your time!
I then used one of my clear ink stamps and placed it on an ink block. I dipped it in the clear ink and placed where I wanted it. I then brushed the stamp with glitter powder and used a heat gun to dry it.

It didn’t come out exactly how I wanted it…but for my first “experiment” I think it is is pretty cute!

I would suggest putting a gold fat candle on the inside of the candle holders!

Next time I am going to write a word on each candle ex: Joy or Peace… instead of going around the candle with a certain pattern. I feel that it was hard to do this and try to make it even and neat at the same time!  I will go darker on the glitter as well!

Materials/Cost
3 glass jars: $1.99/each at Michaels
Cranberry Adirondack Alcohol ink: $10.00/for a package of 3
Glitter (already had it)
Stamps and clear ink pad (already had it)
Heat Gun: $25 (Martha Stewart)

Enjoy!

XO

Zucchini, oh Zucchini!

This year I decided since we moved into our first house to have a garden! Kevin and I found stone left over from our patio and built up a wall for the garden! I planted two different types of tomatoes from seed and basil from seed!
My dad gave me three pepper plants and two eggplant plants that he grew from seed…for my first time I did pretty good!!
 
My garden:

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I never liked zucchini when I was growing up in the Kacocha household ….but oh did I LOVE zucchini bread!! It was one of the first things me and my mom ever made together! Childhood memory: eating zucchini bread warm from the oven with a little bit of butter spread on it or my moms favorite…cream cheese!
My dad gave me the most massive zucchini from his garden! It measured at over a foot long! So I decided to make Zucchini Bread! One of my favorites! It made one small and one really big loaf! I froze the big loaf (can freeze up to 3 months) and we ate the other loaf!
 

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I also learned how to make Zucchini pancakes, something I have never had before, but REALLY enjoyed! Kevin not so much he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy!! But my family is bringing him around to trying more and more things! He actually eats a lot more now then he ever did from fish and zucchini bread to gnocchi!! He is trying to try different things so I give him an A+ for his enthusiasm and effort!!!

Here is the recipe I used:

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

3 eggs 2 zucchini, grated 1/2 c. whole wheat flour Add more flour or a little milk to make pancake consistency Stir the eggs into the grated zucchini, then mix in the flour until all the lumps are gone. Fry the batter like pancakes with a bit of butter to keep it from sticking. Delicious topped with grated cheese. These are a great finger food and make a balanced meal

---sprinkle with cheese! SO good!

Enjoy!!

xo

It is possible!!

So being a newlywed I decided I should become more “wife like” and start to cook more on the weekends for the week coming! It is hard for me to cook during the week because Kevin as you all know is a cop and works nights and I don’t get home till 6 sometimes 7 at night. So I decided to experiment on the weekend for dinners during the week that I can freeze. This weekend….”Im”possible pies!

It IS possible! I made a broccoli & chicken cheese pie (2x) and an apple pie so easy, simple and delicious!!! Kevin was my guinea pig, and for someone who is very picky with what he eats, he loved them! And we are not even  apple pie eaters and we both loved everything!

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<<<<Apple crumb pie

Today I made a cheeseburger pie….ground beef, onion, tomatoes, salt, pepper, milk, eggs and bisquick! Look below for pictures!!




Cook time: Bake 400; 25 minutes




Finished product!!


Freeze up to: 3 months

Stay tuned till next time!

xo
The busy housewife of Orange County

A Tuscan Feast!

So I decided to host an Italian dinner for my neighbors~ It started off to just be something casual and then I tried to think of ways that I could be creative without going over a budget! I wanted to make drip candle holders like you see in the Italian restaurants so I used recycled wine bottles and tapered candles sticks. I melted the the candles all over the bottles and then used a new tapered candle stick to put in the hole of the wine bottle! It came out great! I then went to Michaels and they have grape vines on sale 2 for $12! I used Tuscan colors like gold's, greens, burgundies and neutrals! I used left over corks from my wine bottles and made place cards for everyone too! Check out the pictures!

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Then Lucas and Stephanie were over and helped me by making the Stromboli! They did a great job!

I made homemade sauce and meatballs…Lucas told me that he thought it was “dood”!

All my neighbors chipped in and brought something over to keep with the Italian theme! We had antipasto, garlic bread, wine, Tiramisu, salad and so much more! It was delicious! Check out the album! We had a great time! Great time with great friends!!

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Let it snow!

Our first snow fall came yesterday! It was amazing! We put up our Christmas lights a couple of weeks ago, so between the lights and the snow it was beautiful!