How to Turn a Plastic Pumpkin Into Something New

I cannot tell you how excited I am that fall is here.  My husband has a rule that Halloween decorations cannot go up until October 1st.  You better believe the morning October 1 hit I was out setting up all my fall decorations the moment I woke up.  After all my decor was set up I felt like a few things were missing.  After searching online I came across a blog http://www.whitelightsonwednesday.com/2013/10/plastic-pumpkin-bucket-makeover/ where a lady turned a plastic pumpkin into a trendy burlap pumpkin and I couldn't wait to try it.  This decorative pumpkin was cheap to make, fun to create & turned out amazing.  Here is how to create it.

Products Needed:

• Plastic Pumpkin
• White Spray Paint
• Newspapers or Plastic Bags for Stuffing
• Duct Tape
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun
• Burlap

How to Make the Pumpkin:

Step1:  Take your pumpkin and stuff it with newspapers, plastic bags, etc.  Stuff it until it is completely full, then take your duct tape, tape the hole on top of the pumpkin completely so that it is covered and no stuffing can come out.

Step 2:  Use your White spray paint and spray your entire pumpkin so that it is completely white.  Let your pumpkin dry at least 12-24 hours before moving onto the next step.  You don’t want to place your burlap on wetpaint.

Step 3.  Attach some kind of stick to the top of your pumpkin.  I used hot glue to attach mine to the top.

Step 4:  Now it’s time to wrap your pumpkin with burlap.  I used 2” burlap ribbon but you can also cut a burlap fabric bolt into ribbon.  Measure your pumpkin from the very top to the very bottom and cut your ribbon into a handful of pieces that size.  Then take each strand of burlap and glue it onto your pumpkin starting at the top and working your way down just like the picture above.

Continue that step all the way around your pumpkin until it is completely covered in burlap.

Step 5.  The top of your pumpkin where all the burlap comes together will be a little rugged.  You can use some twine or jute cord to wrap around the very top of your stem until all your rugged ends of burlap are covered.

Step 6:  Add embellishments.

Step 7:  Enjoy!

This pumpkin really is so simple to make and can be a lot of fun.  I created 3 of these pumpkins to add to the decor in my home.

Creating with Simple Stories Scrapbook Supplies

Simple Stories scrapbooking accessories are seriously the best!  There are so many great things you can do with them.  I’ve recently been putting together a scrapbook for Steele and love how easy their products from http://www.craftdirect.com/simple-stories.html are to use.  It’s like they created their products with me, Amy Mower the novice scrapbooker in mind.  Since I’ve started using their products I’ve found myself finding more time to scrapbook & love what they have helped me create.  

Today I thought it would be fun to share with you some tips on how to get started making a scrapbook with Simple Stories products.  I’m hoping that these tips will help you to start documenting your lifes most important events.

Simple Story Journaling Cards

I cannot say enough about the Simple Story Journaling Cards.  They seriously make it so easy to write down important events the moment they happen.  From the day Steele was born until now I have kept a pile of these cards on my nightstand.  Each night as I go to bed I write down important events that happened that day, cute things Steele did & learned or my experience so far as being a mom.  

Steele just recently turned one and it was so fun to go back through all the Journaling Cards I had created and read them.  There were so many things I had forgotten.  The Journaling Cards made it easy to keep record of these events.

Simple Story Insta Pockets

The Simple Story Insta Pockets are seriously designed to make scrapbooking easier.  Their line of Journaling Cards are made to easily slip into their Pocket Pages without any fuss.  This takes time out of cutting, gluing & even slicing.  All you have to do is slip your Journaling Cards right in.

Since I had previously wrote on my journaling cards throughout the year when the time came to put my scrapbook together all I had to do was slide my corresponding pictures in with the Journaling Cards I had created.  It was seriously just that easy.  Something you could definitely do while watching TV relaxing at night.

Simple Story Binders

The Simple Story Binders are made to make your life easier.  Each of their Pocket Pages fit perfectly into their binders without any problems.  Not only are they easy to use, but totally trendy.  Their Chevron Print pocket pages are seriously so cute.  When they came out with that line I went and bought a handful of them.  You will love all the options there are to choose from with Simple Story Binders.

Using Simple Stories to help you with your scrapbooking is one of the best ideas ever!  I’m totally not a scrapbooker at all and feel like I can finally do it thanks to them.

Documenting your history is so very important to pass on to your loved ones after you have gone.  A scrapbook is a great way to do this.  Follow my simple tips above to help you create a great scrapbook with the help of Simple Stories.

Delicious Pumpkin Pie Squares

It’s been a while since I have blogged.  I started school this last semester and life has gone from a little crazy to totally crazy in a matter of weeks.  With fall approaching I thought it would be fun to share with you my very favorite pumpkin dessert.  It’s my go to whenever I need to bring a yummy treat to a party during the fall time.  It’s always a hit & I’m constantly getting asked to share the recipe.  Because of this I thought it would be fun to share it with you today.  

Ingredients:

• 1 Small Can of Pumpkin
• 3 Eggs
• 1 Can of Evaporated Milk
• ½ TSP Cinnamon
• ½ TSP Cloves
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 Cube Margarine
• ½ TSP Salt
• ½ TSP Nutmeg
• 4 TSP Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 Yellow Cake Mix

To Make:

Mix your can of Pumpkin, Eggs, Milks, Salt, Spices and Sugar all together.  Beat until it is nice and smooth.  Once you have everything completely mixed pour ingredients into a greased pan & set aside.  In a new bowl mix cake mix & nuts.  Once it’s mixed together sprinkle the cake mix mixture on top of the cake batter that is in the pan.  Melt butter and drizzle over the top of the cake.  Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.  Cool & refrigerate.  Once your dessert is nice and chilled it’s ready to serve.  Top with cool whip & share with your friends and family.

Once you discover just how amazing this simple dessert is you will find yourself craving it on a regular basis.  I seriously look forward to this time of year every year just to make myself some delicious Pumpkin Pie Squares.

For more great pumpkin recipes check out http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=pumpkin

How to Make a Ric Rac Flower Bow

I cannot get enough of Ric Rac ribbon.  It’s seriously the best!! Recently a friend needed some flower bows for some upcoming family pictures.  We got together and decided to try making our own Ric Rac flower bows instead of buying some.  I absolutely love how they turned out and can not wait until I have a little girl to use them.  The process to make these flowers is very easy and can actually be done in very little time.

Products Needed:

• Ric Rac Ribbon(I've found that http://www.craftdirect.com/embellishments/ribbons.html
   has the best deal on Ric Rac ribbon.)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hair Clips
• Felt
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine
• Clothespin

Step 1:   For every 2” flower you want to make, cut a 40” long piece of ric rac.  You will then fold this piece of ric rac in half and start weaving the two pieces together.  Continue to weave the pieces together all the way until you reach the very end.  This should leave you with a 20” long piece of weaved ric rac.

Step 2:  To hold your weaved ric rac in place you will need to sew a straight stitch down the middle. Take your ric rac, place it in your sewing machine & sew.  If you don’t have a sewing machine for this step you can also glue the pieces together so that they won’t come loose.

Step 3:  In this step you will need to begin making the flower.  Take one of the ends of your freshly sewn strip of ric rac.  Wrap the strip around the end of the ric rac.  Continue to wrap around and around.  As you are wrapping be sure to add some hot glue so that your flower will stay stuck in place.  Wrap until you have a complete 2” circle or flower made.  

Step 4:  Once you get to the end of your ric rac strip and have a complete flower you will need to finish off your work.  Take a 1 ½ inch circle of felt and glue the it underneath your felt flower to hold the pieces in place.

Step 5:  Use your glue gun to attach a hair clip to the back of your newly made felt flower.  Don’t use too much glue for this part as this piece needs to be attached to your hair.  To be safe just use a tiny pinch of glue for each hair clip you attach.

Step 6:  Place in your hair & enjoy!!

These flowers are seriously so easy to make and don’t take much time at all.  I can’t wait until I have a little girl to put all the different bows I have made on.  Until that day I have used these flowers in my home decor, on cards & even on gifts.  They are very versatile.  By following my simple steps above you can make some felt flowers like a pro as quickly and easily as possible.

DIY Fall Pumpkins

Fall is seriously my favorite time of year.  I love everything about it, the smells, the colored leaves & even the decorating styles.  There are so many great things about the fall time.  

Every year at the first of September I put up my fall home decor.  With September only being a few weeks away I decided to find some new fall crafts for my family room.  Here is just one of my favorite projects that I found.

Items Needed:

• Pumpkins
• Spray Paint
• Duck Tape
• Stencils

I have seen so many decorative pumpkins on individuals front porches & in their homes but never knew how to make them.  After reading a bunch of blog posts I discovered the easiest way to make these pumpkins.

First,  you will need to decide on a design you want to do.  I wanted painted chevron prints on one of my pumpkins and polka dots on the other.

Next, use your tape or stencil to help you with your design.  I attached tape all the way around my pumpkin so that it had chevron prints made of tape all the way around it.  I used a stencil for my polka dot pumpkin.

Once my stencil & tape were attached I spray painted the pumpkins with my paint.  I let them dry & applied another coat.

After my pumpkins were dry I added embellishments & ribbon and placed them on my front porch.  I totally loved how they turned out.  I can’t wait to make some more to add to my home decor.

Making your own decorative pumpkins is super easy & can be a lot of fun.  You can use real or fake pumpkins whatever you prefer.  

Follow my simple tutorial above to add some fun pumpkin decorations to your home for the upcoming holiday season!!

You can find some more fun pumpkin craft ideas at http://madeinaday.com/2011/09/26/faux-pumpkin-topiary/!!

How to Update Your Kitchen Aid Mixer

Many years ago I was given a red Kitchen Aid mixer when I got married.  At the time I was obsessed with red and everything in my house was decorated with it.   Even my wedding colors were red.  Now today I am sick of red and ready to change the colors in my home to something new.  However, my Kitchen Aid mixer sits on my counter in the kitchen for all to see.   Changing the colors in the kitchen had me worried that I would need to purchase a new Kitchen Aid all together that would match.  After a lot of research I found that you can actually update a Kitchen Aid very inexpensively while giving it a professional look.  Here is the process.

Step 1:  Clean Your Mixer

This is a very important step.  This will get all the dust and grime off of it which has built up over the years.   Use a toothpick to get the food crumbs out of the cracks which have been building up.  This step will also make it easier for your paint to stick on when you apply it.

Step 2:  Cover Up Parts Which Don't Need Painting

Use painters tape to cover all the silver parts on the mixer which don't need painting.  If there are parts which can be removed try and take them off.  Just remember how you removed them so you can put them back exactly the same way.

Step 3:  Paint Your Kitchen Aid

For this step I like to use a extremely glossy paint.  I chose RUST-OLEM appliance spray paint.  You can pretty much find this is any store that carries spray paint, but for sure in the hardware store. Evenly apply your first layer of paint.  Let it dry completely before adding another layer.  Once your Kitchen Aid is done let it dry 24 hours before moving onto the next step.

Step 4:  Remove Tape and Put Parts Back Together

Once you have let your mixer dry for at least 24 hours you can peel off the painters tape and see how your paint job turned out.   Place any parts you removed back where they go and put your Kitchen Aid back together.

Step 4:  Add a Vinyl Design

This part was a lot of fun.  I used some Vinyl paper I had from http://www.craftdirect.com/cgull.html.  I placed it in my Cricut machine to create a damask design to go on my Kitchen Aid.  I love how it turned out.  The damask design really gave it a unique look that matched perfectly with the color.

I never realized just how much fun updating a Kitchen Aid could actually be.  It was fun to pick out a color and design that I knew would go perfectly with the new colors in my home.  If you are sick of your old boring Kitchen Aid color try giving it a little spark with my tips above.  It's not only a fun process, but it makes you feel like you have a whole new mixer.

The Very Best Zucchini Brownie Recipe Ever

As this time of year approaches I always find myself with large amounts of zucchini in my garden.  I love to cook with zucchini and am always looking for new recipes to try with it.  One of my very favorite recipes is chocolate zucchini brownies.  They are seriously one of my favorite desserts ever.  I could honestly eat them every day and not get sick of them.   Caution, if you try them you will find yourself craving them on a regular basis.

The Recipe:

• 2 c. Grated Zucchini
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/3 c. Cocoa
• 1 c. Sugar
• 2 c. Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 c. Oil
• 2 tsp Vanilla

 Once you have all the needed ingredients this recipe is very easy to put together.  Mix your sugar, oil & vanilla together in a bowl.  Mix until all clumps are out and it's completely smooth.  Next add your grated zucchini and mix together. 

In a separate bowl mix your cocoa & flour, mix together and then add the rest of the remaining ingredients. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

These chocolate brownies are delicious, but they are nothing without the frosting.  Homemade chocolate frosting is easy to make and seriously takes a matter of minutes.  Once your Brownies are cooled & out of the oven you can frost them with this amazing chocolate frosting recipe.

• 1/2 Cube Butter
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• 3 c Powdered Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Cocoa

Let butter sit on counter until it is at room temperature.  Add the milk & beat out all the lumps.  Then add the powdered sugar & cocoa and beat until smooth and it's at the right consistency.

Frost the chocolate frosting onto your brownies & enjoy  the World's BEST Chocolate Zucchini Brownies ever!!

For more Zuchinni recipes check out http://allrecipes.com/recipes/fruits-and-vegetables/vegetables/squash/zucchini/