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/

My Very Favorite Peach Smoothie Recipe

Todd and I love to make smoothies.  One of our favorite place to get smoothies is at Kneaders.  We cannot get enough of their peach flavored drink that they sell.  The last few months we have been trying and tweaking every peach smoothie recipe we could find to make it taste just like the one at Kneaders.  We have finally come up with the perfect recipe and seriously could make it every night.  This is definitely a recipe you will want to write down.

The Recipe:

• 2 c. Frozen Peaches
• 1 c. Odwalla Mango Tango
• 1 c. Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 c. canned peaches
• 1 Banana
• 1 TBSP Sugar

Mix all the ingredients together in the blender.  Be sure to use a good blender so that your ingredients will mix smoothly and perfectly.  Once your smoothie is blended pour any extra drink into freezer friendly cups.  Cover them and place them in the freezer so that they are easy to access whenever you need them.

Here is another great peach smoothie recipe to try http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/peach-banana-smoothie/8578aa79-7c33-4455-8d66-539aa2b139a0

Sophisticated and Splendid Soirees Cricut Cartridge Release

I'm so excited for the release of the new Anna Griffin Cricut cartridges Sophisticated Soirees & Splendid Soirees.  These cartridges have been available online for a digital download for quite some time and are now going to be available in box form at one of my favorite places to buy inexpensive Cricut cartridges at CraftDirect.  There are so many great things you can do with these cartridges that the moment they become available I'm ordering a set of each one.

Sophisticated Soirees Cricut Cartridge

The name Sophisticated Soirees says it all.  This unique cartridge is perfect for exclusive parties, events or celebrations and can be found at

http://www.craftdirect.com/anna-griffin-sophisticated-soirees-cricut-cartridge.html. It's many features make it easy to plan a party that your guests will never forget.  I love how convenient & easy it is to use as well as the many things you can create with it.  Coordinating invitations, party decor, favor boxes, place cards and gift packaging are all great things you can create with this incredible cartridge.

Splendid Soirees Cricut Cartridge

The Splendid Soirees Cricut cartridge is also great for throwing parties & events.  With this cartridge you can create everything from casual to formal party accessories in absolutely no time at all. This cartridge gives you the ability to create stunning invitations, party & home decor, gift boxes, place cards, cupcake wrappers, placemats & so much more.  You will be in awe when you discover all the splendid things you can do with this unique cartridge from http://www.craftdirect.com/anna-griffin-splendid-soirees-cricut-cartridge.html.

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Planning a Party with These Great Cartridges

Both the Sophisticated Soirees Cricut cartridge & the Splendid Soirees cartridge are all you need to plan a party of the century.  I love how easy Cricut makes party planning with their great line of party cartridges and have found that it has saved me a lot of money over the years.  Before planning your party with these great cartridges there are a few important things to keep in mind.

Plan Ahead of Time

Nothing is worse than waiting until the last minute to plan a party.  You never know if you will have the right kind of paper, embellishments or other various craft supplies on hand.  By planning ahead of time you can make sure your party favors & decor turn out perfectly and can make sure you have the right amount of supplies on hand so you aren't running back to the store at the last minute when your party is about to begin.

Create a List

I Love to throw parties.  Before putting together any party I always create a list of the things I want at the party, the type of theme I want to go with as well as what guests I will be inviting.  This will give you a good idea what types of crafts you will want to make with your Cricut cartridges.  That way you can make sure you create everything you want in plenty of time before the big day.  The Splendid Soirees & Sophisticated Soirees cartridges have enough features on them to carry out most of your party needs & really will help you cross most of the needed items off of your list.

Whether you are planning a party or a classy event,  the Splendid & Sophisticated Soirees cartridges are just the thing you need to kick your party up a notch.  I can't wait for these cartridges to come out and can't wait to see what I can create with them next!