Under cabinet spruce up

Pinterest is one of my places to go for inspiration. Some projects have turned out amazing while others were an epic fail!

I'm going to start a weekly series on this called "pinned it did it". Each week I will take a different project or recipe I pinned and test it out. I will share the good the bad even the ugly! 

This week I'm sharing an under kitchen cabinet spruce up. Search Pinterest for some inspiration. There are several tutorials. Here is how I did it.

Supplies used: 

Sharp knife

Peel and stick tile 

Measuring Tape

First empty your cabinets. My 2 year old thought she had a new play area 😳
Measure under your cabinets and cut the tiles to size. Now peel and stick each tile down. This project was quick, easy and cheap. Pinterest Success!!! There are so many options for peel and stick tiles. 
Since I was in the organizing mood I also purchased a tension rod and used it to hold my cleaners:) (see picture above) works great. 

Have fun, make it your own. This method beats using that thin, expensive and ugly contact paper! 
XOXO~Jenn 

Simple quick yet cute broom!!!

Hello everyone! I'm back!! I know...I know it's been way to long! I promise to keep you updated with my changing life and some fun..and of course cute crafts! Awhile back I was visiting my goddaughter and she wanted to swifter or sweep but she was wayyy to small for the adult size swifter/broom. So I found one her size but it was , well I'm not going to lie it was ugly. Of course I couldn't give her an ugly broom haha so I BLINGED IT and made it acceptable. It was simple and she loves it!!! 

All you will need is a small broom (if it's for a kiddo) printed duct tape, gems/rhinestones/jewels whichever you prefer (GOOD NEWS I got all of these at a 99cent only store!!!!! You know one of those fun stores that have a million random things for a dollar!  I also used our fav glue gem tack!!! 

I loved the broom I made for her so I also made one for myself!!! Here are some pictures of how I made mine then I'll show you the pictures of the BLINGED out broom! You can add all kinds of things bows, silk flowers or ribbons ..go crazy and make your broom a fashion statement!!!

Here's the ugly before broom

Start wrapping !!! I went at an angle to help cover !

I found it easiest to hold the tape like this with my unpolished thumb on top while flipping the broom and pulling the tape tight.

Keep taping!!!!almost done!

All done!!! Now I can sweep in style and look good while cleaning lol it was really fast only took about five minutes!!! 

Now here is the super cute one :

So cute....so easy..... And soo quick!!! Can't go wrong!! 

That's all for today but I'll be back soon!!! 

Smile at a stranger today, it might make their day!! Spread the love and sparkle! 

Love Kali 

I Love you because...

I'm back and ready to blog !!!! New year, new me ... Here comes one of my favorite holidays ..red, pink, glitter and chocolate are not just Jen's fav but mine also!! ... I did a quick craft today with some frames I keep moving around... I went to target and found some cute valentines scrapbook paper in the dollar spot. I got home and put the paper in the frames added some ribbon and they make cute dry erase boards! Quick easy and super cute...

 Xoxo till next time       

 ~CheLs

             

Share the LOVE

Valentines Day has always been one of my favorite days. I love everything about the red, pink, glitter, chocolate and hearts. Here are a few of my must haves for Valentines Day 2014. Just click on the link to take you to the products purchase page. 

Baby Legs are my absolute favorite leg warmers for my princess. We have several pairs and the quality is amazing. The link above is for a super cute Valentines Day pair at half off! Hurry and grab these before they are gone.

I'm loving these coffee cozies at the moment. This one is from RubysYarn . It's only $7 so maybe grab a few for some special friends too:)

I bought these fun conversation heart plates from Michaels Craft store. I don't have a direct link so check your local Michales. I plan on using these for a fun Valentines day photo shoot with my kiddos. Check back for DIY photoshoot details! 

I have been eyeing this awesome rocker style beanie from Yaguarete. Finally bought one for my little man. They come in baby sizes too! 

Just bought this fun crochet heart garland from Sarahndipities. I cant wait to see this up on my white fireplace!

 And how can you not be in love with this Cupid's my Homie sweatshirt from DentzDesigns. I need it in red to wear with my heart leggings!

Now go and shop! Share the LOVE.
XOXO ~Jenn

Personalized Valentines Day Mailboxes

Today I'm sharing a cheap Valentines Day craft that can easily be completed in under an hour. I purchased two glass candle sticks from the dollar store and two tin mailboxes from the dollar section at Target. You can purchase vinyl for this project from Expressions Vinyl. Link at the top of the blog.
Here is the tutorial:

First paint your glass candle sticks with whatever color spray paint you choose. Mine was a metallic silver which ended up looking more like a grey. Just use what you have. It doesn't take much to cover these. I didn't bother sanding because I'm lazy like that. They ended up looking great and were dry in about 30 minutes. (It was a warm day and I had them in the sun). 

Next you can print your vinyl. I put my kids names on them and used a few different images from my Silhouette. The possibilities are endless. 

Once all the vinyl is done and applied use a strong glue (like E6000) to glue the mailbox to the candle stick. 

That's it! 

I'm planning on using these to put special treats in for my kids starting February 1st. Right now they are having fun mailing each other post it notes and hiding things in them:)
Keep Crafting!
XOXO~Jenn

$10 Personalized Conversation Hearts

New Years Resolution # 3 Wear more lipstick- Check
New Years Resolution #12- STOP neglecting this poor bloggity blog

To kick off my first post of the New Year I'm starting with a fun personalized (my favorite) Valentines Day craft!
I have had a love for conversation hearts for as long as I can remember. And when I saw these cute wooden hearts at Michaels it reminded me of them. Right away I was thinking of a way I could incorporate them into my Valentines decor. It had to be something that was quick (I'm short on time these days).
I came up with this

I loved how it turned out! Now here is the tutorial so you can make some of your own.
First, find a Michael's coupon. Every little bit helps. This is an inexpensive project as well. The total for this project was just under $10.00. I bought 4 (one for each member of our family).
Now you need paint. I really wanted to keep them looking like conversation hearts so I searched the paint section for colors that best resembled the hearts. These are the colors I found worked best.

Craft Smart Brand (at Michael's)
Green- Celery
Yellow-Light Yellow
Pink-Pink Chiffon
Purple-Grape Taffy

I also picked up a few foam brushes and wide red ruffled ribbon to hang the hearts on. I rushed home to get started.
First paint each one of your hearts. I did the fronts only. I don't have time to waste painting sides no one will ever see. But if you have time and OCD like Kali then by all means go for it. Only 30 minutes till preschool pick-up!
Now while the hearts are drying its time to print vinyl. I used a glossy red vinyl but any red will work. Font used was Arial Rounded.
Once hearts are dry (about 20 minutes) you can apply the vinyl.
I had to take a break or I would be that awesome mom late for Preschool pick-up again.
Once we were back home I grabbed the dried personalized hearts and took them to the garage to staple gun the ribbon to the back. I didn't measure because well... I hate measuring. Im more of an eyeball it kinda gal!
Hope this inspires you to create some fun Valentines Day decor. Happy Crafting:) 

Check back for more Valentines Day crafts, recipes and a fun DIY photo shoot with my mini's
XOXO~Jenn

Thanksgiving Countdown

This November I'm determined to keep it simple! Since I'm still exhausted from our Halloween countdown I knew I wanted to keep November as stress free as possible. For our Thanksgiving countdown I used a cheap frame that I bought at Michaels in the clearance section (it had a crack on the bottom). That didn't bother me since my kids would most likely knock the frame over and distress it even more. I removed the back of the frame and painted it orange with acrylic paint and once dried I applied vinyl I cut using the silhouette. I found these awesome envelopes at Staples last Christmas. I added numbers to each envelope and cut leaves using the silhouette in fall colors and placed them inside the envelopes. Each day my kiddo pulls one leaf out of that days envelope and writes what he is thankful for. Some leaves include activities that make this month of giving more special like bring someone a coffee or take someone an unexpected gift. I love that this teaches my kids the importance of being thankful and really focuses on what the month of November means to our family. We are making a special effort to be thankful each day for everything God has blessed us with. Hope this inspires you to start Thanksgiving traditions with your family. XOXO~Jenn 

Paint brush ornaments

So this Christmas season I'm determined to keep things simple. That means that I need to get a start on handmade gifts before the true holiday craziness begins around here. I'm happy to report that I have already started Christmas shopping. However, my handmade gifts always seem to take a back seat. Since this year I have a few handmade gift exchanges I figured I better get a move on. So here are a few examples of some quick and easy handmade ornaments that are also easy on your pocket book:) 

First up are these adorable paint brush ornaments.

 

I bought the paint brushes from Home Depot for $1.19 each and used the acrylic paint I already had to paint each one. For the Santa ornaments I used rinestones I found at Michaels and glued them on with this glue. Also found at Michaels. 

You can probably hot glue but little pieces, my fingers and hot glue don't always see eye to eye. 

For the snowman I used my vinyl cutter to cut out the snowman face. You can totally free hand this but...well...umm... I can't! So vinyl it is:) 

For the hat I hot glued yarn I had laying around and added a bow made with ribbon scraps. Think about what you already have and use that. I love those kinds of projects! Think outside the box and get creative.

Here is another super simple and cheap ornament you can make in under 5 minutes! Seriously. I just did it. It took me longer to heat up my glue gun. 

Peppermint flower ornament

All I did to create this cute peppermint flower is hot glue the sides of each peppermint candy to one another. For the red dots I used a few foam balls from jar filler I bought on clearance at Tai pan trading a few years ago. Hot glue ribbon to the back and there you have it! Cute. Cheap. Easy! Now go and create something!

Xoxo~Jenn 

Ghost Peep Brownies

Just wanted to share a fun recipe the whole family can help make. 

Ghost Peep Brownies

Here is what you will need:

A box of your favorite brownie mix

An 8 x 8 baking dish (perfect size for 3 rows of 3 peeps)

Graham crackers

Chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

And of course some ghost peeps 

(I found mine in the dollar spot at Target)

First you will need to smash up some graham crackers for the crust. I used my favorite 2 year old for this. She used two of her plastic hammers and went at it.

Once your graham crackers are nice and crumbled melt your butter. Mix melted butter with graham crackers and press around the bottom of your baking dish to form a crust.

Bake crust for 10 minutes.

Next prepare your brownie mix according to package directions. Pour over graham cracker crust. 

Bake according to package directions

Once the brownies are done remove from oven and place peeps on top. 

Now place in the broiler. Please pay attention! If your house is like mine try to tune out the kids running around throwing shoes at each other and jumping on the couch. If not, your results will be frightening!!! Leave them in long enough to lightly toast the top! 

You will notice that once placed in the broiler the eyes disappear almost immediately. Don't worry! This is where the chocolate chips come in handy. After you remove them from the broiler place the chips to make the eyes and mouth. Mini chips would be ideal but I didn't have those so I just used what I had. 

Now go...enjoy the delicious gooeyness!!! Yes that's a word! Your welcome:)

XOXO~Jenn

Halloween Treats for kids

My kids are making their way through their Halloween countdown and having a spooktacular time doing it! A few days ago we made some boo mix, complete with witches warts, ghost poop, goblin teeth and monster scabs. Tutorial is below. 

Boo mix

Golden Graham's cereal

Mini marshmallows

Mini chocolate chips

Candy corn

Here is the fun part. Huddle up your favorite kiddos and have them dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix. So easy and fun for everyone. We usually play monster mash while doing it:) 

Another treat my kids loved was "spooky juice" 

This juice was kind of accidental. One of those recipes that you make up as you go along. The end result was so yummy my kids have asked for it again. 

Spooky Juice

1 (2) liter Sunkist

1 (2) liter diet 7 up

1 cup apple juice

1 packet orange Kool aid

Mix well and serve over (now here is the spooky part) frozen gummy worms. 

Place gummy worms inside an ice tray and freeze a few hrs. The kids loved it. 

Eat, drink & be spooky!

Xoxo~Jenn