Another Makeover and a Friday Fave

Ta Da!

Do you love my blog's new look?? I do. I love the bright colors so much! I wasn't going to make it over just yet, but I started playing around with the design, just for fun, and loved it so much I had to go ahead and do it!
There are still a few things I want to change, though. I want to figure out how to make that header a little less "large and in charge".... just shrink it down a bit so it doesn't fill your whole computer screen! And the sidebars need work, but I guess I'll get around to that later. When I figure out how.

But mostly, I love it! It is cheerful, which is exactly what I wanted.
I got the cute digital scrapbooking kit FREE from one of my new favorite blogs (this week's Friday Fave): Craftastical!

The kit I used is called A Hoot and a Half and I'm pretty sure I love everything about it. I just used a few of the elements, but here's a peak at the whole kit:
She's also got a ton more free digital scrapbooking kits here.

AND there's SO much more to her blog than freebie kits... She's a major crafter, and is currently updating a home they recently bought. I really look forward to the posts about her home makeover. I just love before and after pictures!

Craftastical is honestly one of my new favorite blogs, so I highly recommend it!

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The easiest homemade cinnamon rolls I've ever made!

I love cinnamon rolls, but I've never been that great at making them. Sure, they've always turned out pretty good, but the process... not good.

Let's just say there have been tears shed over the making of cinnamon rolls at my house, and they were mine. I don't have a fancy mixer or anything, so I've always mixed them by hand, and ended up with sticky dough that stuck to everything when I was trying to roll it up. Kinda drove me crazy.

But last week one day, I was making scrambled eggs with ham for dinner, and just had the idea "I should see if I can find a cinnamon roll recipe that will work in the breadmaker.", you know...to beef up my breakfast for dinner. Well, I found one! So we ended up having breakfast for dinner/dessert!

I love using my bread machine to make pizza dough (because let's just face it, I don't love handling dough). It's so easy to throw the ingredients on and turn it on the dough cycle. Granted, you do have to do that step an hour in advance of when you might have started making it by hand, but to me it is SO worth it to have the bread machine do all the work. I don't know why I didn't think of doing cinnamon rolls in there sooner!

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com.

The website calls them "Clone of a Cinnabon". I call them Delicious. And Easy. Or maybe... So Delicious and Easy That I've Already Made Them Twice in the Last Four Days. But whatever you choose to call them, I hope you try it and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
  

**I just used the leftover portion of the stick of butter from the first part of the recipe, which ends up being less than 1/3 cup, but it is more than enough. I also didn't measure the cinnamon and sugar, i just sprinkled it on till it looked good.

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

**I didn't have any cream cheese, so I just made some standard powdered sugar icing, and they were still delicious! Normally I'm all for cream cheese frosting, but you could easily save yourself the calories and they will still be so delicious!

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

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Mini Mantel Makeover

I meant to post this a week or two ago. Better late than never!

I posted about my renter's mantel here, and this is what it looked like after we got moved in and set it all up. I thought it was nice, but now it kinda looks like a bunch of stuff all lined up in a row across the mantle. But it worked.


I didn't take a picture of the mantle at Christmas, though it was lovely. Mini ornament wreaths around the candle sticks, garland, and a little white nativity in the middle.

Then....after Christmas... well I got lazy, I guess. I just kinda threw the other pictures and accessories up there and never really got around to arranging them...for a couple of months.

So this is sadly what my mantle looked like (or some variation of this) from the new year until just a couple of weeks ago. Sad, I know.

As they say, "clutter attracts clutter," so since it was in disarray already, I found myself sticking random things {that I wanted out of Bitty's reach} up there. Hence the headband, wedding announcement, and cover of yet another book my little boy destroyed.

Don't worry, I finally got sick of it, and did a little rearranging. I was going to look around and switch out a few items, but in the end I didn't.

With just about a minute's worth of rearranging, I ended up with this:

Ah, much better.

Here are a few other posts about decorating mantel's lately:

Lettered Cottage's Mantel Mania Part 1 and Part 2
Just a Girl's Spring Mantel


Makes me want to put something more springy up there!

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Friday Faves: Tumblr and Sock Monsters

You may have noticed in my mess of a blog redesign, the tab above that says {FAM}tastic Idea File. It's pretty much my new favorite thing! I started a tumblr account and I LOVE it! It instantly blogs pictures, links, quotes, etc that you find online, automatically linking them up to where you found them! Easy peasy.

So if you click on that tab, you'll see what I've put on there so far... just random things I've seen that I've liked in the last few days. There's not much on there yet, but if you check it periodically, you may see something interesting!

And here's my other fave this week:

One of my friends from college (Hi Amanda!) just started a really cute craft blog called My Inspiration Index, and just posted her first craft tutorial (yesterday, I think) for these:

How cute are these sock monsters? I love them. And they are perfect for my goal of making homemade gifts this year! Pretty sure Bitty will be getting one this year! (And maybe a few other people, too...). Go check My Inspiration Index out for this tutorial and some other cute ideas!

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Spring Flinging it.

Okay, I'm doing it. A blog I read linked to a great Spring Fling challenge, and I think I'm up for it.

The host is a blog called Life Frosting. I browsed a bit and it looks like she has some other interesting ideas on there as well, so check her out.

The challenge:
"Fling" 100 things in your house before the first day of Spring, March 21st.

How to Fling:
Throw away, donate, give away, re-gift, sell, etc. Get rid of it!

And I'll try to keep track of it all on my sidebar... Not sayin' I'll make it to 100... At first I didn't want to do it because I might not be able to complete it in time. Then I realized that that didn't really matter, because even if I didn't make it to 100, I'd still be getting rid of a bunch of junk. And since we're moving this summer, that is something I plan on doing anyway!

You should join me, it'll be fun!

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Bitty quilt inspiration...

On my list of projects to do this year, is a twin-sized quilt for my little boy, that he can start using when he moves to a big boy bed.

I'm not planning on starting it until after we move this summer, because I have so many other projects to finish first (including 2 other quilts!). But, I have been keeping my eyes out for cute patterns and fabrics. I want something that will definitely look like a "boy" quilt. BUT I also want colors that I could find girly prints in, in case the next baby we have (no, I'm not pregnant!) is a girl and we needed them to share a room. I'm thinking ahead, ya know.

Which also brings me to...I don't want it to look extremely juvenile either. I mean, I've never finished a quilt yet, in my life...I would love to be great at it and make my kids lots of quilts, but just in case, I don't want the one I make this year to be something he outgrows too fast.

Anyway, I was browsing Cluck, Cluck, Sew the other day and found this really cute disappearing nine patch quilt made for a boy!


I think the disappearing nine patch in the center is so cute, and just "messy" enough to be a great pattern for a boy! So I'm thinking I'll do some version of this for his quilt! Cute, eh?

Now the question is should I buy the green or the blue Garden Party print (on sale at Around the Block Quilter's Shop this week!)?

Which do you like better??

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Friday Faves: Nester and Knock-Off

About a year ago, I was looking at my sister's blog and noticed a link to a few blogs I'd never heard of. At that point I really had no idea that home decor and craft blogs existed. The blog that I looked at and got totally hooked on was the Nesting Place.

I read it, oh, every day, and today she is re-posting her 10 Minutes to a Room You'll Love series. This was originally posted last year when I stumbled onto her blog in the first place. I really love this series, so it was fun to read it. If you haven't read it you should! It's about simple changes you can make that will help you love the rooms of your house!

A blog I came across a couple of months ago that I like is called Knock-Off Wood.

It's this woman who builds furniture...and she teaches you how with very detailed plans. But it's not just any furniture...it's knock-off's of wonderful, ridiculously expensive places like Pottery Barn.

I haven't built anything...yet. But I just realized that I would LOVE to build a bunch of bookshelves for wherever we move to this summer! Who knows if THAT'll ever happen...but a girl can dream!

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Personal Home Decor

Here's a fun video I found on Studio 5's website about making your home decor personal and something that reflects your family.

Don't hang anything on your wall that isn't meaningful to you...LOVE it!

And don't you just love those kid paintings? I don't think I'd have the guts to hang them in the formal living room...but maybe a playroom, or kids' room. Hmmm...maybe even a kitchen or dining room; the possibilities are endless!

P.S. If I ever own a wingback chair, I want it to look like that green one she brought to the studio with her!

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Vintage Brush Giveaway!

My friend Vanessa of Vintage Brush Boutique is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the grand opening of her adorable Etsy shop (and her birthday!).

She sells some great vintage-style accessories for women, girls, and babies. Here are a few of my favorites from her shop:

Mrs. Jupiter Rosette Bracelet

Mrs. Roosevelt Rosette Beaded Necklace

Mrs. Good Girl Rosette Brooch

Miss Glam Pink Child Headband

Miss Playground Blue Rosette Clip

Vanessa's giving away a $20 gift certificate, which could buy almost any item in her shop! Her birthday is Wednesday February 3rd, so she's closing the giveaway the night before at midnight so she can announce the winner on her birthday!

Hurry on over and leave a comment to enter the giveaway!

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Friday Faves: Super cool blog and GIVEAWAY!

I know a girl named Serene. I've been reading her blog for a while, and folks, I just love it. She blogs about her life as a mommy of 4 cute kids, and she has such a way with words. She makes the most mundane daily occurrences SO funny. I need to take a lesson from her and just enjoy the time while Bitty's still bitty instead of getting so frustrated when he makes so many messes!

Anyway, it's a fun read. And on top of that...she's having her first ever GIVEAWAY! She's drawing for the winner on Monday, so you better go enter! There's even a choice of TWO different but equally amazing prizes.

Would you like to win either of these?

Then click on over to Serene's blog and leave her a comment!

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Freebie craft instructions!

So, a while back I had heard about You Can Make This, a website where you can buy instructions for lots of different sewing and craft projects. I thought it was a neat idea, but didn't ever check it out, because I've usually got more projects in mind to do than I have time for, so I didn't really want to pay for more project ideas, ya know?

Well....I just found out that they have a whole ton of FREE instructions for cute craft projects!

So this week I created an account with You Can Make This and downloaded probably about 10 sets of free instructions...sewing projects, crocheting instructions (flowers and little beanies!)among other things. I would highly suggest it! And they have tons of other patterns/instructions you can buy too, of course. Most of them are around $5, so it's still fairly cheap.

Here are some of the freebies I downloaded. These will be great for my goal of making homemade gifts this year. And the flowers could work on a fabric bead necklace!


Happy Crafting!

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Fabric covered bead necklace tutorial

I've been wanting to make some of those cute fabric covered bead necklaces for a while now, and today I found this great little video tutorial on Studio 5's website.

I love how she got creative with the simple idea on the necklaces the mannequins were wearing. Love the long double strands, and of course the fabric flowers! My sister's got little girls and is always making fabric flowers, and I keep trying to think of an excuse to need to make some too...maybe this is it!

Maybe I'll have to make making some fabric necklaces a reward for finishing quilting my star quilt.

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Friday Faves

So, I've obviously had quite the unannounced hiatus from this blog...

Update on the dresser/entertainment center: I was going to try to finish it before all of the Christmas festivities begin tonight, but it's just not going to happen. But I did get 2 or 3 coats of paint on it so far and it is looking much improved. I'll finally be getting my handles over the break, so shortly after the new year I intend to slap on one more coat of paint and some poly, screw in the knobs and handles and call it done! (P.S. a foam roller is my new best friend...made the painting five thousand times faster!)

The REAL reason for today's post (when I have so many other things I should be doing right now!) is that I found a GREAT blog this week and I wanted to share. When I say great I mean "so good that I just sat there reading and clicking 'older posts' until I had read the entire blog...which dates back to May of this year."

Lots of beautiful pictures and great tips. Have a great Christmas!

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Cute diaper pouch tutorial and GIVEAWAY!

Want to win this cute diaper and wipes pouch?? Go check out the giveaway at the Crafty Clique!

And in case you don't win it, Lyssa was kind enough to give us a tutorial as well, so you can make your own!

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Friday Faves

Last night I had fun checking out all of the successfully finished projects from The Inspired Room's latest Procrastinator Party.


Here are a few of "Afters" that I really enjoyed:

• Master bedroom makeover...it just looks so relaxing after!
• Adorable solar system bedding...hers looks better than the one she got the idea from if you ask me!
• Laundry room makeover. Someday...someday I will have a house that I can paint and personalize, and in that house will be a laundry room. Maybe like this one.
  

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Friday Faves

I've been working on a project for one of my friends using my digital scrapbooking program. I needed a particular sort of embellishment (and I'm too cheap to pay for that sort of thing...), so my wonderful sister sent me a link to a blog called Digifree.


Um.....yeah, you basically just have to check this site out to believe me. There are a RIDICULOUS amount of free digital scrapbooking downloads listed EVERDAY! Like seriously hundreds of items a day. I didn't read up on all the details, but it looks like they have scrap designers let them know when they have freebies, and pass them along to all of us. There's a range of items, from a single embellishment to entire (even really large sometimes) kits. And of course the level of cuteness varies as well, but for the most part it's really cute stuff!

If you ever do any scrapbooking, cardmaking, invitations, blog design, etc. digitally it is SO worth checking out. (I'm pretty sure it's all personal use only, so keep that in mind...)

HAPPY SCRAPPING!

**If you have a blog you would like me to check out and feature as one of my faves, send me an email!

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Friday Faves

I wanted to find a cute and easy (and cheap) fall decor craft idea yesterday, and I found a couple that I like.
This cute felt leaf table runner is from Fireflies and Jellybeans.


I also really liked using that same idea to create a felt leaf garland! I found this one at whipup.net.


How cute and fall-like are these dried bean balls?? I love all of the different colors! I found them on the Better Homes & Gardens website, in the the craft section, I think...

Another thing I did to celebrate the first day of October yesterday was buy a package of 6 pairs of cute orange socks! Different patterns and solids. They were on clearance for $3! I was going to get the yellow pack because I figured they would match more of my clothes...but I decided to be festive instead! Now if only it will cool down enough for me to want to wear a shoe other than a sandal... Have an awesome weekend!

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Friday Faves

Okay, I didn't mean to totally ignore the blog this week, but on the up side, I did get some things done that I needed to!

My sister told me about a blog called Our Best Bites recently and said she had tried a few of their recipes and liked them. So, when I was doing my meal planning a week or so ago I decided to check it out and work a few recipes into my plan.

I tried the guiltless alfredo sauce, the black bean soup, and the breakfast crescent braid. YUM!


There wasn't a picture of the finished alfredo sauce, but there are the ingredients. Pretty easy, and delicious! I thought it turned out a little salty though, so next time I would probably half the amount of salt. But I will definitely make it again! If you've ever reheated Olive Garden alfredo and seen the amount of butter all that cream was floating in, you will definitely appreciate that fact that this is "guiltless". SO YUMMY!



Black Bean Soup. I like this too! It was pretty easy to make, which is always a plus. I was kind of worried that I wouldn't like it, but I really did! We ate it by itself, but I think next time I make it, I'll serve it with quesadillas or taquitos. I know they've got a recipe for homemade taquitos on the blog, so I may have to check that out!


This one's called Easy Breakfast Crescent Braid. It was super easy and pretty yummy. We were thinking it would be tasty to add some bell pepper and mushrooms to the egg next time, or maybe try sausage or ham instead of bacon, though the bacon was delicious. You could get really creative with this. The only thing I would warn you on this is that it doesn't make a whole lot. My husband, my (almost) 1-year-old, and I ate the whole thing. So make two if you have more mouths to feed!

This site is definitely my favorite this week! You should really go check it out. Not only are the recipes tasty, the site's got such a fun, colorful design and awesome pictures (including the ones on this post!).

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Friday Faves (I was featured!!)

So, I felt kind of under the weather all day yesterday, and then really started to feel crummy and feverish last night (so I ended up laying in bed reading Pride and Prejudice and watching HGTV instead of painting my table, darn.)

And this morning I woke up with a huge headache, and of course, somehow with the move we ended up with no tyleonol in the house! Luckily I have a wonderful husband who went and picked some up for me before going to work. That sweet man, I love him. He even brought it to me in bed with a glass of water. So that made me feel a little bit better.

Then I came downstairs and checked my email, and saw that I had a comment on my cornice board post saying I was featured on Someday Crafts!! How awesome is that?! This is my first feature and I'm very proudly displaying my button there on the right sidebar! And right here.

I'm actually new to this blog, and it is awesome! I haven't had a chance too look through too many of the posts yet, but I love this one all about pumpkin fall decor! I think I'm gong to have to pull out my fall stuff next week (even though it's still almost 100 degrees here!) Go check out this blog, it's my Friday Fave today!

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My table, Alt-erior Design-ed.

Don't you sometimes wish that you could just SEE what that new paint color would look like before you actually take the plunge (and spend the money)?

Well, I know a great girl, Ali Mae, with a great blog. It's called Alt-erior Design, and she does virtual design consultations. What she does is takes a picture that you give her, and works her magic on it to show you all of the possibilities! And she does more than just paint colors. She rearranges furniture, adds accessories, etc, so you can get a vision of what your space could look like.

And I'm super impressed (and a little jealous!) that she has found such a great way to make a little extra cash as a stay at home mom to three adorable little ones.

Like I said, she's a great girl, so after she read my post asking for advice on how to paint the dining room table, she decided to help me out and show me what the options I was considering would look like. She even threw in another option I hadn't even thought of.

Here's my before:


And here's her awesome alt-erior design (click to see it larger):


How cool is that?! Go check out Ali Mae's work at Alt-erior Design! And you'll just have to wait and see which option I decided to with! Thanks Ali Mae!

{And I know, the before is terrible, with the food and dishes all still out on the table and that ugly plastic shelf. I considered taking a new before shot for this post with all of that put away now, but I decided I'd wait and show the dining room off when I finish with the table and the curtains. It's going to be quite the improvement.}

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