~Seashell and Pebble Stationery–DIY~

If you want to make your own stationery and have a lot of shells and pebbles laying around try this project courtesy of www.marthastewart.com.

The verbiage below is taken directly from Martha’s website:

Decorate stationery, postcards, or a travel journal using tokens collected on a recent trip. 

Lay shells or stones on thick paper, and spray the area with watered-down paint. Abstract patterns emerge on the paper underneath, recalling a dappled sky.

Sprayed Stationery How-To:

1. Cover your work surface.

2. Add 1 teaspoon acrylic paint to a small spray bottle. Fill halfway with water; shake to mix. (For a more translucent solution, add more water.) 

3. Arrange shells or pebbles on note cards or another paper item. 

4. Spray paint mixture over shells or pebbles. Let dry for about 30 minutes before lifting objects. 

Tip:  Card stock or other thick paper works best; it's less likely to warp.

~How To Make Festive Drink Umbrellas~

I came across these origami drink umbrellas on Martha Stewart’s website.  These umbrellas are the perfect addition for your next BBQ and would be easy and fun for kids and adults to create.  All you need are a few simple materials:

* Origami paper (or any type of paper will work)

* Glue stick or double sided tape

* Scissors

* Wooden skewer

Here are the directions from MarthaStewart.com:

A soup can makes a handy template for origami-paper umbrella tops. Cut paper with pinking shears or scallop scissors for a decorative edge. From each circle, remove a pie-slice shape measuring about 1/8 of the circumference. Fashion into a cone, slightly overlapping straight ends; use a glue stick or double-sided tape to secure. Dab white craft glue inside nose of cone, and pierce tip with a wooden skewer (snip skewer for a custom fit); allow to dry.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Festive Drink Umbrellas: Umbrella How-To - Martha Stewart Crafts

~Recipe Monday–Too Much Chocolate Cake~

This cake is so easy to make and so delicious to eat!  I’ve made this cake twice and it’s been great every time.  What I like about this recipe is you can do do many different variations.  I’d like to try using white cake with white chocolate pudding and white chocolate chips. 

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Recipe courtesy of www.allrecipes.com

~25% Off Coupon At Michael’s Arts & Crafts Store~

Michael’s is offering a great coupon deal starting Sunday – July 17th until Saturday – July 23rd. 

25% off your entire purchase including sale items.  These coupons don’t come out very often so take advantage if you can.  Here is a link to the printable coupon if you are interested:

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE 25% OFF COUPON

Have fun shopping!

~Be A Happy Camper~

Have a camping trip planned?  Here are some items you can bring on your next camping trip courtesy of the following Etsy sellers.

You definitely need some bug repellent when vacationing in the great outdoors.  If you aren’t a fan of using chemicals check out this Organic and Natural Herbal Bug Spray and Bite Soother from Sea Willow Herb’s shop.  Not in need of bug repellent?  Check out Sea Willow’s shop for other natural organic items such as body oil, lip balm, body polish, salt scrub and more!

Need a walking stick?  Check out this unique hand made Vines Walking Stick from Wyvern Studio.  Like this walking stick but interested in another design?  check out Wyvern Studio for more along with some other hand made items.

Need an easy and quick way to start a fire?  Check out these Campfire Starters from Firefly Candle Company.  The best thing about these little starters is that they are made with recycled materials.

In order to be a “Happy Camper” you need to dress the part!  Check out this Happy Camper Squirrel T-Shirt from Caustic Threads shop.  This shirt is made to order which means you can request any one of the many custom colors from Caustic Threads shop. 

Happy Camping!

Cocktail Umbrella Lantern How-To

This “How-Tuesday” was published on Etsy a couple weeks ago and I thought it was worth re-posting on my blog.  This is such an easy project and perfect for summer BBQ decorations.  With some adult supervision this would be a great project for kids too. 

Supplies You’ll Need:

• A paper lantern
• Cocktail umbrellas
• A light bulb and light cord
• A base for your lantern
• Scissors
• A glue gun

Step One: Prep!

The first thing you want to do is cut the stems off your cocktail umbrellas. You will need about 30-40 umbrellas depending on the size of your umbrellas and lantern. Make sure you pick enough of each color! Open up your lantern and put it in the base so it won’t roll away.

Step Two: Glue!

Take each of your umbrellas and glue them onto the lantern. Be sure to glue them onto the paper of the lantern, not onto the wire structure. Hold each umbrella snugly against the lantern until the glue dries, then grab another.

Fell free to alternate your colors, make a pattern, or cover one whole lantern in a single color. Keep gluing until your lantern is fully covered.

Step Three: Hang!

With your scissors, carefully cut around the hole at the top of the lantern so you have room to thread  your light bulb and cord inside the lantern.

Thread the light bulb and cord through, hang it up, and let the summer nights continue!

There is a video for this project however I’m unable to post it to my blog for some reason, here is the link:  http://vimeo.com/26024795

~Recipe Monday: Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

This is the perfect recipe to make if you have strawberries that are very ripe and almost mushy.  Turn them into frozen yogurt!  The downside to this recipe is you need an ice cream machine.  It’s definitely worth a try if you have one.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups fat-free plain yogurt
• 2 cups pureed fresh strawberries
• 1 (14 ounce) can fat free sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in refrigerator freezer 2-4 hours before serving. Remove from the freezer 30-45 minutes before serving.

Recipe Courtesy of www.allrecipes.com