Up-cycling Old Crocks Into Cute Patio Planters...

Good morning, folks! First off let me apologize for being a major blog slacker lately. It's a SUPER busy time of year...lots of weddings, baby showers, retirement parties, graduations and the like. Also, at work we've all been knee deep in EOI (End of Instruction) testing, which we finished up last week. I haven't had time to read/comment on my favorite blogs, or keep up with comments left for me, let alone get much crafting or cooking/baking done. I've only got 12 more days of work left until I am on summer break - WOOHOO!! - so I hope to get back on track with my blogging, cooking and crafting!

In the little bit of spare time that I have had, Mike and I have been doing some work in the yard by cleaning out flower beds, planting new flowers, several tomato and cucumber plants and re-mulching everything. Today's quick post is about up-cycling old crocks that may have chips and cracks into pretty planters for your patio. In the first photo below I turned an old crock into a super cute planter. (Recently my friend Kibbie was cleaning out cabinets to prepare for her kitchen remodel, and gave me several crocks that she no longer wanted. Thanks, Kibbie!!)

Next is a planter that I made from one of my crock pot liners that cracked on the bottom. (The crack is great for drainage when the crock is used as a planter, but not so good when trying to cook a roast for supper - HA! HA!) I lined the bottom with some river rocks, filled it with potting soil, and then added lots of pretty flowering plants and a little birdhouse. It really brightens up the bottom shelf of the baker's rack that is on our back patio!

Thanks for taking time to stop by my blog today! Have a TERRIFIC week!!

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Simple, Yet Elegant, Framed Art

Good morning! Recently I was digging through my craft supply stash and came across a frame that I had forgotten I purchased on sale at Hobby Lobby. The frame has a white pre-cut mat with a 4" x 4" opening, and the glass on the frame is etched around the outside edges. There is a nice space between the mat and the glass, which I knew would allow me to add bulky, layered items inside the mat opening without the items getting squashed by the glass front. Anyhoo, using some other supplies that I had on hand, here's what I came up with:

I REEEEALLY love how it turned out, don't you?? Here's how I made it:

Begin by gathering some things that you think you might like to use in your art piece. I cut a heart-shape from a scrap of burlap that I had, and then grabbed some other things that I thought would accent the burlap nicely. (Such as lace, a printed page from an old book that I rescued from the trash, a little key, a paper rose, etc.)

I started out by removing the mat and picture insert from the frame. I cut the book page to measure 4" x 4" to fit the inside of the mat, and attached the cut book page over the "photo" on the insert paper:

I then attached the white mat over the insert paper, centering the book page in the mat opening:

Using a scrap of burlap, I cut a heart-shape to fit the mat opening and attached a piece of lace diagonally across the burlap heart:

I formed a multi-loop bow from skinny green satin ribbon to form dimensional "leaves" for the paper rose that I would attach on top of the ribbon bow:

I then made a bow from additional lace, attaching a button and decorative key. Using brads, I attached a metal "love" tag to the top of the burlap heart and then added a pearl bead to the inside of the paper rose, before inserting the artwork into the frame:

Once again, here's a photo of the finished artwork...

Wouldn't this make a cute wedding or anniversary gift?? My crafty-mental wheels are turning and I know that I'll be making more similar pieces like this in the near future! :)

Thanks for looking! Have a great day!

Scrap-Spiration Offer From Traci Reed

Happy Monday, Friends! I recently stumbled upon Traci Reed's blog and the opportunity to receive 104 Days of Scrap-Spiration from her for FREE!! Traci is a scrapbooking genius, so I knew that if you scrap too you'd want the opportunity to sign up for this offer which begins on May 6th. Please click on the info below to register and join me for a year of scrap-spiration from Traci!

Wishing you a terrific week ahead!!

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Recipe of the Week: Pink Flamingo Cupcakes (Plus a Printable Sheet of Cupcake Toppers!)

A couple of weeks ago I was messing around in the kitchen and came up with an idea to make "Pink Flamingo" cupcakes to share with some of my friends. If you have a Sonic in your area, you can order a drink called a "Pink Flamingo", which is a lemon/lime concoction with cherries...this is where I got the idea to create cupcakes that would sort of taste like the beverage. After I made the cupcakes, (which turned out great!), I decided that they needed some cute little pink flamingo toppers. Using a clipart image I found in Word, I created a pdf sheet of pink flamingos that you can click on, save and print to use on your cupcakes too. :)

Now, let's make some cupcakes!!

Cupcake Instructions:

Using a boxed white cake mix, prepare according to package directions EXCEPT in lieu of water add an equal amount of Sprite or 7-UP. Drain a jar of maraschino cherries, (reserving the liquid to use in the frosting), and coarsely chop the cherries. Fold chopped cherries into cake batter. Spoon batter into cupcake liners that have been placed in muffin tins, and bake according to package directions. Cool cupcakes before frosting with cherry-vanilla butter cream frosting.

Cherry-Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting Ingredients and Instructions:

• 2 sticks of softened unsalted butter
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 2 Tablespoons cherry juice
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter, salt and vanilla together until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, milk and cherry juice until frosting is smooth and creamy. Frost cooled cupcakes, add rainbow candy sprinkles and flamingo toppers to cupcakes, serve to friends and enjoy!

Here's how I made the toppers:

Click on the pdf sheet above, save and print on white cardstock. Using a 1 1/2" circle punch, punch out the flamingos and set aside. Using a 1 7/8" scallop punch, punch out 2 aqua blue cardstock scallops for every 1 flamingo circle. Run scallops and flamingo circles through a Xyron adhesive machine:

Attach flamingo circle to the center of an aqua blue scallop. Peel one of the aqua blue scallops from the Xyron sheet and attach a toothpick as shown below:

Peel off the scallop with the flamingo, carefully line up the scallops, and adhere to scallop with the toothpick in the center. Press the edges firmly together so that the toothpick stays in place:

Carefully insert the picks into the cupcakes, serve and enjoy!

Wishing you a blessed week, friends!

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