Lemonade Stand

To keep the boys occupied during our community yard sale(see that concrete mold, boxes and huge ugly suitcase!), we suggested a lemonade stand. The boys loved the idea!

Then we had to decide how to set up this lovely stand and what color combo would be.

Pallets were used to make the stand, a large one on top and two smaller pallets used for the legs of the stand. I spray painted the outside of the legs black and left the top pallet its natural color. For the banner, I used yellow scrapbook card stock and cut into triangles then strung twine through the eyelets, I punched in using my Crop-A-Dile, in each corner of the triangle. Then used my Cricut to cut out the letters and then glued onto the triangles.

There were a few old jars hanging around so I painted a small rectangle on each using chalkboard paint, wrapped twine around the top of each jar and used one as the money jar and the other as a vase.

Since I was painting with chalkboard paint, I thought why not make another sign? So I found a piece of particleboard that had a smooth covering and painted it. Then my awesome husband cut the frame for me and glued it to the chalkboard, then I was able to paint it red. I think I love this piece the most! It now sits in my craft area and I just love looking at it!

I did give the boys plastic pitchers for the lemonade instead of glass because the concrete would be bad news for my glass pitchers and honestly, it would have been to heavy for those little hands anyway. Sometimes you just have to use common sense instead of worrying about how you want things to look!

The boys had a great time and were sold proud that they sold all their lemonade, except for what they drank, it was a hot day after all! So what did they get themselves with their hard earned money, you ask? Lego's of course!

Stain Removal Chart

Recently there was a stain on a shirt that I just could not get out. So I decided to check out this stain removal chart that I found online a while back to see if it had any helpful information. I figured if I could not get this stain out that Martha Stewart would know how! I printed the sheet off the Martha Stewart Website and thought that it had so many stain solutions and this should be hung in my laundry area. 

So I had a frame that I was not using, it was a brown frame originally, so I primed it with Kilz then painted the color with turquoise paint that I had left over from a few months ago. I love the color and thought it would look great and match the chart perfectly!

Then, I hung it in my laundry area.

So glad that I now have this chart in the laundry area, maybe next time I have a stained item, I can get the stain out the first time instead of washing multiple times with my Shout stain remover product!

Office Chair Redo

This chair was just waiting for someone to give it a little love. So I did! I wanted a pretty chair for my craft area but I did not want to spend alot of money for one, so I decided that I could just recover the chair in any fabric I wanted.

I took off to my local Hobby Lobby and found a fabric that I LOVED! It had colors in it that would coordinate with my craft space.

I brought the fabric home and got busy. I gathered a few items that I knew I was going to need.
Screwdriver
Scissors
Staple Gun
Staple Remover Tool
Fabric Glue
Small brush (for the glue)

I took the chair apart. That was easy but the whole time I am thinking that I hoped I could remember how to put the chair back together once I finished. (I did, kinda).

I had to remove the fabric on both cushions and on the back panel that goes on the back of the chair. That is where the staple remover helped out alot. The cushions and panel were still in good shape so I just put my fabric right on top.

I cut each section and then began to staple the fabric to the cushions. I started with the sides and then stapled the corners last, making sure to get the corners just right and where they would all look the same. (I just gathered the fabric, creased it and pulled tight and stapled it to the under part of the cushion.) I had a tough time at first getting my staples to go completely flush into the wood backing that the cushions were attached to but this is where my hammer came into play. Just hammer those staples in and move on.

 The backrest cushion is where I had to add a little fabric glue because the cushion was not exactly flat so I brushed the glue onto the cushion (a thin layer) then pressed the fabric on and let it sit overnight to dry completely.  (I only used glue on the backrest cushion). After each cushion was completed I did the same on the armrests.

It helps if you have a handsome handy husband who is willing to help you out a little. It made a huge difference when one person was helping stretch the fabric and hold it in place while the other person staples it. After all the fabric was done it was time to put the chair back together, I got it put back together almost completely when I realized I had a screw leftover and thank goodness my handsome husband came to check on me and helped me put the chair back together the right way.  I was so happy to see it come together and I must say that I LOVE IT!

It looks so good in my space and I cannot believe that it looks so good, it was my first time trying this so I will be doing this again! And it cost me just under $14.00!

 

Linking up to Liz Marie Blog.

Homemade Cheeseburger Pizza

OK, so if you know me well, you know that my FAVORITE pizza place has a Cheeseburger Pizza. So one afternoon, I really wanted this pizza but was not in the mood nor did we feel like driving to get it. So what is a girl to do? Well, you make one yourself!

Here is my version of a Cheeseburger Pizza.

I cook hamburger and bacon (in the oven) and while that is cooking I get started on the crust.

I have made the crust from scratch and it is very good but at this particular time, I had a little help from Martha White :)

Just make the crust, whether you make it from scratch or from a package. (the crust bakes half the time now and will finish baking after you add your ingredients).

When the crust is cooking, diced a tomato and set aside. 

When the hamburger is finished cooking, drain and set aside. After the bacon has cooked and cooled, crumble it and set it aside.

Then make your "sauce" for the pizza. This is the secret.....  ;)  Mix ketchup and mustard together, you can use equal parts or if you are like us, add a little extra mustard.

It will look like this.

Then you are ready to build your pie.

Spread sauce over the crust, then spread the hamburger, bacon, diced tomato, and shredded cheese than bake at the same temperature you baked your crust for around 10 to 15 minutes (depending how you like your pie).  I leave mine in a little extra time, just to make sure the crust is done and it is crispy on top.





 On this particular day, as you can see, I added mushrooms. I have altered this basic method many ways, different veggies, sauces, cheeses. You really cannot mess this up.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes Made With Beets!

Gorgeous Beets from our garden. Last year they did not do so well, I am talking one beet. So this year to say that I was impressed was an understatement!

Wondering what to do with these? Well, why not make cupcakes! Yep, you heard, ok read it right, CUPCAKES!

 First a little bit of the roasted beets in the food processor with a little olive oil and this is what you get. Then follow the recipe!

I saw this recipe on TV a while back and thought to myself if I ever get beets out of my garden, this will be one recipe that I must try, just to see what it would taste like!

Here is the recipe (Red Velvet Cupcakes)

The idea is to use the beets instead of artificial food coloring to make the cupcakes red.

I followed the recipe but I added unsweetened dark cocoa instead of  regular unsweetened cocoa. So it made my cupcakes look like chocolate cupcakes instead of red velvet cupcakes. And when I was ready to pour the batter into the muffin cups, it actually made 24 instead of 12 cupcakes. And no, we did not eat them all, all because I put over half of them in the extra refrigerator and forgot about them!

I know, not a good photo but at least you can see that the cupcake is in fact chocolate!  I did follow the icing recipe exactly and the combination was good. The cake was good and I could tell that there was a little something added in, but my boys.....LOVED IT!!  They were a hit in our house! But my boys love beets (they knew that beets were used to make the cupcakes). Anyway, give it a shot, at least it is one way to get kids to eat their veggies!

Way to Go Sis!!

My sis is a college grad once again! This time she graduated as a medical sonographer! So proud of her, she worked so hard for the past 2 years and made sacrifices to make her dream a reality.

I was able to attend her pinning ceremony and her graduation and I am so proud to have gotten to go and support her!

 Way to go!! Love you!!

May Already??

Yeah, I know its May, but come on, I blink my eyes and another month has gone by. Well, alot is going on this month, busy month.

Custer had eye surgery this past Wednesday and all went well, went today for a follow up visit and the vet said it looks good. So glad!! Hopefully this surgery will put a stop to this.

Well gotta run, laundry is calling my name!