Mother's Day!

We got my mom a camera for Mother's Day, but I wanted to give her a little more "mom-based". So....I made her this:

I started with a plain white canvas-covered board. I used paint to put on my hand print on it, then put vinyl letters on top. It says "A mother holds her children's hands for a while, but holds their hearts forever."

Happy Mom's Day!

Strawberry Pancakes & Candied Bacon

My husband just celebrated his 32nd birthday! Yay! I made him a yummy breakfast of strawberry pancakes and candied bacon. The recipe for the pancakes came from Rachel Ray.

You'll need:
1 1/4c AP flour
2Tbsp sugar
2Tbsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1 large egg
1c milk
1/2tsp vanilla extract
2c thinly sliced strawberries

1/2lb bacon
2Tbsp brown sugar

For the bacon:
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lay bacon flat and sprinkle with brown sugar. Cook at 350 for 12-16 minutes (depending on how done you like your bacon).

Once done, set aside.

For the pancakes:
In one bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Whisk the contents of both bowls together until mixed well. Then fold in strawberries.

Cook over medium heat, as you would normal pancakes.

I served mine with whipped cream & more strawberries on top, but it's equally delicious with syrup or powdered sugar.
Happy birthday Mike!

Magnetic Nail Polish

I know I've been gone a while, but I appreciate your patience and understanding. But now I'm back! I won't be able to do as many posts per week as I have in the past, but I will update at least once a week.

Now to my first product review! Completely unsolicited of course, but I was so excited about this I couldn't help myself.

I went to a local nail salon for a little pampering and found a really cool nail polish. It's made by China Glaze and you buy it here.
This is how it works: each polish is infused with iron powder so when you hold a magnet over the wet polish, the iron is drawn to the magnet. It takes longer than normal because you have to work one nail at a time. If the paint dries at all, it doesn't work. Also, you need to keep the magnet steady, but that's easy with the magnet from China Glaze because it allows the magnet to rest on the finger. You can't touch the magnet to the polish or it will come right off. Also, you can't apply a base coat. Your nails have to be clean, dry, and free of any other polish. You can put a top coat on though.

So, how does it look? See for yourself:

The magnet comes with 3 different designs: star, stripes, and chevron. I went with the stripes. There are also 6 colors, I chose "Drawn to You" which is a light purple.

I tried another color first, but I didn't like it once the magnet was placed over it. The polish dries quickly which is nice. It lasts just as long as regular nail polish, probably longer actually. I've done dishes, cleaned my house, and all other kinds of crazy stuff & it's still holding up well.

There are other companies that make magnetic nail polish, but I haven't tried those out yet. There are other magnets available with different designs as well. It was definitely worth it! I've gotten so many compliments and everyone is flabbergasted that the design was done with a magnet.

Please excuse my absence

I'm dealing with some health issues & finals. Bad combination. Because of all that going on, I decided to take a few weeks to gather myself & then come back with some really awesome crafts. I hope you won't forget about me! I plan on making a spectacular return ;)

General Conference

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. March 31-April 1, 2012 will be the weekend of our general conference. It's where members of the Church get to gather together and hear the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak. We get to hear apostles, elders, and other leaders of our Church give us guidance. This happens twice a year, once in April and again in October.

I visit 2 sisters each month to give them a lesson or spiritual thought. Since it's right before our next conference I decided to make them a little something to help them prepare for conference as well as provide a little snack while they're watching.

Access Google Docs file here.

If you're interested, you too can watch General Conference either by tuning to BYU-TV or by watching online at www.lds.org.

Washer Necklace

I wanted to see if I could make something without spending a dime this week. I used a bunch of left-over materials & borrowed (read: stole) a little something from my hubby to make this necklace:

You'll need:
a washer
scrapbook paper
leather cording
EnviroTex Lite pour-on (can be found in the craft department)

Cut the scrapbook paper to match the size of the washer.

Place the paper on top of the washer. Following the directions on the box, apply EnviroTex pour-on. I used a Styrofoam bowl & a cap to an old bottle of hairspray to contain the excess and elevate the washer.

Once set (my box said to let sit for 24 hours), wrap leather cording around washer to create the necklace. You can use a clasp if you wish, but I decided just to tie a knot in the cording.

Spring Cleaning Week: Odds & Ends

There are some things that people forget about or have never thought to do them. Here are some suggestions that I have. There are many others, so if you know of some leave a comment.

1. Check your smoke detector battery. Better yet, go ahead and replace it.
2. Flip and rotate your mattresses.
3. Wash curtains (if possible).
4. Clean your trash can. Sounds weird, but some gross stuff could be lurking.
5. Run your washer empty with 1c white vinegar. Helps with any smells and cleans any grime.
6. Clean out your car. While you're at it, clean the outside too.
7. Delete any old files from your computer.
8. Clean out your window sills. There's dirt in there and if you like to have your windows open, it's just going to blow around in your clean home.
9. Clean dryer vents. Also, take out the lint collector & clean with a small brush.
10. Open the windows and let some fresh air in!