Ghost Garland Lights

Start saving your k-cups!! I saw this idea on Pinterest (along with tons of other cute things to make with used k-cups - I'm sure I'll be making more things with them in the future) and immediately started saving the cups every morning. (In case you don't know, K-cups are the coffee pod things that go inside a Keurig one cup coffee maker.) They are just little white plastic cups, with a filter attached inside holding coffee grounds - after you've made your coffee just peel of the foil top and remove the filter and grounds, then rinse and dry the cup. After you've saved up a few of them you'll be able to make this super cute ghost garland in time for Halloween.

So easy - I just drew faces on the cups using a fat sharpie marker. Cut a few little slits around the hole that gets poked into the bottom of the k-cup when you make your coffee and stick a mini light strand bulb inside - continue for as long as your light strand is, or however long you want it. I did every other light bulb and it looks great... how cute is this idea?

Baked Crab Cakes

I've never made crab cakes but love them and have been wanting to try...yay they turned out SO good. I combined a couple recipes and got lucky - this is a keeper and I will definitely be making them often now.






Mix together in a bowl: 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 eggs, a big handful of plain breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, and a dash of worcestershire sauce. Gently fold in 1 pound crab meat pieces (note: I bought 2 containers of 8 oz crab meat located in front of the meat and seafood counter). Form into 6 big patties using just a little shy of 1/2 cup each (or you can make little appetizer sized ones by scooping 1 tablespoon of the mixture into 16 mini muffin cups) and place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350' for about 30 minutes until crispy and browned.


I served this with my version of a remoulade - I have no idea if this is actually remoulade sauce but it's what we've always called it! In a small bowl mix together some ketchup and creamed horseradish (that makes cocktail sauce by the way, in case you didn't know), then add equal parts mayo and sour cream (you can use all mayo or all sour cream if you want) and mix well.

My Crafty Sister

Asked my sister if she would like to guest blog for me this week...remember when she did a few days when I was on the river cruise? (click here to see one of her posts and get a good drink recipe using coco lopez) So you remember that she is really not crafty, really really not crafty. Well, this is what I got as her answer and I told her I was gonna blog it - everyone needs a laugh right?

Funky Pumpkin Decorating...starring Brooke

Lisa sent me inspiration pictures for this project, she found cute crazy funky decorated pumpkins in a store and thought of me - love that, thanks Lisa! She sent a few examples and Brooke loved the idea so much she wanted to make one - watch the cutie show you how she did it:




I have been helping out my friend Ronda at her Stampin' Up studio (lots of punching, using the Big Shot die cut maker thingy, stamping, etc.)  - she has the idea for me to work on setting up a "seasonal display" area in her shop so I've been busy thinking about fun crafts to use in the display. This pumpkin turned out so cute I want to include it but Brooke used old paper that I've had forever to make her pumpkin and since this will be in the Stampin' Up studio I wanted to use current scrapbook papers so quickly remade the pumpkin...also full disclosure, the tape Brooke used didn't hold the buttons on the pumpkin and they fell off! You can still make it using her directions but use a different form of glue for any heavier things. This is my finished product:

I bought a standing flat wood pumpkin at the craft store for about $3. Trace the pumpkin shape onto whatever paper you want the base to be, and glue it to the pumpkin form. I randomly cut a triangle for the nose and a jaggedy mouth, make whatever shapes you want. I reused the stacked buttons held together with twine that Brooke made, and for the right eye I glued a large flat bottomed marble over a different piece of paper. Burlap ribbon is tied on the top to finish. Super fast and easy - maybe took 10 minutes top. Gotta like that :)

Dog In The Blog...Biscuits!

what's a guy gotta do to get a biscuit?

Hey guys, it's Sarge..the dog. Guess what? I lost weight!! I am starving all the time tho and have learned this new technique of sitting right in front of the sink and staring pitifully at anyone who comes near, and if that doesn't get me something to eat then I go stare at my bowl hoping someone will get the hint. The vet (I like him a tiny bit better after this) said that I could have a few more kibble in addition to green beans and baby carrots, but I'm still hungry! So mom decided to make me some healthy biscuits and I gotta say - they are delicious. The recipe came from Gramma (don't tell her I call her that, I'm not sure she'd be happy!) who totally made it up for her dogs - she's a genius, these things are good.

Here's the recipe, you should make these for your dogs so they'll have a healthier treat sometimes - hopefully they aren't as hungry as me tho, it's sad really.  Gotta go stare at my bowl now...Sarge out.

Gramma's  Sweet Potato Dog Biscuits

Mix together in a big bowl:
cooked mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs
peanut butter
shredded cheese
oatmeal
cream of wheat
whole wheat flour
chicken boullion cube mashed up with a little water

Roll into small balls and put on an ungreased cookie sheet, flatten with a fork,  bake 350' for 30 minutes or until crunchy.

Jill's note: I didn't have whole wheat flour, cream of wheat, or boullion in the house - and my mom didn't give me amounts for each ingredient so I just dumped a bunch of things in the bowl...2 sweet potatoes, big scoop of peanut butter, handful of oatmeal, handful of plain breadcrumbs, handful of light shredded cheddar. I scooped it out with my small 1 Tablespoon cookie scoop and baked for 30 minutes but they didn't get super crunchy - they are very firm though and Sarge definitely loves them! I'll just store in the fridge since they are a bit soft and don't want them to spoil.

Oh, and he totally stares at his bowl like he's hoping food will magically appear, not sure where he picked that up!

Click here for Sarge's first post about having to go on a diet :)

M&M Cookie Bars

I bought a large bag of M&M's for another project (I planned to fill the base of a candy bouquet, click here to see what I ended up doing) and didn't use them - so instead of running the risk of my eating the entire bag I found this recipe for M&M Cookie bars and they turned out really good! Whew, crisis averted haha.


Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 large egg yolk, room temp
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups M&M's


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325' with rack on lower middle position. Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil, with enough overhang on either side to make a sling (for ease of removal after baking). Grease foil and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, stir together the melted butter and both sugars. Stir in the egg, extra egg yolk and vanilla.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold together the dry mixture into the wet mixture, just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold in 1 cup of the M&M's. Reserve the rest for pressing on top.
5. Using slightly wet fingers, press dough into an even layer in the greased and foiled pan, making sure to get an even thickness throughout. Press remaining M&M's on top of dough.
6. Bake 25-28 minutes or just until it's puffy and golden brown. It may seem a bit undercooked, but go ahead and take it out. It will set nicely upon cooling.
7. Let cool completely at room temp before removing with the foil sling. Remove entire dessert with the fold sling and place on a cutting board. Cut into squares. Leftovers will keep for days at room temp in an airtight container.

*this recipe came from chew out loud, click here for the original post.

Photo Coasters

I had these made for Mary's birthday - I didn't make them myself but since it took me hours to come up with the perfect pictures to use I feel like I can count this as a craft project and show you how they turned out and maybe give you a cute idea for gifts :) Usually I make her bracelets for some reason, this year she gets something different!

I had them done on Shutterfly but there are numerous sites online that do this - really the hardest part was choosing the pics and then editing them to fit. I love this idea, hopefully she does too!

DIY: Tassel Keychain or Purse Charm

Got the idea to make a keychain with a leather tassel and some charms at Michaels.com - naturally I changed it a bit and am really happy with how it turned out. You'll need a piece of fringed leather, some jump rings (I used different sizes), a key ring, some charms/chain/
beads/whatever decorations you want, 2 tweezers and some fabric glue.









I've never made a tassel from leather fringe before - turns out it's super simple and I'll be making more of these for sure. I bought a piece of leather already fringed but you could easily make your own if you can't find it at the craft store.




To make the tassel: cut off one of the end pieces of fringe and trim about an inch off (discard that short piece). Put a dot of fabric glue on the wrong side of the leather at the top right corner. Place the longer strip on top of the glue and another drop of glue on top of that. Fold the leather strip over to create a loop. Allow to dry for a couple of minutes.






Place a strip of glue along the top edge of the leather and tightly roll it up around the loop. I put a big jump ring over the roll to hold it, you could use a bead with a center big enough to go over - or use a rubber band to hold the tassel in place until it dries.


























To assemble the keychain: using the 2 tweezers open a large jump ring, thread it thru the tassel loop, close the ring back up. Try not to wrench the ring out of shape too much so when you close it the ends come right back together easily. Attach more jump rings to the charms, gems, chain, whatever you are using - and then thread them all onto the key ring. Add keys or use as a cute charm addition to your purse!

Vegetable Soup

It's been chilly the last couple days and I felt like soup, this one is roughly based on Cabbage Soup - from the cabbage soup diet that has been around and popular forever - I've combined a few different recipes to come up with this version; I don't follow the diet (mostly because one day is eating all-you -can-eat soup and bananas -yuck, I'd starve haha) but I really like this soup! It's simple and quick to make, and you can tailor it to whatever veggies and spices you like.

Here's my version (but really, add or subtract to it and it'll still taste good!):

In a large pot saute 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced celery and some chopped garlic in a little bit of olive oil, after a couple minutes start adding whatever veggies you like cut into bite sized pieces. This time I did mushrooms, green beans, carrots, yellow pepper, zucchini - it can definitely be a "clean out the fridge" time - let it cook for a few minutes before adding 28oz canned diced tomatoes with the juice, v8 juice (I used 4 little cans), 1 packet of dried onion soup mix, and chicken broth - I add however much liquid makes the soup the consistency I want. Let it cook until the veggies are just starting to get tender, maybe 15 minutes; then add 1/2 chopped head of cabbage, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Start to finish this takes about 45 minutes, don't let it cook too long or everything gets soft and a bit mushy. This makes quite a lot,  I put it in the fridge and it takes me a few days to finish it, I haven't tried freezing it but don't know why you couldn't. I eat this for snacks and lunch, it's flavorful, filling, and low calorie -  you can google how to do the whole "cabbage soup diet" if you're interested, and if you like bananas :)

Weekend Coffee Treat

got this mug in Nuremberg - says
something about being sorry I wasn't
listening because my thoughts are
more interesting than what you're saying!

During the week I drink plain black coffee and it's fine...not great, but fine. So on the weekend I'll splurge and add some sweetener (I've been using up the vanilla coffee syrup I made for Brooke's Purple Drink, click here for that post) and then my favorite thing is to spray canned whipped cream on top. Mmmmmm, love.

You could go crazy and add a little shot of some pick-me-up (ahem, Kailua or Baileys) but that'd make me sleepy so I'm happy with the syrup and whipped cream!

PS: I used to add flavored coffee creamer every day but then my dental hygienist told me that she feels like people who drink creamer tend to have more tartar...and I will do anything to avoid more teeth scraping at the dentist so I quit the creamer and just drink straight black. We'll see at my next appointment if it made a difference!