I'm participating in:

Go check it out! There are some wonderful ideas,uplifting messages,AND, great giveaways!!!

Delicious Cake Mix Banana Bread

OK, so it might not be as healthy as the "real stuff"....

but it's just as good. Might even be better!

And who's counting calories anyway?? lol!

Ingredients:

Cake mix (you choose!)

1 pkg banana pudding (3.5 oz)

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

Optional:

nuts

chocolate chips (our favorite!)

blueberries....etc.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mash bananas and add all ingredients. Mix well and pour

into 2 large or 5 small loaf pans. (I spray loaf pans with 'Pam Baking Spray')

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

There are so many flavors of this bread you can make...

Here's some of our favorites!

Banana Strawberry Bread (use a strawberry cake mix)

Double Chocolate Banana Bread (Choc cake mix and Choc chips)

Banana Chocolate Chip (Vanilla Cake mix with Choc chips)

Banana Blueberry (Vanilla Cake mix with fresh blueberries)

Gonna Try: Lemon Blueberry (Lemon Cake mix with fresh blueberries...mmmm. )

So many possibilities.

And I usually have everything on hand...I just pick up a few boxes of

banana pudding here and there and I usually have plenty of cake mixes on hand....

When our bananas start to "turn".... like they always do, (my kids beg for bananas at the store, and then never eat them!!) , it's time to make some banana bread!!

Enjoy!

Blog Award

Me? Really?

It might seem like a small thing

to some of you out there, insignificant really.

But I'm just tickled pink.

Thank you Carol @ TheAnswerisChocolate (which I whole-heartedly agree!!)

for picking me. It always feels good

to hear someone likes your "stuff".
Especially someone with good taste!

Go check her blog....it will now be one I check on

daily. Such great ideas...and right up my alley.

The guidelines for accepting this award are...

Thank the person/people who gave it to you.
Tell 7 things yourself.
Pass the award on to 15 bloggers,

whom you have recently discovered,

and think are fantastic.

Here Goes:

1. I love rollerskating and Xanadu. I "rock" on 8 wheels! (not to brag)

2. I can't stand silence. My ipod is usually strapped to my arm or a movie is playing in the background.

3. I am addicted to Dr. Pepper. Addicted. Today, I am trying to quit....again.

4. Even with no makeup, I wear 8 hour-wear lipstick (my fav)EVERYDAY. Sometimes I put it on before bed. ? I know. Weird.

5. I LOVE thrift stores, Garage Sells, and Junk at the side of the Road.

6. Peppermint IceCream is BEST with crushed up Saltine Crackers. Try it!

7. I have the most amazing, supportive and loving husband and 3 of the most

precious, fun and happy little turds (kids). I am so blessed.

I am passing this award on to:

1. deliacreates

2. noodlehead

3. imakestuff4fun

4.ohsohappytogether
5. thethriftyba

6. livelaughmakesomething

7. lucykatecrafts

8. greensubmarine

9. droppedstitches

10. mydeartrash

11. thestylesisters

12. lachateaudesfleurs

13. remodelaholic

14. eighteen25

15. everycraftyendeavor

Now go check out these blogs....they are so fun and inspiring!

Update your Purse!

I have a friend who is OBSESSED with purses. In fact, I haven't had to buy a purse for a LONG time because I just borrow one of hers. She has so many, she never misses them!
When I was visiting her recently, I snagged 4 of them to take back home with me. She gave me the "OK" to dress them up a bit.

Here's the 1st one.....cute huh?

Color my world "happy"

**Warning**

There's lots of COLOR on this post. Cover your eyes or

get some sunglasses if it becomes too bright.

Here's what I've been up to.....

I have always been obsessed with pictures.

I LOVE pictures.

A while ago, I was rummaging through snapshots of friends and family.

It "stung" a little because they are so far away now. I only have 1 friend here. (Thanks for going to lunch today, YOU. :) Yeah, don't feel sorry for me. I KNOW. I need to get out and meet some people. I will.

In the meantime, I decided that it is SO pointless for these lovely faces to sit tucked away in

my various boxes. Especially, because it is these faces that bring me so much joy.

Here's the fun part.

With my love of thrift stores (they have a TON of frames) and spray paint,

I came up with this.

I know, I know. That's a lot of frames. And spray paint.

And COLOR. Maybe it was all the fumes I breathed in, but

I LOVE all the colors. They are so upbeat and fun.

Just what I need right now.

($2.50 frame from WallyWorld. It was black plastic crap,
and took A LOT of coat of spray paint, but I love
how it turned out! I added some ribbon, jewels and a fabric
flower.


This frame is my favorite. It was $1.50 at Goodwill and my husband
rolled his eyes at me when I picked it up. (yep, I got him to go with me...probably never to return) It was an ugly off white color. I spray painted it green and then added the blue paint
where the flowers popped. So cute. But that might be because my darling little sister is in it!

And here's how I displayed everything.
It sure adds some sunshine to our drab little rental.


And I guess if I ever get sick of the colors,
I can spray paint them again.



I also did this. This is the sewing machine

stool I inherited from my lovely Grandma B.

It was plain brown wood with an ugly brown leather seat cover,

that actually stuck to your butt if you sat on it too long. :)

This is so much cuter.

Hope this inspires you to

do something colorful and fun in

your neck of the woods!

Cute Art Box

In our small house, little messes like this, seem like they are BIG messes.

And it just plain, drives me n.u.t.s. I have a little of my dad's OCD in me, I'll admit,

and I like things neat and tidy. I mean, who doesn't?

My sweet daughter has taken to coloring and cutting lately. It's pretty cute.

But she can leave a pretty big mess. And has yet to discover her love

of cleaning, like her mama. And this mama is getting tired of cleaning

up this (above) multiple times a day.

Here's my solution:

I bought this cute little box at DOLLAR TREE yesterday.

I love things that are practically free. Even better, free.

But you can't beat $1.

It was cute and all but I wasn't in LOVE

with the paper on it. Of course, I knew I could dress it up just fine!

I got into my 'stash' of scrapbook paper, and cut pieces of paper to fit all the sides,

including the inside.

For the scissors, on the inside of the lid, I made a

couple slits in the paper and put some elastic band

in. I secured it with tape, but right before I

mod-podged it to the box, I put hot-glued on the

elastic so it wouldn't pull out.

I mod-podged everything to the box and

then sealed it with a good coat of mod-podge.

I LOVE mod-podge.

If you don't have a bottle, go get some this

weekend. It will change your "crafting world"!

So here's where I think I'm so smart. (we'll see)
I only gave my sweet little mess maker a
few crayons, instead of a big bucket. Hopefully
this is easier for her to "maintain a clean workspace". hahaha

I also cut scrapbook paper into smaller squares
to put in the box.
Maybe my printer paper will last longer. (probably not though)
See this cute flower I made out of ribbon?
Go here for the tutorial. (you have to watch the whole tutorial and
wait for their 60 second tip) These ladies rock.
And so does hot glue, which is what I used
to stick it on.

To keep it closed, as the girl is
walking around and moving her work space
from room to room, multiple times....
(She's my little "chick"
that follows her mama around the house.
Except sadly, I can't claim that I have
chicken legs. hahaha. Well I thought it was funny.....)
I used some ribbon, and some double stick Velcro.
I glued a button at the end so her little fingers
could easily work it.

And there you have it. That's my solution for one mess in my
house. Now I just need to to figure out about a dozen more and
we are good to go!

Enjoy!

Recipe - German Oven Pancakes

Mmmm. We used to make German Oven Pancakes all

the time when we were kids. Probably because they are fast, easy and don't require many ingredients. And we were in and out of the kitchen before my dad could get mad. (He's a little OCD!)

I make these for dinner every so often, usually when the hubby is gone and I don't have to cook any meat! Obviously the kids LOVE them! Who wouldn't!

German Oven Pancakes

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

3 large eggs

1/8 cup sugar

dash of salt

2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400. Put butter in 9x13 and melt in oven.

Mix the rest of the ingredients. (I just whip it up with a fork. It's ok if it has little lumps)

Swish butter around dish to grease the bottom. Don't worry about the sides. Increase the temperature to 425. Pour batter into pan and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until edges start turning golden brown.

*For me and the 3 kids, I have had to make a 9x13 and an 8x8 to "fill" everyone up. I just 1 1/2 the recipe, because the measurements really don't have to be exact! If you have kids older than 10, especially boys, I would plan on at least doubling the recipe. :)

Our favorite toppings:

-Powdered sugar

-Syrup

-Fresh fruit, & whipped cream. (pictured above)

-Powdered sugar & laughing cow cheese. (just try it!)

-Homemade strawberry jam.

I haven't tried it yet, but I think it would be delicious to cut this up and make a monte-cristo sandwich out of! Next time for sure!

Enjoy!

Project 11 - Love Note Frame

Since we've moved into a smaller home, I have no wall space for all my little nic-nacs n' such. I used to have a BIG magnetic, dry erase 'LOVE NOTES' board, that the hubby and I used to write "sweet somethings" to each other. I can't find a place for it here, so I decided to make a smaller one....

It is so easy.

1). You need a frame WITH the glass. Mine was already painted green

2). From scraps of fabric, I chose a background & then another that I cut a heart out of.

3 & 4). Next, I just sewed the heart to the background fabric. I went around it about 5 times and my goal WAS to make it look messy and not perfect.

5). When putting the fabric on the frame mat, I used double stick tape. You could use a spray glue as well. Put the frame together and you are ready to write something "lovely" to the one you love...."write on the glass!"

6). Hang. Don't laugh. Or be grossed out. Mine is hanging in my bathroom. Right by the bowl. Now the hubby doesn't have any excuse. :)

Project 10 - Key Chain Clip

I've heard these called "key fobs"....I don't even know what fob

means. ? But I decided I wanted a cuter one. I made one last year

and it wasn't very cute. But I have been using it anyway.

This one turned out MUCh better.

(before I give "my" instructions, please note: I like crafting

the quick and easiest ways possible to me. The way I do

things probably aren't "the "best" way...but just "my" way.

Just so you know.....

1) I cut a piece of muslim to about the size I wanted the key chain.

I then cut the background piece of fabric the same length, but two and half times it's width.

I also cut 2 pieces of stitch witchery the same size as the muslim.

2) I layered the stitch witchery, then the muslim in the center of the fabric piece. I ironed that into place. Then I put the other piece of stitch witchery on top of the muslim and folded one side over and ironed. **Warning: only iron to the edge of the folded fabric...if you iron the stitch witchery, you will have a glue mess on your iron!

3) Fold the other half over and iron.

4) Take the main piece of fabric and cut the same length and about 1/2 the width of the background fabric. Iron the raw edges under.

5) Cut another piece of stitch witchery, the same size as the main piece of fabric and iron to main fabric to the background fabric - 6) This makes it SOOO much easier when sewing it.

7) Sew along the edge of the main fabric on each side.

8) Put a key ring on and then fold in half, right sides facing each other and sew ends together...going over it a few times.

9) Flipping it back around, I moved the seam up to the middle of the key chain, put a few stitches in it to hold it in place, and added a yo-yo flower with a button.

I think it's cute anyway.....and if I can do it, anyone can.

Project 9 - Mod Podge Wooden Letters

My sweet friend gave me this "PRAY" sign.

I was going to put it in the boys' room, but at the

last minute, decided to change it up for my bedroom,

because I probably need the "reminder" the most.

I first picked out the paper and traced the

letters on the back side.

After I traced the letters, I cut them out. I didn't

worry about doing it perfectly, because I knew I was going

to give it a distressed look.

To mod podge I give the back side of the paper a coat,

and then the surface I'm covering a coat. This gives

it a good seal.

After it dried, I took my black inkpad and ran it all along the

edges of each letter and across the off-white surfaces, to

give it a distressed look. I then painted another coat of

mod podge over the whole thing to seal it.

I'm thinking this is going to look pretty cute in my room.

And hopefully it will do it's job in reminding me

to say my prayers!

Project 8 - Bathroom Jars

I'm back. Spring Break is over and the boys are back in school. I am back to having lots of free time, which means more time to craft! Yeah for me.

I decided to "dress up" the glass containers in my bathroom that hold cotton balls and q-tips.

All I did was add some ribbon to a piece fo felt with hot glue.

On the other piece, after tying off string on each button, (to make it look like they were really sewed on), I hot glued those on too.

Then I put some double stick velcro on each end and wrapped them around the jars. Now I can take them off and do something different if I get sick of em'.

Just a little something to "dress up" this plain little bathroom.

I didn't wake up today with this project in my head.

But I am in this room multiple times a day and HATE it.

It is SO ugly! (sorry if any of you reading this have this same border in your home!...if so though, it's gotta come down!)

I also didn't want to tackle this room because 1) We are in a rental. This is not my bathroom. and 2) I didn't want to spend any money and my husband would have killed me if I did.

But I had to. So I got creative.

I ripped the nasty border off. It only took about 20 minutes. After giving the walls a good scrub down, I took some of my white craft paint, watered it down pretty good, soaked up the paint with an old t-shirt rag and wiped the walls down. I gave each wall a good 2 coats. And because the walls here are textured, I had to rub the rag in all different directions to get the paint in all the pockets. It lighted it up pretty good. I took a clean, wet rag and went over the walls to make it look even.

And there you have it! And now, if I want to do any more decorating in my bathroom, I don't have decorate around that, well....NASTY, wall paper border!