Cherry Dump Cake

SUPER easy!!!  SUPER yummy!!!   My favorite is Cherry, but you can substitute any other fruit pie filling of your choice.... You can even use fresh or frozen fruits like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries!

Put the ingredients into a 13x9 pan in this order:
1 Large Can Cherry Fruit Pie Filling
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (dry)
1 stick butter, cut into slices

That is it!  Bake 45-50 minutes on 350 in oven!  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you wish!! YUM!

Orange Glazed Meatballs

1 lb Ground Beef
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 egg
2 TBS oil
4 TBS Orange Marmalade
4 TBS Soy Sauce
2 TBS White Vinegar
2 Oranges or clementines
splash of orange juice

1. Prepare Meatballs and cook: In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with the garlic, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, bread crumbs, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Thoroughly combine and form into golf-ball-sized meatballs. Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the pan. Cook, rotating to brown all sides, for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked to desired doneness. (can also cook in oven) Remove from the pan and set aside.
2.  Make the glaze: Wipe out any burned bits from the pan. Returning it to medium-high heat, add the vinegar, orange jam, remaining soy sauce, and a splash of orange juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Return the meatballs to the pan. Reduce until the sauce is thick and syrupy. Roll the meatballs to coat them in the glaze.

We like to serve with white rice and broccoli!  And with the 2 oranges remove skin and divide into segments and serve with it!.  The kids LOVE this!!!  

DIY Natural Mosquito Spray

Make Natural Mosquito Spray without all the harmful chemicals! in an 8oz spray bottle mix 1/2 cup distilled (or boiled) water, 1/2 cup witch hazel, and 20-30 drops of TerraShield. You can also add peppermint to keep those pesky knats at bay! Oh, and this SMELLS great!

"TerraShield® is an all-natural formula of lemon eucalyptus, citronella, lemongrass, and a proprietary blend of 12 other therapeutic-grade essential oils blended in a base of pure fractionated coconut oil. A primary function of essential oils in plants is protecting against insects and other predators. Unlike other products that contain synthetic and toxic chemicals, TerraShield is a natural approach to managing exposure to biting insects. TerraShield's fresh, light citrus smell is wonderfully invigorating and can be used safely by everyone in the family. One application provides coverage that lasts up to 6 hours."

One of the best things about the TerraShield is the low cost!  $12.67 retail, or $9.50 wholesale!  If you would like to order let me know or goto my site here 

DoTerra is also offering a great promotion for the month of May if you sign up with them and purchase a kit over 100 PV you will receive 50 in product credit the following month!  That is like free money to use on AY oils you want!!  YAY!  There are some great kits to get started The physician Kits has the 10 basic oils plus slim and sassy for $150.  There is also the Home Essentials Kit that comes with 10 of the larger bottles of oils and the Petal Diffuser for $275.  OR you can create your own "kit" too!

DIY X Coffee Table

Built this coffee table to go in the living room.   Also built 2 matching end tables!  These were fairly quick builds with most of the work in the finishing process.  The coffee table is from ana-white's plan and the end tables I modified the dimensions to fit my space.

Here are the coffee table plans

The top is done in a "kona" stain and a couple of coats of poly.  The bottom portion done in a distressed white with kona glaze on top.

 

Queen Platform Storage Bed DIY

Shopping List:
Headboard/Footboard
1 – Sheet 3/4" Plywood, MDF
2 – 1x3 @ 8 feet long
2 – 2x3 @ 8 feet long
1 – 1x2 @ 8 feet long
4 – small moulding pieces 8 feet long
3/4” finish nails
1 1/4” pocket hole screws

Storage Bases
2 – Sheets ¾” plywood or MDF cut into strips 15 3/4" wide, referred to as 1x16 boards throughout this plan
2 – sheets ¼” plywood or other backerboard
4 – 2x4 @ 8 feet long
2 – 2x2 @ 8 feet long
3– 1x3 @ 8 feet long (for the slats – try and burn up small scraps here)
7 – 1x6 @ 8 feet long OR 1 sheet ¾” plywood cut into strips 5 1/2" wide, used as 1x6s for drawers. You could even use 5/8” thick material
4 – 1x8 @ 6 feet long
Optional drawer moulding
24 (or 12) – Drawer Knobs or handles
12 – 14” long drawer slides, the white euro style bottom corner mount ones will work best
1 1/4” and 2 1/2" pocket hole screws
1 1/4” finish nails

CUT LIST
Headboard/Footboard
1– 3/4" plywood or MDF @ 60” x 25" (headboard)
1 - 3/4" plywood or MDF @ 60 x 23" (footboard)
2 – 1x3 @ 60”
2 – 1x2 @ 60"
2 – 2x3 @ 47 1/2”
2 – 2x3 @ 27 1/2"
2 – 1x3 @ 67”
8– Moulding pieces ... i will have to measure these
8 - Moulding pieces (again i need to measure these (long point to long point, both ends cut at 45 degrees off square, not parallel to each other)

Storage Bases
4 – 1x16 @ 80”
8 – 1x16 @ 14 7/8”
2 – ¼” plywood @ 80” x 16 ¼”
4 – 2x4 @ 75"
4 – 2x4 @ 10”
2 – 2x2 @ 80"
14 – 1x3 or 1x2 scraps @ 7”

DRAWERS ( I need to double check the drawers
24 – 1x6 @ 14”
24 – 1x6 @ 21 ½” (I think I added a smidge to the length of the drawers Bu need to measure... I think I used 23 3/8")
12 – 1x8 @ 24 5/8” (Drawer Faces) measure and build to your exact drawers though
12 - ¼” plywood @ 23” x 14” (Drawer Bottoms). Again I think I added an inch or so... will need to measure to confirm)

This was the BIG summer project!  The plan when moving my son to his own room (which happened to be the bonus room) was to eliminate the need for a dresser.  Partly due to space and low ceilings.  After much planning we decided on the Fillman storage Bed that Ana-White had posted.  It was for a twin size bed.  I calculated and measured and came up with a queen size based on those plans.  I will update with my cut list and sizes if anyone is interested.  For now here are the pictures!  I did add 2 wooden knobs to each drawer (stained to match)  Need to get an updated picture!

THE BED!  12 Drawers queen size... I can't believe I built this!

Headboard and Footboard trimmed out

Laundry Room Dresser/Shelf

Ok, Although I am not completely done with my Laundry Dresser I am posting an update.  I don't have my doors completely done and hanged... but other than that fully functional.  I have had it in place and using it a few months now and absolutely LOVE it!  Read more about my laundry room here

Here is a BEFORE of my rickety rackety sorter and hanging space:

And an after!!!

I still need to figure out what to do on the top of my shelf... Look at all of that space!!!  I think I can fit 6 or so fabric/wicker/wood bins.  Yes I am undecided :)  I do know that I want a home for items to donate, things that need to be mended... and... hmmm what else can I store up there??  ideas anyone??  I think I want to either stay in a woodsy wicker look (nothing too dark... or go with a creamy/tan neutral color up there.

As you can see clothes are filled in the baskets an they are very sturdy! Each person in my family has their own basket now.  the 6th basket is for fabric napkins and towels.  They can hold dirty clothes... or clean, and slide in and out just like a dresser drawer. 

I ammended the Ana White Laundry Dresser plan  I built 2 dressers, however for the top piece I cut one piece (instead of 2) to help keep them together, then  I squared them up when I put the backing on.  I was going to do a ceramic tile countertop and build in the whole thing like cabinets... but then I started thinking about if we ever needed to replace the washing machine or dryer and needed to move those out of the room.... I had to keep the laundry dresser moveable too... so it is NOT attached to the wall and I left the baseboards in place :) 

Eventually I will build a sink cabinet... and replace the utility sink... I will secure that piece of cabinet in place and the dresser will butt up to it.  I had to keep this under a certain height so that my ironing board cabinet would still open and be usable :) 

So all that said I joined varied lenghs of 1x3's which I sanded an distressed.  The stain is ebony and red mahogany mixed with 2 coats of poly on top for a smooth finish.

I also added wooden brackets with a rod for my hanging area.  I came out enough to allow for hanger to hang and had to add a block of wood to the tops because I didn't account for the shelf being in the way when hanging... It works... same distressed look :) 

How about some more pictures???

For the rod I drilled a hole in my wooden brackets.  The design was free handed and then cut with a jigsaw.  I added another bracket for the end pieces that do not have holes drilled for the rod.  This was they are set in place and will not shift or slide

Close up of bracket

Close up of folding area.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my finish!!!

And I have made my doors... aside from my beadboard backing that I need to purchase and cut.  an I need to figure out the hinges.  I have bought euro hinges that hopefully will work and be hidden.  The doors will be painted glossy white like the bottom of the dresser.  and I plan to glaze them with dark walnut stain.  Which I plan to also do on my existing white cabinets that hang above my washing machine and dryer!  Here are the door frames:

I have decided to wait until my kiddos go back to school to finish the doors.  This summer I am commited to getting my oldest son moved into the bonus room (which was the playroom) and have a BED to be built!!  All 3 kiddos will be in school this year and I will have plenty of time to myself for projects!

DIY Hanging World Globe Lamps

I saw the idea on pinterest to use an old world globe, cut in half and add a light kit to it to make hanging lights... although I couldn't find much info on how to actually make them.  I had an old globe that was broken off the axle and knew it would be perfect for my son's desk area.  He loved the idea and was on board!  I went to my blue store and with the help of a kind lady that worked there selected the longest length of electrical wire with the plug I  could find... I think it was around 10 feet.  and the I purchased 2 ceramic sockets for the light bulbs.  that was it.  I think I spent around $7-8.  From there I decided that I shouldn't mess with wiring and it was right up my hubby's alley :)  Trust me... he was thrilled!  He just loves my projects ideas :)

I descibed to him what I wanted ... to which he said...  "huh?"  so then I pulled out the pin with a photograph from pinterest... He rigged it up wiring both lamps on the one cord... I didn't want them on 2 cords or using up to outlets.  Here are some pix.  Hanging about the desk I built.  Best of all my son is completely thrilled!  Here's to hoping he will spend hours upon hours delightfully doing his homework now :)

 

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Checking in on my goals for the year

OK, first off... I am way behind in my blogging, and my apologies!  As I sit here and ponder my unfinished fireplace... well, I feel behind, unaccomplished, slacker, you name it... haha... I feel like I have been super busy though with project after project, keeping up with my business, kids, house, etc.

Tonight I decided to read my goals for the year... which mainly were house things I had hoped to accomplish.  Here is my post

Only when I read it do I realize just how much I have gotten done, and even though my fireplace is not done...  I have completed my laundry room cabinets/hanging area aside from finishing my doors for the front of the cabinets (need to blog and take pics), I did build my farmhouse bench for my dining room!  Here it is!

 and in the past few weeks we have been slowly tackling converting the bonus room into a bedroom for my oldest son.   And I have also done some projects that were not on my list... yo know all those interest inspired things LOL.

So far here is what I have done:
      built him a desk
      made DIY hanging globe lamps for above the desk area (actually hubby and son did this for me :)
     decluttered tons of toys and slowly moved many of my son's belongings upstairs
     purchased a bedding set.  Which in itself was not an easy task.  Taking my boy who hates shopping
         to store after store and trying to find something that was not too expensive, good material for
         washing and durability... something that wasn't a "theme" per my sons request... oh that day
         was fun.  Walking by the bra section as there was giggling from my son... preteen hood...
         I am not sure if I am ready for you!

OK on with the list here!

     buillt a trophy shelf.... well actually 2 because my younger son wanted one too...
     Promise pictures are coming!
     Made a NFL Saints pillow for his couch, and a USM Eagle pillow too!
     built a room divider to section off my ribbon section from his room.  And since hubby said I was not
           aloud to slap up 2x4's and sheet rock for a real wall :-)   The room divider turned out awesome,
           with built in cubby's ,  hooks for hanging, chalk board, bulletin board, and magnetic
           board section.      Post is coming I promise!

The 2 main things I have left are to built a angled wall piece thing that will sit on a bookcase and serve as a wall to hide the remaining ribbon area visible. And the biggest, most scariest, overwhelming thing... will be building a queen size captains bed.  Complete with headboard, foot board, and 12 drawers... yes I am a little scared.  I know myself and once the project begins it will consume me.  I am not sure if my family will get a meal type of consume me :-)   I am going to purchase my wood this week!  Eeeek!  The drawers are daunting!  Once we have a bed though he can begin sleeping up there....

Here is the plan I am going to use  Ana White Fillman Storage Bed Plan

Oh and the crazy part I am trying to work into this crazy mess that drives my husband crazy?!  I am planning on taking my queen mattress upstairs for my son to have... and some how simultaneously built a king bed for my room and purchase a  king mattress set.  Yeah, not sure how this will all work out.  Thought about buying king mattresses and just setting them up on the floor temporarily.... but hubby vetoed that idea immediately...  building will take a few days, and staining with take a few more... and well throw in life and 3 kids I am thinking each bed will take 2 weeks or more.  Perhaps I can build the queen bed and use his twin mattress on it until I can get the other bed built....  hmmmm... we shall see

School goes back the beginning of August... and I will be on my own for the first time in 10 years!!!  Yes all 3 will be in school. Bittersweet, bittersweet!

DIY Desk and a plan!

our DIY desk!

This summer the big plan is to give my oldest son his own room.  He is almost 10 and shares his room with his 5 year old brother.  Come August my youngest will start big school!  And this is the summer that we planned to make the transition converting the bonus room (which has been playroom/mommy's workspace) to my oldest son's room of his very own!

Here is a picture of the playroom a few years ago.  Over the years the space has evolved and toys have changed

My youngest... always the dare devil :)  This is the main part of the room

This is a view looking back toward the door/staircase

A view from the entrance of the room.

This is a little galley next to the staircase.  It was used a our reading nook.

Little by little we have downsized furniture and toys in preparation of this big move!  All will be done on a budget of course!  I will post more pictures of the room and the challenges we will face making this change in the next week.  We have a few pieces of furniture that will remain from the playroom.  A love seat , TV/media center, and a few bookshelves.

We have given a lot of thought to what will be needed to make the space work as a bedroom, and still keep my storage space needed for my ribbon business. Mainly there is a hallway that my supplies are in right off the bonus room on the way to the attic door.  Here is a picture of that space.

This is the little hall that leads to the attic and where my ribbons are stored.  This must remain, but will be partitioned off from the main room

We decided we will have 3 zones.  A play zone, study zone, and sleep zone.

One if our biggest challenges will be a lack of closet space.  There is one small closet near the staircase to the bonus room, but it I us jam packed with supplies and crafts for my business... and maybe down the road can be cleared to another space, but for now won't be used.  It is only half tall, so not much for hanging space anyway.  The plan us to build a queen size bed with 6 drawers on each side... this will also serve as the dresser :-)

We also needed a desk and chair.  And decided to go for a narrow desk that would fit perfect when you enter the room.  More on all that later :-)

Here is the start of our summer project!  We went digging in my in laws shop.  Found some pieces of wood... one being a tabletop section of a farmhouse table my father in law made and downsized a section of it!

This is the part of an old tabletop my father in law cut down from his farmhouse table when they downsized it.  It was the perfect width for the place I wanted the desk.  We wanted a long desk area too and this looked perfect!

We stripped it down added a frame and legs.   I cut the legs at 30“ in length... mainly based on other desk dimensions and I measured off of a desk my boys have in their room currently (but is attached to the bunk beds :-)  My son chose a darker stain... which will also be what we use on the chair, bed and nightstand eventually.

My oldest helping sand the new desk we built

Here it is all stained and complete!  I am thrilled we have the start of our "study zone" for just the cost of stain!

My son is amazed.... we built this for free... besides my sweat and muscle in almost 100° heat and I did spend $7 on the stain... which will be plenty to do our remaining pieces.




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Distressed Farmhouse Bench

For the longest time I have wanted a new dining room set... even though I absolutely LOVED my table!  It was the first purchase we made as a married couple for our home in Colorado.  We bought 4 chairs and the table and had planned to buy the matching captains chairs and cina cabinet down the road.  Less than a year later we went to get the captains chairs and discovered they were no longer available...  the set had been discontinued!  I was super bummed!  We then moved cross country to Mississippi... over the years I have tried to find the set, or chairs that would match.  I really wanted more seating... to no avail.  I was going to purchase a new set to have a matching hutch and wanted to be able to seat 8... but at least 5 to seat my family :-)
Long story short I still LOVED my table and decided to keep it. And build the farmhouse bench I saw on Ana White's website!   The seats need to be reupholstered still... which is on my to do list.  I had leftover 2x4's laying around from our fireplace addition... so one afternoon my son and I tackled this!

I decided to notch my wood out as the plan calls for. This was a bit intimidating for me. I watched a YouTube video, called the hubby at work... "how do I use the skill saw and adjust the measurements?". Haha my hubby loves me. I waited for him to be home to show me... cause yes that thing does scare me after all. When I told him what I was doing he said I should use a jigsaw to cut out the area.... I told him, nope I want to use the skill saw and a chisel... the YouTube video made it look super easy! So he helped me figure how to set the depth to an 1 1/2. The first 2 I did were not as pretty and needed more chiseling, but then it went real quick. I had 8 to do... and by the end of it my little arms were sore, but I was popping out wood left and right! I was so proud! My 4 year old helped distress the wood with hammer and nails. And I used a black stain. 1 coat... then sanded areas for a distressed look. I finished with 2 coasts of poly and sanding in between.

I added felt to the bottom of the legs to protect my floor and it is easier to pull in and out :-)