Pita chips

I was inspired by girl hippie to use pita bread and make pita chips. Although our recipes are different here's what I did with mine.

Things you'll need:

-Pita bread pockets
-1 T Butter flavored olive oil (plain is fine)
-McCormick Roasted garlic and Bell pepper seasoning
-1/2 t Cumin

Optional - Paprika and chili pepper

In a mixing bowl add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin and mix together - Brush on to the already cut up and arranged pita chips - Once oil is on, sprinkle on the amount of seasonings to your liking - Cook for 8-10 minutes @ 350, depending on how crispy you want them.

I did some with the garlic and bell pepper seasoning and then the rest with paprika and chili pepper. Both were AMAZING!!

Glittery backdrop for a fireplace

We have a lovely fireplace but we've never used it in the 3 years we lived in our home. So instead of it going to waste, I added a candelabra, candles, orange lights and wanted more sparkle to the brick background so I added a DIY glitter back splash.

I bought 2 black foam board posters and a jar of black glitter. The other supplies I already had.

Things you'll need:

-Black foam board
-Black glitter
-Red glitter (if wanted)
-Elmer's glue
-Foam brush
-Razor


Measure the back and the sides of the fireplace - Cut the foam board appropriately - Lay out some newspaper to work on and to catch your glitter - Start by pouring on the glue and then smear it using the foam brush. You'll want to do batches at a time, so it doesn't dry out - I started from the top and worked down - Once covered in glitter, tap the board on the bottom and sides till all the loose glitter comes off - If adding an additional color, this would be the time to do it so - Make sure to tap this off as well.

Repeat with the other 2 boards.  Once complete add them in with the back one first and than the sides.  

What was once a dull fireplace is now a beautiful sparkly fireplace. It adds such a lovely effect to the living room. The images don't do this justice.


NOTE- for the lights, I placed tin foil under them so it would be reflective.

 

I ordered remote control flameless candles from Target.com, still waiting for them to arrive.

They call me "Firestarter".

For camping and emergency reasons we have tons of boxed matches around the house.

Well it's camping season and we started cleaning out our supplies and that's when I realized our box of camping matches was smashed under all our crap. So I started thinking of how I could prevent this. Luckily my box of mason jars was sitting near by and gave me inspiration.

This is a super easy project. You might even have all these supplies laying around the house.

Things you'll need:

-Small mason jar
-Sandpaper (coarse is better)
-Hot glue gun
-Matches (you want the Strike Anywhere kind)

Start out by tracing the inner flat lid on the sandpaper - Cut out the traced circle - Put 4 hot glue dots on the lid and attach the sandpaper - Place matches inside the jar - TADA!!

Now in order for the sandpaper to light a match you MUST have the Strike Anywhere Matches. I realized I took a photo of the wrong box because I was using our camp box of matches.

Simple fix. I cut out the special fire strip and attached it to the lid. It easily works for the matches and the sandpaper works perfectly for the "anywhere" matches.

This is perfect for camping, emergency kits and to keep in your kitchen cabinets.

4 dots of hot glue

The Strike anywhere matches have a white tip. It's the one burning currently, but not in the jar.

 

3 ingredient red wine chocolate sauce

This sauce is delicious on ice cream and one of my fave to make and eat! It's an easy sauce, takes about 15 minutes total time and is great to give as gifts.

Stuff you need:
-1 cup dark chocolate chips
-1/2 cup merlot wine
-1/4 cup light corn syrup

Start out by putting the wine in a small pot and bring to a boil for 8-10 minutes - Lower the heat & add in the remaining ingredients - bring to a boil, while continuously stirring the ingredients - Once boiled (or completely melted) remove from heat - Let sit till cooled before placing into bottle or container.


NOTE- You can use milk chocolate chips if you would prefer. I've done both and being a wine and chocolate enthusiast I love both variations.

Any red wine will do, but I love merlot.

A little sweet app called "Happier"

I came across an app today in the App Store under the New and Noteworthy section.

I should be up front and tell you it's a social media app (like we need more of those) but I wanted to try it out and so far I like it.

It's just an app to share and save little things that made you happy thru out the day.

Here's more info from the app page and some of my screen shots.

Be "happier" and download this.

DIY chalkboard

My friends and I have fancy dinner once a month and it's so much fun! There's a total of 6 of us and each month one of us hosts the dinner party at their home.

It was my turn to host in February and I served Italian food and wanted to go all fancy with my table setting. I was searching for new place mats when I came across chalkboard place mats and fell in love with them, but not their price tag. Two mats were $25 and I needed 10.

So I said to myself  "Self, you can make these!" and my response was "Hell yeah I can!"

And guess what...... I DID!


This project was super easy and only cost $26 and some change.


Things you'll need from your local hardware store:

-1- 1/8" 4'x8' tempered hard board (cut into 12 x 18 pieces)
-Smooth roller
-Paint pan
-Rustoleum chalk board paint
-2 rolls of fabric shelf liner (enough to cover the amount of place mats you want)


I went to Home Depot and got all the supplies except for the shelf liners. I picked those up at Target.

The wood can be cut up at Home Depot and it's a free service. YAY!

Instructions:

Some of the board will need to be sanded to smooth them out. In all honestly only 3 of these needed to be sanded down. The paint says to do a primer but I did two thick coats and had no issues.

Let dry 4 hours between coats.

After the 2 coats have been applied I waited till the next day to apply the shelf liners on the back. I did this by using a hot glue gun around the board and then did an necessary trimming once dried.

I got 12 boards made from the one piece of hardwood. These are great for children to use, place mats, dinner parties to identify your appetizers with, or art for your home.... the possibilities are endless.


NOTE- Easy to clean with a washrag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added Italian words to my hand made napkin rings & wrote the definition on the back.

I hope you try making these and let me know how it goes.