DIY Cross with Marbles

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Good morning!

I have made many DIY crosses in the past (Stackable Wooden Cross 1 , Stackable Wooden Cross 2) and given them as gifts. This time, I wanted to make one for my husband and I. Have you seen those CUTE wooden crosses covered with different marbles at antique, craft and gift stores? I figured out how to make them and it was fun to make. :)

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Grilled Vegetable Skewers

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Happy Monday!

In the summertime my husband and I cook on the grill a lot. We live in a one bedroom apartment right now so using the kitchen when it is 100+ degrees outside (we're in Texas) can make it miserable inside. We're always trying to cook healthier and actually enjoy eating our vegetables. Sometimes vegetables can get boring and we try and come up with ways to make them even better. Tonight's post is a vegetable skewer recipe that we came up with one day while walking through the supermarket.

We made two different skewers - a tomato and potato skewer and a brussel sprouts skewer.

Our first skewer had a mixture of baby potatoes ("fingerling") and cherry tomatoes.

All you need to do to prep these little guys is wash them. Feel free to snack on the tomatoes while you are prepping! :)

 These brussel sprouts are fresh and can be found near the lettuce section of the produce part of the grocery store. Some come in clear plastic containers or even loose and you can buy them in bulk.

 To prep brussel sprouts first carefully cut off the little stems.

 Then remove all the outer leaves. These come off very easily and are usually a little darker in green color. After you've done this to all of your brussel sprouts wash them in a strianer. I used about 8 brussel sprouts per skewer.

After cleaning and pruning my brussel sprouts I brought a pot of water to a boil and boiled the brussel sprouts for 3 minutes and blanched (tossed them in a bowl of ice water) them right after. The tomatoes and potatoes didn't need any pre-cooking before being put on the grill.

Now you can start making your skewers. You can make them all on one but I liked making two separate skewers. The top skewers are all brussel sprouts and the bottom skewers use white fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, red fingerling potatoes and then I continued that pattern.

Before putting them on the grill I sprayed them with a cooking spray and seasoned them with some pepper and garlic salt. You can really be creative here with your seasonings or just use what you like. :)

 On the grill cook the skewers over medium high heat for about 10-12 minutes, turning them over for even cooking about half-way through. 

 Yum! While cooking you're really just looking for the brussel sprouts to get some color and the potatoes to cook through (which is easy since they are so small).

Here are the skewers ready to eat!

 The potatoes and tomatoes skewers were so good. If you love grilled tomatoes you'll love the baby ones! The potatoes were great, too!

 The brussel sprouts taste just as good as if you were to bake them in the oven. Yum! I loved the lightly charred edges.

This is a really easy meal for the grill. It adds so much color and makes your meal much healthier by adding in those extra vegetables. I like that we used baby potatoes instead of baked potatoes because you are eating a lot less starch but feeling just as satisfied.

We've made the baby potatoes before using small boiler onions next to them (we've found the little tiny white onions at Central Market before) and it was delicious. We've also used mushrooms on here. I love that you can just switch out the vegetables with whatever you have on hand or are craving for the night.

Bon Appetite! :)

Cassie



Man Bouquet 2 :)

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Hello!

Tonight we are going to my sister and brother-in-laws to celebrate his 30th birthday. I have been wanting to make another man bouquet and I thought he would love one too. I've made a man bouquet before and loved it the first time (so did my husband!). This time I thought I would use a beer mug instead of a flower pot. It looks even better!

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DIY Etched Casserole Dish

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Hello Everyone!! Today I want to share a gift that I made for one of our couple friends that got married a few years ago. I found this idea on Pinterest here. Let me just start by saying that this craft was a lot easier than I expected it to be!! I etched their last name into the glass for a practical casserole dish they could take to parties and ensure they would get back.

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DIY "You & Me" sign wall decor

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Good morning!

Today is a craft my sister made. She recently started renting an apartment and wanting to add a little personality and decor to the plain walls. After looking up crafts and design inspirations on Pinterest she was inspired by this "You & Me" sign for the bedroom.

Here are her materials. Cardboard letters at $2.00 each, acrylic paint of your desired color at $2.99 each, a paintbrush, and the & symbol. She tried finding the symbol in the same cardboard letters but couldn't find any so she purchased a wooden one. 

She also got some Sticky Tacky to hang everything up.

 She found this large frame to complete the project at Goodwill.

 All you do is paint the letters and the frame...

 And hang it all up using the Sticky Tacky. There is no backing on the frame, you just hang the letters right onto the wall and place the frame around it. 

Update: Cally painted the "&" sign white to make it match her decor better. Here is the newest picture.

That's it! What a simple craft that can really change up the look of a room. She hung this above her bed in the bedroom. With some curtains, end tables, and nice bedding I bet the room will look very nice. :)

You could really change up this craft. You could use different colors, change up the quote in the middle, use names or initials or dates (like a wedding date?), and use different sized frames. The possibilities are endless.

Hope you are having a great Friday!
Cassie

DIY Stone Coasters

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Today I am posting a craft that is a great go-to gift for any occasion. These would be perfect for parent volunteer gifts, teacher gifts, house warming, gifts, bridal showers, birthdays, anything! The best part of all... it is easy and inexpensive. A friend I work with gave me the idea and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

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T-shirt turned into tank top

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Hi everyone,

My dad recently bought season tickets to some of the Texas Rangers baseball games. My sister, dad and I have gone a couple times now and are having a blast. I was wanting something new to wear to the games without going out and buying something. I had found a tutorial on pinterest and decided to try it. I made it 15 minutes before I was suppose to leave the house for the game and was very pleased with the easy to follow tutorial! All you need is an old t-shirt and a pair of scissors.

First, lay your shirt out on a table. You can use any old t-shirt.

 

 Using sharp scissors cut off the neck hemline, the sleeves and the bottom hem. The tutorial said to cut the sleeves deeper but I cut them just following the hem and after I made the tank top I was able to cut some pieces and alter it to my liking.

Cut out a scoop neck for the front. Later I ended up cutting a deeper V. Just do what you are comfortable with and you can always cut away and change the look later. If you have any messy, jagged cut lines you can take the time now to fix and clean them up.

Turn the shirt over and cut a deep V in the back. 

  

Take the bottom hem of the shirt and cut it along the sewn hem. Here is a close up of how I separated it.

 

Now, take the hem and stretch it out as much as you can. This looks super long here in the picture but I wish I had made it even longer when I was starting to tie the tank top. Make it as long as you can without ripping it. :) Then cut it apart so it's one long line instead of a circle.

 

Turn your shirt over so you have the back facing you. Pull the sleeves together and tie the long string you stretched out into a knot.

 

Take the long string and wrap it all the way down the sleeves, pulling a little tight as you go. Tie it on the bottom when you reach the end.

 

Here is a picture of the tank from the front.

 

Here is a picture of the tank from the back.

My cut lines are not perfect. I was in a hurry. I feel like you could really play around with this craft and make some cute tanks. You could make that long string go up further on each side of the tank straps over the shoulders. I would have made my neckline a little nicer. I had the scoop neck at first then turned it into a V neck. I also had to cut away a little bit underneath my arms to make it look right. It was easy fixing to do. Like I mentioned, it's easy to play around with it. 

I was thankful to have this for the game on Sunday. It was super hot and I was a little cooler in this compared to the larger shirt. I hope you enjoy!

Here is a link to the blog that I the tutorial from: http://blogilates.com/printables-2/diy-racerback-workout-shirt-tutorial. Her blog is centered around fitness and not only does she have neat crafts link this tank top, but also yummy looking recipes and workout plans. Take a look around, it was fun seeing everything she had! Her tutorial was super easy to follow and did what it promised. She makes these tanks to workout in. What a great idea! Take a minute to look around her blog. :)

Hope you are having a great summer!

Cassie