LOW FAT CRANBERRY BREAD

I have this thing about having a roll, tortilla, sweet bread or muffin with my salad.  But, in order not to cancel out the good nutrition in the salad, I've been trying out different versions of lower fat/lower calorie muffins and breads.  I've put one together, combining a couple of different recipes and thought I'd share this with you.

Looks good right?  It was and very moist.

So, here are the ingredients:

Batter:

• 2 1/3 cups Bisquick Heart Smart mix
• 3/4 cup truvia
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup fat free milk
• 2 Tbsp grated orange peel
• 5 egg whites or 3/4 cup fat free egg product
• 1 cup craisins

Streusal topping:

• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter

Glaze:

• 2-tsps. orange juice
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 375.  Use Pam to spray a 9x5 loaf pan.  In medium bowl, stir Bisquick, truvia, sour cream, applesauce, orange peel and egg whites until moistened.  Stir in cranberries.  Pour into pan.  Make streusal and sprinkle over the top of the batter.  Bake 50-55 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan.  Combine OJ and powdered sugar to make a glaze and drizzle over the top of the bread once it has completely cooled.   Enjoy!

FLOWER GIRL WREATH

Making a flower girl wreath is pretty easy.  Last weekend I brought my supplies upstairs and worked on one while watching a "chick flick".  Since my husband was out of town he was spared, not only the movie, but also how I took over the coffee table with all my goodies.

The supplies you need are:

• floral wire
• floral wire tape
• assorted flowers
• glue gun
• ribbon
• wire cutters

I happened to have floral wire stems already on hand, so I chose to use two of those; you could also use a strand of floral wire to start.  First thing to determine is the circumference of the child's head.  This was interesting since I don't have a child at home any more.  So, I "googled", don't you "google" everything these days?  Anyway, you'll find some interesting items when you google circumference of a four year old's head......needless to say, I didn't find what I was looking for, so I measured mine and I guessed.  I twisted the two stems together at two different points to form a circle and then I wrapped the entire circle with green floral tape.  

From that point on, I used my wire cutters to cut the floral stems and then glued and placed them around the circle to get the look that I wanted.  

I literally purchased 4 different types of stems at Hobby Lobby; 1 pink roses, 1 white baby's breath, 1 pink baby's breath and 1 green/white balls.  As I cut the rose buds from the stem, I then had the leaves to scatter around the entire wreath to balance the green with the color.  The final touch was a ribbon tied into a bow and glued to what will be the back of the wreath. The whole project cost me under $8. 

FLOWER GIRL BASKETS

I wanted to make some cute flower girl baskets for the styled shoot my daughter and I are collaborating on later this month.  So, I chose to head to my local thrift store just for grins to see if I could find any bargains that I could spruce up.  Little did I know that Saturday's are "half-off", so once I was able to locate a parking spot, I did great.  Take a look at these cute baskets that I found!

BEFORE

Since we'll have a four year old, A six year old and an eight year old, I wanted to have sizes to match.    These little babies were $1.99 each and with the half off sale, you got it...just $1.00.  Can't beat that!  So, I picked up some white satin spray paint and a few flowers at Hobby Lobby (50% off, of course) and ribbon at WalMart (their ribbon prices are awesome!), grabbed my trusty glue gun and went to town.

AFTER

Cute huh?  So, keep your local thrift store in mind when it comes to a project like this...these baskets were in great shape.  You could decorate baskets for a bridal shower, baby shower, or even for Easter.  Just a bit of paint and some "craftiness" and you are good to go!

 

LACE OVERLAY WEDDING GOWN

My daughter and I were finally able to do our styled shoot this past weekend and even at that it was touch and go with the weather....we postponed three weeks from our March date due to freezing cold temps and snow; and leading into this past weekend we had another snow storm.  We were afraid of muddy conditions after the snow, but it was okay.   It has been a crazy spring in Colorado!

So, here are just a couple photos that I took that day - just a quick peek at the front and back of the gown...I'll have the really great professional pics from kb digitaldesigns posted on my website very soon!   

          

Thank you to Steve and Ashley for being such awesome models for us!

UPDATED METAL FILE BOX

This project bubbled up due to tax season.  My daughter and son-in-law chose to use the gal we've been using for years to prepare our taxes.  She does such a great job!  Anyway, she returns the forms in a nice pocket folder.  My daughter commented that she didn't have a file cabinet or large drawers in her desk to keep them, so I told her I had an old metal file box that I could clean up for her.  It was the perfect size for the folder,  it can hold several years worth, and it can easily slide onto the floor of a closet or be placed on a shelf. 

BEFORE

AFTER

There aren't too many supplies needed.  Decorative paper, Mod Podge, Washi Tape and a bit of jute.
I first learned about washi tape about two weeks ago, and I'm hooked.  It comes in every conceivable color and pattern and it's really easy to use.
It was just what this project needed for the edges.  This particular box has a cool feature, the front door pulls out and expands to let you easily get your forms out of it.  But, with that it made for some extra raw edges; the tape helped correct my imperfections with the exacto knife. 

Whenever I cover something like this with ModPodge, I first lay down a good coat to hold the paper down; just like Elmer's glue.   Once all my paper is secure and I've pressed out as many of the bubbles/creases that crop up as it dries, I then go over the entire thing with Mod Podge.   Add as many coats as you want; I used two coats on this one.  The first one before I edged the corners with the tape; the second after (yep, I went right over the tape).

As you saw from the pictures, this guy had seen better days, a bit of rust and a couple of dents....but with a bit of creativity, it has new life!

To personalize it, I added their name, using a fun font printed on  a decorative sheet of paper; then I glued some jute around the border with the trusty hot glue gun. 

Not too shabby.

THREAD CABINET

I have memories dating back to my childhood of a small thread cabinet which was in my Mom's sewing room. She did quite a bit of sewing when I was younger; we had some Mother/Daughter outfits that I can remember--totally cool.  At some point in time she did less and less sewing and in her retirement years she took up quilting.  Anyway, this cabinet has been a part of my sewing area for years now, but it wasn't getting any use at all; I had it tucked away, collecting dust....but I was also too sentimental to part with it.   So, in all my recent organizing I decided I could put it to good use. Once I spiffed it up of course!

BEFORE

AFTER

One of the hinges was missing the pin.  That was an easy fix...a trip to Home Depot for some new hinges and I was good to go.  I also needed a dowel so I could cut some new spool holders for the five that were missing and then I Knew I wanted to add some character to the drawer pulls.    These pulls are so tiny, that I found some items at Hobby Lobby that I could glue on which would make them look like antique pearl pulls.   I decided to use the pale blue paint and distress it to match my distressed cabinet.   I used the same technique as I did with the cabinet; sanding, painting and then sanding to rough it up.

I added some decals  to the top and front to give it a little panache.   I plan to put small spools of thread and bobbins on the dowels and I think it's a perfect place for my variety of sewing needles, different sizes of sewing machine needles, snaps, hook/eyes, etc.  The finishing touch was the pearl chain for the doors; it took me awhile wandering around Hobby Lobby for just the right touch and I found this in the fabric section with all the other trims; plus I hit a 50% off sale...what more could you ask for?

I tied the end of the chain around the left door with embroidery floss and made a ribbon loop at the other end of the chain; so I just slip the loop off the right door pull when I need to open the doors.   Easy Shmeasy!  I'm really pleased with the end result....little by little my "studio" is coming together.  Interesting tidbit for you.....I found a spool of thread in the cabinet with a price tag still attached...are you ready?  It was 50 cents.  Are you kidding me?  A run of the mill spool of thread costs $2.99 these days.  If you want a better quality thread, I've spent close to $5.00 a spool.  Crazy!

SEWING AND CRAFTING ORGANIZATION

I had reached my tolerance level. I needed to get organized. My sewing and crafting supplies were a mess and I needed to do something about it. I did some research on what other ladies have done to get themselves organized and used some of their ideas....then, I came up with some of my own. I'm getting there......
So, I bought two drawer organizers at Walmart for next to nothing and then went to town on my spools of thread;wrapping up the loose end.  I tried the tape trick, but didn't like it.  So, I thought of a rubberband.    I found these small ones in the hair section; they're for braids!  They worked like a charm in holding the tail in place.


Next up, spools of ribbon.....I can't take any credit for this; I found this in my research and loved the idea...plus I already had this type of hangar in my closet.                  I found ribbon I didn't even remember that I had!  
My loose trims were in a bin, but again no rhyme or reason.  So, I bought this tray with slots in the sides.  I cut some foam core board that I had leftover from a project and wrapped the trims around the board.  I then placed the corners into the slots and they stand up nicely!  

                                                                                                                                                                      My gift boxes, wrapping papers,and gift bags had really gotten sloppy over the years, so they all got stacked into a box and placed on the floor of the closet.  I used clothespins to hold the loose ends of the wrapping paper to the core, and also used clothespins to attach the lid/bottom of a box set together and flattened them (I had originally kept the boxes assembled and nested one inside the other, like my Mom used to do but found they took up too much room- sorry Mom).



strawberry carton to hold flowers



All of the other bin drawers got a makeover....hem tape, seam binding, and assorted trims.  My paint and stencil drawer.  I really liked one piece of advice that I read and it was in regards to looking at things you toss away for recycling or trash differently; case in point, I used a strawberry carton to store my assorted flowers.  It keeps them from getting crushed and they're together in one compact space.

I even took care of my remnants....again, these were in a drawer, but I couldn't see what I had....so I actually measured them all out and made a template on the computer so I could tag the fabric (indicating the fabric width and total yardage).  Anything over one yard was bundled, labeled and wrapped with rafia.  Now I know what I have!  The smaller pieces were all neatly folded and stacked; small stacks were tied with rafia and then they went into a box.

I still have work to do in my main closet; I know I want to put a peg board up to hold the large spools of thread for my serger. I can also see hanging my zippers (similar lengths together) by the zipper pull versus how I have them rubber banded together and in a drawer; that will free up that drawer space for other goodies!  It's a process....I know you feel my pain.  But, I know in the end I'm going to be happy that I took the time to get organized.