Projects!

So, I wish I could've come up with a catchy-er title, but I've been SO inspired and done SO many projects this week I had to be kind of general. :) This post is going to be a long one, but there will be lots of pictures for you to admire, so don't worry!

Project #1- Nom!
During Thanksgiving of 2010, my family was AMAZED that after everyone was finished eating, my sweet Josh was still chowing down; and he continued to eat for another 30 minutes after. :) This is a great blessing for me because I LOVE to cook and bake treats. I think it has something to do with me being a science nerd and loving to 'experiment'. We bought some blueberries, but they weren't getting eaten very quickly. I've been dying to make some cobbler this summer (I had attempted strawberry cobbler at my old rental house... let's just say it didn't go very well.) So, without further adieu, my delicious (albeit a little too sweet for my taste, perfect for Josh) blueberry cobbler!

It was SO good!

I was also excited to use some of my new bake ware!

I got the recipe for this cobbler off of cooks.com (if you ever need recipe ideas or variations, check this site out!! It's awesome!). It is as follows-

You need:

1 stick butter (1/4 lb)
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup milk---> This is what the website says, but I had to use a whole cup. I guess eyeball it. :)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Note: If self-rising flour is not on hand, combine 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt with 1 cup all purpose flour).

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Melt butter (in oven) in a large, deep dish baking pan.

In a saucepan, combine blueberries, lemon juice, water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

For the batter, combine remaining ingredients, mixing until smooth. Pour this over the melted butter in the baking pan. Top with the blueberry mixture.

Bake until top is golden brown and crusty for about 25-30 minutes. --> I had to cook mine about 40.

You can try this recipe with any fruit! I'm going to try it with strawberries and peaches before the summer is out hopefully! I knew this recipe was a success because at first hubby said "I only eat strawberry cobbler. I never eat others"; well, lemme tell you this stuff only last about 3 days!

Project #2- Picture Frame Tray!
For our wedding, some good friends gave us a tray with picture frames in the bottom. The hardest part of this project was deciding a) what pictures to put in the frame and b) how to arrange them. After coming across one of the photos from our honeymoon I knew exactly what I was going to do!
Ta-da!

The picture that decided it for me was the one in the middle. On our honeymoon, I nice motorcyclist took this picture of us at one of the overlooks in the  Blue Ridge Parkway. Look at our shirts! Yes! Clemson and Carolina. I decided to print that picture in color and let the rest of the pictures be some of my favorites- some special moments- and do those in black and white. Whatcha think?

:)

Project #3- Baby Blanket!

It's a deep purple and key lime green.

Baby blankets are nothing new to me. One of my best friends taught me how to make them (and taught me how to crochet) when we were in college. This blanket is for a little girl who's just over a week old. I'm a little behind! Haha.

Project #4- Coffee Filter Lampshade!
Before:

For this project, I used Merita coffee filters in the 'natural' color. (They're a paper bag color) I took one, lifted the sides and scrunched the bottom to create a small flat part to put glue on. Then, I took a hot glue gun and put a little glue on the bottom and attached it to the lampshade, like so:

Be careful! You will burn your fingers at least once!

Now, just continue this (I would buy at least 200 filters) until it is full and the lampshade is completely covered. Almost finished:

Now, when I finished I took a pair of scissors and just trimmed around to even out the shape. And voila!

 

I may trim it more to make it smaller, but I love it! You can use white coffee filters too and it's just as beautiful!

Project #5- Skinny Window Makeover!
Okay, we have a skinny window next to our front door. Since I moved in I've been trying to figure out how to find a way to make the window private where people can't see in without keeping the light out.
Here's the 'before'-

Now, I taped off the window to create some stripes and variation because Josh wanted to still be able to see who was outside if someone knocks (a good idea, I guess). So I did a light coat with some frosted glass spray paint (got it at wally world for around 4 bucks) and then I striped it:

Now, I made a big boo boo. Frosted glass spray paint is a lot different than normal spray paint. You CANNOT spray it point blank. It makes what you're spraying blotchy. You have to move constantly back and forth in smooth strokes. I learned this the hard way (as I do most things). I became really upset because the top 6 inches of the window became really blotchy. I tried to scrape it off and redo it, but to no avail. Rather than panic, ... Okay fine- In addition to panicking, I put my thinking cap on and came up with a great idea. Paint over the mistake! So, I picked up the can of paint we're painting the living room with and set to work. Forty bajillion coats of it later, we were in business. But it wasn't perfect, because frosted glass isn't meant to be painted over. So, I blew the dust of my stepmom's Cricut machine I had brutally used for wedding stuff, and set to work with some vinyl. I love the pattern on the coasters we have in the living room. They are a cream color with a black 'A' and a fleur de lis. So, I cut out two little border strips and a fleur de lis, presto chango, fixed, gorgeous, living room skinny window:

I know, it surprised me too how good it was! :)

Whole entry. :)

Finally, Project #6 (I think)- Puppy Personalization

Out of sheer boredom, or maybe just because I love my dogs this much, but I kept the Cricut out for a few extra minutes and completed this little project for where the pups eat:

So, that concludes my project extravaganza!! I hope you've enjoyed this peek into what I've been doing to make the unpacking and organizing a little less tedious. :) What have you been working on to make your space your own?

Until next time,