DIY Upcycle Chalkboard Frame

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so happy to be on Thanksgiving break and finally have time to relax with friends and family. I made these chalkboard frames as gifts for Thanksgiving. These upcycled frames came from Goodwill and all three cost under $3. The chalkboard paint can be purchased at any craft store (I bought mine at Michael’s) and I used acrylic paint for the wooden frames. I painted the chalkboard paint over the glass frame and let dry 24 hours before putting on a second coat. I waited another 24 hours to decorate the chalkboard. Check this tutorial by MonkeySeeMonkeyDIY on image transferring to recreate the perfect text or picture every time!

DIY Upcycle Chalkboard Frame

DIY Fabric Headboard

I'm back at school for my Senior year of college! I have been busy traveling, working, and moving all summer and wish I could have published more content on my blog. Here is a little DIY for a fabric headboard I made for my room. Because I am in college I'm not too concerned with buying a nice expensive headboard but still wanted a way to make my room more comfortable and add some of my personal style to the room.

I bought a yard of fabric, a yard of batting, and a staple gun for this project. I used the wood as my base because my mom had it laying around but my cousin made hers using Styrofoam and there are some tutorials using thick cardboard packaging.

 Measured the fabric for a Full/Double bed, but it may be helpful to buy a little extra fabric depending on how much batting you want to use and the shape of your headboard.

 Be sure to line up the fabric before stapling. Mom and I were too excited to get it completed that we forgot to double check and it was slightly off on one side. Oops! Thankfully I was able to hide that side. 

Here is my finished product and I want to attach some different DIY headboard options for you all! Good luck, I would love for you to share what fabric you found and what shape you use!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'll keep this post short and sweet for everyone! I have made these muffins for probably the last three weekends, they are so good! The recipe came from a healthy college cooking cook-book (and although healthier than Starbucks muffins, they still have calories). The best part about them is once you have all the ingredients, you can make a few batches. The ingredients shown make 12 regular muffins. 

Remember to spray the pan with cooking spray. Add as many chocolate chips as you choose (recipe calls for 2/3 cup). I layered the chips in the muffin pan instead of mixing with the other ingredients. I distributed half the batter into the pan and sprinkled with chocolate chips, covered them with the remaining batter, and then sprinkled with more chocolate chips. Great with greek yogurt or milk. 

Nutrition: 320 cal; 13g fat; 4g protein; 49g carbs

Please let me know if you like the photo tutorials instead of the traditional pictures with text underneath. Be sure to follow my blog for more recipes and DIYs. 

Photo How-to Recreate Quotes, Images, or Fonts: Image Transfer

Ever see a beautiful image or unique font that you wanted to recreate? It's so easy, and once you know how, the possibilities are endless! This is a great way to get creative with those Pinterest quotes and trace them onto a canvas or cards to put your personal style in them. Here's the easiest way to transfer images:

1. Trace behind the graphic with a pencil

2. Center paper of canvas behind text

3. Using a pen or pencil, trace over the letters with medium pressure

4. Go over the new outline and make it your own

Thanks for visiting, be sure to re-post!

Here's an example of a painted wooden board I made for Christmas!

Hummingbird Cake

#tbt To When I Made Hummingbird Cake For My Mom's Birthday!

This cake was delicious! I used cool whip and pudding to make the "icing"-- cutting out fat and sugar. I used a boxed cake mix and added fresh ingredients which made baking this cake a cinch. 

For your grocery list:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, un-drained

1 cup mashed bananas (2-3, ripe)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 tspn vanilla

1 tspn cinnamon

1/4 cup crushed walnuts

1/2 cup walnuts for decorating, if desired

1 package of cream cheese pudding mix

1 cup milk

1 container of cool whip (unfrozen)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist or grease two 9-inch round cake pans and dust them with flour. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, pineapple and its juice, bananas, water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed and beat until the mixture lightens and is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
3. Bake 28 to 32 minutes and let cool about 10 minutes. Once removed from plans, place the individual cakes into the refrigerator while you prepare the icing.
4. Mix pudding package with one cup of milk. It will be very thick but try to remove any powdery bubbles. Then fold into the cool whip container.
5. Place the first layer of cake on a stand and ice the top. Carefully place the second layer and ice the top and both sides. You can refrigerate to set if needed. 

This 3 layer hummingbird cake looks awesome! However, this recipe contains raisins, which I excluded.

Easy Spaghetti Squash NO-Pasta Bake!

I've seen spaghetti squash recipes  all over the internet but was too nervous to eat it, let alone cook it! I finally tried it and I actually enjoyed it. It has a different texture and taste then pasta but served as a healthy and tasty alternative to noodles. I highly recommend trying it at least once... I bet you'll be hooked.

You'll need: A spaghetti squash, pasta sauce, and cheese (add parsley, salt, and pepper if desired)

1. Preheat over to 400 F
2. Halve the squash and remove seeds
3. Bake on a lightly greased pan face down for 35-45 minutes. You should be able to easily pierce a fork through the skin.

5. Using a fork, scrape the inside of the squash and be amazed that it really does look like spaghetti!

6. Layer pasta sauce, cheese and squash into a baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F.

7.  Let cool 5 minutes and serve

You can always add proteins to this dish to make it more like a lasagna dish...Yum!