Bits and Pieces of the Better Life: March 2012

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Pot of Gold Cupcakes

Pin It

In looking for a little something to give mom’s at our playgroup St. Patrick’s Day party, I decided a little sweetness would be perfect.

Again, I love Pinterest for the inspiration. I found some cute cupcakes out there. Like…..

via: A Little Nosh

Isn’t that a visual beauty?

Yeah, I thought so too!

Spinach in a cupcake? My little non-vegetable picky eating 2 year-old will never….

Well, I was wrong. He loves them.

Now admittedly I first tried her recipe, but it didn’t work for me here at altitude (Colorado) and was just a little too dense with a uncooked middle.

So then I decided to try her inspiration’s recipe. You can find the recipe here at Green Lite Bites.

It is so easy a boxed cake mix, applesauce, and spinach. Knowing that I can alter boxed mixes well enough for my altitude was a good bet.

So here you have it.

A whole 4 cups of raw baby spinach that tastes like applesauce!

Now I have healthy, green, tasty, cupcakes.

Let’s make it cute!

A few rainbow candies from the dollar spot at Target. A bag of Cinnamon-Bun Marshmallows and some vanilla frosting is all you need.

A little bag, shredded green packing and some ribbon and you have a cute little Pot of Gold sweetness to give.

I’m Sharing Here:

Just a Little Creativity

Living Life Intentionally

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Green Playdoh

Pin It

We needed some gifts for our play group’s St. Patrick’s party that we were going to. I wanted for the children’s gift to be something that my 2 year old would love to help make.

After a little Pinterest inspiration, I decided that homemade green playdoh would be perfect for a bunch of little ones.

I knew I didn’t have time for a full rainbow, but the green playdoh would be a great way to make our first batch in the time frame we had. I decided to use Meet the Dubiens' Kool-Aid Playdoh recipe.

I figured completely edible, but might not taste so great.

I was right!

I had everything in the pantry except some Kool-Aid. So I picked up some Lemon Lime Kool-Aid mix.

Follow the recipe just as I did here.

To package it cute for our party, I bought these cute little canisters for $0.99 at Michaels.

Then a little green shredded packing and cute ribbon to create the perfect little Green St. Patrick’s Day Playdoh.

I’m Sharing Here:

Living Life Intentionally

Friday, March 2, 2012

DIY Thrifty Repurposed Jewelry Tray

Pin It

I love thrift store finds that find a new purpose and life.

I knew when I found this mancala board game tray that it would be great on a dresser to hold jewelry or other necessities.

Remember, I can be too anxious and forget before pictures. So this is the best that I could do, a “half” before picture.

Smile

I decided to spray paint it heirloom white.

Then I rubbed an antiquing glaze on.

I thought a few handles would make it look more tray-like. So, I pre-drilled holes for the handles since the end of the board was narrow and I didn’t want it to split. Then to accommodate the screws on the bottom of my board and prevent any surface scratching, I added a felt pad to each corner.

So pretty and so useful. I love having my most used jewelry and lip gloss organized and pretty right on top of my dresser.

I’m sharing here:

Skip to My Lou

Under the Table and Dreaming

Tip Junkie

Night Owl Crafting

Lil Luna

Adventures of a DIY Mom

House of Hepworths

Bear Rabbit Bear

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

My Re-Purposed Life

The Shabby Nest

Just a Little Creativity

Lolly Jane Boutique

Positively Splendid

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Ruler Growth Chart

Pin It

No doubt you may have seen this somewhere before. I found my inspiration on Pinterest. They were PB knock-offs. Truth be known, when I found the PB original, I preferred the knock-offs! They were cuter and more rustic looking, in my humble opinion.

So, I set out to get my wood and make a memory for our family.

Buy a nice smooth finished 1x8 6ft. board.
Next stain the board the color of your choice (mine is Minwax Provencial).
After your stain dries, place a sawtooth picture hanger on the back top center of the board.
Hang on the wall where you would like.
Using a tape measure, measure from the floor up on your board (while it is hanging on the wall) and mark the first inch where the tape meets the board and each inch up to 1 foot.
Next take the board off of the wall and lay on floor or flat surface to make your work easier. Line your tape measure back up and continue to mark each inch and foot mark throughout the entire board.
Then paint your lines and numbers. (I used a ruler to have straight lines and a Sharpie oil based paint marker. I marked each inch mark 1.5 inches long and each foot mark 3 inches long. Lastly, I added the numbers with a stencil.)
Then re-hang your ruler and to avoid it being loose, moveable, or swinging on the wall place a 3M command Velcro fastener to the back on each side.
The ruler is accurate and can be used while hanging. To mark a child’s growth you can write on the board with a Sharpie on the front, side, or back.