do it yourself divas: May 2011

DIY: Portions in the freezer

3:01 PM

I am betting that most people in the world do this, and if you don't already do this, you will probably say, "Why haven't I done that?"

My mom saw me do this one day and said I should share, so here we go.

Since my brain is wired in a weird way that is constantly searching for ways to save time and money, I figured I would save on my freezer bags. I used to portion my meat out and put it in it's very own ziploc bag until I discovered that I could fit two portions in one ziploc bag. My family is small so this works for me.

Just put the meat in the bag and squeeze all the air out. Karate chop down the center, dividing the meat, and you have two portions in one ziploc. Wala!

I like to fold mine like this so that the portions stay separated and it fits better in my freezer.

You can do this with other food too. Leftovers, veggies, and whatnot.

Stephanie

Baby and Kids

DIY: Baby Car Seat Tent/Cover/Canopy Again

12:34 PM

DIY: Baby Car Seat Tent/Cover/Canopy Again

Remember this little car seat canopy/tent that I made Steph... Well I decided to make one for my little girl on the way. I loved the fabric that I chose for the first one I made, but didn't want to be too matchy matchy with my sis, so this is what I did instead.

Also, I found some lovely lace to put on the edges rather than make my own ruffles. THIS WAS AWESOME, and saved me so much time!

Recipes

DIY: The BEST Vegetarian/Whole Wheat Pizza in the World

7:32 PM

DIY: The BEST Vegetarian/Whole Wheat Pizza in the World

About a month ago my husband and I went on a double date with some good friends. They made the most AMAZING whole wheat/vegetarian pizza I have ever had in my ENTIRE life. Here is my version of the most incredibly delicious pizza you will ever eat!

Whole Wheat Crust
Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1/2 - 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
pinch of sugar

Directions:

Mix a pinch a sugar with the warm water
Sprinkle Yeast on top
Let sit about 10 min until nice and foamy
(I put this directly in my food processor)

Add Flour, Salt, Italian Seasoning, and Olive Oil

Mix it up

Let rise for 20 - 30 min

Lightly Grease two pizza pans

Divide dough in half

Place each half on a pizza pan and roll out on the entire pan

Crazy Amazing Pizza Sauce Recipe
(Thanks to Steph!!)

(Double this for two pizzas)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Minced Onions or sprinkle of onion powder

-Mix together and spread on pizza dough.

Top your pizza with all the good stuff!

I LOVE spinach. I put about a bag of spinach right on top of the sauce. This way it won't get too crispy when you bake your pizza. (Thanks for the awesome suggestion Kassi!)

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and feta cheese over the spinach! Oh I do so love feta cheese! It is the most delectable cheese you could ever put on a veggie pizza, or any pizza for that matter!

Tomatoes and onions are a necessity too! Here is how I cut them just in case you care to know...

(sprinkle a tiny bit more cheese if your heart so desires)

Yum.. this was such a yummy dinner! I could eat this every week at least 7 times! And, it is totally guilt free and amazingly healthy!

ENJOY!

Baby and Kids

DIY: Framed Hair Bow/Flower Organizer For Little Girl

10:29 PM

DIY: Framed Hair Bow/Flower Organizer For Little Girl

I saw the original idea here and here for this hair bow organizer! I loved the idea, and decided to make it my own with a few little extras!!

1. Go to local thrift store and get an ugly frame with great potential. The frame I bought was a hideous gold color, but I loved the design behind the ugliness. (sorry for the lack of before picture... I totally forgot to take one, and only remembered to when it was already blue. Thank you pregnancy brain!!)

2. Get some ribbon, string, lace, etc. Whatever your heart desires.

3. Find a fabric that you love to make a decorative backing. Lace would be lovely. I found this little embroidered number at a local thrift store months ago. It was $.50. I had no idea what I was going to do with it originally but knew that I would use it for something! So glad I picked it up that day so long ago!

4. Prime your frame with spray paint primer.
Let DRY
Spray paint frame desired color
Let DRY
Spray paint frame desired color
Let Dry
(So basically two coats)

5. Get your hot glue gun nice and hot.

6. Measure where you want your lace, string, or ribbon so that it is spaced evenly and hot glue into place.

It is super cute without the backing, but the walls in the kiddos' room are white and I wanted it to pop a little more. Plus I really wanted to use my awesome thrift store find to make it extra pretty!

7. Hot glue the edges of your fabric evenly in the frame.

8. Hang bow/flowers. (I know her hair bow collection is sparse. Making hair accessories is next on the list of DIY to do!!)

I kind of really like it! I am ALMOST done with the kids' nursery. I can't wait to make the grand reveal.

Things to still do:
Mod Podge Blue and White french toile on old cubbies for son's toy storage
Create flower hangings for daughter's wall
Letter wall hangings for above her crib and his big boy bed
Throw pillows

That is all! I am so close! YAY!

DIY

DIY: Reusable Swiffer Wet Jet Pad

9:33 AM

Meg and I were goofing around while taking this picture of me and my neat mop. Oh man, but now all I can think about is Angelina Jolie's leg coming out of her dress! She must have seen my blog and wanted to pose just like me because it's so "cool" ;) LOL!

Yes! I don't have to buy anymore Swiffer WetJet refill pads and throw them away when I'm done! That equals more cash in my pocket! Here's what you need to make your own reusable/washable Swiffer mop pad.

1 package of Gerber padded cloth diapers

(2) 9" strips of sew-on Velcro per pad. Just the soft side.

Sewing machine, pins, and thread

Scissors and measuring tape

Lay out your padded cloth diaper like so

Fold down the top 3rd portion

Fold up the bottom 3rd portion and pin down

Fold in half and cut on the fold line

You get two reusable Swiffer pads per cloth diaper!

Get your 9" strips of the soft side of the velcro

Measure 1" from the edge of the cloth diaper and pin on your strips of velcro

Make sure that with the other piece of velcro you pin it on top of the edge of cloth diaper that was folded over. You don't want the pad to have any flappy parts. This will secure the edge down as well as cover it up making it look a little better.

Here's what it looks like pinned

*I only used blue thread so you could clearly see what I did

Serge the raw edge and then secure the velcro to the pad using a zigzag stitch down each side

Stick it onto the Swiffer and mop till your hearts desire

*Notice that the pad is a little shorter in width than the actual mop. It really makes NO difference at all having it a bit shorter. It just has to be a little shorter if you want to be able to make two pads from one cloth diaper.

Look how shiny my floors are!!! I actually prefer the way the cloth pad feels as you push it along the floor. It's glides more smoothly than the disposable Swiffer pads.

So if any of you care, I calculated the cost difference to see if this method actually saves money. Each disposable Swiffer pad costs .50, so basically you could buy a package of 24 for about $12. One package of cloth diapers (there are six in a package) is around $6. Because you get 2 pads out of each cloth diaper, you actually get a total of 12 reusable pads, which makes them cost .50 each. So the cost is even at this point! In fact you have to buy some velcro to make your reusable pad, so actually it costs a tiny bit more at this point to make your own. But the kicker is that you can reuse these babies probably for the rest of your life! Just throw them in the washing machine. So it totally saves you money in the long run. Hey, it's also "green" since you aren't throwing away disposable pads after every use. So I think it's well worth it!

Guess what else... you can also refill the swifter solution with your own cleaning supplies. Here is the tutorial.

Stephanie

DIY

DIY: My Inspiration. Plans for my king size bed.

8:19 AM

Here is the inspiration.

This bed will be coming my way soon! My engineer hubby has been drawing out the plans for this beauty, king size and all. It's so nice to have someone who can look at a piece of furniture and say, "I can make that." He'll most likely make the side tables too. Of course it definitely won't end up being the same exact thing but I'm so excited!

Once he builds it, I'll do the painting and work on the fabric part of the headboard.

The plans

We are going to add some extra storage compartments under the mattress down the middle of the bed. Thanks Shannon for the idea! The feet may end up different too. The drawers will probably be different as well. I will be documenting this entire project so stay tuned!