Saturday, November 10, 2012

Phi Mu Parents Weekend Fall 2012

Finally back again!! 
Been really busy with school, an internship, parents weekend and everything else.

Thought with this first blog back I would show some pictures of the decorations I made for Phi Mu Parents Weekend this fall.  

Miss matching vases with wheat, mums, sticks and leaves

 Wheat and Carnations

 Wheat and Sunflowers


 Raffle Baskets
 Phi Mu Basket
 Spa Basket
 Football/Tailgating Cooler
 Banner by one of our awesome sisters!

 Wheat and Sunflower
 Donations box for the philanthropy
 Daisy's, Sunflowers and Wheat
 Wheat and Gerber Daisy





Hopefully I will be able to post a few more things when I get to craft over Thanksgiving break.  And hopefully, I will be able to post more often and not disappear for two more months!!

Happy Planning!
Always,
Mel =)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Beachy rope letter

Well it has definitely been a while since I've posted a craft for you guys!
The new semester at school has started and I have been busy with that, the sorority parents weekend and also my new internship! So exciting! But here I am with a new craft for you guys! =)



This one is reallllyyyy inexpensive and reallllllyyyy simple! 
I saw a cardboard letter in the Target $1 section and figured why not get it and figure out something to make it with, which I knew I could with Pinterest.  

All you need is:
Cardboard (or wooden) letter
Jewelry rope from Michael's
Hot glue gun
Mini sand dollars from Hobby Lobby
Paint (not necessary)

This is a fairly basic project so there won't be many directions, I'll just show with pictures.  One suggestion I have is to not hot glue every bit of the rope.  I would wrap it tight and then periodically hot glue, pretty much on the sides.  The bottom and top of the M I also painted a brown that matches the rope which you do not have to do.  So here are the directions in pictures.  










Its that simple!!

Happy crafting!
Always,
Mel =)

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Beach sign!

I'm Back!!!! 
I was gone for 2 weeks for sorority recruitment so I couldn't post a blog.

This sign is along the same guidelines as the last sign.
I made this for a friend, based off of a sign he saw in our backyard.
I attempted to recreate it so here is my version.






Happy Crafting!!
Always,
Mel =)

Monday, August 6, 2012

Family Sign with Shells


This sign wasn't necessarily on Pinterest (I'm sure there's something like it somewhere) but my mom wanted a sign for by our fire pit.  She ended up liking it so much she hung it by our front door!
She wanted it to have the family names on there so I came up with the idea of a beach with each real shell and sand dollar representing one of us. 

What you need:
Paint (in your choice of colors, we made this one look like a sunset)
Shells
Mini Sand Dollars (you can get them in a little basket at a Hobby Lobby)
Rope (for the hanger)
Brushes
Hot glue gun

It is easy enough to do.
I am definitely not the most artistic person (I would say with all this practice I am getting better tho!) but it is a fairly simple picture.

I mixed the background the color I wanted, then mixed the sand color.




After that I wrote "The Joyce's" on it and then painted the birds, the clouds, the sun 
and the palm tree.



After that you just glue on the shells as you would like them placed.
Here I have them place with the shells as the guys and the sand dollars as the girls.
We don't know what my sisters baby will be yet so I just made it a shell to match the pattern. (It's the baby shell in the middle. So cute!)
We all have room to grow with our families, so we can add on later!


In order the biggest shell is my dad and then my mom.
My sister and her fiancĂ©.
My other pregnant sister and her husband.
And then me! lol

I put everyones initials under the shells, really small so they don't make it look weird.
You can do whatever you'd like with this project, it doesn't have to be a beach.
I just thought it would be cute with the shells as everyone!

The finished product, outside by the door!




Lots more projects to come, already have 4 more lined up!
I am going to start trying to post every Monday, so stay tuned!

Happy Crafting!
Always, 
Mel =)

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Anticipation...


Some pieces of two up-coming projects! Can you guess what they are?? 




Hand Painted cooler


This project is pretty simple if you can trace and paint.
You can paint whatever you want on it but there are just a few things to remember.

Things you need:
Acrylic paint
Cooler (I had a textured one and I think it works better with keeping the paint on)
A sealer spray
Brushes 

I painted this as a graduation present.
My boyfriend is a fire/medic and so I painted him a cooler to take to the station (and the beach)
You can paint whatever you'd like, I pretty much traced everything except the arrows on the FSU side and the hand writing.  

When you are painting a cooler it is really important to prime it first.
Always use acrylic paint because it will stick better.
Also spray a sealer spray on it so the paint will not chip as bad.
That is pretty much it, not a too difficult project.

Here are all the sides (and progress):
I also tapped of the handle and then untapped to paint it black
 Gray and white side, dog in progress

 Red side
 FSU side (and straightened up color lines between red and white)
 Fire side in progress
 Fire side finished
 FSU side finished
 Black lab side finished
 Paramedic side finished

Happy Crafting!
Always, 
Mel =)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Mint Chocolate Chip Cake

This cake sounded like a fabulous idea for my boyfriends Paramedic School Graduation because he loves anything mint chocolate chip. 
Things you need:
Cake mix (unless you want to follow the recipe and make it homemade)
Spring form pan
Ingredients for frosting (shown below)
FOR THE FROSTING:
1 cup butter, softened
8 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 cup milk plus 2 Tbsp
11 oz dark chocolate chunks (62%cacao) or mini chocolate chips
1/8 tsp green food coloring gel

However, I must say I did cheat on this recipe a little.  
Instead of making the chocolate cake from scratch I used a BOXED CAKE! Gasp!!! 
I got the moist chocolate cake by Betty Crocker

Works just the same and honestly I do not think it affected the taste of the cake as a whole at all.
I also didn't bake two layers of cake.  I did one big cake in a spring form pan and I was going to cut it in half depending on how much it rose but I ended up just leaving it in one piece. 

I also did not make the chocolate ganache.
I didn't really find it necessary, just too much chocolate. (I can't believe I just said that) 

So, if you do not buy a cake mix and you want to make that and the ganache the recipe for those can be found here...
http://megseverydayindulgence.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/chocolate-cake-with-mint-chocolate-chip-frosting-crazy-cooking-challenge/

If you are just making the frosting you can also find the instructions there.
Frosting can be tricky if you haven't made it before (I hadn't and it could of been thicker)
It is really all about eyeing it and checking the consistency of it as you go. 
You'll probably need more food coloring in the frosting than they say, because I did because it was not green enough.

All in all this cake was amazing! And I'm not a huge fan of the mint chocolate chip thing but I will definitely be making this again.
I made it my own and it was still fabulous!
Here is the final product...


Happy baking!
Always,
Mel =)