Treehouses

Saw this driving down the street and stopped to take a photo

I've been noticing treehouses lately since my husband has mentioned he wants to build one for the kids.  We have a huge Magnolia tree in our front yard that is perfect for a tree house.  I found this one here in Sarasota.

 Free Standing House in Sarasota

This was a photo online.  Cutest treehouse award!

Then I came across THIS at Barbara Butler.com and was blown away. Her structures are unbelievable.

Barbara Butler Treehouse

Anyway,  my husband will not be making anything like this but at least I can dream. 

Painted Studio Door

I hate the plain white door to my "studio" space, a.k.a. my laundry room, and want to replace it with a french door.  In the meantime, I was so tired of looking at it I painted it and hung my plaque.  The sign is wooden, painted black, with white painted letters and glitter.  I screwed in two eye hooks on the top of the plaque and threaded a ribbon through them and staple-gunned it to the top.   It's not a french door but it will do until I get one. 

Breakfast Parfait

Another attempt to get the  kids to eat something different for breakfast:  the Breakfast Parfait!
I've discovered that, for my kids, it's all about the presentation.  If it looks like a desert or some sort of junk food then they're all over it!

This is homemade granola (recipe posted here), plain yogurt mixed with a tablespoon of honey, sliced strawberries, and a few chocolate chips on top.  Just layer it up.  That's it.  They both "oohed and awed"

Top it off with a few chocolate chips

Layer it

Linked up to:  Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello

Simple Chocolate Chip Granola

I made this in a desperate attempt to find something different my kids would eat in their school lunches.  It came out tasty and was a hit!

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tspn vanilla, 1/4 tspn cinnamon, 1/2 tspn salt
**Note to self: add a little more of the binding ingredients because we like it a little more clumped together.

Add 1/2 bag chocolate chips.  Mix everything together.

Preheat oven to 325.   Spread evenly in a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake 25 minutes or until it tastes crisp, turning several times during cooking.  It helps if the pan has sides so the granola doesn't spill out when you turn it.

Let it cool.

Teachers Rock Paperweights

Made these with my kids for teacher gifts.   These are river rocks (from a landscape supply or Lowe's, etc.) painted with craft paint, acrylic latex, and glitter glue.  Paint pens were used to do the writing.
I put on a coat of Mod Podge after the paint and glitter glue dried to seal them and make them shiny.  Then I hot-glued jewels and sequins. 

About 3 coats of paint to cover the rock

Sequin Flower


Linking up to Iheartnaptime.net and  http://www.flamingotoes.com/ and http://www.niftythriftythings.com/  Sunday Link Parties and  TatertotsandJello.com

Cupcakes with Pastel Mint Candy Frosting

I made the frosting with butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.  Then I crushed a bag of pastel mints.   Cover the bag with a dishcloth and then crush with a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin until you have very small pieces.  I added a tiny bit of strawberry jam to the frosting for a light pink color then poured in the crushed mints and mixed it all together.   I used a large ziplock bag and snipped the end to make a frosting bag.  Super easy and much prettier and tastier than using mint flavoring.  You get little bites of candy in the frosting depending on how fine you crush the mints.

 

Halfway done. 

Crushed mints.

Linking up to http://www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/.  Awesome stuff there!!