Painted Stripes on Walls

A while ago I painted some stripes in a little girls bathroom.

First, I taped the lines with the help of a picture hanger level with a lazer :)  It helped out tremendously!!!  Then, I painted it all, cleaned up the mess and removed the tape.  It turned out GREAT!!!

  

 I love the way it brought the whole bathroom alive!!!

I will be painting stripes again soon for a friends baby's room,  I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out!!!

A New Venture in Jewelry Making

I have always wanted to dive into the art of making jewelry, but it is such an investment to get started.  Thankfully, I am blessed to have great friends who share.  Recently I was given a lot of glass beads, so I invested in a $10 kit from Walmart to get started, I had so much fun arranging them and figuring out which colors to use. Here are my first five bracelets, and some earrings!!!

This was my first piece and I LOVE it!!!

Earrings to match

This one was specially made for a very dear friend on her birthday ♥

Sodalite

These I am actually keeping for myself,  I love purple ♥

  I am so excited to be starting a new venture in jewelry making!!!

Making Wrapping Paper

This year, the budget is exceptionally tight.  So, I decided to make wrapping paper instead of buying it.  I cut a long piece of paper from a spool, taped it to the dining room table and got to work.  I used an acrylic paint and a stamp I found a while ago.  I hope you enjoy the inspiration!!! It was quite simple to do and didn't take too much time!

First I taped it to the table...and got to work stamping and painting. 

I may still add some more color,  but I am not sure.  I almost went to the edges then I thought about folding and taping my hard work and I decided to stay away. I like the fun simplicity of it! I hope I have inspired you to make something, out of something you already have. Merry Christmas!!!

Banana Crumb Cake

I have always LOVED banana bread, sometimes I look for a banana cake recipe, but I never find one.  Well I finally found a GREAT one!!!  Again it is from Good House Keeping, December 2010 edition.  It called for coconut in the topping, but I am not a fan, so I omitted it.  I can imagine it would be quite delicious with that extra flavor, if you like coconuts!!!
      

~Ingredients~

Coconut~Pecan Topping

1/2 c. Pecans, toasted and chopped

1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

                   (I omitted)

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp. butter

Banana Cake

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 Tbsp. butter at room temperature

1/2 c packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. pure honey

2 lg. eggs, lightly beaten

1 c mashed bananas
          (from 3 ripe bananas)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Prepare Coconut~Pecan Topping: 

                               

In Medium bowl blend topping ingredients with a pastry blender,  or two knives used scissor fashion, until it resembles course crumbs as pictured Below: 

Set topping mixture aside.....

1. Preheat Oven to 350.

2. Grease 9 inch round cake pan, or springform pan if you happen to own one ☺

3. In small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well blended, set aside. In large bowl with mixer at medium speed,  beat butter, sugar and honey until light and creamy, about 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Gradually add eggs, beating after each addition. On low speed, add half of flour mixture, then mashed bananas and vanilla. Add remaining flour mixture and beat just until smooth.

Spoon batter evenly into pan evenly. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen from sides of pan with a knife and remove from pan,  cool completely .

Starting to cover the batter with the crumb topping...

Topping finished and ready to be baked!!! 

And here it is complete!!!

I hope you Enjoy!!!

New Shoulder Bags

I have busy creating some news things ☼ The first bag featured here was made from the fabric of a scarf my sister made for me.   I really didn't wear it very often, as I have many scarves and I wanted to make something useful out of the luxurious fabric.  I ended up making two bags using some oriental fabric for the liner. I was so inspired with these fabrics they are so soft and beautiful!!!

Blue/Grey Oriental Lined Bag ~ $ 30

Measuring 14 1/2  x  13 1/2 inches

Strap 28 inches

Blue/Green Striped Bag ~ $ 30

Measuring 14 1/2  x  15 1/2 inches

Strap 29 inches

Red & Yellow Spotted Bag ~ $ 30

Light yellow silk liner

Measuring 18 x 13 inches

Strap 34 inches

Perfect for your laptop ☺

Blue & Yellow Spotted Bag ~ $ 30

Measuring 14 x 18 inches

Straps 30 inches

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

This is a very simple chocolate cake recipe from Good Housekeeping Baking.  It is not too rich or too sweet.

~Here are the ingredients~

Preheat Oven to 350 F. 

Grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

 I made cupcakes and used the paper liners. 

Make sure to set the butter out to soften 2 hours prior to baking.

This is an important step, so that the butter will blend smoothly. 

First, combine your dry ingredients  Flour, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cocoa, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt.

Then add Milk, Butter, Eggs, and Vanilla.

 With Mixer at low speed, beat until dry ingredients are moistened. 

 Increase speed to high: beat 3 minutes, until smooth. 

Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of layers comes out clean. 

Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.

With a small knife, loosen layers from side of pans, invert onto racks; cool completely.

 Frost as desired or not at all. 

I used a silky white frosting tinted orange. I recommend using your favorite icing!

Caramel Apples

This year for Halloween we did a little something different.  We stayed home.  The kids were thrilled, they got to watch Goonies!!!  They had NEVER seen it before and they LOVED it!!!  Anyway, we also made Caramel Apples and had popcorn!  Making the apples was so easy and they were enjoyed by everyone ☺

Grilled Pizza

My husband had been talking about grilling a pizza on the grill for a while, so I finally got some pizza makings.  I went to the store and bought some pre~made pizza dough,  pizza sauce and some mozzarella cheese.  I also decided to top it with some black olives because the kids love them :)  First I spread out the dough and pre~grilled just the dough for 3 minutes, then I added all the toppings and let it cook for 7 minutes more.  It was DELICIOUS!!!

Here it is with the toppings just added...

Finished and ready to be eaten!  I served it with a salad and it was all gone in 10 minutes!!!

Crib Skirt Request

 My sister recently requested that I make a crib skirt for one of her best friends who is having her first baby.  She had looked and looked in the baby stores and just couldn't find the right pattern for her baby.  So,  my sister suggested that she look for the perfect fabric and have it made, so she found this fabric.  I think it's perfect and suites both her and her husbands personalities ♥  I LOVED working on this knowing that it will be so much appreciated!!!  

Here are the side panels all cut and sewn. 

Here is the bottom piece that will sit under the mattress pinned and ready for sewing,  I doubled over the edges throughout for strength.

              The sides are all sewn and it is ready to be pinned together for the final sewing.

Here it is complete,  I think it will look great in the crib,  I look forward to seeing pictures!!!

I think it turned out really good!   If you or anyone else you know is having a baby and can't find the right fabric for their nursery in the baby store,  please feel free to email me with any special requests!

Jamieleigh5@yahoo.com

Painting with a Recycled Object

I found this awesome thing in the woods and instantly was inspired to paint something with it.

So,  I painted this...it is inspired by Aboriginal art ☼

~ For Sale $ 75 ~
Free delivery in the Atlanta Area

~ For Sale $ 75 ~

Free Delivery in the Atlanta Area

If you have any personal requests please email me ~ jamieleigh5@yahoo.com