{guest post: lil’ luna — easy bruschetta}

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February 19, 2013 By | 6 Comments

Lil' Luna Guest Post Header

Hi there Nifty Thrifty friends!! Kristyn from Lil’ Luna here. I’m so excited to be doing a guest post for Vanessa. The girl is my favorite, and I use her for all my cute design needs!! Isn’t she so stinkin’ talented? I sure think so. :)

Well, today I am going to be sharing with you a super easy and quick appetizer idea. My family is huge on appetizers, and we are always looking for good ones. This Easy Bruschetta recipe happens to be one of those…

Not only is it DELICIOUS, but it is so simple to make. :)

Here is how you can make it too:

EASY HOMEMADE BRUSCHETTA:

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 — 32 oz. can Italian Diced Tomatoes

- 6 cloves Garlic

- 4 TB Olive Oil

- 3/4 cup basil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix right before serving.

For easy bread pieces to go with the bruschetta, I’ll show what we do…

1. Buy hogi sandwich rolls. Cut in slices and place on a cookie sheet.

2. Butter slices and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Broil on HIGH for 2–5 minutes (dependent on how fast and hot your oven is).

Serve the bread pieces with your bruschetta.

Talk about an easy, quick and yummy appetizer! I promise you’ll love this.

It is a family favorite that can be made so easily and tastes so good!

For more fun recipes as well as some great crafts, printables and tutorials come on over to Lil’ Luna to say hi. I’d love to see you!!

ENJOY!

PS — Thanks for having me, Vanessa!

Filed Under: Blog, Cooking, Guest Blogger, Recipes | 6 Comments
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{guest post: the bold abode}

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September 13, 2012 By | 12 Comments

How’s it going all you BOLD Nifty Thrifty friends?

I’m Gwen

tabber_headshot

from

Daisy-Template

And I so humbled that Vanessa invited me to join you guys today. I’m always inspired by her amazing projects, tutorials and recipes…

I’m so excited to be here that I’m sharing with you one of our family’s absolute most FAVORITE pleasures! And no, it doesn’t involved any chocolate whatsoever…hehehe…

It’s healthy, yummy and I feel great as a mom allowing my boys to imbibe this amazing concoction of

Naturally-Sweetened-Sparkling-Koolaid

Mmmmmm…..

Sparkling Koolaid

And here’s how you make it…

Ingredients:

  • One 2 Liter of Seltzer Water
  • One package of unsweetened Kool-Aid, any flavor
  • 2/3 Cup (more or less to your taste) of Stevia in the Raw

Its just this easy…

Sparkling-Kool-Aid1

Then you get down to shakin’…

Sparkling Kool-Aid Collage

But you might want to go easy on it or you’ll end up with a Sparkling Kool-Aid bath!

If they are hesitant at first to try it…

Drinking the sparkling koolaid

Don’t worry, they’ll soon be sucking it down!

dinking all the sparkling koolaid

and down…

drinking sparkling koolaid in goggles

{goggles not included}

Then they’ll bow to you in adoration…

bowing in thanks for sparkling koolaid

And you’ll giggle inside because it’s completely {and Naturally} sugar free.

Spakling Koolaid in glass again

I’m not sure what’s in the actual Kool-Aid, but who cares? I’ve already won half the battle replacing the soda!

If you try this and love it like we do, I hope you’ll pop over and let me know!

Thank you so much, Vanessa, for having me. I hope you you have a good trip and come back to us safely!

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You can find Gwen from The Bold Abode here:
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Filed Under: Blog, Guest Blogger | 12 Comments
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{guest post: brown paper packages}

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September 12, 2012 By | 2 Comments
Hello friends!  I’m Kierste, the girl behind Brown Paper Packages, and I’m thrilled to be here!

Fall is my absolutely favorite season, and Halloween is one of my most favorite holidays.  Not the scary parts, but the trick-or-treating, fun costumes, parties, decorating, games, and yummy food.  I’m excited to share one of my favorite Halloween projects–darling trick-or-treat boxes that can be used as decor, or to keep all that delicious Halloween candy in!

Aren’t they adorable? They are also SO easy to make, and I’m going to tell you how!

ITEMS YOU NEED:

  •  brown craft boxes (I found the boxes at Hobby Lobby for less than $10 for all three–sized 5, 6, and 7 inches)
  • spray paint
  • 1 1/2 inch wooden knobs (bought these at Home Depot)
  • ribbon
  • sandpaper/power sander
  • Liquid Nails or other strong adhesive
  • vinyl lettering

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spray your boxes and wooden knobs black, and let dry completely.  Take your sandpaper or power sander and gently rough up the edges and fronts of both the boxes and knobs. Using a damp cloth, wipe off all the excess dust.

2. Using double stick tape, adhere the ribbon the edge of the largest box’s lid, and tie a knot at one corner.

3.  Add the vinyl (I used the Greer font) to the fronts of your boxes. You could also use foam stamps (I came *this* close to using mine), or print the text on cardstock then mat on cute scrapbook paper.

4. Add the knobs using Liquid Nails or other strong adhesive (i.e. hot glue).

Here’s where you have a few options…

a. Add a knob to the top box only, and stack the three boxes. (as shown above)

b.  Add a knob to the biggest box and the smallest box, and stack like this:

c.  Add knobs to all three boxes!

You can also make just one larger box instead of all three…

Now the question is, how long will the candy last?  :)

Thanks so much for having me, Vanessa!  I hope you’ll all stop by, say hello, and check out all of my other fun Halloween projects and ideas. I’d love to have you!
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You can find Kierste from Brown Paper Packages here:
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Filed Under: Blog, Guest Blogger | 2 Comments
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{guest post: cherished bliss}

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September 11, 2012 By | 9 Comments

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be posting over here today for Vanessa!
I have been following her blog since I started mine a year an a half ago! She is always so sweet! :)
I’m Ashley, and you can find me over at my blog, Cherished Bliss

I am a stay at home mom with 2 little ones who keep me super busy. I share everything I make over on my blog rather it be toys for my kids or home decor. It is a journey through my life and what I make! I’d love to have you stop by and say hi, I drink a lot of coffee over there! ;)

Today I am going to share with you my first ever Fall Wreath. I know.. how have I got all this time without making a fall wreath? Well, we just moved from Texas to Wisconsin and Fall wasn’t something we experienced in Texas and I never liked decorating for the season.. I was always just so ready for winter and Christmas I skipped right over it. I think it might be one of my new favorite seasons though!

Now I feel I should warn you, this wreath is time consuming! It’s easy, but time consuming!

{Supplies}

- Pool noodle or wreath form
– Duct tape (if you go the pool noodle route)
– Burlap
– Modge Podge
–Elmer’s Glue
– Foam brushes
– Scissors
–2 packages popcorn kernals

{Tutorial}

one.
Take your pool noodle and determine how big you want your wreath, trim it accordingly and then duct tape the ends together REALLY WELL!

two.
Next I covered my wreath in burlap using modge podge. I didn’t want my burlap to be perfectly smooth across my wreath form because I didn’t want that perfect look.

three.
Now comes the time consuming part. Once you get your wreath wrapped in the burlap I took modge podge and painted it over sections of the burlap, then I sprinkled on the popcorn kernals. Once that dries, I did another layer of my homemade modge podge on top.
Home Made Modge Podge is just 1 part Elmer’s Glue 1 part water. I mixed mine up in a mason jar and shook it until it was mixed up.

The reason I did this was because the modge modge you buy is quite thick and kept pulling the kernels off when I would brush over them. This is a lot runnier and got down in the crevices really well.

You just keep doing this until your entire wreath is covered. I found that since you have to let each section dry before you can move on, it helps to point a fan on it.

four.
Next I added the strap at the top to hang the wreath from.
I just took a long strip of muslin and ruffled it. Then I took a strip of canvas that was a little bit wider and sewed the ruffle strip straight down the center. Then I tied a bow at the top to hang it from.

And that’s it. After all your hard work you will have a popcorn kernel wreath!: )

I actually have plans to add some felt flowers and wreath on here, but I made this, then we moved beginning end of August and beginning of September so I wasn’t exactly sure how my decorations would be set up so I thought I’d hold off. I like it by itself like this, but I’m kind of excited to see what else I can do to it!

I’m writing this before the move, so I’m sure I’ll be working on it once we move, so you’ll have to come back over to my blog and check to see what changes I’ve made ; )

I love my new wreath! It puts me in a mood for my first real Autumn! I might even try and decorate so that I can make it flow into Halloween.. what do you think?

Thanks again for having me Vanessa! It was such a pleasure to be here today!

If you enjoyed this post, I would love to have you stop over and grab a cup of virtual coffee with me : ) I love meeting new people so just pop over and say HI! : )

Here are a few of my other tutorials (just in case you were wondering) : )

Baby Doll Bed Quilt Pink Lemonade Cookies
{baby doll bedding}  {pink lemonade cookies}

You can even keep up with me too! I don’t mind at all ; )
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Have a beautiful Day!!

 

Filed Under: Blog, Guest Blogger | 9 Comments
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{guest post: bird on a cake}

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September 10, 2012 By | 4 Comments

Hello, Nifty Thrifty Things fans!
I’m so happy to be hanging out with you today at Vanessa’s fabulous blog. Isn’t she such a sweetheart? :0)

I’m Robin from Bird On A Cake, where I blog all about my cake obsession.
I share yummy recipes, decorating tutorials and lots of pretty cakes!

I am excited to share one of my favorite cakes with you today.
It is just perfect for the upcoming fall season!

Would you like to learn how to make these beautiful autumn leaves?

Autumn Leaves Tutorial

First, melt some candy melts (or white chocolate) in the microwave on 50% power.Put each color in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.I used Wilton decorating tip #3.

Print a leaf template (or use the one below). I found a leaves coloring page online, and my graphic designer hubby removed the stems and sized them for me.

Tape your template to a piece of cardboard or the back of a cookie sheet.Tape wax paper over the template.

Pipe the outline and veins of each leaf on the wax paper.

Then go back and fill in each leaf with a contrasting color.

Pop them in the fridge so they can set up.

When they have hardened, carefully peel the wax paper off the leaves (they are a bit delicate) and attach them to your cake with a little frosting on the back.

I would love for you all to stop by and visitmy blog, Bird On A Cake!
You can also find me on Facebook and Pinterest.

Thanks so much for letting me visit today, Vanessa!

Hope you all have a great week!

Robin

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You can find Robin from Bird On A Cake here:
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Filed Under: Baking, Blog, Guest Blogger, Recipes | 4 Comments
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