My Little Red Shoebox Tray

Do you ever buy shoes? Well, then make a tray! :)

I don't quite know where I got this idea, but I was feeling quite creative when I organized my new desk, so I'm attributing this random creative idea to that.

 

So, I was looking at this shoe box - and thought it was a pretty nice size for a tray. Now, I could use it the way it was...or I could fancy it up a bit. What do you think I did? Oh, yeah, you already saw the picture...well, in case you were wondering, here's how it went down.

I cut out some paper for the bottom and taped it on using my awesome tape-roler-thingy. And yes, that's exactly what it is called.

 

I then painted the parts of the box that weren't covered by the scrapbook paper. I had to take the paper that I had just taped in out for this part...don't judge my not thinking it through skills :)

Apparently, this craft paint is transparent-like and doesn't cover very well.

 

So I added some paper to the ends as well to cover up the words. I love the look this added too. Thank you paint for not covering the shoebox cover like I had hoped! I used the bottom of the paint to trace a circle - and surprisingly, it was practically the perfect size!

 

Glue those papers on. I was going a little shutter-happy here. You probably didn't need to see a picture of the glue, but here you go.

  

And there we have it! A little tray for my desk.

This currently collects my random coupons on my desk until I have time to put them in my coupon wallet.

 

Can you think of any other ideas for a little cute shoebox tray like this one?

(Check out my new Christmas page for DIY and personalized gift ideas!)

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Knitted Ruffle Scarf with Starbella Yarn

Check out this beautiful scarf! Isn't it cool? AND I made it. and (here's the secret...it was actually really easy). If you know how to knit, just the basic stitch, you can make this too.

The secret is...Starbella Yarn. It's actually netting and you only knit on the far end side and the rest of the "yarn" creates the ruffles. Does that even make sense?

I didn't think so, I actually thought about making a video for you guys because it's hard to explain with words, but then I found this video by ACMoore. And here's the pattern from Premier.

You can buy this yarn anywhere! I got mine at Michael's with a 60% off coupon this weekend. It is regularly priced at $6.99. I bet you could find this at any sort of craft store. I want to get another one! :)

So there you have it! It looks so pretty and it only takes about the time of one good movie and then maybe a TV show. (I watched Chipwrecked and an episode of How I Meet Your Mother!)

 

(hello awkward head tilt...I always seem to do this when I take pictures by myself...)

And now I have to decide....do I keep it or give it away as a Christmas present? Well, I can't decide so I really do need to go buy some more yarn!! :)

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Crustless Pumpkin Pie

I love fall. Especially fall foods. Lately, I've been eating way too much of my share of apple cider, cream cheese apple dip, and my favorite - crustless pumpkin pie! My college roommate Carrie introduced me to this pumpkin pie without crust recipe and I'm been loving it ever since.

I never really liked the crust anyway...love the pumpkin though!!

Give it a try! It's super easy and works great for us non-crust lovers (also when you've forgotten to get/make a crust).

1. Mix all of the following ingredients together.

• 16 oz can pumpkin
• 13 oz can evaporated milk
• 2 T butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 c biscuit mix
• 2-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
• If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp vanilla

2. Pour into greased 10-in pie pan. (I used this super cute and kind-of nerdy pie plate I etched)
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 55 min or until knife comes out clean
*Top with Cool Whip for true deliciousness

Enjoy! Try it out - I bet all of your friends and family will be so impressed.

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Attention all Special Ed friends - New Teaching Blog!

So, I just made myself another blog :)

I started to feel bad whenever I would post something about my classroom here because I know most of my followers aren't interested in special education and what goes on in my classes, but I know that some of you do and I love sharing my ideas! So, I made a blog just for special education posts - Breezy Special Ed. It's going to be awesome! And I know I'll now post a LOT more often!!

Please check it out if you are interested in special education! :) And share with your other special ed friends!

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My Beautiful Shelf - DIY

I have been wanting {to build and to decorate with} a beautiful DIY easy shelf forever - and I finally have one! Even better, my husband and I made it ourselves! I'm quite proud of that - and if we can do it, so can you!

I was inspired by this shelf from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar and this shelf from Shanty-2-Chic.

Also, I love that it is similar to this $89 shelf from Pottery Barn, except the Pottery Barn one is only 4 feet (ours is 6 feet) and the PB one doesn't come in a natural wood finish - which I really wanted. Sometimes you don't just DIY to save money, sometimes it's the only way to get what you really want! {But, now I want a bookshelf...and I don't think the hubs and I will be able to tackle that one...}

Anyway, I put my inspiration shelves together and this is what I got:

I love the corbels - they look like they are holding up the shelf, but they are actually just screwed in underneath the shelf. Remember when I found them? My big key is pretty awesome too!

I love our personalized frame that we got as a wedding gift. Isn't that cool?! 

Our materials:

• Wood (we got pine) - 1x2, 1x4, and 1x6 - all 6 feet long.
• Finish Nails: to attach the front 1x2 piece (just 3, but now we have a BUNCH!)
• Drywall screws: to attach the back 1x4 to the bottom 1x6 and to screw the shelf into the wall
• Wood Glue
• Wood Stain

It was actually quite easy to build - all for about $20, and if we could do it, so can you! I'm very proud of it. 

I need to get some more decorative pieces for this shelf, it's my "mantel" since I don't have one of those. I hope to switch it out seasonally...but right now I just don't have enough stuff. And, most of the decor I do have happens to be picture frames - which kind of makes it look like we are obsessed with ourselves! So wish me luck in finding cute non-picture decorative items. :)

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Ghirardelli Chocolate Martinis with a hint of Raspberry

When I got this bottle of Ghirardelli chocolate syrup, I knew I had to do something more exciting than simply pouring it over my ice cream, which is delicious but maybe not quite worthy of a blog post.

So I called over my dear friend Rita who is pretty good at mixing stuff up and we came up with this delicious Chocolate Martini!

Our Recipe:
1 part Vodka (we used raspberry)
2 parts Creme de Cacao
2-4 parts Milk (depends on your taste, I like to water milk? down my alcohol...)
Ghirardelli Chocolate Syrup - however much you need to make your milk chocolatey

Shake it up, pour and enjoy! YUMM

And if you want to make your glass look fancy, squirt the chocolate into the glass (the wine glass was hard to use, but a martini glass - if I had one - would probably work a lot better) and then put it in the freezer while you make the drink. The chocolate will get just hard enough that it won't mix in with the drink making your glass stay pretty.

I was given the chocolate syrup to review for this blog post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Special Education: Work Skills Schedule

 Update 10/18/12: This post has been moved to my *NEW* special education blog, Breezy Special Ed. Head on over to see this post on Work Skills Schedule.

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