Today is my birthday!  Thirty-two years old.  (How did that happen?  Wasn’t I just a 20-something?  Did I hit a time warp?)  Since it’s my day, and it has been recently pointed out that I haven’t updated my Amazon wishlist in, like, a gazillion years, I decided that today I would post a list of things I really like!  (I like a lot of quirky stuff.  You’ve been warned, haha!)

I spent a week in NYC with a couple of girlfriends a few years ago, and of course I fell in love.  (I mean, how can you not love New York?)  Shortly after my trip I saw the Build Your Block pillows printed with NYC buildings for the first time, and ever since I have wanted a row of them to line the back of my loveseat.  [Build Your Block throw pillows]

I have a “thing” for quirky stuff.  Especially little stuff that is usually boring and nondescript.  My desk proudly displays quirky and unusual touches, like an Aphrodite bust USB hub and a cassette-tape-shaped tape dispenser.  The perfect addition?  I love, love, LOVE this pencil sharpener desk caddy by Suck UK.  Totally my style!  [Pencil sharpener desk caddy]

I’ve been pretty into bracelets lately, so of course there had to be at least one on the list.  I love this one because of its organic shape and patterns.  In fact, that is what I love about every piece of jewelry that Nervous System designs!  The description of the bracelet says, “Inspired by the complex forms of radiolarians, where intricate pattern is integral to structure, these shapes derive from a simulation of spring meshes enclosing an interstitial space.”  I have no idea what that means…  (Did you hear a whoosh as it went over your head, too?)  All I know is, their entire collection is seriously incredible.  But especially this piece.  ["Subdivision" cuff bracelet]

I know they are completely impractical for Michigan winters (good luck walking in heels after an ice storm), but that doesn’t stop me from coveting a pair of “Kevoik” heeled boots by Philip Simon.  In green, because this color matches just about everything in my wardrobe.  And, if I won the lottery, in every other color too just because they are that fabulous.  [Kevoik boots (affiliate link)]

Another thing I often gaze at longingly?  Jessie Steele aprons.  They’re so home-ec-chic, and so cute I can hardly stand it!  I love the vintage feel that all of her aprons have.  I’m not sure if it’s smart to put me in an apron with white in it (I’m not known for my grace or coordination), but this one sure as heck is pretty.  [Jessie Steele aprons]

I’m fanatical about carrying everything I need in my purse.  Sure, it weighs half a ton, but I always have all of the essentials with me at all times.  A nice addition to my collection would be a cute little mini thermos like this one by Pylones, which would look fabulous along with the assortment of cute and odd things I have in there already.  And then I could even put my coffee in my purse when I leave the house, brilliant!  (After all, I said I wanted all of the essentials in there, right?)  [Pylones mini thermos]

I could go on and on, but honestly, I have so many other things to do that I’m starting to feel guilty for sitting around and making a materialistic list, you know?  So…  I am off to do some of those things!  (Like make plans for the garden I am putting in this weekend!!)

If you have a blog, one of the most important plugins you can add is one that points to related posts.  I mean,  single visit is nice, but wouldn’t you rather that everyone hangs out for a while, maybe reads two or three posts before they are off to Google something else?  A related posts plugin is the easiest way to do that.

One of several available related post style options from nRelate.

But which one to use?

I’ve tried a lot of related post plugins over the course of my blogging career, starting with my first (and long-since-dead) Blogger blog somewhere around 2003 up to my present blogs.  If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you’ll note that I use a plugin called nRelate.  It’s also the related posts plugin on all of the other blogs I own, work for, or regularly contribute to.  Why?  After trying and deleting at least a dozen other plugins, I feel I can safely say that nRelate is the best one out there.

Another nRelate related posts style option.

What makes nRelate better?

Well, there are a few important things that set it ahead of its competitors.  And they are very important things!  Here are the main reasons why I use nRelate:

• It’s SEO-friendly.  Have you ever heard the saying, “content is king, and SEO is queen”?  SEO is how search engines decide which search results land at the top of the page.  Naturally, you want your blog to be on the first page!  While some other plugins re-route clicks on your related post through their own servers (which hurts your SEO), nRelate doesn’t!
• It’s got great options.  You can set it up to display in several different styles, and there are a lot of settings you can use to completely customize how it looks on your page.  It’s by far the most customizable plugin of its kind that I have tried.
• The results are relevant.  Sometimes it’s almost spooky how accurately they predict what else I might want to see.  Of course, the more posts you have, the more relevant the results will get, and over time as I have added more content to my blogs I have noticed that it’s gotten more and more relevant.
• You can related posts from other blogs.  Besides showing related content from this blog, I can (and have!) also add related posts from your other blogs, or blogs you write for, or your favorite blogs.
• You can use it to earn money!  Yep, that’s right, nRelate is a way to monetize your blog.  And, of course, the ads are relevant to your content!  Sponsored links show up alongside your own content in the related posts section.  If you’re going to use a related posts plugin anyway, why not get a few extra bucks in the meantime?

Additionally, a related posts plugin will ultimately help visitors find more content on your site and increase your pageviews.  (By using nRelate, you should see a 5-12% increase in your traffic!)

Related posts from nRelate, styled like Huffington Post.

Try it out for yourself!

I can tell you all day long about how awesome nRelate is, but the best way for you to really understand is to try it out for yourself.  It’s a free service, so you’ve got nothing to lose!

• To install nRelate for WordPress, click here.
• To install nRelate for Blogger, click here.
• To install nRelate for Tumblr, click here.

You can also keep up-to-date by following nRelate on Twitter or liking nRelate on Facebook.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by nRelate.  All opinions 100% my own.

A few years ago I got an interesting calendar in the mail.  It was what I like to call the “good” junk mail, the kind that asks you for donations in exchange for some free thing that they just sent you.  My favorite kind of good junk mail are the ones that send cute address labels or note pads – you know the kind of mail I’m talking about.  (I need to get on more of those mailing lists!)

This particular calendar was printed on two long, skinny stickers printed with tiny months, meant to be attached across the top and bottom of a computer monitor.  Instead, I tucked it away, certain that it had a future crafty use.  (If I remember correctly, that junk mail also included several cute animal postcards – double score!)  At that point I hadn’t started making dollhouse miniatures again yet (I dabbled in dollhouses as a child), so it wasn’t until later that I realized that the printing was just the right size for making dollhouse calendars.

Of course, you can also reduce the size of a calendar with your computer or a copy machine if you didn’t happen to get the same junk mail as me way-back-when.  I mean, what are the odds, right?

If you want to see exactly how I made it, head over to Dollar Store Crafts for the tutorial!  [go to the tutorial]

Today was a very exciting day in my hometown. This morning was our very first Farmers Market of the year! (I have been looking forward to it for SOOO long!) There wasn’t a whole lot of variety yet (it is, after all, still early-May-in-Michigan weather!) but it was so nice to get out and walk through the stalls and check out all of the yummy goods.

It was also the first time I got to use the awesome shopping basket that I got for Christmas! (Until now, the only one in the house who had gotten any use out of it was Abracadabra.)

I got there in the last half hour of the market, so a lot of things were already sold out.  (Next week I should be able to get there earlier, thank goodness!)  But there were still some very yummy things that I just had to have.

The first booth I went to had asparagus.  Just asparagus.  Lots and lots of asparagus.  It drew me in like a magnet, and I snatched up a handful.

I also came across some GORGEOUS lettuce!  Again, I had to have it.  So into the basket it went.

I also stopped at the booth for the Noteware Candy Company.  The Notewares are my parents’ neighbors, and they make the absolute, indisputable best caramels in the universe.  They are seriously the best.things.EVER!  So of course I had to buy a 3-pack of them, for a tasty little treat.  (Notice that the package is open, and there are only two candies left?  Actually, it’s a miracle any of them made it home!)

When I got home, Merlin had to inspect my take before I put it away.  He was disappointed that nothing in the basket smelled like fish or meat.  Sorry buddy, not today.

We took the asparagus and about half of the greens to my in-laws house for dinner.  We also harvested some fresh watercress straight out of the creek in the front yard and added it to the salad.  Everything tasted so incredible!

I can’t wait to see what next week’s Farmers Market brings!

Last Wednesday should have been a purely joyous day for my friend Heidi from HoneyBear Lane and her family.  Her sister-in-law Alice gave birth to their third child, a beautiful baby girl, but it was bittersweet.

Alice contracted a serious infection, strep A toxic shock.  She fought with everything she had, but it wasn’t enough.  On Monday, she took a turn for the worse; Tuesday the doctors declared her brain dead.  The family was devastated, and after saying their goodbyes, made the difficult decision to remove her from life support on Wednesday, just a week after giving birth.  She was only 33.

She leaves behind her husband (Heidi’s brother), two sons, and a newborn daughter.  To help with the financial aspect of the family’s earth-shattering loss, Heidi has set up the Alice Hansen Family Fund.  It will help defray their mounting bills, including medical expenses (they have no health insurance), funeral costs, and other incidental charges that arise as they recover from this tragedy.  (While Alice’s newly-widowed husband recently finished his Master’s Degree, he has yet to secure employment, so he is bearing this burden with very limited financial resources.)  To learn how you can contribute, visit HoneyBear Lane.

While you are there, you can also download this beautiful set of free printables, designed by Lara at Less Cake More Frosting in memory of Alice:

Alice had a PhD in music and was an incredibly talented musician.  Says Heidi, “She was the most gifted pianist I knew.”  Her passion for music is the inspiration behind the printables.

My heart breaks for Alice’s family.  Please, visit HoneyBear Lane and learn more about Alice and her story, and how you can help.  Even if you cannot afford a monetary donation, you can help spread Alice’s story and share the gorgeous printables.

The family appreciates your support.  “From the bottom of our grief-stricken hearts,” says Heidi, “thank you.”

For most young adults, there is no more important milestone in their lives so far than graduating from high school.  For them it probably seems like it’s been a never-ending 13 or more years, but if you’re the parent of a grad, it’s probably snuck up on you.  (Wasn’t it just yesterday that they were mastering their ABCs and learning to tie their own shoes?)

If it’s snuck up on you so quickly that you’re scrambling to get things together in preparation, one of the things you will want to tackle right away is the announcements!  One place that you can make quick, custom announcements is Shutterfly.  I’ve ordered from them many times in the past and I’ve always been happy with how easy their site is to navigate, how quickly I can put together designs with their editing tools, the turnaround time on my orders, and the quality of their products.  Seriously, I use their services all.the.time and highly recommend them!

Once you’ve got the announcements out of the way, here’s an idea for at the party!  It’s tradition to have a collage or scrapbook with pictures of the graduate through the years.  If you don’t have time to sit down and put together a scrapbook for the even, or you’re not much of a paper crafter, Shutterfly’s photo books are really easy to make (just upload and arrange your photos) and also make a great keepsake.  And you don’t have to risk marring priceless family photos with tape or glue sticks or rain or punch bowl disasters!  (If you don’t have a scanner to put older photos onto your computer, try taking a photo of the photo with your digital camera instead!)

Shutterfly has provided two prizes, which two lucky readers will win!  The first winner drawn will receive 50 free announcements, and the second will win a free 20-page photo book!  To enter, just leave a comment on this post.  (Make sure you fill out the e-mail field on the comment form – your e-mail will not be displayed publicly, but it will give me a way to contact you!)

You may also earn additional entries for doing any the following:

• Like Mrs. Greene on Facebook, then come back here and leave a comment saying you are a fan.
• Follow me on Twitter, then come back here and leave a comment saying you have followed.
• Subscribe to my RSS feed, then leave a comment saying that you have subscribed.

Entries will be closed at 12:00 midnight ET on Monday, May 14, and the winners will be announced on Tuesday.  Good luck!

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by Shutterfly.  All opinions 100% my own.

I’ve long wanted to try some of the wild edibles that grow in my area, so I decided that this year I will make a point of learning which plants are edible, how to positively identify them, and prepare them.  I decided to start easy, with one I already knew and have plenty of right in my back yard – dandelions!

Like most wild greens, dandelion greens are best when they are young and tender, at which point they make a fabulous salad.  As the leaves mature, however, they become more bitter.  Cooking them properly will eliminate the bitter flavor, leaving you with a nutrient-packed addition to dishes like this simple pasta preparation.  Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 c. dandelion greens, rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 4 servings spaghetti
• 4 sausages or bratwurst
• Oregano and basil, fresh or dried, to taste
• 3 Tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper or other seasonings to taste

1.  Rinse dandelion greens.  Chop coarsely; for younger, smaller leaves use all of the leaf, but for older, larger leaves use only the top portions of the leaves to avoid thick stems.

2.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, adding a healthy dash of salt, which will help pull the bitter flavor out of the leaves.  Add the dandelion greens.  Maintain a rolling boil for 5 minutes.

3.  Drain the water from the greens.  Add fresh water and more salt, then return to a rolling boil for another 5 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

4.  Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil and measure out 4 servings of spaghetti.  Boil 8 minutes, until the noodles are slightly under-done.  Drain.

5.  Meanwhile, cook sausage.  (I used pre-cooked, locally-made bratwurst.  Grilling is ideal, but since it was a little cold outside tonight I just browned mine on the stove.)

6.  Return noodles to pan over medium-low heat with butter and seasonings.  (I used dried oregano and basil, as well as Morton Salt Nature’s Seasons, which includes salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and a few other seasonings.)  Add cooked greens.  If the greens form clumps, use a fork to separate them so they can be evenly stirred into noodles.  Saute together for 2 to 3 minutes.

7.  Serve with sausage on the side or mixed in, whichever you prefer!

The greens were very mild in flavor, making them a nice way to add nutritional value to a very basic pasta dish.  Have you ever tried cooked dandelion greens?  How did you prepare them?  I’m now curious to try them more different ways, since there are still a zillion of them sprouting in my back yard!

I wrote another guest post for The CSI Project!  This time around the theme was accessories, so I made a necklace!  It’s a super easy crochet pattern that I completed with some ribbon I picked up for 50 cents a spool – cheap, cheap, cheap!  To see how I made it, head over there!  [go to the tutorial]

Mother’s Day is coming up!  Luckily, my mother-in-law doesn’t use the internet, so I can share these with you and they will still be a surprise.  (If you talk to her between now and then, don’t tell her!)  I posted a tutorial for them Dollar Store Crafts – would you believe they are made out of plastic table cloths from Dollar Tree?  For realz, yo!  If you don’t believe me, check out the how-to to see for yourself!  [go to the tutorial]

My dollhouse rooms have been slowly but surely coming along over a period of months, but one thing that I haven’t made much of is food.  Polymer clay is a popular medium for making mini foods, but I have never fancied myself much of a sculptor.  Luckily, it doesn’t take a hearty dose of natural talent to make this tiny cherry pie.  In fact, thus might be the easiest polymer clay food tutorial ever!  I showed how I made it over at Dollar Store Crafts – head there for more details!  [go to the tutorial]

Last weekend, my hubby took me on a nice little vacation.  We went to Traverse City, Michigan, one of our favorite places in the world.  I did a bit of shopping while we were there, and since it is such a foodie town, a lot of what I bought was food-related.

One of the places we went was a fabulous little shop called Spice Merchants.  They carry over 200 different spices, herbs, blends, and teas.  It smells sooo good in there!  I only got two things this time around, but I will be back for more!  I picked out a mild curry and a Moroccan spice rub.  And that was after I put back about a dozen other things that looked equally good!  But I think I made the right decision.  Actually, I know I made the right decision.  The reason I know?  Three words:  Moroccan pork tacos.

Hubby wanted tacos for dinner.  I wanted to try using one of my new spice blends.  Pork was on sale.  Everything just kind of fell into place, and deliciously so!

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 pork chops or steaks
• Moroccan spice blend
• Coarse sea salt
• Fresh mint (mine came from my own garden – as fresh as it gets!)
• 2 ripe avocados, chopped and mashed
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• Guacamole seasoning mix
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Lime, sliced into wedges

1.  Preheat oven to 325 F.

2.  Rub pork with coarse sea salt and Moroccan spice blend.  Place in a covered baking dish with a few sprigs of fresh mint.  Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes.

3. While the chicken is in the oven, mix the avocados, tomato, and seasoning mix together in a bowl.  Refrigerate until it is time to serve.

4. When the pork comes out of the oven, remove it from the baking dish and let it cool for about 5 minutes.  Separate all of the good meat from any fat and bone.

5.  Pull the pork with two forks until all of the chunks are gone.

6.  Spoon the pork and guacamole together on whole wheat tortillas; serve with a wedge of lime for squeezing.

This was such a hit at our house that I’ve made them twice now, and we will definitely have them again!

I love wedding crafts.  Even when I don’t know anyone who is currently planning a wedding, I find myself bookmarking cute wedding craft projects anyway – just in case!  When the gals from Crafterminds started chatting about making a series of wedding crafts, I knew I had to jump on board.  I decided to make a wedding favor project, since favors are one of my favorite parts of throwing any party, especially a wedding!

While I was shopping at Michael’s, I came across some small jar candles for $1.00 each and I knew they would be perfect!  I grabbed a couple of them and scoured the score for supplies in matching colors.  I ended up with:

• Small jar candles
• Pom-pom wired “ribbon”
• Paper flower embellishments
• Letter stickers

Start by soaking the jar candles in warm water to remove the labels.

Meanwhile, start threading the flowers onto the pop-pom ribbon.  (I found this trim in the ribbon section at Michael’s, but it is actually a fine wire strung with pom poms!)  Cut a section of the pom-pom ribbon just long enough to wrap around the neck of the jar candle.  The flower embellishments came with small holes in the centers; carefully work one end into the hole in the center of the flower, being careful not to tear it.  I used a double layer of flowers.

Wrap the pom pom ribbon around the top of the jar and carefully work the second end through the center of the flower as well.  When you’re done, bit the ends of the wire and two pom poms should be pulled through the centers of the flowers.

Twist the pom poms together to secure the wire.  Bend, tuck, and twist the ends of the wire so that they are hidden around the base of the pom-poms.  Fluff the pom poms if needed to reshape them into a single sphere.

Add a monogram by using a pretty letter sticker.  Alternatively, if you don’t want to buy dozens of sheets of alphabet stickers just to rob them all of a single letter, you can print your monograms onto vellum and Mod Podge them to the outsides of the candle jars.

They are that simple!

Looking for more great wedding crafts?  Check out these fabulous ideas!

Most people who know me in real life know that I am a shopper. I’m not a shopper in the run-up-a-huge-credit-card-balance sense; no, it’s quite the opposite. I am very good at finding things for free or really, really cheap, and when I find a deal that good I just can’t pass it up! Lately I’ve been earning tons of free credits at flash sale sites like Sneakpeeq. (You can get a free $10 credit there just for signing up – click this link to check it out!)

They offer deals on decor, fashion, and food items. Recently I’ve been heavily focused on eating well, so the foodie section is particularly appealing to me, and it’s where I found all of these incredible deals!

Quinoa is one of those things I’ve been wanting to try for a while but hadn’t gotten around to buying. Well, problem solved! The other day I came across a Sneakpeeq sale from Wholesome Kitchen that included a bunch of assorted grain mixes. One of the options was a package that included both quinoa with French lentils and quinoa with vegetables and smoked paprika. Yum, right?

Another of their pairings was garden vegetable farro and currant & bulgar wheat taboule. Not my usual fare, but I’ve been trying to really expand my culinary horizons, so I thought, why not?

I’m a huge fan of couscous, especially the larger kind, called pearl or Israeli couscous. I was intrigued by their selection of flavors: standard tri-color, plus currant & pumpkin seed and mushroom & tomato. Between all of these options, I should have a side to compliment every meal!

The regular price for all of these items together is $48, an amount that would totally blow my grocery budget. Even the sale price of $36 was a little steep for me. However, I had $30 worth of credits to burn, so I get the whole lot of all seven blends for $6. And to sweeten the deal, the shipping was free!

For being on Sneakpeeq’s “leaderboard” for the Wholesome Kitchen sale, I got another $10 credit. How better to spend it than on more food? Since Mr. Greene is allergic to peanuts, the 180 Snacks sale got my attention. Their products are guaranteed to be peanut-free! All of their stuff looked yummy, but I ended up settling on the cranberry pomegranate trail mix crunch, which (in addition to the obvious fruit content) includes cashews, almonds, and pistachios. We hike a lot so we will probably actually eat some of it on the trail, but I am also inclined to try some in cookies. Oh yeah, I went there.

I’ll be getting 8 packages of the trail mix, which retail for $24. They were on sale for $17, so my cost was $7, plus I took advantage of a free shipping offer. This purchase landed me on another “leaderboard” and netted me another $10 credit, so my shopping odyssey continued…

The next thing I found that looked good was the jerky from Caveman Foods. I’d heard about the company when I was looking into the Paleo diet, so I knew it was good stuff. There were two kinds of jerky to choose from (bbq chicken or teriyaki beef) and I was having a hard time deciding. Meanwhile I earned another $5 in credit for inviting my friends, so I decided to get both kinds!

I got 6 packages of each kind of jerky, which together retail for $36. They were on sale for a total of $24, so after my $15 worth of credit I only paid $9, and once again I managed to get free shipping.

Have you been keeping score? That’s $108 worth of yummy, wholesome foodstuffs, and I only paid $22! (Now do you understand why I am so addicted to shopping? I guess I am just too good at it!) I’m on the verge of more credits at Sneakpeeq… I wonder what other yummy things I can find?

Remember – if you aren’t a Sneakpeeq member yet, you can join through this link and get $10 in free credit of your own!

You guys know I am a sucker for a good freebie.  And this, my friends…  This is a really good one.

I often wait for the mail man to arrive.  I will seriously sit and listen intently for the sound of his little mail truck chugging down my block.  I’m obsessed.  And while most day it’s largely bills and junk, some days there are little tidbits of awesome waiting in my mailbox.  The other day was one of those days – the mail man brought me a pretty ring (the one with the blue stone) that I got for completely free, even free shipping, from Sneakpeeq!

While they aren’t giving away the exact same ring anymore, the deal is still going (at least as of the date I wrote this post)!  If you aren’t a member of Sneakpeeq yet, here’s how you can join and get your own free ring…  And if you play your cards right, you can get some other freebies too!

1. Sign up for Sneakpeeq via this link:
2. When you join, you will be awarded two “badges” – a welcome gift and a $10 new member credit.
3. On your badges page, click “redeem this badge” for the welcome gift badge.  You will be taken to a screen where you will see what you can get for free!  (As of publication, the freebie is a pretty pearl ring!)
4. Click the “Peeq for your price” button; it should reveal that your price is free.  Click “buy now” to add the free welcome gift to your shopping cart.
5. On the checkout screen, fill in your shipping address to finalize your free gift order.  You will NOT need a credit card for this order – it is a true freebie with no strings attached!

The $10 new member credit can also yield freebies, or at least some really-really-cheapies.  The sales change frequently, but you can almost always find something cool in the $10 to $15 range, and some offers even have free shipping!  Here is how I spend my credit:

These couscous mixes retail for $18, but Sneakpeeq had them on sale for $12 with free shipping.  After my entire my $10 new member credit, cost was TWO DOLLARS!

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a creative contest called the Scribble Challenge.  Scribble Shop sent me a box full of a surprise assortment of supplies, and my challenge was to create a project using as many of them as possible.  I managed to use every single thing in the box to create this felted mask wall art, inspired by Mardi Gras.  I wrote a tutorial for the project at Dollar Store Crafts; head over there to check out the how-to and see exactly what was in the box!  [go to the tutorial]

I’ve become quite a junkie for Klout Perks.  They have sent me all kinds of wonderful things, and I want to start sharing them with you!  Recently I have started getting really good offers for full-size samples of free beauty products, which is wonderful because my budget usually doesn’t allow for me to try some of these really amazing products.  The first to arrive were a couple of products from Simple Skincare.

When it came in the mail, I was delighted to find that the package included both a package of facial cleansing wipes and a bottle of replenishing moisturizer.  (About $20 worth of products for free!)  I was pretty excited about trying them out because they say that their products are good for sensitive skin, and my skin is incredibly difficult.

I’ve used the wipes a couple of times now, only on the days when I wear makeup.  (Which is more often since I’ve been getting great skincare products!)  They do an incredible job of taking off my makeup!  I use the moisturizer every night after I wash my face and it leaves my skin feeling wonderfully silky.  My face is starting to look the best it has in years!  (Thank you, Klout!!)

I am awaiting the arrival of a few other skincare products through Klout Perks as well.  Hopefully as I try each one, my face will just get better and better!  If you aren’t haven’t joined Klout yet you totally should – the Perks program is out of this world!  [Go to Klout]

Disclosure:  I was given a free product or sample because I’m a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.  Affiliate links.  Full disclosure here.

Alright, mini-lovers.  It’s time for a new project again!

One thing that my dollhouse scenes have been lacking is food.  Realistic dollhouse food is a challenge.  I’ve seen a lot of wonderful pieces made from polymer clay, but I don’t feel that I have the sculpting skills to achieve the realism that I want, so I’ve been seeking alternative methods for making tiny foodstuffs.

How about a layer cake made out of…  a sponge?  No special artsy skills required here, just some simple cutting, painting, and gluing.  Want to see how it’s done?  Head over to Dollar Store Crafts for the complete tutorial.  [go to the tutorial]

Have you figured out yet that I am addicted to flash sale sites? I seriously check them every.single.day.  It’s not problematic because when I do buy something, most of the time I do so using free credits that I earn in various ways. (I am very good at earning free credits – and it’s a great way to feed my shopping addiction without killing my budget!)  Recently I made my first two food item purchases, and I want to tell you about them because I am very excited!

Finally, dear readers, my obsessive super-duper-bargain shopping is going to benefit you.  How?  I already have an idea for a recipe using these items, and if it turns out half as good as it sounds, you will be delighted when I unveil it!  Here are my two ingredients:

It started when I stumbled across an offer to join a flash sale site called Sneakpeeq.  When I signed up I got $10 worth of free credit, so I started hunting around for something that cost $10 so I could just pay the shipping.  I stumbled across some sea salt caramel from Le Caramel:  4 oz. of chewy caramel candies, and two 8.5 oz. jars of a rich, creamy caramel sauce.  Regular price $14, on sale for $10.  Perfect!  Even after the $5.95 shipping charge it was an amazing deal.  (Get your own $10 credit at Sneakpeeq – join through this link!)

Ever since I ordered it, I’ve been thinking about what to do with it.  Then tonight at Fab, I saw this:

If you know me in real life at all, you know I am obsessed with coffee.  I’ve seen this coffee syrup by Dave’s Coffee for sale there before, but this time when it came up, I was struck with a brilliant idea.  A delicious-sounding idea.  An idea so good that I was compelled to buy the coffee syrup, even thought I only had 50 cents in credit on my account.  (I spent the rest of it last week on cool dish brushes in their spring cleaning shop!)  The regular price for the syrup is $8.95, on sale for $7.75.  Minus my credit and including their $4.95 shipping charge, it came out to $12.20.  For my usual shopping habits, that’s like a fortune.  But my idea is that good!

(If you want to join Fab and check out their awesome deals for yourself, please use this link so I get referral credit!)

I’m not telling you yet what I’m making, but I am sure that you can imagine the combination of these ingredients…  Ladies and gents, this may just be the best thing I’ve ever made!  …Stay tuned to find out what yummy things I have in store for you!

Did you happen to catch my guest post a couple of weeks ago at The CSI Project?  The theme for the week was spring decor.  If you missed it, here it is again!  I was excited about the theme because in many areas, my house is in dire need of some decor refreshing.  I just needed something to inspire me…

Taking advantage of the recent unseasonably warm weather, we’ve already dug into some of our spring pruning and other yard work.  We hacked back an out-of-control grapevine and ended up with a big pile of ‘em:

I have always loved the little twisty bits on grapevines, so I knew I had to do something with them!  I wanted to keep it simple to showcase the form of the grapevines, so I decided to turn them into a simple wall art display.  To make it, you will need:

• Grapevine clippings
• Spray paint
• Museum wax
• Silk flowers
• Push pins

Start by trimming the grapevines into sections about 12 to 16 inches long.  I tried to keep as many of the curly bits as well.

To give them a more clean, fresh look, I gave them a couple of coats of white spray paint.

The secret ingredient in this project is Museum Wax.  Ever wonder how museums in earthquake-prone areas manage to keep their priceless vases upright and intact?  They use this stuff.  It functions much like poster putty, but it is clear so any excess wax showing around the edges will blend right in.  When you’re done and you take the display down, the wax will come off easily without damaging your walls.  A little bit of this stuff goes a long way; I’ve been working out of this same container for over a decade!

Use a small ball of wax at each point where the grapevines will touch the wall.  Roll the balls and gently place them on each piece of grapevine, then press it firmly into the wall where you would like it to go.

For the flowers, take apart some silk flowers (I got mine at the dollar store) and remove all of the plastic parts.  There should be a hole in the center of the fabric portions of the flowers; reassemble them, then press a push pin through the holes and into the wall.

That’s all there is to creating this springy grapevine wall art!  I would love to see other variations if anyone else tries this project!