A Round-Up Of My Christmas Projects

November 30, 2015, in
Hi Everyone!  

 Have you started decorating for Christmas? 
 I thought it would be fun to give you a little holiday inspiration with a round-up of my Christmas past projects, decor & recipes! 
   

Using nature as my inspiration all my projects and decor are kept simple.   

Just click on the link to view each post






   

















I hope you found something that inspires you to start your Holiday decorating!



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Gold Painted Leaf Garland

November 16, 2015, in

Hello and Welcome

In my previous post, Nature Inspired Thanksgiving Place Settings  I used gold-painted leaves.
Today I will show you how I painted the leaves and how I used them to make a small leaf garland for my kitchen.   

I started with leaves collected from my yard.


BEFORE
Beautiful natural leaves!!

 HOW TO PAINT LEAVES
First I rinsed the leaves and laid them on a paper towel to dry.
   

 I painted each leaf with: 
TULIP Metallics Dimensional Fabric Paint (Gold Metallic)
 You can purchase the paint at Michaels craft store. 

The paint gives the leaves a golden sheen letting their natural color shine through.

 AFTER


On one of the leaves, I used a metallic sharpie to write the word Thankful.



 HOW TO MAKE THE LEAF GARLAND
After the leaves were painted and dry,  I used a hot glue gun to adhere them to a string of twine.  
This part was a bit tedious because the leaves are delicate.  This is the method I came up with.  I placed a dab of glue on the twine, placed the leaf on top of the glue, and used a cork from a wine bottle to push down on each leaf to adhere them to the twine.  (No fingers burned!)



It was late at night by the time I finished and had no idea where I was going to hang my little garland... I just draped it over a mirror and called it a night.


In the morning I decided to hang the garland from the rustic chalkboard in our kitchen.
 We use it all the time to jot down things we need at the grocery store.




This little garland is a simple reminder of how thankful I am for every day!

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Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Bread

November 02, 2015, in
Once bananas become too brown to eat they don't need to be thrown in the trash.  Instead, make this moist and delicious banana bread!



This is my go-to recipe for banana bread.  All the ingredients are mixed in one bowl and it is quick and easy to make. You can even freeze it and enjoy it at a later time.  Perfect to make for the holidays as a hostess gift or for all your food-loving friends.  The bread was given to me by a good friend with the recipe attached. She is thrilled that I am sharing her recipe with you.


 super moist and delicious!




INGREDIENTS

4 Bananas

3/4  Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil or Canola Oil

1 Egg

1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon ( I love Cinnamon so add more)

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat Oven to 350
  • Place overripe bananas in a mixer to mash
  • Add egg, sugar and cooking oil to the bananas
  • Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix until moistened
  • Stir in or mix Ghirardelli chocolate chips & chopped walnuts to the banana mixture
  • Spray the bottom and sides of a bread loaf pan with cooking spray
  • Cook for 50-55 minutes
  • Allow pan to cool for about 10 minutes
  • Remove the bread from the pan by running a butter knife around the edges of the bread
  • Turn the pan over and the banana bread should fall right out
  • Allow the bread to cool a bit before slicing
  • Slice and Serve Warm
  • Eat and Enjoy the melting goodness of the chocolate chips!
.  



I like my bread served with milk or a hot cup of coffee



My daughter likes hers with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream on top




This recipe is also delicious with dried cranberries.


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