Earring Holder

I have quite a few ear piercings and that means I have quite a few sets of earrings. The only things is they were everywhere! I could never find a good matching pair. I would get stuck wearing the same pair over and over. But that is no fun. I have been looking to buy an earring holder but in my findings they have been rather expensive for my budget. I made one instead! It turned out great plus I organized my earrings and was able to throw away a bunch of pairs that were old and from many years ago. 

I found this frame for $2 at some weird "Everything is almost $1" store. The frame was plastic and had a full cardboard backing on it. Using a straight edge I cut out the center part. Shown in the picture below. 

I also got some old screen that my boyfriend had laying around that he used to replace the screen door on his porch. You can normally find this stuff at any hardware store and should be able to buy it by the foot. 

This is the piece I cut out. What I had left would fit and be covered by the frame. I needed this piece to secure the screen. 

I used a staple gun with some of the smallest staples I could fine to secure the screen place. I know it sounds to be a little much but my regular stapler was not work. I did it outside on the grass and dirt so it wouldn't stick to anything. I did the corners first and made sure the screen was nice and tight. Once all the staples were in I took a hammer to knock down the backs of them which allowed them to lay flat on the card board.

I attached a ribbon to the frame to be able to hand up against my wall with a trusty 3M Hook. And below is the final product! I am in love with it and can finally start to enjoy all my earrings. 

Money Saving Shadow Box

I have become slightly interested in Pinterest lately. Okay well maybe more than slightly interested, it has become part of my daily routine as well as bringing it up in conversations. Well I came across the following pin:

Source: uncommongoods.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Super cute, right? It is refered to as a Dream Bank, I wasn't the creative one to come up with that name. I would have called it a shadow box with a photo inside to save money to spend on a goal, as you can see I shouldn't come up with names for products. Nevertheless, I thought this would make a great Valentine's Day gift for my boyfriend, shhh don't tell him! He is wanting to save up for a few different things over the next year so I thought this would be great and I could even print out a couple of photos of the items that he wants. I continued to click the pin and found it on a website http://www.uncommongoods.com. This would certainly be the easy way out. But $25 is a little much for a shadow box and I was thinking I could do this and well I did! I found a 7"x7.5" shadow box at Michaels for only $3.99 plus I had a 40% off coupon (never go to Michaels without one). And with a little help from my father and his dremel tools we were able to cute the slip at the top. Here are some photos of the process as well as the finished product. Hope you like it, just as much as my boyfriend!

The Box before I started!!

I measured a hole that was 2.5 inches long in the center of the box

My dad helped me with his Dremel Tool to cut the hole.
Make sure you apply pressure to keep the Dremel steady

Now officially ready to be painted
Thanks Dad for the help

I painted it brown to match his house, nothing to fancy but classy

I gathered some Lamination Glue (which I found cheaper than Mod Podge),
photo squares, and I printed up pictures of some of the stuff he wants.
The paper I glued them on I cut out was 4x6, so if he prints up a picture it will be perfect fit!

I glued the photos squares in either direction. Remember the box is 7"x7.5"
Sadly not a perfect square, so I will make do

Check out the final project with a whole dollar already inside!!

It is a great money saving idea for yourself or a friend! You can paint it however you want. I am going to make one for myself soon, I will post a picture. Mine will be painted with bright and happy colors, just like my room. :) Send me the shadow boxes you design!

Easy Meatball Stromboli

Here is a quick recipe for an easy Stromboli. My dad cut out the hard part and used a Pillsbury Pizza Dough for the crust. If you want to make it real easy used premade meatballs too. It is an easy recipe that is something new your family might like compared to just your normal Pizza Nights. Make it a Stromboli Night!

We used the following ingredients but feel free to use whatever you want inside.

• Pillsbury Pizza Dough
• shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese
• mushrooms
• onions
• green peppers
• meatballs made from chopped meat 
• different spices
• marinara sauce

Brown up some meatballs, using any spices you wish.
Some olive oil on the bottom of the pan helps so the meatballs won't stick
Don't over cook the meatballs, remember they are going in the oven soon!

We kept things simple and used Pillsbury Pizza Dough.
Spread it across a pan and started adding the toppings.
Shredded cheese, peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
The mushrooms were only on one half my boyfriend isn't a fan of them

Once meatballs are cooked line them in the dough. Add sauce .
Tightly seal the dough on every side.
Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown 

Here is the beautiful finished product!

Slice up and enjoy!
And remember you can always add and modify whatever ingredients
you wish into the Stromboli.

What will you try in your Stromboli? Maybe ham, three cheese, bacon, pepperoni, try it out and let me know! Hope you enjoy this easy, family recipe.

Wedding Ornaments

Here is a simple gift or keepsake you can make with a wedding invitation or birth announcement, almost anything. I loved making it and hope my brother and new sister-in-law will love it just as much. I know it is past Christmas and a few months past their wedding, which was in November, but it still came out great and something that can stay up year round. 

Supplies Needed:

• Invitation/ announcement/ whatever you wish to put into the ornament
• A straight edge cutter or scissors
• Pencil 
• Paperclip (I straighten out the paperclip to help push the paper in further)
• Patience while cutting and curling 

Take apart invitation keeping all parts as shown here.
If invitation does not include a ribbon you can provide your own for forgo it. 

Carefully cut the invitation into small strips.
I cut them no bigger than 2cm wide

Here are all the strips. For the wording I cut each line individually

Tightly wrap the pieces of paper around a pencil forming a curlicue.
This takes patience because you have to do each piece individually as well as making sure they are nice and tight

One of my better curlicues

Carefully stuff each curlicue into the ornament 

The words were on Translucent Vellum and couldn't be curled.

I decided to cut the line more precisely so it was just the words, as shown.
This was then also stuffed into the ornament.

Lastly, I attached the ribbon that was on the invitation.
Here is the final product!

Here is a closeup of the ornament!

This would be a great addition to any gift! Hope you enjoy!!

~Lisa