Dear________________________

Welcome to STICKER CLUB!

Please send 1 pack of stickers to the person listed in the #1 spot below.  Next, move my name to the #1 spot and put your name in the #2 spot.  Then, send it to 6 friends.

If you can’t do this within 8 days, please let my mom know.  Otherwise, it’s not fair to all the others who are participating.  Within 2 weeks you should receive 6 packs of stickers!  It’s a load of fun and exciting to see where all your stickers come from!  And it’s always nice to get mail.

Good luck and thanks for participating in STICKER CLUB!

Your friend,

#1                                                                               #2

PARENTS:

If you can, please take the time out of your busy schedule for this cute project with your kids.  It’s worth it to see their smiles when they open their mail.

There is a blank letter for you to copy (before you write on it).  Make 12 copies; 1 for each of the 6 kids you are sending it to and 6 more so that you can include a blank copy for each of them. (Or find it online here and print).

You only need to buy 1 pack of stickers and mail it to child #1.

This project is affordable and easy so have fun with it J

Funky Chunk Earring Kits DIY Custom Filagree Lightweight metal earrings

I love these new earrings kits!  And only $2.99.  They're available on Etsy, Ebay and Amazon.  Be a bit crafty and paint them whatever color you want!  Check out this cool tutorial video on how to paint them!Funky Chunk DIY Earring Kits

DIY Fridge Coasters/Fridge Organization/Keeping Fridge Clean!

This is how my fridge usually looks:

Ok, I'm not gonna lie.....this is how it looks on a GOOD day! :)  I just cleaned the main shelves last week because they were looking so gross.  Here's what I'm getting at: I think I would be interested in keeping my fridge cleaned up if it wasn't such a daunting task.  Hence, the concept of "fridge coasters!"

I was recently introduced to the concept of fridge coasters from Jen's blog "I Heart Organizing."  I love the idea to have something cute lining the shelves, and then pulling them out to easily wash and dry them and put back, but they seemed pricey to me, so I began the hunt for a DIY version.  This is what I came up with. 

I purchased place mats from the dollar store.  When I went in search for them, I was thinking I'd buy plain ones and paint chevron stripes (or some other cute pattern!)  onto them.  So when I saw these babies, I  was excited and decided I could skip the whole painting part!  Woohoo!

 

 

I measured

I cut

I used clear packing tape to piece it together (this was for my bigger shelves...the small ones on the door didn't need to be pieced together)

Cool, huh?  It makes me smile to see the fun pattern! :)

I just placed the mats in, I did not adhere them to the shelves.

My fridge already had two blue removable "coasters" that came with 2 of the door shelves.  So, I didn't see the need to replace those.  But maybe I will so all of it is zebra print..?!

I bought 7 place mats, but I didn't have enough to do the bottom two drawers.  When I go to the dollar store next time, I'll get two more so I can finish up.  It makes me happy to open the fridge and see the cuteness (and the cleanliness!). It will hopefully get me in gear to keep it clean because I can easily pull the mats out and wash them in the sink and, dry them and put them back.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I am so excited about how delicious this experiment turned out!  Steve wanted a chocolate peanut butter combo for his birthday cake and this is what I created. 

Start by making Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake.  After the layers have cooled, put them on separate plates, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid (at least 2 hours). 


Peanut Butter Mousse Filling

Mix together:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Once they are well combined, fold in one 8 ounce container of whipped topping (cool whip :)

After the cakes are frozen, pull one layer out of the freezer and spread the peanut butter mousse filling over the top; carefully place back into the freezer (uncovered) and freeze until fairly solid (at least 1 hour).  Then remove from the freezer and place the top layer of cake onto the mousse covered layer.  Frost the tops and sides with Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting.  
Cut Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in half and decorate the top.  Keep cake in the freezer.  Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

DIY Dough Enhancer (update to my favorite 100% Whole Wheat bread recipe!)

In my earlier post on this recipe, I mentioned that I'd prefer to not use store bought Dough Enhancer.  So, after doing some reading and experimenting, I've discovered that when vinegar, potatoes, and gluten are used together, they create their own "dough enhancer." Don't ask me why or how, I don't know those things! :)  I am just happy that they do the trick!  Here is an updated recipe of my favorite 100% Whole Wheat bread using the new combo for dough enhancer:


6 cups steaming hot tap water
16 cups freshly ground wheat flour (I prefer white wheat*)
1/2 c. Vital Wheat Gluten
1 c. instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 c. dry powdered milk
3 T. white distilled vinegar
1 c. canola oil
2/3 c. honey
 3 T. yeast
2 T. salt

(remember to experiment with the amount of flour and your baking time...yours might turn out better if you change it up from how I do it)


Place the  hot water into your mixing bowl.  Add 10 cups of wheat flour. 

 Turn the mixer to speed 1 and while running, add all other ingredients in the order listed. 

 Continue running the mixer and add 6 cups wheat flour.  Add enough flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl (you want soft, but not sticky dough).

 Then turn the mixer to speed 2 and mix for 10 minutes. 

 Divide the dough and shape into 5 loaves. 

 Place into greased loaf pans, cover with a clean dishcloth, and let rise on the counter for 30 minutes.

 Once the 30 minutes are up, turn your oven on to 400 degrees. 

 When the oven is ready, place the loaves in

 and bake for 2 minutes.  Then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 30-35 minutes (I do 30 minutes)

*I currently have a stash of Hard Red Wheat that I need to use up, so I use half red and half white.  If you use all red then the bread will not be fluffy.