Peace sign bracelet

Peace sign bracelet

CVS Couponing

I went to Cvs yesterday and got all of this for $2.50!

At the coupon printer, I received a coupon for the toilet paper making it 2 rolls for $.50 and a 20% off entire purchase coupon that expired today

Toilet paper 2/$.50

Brownie mix sale $1

Qtips sale $1

Cotton balls sale $1

Aussie 3 min moisture sale 2/$4 plus I had a $1 off coupon on the purchase of two

At the checkout I used my coupons plus I had $4 in extra bucks from my last purchase. 

Easy pot rack

I had a scrap piece of already painted wood and added evenly spaced old fashioned nails. I hammered them in until I could feel that they'd almost reached the back. I screwed 2 screws on each side just below my kitchen window and it fits all my pots and pans and even my wok. Very easy!

Rusty bread tin votive holder

While cleaning the kitchen I came across a rusty bread tin that I didn't want to throw away. . .

I hot glued a metal star in the top left corner and a raffia and homespun bow. Then I used a drywall screw and screwed it into the metal in the.center (sort of) on the top for hanging. I put a piece of scrap wood under the tin so I wouldn't

go through my dining room table. I hung it on the wall in the kitchen with a votive holder. 

Picket fence santa

My neighbor had a bunch of old picket fence pieces for the taking. I painted with red, black, peach and white acrylics just as you see here. Nothing special but the spacing worked out nice. Then I sanded to distress and added a rusty jingle bell. Adorable! I love him.

Cheddar beer fondue

This was so easy to make and took just a few minutes!

1 cup beer
4 cups shredded cheddar (I used half sharp white and half mild cheddar)
1 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves minced

Turn fondue pot on medium low. Add beer and garlic. Wait until bubbles form just around the edges and add pepper, mustard & flour. Stir. Add cheese one cup at a time stirring continuously. Once one cup is melted, add another. Turn pot to warm.
To dip we used:
French bread cubes
Honey pretzel twists
Apple slices
Carrots
Tomatoes
Celery
Broccoli
Snap peas

We made a mini tea light chocolate fondue for dessert with raspberries, pineapple chunks, strawberries & apple slices

$5 yard sale trunk redo

I got this trunk at a yard sale for only $5 because they were trying to get rid of it. It looked like it had been cloth covered and they had just removed it so it was ready to be painted or stained. I used a sherwin williams paint sample I had so it wasn't the highest quality but I really like the way it came out. I think it looks like its always been that color -bungle house gray.

Wood block snowmen

I made these just like the pumpkins. paint blocks of wood (2x4") white.
Add black dots for eyes.
Sand to distress.
Add homespun fabric scarves.
Hotglue rusty metal heart or star.
Voila!

Halloween signs

I love these pumpkins and they were easy to make. I painted scrap wood blocks orange and painted black faces on them. I sanded them down to distress them, added a stick as a stem and tied a scrap of green home spurn around the stem.

Scrappy recycled wood Christmas trees

These came out so adorable. I made them over the last few days.
Day 1 cut lengths of wood to make a tree shape and painted. One tree is white and one is Italian sage.
Day 2 cut out stencils on the cricut onto contact paper. One reads "may your days be merry & bright" and the other, "a very merry Christmas & a happy new year." Paint the words. I used black on the white sign and black cherry on the sage sign.
Day 3 sand all the pieces to distress. I also painted a black block for the base of the tree. Assemble by using drywall screws through the back of the post. Hot glue a rusty metal star to the top. I'm selling them for $40 at some craft fairs and via Facebook.
Adorable! I found several signs on pinterest as my inspiration. Just search "scrappy wood tree."

Re-stickify Cricut Mats!!! Easy and actually works

Super easy!

You need:
Aleene's Tack It Glue
Water
Small bowl
Foam brush

1. Scrape off your cricut mats to remove big pieces of paper and vinyl. Mine still have some small pieces...no big deal.

2. Pour equal parts Aleene's Tack It glue and water into your small bowl and mix together.

3. Dip foam brush in the mixture and "paint" on a thin layer over the entire mat(s.)

4. Let dry - doesn't take too long especially in our 95 degree weather today.

5. The mat will be extremely tacky (odd...) pat the mat with your hands to "condition" with the oils in your hands. It will take some of the stick out of the mat so your paper doesn't tear.

VOILA!! Took me a couple of minutes to do 4 mats and the glue was $5...much better than spending $10 on a new mat that only works several times before it loses it's stick.

Etsy

12 items for sale now on etsy!
Custom Name Sign
Custom Lake Sign
Custom Town/City Sign
herbs
be happy
laundry
bakery
country life
beach -->
sit long talk much
love life <3
open daily

www.etsy.com/shop/nikkirivs

etsy site is back up

More Signs

Distressed Wood Signs

dream BIG
Family
Life is Better on the River
be happy
love LIFE

First I put a thin coat of cheap Jo-Ann's acrylic paint as my base coat on 2" wide pieces of wood.
Then I cut out cheap contact paper for stencils on the cricut using the Opposites Attract Cartridge.
The contact paper sticks to the wood (once it's dry)as a stencil and I just the letters in a different color.
I peeld off the contact paper carefully while the paint was still wet. Don't worry if it's not perfect.
Then I sanded with an 80 grit piece of sandpaper focusing on all of the edges and then over the whole piece.
I feel an addiction coming on...It only took a few hours with breaks in between to do the 5 signs.
I HAVE to keep "Life is better on the River" for myself!!!

Family Wall Hook

Uneven old boards held together by wood brackets on the back
Family in black vinyl cut using the cricut (cartridge: opposites attract)
Clothespins hot glued on
Hang small items or pictures with the clothespins

Skinny Latte

I made an espresso this morning and decided I wanted an iced latte (for way less than dunks...)
I filled a glass with ice, poured the espresso over it, added skim milk and a little bit of chocolate.

Delicious!

Avocado, Egg and Cheese Sandwich

omg. i love avocados. and they are sooo delicious with eggs and cheese on an english muffin.

Zebra Cake

This is the cake I made for Alicia's Birthday!

What you need to make a 2 layer 8" cake (and some cupcakes with the leftovers):
1 box of vanilla/french vanilla/white cake
1 box of chocolate/fudge/brown cake
Frosting Dyed hot pink
Toothpick
Sparkly black piping gel

Make both boxes according to instructions keeping in separate bowls.
Grease 8" pan bottom and sides.
Drop 1/4 cup of vanilla mix in the center.
Immediately drop 1/4 cup of chocolate in the center of the vanilla circle.
Continue until the rings go all the way to the edge of the pan and it's about 2/3 full.
Bake according to instructions.
Repeat for 2nd layer.
Cool.
Stack with layer of frosting between each cake layer.
Frost top and sides with hot pink frosting. (I like the gel kind because the colors are richer)
I polka dotted the top with the black then decided I didn't like it so I swirled it with a toothpick...not sure I like that either but hey.
One person said it looked like spiders and one said flowers.