scratch off cards

I'm basically what they call a "Pinterest-aholic". I'm on that thing at least once a day, lol. I'm not the kind of person who just re-pins something though, I'm actually slowly making and trying everything I post. Now don't think I have gotten far, because i haven't. However, with what I have done so far, there are several things I have had to UNPIN but also several things I will share with my children, Like the NY times Best Chocolate chip cookies ever! (( Post soon to come )) and My very favorite Banana Banana bread. ( http://liveoutloud-ns.blogspot.com/2012/08/banana-banana-bread.html ) and I cant forget my Magazine bowl (( another post soon to come )). I definitely LOVE trying to bake/cook/make new projects and recipes. I'm not very creative on my own, and im not the most talented... So Pinterest really does help bring out my creative side. ;)
 After finding this cute Pin today http://pinterest.com/pin/3659243418375328/ I decided to make my Husband a "just because i love you" card. Although these are for valentines, they can easily be used as everyday cards.

Ill post directions, but you will need to view the Original post to get the card Design.

Here's what you will need:

1. Acrylic Paint

2. Dish Soap

3. Pen

4. Small paint brush

5. Card printed on card stock

6. White crayon

1. Print card design on card stock (( Link found on bottom of post ))

2. Write something in each heart, See pictures for Ideas. Make sure ink is dry BEFORE moving on the next step

3. Cover message where ever the scratch-off area will be withe the white crayon












4. Mix a 2 to 1 ratio of paint to dish soap (the 2 being the dish soap) on a small plate. I used a small tsp just to be sure I added the right amount of each.

5. Paint mixture over the area that you covered with the crayon. I had to do several coats to make it thick. Also, if you see mini bubbles, don't worry the paint will even out.

 6. Dry completely, about an hour

7. I wrapped some ribbon around my card and attached a penny to it. I will have it sitting on the bookshelf waiting for my husband to find when he gets home. :)

Tip: I put to much soap in my mix, Be careful it can really mess it up, Also make sure it is completely dry. Mine took several hours but that could have something to do with the extra soap.

-SJK

please note, this is NOT my idea. ALL CREDIT goes to http://patandlindsay.blogspot.com/2012/02/diy-scratch-off-valentine-cards.html

Discounted ESSIE 101.

I doubt I'm the first one who discovered Essie fingernail polish through Pinterest. But finger nail polish for 8 bucks is crazy. I have spent hours looking online for discounted Essie polish, and although I have found some, most the sites creep me out, or sites like Ebay and Amazon the shipping is what does it. 8 dollars a bottle is just to much for someone with a budget. So is 7 dollars and even 6! HOWEVER, I decided I would buy just one polish at target, costing 7.50, to see if i even liked it before i tried any online websites.
While in a target checkout line something came up and i had to leave before i could pay, so i put down my Essie polish. Sad right? Well a little bit later I ended up In ROSS, I never expected to find any there, but still i looked. And to my surprise I instantly found a box of 3 Essie polishes for just $8.99. That is just $2.99666666( several more 6's and a 7 ) each! I found a bunch more of the same colors, but I wasn't interested in buying them out for myself.
But I was super stoked! And im not going to lie, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Essie polish. I have never had a polish go on so smooth. My husband said, " It looks fake " because of how smooth and shiny it looked. Regardless how much I love Essie polish, I will NEVER pay $8 a bottle. But who needs to when you have a Ross? 

I went and hunted down a Second Ross the next day and I had just as much luck. I found a few of the same colors I just got, but I also found a new 3 pack for the same price. I was ecstatic!

To make it even better that second day I was in TJ max (( it happens to be next door to Ross here )) and I found a few single polishes for $3.99 each. I didn't like the colors they had, so i didn't get them. But I did find some O.P.I polish. A set of 4, for just $7.99. So awesome. After we finished our shopping we went to check out. While standing in line I was looking at all the stuff for sale by the registers and There it was.... A HUGE supply of ESSIE polish priced at $3.99 each. I'm so happy to have scored such great deals.

 And now YOU can go score those great deals too. They may not always have them in stock, but don't give up. Go look before you spent $8 somewhere else. :)

Good luck!
(PS. Both the "BROWN" Looking colors, are actually not brown. They are an antique rose and an off pink ))
-SJK

Quick Tip Idea!

This project came from my Wonderful Husband.
 I love to bake but I can NEVER find my measuring tools. There are some super cute ideas out there, but being in an apartment we cant really paint the cupboards, we have hardly any wall space in our kitchen and its to small for the amount of baking/cooking equipment i have. Plus I don't want to put a ton of money into something i cant keep. So my husband told me he would take care of it for me. He grabbed a few hooks we had laying around and hung them for me. It was that simple, I couldn't believe i didn't think of it before. The hooks are maybe two dollars (( for the container )) and we wont get in trouble for the holes here. 
I was so happy and I love them so much!!!! 
To top it off, he hung my cutting board as well. It was a little bit harder because he had to drill a whole in the cutting board first (( easy for him of course )) but it worked just the same as my measuring tools. 
I'm one happy girl, with money to spare! ;)

-SJK

Banana banana bread

Payday is my favorite time of the month. Mostly because it means fresh fruit and paid bills. Sounds kind of weird coming from a girl right? Well for me grocery shopping is just as fun as any other shopping. And nothing beats knowing all of the bills are paid. I don't like to waste money, at least not throwing money in the trash... and i mean that. So when we don't eat the banana's fast enough, I always think, "banana bread! Sadly, it normally doesn't get made and i end up tossing the over-ripe banana's..... hence, "wasting money". Normally for us, its just one or maybe two and they sit around till they are so brown I have to trash them. I always say, "don't throw those over-ripe banana's out I need them to make banana bread", but I normally don't. And when i do make banana bread i usually use an average recipe called "the Starbucks banana bread". It's an okay recipe, but nothing special.

So this week when i noticed two very over-ripe banana's i decided to actually make banana bread this time. I continually try to improve my cooking/baking and the normal recipe i used just wasn't doing the trick anymore. So what do i do? Pinterest duh! I found the most pinned banana bread recipe i could find and got to work. Turns out its re-pinned so much because it really is the best banana bread. Its so moist and has such a great flavor. I will keep this recipe in the family. :)

Directions, The kupfer way. ;)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees then coat a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray, Set aside.

I'm kind of a cluttered mess when i bake, ingredients are scattered all over the counters. Usually next to where ever they got pulled out of. But that is always the first thing i do, make sure i have ALL the ingredients. However, I was missing brown sugar.... So not having a car or money to spare, I improvised. I actually have a technique i use when out of brown sugar... I just use regular sugar and honey. It always gets the job done.

Here is what you will need:

1/2 cup of butter, softened (( One stick ))
3/4 cup of brown sugar (( I was out and used 3/4 regular sugar plus two TBSP honey for the extra flavor ))
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups of mashed overripe bananas (( About 4))
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (( I used an extra half tsp, I love cinnamon ))
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg, grated (( I just used ground nutmeg ))     

 (( I added in 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice ))

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. If your using honey, add that in now as well.

Add the eggs, mashed up bananas, and vanilla and continue beating until well combined.

I'm not really sure how people mash banana's so i took a few pictures showing how i mash my banana's. I would call it the lazy way... :)

 In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, fresh nutmeg together, or ground nutmeg, whichever you prefer. If you want add in the pumpkin pie spice now too. 

Slowly add the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir until combined. 

 Pour the batter into the pan, be sure and taste the bowl to make sure it taste yummy!

 Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Mine went in for 50 minutes and was perfect, but every oven is different.

After i tasted the mix, i realized how hungry i was and decided to have some lunch while i waited for my banana bread to bake. 

The Finished Project. It taste even better than it looks. :)

Let cool before cutting, then enjoy!

Dieting and need to know how many crab's and/or calories there are? I did the math for you! (( of course its including MY substitute for brown sugar )) Keep in mind im not perfect at math and you will probably be using different brands then me. Also, I did not try and make this light because its for my hubby, but I'm sure you could easily make it low in calories. 

Cut the banana bread into 10 slices. Then cute each slice in half = 20 slices total. 

Serving size: 1

Total servings: 20

Calories per serving: 131

Carb's per serving: 23

Source with Original post and credit go to: http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2011/02/banana-banana-bread.html

-K

A few of my older crafts -K

I thought I would post a few of my older crafts today. I'm not going to give details about how to make them since these are older ones. But if you want to know how to make something, just post a comment and I will tell you. :)

  

1. His and her jars. I write something we want on a Colored piece of paper and when we have some extra money we just draw one. Its also the same for date 

nights. Each color of paper represents a different price amount. 

 2. Frosted wine glasses I made for The amazing "Allens" for there wedding anniversary  

 3. I painted my keys last year, they are still holding up and I just love them. I may even remove the fingernail polish and re-do them this year. ;)

4. Oh how i love my weight loss jars. I use them often as i am in  the      middle of dieting. They are wonderful and each pound i loose i just place a new rock in my "lbs lost jar". So fun!

5. The firth and final picture is of a candy gift basket I made for my big brother last march.

-K

A few weeks back my husband Bought me Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. I'm still learning how to use it, but i get better and better with every picture. Although I'm not a big fan of the "easy" steps they have. I find myself youtubing how to do things manually instead (( example, play with eyes and teeth, ect )). But its a great program for beginners. I would recommend it for anyone new to Photoshop.

The Picture below is from a Photo shoot I took of my nephew a few months ago while babysitting him. Such a handsome little man. He is my most favorite person to take pictures of.

Miss my Nephew more than anything<3 

-K

A Teeth WHITENER that actually Works?!

        
This weekend I decided to try out a few "Pinterest" tips/tricks. Pinterest is great, but you don't always know what will or will not work unless you try it or know somebody else who already did. So i grabbed the laptop and my hubby to start what would be a very GIRLY adventure with my poor husband. 
After a few "failed" attempts I ended up letting him off the hook and unpinned several of what i thought would be amazing pins. On the way out of pinterest i scrolled past a quick and easy tip. So i figured what would one last attempt hurt? 
      I didn't even bother to open the original post because the directions were right under the picture already. ((Do not attempt at home, I suggest always reading the original post)). I grabbed the ingredients and made my way to our master bathroom where my tooth brush and toothpaste are located. I mixed in a small bowl a tiny bit of toothpaste, one teaspoon baking soda and half a teaspoon water. Once made into a paste I brushed my teeth for about a minute. Im not going to lie the taste was not awesome by any means. So after i spit i used a bit of mouthwash to get out the nasty flavor in my mouth. To my surprise my teeth were actually whiter. I ran to show my hubby, who was skeptical and assumed my teeth were always that white ((MEN!)). I ask him if he would give it a try since his are much yellower than mine. He of course agreed and had me mix him up some of his own. About a minute later my husband was rinsing out his mouth and just like mine, his teeth were whiter. Much whiter actually. We were both pretty impressed and excited to do it again next week.
     
      Here is the catch, I did it wrong! I guess i didn't do it "wrong" but i didn't do it right. I left out a very important part. In the original post it says to rinse with 1/2 hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 mouth wash before brushing your teeth. It also says to brush for 2 minutes, not 1. Yes my teeth did get whiter doing it my way, but imagine how much whiter they would be if you did it the right way? Next week Im going to give that a try instead. This is a perfect way to whiten teeth with a budget. Ill be sure and post my results down the road. Till then,  If you try this, let me know if it worked for you.

Under Pinterest picture directions: Put a tiny bit of toothpaste into a small cup, mix in one teaspoon baking soda and half a teaspoon water. Thoroughly mix then brush your teeth for two minutes. Remember to do it once a week until you have reached the results you want. Once your teeth are good and white, limit yourself to using the whitening treatment once every month or two.

Original Post and Directions: 
To whiten your smile, swap your normal mouthwash with hydrogen peroxide or mix it 1/2 & 1/2 with the mouthwash. Swish the liquid around your mouth and through your teeth for a good minute before spitting it out. Once you spit it out, go ahead and rinse your mouth with water to get the taste out. Right after rinsing, brush your teeth using a baking soda/toothpaste mixture. To make this mixture, put a tiny bit of toothpaste into a small cup, and then mix in one teaspoon of the baking soda and half a teaspoon of water. Once the concoction has been thoroughly mixed together and is the consistency of a paste, use it to brush your teeth. Brush your teeth for two minutes, just as you do regularly, and then spit it out. Upon completion, you will have successfully created a whitening treatment comparable to many popular products you’ll find in stores.

Remember to do the two step whitening process once a week until you have reached the results you want. Once your teeth are good and white, limit yourself to using the whitening treatment once every month or two.   http://www.thebudgetdiet.com/easy-at-home-teeth-whitening-for-any-budget

-K