64: Bookshelf restyling

In putting together our nursery, I wanted to make use of a few pieces of furniture we already had. These also looked nice with the white crib and changing table we bought, but I wanted something that would bring the two styles (wood and white) together. Going back to a previous post idea, I thought I'd try painting the back of the shelves (actually painted the back of the back, so I'd still have the wood paneling available if I didn't like the result). Now the wood and white furniture look like they go together a little more intentionally!

Credit:
http://ramblingrenovators.blogspot.com/2011/12/chloes-diy-costume-closet.html?m=1

63: Lettuce screen printing

This was a random idea that I was reminded of after cutting lettuce for a salad one night and having paint near by for another project. Interesting (and green) way to make flower prints!

Credit:
http://www.craftsy.com/project/view/celery-stamped-cards/6019

62: Healthy chex mix

Somehow I've never made chex mix before. Responding to a craving, I decided to try whipping some up, but wanted to try a healthy-ish version. The main change was replacing butter with olive oil. Still turned out yummy! An easy snack, we'll just see how long it stays stocked...

Credit:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Healthy-Snack-Mix-2

61: Mattress cleaning

Pregnancy comes with lots of interesting changes, including an increased sense of smell. In a house with two dogs, this isn't always a great thing. So I've been on the hunt for the cause of the "dog smell" in our bedroom (where the dogs sleep, along with us). Dirty hampers have been emptied, shoes cleaned, and carpet thoroughly vacuumed. That left the mattress. So I tried out this mattress cleaning tip, which has definitely left a clean smell (so far). Bring on baby smells!

Credit:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4987593_clean-pillowtop-mattress.html

60: Potatoes two ways

I bought a bag of potatoes recently and just realized that I will be out of town soon for the holidays. So I looked up some yummy looking recipes that would use this staple ingredient (and freeze well), and I decided to go with twice baked potatoes and crockpot scalloped potatoes. Both turned out well, and I didn't have to peel a single potato!

Credit:
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotpotatorecipes/r/bl87c8.htm
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ultimate-twice-baked-potatoes/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=ultimate%20twice%20baked%20potatoes&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

59: No bake cookies/granola

So this one is technically a pinterest fail, but with a happy ending! I ran across this no bake energy ball recipe and thought I'd try it, particularly because I love baking with oats (and chocolate). The hiccup was that once I chilled the dough in the fridge, it fell apart and wasn't able to be formed into little balls. This made it more like a soft chocolaty granola. I made a number of alterations, a few of which likely led to the "fail": didn't have flax seed and don't like coconut so I just used extra oats, cut down the butter a bit, warmed up the peanut butter so it would be easier to mix (which led to the melting of the chocolate chips when I added them next). The "save" was that I love granola, and realized this would make a great topping for greek yogurt! I'm eating it as I write this, and it's delicious!

Credit:
http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/

58: Paper star ornaments

I tried this one with some leftover wrapping paper. Surprisingly easy yet turns out very nice.

Credit:
http://christmas.yourway.net/paper-star-ornaments/

57: Pregnancy announcement

There are a lot of cute pregnancy announcement ideas out there. This one was a play on our last name (Hood). We got many nice responses (and the people who rolled their eyes at it kept it to themselves). A good reflection of our quirky personalities, and the family the little one will be joining!

Credit:
http://indulgy.com/post/bjo47PxXI1/pregnancy-announcement-baby-announcement-baby

56: Dog Hoodie

What's cuter than dog clothes? I took on the task of making hooded t-shirts for our pups for a special project (see next post). Took a little patience to get them fitted right (and to get pictures), but I thought they turned out pretty well.

Credit:
http://www.urbanthreads.com/tutorials.aspx?t=PRM1022

55: Yarn chandelier

More attempts to find cute and crafty nursery decorations, and I think I found a favorite! All this took was yarn, a balloon, glue, and water. Very cute! Will just have to see if it will hold up...

Credit: http://blog.hwtm.com/2012/01/diy-tutorial-creative-yarn-chandelier/

54: Nursery ruler

This was one of my favorite projects that I've done. We know that our present home is not where we will be living long term, but I love the idea of having a place to measure our growing family over time. This woman's Pottery Barn knock off and helpful directions worked great! Can't wait to see it as it fills up over the years!

Credit: http://517creations.blogspot.com/2011/04/ruler-growth-chart-pottery-barn-knock.html

53: T-shirt pom poms

I love a good t-shirt recycle and given that I am in the process of designing a nursery (!), I thought I'd try this t-shirt pom idea. Super cute, but not perfect, as I thought it was tough to make the pom fluffy enough. Perhaps I tried to make it too large. Was pretty easy though, so one I wouldn't mind trying again.

Credit: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/t-shirt-pom-poms-tutorial

52: Smore bites

So I forgot to to take a picture of my version of smores bites, but I promise they were so easy that they looked just like the picture. I made them for a tailgate and while I worried they would harden too much, they stayed pretty soft (and didn't last very long- they were a hit!). Something I'll be making again for sure.

Credit: http://www.hwtm.com/index.cfm?page=albums/view_album&albumid=5459

51: Milk jug scoop

This one was just an attempt to make something out of a milk jug we just finished. Super easy and helpful for things I don't want to touch (i.e. dog food, gardening).

Credit: http://unconsumption.tumblr.com/post/27067254913/pseudoselfaware-genius-this-photo-which-has

50: Chili cookoff

Fall and football are a great combination with chili. Some of our friends held a (3rd annual) chili cookoff recently, so I got to make our household's favorite chili recipe. I probably shouldn't reveal it, particularly given that we are Notre Dame fans and this is Boliermaker chili, but why not share something so yummy? Enjoy!

Credit: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/boilermaker-tailgate-chili/

49: Hedgehog cookies

My husband is missing our two dogs while he's gone. We've debated about low maintenance pets for him, but nothing seems to be a good fit. For some reason, he decided hedgehogs would be great, unfortunately they aren't really found in North America. To appease him a bit, I made these cute hedgehog cookies, which were simple but delicious (in addition to being cute).

Credit: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Hedgehog-Cookies-2

48: Thanksgiving brie ball

Thanksgiving is great for traditional, expected food. For appetizers, I usually have a little more flexibility in picking a new recipe to try. This year, I went with a brie ball, which went over very well with our crowd. I added cherry preserves in the middle of the brie, which gave it a nice sweet touch.

Credit: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/crescent-wrapped-brie/3bc85655-bba2-44ec-88dd-9f2397a8d42b

47: Twine knot coasters

I thought this project looked cute and easy, and knots are always classy looking (in a Celtic/nautical kind of way). The first one turned out pretty well, the challenge will be keeping them even size-wise if I go for a set. Easy thing to do while watching TV.

Credit: http://www.designsponge.com/2009/06/diy-wednesdays-knot-trivet.html