Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

Well, this might just be my new favorite thing.  I combined two great recipes into one tasty ice cream sandwich.  I made some delicious peanut butter cookies with the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens and combined it with the one ingredient (literally, it's just bananas) banana ice cream from One Ingredient Chef to make a peanut butter banana ice cream sandwich.

Follow the directions on both of these sites, but once you make your ice cream, spread it into a shallow pan and refreeze.  Then, using a round cookie cutter and a spatula, cut the ice cream into circles, placing them between the cookies.  Refreeze again, and then enjoy!

I cannot wait to try other variations of this- the ice cream is so simple and delicious and creamy!  One of those rare Pinterest finds that turn out exactly as promised :)

Gold, Shining Love

Sometimes, I'm amazed at the big statement a simple idea can have.  And when you have shiny, gold foil paper, you're bound to get some big returns on little ideas!

To make your own shiny love sign, you will need:

• Gold foil paper
• Heavy stock white paper
• Plain paper for a stencil
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue

First, draw out your love letters onto some plain paper.  Use a ruler to make sure everything stays consistent.  Then, cut each letter out and lay them, overlapping slightly, onto the gold foil paper.  Holding the letters in place, quickly trace their outline with a pencil.  Cut them out, glue the down, and frame or hang wherever you need a little extra love :)

So simple!

Saturday Snapshot: Sunrise in City Park

DIY Cork Inspiration Board

As if my addiction to Target wasn't bad enough, our local store recently upgraded its craft aisle.  You guys.  It's too much amazing.  And it's also where I got the idea for this project: this four pack of cork squares was just what I was looking for to make an inspiration board to hang over my craft area.

To make your own, you will need:

• 4 pack cord board
• Gold paint
• White paint
• 1 inch wide flat paint brush
• 3M wall hang strips

This was beyond easy to do, and it took me about 30 minutes from beginning to end, including hanging time!

First, you'll want to paint on a base stripe of white around the edges.  The cork is very absorbent, so you need the base coat to allow the gold to shine (pun intended).  Use your paint brush as a guide for the width.  If you're nervous about making straight lines, you can use painters tape.  But don't forget that, as with all things in life, it doesn't need to be perfect.  Then, once the white paint is dry, layer the gold paint on top.  That's it!

The best part is that you can hang these up with 3M strips!  (It's perfect for apartments and dorms!)

My little "office" area ... before

And my little area after!

I toyed with all sorts of design ideas: taped on patterns with spray paint over them, shapes, layers, etc.  But in the end, I thought that giving the boards the appearance of gold frames was best.  The end result is simple and pretty, and the perfect backdrop to display all your inspiration.  I've put up a recipe, a picture that gave me a DIY idea, an artist's post card, some love, a little bit of climbing inspo, and (of course) Rita Ora twirling in a field of flowers.

What's inspiring you lately?

DIY Rainy Day Bookmark

If April showers bring May flowers, then we are bound to have bunches of  flowers!  I can't complain about all the rain, though, since we had such a mild and relatively low snow winter.  Whenever it doesn't snow much, I always worry about summer droughts, so I'm actually pretty happy it's raining!  Plus, all this rain gave me an idea for a bookmark.

You will need:

• Purple polymer clay
• Plain paper clip
• Pointed tool

Massage your clay until it is soft.  Then, roll it into a ball.  Press and pinch it into a rounded half moon and, using your pointed tool, press indentations from the center downwards to form the wires of the umbrella.  Next, pinch of small pieces at the bottom of the umbrella, in between each line.  Use the handle of your pointed tool to smooth these out into crescents.

Finally, use the pinched off pieces to secure the paperclip to the back of the umbrella.  Bake at 275 degrees for about 15 minutes for every quarter inch of thickness.

Saturday Snapshot: Sidewalk Koi

Who Do You Follow?

I am looking for blog recommendations!  I want some more blogs to follow, so tell me what your favorites are.  I like craft and cooking blogs, but I really like fashion blogs.  I especially want to find some up-and-coming blogs (as opposed to the monster blogs everyone is following).

So, what do you recommend?