Making My Own- Kettle Corn

One of my favorite treats is Kettle Corn. My sister in law shared this simple recipe to make your own at home, and we have nick named it Fluffy Crack, it is THAT good! 

You need popcorn kernels, oil (we use canola), sugar, and a little salt at the end.

First measure out 1/3 cup popcorn, and 1/3 cup sugar and place in a small bowl or cup. You will add this to the oil once it is hot.
Then pour 1/3 cup of oil into your pot. Place 2 popcorn kernels in the oil. Turn heat to a 6 or 7, or medium high. When both kernels have popped you know your oil is ready for the rest of your ingredients. Add the sugar and popcorn and stir quickly to incorporate with the oil. Put a lid on, and frequently pick up your pot and shimmy everything around so the sugar doesn't burn. I keep potholders on my hands :) Just like microwave popcorn, once the popping kernels have slowed down, get your kettle corn off the stove and into a bowl or it will burn. *Watch for flying popcorn, point it away from your face as you pour into your bowl* While the popcorn is still wet, add salt to your liking and mix around! Let cool a little bit and devour! This is still good the next day if you don't eat it all, which I find unlikely ;)

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Shabby Apple Giveaway!

We are so excited to have Shabby Apple as one our sponsors. Valerie has two of their dresses and I've always wanted one, so when the opportunity to do a review came up, we jumped all over it! Shabby Apple specializes in Vintage Clothing and modest dress wear. I just love how clean and fresh their dresses are!

Shabby Apple graciously sent me a dress to show off and get you excited about entering our giveaway for a $50 Shabby Apple gift certificate! I picked the DRESSAGE dress, added a few accessories and had a mini photo shoot. Keep in mind my husband is not a photographer and I'm not a model, so we just made the best of it :)

I love LOVE love the length of this dress. It's just long enough to make me feel comfortable and but still has the look of a short dress. I love that I didn't need a cami or anything underneath to keep it modest, so it's just the dress and me!
So if you'd love some vintage inspiration in your wardrobe, enter the giveaway below for a $50 gift certificate! Comment and tells us how you'd use the gift certificate if you won! You must be residing in the United States to win.
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Summer Pajama Pants

This month, our sponsor Wholeport Crafts, sent me, among other things, some adorable strawberry stretchy cotton fabric.

I knew it would be perfect for some summer pajama pants for my daughter.   She loves to wear pajama pants and a t-shirt, but all she has are pants made of fleece.  So, using this tutorial from My Cotton Creations, I made her these lightweight comfy pants.

My favorite thing is the detail on the hem.  Rather than doing a ruffle, as mentioned in the tutorial, or a standard hem, I did a scallop stitch all along the bottom of the pant leg.  Then I just trimmed the fabric close to the stitch without cutting through the threads.  A tiny bit of fraying may still occur, but it will stop at the scallop stitch.

It's a cute and easy way to add a feminine detail to anything.
I'm pretty sure my daughter loves her new pajamas!

I'm linking this up to Wholeport and some of these parties.  Remember to check out Wholeport for pretty much any crafting supplies you need!
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Guest Posting at Create.Craft.Love

Hey all!  Just a quick note to let you know that you can find me over at Create.Craft.Love today sharing my April Showers Stenciled Canvas.  I hope you'll hop over and check out the tutorial!

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Making My Own- Mozzarella Sticks

My husband LOVES making wings whenever we watch UFC fights. Everyone who tries them raves about them. Unfortunately, even the smell of the hot sauce makes me gag, so I'm left on my own to figure out something else to eat.
But while the fryer is going I may as well use that hot oil for...
Mozzarella sticks! These are my favorite appetizer, and I found a great recipe to make my own at home.

You're going to make 3 different mixtures for dipping your cheese sticks into. (Keep in mind this is just for me, so I make about 4-6 cheese sticks. You can easily double the mixtures for more guests)
First is 1 egg and 1/8 C water. Second is 1/2 C flour and 1/6 C cornstarch Third is 3/4 C bread crumbs (I like Italian style) and 1/4 tsp garlic salt

Dip your cheese stick into your egg mixture, then flour mixture, back into the egg mixture, and then into your bread crumbs. Place in oil that is at 375 degrees for only a few minutes. Place on a paper towel to soak up a little of the oil and be ready to eat while they are still warm and gooey!

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Giveaway- $300 Target Gift Card

If you didn't win the Spring Fling Giveaway last week, well- you've got another chance to win an awesome prize!  We are teaming up with some amazing bloggers to celebrate the 1st anniversary of Liz's blog, Love Grows Wild.  We love Liz and we're excited to help her celebrate such a fun milestone.  So- here's what's up for grabs and how to enter:

Step 1: Pin the above image. 

Step 2: Follow all the bloggers below on Pinterest. 

Step 3: Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter form below. Follow these awesome blogs on Facebook or Twitter also for additional entries! 

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Land of Liberty Framed Vinyl

In light of the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon, I'm grateful to live in a country where such things are NOT common.  When they do happen, we pull together as a country in support of each other-- at least for a little while :).  I know it's a little early, but I'm feeling patriotic.  And of course, we have both Memorial Day and the 4th of July coming up over the summer.  So, you will have plenty of time to make this Vinyl Land of Liberty Sign.

I used Silhoutte's Premium Vinyl in Navy Blue, along with some red I had in my stash, for this project.  I love the premium vinyl- it adheres so well to whatever project I'm using.

Here's a quick and easy tutorial:

1.  If desired paint your frame.  I loved the distressed look of this frame.  The tan one cost $9.99, and the white cost $19.99.  What?!?  I bought the tan and added some white paint, rubbed on with a paper towel, then sanded smooth.  That's an easy $10 savings!  (Plus I used a 40% off coupon to save even more.)

2.  Cut your vinyl.   You can download the .studio file here if you so choose :)

2.  Apply your transfer tape and place your vinyl on the glass of the frame.  Be careful-- I HAVE broken glass this way.

3.  Scrape it firmly to adhere to your surface.  Then remove transfer tape, leaving the vinyl behind.  Don't mind the green folder- I just put it there so you could see the design on the glass.

4.  If you are layering two colors like me, just keep your transfer tape trimmed tight to the shape so you don't have to deal with unnecessary sticking.

5.  Put the glass back into your frame and place a white piece of paper behind it.  Replace the back and

that's it-- easy peasy!  Laura thinks this is minimalist but I kind of like it that way.  Feel free to embellish however you'd like.

If you don't want to make this in vinyl, you can download it as a free printable.  Right click the image to open it in a new tab or window and save it to your computer.  Or click here to download the file.

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Heat Transfer Birthday Shirt

A few weeks ago my son turned 7, and he asked me to make him a shirt for his birthday. I realized that it had been awhile since I'd made him a shirt, so why not?
He's been reading more comics lately and he loves the *POW* symbol, so I ran with that idea and came up with this design using the Silhouette software and an image I found on the web.

Of course you can't cut the heat transfer material just from that, so I separated the shapes based on their color, reversed the shapes (so important!), and cut it out.

Remove the negative material and iron onto your shirt with a cloth between your heat transfer material and your iron. I layered the different colors, and most times I have no problem with this, but my silver material got a little bubbly. It still looked awesome. He was thrilled with his shirt and wore it all weekend as we celebrated. Happy Birthday bud!

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Making My Own- Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Thanks to everyone who made our Spring Fling such a huge success. It was great to have our guest posters come and share some Spring inspiration with us. 
If you're new to our blog, every Monday we do the Making My Own series where I find healthier and less expensive ways to make items instead of buying them at the store. Today is a quick MSG free fix for a seasoning that can be used in hundreds of ways. This is cheap, easy, and you are likely to have these ingredients on hand. Here is how to make your own Lawry's Seasoned Salt! My recipe comes from food.com with no changes.

Mix your ingredients together and keep in an airtight container. I save containers as we finish them, so a little cream cheese bowl is perfect for some spices. This makes about 3-4 Tablespoons of mix, but can easily be doubled or mass produced to the amount you need. What do you use Lawry's seasoned salt for? I like to season my beef or burgers with it, mmm... Connect with us! You can find us here:

Spring Fling Day 5 : Watering Can Planter from Love Grows Wild

Well, everyone, all good things must end, and so ends our Spring Fling Series.  It's been so amazing to have our crafty friends share some of their time and talents with us.  If you've missed any of the previous Spring Fling posts, click here to catch up.  We are finishing up the series with our good friend Liz from Love Grows Wild.  We love her simple, elegant style and know you will too.  Here we go:

Hello! My name is Liz from the blog, Love Grows Wild, and I'm so excited to be here at Occasionally Crafty during Spring Fling Week!

I love Springtime when the days start getting longer and little flowers start to popping out of the ground. It is such a welcome change after the cold, dreary winter months! This change in weather has me itching to get outside and start digging in my garden, but here in Indiana it is not quite warm enough for that just yet. So I decided to plant some flowers in containers I can use indoors for now and transfer outside in a few more weeks.

While looking through my house searching for containers I already had (because I'm cheap thrifty like that), I came across a metal watering can that actually held an Edible Arrangement bouquet from my bridal shower a few years ago. I thought it was way too cute to throw away, so I kept it hoping I would find a use for it someday. {Light Bulb Moment!} The watering can would make an adorable planter for some pretty flowers!

I stopped by a local garden center and found some pretty little yellow violas for my planter. I added a little bit of potting soil to the bottom of the watering can and then added a few violas. I filled the rest of the can up with more potting soil and gave it a little bit of water to help settle everything in. 

My new little planter looked adorable, but I wanted to add something to dress up the watering can a bit. I'm a craft blogger... I can never leave anything looking plain! : )

I found a spare wood medallion in my craft supplies and gave it a quick coat of white spray paint. I used my favorite letter stamps to add "Grow Your Dreams" to the painted medallion and tied it around the planter with twine.  I thought the words were cute play on the planter and flowers and would be a sweet reminder to dream big! We all need to be reminded of that from time to time : )

I set the planter on my desk where I can look at it everyday and be inspired!  

Thanks so much to Valerie and Laura for letting me share my Spring project with you all today! {HUGS}

I've had a wonderful time hanging out with you at Occasionally Crafty, and I hope you'll stop by Love Grows Wild sometime soon and check out more of my projects and recipes! I love making new friends, so come on over and say hi!

I am a wife and mother of two rough and tough little boys, and when I'm not chasing my little super heroes, I'm sharing my creative passion on my blog, Love Grows Wild. I write about crafts, DIY projects, home decor, recipes, organization tips, and more! I've always got a new project up my sleeve, so stop by anytime!

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Thanks Liz!  I absolutely adore this planter!  It's so cute, and I love the upcycle of something she already had.  I would totally make this if I didn't kill plants!  :(

That's it folks.  The end.  Please don't forget to enter our awesome giveaway, and please share the word with your friends.  It will be open until Sunday night at midnight, and the winner will be announced next week.  So enter before you miss it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

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