Best Brownies- EVER!

***Please note that if Fudgy Yummy Goodness is not what you look for in a brownie, but instead prefer Cake Like Brownies, then this recipe does not fall into your category of 'best brownies- ever'***

Homemade is always better right? I've always thought this to be true...Except for when it would come to brownies. There tricky, easily coming out to dry, to cakey, over mixed. So for awhile now I've resorted to boxed brownies- Always moist and good. Just be sure to throw on an apron, make up some mint frosting to put on top of the brownies and you're good- it's like they are homemade!

Last summer though, after being asked to make 250 brownies for a reception, I decided to find that "Perfect" Brownie Recipe. I thought about buying 20 boxes of brownie mix but how would I have honestly been able to sleep at night?

So with all that said here's the wonderful recipe.... now go Bake!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

2.In a large saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. ***Make sure to stir just enough to mix ingredients. Over stirring causes the brownies to be not so fudgy and yummy*** Spread batter into prepared pan.

3.Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Do not overcook. (25 minutes always works perfect for me).

I then like to freeze the brownies (still in the pan) for an hour.

Frosting:
Mix together 2 Tbsp Milk, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 1/2 tsp flavoring (I use peppermint or maple), and 2 cups of powdered sugar

Last year... on the hunt for a yummy brownie recipe. Oddly enough, I guess it required the munchkin to be strapped into her hiking carries?!

Crib Skirt

Well, I finally finished the bed skirt! It only took me 3 weeks longer than I had planned! Not that it was a way complicated project, I just distract easily. I'm now off to make the bumpers, and hopefully after that the quilt- all before our Little Man arrives (27 days and counting)! We'll see if it all gets done...

And of course since I can't wait to post pictures once the Nursery is completely put together, here's a pic of the skirt!

For those wanting fabulous instructions on making crib bedding then you'll want this book- Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones

It's a new favorite of mine. So many fun projects are in it- bedding, baby toys, shoes, dresses, and so much more. If only there were more hours in the day!

St. Patty's Day and Hairbow tutorial

I love holidays, even more so now that I have a little munchkin to enjoy them with! In preparation for a pinch free Patty's Day I made a korker bow and then placed it on top of a yellow pinwheel bow- Easy Peasy!

For the korker bow, use grosgrain ribbon and wrap around a wooden dowel. Wrap tightly, but don't over lap. Secure with cloths pins on each end.

(don't mind the orange ribbon, I also made some University of Tennessee Hairbows too! Can't ever start to early with preping for football season!)

Place on top of a sheet of foil in your oven set at 250. Leave in for for 25 to 30 minutes. (Make sure to check once in awhile to make sure it's not burning or anything funky). Let it cool for a few minutes.

Now you have your korker ribbon! I like to cut mine between 2.5 to 3 inches.

 Take a lighter and quickly singe edges to prevent fraying (or use frey check). Then arrange the ribbon on top of your thread, pull together and tie. I like to secure mine with thin wire afterwards.

Next I made the pinwheel bow. I used this Pinwheel Hairbow Tutorial and absolutely loved it- So easy to follow! I then used a hot glue gun to secure the korker bow to the pinwheel bow.

Perfect for St. Patty's Day! (Or a Green Bay Packer fan...)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Mod Podge Frames

I love making these frames for gifts!

You'll need:

Scrapbooking Paper

Scissors

Distressing Ink (optional)

Mod Podge

Frame

Sealer

Paint, Stain (optional)

Most craft stores carry wooden frames many sizes. These ones are 8x8 and hold a cute size of 3.5x3.5.  I like to stain the edges since I distress the edges of the paper. You'll soon come to learn that I am a huge distressing fan!

While the stain dries, I trace and cut out the paper and distress the edges.

Now paint on a good layer of Mod Podge on to the frame and line up the paper, making sure there aren't any air bubbles and press down. I like to go over it all with a card or something thick to make sure it is pressed down really good. Wrinkles and air bubbles stink and can happen easily in this project if not careful! Now let it dry for 20 minutes. (And if you're like me, during those 20 minutes you're tracking down and cleaning a toddler that decided to do some Mod Podging herself.)

After the drying time, put on a layer of Mod Podge on top, dry again and then use a sealer to prevent it from being 'sticky'.

Paper Easter Grass

Last Easter our daugther partook in her first egg hunt and festivities. And wouldn't you know, I couldn't bring myself to by a bag of plastic grass at the store. Even as a kid, I hated the stuff. But as a mother who treasures her vacuume and her little one even more (both of whom digest foreign objects freely), I decided to make my own Easter grass. Very simple, and easy...

I use all scrapbooking paper, any size. I usually keep scraps in a drawer so that's what I go for first. This is also a great project for using up any hideous scrapbooking paper that has been collecting dust for a few years that you know you're never going to use, but feel to bad about tossing.

To get the crinkled look I use one of these 'crinkler things' (like my terminology?).

I purchased mine at Michaels (using a 50% off coupon of course). Simply crinkle all your paper, then shredd it! I'm sure an electric shredder works great, but ours cuts both ways so I like to cut by hand.

It sounds time consuming but it's not- I promise! I just sat down last night to watch 'Glee' while making my grass and before it was even over I had plenty of paper for at least five baskets.

Changing Pad Cover Tutorial Link

I remember when we were buying things for our little girl's nursery I had the hardest time finding a cute changing pad cover. I'm pretty sure manufacturers were not thinking to clearly when white was decided to be the one and only color you could buy in a cover. Two years ago though I did not sew, not even buttons so white it was.

But now that we are in the process of decorating Little Man's nursery I decided that a change needed to take place. So I was way excited when I found a fun changing pad cover tutorial from a fave site of mine- Prudent Baby. It was so easy and took just under an hour to make! LOVE it!

Tulle YoYo Tutorial

The other day, while shopping at Kohl's I noticed this cute number in the kid's section....

What wasn't cute- the $27 price tag. Oh well I could live without the skirt anyway, but the adorable tulle yoyo's on the shirt were to much. So I went to the craft store picked up some tulle and a packet of rhinestones and came up with my own version, costing me only $2.00 (and leaving me with extra tulle for another current project).

Supplies:

Shirt (or whatever you wish to put these cute yoyo's on)
rhinestones
glue gun or fabric glue
tulle
thread, needle, scissors



Layout your tulle and trace a circle using any handy object you can find. For mine I made the middle yoyo larger so I used a cereal bowl. Then for the two outside yoyo's I grabbed a Tupperware lid that was slightly smaller than the bowl. Trace and cut out.

Then using wide stitches, stitch a circle around the tulle you just cut out. Make a stitch that is about 1/4 inch into the circle. (I would recommend using the same color of thread as your tulle. I'm using a different color so it would be more visible in the tutorial)




Next, very gently pull on the thread to gather the tulle. It will first start to look like a bowl as you pull. During this step, tuck the 1/4 inch tulle into the inside of the yoyo so it doesn't stick out. Gather until it resembles a flower and is even on all sides (move gathering around if it isn't even). Then to finish your yoyo up hand stitch the middle, going from the front to back to secure the center and tie off in the back.

After making my yoyo's I then hand stitched them onto the shirt and glued the rhinestones on. Very simple and no sewing machine or much time is needed for this project!