Monday, May 23, 2011

Teacher Gift (FREE Print Out)

I love the idea of a personalized gift for my kids teachers. I want them to know what REALLY touched my kids or what they REALLY loved about their classroom. Whether it be funny or silly or tug at my heart strings. So I made these simple pages for my kids to write and draw on and then give it to their teacher.  I will upload their after they do them tonight....but wanted to give all us last-minute-moms a quick, yet, heartfelt booklet to give the teachers your kids love!











Saturday, May 14, 2011

Plain to Dainty

So I showed you my finished window....white, more streamlined, fresh, and clean.

But I knew I needed to add a wreath or something to make it just a tad more dainty.
I kept toying around with ideas but after I saw these beauties that my sisters made, I knew I wanted to do the same.
So I found a cheap .50 cent  wreath at the thrift store.
I used pink fabric, as a base, and just wrapped my wreath up like they did with the sheet.  I decided that I loved the fabric look and just chose to add a small cluster of flowers and leave the rest of the wreath just wrapped with fabric.
I just knotted old fabric I cut from a shirt and glued it on. Then I torched the edges with a lighter to add a brown antique look.

So much better! 
Just the perfect amount of PIZZAZZ!
And it took me 15 minutes to do the whole thing.
My kind of project!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Oldie...but a goodie

I thought I would re-share a project from Hanna that she did a year or so back! It is a fav of mine.


I was lucky enough to inherit this beautiful hutch from my Grandma. Of coarse, it has seen better days, but I have been dreaming about this hutch since I was a little girl, and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Did I mentioned how obsessed with hutches I am? I can't get enough of them!



Look at all of the beautiful old fixtures!


The inside was the worst, but a little TLC did the trick!



First, I gave it a good cleaning, a light sanding, and primed it.




Then I fussed over the color for about a week, but when my sister gave me this fresh yellow, called Autumn Wreath, it was love at first sight!



I kept all of the original fixtures.




I painted it Autumn Wreath on the body of the hutch, and an antique white on the doors and inside. I love the the way it turned out. The contrast of the two colors really made it pop! When all of the paint was dry, I sanded the edges for a more worn feel.



Isn't she a beaut?



I have some ideas to decorate the top with, and I can't wait to show you when I am done!



And there you have from Drab to Fa Fa FABULOUS!


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

PoSiE WrEatHs

Hi my name is Kailey, I'm new to Drab to Fab. I wanted to show my latest spring project that I did with Sharla.

Posie Wreaths

First we found the base for our wreaths. We tried to find foam wreaths but sweet mylanta they were costly so we settled for these wicker ones from the Dollar Store.


Next we used an old sheet to build up the base of the wreath for added thickness. We just simply twisted the fabric around the wreath.

We got our fabric for the posies (tutorial here on how to make them) at Walmart, 5 yards for $5.00 sweet dealio. We cut the fabric into 1 inch strips and started making our posies

As we finished our posies we simply glued them on with hot glue.
When we finished we added on some simple embellishments....
And finally here are our finished projects just in time for spring!






Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tasty Tuesdays: Grilled Chicken with Coconut Sauce

I don't confine my outdoor cooking to the summer months. Though this dish is delicious in the summer, it's also very comforting and tasty during cold winter months.

Coconut was never a flavor I enjoyed when I was a kid--maybe because I associated coconut with sweetened flakes on the top of those hideous pink Hostess snowballs.  Coconut milk, however, is another flavor entirely.  Many of my favorite recipes call for it (see Chicken Curry in a Hurry, Thai-Style Squash Soup, and Curry-Coconut Sauce).

This sauce has the perfect amount of heat--the jalapenos are not overpowering, but do add a spicy zip that is so delicious over chicken (over your rice, too).  You can use fresh jalapenos and grill and peel them, but I no longer do that: I just use two or three canned jalapenos and put them straight in the blender without grilling, then freeze the rest of the can for next time (I put 2-3 peppers in a snack Ziploc, squeeze the air out, then put all the Ziplocs in a freezer bag and date it).
When I made this over the weekend, it just so happened that my boys were at a movie and my daughter was taking a nap--so Allen and I were able to have a quiet and delicious lunch at home together.  I don't know that this has ever happened before.  I hardly knew how to eat without getting up to help kids or fill glasses or wipe up spills or set-the-timer-for-ten-minutes-for-a-certain-child-who-needs-a-deadline-in-order-to-finish-his-food.

Perfect lunch.