Jewelry/Knick-Knack Box

So I'm very much the person who would rather repurpose something than throwing it in the garbage. Which is why I have a whole drawer of...well, basically junk. But if you're a semi-crafty person you know that one man's trash is another man, excuse me, woman's treasure.

And this little characteristic of mine rebelled violenty when a friend of mine wanted to throw this cologne box away:

Um, hello mister! Do you not see the potential here?? I just loved the untraditional way it opened...the lid slides off if you can't tell from the picture. So after asking for it and receiving a weird look, I got my soon to be treasure! And this is what I did...

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't have big plans for this treasure box of mine. All I really had in mind was some new scrapbook paper I bought at Robert's two days prior. Paper that I absolutely loved and had to put on display. So my only plan was to simply Modge Podge that paper on and "gjush" it up a bit.

So I picked my paper and on the backside, traced all the sides of my box and the lid.

Once the paper was cut out, I made sure it would line up perfeectly with the box. After some minor trimming, I stamped the edges of the paper with a black ink pad. I even brushed it lightly across the entire paper. These are my four main pieces:

The next step was to simply glue it on with Modge Podge. I used a matte finish, but the glossy would work fine. I didn't originally plan on doing the inside of the box, but I later changed my mind...of course.

For the top, I used the opposite of the paper and Modge Podged it to the lid. Then I had some decorative 3-D stickers that I adhered to the top. After going over all the edges one more time with the ink pad I was done! What a quick, simple project! And I absolutely love it :)

ChelseaAnn

Snickerdoodle Bars

I want to apologize for my unintentional bloggie break for the past few weeks..umm...I mean months. Whoops. I've been watching my lovely monsters from sun-up til sun-down so there hasn't been much time for blog world. But, there has definitely still been crafting going on! Or in this case, baking.

I came across a recipe for Snickerdoodle Bars in a magazine awhile back and thought it would be so fun since Snickerdoodles are practically my favorite cookie. How could you not love them??

Here is what you'll need:

2 1/3 Cups Flour

1 1/4 TSP Baking Powder

1/2 TSP Salt

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Cups of Butter (softened)

3 Large Eggs

1 TSP Vanilla

For the Filling you will need:

1 TBS Sugar

1 TBS Cinnamon

1/2 TBS Brown Sugar

For the Icing:

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 TSP Cinnamon

1/4 TSP Vanilla

2-3 TBS of milk

Okay, let's begin!

Step numero uno! In a large bowl, combine your flour, baking powder and salt. Set that aside for the moment. In another bowl, or in your handy dandy mixer, beat your butter until creamy. Add both the brown and white sugars.

Then gradually add the three eggs into the mixer, followed by the teaspoon of vanilla. Then slowly add your dry ingredients. Ya know, a cup or so at a time.

The batter is going to be really thick. So don't freak out like I did. Just divide your batter into two and put one half of it into a 9x13 pan. Oh, p.s. you'll want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. And make sure you spray your pan. So put half of your batter in the pan. Then you'll combine your filling in a small, seperate bowl (the sugars and cinnamon) then you'll sprinkle that over the batter in the pan. It will look a little something like this:

Or probably better than that! Anywho, this next part was a little tricky for me, so just a heads up. The remaining batter will be spooned over the top of the filling. You don't need to spread it out much, and trust me, even if you wanted to you can't. You'll want a few gaps so the filling can peak through.

So plop that thing in the oven at 350 for roughly 30 minutes. The recipe I used (well, sorta used) said 20-30 minutes but mine ended up staying in the oven for almost 40...so keep an eye on it. Once it's ready, pull it out and set aside to cool.

While it's cooling, you can get started on the glaze. Now I'm going to admit that I HATE powdered sugar icings. I can't stand the grainy-ness and the taste is always a little on the "ew" side for me. But I gotta admit, I kinda liked this one. So if you're like me, and thinking "Do I really want to ruin this wonderful dessert by showering it with icky, gooey glaze?" Go ahead. You'll like it. Even with that said though, it's okay to go a little light on the glaze. Or heavy. I don't care, you're the one eating it!

Okay, back to that recipe! So it's your basic powdered sugar glaze. Just combine all those ingredients and whisk until smooth. More milk may be needed to get the right consistency.

So this is what mine looked like when I pulled it out of the oven:
And here's the finished product, after I drizzled the glaze on. I have to apologize for the very awful photography, I just didn't have the time with three kids begging for "just a tiny little bite."

ChelseaAnn