DIY Painted Artichoke Statues {Guest Post}

Aloha! I'm so happy to have had a few blog friends offer to keep watch over this place while I'm being forced to enjoy a little vacation in Hawaii.

Today I would like to introduce you to Tanya from the blog twelveOeight. I fell IN LOVE with the amazing CARD TABLE (yes, a card table!!!) makeover you will see in the pictures below. I mean, serioulsy, who would have thought to make over a card table?? Tanya! That's who!!

I am so excited to be here today, thank you for having me Kristin! My name is Tanya, and I create & share thrifty DIY projects and decorating inspiration at my blog twelveOeight.  I am a mom to four awesome kids, my eldest in her second year of college, and youngest still in diapers.  My family understands my craft-supply-hoarding,  garage-sale-addicted ways the best they can, and don't usually question the treasures I drag home.  On the average day you can find us knee deep in sandpaper, chicken nuggets, toddlers, and hot glue.  Are you ready to make something pretty that is easy on your budget too?



Artichoke's Even Picky Eaters Will Love

With some of my summer decor stepping aside to make way for the crazy garland and wreath hanging extravaganza just around the corner, I wanted a little something to complete a simple table setting for my makeshift dining area.  I am working on our dining room table next, and in it's place we are using a card table.  I know, you are probably thinking about building a fort, playing poker or eating ramen in college right now, but card tables can be chic with a little elbow grease.  So, gracing the top of the "new" card table are these little artichokes.  And they were easy to make!

Supplies:

1. Two glass or wood candlesticks
2. Two silk or plastic artichokes
3. Hot glue, scissors, foam brush
4. Spray paint primer, and color of your choice, I used antique (or heirloom) white
5. Accent acrylic paint, I used a light chartreuse shade

Directions: 

I picked up two glass candle holders to act as a base for my artichokes, along with an artichoke wreath I already had, #1 and #2 were done.  I trimmed the artichokes at the base and glued them into each candle holder.  After using spray paint primer, I applied two coats of spray paint, allowing each coat to dry well in between.  I used a piece of fine-grit sandpaper to distress the edges, and a bit of acrylic paint on the artichokes.  Once the accent paint was dry, my "new"  artichokes were complete!

It was that easy. A few simple items, less than an hour of my time, a little thinking outside the box, and thrifty DIY home decor does not need to be beyond our reach. All of us are working within a budget and have set expenses. Why not have more of what you love for less by turning items you no longer use, or thrift store finds into something beautiful?

Thank you for coming along with me on my decorating adventures. If you would like to follow along and see what happens to my dining room table come on by and I promise I'll have a pot of coffee brewing and some ideas on how to make your home fabulous on any budget.

xoxo, Tanya

Thank you Tanya, what a fabulous idea!! 

Aloha!

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Back to School Countdown Pallet Project

Aloha! I'm so happy to have had a few blog friends offer to keep watch over this place while I'm being forced to enjoy a little vacation in Hawaii.

Today I would like to introduce you to Rhonda from the blog home.made. 

Hidey-ho Simply Klassic Home readers!  I’m Rhonda from home.made. and I’m so excited to be filling in while Kristen’s away on vacay.  Today I’m sharing an easy DIY project – my pallet board Back to School countdown!

I’m not normally a “Back to School” decorator/crafter, but since both of my precious girls will  be in school this year, I thought it was only proper to celebrate the occasion!

Here’s what you will need to make your own:

scrap pallet board (or other scrap wood)

leftover paint

chalk/chalkboard paint

antiquing medium (or stain)

decorative wood apple (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)

paint pen

hot glue

Instructions:

1.  Sand any rough areas on your board (to prevent yourself from getting splinters…) and paint with a thin coat of paint.  I used a watered-down mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White to create a “wash”.  Set aside to dry.

2.  Paint your apple wood piece with chalk/chalkboard paint.  I used ASCP in Aubusson Blue since I had it on hand.





3.  While this paint is drying, you can work on your pallet sign (if dried – that’s another great thing about chalk paint, btw.  The dry time is super quick.)  I chose to freehand my letters, but you can stencil or trace from a printed font if you like.



4.  Then, trace over with your paint marker.  Easy peasy.



5.  I then brushed on an antiquing glaze made from craft paints from Hobby Lobby, wiping it off with a rag afterward.



6.  Once all of the paint is dry, hot glue your chalkboard apple in place… and let the countdown begin!

Hope you enjoy the rest of summer while it lasts!

What a fun way to get kids excited about going back to school!

Be sure to stop by home.made. and check Rhonda's other projects, including one of my favorites, made over camp stools. They are awesome!

Thanks again Rhonda!

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German Oven Pancake Recipe {Guest Post by Ella Claire}

Aloha! I'm so happy to have had a few blog friends offer to keep watch over this place while I'm being forced to enjoy a little vacation in Hawaii.

Today I would like to introduce you to Kristen from the blog Ella Claire. I can not sing enough praises about this woman. We are like two peas in a pod, separated at birth (five years apart). Enjoy her post, and be sure to visit her blog for some serious vintage beauty.

Hello!

I am Kristen from Ella Claire and I am so excited to be guest posting here at Simply Klassic Home today!

I am pretty new to blogging, and Kristin has been so supportive and wonderful to me in my journey to figure this whole thing out. She is fabulous.

I wasn't sure what to post about today because it is my very first guest post.

 I decided on a recipe that I make at least once a week ~ A German Pancake. 

I knew Kristin would like it because of her German heritage.

My version is somewhat healthier than most of the regular recipes out there because I omit the salt, sugar and cut down on the butter significantly. You would think that it would make it taste gross, but it is really, really good!

My little Ella (she is one year old) and I both love it.
Of course, she just eats hers with berries - no syrup.

The recipe is super simple:

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

a splash of vanilla

1/3 stick of butter (the real stuff)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Put your butter in your 13"x9" pan, and stick your pan in the oven while it preheats. (I have used different sized pans, from 7 1/2" x 11" to 13"x9" pan, but I usually use the smaller pan which makes the pancake thicker ~ it is really a personal preference thing).

As the butter melts, blend the rest of the ingredients in a blender until nice and smoothe, scraping the sides as needed.

Pour your blended mixture into the pan with the melted butter.

(confession ~ I am impatient and usually don't wait for the oven to be fully preheated before I pour the batter in.)

Bake 12-15 minutes (or more depending on your oven) until the middle is cooked through.

It will poof into a wonderfully crazy shape!

Once you pull it out of the oven, it will sink quite a bit.

Serve with any of the following: syrup, berries, powdered sugar.

Yum!

Thanks again, Kristin for letting me guest post!

And, thank you all for letting me visit!

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Love that girl! Thanks my friend. And thanks for thinking of me with the German pancake. Can't wait to try this recipe for myself!

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Aloha! A Real Vacation!!!

Aloha friends!

 source

I'm off on the first "real" vacation I've had in several years! I don't want you to get lonely, so I've asked a few friends to hold down the fort while I'm gone.

I promise I'll have lots of pictures to share when we return.

Try not to miss me too much!

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Imitation or Inspiration?

It has been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. That's true, unless you're a blogger.

I have heard tales from lots of ladies who have found their craft projects, recipes, photography, and even their blog names, copied. I mean, posts copied WORD for WORD. I recently found myself in the same boat, and let me tell you, it sucks!

When I started blogging, the blog world was very small to me. I knew of a few blogs, certainly wasn't an avid reader of them, and never thought I had anything to share that would be interesting enough for other people to want to read it too.

But now, nearly four years later, I love blogging. Truly love it. But this upset me to the point of not wanting to continue. Lame? Maybe a little. 

One of my printables was used as "inspiration" for a design that was sold by an independent online store. It was a dead-ringer for something original I had designed and had clearly stated was not to be sold in any form, and what I had given away for free, she was selling for $8 a pop. I contacted the designer, and after much discussion, she took down the item.

Shortly afterward, a friend had her original image copied from her blog put up on someone's Facebook page with the caption "These tables now for sale in our store!" Despite the fact that she claimed when contacted that she was merely stating that she made tables "just like that" it was definitely not her work, her photo, or her table, and she in turn would be making money off of my friend's photo. Not cool. 

So when is it ok? What's the difference?

Well, that's the tough part. I'm always flattered when I've inspired someone to create something, whether it's a replica, or their interpretation of my original creation. Whether it was a recipe or printable or craft, I am honored when another blogger or reader imitates something I designed. But when they claim it's their own design, that's a completely different issue.

Let's play a little game. (This is merely an example)

ROUND ONE:
I created this in Photoshop today to go with this post.

Cute right? And perfect to go along with the topic.




ROUND TWO:

I was searching for inspiration for this post today and I came across this print from Open Heart Creations on Etsy.

I thought to myself, "I'm good at Photoshop! I can make that!" So I created my own.

It's obviously a knock-off of the original, with a slightly different font.

But since I changed the font, would it be ok for me to sell it, or to even claim it as my own?

What if I change the words?

Is it still imitation, or is it inspiration? Or can it be considered my own original work?

With so much inspiration out there, is there really such a thing as an original idea?

So here's my opinion (and this is only MY personal opinion):

1. Imitation is flattering, but when that imitation is sold for profit without permission, that is wrong. 
2. Just because you are able to recreate something, doesn't mean you should. But if and when you do, you should always give credit. Because I guarantee you, if the shoe is ever on the other foot, it won't feel good. 
3. If you post your project, whether inspired or imitated, on your blog, always site the source. Make sure to take note of the original inspiration's blog policies. For example, many bloggers require that you get permission before using their photos or content. Some will allow you to freely use one photo as long as there is a link back. Others still, have no policy, so you will have to use common sense and good judgement, follow your heart, and follow the golden rule:

At a reader's request, feel free to grab the above image and use it on your blog! :)

This has been a pretty hot topic lately in some of the groups I belong to...what's your feeling on the subject?

* Disclaimer: This is a vent, that kind of turned into a rant. The thoughts stated here are my own opinions. I do not have any legal background in the matter of copyrights. I was just kinda ticked off.

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Something's Coming - the BIG Anouncement

Remember the other day when I told you something BIG was coming?


Have I held you in suspense long enough?


What? You don't know what I'm talking about???

Kristin - That's me!

Kristen - Ella Claire Blog (& shop coming soon!)

Kate - Salvage Dior

Three girls, one blog, and YOU!

That's right, it's our blog, about YOU! (Ok, so maybe a little bit about us too).

Kate and I were talking (yeah, we talk a lot) about how we wanted to do something amazing! We came up with hundreds of ideas, and this is the one that really took off. I asked Kristen to join us because, well, let's face it, she's freaking awesome.

We will be seeking out people and blogs to feature, so if you want to be one of them, fill out the form here: Submit Your Bliss.

Another way we will feature fellow bloggers and friends, is when you nominate them! It can be an entire blog you think we should feature, or a post you thought was especially amazing. Nominate a special blog friend here: Nominate a Feature.

To be featured, the project must include one of more of the following:

• Family keepsakes and hand-me-downs
• Flea market/thrift store finds
• Restored, repainted, or repurposed furniture or other pieces, either purchased or found

If you have any questions, please email us at reclaimedbliss@aol.com.

There is so much more we have in store for this new little project. We are looking forward to sharing all of this and more with you when we go live in just a couple of weeks! In the meantime, you can follow us here:

          

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, so you'll be the first to know when we launch! And speaking of the launch, there might just be a seriously awesome giveaway to get us started...just sayin'...



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It's Too Hot to Even Come Up With a Title

;

Has it really been over a week since my last post???

We have had a heat wave the past week and a half. Well, a Southern California heat wave...which means low 90s...which for us is HOT. We've had earthquakes, too. We've had what we like to call a little "shake & bake" weather.

What I like to call it is, I don't want to craft, decorate, paint, cook, clean or move my body weather.

Which means, I really don't have much to share with you today.

However, there is something coming. Something BIG. HUGE even.

I've been secretly working with a couple of my best bloggy girlfriends on a project that I know you are going to LOVE.

But I'm not going to tell you what it is...yet. You're going to have to wait just a little bit longer.

Want a little sneak peek? Check out our facebook page here.

Don't worry I'll fill you all in soon... ;)

Stay cool out there people!

Oh, and if you need a little entertainment, check out my two little ones swimming their hearts out. Yes, they really are only three and four years old! They have been taking swim lessons since they were less than two years old, and it's obviously paid off. Even the big boys (10 and 11 years old) were even commenting that they couldn't believe that my boy could dive!



What you don't see at the end, is them fighting to see who got to climb out first!

Someday I'll learn to take video horizontally.


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Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Pasta

"He likes it! Hey Mikey!"

Remember that commercial? It was for Life Cereal when I was a kid. They finally found a cereal that super picky Mikey would eat, and his siblings were ecstatic!

That's how I felt A a few days ago when I set a plate down in front of my daughter and she exclaimed, "I like this!"

I put this together on a Sunday afternoon when I was trying to prepare a few meals for the week, and at the same time clear out the fridge.

You will need: 

1/2 pound cooked pasta (I used penne, but any small pasta will do)

1 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 rotisserie chicken (equal to about 2 chicken breasts)
2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup ranch dressing

(If you've read any of my recipes before, you know that all measurements are approximate)

Coat a round glass dish with cooking spray. Layer half each of the pasta, chicken, broccoli and cheese, and repeat.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before stirring. Add the ranch and stir again.

Because you're adding the ranch at the end, you don't need much other seasoning, but I did add a little salt and pepper. Delicious!

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How to Thaw Ground Beef in Under 30 Minutes

This past Sunday was spent being a domestic diva here in the Simply Klassic Home. I impressed even myself by preparing six days worth of meals!

One of those meals was my dad's "famous" (in our house anyway) meatloaf. I'll share the recipe with you later in the week, but I wanted to first share a little tip with you that I learned not too long ago that has made my life a heck of a lot easier.

If you already knew this, do me a favor and humor me, k?

I like to buy the bulk size packages of ground beef, but because we are a small family, I can actually get four meals out of a package.

I used to just cut the package in four equal parts and wrap and freeze it in a big chunk. But it would take FOREVER to thaw, and forget it if you just decided on the way home that you were making tacos. There was just no time to thaw the meat, and I hate thawing meat on my kitchen counter.

Sooooo I remember this trick a friend taught me and today I packaged up my meat like so:

After cutting the four equal chunks, I placed each portion in a sandwich size ziploc bag, flattened the meat, squeezed out as much air as possible, and placed them all in a larger bag.

I labeled the individual bag with the portion size (in this case it's just less than a pound).

Flattening the meat makes for much less thawing time. In fact, just place the bag in a bowl of COLD water and it takes less than 30 minutes to thaw!

You now have your meat ready to make my dad's "famous" meatloaf...

or any other of a variety of options.

I'll share the meatloaf recipe with you later this week, as well as show you how I do this entire process, from frozen ground beef to hot, tasty meatloaf in under an hour.

What's your favorite tip from the kitchen?



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DIY Striped Picture Frame

I completed a new project! Yay!!! (You're excited for me too, right? Because it's been a while since I've actually completed a project. I know you're jumping up and down with me in spirit).

I have a large space above my computer in my "office" section of my living room, and I wanted a photo of my kids up there. Only, I didn't want a GIANT photo of my kids. 

Remember me saying here that I wanted to incorporate a little more black in the room? Ok, maybe that was in my head, but nonetheless, that's become my goal. 

I also want stripes. I seriously am obsessed with stripes. Funny those little things we are constantly drawn too...stripes is one of mine.

So here was my goal: Fill a large space with a small photo of my kids; add black; add stripes.

I started with an old cabinet door, painted a creamy white.

Then I measured out the spaces for the stripes.

And taped them off using blue painter's tape. Thanks to Pamela's suggestion, I marked the sections that I was not painting to avoid accidentally painting in the wrong place.

Next I painted the black stripes.

I pulled off the tape to reveal my perfectly misplace stripes. I blame it on my kids who kept bugging me wanting to help. I actually kind of like it!

Using a sanding block, I distressed the stripes and the edges.

Because of the dimensions of the frame and the orientation I wanted, I had to paint the stripes against the grain, so it made the distressing  a little difficult since I didn't want to bleed the black into the white.

To attach the Dollar Store black wood frame, I simply hammered a single nail into the cabinet door and hung the smaller frame.

I'm so please with the results, and double pleased that I finally finished a project. Go team ME!

My little office space

Have you finished any projects you're proud of lately?


Linking Up this week:
Savvy Southern Style
Clean & Scentsible
The Vintage Farmhouse
Common Ground
At the Picket Fence


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