CARROT CAKE USING CANNED CARROTS

If you like carrot cake flavor but not the crunchy texture, this is the cake for you. This produced a very moist cake with a taste of a mild carrots and cinnamon. It is also a great way to use up cans of carrots that you are rotating out with your Spring cleaning. Carrot Cake With Canned Carrots Recipe http://www.grouprecipes.com/47922/carrot-cake-with-canned-carrots.html

• 2 C. flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 2 t. baking soda
• 2 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. salt
• 2 C. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.\

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

• Add 1 1/2 c. oil (I used olive oil), mix together
• Add 3 c. canned carrots, drained (I used 2 cans), mix together (you do not need to puree them).

• Add 4 eggs, mix together

• Add 1/2 c. nuts (the recipe calls for pecans, I used walnuts), mix together

Pour into 9X13 can pan sprayed with a non-stick spray. Baked for 25-35 mins or until springy to touch in center.

Frost with Cream Cheese frosting (I used commercially prepared from a can).

MS. PAC MAN PANTIES

I have seen panties in the store similar to this start at about $12, these cost under $2 to make. The inspiration for these panties is from the picture at Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mspacman.png I did it freehand by looking at the picture and didn't have several of the colors so it is an "artist's interpretation" of the game. It was a fun project because since it is just underwear, I didn't have the pressure of it being perfect and just improvised as I went along. At some point I want to do a t-shirt, but think I will try to make a stencil. On the back of the undies it has "Ms. Pac Man" in Violet glitter fabric paint, a game board in the middle with Ms. Pack Man on the left and a red ghost, both which were touched up with acrylic paint because it looked too blotchy, and on the right and 'walka..walka..walka" below. On the front of the panties I wrote "Game Over " in glow-in-the dark paint. Items used:

• 1 pair of black panties
• Fabric paints
• Yellow and red acrylic paint
• Paintbrush

Christian Louboutin Copy Cat Shoes

This inspiration was from Sarah D.'s posting at CO+K awhile back http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/faux_christian_louboutin_s This is a pair of dress heels that I bought at thrift store for $2 and while the tops looked great, the bottoms were scruffy and the thrift store had written the price on the bottom and I was not able to scrub it off, so I decided to give this a try and it turned out very well. Sorry, but I didn't take pictures of the process as I was not sure how they were going to turn out. Items used:

• Acrylic Cherry Red paint
• Sponge Paintbrush
• Clear Coat Spray Acrylic
• Masking tape (optional)

I would suggest using masking tape all around the area near the sole of the shoe before you begin painting as it will prevent you from getting paint on the shoe - I didn't and although I as able to wipe off the red acrylic paint because it was still wet with no problem, when I applied the clear coat spray, it over sprayed and it caused the vinyl on the side to bubble up a bit, but fortunately, it is not too noticeable.
You paint the bottom of the shoes with the red acrylic paint with a sponge paintbrush - I used 6 coats and allowed the coats to dry throughly between coats. I then sprayed on the clear acrylic paint as a sealant and to give it shine.

TOMATO & ONION SALSA

This recipe was inspirted by this post by at CO+K by Chelesa M. http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/best_salsa_ever This was super-easy with using the food processor to chop everything up. I varied my receipe slightly and used the following and it is more of an tomato and onion salsa than just tomato based and it was very mild. 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Jalepenos 1 can Tomato Sauce 1 fresh tomato 3 cloves garlic 1 1/2 med. sized yellow onions 2 Tsp. Mexican Seasoning 1 TBSP lime juice 4 dashes Seasoned salt 1 handful of Cilantro

CHEESY EGG CASSEROLE

I got this recipe from Baking Bites

http://bakingbites.com/2009/05/cheesy-egg-casserole/#more-3223

This is a good recipe for a breakfast carry-in or if you are feeding a lot of people and want to serve something a little bit different, but still please the mainstream crowd.

I ended up cutting the ingredients down from the original recipe by 1/4 and it still made 12 large pieces. It is not as cheesy as I thought it would be for containing 3 types of cheese, it was more eggy with a surprize creamy salty taste in some bites due to the cubes of cream cheese in the recipe.

• 9 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 8 dashes salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk (any kind)
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 6-oz cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4-1/3 lb shredded Monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking/casserole dish.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and milk.

Stir in cottage cheese, cream cheese and shredded Monterey jack cheese.

Pour into prepared baking dish.Bake for about 45 minutes, until eggs are set and casserole is not “wet” in the middle.Dish will deflate slightly as it cools. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving to make slicing easier.Dish can be served hot or cold.

RETRO OWL SUNGLASSES CASE

I found this awesome tutorial at CO+K by Peptogirl for this retro cool sunglasses case and knew I had to make a version of it!

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/retro_owl_sunglass_case

I made my version out of fleece for the body and left over felt for the embellishments, then used googly eyes instead of felt ones and put the entire thing together with hot glue instead of sewing. For the closure, I used velcro circles.

Candy Sushi

I first heard of this over a CO+K and the how-to by Stephanie N. http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/candy_sushi This was a big hit with my son so I will make it again, but if you can't stand to have your hands sticky (I can't) you might want to invest in some plastic gloves to wear when you make these (I will!) and it is sticky and a bit tricky. The basic premise is you make Rice Krispie Treats, cut it an inch wide and 2-3 inches long put a piece of two of gummy candy in the center, roll the Rice Krispie Treat around the gummy, then wrap a bit of fruit roll up around that, and presto, you have a piece of candy sushi. It sounds easier than it is; my gummies wanted to either be buried entirely or pop out on one side and when trying to wrap the fruit rollup around the "sushi" the rice tried to escape out the bottom or the top. Instead of regular marshmallows, through a promotion at our local grocery store I got a bag for Vanilla Carmel marshmallows for free with purchase a certain number of Coke products and used it is why the sushi "rice" appears brownish.

POP ART JOURNAL

I wanted to keep a journal to jot down ideas and lists of things and have it sort of pop artish, but the ones that I found in the stores started about about $12 and went up from there, so I decided to make my own.

This worked out even better and everything but the felt and the glue on this is recycled/upcycled cardboard and paper and my cost out of pocket was under 25 cents.

As this was my first attempt at something like this, it is a little rough, but I do plan on making more for these for Christmas presents.

• Fruit By The Foot box
• Diet Coke 12 pack box
• 1 piece red felt
• Lots of scrap 8 1/2 x 11 paper cut or torn into quarters
• Craft Glue
• Hot Glue Gun and glue sticks

I started with th Fruit by the Foot box as it is just a bit bigger than a quarter sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and the right size for this project, but you could start with a cereal or other small box and adjust the size or make the paper a different size.

Cut the top, bottom, and right hand side off from the Fruit by the Foot box.

You could skip adding the outside box for reinforement and decoration if you wanted to, but I wanted my journal to be sturdy and I wanted the Diet Coke for the outside of the journal, so I cut the top, bottom, and right hand side off from the Fruit by the Foot box.

I then cut the pieces from the Diet Coke box that was at least 1/4 of an inch wider on the each side.

Then fold the egdes over then cutting the corners off and glued it to the Fruit By the Foot Box with craft glue on the outside and hot glue on the inside edges.

NOTE: I pieced mine together from several pieces off the Diet Coke box, but it would be easier and you would get a more professional looking results if you just a single piece from the Diet Coke box (after seeing the picture I did attempt to straightern the edge a bit more, but didn't take a pic - another thing to note is if you have any sort of digital camera, take a picture of your projects and then check them for anything you might need to adjust - your eye tends to forgive the project you put love and time into; the camera doesn't and will give you a strangers eye view of the project).

For inside front and back, I cut 2 pieces from the felt that were approximately 1/8th of an inch shorter on the top, bottoms and sides with the piece closest to the spine flush with the bend for the spine and glued it down to the inside cover with a hot glue gun. I would recommend doing this slowly and in stages, starting at the top edge and working down, otherwise the glue dries too fast and it can wrinkle up the fabric.

Next, square up the pages of scrap paper and make sure that if there is printing on one side, that it is facing the back fo the book, then glue in small sections at a time to the spine of the book.

Runaway Robot From Junk Parts

Made from parts and wires from a son's broken fan, some beading wire, hot glue gun and a glue stick and two googly eyes.

(This is the back and it is covered in glue)

Here is his humble beginnings...

Peach Jello Cake With Whipped Peach Frosting

I am rotating my canned goods and ran across several cans of peaches that I want to use up and went in search of receipes and found one for a Peach Whipped Cream Frosting Recipe at http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2009/05/whipped-cream-frosting-with-peaches.html and it ended up being the inspiration for this cake, even though I didn't actually use it.

When I was at the grocery I noticed that Jello now makes Peach flavored Jello and decided to try making a Peach Jello Cake with Peach Whipped Frosting. While it did not turn out as pretty as I had hoped as there was not a lot contrast between the cake, the jello and the frosting, it was great for a hot afternoon as it was light and fresh with just a hint of peach flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of peaches (15-16 oz can)
• 1 box of white cake mix and whatever ingredients that mix calls for usually eggs, water or milk and margarine except reduce the amount of liquid used by 2/3 of a cup.
• 1 small box of Peach Jello
• 1 oz tub light whipped topping, thawed
• 1/4 cup of confectioner's (powdered) sugar
• Pam or other non-stick cooking spray
• 1 TSBP flour (optional)

Grease and flour an 9x13 baking pan - I sprayed the pan with Pam - you would flour the pan if you are going to do so at this point.

First, prepare the cake mix according to the instruction on the box, minus 2/3 cup of the liquid.

Next, puree the peaches in a food processor or blender (I put the juice from the can in with the peaches) then measure out 2/3 of a cup and set it aside and put in the fridge for the frosting. Pour what is left in the rest of the puree into the cake mix batter. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake according the directions on the box mix

When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and allow to set a few minutes and in the meantime, prepare the jello according to the package (1 cup boiling water until Jello is dissolved, then add 1 cup cold water and stir in).

Poke holes in the cake with a folk all over spaced about 2 inches apart, then slowly put the Jello over all of the holes until and continue to pour until the entire mixture is used, then put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Mix the light whipped topping with the 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar and the 2/3 cup of peach puree set aside in the fridge earlier.

Frost the cooled cake with the whipped frosting mixture and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour (but best if it can set overnight) before serving.

Thai Cucumber Relish - Ah Jaht

I found this recipe over at One Perfect Bite and like all of the ingredients (although I am the only one that I ever serve food to that does). The author of the recipe advised that they make this as a salad and serve it with Thai Coconut Curry. It is crisp and cool with a hot kick. http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2009/04/thai-cucumber-relish-ah-jaht.html Thai Cucumber Relish - Ah Jaht Ingredients: 1/2 cup white or rice wine vinegar 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 large hothouse cucumbers or 1 pound garden cucumbers 3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots or coarsely chopped red onion (I used a yellow onion) 2 teaspoons thinly sliced small red or green chilies (I substituted Red Pepper flakes)

Yield: 3 cups. Combine vinegar, water,sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside. Cool.

The recipe advised to cut cucumbers into 4 long strips then each strip crosswise into bite size triangles - I just cut it into small cubes. I then chopped the onion into small bits and measured out the red pepper flakes then poured into a container and mixed everything together.

Add cooled dressing.

Can be served at room or chilled. I served mine chilled.

SALT SCRUB

This is my first ever attempt at trying to make something like this. It is based on a tutorial by jojobeans designs at the following site http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/salt_scrub For my scrub I used the following:

• 1 cup espom salts
• 3 TBSP sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 TBSP Spearmint leaves
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• A few drops of green food coloring

I mixed everything together and put in an old olive jar (I painted the lid with spray paint first) then tied piece of fabric in a bow on the upper edge of the jar.

I was worried that the salts would be too coarse and rough, but I tried some on my hands but they were tempered with the olive oil and it was refreshing and it smelled nice.

Broken Keyboard Desk Tray to Garden Sign

The keyboard tray broke off of our computer desk about 2 years ago and like with most things, I held on to it until I came up with a craft application for it and when we decided have a mini flower and herb garden outside our door I decided turn the tray into "Our Garden" sign which functions as a decoration until the plants start growing and a barrier so the fella that mows our lawn doesn't mow over the budding plants (like he did last year).

Here is they keyboard tray before, but any old piece of wood could be used.

Items used:

• Piece of wood
• Colored spray paint (we used green)
• Clear gloss spray paint
• Acrylic paints
• Fabric paints
• Paintbrush
• Wire lawn edging (from the Dollar store)
• Newspapers or trash bags (to put down when spray painting)

First, my son put down trash bags outside then layed the board flat and spray painted the front with of the board (it started raining before it dried and had to set it upright under the awning is the reason it is photographed upright).

After it was dry, I used acrylic and fabric paints to paint the flowers on the board and wrote "Our Garden" freehand on the front.

My son then took the decorated board outside and used the clear spray paint sealant on both sides and the edges, allowed that coat to dry then put another coat on and allowed it to dry.

After the clear coat was dry and I put in the plants, I put the sign out in front of our mini garden, firmly placing the edge that had attached to the desk in the ground and secured the other side by putting in the dollar store decorative wire eding about 3 inches behind the sign.

The total cost out of pocket was under $4 as I had everything on hand except the wire edging from the dollar store ($1) and the clear gloss spray paint ($2.77 from Walmart for 1 can and it is still almost full and can use for other projects).