Subway Art How To

I've seen these Subway Art things floating around on Pinterest. To be honest, I'm not crazy about them in general, but I think if you want to display a quote in your home, this is a fun modern way to do it. I've always loved the song, "I Believe in Christ," especially the quote in it "I believe in Christ, so come what may." I have always thought it was really inspiring and uplifting, so I decided to try a subway art with it. I spray painted an old picture frame a few weeks back and I've still been searching for the right thing to go in it.  I figured I would just combine the two projects and viola! This is what I ended up with.

I chose to do it in a bright red so it would fit in well with Christmas decor. Even though this is something I can have in  my house year round, I love the idea of displaying it somewhere special for the Christmas season.

Okay, now the fun part. The How-to. Okay so here is my secret (this is probably not how 99.9% of people do this, but it worked for me...), I used "Paint." I tried using other programs, but it didn't work so well for me. So I pretended I was 5, and I went over to paint. I inserted text, chose the font and size (which by the way, go bigger then you think you need to. I ended up redoing this because I did waaaay too small) and color. After I was happy with the way the words looked (I did this one word at a time. It will help you create your next word), I used the cut and paste tool to place it where I wanted it. I was able to stretch or shrink it, make it longer or wider then what it was originally. For example, the "BELIEVE" was actually wider, but I wanted it to be the same heighth as the "I" so I just stretched it to be a bit taller. And there you go, easy peasy!

(This picture is from my cell phone, so the quality is poor, but surprisingly the colors are more realistic)

Let me know how yours turn out!

Until next time,

BBNO



Please note, I do not own the lyrics to this song or this phrase.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter? Yes, Please!

For the past few weeks I've really been getting the itch to bake. Badly. I am not what I would consider a master baker by any means, but I do like to have fun in the kitchen. The only thing is, it's been so HOT! I can't really justify heating my whole house up to my husband, just because I have "the urge." Well, my father-in-law's 50th birthday was coming up and I figured it was the perfect opprotunity to give myself the excuse. I asked my mother-in-law if she'd thought of anything for the birthday cake and she hadn't. She jumped at the chance to not have to make it, as she has been doing Nutrisystem and it's pretty tempting to bake a big cake. So after I got the permission, I got to planning.

I know my FIL loves Reeses, really anything chocolate and peanut butter, so I knew that's what I wanted to incorporate. I found lots of different ideas on Pinterest but a lot of the recipes called for something funky, or I wasn't sure on something. I have used a recipe a few times from another blogger, Lick The Bowl Good (Take time and check out her stuff, she's really great in the kitchen!). I decided that it was the one I wanted to go with, afterall, I knew it was good. But I wanted to find a really good peanut butter buttercream. I actually did a trial run a few days before the party (which I HIGHLY reccommend, for the following reason) and the buttercream  recipe I found and read raving reviews about, was not very good. The peanut butter taste wasn't as strong as I felt it should be. I didn't want it over powering, you don't want to feel as though you were eating straight peanut butter, but I wanted it noticable. Also, the texture was off. It was really difficult to frost the cake, so I had to nix that recipe. Then I went back to Lick The Bowl Good and found one she'd posted. I should've looked there in the first place. It was perfect! 

I orignally wanted to crush up frozen Reeses (frozen, so they'd resemble a Reeses inside when all was said and done. I read this tip somewhere and highly recommend it.) in the batter. I did this in the test cake and it didn't work out the way I wanted. So I froze the rest of my Reeses, choped them up, and threw a bunch in part of the buttercream. I didn't measure it out. I just did a few at a time until it gave me the consistancy that I wanted. I have to say, this buttercream was so light and easy to frost with, I was really impressed. After my trial run cake, I thought it was going to be difficult but it really wasn't. You can see in the pictures how smooth it is.

I made a 3 layer round cake. In between each layer I used the peanut butter buttercream with the crushed up Reeses mixed in. On the top I used plan peanut butter buttercream. On the sides I used a store bought (sshhh...!) chocolate frosting. I wanted to make a chocolate buttercream, but I haven't found a good enough one yet. I didn't want to do it all in the peanut butter, because I didn't want it to be too overwhelming. I did whip the chocolate frosting with my mixer for a few minutes to make it a little lighter. I cut Reeses in half and edged the bottom of the cake with them.

For the "50" on top, I just used a butter knife to outline the numbers, once I got it how I wanted it, I lined it in chocolate frosting and filled it in with crushed up Reeses.

Let me tell you, it was good. Seriously, if  you have a chocolate/peanut butter lover in your life, they will love you forever. My husband, who does not like cake (I know, what a weirdo!), loved this cake. He's actually asked me to make it for him since then. He was eating the peanut butter buttercream straight from the bowl. Seriously, make this cake! You won't regret it!

Chocolate Cake Recipe


Peanut Butter Buttercream

Let me know what you guys think!!

Until next time,

BBNO

Spray Painting a Picture Frame

I love to yard sale. I love the thrill of finding something fantastic at a cheap price. There's nothing like getting something at a low price, especially when you know you would have paid a lot more for it. This was the case with my splurge a few weeks ago. 

I went out all morning and didn't find anything (it can be very hit or miss). On my way home I decided to spot by a yard sale that was packing up. Because she was getting ready to bring it in, she told me I could have anything there for 50% off. 50% off a yard sale price! Well, when I saw this picture frame there I knew I had to have it. I loved the beautiful detail along the border and the size was a little different than what I already have in my home. Immediately I knew I wanted to change the color though. I'd been eying up this can of spray paint at the store and I thought this would work amazingly with it. I saw a frame that is similar to the finished product at the store for about $15.00. Sometimes yard sales pay off! Even if you have to do a little bit of work to make it yours.

 

Above is a picture of the picture frame before anything was done. Yes, I left the price tag on, I was pretty impressed with myself! First I took the glass and backing off the frame. I don't have any pictures of this step, but it is pretty simple. 

Above I have a picture of the spray paint I used. I definitely chose to go with the glossy finish. I didn't want to have to do a second coat. I'm kind of a quick, let me finish, kinda gal. In case you can't read the color, it's called "Blue Ocean Breeze" by Krylon. I bought it at Walmart for about 4 dollars or so. 

I brought the frame (without the glass or backing) outside and laid it on top of some newspaper. If you are doing this inside, make sure you use a room that is well ventilated. I didn't want to expose my son to the fumes, which is why I chose to do it outside. It only takes a few minutes for each layer. I started with the back and did some quick light movements over it. You can do several coats, so there is no need to lay it on there thickly. Do it lightly, it dries very quickly and you are able to do the next coat. The first one did not get it all the way. I had to do about 3 coats on each side. 

 After you are finished with the back and it is dry, flip it over and do the front. Make sure you move it around and get all the different angles. You don't want to realize you missed a spot later! But if you do, luckily this process is so simple you can just whip it out and do it again. 

I let it dry completely and then reassembled it. Voila!

I really like the finished product, now I just need to find the perfect picture for my custom frame. The thing I love about this project is it's very simple, and there is lots of paint left for the next project!

Until next time,

BBNO