My Fav Sites and Best of 2011 #3

I'm sure we all have our morning routine. If I'm lucky, on my days off I get a little time to myself before the girls wake up and the chaos begins. My  typical day-off day consists of Diet Coke, The Today Show and my computer. I usually check in with my favorite sites to see what's going on. I thought it would be fun to share my typical go-to sites.

Here are they are in no particular order:

• Pinterest-If you haven't checked it out yet you are totally missing something completely awesome! Basically it's a virtual cork-board where you can "pin" you favorite recipes, pictures, hair styles, decoration ideas...pretty much ANYTHING! For more information on how to get linked click {HERE}.
• Pick Your Plum-the best site out there for crafty deals. The days deal is posted at 9am EST and on some days it's sold out before noon. It always makes me sad when something good goes up on the days I work because I know it will be gone by my lunch break!
• Kathie's Cooks-One of my absolute favorite sites for cooking. There is such a great variety of recipes and the pictures are A-MAZ-ING! Not only does she share her favorite recipes, but she also gives you a glimpse into her life by sharing stories of her pastry school experiences.
• The Pioneer Woman-What can I saw I LOVE PW! She has the most amazing recipes, she is honest and funny, promotes home grown food and I want to come live on her ranch. Maybe one day she'll adopt me!
• MADE-The site is full of great sewing projects, patterns and home decor ideas. I love her bright and beautiful pictures.
• People I Want To Punch In The Throat-This a a new fav and it's not for everyone. Most people may have heard about Jen when her "article" about the Elf On The Shelf hit Facebook and Twitter. Personally I find her other posts just as funny and brutally honest. 

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Best of 2011 #3

PB Knock-off Clock Face

You know me, I love great crafts, but I don't like to spend a lot of money. This project was super easy, not too expensive and is big, making it great for any big blank wall you may have in your house (perhaps the longest run-on sentence EVER!).

PB Knock-off Clock Face

When I saw {THIS} tutorial for a Pottery Barn knock-off I knew that I had to make it. First I L-O-V-E love making expensive things for super cheap AND it's huge so it is perfect for one of the many large blank walls in our house!


This is the PB version:

This is mine:

Pretty good knock-off huh?

Wanna make your own? Of course you do! It's super easy and with a few Jo-ann coupons you can make it for under $12.

You will need two large quilting hoops. I found mine at Jo-ann Fabrics with the quilting supplies. (They would also be totally awesome for embroidery hoop wall art too!). They were around $6 before my coupons.

I used a 23 inch hoop...

..and a 14 inch hoop...

Thin wooden sticks found at Hobby Lobby.

Using wood glue I glued on my Roman numerals. Remember to make sure your XII and VI are directly across from one another as well as your III and IX. You also want to make sure that the symbols for each number are relatively close to each other. You don't want your II and III to look like IIIII.

I lined up the edge of the stick to the middle hoop and let the extra hang over the outer hoop. Most of the numbers glued down easily. The Xs were a little tricky, but with the assistance of a few heavy pantry items I was able to get them glued down.

I let everything dry overnight and then used pliers to clip off the extra wood. A few sticks came unglued but I just re-glued them. Once the glue was all dry I took the whole piece outside and spray painted it. You want to make sure to paint both sides and get all angles of the sticks, especially where the sticks for the Vs and Xs overlap.

I love how quickly spray paint dries! Later that day I was able to hang my masterpiece and I am so pleased with how it turned out! There's nothing better than a project turning out just like you imagined!!!

Linking to: Thrifty Decor Chic September Before and After