We believe in...

I love blank canvases!  I love that every blank canvas always looks like it's just itching for craftiness to strike!  I had never really been attracted to using smaller canvases until I saw a small one that my friend had decorated.  I got to thinking that it might be fun to do a series of small canvases and group them together into a larger project.  I bought 12 5x5 canvases , thought up a theme and got started! Here's how it turned out:

I covered the 1st 3 canvases in book pages from an old but decent looking book that I knew I wouldn't mind being without.  I used tacky glue to adhere them to the canvases then brushed on a couple of thin layers of Mod Podge.  Using a combination of chip board letters and letters cut out with my CriCut.

Our family believes in music!  We have music on at our house regularly.  Even with all of the noise produced from a family of 7 music is essential...or at least that's what we think!  I used a Sharpie to do the draw it then filled it in with acrylic paint so it looked a little weird.  I keep thinking I need to touch it up.

We believe in wisdom!  We believe in thinking things through and trying to make the very best choices possible.  For this one I used patterned scrapbook paper to cut out an owl body.  I then used a small glass to trace circles for the eyes and pupils.  I free-handed the beak and feet.  The paper that he's glued to was ripped into strips, glued down then Mod Podged.

Family is vitally important to us!  We spend a lot of time together and enjoy the little world we have created in our home.  Again, I used scrapbook paper and stickers to mat the pictures onto the square and triangle. I was really happy with how this one turned out since I had a little trouble with it in the beginning.

In our family we believe that love is the most important thing.  We encourage our children to have love in their hearts for everyone and especially for each other.  I painted the canvas purple before getting started on the design.  Love is strong so I used pebbles from Glass Beach that my father-in-law had given me for Christmas.  I painted some of them red for the actually heart but the rest of them are their "natural" color. 

We believe in peace.  Peace is a fragile so I used wire and very small buttons to make a peace sign.  I then hot-glued it over the peace sign I had painted on a canvas.

Diversity is what our family is all about.  We have many different people in our family...  Gay, White, Mexican, Samoan, Catholic, Atheist, Disabled, Typical, etc.  We believe that all people are equal.  We believe that diversity is what paints this world beautiful so the rainbow was painted onto the canvas.

We laugh a lot in our house.  We believe in laughing at each other and laughing at ourselves.  I used paper and stickers for this one.

We believe in Karma.  We joke about it a lot of times but really I think there is some truth to the idea of Karma.  If you send good things into the universe, good things tend to come your way and vice versa but I also think that Karma also has to do with your attitude  toward the "good" and "bad" that comes your way.

God.  We each have a different relationship with Him...for some of us it is complicated and twisty like the yarn and for some of us it is simple like the popsicle sticks.  Either way we trust in Him.

The finished canvases!  I was really happy with how they turned out.  These canvases tell a lot about our family and what we are all about.  

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post! 

Now Go! Be Crafty!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

One thing that you will not find in our home is peanut butter.  Probably a little unusual for a family with 5 kids but because my husband is allergic to peanuts, we are all diligent about checking labels.  We steer clear of any products containing peanut oil, peanuts, traces of peanuts, m&m’s (I know!).  Fortunately, none of the children inherited his allergy so when my hubby went on a work trip recently, I did something for the kids that I had never done before…I baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!  I fooled around with the recipe until I found one that produced the kind of cookie that I wanted.  The kids devoured them…SUCCESS!  

Lori’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ¼ cups of flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ cup chunky peanut butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl beat together butter and sugars until creamy.  Add eggs, vanilla and peanut butter and stir until the mixture is well-blended.  Gradually add the flour mixture and mix together well.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough onto baking sheets (I sprayed mine with Pam first.  The baking sheets, not the cookies.)  You will need to press the cookies with a fork, a spoon or your fingertips because they will not spread out much while baking.

Bake for 8-12 minutes then remove and cool on wire racks.   I tend to like my cookies a little mushy so I kept mine in for about 8 minutes but they were still pretty soft at 12 minutes. 

These cookies are SO YUMMY!  I won’t get to make them very often but if I could I would.  Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my husband is completely ok with the kids enjoying peanut butter when he isn’t home especially since they love it so much.  It does, however, require extra special care to ensure that all utensils and cooking surfaces, clothes that the kids may have gotten any peanut gunk on are all cleaned thoroughly.    

Thanks for checking in!  I can’t wait to show off the canvas project I’ve been working on for the next blog post.  See you soon!

Now Go! Be Crafty!