Ribbon Bow Paperclip Tutorial

Hello Beautiful People! Today is another day and another fun crafting bit happened last night. I see these adorable paperclips all over the place that people use in their planners. My friends and I have an ongoing joke that "I can make that for a dollar!" I have always struggled with paying for something I could make for myself so much cheaper. Thanks to my thrifty, DIY ways I have learned many new skills over the years!

This little paperclip is for my planner, but would make an adorable bookmark as well! I used 3/8" satin ribbon, a little thread and a paperclip. The ribbon can be almost any ribbon however I have not tried this with wired ribbon so I cannot tell you whether that would work or not. It's super simple and only takes a few minutes to whip up. 

Please watch the following video on how I created the Ribbon Bow Paperclip!

Kikki-K Personal Planner Review

Hello Beautiful People! Today I wanted to share one of my biggest obsessions. I have always used planners, but for several months I attempted to switch to only using the calendar on my phone. While it worked and having the obnoxious audio reminders was helpful, there is nothing that can truly replace the joy a physical planner brings a person!

After lots of research I chose the Kikki-K Personal Planner in mint. My photo doesn't do the color justice, but this thing is true love. Don't let the "Personal" part of the name fool you though. This planner uses A5 inserts and measures in at 8" wide, 9.25" tall, and the rings are nearly 1.5" in diameter.

Here is my dashboard and a few random things I keep inside the front. I usually have my debit card and drivers license inside, but I removed them for privacy reasons. I love playing with washi tape and sticky notes so keeping plenty on hand is a big deal to me!

I used the Kikki-K monthly planners that came with the planner for my monthly section. Since I haven't been in this planner for very long, it isn't nearly as obnoxious as I plan to make each page. Paper crafting is a dangerous hobby for my bank account!

I found my weekly pages on the ListLab Etsy Page. Her "Flora Theme" week on two pages printable download is awesome and goes beautifully with my planner. I love that the pages are undated so I can use them as long as my heart desires!

The dividers I am using, I made myself with some craft paper I found at Hobby Lobby. I doubled them up and laminated them and then added some tabs. I am sure I will change these out in the future when I get a better feel of how I want my planner organized. 

This section has a 5x7 craft envelope I hole punched and threw in to hold receipts and small paper items related to my gardening. Our local Horticultural Services does a program called "Grow for the Green" and you can get a discount by turning in receipts so it's nice to keep them in a safe location.

This section doesn't have very much in it. I have a flyleaf that is actually some leftover from a sheet of laminate that I washi taped and hole punched. Behind it is a cute sheet of vellum that I liked, and then my weekly menu planning sheet. I also have an adorable shooting star paper clip I threw together with some embroidery thread.

This section is blank at the moment. I plan to utilize it in the future, but for now it's just there.

Next I have a business card insert that I have some pictures from my polaroid camera in as well as a few cards, and then the other side is a plastic zip pocket with more photos which I covered for privacy reasons.

Inside the very back there is a cute notebook. I'm not sure if I will leave this in there or remove it. 

And lastly I wanted to share my favorite writing tools for this particular planner. These are the Sharpie Pens in coral and sea foam green. The felt tip is perfect and makes my writing smooth and beautiful. I haven't had any problems with them bleeding through or smudging! They are not permanent that I know of, but they are smooth and the colors are perfect!

I hope to be able to do some reviews of other planners in the future! I just placed an order for the small (pocket sized) gold kikki-k and I am so anxious to get it. I don't have a problem carrying this beauty around, but I think having a smaller one to use in times where I need extra space in my bag would be handy to have!

I have not been paid to advertise or review any products in this post. I have done so because I love the products!

Ultimate Chicken Salad

 Summer snuck up on us and surprised us with limitless options for fun and exploring. One of our favorite things to do is have little picnics and pack sandwiches. A few weeks ago I felt a little miffed because we ran out of lunch meat and I wasn't sure what to throw in the cooler to eat on our picnic. All I could find in the fridge was leftover chicken breast from grilling the night before so I created this recipe. Since our family loves it so much I thought the only thing left to do was share it! I also made it with leftover roast beef instead of the chicken and my father-in-law said it was delicious!

Just be warned- I am a little picky so I tried to share exactly what I used.

Ultimate Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, marinated with Daddy Hinkle's Original Instant Meat Marinade and grilled over charcoal, cooled, and cubed into about 1/4" cubes
• 5 large boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 C cheese, cut into 1/4" cubes
• 4 Claussen pickle spears, pureed with approximately 1/4 C sugar
• 1 to 1 1/4 C Miracle Whip
• Approximately 2 T mustard

After you grill your chicken, immediately wrap it in tin foil to lock in the juices. Put the chicken in the fridge and start boiling your eggs. Once the eggs are done and cooled back down a little bit start chopping the chicken, eggs, and cheese. Throw it in a large bowl. Puree the pickles and sugar (I used my Magic Bullet). Put all the ingredients into the bowl and just stir it all up and you're set for sandwiches!

If you don't know me very well, then I will clear one thing up- I hate gas grills. I think they are so disgusting and if you're gonna cut corners like that you may as well cook your food inside on the stove. No one has ever successfully convinced me otherwise. I love charcoal grilling. It is simply the only way to go.

Obnoxiously Rich Chocolate Cake

Every now and then I make something that is so naughty I just have to share. Today I made my own spin on the Black Magic Cake off allrecipes.com. I cut the recipe in half and then baked it in a pie pan. Once it completely cooled, I flipped it onto a platter and added my own frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 block cream cheese at room temp

3 T coco powder

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1T lemon juice

3-4 T milk

1 tsp real vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients with a mixer on high for 3-4 minutes. Adjust the amount of milk according to the texture you want your frosting. 

Smear the frosting all over your cake, top with rasberries, and drizzle with melted dark choclate. Refrigerate and serve cold!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 C softened butter

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 C vegetable oil 

2 C flour

2 tsp corn starch

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 T coco powder

1 1/2 C chocolate chips

1/2 C chopped walnuts 

•Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

•Cream the butter and sugars. Next add your vanilla and egg and mix well. Then add in the vegetable oil. 

•Next you can either combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, or do like I do and just put all the dry ingredients on top and then use your beaters to just stir it around before turning it on to mix it all in. 

•Mix well.

•Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts and using a large cookie scoop place the dough on a lined air-bake cookie sheet. 

•Bake the cookies for 12 minutes and allow them to cool before eating. 

With a large cookie scoop you will have around 15 cookies.

(I don't even buy parchment paper anymore- you can get reusable liners almost anywhere these days! I found mine on amazon for around $6 and with my prime account I didn't even pay shipping!)

BLT on Steroids

Just a little food post.

I love food. All things food. Yesterday my husband wanted a BLT for lunch, but I wanted more so I started with a little bacon from Kansas Premium Meats over in Belvue. 

I threw the bacon in the oven and threw some bread on the griddle to get perfectly crisp. 

A little Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoe is always wonderful, but I decided to amp mine up by throwing some sauté'd shallots and mushrooms on top! 

You'll need a fork to eat this monster, but man is it worth it!

Easy Chicken and Avocado Burritos

I wasn't in much of a cooking mood again tonight so I threw together some easy chicken burritos.

1.25 lbs of organic chicken 

2 small avocados, sliced

1/2 can black beans, rinsed

1/2 can whole sweet corn

2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2-3 T sliced chives 

5-6 burrito sized tortilla shells

Sour cream & salsa

After I cooked the chicken I sliced it up and then just threw a bit of each filling into a tortilla shell and then wrapped them up and put them on a 9x13 baking dish. I added a little more cheese and some chives to the top before baking at 350 for about 20 minutes. I stuffed mine pretty well and ended up with 5 burritos. Before we ate them we added sour cream and salsa! Simple and quick!