Fun Food Facts A-Z is a little different this week! When trying to think of food that started with the letter D all I could think of was donuts, duck and dragon fruit. While all those foods are great, none of them inspired me to want to write a post.

So what to do..........Decoupage starts with the letter D! Oh but, it is not a food :( Well if you are like me then you know when inspiration strikes you have to go with it! So for this week Fun Food Facts A-Z has been temporally changed to, Fun Craft Facts A-Z! I will share some fun tips, instructions and some decoupage projects that will make you want to try it yourself this weekend!

1. So what does decoupage mean?

•  The technique of decorating a surface with cutouts, as of paper.
•  A creation produced by this technique.                  

                    ( Definition from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/decorating)    

2. Don't have a surplus of pretty card stock paper lying around?!?!?!?! You can use almost anything to decoupage! Try cutting pictures out of magazines, old books, old cards, wrapping paper or dried flowers! You can even print out a free image from Google!

3. It can get very messy! Protect the surface you are working on and keep a damp cloth nearby!

4. If you are going to print a photo to decoupage, DON'T use an inkjet printer. The ink will smudge when you apply your glue. :(

5. When using white glue try adding equal parts water and glue. It will help the glue spread easier and more evenly.

6.  I love modge podge! The best thing about using modge podge for your decoupage projects, is that it comes in different finishes! Oh and I've recently been seeing small bottles of modge podge in my local dollar stores!

7. Decoupaging can be the easiest way to upcycle something! You can use almost any medium you can think of! My last decoupage upcycle project was my, canvas makeover! It turned out so well for trying decoupage for the first time.

8. Patients are the key to decoupaging. Allowing each coat to dry completely before starting the next, results in better looking projects.

9. How to decoupage:

•  Decide what your medium is going to be. It can be anything; wood, furniture, glass, canvas, etc.
• Grab up all your supplies; glue or modge podge, your cutouts or photos, your medium paint brush, something to smooth on your cutouts (I like to use Popsicle sticks) and a damp cloth.
• Before you start gluing place your cutouts where you want them to go. Measure or sketch your idea out on the medium. Make sure everything lines up just they way you want it. It does not work well if you try to peel something off!
• Coat your medium and back of cutouts. Place there where you want them and smooth down your cutouts.
• Once all the cutouts are in place, coat the whole project. Allow to completely dry.
• Coat again until desired look, allowing it to dry between coats.

10. These decoupage project below are amazing! Which one is your favorite? They are all my favorite!!

        

1. DIY Fabric Covered Spoons|Alice & Lois

2 DIY Decoupage Dr. Seuss Read Sign for Children's Book Nook|Money Saving Sisters

3. Spring Mason Jars|Dwelling Happiness

4. Styrofoam Apples Decoupage with Fabric for Rosh Ha Shanna|Creative Jewish Mother

5. $5 Thrifty French Paper Decoupage Table Makeover|Artsy Chicks Rule

Do you have any awesome decoupage projects? If so I wanna hear about them!

Did you miss letters A-C? Don't worry I got ya covered.....just click below!

Fun Food Facts A-Z| A is for.....Artichoke

Fun Food Facts A-Z| B is for....Broccoli 

Fun Food Facts A-Z| C is for ....Cantaloupe

Motivate ME Monday!~ 7 Things to Enjoy about the Easter Holiday

*Please note that this post contains affiliated links.*

When it comes to the Easter Holiday I always seem to be running late. My holiday projects never seem to get done and I seem to always be out shopping for basket treats or my brunch menu at the last minute. This year I said it was going to be different! I was going to be prepared and able to relax and enjoy the holiday! With Easter a week away, I am totally unprepared! No basket treats! Still have unfinished craft projects and I haven't even thought of what to have on my Easter brunch menu. 
 Even though I am always racing to finish up my Easter planning, I always have an enjoyable day.  As I was attempting to get on track with Easter, I came up with: 7 Thing to Enjoy about the Easter Holiday! This roundup will show you some traditional Easter favorites and some of my family's traditional Easter favorites! Enjoy!

1. Easter pictures~ Okay, this one is just a personal favorite of mine. It might be a little weird, but I love those roundups of funny pictures of kids with the Easter bunny. It always makes me laugh when I see the older pictures of kids in the 80's!  Buzzfeed has a ton of funny roundups! The roundup, "31 Kids who had their lives ruined by the Easter bunny" has everything I like about these photos. If I need a laugh I am sure to find it in one of Buzzfeed's holiday and kids roundups! 

2. Dying Easter Eggs~ Growing up dying Easter eggs was not a big deal in my house. Now that I have my own baby girl, I am super excited to make dying Easter eggs a yearly tradition. There are so many awesome ways to dye eggs! These 3 are my top favorite that I want to try!

A. Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs from Your Homebased Mom

B. Silk Dyed Eggs from Foxflat's Blog

C. How to Dye Easter Eggs with Shaving Cream from A Thrifty Mom

I've pinned these all to my Holiday Pinterest Board!Come take a look at them and all the other fun holiday projects that I can't wait to do. 

3. Cherry Blossom Season~ I went to college in Philadelphia and every year the start of Easter would mean the start of cherry blossom season. Cherry blossoms smell so sweet and they are very pretty.  There is always a cherry blossom festival. During the festival there would be awesome demonstrations like origami, tea ceremonies, and calligraphy. If you never been to a cherry blossom festival you should look one up! They are are always around Easter so start checking to see if there is one in your area!

4. Projects~ This year I wanted to try so many different projects! I really wanted to try to deco-podge eggs. I have bought the paper mache eggs and even have some inspiration pinned to my Holiday Pinterest board, but yeah like I said way behind. I did finish one project! My Spring Basket Wreath! I love making wreaths, they always seem to be the project that I complete first! (You can also check out the wreath I made last year, a DIY Felt Easter Wreath)

5. New Swim Suits~ This was one of my family's tradition growing up! Right before Easter we would all go out shopping for new swim suits! Then our new swim suits would be in our Easter baskets. ( they were from the "Easter Bunny" lol) I love the beach and was always excited (and still am) when I get to go swim suit shopping! 

Swim suits can be very expensive! But this year I have a secret weapon; Zulily! I just signed up to be a member. It does not cost anything to be a member and you get great deals on anything from clothes for your whole family to household decor! And the prices are unbeatable! The designers are no joke, too! I found a very cute Kenneth Cole skirted bikini bottom for only $9.99!!!! You have to go over and sign up! 

6. Basket hiding instead of hiding eggs~ So my family didn't do the whole Easter egg hunt thing. We might of done it a few times as kids at church, but my parent's did not hide eggs! Instead they hid our Easter baskets! It was always fun trying to find our baskets. If you found one of your siblings you were allowed to re-hide it. Sometimes they were hidden inside and out. And just because my sister's was inside the house did not mean my parents hid all of ours inside. I plan on keeping this tradition with my baby girl, but adding a twist! A twist like you have to find a few eggs first to get clues to  where your basket is at! (oh I need to remember that twist lol)

7. Big Dinner~ We always had dinner at my Grammy's on Easter! She always said that Easter was a good enough reason to buy the good stuff and cook a big dinner! Last year for Easter I did a brunch for me and the hubby. oh and I did go out and buy the good stuff!  One of my favorite parts about all holidays is that I get to cook BIG! I was hopping that this year my menu would of been done already so I could do a post about Easter menu planning. Last year I remember being at Whole Food on the Saturday night before Easter. (It was crazy in there) That will be me again this year! LOL!

For me these are the most 7 enjoyable things about Easter! What do YOU enjoy most about the Easter holiday?

Motivate ME Monday!~ Motivation and Inspiration to get You started!

Do you have any motivation to spare? Because lately ( for the past 7 months) I have had none! I have had zero motivation to do anything! To be honest, my life has been pretty crazy these past few months and I think all the craziness stole my motivation! I need to get out of this rut!
I don't know about you, but I hate when I don't have the motivation or inspiration to do the things I want to do. ( or need to get done) That is why I came up with Motivate ME Monday! My goal with Motivate ME Monday is to make a commitment to myself ( and my readers) to work / post on my blog every Monday. I want Motivate ME Monday to inspire me and anyone who reads it to create something fun or delicious!
So for my first Motivate ME Monday post I thought that I create a list of recipes and projects that inspire and motivate me to do the things I love.

1.

I love to cook! Food & Wine and foodgawker are two sites that make me wanna cook! I love Food  & Wine because I can learn about the different foods and food trends. Some of Food & Wine recipes can be challenging, but a challenge can motivate me!  Foodgawker is awesome because it gives you a variety of delicious recipes all on one page! If I'm not sure what I want to eat, I just look at foodgawker and I become inspired. 

2.

For Christmas last year I got a new Cannon DSLR camera and this year for Christmas I got PhotoShop Elements13! The only problem is that in the year that I have had my camera I am no closer to knowing how to get the most out of it. That is because I have had no motivation to become a better photographer. Now that I have PhotoShop and a great camera, I have no reason not to become a better photographer. I've pinned so many different articles on camera and Photoshop tips, now its time to use those pins. What I like about 31 days to a better photo, by Life with My 3 Boybarians is that it engages you to get out and use your camera, to learn about photography. Series like these motivate because you are always aiming for the next goal of the challenge. 

3.

Have you ever started a big project and then lost the drive to finish it? Well I have! This past fall, I started to savage a very large doll house for my baby girl. I had tons of ideas...." I'm gonna take the roof off and add a room"...."ohhh I could build a porch!" I got as far as sanding the outside. I want to be able to give it to my baby girl by her 2nd birthday in May. (my original plan was to have it done for her by Christmas.) I've been trying to brainstorm for this big project of mine and voila inspiration! I love how Erin, over at Lansdownelife, redid  her doll house! This was just the motivation I needed to plan out my  DIY dollhouse. Other people's projects are great ways to get inspiration and motivation.

4.

PicMonkey!! Sometimes I just need to create something and that is when I go on PicMonkey and just play around! Just being on there and creating something, gets my creative juices flowing and that leads to great ideas. My great ideas can keep me motivated from start to finish of a project. For example: in this picture I am trying to create a label for my Motivate ME Monday posts. I didn't really like this, its missing something. But just by starting to create this label it made me pumped to finish it and make it better! 

5.

I know everyone has seen these cleaning calendars, just type "cleaning calendar" into Pinterest and hundreds will come up. What I like about these is that it creates an easy schedule. Schedules can be great because it is a great way to manage your time. I know when I manage my time right and get everything done in a day that I wanted it helps me stay motivated for the next day. Staying organized and making lists can be a big push in staying motivated.

So there it is my very first Motivate ME Monday post! See you next week!

Ohh before you go here a little motivation to help you get through the week: 

When you feel like quieting think of why you started.