Oct 29, 2012

Tuesday Tutorials Link Party {No. 51} + Etsy Shop Now Open!

Tuesday Tutorials Link Party {No. 51}
Welcome to the party! Link up your tutorials, cooking, crafts, sewing, DIY tips & tricks, I want to see it all! After each link party I will feature my favorite tutorials from the previous link party, so check back to see if you've been featured! I feature several posts on {The Kurtz Corner FB Page} and pin your projects to my Tuesday Tutorials Link Party Pinterest Board so make sure you become a fan/follow me on Pinterest and check it out!

Introducing Once Upon A Sprinkle!
So, I've been link party MIA for the last two weeks, but I'm back! I've been working away on my new little Etsy shop, Once Upon A Sprinkle, and finally launched it this weekend! Currently, I am selling unique handmade cupcake toppers, which are so fun to make by the way, and hope to expand into other handmade party supplies and paper goods! I'd love for you to add me to your favorite shops and circles :) 

To make things sweeter, this week for my grand opening I will be offering FREE SHIPPING when you order any set of cupcake toppers, yay! Just enter FREESHIP at checkout to receive the discount! Here is a little peek at what I've been working on and what you can find in my shop!

Come Visit Me!



On To The Party!



Only Four {Easy} Rules
1. Please be a follower of {The Kurtz Corner}
2. Link directly to your post, not your blog
3. No Etsy Shops, giveaways or personal link parties 
4. Please grab my button or use a text hyperlink & link back to my blog 
Please follow the rules, it's only fair & good blogging etiquette :)

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Please vote for The Kurtz Corner!







Oct 21, 2012

Blueberry & Apple Paleo Muffins



Alright gang. I'm taking a step back from the sweets and taking a step towards a more healthy eating lifestyle by following The Paleo Diet. Gasp! As women, we all know that as our biological clock ticks our metabolism slows down and, dare I say it, our waistbands might become a bit snug...

Now, I know most of you have seen pictures of me, but before you think it, before you say it...I do realize that I am not overweight. My husband and I are attempting this new healthy lifestyle to, of course, shed a few extra pounds, but also to just be healthy overall. Friends and family will say, "You're so skinny! You don't need to lose weight." Yes, I realize by average weight standards I don't really need to lose weight, but I'm not talking like 20 and 30 pounds here. Maybe just 5 to 10 pounds. You haven't seen me in my birthday suit...it's called sucking in, haha, I could stand to lose about 5 pounds, trust me.

So, after scouring the web for Paleo recipes, I decided to start simple. Blueberry Apple Paleo Muffins, not too scary, right? I'm no expert on this healthy living lifestyle just yet, so for my first recipe I am following a recipe from Amazing!Paleo with a few modifications.

Ingredients
1 cup Paleo almond flour (I made mine but you can buy it a grocery store too)
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup Paleo almond butter (again, homemade - recipe found here)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup raw honey
4 oz Gerber apple baby food
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cups fresh blueberries
coconut oil spray

Directions *Recipe yields 12 muffins
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and lightly spray with coconut oil spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (do not add blueberries).
4. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredient (do not add blueberries).
5. Mix dry and wet ingredients with a hand mixer until well combined.
6. Gently fold in blueberries so that they remind whole.
7. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 20-22 minutes.
9. Remove muffins from the tin and place on a cooling rack.


You may not know this, but I fail quite often when I bake. Like fail, big time. You wouldn't guess it from all of the nummy recipes I have here on the blog...duh, why would I post bad recipes!? I think all great bakers fail on a regular basis, if you don't, you're either playing it too safe or you're a baking goddess, good for you!

So, with that said, I was pretty skeptical about these muffins. No milk, no butter, no sugar, no oil...nada. Boy was I wrong! These little guys were sooo delicious! I will definitely be trying them in many more variations on a frequent basis. Enjoy!





Oct 19, 2012

Our HGTV Episode - Watch it here!

For those who have been following along and for those that may have missed it, my husband and I were featured on HGTV last month in an episode of HGTVs show My First Place! After 9 long months of filming our episode finally aired in September. We had a fun little watch party with all of our friends and family in our new home and boy did we laugh a lot! I think we rewound it about ten times so we could re-watch scenes because we were laughing so hard! Be sure to really listen at the end, we were on the LAST day of filming and Justin could not get his lines right...you'll hear me yelling in the background and the film crew laughing! We had so much fun and are so happy with how it turned out! Below is the video if you missed it or want to watch it again! There are a few black screen pauses, but don't click out, it will play the full 24 minute, enjoy!



Oct 14, 2012

Chalk Paint Farm House Shutter Headboard


The shabby chic farm house look is becoming increasingly popular and I really hope it's here to stay for a long time, because I love it! If I could redo my whole house that would be the theme I would choose. This weekend my husband and I took a trip home to see my parents and luckily for me my mother was in need of a new headboard for one of the guest bedrooms. I have been wanting to try out chalk paint, so this was the perfect opportunity!

Here is what the room looked like before the headboard was added. Beautiful, but we definitely need a headboard!
For this project I used two double sliding doors that look like shutters. Not sure of the proper name, but we found them at a local antique shop and loved them!

Supplies
Shutters, 72 inches wide (large enough for a queen bed with 6in extra on each side)
One gallon flat paint (definitely did not need this much, two to three quarts would have been plenty)
Black craft paint
Plaster of Paris
Water
Paint brushes
Fine grain sandpaper
Minwax paste finishing wax
Vaseline
Stir sticks
Disposable plastic bowls
Rags

Now, you can't really tell from the pictures, but they are a different shade to begin with. They were pretty beat up and had knobs on them. Since we painted them a cream color the pictures just don't do them justice, but they turned out amazing!


After researching a few chalk paint recipes I decided to just wing it! I learned a lot doing this, mainly that Plaster of Paris REALLY thickens the longer you work with it. So, my best advice to you is feel it out as you go and make adjustments, because the consistency will change through the length of the project.

To start, sand the areas that you will be putting your distress color (the black color seen in this project). Paint on you black paint and let dry. Once fully dry, cover the spots with Vaseline. Don't be afraid to really glob it on, this will make it easier to distress. Here is what mine looked like...kind of like a cow, hehe!


Now for the chalk paint! For my paint I combined 2 tbs of Plaster of Paris with 4 tbs of water. Stir, stir, stir! Once that is well combined add in about 3 cups of paint and again, stir, stir, stir! When the mixture is all combined, begin painting your shutters. I did two coats, waiting about an hour between each coat. (This paint dries quickly!) If your paint it too think add more water and paint in equal amounts.

Allow the paint to dry overnight before distressing. Use your sandpaper to distress the areas which you painted black. What really helped me was taking a picture beforehand so that I could remember where the black paint was. The Vaseline will also make the top paint crack so the black spots will be easy to find if you use enough. When you are satisfied with your distressing, take a rag and apply a thin layer of the Minwax. Allow that to set for half an hour and then wipe off.

I just love the way these turned out! I think it finishes the room, don't you? Now I have an extra beautiful place to sleep when my husband and I got to visit my parents!


Oct 9, 2012

What We Wore Wednesday {3}

Left: Audra | Right: Summer

Welcome to the third installment of What We Wore Wednesday! This is a new segment where I give you a glimpse into our closets! My beautiful co-worker Summer is also participating, so each week you will get a double dose of WWWW! This week Summer and I are loving champagne and accessories. They say wearing white after Labor day is a no-no, but they didn't say anything about champagne!  

Left: Audra | Right: Summer

Now that summer is finally making its exit here in Texas we are breaking out the scarves, puffer vests and boots! Fall and Winter are my absolute favorite seasons, strange coming from a native Texas, right? I just love chunky sweaters, fluffy scarves, and layering till my hearts content! What's your favorite season to dress for?
Audra
Sweater - Talbots
Pants - True Religion
Puffer Vest - Talbots
Flats - Shoedazzle
Necklace - Forever 21

Summer
Sweater - Target
Tank - Express
Pants - Neiman Marcus
Boots - Cusp
Scarf - H&M

I hope you enjoyed this weeks edition of What We Wore Wednesday! If you missed last week post you can find it here! Wasn't sure how long I would be able to keep up this weekly post, but I am really enjoying it! Hopefully we'll keep it up for a while!







Oct 2, 2012

What We Wore Wednesday {2}

Left: Audra | Right: Summer

Welcome to the second installment of What We Wore Wednesday! This is a new segment where I give you a glimpse into our closets! My beautiful co-worker Summer is also participating, so each week you will get a double dose of WWWW! This week Summer and I are loving shades of coral and funky pattern wedges! Starting this week, I will be breaking down where each piece of our outfits came from so you can recreate them yourself.

Audra
Blouse - Forever 21
Pants - Express
Wedges - Target
Necklace - Etsy

Summer
Jacket - Express
Blouse - Neiman Marcus
Skirt - Target
Wedges - Target

I hope you enjoyed this weeks edition of What We Wore Wednesday and if you missed last week you can find it here! What are you loving this week?


Oct 1, 2012

Tuesday Tutorials Link Party {No. 50}

Tuesday Tutorials Link Party {No. 50}
Welcome to the party! Link up your tutorials, cooking, crafts, sewing, DIY tips & tricks, I want to see it all! After each link party I will feature my favorite tutorials from the previous link party, so check back to see if you've been featured! I feature several posts on {The Kurtz Corner FB Page} and pin your projects to my Tuesday Tutorials Link Party Pinterest Board so make sure you become a fan/follow me on Pinterest and check it out! You can connect with me here! But first, check out last weeks party features! If you were featured you can grab a featured button from my buttons page.


Molten Chocolate Cupcakes from Life Made Simple
Dollar Store Skull Pedestal from That's What Che Said
Neaopolitan Cupcakes from The Kitchen is My Playground

Last Weeks Most Clicked Link

Candy Corn Star Burst from Mom On Timeout


Only Four {Easy} Rules
1. Please be a follower of {The Kurtz Corner}
2. Link directly to your post, not your blog
3. No Etsy Shops, giveaways or personal link parties 
4. Please grab my button or use a text hyperlink & link back to my blog 
Please follow the rules, it's only fair & good blogging etiquette :)

Party Button


Please vote for The Kurtz Corner!