Centerpiece Decorations

I am working on the graduation party centerpieces for the tables today. Since the theme is Shya's favorite things we are displaying pictures of her at different ages in white frames at each table. She loves clouds, funky shapes, light and fluffy stuff so we decided to use fluffy pillow batting under each centerpiece.
I re-purposed a couple of glass cream bottles and some Starbucks frappuccino bottles for vases and added a key charm with ribbon to each bottle for some extra bling! I used 5 charms; family, believe, love, hope, and faith. So each of the guest tables had it's own "life theme". Since we are having many sugary treats at her party, I wanted to decorate the bottles for the centerpieces with something that looked sugary, guess what looks like sugar? Epsom salts...so here is the DIY project. We are using fresh flowers in each vase, but you could display pictures in the vase, a card with a saying on it or one of the graduation invitations. Whatever you want to use will work perfectly!
Here are the steps for the simply glamorous vases:
Glass bottles
Spray paint - I used white, fast drying enamel because that's what I had
Spray adhesive glue
Epsom salts
I used a key charm and ribbon for decoration

I would recommend working on this project outside. Spray paint and spray glue are not our indoor friends - haha!! I would also recommend no wind or your over spray may end up on your patio table, the railings of your deck, and in your hair, I'm not saying this happened to me but does anyone know how to remove over spray? These are some of the reasons that my sister and I don't do videos, just sayin'.....so anyway, I painted the bottles with white spray paint, it took about 30 minutes for them to dry. I emptied the Epsom salts into a parchment lined 9x13 cake pan. I sprayed the glue onto each bottle then rolled it in the Epsom salts. I let it dry about 30 minutes outside ~~in the wind~~.
And there you have your glamorous vases and your beautiful centerpieces!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Grandma's Bread Pudding and Caramel Sauce

I was trying to think of something for dessert last night and homemade bread pudding was my choice. Our Dad was not a dessert lover but bread pudding was one of his favorites. Our grandma made the best bread pudding, hope you like it! Ingredients : 5 cups slightly dried out bread, any kind. I used Italian bread. 1/4 cup raisins (optional) 2 cups milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 T vanilla 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon Caramel Sauce Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Directions : Cut the bread in cubes. I cut some of the crust off (on about half of the bread). Place bread into a greased casserole dish or an 11x9 inch pan. Add raisins. Microwave milk and butter about 4 minutes on 60% power or heat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Slowly add the mixture to the egg and milk and butter

Homemade Goulash

Last weekend I made meals for the freezer. It takes a few hours but this will save you time during the week (in case you have nights like I do when you don't feel like cooking) and your family will love it! I adapted this recipe from Paula Deen (it's called Bobby's Goulash). I used organic ingredients but use the products of your choice. I would have liked to use fresh tomatoes from the garden but my tomatoes weren't quite ready. You can also make it gluten-free by using gluten-free elbow macaroni. It's so tasty - my family loved it! Ingredients : 1 pound ground turkey 1 pound lean ground beef 1 -2 small onions, diced ( I used red onions) 1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice 3 cups water 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 T Italian seasoning 3 bay leaves 3 T soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 1 T seasoning salt course ground pepper to taste 2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) Putting it together: Brown meat and onions in a lar

Dad's Homemade Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler fresh from the oven! One of our favorite desserts is Dad's peach cobbler. This is a recipe that I use when I need a quick dessert. I always have the ingredients and it only takes a few minutes to mix it up. I modified it for gluten-free by making a change to the flour type, just in case you're looking for gluten-free. You can use fresh or frozen peaches, or even canned peaches work. I usually freeze enough Colorado peaches to take me through the seasons so I use those. This recipe makes about 6 servings. Ingredients : 1/3 c butter, melted 1-2 cups peaches, peeled and sliced 1 c sugar (white or organic cane) 1 c all-purpose flour ( or white rice flour for gluten-free ) 1 tsp cinnamon (this is optional, my family loves cinnamon!) 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 c milk (I use organic 2%) Directions : Melt butter and pour it into a baking pan, a 9x9 square glass pan works great. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and sa

Natural Homemade Living

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