Invisible Book Shelf

Our living room has been the center of my attention lately.  

I'm changing it up without spending much $$....I love that!  

 I'll reveal the entire before and after later.  

For now, here's an addition to the room.

Stacks of floating books.

"Book" Shelves.  

 

I've been known to judge a book by its cover 

but this time it was a requirement!  

I wanted the right color combination.  Some of the books were from our 

own collection (most of the dust jackets removed) and a few were from Goodwill; 

brackets from Home Depot and lots of ez-anchors!

"Invisible" Shelf Brackets can be bought online like here

but I didn't want to wait!  So, check out here for some d.i.y!!

Brunch recipes

Sunday Brunch....yum!  

Baked French Toast Recipes I used this weekend.

OH-SO-GOOD!

Bake French Toast

cooks.com 

The original recipe calls for sourdough bread.  I used a sliced Italian bread instead and it worked well.  Next time I have left over sourdough I will use that!

4 large slices soudough bread, crust removed, bread cubed (ah! I tore the pieces, maybe it would have looked better cubed!)
1  - 8 oz package cream cheese
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
6 eggs
1 C milk
1 1/2 tsp gound cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

• Place half the bread cubes in greased 11x7 baking dish.  Cover with cream cheese cubes, distributing evenly.  Sprinkle with chopped apple.  Top evenly with remaining bread cubes.
• Beat together eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon until well blended; pour over bread mixture in dish.  Bake in a preheated 375 oven about 35 minutes until set.  

Serve with syrup.
4-5 servings.  

 Orange Pecan French Toast Casserole

myrecipes.com 

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
Cooking spray
1/3 cup chopped pecans 
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
3 large egg whites
2 large eggs 
12 (1-inch-thick) slices French bread (about 1 pound)

• Combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup; pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over sugar mixture.
• Combine rind and next 7 ingredients (rind through eggs); stir with a whisk. Arrange bread slices over pecans in dish; pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Carefully turn bread slices over to absorb excess egg mixture. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

A Banner Year.....ready for Halloween!

One more fun way to enjoy the Halloween Holiday!

CUTE (not too scary!) colorful, hand painted, glittery door or wall decor

Find these and one very cute Birthday Banner 

in my ETSY shop:

I LOVE CL-EVOR!

Teen Bedroom Oasis!

Everything a shop-a-holic teen girl wants in a bedroom!  Pink.  Green.  Sparkle. Glam.

We bargain shopped too!!  The PB Teen vanity set would have cost $800.  We found our pieces at IKEA for less than $200!

Starting to fall for FALL!

The cooler weather has given me a reason to start thinking towards my favorite time of the year...FALL...AUTUMN....This Friday, September 23 is the official start!

Here's what I've come up with for our mantel.  The painting is another great idea straight from the Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine.  Filled in with some accessories from around our house and a simple bag of decorative gourds picked up at the grocery store, I think this mantel screams FALL in a non-traditional way!

Silhouette Artwork....decorate your walls with custom wall art!

I recently received Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine in the mail.
I always love when it's in my mailbox!  So many great ideas.
One of the many ideas in the magazine is this silhouette artwork.
My s-i-l enjoyed this gift of her 3 kids and their family "monogram" with all of their initials.

Follow these instructions or get a copy of this very resourceful magazine of your own at www.LowesCreativeIdeas.com/subscribe

SILHOUETTE ART BOARDS

• Cut  1/2" plywood to desired size.  I used 12" squares.
• Take a photo of your model's profile against a lightly colored background and print in the size you would like.
• Cut out the silhouette, tape it to the plywood and trace around it with a pencil.
• Paint carefully around the outline on the outside of the profile in a dark colored paint.  I used craft paint raw umber.
• Seal with matte or satin finish spray.
• MONOGRAM tile:  I used my SilhouetteSD cutting machine to cut vinyl 6" square letters for the family monogram.  You could also use the same painting technique described above and paint the letters.  Paint a slogan or last name over it all in a different color.
• Attach picture wire to the back of each square of plywood and they are ready to hang!

Happy Birthday to.....ME!

Newest creation.... Check it out in my etsy shop  www.etsy.com/shop/clevor1

Extra fun date this year for my birthday:  9-10-11!

It's been a great day and the picture above is on our front door right now!  

It's a cute banner that can be used for anyone's birthday.  

Hand painted (by me!) and oh, so, colorful and sparkly!  

Check out this BIRTHDAY BANNER in my ETSY shop!!