Ever since I could remember & to this day, I have extremely vivid dreams. They're detailed, and sometimes crazy! Because of that, I've always had a thing for dream catchers. I have numerous up above my bed & I even got this gorgeous (well, I think it's gorgeous) dream catcher tattoo a few years ago!

I wanted to bring you a fun tutorial to learn to make dream catchers! I figured this is such a fun craft to do with girlfriends or even kids! The trickiest part is the weave, but I found a really easy way to do it thanks to my friend Pinterest! I hope you enjoy this & don't forget to send us your pictures of your final craft!

I liked this craft a lot first off because it doesn't break the bank! You could probably make 2 of these for under $10 easily! Not all craft projects have to be expensive, and this one is proof of that! Obviously the more you like to embellish, the more this might add up to be. But this is a great craft to do if you're hosting a kids birthday party too and it won't cost too much!

This was also one craft that didn't take a ton of time. I spent most of the time figuring out the middle pattern so I wish I had searched for help prior to starting, but I am stubborn by nature! I go either way- sometimes I really enjoy time consuming projects where I can really create something elaborate. But sometimes, I just need a quick crafting fix! I especially love a good quick craft when I'm learning something brand new that I can build on!

Making the dream catcher really showed me how must room there is for creativity! You can go in so many different directions between colors, weaves & final decorations. I bet no 2 final products will look the same! It's such a fun craft to express yourself with!

I hope you have fun with this craft & I'd love to see pictures! So send them my way at lovestruckcreations@gmail.com and maybe you'll be featured on our social media pages!

 I was cleaning the other day & found a whole mess of crayons- some with wrappers on, some brand new, some broken & used. Then, I remembered seeing that you can take crayons & re-melt them into new, fun crayons! So, I figured, why not? I don't use them really often at all, so I thought it would be a fun, easy experiment.

Here are my instructions & tips to making your own crayons! Have fun!

This was fun & easy! It's such a simple way to save those broken crayons that you might otherwise throw away. I do suggest using the smaller silicon molds if you're worried about breaking them. Part of me wants to try this craft again & spray the molds lightly with cooking spray before placing the crayons in. While I don't think it'll help with popping them out, it won't hurt to try!

And like I said- make sure you're using molds you don't intend to use for baking or cooking again. I used new molds & will only be able to use them for a second crayon project! They ended up being stained from the dyes in the crayons- so just be sure you're using ones you're good to donate to your crafting adventures!

As you know, I love soup! I am also always looking for meals with lots of protein since I'm a vegetarian & this black bean soup was just that! I'm also obsessed with all recipes that require a crock pot because it makes my life SO much easier!

 I based this recipe on one I found on Pinterest of course, from Emilie Eats & you can find the original recipe (and many other great ones) by clicking here!

The reason I did a variation on this recipe was because I like a little bit of kick in my food but I'm not a big spicy person. I also wanted to add more veggies to load it up all the while not making all 6 servings. I knew before making this that nobody in my house would want it & didn't want any of the soup to go to waste. It ended up making a little more than 3 servings of soup which was perfect for me!

So what do you need for my variation (3-4 servings):

-1/2 Bag of dried black beans
-3 cups Broth or stock (either vegetable or chicken)
​-1 Bell pepper of your choosing
-2-3Tomatoes
-1/2 White Onion
-4 Cloves ofGarlic
- 1 ear Corn
-3-4 pieces of Celery
-3-4 stalks of Carrots
-and Seasonings based how how much of a kick you want! I used salt & pepper, and a tiny bit of cayenne 

The first thing you do, is soak your beans overnight. Pick out any of the shells or broken beans.  Add enough water in the bowl to cover all the beans by 2 inches or so of water. Let the soak while you sleep!

When they're done soaking, drain & rinse them then throw them into the crock pot.

Then, chop up all your veggies & add them into the crock pot. Then, add your broth & seasonings. If you need to add more broth, you can!

Once everything is mixed in. Turn on your crock pot on high for 6 hours and let it work its magic!

When it's done,you can either leave it as it or choose to blend it- you can use your immersion blender to make it semi smooth or use your blender to make it super smooth! 

Then it's ready to eat! You can serve it with fresh avocado on top too (because who doesn't love avocado?)

Earlier this week, I shared with you how to make your own Mod Podge & this was the project that I needed to use it for. 

I needed something to throw my allergy pills in since I've officially given into my allergies & decided to start taking the pills again.  My sister gave me a old prescription bottle she found while cleaning her drawers & told me just to use this.

What's great about this is that it's small enough that I can throw in my purse (I have a small purse, I can't handle losing things in a large bag) and it holds quite a bit of my allergy pills. 

But I wanted to make it look cute & that I did! 

This was a super easy & quick craft! It take under 30 minutes from start to finish! The only downside, is you have to wait for it all to dry before you can use it, so don't plan on using it right away. 

​All you need is your bottle, Mod Podge, a paint brush, paper, scissors & a pen.

Take your bottle & remove the stickers- the nice thing about this is they peel right off!

Next, cut your paper. I grabbed a few scrapbooking scraps I had & chose the one that was the closest to the size of the bottle. You'll need a strip that is about 3 inches wide & 4.5 inches long. 

Put Mod Podge on the bottle & slowly add the paper. Use your fingers to rub out any bumps or bubbles- you might have to go around the bottle doing this more than once. 

​
Make sure to add a thin layer of Mod Podge to the ends of the paper where they meet too so they can be bonded.

When you're done with that, add a layer of the Mod Podge to the outter layer of the bottle. Once it's securely on, set it aside so it can start drying!

Next, take the top of the bottle & trace it on a piece of paper.

Cut on the inner line and make necessary trims if you need to so that it can be glued right onto the top of the bottle. 

Then cut out a strip that you can wrap around the top - this will be roughly .5 inch high and about 5.75 inches long. Your measurements might be different based on the size of the bottle you're using.

First, glue on the top piece but don't add a layer of glue to the top of the paper quite yet. I put glue on mine first (as you can see by the shine in the picture) but I ended up getting a lot of glue on my hands as I was adding the long strip to the top. So I suggest do add your top coat of glue when you're totally done!

Then, wrap around the the long strip to the side- you'll have to work out the bumps and bubbles as you did with the bottle.  Once that's on, you can add your top layer of glue & let it out to dry!

I suggest waiting until both pieces are totally dry before you put the top onto the bottle.

I normally keep a stock of Mod Podge in my house because I'm constantly needing it for some sort of project. And let me tell you, I love Mod Podge! So when I needed it for a DIY & couldn't find it, I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to make my own!

A DIY for Mod Podge always comes up on my Pinterest so I figured, why not!

What I enjoyed about all the posts I saw to make your own (I checked out a handful), they were all the same. I always hate when you're looking to do a project and you click on 5 different pins & they're all different. Then you have to pick and choose which is most trustworthy. 

What they all said is you need 2 ingredients: glue & water. Awesome, both of those I had! What I realized too was if this works how I want it to, I can just stock up on Elmer's glue around back to school time and save a crap ton of money! I always use a coupon when I buy Mod Podge, but if I can save even more money, then the crafter in me is happy!

Grab your Elmer's glue- I used your basic, white washable glue, some water, a mason jar (or a container that you can close tight) and a plastic spoon (and fork if you're like me).

The mixture is 2 parts glue & 1 part water. So it depends what size glue you're using & how much Mod Podge you want to make.

Once you put the mixture into the jar or container, mix it up! I used both a plastic spoon & a plastic fork to help with the mixing until I got all the water absorbed by the glue. You'll notice it'll start to have a consistency of Mod Podge & then you're done! You can start using it right away!

I used it right away to do my DIY project, and it worked great! And there was none of that Mod Podge smell which if you have used it before, you know what I'm talking about!

​Happy Mod Podging!

I’ve been wanting to try more quinoa recipes and after randomly finding some on clearance at Tj Maxx today, I decided to give a recipe a whirl! I chose to try a play on a burger. As a vegetarian, I like to create different kind of burgers that I can enjoy year round. So needless to say, I was excited to try these out!

I liked this recipe too because you didn't need many ingredients so it's pretty easy to  just make any time.

What you'll need:
-2/3 cup spinach- cooked & Squeezed dry (I used a package of frozen spinach)
-3 Cups cooked Quinoa
-2 Eggs
-1 Cup Panko
-1 Small Onion, diced
-1/2 grated cheese

Once you have all your ingredients ready to roll, add them to a bowl & start mixing with a spatula. After a few mixes, I started using my hands to make sure everything combined well. Once it's looking well mixed, you can start forming your patties!

I opted to do larger, burger sized ones but on the flatter side. Choose to do them whatever size you prefer but I recommend not making them super thick so that they can cook correctly.

Place your patties on a greased baking sheet. When you're done making them, put the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes so they can firm up.

When the 15 minutes is done, pop them into the oven! They'll bake for about 15-25 minutes, until they're golden. It took us more on the 20-25 minute side for ours to be fully cooked. We flipped them half way through too.

I was really excited to try these when they were done! I was really happy with how they turned out too. They were tasty, had a nice soft texture & were pretty easy to make.

Next time however, I'll most likely sauté the spinach with  the onions, salt & pepper to get those onions cooked a little more & add more flavor.

Enjoy making these! They're a great, healthy alternative for any meal or even a snack!

I am no nail pro! But this tutorial seemed easy enough!

What you'll need:
-Nail polish: solid and a glitter
- Scotch tape or painters tape

-Once their completely dry, take a small piece of your tape and place it on your nail, leaving as much room as you'd like for the glittery tip!
-You can use a solid color tip too!
-The original tutorial said to add regular glitter, but I stuck with a glittered polish.
- Simply paint over the tape and your nail. Don't glop it on, make sure you're still painting it on how your normally paint your nails!

If you've tried it before, you know as well as I do that removing glitter nail polish is such an annoying task! It takes scrubbing and eventually I give up and chip off the remainder. I found this tutorial that tremendously helped get glitter off pretty well!

What you'll need:
-Nail polish remover
-Cotton balls
-Aluminum foil
-Scissors

-Once you're done prepping, put some nail polish on a cotton ball, place it on your nail & wrap one piece of aluminum foil around it.
-Do this for your entire hand (I decided to do one hand at a time).
-Then, set your timer for just 5 minutes.
-Relax while you're waiting!

-After the 5 minutes is done, remove the aluminum foil and the cotton balls. I still had some glitter on my nails but it easy came off with a few swipes of the cotton ball.
-Repeat with your other hand and you're all done!
-Make sure to wash your hands well after to get everything off!

I will be the first to admit it, I go in and out of phases with working out. I have a few months a time where I am working out just about daily & I make sure of it. Then I'll miss a few workouts due to a busy schedule, and before I know it, I haven't gotten my butt up & moving for a month!

I found that my issue is finding motivation. I have always been very comfortable in my skin & have always been confident in the way I look. Sure, there's room for improvement, isn't there always?

I really had to sit down and think of motivation; both short term and long term. This is what I came up with! Long term my goals are about my health, continuing to get healthy for my own sake. Short term goals, I will be a bridesmaid at the end of this summer and I should probably make sure I look great in my dress! So a little toning up of my upper arms wouldn't hurt!

Here's my plan: I'm going to try those 30 day challenges I feel like I see around everywhere! I like them because the ones I found require no equipment and I can do all the exercises in the comfort of my own home. I can even take these moves outside if it's a nice day out to get some fresh air too!

Here are 4 great challenges I have found: an abs, lower body, upper body & full body! I'm challenging you to try at least one of these challenges with me for the next 30 days! I'm ready, are you?

My microwave wasn't particularly dirty to the naked eye. But I figured this easy trick would make it even cleaner!

The mixture is just:
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cup water

Keep it in your mixing glass and put it inside the microwave for 5 minutes. 

Warning, it did smell! It reminded me of dying easter eggs. I turned on my stove fan and I already had a window opened so that helped!

When the 5 minutes is over, remove the measuring cup (careful! It'll be hot!) and take a damp towel and wipe it down. Boom! You'll have a clean microwave! It's as easy as 1,2,3! 

First things first, place a good amount of aluminum foil in your bowl to line it and to be able to close it up too.

Put all the ingredients into the aluminum except for the water & mix it all around.

Now you can add your water, it'll fizz a little bit! And pop in your jewelry. 

I closed the aluminum foil up a little bit and I let my rings sit for 10-15 minutes.

Then I scrubbed gently and vavoom! They sparkled like they were new!

Our second kitchen downstairs is small, and it's used often but not regularly. And because of that, it often gets neglected on the deep cleaning side. So, I took it upon myself to first give the oven a good cleaning! I took to Pinterest to see what I could find, and here are my tips and thoughts:

I spent this rainy & cold weekend getting a head start on my Spring cleaning. We have a half bathroom in our basement that gets used quite often. But the tiles in it are old and no matter what we've tried (and let me tell you, we have tried!), getting the tiles & grout to look good was always so difficult.

I think if this was used on grout that didn't have years of build up like this one, this mixture would be more successful! I recommend using a toothbrush to really get in there.
Don't forget to make sure you have a fan on, or window open to help with the ventilation. Especially do this if you choose to use bleach too like I did. You don't want to be inhaling all of this for too long! So take breaks, get some fresh air and keep the cleaning going!