Personalized Running Poster

Many miles and many memories. How do you keep track of your racing results and stay motivated to enter more? Well, I've created a simple yet artistic solution. An inspiring, Personalized Running Poster that is perfect for any runner.

Supplies:
Poster board (any size, it's up to you)
Pencil
Assorted paints
Paint brushes
Assorted Sharpies
Old running shoes
Your race results from 5Ks, marathons, relays, etc.

Instructions:
1. First paint the background color. This base color should be the lightest color you are using in the poster because you will be painting and writing over it afterward. Let your background dry.

2. Choose a short word to paint on top of the base color. Sketch your word using pencil and then paint it using a little bit darker color than your base. Let your painted word dry.

3. Grab your old running shoes and paint the soles of them to use as a stamp using a darker color too. Right after your paint the shoes, place them on the poster where you want them to go and firmly press them into the poster board.

Tip: Instead of using your old running shoes as stamps, the bottoms of your feet are just as could. Just make sure to wash them off as soon as possible before your having footprints all over the house.
 

4. After your shoe prints dry, organize your race results by year and start logging in your races by using a Sharpie.

5. Hang your Personalized Running Poster in an easy to access spot on your wall. After each race you complete now, you can take down your poster and proudly add another running memory simply by using a Sharpie.

6. Fill your poster with results and cherish the running memories!

Variation: Not into running? You can also create a personalized poster for a different sport.
 -For example, if you are into cycling and compete in many races, you could paint the word "bike" in the background,  run tire tracks over it, and then log in your races each year.

Homemade Father's Day Card

Happy Father's Day! I hope you have a special day planned for your father or gift to give him in celebration of the contribution that your father has made to your life. Popular Father's Day gifts include homemade cards, sports items, clothing, electronics, outdoor grilling supplies, and home improvement tools.

Over the years, my tradition has been to create a unique homemade card with a small gift for my dad and spend the day with him playing sports or helping him around the house usually.

Most parents enjoy when their child makes them something homemade--it truly comes from the heart and shows them their creative talent. So I wanted to post my Father's Day Card I created and give you some ideas on making the perfect DAD card.

Homemade Father's Day Card

All you need is:
Cardstock
Envelope
Gluestick(s)
Markers, colored pencils, etc. (Any writing utensils you want to use)
Magazines, newspapers (you can cut out of)
Anything else you want to add to your card to make it unique

Tip: Instead of worrying about cutting cardstock to fit your envelope, use blank cards from a cardstock kit.

-I used DCWV Box of A2 Cards: Bright Solids (I purchased at Michael's), which came with 50 blank cards and matching envelopes in a variety of colors. You can also use the blank cards for birthdays, holidays, and thank you cards as well.

1. First I picked out a theme for the card. I wanted to create something that my dad would like or that he's interested in general, sports.

Tip: Brainstorm and think about your dad's favorite things and have your theme revolve around them.

Examples
-Use a line from one of his favorite TV shows or movies
-Create a collage of his favorite things to do, hobbies, sports to watch, or things that you enjoy doing with him
-Draw out his name and write around the outside, adjectives and words that describe him

2. Then, I went through my scrapbooking supplies (aka magazines, newspaper cutouts, etc.) and looked for something that would work great with my theme.

3. After cutting out several different images, I came up with the idea of making a runner's medal that says "#1 Dad" because he's a true winner.

4. Then I arranged my cutouts on the blank cardstock and glued it together.

5. For the inside, I cutout individual letters to spell out his name and also hand-wrote "Happy Father's Day!"

6. Write a cute message inside, seal up your creation, and be sure to give your dad a hug on Father's Day!

Mocha Monkey Brownie Kabobs

Recently, I entered the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Recipe Challenge. I had to create a sweet treat using one of Duncan Hines' new Frosting Creations flavor mixes. I chose to the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Mocha Flavor Mix because I love coffee and I thought it would go great with my yummy brownie and banana idea. So I created Mocha Monkey Brownie Kabobs.  

Mocha Monkey Brownie Kabobs

Going bananas for a yummy, chocolate dessert? Try these fun, mocha brownie and banana kabobs that will satisfy your "ape"-tite! 

Serves: 20 banana-brownie kabobs

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. of Duncan Hines® Chewy Fudge Premium Brownie Mix
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 can of Frosting Creations™ Frosting Starter
• 1 packet of Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Mocha Flavor Mix
• 8 ripe bananas
• 2 cups mini chocolate chips
• 2 cups finely chopped nuts
• Wooden skewers

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of 9” by 13” pan.
2. Mix Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Premium Brownie Mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water in large bowl. Stir until well blended.
3. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
4. Bake 27 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into brownies comes out clean. While brownies are slightly warm, crumble into large bowl. Let brownies cool completely.
5. Pour pack of Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Mocha Flavor Mix into can of Duncan Hines® Frosting Creations™ Frosting Starter. Stir until evenly blended.
6. Add one-half of the Mocha frosting you just created to the crumbled brownies and stir until the frosting is completely incorporated into brownie crumbs.
7. Test your mixture by picking up a spoonful and squeezing it together. It should hold without falling apart. If the mixture is not, add more frosting.
8. Shape the brownie-frosting mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a wax-lined paper baking sheet.
9. Transfer baking sheet with the brownie balls to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
10. In the meantime, peel and slice bananas into small chunks and set aside for the kabobs.
11. Place remaining Mocha frosting in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 2 to 3 second intervals, stirring each time until consistency of frosting will pour.
12. Remove baking sheet from the freezer.
13. Create the kabobs by alternating banana slices and brownie balls on skewer sticks. Place them on wax-lined paper baking sheet and drizzle with melted Mocha frosting.
14. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts and mini chocolate chips.
15. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
16. Enjoy!

My recipe is also posted on the Duncan Hines Recipe Challenge website under Specialty Desserts using the Mocha Flavor (Click on this link). You can also check out other delicious recipes submitted by other bakers on the website as well.

T-Shirt Shag Rug

After all the years I have been getting t-shirts from sports, clubs, 5K runs, and other exciting events, I realized that I have a tons of t-shirts, a creative personality, and only one closet. The solution: a DIY t-shirt shag rug. It requires no sewing and is pretty simple to make.

Supplies:
T-shirts (any colors)
Rug canvas (find at your local craft store, I went to Joann Fabrics)
Regular scissors
Fabric scissors or Rotary cutter
Cutting mat and ruler

For the Base (you won't need these supplies until you completed the rug )
Rug lining or thick non-slip material for the bottom
Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Binder clips 

1. Measure and cut the rug canvas to the size you want your t-shirt shag rug to be.

2. Start making the t-shirt pieces for the rug by using your rotary tools (cutter, mat & ruler) and cut t-shirts into 4-in by 1-in strips.   

Tip: I first cut the shirt collar off and the seams, then used my ruler to make same-size strips. Also, some print and logos on shirts are sometimes hard to knot, so be sure to discard those parts of the shirt (along with the seams, tags, etc.)

3. After you have a good amount of t-shirt strips you can start making the rug. It's really simple. Take a t-shirt strip, loop one end under and pull it up and then tie a knot. See picture below.

 4. Now repeat step 3 over and over until you are finished. For my shag rug, I knotted t-shirt strips in every other square and skipped a line after every row. You can also cut the squares so you have bigger holes or make knots in every square. It depends on how full you want your shag rug to be so experiment.

-Also if you run out of t-shirts, feel free to pause on making knots and cut more t-shirts into strips. (Don't worry, I had plenty of times where I ran out of a color and/or needed to cut more strips.)

5. After you completed your rug canvas, the next part is the base. Cut the base material to the size of your shag rug with an additional 1-in border. (So if you were to put your shag rug on top of the base, there would be a 1-in picture frame-like border.)

6. Plug in the hot glue gun, and get your binder clips ready. Place your shag rug on top of the lining and center it in the middle so there is an even border on all sides. Start on one side of the rug and fold in the base material under the rug. Hot glue the folded over piece and rug together, hold those pieces firmly together, then binder clip that section.

7. Work your way around the rug, hot gluing the rug and base together and clipping those pieces together. Let the glue set for a couple of hours. Then, take the binder clips off and go around the shag rug one more time and hot glue any sections that need a little more support and binder clip those ones again.

8. Finally, take all the binder clips off and remove excess hot glue from the shag rug edges.

And there you have it, a pretty cool T-Shirt Shag Rug!