By the Batch - Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

This weekend my mom gave me a packaged brownie mix that had been hanging out in her cupboard for too long. They looked good as is but I thought I could probably do even better! All it took was a quick Google search to find a whole page of "Kicked Up Brownie Mix Recipes" on Squidoo. I couldn't resist giving the Cheesecake Swirl version a try.

Ingredients:

Brownie mix & required ingredients
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Start by preparing one package of brownie mix according to the directions on the box. Spoon half the batter in a 9" x 13" pan.

Beat together all of the cream cheese swirl ingredients until smooth. Drop by teaspoonful evenly over the brownie batter. Pour over the other half of the brownie batter. Take a knife and swirl the batter and cream cheese mixture to create a swirl-like pattern.

Bake according to the brownie package directions (about 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean).

According to Sarah:

This recipe was really easy and really delicious! Brownies are great on their own but adding the cheesecake flavour made them extra yummy and the swirls make them look like they require way more skill than they actually do. Make this recipe and no one will even know that these brownies started in a box ;)

Something for Nothing - Summer Printables

The sun is shining, the temperature is climbing and blogland is full of fantastic free summer printables! I've rounded up a few of my recent favourites here.

Love this print from The Arial Rose Blog. It might just end up framed in my living room!

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For those of you with kids, how cute is this summer reading kit from Creative Mamma? I devoured books as a kid (still do) and would have loved keeping track of them here (still might!).

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You can't have a round-up of printables these days without some subway art - it's everywhere! My favourite is this multi-coloured collection from Simple Crafter.

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Last, but certainly not least, are these adorable mini notepapers from Trillustrations. Be sure to visit this site for tons of cute free printables!

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 I'm really in the mood for summer now - happily it's just around the corner!

Party Perfect - DIY Paper Hearts

Sometimes the simplest of crafts can be so pretty and have such a big impact. For our wedding I made a ton of paper hearts that we hung on all the chairs along the aisle - it made for a whimsical homemade touch that showed my personality so well. But the best part was that they were incredibly easy to make!

Start with a piece of double-sided scrapbooking paper. Alternately, you could use pages from books - you just need to keep in mind that you'll see both sides of the paper. If you're using scrapbooking paper then cut the whole 12x12 sheet into 12 one inch strips. For each heart you'll need 3 strips. Cut one in half and cut the other two down to 10 inches each.

Next line up your strips. Put the long ones in the centre with the same pattern on the outside. Then line up your little strips at the bottom of the long ones also with the same pattern on the outside - just make sure it's the opposite pattern showing on your long strips. I hope that makes sense - if not refer to the picture!

Fold each of the little pieces down to meet the bottom of the strips.

Then fold the long pieces down as well. And there's your heart! Staple everything together where all the pieces meet. If your pattern is busy then you won't really see the staple but if you don't like the look if it then you can glue one of your scraps around the base to cover it.

I told you it was easy! Switch the direction of the patterns on your next heart to have it complement the first.

To hang them just string ribbon or twine through any of the loops. You can use them as pew markers like I did, incorporate them into your centrepieces or string a row together to make a pretty garland. And they're not just for weddings - use them to decorate your house for Valentine's day, or a birthday party or just hang them up all year round!

By the Batch - Make it Bacon

Father's Day is approaching quickly. If your Dad has a sweet tooth and a bacon tooth as well then these recipes might just make the perfect gift! Now I'm a vegetarian but I have been assured by my husband that each of these treats looks incredibly appealing ;)

I was inspired to write this post by these Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bacon in the latest Food Network magazine.

Maybe your dad would love to cool off on a hot summer day with this Bacon Ice Cream courtesy of Delicious Days.

How about these Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes from AllRecipes?

Last but not least, there's Bacon Fudge from The AntiCraft.

That's a whole lot of bacon-y goodness. Are you inspired to do some baking for dad this year??

DIY Planters

Here in Canada the weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and the flowers are in full bloom.  We have a flower garden in our front yard and a vegetable garden out back but we've got nothing like these awesome DIY planters!

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Love that these are made with such ordinary objects that you probably have the materials to make one of your own tomorrow. Happy weekend, everyone!

Magnetic Calendar - June

Another new month means it's time for another edition of the magnetic calendar. Since last month was pretty and purple for Mother's Day I decided that June should be a little more manly in honour of Father's Day. This month is full of browns, greens and blues and I've replaced flowers with plaid and metal keys.

Here are a few close ups so you can see some of the elements that I used. I love the keys and the compass in place of the 28th. I found it a bit challenging to make a month that wasn't feminine just because most of my craft stash is pretty girly and I like to make these calendars without buying anything. I think I managed to do ok!

I am really loving this calendar project and I'm so glad I started it in March. 4 months down and 8 to go! If you're interested in making your own calendar then you can see my previous months here.

Party Perfect - DIY Wedding Programs

I can't believe that today is already the first day of June! One year ago today I was putting the finishing touches on my wedding plans. One of the things that I really left until the last minute was our programs. I had bookmarked all kinds of ideas for fancy DIY projects but, in the end, I decided to go for something really simple.

I can't really call this a tutorial since these were so incredibly simple but I said the same thing about my seating chart and that has become one of my most popular posts. I made the programs using the same cardstock and paper that my invitations were made out of. I printed two programs on to each piece of paper and then cut the paper in half. My invites were made with pocketfolds and I had leftover so I just cut off the cover and the fold of each card so all that was left was the pocket. I slipped the printed paper into the pocket after I had punched holes and tied purple ribbon on each piece. So easy but they still made an impact.
If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful way to make your programs then this is the route to go!