Barbie/Ken Frankenstein Mask from K-Cup

I love to re-purpose k-cups any time I can, and here's a fun little craft for the kids. Or for an adult to make for doll play... These Frankenstein Masks, or Costumes, for Barbie and Ken can be as simple or elaborate as art skills -and patience- allow. I've made two, one an open face and the second has eye holes and more green. If this is a Halloween or birthday party craft, I suggest an adult have all of the k-cups pre-cut and let the kids color and decorate them. I used Sharpies for the boldest color. 

Bucket head and jagged bangs:

More of a hat look...

And a pull on mask:

I purposely used the most beaten up, dirtiest, well worn, black jacket I had to add to the Frankenstein look. Thrift store grab bag rescue:@)

My Barbie Pinterest Board here.

What I did:

1. Pull foil off of k-cup, tap out coffee grounds, pull out filter. Wash and dry k-cup.
2. The bottom of the cup will be the flat top of the head.
3. Using sturdy scissors, kitchen shears are best, cut off the ridge that had the foil glued to it. But leave two 1/4" pieces at the sides for the illusion of neck bolts.
4. If making open face mask, cut out enough of the cup in a rectangle shape to show the dolls eyes.
5. Make jagged cuts for the bangs.
6. If making eye hole mask, cut an arch between the bolts just high enough to expose the mouth and tip of the nose. Cut eye holes (I used a hole punch. Can use Exacto knife or utility knife.
7. Color with Sharpies as desired.

♻Let's recycle creatively and 

Have a Happy Day🎃

Zucchini Season!!! And my favorite grilled zucchini recipe...

Ding-ding-ding... Let the Zucchini Games begin:@) It's always an exciting time when the garden starts producing zucchini, and this year's official date for picking the first one was 6/6/24. 

You can see the stakes, this year's garden experiment is vertical zucchini... Here I have the first two straps holding it to the pole. So far I like this idea:@)

I can already tell I don't have enough of the velcro and may be switching to what I'm joking is Redneck Gardening and using duct tape😃 The plant on the right -might- be allowed to sprawl into the yard, we will see. 

And the first zucchini was growing straight down and literally buried itself 1/2" into the dirt... Since I'm always trying to find more uses for k-cups, yep, I rested the zuke on one, it elevated it off the ground and worked great:@)

What to do with these over-achieving garden gifts? I highly recommend this Curried Honey Mustard Marinade for Grilling. In over 14 years of blogging, this is (to date) my favorite way to serve zucchini and yellow summer squash as a side dish. There is also a link to using the marinade for chicken kabobs if you'd like to go that route too. 

Eat well, enjoy the garden, and 

Have a Happy Day:@)

Pineapple Pie, K-Cup Easter Egg Holders & Easter Tiered Tray

The countdown to Easter is truly on, so for this week's ReView... If you're looking for a dessert that's little different for the Easter buffet this year, may I suggest this Pineapple Pie. It only requires one 20 oz can of crushed pineapple and a double crust. I used a cute chick cookie cutter to vent the center:@)

These Recycled K-Cup Easter Egg Holders are a fun project, especially great to keep the kids busy for a while... Then maybe the Easter Bunny could set his favorite dyed egg out for each kid to have for breakfast. You know, before they start in on the candy:@)

My 2024 Easter Tiered Tray: "Chocolate" bunny is a 98¢ plastic candy container from Walmart. I tied a pretty bow around the neck. Dollar Tree chick S&P's (bought years ago), and an old Christopher Radko Easter Bunny ornament. Luckily the bottom is flat, my ornament holder won't fit on the top tier.

Bottom Tier: How to make Flameless Candle Wrap here, colorful appy food picks, napkins, functional S&P grinders, vintage ducks on pond S&P, and of course we have to have some jelly beans:@)

🐣Easter is next weekend folks,

Have a Happy Day!

Dollar Tree Holiday Ideas: Stuffed Marshmallows, Gift Basket Fillers & Barbie...

I thought I'd share some Christmas items and gift ideas from Dollar Tree... These Decorated Stuffed Marshmallows were made using store bought chocolate stuffed marshmallows, they also had cookie stuffed marshmallows. I used Christmas sprinkles, but this works for any occasion, and of course they can be made in team colors too:@) There were 12 marshmallows in my bag, I simply microwaved some candy melts, dipped the marshmallow in the chocolate, then rolled them in sprinkles.

The marshmallows I bought:

Are you putting together a gift basket, or looking for foodie stocking stuffers? I think we're all familiar with Harry & David, I love that DT has a pack of four K-Cups in their hazelnut, praline and cinnamon flavor. There are also bags of ground coffee, and espresso beans are quite the treat... These even come in a dark chocolate variety. These beans would be a nice inexpensive option for cake or cupcake decorating too. 

Speaking of cakes,

or maybe Icing Filled Spritz Cookies...

Gathering items for a charcuterie gift, or need something fun for your own tray? They have tapenades (and more here), olives, pickles, and some flavored mustards:

And I'll leave you with something for the little ones... If your girl has Barbie there's a chance she has the smaller 6" Chelsea doll too. DT has four different outfits that do fit Chelsea, and they come with shoes and accessories. That's $5 that will keep the kids busy for a while folks:@)

All four fashions:

Not Mattel quality, but still super cute!

🎄Grab it when you see it, and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Fresh Green Bean and Pasta Salad & Barbie Halloween K-Cup Buckets

I had a handful of beans from the planter to use up, so I made a quick Fresh Green Bean and Pasta Salad. Honestly easy folks, five ingredients, and the most involved part is cooking the pasta. This is a great mix and serve salad, the Italian dressing adds lots of flavor. (This pic was taken ~hours~ after dinner.) And look at that great color, Christmas potluck anyone? Don't hesitate to give this a try if you're looking for a side dish that's just a tad different:@)

And in Barbie's World...

We made a cute little Recycled K-Cup Halloween Bucket.

This is a great seasonal project for kids,

they can decorate them any way desired.

✂What I did:

• Remove foil lid and filter from k-cup, wash and dry thoroughly.
• Poke a hole on each side, can ~carefully~ use scissors or an exacto knife, I used a hole punch (very easy).
• Run pipe cleaner through the holes, hold about 1" on outside of one hole. Create the handle by gently pulling the pipe cleaner up from the center of the bucket, and run the long end up creating a double handle. Twist together and secure loose ends.
• ***Time saver for lots of giggling girls... Create the buckets ahead of time, the girls can have a decorating party.
• Finish decorating as desired.
• Easy-peasy and cute😎

Fresh Green Bean and Pasta Salad-from Kraft

1 C dry penne pasta, cooked, run under cold water, drained well

1/2 lb fresh green beans, washed, dried, cut into 1" lengths

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 C zesty Italian salad dressing

1/4 C parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta per package directions, adding beans during the last 2 minutes.
2. Drain into colander, run under cold water, and drain well.
3. Mix everything and serve. Yep, easy-peasy.

Have a happy day:@)

Grab and Go Charcuterie Skewers Appetizer -Thanksgiving Turkey or Pumpkin Centerpiece

I thought I'd create a more mobile party snack for Thanksgiving... We have two options for presentation folks, this silly turkey for the kiddie table, or you could simply fill the pumpkin with skewers for a more adult looking centerpiece (mulled wine tasting party anyone?). This Turkey or Pumpkin Charcuterie Skewers Appetizer is a fun seasonal way to serve party nibbles. It's very impressive and honestly, not difficult at all, it only takes a little time to assemble. 

Tips:

1. The best tool for poking holes into the pumpkin is the pointy thing that comes with the pumpkin carving kits.
2. It's best to have cheese as the last item added to the skewer. That way the food doesn't fall off when pulled out of the pumpkin.
3. Add anything that sounds good, black olives, vegetables, different lunchmeats, make some skewers all fruit, some all cheese, etc. 
4. I used three cheeses, sharp cheddar, pepper jack has great green and red flecks, and I love the marbled colors from colby jack for this fall appy.
5. Try to get a squatty pumpkin for best stability. After the gathering you can make some roasted pumpkin seeds too.
6. Long stems are great for the turkey neck, short would be best for the loaded skewer theme.
7. My turkey's hat is a k-cup. A black felt brim would be a cute addition too.
8. Eyes were hot glued to underside of k-cup. Same with felt beak and goggle thingy.
9. Last tip, be sure to place pumpkin on a plate to protect table and/or tablecloth.

Inquiring Tom asks...

Are your Thanksgiving plans falling into place?

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Make something just for fun and have a happy day:@)

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Dollar Store Halloween Crafts for Barbie DIY -6 Projects

I'll be adding some Barbie round-up posts to PIM sharing several related project DIY's in one spot. And I wanted to suggest these Dollar Store Halloween Crafts for Barbie early, while we can still find craft supplies at the stores. They all come together in no time, and most $1 purchases come in quantities so they're fun for party or sleepover projects. 

I've skinnied up the instructions too, they are all seriously this easy folks:@)

Witch hats

Remove hat from stick.

Cut circle from bottom of hat, glue elastic band onto hat.

Jack-O-Lantern Kelly Outfit from Balloon

Draw face on 12" balloon (or buy balloons that already have faces-even better).

Cut off neck of balloon, cut arm holes, cut slit in bottom.

Skeleton Serving Utensils

Snip the arms off 6" skeletons at shoulder-done:@)

Skeleton Mask and Gloves

Pull head off, cut off top loop. 

Cut into the neck hole, remove 3/4 of the back of head so it slips over doll's head.

Cut the side seams holding top and bottom of hands. 

Glue on elastic (they slide over top of doll's hands).

Day of the Dead/Dia de Muertos option:

Color mask with Sharpies, glue on colorful embellishments.

Skeleton Bench

Glue decorated k-cups to underside of skeleton hand.

Barbie says it's time to get your Boo on...

🎃Make something just for spooky fun and have a happy day:@)

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Saturday ReView: K-Cup Uncle Sam Hat for Barbie, Ken, GI Joe & Mustard Dill Cucumber Salad

All it really takes to whip up this silly Uncle Sam hat for the 4th of July is a recycled k-cup. As for decorations, anything goes as long as you have some red, white and blue! My red stripes were colored with a Sharpie, there's a blue ribbon wrapped around the bottom and the red brim is a circle cut from some felt. Gold sequin stars add to the festive look. Other options: Paint, glitter, buttons, stickers, etc. It all came together in minutes using hot glue. If you find the hat is a little large for Barbie, Ken or Joe, you can always stuff or glue some cotton balls inside.

 Now, this is ~your~ hat folks, you can make it as detailed and extravagant as you'd like,

or as your craft stash allows...

I kept mine very simple😎

But I do I think Joe looks rather dapper😉

No-Sew tank top from foot of sock HERE.

And if you're looking for a new side dish to try, this Mustard and Dill Cucumber Salad is really great for summer. Especially if you have garden or farm stand cukes and can use the pretty green peel. We've all had vinegar pickled salads, and mayonnaise and/or sour cream doesn't hold up well in the heat, the mustard is a nice change of pace:@)

(Picture from 2010...  Might be time to enjoy some more and update:@)

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Happy 4th of July Planning and have a great weekend:@)

Saturday ReView: Jelly Bean Cookies & Barbie Chair from Easter Egg

These Jelly Bean Cookies are a colorful little treat that helps use up some extra Easter candy! Let's encourage the kids to get involved in the kitchen... And as I mentioned in my original post, sometimes the most unexpected things quickly become family traditions:@)

And I took half of a large plastic Easter egg and turned it into a Barbie chair by gluing it to a k-cup for the base. The k-cup can be decorated as desired, washi tape and/or stickers would be cute. I added some diamond mesh ribbon. You can make the chair look a little more finished by adding a cushion, mine is a piece of faux fur I trimmed into a circle.

This is a fast easy project...

Start with one of the larger 4" plastic eggs. Use the rounder half.

Embellish and decorate the k-cup as desired.

Hot glue egg to the top of a cleaned k-cup with the opening of the egg tilted towards the front,
so the doll can sit in it.

Add cushion, done!

🐰Make something just for fun and have a happy day😉

Saturday ReView: Halloween Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies and $1 Store Pumpkin Topiary

These Halloween Crinkle Cookies from a cake mix are a super easy way to whip up a little holiday fun! You can go all-out scary and use a red mix for eyeballs or for a more... "Happy" Halloween version, add a little food coloring to create an orange and green variegated cookie. Either way, be sure to get the kids involved, let's encourage a little spooky fun in the kitchen:@) As with all of my Saturday ReView posts, clicking the links will take you to my original post for details.

And there are several things I love about this 5" Pumpkin Topiary:

1. It uses a recycled k-cup as the base, that's always a win in my book!

2. You can make at least two from $2, with extra items leftover for another project.

3. It comes together in no time.

4. It's the perfect size for Barbie dioramas and doll play, ~and/or~ it can be used anywhere in the house as a seasonal accent right through Thanksgiving.

🎃Make something just for fun and have a happy weekend:@)

DIY Stacked Pumpkin Topiary from Dollar Tree Pumpkins & Recycled K-Cup (Barbie or Fall Decoration)

I love the look of stacked pumpkin topiaries and saw a miniature one at a craft store for $7... Not in my world folks! Dollar Tree has packs of small glitter pumpkins, and I'm always looking for ways to recycle and repurpose k-cups, add in a little hot glue... ~Wa-La~, here we have a 5" tall Stacked Pumpkin Topiary. If a kids craft, let them decorate the base as desired, Sharpies, stickers, glitter, duct tape, etc. I chose to keep mine as a white planter.

This is a quick project that will give your Barbie house, pictures and fall dioramas a little seasonal flair. 
~Or~ make a really cute fall decoration any where in the house... This one might be headed to my tiered tray centerpiece:@)

One pack of each size pumpkin(s) is enough to make two topiaries.

There are also leftover extra pumpkins and leaf shapes that can be used for something else later.

Directions:

• Cut the pick off of the bottom and stem off the top of the larger pumpkin, and cut the stem off of the middle sized one.
• I found that they stacked better if I turned the large pumpkin upside down, the bottom is flatter.
• The large pumpkin didn't completely cover the opening of the k-cup so we'll need something to cover the opening. Glue a colorful artificial fall leaf to lay across the top of the k-cup, or miniature leaves, raffia, Spanish moss, anything glued to the rim to cover the hole (see pic below). I crochet a chain of brown eyelet yarn and glued it to the top of the k-cup.
• Glue large pumpkin to k-cup and the other two on top of each other. I used hot glue, any strong glue will work.
• Decorate k-cup if desired (before or after adding the pumpkins, before might be better if a kids project).

Make something just for fun and have a happy day:@)

You can click here for my Barbie Pinterest Board.

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Recycled K-Cup and Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder-Kids Craft Tutorial

Bloggy Buddy Mary challenged me to make something for the garden from used k-cups. I accepted that challenge:@) This simple Bird Feeder from Recycled K-Cups and Popsicle Sticks is a great kids craft for Mother's Day, Grandparent's Day, or any rainy day...

 Supplies: 

K-cups, yarn (baker's twine or jute) in your choice of colors, popsicle sticks and glue. Sharpies and stickers optional.

Steps:

Clean the k-cups the best you can but remember... The birds aren't picky:@)

Draw designs on the cups with Sharpies and add stickers if desired. I didn't do this.

Put the tip of a pair of scissors in the hole and twist back and forth to make the hole bigger, about 1/4". This will make it easier to feed the yarn up through the hole and give additional drainage if it rains. Depending on the age of the child you may want to help with this.

Measure 1" from the end of each popsicle stick. If you don't have popsicle sticks you could use twigs.

Cut yarn to desired length, mine was about 2' long. Center the yarn on the popsicle stick at the 1" mark and double knot it.

Overlap the short end of the popsicle sticks and glue together. I used hot glue, use whatever glue you'd like.

Cut another piece of yarn adding about 8" to your original length. I started with 2', this piece is two feet and eight inches. This doesn't need to be exact folks, you just need enough yarn to wrap around the center of the popsicle sticks a few times. We're just trying to reinforce the glue so it doesn't come apart.

Trim the ends of the yarn so they're even and feed the yarn that is tied to the sticks up through the k-cups.

Keeping the holes in the k-cups towards the center glue them down as close to the center as you can. I used hot glue, use whatever glue you'd like.

Bring all of the yarn straight up.

Grasp all of the yarn and tie in a knot, trim the ends even.

Fill with bird seed and hang from a tree branch in the yard. It's best to tuck it a little into the branches for added stability.

The kids will be thrilled when the birds stop by!

Have a happy day:@)

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