Shared posts

13 May 01:46

15 Women On The Specific Ways They Curb Their Impulse Spending

by Maya Kachroo-Levine

Every time I hit my avoid-impulse-spending stride, I cruise along happily for a while, and then end up buying okra chips and yogurt-covered pretzels at the grocery store (the impulsive side of me has bougie taste in snacks, apparently). While I rarely buy clothes or accessories impulsively (or at all, for that matter), I am … Continued

The post 15 Women On The Specific Ways They Curb Their Impulse Spending appeared first on The Financial Diet.

01 May 15:16

Pet Photo Pajamas!

by A Beautiful Mess

Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)           It's no secret that I love my cats. Like, love love them. Like one-whisker-shy-of-throwing-them-cat-birthday-parties kind of love if you know what I mean. They both sleep with me every night too, which is one of my favorite things in the world (Mac, the white guy, stays close to my chest, and Charlie, the grey gal, snoozes by my feet). Since I travel rather often to see my traveling husband, I always miss my little babes at nighttime the most. So I thought it would be fun to make a pair of pet PJs to help me feel like they are always with me!

Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)We teamed up on this post with our longtime supporters and friends over at Canon USA, who have just been so amazing to work with over the years. Specifically, we're using the Canon PIXMA MG7720 Photo Printer, which is perfect for crafts like this. It handles iron-on paper really well!

Supplies:
-iron on transfer sheets (make sure to pick the ones for light or dark fabric based on your pajamas)
-iron
-plain pajamas (I used these)
-photo printer
-scissors
-Canon PIXMA MG7720 Photo Printer

Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!) First you'll want to pick which pet photos you want on your PJs. I picked two photos of each cat that were slightly different for variation but still had them mostly facing forward. I cropped the pictures close around their faces, used the eraser tool a bit to erase more (which you don't have to do if you don't have that Photoshop skill, just crop close), and copy/pasted as many photos as I could fit onto another page. Make sure to reverse the page so they look right when transferred! Print your cat faces onto your iron on transfer sheets.

Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)  Use scissors to cut out your faces and place them onto your pajamas so you can see which faces you want in which spots. Flip the faces ink side down. Use your iron and follow the directions on the iron on transfer packaging to attach the faces to the material.

Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)   Once the faces are cool, carefully peel off the plastic backing and you're ready to wear your new pajamas!

Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)     Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)     Make Your Own Pet Photo Pajamas! (click through for more!)         How adorable are these pajamas (or should I say "PAW-jamas")??? They kind of have that kitschy feel of the shirts and leggings that have the celebrities plastered all over them (like Ryan Gosling and Justin Beiber) but in a much more personal way. Now I can keep my kitties with me when I travel or just double up on the cuteness factor when I'm snoozing at home. Either way, I think I'll sleep purrrr-fectly! xo. Laura

Credits // Author: Laura Gummerman. Photography: Laura Gummerman and Todd Gummerman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions

26 Jan 02:52

Skinny Planter Stand DIY

by A Beautiful Mess

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial)             You can call it a coping mechanism, but the colder it gets in winter, the more plants I add to my house. Adding tropical or desert plants into my space totally tricks my brain into thinking warm and happy thoughts. So I've been looking for any excuse to add more. We are getting pretty close to completing our front sitting room, but I had an area of open wall space that was too narrow to add furniture but really needed a little something-something. Since plants are making me so happy right now, I thought a tall narrow planter would be just the ticket to fill the space and add a little more greenery as well. Large planters can get crazy expensive, so of course a DIY version was in order!

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial)             Supplies:    
-36" window box
-window box insert
-36" square aluminum tube (x4)
-paint for window box (I used Baby Blush by Valspar)
-gold paint for legs
-drill and metal drill bits
-brass machine screws (1 1/2" long) and nuts
-peel and stick felt for bottom of legs
-clamps (optional but helpful)

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) Depending on how tall you want your planter to be, you can adjust where you mount your legs to the window box. It was helpful for me to use small clamps so I could stand back and see different heights, but I ended up having the bottom edge of the window box be 10" down from the top of the square tube leg.

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) Once I had the measurement of leg placement, I unclamped the legs and used a metal drill bit to drill two holes through the aluminum tube (just use a bit that's big enough to fit your machine screws through). It may sound complicated to drill through metal, but aluminum is really soft, so it's actually easier than drilling through some hardwoods.

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) I re-clamped the legs back in place on the planter and used the same drill bit to drill into the two holes and through the wood of the window box behind the metal tube (that way the holes would line up exactly). If you don't have clamps, you can just lay the box facing up on the floor and have someone help you hold the leg in place. The clamps make it easier to do it by yourself if needed.

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) I would normally use gold spray paint to paint the legs, but it's a high of 28 degrees today (too cold to spray paint outside). So I used my favorite gold paint instead. Just make sure to keep track of which leg goes on which spot on your planter so you know the holes will line up exactly when you go to put them back on (I put a post-it next to the legs to mark which was which). Once the paint is dry, cut to size 4 squares of peel and stick felt for the bottom of the tubes so the metal doesn't scratch your floors.

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) I painted the box with a pale pink called Baby Blush by Valspar (it's the same color as our pink dining room on the other side of the sitting room).

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial)      Use your machine screws and corresponding nuts to attach the legs back onto the planter. Make sure to tighten the nuts well on the inside so you don't have wobbly legs.

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) Add your plants to your window box insert and your planter is in business!

Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) Skinny Planter Stand DIY (click through for tutorial) It's such a simple shape, but I really love the clean lines of the long legs with the wide skinny planter box. The gold, pink, and shades of green feel really fresh together, and it's versatile in that you could also buy a bigger box and the next thickness of legs to make a bigger version if desired (a bunch of tall snake plants would look awesome in one of these!). No matter what the climate is where you are, I bet this planter is a good decision for your space too! xo. Laura

Credits//Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess Actions

30 Jun 15:28

Raspberry Grapefruit Martinis with Salted

by KathEats

This post is sponsored by Salted

Done

I have never been to cooking school, and most of what I know about the kitchen comes from practical experience and The Food Network. I definitely know not to try to cut frozen things with a pairing knife after this bad experience! Needless to say, I think anyone who cooks could use some cooking skills refreshers every now and then.

Enter Salted. Salted is an online cooking school with 75 (and counting) of the best chefs from across the country giving demos on all kinds of chef techniques. They liken it to Netflix for food! Learning to cook today is expensive. Cookbooks are $50, Cooking Classes are $100, Culinary school is $50,000. Their mission is to offer a $50,000 culinary education for just $9.99/month or $99/year.

Salted Skills

Members get access to exclusive classes, tutorials, and a VIP chef hotline that provides an answer to any culinary question in under 30 minutes. Why the name “Salted”? “Salt” is the foundation of cooking, and the suffix “ed” is a reference to the education they hope to leave with you.

For anyone interested in giving Salted a try, I have 100 free months of Salted to give away! The first 100 readers to use promo code KATH will get 3 free months of Salted!

Twists

 I was asked to choose a video and learn a new skill. Something I hadn’t done before. That something was making a citrus twist for a cocktail!

Done2

The secret shared in the video was that instead of moving the peeler across the fruit, you hold the peeler still and move the fruit across the peeler. Lightbulb!

done3

 

It took quite a few tries to figure it out, but my grapefruit twist worked!

Done4

Once we had our technique down, Matt and I set out to create something delicious using fresh raspberries, grapefruit and gin.

The result was this cocktail infused with basil and mint.

Raspberry and Grapefruit Martinis

I started out by making a simple syrup with raspberry, mint and basil. I was really happy with how the herbs came through!

Start by combining a 6 ounce container of raspberries with 3/4 a cup each of sugar and water and bring to a boil.

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While heating, crush the raspberries.  Once mixture reaches a boil, turn off the heat, and add herbs.

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6 leaves each of mint and basil –

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Let sit for 5-10 minutes, and then chill the syrup down in an ice bath, then strain.  The chilling is not necessary unless you want to immediately use the syrup like we did – otherwise just pop in the fridge till you’re ready to use.  It is important, however, not to let the herbs steep for too long or you might get bitterness.

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Meanwhile, make your citrus peels and then juice grapefruit until you have enough fresh juice for your party size.

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Once the juices are ready, the fun starts!

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Raspberry Grapefruit Martinis

1.5 oz gin
1 oz grapefruit juice
.5 oz syrup
Grapefruit twist for garnish
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As you would for more martinis, shake the cocktail over ice and pour into a martini glass.


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Allow the drink to swirl around the peel for extra grapefruit oil essence, and then garnish on the side.

Picmonkey

Thanks to Salted for the lessons and sponsoring this post! 

10 Mar 13:27

Moroccan Roasted Tomato Sauce over Cilantro Cauliflower Rice

by dishingouthealth

moroccanI’ve got a little spice to add to your Meatless Mondays. Actually a whole lotta spice. Enough to make you want to start belly dancing to village music.

This Moroccan tomato sauce includes sautéed onions, peppers, garlic, chickpeas, edamame and a slew of lively spices. It’s blanketed over a pillow of cilantro cauliflower rice (or “couscous”) making it extremely light, yet ultra satisfying.

I absolutely love how boldly-spiced most Moroccan dishes are. You’ll often taste notes of ginger, turmeric, saffron, cumin, paprika and my personal favorite, harissa, in a lot of zesty Moroccan dishes.

Harissa is a vibrant seasoning that is traditionally made with hot chilies, garlic, cumin and coriander. Not only does it add the perfect kick of spice to sauces and spreads, but it can also be used to create a bold, spicy rub for roasted and grilled meats. This spice should definitely be added to your collection for all of the above!

moroccan2I’ll be honest. I struggle going completely meatless for meals, with the exception of breakfast. I usually find myself hungry again an hour later because the meal was either too high in carbohydrates (#carbcrash) or too low in protein. I wanted to make this dish relatively low in carbohydrates, yet amped up with some quality plant-based protein. I truly didn’t miss the meat one bit.

Let’s also talk about this cauliflower rice. You guys. It is easy peasy and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. Throw some chopped cauliflower in a food processor, pulse for ~10 seconds, transfer it to a heated skillet with a little olive oil and let it cook for 10 minutes. Voila! A lower calorie, lower carb alternative to rice that takes a fraction of the time.

Major food crush.

moroccan3I like to season mine with sea salt, pepper and some kind of herb. In this case, cilantro. Parsley works great for just about any other dish you pair it with. You just gotta season it with SOMETHIN’ or it’s else its way too plain jane. Your options, however, are limitless.

The cauliflower absorbs flavors like a sponge, so I found it’s always better the next day. Make-ahead lunches for the win!

Also, since this dish is meatless, it should stay good up to 4-5 days refrigerated….. A lot of winning going on right now.

Moroccan Roasted Tomato Sauce over Cilantro Cauliflower Rice

Serves 5

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • One 14.5 oz can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes
  • One 6 oz can of tomato paste
  • 1 cup shelled edamame
  • 1 cup chickpeas – I used canned; remember to drain and thoroughly rinse
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk – sub for unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 bunch of fresh cilantro
  • 3 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp Harissa
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional; just adds a bit of heat)
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

Directions

1. Cut your head of cauliflower into quarters. Trim out the inner core from each quarter. Break apart the cauliflower into large florets with your hands. Transfer to food processor and process in 2-second pulses until it has completely broken down into couscous-sized granules. Transfer to heated skillet with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add ~2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro, sea salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook until tender, ~5-8 minutes.

IMG_0111IMG_01122. Heat remaining tbsp of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, yellow bell pepper and a touch of salt and pepper. Sauté until tender, ~7-8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic, ~1-2 minutes.

3. Add all spices, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Whisk in almond milk 1/2 cup at a time to let it fully emulsify into tomato sauce. Bring sauce to a low boil and then reduce heat to low. Stir in edamame, chickpeas and chopped cilantro. Heat for an additional 2-3 minutes.

4. Spoon cauliflower rice into bowls or plates. Top with tomato sauce and garnish with additional cilantro. Dig in!

Nutrition Facts per Serving (2 cups prepared; 1/5th of entire recipe)

Calories: 175; Total Fat: 6.5 gm; Saturated Fat: <.5 gm; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 370 mg; Carbohydrates: 23 gm; Fiber: 7 gm; Sugar: 6.5 gm; Protein: 7 gm

The post Moroccan Roasted Tomato Sauce over Cilantro Cauliflower Rice appeared first on Dishing Out Health.

04 Feb 20:26

Homemade Pepper Jack Crackers

by A Beautiful Mess

Homemade cheez it crackers (with pepper jack cheese!)If you need me during the next couple of months, you can likely find me at home in my pajama pants and wool socks, tucked under a throw blanket on the couch with my dogs. If people were allowed to hibernate, I totally would during the Missouri winter months. Especially if you could save up all your sleep hours for those few months, hibernate, and then wake up ready to take over the world just in time for spring. 

I realize this is not exactly what hibernation is, per say. But hey, it's my fantasy, so whatever.

Homemade cheesy cracker recipe via abeautifulmess.com Hibernation is not an option. But soup is (and chili!). Bring on all the soup nights this gal can handle, I say. You know what goes good with soup and chili? Crackers! These are homemade crackers made with pepper jack cheese. They really aren't all that spicy, but they are SUPER easy to make. Make a batch and crumble them onto bowls of soup and chili for a few days. You'll feel better. It's like carb medicine.

Recipes with pepper jack cheesePepper Jack Crackers, makes 4 dozen 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch square crackers.

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
4 tablespoons cold butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
coarse salt + pepper for the top
1 egg (for an egg wash top) optional

Make a batch of these and see what you think. If you want a little more heat, try adding a few big pinches of cayenne to your next batch. I do both, depending on how I'm feeling.

How to make homemade crackers (abeautifulmess.com)  In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, shredded cheese, and butter. Pulse until crumbly. With the mixer turned on slowly, stream in the cream until a dough ball forms. Then turn off the mixer.

Secret: This is pretty similar to making pie crust. If you can make pie crust, you can make crackers. 

How to make homemade crackers (abeautifulmess.com) Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough as thin as you can. Think thin crust pizza. You don't want to be able to see through the dough, but thin is your friend for these. They will puff some when they bake, so you don't want them to be too thick. 

Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into small squares, or any shape you want. You could also use cookie cutters for a fun variation. I also used a frosting tip to get those small holes in the center of my crackers. Roll the scraps together and cut again until you've used all the dough. Depending on your shape and thickness, you might get slightly more or less crackers in your batch than I did.

How to make homemade crackers (abeautifulmess.com)Place the cut dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush the tops of the crackers with it. Sprinkle on a little coarse grain salt and black pepper.

Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Homemade cheesy cracker recipe via abeautifulmess.comOnce cool, store in an airtight container if you're not consuming these within the day. Make a bowl of chili for me this week and add some crackers! Or come over and hibernate with me, I'm game.  :)  -Emma

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.

21 Jan 21:56

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Rice Cake Protein Balls

by Tina

I can’t stop eating these things!! They’re seriously so delicious. They taste almost exactly like chocolate sugar wafer cookies. OMGSOGOOD.

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And the great thing about these protein balls is that there’s some automatic portion control built in, so if you eat the entire batch, like I typically do, you won’t wreck your diet for the day. The recipe only makes 4 protein balls and each one has approximately 75 calories, 3.5g fat, and 3g protein. And they’re actually pretty big despite my photos not making them look that way.

Ingredients:

Directions: Crush rice cake with hands and place in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients listed above and combine well. (I used the back of a spoon to really mush everything together.)

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Divide batter into four sections and roll each of them with your hands into a ball. Refrigerate or eat immediately.

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12 Jan 19:40

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies from Chocolate Covered Katie

by Julie

I’m not one to discriminate against any cookie out there, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be oatmeal chocolate chip.

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

It’s as if chewy oatmeal raisin cookies and buttery, mouth-watering chocolate chip cookies had a love child and it resulted in the most perfect cookie on the planet. Yes, I really do love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that much. And thanks to the beautiful and talented Katie, I recently discovered a flourless chocolate chip cookie that rivals any oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe out there.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

The cookies jumped out at me as I was flipping through Katie’s gorgeous new cookbook, Chocolate-Covered Katie.

Chocolate Covered Katie Cookbook

flourless chocolate chip cookies by chocolate covered katie

Katie is a fellow blogger and friend of mine who happens to be the mastermind behind about a billion delectable dessert recipes that are (usually) somehow good for you. Sweet treats dominate her cookbook and 80 beautiful recipes are featured in six different chapters. As I curled up on the couch on Sunday afternoon and paged through her cookbook for the fourth time, I dog-eared a handful of recipes. When I realized I had everything on hand that I needed for the flourless chocolate chip cookies, it was time to bake!

And bake I did on a chilly Sunday afternoon. So how many cookies are left from the batch I made yesterday? Four. Ryan and I clearly loved these cookies a little too much.

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe source: Chocolate-Covered Katie Cookbook

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons milk of choice

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets and set aside.
  2. Blend together oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a blender or food processor until evenly combined. Place in a large mixing bowl and add chocolate chips, sugar, oil and 2 tablespoons milk.
  3. Stir together to form a dough, very slowly adding more milk if the mixture is too dry to form a dough.
  4. Using your hands or a cookie scoop, roll or form into balls. Place onto prepared sheets and press the balls to flatten.
  5. Bake for 6 minute. The cookies will look undone at first, but this is what you want; the cookies continue to cook as they cool.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the sheets. Store leftovers in a covered container at room temperature for up to three days.

Nutrition Information (per cookie):

Calories: 75, Fiber:  1 gram,  Fat: 3 grams, Carbs: 10 grams, Protein: 1.5 grams

In addition to this delicious recipe, you can find tons of other recipes in the Chocolate-Covered Katie Cookbook that will appeal to anyone out there with a sweet tooth!

chocolate covered katie dessert recipes

From healthy brownies and bars to nutritious dessert-for-breakfast recipes, creamy smoothies, pies and cakes, the Chocolate-Covered Katie cookbook will make your mouth water.

And now here is your chance to win a copy of Katie’s cookbook of your own!

Chocolate-Covered Katie Cookbook Giveaway

chocolate covered katie ice cream recipe

To enter this giveaway, please leave me a comment below, telling me about your favorite sweet treat. Are you an ice cream fanatic like me? Do cookies or brownies make your heart soar? Tell me below!

I will randomly select a giveaway winner on Friday. Good luck, my friends!

02 Oct 17:57

Apple Peanut Butter S’mores Pizza

by Jenny
dessert pizza recipe on pizza panSharing a favorite dessert pizza recipe today! This Apple Peanut Butter S’mores Pizza is great for an after school snack or for a fun dessert! The kids love helping in the kitchen with this one too! Dessert Pizza Recipe This dessert pizza is so delicious, everyone loves it! I wanted to use family friendly ingredients […]
03 Sep 12:32

Pizza Puzzle!

by A Beautiful Mess

Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)       Pizza seems to transcend solely being a food item (or group) and teeters into social symbolism. The reason has to be that pizza is so dang good, people (like me) can't handle just eating it! I must have been craving some pizza when I was a thinking of an idea for a fun children's puzzle. I asked myself, what do most kids love to eat? Pizza, of course. I thought, if they love pizza, maybe they'd like a pizza puzzle. After this deep conversation with myself, I decided to make a pizza puzzle.

So I made a pizza puzzle. I'm going to show you how to bake your own.

Supplies:
-hardwood plywood. I used a combination of oak (for the dough-looking parts) and poplar (for the cheese-covered-looking part)
-1 1/2" doweling
-paint or stain
-wood glue

Tools:
-jigsaw
-drill
-1 1/2" paddle bit
-clamps
-string/pencil/skinny dowel/nail
-ruler/ straight edge
-metal number stamp set (optional. After a quick Google search, I found a set for less than five bucks!)

Pizza Puzzle - creating circle (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - creating circle (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - creating circle (click through to learn more)Step One: Roll out, er, cut the dough. Decide what size pizza you want to make. I think I made a medium-sized one; its about 14" in diameter. Take a nail, and hammer it in the center of the board (you're going to want to remove that nail, so it doesn't have to be super deep). Tie one end of the string to the nail and the other end to the pencil, keeping the string pushed down toward the board on both ends. Draw the circle. Shorten the string a little bit and draw another, smaller circle. The outer ring you just created is the crust. 

Note: You can also make the contraption I have pictured above. It's just a nail and pencil tied to a dowel rod. It works great; I use it all the time for drawing circles bigger than my compass can handle.

Pizza Puzzle - creating circle (click through to learn more)Step Two: Draw the pizza slices with a ruler. Next, drill a hole into the center circle and cut out with your jigsaw. I wasn't concerned with cutting it out perfectly because pizzas aren't perfect circles. Go ahead and cut the outer circle. You should have a ring now. Trace the inner edge and cut that out. Then trace the outer edge on another piece of wood and cut that out. Be sure to keep your saw perpendicular to the cutting surface; you want the edges as even as possible. Otherwise, taking apart and assembling the puzzle will be a pain in the tush. You should now have three pieces: the ring and two discs.

Pizza Puzzle - tracing pepperoni (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - tracing pepperoni (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - tracing pepperoni (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - tracing pepperoni (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - tracing pepperoni (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - unpainted (click through to learn more)Step Three: Cut several dowels to the thickness of the wood you use for the pizza. Cut one, then trace it where you want them all to be; then you'll know how many total are needed. After you have the pepps traced, drill the holes. When I did this, the inner disc only fit one way because of the irregular circle, so I numbered the slices and their corresponding crust. After you have the pepperoni holes cut, you'll probably need to sand them pretty aggressively so the pepp pieces fit nicely. Cutting out the slices is next. I used a table saw and cut free-form. I wouldn't recommend this method. Use your jigsaw; I think the imperfect lines would look cool too! Use a hand saw to cut shallow grooves in the crust. Sand everything nice and smooth.

Pizza Puzzle - clamping (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - clamping (click through to learn more)Pizza Puzzle - clamping (click through to learn more)Step Four: At this stage you may choose to either paint or stain the different pieces. You may want the colors to be brighter (or even leave it raw wood; I thought it looked pretty cool that way). I did a ton of research to see whether or not stain and poly finish is child safe. All I found was a huge rift (online) arguing for both sides, each appearing just as valid and rational. In the end, I came to the conclusion that this puzzle was geared for children past the age of sticking everything in their mouths anyway, so I wasn't too worried about it. I may do a future post on child-safe stains and finishes; it's a rather dicey/controversial subject (as are most child-safety topics). In the end, it's up to the parents to keep an eye on their offspring.

I stained the pizza bottom before gluing and clamping onto the crust. While that was drying, I stained the pepperonis using Rust-Oleum's Cabernet.

When everything was nice and dry, I stamped numbers into the slices and their corresponding "crusts."

Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)Voilà! You have a pizza puzzle, made fresh and ready to serve!

Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)            Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)            Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)            Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)      Pizza Puzzle (click through to learn more)            Thanks to Elias and Michelle for hanging out and playing with the pizza puzzle! 

Credits // Author: Joshua Rhodes. Photography: Joshua Rhodes and Sarah Rhodes. Photos edited with Stella from The Signature Collection.

21 Jul 18:59

10 Things Every Email Marketer Can Relate To

by nshah@hubspot.com (Niti Shah)

frustrated-at-computer-459033-editedSometimes, it can be rough to be an email marketer. Designing email templates, segmenting lists, drafting copy, planning your campaigns -- a lot goes into executing a successful email marketing program.

And if you're a fellow email marketer, I'm sure you know all too well what I mean. 

Here are 10 common things we email marketers can all relate to (don't worry -- they're not all bad), complete with GIFs to make you smile and advice on how to rock your email marketing.

10 Things All Email Marketers Can Relate To 

1) Realizing your email included a typo after you hit "send."

powerrangerssource: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/powerrangers.gif

We've all done it. You hit the send button and then discover the typo. And of course, it's already too late. Your stomach sinks, and there's nothing you can do.

Sure, it's just one typo, but that email was sent to thousands of people. You come off as sloppy and careless, and more importantly, your brand looks like it doesn't have it together. Save everyone the embarrassment by always testing the email first, and don't be afraid to ask a coworker to quickly proof it.

2) When you tell someone you're an email marketer, and they say, "So you spam people, right?"

bmhsource: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/bmh.gif

Grr. You can't even say, "Email marketers don't do that!" Because sometimes they do. When you buy a list and email people, you're intruding upon the inboxes of people who have never even signed up to hear from you. Unfortunately, there are enough marketers still relying on email blasts to these lists, so they give us respectable email marketers a bad rap.

Respectable email marketers -- the ones who use inbound marketing -- only email people who have opted in. As a result, their email campaigns are much more successful, since their email recipients expect to hear from them. Consider transitioning to an inbound strategy if you haven't already -- it will improve your channel's effectiveness as well as your company's credibility.

3) Every time your email's clickthrough rate is higher than your benchmark.

tumblr_n35fr14IxQ1tw1vhco1_250source: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/tumblr_n35fr14IxQ1tw1vhco1_250.gif

Email marketing is hard. Changes to how people consume email as well as an increase in the volume of email they receive has made it harder and harder to engage them. Getting through inbox clutter and past competitors' emails and email filters is the marketing equivalent of making it through one of those intense Spartan races (you know, where they run through mud, barbed wire, and fire).

Be realistic when setting benchmarks for what email results are "good." Look internally at how your emails have been performing rather than trying to measure yourself up to some industry standard -- those are too broad and don't account for your specific brand of marketing.

4) When you first found out marketing automation was a thing.

woahsource: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/woah.gif

For those of you who don't know what it is, I promise, it will blow your mindMarketing automation is a technique that uses software to automate your marketing, helping you communicate and engage with leads and customers in a scalable way. You can set up series of emails and more that are triggered by segmented lists and events that nurture your contacts down a specific path. It's the Swiss Army Knife of marketing, because you can use it for all sorts of things including (but not limited to):

Go on, say it. Whoa.

5) When someone realizes it's you emailing them and not some spambot, and then they actually pay attention.

realsource: http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/real.gif

Personalization is key to engagement. When you send an email from a real person instead of, say, Marketing Team at marketing@companyXYZ.com, it comes off as a lot more personal. And your audience wants to hear from a person, not a company. In fact, we've run several A/B tests and found that personalizing the sender name and email address increases open rates an average of 3%. In addition, aggregate data shows that using personalization in the sender increases CTR by 19%.

In addition to sender personalization, have some fun with the copy of your email. This means different things for different industries, but as a general rule of thumb, try to sound human. Use first name personalization if available in your email marketing software so your greeting reads as "Hi Bob" rather than "Hi there." Position your copy in a way that relates to your target persona. Here are some other dynamic tags you can use in your emails to personalize your copy.

6) Getting a really mean reply to your marketing email. 

brzltrs

 Source: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/brzltrs.gif

Let's face it: Sometimes people are jerks. While we get a lot of nice responses to our marketing emails, we also regularly get some very rude responses, and although you know it's not directed at you personally, sometimes you still take it, well ... personally. But remember, when you let people opt into your emails (through forms on landing pages, for example), you're less likely to run into this issue, since they voluntarily signed up to receive updates from you.

When you get snide, cruel, or expletive-laden emails, stay classy and brush it off your shoulder. Remember -- people find it easier to be rude when it's not face to face. It's smart to just manually opt the haters out of your email list -- they aren't useful to your brand, and they'll only hurt your engagement metrics anyway.

7) Every time some new article claims email is dead.

jlaw-whtvr

source: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/jlaw-whtvr.gif

Sure. And the internet is on its way out, too.

News flash: Email is not dying. In fact, it's doing the exact opposite: According to Radicati, there are more than 3.6 billion email accounts, and last year, Forrester claims that over 838 billion marketing messages were sent via email. In addition, ExactTarget reports that 91% of consumers report checking their email daily. See more email marketing stats here.

Numbers don't lie.

8) When someone sends you a long reply demanding that you unsubscribe them, even though they could've just clicked the unsubscribe button at the bottom of your email. 

ksbpsource: http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/ksbp.gif

First things first: Do you give recipients the option to unsubscribe and change their email preferences in the footer of your emails? If not, not only are people totally within their right to angrily ask you to unsubscribe them, but you are also in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Avoid accruing hefty fines and hurting your company's reputation by including an unsubscribe option in all your marketing emails.

If you do have an unsubscribe link in your footer, make sure it's clear and easy to identify. Making it difficult for people to unsubscribe is a very poor user experience. Maybe this person just wasn't ready to buy and was planning on coming back to your website later. By making them work for the unsubscribe, you've come off as sneaky and may have pushed them away for good. And for those folks who keep emailing you even though you're doing everything right ... just unsubscribe them already.

9) Working on a million email campaigns, and all of a sudden you have no idea what's supposed to get sent when.

too-muchsource: http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/too-much.gif

We've all been there, and it sucks.

When you don't have your campaigns well organized, things start to slip through. Maybe you forgot to schedule an email and it ended up hurting one of your coworkers' marketing campaigns, or maybe you neglected to segment your list properly, resulting in a very ineffective email. Believe me: I've been there, and it's not fun.

Don't rely on email threads with your coworkers as your primary method of organization for email campaigns. Create a schedule, include important variables such as the segment you're emailing, send date, and links to the featured content, and publish this schedule where your coworkers can see it to make it easy to collaborate and keep track of progress. Here's a handy, free tool that will help you do all that.

10) When you open an email that isn't mobile optimized.

nope-1source: http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/nope.gif

Dear fellow email marketers: Please, for the sake of everything email, optimize for mobile. 47% of all emails are opened on mobile devices, so you don't have the option of ignoring this vital step in your marketing.

When you open an email on a phone or a tablet, the screen size is different than your computer. If you haven't optimized your email, words are stretching past the screen, images are a wreck, and it's a nightmare to read. And that means a good portion of your list is going to take one quick look at your email and hit "delete." Most email software tools will have options to optimize for multiple screens, and here's a tutorial on some of the important considerations to make when you're optimizing email for mobile devices

Email marketing can be frustrating. But when you know some of the shortcuts, tips, and tricks, it can also be one of the most rewarding jobs in marketing. So while you may relate to these entertaining email marketing gifs, I hope you also found the suggestions and tools useful. As a fellow email marketer, I've got your back.

email marketing planning template

                                     
19 May 16:26

Make Your Own Custom Built-In Desk

by A Beautiful Mess

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.Hi! It's Mandi here to share with you our newest (and my favorite!) home improvement project. My husband Phil and I knew we were going to have some challenges when we decided to buy a small ranch home without a basement or den. The main challenge I foresaw was finding a place to function as an office when the third bedroom was no longer available.

Recently we considered how nice it would be to work side-by-side (Phil on lesson plans, me on writing these posts!) in the same room where all of our other family activities took place. I had found myself dreading the piles of teacher books which would inevitably accumulate on our dining room table, and I had long despised the seclusion of the third bedroom. My remote work area made it difficult to keep an eye on our toddler, which is obviously a must for a work-at-home-mom. Phil and I decided it was high time we figured out a happy way to create an office space right inside our living room. And boy, do we ever love it!

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.We knew we wanted a long work surface to spread out our things without getting into each other's way and also lots of easily accessable storage to stow those things out of sight. A workspace in the living room was always such a scary idea—because clutter! Even if the area is always left perfectly neat (pipe dream!), organizational supplies and such can still visually clutter the room. The-living-room-of-Mandi-from-Making-Nice-in-the-Midwest-2Sleek white cabinets and a white countertop was our solution to reduce visual clutter in a space where we both work and relax.

Our home sure has come a long way, though, since the days of our haphazard Siamese sofa situation and purple walls (oops!). But I think even more than replacing our weirdly bohemian sofa (which at one time worked great in our apartment), installing this office in the living room has been the best decision we've made yet.

The entire workspace was created entirely by IKEA cabinets and a simple faux-solid-surface countertop that I easily whipped together myself. With a little bit of planning, you can build something like this for your own home! Check out how I made our custom built-in office space in the instructions below.

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.Materials:
-26" wide pieces of 1" thick plywood (combined length to total the desired length of your desktop)
-1x3 lumber (combined length to total the border of your desktop plus the length of the seams between the plywood of the desktop)
-latex wood filler (does not need to be stainable)
-wood glue
-1.5" nail brads (for softwood) or screws (for hardwood)
-primer & enamel paint
-sandpaper (I used a combo of 180 and 320 grit)

Tools:
-power sander (hand sanding probably won't cut it for this project)
-hammer (for softwood) or power drill (for hardwood)
-spackling spatula
-pencil & tape measure (if you are cutting your own lumber)
-respiration mask
-saw horses & wood clamps (optional—I did not use these)

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.Step One: We decided which IKEA cabinets to purchase based on the width we wanted for each person's legs under the desk, which was about 24". We selected cabinet widths to fill out the rest of the wall, deciding on this narrow drawer-filled cabinet for in-between the two workspaces. Phil assembled the cabinets and mounted them to the furring strips he had hung to the wall using toggle bolts and wall studs for support. Then we double-checked the length we needed our desktop to be by measuring the distance from the wall to the edge of the end cabinet, plus 1" for overhang on the edge.

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.Step Two: We wrote out the final dimensions we needed our desktop to be (in case we got confused while selecting lumber) and also wrote down the specific sizes we needed each piece of plywood to be to create the top, as well as each piece of 1x3 to form the border underneath it. Some plywood comes in 8' pieces, while others come in shorter lengths. (Baltic birch, my preferred plywood, comes in 5' squares.) They can help you select the pieces you need at the lumber yard, and you may even be able to save money by utilizing scrap pieces they have discounted at the lumber yard. Our local lumber yard was happy to cut the pieces down to the exact sizes that we needed, so we didn't have to do any plywood cutting at home. (We did choose to cut the 1x3s at home because we have a miter saw.)

When we got home with the lumber, we fit the three lengths of plywood (shown in our supplies list) together on our sidewalk, and then cut the 1x3 pieces of lumber to form a border on top of it (though it would eventually be on the bottom of the desktop). I connected the seams with 1x3s as well, and though we only had three seams, I threw in an extra spacer for good measure.

Step Three: Once everything was arranged in a dry fit, I used wood glue to connect the 1x3s to the plywood pieces. If you have saw horses, they would be handy to prop up the pieces of lumber while you use clamps to hold everything together. I laid my pieces on the floor inside my house and used heavy objects to hold them together while I drilled countersunk screws into the 1x3s to keep them in place while the glue dried. If you are using soft wood (like pine), you can just hammer in wire brads to keep the wood in place during the drying process.

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.Step Four: Follow the directions on your wood glue container for wait time before stressing the joints of your desktop. When the glue has dried, flip over the desktop so that the 1x3 border is now on the bottom, and apply wood filler to the seams on the top and edges of desktop. Try to really smoosh the wood filler in any tiny crevices, and smooth away any excess to make sanding easier.

Step Five: Use a power sander and 180 grit sandpaper to sand away the excess wood filler to create a smooth surface on the desktop and edges. You may notice some spots that still need to be filled, so you'll want to take the time to repeat steps four and five again until you achieve a perfectly smooth desktop.

Step Six: Once you have finished sanding the wood filler and your desktop is perfectly smooth all around, you can prime that puppy! I did two thick coats of primer, followed by a quick sanding job using 320 grit sandpaper. This sanding step is optional, but it will take away any bumps or grittiness and give you a really smooth surface for your final coats of paint. You may wish to roll or brush on the paint instead of using aerosol spray cans (or a spray gun), and that works too! Just be aware that whatever tool you use to apply the paint will leave a subtle texture on the desk surface.

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.After painting, be sure to wait at least 48 hours before putting anything on the desktop. I know it's difficult to wait when you just want to use it already! But believe me—you don't want your computer peeling paint off the desktop you just spent so much time perfecting.

Another option, besides paint, would be to cover the desktop with laminate, but I decided I really wanted the sleek look of a solid-surface countertop instead—without the Corian price tag. So paint it was! If you don't mind a little extra visual clutter, it would also look really nice to use some iron-on wood veneer on the edge of the desktop. A long stripe of walnut could be quite dramatic!

Make a long, built-in style desk by hanging cabinets and creating your own custom countertop— click through for pictures & instrucitons.Phil and I are so happy to finally have a clean, organized work station we can share as a couple, and I'm especially glad to be freed from the solitary confinement of our third bedroom. People! Light! Television! Man, what a wonderful world it is out here in the living room. (I'm typing this from the new work station. Can you tell how gleeful I am?)

-Mandi

Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson, Photos edited with Valentine of the Signature Collection.

24 Mar 13:10

The Essential Cheat Sheet of Cover Photo Dimensions for Facebook, Twitter & More [Templates]

by ahussain@hubspot.com (Anum Hussain)

social-media-image-sizes-dimensions.jpeg

Having a social media profile without a cover photo is like having a brick-and-mortar business without a store sign. Although brands could technically do without either, I wouldn't recommend it.

Social media cover photos are great for communicating brand values, highlighting a current campaign, or conveying what your company has to offer. But if you're a social media marketing manager who doesn't also happen to be a designer, creating cover photos for your social accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn is probably easier said than done. 

You either have to struggle to design a professional-looking cover photo for each social network on your own, get a more design-savvy colleague to do it for you, or outsource the work to a freelancer or agency. 

Click here to download our pre-sized cover photo templates for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube.

And considering social media cover photos are likely something you'll want to update regularly to align with new campaigns, cover photo design can be an ongoing process -- not to mention how frequently social networks redesign their layouts, inevitably affecting cover photo sizes by cropping, warping, and mucking up your existing design. 

This is definitely not ideal for brands looking to put their best foot forward in social media. So what's a poor marketer to do when the only scalable option is to take graphic design into their own hands?

The Solution: The Essential Cheat Sheet for Social Media Cover Photo Dimensions [+ PowerPoint Templates]

To make things easier on social media managers and non-designers doing design, we created an essential cheat sheet containing the most up-to-date social media cover photo dimensions -- something you can bookmark and reference when you're ready to create or re-create a cover photo for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Google+.

We also created free, downloadable PowerPoint templates that are already pre-sized for each channel's specific cover photo dimensions so you can easily customize them for your own business. Just add your creative, save it as an image file, and upload it to your social media business page.

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Cover Photo Sizes for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube

  • Facebook: 851 px wide x 315 px tall
  • Twitter: 1,500 px wide by 500 px tall
  • LinkedIn: 646 px wide x 220 px tall
  • Google+: 1,080 px wide x 608 px tall
  • YouTube: 2,560 px wide x 1,440 px tall | Desktop Banner: 2,560 px wide x 423 px tall

You can download your free cover photo templates in PowerPoint here (template example pictured below) for each of these five social networks. 

Twitter_Cover_Photo_Templates.png

And if you need some help with your DIY design skills before you start creating cover photos, check out our free ebook: Design it Yourself: The Marketer’s Crash Course in Visual Content Creation. It'll walk you through everything you need to know to start designing visual content yourself -- no previous design experience required.

Happy designing! 

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in December 2014 and has been updated to reflect the latest social media cover photo dimensions for 2016.

get free social media cover photo templates