if you’ve got a pretty busy schedule coming up next month (and even if you don’t), feel free to use this june calendar to get yourself organized.

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

this is a cake that my mom has been making for years. she made it almost every time we’d go over to her house because she knew it was my husband’s favorite – and who would blame him? it’s got sour cream to make it super moist, and pudding to make it fudgy. it may be called “death by chocolate” cake, but you’ll swear you died and went to heaven!

and may i also point out that my nephew, when asked what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday party said he wanted “the cake that nana makes with the hole in it.” move over disney-decorated cakes….

usually when i think of baking cakes i think of huge messes in the kitchen – flour everywhere, lots of dishes to clean, etc. but this recipe really couldn’t be easier to put together. and i only used my kitchen aid stand mixer – it was the only bowl i used. awesome.

the ingredients are probably ones you have in your fridge or pantry.

there are eggs, sour cream, oil, water, instant pudding, chocolate cake mix, and chocolate chips. that’s it!

the first thing you need to do is beat together the eggs and sour cream. the sour cream is what makes this cake unbelievably moist, just like it does in banana bread.

and then you just add everything else in and mix it up! it’s as easy as pie. well, actually, it’s as easy as cake. i was never good at making pie.

oops. i forgot the chocolate chips. just stir them in when you’re done mixing the rest of the batter, if you want. otherwise, just throw them in the bowl with everything else.

see how thick that batter is?! it’s going to make an amazing cake!

pour all the batter into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

and when it’s all done, let it cool down in the pan, and it’ll look like this:

when it’s cooled down, invert it onto a cutting board or cake stand. look – it even gives you portion sizes…little piece? big piece? you’ll definitely want a big piece.

cut yourself a big slice. it honestly cuts like butter, its incredible how moist it is.

and then if you’re feeling fancy, do what my mom always does and sift some powdered sugar on top. but only put that on when you’re about to serve it – piece by piece, if you need to. otherwise, the powdered sugar will start to seep into the cake (because it’s SO moist) and will like a little gummy. so powdered sugar is great, if used at time of serving. plus it makes it look so darn pretty.

here’s the recipe!

Death by Chocolate Cake

4 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

1 chocolate cake mix

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat the eggs and sour cream together until well combined. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. The batter will be thick. Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

i am so excited to be doing a review & giveaway for signs.com this week!

here’s a little about them and what they’re are capable for doing for you!

signs.com makes signs for both businesses and individuals (like you and me!). their business-related signs range from vinyl banners to window decals and car decals – for example, if you wanted to advertise your business or etsy shop or blog! in addition to doing banners, yard signs, decals, and magnets, they also do amazing things for home and individual settings. on their blog you can see how their custom banners, yard signs, wall decals and magnets worked perfectly to create an awesome birthday! so jealous! and i totally want to do that next year, btw. as mentioned, the car decals work great for advertising an etsy shop, blog, or other small business such as a home-based preschool. likewise, the wall decals i’ve featured below are fantastic for homeschooling, home decor (ie. vinyl lettering) and much more.

because signs.com is such a new company there aren’t a ton of pictures on their website, but customers can use their free online design tool to create their own images for any type of sign OR get free design services from professional designers at no cost. how cool is that?! so don’t let the lack of product images scare you away – only your creativity can limit what you can do with them! they even do custom fabric where they print a custom design onto fabric!!! i think i’m in love. if you opt to work with their designers you can make something from scratch or ask them to help you modify an existing design or idea – you’ll  just need to get your estimate of what your final product will cost from them instead of getting it yourself from the online tool. if you want design services you can go here: form at bottom of page. so cool! down the road i plan on getting an alphabet chart (in addition to the block letters below), vinyl lettering for my home, and probably a map of the united states and/or neighborhood to help teach my children geography and traffic signs and places. check out what i did with a set of alphabet block vinyl wall decals and enter to win a set for yourself…

there are so many things you can do with these alphabet vinyl wall decals that i received! here are some ideas i came up with:

1. spell your child’s name above their bed, on their bedroom door or elsewhere in their room or playroom (or on blocks…see idea #3). this set comes with doubles of all the vowels (except “u”) to make it easier to spell names or other words.

2. spell words in either your child’s room or playroom or homeschooling area (if you do homeschooling with your kids).

3. this one i couldn’t take pictures of, but i would really like to get another set and make wooden blocks out of them. they’re “wall” decals, but from my (limited) experience with vinyl, i bet they’d work pretty well on wood, too. just get blocks of wood cut a little larger than 4″x4″ and stick them on! it would be super cute as a decoration in a child’s room or nursery or even as a learning tool.

this is what i did with my set: i put the entire 4″x4″ alphabet vinyl wall decal set on the wall in my kids’ playroom. it’s where they spend the majority of their time indoors.

and can i tell you that it was ridiculously easy?! it was like using stickers (except without the won’t-come-off-the wall-or-furniture part). my favorite part is that my kids love it – they’re constantly telling me the letters and my youngest is singing the alphabet while following the letters on the wall.

to make things a little more challenging for my older child, i created a few worksheets to get him working on his word endings. he can look at the letters on the wall to help him fill in the blanks. we have a table he can work on in our playroom, so he’s spent a bunch of time there discovering new words! he’s also been using the same colors to write his letters as the colors on the wall. i love it!

(you can download these worksheets: -ing words, -at words, -all words, and -ake words.)

the great thing about these wall decals is that if you decide later on that you want to move them to a different room or change them up a little bit – no problem! they totally come off without pulling any paint off your walls, and they’ll stick right back onto your new place for them. sweet.

would you like to win a set for yourself?! i knew you would! to enter, just read the rules below, and then follow the easy entry options. the more you do, the better your chances of winning! good luck!

[entry rules: you must be a resident of the united states or canada to enter. contest runs from saturday, may 11th to monday, may 20th @ midnight.]

***p.s. i’ve got a promo code for all live craft eat readers – use code “LCE15″ for 15% off any purchase at signs.com!! i seriously can’t tell you enough how many things you can do through them – the possibilities are endless! (for some inspiration, check out this birthday post here.) so check it out and use that promo code through thursday, may 23rd!***

okay, now get back to entering the vinyl alphabet contest

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

there is something that is somewhat perplexing to me. my kids, who refuse to have anything to do with wheat bread in any form, absolutely love eating bran. i hardly believed it when my youngest bypassed the lucky charms in favor of wheaties the other morning. plus, i made 2 dozen (yes, 24) of these mini all-bran muffins yesterday and within 24 hours they were gone. GONE. i’m not pulling your leg – they. ate. them. all.

so aside from the fact that my kids adore these muffins (they could hardly wait to get them out of the oven), another great thing about them is that you can make a full batch and whatever batter you don’t end up using, you can store in the fridge for 6-8 weeks. seriously. i don’t think it’ll last that long, especially if your kids love them as much as mine do. and as a bonus, you’ll be the best mom ever because you’ll have freshly-baked muffins every morning! (even though you really made the batter for them 4 weeks ago….) just sayin.

are you ready to see just how easy they are to make?

keep in mind that i made mini muffins – only needed a heaping tablespoon of batter for each muffin. but they’re the perfect size for kids. also, i only made half a recipe in my pictures. but i wish i’d made a whole one.

first, you’ll need shortening, all-bran cereal, eggs, sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, raisins or blueberries (optional) and buttermilk.

in a bowl, mix together the shortening, all-bran cereal, and boiling water.

the boiling water melts the shortening and softens the bran so that you have something resembling this (i know it kinda looks like ground beef right now, but stick with me):

in a large bowl, beat the eggs and gradually beat in the sugar.

add in the all-bran mixture and mix well.

and look! it’s starting to look tasty already!

in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

add half of the flour mixture to the batter.

add half of the buttermilk.

then the other half of the flour mixture. then the other half of the buttermilk.

mix it all up and you’ve got your muffin batter!

spoon the batter into muffin tins. i’ve never had need to grease my muffin tins with this recipe – i think the shortening in the batter does the trick. they’ve always been really easy to take out after they’ve baked and cooled.

if you’re using mini muffin tins, bake @ 400F for 10-12 minutes. If you’re doing full-sized muffins, you’ll need to bake them at 400F for 20-30 minutes.

don’t they look adorable?! hello, cuties!

and like i said above, my kids couldn’t wait to get their hands on them. and even though my oldest knew i was taking a picture of them, he decided he’d still try to grab one and thought it would be okay as long as he said, “cheese!” while his hand was in the picture.

hope you (and your kids!) love these muffins as much as we do! and thanks to my sis-in-law for getting us addicted to these!

all bran muffins

makes 1 gallon of batter.

ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons shortening

4 cups all-bran cereal

2 cups boiling water

4 eggs

3 cup sugar

5 cups flour

5 teaspoons baking soda

5 teaspoons salt

4 cups buttermilk

raisins or blueberries, optional

directions

in a medium bowl, combine shortening, all-bran, and boiling water. set aside to cool.

in a large bowl, beat eggs and gradually beat in sugar. beat well. add cooled all-bran mixture, mixing well.

in a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. add raisins or blueberries, if using. add flour mixture to bran mixture alternately with buttermilk. spoon into un-greased muffin tins. bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes for regular-sized muffins, or for 10-12 minutes for mini muffins.

store unused batter in an airtight container in fridge for 6-8 weeks. when using, do not stir – just spoon carefully into muffin cups.

enjoy!

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

were you surprised when President Monson announced that the age for missionaries was going to change to younger ages for both men and women? what were your initial thoughts? my first thought was, “wow, there are going to be a WHOLE LOT of youth who are suddenly now eligible to serve missions!” and my next thought was, “i hope they’ve already been learning how to cook and how to do their own laundry and take care of themselves!”

if you know someone who’s going on a mission soon (or who is already on their mission and wouldn’t mind getting a care package from you), and are concerned about if/how well they’re eating, then you’re in luck! Kirstylee and Cassidy from Moms Have Questions Too put together a Missionary Cookbook to give as gifts to family members who were going on missions. what a unique gift!

having had 5 siblings serve missions, i’ve learned a few things that can limit missionaries from cooking well for themselves, especially if they are unable to eat at people’s homes:

1. they usually lived in small apartments with not a lot of storage space in the kitchen,

2. they have to be able to fit all of their belongings in their suitcases, so they try to only keep things that are small, flat, and lightweight,

3. they do not receive a very big budget.

this cookbook allows them to cook delicious meals for themselves despite all those challenges. the recipes inside the book are not only yummy, but they use very, very few ingredients and cooking utensils. the book itself is small and thin – easy to fit into a backpack or down the side of a suitcase. and the recipes do not require very much money at all to buy the few required ingredients.

kirstylee and cassidy were kind enough to send me a copy of their book to try out, and i have to tell you – even though i’m clearly not a missionary, this book is fabulous for people who need ideas for quick, easy and inexpensive dinners that require just a few pantry items.

here’s something i made from this Missionary Cookbook on a night when i didn’t have a lot of time to come up with something for dinner: sloppy joes!

all i needed was:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp mustard

1/3 c (or more) ketchup

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

hamburger buns

and here’s how easy it was to put it all together:

brown and drain ground beef. add onion powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar to ground beef and mix through. add more ketchup if necessary until it is the right consistency. serve on hamburger buns.

see how easy it was? and it was really inexpensive. perfect for missionaries who don’t have a lot of time to make themselves dinner when they get home, but still need to have a good meal for the day. and even if they’re not fabulous cooks themselves, they can still put these recipes together – they’re so super easy! not to mention tasty – it was my first time making sloppy joes, and my husband loved them, so this recipe is a keeper!

would you like to win a copy of this book for you or a missionary friend?? read the contest rules, and then complete the easy entries below to enter!

contest rules: residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible. contest starts friday, may 3rd and ends thursday, may 9th at 11:59 pm. good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

the other day my kid came home from school super excited – his teacher had sent him home with his own bag of flubber! i’d heard of this fun playdough-type of thing, but had never made it nor held it in my own hands. my own excitement came when i saw that she’d also sent home the recipe! i couldn’t wait to make it at home – i already had everything i needed!

some water, glue, borax, and food coloring is all you need. mix the glue, water, and food coloring in one bowl. in a separate bowl, mix hot water and borax. when you mix the two together, a magical thing happens – it turns into this smooth elastic-y substance that i can’t quite describe – though it does remind me a lot of “B.O.B.” on the monsters vs. aliens movie! are you curious to know for yourself what this stuff is like?! try it yourself – your kids will love it!! here’s the recipe!

what you need:

3/4 cup cold water

1 cup Elmer’s glue

liquid food coloring

1/2 cup hot water

1 teaspoon borax (you can find this in a box in the laundry aisle)

directions:

step 1: in bowl 1 – mix together the cold water, glue, and food coloring. set aside.

step 2: in bowl 2 – mix together the hot water and borax, until the borax is completely dissolved.

step 3: slowly add glue mixture to borax mixture. mix well. pour off excess water.

***UPDATE: i just want to reiterate that i got this recipe from my son’s preschool. we tried it out and my kids absolutely loved it! i’m thrilled that so many others have loved it as well. having said that, i’ve received many comments expressing concern about borax. some helpful, others extremely rude, the latter of which i will not publish. for those expressing concern about borax, my understanding is that it is not harmful and is different than boric acid. nonetheless, i am by no means an expert and assume that you will do your own research and use it as you see fit. some people have offered suggestions in the comments section and some have even provided links. feel free to look at those if you like, but just because i have “published” the comments does not mean i endorse them one way or another. having said all this, i am going to continue to use it with my children as they love playing with it. i will do my best to respond to comments as i can but in some cases, i simply do not know the answers.***

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

i don’t know about you, but may’s shaping up to be a pretty busy month. i’d better get this calendar up so i can start planning out my days asap – they’re starting to get filled up fast!

to download your own may calendar, click here. enjoy!

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

let’s keep the general conference inspiration going with another great giveaway!

Elder Henry B. Eyring is such a great speaker, always giving thoughtful and insightful words about things that would help anyone, anywhere, to become a more faithful follower of Christ. he his known for his emotional and testimony-filled talks, as someone who has a sure knowledge of his Savior. and as nice as it is to hear him speak, it is just as enjoyable to read his words. he recently wrote a book called, Choose Higher Ground, which highlights several of his talks. if you’re wondering what the title means, he tells us in this book that when he was young and would “complain that things were hard, his mother would advise him, ‘ If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill.’ To choose the Lord’s way is to choose higher ground.” and so this book gives us encouragement by providing many ways for us to endure and get back to God even thought the hill may be steep. it is a book for everyone – from all walks of life and all circumstances and from all levels of faith.

there are a total of 25 talks under these 5 categories: “A Strong Foundation,” “Personal Growth through Helping Others,” “Strength in Adversity,” “Power to Live a Consecrated Life,” and “Help for the Last Days.” all of these areas cover times in our lives that each one of us will pass through. by studying this book we are better able to know how to get through these times with a strong testimony and with a resolve to endure them well.

one of my favorite passages deals with receiving revelation through reading the scriptures.

“Our humility and our faith that invite spiritual gifts are increased by our reading, studying, and pondering the scriptures. We have all heard those words. Yet we may read a few lines or pages of scripture every day and hope that will be enough. But reading, studying, and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit. Pondering, to me, is the thinking and the praying I do after reading and studying in the scriptures carefully.” (page 146)

this really rang true to me because even though i’ve never pinpointed it like this before, upon reflection i realized that i used to read the scriptures when i was younger, but would literally just read the words and perhaps catch a meaning or two. then i started to study them – actively trying to understand the stories and what certain verses meant. and it wasn’t until i started pondering them that i began to develop my testimony of them – when i began to think about more than what was literally written on the pages; when i thought about their teachings and how the apply to me personally, and also how they apply to my role in the bigger picture. and having learned more and more through pondering the scriptures i’ve come to better understand my Savior and what He has done and continues to do for me. this knowledge helps me to get through trials in my life – as simple or as difficult as they may be – and helps me to have better faith. there will be times in my life when i will need revelation, and by learning to recognize it through the scriptures will be a great strength to me.

to get back to god will require us to climb and move uphill. but we are not alone in this journey. by reading this book, you will receive counsel, advice and insights that will help you to endure adversities and overcome challenges that will help you reach your destination.

for a chance at winning a copy of this amazing book, follow the easy entry options below. the more entries you complete, the better your chances are of winning!

(contest rules: open to residents of the U.S. only. contest runs from friday, april 26th at 12:01am to thursday, may 2nd at 12:00 midnight. good luck!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

my kids and i did the activities that we posted on the melissa & doug blog earlier – these games are so much fun! my kids have been talking non-stop about recycling and are really into the earth and making sure it’s clean so that animals and people can be healthy on it. it’s very cute!

another activity we did today, in addition to the ones we posted on their blog, was to make earth sugar cookies. my kids love getting creative in the kitchen, love eating cookies, and love the earth, so it was the perfect activity! as for myself, i was a little busy yesterday, so instead of making my homemade sugar cookies and cream cheese icing (they seriously are so good!), i opted for a store-bought mix for both the cookies and icing, and it worked out great. so that is a quicker option if that’s what you’re in need of!

and if you’re not a cake decorator – don’t worry! neither am i! and neither are kids, and that’s what makes this activity so great – it’s not about perfection. it’s all about letting them have control over what they do to decorate their cookies and still be proud of what that they’ve made. even if their continents look like big blobs of icing, to them it looks like the earth and that’s all that matters. just have fun and enjoy spending time with them and making a mess in the kitchen!

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.

here are the steps:

(top to bottom, left to right)

1. gather your very few, easy ingredients: frozen dinner rolls, small box of cook and serve butterscotch pudding, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. can’t get easier than that! (psst – you don’t even have to prepare the pudding!!)

2. place frozen dinner rolls into a bundt pan.

3.  sprinkle the rolls with butterscotch pudding.

4. melt butter and pour over top.

5. sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

6. cover with plastic wrap and let set over night.

7. go to bed.

that’s seriously all you have to do! and in the morning, just wake up, pop it in the oven, then eat! and when you flip it out onto a huge plate you will want to catch every last drop of the syrup it makes – i promise, it tastes really good!! enjoy it!

here’s the full recipe and instructions:

overnight monkey bread

 

Print

Ingredients

• 24 frozen dinner rolls
• 1 small box cook and serve butterscotch pudding
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. place frozen dinner rolls into a bundt pan. sprinkle with butterscotch pudding. melt butter and pour over top. sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight.
2. in the morning, preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. (put a cookie underneath to catch any drips.) remove from oven and turn over onto a plate big enough to catch all the gooey syrup that will spill out of the bundt pan.

3.2.1226

To read the original article visit Live Craft Eat.