Most Popular Blog Posts In 2015 - DIY180

Happy New Year's! Hope you are having a wonderful time with your families and friends! As we close out 2015, I have the pleasure of joining some fabulous bloggers on our last blog tour of the year. What fun to end the year with a round up of the best blog posts for 2015. Do join in on the fun and at the end of this post, make sure to stop by and visit the other amazing bloggers! If this is your first time to DIY180, thank you for being here, I love meeting new friends.

My 1st popular post is my Valentine's Day PotteryBarn Knockoff Art work. 

Next favorite is the Monogram Wall Art.

Inspirational Kids Wall Art was a hit.

Kids Wall Art

PotteryBarn 4th of July Knockoff is everyones favorite

Spring Wreath

Fall Pumpkin Flag

Burlap Pillow

PotteryBarn Silhouette Reindeer Knockoff  was a winner this Christmas.

Chocolate Cake Recipe had everyone drooling.

There you have it, DIY180 popular post in 2015. I am wishing you and your family a Happy New Year's. Don't forget and see what popular posts the other lovely bloggers had in 2015.  

Don't Miss a Thing!

If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!

Facebook *  Pinterest *  Instagram *  Twitter * Hometalk

Now here's some other great Top Ten Posts of 2015 from some blogging friends for you to check out...

Domestically Speaking | Cupcakes and Crinoline |Our Southern Home

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | Yesterday on Tuesday | Mad in Crafts

Petticoat Junktion | Roots North and South | DIY180

Inspiration for Moms | Restoration Redoux | Create & Babble

2 Bees in a Pod | Garden Matter | Artsy Chicks Rule

Cottage at the Crossroads | Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer | Sweet Pea

Plum Doodles | What Meegan Makes | Clean and Scentsible

Hunt & Host | Brandywine Cottage | Day to Day Adventures

Chocolate Cake Recipe - Not So Decadent

What a wonderful Christmas I had to spend with my family and now we get to bring in the New Year's in a couple of days. How awesome is that? Today, I am thrilled to be joining some fabulous bloggers and we are going to share our favorite recipes. This tour is going to be amazing, so make sure to stop by at the end of this post and visit the other ladies!

The recipe I am sharing is not my own, but one I have used for the last 6 years and my family and friends love this cake. This chocolate cake is so perfect because the cake and the frosting is not rich or too sweet, but just right. This cake will be a hit in your next party. You can find the cake and the frosting recipe to Perfectly Chocolate Cake here

I did not use the Hershey's cocoa powder but Chatfield's. Just use a good quality cocoa powder. Before adding your wet ingredients make sure to sift all the dry ingredients. Another tip when you add your batter to the cake pan make sure to tap the pan on the counter before putting them in the oven. This will remove all the air in the batter. 

To change this recipe up I have added 1 tablespoon of instant coffee or add 1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind to the batter. All I have to say is delicious! If you don't want to make a cake just use your cupcake pans as well. Now, go visit the other bloggers for some more inspiration. See you next year. Happy New Year's!   

If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!

Facebook *  Pinterest *  Instagram *  Twitter * Hometalk

Monday ~ Appetizers

Petticoat Junktion | Cottage At The Crossroads

My Creative Days | Sweet Pea

Create & Babble | Plum Doodles

Opulent Cottage | Brandywine Cottage

Domestically Speaking | What Meegan Makes

Tuesday ~ Desserts

An Italian In My Kitchen | Cook With 5 Kids

Hunt & Host | DIY 180

Roots North and South |Garden Matter

The Coconut Head's Survival Guide

Day to Day Adventures | 2 Bees in a Pod

Mad in Crafts

Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Christmas Cookie Exchange

Today I am apart of the The Christmas Cookie Exchange hosted by "The Everyday Home". I am so excited you are here today and if this is your first time to DIY180, Welcome! I hope you will come back to visit again because I love meeting new friends. I am thrilled to be apart of the Christmas cookie exchange and sharing my favorite cookie recipe along side some very talented bloggers. You are in for a real treat, so make sure to visit all these lovely bloggers at the end of this post. 

My favorite time of year is Christmas. I love all the Christmas decorations, cooking and baking. Baking is a must for me and every year I will go through my recipe binder. I will always make the favorites or create a couple of new ones every year. I love to experiment with recipes and my family are my test subjects. So, today I am so happy to share with you one of my favorite cookie recipes,  pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Doesn't that remind you of your childhood?  

Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients Needed: 

2 cups of unbleached flour

2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking power

2 1/2 cups of packed light brown sugar

1 cup of butter softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 cup of solid pack pumpkin

5 cups of uncooked old fashioned oats

2 cups of dried raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Than lightly butter a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper. The butter helps to keep the parchment paper in place.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients - flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and place in a medium bowl. Set aside
3. Beat the brown sugar and softened butter on medium speed for 5 minutes till fluffy.
4. Next, beat in the eggs and vanilla till blended, then add the pumpkin and beat on low till blended.
5. Take the flour mixture and beat into the wet ingredients till blended. Then add the oats and mix well. 
6. Finally, stir in the raisins.
7. Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and drop 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minute but half way through the baking process, turn the cookie sheet around so the cookies can brown evenly. 
8. Once golden brown, remove cookies from the oven and wait 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

This recipe will yield 25 to 35 cookies and the texture is chewy and soft. This is by far one of my favorite recipes and hope you enjoy making them as well as eating them. 

Don't Miss a Thing!

If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!

Facebook *  Pinterest *  Instagram *  Twitter * Hometalk

Have you seen my latest PotteryBarn Silhouette Reindeer Knockoff Project? 

Hugs, 

Vanessa

An InLinkz Link-up

Potterybarn Silhouette Reindeer Knockoff - "Home For Christmas" Hosted by Hometalk and Country Living

I am so glad you are here today and if this is your first time visiting DIY180, welcome! I hope you come back because I love having new friends here. Today I am so thrilled you are here because I am honored to be apart of the "Home For Christmas Blog Hop" (#HomeforChristmas) being sponsored by Hometalk and Country Living! Wow, do we have a great line up of Christmas inspiration for you to see. Come join us and enjoy!

I am sharing with you one of my favorite projects to create - Potterybarn Knockoff's! Do you remember last year when I recreated Potterybarn snowman pillow? It was such a big hit I have to recreate another Potterybarn knockoff. I recreated my version of their Silhouette Reindeer wall art. It's on sale right now for $103. However, I recreated my version for $6.00 dollar and I am so happy with it. 

This post contains affiliate links. 

Supplies Needed - 
Birch wood
FolkArt Inca Gold Paint
Contact Paper
Scissor

I purchased the birch wood piece from Michael's with a 40% coupon. It was a great deal at only five dollars. I painted the the wood using white chalk paint and gave it a light sanding. I used a 600 grit sandpaper because it makes the painted surface smooth. The next step was creating a front view silhouette reindeer. Luckily, for me I found one online and was able to download the PDF file for free. Fabulous! Once I printed off the reindeer, I knew I needed to enlarge the copy so a quick trip to Staples and 21. cents later I was ready to trace my reindeer onto my contact paper. Yes, you heard correctly, contact paper. Contact paper is great when you don't have one of those fancy cutting machines. Once the tracing was done I was ready to carefully cut out the reindeer and place it on the wood. When placing the contact paper I used a credit card to ensure the edges were sealed completely. 

I painted over the entire surface and let it dry for 30 minutes before doing the second coat. When the paint was almost dry I carefully removed the contact paper and voila! My Silhouette Reindeer!  

I am so happy how it turned out and it looks great with my gold Christmas theme I have going on this year. There you have it. My version of the Silhouette Reindeer! You can find the reindeer file on my Pinterest. 

Thank you Hometalk and Country Living for hosting this fabulous Home for Christmas! Make sure to visit www.Hometalk.com and www.CountryLiving.com for more inspirational ideas. #homeforchristmas 

Don't Miss a Thing!

If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!

Facebook *  Pinterest *  Instagram *  Twitter * Hometalk

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Wrapping Made Easy

Welcome to the 2nd annual Home for the Holidays Blog Tour hosted by Sondra Lyn at Home. Wow, do we ever have a great week of holiday celebration ideas lined up for you!

Join us each day for inspiration from nearly 30 of the today's finest blogs!

Be sure to check back every day this week to enjoy all the holiday goodness we'll be sharing with you! Each day's links will be posted that day and will go live at 7am EST/6am CST, so don't miss a single day!

What a great time of year and I am so happy you are here visiting me today. I have some fun and easy tips on how to wrap those special gifts for your loved ones. When I was in High School my second job was working at a department store wrapping gifts for 3 months. Ever since then, I used what I've learned and I add different elements to make each gift different. Sure, we can use those premade gift boxes or gift bags, but I love the idea of making everyone's gift special and unique. 

Supplies need:

• Assorted wrapping papers
• Assorted ribbons
• Gift boxes 
• Tissue Paper
• Two sided tape
• Scissors
• Pre-Made gift tags or homemade ones

I love using all kinds of ribbons, but my favorite are the vintage spools of ribbons I acquired over the years. Using beautiful wrapping paper, with festive ribbon, makes your gift so special.  

When wrapping a gift, make sure to trim the wrapping paper on all sides and if you have a gift that is smaller than the box then add tissue paper to keep it in place. 

I love making simple bows, here is one that just requires a mini staple or can simply be tied. 

This is just the beginning of my gift wrapping and I have more to go. I can't wait to get all my shopping done. From my home to yours, have a blessed and peaceful Christmas. 

You'll see everything from gorgeous decor to yummy holiday recipes... and everything in between! Here's a look at what's coming up this week:

Cause we all know...

there's no place like...

Home for the Holidays!

Monday - Holiday Decor

Tuesday - Holiday Recipes 

 

Wednesday - Holiday Mantels and Tablescapes

Thursday - Holiday Crafts 

 

Friday - Holiday Gifts and Wrapping

Tidy Up Giveaway-

I am so happy to be participating in a fabulous giveaway over at Katherine Corner. Join in on a chance to win this fabulous cash prize and book. This would be a great way to end the year.

One winner will receive-

A Hard Bound Copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

and $175 in cash to get your new year off to a tidy start

 

This months Paypal cash is brought to you by Katherine and some of her sweet bloggy friends

listed in no specific order

Katherine- Katherines Corner

Angel- Sew Crafty Angel

Angie-Gods Growing Garden

Nina-Vintage Mamas Cottage

Diane- Mamal Diane Keeping Life Simple

Karren- Oh My Heartsie Girl

Linda- Crafts ala Mode

Christine- I Dig Pinterest

Laura - Not A Trophy Wife

Gina- Kleinworth & Co.

Vanessa-DIY 180

Debbie- Heartbeats~Soul stains

Entering the Tidy Up Giveaway is easy-

Just log into the entry form using your email address or facebook and get started.

Enter one or all of the entries. Giveaway starts Dec 4 and ends Dec 30th

a Rafflecopter giveaway