Saved By Love Creations

Your New Favorite Pumpkin Dessert

My mom has been on a dump cake kick lately. I am new to that entire dessert movement and though skeptical at first, this pumpkin piece of divinity has made me a believer. Seriously, the best pumpkin dish I have put in my mouth. Not only is it insanely good, it takes under 5 minutes of prep and 50 minutes in the oven. This is a keeper.

Ingredients

3 eggs

3/4 c butter melted

12 oz can condensed milk

29 oz can of pure pumpkin

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 1/4 c Pecan halves

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking oil

Mix pumpkin, eggs, condensed milk, cinnamon, brown and white sugar in a large mixing bowl until well blended.

Pour the mixture into the sprayed baking pan. It will be runny like apple sauce.

Sprinkle entire box of cake mix evenly on top of pumpkin mixture.

Evenly pour or spoon melted butter over all of the cake mix, leaving no dry areas.

Evenly disperse pecans on top of the butter.

Bake a 350° for 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Dollop whip cream or vanilla ice cream on top and enjoy!

DIY Liquor Bottle to Mercury Glass Bracelet Storage

by Johnnie Collier

Bottle Bracelet Storage

I am always looking for unique and decorative ways to organize my jewelry. Pretty up a long necked bottle to suit your style and display your bracelets for all to see. It doesn’t get much more straightforward than this project!

MATERIALS

-Long Necked Bottle

-Glass Bottle of your choice

–Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint

–Krylon Spray Adhesive Remover

-Epson Salt

-Kraft paper, plastic or other work surface protector

Bracelets galore

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove any labels from your bottle with adhesive remover. I love Krylon’s Spray Adhesive Remover. Saves loads of time for wine bottle upcyclers like me!

2. Pour Epson salt into bottle so that to about one inch from the bottom. If your bottle is smaller, you can use less. It is not important to be exact here.

3. In a well ventilated area with protected work surface, spray looking glass paint into mouth of bottle. Make sure to follow instructions on label. You want to shake the can vigourously before using. If your bottle mouth is small in diameter like this genie bottle, you will have paint pooling in one spot and running down the neck. That is fine.

4. Shake the bottle like a snow globe, so that the salt grabs the paint and drags it around. This will create the mercury glass look.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 a few more times, allowing each coat to dry for about 5 minutes before applying the next. Stop when are happy with the look.

2. Place your bracelets and admire.

EXTRA TIPS

Decoupage the bottle or paint it with glass paint and stencils for a look other than mercury glass. The customization possibilities are infinite!

Does DIY Jewelry Storage excite you? Visit our 50+ Clever Jewelry Storage DIY Ideas!

Need some bracelets now that you have a stylish, eco friendly bracelet display? We have you covered with 50+ DIY Bracelets to Make:

Wine Bottle Candle Holder Tutorial

by Johnnie Collier

Magnify and reflect candlelight in these gorgeous green wine bottle tiered holders. This project involves cutting bottles and gluing bottoms to tops, giving you luxury style on a dime in no time. Tiered candle holders make great mantle décor and centerpieces for all occasions.

I was given these beautiful Protea Wine Bottles to use. They have the coolest designs, don’t they? Sadly, I shattered one of them, but the other survived! Here is how I did it…

MATERIALS

-Bottle cutting supplies (I use Creator’s Bottle Cutter)
–E6000 Industrial Glue
-green wine bottles
-Rubbing alcohol or glass cleaner
-Paper Towels

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove labels
2. Clean glass bottles with rubbing alcohol or glass cleaner before cutting.
3. For detailed bottle cutting instructions, see How to Cut Wine Bottles. Cut wine bottles in three heights from the bottom of the bottle to the cut line. You can eyeball it, or measure with a rule and mark with a sharpie. The smallest bottle could be four inches, the middle five inches, then six to get an equal gradient in height for your final candle holders. Use the top of the wine bottle for your candle holder base, or cut beer bottle necks for the base. That is what I did for this project.

5. Gather the tops of the beer bottles and the bottoms of the wine bottles, and make sure they are clean.

6. Apply E6000 to the mouth of the beer bottle and place on flat surface.
7. Place and center cut wine bottle on top of the glue.
8. Let dry overnight.

9. Add filler and candles. Flameless LED tea lights are shown here, on top of filler sand.

DIY Shipping Pallet Dog Bed

by Johnnie Collier

What kind of DIY blogger am I, with my dogs sleeping on a pillow tossed on the floor? I know. That is why I thought a striped doggie bunk bed made from shipping pallets would be perfect for the “Get It, Got It, Go” Summer Blog Hop hosted by ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and The Home Depot! This project is a wonderful upcycle that can be color customized to fit any decor, and requires beginner woodworking skills to achieve.

MATERIALS USED

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2093EL

Behr Marquee™ Paint in Costal Storm #MQ6-20, Recycled Glass #MQ6-18 and Aquifier #MQ6-8 colors

Wooster® Shortcut 2 in. Nylon/Polyester Angle Sash Brush

Shipping pallets

1/2 inch plywood sheets

Reciprocating saw with blade for cutting metal

Kreg® jig

1 1/4 inch Kreg® screws

2 inch wood screws

drop cloth or plastic painters tarp

Wood Glue

jig saw

Drill

Hammer

Crow bar

Table saw or circular saw

TUTORIAL

The first step in this, and any pallet wood project, is breaking down the pallets. My favorite method for this is cutting through the nails holding the wooden slats to the support beams with a reciprocating saw. Sometimes it is necessary to use the crow bar and hammer to create enough space for the reciprocating saw blade, then you just cut through the nails and free one board at a time.

Here is a quick video showing the pallet breakdown process:

To build the bottom bed, I cut two 35 inch pieces and two 28 inch pieces from the pallet wood for the sides. I picked these measurements based on the dimensions of the pillow I already had on hand. Using my Kreg® pocket hole system (I showed you how to use a Kreg® jig HERE), I attached the four sides together with 1 1/4 inch screws and wood glue. For the top “bunk”, I followed the same process, cutting two sides 20 inches and two sides 18 inches long.

To create floors for the beds, I placed the bed frames on a large piece of 1/2 inch plywood and used a marker to outline the inner edges of the frame onto the plywood. I cut along these lines using my table saw, for a floor that fit right inside each frame.

To attach the floors, I placed pocket holes every 5-6 inches around all four sides and screwed the floor into the frame with 1 1/4 inch pocket hole screws/wood glue.

After building the individual beds, it was time to join them. For this, I created three 2×2 poles by ripping a 2×4 with my table saw. Two of the poles I cut to 19.5 inches and one to 15 inches in length.

I attached the three poles to the bottom bed, using the top bed to guide placement. The shorter pole goes in the back right corner of the bottom bed, and the top bed rests on top of it (which will become clear in the next step). The two longer poles will go through the floor of the top bed, nestling up against the right front corner and back left corner of it. Once they were placed in the correct location on the bottom bed to fit where they needed to on the top one, I used wood glue and 2 inch wood screws to secure them in place. I placed clamps to hold everything in place until the glue was dry.

Once that dried, it was time to secure the top bunk in place. I needed to create holes in the floor at the right front and back left corners for the poles.

To do this, I took a scrap 2×2 and traced it where I wanted the holes to be.

I drilled a hole in the middle of the square I just traced, for the jigsaw blade.

Using the jigsaw, I cut out the square for the pole.

To finish the assembly, I just placed the top bed with the poles extending up from the bottom bed in their corresponding corners. The back right corner was secured in place with a 2 inch wood screw going through the floor of the top bed, into the top of the back right pole. The other two corners where the poles extended up through the floor were secured with 2 inch wood screws though the side of the top bed, into the poles.

Finishing

Once the bed was built, I decided to paint randomly patterned stripes.

I placed the ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and began painting with the first color. The paint coverage was great! I wanted a distressed look, so I used the dry brush technique with Wooster® Shortcut Brush.

Once the first color was dry, I taped again and repeated for the 2nd and 3rd colors. It was no problem to tape over the paint, but keep in mind that Delicate Tape is the recommended tape to use on freshly painted surfaces (24hrs).The lines were perfect, and the tape didn’t remove the paint when I taped over the stripes I had already added. There was no pattern in the colors, I just painted randomly.

For the top bunk, I dry brushed the entire bed in Aquifier.

I love it, and so do my boys! Way better than the pillow on the floor, right?!

I am proud to be a 3M, Behr®, and Wooster® – sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.

Find the products used for this project, and tons more inspiration at the following links:

Wooster® Brushes Behr® Paint

The Home Depot

The Home Depot Consumer Program

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Facebook

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Twitter

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Pinterest

The Home Depot Facebook

The Home Depot Twitter

The Home Depot Pinterest

320 Sycamore: Front Porch Project

Simply Designing: DIY Board & Batten

Brooklyn Limestone: Farmer’s Market Display Stand

Fave Crafts: DIY Aztec Planters

Domestic Imperfection: Rusty Metal Shed Makeover

Studio Pebbles: Faux Frame Modern Art

Whipperberry: BBQ Tool Storage

Dukes & Duchesses: Color Block Umbrella Table

HoneyBear Lane: Patriotic Lanterns

Uncommon Designs: Striped Workbench

Better After: Geometric State Art

I Heart Nap Time: Striped Hall & Gallery Wall

The Pinning Mama: Oversized Painted Wall Frame

Love of Family & Home: Grain Sack Table

The Girl Creative: DIY Lemonade Stand

At The Picket Fence: Over-sized Outdoor Checker Board

Wine Bottle Glass Holder DIY

by Johnnie Collier

It doesn’t get much cheaper or easier than this reclaimed wood to bottle/glass holder and display! Power tools are involved, but fear not; even the novice can pull this off beautifully. Impress your date on your next romantic evening with wine for two!

MATERIALS

-Scrap wood

-¼ inch Drill bit

-1.5 inch hole saw

-Jig saw

-Medium grit sand paper

DIRECTIONS

1. Sand the edges of your wood down so it looks a little worn and smooth.

2. Using the 1.5 inch hole saw drill a hole precisely in the center of the board.

3. Then using the ¼ inch bit drill a hole in the middle of the board approximately ½ inch back from each end.

4. Use a jig saw or saber saw to then slot these holes to the end of the board.

5. Plop it onto your favorite bottle of vino and let your stem ware hang freely.

EXTRA TIPS

￮ Paint your board to match your home or party décor. Etch monograms or other custom text like I showed you in the glass tumblers and doily bottle projects. Give these away as neighbor gifts for picnic season, or as easy, inexpensive holiday gifts!

Amazing Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

by Johnnie Collier

This week’s food theme at our pitch in Bible study was soup, in honor of the onset of fall. It doesn’t get much more fall than butternut squash, right? This was my first time cooking with this squash. It was difficult to peel, but other than that, the recipe was easy and the outcome was delicious. That is an understatement. This soup was amazing. I will be making it frequently. I had several people insist upon having the recipe.

Here is the recipe I used: Crockpot Butternut Squash Recipe. I followed it exactly except I doubled it and cooked it on high for 4 hours instead of low for 7 hours.

BEST. Soup. EVER.

Wood Pallet Planter DIY

by Johnnie Collier

I picked up some mums recently and decided they needed a planter. Using Ana White’s Cedar Planter For Less than $20 Free Plan, I made just a few adjustments and built this planter using pallet wood and 2×4 scraps I had on hand.

I just grabbed the cut list from Ana’s plan and hit my scrap wood pile to see if I could make things work without having to buy any wood. I happened to have 5 1/2 inch pallet wood to use in place of the 5 1/2 inch cedar planks. Perfect!

To make the 2×2 posts for the four legs, I ripped 2×4 scrap wood into 2×2 pieces. For the 1×2 horizontal supports, I had a few scraps of 1×2 on hand and ripped pallet wood for the rest.

The biggest change from Ana’s plan is that I cut the 2×2 legs to 23 inches instead of 23 3/3. I attached the legs flush with the top of each panel, and added a “frame” to the top of the planter with 1×3 scrap wood that I mitered to fit.

As for the finish, I am just going to leave as is and seal with Polyurethane. I love the various raw wood pieces.

What do you think? What are you building from pallets these days?

DIY Scrap Wood Halloween Pumpkins

by Johnnie Collier

These three pumpkins were made entirely with materials I had on hand, which is always a plus! With my huge pile of wood pieces from previous building projects, I am pretty excited when I can use up some of the leftovers. I used my table saw to rip scrap 2×4 into what are essentially wood shims. You can do that, or use purchased wood shims or paint stirrers. Let’s go make some free pumpkins!

MATERIALS:

Plywood (i used 1/4 inch since that is what we had on hand, but you can use thicker)

2×4 scrap pieces and table saw or pre made wood shims or paint stirrers

Wood glue or construction adhesive

Sharpie

Jig saw

Ryobi Air Strike Cordless nailer

5/8 inch brads

TUTORIAL:

Use a sharpie to draw pumpkin shapes on your plywood. I made three of varying heights and widths. You can print templates and transfer your design to the wood with transfer paper too. I just wanted rustic looking pumpkins so I went free hand.

To make the wood shims, I set the table saw guide to the thickness I wanted using a shim from another project.

Then I just cut my 2×4 scraps using that guide setting.

I cut out my pumpkin shapes from the plywood using my jig saw.

I placed each pumpkin on top of side by side wood shims and glued them into place with construction adhesive.

For added strength, I nailed each shim in two places with my cordless nailer and 5/8 inch brad nails.

I added weight to my pumpkins and let the glue dry overnight.

Once dry, I cut the excess wood shims off, using the plywood pumpkin as my jig saw guide.

To finish, I hot glued twigs to the back of the pumpkin for the stem!

Check out these other great Halloween DIY projects for your favorite bloggers!

DIY Paper Flower Fall Wreath

by Johnnie Collier

I finally got my hands on the Cricut Giant Flowers Cartridge, and had myself a great time! There are tons of ways to use these paper flowers in decor. I opted to make this festive fall flower wreath.

Following the instructions that came with the cartridge, I made the Lotus, Zinnia and Rose in oranges and purple Core’dinations paper.

I wanted a flat wreath form, so I made one using cardboard. I do this a lot. Just find something round in the size you want your wreath, and trace it onto cardboard using a sharpie.

I like to cut two pieces of cardboard per wreath form and tape them together…

Once I made the wreath form, I began laying out my flowers until I had the wreath full. I glued the flowers into place with hot glue.

***TIP: I also used got glue for making the flowers. Gluing each petal into place as they are added keeps them from falling out all over the place as you continue building the flowers.

Before gluing the last flower into place, I added a loop of burlap ribbon for hanging the wreath.

Although it was simple, it did take some time. Now I have an eternal paper flower wreath! Totally worth it.

Be sure to visit our 50+ Paper Flower Projects for more inspiration:

Tissue Decoupaged Recycled Wine Bottle Lanterns

by Johnnie Collier

Hanging lanterns in the trees goes a long way towards setting a lovely scene. With some tissue paper squares and a few wine bottles, you are on your way to create beautiful, eco-friendly lighting to add ambiance to your outdoor space or party.

MATERIALS

-Clear wine bottles

-Bottle Cutting Supplies (See How to Cut Wine Bottles)

-Tissue squares in a variety of colors

-Glass drilling supplies with 1/8 inch diamond hole bit

-metal chain

-jewelry pliers

-Mod Podge

-Foam brush or flat paint brush

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean bottle and remove any labels.

2. Cut bottles to 4-5 inch height and sand any rough edges (See How to Cut Wine Bottles).

3. Drill 2 holes about 1/8 inch from the top on opposite sides of the bottle (For how to drill in glass, See DIY Mason Jar Chimes).

4. Clean the cut bottles with alcohol or glass cleaner (I put on gloves at this point to avoid fingerprinting the glass).

5. Paint a strip of Mod Podge down the side of the glass and add a tissue squares. Overlap them as desired for different effects.

6. Paint layer of Mod Podge over each strip as you finish, smoothing out wrinkles in the paper with your paint brush as you go. Don’t over do it as the paper is easily torn.

7. Once entire glass is covered, go over it with another layer of Mod Podge. You can use the outdoor formula if you are leaving the lanterns outside long term.

8. Add chain by opening link the end link with pliers, inserting it into the hole near the top of the glass and closing it back with the pliers. Insert the other end of chain in hole on the opposite side.

Saved By Love Creations

Your New Favorite Pumpkin Dessert

Ingredients

Directions

DIY Liquor Bottle to Mercury Glass Bracelet Storage

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

Does DIY Jewelry Storage excite you? Visit our 50+ Clever Jewelry Storage DIY Ideas!

Need some bracelets now that you have a stylish, eco friendly bracelet display? We have you covered with 50+ DIY Bracelets to Make:

Wine Bottle Candle Holder Tutorial

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

DIY Shipping Pallet Dog Bed

MATERIALS USED

TUTORIAL

Finishing

Wine Bottle Glass Holder DIY

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

Amazing Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Wood Pallet Planter DIY

DIY Scrap Wood Halloween Pumpkins

MATERIALS:

TUTORIAL:

Check out these other great Halloween DIY projects for your favorite bloggers!

DIY Paper Flower Fall Wreath

***TIP: I also used got glue for making the flowers. Gluing each petal into place as they are added keeps them from falling out all over the place as you continue building the flowers.

Be sure to visit our 50+ Paper Flower Projects for more inspiration:

Tissue Decoupaged Recycled Wine Bottle Lanterns

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

For more inspiration, visit our 50+ Glass Bottle Crafts:

Meet Johnnie

Categories

Recent Printables

50+ Roundups

Ingredients

Directions

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

Does DIY Jewelry Storage excite you? Visit our 50+ Clever Jewelry Storage DIY Ideas!

Need some bracelets now that you have a stylish, eco friendly bracelet display? We have you covered with 50+ DIY Bracelets to Make:

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

MATERIALS USED

TUTORIAL

Finishing

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

MATERIALS:

TUTORIAL:

Check out these other great Halloween DIY projects for your favorite bloggers!

***TIP: I also used got glue for making the flowers. Gluing each petal into place as they are added keeps them from falling out all over the place as you continue building the flowers.

Be sure to visit our 50+ Paper Flower Projects for more inspiration:

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

For more inspiration, visit our 50+ Glass Bottle Crafts:

Meet Johnnie

Categories

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