Sweet baby, Jiffy!

Jiffy Baking Mix, how I love thee!

Ask any of my friends, I used to spend hours in the kitchen baking anything and everything. But within the past year or two, I've been seriously slacking. This current baking binge has been inspired by a box of Jiffy Baking Mix (about $2 at Walmart!). I use this Jiffy mix for pretty much everything; pancakes, cookies, cinnamon buns, and now... banana bread!

For some reason I always buy bananas when I go grocery shopping, and I honestly hate the taste. I try to put them in smoothies (Yoplait frozen chocolate whips, a tablespoon of peanut butter, half a cup of milk, and some ice) for the extra nutritional value, but I slack... a lot. 

Anyway, my last banana was starting to "over ripen" so it was time to either toss it or use it. Being the saver that I am, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make the banana bread recipe I noticed the other morning (I was making cinnamon buns, YUM!). I have never seen such a simple recipe: 

Slice #2

• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup shortening (I substituted with butter)
• 2 eggs (I substituted with egg beaters)
• 1 cup very ripe banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven 350. Grease 9"x5" pan. Cream sugar and shortening. Add remaining ingredients. Mix until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 55 min.

I wish I could capture smells so you can believe me when I say this was the most amazing thing I've ever smelled, seen, tasted, etc. I seriously urge you to make this low budget snack, your stomach will love you!

DIY? Don't mind if I do!

While stumbling through some craft website a few weeks ago, I found Craftgawker. I'm not sure if it's the idea of saving money or the thrill of making something on my own, I enjoy crafting none the less. This website has virtually thousands of craft ideas for all levels of expertise.

This first project I thought would be a great idea to get my roommates and I through the rest of senior year. Not only are we starting to feel the pressure, but also feeling a bit nostalgic.To get us out of this rut, I cut up strips of 5x7 scrapbook paper (the website recommends 12x12 so your stars are larger) and wrote inspirational quotes on them. Follow the directions on the video (click!), to create the origami star. I made about 50 stars and put them in this jar for us to enjoy!

Before

After!

Next I put together a jewelry organizer after finding that I rarely wear my jewelry... and my jewelry box was falling apart! I followed the basic idea from Momtastic's Framed Organizer, but made a few budget friendly changes. At the local Michael's craft store, I purchased the black frame for $4.99, the blue plastic canvas for $0.70 and white pipe cleaners for $0.99 (I also bought white paint to antique the look of the frame, but stupidly forgot a paintbrush).

You'll notice a lot of my bracelets are homemade too :)

I'm so happy how my projects turned out, and so is my wallet! If I were to have purchased a concept of these ideas elsewhere, it could have cost up to $30. While DIY projects do take some time, you will appreciate it much more than if you bought it. Good luck crafting!

 "The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before."

- Einstein