Do It Yourself Wall Hanging

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

I've been looking for something to hang on our bedroom wall for a year.  The problem is I can't bring myself to spend a lot of money on wall art.  A few months ago I decided I would make something.  It has taken me 3 months to find material that I like for our bedroom.  This became my project for the first week of summer.  I went to Hobby Lobby and bought pieces of wood to make the frames. (Hobby Lobby is also where I found the material).  The wood pieces are great they are already pre-cut to different lengths with grooves on the ends. To put a frame together you just use a hammer to make sure the boards fit together snugly.  I chose to make two 20 x 20 squares.  All you need is:

• fabric
• boards to make a wood frame or buy a frame
• staple gun
• hammer

Total Cost: $30

I love the way it turned out!  Although Jeremy was skeptical of "hanging fabric on the walls", he was pleased with the result as well. 

Here is website with some good pictures of how to do it:

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-make-fabric-panel-wall-art.html

Black Bean Brownies

A few weeks ago we were having dinner at my in-laws house.  For dessert my mother-in-law served us some delicious brownies from scratch made without wheat.   I was quite surprised to learn that the main ingredient was black beans.  I would never have been able to guess what they were made of.  They tasted nothing like black beans.  This recipe is easy and fast.  When you are looking to make a batch of brownies for your family.  Don't grab a boxed brownie mix.  Make these brownies with all the health benefits of black beans: they are rich in fiber, phytonutrients and protein.

• 1 1/2 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 2 TBS chocolate syrup
• 2 TBS reduced fat sour cream (I substituted vanilla yogurt)
• 1 TBS melted unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.
2. Combine beans, cocoa powder, and egg in a food processor.  Process until the mixture is smooth about 2 minutes
3. Add chocolate syrup, sour cream, butter, sugar and vanilla.  Process ingredients for about 1 minute.
4. Pour the batter into greased dish.  Bake 28-30 minutes.  Until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let brownies cool before serving.  Refrigerate leftovers.