St. Patrick's Day Paper Banner

Lately, I've really gotten into making banners to add a little bit of color to my giant Fence Post World Map! It is a big focal point in my living room and I like to add a little splash of holiday fun to it. Well, ladies and gents, I give you... The St. Patrick's Day Paper Banner! I don't know if many people sew paper together, but I do all the time! It is the easiest thing ever! Just cut your banner papers and sew them together! I made this in 20 minutes. Boom! (Mic drop!)

Simply choose the shape you want for your banner! Trace the shape on the back of each scrapbook paper and cut, cut, cut! When finished cutting, arrange your banner papers the way you want it to show. Stack them in order then go sew!

(If you don't have a sewing machine - never fear! Simply hole punch the corders of the papers and thread some string through!!)

*Pull out about 6-12 inches of thread before you start sewing, so you have something to attach your banner with.

Add your papers in order into the sewing machine and go to town! 

*When finished with all of your papers pull out another 6-12 inches of thread before you cut the thread!

Tie knots along the thread lengths you added to the beginning and end of the banner. 

(Tying the bobbin thread and the spool thread together makes it a little bit stronger.)

The banner is darling plain but I added the word "Lucky" to fit the St. Patrick's Day holiday.

OPTIONAL "LUCKY" WORDS

I typed up "Lucky" on a google docs and printed it out. I cut around the letters leaving a little bit of a white border so the letters stuck out more. Then I glued them onto the banner with a glue stick I found in my kid's crayons! 

The "U" in 'Lucky' was "lost" in the black and white paper; so I made a four leaf clover out of some scraps left over from the banner paper. The clover helped to make the "U" stand out more. Totally not planned but it turned out cute!

I love how my living room decor turned out! Simple, yet festive.

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Want to make the cute Four Leaf Clover's on my table?

Click HERE! 

They're made from cereal boxes! Yes, I made them 4 years ago, and yes, I still love them!!

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Want to make the Giant Fence Post Wall Map?

Click HERE!

I get more compliments on that than just about anything else in my house! 

Totally worth the 1 day of work!

Bean Salsa

I have been living on this for the past 2 weeks. This is my "go to" when I'm hungry and don't know what to make. Breakfast, lunch or dinner this salsa is great on just about anything. No, not ice cream, my little angel children would probably sass me and say, "Even on ice cream MOM?! You said everything!" No this would not taste good on ice cream.

You can put this on grilled chicken, hamburger patties, scrambled eggs, nachos, tacos, salads, or eat it plain with tortilla chips. Whip up a big bowl and eat on it for a couple days! It has lots of fiber and great flavors that keep you coming back. 

My sister called me a week ago and was in a panic because she was asked to take a salad to a BBQ at a friends house and had no lettuce on hand. I just happened to be whipping up my second batch of this when she called. I asked her if she had the ingredients for this bean salsa and a bag of tortilla chips? She did! She subbed a couple of ingredients but the result was still the same. DELICIOUS! She said her friends all ranted and raved about her bean salsa. 

So this is your wake up call to make some for your family, your friends or just you!

Bean Salsa 

Substitutions are ok!

1 can Black Beans - drained and rinsed

1 can Kidney beans - drained and rinsed

1 can Black Eyed Peas - drained and rinsed

1 can Corn - not creamed - drained and rinsed

1/2 (Red, Yellow, Orange or Green) Bell Pepper - diced

2-3 Roma Tomatoes - diced (If you don't have any tomatoes use a can of diced tomatoes!)

1 c. Dehydrated Onions - or fresh if you prefer 

(The dehydrated onions soak up the olive oil and vinegar making it a thicker salsa and not so soupy)

1/4 bunch of cilantro - chopped finely

1 c. Olive Oil

1/3 c. Vinegar (I've used apple cider and white and both are great!)

2 T. Lime Juice - bottled or fresh

Salt to taste

* You can add cut up avocado and it stays pretty well in the salsa because of the vinegar and lime juice. 

Place rinsed beans and corn in a medium/large bowl. Add bell pepper, tomatoes and dehydrated onion. Add cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, lime juice and salt. Stir to combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

SUBSTITUTIONS

Some people don't always have black eyed peas on hand so I have used:

Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas, 

Great white northern beans

Pinto Beans

If you don't have a bell pepper, don't worry! Don't put one in. If you LOVE peppers and have a ton of them, cut up 2! 

Make this your own! Satisfy your cravings and use what you love!

Need more Salsa Ideas? Click HERE!