Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday Funny

Happy Friday everyone!  We've got a busy couple of days ahead of us - a comedy show tonight, Oktoberfest in Leavenworth tomorrow and a Seahawks game on Sunday.  It promises to be an action-packed weekend, but it should be fun!

Here's a little something from Loose Parts to get your weekend started off right.  Have a good one!


Thursday, September 29, 2011

Halloween Pumpkin Candle Holder

Here's something I whipped up over the weekend during my crafting frenzy.  It's a Halloween candle holder made from a mini-pumpkin. I used an old carving kit to cut off the top, decorated the rim with some glue and red glitter, plopped in a candle and then attached some spooky spider stickers.  It's a kid-friendly activity (I'm a kid a heart!) so that's a bonus, but it also makes for a cute Halloween display.  Oh, and did I mention it only takes about 15 minutes to make?

Small pumpkins are suprisingly hard to carve out! 
The finished product!  It adds a nice Halloween touch to our bar area.
A closer view.  
I've shared this on:

http://www.aglimpseinsideblog.com/


 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Halloween Cookie Pops (DIY)

Do you love cupcakes?  How about cupcake pops?  If you answered yes, you may want to continue reading.  :)

I love cupcakes almost as much as I love wine. BIG. CUPCAKE. FAN.  And I have the hips to prove it! Lately though, I've had a case of the "blahs" when it comes to cupcakes so I came up with an alternative:  cookie pops....mmmm....



Sadly, I am not hosting a Halloween party this year, but if I was, I'd absolutely make these.  They are easy breezy to prepare and so fun to decorate. Plus, you can find all of the ingredients at your local grocer so there's no need for an extra trip to the craft store.

Here's what you'll need:
  • Oreo cakesters (cake-like Oreos with frosting in the middle - yum!)
  • Wax paper
  • Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Sprinkles
  • Betty Crocker pre-made icing
  • Halloween candies
  • Straws or wooden sticks
  • Ribbon
Step 1:  Unwrap Oreo cakesters and set on a plate or cookie sheet lined with wax paper
Step 2:  Attach straws or wooden sticks to the Oreos
Step 3:  Pour 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips into a microwave safe dish and heat for 30 seconds; stir
Step 4:  Using a small knife or spatula, coat the cookie pops with the melted chocolate; place the pops back on to the wax paper and chill in the refrigerator for an hour
Step 5:  Remove the pops from the refrigerator and begin decorating with icing, sprinkles and candies
Step 6:  When decorating is completed, place the pops back into the refrigerator for additional cooling time
Step 7:  Before serving, wrap ribbon in a bow around the straw or wooden stick

I've shared this on:

Tip Junkie handmade projects

http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/

Confessions of a SAHM

Monday, September 26, 2011

Easy Halloween Mask

I spent a lot of time over the weekend working on various Halloween crafts.  I actually think I went a little overboard.  As tidy as I tried to be, I'm still finding bits of glitter and glue everywhere!  It's all in good fun though so I don't mind. The floors and countertops will just have a little extra sparkle in them for a while.

So where I work, people don't tend to dress up for Halloween. Since I love the holiday so much, I thought it would be fun to come up with a way to acknowledge it without being too distracting for others.  The end result was this sparkly, festive Halloween mask. Yes, I'm going to wear it to work! :)





Here's what you'll need from the craft store if you want to create a fun Halloween mask like this:
  • Paper mask 
  • Glue
  • Glitter
  • Paint or markers
  • Halloween stickers
  • Package of feathers
  • Ribbon
  • Stapler
  • Scissors
Step 1:  Paint the mask or color it with markers.  
Step 2:  Create a pattern of your choice using the glue; coat the glue with glitter
Step 3:  Once the paint and glitter has dried, glue the feathers on the sides (or anywhere you'd like)
Step 4:  Arrange stickers - in my example, I've cut a cobweb sticker in half and used it as forehead embellishment
Step 5:  Cut your ribbon into two equal halves (10 inches each should do) and staple each piece to the side of the mask
Step 6:  Wear your mask and enjoy!

I've shared this DIY project on:

http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
http://becolorful.typepad.com/

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Funny

One of my favorite blogs ever is Coffee & Zombie Movies. I know I've blogged about the site before, but sometimes the posts are so good, they're worth a second or third mention. If you're a stickler for good grammar, you'll enjoy this one below.

Have a good weekend everyone!  Come back and visit on Monday - I have some fun Halloween projects in the works and look forward to sharing them with you!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Animated Alphabet

This awesome alphabet video is courtesy of The Daily What.  I've always been fond of storytelling through stop motion.  Hello Amazon commercials!  Am I right?  They're just so darn eye-catching.

P.S. If you don't follow The Daily What, you might want to.  The site has so many interesting things to see and read about!


The Alphabet 2 from n9ve on Vimeo.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Decorative Acorns

Looking for a way to decorate for fall without spending too much?  Mega Crafty has this fun project for making festive acorns that won't break the bank and they look great. I would use these cute little things to fill ceramic bowls or glass hurricanes or even mix them in with potpourri.  




Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Handy Headphone Storage

Today my husband and I celebrate three years of marriage together.  Also, in about 7 weeks, I turn 30.  With these milestones in mind, we thought it would be fun to do something memorable to celebrate so we're taking a little vacation next month.

Since we'll be flying, I was thinking about all the ways to make our time in the airplane more comfortable.  Then I stumbled on C.W. Frosting and found this awesome DIY project for keeping headphones wrapped-up and safely stored. It's cheap and efficient - I must make this!

Check it out!
All you need is velcro, scissors and ribbon
Attach the velcro pieces to the ribbon and wrap.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Floral Favorites - Amanda's Wedding

As promised, here's a snapshot of some of the stuff I put together on Sunday for the wedding. I wish I had better photos to share, but I think these relay the general idea.  Once the official wedding photographs come back, I'll post the real glamour shots.

One of the bridesmaids bouquets.  Made with tulips, stock, lisianthus,
dahlias, bells of Ireland and peacock feathers!
Getting ready to load the bouquets into the car for delivery...
I snapped a quick photo with my iPhone after delivering
everything.  It's a tad dark, but it turned out better than
I thought it would!
Two of four men's corsages. 
Another one of the men's corsages sans pretty box.
Two of seven women's wrist corsages made with spray roses and purple stock.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Fun Friday Things: Let The Weekend Begin!

Well folks, I'm officially signing off for the weekend.  I'm doing the wedding flowers for a family friend this Sunday and there's still plenty of prep work ahead of me today.  Not complaining - I'm actually pretty excited about it!  I'll be sure to post pictures on Monday.

Have a good one!

Sneak peek of the bridal bouquets


Family Concentration Game

Concentration was one of my favorite games growing up so I love this twist that Make the best of Everything has added.  What a creative way for little ones to get to know their family members. It might also come in handy for newbies (boyfriends, girlfriends, fiances, etc.) who join our gigantic extended family and have a hard time placing faces with names. Love it!

Wooden squares - available in most craft stores.

Family photos + glue/Modge Podge

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Webcam 101

This elderly couple cracks me up!  They seem completely ambivalent to the fact that they can't quite get their webcam and video set-up to work.   I suppose when you reach a certain age, little things like that just don't phase you anymore.  I hope I can keep that calm and collected as I age!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Shoe Signage

Little Mud Pies has this cute DIY project for anyone out there with a no-shoes policy in their household.  Since we have hardwood floors, dirt and other icky substances show up fairly quickly when we allow ourselves to wear shoes around.  As the season progresses, we'll be spending more and more time inside and likely entertaining more often. (One cool benefit of living in a city with rough fall and winter seasons is that people stay inside and socialize much more!)  So I can see how having a sign up like this will come in handy.  I love the personal touch that can be added by using your own shoes as the focal point.


What you'll need:
  • Modge Podge
  • Ribbon
  • Paint or decorative paper for covering your frame
  • A picture frame
  • A photo
This project seems self-explanatory, but if you're a stickler for following directions, a quick set of instructions can be found here

Monday, September 12, 2011

Owl Pops

Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope ya'll had a good weekend.  I spent mine playing golf and soaking up the weather outside.  A few things I noticed as a result: the sun is starting to set earlier in the day and the leaves on the trees are losing their green. This got me thinking about fall and all the things I love about it, especially the food!  Few fall pairings are sweeter than a good cup of coffee and a warm slice of apple pie.  Pie seems to be a thing around here so I'm looking forward to trying the various bakeries and pie joints scattered around our neighborhood when the time comes for it.

In the meantime, my obsession with cupcakes remains constant.  Let's face it, it's ALWAYS a good time for a cupcake, particularly if the cupcake looks as cute as this:

The most perfect owl cupcake pops I've ever seen.

They remind me of the owl from the Tootsie Pop commercial.
This fun find comes from Blah, Blah Blog (hat tip: Poppies at Play).  Aren't these little guys great?  If I was hosting a fall gathering of some sort or maybe even a Halloween party, I'd definitely make 'em.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A Refreshing Ginger Drink

At the risk of sounding like a complete lush (I'm only mostly a lush), sometimes I grow tired of having the same old beer and wine at dinners and social outings.  So I came up with a tasty replacement. It seems like ginger-infused drinks are showing up more and more these days on bar menus so in keeping with the trend, I made something similarly appealing.  I'm calling it a Drunken Ginger.


To create this drink, you'll need:
  • 2 ounces of Scotch 
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • A dash of water
  • 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
  • White refined sugar
  • Crushed ice
  • A sprig of mint or a fruit slice of your choice (orange, green apple, etc.)
1) Place the honey and a dash of water into a microwave-safe cup; heat for 5 seconds and stir together.  This is essentially a shortcut to creating simple syrup, but with honey instead of sugar.

2) Combine the honey mixture, scotch, ginger and ice in a shaker; shake for 60 seconds

3) Place a strainer over the top of the shaker and pour the contents into a glass with sugared rim (omit sugar on the rim if you don't like your drinks sweet)

4) Add ice and garnish 

I've shared this at:

http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/
http://www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Mountain Retreat

Our Labor Day weekend festivities included a visit to my family's cabin just outside of Leavenworth, Washington.  It was so nice to get away from city noises for few days and unwind.  We ate and drank our way through wine country, golfed 18 holes and spent quality time around the backyard fire pit with my family and a few of their friends.  What a great end to summer!

The view from the back deck of the cabin.   
The restaurants and shops in Leavenworth are all Bavarian-themed.  The brats and beers here are quite tasty.
We'll definitely be back for Oktoberfest! 
The guys heading into Icicle Ridge Winery.  They had the best gewurztraminer I've ever tasted. 
The whole crew!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Wine Me!

The Kurtz Corner has this super cool arts and crafts project for wine lovers like me. All you need is a paint sponge, chalkboard paint, colored chalk and a little patience. I'm definitely going to give this one a go when I have some free time next week.

The question now is, what do I do with my junk drawer full of wine charms that I've never used?  There's gotta be an arts and crafts project out there for those....



Thursday, September 1, 2011

An Early Friday Funny

Consider this an early Friday Funny, though I do still plan on posting tomorrow.

God, I love The Oatmeal.