Upcoming projects

As I said in this post I have a lot of projects running around in my head that I will be tackling soon.  So, here's a little sneek peak at what I'm going to tackle next.

I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with this lamp shade.  I did take the pleated fabric off, so now it's just bare and boring.  I was thinking of just embellishing it, or possibly writing something out on it.

I'm going to paint this white then cover it in pages from "Pride and Prejudice."  I bought the book at an antique store and the pages are nicely yellowed.  Then I plan to paint a quill pen in the corner.  I found the idea on Pinterest.

I'll let you see how they turn out!

...And more hand warmers

Yes, I'm still making hand warmers.  Well, I may take a break for a little bit and move onto something else until I sell some of the ones in my Etsy store (link to the store is to your left :)



Easy Peasy Pizza

Last week I made homemade pizza for my family and me.  We had BBQ Chicken and Pepperoni.  It was so good.  And I had some pizza sauce and pepperoni left over, so the other day for lunch I made myself some "pizzas."  I came up with this...

Easy Peasy Pizza

2 tbsp. pizza sauce
10 slices pepperoni
2 slices of cheese (I used colby jack, but you can use whatever)
2 slices of bread
olive oil

 Turn on your broiler.  Ours has a high and low setting and I did this on high.

 Lay your bread in a pan and drizzle with a little olive oil just to help it crisp and give it some flavor.

 Toast for about 2 mins.

Spread sauce on each piece of bread.

 Layer on the pepperoni.

 Then add on the cheese.

 Then broil for another 2 mins or just until cheese is melted.

Deliciously paired with a Clementine Izze.  Mmm-mmm!

Hand Warmers and More Hand Warmers

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been making oodles and oodles of hand warmers.  I made a pair for each of my sisters, one for my brother-in-law, and a pair for each of my three cousins.  I sent those off last week and my sister, Jamie, posted a pic on Facebook.

I can't lie, those were my favorite to make :)  Oh, and I have a matching pair without the buttons.

So, I learned how to make these from a video on youtube.

I cannot read instructions for crocheting.  I don't understand a single thing the instructions say so I watch videos on youtube.

These hand warmers and the others that I made are ribbed, but now I decided to change up the stitch so that every pair isn't the same.



I love the gray and white, it reminds me of the baker's twine everyone is using lately.

Well, speaking of hand warmers I think I'm going to clean up a little then settle down with a movie and some yarn.

A List

The other day I decided I needed a list to tackle all the prjects I have running through my head.  I admit that I'm a little ADD and have a hard time staying focused on one project before moving onto the next project without finishing the first.  It's annoying to say the least.  Keep in mind, though, that this list is just a project list and not a life list.  If I added these to my life list it would be long, and would therefore scare me :)

I even dated the list so maybe it will help me get everything done in a timely manner.  We shall see.

 I did list all of these hand warmers in my Etsy store.  And I will be adding more soon.

For my new wreath I tried to make a wreath form out of foam pipe insulation that you can buy really cheap at Home Depot, but that didn't work, so I took this old wreath apart.  I like this wreath but it covered the peep hole on our front door- not good.  So I took off the gray pieces and the little sparkly twigs and made this...

I watched the movie "Larry Crowne" while I wrapped the wreath in yarn and it took almost the entire movie to finish wrapping it.  That's a long process.  Then I made the flowers from felt and put them on clips so they come off easy and I can use the wreath for other things too.  And look the peep hole!

Anyway, take a gander at my Etsy store and see if anything jumps out at you.  



Liven-up Mirrored Closet Doors

I loathe mirrored closet doors.  But we loved this condo so much when we looked at it, I was not going to let them be a deal-breaker.  Of course, the doors take up almost an entire wall, which isn't bad because my closet is pretty big, but like I said I don't really like them too much.  I'm not a fan of having to look at myself everywhere I go in my room.

 So, I added some curtains I had in my room in Arizona.  I was going to put these on my window here but I decided I like the light coming in, but I do have vertical blinds on my window, which are kind of annoying too.

Then I didn't know what to do for tie-backs so I crochets two different yarns together with a large hook and then screwed a mug holder hook into the wall and this is how it turned out.  I was pleasantly surprised.

DIY Kindle Touch Sleeve

I recently bought a Kindle Touch.  I love it.  I've never been a big reader until recently (no, not just because I bought the Kindle).  I mostly have classics on my Kindle right now, like Jane Austen novels, Sherlock Holmes, Legends of King Arthur.  I also have a couple of others.  I love that  you can download samples and read a few chapters before you buy the book.  If you don't have a Kindle, check them out.  You can get one for as little as $79.

Anyway, I made this cute sleeve for my Kindle.  I sewed it by hand because my sewing machine is put away and there's just no room to set it up in our condo right now.

I don't have an exact tutorial, but it's really easy without one.

Cut two pieces of felt about 1/4" (if you're going to sew this with a sewing machine you may need a 1/2" for more of a seam allowance) wider and longer than your Kindle (or iPad, phone, camera- it could work for anything). Then sew together all the edges except the top.  Cut a 3" x 1" strip of another colored felt.  Then cute four circles of felt (getting progressively smaller).  Center the strip of felt in the middle on one side the opening.  Sew the strip so when you close it you won't see the seam (does that make sense?) Then sew a button onto the pouch and cut a slip in the flap to go around the button.  Then sew on your circles with a small crossing stitch in the middle.

I hope that made sense.  If you need some more details or better photos send a message.

Try to make yourself one and let me know how it goes!

Antique Finds of the Week

Nan and I went Antique shopping the other day.  I was setting out looking for a few things specific: some cool glass bottles and a globe.  The glass bottles are for a project that will be in our foyer.  And the globe is just to add to my travel corner of my room.  The first store we went to was so expensive, I believe that because it's in Old Town Temecula where there are tons of tourists that they can jack their prices up kind of high.  So, we didn't buy anything.  Then we went to Granny's Attic (the 30,000 sq ft of antiques, oh yeah).  There the prices are better, or at least if they're high in one booth just keep walking and you might find the same thing in another booth for a lot less.

I didn't find any bottles that I couldn't live without, but I found a GLOBE!

It even has a little rust on the base to make it look pretty cool!  I love it.  I was thinking of writing something on it like I've seen some people do, but I'm not too sure yet.

Then I was supposed to go to some estate sales with Nan and my mom yesterday, but I wasn't feeling well.  However they found some good stuff in my absense.  My mom bought these two cameras.

 This is a Brownie No. 2.  They were made in 1931.  I believe it's from the UK or Canada, I couldn't find any information on one from the US.

This is a Brownie Hawkeye, which is the camera Nan had when my mom was little.  My mom remembers getting her picture taken with it.  Nan is going to search for some photos she took with it.  This one was made betweeen 1949 and 1961.

Those are the finds of the week.  Stayed tuned to see what I find next week!

Cinnamon Bread from PW

The other day I decided I wanted to make bread. Who knows why. But I got it in my head and so I started the bread at about 7 pm. Well, needless to say it didn't get finished until the next day. The dough took 2 hrs to rise then it would take another 2 hrs to rise after putting the cinnamon and sugar inside. And, so I wrapped up the dough and waited till the next day. Well, our house is pretty cold so the dough didn't really rise like it was supposed to. But it still tasted delicious! And it did rise when I put the cinnamon sugar in and rolled it up and put it in the bread pan- like it was supposed to.




 After I made this first cut and pulled out a piece for my mom and grandma we discovered it was not completely cooked on the inside, so I had to put it back in (stupid oven).


 So, it got a little darker. My step-dad said it was burnt, what does he know?!


Mom enjoyed it either way :)

Check out the Pioneer Woman's recipe.

DIY Necklace Display

I made this (well, partly) a while ago when I needed something to display some necklaces I made for a jewelry party my friend Tennessa had.  Basically, then I put the hooks on the inside of the frame.  But then when we moved into our new place in California I decided to put it up in my bathroom, however I had to fix it.

First I had to dig out my white paint from the numerous boxes I still hadn't unpacked.

These are the hooks I put on when I used it the first time.

I painted the outside edge white, so that it would look like I bought a brand-new canvas for the project.  Very thrifty of me :)

See?  Looks like new.

I used some Command picture-hanging strips to hang it at first then it fell down (with all the jewelry on it) so I had to just put a screw in the middle at the top.



All my long necklaces (except the ones that I have made) fit nicely.  Then I made one for Nan and she bought some ribbon to go about the canvas on the part where it's stapled to the frame.  Hers looks pretty cute.

Anyway, there's my recycled canvas necklace display.

Cupcakes

I'm really bad about taking step-by-step photos of my cupcakes baking, and writing down the recipe for posting purposes.  But here are some photos of the recent cupcake ventures.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.  And I added some chocolate and pink sugar sprinkles on the top for some cuteness.

Just like the ones Little Debbie makes.  Chocolate Cupcakes with cream filling and chocolate on top.  So cute!

The top ones were made after our little adventure out to Wine Country last week and the bottom ones were made today after my mom and I had an adventure with her car not starting.  Oh, it was so fun (note sarcasm).  Anyway, I took the top ones to work and everyone scarfed them down, and someone didn't get any so she asked me to make more, so I made the chocolate ones.  Hopefully, they're tasty- I haven't tried one yet.  Well, happy baking my friends!

Cinnamon Tea

My good friend, Kristina, who lives in Tucson makes really great Cinnamon Tea.  She uses cinnamon sticks and just black tea.  So, I decided to buy some cinnamon sticks and give it a try.

Cinnamon Tea

6 cups water

1 large tea bag

3-4 cinnamon sticks

sugar (to taste)

ice cubes

Boil water in a 2-qt sauce pan.  When the water reaches boiling point, turn off the burner and add the tea bag and cinnamon sticks and let sit for 4-5 mins.  If you want the cinnamon to be stronger you can boil the sticks with the water then add the tea bags, but I didn't want mine to be that strong.  When time is up, remove the sticks and tea bag.  Fill your pitcher halfway with ice cubes then pour the hot tea over top.  Stir until ice is just about melted.  Add sugar (I did 1/2 cup, but you may want more or less).  Then enjoy!



This is the tea bag I used- it's an iced tea bag (we generally use this in our iced tea maker)