Today we're headed to a Super Bowl party, and while I can barely name the two teams playing and could care less about the results of the game, I do love the food.
I found this recipe and thought it sounded delicious and different from your usual wings and nachos, which are guaranteed to already be there.
I couple of things I learned along the way. One, go easy on the coarse salt. Whew! Two, the shredded parmesan on the top browns up nearly to the point of burning at this heat. It's not really necessary to have there, so I stuck with brushing the pretzels with egg and sprinkling just a LITTLE salt on top. Dipped in honey mustard, they are delish!
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Home Renos
I can't take take credit for these renos, but to me it is a form of crafting. We're taking something old and making it new again, or at least new to us. Our master bedroom was a Christmas project we tackled ourselves, along with our friend, Andrew. The results were far better than we could have imagined when we began.
This is the before shot from this summer after Jason ripped up the white carpet.
Jason and Andrew hard at work. We weren't sure at all about this colour at first (it's called Hocus Pocus), but we have a lot of neutrals around the house and I wanted a colour in our bedroom. I've always liked the thought of a mauvey-grey colour, but this looked quite purply as we were putting it on. Fortunately, it was far more subtle than it looks in the pictures.
These original floorboards were a beautiful surprise. They were in great shape but, unfortunately, had been painted two or three times before. We wanted a low-budget, low-mess way of dealing with them (not sanding), so we went with this floor paint, Rich Brown. I was afraid it would turn into a flat, chocolatey-brown, but the paint was true to its name, and had a lovely pearl finish.
And this is the before and after! One of our favourite rooms we've done so far.
Homemade Body Scrubs
For Christmas every year, I like to make a little something homemade to give to friends and family. This year, I chose homemade body scrubs for the ladies in my life. It's something I've been wanting to try for awhile, but always thought it was far more difficult than it actually is. I learned that the main ingredients needed are sugar, oil, and whatever you want to put in the scrub to make it smell nice. I made a vanilla coffee scrub, a brown sugar scrub, and a pumpkin spice scrub. They worked better than I thought they would - my grandmother couldn't believe how soft her hands were.
This was the vanilla coffee scrub. I mixed oil and granulated sugar with five tablespoons or so of coffee grounds. Add about a teaspoon of vanilla extract and you're all set! Just like that!
Yes, we have a Keurig coffee maker. These scrubs were a great way to use up some of that pod waste.
Filled jars: Brown sugar scrubs on the left, pumpkin spice scrubs in the middle, and vanilla coffee scrubs on the right.
Ribbon and homemade tags as a finishing touch.
Satin Ribbon Pearl and Crystal Necklace
For my wedding, I'm going for country classy. I'm also trying to personalize little details wherever I can. I decided to make a little something special for my girls, both to wear on the wedding day and to have as a keepsake. With a little inspiration from the Ruffled blog, I set out to make my own satin ribbon necklace.
One thing I really didn't care for in the Ruffled pattern was the bulkiness of the necklace. I felt that the chandelier crystals made it too heavy-looking. Also, it didn't have a clasp at the back of the neck; it just tied. So, I made a few changes.
To make this necklace, you need the following materials:
- A stand mixer (just kidding, I was working on my breakfast nook counter)
- Several strings of pearls (a 16" necklace used 15 pearls)
- Packages of crystals in a colour of your choice (a 16" necklace used 30 crystals)
- Satin ribbon (keep in mind you'll need more than the length of your necklace because of the ruffles)
- Clasps of your choice
- Small needles
- Invisible thread or beading filament
- Thread the colour of your ribbon (if you're using invisible thread, disregard)
- Scissors
I purchased my materials from Michael's, however, most craft stores would have the same or similar materials. I used needles with collapsible eyes to facilitate easier threading, but any sharps would do the trick. In fact, regular sharps might work better because the collapsible kind pulled the ribbon and made larger holes than were necessary. I picked up toggle closures because I thought they would be the easiest to attach to my necklace and would also give a bit of an old-fashioned, vintage feel.
I used white thread to fold the ribbon back and create a small hem to prevent fraying. I used the same white thread to attach the first half of the toggle closure to the ribbon. Another time, I would use invisible thread, especially since my ribbon is an ivory colour. I didn't think to pick up ivory thread, though, so I used what I had!
Next, I measured three inches down from the clasp and made my first two ruffles. I used my collapsible needle and beading filament to sew through the ruffles and thread the first three beads - crystal-pearl-crystal. Right after the second crystal, make your next two ruffles and thread through to hold them in place. The first couple of ruffle-bead combinations will be the hardest because the ruffles come unfolded. Eventually the beads will hold them in place and the process will become easier.
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| First section of the necklace complete. The ruffles will look a little crooked until you're finished. It's most important to keep everything tight while you're threading. |
Once your necklace measures 13", finish off your final ruffle and measure three inches to where the final clasp will be. Fold your ribbon over, sew your final hem, and attach the other half of your toggle clasp using your ribbon-coloured thread (or the invisible thread).
Ta da!! You're a creative genius! This is a small, elegant, and vintage-looking piece that can easily be worn more than once!
Baby Girl Sweater and Hat
Recently, I started knitting again and joined Ravelry. I wanted to make something special for my friend who is having a baby girl at the end of February. I found patterns for a little sweater and hat that I thought were super cute. I added a few of my own details along the way.
I used this pattern from Ravelry for the sweater. Since it was the first sweater I've ever knit, I opted to string my sleeve stitches onto a detached piece of yarn and then come back later to knit them on double point needles. I finished it off with a cute little heart button that would match the flower I made for the hat. Voilà! My first sweater complete!
Next, I used this pattern for the hat, also from Ravelry. I didn't have as small a size needles as the pattern called for, so I used four 5.0mm double point needles and knit the smallest sized hat. It will still be too large for a newborn baby, so I weaved a string of yarn through the stitches around the opening of the hat and used it like a drawstring to make the opening a little tighter. The great thing about this is that, as baby grows, I can quickly and easily cut the drawstring and make the opening looser as needed.
The flower was my own addition to the hat pattern. I thought it would add a cute little feminine touch. I found the idea on the iCandy Homemade blog. I used white felt and a pink button to match the hat and sweater for the centre. Where the pattern calls to sew using a similar colour thread, I used invisible thread. I used the same invisible thread to attach the flower to the hat at the end.
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