Category Archives: d.i.y.

do it yourself!

upcycled farmhouse window

upcycled farmhouse window

A couple of months ago I saw an old wooden window frame sitting on the side of the road destined for a life in a trash heap. So, naturally, I took pity on it and turned it into something pretty.

Before

window before

After

window after

I really love it so much. It’s in storage right now, but I can’t wait to add this cheery addition to my New York home.

Here’s how I did the upcycle. The window was in pretty bad shape. Besides being filthy, it had paint peeling and some of the wood was badly cracked.

I cleaned the window with soap and water and busted out the last pieces of glass that were sticking out. Then I took an electric sander to it.

Ok, I did something very bad here. I should not have sanded paint off of this, especially since I didn’t know how old the window was. I could have really exposed myself to lead dust from the paint. The dust is toxic. So, luckily, I’m fine, but it wasn’t that smart of a thing to do.

After I sanded the window down, I pulled out my wood glue and set to work repairing the middle beams, which were broken. Then I covered the window in two coats of white paint.

Once the paint was dry, then I picked a pretty fabric to put in the open spaces of the window. This is super easy and looks great for minimal work. I just used hot glue to attach the fabric to the frame.

So, now for the fun part, the bunting! I’ve wanted to add something (anything!) with bunting in my house for a long time, this was it. I used some fabric squares from the craft store and followed this tutorial. It was exactly what I wanted. I left a little bit of bias tape on each side to have it hang around the sides of the window. And, I gave each side a dab of hot glue to secure the bunting.

What do you think?

upcycled farmhouse window

I’ve been spending lots of time in ikea and Target looking for home decor inspiration, but, truly, this fits my style and personality much more.

happy valentine’s day

Vintage Cowboy Card & lots of other vintage cards 

Happy Valentine’s Day! How cute is it to look out the window and seeing everyone carrying flowers, chocolates, or balloons?

Ryan and I will probably celebrate this weekend by doing something ultra-touristy. Tonight we have plans to eat fried-avocado tacos and watch junky sci-fi television. What a perfect night. Do we have class or what?

Really our greatest gift for Valentine’s Day was getting internet in our apartment. So I’m back up and running. Since all of my kitchen and craft items are in storage, I guess I’ll just share some of my favorite valentine’s-themed things:

The funniest Arrested Development Valentine’s Cards.

Speaking of, I’m having a love affair with this heart-shaped ice cream sandwich.

Valentine’s Day S’mores gift.

D.I.Y. heart-shaped sugar cubes for your tea

10 great books about love.

Nerd Valentine is perfect.

The prettiest D.I.Y. A wall of paper hearts.

and did you see google today?

Whether you’re coupled or not, celebrating or abstaining, I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

 

how to save your dough when you forget to proof yeast

This post could affectionately be called “what happens when you get too cocky in the kitchen” or “one of my biggest kitchen blunders.”

When I was making my goat cheese and pear pizza the other day, I actually had the foresight to make dough ahead of time, which never happens. And I felt like a champ. No store-bought dough for me. Leisurely, I went about making my pizza dough, confident that I had allowed plenty of time for the dough to rise.

Apparently, somewhere between stroking my epicurean ego and applying for jobs, I just threw the yeast right into the mix without proofing them. A few hours later, I came back and saw the ball of dough in the same shape it was in when I left it.

When there really is no chance of hope, you have to get creative. I really didn’t think this would work. 

I  pulled out my clothing steamer (a.k.a. one-click impulse buy) and gave my pizza dough a steam bath. Cover the bowl with a cloth and feed in some steam. This would probably work well with a tea kettle too.

Steamer

(How cute is the elephant logo?)

I used about a liter of water and let it steam for about 5 minutes. Half-way through, I took the dough out and gave it a few kneads to mix the yeast around.

You can hear the yeast begin to gurgle. I used that as a gauge for how long to leave the steam on. If you’re trying to rescue a bread loaf, it probably could use more steam, but I was impatient. Then I gave it some final kneading and let it sit.

dough

I only let it rest for 40 minutes. What can I say? I was hungry. But it did get bigger in size. Hopefully, you will catch your mistake faster than I did and give it a few hours to rest.

The pizza crust turned out fine and the crisis was avoided.

What about you? Do you know any tricks to fix dough when you forget to proof your yeast?

valentine’s day roundup

Now that I’m (sort of) unemployed and finally have all kinds of time to craft, I don’t seem to have the space, money, or supplies. Currently I’m in temporary housing and all of my crafting supplies are packed in a storage unit. Also, I haven’t happened upon a craft store yet, and I don’t think I’m braving the 18 degree weather today to find one.

Even still, I have been scouring the craft-loving internets for Valentine’s Day inspiration.

Horny for you

How perfect are these cookies? I just love animals with horns! This Etsy shop delivers by V-Day and there’s even a unicorn cookie!

I love this ombre paint chip wreath. This is a craft I can certainly make in the apartment I’m staying in and it probably cost less than $5.

Here’s another cheap and beautiful ombre d.i.y. made with paint chips. I’ve really got to get on the “paint chip craft” bandwagon.

This 3D fringe heart would make the best party decor. Right?

This Pom Pom Heart Wreath looks simple and quick to make. I wonder if it could work with cotton balls or home made pom poms.

And finally, show your friends you really do put your heart into your baking with this tutorial. How lovely are these cupcakes?

So, have you finished your Valentine’s Day crafts yet?

the weekender 1/10/2013

Watson in Bag

Hi folks! The weekender is back for the New Year. Today is my last day at work and I’ll be spending my weekend running around packing, getting the last bit of my horse riding in, and oh (!), getting a de-stress massage. What can I say? I know how to move to NYC, right?

I hope sometime this weekend I’ll have time to say my farewells to friends. I’m such a crier, though, I prefer to avoid goodbyes. Ryan says it’s just “until next time.”

In the meantime, I hope everyone gets a chance to look at these great links across the blogosphere. Next time you hear from me, I’ll be a New York City resident!

Are you getting ready for Valentine’s Day yet? This heart garland looks simple and sweet.

Why has it taken me so long to find this? Bleach pen + Leggings = Awesome.

Would you ever put crayons in your hot glue gun? You’d be surprised at the effect.

Where was this when my CSA couldn’t stop giving me beets? Make blush and lip balm out of crushed beets.

I’m dreaming of eating these egg rolls and this vegan polenta casserole.

a pom pom christmas wreath

The last of the Christmas crafts is here. I spent the weeks leading up to Christmas making hundreds of pom poms for this beauty for Ryan’s parents.

pom pom wreath

Begin with a 12 inch wreath, about 300 pom poms (using my tutorial)  and 300 red sewing pens.

Using the sewing pins, place the pom poms on the wreath. Once you’re finished, give it some flair with some glittery doodads. I bought them at Michael’s.

And you know, put a bird on it.

d.i.y holiday pom pom garland

I’ve had the past few days off of work, and instead of doing responsible things this season like Christmas shopping, cleaning my house, packing, or doing some contract work, I’ve pretty much been indulging in donuts, watching hours of The L Word, and making pom poms. At least I have something to show for it besides an expanding waistline.

d.i.y. holiday garland

So, you’ll need pom poms. I made about 30 using my tutorial, but I found a similar tutorial that uses your hand instead of a fork, which is great, especially if you don’t have a larger fork or are using a curved fork like I was, what a pain.

For the garland you’ll need: a tapestry needle, about thirty pom poms, and a thin yarn.

Thread the tapestry needle with the yarn and pierce the center of the pom pom. You want to make sure you get it through the middle that binds the pom pom together.

I just got them all on the yarn and spaced them out at the end. I thought I’d have to give them a knot to secure them, but they really stay in place.

Then hang them and be festive! I put them over my holiday display bookshelf.

Do you see that picture of Ryan and me? It’s the only one we have framed of each other, and it’s from our first Christmas. Yikes. <3

how to make a pom pom using a fork

I’ve been creating pom poms for the past two weeks to use on various Christmas themed projects. I make them using a really simple technique with yarn and a fork. The tutorial below shows you how it’s done. Also, I created an instructable on this and it made it on the instructable homepage, which was quite the moment of d.i.y. glory.

Supplies:
- fork
-  yarn
- scissors


The pom poms in this tutorial are 1 inch in diamater. I created them using a regular dinner fork. If you want to make larger pom poms, you’ll need a bigger fork, like a salad fork. The image below shows the difference in pom pom size.

 Step 1: Wrap your fork

Keeping the yarn attached to the ball, begin wrapping the yarn around your fork. It’s just like wrapping spaghetti. Keep your wraps tight.

For small pom poms, wrap the yarn around the dinner fork about twenty times. For larger pom poms, wrap the yarn around a larger fork around fifty times. You can play around with the size and shape of the pom pom by varying the number of wraps. The more you wrap it, the fuller it will be.

If you want all of your pom poms to come out the same size, be sure to wrap them all around the same number of times.

Step 2: Tying Off

When you’ve finished wrapping, cut the yarn on the fork and hold it in place. Cut another piece of yarn a few inches long. String this piece through the bottom of the fork, under the wrap, from front to back. Keep the yarn behind the wrap.

Once you’ve threaded it through, bring the yarn back around so the two ends meet. Then tie them together.

Step 3: Pulling it off the fork

Once you’ve tied it, push the wrap off of the fork, keeping the tie in place.

When the wrap is off the fork, pull the bow tight, so that the yarn begins to curl. Tie it one more time just to secure everything.

Step 4: Cutting the wrap

Now, take your scissors and put them under the little loops created in the rounded ball of yarn. As you cut the loops, you’ll see the pom pom begin to form.

Once you’ve cut all of the loops, go around the pom pom and cut any pieces of yarn that may be sticking out too far. Make sure the pom pom symmetrical.

 

Finished!

Yay! You’ve done it. These things take just a few seconds to make and create excellent cat toys.

This week I’ll be posting a few tutorials showing how I’m using these in my holiday decorations. Stay tuned.

d.i.y. holiday cards

Spend some time this weekend making your own holiday cards. My friends and I got together for our annual craft night where we listened to Belle & Sebastian Christmas music, drank spiked wassail, and of course, used lots of glitter.

The best thing to come out of tonight was discovering one of Ryan’s hidden talents. It turns out he’s fantastic at carving potato stamps. He made all of the stamps. We made ginger bread, candy canes, Christmas trees, and light bulbs. What do you think?

Christmas Tree Potato Stamp

I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own. The potato stamps are pretty simple. Just cut a potato in half, pick a shape, and start carving. I’d think about tracing out your shape first, just to get a feel for the size and everything. But Ryan just took a parring knife and went at it, and they turned out fine. We stamped with plain old acrylic paint.

Oh, and the best card of the evening goes to my friend Bryan, who made a Mayan/2012/End of Times Christmas Card.

He totally cracks me up. Here’s the inside of that card.

Tonight was such a perfect Tallahassee night to spend with friends.

celebrate no-shave november with mustache lollipops

We’re already at the end of November, can you believe it? Ryan and I finished up the last of the tofurkey today. I thought a great way to celebrate was with these rad chocolate mustache lollipops.

No-shave November is a awesome concept, all the boys walk around with beards and they all look cute. For those of us who can’t quite grow the facial hair to make your momma proud, there’s always this chocolate substitute.

I used two of these mustache lollipop molds and this craft took like, five minutes. Bonus.

Here are the supplies: candy melts, lollipop molds, and decorating bags. You’ll also need lollipop sticks (not pictured).SuppliesFill a decorating bag about 3/4 full of chocolates.

Bag of Chocolate

Melt the chocolates in a microwave on medium heat for 15 – 30 seconds at a time. Pull the bag out of the microwave and give it a nice knead each time it’s done warming. It will only need to go in the microwave a few times at this temperature. These things get hot really fast, so be sure not to over-heat them.

Melt in Microwave

Once the bag is thoroughly melted, cut the tip off of the bag to begin fill the molds. Place a lollipop stick in each of the molds. Slowly squeeze the melted chocolate into the molds, making sure to fill in all of the crevices. I found pumping the bag up and down in the mold helped remove air bubbles.

Fill Molds

Be sure to cover all around the lollipop stick. Once you’ve filled the molds, smooth out the backs with a flat surface.

Smooth Backs

Also, clear away any chocolate that may have spilled over to the edge.

Backs of lollipops

I popped them in the fridge for 10 minutes to let them harden. Then I took them out and wrapped them in little baggies.

Lollipops

These lollipops were such a hit with my friends and co-workers. Everyone loved making funny faces with them, like these:

The one in which I look like my dad.

Me with Mustache

The one in which I’ve lost my monocle.

Me with Mustaches

The one in which I try not to take myself too seriously.

Me with Mustaches

Happy No-Shave November, Friends!