Something Crafty- Flower Necklace

I haven't been crafting much lately because of school. I picked out this necklace to wear with my outfit today, and I remembered that I made it a long time ago and never shared it with you. I wanted to do a real tutorial for how to make this flower, but I didn't have the right supplies or the time.

What you need:

Fabric (I used satin and chiffon, I think they work the best)

Scissors

A lighter

A bead or button

A needle & thread

1. Begin by cutting the fabric into circles of various sizes. Both of these fabrics are really annoying to cut, so don't worry about the circles being perfect because its not going to matter.

2. I would recommend doing the next part over a sink, that allows you to drop the fabric when you burn yourself (which I did quite a few times) and have water readily available if your fabric burning gets away from you.

3. Use the lighter to singe the edges of your fabric circles, the directions I used to do this didn't explain the best way to do this very well, so I tried a few different ways. I found the best was to keep the fabric close to the top of the flame, but try out different ways. Some of my circles caught on fire too much to be useful, some of them turned too brown on the edge, some ended up misshapen. But like I said, they don't have to be perfect, in fact, they look better if they aren't.

4. Arrange the circles and simply stitch them together, I choose the blue pearl bead for the center, and later realized that it matched this necklace that I had already made.

I hope this wasn't confusing, it probably would have been better with pictures. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

These flowers are so fun and can be used for virtually anything (necklaces, rings, headbands, embellishments on clothes).

-Ana Kristina

By the way, I have no idea why some of my pictures are in sepia tone, I took these pictures late last night and must have been to tired to notice the lack of color

Fresh Finds

I've been really loving prints lately. This tree house print from HelloJenuine recently caught my eye...

I also love her bison print, who knew a bison could be so cute?

-Ana Kristina

She Cooks...BBQ Chicken Pizza

I'll make a confession: Sunday night dinner is usually a pretty sad experience at our house. Most weeks 5:00 will roll around, and I'll either make some excuse about being tired, and not wanting to cook, or simply fail to acknowledge the fact that there is even a meal that takes place after lunch.
More often than not, our dinner ends up consisting of either, popcorn, cold cereal, or a quick run to the closest Culver's. This week however, I decided to break the cycle of Sunday night laziness and actually make a real dinner for the husband and myself. It was still simple and easy (we don't want to get too crazy, here), but it was a real meal, which I believe is something I had all but forgotten could exist on a Sunday night.

The bones of this recipe came from a Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade cookbook. I changed it to suit my purposes, but the inspiration came from there. Sandra is one of my favorite Food Network personality because: A. Her outfit always matches her kitchen, and B. All of her recipes, although quick, simple, and like the title implies, only semi-homemade, are super delicious. I own six of her cookbooks, and would highly recommend them to anyone.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:
-Pizza crust (I used a store bought mix- don't want to put too much effort in)
-2 T olive oil
-1/2 lb. chicken tenders
-2/3 c barbecue sauce (I use Famous Dave's because, frankly, it's the best BBQ sauce on the planet)
-1 red onion, chopped
-1/2 green pepper, chopped (the recipe didn't call for this, but I added it because I am currently having a love affair with green peppers)
-1 c shredded mozzarella
-3/4 c shredded parmesan
-3/4 c Mexican cheese blend (the recipe called for gouda, but since the husband is a hater of this particular cheese, I opted out)
-fresh cilantro

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and prepare pizza crust as directed on the package. Roll out pizza dough onto a greased round pizza pan.

In a skillet heat oil and add chicken. Cook until browned, about 12 minutes.

Remove from heat and cut into bite sized pieces. Toss with 2 T of the BBQ sauce. Spread remaining BBQ sauce on crust. Famous Daaaaaave's......

Top with half of the shredded mozzarella. Top the cheese with chicken, onion, and pepper. Then mix together remaining mozzarella, Mexican cheese, and parmesan and spread over the top of the pizza. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

This is the perfect quick and easy dinner for a night when you want something delicious, but don't want to put forth too much effort.
If you are interested in checking out the original recipe (minus all my tweaks), you can find it in the Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking 2 book.

-alison

Something Crafty- A Bridal Shower!

Recently, I was asked to put on a bridal shower for a sweet girl from my church who is getting married later on this year. I've never planned a shower before, but not being one to ever say no to an event of any kind, I of course agreed.
Since I know that this girl is a fan of all thing unique, thoughtful, and homemade, I decided to make all of the decorations out of things I had around the house. Ok, I may have purshased a few things, but most came from supplies I already owned.
Last Saturday, I sat at my kitchen table, and settled in for a long day of crafting.

Here's what I've come up with so far.

Vases:

Simple mason jars with a fun trim. I'm a HUGE fan of using mason jars as vases. They are simple, can be dressed up or down, and in my opinion, have more visual interest than just a plain vase.

Garland:

I made this garland out of some felt balls I purshased on Etsy a while back.
These turned out to be the inspiration for my color scheme. I love how the garland turned out. It's simple and whimsical. I've always seen garlands like this and though they were super cute. I'm glad I finally found an excuse to make one.

Banner:

So this isn't finished yet, but it's the beginning of a "congratulations" banner. I'm excited to see the finished product, after I do the lettering and string it together. I'm also pretty happy I fouond a way to work glitter into this deal. I really feel strongly about that fact that it's not a party unless there's some glitter involved.
I'm certainly not done crafting decorations for this event. I plan on finishing up this Saturday. I've got some really fun things planned, including table decorations that were inspired by this:

I will of course post pictures of the finished product. I hope it turns out as fun as I'm picturing it to be!

Also, I'm realizing from looking at this pictures and others from my craft posts, that there seems to be a lot of red in my crafting world. In fact, I'm noticing an overall lack of any other colors. I think I may have a problem. Is there some support group for being absolutely addicted to the color red?

-alison

Into the Wardrobe

Not much to say about this outfit. I finally got a chambray shirt, I was pretty excited, so I've worn this outfit 3 times in the past two weeks. These pictures were taken late in the day, so I didn't feel like taking pictures of the accessories, so this is what you get...
I promise to post an outfit where I'm not wearing these boots, I don't actually wear them that often, but my better outfits usually involve them.

Headband: Forever 21

Earrings: World Market

Tank: Buckle

Shirt: Gap Outlet

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Target

-Ana Kristina

Fresh Finds- Pinterest

Friends, today I share with you what is perhaps the most inspiration packed website I've ever had the pleasure of discovering. It's called Pinterest, and it is simply a perfectly curated collection of images from around the web. It's a place where you can file away ("pin") and organize your own favorite images, and get inspiration from the ideas of others. I'm not ashamed to say that I've spent literally hours over the past few weeks browsing the site, looking for (and finding!) ideas for outfits, hair, home decor, dinner recipes, and party planning.
One of my favorite things about this website, is that you can not only curate and create your own "pinboards," but you can follow those of others who's taste you share. It's like a huge idea sharing party.
The only downside here is that you have to request an invitation to become a member, and it could take a few days to receive it. I promise you though, it's well worth the wait. Don't believe me? Here are a few of my favorite shots from my "style" pinboard to convince you.

Convinced of this site's awesomeness? I hope so. Go sign up right now. Seriously, go...and happy pinning!

-alison

[images: pinterest]

Bloggers Day of Silence

While we usually like to keep our blog full of fun and happy things, especially on Inspiration Friday, we have to acknowledge that there are some heart breaking events happening in the world right now, not the least of these being the earthquake, tsunami, and the torment of aftermath that has devastated Japan. It seems wrong to continue our merry little blog without skipping a beat in the face of such tragedy.
Tomorrow, instead of our normal Inspiration Friday post, we will be participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence, the idea for which was conceived by the girls at Utterly Engaged, and Ever Ours. We encourage you to take a moment tomorrow to reflect on the events happening in Japan and remember that there is so much more in this world than blogging, crafting, and the million unimportant things we tend to fill our days with. Please consider getting involved, volunteering in the relief efforts, giving financially if you are able, remembering the victims.

If you feel led to give, you can do so by going to www.forjapanwithlove.com, or contacting an organization like the Red Cross or Salvation Army. We hope you will give if you are able.

-alison

Fresh Finds- Pretty Packaging + Cute Short Hair

Good morning. It's a lovely (almost) springlike day, and I'm excited to share some fresh finds from the wonderful world wide web today.
First up, I am in love with these pretty packaging ideas from Oh Happy Day. I have a lot of spring/summer birthdays and weddings to attend, and I'm always looking for fun and creative packaging ideas. I love the bursts of color on these, combined with the simple brown paper. So cute.

Second, do you read the glamourai blog? If not, you should. Her outfits are pretty much a fashion fairy tale, and I rarely see a post of hers that I don't absolutely love.
Ever since I started reading her blog a few months back, I have been totally obsessed with not only her outfits, but her hair. I am so in love with her choppy cropped cut that I have actually found myself considering getting a cut similiar. Is this crazy? Never ever in my life before, have I ever even considered a style this short. She makes it look so effortlessly cool though, that I just can't help but daydream about it.

What do you think? Do you love it or hate it? Would you ever consider a cut this short?

-alison

{images: oh happy day; the gmalourai]

She Cooks...Homemade Pasta

I'm so excited to share this post with you today, because it's all about one of my favorite things in the world- pasta. I've always been pretty much in love with pasta, and if I didn't think I would die of a carbohydrate overload, I would probably eat it every single day.
Lately, I've really been wishing I could make my own pasta. I looked into getting the "pasta making" attachment for my kitchenaid mixer, but because of it's $160 price tag, I never could quite bring myself to make the commitment.
Then, last week I was browsing Etsy, and stumbled across a vintage Italian pasta maker still in it's box, for only $33. I (or rather it), was sold. I purchased it immediatly, and it arrived at my house late last week.

I spent a long time gazing lovingly at it, and imagining all the wonderful pasta dishes I would make with it. My excitement was cut short though, when I realized that I had no idea how to make pasta.

It was cut evern shorter when I realized that all the instructions on the box were in Italian.

So I took to the Internet. I found a tutorial that looked promising, and I got to to work. I am happy to say that the tutorial was all it was cracked up to be, and the pasta turned out great. It was also about a thousand times easier to make than I expected it would be.

Ingredients:
-2 cups flour (00 flour, if you have it)
-3 eggs
-1/2 t. flour

First, measure your flour and pour it out on the counter. Yes, on the counter. Did I mention that this was going to get messy? No? Well, it is.
Once you've measured your flour, make it into a small well, big enough in the center to fit three eggs. Then sprinkle the salt over the top of the well.

Then, crack the three eggs into the well. I know, this is a little scary. I kept thinking the eggs would run over the top or out the sides and make a gigantic mess. They didn't.

Slowly begin to whisk the eggs together. Once they've been fairly well blended, continue to whisk, and start incorporating small amounts of flour from the sides of the well. Eventually, the dough will become too thick to continue whisking. At this point, you will have to start kneading it. Don't worry if you get to this point before you've incorporated all your flour. I ended up having what seemed like a little less than 1/4 of a cup of it left over. The tutorial said this was fine, so I just went with it.
Knead the dough for about ten minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.

The instructions I read said that if you cut it in half, there should be no air bubbles. They had a picture of what the dough should look like, so I decided to check mine against theirs.

Theirs.

Mine.

Not too shabby for a first timer, I'd say.

At this point, you can cover your dough with plastic wrap and let it sit for a half hour. When the half hour is up, uncover your dough, and cut it into four equal sections. It's much easier to manage this way. After you've floured the dough, your hands, and the pasta machine (you really can't over flour here), begin pulling the first section of dough through the machine. You will need to put it through the flat roller first.

Notice the dog watching with rapt attention in the second picture. She was pretty into this whole process.

When it's reached your desired consistency, you can then put it through one of the other rollers. Mine gives me the option of either spaghetti, or flat fettucine-like noodles.

At this point, you're pretty much done. You can either seperate the noodles, dry them, and save for later use, or cook them right away. I did some of both.

If you decide to cook yours right away (which I highly recommend, because fresh pasta is delicious, keep in mind that the fresh stuff cooks much quicker than the dry store bought variety. I found mine was ready after about only five minutes.

Ovbiously, you can servie this whith whatever kind of sauce you would like. I chose a simple meaty marinara, and couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

Of all the recipes, I've shared so far, this has been my favorite. I had no idea that pasta was so easy to make, but now that I do, I feel like the possibilities are endless. I'm hoping to try ravioli next. If you have been considering getting a pasta machine, I would encourage you to take the plunge. You can find them fairly cheap on etsy or ebay, and the fun you have making pasta will be well worth any price you might pay.

-alison

[images: my own, the kitchn]