Simple holiday party DIYs, and How to Wear DIY: leopard for the holidays!

12.13.2013

Simple holiday party DIYs, and How to Wear DIY: leopard for the holidays!

It's a funny combination, but here goes. Last weekend we had a lovely holiday party at our home for family and friends. Pretty proud of myself for DIYing this little invite in PicMonkey and sending it out; it was just what I wanted for the simple potluck get-together. Sweet, not too fancy, festive, natural elements...

Here it is without the address and such!

(You can use it if you want, too! Just save to your computer, open this baby in PicMonkey, and add the date, time, address, and RSVP info at the bottom! Font is Quicksand.)

I also made these little printable food signs that people filled out as they brought things to the table. It's always nice to tie in the theme of the invites with the decor, and these simple paper folding tents were easy and practical! (Here they are below advertising those amazing chocolate chip sunbutter cookies--I made a double batch for the party!)

I even tried to set up a pretty bar! No pro hostess here, just trying with some things I have all year 'round.

As you may have seen on my Instagram, we have two trees this year. Well, the white one is technically not a real tree, if you ask my husband--it's a "Christmas decoration" and does not count as a real Christmas tree! So we have another one that we cut down in the snow, literally, and both were lit up and on display for the part. Great thing about Christmas parties, right? Practically no decor necessary since you already have a tree and probably some candles or Santas up! ;)

And of course a holiday party is a great opportunity to dress up!! I wore this skirt that I made last fall, and I never would have thought it would look festive, but... I think it did! The bright red sweater and TWO shiny gold necklaces helped.

And honestly, black leggings under skirt? Best thing ever in the winter. Especially when the party is at your house and you don't have to go outside in the cold... but still, cozy and comfy! A great hostess outfit!

There were other people there, I swear. ;) Husband took these before anyone arrived. We played Cards Against Humanity for about three hours, I swear!

So print out some cute invites, have some friends over, and pull out the leopard! Or your fave DIY elastic waist skirt!

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Brown paper and felt holiday gift wrapping success!

12.11.2013

Brown paper and felt holiday gift wrapping success!

This is my first year using brown paper wrapping for gifts, and I am stoked. I've been pinning some brown paper wrapped gift ideas for a while now but I'm finally doing it! But I didn't know what to put on top of them until my sweet friend Leah gave me this felt.

I pulled out some red ribbon, vintage rick rack, and my intense-o glue gun I got for chair upholstery. (Use a regular tiny glue gun if you have one, but mine was out of sticks. I definitely burned myself with this one!) I learned how to make those cool 3-D circle-ey felt flowers with Chelsea The Paper Mama last month and I guess I was inspired!

So I got to cutting and scheming over several episodes of New Girl (cutting all those little circles requires patience!) (as I Instagrammed here), and I made... these!!

I glued them to the ribbon and rickrack, so you can use them by tying them around gifts. Re-usable!

I made a TON!! I've wrapped quite a few gifts already and it's been great to just grab from the pile of them, and find one that's the right length.

So easy!! My kind of present-topper!

I highly recommend!

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A loooong time coming: Sweater skirt makeover into a cozy mini

12.09.2013

A loooong time coming: Sweater skirt makeover into a cozy mini

It's ridiculous how long ago I started this project. 2011, I think. I actually saved the "before" photos of this skirt in my "Unfinished projects" folder on my computer. :/ (Where blog projects go to die.)

I cut up this amazing wool maxi skirt two winters ago with the intention of adding a casing and elastic waistband. My classy grandma gave me this gorgeous skirt, from Peruvian Connection--she liked it but it was so long and snug, with no slit up the back for movement, and she couldn't walk easily in it. She gave it to me thinking maybe I could shorten it and enjoy it. I really liked it long, but I couldn't walk in it, either!, so I cut it off!!

So I cut it apart those two winters ago, must be now, but didn't get to finishing the project until last week. I had already cut off the waistband and hips; just had to take in the sides to reshape the hips and add the casing for the elastic waistband. Inside shot...

And here it is!

Simple enough, but a whole new skirt!

So funny because when I was at Target this weekend I saw this super similar one!! Comes in a couple different colors; same dark, wooly, geometric pattern look.

I think mine will be fab with sweater tights and boots. But maybe I just think that now because it's been 15 - 35 degrees all weekend and I can't imagine wearing anything less than thick pants or jeans, tall boots, and my puffy coat out!! I actually haven't worn a skirt this short in ages. Outfit ideas??

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How to Wear DIY: Because fur scarves go with everything

12.06.2013

How to Wear DIY: Because fur scarves go with everything

It has been freeeeezing lately, and I wanted to whip out my DIY fur infinity scarf (technically, I think, "snood"). I did a Pinterest search for recent pins of this look, and realized: the fur scarf? It goes with EVERYTHING. Longer wool coats, short motorcycle jackets, causal tees, fancy party dresses, strappy heels, riding boots, pointy toes, torn denim, lace sleeves, even floral dresses--a fur scarf adds some awesome texture and attitude to any of them. Just a few of my recent pins:

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Some of the fur scarves I've seen are comically large--trust me, it's hard to eat or drive in something much bigger than the big one I made last year--but they absolutely can be wearable. I did this one last year and made several more for Christmas gifts! This is a great How to Wear DIY because faux fur scarves like this are so easy to make!!

Even better when I pair it with my fave DIY painted wedges!!

Jacket: Ross. Jeans: c/o Lucky Brand. Tank: Old Navy. Shoes: DIY, here!
Scarf/snood: DIY, here!

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Delicious healthy chocolate chip sunbutter cookies

12.05.2013

Delicious healthy chocolate chip sunbutter cookies

I have a super fun and easy recipe to share today--I've made these cookies three times now (the first two times in one 24-hour period) because they are SOOOO good, and I've done slight modifications each time to perfect them. I've Instagrammed them twice (here and here) because they are so good and went so fast!!

This recipe (I found this one, modified it) is great in part because it's so easy to make and only requires you to dirty one dish item (for me, making my own sunbutter in the process, that's the Cuisinart bowl/blade. If you use pre-made or store bought almond butter and sunbutter, it's just one bowl).

I'm actually quite studied in the perfect chocolate chip cookie, from my pre-Paleo, pre-raw vegan days, having perfected my recipe in high school. I used to use the Nestle recipe like Phoebe on Friends; then I used Martha's recipe; then I heard a piece on The Splendid Table about the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe (biggest takeaway: it involves sea salt!) (I think this is that recipe, by David Leite). But I haven't bought wheat/grain flour since December of 2009, and aside from a couple raw vegan chocolate chunk cookie bar attempts, I haven't made chocolate chip cookies in years. I know there are a ton of delicious almond flour cookie recipes that are grain-free, but I try not to eat too much nut products (or baked foods at all, really) and I haven't played around with them. But when I found the sunbutter cookie recipe, I figured I ought to try.

I'm not sure about the official origins or definition of sunbutter, but I gather that it's sunflower seed butter, much like almond butter or peanut butter but made from sunflower seeds (seeds, not nuts or legumes like the other two). I try not to eat too much almond butter or too many nuts, because while they are a real, whole food source, they are high in phytic acid and contain lower quality fats (unsaturated, Omega-6) than many high saturated fat, high Omega-3 foods. Same with seeds, but to a lesser degree (particularly on the phytic acid). This means that sunflower seeds are easier for some people to digest than nuts like almonds (especially un-skinned, un-soaked ones).

They're also super affordable. Here's a pic of the two bins at Winco, which has a huge bulk food selection and good prices. Big difference!!

I also recommend super high quality chocolate chips (I stopped using Nestle years ago because it has fake vanilla, Vanillin, in it and I can taste the difference!!), with as few ingredients as possible. I often buy these 50% chocolate ones from the bulk foods bins at Winco, but ideally something like Enjoy Life brand with no soy lecithin or other non-food ingredients.

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Paleo Chocolate Chip Sunbutter Cookie Recipe

So finally, on to the recipe!! I found this amazing cookie through this recipe on So Let's Hang Out, modified from this recipe on PaleOMG. I've modified it further by using different sweetener, omitting the baking soda (I hate the taste, and it doesn't seem to need it), and adding extra fat! There was no butter or coconut oil in these, I assume because sunflower seed and almond butter/meal have more fat than regular grain flours, but still--the extra fat really helps with the texture and makes it more like a regular cookie. (Plus helps regulate blood sugar from the carbohydrates in the sweetener and chocolate chips!)

You will need a food processor for this recipe (we have the 9-cup) unless you use store bought almond butter and sunflower seed butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seed butter ("sunbutter") (either store bought or DIY by processing 2 cups of sunflower seeds in the food processor until it is smooth and creamy)
• 1/2 cup almond butter (store bought or homemade like I show in this tutorial, or just add the almonds to the food processor for the sunbutter)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or butter or lard. I used coconut oil but I bet butter would be great!)
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (these are great and soy free) or dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
• Coarse sea salt, to sprinkle on top (optional but why wouldn't you!?)

Directions

1. (If making your own sunbutter from raw sunflower seeds and using almonds instead of almond butter): Pulse the seeds and almonds in the food processor for, like, a super long time, stirring every few minutes. First it will turn into fluffy small chunks, then meal-ey texture, then oily meal, then it will get to the ball stage (see below). If you keep processing, it'll eventually become almost like melted liquid, but this is as creamy as it needs to be for this recipe.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add the wet ingredients: coconut oil, egg, and vanilla; pulse till smooth.

4. Add the dry ingredients: coconut palm sugar (or sweetener of choice), cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

5. Add the chocolate chips. (Note: your batter may be a little warm still from the food processor when you make the sunbutter. You could give it a while to cool off if you want to be sure the chips don't melt as you stir. Or, just be fast when you make them into balls!) Stir by hand rather than with the food processor blade so you don't chop them up.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and scoop the cookies onto it. They will spread a little when you bake them but not as much as a traditional flour/butter/sugar cookie. (You can flatten them before baking if you want them less 3-D.) Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of each one. (A tip I learned from the pros!)

7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Omigod. They are so good. Actually, you might want to double this recipe, because if you house is anything like mine, your husband and little brother-in-law, or friends who are over, will eat most of them before you even have a chance to put them away. ;)

SO good, people!! So good!!

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Funky skirt remake: shimmery high-low party skirt!

12.04.2013

Funky skirt remake: shimmery high-low party skirt!

After my series on holiday party dresses, and after pinning holiday outfit ideas recently and seeing lots of glitter and shininess and pretty colors at stores and online, I'm getting excited for holiday party wear.

So when I found this vintage (practically) 90's circle skirt at Goodwill recently, I had a vision of a pretty party skirt with a high-low hem.

So I folded down the center front of the sheer poly organza outer layer, lining, and net under layer, and cut a curve in them to the side seam. Then I unpicked the hem near the new edge and hemmed the newly cut part, merging the hems.

High-low!

Fun to twirl in, full, great with heels--or on tip-toe, so you can get the effect!

Hooray!

Outfit ideas for a holiday party with this pretty pale, shimmery skirt?

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DIY Mod Podge arrow glitter tee stencil tutorial

12.02.2013

DIY Mod Podge arrow glitter tee stencil tutorial

This one came out of nowhere. Over the long and glorious weekend, I had a crafty and cooking day with Leah of The Content Owl (we hashtagged #craftingncooking! I highly recommend it!). One project we did was this glitter tee stenciling project! I did a search for glitter tee tutorials and found a bunch involving paint, glue, silk screening, and lettering (including my lettered canvas!), but no Mod Podge like I was hoping for. (My Mod Podge glitter heels popped up as well, though!) So I took things into my own hands and tried this method myself.

You don't have to buy glitter paint or anything fancy for this tutorial; you can use a combination of the Mod Podge and glitter you've had since 2009 when you started blogging (or is that just me?). Point being, you may already have Mod Podge (I don't recommend making your own with Elmer's glue and water because it won't be water-resistant like Mod Podge, and ideally you'd use Fabric Mod Podge for this project), and any ol' glitter will work for this, like from kids' art supplies or scrapbooking. (Sometimes when a project involves something special like glitter paint I add it to my to-do list but may not get to it too soon. No so with this one!) Freezer paper is also like... $2? $3? for a roll that will last you many many years of occasional crafting.

Glitter Tee Tutorial - with Mod Podge!

You will need:

• Tee, sweatshirt, sweater, or other garment
• Freezer paper
• Glitter
• Sponge (the smaller the better; the blue one above was too big)
• ModPodge (highly recommended but not shown--use Fabric Mod Podge for a more durable tee!)
• Clear sealer (not pictured)

My arrow design was I guess loosely inspired by this Old Navy tee, and the crossed arrows motif, although you can do this with any design you can draw and cut out of the freezer paper! You get to make your own custom (one-time use) stencil.

Instructions:

1. Using a paper printed pattern or drawn guidelines on the freezer paper, cut out the design you want to use, remembering that the negative space is what you need and you're really creating a frame for the openings where you'll put the color.

For arrows, use a ruler to draw two criscrossing lines of the same length, and add points and tails/fletchings  (*OMG I just now realized, while writing this, that my tails are upside down. OOPS. Yikes!!*) You could use a template or printable art like from these to trace if you like.

Cut out the drawing, preserving the outline more than the inside part.

(OMG, that's really bugging me now--they look like paddles with arrow points on one side rather than arrows. Well, that's what I get for deciding to do a project and tutorial at the last minute!! Learn from my mistakes!)

2. Iron the freezer paper (shiny side down!) to the shirt in the position you want. Put an old grocery bag and/or catalog or thick paper under the design in between the layers of the tee so the ModPodge doesn't soak through.

3. Mix the ModPodge (again, ideally Fabric Mod Podge, not what I used) and glitter. Wish I had an exact ratio for this but I don't! Sorry!

4. Using the foam dauber (ideally about the size of the openings in your shirt, or smaller, so you don't waste glitter and 'Podge on the paper rather than the tee), apply the mixture through the stencil.

5. Let dry. It dries pretty fast, moveable in less than an hour, but it's not fully dry for about 24 hours.

After an hour you can peel the freezer paper off and admire!

Leah and I made these, my arrows (negative space) and her snowflake which she gave a border to with glitter around the edges--rather than cut out the frame of freezer paper, place the inside diamonds and triangles perfectly, and apply glitter in the shape of the snowflake itself.

6. Now, the next step if you used standard Mod Podge like I did is to waterproof the design with a clear acrylic sealer. Great tips from Amy at Mod Podge Rocks about the washablility of the stuff. Fabric Mod Podge is washable, so when you do this at home, please use it. As for me, I'll let you know how it goes once I wash this tee; I may lose some of my design even with a sealer!

Pretty cool, right? And so easy!

Crafting with friends is always more fun! Although, I did end up with a couple mistakes on this tee! I'll let you know how well it survives, and I may get another chance to put accurate arrow fletchings on!

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