Rustic Winter Wonderland Centerpiece DIY

It's almost Christmas again, which means, among other things, that it's time to start decorating for the season at my place of work. This year I wanted to switch things up and ditch the table centerpieces we normally use- for one, I don't really like them, and they also don't match the color scheme we currently have. However, any replacement centerpieces would have to be fairly inexpensive since we need a lot of them. My solution? These rustic beauties. Ready to find out the price & how to make them?
With the materials you need available at dollar stores, one centerpiece will run you about $5, or a little less if you already have some of the materials on hand. Each successive centerpiece will cost only $2.50.
You will need:
* Scissors
* Scotch tape
* String - $1 (jute or sisal would be pretty, I just used a thin string I already had on hand.)
* Brown paper - $1 (Again, I was lazy. I just cut up a brown paper bag for this.)
* Deer Christmas tree ornament - $1 for a set of two
* A tall candle - $1 (I used a basic alter style candle)
* Small glass vase or dish, check the craft/floral section - $1
* Cedar sprigs, about 6 to 8 sprigs about 6" to 8" long (Not sure where to find them? I took a walk through the woods.)

                       
First, cut a length of paper to wrap around the vase and secure it with a bit of tape. I made it a little taller than the vase so that it wouldn't show when finished.

Add a string bow to dress it up a little.

Add your candle and cedar sprigs. *The cedar will usually curve a little, if you have all the ends curve in the same direction it will make the finished piece a little more symmetrical. 

Nestle your little deer into the cedar to complete it, and you're done!

Replicate as needed. 

Cedar and candles are a classic, so the theme has spilled over to other areas now.... Bonus points- it smells wonderful in here now! Enjoy your winter wonderland! 

Stuffed Animal to Kawaii Bag Tutorial

I'm not typically very big on stuffed animals, but something about this little guy caught my eye when I found him yesterday. He was so cute and sweet, and after all, I have been wanting to try my hand at turning a stuffed animal into a bag. For my first try, I love how well it turned out! I finished this project within an hour, and it's very beginner friendly, so if you have a cute stuffed animal you want to put to use, keep reading for the tutorial!

You will need:

*A stuffed animal

*Thread

*Needle

*Ribbon (amount needed depends on length of straps, I used just over 2 yards)

*4 D-rings (optional)
*Fabric (I used roughly a 7"x10" rectangle, but the amount needed will depend on the size of your animal and the size pocket you want)
*Zipper (I used a 6")
*Seam ripper

First, use the seam ripper to open up the seam you want to put the pocket in. Because of the type of stuffed animal I used, I opened the seam along the middle of the back, but if you have a stuffed animal that sits upright, you could always put your pocket in its stomach instead. *Remember though, if you place the pocket differently, you may have to open a separate seam to sew the straps into* Remove a handful or two of stuffing to make room for the pocket.

Cut a rectangle of fabric that is the size of the pocket you want when folded, but with an extra 1/4" to 1/2" seam allowance.

If you are using the D-rings, cut four 2" long sections of ribbon. These rings are optional, but I like how they make the finished project look more professionally done, and since they only cost a dollar for 4, I don't mind the extra cost. Fold a section of ribbon over each ring, and stitch the ends together, or if you are using synthetic ribbon and have a lighter or lit candle, I like to hold the ends of the ribbon near the flame for a second to seal it and prevent unraveling. 

Pin the fabric and ribbon ends (from the rings if you're using them or the ends of the ribbon you are making the handle from otherwise) to the zipper and stitch. Ignore the fact that I only had 2 rings attached in this next picture, I had only planned to do one strap at first but it worked better with 2. The picture does show how to space them though if you are placing the straps at the pocket. 

Next sew the sides of your pouch shut. We're almost done now! Place the pocket into the animal's opened seam and hand stitch the top of the pocket to the seam edges. If you're like me and don't have the nicest hand stitches, don't worry, the fur will hide any messy stitches. 

Sew the ends of your straps onto the D-rings. When it's all stitched and zipped shut, your seam will look like this! 

Finished project! Enjoy the excessive cuteness. :)

*Note: my bag ended up being a bit top heavy because of the puppy's head, so I ended up putting a rock in each back foot while the seam was opened to balance its weight. Yours might be balanced fine already, but if not, this step worked great for me and keeps the puppy's head up when I wear the bag now. 

DIY Mermaid Inspired Seashell Hair Accessories Tutorial

I'm completely over winter at this point. The cold, the ice, the constant runny nose and cough that I perpetually have until warm weather returns. I'm very, very ready for summer to be here, and I've been fantasizing about the ocean and how much I want to go back for a week. Or month. Or more. This is probably a large part of the reason I'm currently obsessed with everything mermaid, which led to today's project.
I just discovered the show Mako Mermaids, which I have been scouring Google for screenshots from, although without much luck. One thing I really love about this show is the many gorgeous hairstyles and ocean inspired hair accessories that the girls are never without.

With every progressive seashell hair clip that appeared, I became more and more determined that I need my own personal array. After all, I was a mermaid in a previous life, depending on who you ask. Once I dug up my stash of seashells from previous trips to the ocean, I was very pleasantly surprised at how fast and easy these are to make. So if you want to try making your own, go for it! This is such a fun and easy project.

All you need is:

*Seashells

*Glue (I used hot glue on a couple, but for most I used Elmer's Craft Bond Ultra Stix All. It's a lot more durable than hot glue, and has more flex than regular super glue. I found this in the craft section of Walmart.)

*Bobby Pins

*Metal Barrettes (I used 2" blank barrettes from the craft section for these clips)

*Clear Nail Polish (optional)

Assembled items:

For a clip, just apply glue to the barrette and place the seashell(s) you want to use on it. If you're using the Elmer's Craft glue, keep in mind that it takes 24 hours to dry.

If you are using more than 3 shells, it can be difficult to keep them all in place while the glue sets, so for the barrettes I made with 5 shells, I glued them on with hot glue and then re-secured any loose shells with the Elmer's Craft glue. The five shell clips are definitely worth the extra effort when finished though! 

For just a basic seashell hair pin, apply glue to the underside of the shell and add a bobby pin. Hot glue would be the simplest for this style, and if you're able to get a decent amount of glue inside the shell, it should anchor the pin securely enough. Since I wanted to make sure mine will stand up to a lot of use though, I used the Elmer's glue again. 

Finished hair pieces!

The clear nail polish can be brushed onto the shells if you like to create a wet straight from the ocean look.

For an added bonus, if you happen to have several seashell pieces that look like this, there's an extra hairstyle you can try.

For this hairstyle, I threaded hair through the natural holes in these shells as I braided my hair. These shells create an effect that reminds me of fish scales, only prettier, so I can picture a mermaid weaving these into her hair. 

It can be pretty frustrating trying to hold the braid secure while threading strands of hair through such small holes though, so if you have someone willing to help, this will be a lot easier. 

That's all there is to it! Enjoy your new mermaid accessories, and feel free to share how yours turn out, I'd love to hear! 

Culinary Cosplay: Nancy Drew & the Haunting of Castle Malloy

So as the title of this post implies, today's post is going to be about food (more specifically, drink) instead of clothing or accessories. For those of you who don't know me personally, I really love cosplay. I love the creativity of it, the artistry and elements of acting, essentially everything about it. Lately though, I've been wanting to do more casual cosplay projects, ones that don't require as much of a commitment and that I can do on the spur of the moment. Enter culinary cosplay.

I was playing Nancy Drew and the Haunting of Castle Malloy a couple of nights ago, and I got to the point where you have to make dear cranky old Donal his favorite drink at the Screaming Banshee Inn. (For those of you who haven't played any of the Nancy Drew games, you can pull up a game play video on YouTube, or better yet, play the games yourself. You can find them for sale at http://www.herinteractive.com/) Anyway, as I was flipping through the recipe book to find the right recipe, I couldn't help wondering how the different drinks were in real life, and what the best drink the Screaming Banshee offered was.

 Which led to my sister and I making, sampling, and documenting each of the 12 drinks in the book that offered a recipe. For photos, recipes, and ratings of each one, see below. 

 

(Compiled ingredients)

These recipes do not give specific amounts, instead they tell how many parts of each ingredient to use. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup as my default 1 part amount, and for any recipes that called for 1 part mint extract, I used 3 to 4 drops.

Green Isle ☆☆

Green Isle was essentially a natural pineapple soda, which would have won points with me, if it hadn't been for the mint extract. Since I didn't add much mint, this one was drinkable but still had a rather odd flavor that won it the lowest rating.

Connolly's Folly ☆☆☆

Connolly's Folly was a light sparkling lemonade with a hint of orange. Definitely an improvement on Green Isle, but since the flavor is pretty light, only 3 stars for this one. However, this would probably be a nice drink for summertime when you need to drink a lot of liquids & need something light.

Bleeding Horse ☆☆☆☆☆

 We loved the Bleeding Horse! With the addition of a splash of sparkling water, it's a wonderfully tart/fizzy and grown-up feeling take on the classic strawberry lemonade, and this drink disappeared VERY quickly. Next time I'd put just a splash less lemon juice, but even as tart as it is, it's great. 

Smuggler's Gold ☆☆☆☆

If you want the perfect tropical breakfast juice, Smuggler's Gold is a winner. Because this one doesn't have sparkling water like many of the others, the fruit flavor is bright and strong. The only reason it didn't get a higher rating is because it's a pretty basic juice blend.

Peat Bog ☆☆☆

Points for the lovely color and smell, but that's about it. Peat Bog essentially tastes like milk, with the faintest of fruit flavor to it. However, it smells great and is a very pretty shade of pale pink, so if you were already planning on drinking milk, this is a fun alternative. 

Fairy Drink ☆☆☆☆

Again, very pretty to look at. This one makes me think of a sparkly tingly milkshake with hints of pineapple, but in soda form. However, if I was to make it again, I'd do 1 (possibly 2?) part less sparkling water and 3 parts ice cream instead of 2, because for something so reminiscent of a milkshake, I feel like it should be a bit sweeter.

Leprechaun's Lunch ☆☆☆☆

Oh, for the milkshake we were nearly granted! With one less part milk and one or two more parts ice cream, this would be a lovely vanilla minty milkshake, and a solid 5 stars. As is, it's a great sweet minty milk.

Mean Fiddler ☆☆☆

The Mean Fiddler would be the classic natural orange soda, if it had one or two parts less sparkling water. As is, it's not bad, but it isn't anything special either. 

Brown River ☆☆☆☆.☆

For all lovers of sweet fruity drinks, this one is for you. Brown River is the younger sweeter sibling of the Bleeding Horse, and has a definite pineapple note to it. Smells fantastic and looks delicious, just isn't quite as developed of a flavor as the Bleeding Horse. 

Bog Punch ☆☆☆☆

Has a lovely color that reminds me of pink grapefruit juice, and a well balanced flavor. It is a little tart, but in a good way. While it isn't as strong of a juice as some of the others, it isn't watery, and it is nicely refreshing. 

Afterglow ☆☆☆☆

Not tart or too weak, the Afterglow is a nice basic breakfast juice with prevalent notes of orange and pineapple.

Crow's Nest ☆☆☆☆☆

As Donal's favorite drink, it's pretty easy to understand why. The Crow's Nest is a wonderful fresh summery juice with good flavor balance. Due to its simplicity it can't quite beat out the Bleeding Horse for the spot of my personal favorite, but I still would definitely make this one again. 

And that's it! Comment and let me know which ones look the best to you, and how you rate them if you try the recipes. I'd love to hear other people's personal favorites. Until next time, stay sleuthy!