Craft Room Renovations Part 1-Curtain Doors

I was wandering through the fabric store one day over Christmas break when I found this fabric on sale that I really liked.  I decided I would use it to make a curtain door for my craft room closet.  I didn't really like the folding doors that were already on it because it was hard to get in and out of.  I purchased the fabric and took it home and decided I didn't like the color of the room with this fabric, so I decided to just go ahead and paint the room.  That totally makes sense, right?  That was the beginning of my craft room renovations.

So over about 5 random days I made these curtains.  Why is there a big blue strip at the bottom?  That would be because the fabric I got was too short.  Oops.  I'm still not very good at sewing (a straight line in particular) and there was a lot of trial and error with these curtains.  In the end, I think I like them.  I'm not positive.  But I think I do.  I'm still not sure about that blue on the bottom or the actual length of the curtains.
So here are some photos.  It was hard for me to figure out the lighting and angle to take pictures so these are a little weird.  The green of the room does not really look like it does in real life. 

The room is not really this shade of green.

I'm trying to organize the inside of the closet for storing all my random stuff.

So that's part 1 of the many things I have done to this room.  I know you can't wait to hear about the rest!  PS-I blame this blog for making me think I could suddenly be a DIY home decor expert.

Have you ever sewn curtains?  Or a curtain door?

Bridal Shower Decor by MoYo (rhymes with Fro-yo)...

Remember my friend Morgan from such events as the A-Corn bridal shower and the Las Vegas bachelorette party?  She's also the person who presented my with the best hair accessory ever.  Well this weekend she was back in town displaying more of her wonderful and unique bridal shower planning.  Mo's sister is getting married in a couple months and this weekend was her bridal shower.

Mo showed up at my house once again with her giant suitcase in tow.  But this time it wasn't filled with clothes, it was filled with bridal shower decor for her sister.  The theme of her sister's bridal shower was "A Night Out or In" so people gave her gifts such as movie/restaurant gift cards, a picnic basket, etc.  The gifts were basically stuff for her and her future hubby to do together.  So Mo decided to make each table a different theme based on something that the bride and groom enjoy doing together.  I was amazed when she pulled these out of her suitcase.

She used photos, stickers and greeting cards to make these.  They were even cuter in person and really unique.  I heard they were a hit at the shower and her sister claims she's going to display them in her house. 

She also did tons of other planning, including games and prizes.  She always goes all out for events.  You know it's going to be awesome if Mo's involved.  Here are favors she put together.  They were little bags with fortune cookies (aka a night in with take-out) and little tea infusers (it was also a tea party).  These were also really cute.

I think she did a really good job.

What's the most unique thing you've seen at a bridal shower?
Do you want Mo to plan your next party?

Potato-less Salad...

The other night I found myself with an abundance of cauliflower.  I was going to make this broccoli/cauliflower salad but the broccolli appeared to be pretty old so I tossed it.  So I was left with cauliflower.  I decided to 'google' it up and find something I could make with cauliflower and the stuff I already had in my house.  I really wanted to make this roasted cauliflower soup but I didn't have half of those ingredients.  Then I found this recipe.  To be honest with you, I thought it sounded kind of gross but it was pretty much the only thing I had most of the ingredients to make.  So I went for it.

It's basically a potato salad but instead of using potatoes, you use cauliflower.  I had to make a few changes and substitution (took out the hard-boiled eggs, cut the mayo down, etc) and I know many of you are going to think this is really gross but I actually ended up liking it.  I would definitely use it as a potato salad subsitution at a picnic or what not.

Cauliflower Salad (adapted from here )
1 head of cauliflower (rinsed and cut in to bite sized peices)
handful of frozen peas
1/2 red onion chopped
2 dill pickle spears chopped
1/2 cup of mayo
1/4 cup mustard (any kind but I used honey mustard because I like it a little sweet)
salt and pepper

1-Boil the cauliflower for 10 minutes until it's tender
2-Mix the mustard, mayo and salt and pepper together
3-Add everything else and mix

So, this wasn't bad for a kitchen experiement (again, I know some of you will think this sounds disgusting).  And I didn't have to waste my cauliflower. 

Have you ever made something weird just to use up ingredients you had in the pantry?

Making Stuff is.......Dangerous

Making stuff is fun...

...but sometimes also dangerous.

(don't worry no dogs or humans were hurt, just poor old Red Hand)

Snow Day.....

Sometimes working for a University sucks.....budget cuts, no raises, hiring freezes, robberies (yeah we have had like 2 in the past couple years).  Sometimes it's awesome, like today when we get a SNOW DAY (you can't expect all those college kids to make it to class in the snow/ice).  While my other friends are trying to figure out how to get to work, I'm just chillaxing at home with Hobie and B (whose work trip to Atlanta has been postponed due to the cancellation of all his co-workers' flights). 

Plus I get to wear my favorite snow outfit (which I wore 75% of Christmas Break)...old jeans, Uggs, a Hoodie, and a handmade scarf.

So now I'm going to go ahead and get the slow cooker back out and make some Eazy Peazy BBQ chicken.  If you are snowed in, I recommend that you do the same.

What's your favorite thing to do on a snow day?
What's your favorite cold weather meal to make?

The B Mug!

Remember when I tried to make Martha Stewart's supposedly very easy etched snowflake glasses?  Yeah? Remember how it was a total failure?  I do not like total craft failures so I plugged along with a different method that day that worked out a lot better.  So I present to you the B Mug...

I made this wonderful etched glass Beer mug for B for his birthday.  As you can see from the beer residue on the bottom, he used it. 

Making this was not as hard as I thought it would be.

Etched Glass Mug

Supplies-Contact paper (I found this in the home improvement section of Wal-Mart), Beer Mug (or any glass), Exacto Knife, Etching Cream (from Michael's), Computer/Printer

-I typed up a big 'B' in Microsoft word and then picked a font I liked and printed it out.

-Then I took a small piece of contact paper and traced over it with a marker.

-Then I peeled the back off the contact paper and stuck it to the mug (where I wanted the 'B' to be)

-I then carved out the 'B' with the Exacto knife (be careful because of the two holes in the B that you have to keep on the glass in order for the 'B' to look right)

-Then I painted a THICK layer of the Exacto cream on and left it on for about 2 minutes.

-Then I washed it all off.

It came out a lot better than the snowflake glasses.  Be careful with the etching cream.  You are supposed to wear gloves (I guess, so you don't accidentally etch your hand).  I would follow the directions on whatever cream you get.  We found that it was important to use a thick layer in order for it to work.

I also made my family some etched juice glasses for Christmas morning breakfast.  Those came out pretty good too. 

Are you happy that I turned my Martha Stewart Craft fail day in to a success?

Did you hand make any Christmas gifts?

Making Stuff is Hard....Ebelskivers

The first thing that is hard about making Ebelskivers is pronouncing that word.  I have no idea how to pronounce it.  So let's just go ahead and call them stuffed pancakes, because that is what Ebelskivers are.

On Fristmas Morning (a fake holiday I made to celebrate with my husband back when we used to spend Christmas apart, see Fakesgiving) I decided to do something special and bring out my Stuffed Pancake pan that I got as a wedding gift.  I had only used it once so I decided it was time for round two.  I found this awesome sounding recipe for caramel and apple stuffed pancakes topped with ice cream.  Now, I know eating ice cream for breakfast is probably not that healthy but hey, it was Fristmas.

The recipe sounded easy enough.  I mean you just make caramel out of sugar.  How hard can that be?  Well after the fourth attempt and a burned finger I was about the throw in the towel on the whole stuffed pancake thing.  But I finally made something that resembled caramel so I went with it.  I'm pretty sure it was actually just burnt sugar.  Either way I managed to finish the pancakes.  They tasted kind of weird so I just added extra ice cream to cover up the odd tasting caramel and semi burnt pancakes.  Oh well.  I gave myself an A- for effort.  Next time (in like a year) I will buy pre-made caramel sauce because I think this could actually be really good.

Things started looking up again when we finally got Hobie to wear his cool new hat.

He hated it.  But I did it for his own good.  I mean it was really cold outside.

OK, so have you ever tried to make stuffed pancakes?
Have you ever had breakfast that included ice cream?
Do you know how to make caramel?  (clearly I could use some tips)