Fleur-De-Lis Napkin Folding

Tags

napkin folding, napkins

Saturday, I had a much need two-hour phone date with my sister. When our time-zones are 5 hours apart, it’s hard to find time to chat. While talking about plans for her upcoming wedding & reception, I remembered that she folded 200 napkins for Hubster & my wedding reception. Shortly after our conversation, I felt the itch to practice my folding skills again. I’m not sure if I’ll have to return the favor for her soon. And after all, it IS almost holiday season.

The fleur-de-lis napkin is an easy fold…

Step 1:Lay napkin open to create a diamond. Fold bottom of napkin up to form triangle.

Step 1

Step 2:Take left corner and fold up to top point, repeat with right corner.

Step 2

Step 3:Fold bottom up to about 1″ from top point.

Step 3

Step 4:Fold the same point down to the bottom.

Step 4

Step 5:Fold back sides and tuck in back.

Step 5

Step 6: Stand napkin up and pull down the left and right tabs to create a fleur-de-lis.

Step 6: Fleur-De-Lis Napkin Fold

Anyone else have an unusual impulses recently?

Chandelier Earring Refashion

Tags

beads, chandelier earrings, craft, crystal beads, jewelry, jewelry crafts, jewelry making, postaday2011, repurpose, repurposing

It’s been half a month since my last blog post, that’s all of July! We had a houseful of visitors for the first week of July and then we had a few days to get back to work on our house. That didn’t last long, since the third day back I ended up in the ER with horrible chest pains and shortness of breathe! Hubster did a great job taking care of me. I have half a week left of all my meds and hopefully I’ll be feeling like myself again. I feel horrible when I’m not able to cook/bake, craft/create, blog and not do anything but sleep.

We had a cousin’s wedding to attend yesterday and I spent 10 mins making something for me. Without an ounce of energy left in me, I needed something to still make me feel beautiful. Earrings are always my solution…. even if I sat down through the entire reception (so not me!).

I bought a pair or earrings when Hubster and I started dating and quickly lost one. I held onto the mate hoping to find it hidden somewhere in my life. Eventually the time comes where you have to toss it or refashion it into a new pair. I love the new earrings I made, but I was hoping to find two more teal crystal beads, one for the top of each earring (the second bead under the hook).

Lovely But Lonely

The Happy New Couple

What do you think of my earring refashion?

Something New, Something Blue

Tags

bridal party gifts, bride, chandelier earrings, earring making, earrings, gift, gift for the bride, gift giving, gift idea, handmade earrings, newly wed, something blue, something new, thank you gifts, white chandelier earrings, white earrings, white pearls

Something old, Something new,
Something borrowed, Something blue,
And a lucky sixpence in her shoe…

My one girlfriends got married this weekend at an intimate lakeside ceremony, followed by an outdoor reception. The autumnal leaves of yellow, orange, red and brown surrounded her with vibrant, joyful colors. The chocolate-brown bridesmaid dresses contrasted the white gown on the bride. Her dress was her something borrowed, but I wanted to make sure she had something new and something blue. I made these simple, yet elegant earrings to grace her ear lobes on her special day. They’re similar to the bridesmaid earrings I made and shared with you yesterday, embellished a bit more. Hubster & I both wish her the best of luck as they start their journey and new family together.

Something New & Something Blue

I created this look using white pearls, silver bead wire, small blue crystals, small clamps and silver earring hooks.

Brides out there, what was your something blue?

Bridesmaid Earrings

Tags

bridal party gift, bridesmaid, brown chandelier earrings, brown pearls, chandelier earrings, crafting, crafts, earring making, earrings, gift, gift giving, gift ideas, handmade earrings, jewelry, jewelry crafts, personalized gifts, thank you gifts, wedding craft

One of my girlfriends is getting married today, Congrats Joshua & Best Wishes Brandi! While we are away today at her intimate outdoor lakeside wedding, I wanted to share something I made for the bridesmaids. Brandi let us pick out the dresses we wanted, as long as they were chocolate-brown (I have a cute tea length strapless). About a month ago, I found these beautiful chocolate-brown pearls and thought they would make beautiful earring for us bridesmaids. I love brown and look forward to wearing these again and again. I just hope the other bridesmaids love them just as much, and I have a feeling they do!

Chocolate Brown Pearl Bridesmaid Earrings

To create this look, I used chocolate-brown pearls, brown tinted bead wire, small clamps and silver earring hooks.

What are you creating now?

Mocktail Mixings

Tags

250th post, alcohol free, autumn drinks, bachelorette, bachelorette party, beverage recipe, beverages, cocktail party, cranberry cocktail, drink recipe, drinks, favorite beverages, girls day, girls day out, girls night in, girls night out, mock mimosa, mocktail, mocktail hour, mocktail party, non-alcoholic drink, party, party ideas, recipe, shirley temple, summer drinks, virgin long island

During my girlfriend’s bachelorette party, we had a mocktail hour at my house. As I was planning the day, I knew it was supposed to include one pregnant girl, one breast-feeding and one teenage bridesmaid. So of course mocktails were our way to go. Saturday everyone was boring and stuck to Shirley Temples. I did however have the recipes and fixings for other mocktails I thought would be fun to offer…

So in honor of my 250th post (yay!), I’m going to enjoy a few mocktails myself! Here are a few fall appropriate mocktails I was ready to make…

Mocktail Mixings

Virgin Long Island Iced Tea
In a pitcher mix together 2 c. strong brewed unsweetened iced tea, 1 qt. apple cider, 1/2 c. lemon juice, 1/2 c. ginger ale. Pour in pint glasses over ice and garnish with lemon slices.

Mock Mimosa
In a champagne class, pour equal parts sparkling white grape juice and orange juice.

Cranberry Cocktail
Mix 2 parts cranberry juice an 1 part seltzer water and pour over ice.

Shirley Temple – The Classic Mocktail
In a highball glass, pour Sprite or ginger ale over ice, top off with grenadine and garnish with a few cherries.

I enjoyed my evening with my girls, it was nice to have some downtime between our day out and our evening ahead.

What unconventional celebrations have you thrown?

Bachelorette Party Fixings

Tags

bachelorette, bachelorette party, Bride-To-Be, corsage., girls day, girls day out, girls night, girls night out, sash, tiara

Yesterday we had a Girls Day & Night Out to celebrate my girlfriend’s upcoming wedding.  What would a bach party be without dressing up the betrothed?

Typically I embroider a sash for the Bride-To-Be, however this time I didn’t have access to a machine. I tried a fabric paint and stick on stencils… but the paint bleed through the white satin and the stencils tore the fabric. I have to make another one with iron-on sequin letters.

Future Mrs... Sash

I plucked a few fresh roses from my garden to make a pin on corsage for her. My floral tape was packed away, so I had to settle with using clear tape. I had two straight pins with white pearls on the ends.

Pin On Corsage

My bestie, who is also crafty, made a cute veil by sewing tulle to the comb of a sparkly tiara.

Bride-to-Be Veil

We topped it off with shiny bead necklaces and headed out the door. It was a great day with my girls, and long over due!

What was your weekend craft? How did you spend your weekend?

Cutesy Cupcakes for a Blushing Bride

Tags

Baking, bridal shower, cupcake tree, cupcakes, dessert, dessert table, shower, sweets, sweets table, work party, work shower

One of our sweet new teachers is getting married next month (yay! a new young wifey) and yesterday we surprised her with a bridal shower.

Usually we order a cake from a bakery or have someone local and talented make a nice cake. Our school’s social committee has an unspoken rule, chocolate peanut-butter cakes for every baby or bridal shower. Of course if you deviate from the tradition, they’ll tell you about it. Our cake plan fell through, so I offered to take over. I love any excuse to use my cupcake tree and cupcake carriers, so I asked the committee if cupcakes would suffice. Now, I’m not a fan of the chocolate peanut-butter combinations (except, Reese’s Pieces or GS Peanut-butter Patties), so I used this opportunity to my advantage (plus with all the peanut allergies!). I made half of the cupcakes chocolate peanut-butter and make the other half yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I added chocolate curls and chocolate shavings to the top of the peanut-butter frosting.

Cutesy Cupcakes

I didn’t have time to make the cupcakes from scratch, so I doctored up the cake mix with pudding mix and other add-ins. I made the cupcakes the day before and enjoyed using my icing press to decorate the tops. I lost my peanut-butter icing recipe, so a friend gave me her husband’s creation. I started to whip up a batch and quickly changed several things. I’ll post the recipe later…

Cupcake Tree

During my planning time, I had to have another teacher hold open a side door, so I could sneak them in and hide them from the bride-to-be. We set up her shower in the school library, where we thought she was attending an after-school meeting. We pulled off the surprise! And everyone enjoyed the cupcakes (only two more peanut-butter one were eaten than chocolate). I always get just as many comments on my cupcake stand and carriers!