Gift Card Purse

I made this one a little while ago, but it's a fun summer project. I've been saving used gift cards and things for a while now (I swear I'm not a hoarder) and I wanted to make them into a purse. I was inspired by that credit card Oscar dress. You know the one by the costume designer from Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I couldn't find a good picture, but you know how to google.

It's simple really. The hardest part is punching holes in the cards. My very kind husband helped me with that.

You will need:
gift cards (I used 18, 9 per side. You can sometimes beg them off friends or ask for used ones at stores.)
zip ties (the dollar store is a good resource)
hole punch
ribbon (I used some from a Crate and Barrel gift, I thought it tied in nicely)
old t-shirts or scrap fabric
yarn
needle and thread
velcro

The construction I used was a little complicated. You could just link the cards together and make a fun beach tote without the lining. You could even add straps from an old purse. Just don't put anything too small in there because it might slip through the cracks.

I made a lined bag attached the straps to that. Then I added some yarn to the top and attached the bags to the yarn with zip ties. Does that make any sense? I'll draw some pictures. I sewed it all by hand and it didn't take too long. You could definitely use a machine if you have one. I didn't take any in progress shots because I just wanted to finish it.

Step 1: line up your cards into the shape of one side of your finished bag. Leave a little space between the cards. Measure the length and width.

Step 2: Cut out 4 pieces of fabric a little larger than the cards on all sides. About 1/4 inch on each side. 

Step 3: Make inner lining. Sew two pieces together with right sides together as shown. This will be the inside lining of the bag (the part you'll see when you open your bag). The lining and shell should end up just a little smaller than the length and width of the measured cards so they'll fit easily inside. The lining should be a little smaller than the shell. 

Step 4: Make shell. Sew the last two pieces together with right sides together. Place a doubled piece of yarn between the pieces near the top (but below where the fold of the hem will be) and sew the ends of the yarn into place. This will be used to attach the cards later. 

Step 5: Fold the hem down on the inside lining. Keep right sides together. Turn the outer lining inside out and fold hem in. Ironing can help this step. Tack the yarn in place along the top. Be sure not to sew the sides together. Make sure there will still be room to attach the cards. 

Step 6: Place the lining (green here) inside the shell (yellow here). Try to align the hems at the top. Tweak if necessary. Place ribbons between the inside and outside lining to sew in place when hemming. I sewed the ribbon to the shell before this step to keep it really strong. Make sure the ribbon isn't twisted. Sew around the top to secure lining to shell and ribbon to bag. Sew as close to the top as possible. 

Step 7: Attach cards to each other. Punch holes in each corner of every card. I used zip ties to attach them, but ribbon or strong yarn should work too. I made two sheets of 9 and attached the edges once they were on the bag. I don't think it really matters. Make sure not to attach too tightly. It should be flexible. 

Step 8: Attach the cards to the bag using zip ties (or ribbon or yarn) to attach cards to the yarn at the top. Attach each side of the cards to the other. The bag should look something like this. 

Step 9: I added a little velcro to the insides to close. Other closures could work too. 

I hope these directions were clear. If you have any questions leave a comment or send me an email. Have fun! 

Cheese Party

Yesterday we had some friends over for a low key cheese party. We bought all the cheese at our local super market. I posted a while back about making a good cheese plate, so here I'll give a specific list of what we served yesterday. It all went over really well with experienced and inexperienced cheese nibblers alike. I brought the cheese and our friends brought the accompaniments. It was fun to do that blind, but we both bought things that would go with a good variety of flavors, so no problem. I just unwrapped the cheeses and put them on a big platter with some butter knives. I put them in approximate order from mildest to strongest. I'll list them in this order.

Cheese:
Brie (a French one that was on sale, but I forgot the name)
Manchego (Spanish sheep's milk cheese. We found it in a case in another part of the store on sale, so that was a lucky find)
Old Amsterdam (cow's milk gouda)
Chevre with herbs (yeah, there should be an accent in there somewhere. Simple goat cheese, but the herbs make it seem fancy)
Gorgonzola (classic blue cheese. It's not too strong usually, so it's good for novices)

Served with:
A fancy cracker multipack
Triscuits
Herb flatbread crackers (I forgot the brand)
Strawberries (to be honest, not my first choice for a cheese plate, but it was amazing. They go with everything, even the blue)
Honey (amazing on blue cheese, but try it on anything you want)
Half and Half iced tea lemonade (Our friends don't drink, and this was a nice accompaniment. Sparkling juices would probably be great too)

We've got a lot of cheese leftover. I'll have to make something with it all. It's pretty easy to throw a fancy cheese party without breaking the bank. Look for sales. Keep the guest list small. If it's only another couple or two and they offer to bring things, let them.

If you have any suggestions post them here or email me.

Chess Set!

I'm sitting at home listing to the soothing womb sounds of my dish washer. I'm drinking some coffee and feeling very tranquil. Who's up for a contemplative game of chess? No? What if I show you my homemade chess set? You curious?

Can you make it out? It's a Star Wars vs. Harry Potter Lego chess set. Some of those things should probably be italicized or quoted or something, but I don't know which. Anyway, I'll show you some more pictures. 

Here's a blurry shot of the Harry Potter team. The pawns are all animals.

Here's the Star Wars side. Don't mind Socrates in the background.

We had to buy a lot of different sets to get all the characters. It was a fun process. We also got to go up to our nearest Lego store and explore a huge mall in the process. I had to order a couple online too. It was well worth it.

What game should I make next? I was thinking Lego Clue. That would probably be fun.

Have a good weekend!
-Anna

Menu Planning

I used to think nobody really planned menus the way they do in cooking shows made for moms. They say to use your leftover roast chicken in simple fajitas later in the week. Reuse your sauteed veggies in a pot pie with more of that chicken. I didn't do much cooking when I was watching the most cooking shows, and I didn't really see evidence of this. However, right now I'm contemplating making fried rice tomorrow so I can use leftover rice from tonight's burritos. I'm trying to think of what I'll do with leftover beans and tortillas. More burritos probably.

I never had to cook much until I got married. I ate snacks at school, ate out with friends, or ate at home with my parents. I cooked, but I didn't have to cook every night for a week. I'm also a vegetarian, which I think made for more problems. I can't roast a chicken at the beginning of the week and then use it for fajitas and pot pie. We were in a pretty severe pasta rut for a while. We'd eat pasta sometimes twice a week not to mention leftovers for lunches. When we didn't eat pasta, it would be rice or stir fry. Instead of basing a meal on a protein, I was basing it on grain. My husband doesn't love polenta or couscous, so I felt a little limited. Then I tried basing dinner on a veggie, which I still try to do, but it's difficult if you haven't worked with some veggies before. Can a bell pepper be the star of the show? What else can you do with eggplant? I was still stuck. Then I invented the "dinner box."

The dinner box is an oracle. It predicts that week's dinners and keeps me from going to the store every night. I wrote down every dinner idea I could think of on little strips of paper. I put these strips of paper in an origami box. Every shopping day I pull out 4 or 5 ideas and make my shopping list. Now we eat a good variety of things and I don't have to strain my brain to figure it out. Then we have leftovers once in a while, or we go shopping every 5 days. Or my husband is away and I fend for myself. I suggest you try it for yourself if menu planning drives you crazy. Browse cookbooks for ideas or ask me! I've got about 30 and they're not all veggie centric.

Happy cooking,
Anna

Make ahead Sangria with Sangria Cubes!

I'm an insane person when it comes to planning ahead. I took my husband on a surprise picnic recently. I cooked and prepped in secret while he was at work and stashed the food in the fridge. I'm lucky we never use the veggie drawers. If I put veggies in them, I forget they're there and they go bad. It's sad.

frozen fruit rainbow

Anyway... I wanted to make a few things more than a day ahead. The day before I made shortbread, caramelized onions, and focaccia dough, I didn't want to spend all day chopping fruit too. So two days before the picnic I chopped up the fruit for the sangria. The problem with cutting fruit ahead of time is that it gets brown, of course. I was using apples and pears too which do not stand up well to storage when cut. I popped my chopped fruit into and ice cube tray, covered them with fresh citrus juice, and froze them until the next day. This worked perfectly! Freezing helped break down the fruit and make it softer and I didn't have to chop up fruit on my really busy prep day.

I think this technique would work well if making sangria for a summer bbq or any sangria occasion really. I would still combine it all the day before to let the flavors really meld. I just popped out the cubes, added wine and sugar and let it sit in the fridge for a day. Yum! I find chopping fruit really tedious and I like getting as much tedious stuff out of the way early when event planning. I get too spazzy to do tedious things when I'm really pressed for time. I hope you liked this trick. Let me know what you think.

Best,
Anna

Chair transformation

I turned this:

into this: 

Do you love the cute little owl print? It took 4.5 coats of primer to get it white. I was dealing with a very thirsty chair. Do you like it? Are you inspired? I bet there's a Goodwill chair just waiting for you to reupholster it. 

Stay tuned to see what I do with this: 

Happy refurbishing,

Anna

I'm Back... again

Hi y'all out there in blog land. I stepped away from the blog for a while. I had some trouble with my camera and some other excuses. I wasn't really making anything that I considered blog caliber.

I think I found my true calling: refurbishing furniture! I bought a cheap chair at Goodwill and I'm in the midst of painting and reupholstering the seat. I also bought an old sewing machine and table at a flea market. I think it might be from the 40s, but I won't be surprised if I'm wrong. Before and afters to come soon, unless I totally drop the bloggy ball again.

See you soon,
Anna