Thank you!

I have followers! I can't believe it! I've been blogging sporadically for about 6 months now and I didn't know if anybody was listening. I need to thank Dollar Store Crafts for featuring my Gift Card Bag tutorial. I will try to update more frequently now that I feel encouraged. I'll write soon. I just wanted to say thanks! As always, if you have any questions, comments or requests you can email me or leave comments on posts.

Shoes + Sharpies = Fabulous!

I have a thing about uniforms. I attended a uniform school in junior high. I scoured the rules for loopholes. I wore orange Converse and an orange backpack for 2 years just to stand out from the crowd. I also wore a lot of glitter eyeshadow. I took advantage of every free dress day I could. I can't stand looking like everybody else. It's sort of a complex I think. When I got to a non-uniform high school, I went crazy and dyed my hair every color of the rainbow. Anyway, I'm all kinds of off topic.

Through college I wore my own uniform of jeans, t-shirts, and flip-flops. I didn't have as much time to dye my hair or curate the extensive pin collection I maintained on my bag in high school.

Then came graduation. A sea of black caps and gowns and I couldn't stand the thought of it. I didn't want to decorate my cap. That's just not my style. I haven't touched puffy paints since I was 7 and I don't plan to. My adorable black dress with green giraffes would be completely covered.  The only option left was crazy shoes.

I bought white shoes at Payless (I think they were 5 dollars on sale, and I got a purse half off that I used at my wedding the following month) and a multi pack of Sharpies at Target for a couple of bucks. Then I colored the shoes. I knew they'd look like I'd colored them, so I didn't worry about covering them really evenly. The shoes say "beautiful but not dyeable" on a sticker inside, but I showed them.

I wouldn't suggest coloring where your feet go as the color might transfer to your toes. If you find plain shoes on sale, buy them and make them yours. Or if you have old shoes you don't wear anymore, you can make them new again. Now I have shoes that go with everything and I love them. I felt fantastic walking across the stage in these. If you can't find your perfect shoes to make you stand out from the crowd, make some!

Easy Pudding Pops

I've been obsessed with popsicles lately. Make the easiest popsicles ever. I'm sure I'm not the first to do this, but I'll share. Buy pudding cups, insert sticks through foil tops, freeze solid. Then snack! Yum!

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