Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Photo by: David Santiago Caicedo

Thanksgiving Leaf Place Cards

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I love relaxing in my parents' warm house, with the company of family and friends and the delicious aroma of food!  This year I made place cards for the table by using natural leaves.  Take a look! 

Materials: 

leaves

paper, tape, scissors

twine and ribbon

paper towels

cloth napkins

Method:

1. Gently clean the leaves in soapy water so that your family and guests can rest assure that their place card is clean.











2. Lay the leaves on paper towels to dry.

3. Meanwhile, write the names of your guest on thin strips of paper, or print the names on the computer and cut it into thin strips.

4. When the leaves have dried, cut the name strips so that there is a little overlap with the stem.

5. Pinch the paper to fold around the stem, and secure it with a small piece of tape.

6. Using a piece of twine, tie a knot around the stem and paper. (Cut off the excess.)

      

7. Fold the napkin into a rectangle.  Using a ribbon, tie a bow around the napkin, and insert the name card under the ribbon.

We'll be using chocolate brown colored napkins (this is just an example).  I'll post a picture of the complete place setting after Thanksgiving!

     Here are several of the ones I made.

I hope this project inspired you to add a creative touch to your Thanksgiving table!  Have fun picking out the leaves! There are many beautiful ones to choose from.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Placemat Accent Pillow

I came across this great idea to use a placemat to create an accent pillow on a few DIY blogs.  Accent pillows can be expensive, and so when I saw this idea I knew I had to try it.  This project was so easy to do! I'm going to start looking for holiday placemats so I can create decorative pillows for Christmas!

What you need:
a double layered placemat (I bought mine for $2.99 at Home Goods.)

a pillow or pillow stuffing

sewing or make up scissors

a needle and thread

a snap button












How to do it:
1. cut the seam of one side of the placemat using small scissors
   

2. stuff the placemat with a pillow or with pillow stuffing


3. sew a snap button on the inside of the placemat lining (I used a button so that I can change the pillow cover.  You can sew the placemat shut if it's going to be a permanent cover.)

Voila! 

That's it! See how Simple?

Thanks for stopping by!

Instant Art/ Earrings Holder

This is one of my favorite projects that I would like to share with you all.  I'm the type of person who needs to see what I have to wear it, and that's why I love this project.   I found it about 4 years ago in a Real Simple magazine.  It's fast and easy to make, and it looks great!

Materials: 

a wooden picture frame (in particular one that can stand on its own).  You can find cheap ones at places like Marshalls and TJ Maxx.

a picture hanging kit

a hammer

a medium sized nail

scissors

a pencil

Steps:

1. Remove the glass and backing of the frame.

2. Create a small hole in the groove where the glass was by using a hammer and nail (you only need to hit the nail a few times, this is to prep for the eye hook).  Remove the nail. 

3. Position the eye hook in the hole, and twist it into the wood until it feels tight.

4. Use a ruler and pencil to mark (on the back of the frame) where the 2nd eye hook should go so that it is even.

                                                    

5. Using the mark as a guide, create the 2nd hole in the groove and twist the screw into the frame (see step 2). 

6. Cut the wire so that there is about an inch excess on each side.

                                       

7. Loop the wire into the hook and twist the wire to secure it on each side.  (Make sure to pull it tight!)

                                        

8.  Add multiple layers of wire depending on the size of your frame.  

(Tip after your first row, hang an earring to see how far down the next wire should go.)

                                                   

9. Place the frame on your dresser or add a bracket to the back to hang it on the wall.

                                               

10.  Hang your earrings and enjoy your beautiful instant art! 

A cozy meal: sautéed spinach, broccoli and white beans

Tonight I made one of my favorite vegetarian friendly dishes and I thought I'd share! It's fast and Simple to make.  You'll only have one pan to wash! This is a great meal on a chilly autumn day or evening!

Ingredients:
1 can (~15oz.) small white beans rinsed (you can substitute with larger white beans as well)
2 small heads or 1 large head of broccoli
1 bunch or bag of spinach
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
a pinch of red pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
olive oil
black pepper
Shredded parmesan cheese

Method:
In a large sauté pot...
Cook broccoli in boiling water until tender
Drain water off broccoli
Sauté broccoli and spinach with olive oil, minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper until spinach has wilted
Mix in 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar and the beans
Heat until beans are warm
Add black pepper to liking, and stir
Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Serving size: 2 people

Happy Belated Halloween!

Saturday's snow storm kept me from celebrating Halloween over the weekend, but I'm happy I got to wear my DIY Black Swan costume at a local restaurant/bar Halloween gathering last night.

To make this I costume I used:
. a black leotard . black tights . feathers . 6 yards of black tulle . elastic sized to wrap around my hips .
I made the tutu with this site's help: http://www.momdot.com/howtomakeatutu .
I Simply safety pinned feathers to the top of the leotard.
For the eye makeup I used black eyeshadow, a black eyeliner pencil, and silver shadow.  I colored my lips with the black eyeliner pencil and put red lipstick on top.  

The camera's red eye helps give the Black Swan effect!