Anytime Wreath!

I've been seeing these adorable yarn-wrapped wreaths everywhere, and an empty spot in my entryway, so I decided I needed one. But I didn't want one I would have to take down with changing seasons (because, let's face it, it took me until Valentine's Day to take down my Christmas tree). So, I designed my own.

So, I gathered up my supplies: (assemble army of: wreath, yarn, glue gun, velcro, decorations, command hook)

Now, usually, you do these with foam wreath forms. For some reason, I couldn't find any. Or, at least any that weren't too small or like $8 (for JUST FOAM!!!). So I got a straw one, and didn't bother to take the plastic off, and it worked just fine. And it was only $2 at the Hob Lobby.

And I started wrapping it with yarn.

And wrapped, and wrapped, and wrapped, and wrapped...
(I advise watching a good TV show marathon while you do this, it takes a while...)

Hot glue it in place when it's all covered, and I was done! Kinda.

I made a few fabric flowers, and drew a bird and an "S" on a pretty scrapbook paper and 'podged it onto a recycled pizza box for decorations. Then, I slapped velcro strips onto the wreath and the back of the decorations, and started designing.

I glued a ribbon to the top for a hanger, and VIOLA!
I'm kinda in love with it. And I can change it whenever seasons change or I get bored. Like so:
AND, the whole shabang was less than $8. Saweeet!

What do you think?

Honey...

I'm Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome!

From a fantastic 5ish days with fantastic company in fantastic NOLA. (I am too tired from the 9ish hours I spent in the car today to come up with more interesting adjectives, deal.)


Pictures and posts about it to abound. Right now, I am tired, and lazy, and mildly sunburnt, and about to go crash.

Until then, check it.

Accessorized.

Look what I've been making! ... Hair flowers!





I will teach you how later, promise. Right now, I have to clean and pack for my awesome spring break trip.

In the meantime, you should check out this. And this. So you can get stuff like this:

Paper Flowers!

So, I have been on a crafting kick. Like... seriously, I've made like 29 things this week. I think maybe it has something to do with being surrounded by all the fabulous things at the HobLobby all the time. Whatever, I'm being productive, so let's run with it.

Sidebar: I really like flowers. I do. I would love to have them all over the place. There are, however, two fundamental problems with that. One, I live in an apartment with no outdoor space. Two, I can't grow things. Seriously. I'm really, really good at killing stuff. You know how some people have green thumbs? I have the black thumb of death. I once tried to grow things on the windowsill of my college dorm room. One pot promptly died, and pigeons nested in the other pot. Apparently pigeon poop is not good fertilizer. I digress.

So. I had this really pretty glass bowl thingy. For winter, I had cinnamon sticks in it. And now that it is not winter (sadly, its like 80 degrees outside. I already need sunblock and its only March. Stupid weather), I felt like I needed to zuzh it up. So I made a bouquet. That won't ever wilt. Because I'm awesome. And modest.

How to make paper rosettes

You will need this stuff:

Draw this shape:

Cut it out and start rolling:

Keep rolling until you have this:

Let it go, and hot glue like this:

Press, and you have a lovely rosette!

And, you can use nifty scrapbook paper, and make stuff like this:

Which makes a cool arrangement that I can't kill, and looks super nifty in my living room:

You can use the same method to make felt or fabric flowers, for cute pins or hair clips. Which may or may not be what I shall post about later.

Yeah, I baked. No big deal.

So, here is my Valentine's Day post, only about a month late.

For Valentine's Day, we didn't go out for dinner. One, because I started my new job that day, and two, because everyone else does.
How did I pull off a fabulous dinner and dessert while I was at work for six hours?
Magic. And by magic, I mean the crock pot. I made this chicken, also known as the best chicken ever, rosemary roasted potatoes, and french bread. Here it is:
Here is my dog wanting some:
And yes, it was super delicious.

Sidebar: In case you don't know, I don't bake. I can cook just fine, but baking is another beast all together. When I cook, I don't measure and usually don't follow the recipe. Apparently, you can't do that with baking. It doesn't taste good.
So while I love me some baked goods, I have to get them from somewhere else.
However: For dessert, I actually baked something. I know, crazy. I cheated some and used a boxed cake mix, but that's still awesome for me, so hush. I made conversation heart cakes! (Note: I did this the night before. It's a little time consuming. Fun tip: freeze cakes overnight before icing them. It makes them more delicious).
But then I had a bunch of left over cake. So I did something different. And I didn't have to use a recipe. So Ha!

Chocolate-covered Strawberry Cake Truffles

What you need:
1 box strawberry cake mix, plus ingredients to make it
1 can vanilla prepared frosting
Chocolate chips
White chocolate chips
Sprinkles

What you do:

Make cake as directed. When cooled, crumble into a large mixing bowl. Fold in icing. Yes, the whole can. Freeze for 1 hour. Roll into small, bite-sized balls and place on a baking sheet covered in wax paper. Melt chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Dip cake balls into chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. OR: put melted chocolate into a piping bag and drizzle over cake. Let harden and enjoy!

And enjoy you will. Because they are seriously good.

Coming up soon:
Learn how to make these puppies: