Tutorial: Dictionary Necklace Charms

It's that time to start shopping for Christmas presents!  Or to start thinking of what presents to make!  

Here's an idea that might be the perfect small gift, and it's completely personable!

It's easy to make, and the supplies you need will come in handy for several craft projects.

Step 1

Cut out pieces of paper.

I cut words out of a dictionary.

Step 2

Mod Podge the paper to jewelry bails.

You can find bails at any craft store.  They come in a variety of finishes.  My bails are a bronze color.

Step 3

Once the paper is dry, trim it to fit the bails.

Step 4

Use Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to add a clear gloss to the top.  This also (as the name says) adds dimension to your paper.
I won the DM from a Mod Podge Rocks giveaway...it's amazing!

I did one coat and let it dry.

Then I did a second coat and let it dry.

Then I did a third coat.

You number of coats will depend on the amount of dimension you want.

Final Product

My dictionary paper was thin and inexpensive, so you can see the color of the bails coming through, but I like the antique look it has.

This is one way to create a completely unique piece of jewelry.  You can pick words out of the dictionary that describe the person you're giving the gift to.  Or you can use decorative paper or a photo.  

Get creative!

I'd love to see if any of you have tried this or if you make any!

Linking up:

Edit:
THANK YOU to Craft Gossip for linking to my tutorial!

Comfort Potatoes

Sometimes I just need some comfort food.

I need to eat it and not feel guilty.

This is one of those foods.

I had some baked potatoes that I put in the freezer.  I loving freezing baked potatoes, because they're already cooked, and you can do so many things with them.

I thawed the potatoes and then cut them into cubes.

Then I put a small amount of cooking oil in a pan, threw in the potatoes, and crisped them up a bit.

Then I dumped them in a bowl and added:

shredded cheddar

margarine

sour cream

chives

Then I ate them.

These potatoes are so yummy and warm you up.  

Maybe pair it with grilled chicken so you get some kind of nutrition...and don't eat the whole batch of potatoes like I was tempted to do!

Edit: Don't have leftover baked potatoes?  Just slice up some uncooked potatoes, throw them in the skillet, and fry them up.  Everything's better fried :)

Tutorial: Ribbon Trimmed Scarf

I've been going through a scarf making phase, and a few weeks ago you saw me knitting scarves and sewing scarves.  Well, they're baaAAaack!

For this scarf, I trimmed the edges with a silky ribbon.

Just simply sew the ribbon onto the edge of the scarf.

As you can see, I didn't sew on the absolute edge.  I sewed in a bit and then later trimmed the edge of the scarf to meet the edge of the ribbon.

And there you have it!

Fall Engagement Party

Last Friday we had an engagement party for Cody and Meredith!

It was thrown by Meredith's bridesmaids.

Cody is my brother-in-law (Colin's brother).

Meredith is Cody's fiancée (duh!), one of the bridesmaid in my wedding over two years ago, and one of my first friends in college way back in 2003!

Here's the special couple:

Loren (my sister-in-law...Colin's sister) made the engaged banner and MR and MRS pumpkins!

Allison (Meredith's sister) printed out sepia and black&white photos of Cody and Meredith.

The guest book was signing bottles!

Whitney (one of Meredith's bridesmaids) had that idea!

I was in charge of wrapping the cookies...I'll explain a little later!

Yummy appetizers!

Loren also made pumpkins for the tables.  She took lace pantyhose and squeezed the pumpkins into them!

Loren and her boyfriend Destin:

Loren, Meredith, Me:

Meredith and her bridesmaids! (minus Liz that lives out of town)

Sarah, Whitney, Meredith, Allison, Loren, Me

The good looking couple again:

We're #1!  That picture just happened.  We couldn't fight it!

And here's me with my handsome husband:

We had the party at SO Restaurant in Little Rock.  They have a neat room that's separate from the rest of the restaurant, so you completely have your own space.  I definitely recommend it for fancy parties!

Alright...cookie time!

Sarah (a bridesmaid) ordered cookies from Maggie's Cookies in Conway.  Maggie's is delicious!

I put the cookies in food bags and wrapped ribbon around them.

I found the bags and ribbon at Hobby Lobby.  The ribbon had so elastic, so it was super easy to wrap them, and the ends curled on their own!

The party was so much fun!  I hope that Meredith and Cody had a good time!

Flourless Cookies

I found a recipe for flourless cookies, which made me really excited since I can't have regular flour!

Well the cookies

1) were easy to make

2) tasted interesting

3) made a large batch

4) only stayed moist for two days...so hurry and eat them!

The first round out of the oven crumbled :(

So then for the second round I actually followed directions and let them cool before taking them off the cookie sheet.

They stayed together better that way but were still fragile.

I threw the crumbled ones in tupperware and took them to work!

People at work thought they tasted like brownies (I'm good with that!).

I would make these again, but I wouldn't use them as a cookie substitute.  If you're craving a cookie, this doesn't quite hit the spot.  If you're in the mood for brownies, then this will probably be a good fit!  I'll go back to making cookies with expensive gluten-free flour for now...