LIVE: Weekly Photo Wrap-Up

This week we've been busy getting ready for a baby sprinkle we are hosting for our sister-in-law, Lindi.  We are so excited for Saturday to see all of our ideas come together and to sprinkle Lindi and little Flynn with love and gifts.  Next week we will share a few projects we worked on for the sprinkle and share photos of the event, as well.


From Right to Left:  Sparta helping (destroying) with a project, Learning to make paper beads, Reupholstering a vintage chair, Terra Blue chips from JetBlu, Atari wondering why I'm not paying attention to him, Godiva!, 2 future tutorials, the most beautiful sky I've seen all year, and Skilo, looking at me like I'm an idiot.

 If you haven't noticed yet, when I (Shannon) host the weekly photo wrap-up, mine contain a lot of pictures of my animals.  Jen has Haley and Connor... I have Skilo, Sparta and Atari.  They're my babies! 

We hope you guys have an absolutely killer weekend!

Check out our posts from this past week just in case you missed them!

CRAFT: Knotted Suede Bracelets

Shannon and I shared this tutorial for Knotted Suede Bracelets over at Prudent Baby recently. Here it is again in case you missed it!

I love the look of layering multiple bracelets but I have a confession: I don't usually wear bracelets. I have skinny little wrists, so I can never seem to find one that fits just right. The bracelet usually ends up dangling loosely from my wrist as I write, and my handwriting already looks like a 3rd grade boy's, so I don't really need something that might make it even worse.

Despite my reservations, I was browsing the craft section recently on a trip to Walmart and I spotted some suede cording that was just screaming to be made into bracelets. I grabbed the cording and some beads and came up with these great knotted bracelets that have even ME wearing multiple bracelets all the time.

First to determine the length you need, wrap the cording loosely around your wrist. You need a length that is a little over 4 times your wrist size (it may seem big, but you'll be folding the cord in half and making lots of knots so if you're in doubt, make it too long so you have more to work with.) I have skinny little wrists, and my total length was 36 inches.

If you have small beads, you may want to snip the ends of your cording to make it easier to thread your beads on. Next, fold your cord in half and tie an overhand knot at the end to make a loop for the closure. Finally, thread your first bead on and tie a knot a little bit below the bead. Thread another bead on the side opposite where you strung the first bead and tie another knot. Repeat. Tie a knot at the end of the bracelet to finish.

Now you have a pretty knotted bracelet! You can buy all sorts of different colored suede cording and beads. I made a black and tan one because they go with everything, but I have some turquoise cording that I can't wait to make more with!

 

Layer them or wear one by itself, they're cute either way!

FOOD: Grilled Peaches and Cream

Fall is in the air,and that means crisp air, boots, and yummy food. Summer may be over, but the local farmer's markets are still in full swing. There are so many great local markets to choose from here in PA, and I always walk away wishing I would have bought more. You can't find fresher, tastier produce than at a local farmer's market (can you tell I'm hooked?) I've been waiting for fall with open arms, but I will be missing all of the wonderful produce!

While I was browsing one local market recently, I managed to get my hands on some really fresh peaches. Some were the size of a softball (check out the one in my picture below!) - and right then and there, I knew I had to get some.

INGREDIENTS: 1 8oz. bar of cream cheese at room temperature, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon plus additional to garnish, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 5-6 medium peaches, honey for drizzling.

ONE: first, make your topping by mixing together the first 5 ingredients. Set aside.
TWO: cut your peaches in half and remove the stone.
THREE: brush your peach halves lightly with vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Place your peaches on the grill face down (and close the hood) for 4-6 minutes or until they're soft but not falling apart. You should have some nice grill lines when you flip them (I was using an infrared grill so the grill lines didn't show up well!)
FOUR: flip your peach halves over and put a generous scoop of your cream cheese topping where the pit used to be. Close the hood and grill for another 4 minutes until the cream cheese is somewhat melted. When peaches are cooked through, plate and drizzle with honey then garnish with cinnamon.

These taste like fall. The cinnamon and other spices, along with the cream cheese, marry perfectly together. These could even qualify as breakfast food. I won't judge ;)

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

CRAFT: DIY Vintage Dollhouse Spice Rack

I bought this vintage aluminum dollhouse last year at a flea market for $15.  I couldn't resist!  I had no idea what to do with it, though, so it sat in a cabinet while I rummaged through ideas filed away in my imagination.  Finally, I came up with a spice rack... random, I know.. but I am thrilled with how it turned out!  The best part is that these little houses are surprisingly common.  I just saw one last week at an estate sale.



Mine was rather rusty, hence the overhaul with spray paint.

 

I couldn't possibly have let a child play with this...

I primed and sprayed the exterior, save the roof.  I wanted the glue for the shingles to adhere properly.

These were about $20 for the bag, but completely worth it. It completely transformed the look of the house.

You will be surprised how easy it is to shingle a little roof!  I used a glue gun and that's it!

You won't need much stain at all.  I actually just used a little sample can.

Painters tape and chalkboard paint can turn a $1 jar into an adorable little spice container!  Or you could use the chalkboard vinyl and cut labels out with your Silhouette or Cricut!

I have a lot of spices!!

If you have chalk markers, it might work better and not look so much like you let your 3 year old niece label them with sidewalk chalk.

I staggered my jars so it would be easier to see the labels.

You can never ever go wrong with some little succulents.

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

Weekly Photo Wrap-Up

It's officially fall this weekend! We've been  breaking out the boots and scarves this week and preparing for cooler weather to come. I got so excited for fall that I switched out my kids' summer clothes with their winter clothes this week. Does anyone else get excited to switch their kids' clothes out? I always feel like it's me that got a new wardrobe.

Here's a little more of what we've been up to this week!

1. Wearing Mommy's shoes 2. Eating a bag of candy corn (by myself!)

3. Stickers stickers everywhere 4. Connor and the kitty

5. Signs of fall 6. Making individual pizzas

7. Covered bridges 8. Sharing a chair

Here are the tutorials we shared this week:

Have a great weekend!

CRAFT: Pinch Pot Ring Dish

The idea for this little sucker was Jen's, but she asked me to execute it.  It's so easy and so cheap!  It's a great little accessory to keep near your kitchen sink.

You will need some polymer clay, polymer clay gloss glaze, something to use as a rolling pin, a paint brush, a dish of water, some parchment paper and a colored sharpie.

The size depends on how large you want your dish to be.  I just wanted something tiny, so my chunk wasn't very large.

Dip in the water to help soften the clay.  Depending on the texture of the clay you are using, you may not need this step.

Flatten the edges after you finish pinching by putting the rim face down on parchment paper and tapping gently.

Use a finepoint or felt tip Sharpie to doodle a cute design on your dish.

Most polymer clay bakes at 275 degrees with 30 minutes for every 6mm.

After baking, finish off by coating the dish in the polymer gloss glaze to help keep it water tight.

Yep, I just totally Beyoncé'd the heck out of this project.  You're welcome.

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!

CRAFT: Yarn Wrapped Bangles

In case you missed it, we guest posted over at Flamingo Toes a few weeks ago and shared this tutorial for yarn wrapped bangles. You gotta love a good project that costs under $2, right? This is one of those crafts that you can do while sitting on the couch catching up on DVR'd shows. Love those!

SUPPLIES: 1 bangle, 2 packages each of 2 different colors of embroidery floss, glue gun and glue.

ONE: First, put a little dab of hot glue on the inside of your bangle and attach the end of one of your colors of floss.
TWO: Next, begin to tightly wrap your bangle with the floss, pushing the threads close together as you go.
THREE: When you are satisfied with the width of your first color, clip your floss and secure on the inside of your bangle with another dot of hot glue. Attach the end of your second color of floss with hot glue and begin to wrap around your bangle like before, making sure to keep the threads tightly wound as you go.
FOUR: When you reach the end just secure with hot glue and you're done!

How easy was that? Now you have a personalized bangle that you can tailor to any outfit depending on what thread color you choose.

Check out our link party page to see where we link up each week!