Going Postal: the best way to send cookies.

We all have friends and family who live far away, and although today's world is one of instant gratification and technology-assisted "hello's", it's always fun and much more personal to get mail!

One of an old favorite, the chocolate chip cookie, is wonderful to receive via mail if you're at school, going through training, or just hit a rough patch in your week and need a pick-me-up. Delicious for the send-ee, easy to make for the sender. Probably the most difficult part of sending cookies, though, is the packaging!

That is, until my mom let me in on a little secret: popcorn! It's the perfect insulation for your delicate baked goods, and it's just as yummy as the sweets you send along! And the fact that it's more environmentally-friendly than styrofoam doesn't hurt. Here's the process I use:

To start, bake your cookies. If you really want to make your pen pal smile, melt some chocolate for 'glue' and attach a candy face to the top.

Pop your popcorn. It will definitely take more popcorn than you think to fill the bag! I thought 1 batch would be fine and ended up making 3, so better to err on the side of leftovers, right?

 Use a medium to large plastic bag to line the inside of your box. Another nice touch you can do to make your package special and unique is to decorate the inside with stickers, glitter, tissue paper, and anything else you can think of. Definitely a smile-bringer.

Once your cookies are baked and cooled, package them in small batches and put them in plastic zip bags. Fill the large plastic bag (which, remember, is inside the box now) with a shallow layer of popcorn first. Next, add a bag of cookies, and then more popcorn. Continue this layering process until you have the cookies insulated comfortably on all sides with popcorn (including on top!). 

Close up the bag. You can even use pipe cleaners for a little more fun.


Close it up and ship it off! Your pen pal now has a package with completely edible contents and you don't have to worry about broken cookies!

Until next time, cheers!

Thai Dessert: Bananas in Coconut Milk

This is a dessert I tried for the first time in Thailand and absolutely fell in love. It's extremely simple and doesn't even require much of a recipe, but I provided one here just to get any adventurous cooks out there started. You can modify the type of sweetener and proportions to change the consistency and flavor.

Mostly, you can impress your friends with your knowledge of local Asian fare. Just remember, there's no need for chopsticks here. Don't overplay your hand.

Bananas in Coconut Milk

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water (optional; could be substituted for milk)
• 1/4 cup sweetener (sugar, Stevia, Agave nectar, etc.)
• 4 bananas, quartered and halved

Directions

1. Pour the coconut milk and water into a medium-sized pot. Place on medium heat until warmed.
2. Add sugar or sweetener. Be careful not to over-sweeten! Even if the coconut milk seems like it could be sweeter, the bananas will sweeten the dessert plenty.
3. Add the bananas and allow the mixture to heat. Bring to a simmer but do not boil. When the bananas appear to become slightly softened, remove from heat and serve while warm.

Enjoy your unique and delicious dessert!

Pumpkin Mushroom Curry Soup

With the chilly winter weather comes my overwhelming desire to cook and eat buckets of soup. This is a recipe I modified with a little know-how from my travels in Asia (and a deep desire for some extra spice in my food!). It's delicious on it's own but would be fabulous over rice; you could even add a protein (tofu or chicken highly recommended) to make it a full meal in its own!


Pumpkin Mushroom Curry Soup 

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. mushrooms
• 1/2 cups chopped onion
• drizzle of olive oil
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 tbsp. curry powder
• 2 cups chicken / vegetable broth
• dash of nutmeg
• 8 oz. coconut milk
• 1 (1 lb.) canned pumpkin puree 

Directions

1. Saute' mushrooms and onions in a medium-sized pot with olive oil. Add curry and flour; stir.
2. Add broth gradually and continue stirring.
3. Add the remaining ingredients except for the coconut milk. Cook on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk and keep on low until the soup is heated.
5. If desired, garnish with additional curry, chile, and sesame seeds, as pictured.

Most cans of coconut milk come in 12-16 oz. cans, which means we had left over milk to make a traditional Thai dessert!

Cheers to cold days and warm meals!

DIY fingerless glovettes (for newbie sewers)

A couple weeks ago I happened upon a particular Pinterest post from PS- I Made This for no-sew glovettes. Thinking this was a genius idea, I stored it away, thinking I wouldn't get around to it this year since our winter has been lacking that certain 'wow' factor, leaving us all thinking that it might as well be late October.

That is, until this week.

Now that there's snow in the air, I'm glad I decided to make these gloves. They're cute, customize-able, and pretty easy to make. I added my own flair to this craft (as I often do), so I'll lead you through how I put these little darlings together.

Fingerless Glovettes

Helpful skills: 

• cutting
• eyeballing
• stitching (basic stitch)

Materials needed:

• basic knit gloves
• knee-high socks
• button
• scissors
• needle & thread
  optional: elastic thread

Step-by-step:

1. Take your knee-high socks (mine were $2.50 from Payless but you might already have some on hand) and your gloves (a $1.50 steal from Kohls but again, items you could have on hand). Use your own hand and arm to decide how long you'd like the length of the tube to be from your sock, and how you'd like to cut the fingertips of your gloves. Slice 'em up.

2. For my gloves, as shown in the original pin, I made horizontal slits in the side of the tubes for the thumb of the glove to go through. This required a little eye-balling but they turned out looking pretty even.

3. The knee-high socks I chose had a TON of lace at the top, and I only wanted one layer showing. To get it tucked away neatly, I used elastic Stretch Magic thread. I'm not sure if anyone else will have this challenge, but I wanted to highlight this elastic thread just in case you decide to attach any embellishments to the top. This way, you won't have to worry about your gloves not fitting on properly after you sew all your cute things on!

4. Lastly, I tacked a button to the center of the edge of the tube so that the glove and sock didn't separate when I put them on or took them off.

If you wanted to be super fancy, you could use a blanket stitch  around the finger holes to keep it from fraying (I'd use thread or, better, embroidery floss for this). However, I kind of dig the fringed look so I'll probably keep them as-is.

Enjoy your snow days, wherever you may be!

Open-Faced Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

With the snow falling outside, Madeline and I decided to warm ourselves inside with hot tea and cool cucumber tea sandwiches. Our sandwiches are made with a few simple ingredients yet look charming enough to entertain a party!

Ingredients:

Sandwich bread

Eight ounces cream cheese

Fresh dill

One cucumber

And a couple small cookie cutters to finish them off

Mix about 2 Tablespoons (more or less to taste) with the 8 oz cream cheese (let cream cheese soften for easier mixing).

Use a peeler to shave off thin layers of cucumber.

Spread the cream cheese/dill filling on a piece of bread, then add a layer of shaved cucumbers on top.

Use your cookie cutters and cut out your sandwiches.

Have fun and get creative!

Madeline enjoying a sandwich and some mango tea.

xox Enjoy xox

Secret Weapon: Metallic Glaze

I have a problem. I'm addicted to things that sparkle.

Sure, it sounds innocent enough. And when you're a 4-year-old girl, it's downright adorable. But when you get to be into your twenties and suddenly find that people are giving you weird looks for your glitter nail polish, it might be time to add a little class and sophistication into the way you sparkle up your world.

One of the answers I came across in Home Depot-- and absolutely adore-- is a line of metallic glazes created by Martha Stewart. They're durable, affordable, and give a glossy, shimmery coat of color to anything you decide to metallicize. Yes, metallicize.

In an effort to add some 'maturity' and flair (the former being overrated and the later being awesome) to my bathroom, I bought an unfinished jewelry box from JoAnn Fabrics for $20 and decided to make some magic. Around the same time, I was inspired from this blog / Pinterest post to make a headband holder using an empty oatmeal canister and a candle holder.

First, the elements of the jewelry box that are somewhat note-worthy:

My Secret Weapon: the metallic glaze. I used two coats, taping off the inside with masking tape so it didn't splatter. Allow a couple days for it to completely dry. If you want an extra polish to it, cover it with Mod Podge when you're all done.

Square mirrors: I bought some real cheap ones from JoAnne's and arranged them in a way I thought was fun, then used Tacky Glue to affix them.

Sticker fabric: This one might be a little tricky to find. I've been shopping all over for it but have only seen this sticky-backed printed fabric in South Korea, where I originally bought it (PS: I have a travel blog, don'tchaknow). Still, you can use whatever you like for the top decoration: stencils, ribbons, and other embellishments.

(I even followed some manly advice issued by my father and bought some sticky 'feet' for the bottom of the jewelry box to make the drawer open easier... thanks, Dad).

Lastly, I had to add a touch of sparkle, which is why I glued a few gems to the top of the box, and coated the little pull-handle with some fine glitter, too. After all, being older doesn't mean being afraid to sparkle now and then!

And now, some notes on how I crafted the headband holder:

Again, I coated the candle holder (found on sale at Pier 1) with the glaze. LOVE that stuff!

After emptying the oatmeal canister (resulting in an awkward number of plastic Tupperware containers with dry oats in my pantry... try to plan ahead), I covered the outside in fabric, using Mod Podge to tack it down. I used sticky ribbon to finish off the top of the container, and even decorated the top by removing the old cardboard insert and making my own: painted it with the glaze and glued it back in place. Easy peas-y.

To attach the canister and candle holder, I used quite a bit of Mod Podge. And by 'quite a bit', I mean a borderline-obscene amount. Better to be on the safe side! I turned the whole operation upside down (canister on bottom, candle holder on top) to let it dry so the Mod Podge didn't run. After 2 or 3 days, everything was dry.

I think my only mistake was thinking that this would make me more of an adult. No shame there.

Stay tuned for more Secret Weapons-turned-Pretty Intents!

Homemade Bath Bombs: Valentine's Day

Well Valentine's Day is next month, and even though I'm not a huge fan of the traditional gift giving ideas (jewelry, chocolates, etc.) I do think it's a good opportunity for some themed crafting and to spend some quality time with your partner. I loved the idea of homemade bath bombs for the same reason I love homemade food - I know everything that goes into it! And what a clever way to invite your partner to a warm, relaxing, romantic bath together (or if you're carrying the "single lady" status like me - it will be a night of well-earned, self-pampering!). So let's get to it!

Materials:

-Mixing bowl

-Whisk

-Spray bottle

-Molds (I used a plastic Xmas ornament that opens up & a silicone heart shaped pan)

-Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

-Citric acid (fine)

-Witch hazel

-Essential oils

-Salt (if desired)

-Food coloring (if desired)

I bought both the powders at PCC natural markets in the bulk section (cheaper!) and the witch hazel and essential oil there too. The witch hazel can be supplemented with water, since very little is used, but witch hazel is a nice little tonic for your skin. Make sure you get essential oils that were meant for the body, not the ones just meant for burning in a holder. I chose Jasmine scent for its "sensual love attractant" properties (as it says on the bottle) - but any flavor that tickles your fancy will do.

Step One: Dry Ingredients

Making bath bombs is a little like a kid's science experiment (another reason why it's so fun), but because of that be careful about keeping your hands and equipment dry so you don't set off the bath bomb. You want to mix one part citric acid with two parts sodium bicarbonate (and if desired, one part salt - I used fine grain sea salt). Whisk together very well. I sifted mine because I had a lot of lumps. Now this is basically the reactive part of the bomb so any liquids that you're going to add you need to whisk like crazy. And if you're doing a scent like lavender, you could add a little bit of loose lavender buds to this part, just to add to the fanciness.

Step Two: Wet Ingredients

After your dry ingredients are well blended, you can add 5-7 drops of your essential oil WHILE whisking. Blend, blend, blend. Now you want to mix a bit of witch hazel and food coloring to your spray bottle. You really don't need that much liquid at all, I used probably 5% of the liquid pictured, but I mixed extra to get the color I want. I used pink in this case, and you can color the witch hazel quite dark because the color in your bath bomb will be very light.

Shake up your colored witch hazel and while blending continuously with the whisk, spray 2 or 3 times into the powdered mixture. Once

that is blended (and you don't hear any fizzy reaction), spray another 2 or 3 times and repeat until the mixture is slightly damp and clumps like wet sand in your hand (it's hard to tell from the picture but the powder is now scented and slightly pink in color).

Step Three: Molds

With your damp mixture, start packing your molds full. I used heart molds for my pink bombs to go along with our Valentine's theme. If you're using the plastic sphere, pack each side full of mixture and overflow it a little, then press the two sides together. It's good if a little bit overflows around the seams. You want to leave them in the molds for five or ten minutes, then gently tap them out onto a towel. You can gently shape them if they get a dent or other minor damage from the molds, then leave them to dry for a couple hours or over night. You'll know they work when you're cleaning up your tools and they start to fizz in the sink!

Personalize Them!

Wrap them Up!

To go along with our Valentine's theme I found some cute packaging at the craft store that fit the bath bombs perfectly. Include an invitation with a date and time for your bath together, or (since it usually lands in the middle of a busy week) give the gift of time and give your sweetheart a little time to her or himself!

*Be sure not to store your new bath bombs in anything metal - they will react. Wrap them in tissue paper or store in a plastic container away from moisture or humidity*

xox Enjoy xox

A love of mints and photos a DIY frame make.

So, if you're anything like me, you have a million empty Altoids tins sitting in a drawer waiting to be used.

Okay, so that sounds weird. But I've been saving them for years. Sometimes I decorate them and give them as gifts (which I will showcase in posts to come), but usually they just sit, waiting for an ultimate and higher purpose.

Likewise, I have dozens of Fujifilm Instax pictures, which are completely adorable but not very usable. They are about credit card size, and although they are cute for giving to friends or tacking in heart shapes on walls, they are otherwise just frivolous mementos. Painfully cute, frivolous mementos.

I decided to take both of these under-used yet full-of-potential parts of my craft bin and do a little mash-up into a fun DIY. Not wanting to exclude those who don't have Instax cameras or photos, keep in mind that you can make these tin frames with cropped photos adjusted to the proper size.

Altoids Tin Photo Frames

 Helpful skills:

• cutting
• measuring / eyeballing

Materials needed:

• Altoids tin (empty and cleaned)
• Instax photo or equivalent (4.25 x 3.4" / 108 x 86mm)
• Scrapbook paper
• Double stick tape
• Scissors
• Optional: ticket stubs, coins, chipboard letters, glitter, ribbon, etc.

Tips:

Use the Altoids tin to trace how the paper will fit inside your tin. You will likely have to cut it down to get it to fit just so. Just keep slicing until it fits the way you like.

You may also want to consider decorating the inside edge of the tin to add more interest.

I used double-stick tape to adhere the paper to the tin so it laid flat, but a glue stick would work just as well!

If you want your regular photo to look like an Instax polaroid, use white cardstock that is 4.25 x 3.4" / 108 x 86mm and cut your photo down to 3.90 x 2.44" / 99 x 62mm before taping or gluing it on. You could even cut the corners down so it fits inside the tin flat (I don't recommend this for real instant film as it may destroy the integrity of the photo), but I kind of like how the photo slightly bends in the frame.

You could decorate the front if you like, but I decided to leave this one as-is because I like the re-purposed feel of it. One day it may even feel vintage, which appeals to me even more.

The inside of the lid is a great space to attach ticket stubs, song lyrics, or anything else that adds to the meaning of your photo!

Kinda makes you want to buy some mints now, doesn't it?

 

Felt hearts make everyone feel cozier.

Aw, look at them. They really do.

The best part about this craft is that you only need a couple things, and suddenly you have a fun Valentine's / random "I love you" / I-want-to-decorate-something heart-shaped embellishment... and the best part is that it's a miniature basket, too!

 Did you also think about filling these with Hershey's kisses? How about a gift card?


Scandinavian Felt Heart Baskets

Helpful skills:

• cutting straight lines
• weaving

Materials needed:

• scissors
• felt (2 colors)

Step-by-step:

1. Fold one color of felt in half and cut a U-shape. Make an exact replicate with your second piece of felt by using the first one as a template.

2. Cut 3 slits as evenly as possible in the half-ovals, near but not too close to the rounded top. You now should have 2 jellyfish-like felt pieces ready for weaving!

3. Begin weaving the pieces together. This is where things can get a little tricky if you're a newbie so just remember that you will always be putting one piece of felt through another. If you flip your heart over and it looks different from the front there's something amiss.

Kate and I found this video seriously helpful:



You may have to practice a little patience and finesse as you work the felt together, but it's very possible and so cute when you're all finished!

If you're feeling frisky, you can even stitch a handle to the top of your hear and hang them from a tree or little hooks.

Stay tuned for more pretty intents!

Paint Chip Calendar

Thirty five paint chips

+

one glass frame

+

multiple dry erase markers

=

Your perfectly color-coordinated calendar for the new year!

DIY: wrapped yarn bangles.

It's wintertime and if you're anywhere Northish, pretty much everything wants to be wrapped up in something cozy right now, including my jewelry. This is an easy DIY that makes a great gift, style update for your own wardrobe, or could be a great use for those small yarn remains.


Wrapped Yarn Bangles

 Helpful skills:

• knotting

Materials needed:

• metal bangle bracelets
• yarn or ribbon
• scissors

Step-by-step:

1. Cut approximately 2 feet of yarn or use scraps you have on hand.

2. Tie a double knot around the bangle and begin wrapping tightly.

3. If you'd like to add variety to your bracelet, tie off the yarn in a few places and double knot. You could also change the color!

4. When you come full circle on your bangle, double-check your yarn to make sure it covers your bracelet completely, pushing the yarn together and wrapping more if necessary.

5. When you're finished wrapping, cut all the fray to look even.