Sunday, January 30, 2011

Anthropologie Inspired Fabric Strip Net

 

Click on the buttons to join the fun! These are inspirational events that show you that you can, indeed, do it yourself and whip it right up!

DIY Blog button and JSIWU_BUTTON044My daughters and I always stop into Anthropogie when we get over to the mall on the other side of the city. Last time we were there, we saw a beautiful bed flanked overhead by a net with dangling, random strips of fabric tied all over it. I didn’t have a camera with me so I can’t show it today. Not sure if the “Powers that Be” let you take photos in their store anyway???

Not to worry, my 15 yo, Lilly , was completely inspired to make her own for her bedroom. She bought a fishing-type net for crafts at Hobby Lobby. At Joann Fabrics we found something I’d never heard of; a Jelly Roll of coordinating fabric strips commonly used for quilting. She felt like the designs matched too much so she bought a fabric square in a pop of bright coral for contrast.

045She made a nest next to me on my king size bed and got to work. She cut strips in half length-wise to double her supplies. Every once in a while we would ooh and ahhh at the fabric designs. She tied and tied until all the fabric strips were tied on; completely randomly placed.001

005Then she screwed in some hooks, stretched out the net and hung from the ceiling over her bed.

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007It is soooo Anthro and so cool. I’m not sure if these are for sale at Anthroplogie or what they must cost. But it sure wasn’t as cheap as Lilly’s design and we all love it!

Her friends call it a giant dream catcher-haha!

Supplies:

Fishing net from Hobby Lobby 4.98 (half price)

Jelly Roll Fabrics 12.99 X 2 (Forgot my coupon ;( ) You can use any fabric you want, just tear into strips about 18” long and 1-2 “ wide.

Fat Quarter 1.50-torn into strips.

Scissors

Friday, January 14, 2011

Pink Saturday Valentine Subway Art & Garland

 

pink satHappy Pink Saturday! Click on the Beverly’s Pink Saturday Button to join the crowd. Pink Saturday is the sweetest event of the week!

Sometimes I feel like I have used up all my pinks so I am glad Valentine’s Day is on the horizon. There’s pink there for sure and I pulled off a couple of pink projects,

Just a few days ago I came across this cool and hip Blog called: 1825, written by 3 sisters who grew up at a house with 1825 as the address, and still reside in Las Vegas. They create Subway Art and this is their latest feature.All you do is download the file and order online at Costco. They are 16 X 20 prints and cost about 6 dollars each.

I wanted to keep it cheap (that’s the whole idea) and found frames at Hobby Lobby for 9.95 and they were 50% off. Great deal! Frames can be so expensive, especially this size.

Not too shabby and quite substantial for about $11 each.I think they will make great gigantic Valentine’s Day Gifts for some Sweeties out there :D

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I framed both color versions and am so pleased with how they turned out. I am picturing the framed Subway prints in homes all over Blogland!

My other project is the sweet and simple Ragamuffin Garland. This time I used Valentine ribbons with hearts and messages of love, red burlap strips, strips of fluffy white tulle and pink and red strips of whatever I had around.

I tied 4 to 6 inch strips onto a piece of twine as long as my arm. I watched TV and worked on this for about 3 hours. You have to stuff it really full so it doesn’t look scraggly. You would get crazy-bored sitting, ripping strips and tying for so long without watching TV. I watched TV guilt-free because I had a project going.

I know lots of folks have made their versions of these garlands and they’ve been around for awhile but I still just love the way they look, And, they are very inexpensive to make!

Thank you for dropping by today! I always enjoy your visit!

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Purely Delish! Peppermint/Chocolate Mousse

 

Foodie Friday Logo 2It is Foodie Friday and I will be searching the list of all the participants for some meals I will prepare this weekend. I just love seeing what others are up to and trying some new recipes. You will definitely want to click on the picture above to link over to the Foodie Friday Fun!

Bonus: Besides all the recipes and stories that accompany them, there is a giveaway for copper cookware! In my dreams I have copper cookware, not in real life, so far, but some day…ya never know.

I am not a Cool Whip gal. I am a pure cream gal; a natural unsalted butter and not margarine gal. So when this recipe for chocolate peppermint mousse received 5 stars for  taste, ease of preparation and maximum “Impress your friends-ability:, I broke down and tried it.

This looks like 2 cups of chocolate covered espresso beans but it is actually 2 cups of Junior Mints.248I doubled the recipe.

In a saucepan, combine cocoa and milk until smooth. Add mints and butter; cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Cool for 15 minutes.249

251Call for a teenager to come help you since it is so fun and smells wonderful but let her sleep and snuggle with the furry creatures.

253Fold in the Cool Whip, even this is beautiful! That’s it! That’s all you do!

  You can scoop it into individual cups or place in a large bowl. You certainly don’t need to pipe it in to the cups but the teenager piped up and wanted to do it this way. So fun!

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Refrigerate until ready to serve.

256How could this creation occur with so little effort! The white stuff on top? Yep, real whipped cream; just had to use the real thing! I bashed up a lingering candy cane and sprinkled the candy on top. A garnish of mint leaf completes the look.

This was so delicious and rich; small portions at a time is just enough and we all loved it!

I am judging myself for using Cool Whip but I can’t deny how easy and delish this was. I’m thinking this would be a great Valentines Day treat.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup junior mints

2 tablespoons butter or margarine I used butter!

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped

topping, thawed, divided

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fresh mint and additional whipped

topping (optional) Real whipped cream!

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