Bunny's Christmas Gift - A notebook of her own

This year, since we're getting into crafting, Bunny and I decided to make each other our gifts. I wanted to give her something practical, since she is planning her wedding for this summer, but I also wanted her gift to be attractive. Again, I wanted it to be budget friendly, too. I'm not ashamed to state on the blog that I was cheap with gifts this year. Bunny is well-aware that I'm frugal, and I think she's a wise enough gal to bee cool with it.

I wound up "making" Bunny a notebook for collecting thoughts and ideas relevant to her wedding and life in general, a journal, I suppose. Here's what I did.

Start with your basic run of the mill marble composition journal. They're around $1.50 pretty much everywhere, and are bound prettily (though you can't easily tear out the papers should you choose to do so).

Gather some beautiful paper. My go to store for this is Paper Presentation on W. 18th St in Manhattan.

Mod Podge. 'Nuff said.

Scissors.

I folded a piece of paper over the front and back covers of the notebook, covering about 2/3's of the outer surface. Then I Mod Podged this down. I cut a length of a different paper to cover the remaining 1/3 of the outer cover and Mod Podged it as well, being sure the edges met up evenly and that I was still able to open and close the notebook.

I found these awesome envelopes at Paper Presentation as well, and I placed one on the inside cover in the front and in the back, so Bunny can store coupons or tear-outs from magazines that she finds inspiring.

Finally, I found a nice letter "G" (you didn't really think her name was Bunny, did you?) in an old issue of Self and slapped it onto the cover.

I ran some embroidery floss around the loop ties of the front and back envelopes (see photos) so it wrapped around the whole cover of the notebook, and I slipped in a purple pen for notetaking.

Ta dah!

-Bea

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Happy Chanukah from Mulder + Scully!!!!
And Bea and Bunny too!!!!

Let's eat latkes! This year was my second time making them... and it went much better than the first! This year I just simplified a recipe from a real Jewish grandma and added apples!!

What you'll need:

• I used 5 small potatoes and 2 granny smith apples
  
• 3 small shallots
  
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons flouror matzo meal ( I used flour)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying

How to:

Chop the potatoes and apple in a food processor. I did them both together in small pieces to aid my food processor. I don't have any cheese cloth... so after everything was grated I transferred the potatoes to a colander lined with paper towels over a bowl. Twist mixture in towels to remove water. Let it drain for 10 mins. If there is white starch settled in the bowl... remove the water and use starch. My method wasn't starchy and they turned out fine!

Start with the starch if you have and then add shallots, eggs, flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the potatoes and apples. Combine!

Line a baking pan or platter with paper towels. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet. This is the hard part coming up... the oil should probably be a certain temperature but with vegetable oil you can tell when there is movement going on in the pan. Make little pancakes in your hand and drop them in! Each side get a few minutes in the oil... keep an eye on them! I had to keep adjusting the stove temperature to cook evenly. Latkes will turn a golden brown when done! I then transfer them to the lined backing pan to remove oil and cool down!

Serve with sour cream or apple sauce... or both.. and enjoy!

DIY Menorah for Chanukah

Happy Happy Chanukah!

As a boy my fiance made this clay menorah for his family. But he wanted to share this DIY Menorah below that he made last year so we could light the candles together each night at home. We didn't have a menorah and he remembered a craft that one of his brothers made in school. His family loved it and they still use it. So, we decided to recreate an old family tradition .

What you'll need:
a piece of wood (approximately a foot long)
ten nuts from home depot (I measured the nuts with a candle to get the right size)
super glue (glue gun would be fine too!)
Chanukah Candles and Matches/Lighter

1) Evenly space 9 nuts across the piece of wood
2) Glue nuts down to the wood and let dry.
3) The 10th nut is for the “shamash” or service candle, which must be elevated. So, glue that 10th nut on either edge or in the middle.

4) Being a gentile myself, here is a little info on lighting the candles!

Candles are placed in the menorah from right to left. Correspond candles to which night of Chanukah it is. There is an additional candle which is elevated. The shamash is lit first, and then used to light the other candles, from left to right.

Here is a picture from last night (the 5th night) so you can see the set up!

Last night, I celebrated Chanukah with my mother-in-law to be and the family. We had delicious food, lit candles and exchanged gifts! I had to rush off to the Opera after, but it is really nice to get a glimpse of other family traditions!

Wine-ter Wonderland

Hello, Cozy Rustic-ers!

It's the holidays, the greatest DIY time of the year, so of course I needed to make a wreath for my door! I reviewed different options (paper, coffee filters, yarn) and I opted for corks, so I've had friends save any corks from their libations for the past month, and I finally saved up enough to create my wreath.

Like most good things, this started with a drill. I put on my tiniest bit and drilled little holes in the tops and bottoms of all my corks. Just a note, I needed to go back and re-drill with the next size up bit, so plan ahead!

See the tiny hole? It was just a itsy bit too tiny.

So here's what happened next. I ran floral wire through the top holes of all my corks. Then I tied the wire in the middle and ran another wire through the bottom holes of all my corks. The two wires help everything stay in shape better, though it was still pretty wobbly.

This is what it looks like now, but it will hang on my door once it has a big red bow on it.

Cheers!

Bea

Martha Stewart Craft Fair Tomorrow!

Save the Date!

Finally! Here are the Save the Dates for my June Wedding! You've already read about the inspiration and where I got the idea... but I will include the steps I took to make them. We had a photo shoot when we were finished... all photos taken by bridesmaid Madame Marble (from Marble and Milkweed).

Step 1: Acquiring the Postcards

After inspiration struck, fiance agreed and setting budget...hit the flea market. I went to the Flea/Green Market on the Upper West Side with friend, Cupcake Cable. I scoped out the entire market and found quite a few stall with postcards. I lucked out that the cheapest cards were also from my home state and even home town! I did buy a mix of cards though because I found others from the hometown of friends or where they went to college. I bought a large amount so I got a great deal from the woman selling them! (Under 50 cents each). Also... I only picked cards that had NO writing on the back. It is possible to bleach off the writing but I was looking to skip that step.

Step 2: Stamp Kit

My dad gave me a stamp kit that was his mother's (and that I played with as a kid). His mother was a school teacher and purchased this in 1932 to aid her students in learning to read. This was my main inspiration for decorating the cards.

I also purchased a kit from staples to make a stamp with all the save the date information. It comes with tiny letters and tweezers. It is supper tedious and took 3 hours to put together.... but was totally worth it in the end.

Step 3: Craft Night

I scheduled a craft night with all my local Bridesmaids and we made put these Save the Dates together! My only directions were get the info on and don't stress about perfection. We stamped, stickered and came up with a cute little "phony" postmark. My Groom to be bought us all dinner as we stamped away...

Step 4: Photo Shoot

After all our cards were made and scattered throughout my living room...we had a photo shoot.

Thank you NYC bridesmaids for all your help! I love how they turned out and have been getting a great response from guests!

Advent

Happy December 1st, everyone! To celebrate the countdown to Christmas, let me share my homemade advent calendar with you all! Each day has a surprise treat or activity for me and the feller to enjoy together. Some naughty, some nice, as these things go. Enjoy!

Gettin' Ready for Christmas!

Christmas time is by far my favorite time of year, but only because no one really decorates for July 4th. Otherwise, I'd be all over that summer-time goodness.

This will be my first Christmas (after 9 years of living here) in New York City, and so I decided that my boyfriend and I needed all the essentials, but wouldn't it be nicer if they were home made? So I set out to make our stockings. So far only mine is complete, but I'll finish his this week. I don't have a sewing machine, so everything was done by hand, and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. I've never been any sort of seamstress, much to my mother's dismay, I'm certain, but with a little creativity, I made things easier on myself and completed my stocking out of an old, much abused, much loved t-shirt. My boyfriend's will be made out of the same thing, and thus they will be uniquely us, and anyone of our friends who sees them will recognize that these t-shirts they used to see regularly have finally moved on to a better place.

Without further ado, my stocking!

First I downloaded and printed templates from Marthastewart.com Then I realized that you needed a photocopier to blow up the image 300%, so I made my own pattern. I laid a small boot of mine across the t-shirt and drew around it, modifying here and there until I had something that looked quite stocking-ish.



Then I cut it out. It's not very easy to cut up an old, favorite t-shirt, but I did it without crying. I pinned the cutout side back to the rest of the t-shirt, and I cut out the other side right away to avoid battling nostalgia.



I took all the pins out and then noticed that it had been pinned perfectly for stitching. So I pinned it back up and got my needle and "thread" ready. Knowing that I don't sew well, I figured if I used a GIANT needle (I think it's a crotchet needle?) and ribbon the stocking would still look festive, but it'd take much less time to complete, and my awful stitching would be less noticeable. I was right!





I probably should have used a whip stitch, and I will when I do the second stocking, but mine turned out fine.



Yes. It is hideous. But! It's much better when turned right-side out!



A little loop of ribbon sewn onto the back allows the stocking to hang.

I used Stiffy (he he), a liquid fabric stiffener, to make the folded-over cuff firmer. I've embellished it a bit with felt snowflakes I glued onto the cuff, but I don't have any photos of that. Anyway, happy holidays and happy crafting!!

-Bea

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day Crafters!!!

I hope you are all having a relaxing holiday with family, friends and delicious food. I, Bunny Hurst, am celebrating my first Thanksgiving with my in-laws to be! I'm super homesick for my mom... so I thought I would contribute a little taste of home to the celebration. I made my mom's green bean casserole, fashioned from the Frenchs' recipe....only I used Trader Joe's French Onions! Sacrilegious?! Maybe... but still delicious!

Sneak Peak!

Now that you've cooked with Bea, here is a little bit about me...or what I'm crafting..

Save-the-Dates for my Spring 2011 Wedding!! Some friends and bridesmaids helped make them last week. Didn't want to ruin the surprise for all the guests to be, but here is a sneak peak pic and information on where I got the idea.




I got the idea from Brides.com. They had a Guest Blogger, Amanda Nistor, from Ruffled showing off a stamp kit and the process. I had seen similar ideas on other blogs that used typewriters or calligraphy... but I really loved the look of these!

Can't wait to show you more!!

Please comment with other wedding blogs you love! I'm loving the ones I mentioned above and am on the hunt for inspiration...