Thursday, December 31, 2009

Rolling Purse Pocket Organizer Thingie

My Mom told me the other day about a purse organizer she saw on t.v. and although she wanted it, was able to refrain… which I’m told is quite a feet once you’ve experienced the pull of the home shopping network. I did a little snooping online and I’m not sure if I found exactly what she was referring to, but it seemed like something that would be best custom made. So here you have it… a rolling purse pocket organizer thingie:

Cut two strips of coordinating fabric & a piece of quilt batting 8” x 25”

Place your batting on the table with a piece of the fabric on top, face up

Place your second fabric face down on top of the other fabric and batting

Sew the fabric and batting together, leaving a 3” opening in one of the long sides to turn it through

Turn your fabric right sides out and top stitch all around

Fold the bottom long edge up 3 inches and sew the sides together (like you’re making one big pocket)

Now figure out what you want to keep in your handy new accessory and line it all up in the pocket

Mark where the edges of the pockets should be with a pin and draw lines from the pocket edge to the fold

Stitch on your lines to create the individual pockets

Fill the pockets with your goodies & roll it up.

Now it’ll be super easy to rotate all those handbags into your wardrobe… accessorize to your hearts content!

A Pink & Green Welcome

The birth of a baby is an occasion to be celebrated… even if they’re the 2nd or more to join the family. I couldn’t let my little Liv come in without fan fair! We didn’t need tons of new baby items, I wanted everyone to meet our newest addition, and a party should include men, women, and kiddos too. An open house was the perfect solution!

With all the sewing I did in preparation for Liv's arrival, is it any surprise that fabric was the inspiration for the party theme?! Specifically, this bright and cheery Michael Miller print called Disco Dots in Sorbet:


The party was planned for 8 weeks after Liv’s birth, so sending the invites with her birth announcement was perfect timing. GreenApplePaperie designed and made the invitations, favor tags, & thank you notes in the same colors as the fabric.


The decorations were my favorite part! I made the oh so popular and super easy tissue pom-poms (see the tutorial here). My Doug hung them from the ceiling above the food and at the front porch with invisible thread and 3M hooks.

Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts inspired the lime rind candles (I used wax left over from tea pot candles I made for Elle’s party… post coming soon).

I also picked up the quintessential party décor; balloons and crepe paper.

The food was pink and green too. Chip dips were served in huge wine glasses rimmed with colored salt. I made guacamole (get the recipes and the serving details here), a pink potato chip dip, and because displays are always more aesthetically pleasing in threes, I added some store bought green salsa too. I served pink lemonade in a glass jug with lime slices floating in it & cupcakes frosted in colors that matched our theme perfectly (I brought a fabric swatch to the baker… I’m not afraid of being “the crazy lady”.)


Since fabric was the inspiration for the theme it was easy for the girls to coordinate with the party. A simple pillowcase top for Elle and an appliquéd onesie for Liv made for cute pictures.



I made sure we got a picture of each of our guests. A photo album with space on each page to write a little something, served as the guest book and commemoration of the day.

No party is complete without a thank you for your guests. I got a huge container of powdered lemonade mix, poured it into ball jars, and topped them with the theme fabric embroidered with “thank you”.

This isn’t the first party I’ve planned around a color and dots (check out some posts about Elle’s 2nd birthday party here and here), it’s a fun theme and one that’s easy to run with!

I’m always on the look out for great party ideas. Leave me some links in the comments!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Guacamole

I usually keep this blog all craft related, but I have the recipe for the yummiest guacamole ever and I’ll throw in a crafty bit for gifting and/or serving it. Justification accomplished, here’s my yummy guacamole recipe:

4 ripe avocados
2 lemons
6 green onions
1 fresh red chili
1 clove of garlic
A drop of Tequila
2 envelopes of guacamole seasoning mix (I use Old El Paso)
Tortilla Chips

Squeeze the lemons’ juice into a cup (if you warm the lemons in the microwave for just a bit and roll them on the counter top before cutting & squeezing them, you’ll get more juice). Scoop the insides of the avocados into a bowl and pour some of the lemon juice on top to keep them from discoloring. Add the smashed clove of garlic, a drop or two of tequila, & the spices. Combine with a hand mixer (I like it a little chunky, so I don’t blend it until it’s completely smooth). Remove the seeds from the chili & cut into really small strips. Cut the onions small too. Mix the chili and onions in. scrape the sides of the bowl, smooth the surface of the guacamole, & cover it with lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with tortilla chips.

We used to have an avocado tree in our back yard that produced an insane amount of fruit, which presented a wonderful opportunity to make friends at work. While you’re at it, you may as well show off your crafty skills! Print the recipe on cardstock, cut it out, punch a hole in the top and thread a ribbon through. Toss 4 small or 3 large avocados in a brown paper lunch sack, fold the top down, punch a hole in the folded section and attach the recipe card. If you’re feeling especially generous you could even include an airport sized bottle of tequila (I don’t recommend that if you’re handing them out at work!).

Liv’s “welcome to the world” party was a pink and green theme so of course even the food needed to be pink and green. I made this yummy guacamole and served it in an extra large wine glass (you can pick one up at Michael’s… it’s not really for drinking from… unless you drink an entire bottle at once and use both hands to lift the glass). I dyed some rock salt pink by shaking it up in a zip top bag with a couple drops of food coloring, dumped it onto a paper plate, wet the rim of the glass, ran it through the salt & poured the guacamole in.

Don’t forget the corn chips!

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