Making Vases Out of Recycled Bottles

This little red bud vase was once a hand soap dispenser in my bathroom. One day when I was washing my hands, the thought occurred to me that it looked like a vase. And after a little brainstorming this is what I came up with. What's great about this vase is you can put flowers in it. Often natural vases are for decorative purposes only. I could also visualize this done with jute string. Directions below.

Supplies:

a glass or plastic bottle(I used a method soap dispenser and took off the lid)

raffia or anything else you'd like to use like lace, string, ribbon, etc.

glue - I used a basic white craft glue

Glue the raffia to the top of the container. Wind the raffia around the bottle and glue as you go.

While winding the raffia, have it overlap a little so none of the bottle shows through. Wind the raffia all the way to the bottom of the container. Done.

Corn Tomalito Recipe

In preparation for a party I discovered the Chevy's Fresh Mex Sweet Corn Tomalito Recipe . I love this stuff and can't tell you how excited I was to find the recipe online. I'm sharing the link because it actually tastes like I got it from the restaurant. You know how some recipes claim to be authentic and then they taste nothing like the original. Well this one lives up to expectations.

Note - the serving size for the recipe says 12 -16 but it yielded enough to fill a large soup bowl.

If you want the dish to look true to the original here's how to make the cactus. Just cut a tortilla into a cactus shape with cooking scissors. Spray with vegetable cooking spray and pop in the oven at 375 till lightly toasted. I didn't have orange tortillas on hand but that's what they use at the restaurant.

How To Curl Fabric Ribbon

It all started with those four little words, "I can make that". Yes, I'm one of those people. When I'm out shopping I find myself saying that a lot. It's a blessing and a curse really. A blessing because sometimes I can make the item and forgo buying it. A curse because sometimes I take on way more than I can handle. Take for instance the time I spotted a braided rug at Pottery Barn Kids. I thought, didn't I see an article in Martha Stewart about how to make braided trivets. Didn't it say if one continued with the pattern it would make a rug. Oh, yes I can do that. So I purchased a large quantity of fabric and began the project. The braiding took forever with the fabric. Next the sewing, which was difficult because it required hand sewing with thick fabric. All that effort and I had a rug the size of a coaster. My hands had turned blue from the cheap dye. So needless to say, a month later I gave in and purchased the rug.

So here's where the curled ribbon comes in. I saw some cute hair clips at a child boutique and new I could make them. The hair clips were basically curled ribbon glued to a hair clip. So here I am in 100 degree weather baking ribbon! Directions below.

Supplies:
ribbon - I used grosgrain ribbon
wooden dowels or skewers - I used bamboo skewers(dollar section at Target)
spray bottle (optional)
clothes pins
cookie sheet lined with tinfoil

1. Wind ribbon around skewers. Hold in place with clothes pin. Refer to pictures.

2. Spray ribbon with water until all of it is wet. I recommend spraying the clothes pins with water also so they don't burn in the oven.
* You could get the ribbon wet first and then wrap it around the skewers if you wanted to.

3.Place ribbon on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees for roughly ten minutes.

4.When ribbon is completely dry take out of oven and let cool. Remove ribbon from dowels.

Transformer Birthday Cake

My Aunt made this awesome cake for my son's birthday party. It was a big hit with everyone. The children were circling it like sharks.

close up of the top of the cake - autobot logo

She made the top of the cake with gum paste

Related Post - Baseball Birthday Cake

Another Game of Tag

Well I guess that old saying is true, "when it rains, it pours".

Julia from "Create With Me" was kind enough to pass an award my way. Thanks Julia!

M. Kate from La Vie Est Belle recently passed this award on to me. Thanks M. Kate!

Anja from Drobtinice nominated me for this award. Thanks Anja!

Here's some facts about me you may or may not know.

1. I spent a month in Mexico with my best friend during my sixth grade year. We went to Mexico so her parents could gather research for their dissertations.
2. I found an arrowhead in Mexico but had to leave it at the site. Sometimes I wish I kept it.
3. I have a phobia of bees.
4. When I was two I decided to walk to the pet store by myself. The babysitter had no idea where I was. The police found me at the drug store.
5. I played the violin for five years but can only remember "twinkle, twinkle little star".

The following sites I'm passing the awards onto.

Mushroomeadows - Adorable illustrations
Honey and Clover - She cooks a lot and takes wonderful photos
La Fuji Mama - Japanese food, crafts, and life
Finding My Knitch - Recipes, life stories and knitting
Hurrayic - Sewing and inspiration
My Byrd House - Sewing, cute aprons!
Macati - Crafts, Sewing, and other fun stuff
Planetjune - cute crochet patterns

There's so many blogs I visit. I wish I had time to list them all.