The Start Of A New Project
The other day I wrote about how we wanted to make a mini bar area in our home. I showed pictures of other people’s re-purposed bar areas that we loved. But, after much discussion we decided we liked the look of a closed cabinet for this kind of thing a little better. With all of my inspiration in hand, I set out to plan my own mini bar project. Yes, we found the perfect (we hope!) cabinet for the job! A Craigslist post led us to the Maple TV Cabinet.
I see much potential in the armoire! (We don’t actually pick it up until Thursday.) I plan on first painting it a high gloss black. The back inside of the cabinet with be lined with mirror and wine and stemware racks will be hung from the inside. The inside has one shelf, but we are guessing we will make a few new shelves from glass. I am going for a bit of Hollywood regency here. Overall, we think this beauty should have plenty of space for our entertainment needs!
We do have one small question, however. I think there needs to be a flat space large enough to mix the actual drinks incorporated into the cabinet somehow. I was wondering if the drawer could be used for that. It might be a bit too low to be comfortable, though. I was also wondering about making a sort of pull-out shelf inside the cabinet. Is this even possible? When I see the cabinet in person I will know if more space is necessary. Until then, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
We are very excited to get the project rolling, so stay tuned for updates!
Homemade Fortune Cookies
I read on-line how to make my very own homemade fortune cookies recently. I thought this would make a cute, personalized gift for Tony for Valentine’s Day. They turned out pretty well, so I thought I would share this little recipe with you.
You will need:
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2/3 Cups Flour
- 1/2 Cup Milk
Start by making 20 paper strips with fortunes or messages written on them. Then:
- Cream together egg and sugar.
- Beat in butter and vanilla.
- Mix flour and baking powder together and pour into mixture. Mix.
- Beat in milk.
- Heat nonstick pan on medium-low.
- Drop a spoonful or batter onto pan and form into a circle.
- Cook until lightly brown, about 30 seconds.
- Flip with spatula and cook another 5 to 10 seconds.
- Lift cookie and insert fortune with first cooked side on the outside, and fold in half, and hang over a rim or edge of a glass.
- When cookies are cooled, lay on cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 15-18 minutes.
Here I am in the process. Some of the cookies are hanging on the edge of the bowl. This is a very good technique for forming the cookies!
Overall, the recipe worked very well. The cookies were still a bit soft, however. But, they tasted good. I think that this is one of those things where you get better with practice. My first cookies were too small and got a little too brown, but by the end they looked like real fortune cookies, as you can see here:
Tony thought they were great and he loved the sweet messages I wrote.
If you want to try this out, check out the full recipe and tips here: http://www.wabisabibaby.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/fortune-cookies-recipe/
Protect The Camera
Yesterday was my first Thursday off now that I have started working four ten hour days and taking Thursdays off. It was a busy day and I think I may have worked harder at home that I do during a work day in my office! But, this means my house is sparkling and I even finished a few projects. Once simple one that I finally tackled was making a camera pouch! My camera travels with me almost all the time. You never know when you are going to see something blog-worthy! 🙂 This means that my camera has acquired a few scratches and dings along the way, though. To prevent this I could have bought a fancy (and probably expensive) camera bag, yes. But, other than not wanting to fork over that much cash, I think they tend to be a bit too big to lug around in my purse all the time. So, enter my simple DIY camera bag! (I’m not a very good seamstress, so believe me, this is a very simple DIY!)
I used a rectangular strip of some soft leftover leopard fabric that I had lying around the house. I folded it in half with one end a few inches longer than the other, with the leopard print facing each other (inside out). I sewed the sides together next. Then sewed a seam on the extra top flap of material. Once the sewing was done I flipped it inside out and added a bit of Velcro to keep the top flap closed. That simple!
The material and my little sewing kit (I did this little project by hand).
Finished camera pouch:
No more scratches!
New Chair Love
This week I have been a little sick, making me a little absent, but I am pining for a new chair. I had to share it with you. Its the Marais AC chair from DWR. Industrial. Colorful. Perfection!
This photo was on Apartment Therapy. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/flickr-finds/flickr-finds-bright-yellow-076197
Here is it in red:
I think these are just gorgeous! I would love either color. Or silver metal…
Oh, the possibilities!
Making A Mini Bar
Currently we hold all of our drink glasses, servers, shakers and wine and liqueurs in one of our kitchen cupboards. But, I have always wanted to do something different with these items. I would like to have some sort of mini bar in the kitchen or dining room. This would be such easy access for entertaining. Also, it would free up more cupboard space in the kitchen, which for us is at a premium!
I have recently seen a few photos of DIY bars and am in planning process for making one of our own.
This redone shelf unit was posted on Apartment Therapy. I think this is great inspiration for our project. A simple shelf unit like this would be easy to find and probably affordable. I really love the wine racks and glass holders. I also like the idea of lining the backs of cabinets with colorful ,fun paper. Here is another picture of a mini bar with beautiful paper:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/inspiration/inspiration-lined-cabinets-075583 . Originally from Homes and Gardens.
I also like the idea of using a bar cart or serving tray with a few bottles and glasses, but options like the cabinets in the pictures would give us much more space and probably be safer with pets, especially if there are doors.
I am very excited to get started on this project, and will keep you posted!
A Few Layouts
Last night was a quiet, restful night at our busy house. Having the puppy has meant little sleep and rowdy evenings at home. So, no projects for us last night. But, I did do a few scrapbook layouts. I thought I would share these with you. Hope they are inspiring. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas!
I did the black swirl as well as the spider web lettering for Halloween by hand.
I love torn edges, especially when using vellum. And, its so easy!
A Little Industrial
One of my big obsessions right now is industrial furniture and decor. I know that some of you are probably thinking industrial seems too cold and uninviting. But, mixed carefully with the warm colors and textures of your home, even industrial items can be cozy! I have been looking for the perfect industrial cabinet for our kitchen. Right now prices seem to be soring for these items on Ebay and other websites, but come auction season, I bet we can snatch one up for a deal!
One website that I found with some very funky items is http://www.ergstore.com. This site has some great inspiration for industrial funiture, but also has some pretty steep prices. Some of the items I am currently loving:
A 1920's-30's doctor's chair. I know, I love all crazy chairs, but this one would be a real conversation piece!
A 1940's wheeled cart. This would be great for a kitchen island!
A 1930's- 1940's theater light. This would re-purpose as a great lamp.
Another site with some very amazing pieces is Get Back, Inc. at http://www.getbackinc.com. Some of my favorites there are:
A metal and glass medical cart. So what I am looking for!
A metal cabinet. This would be cute in almost any room.
A scissor wall light. A pair of these would make great bedside lamps.
Scrap-booking Question
I have been scrap-booking since I was in high school. I love taking photos and loving preserving memories, so this is quickly became one of my favorite hobbies. Due to being extremely busy I quit scrap-booking for a few years almost completely. The other day I found some very adorable paper and was so inspired I have started scrap-booking again full force. (The paper was from Micheal’s, which I recommend!).
I have come across a small problem, however, that I am hoping you out there in the blog world can help me with. My supplies are currently stored in about 4 different boxes. I rummage through the boxes when I am in search of inspiration or the perfect color of paper. The are constantly getting messy and unmanageable. The boxes are not uniform, either, which makes them hard to store. I am such a neat freak that this is really bothering me. I have seen carrying cases for sale that are meant for scrap-booking, but they are ridiculously overpriced!
My dilemma: I am insearch of an affordable, possibly DIY solution to the scrapbooking mess!
Here are just a couple of my unruly boxes of scrap-booking materials. I love the pink box, as it is an over-sized gift box from Victoria's Secret, but the heavy materials are starting to demolish the box!
Here is just a glimpse of the plethora of supplies needed for scrap-booking. Scissors, stickers, markers, pens, accessories, paper...
I was thinking that sticker sheets and paper might be categorized and sorted in some sort of accordion type portfolio folder (Wal-Mart even carries on in a black and white damask pattern!). But, the 12′ x12′ sheets of paper might not fit in one of those. What do you think? Suggestions?
Here is a glimpse of the pages I have completed recently. Any page ideas? If you would like help with your scrapbook just drop me a line about that as well! 🙂
P.S. It really is too bad that photos don’t do the details of these pages justice, as some of this paper is really gorgeous up close!
More Chair Love
This weeks chair love: a recent find of Apartment Therapy reader Alex. Alex found this chair and is now asking the Apartment Therapy readers to help him identify it. Some of the readers think it might be a Gastone Rinaldi chair from the 70’s, worth quite a but of money if it is genuine. To me, money or no, it is really cute. I think it could be even cuter with some new funky fabric or leather cushions (which is what Alex is thinking about doing).
If you know anything more about the chair or it’s style, check out the post and let Alex know the scoop. Otherwise, if you are like me, just sit there and drool away.
Little Coaster Project
Tony has Dallas Cowboys coasters. I have Chicago Bears coasters. Neither were going to be displayed in our nice living room. I love football as much as anybody, but the football paraphernalia is reserved for the basement game room/bar. So, we needed some nice coasters to protect our living room tables. I change my mind frequently, so I wanted something inexpensive or changeable. That’s when I found these. The Dollar Store had a pack of four glass coaster for a couple bucks! Not only are they cheap, but they are changeable. They are the kind of coasters meant for inserting a picture under the glass. I decided to put a piece of black and silver damask wrapping paper in the picture slot. Here was my process:
My supplies. All I used was a scissors and the material (wrapping paper).
I used the blank piece of paper that came in the frame as a guide to cut a rectangle out of the wrapping paper. It then slides into a clear picket in the coaster frame. It was really THAT simple.
This is what it looked like slid into the coaster frame.
Here they all are with the wrapping paper inserted.
They even have their own little wooden holder.
It was so simple and I can change what is in the frames any time I want to. The glass is also very easy to clean off. I wish they were all black, as I am not so fond of the different colors, but it does make it easier to keep track of your drink. And, for a few dollars, who can complain?
Make Mine Eclectic 