These no-sew felt 4th of July napkin rings really brightened up Shane’s Fourth of July Birthday BBQ – no sewing machine required! I made a variety of star shapes using star cookie cutters and various loose buttons. Here they are all piled up before setting the table… And even more DIY napkin rings And yep, …
Seasons
While I’ve never been much of a Valentine’s Day girl, I’ve always been a big fan of coconut and chocolate. I made these special treats by modifying a recipe from an Australian cookbook. Ingredients (for four Valentine’s Day treats): 1 cup coconut 1 egg white (buy pasteurized eggs if you can) 5/8 cup cream (just …
This is our fifth year hosting Thanksgiving in Chicago for the twelve members of our joint families. Each year we try to do something slightly different for food and table decor. I came up with a Thanksgiving napkin ring idea solely using things here at home because (a) my craft closet is to the brim …
Here’s the best pumpkin banana bread recipe that I have ever baked! It’s easy, healthy, and yummy with both banana and pumpkin pie spices. Shane and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary with an autumn weekend in Wisconsin. Along with the pumpkins, colorful leaves, fresh apple cider and antiques, I picked up this tasty pumpkin …
My friend Heather Crosby and I have creative chemistry. Whenever we get together we build on each other’s ideas until it becomes something totally original. Heather came over for dinner last week toting stacks of Polaroid pictures that she’d snapped that weekend – bright yellow mums, pumpkin patches, rows of individual pies, Indian corn, orange …
In the past five years or so, it seems like Halloween has gone bonkers in the DIY area. From costumes to cupcakes to candy, it’s a holiday ripe for creepy crafting. The always stylish Rachel Pluto hosted a Halloween party for her 10-month-old daughter Maya and friends. Rachel delighted parents by making Emeril’s devil’s eyeballs, …
While Monday is the official first day of fall the best thing about Chicago is that summer days usually extend way into September. It’s 80 degrees today and I just spent the afternoon at Wrigley Field with Shane watching the Cubs clinch the NL Central League title. Yay! When my sisters and I were in …
Hot Indiana summers spent at Camp Na Wa Kwa seeded my campfire obsession. The idea for this one has been in my head for a while, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it while recently making star sugar cookies. These whimsical stacks of yummy iced sugar cookies that look like a campfire is a fun …
It could have been the yummy flavor, the scraggly homemade cuteness or the cold beer that made these star cookies fly off the platters at Shane’s Fourth of July birthday BBQ. The icing in particular was really tasty …I guess that’s the secret of starting with a stick of real butter. Ingredients: Cookies Sugar cookie …
Growing up in upstate New York, Shane loved his grandmother Myrtle’s rhubarb and berry pies in the summertime. So this year for his birthday I decided to make a pie instead of a cake. I made personalized pot pies for St. Patrick’s Day so I had the idea to break out my mini alphabet and …
More decor for our upcoming Fourth of July – slash – Shane’s birthday BBQ. I took Martha’s Fourth of July parasols and turned them into a neat matching Fourth of July waterproof coasters. Supplies: Fourth of July waterproof coaster template (PDF) lovingly adapted from Martha Stewart’s drink parasol pattern White paper Clear contact paper (get …
Shane’s birthday is the Fourth of July so today I started to make some fun decorations for him. Martha Stewart has a super cute Fourth of July paper napkin ring template on her website. I printed her template, cut out the rings and …well, I had a few issues with her template. So I decided …
Here’s one of my favorite it’s-a-rainy-day-and-I-am-low-on-groceries recipe: Green pea soup with toasted baguette slices. It’s a healthy, low fat, non-dairy recipe from Ellie Krieger, one of my favorite Food Network chefs. 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 large onion, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups) 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 3/4 teaspoon dried tarragon (I subbed …
I visited my parents in Indiana this Easter weekend and it felt like Spring outside! The crocuses are even coming up which is a sure sign of hope. I made this garden mosaic stepping stone for my Dad’s birthday. My dad’s a huge gardener and hummingbird fan but you could use the glass pieces to …
This easy chicken pot pie recipe is my favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I started making this homemade chicken pot pie recipe as a St. Patrick’s Day dinner tradition but it tasted so good that I ended up adding it into our winter dinner rotation. I like making individual mini chicken pot pies …