Matchbook Notepads

Hello Crafters,

Always looking for a scrap of paper to jot a gift idea, a forgotten grocery list item, or a to list? I know I am. Daisy Janie has a great tutorial for simple Matchbook Notepads. All you need is some scrap paper (I always have a pile of used paper, like misprinted copier paper, that I keep to use the back of) and a decorative paper (like scrapbook or card stock). I made these and put them in my Christmas cards as an extra treat!

 BK

Polaroid Magnet Frame

Hey Photo Phreaks!

Pic by papernstitch

I stumbled upon this super easy and cute tutorial for Polaroid Magnet Frames on papernstitch: the blog! All it takes is a white magnetic sheet, box cutter, pen and ruler to make these cute frames for the fridge. Papernstitch has very sweetly figured out the dimensions of a Polaroid picture for us!

BK

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hey Chefs,

I made Pearls, Handcuffs & Happy Hour's Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe this last, rainy Monday. I made a few variations to the recipe to use what I already had in the fridge: one large chicken breast (which was definitely enough chicken, as you can see in the first picture) and I cooked the chicken in 2 cups of vegetable stock and used that as my Chicken broth.

This recipe was terrific! It is thick, hearty, and chock full of veggies. In my pictures, you can see that the soup doubles in volume once you add all the veggies (picture to the right). I topped mine with sharp cheddar and scooped it out with tortilla chips (which is my favorite way to eat anything). It certainly warmed me up!

BK

Black Friday!

Ahoy Black Friday Buccaneers!

Here are a few places that you should visit in this Black Friday and Cyber Monday Madness:

Spoonflower: 2 for 1 fat quarters
Etsy: Almost everyone has deals. Look in sellers banners for Black Friday codes.

Get yer Booty, BK

Magazine Letters

Heya Home Decor Nerds,

I bought a magazine subscription a few months ago and now have a stack of magazines cluttering up my space. In college, I did a project where I used the pattern and texture from magazine ads and fashion spreads to make different dove shapes. Inspired by that project, I came up with the idea of cutting a short phrase out of magazine pages and putting them on my bare, new apartment walls. I free hand cut the letters and taped them to my wall. They use the whole, rectangle shape which should give you an idea of how big they are (along with the sliver of window I included in that shot). Using darker colors on a light wall and vice versa is probably best (I know you see my pale E and D). Simple and recyclable.

Live the life you've imagined (Thoreau), BK

Odds and Ends

Hey all you Craft People,

These are a few small, crafty moments I'd like to share with you.

It might be a little late for this tip, but I re-used the fake cobwebs I had up at Halloween in my windowsill for fake snow!

I have bread bag ties on the cords in my power strip so I know what I am unplugging instead of having to follow it through a jungle of cords. This would work really nicely for the power strip behind the TV! I don't know how many times my parents have made me shimmy behind the entertainment center to follow cords to their plugs.

This tip was a complete accident. I filled an old soap dispenser with dish soap so I don't have to fiddle with a bottle with soapy hands. I started with yellow dish soap and when that ran out I moved on to a blue soap but the blue soap is heavier so it made this ombre effect.

BK

Scrabble Ornaments

Hey Crafters,
I recently joined Pinterest and I'm hooked. It is a website that works like a cork board where you can "pin" interesting pictures, recipes, crafts...you get the idea. While browsing I saw a Scrabble name ornament which I didn't even need a tutorial to figure out. I grabbed my baggie of Scrabble tiles, found my and my fella's names, hot glued the letters together (very thin lines of glue or try super glue instead!), added some ribbons and voila! Ornaments!
BK

PS I buy my Scrabble tiles from Goodwill and chuck the board. You can usually get the game for a buck or two and it doesn't matter if there are pieces missing!