DIY: Simple n' Sweet Favor Tags

Wedding planning is in full swing, and I thought I'd post a DIY as i'm working on some details for our big day. Instead of ordering them, or ordering labels for them, I decided to look around for everyday items with which to make our favor tags. 

#1: Shipping tags w/ a reinforced hole. [You can get these at your local office supply store.]

[The ones I chose to use are 2 3/4" x 1 3/8". There are bigger ones if you prefer to make larger tags.]

 #2: Get a stamp that suits your personal style and gets your point across. I found this adorable little thing for a buck at Michael's. Make sure you have one of the tags with you, so you can make sure that your stamp will fit on the tags. 

#3: Get ink--feel free to use one of your wedding colors or a complementary color of choice.

#4: All you need to do is ink your stamp (make sure to do a test run on a scrap piece of paper), and press down firmly. Voila:

These are so easy and affordable to make! Have fun!

P.s. I stamped mine on both sides, so I wouldn't have to worry about having to twist and turn the tags to get the right side to show on the favors. 

Hodge Podge Friday: Life isn't about compartments.

So what's Hodge Podge Friday's, you ask? Well, let me tell ya. It's going to be a project--a mixed bag of goodies. You'll never know what you're going to get, but I hope that you'll leave with something you can take along for yourself :). You'll get anything from a mix of new recipes, a new DIY project, some random or not-so-random photography, musings on life, musical recommendations, etc... 


Friday posts may have no rhyme or reason to them, but I'm going to embrace that. One of my goals this year is to do what I can to break away from a compartmentalized life. Life isn't about compartments--it's about experiencing it in whole. Who's with me?

Stay for a little while, stay for the whole time, it's your call!

Come along now:  

#1: Roomie Pizza-making Date

I love my roomie, but we hardly get time to hang out. Our schedules are polar opposites of each other's. She gets to see her man during the week, and I get to see mine on weekends, so that adds to our shortage of hang time. We set some time aside to make some delicious pizzas. I was too hungry to take legit pictures. 

It's too bad I can't take pictures of what my taste buds experienced:

[Butternut Squash and Rosemary and 

Pesto Salad Pizza (If you want this recipe, leave me a comment!]

#2: My Roomie loves Terrariums, and so do I!

She works down the street from the LA flower mart, 

so went nuts with succulents, stones, and our vases.

See?

#3: Don't take for granted a good chocolate chip oat cookie recipe.

Here's why:

It took a lot of willpower not to eat these 

little beauties for breakfast (Ok, I had one). These are best a little warm, so eat them fresh or throw them into the microwave for a few seconds.

What You'll Need:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter or margarine (a stick)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I always use a little less than what the recipe calls for)

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 3-4 baking sheets.

2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Set aside

3. With an electric mixer, cream together butter or margarine and the sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy (TIP: If your butter isn't room temp, slice it up into pieces and microwave for 20 seconds)

4. Add flour and beat on low speed until well blended. Stir in rolled oats and choc chips. Drop heaped teaspoonfuls on baking sheets, spacing dough about 1 inch apart. 

5. Bake for about 15 minutes (depends on oven power) until just firm around the gue but still soft to the touch in the center. With a slotted spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack to cool.

Makes 60

Recipe taken from Cookies by Hilaire Walden

#4: On a Mission: Collecting

I love going to thrift stores and finding super deals

on super things. Well, i'm collecting amber or yellow-colored glasses, vases, etc. Why? Well, stay tuned :).

 These two are my newest finds.

#5: The Feed Store, in Long Beach, CA.

 If you live in Long Beach, CA, checkout The Feed Store on Retro Row. It's the newest, vintage-thrift store whose proceeds go to providing food and other necessities to those in need. They have everything from clothes to home goods.

I found some cute doilies to craft with: 

 #5:Know that you're loved and have the capacity to love others.

There's a Love that's beyond words, beyond feelings, and beyond your wildest dreams. It's not fleeting. It's eternal. It's hopeful. In it there is joy and peace.

"Oh, how He loves us."

Thanks for comin' along for my first Hodge Podge Friday. I hope you come back and visit really soon. Have a great day :). 

Everything but...

Whenever I have a paper to write or something to study for, I seem to find a million other things I'd rather do. Today was no exception. I had to read (correction, I still have to read and write), but I managed to find some other things that "required" my attention. In my defense, I was still being productive :) :

[brewing coffee resourcefully]

[starting and finishing a crocheting project]

See?

[Just if you're curious, I did end up reading (I just haven't quite finished yet).]

[I even got some writing done.]

You could call all of these side projects stalling (stalling so that I wouldn't have to read and write), but it's actually a great way to keep my sanity. I've found that incorporating these things into my schedule of school tasks keep me sane as they cultivate my creative side and help me fight against the idea of life having to be compartmentalized.

What do you do that keeps you sane?  How do you like to express that creative side of yours? 

Magazine Banner: A Repurposing DIY Project

I was in my friend's apartment, and she wanted to add some color to her white walls . She had some Anthropologie magazines lying around, so I figured I'd repurpose them. The first thing that came to mind was to make a banner because I keep seeing them on DIY blogs (This is also great for parties, weddings, baby rooms, etc!). Well folks--here's my first how-to blog.

Step 1: Grab an Anthro magazine (or any other magazine, of course).

Tip: If you want there to be an eclectic sense of cohesion, work with only one magazine

since they usually fall under certain complimentary color themes.

Step 2: Tear the pages of the magazines out. Fold the pages in half (top to bottom)

 and tear them in half once more (In other words, you'll have two flags made for every magazine page).

Step 3: Fold one of your sheets in half (I recommend using the cover of the magazine b/c it's sturdier) 

to find the center point. 

Step 4: Take a ruler and with a pencil, draw two lines to make your flag pattern. Start at 

the center point that you found from Step 3.

Step 5: Cut out your pattern. Place this pattern above a few of your sheets and start cutting!

Step 6: Once you have enough flags cut out, you'll be ready to start putting the banner together.

Get some string, yarn, twine, fishing wire (etc...) ready.

Step 7: Place your flag underneath the string and leave some room at the top so you can fold it over. Make sure the side you want showing is not the side that you can see.

Step 8: Have some tape handy. Fold the top part of the flag over the string, and tape it down. 

Continue this step with the rest of your flags.

(Depending on how sturdy you want it, you'll need to use a varying amount of tape.

For this particular banner, I just put a piece of the place at the center.)

Tip: When taping your first flag onto the string, make sure you secure the flag to the string, so

your flags don't go flying off the end.

Step 9: When you've attached enough flags to achieve your desired banner length, hang

your banner up wherever you needed that splash of color! Be creative; add your own twist to this 

simple DIY project!

Enjoy! Challenge yourself to craft with things you already have!

Give your old things new purpose! Give it a shot. I'd love to 

see all the ideas you come up with :).