Sunday, November 27, 2011

Prizes from 'Try To Keep Up!'

We recently learned we won third place in the September Stashbusting contest over at T-Shirt Diaries.  

Yay!  

What did that mean for us?  


Well, a few days ago I received some pretty awesome handmade greeting cards....from Canada :)  


These lovelies were made by Leslie over at Try To Keep Up!  


Lots of love went into these beautiful cards - thank you Leslie!!



Thursday, November 24, 2011

Doppelganger



Doppelganger: A tangible double of a living person that typically represents evil. In the vernacular, the word doppelgänger has come to refer (as in German "doppelt(e)") to any double or look-alike of a person.

To quote Pee Wee Herman (from Big Adventure)  
"What's the Significance?" ... 

...well, I have a lot of friends that resemble famous people.  In my opinion.  

A few years back I discovered Picnik.com - such a great editing tool! To better familiar myself with its features I started my silly celeb twin project.  I even found that some of my blog friends look like famous people...

Megan from Polish The Stars 



 Tara from Self Discovery


I was watching the The Haunting of Molly Hartley and I couldn't put my finger on why the main actress looked so familiar.  It eventually dawned on me that I felt like I was looking at myself.  I Googled Haley Bennett to find that maybe I don't really look like her much at all - a few similar features I suppose.  Eh, it's all I can come up with.  What do you think? 












...who is your celeb look-alike?


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

DIY Wall Art



There was a huge sale on canvases {at Hobby Lobby}. Of course I took advantage!  They sat naked until a recent idea came to me.  

Skill level: Moderate to Easy...

...if you can use a glue gun


_________________________________________________________________
Supplies: Yarn, book pages, hot glue, acrylic paint 
(I used 3-4 colors), spray paint and Mod Podge.
 Step 1:  
Wrap yarn around the blank canvas in a grid like pattern - random and uneven (I thought I would glue the yarn down with paint dyed Mod Podge, however, it did not adhere to the canvas at all.  Hot glue did the trick!)
 

Step 2:
  Glue (Mod Podge) book pages atop the yarn and canvas to build a sturdy base.


Step 3:
 I don't have a picture of the next step - I used green spray paint to cover the book page covered canvas.
Step 4:
 Again, no picture - I strung hot glue vertically and horizontally...for what seemed like a lifetime.  
Layers and layers of hot glue.

Step 5: 
 I squeezed acrylic paint (color # 1) down the front of the canvas. I let the paint drip freely and dry outside.

Step 6:  
I dripped more acrylic paint down the front.


 Step 7:  
I goofed up a bit as the paint squirted out more then I would have liked (above).  Fix mistakes with the original spray paint color :)


I dripped white acrylic down the front - I ended up hating this layer and later toned it down with the original spray paint base color.


 

 

Step 8:  
I started to like what I was seeing but felt it was lacking.  Using book pages, I created a few different flower shaped templates ... 
...using the templates, I made several book page cut outs. 
 
Alternating the shapes, i layered the pages and stapled the middle to create these recycled flowers...
...then outlined the petals with blue paint. 



 Step 9:
I completed three paper flowers and glued them 
to the middle of the canvas.  
The End.





 
 
Home Stories A2Z
 

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Random Blog Post Idea...

Have you ever been told you look like a famous person?  



I have an idea for a new blog post... 

I'd love to incorporate a few fellow bloggers.  

Hit me up if you are interested in hearing more...


Contact me (Corie)  -  DesignDNAblog@aol.com

Friday, November 18, 2011

Holiday DIY Gift Catalog - Link Party

With Thanksgiving almost behind us and Christmas right around the corner, I'm a little panicked.  I've never been the kind of person to start shopping in July and you'll never catch me out on Black Friday fighting the crowds for all of the "great deals" (Tickle Me Elmo caused quite the riot if I remember correctly).

This year will be a mix of store bought and handmade gifts so I need to jump into gear.   Anyone else freaking out??  I'm compiling a DIY gift "catalog" if you will....  Please inspire us {ME} !!



Holiday Link Party Rules:

  • Link to the specific post for something YOU have created - DIY Gifts (not to your main blog page). 
  • Grab the Design DNA button to add to your blog page.
  • Be sure to visit other posts and leave them a comment! 
  • Let me know if you've featured me, and I'll let you know if I've featured you ;) 
  • This party will stay open through December 15th.
  • No limit - post away.  Just remember only DIY Gift ideas will be accepted.




Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Thanksgiving

I'm currently in the process of painting our front room....I've been talking about doing so for over 3 years now.  I'm mildly in love with the main color choice, sort of a gray, medium blue (unexpectedly purple) and am terribly unhappy with the "accent wall" color that I thought for sure was a white/gray color that turned out to be ice blue.  I'm far from done with the painting but needed to take a break.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner I figured I'd better get this out as soon as possible!!  

This time in the words of Jaime (the little sister) Yay! 
 

***Hi my name is Jaime and the last few years I've had the honor of holding Thanksgiving in our home.  Grandma has passed the Holiday Hostess torch and I've gladly accepted.  I'd love to share how we decorated for last year's Thanksgiving bash.




I went to the backyard for most of my inspiration and collected all things from nature to decorate!  I carefully picked leaves to use as "confetti" and scattered them on the table and mantel.  I found thing such as pine cones, acorns, pods, and old fall colored potpourri that had lost its scent over the years.  


I picked sticks off of the ground and made arrangements for the centerpiece which was placed on the main dining table.  

I picked up 4 bamboo place mats from Pier 1 imports (on sale of course!) and used them as a table runner (reason for purchasing place mats instead of a runner: can be used as place mats and pieced together for a table runner!)  
I picked up all of the glass jars at thrift stores through out the year and even used some old vases that had been saved from flowers given to me from my loving Husband!  We are all about recycling and reusing!

To finish off the look, large pine cones and tags were used to create place cards adding to the "natural" and "recycled" theme.



 Can't wait to share this year's Thanksgiving with everyone :)





Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Halloween Link Party Favorites

We'll miss you Halloween.  See you next year!!

Project Halloween 2011:  Success

Seeing our well planned out thoughts put into action left us feeling all warm and fuzzy inside (or maybe it was the pudding shots?!).   

Thanks for linking up to our first Halloween Link Party!!  We had a great turn out and can't wait for next year :)  

We wanted to share a few of our favorites - go check them out for yourself.... unless you are too scared.  Muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!


# 1 - One of our favorites came from House of Dewberry where she shows you how to make DIY Halloween Black Candles.  We liked it soooo much that we borrowed the idea and made our own version of these awesome toilet paper roll candles.


#2 - Simple and to the point -  A Lettered Life walks you through the steps of creating a "fancy" mason jar wine glass.






#3 - The skull candles over at Kokeshi Crafts were super creative.  During our Halloween shopping spree this year, we found similar versions for 3 times the price I'd imagine it cost her to create them.  Well done!



#4 - Alderberry Hill seriously had it going on with her Ghoulish Centerpiece!  This thing is amazing.  Elegant and classy in a Tim Burton kind of way.


#5 - Why have I never thought of this!?  Freaking Craft is a freaking genius for making these not so nice gingerbread cookies.



Thanks again ladies for all of the inspiration and taking the time to link up to our party.  Until next year.....

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Halloween Party Recipes

Here are some of the recipes from our Halloween Party - enjoy!! 

Veggie Pizza



Ingredients

  • 2 8 oz Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
  • 1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1sp. dill weed (or add dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing to 1/4 tsp. to cream cheese and sour cream)
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • FRESH VEGGIES: broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots - whatever) 
Directions  
  • Chop veggies fine or use food processor for ONLY 7 seconds.  
  • Separate dough into 4 pieces.  Place crosswise on 15x10 cookie sheet.  
  • Bake @ 375 for 15 min. (until golden brown).  
  • In small bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, dill weed and garlic (or Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix).  Spread mixture onto rolls.  Top with small pieces of assorted veggies.  
  • Refrigerate 1-2 hours (covered).  
  • Cut into square pieces when cold.

 Waldorf Salad



Ingredients
  • Jonathon Apples {or tart} -- sometimes we add a Granny Smith or two just for tartness {allow 1/2 apple per person to determine quantity}
  • Core and dice up with skins still on
  • Red seedless grapes -- cut in half (if you cannot get seedless then cut them in half and take out seeds)
  • Celery -- diced small
  • Miniature marshmallows
  • English Walnuts, halves or large bits
  • Hellman's mayo

Directions  
  • Mix ingredients 
  • Use enough mayo to glue ingredients together
  • Cover and refrigerate till used
  • Best if made a few hours before use


Homemade Dill Dip (for veggies or whatever) 


 Ingredients 
  • 1 pt. sour cream
  • 1 pt. Hellman's mayo
  • 3 tbsp onion, minced 
  • 3 tbsp parsley flakes
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp dill weed
  • 1 tbsp accent salt (check label for MSG)

 Directions   
  • Blend all together in bowl, cover, refrigerate till ready to serve with tray of fresh veggies.  
  • Best made a day ahead.  
  • Best to serve small amount and keep refilling rather than have entire amount sit out at room temp for several hours. 


Buffalo Chicken Dip
The Most Popular Dish of the Night!!!!


Ingredients

  • 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup Ranch dressing
  • 3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces (this is how I prefer to eat the dip.  Somehow I feel it makes it more healthy)
 
Directions 

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.