Pinspiration: Hammered Wire and Bead Earrings

I recently found this tutorial by Rebecca from My Girlish Whims while browsing Pinterest. Rebecca was inspired to make these beautiful hammered wire hoop earrings with beads after seeing a similar pair at Anthropologie. Up until I followed her tutorial to make these earrings, I had done very little jewelry work with wire and I had never experimented with hammering wire. I was surprised that after just a little practice, these were relatively easy to make.

As you can see from the photos, I gave my earrings a casual, beachy vibe, by using glass beads that are reminiscent of sea glass. I like how versatile this design is, you can completely change the look and feel of the earrings by switching the color of the wire and/or changing the beads.

If you are looking to take your jewelry making skills to the next level I'd definitely recommend trying out this tutorial.

Sweet Southern Boy Baby Shower

Today I am super excited to participate in a virtual baby shower for my dear friend, Nikki! Even though this is a "virtual" shower, Nikki is not just my "virtual" friend. She and I met about 5 years ago when we were both living in Illinois. We attended the same church and Andrew and I were in a small group with Nikki and her husband, Ben. Nikki was one of the first professional bloggers that I ever met. I have learned so much from her by watching her blogging journey and she was a great encourager to me when I started Twinkle and Twine. Even though we don't live near each other any more, I'm glad that I can stay connected with her by reading her fabulous food blog, "Seeded at the Table."

This is the first "virtual" shower I've participated in, so I'm sure the concept is unfamiliar to many people. Here's how it works...a group of bloggers participate in a virtual shower on a pre-designated date by posting ideas of things they would make, were the shower to actually take place (since we're scattered all over the country it's not possible for us to get together for a real live shower).

Because Nikki's family recently relocated to Mississippi, the theme of the virtual shower is "Sweet Southern Boy." All of the posts for Nikki's shower feature a party idea or recipe that ties into this theme. Kelsey from Apple a Day and Jessica from Sunny Side Up coordinated this fun virtual shower for Nikki and both have written round up posts with links to the blogs of everyone who is participating. Kelsey's round up can be found here, and Jessica's can be found here. So pull up a chair and join us in celebration of Nikki's Sweet Southern Boy!

For my contribution to Nikki's shower I decided to create a table setting and shower favor. When I think of the South I think of, porch swings, magnolias, picket fences, sweet tea, spanish moss, and tractors. I wanted to infuse this classic southern charm into the table decor while also mixing in some culinary flair in honor of Nikki's love of cooking.

Although this table setting looks quite classy, it can actually be created relatively inexpensively. Here's how you can replicate this look...

Bay Leaf Spice Jar Favors...When I found these canning jar style spice jars at World Market, they were too cute to pass up! Since bay leaves are frequently used in southern soups and stews, they were the perfect spice to fill the jars with. I added a cute pun on the tag and voila!...fun Bay-by shower favors perfect for a foodie!

• Spice Jars - (purchased at Cost Plus World Market for .99 cents each, available here)
• Bay Leaves - You don't need to pack your favor jars full, about 10 leaves is plenty. (World Market sells two varieties, available here and here - I bought the $4.00 jar and it contained enough leaves to fill at least 5 of the favors. If you're planning a big party you could buy bay leaves in bulk from Costco or Sams.)
• Baker's Twine - (purchased at Cost Plus World Market for $3.00, available here)
• Tags - Designed on my home computer, printed on cardstock, and punched out with a tag shaped punch. 

To Assemble: Put the bay leaves in the favor jars and tie the tag around the top of the jar with a piece of Baker's Twine...easy peasy lemon squeezy

Candles...This little DIY project is super simple, but adds the perfect touch of warmth and color to the table.

• Tea Light Candles - (purchased in bulk at Cost Plus World Market, $8.00 for 50 candles)
• Baker's Twine - (purchased at Cost Plus World Market for $3.00, available here)

To Assemble: Wrap the twine around the candle three times and knot the ends together. Trim the ends of the twine, making sure to cut them short enough that they can't possibly touch the flame (we don't want to start any fires!). Adding the twine elevates the look of the candles and makes them a little more special.

Flower Arrangement...Originally I envisioned using magnolias or white hydrangeas, but those aren't so easy to come by in Southern California, so I opted for a more economical alternative, Alstroemeria. I added another culinary accent by using a super-cute mini green colander as the container for the arrangement.

• Flowers - I purchased one bunch of Alstroemeria for $4.00 from the grocery store, but any white flowers would work.
• Mini Green Colander - (purchased for $2.00 from World Market, not available online, but here's the item description)

To Assemble: Line the colander with something to hold the water. If you have a glass bowl that would be best, if not, do what I did and use a layer of saran wrap. Cut a large piece of saran wrap and lay it inside the bowl so that it covers all the holes in the colander (make sure it's secure). Fill with water. Cut the flower stems short and arrange the flowers inside the colander.

Tractor...Adding a toy John Deere tractor on the table ties the whole theme together and brings in the baby boy element. John Deere tractors are the perfect complimentary shade of green and they also pay homage to the culinary thread that is woven throughout the decor. The tractor will likely be the priciest element of the table setting ($10-$15), but it can double as a baby gift...the perfect toy for a Sweet Southern Boy.



Thanks so much for stopping by to celebrate with me today! Congratulations, Nikki! I'm so excited for you and I can't wait to see photos of your sweet southern boy! :)

Bridal Blooms

Spring is here and wedding season is upon us! Over the past few months I've had the joy of helping out with a couple of weddings and a wedding shower, so I'm excited to share some wedding-themed posts in the coming weeks.

Today I have some gorgeous wedding flower eye candy to share with you...

My brother-in-law was married last November and my mother-in-law offered to do all of the flowers for the ceremony. Andrew and I flew out to be with the family for the week before the wedding, so when asked if I'd be willing to help out with the floral arranging for the big day, I gladly accepted the invitation! My mother-in-law had taken a class on making wedding bouquets so it was really fun to watch as she assembled them.

She showed me the bouquet arranging technique that she was taught which involves holding the flowers between your thumb and index finger and twisting the bunch a partial turn each time you add some flowers (for a tutorial of this technique, check out this video).

The wedding had a fall theme and the decor was done in a palette of neutrals, so the flowers were all different shades of white. My mother-in-law pre-ordered a couple hundred white roses online and then the day before the wedding she and I went to a local produce market and bought all sorts of supplementary white flowers, berries, and greenery to mix with the roses in the bouquets.

One of our favorite finds were eucalyptus leaves which have a really lovely, soft, sage green, and slightly silvery hue. My mother-in-law used them around the base of the bride's bouquet. As you can see in the photos at the top of this post, they draped down in a natural, organic way and looked very elegant.

To add the finishing touch to the bouquets, the stems were wrapped with white satin ribbon and secured with a a row of beautiful pearl pins.

While the bouquets were being assembled, a family friend and I worked on making two large arrangements for either side of the church pulpit. Even though the roses had long stems, we couldn't get the floral spray effect we wanted by putting the stems directly into the tall glass vases we planned to use. To solve this problem, we filled each vase with a large block of floral foam. To hide the foam, we wrapped eucalyptus leaves around the interior of the vase between the glass and the foam.

Once the inside was covered in leaves we filled the vases with water. It was pleasant surprise to see the way the leaves glistened under the water. The effect was beautiful. We then created the arrangements by sticking the flowers into the top of the foam. The foam allowed us to take advantage of the long stems of the flowers and style a beautiful, organic spray with the roses and natural sticks.

My mother-in-law had read that when creating large arrangements it generally looks best to stick with just a few elements. We took this helpful advice (courtesy of Martha Stewart) and paired it down. We used roses, sticks, eucalyptus leaves, and berries and added in a few dried hydrangeas for texture.

This was my first time designing a really large arrangement so it was very rewarding to see it all come together...and as an added bonus, it knocked one thing off my 30 before 30 list. :)

The flowers complimented the beautiful bride, groom, and overall look of the wedding wonderfully and the big event was a very joyous day for all!

...isn't her dress gorgeous?!

DIY Vintage Button Earrings

Don't you love it when you stumble upon a project that is super easy to make, yet looks like a million bucks when it's done?! A couple months ago my mom and I went to a quilt show where we saw a vendor selling some gorgeous vintage button earrings. I loved the idea of turning beautiful buttons into earrings and since I recently acquired a large jar of old buttons, I decided to make some myself. This project ended up being very simple and it's incredibly versatile...all you need is a pair of cool buttons and a few basic supplies.

Here's how you can make your own vintage button earrings...

Supplies

• 2 Matching Buttons (You will want to make sure to coordinate the size of your buttons with the size of the pendant backs that you purchase)
• 2 Pendant Backs (I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby, 2 different types are pictured above - flat backs and bottle cap backs)
• E6000 Clear Glue
• Earring Wires
• Toothpick
• Wire Cutters
• Wax Paper (optional)

Step 1: If you are using buttons that have a bezel protruding from the back, you will need to remove it so that the buttons will lay flat on the pendant backs. Use your wire cutters to remove the bezels.

Step 2: Place some E6000 glue into the indentation in the pendant back. Use your toothpick to spread it around so that there is an even coating on the pendant back (Be careful, because the glue can be a bit stringy!). Be sure to follow the usage instructions and warnings on the glue package. E6000 glue should be used in a well ventilated area.

Step 3: Place the button onto the glue coated pendant back. Make sure that it is centered and is resting in the glue. Allow the pendant back and button to sit on a flat surface in a well ventilated area until the glue has fully dried.

Step 4: Attach the earring wires to the button pendants. If you are using the bottle cap type backs, you will need to remove the jump ring from the pendant back and attach the earring wire directly into the hole in the pendant back.

Step 5: Show off your beautiful new earrings. :)

Pinspiration: Crocheted Owl Hats

I've mentioned before how much I love Pinterest. It is a great source of inspiration for me and I always seem to find new ideas and projects to try while browsing the endless "pins." This post is about one such "Pinspiration." I plan to share more posts like this one from time to time, in the hope that these pins might inspire you too. :)

Several months ago I stumbled upon this adorable crochet owl hat pattern by Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me and decided to make a couple hats for baby gifts. Sarah's instructions for this project are great. I had never crocheted a hat before and it was a delightful surprise to discover  how simple this pattern is to make. Sarah provides the pattern in sizes from newborn through adult. The ivory/grey hat that I made is a 3-6 month size and the purple/grey hat is 6-12 month size. After seeing these two hats Andrew decided that he wanted one, so I currently have an adult size hat under way as well.

The only modification that I've made to Sarah's design is that rather than using buttons for the eyes I made long satin stitches with black yarn in a diamond shape to form the pupils (this was my mom's idea...thanks mom!). I'm always leery of putting buttons on items for babies because I worry about them being a choking hazard. I love the way the stitched on eyes came out and the hat is a bit safer as a result. :)

Have you been inspired by anything you've seen on Pinterest recently?

Tutorial: Peek-A-Boo Heart Pouch

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday. I love hearts, candy, and the colors pink and red...and I especially love having a reason to give sweet little treats and gifts to family and friends.

I was recently inspired to make these heart bags and after a couple of prototypes and a few tweaks, I'm really excited about how simple this project actually is. These pouches have a fun little heart-shaped peek-a-boo window that gives a glimpse of the treats inside. They are quick to make and are perfect for Valentine's Day, Weddings, Birthdays, or anytime you need a little gift for a friend. You could also make a couple for yourself! They're great for storing jewelry or little trinkets and you'll always be able to see what's inside the bag.

Here's how you can make your own Peek-A-Boo Heart Pouch...

Supplies

• Exterior bag fabric - 7" x 16" rectangle
• Interior/accent fabric - 7" x 21" rectangle
• 1 yd. of cord
• Clear vinyl - 5" square
• Heart template - download mine here
• Disappearing ink fabric marker or pencil
• Scissors
• Thread
• Safety Pin (not pictured)
• Sewing machine (not pictured)

Step 1: Iron the short ends of the large rectangle under 1/4". It helps to pin them in place first.

Step 2: Center the smaller rectangle on top of the larger rectangle, right sides together. You should have exactly 2" of the large rectangle sticking out on either side of the short rectangle. Precision is important.

Step 3: Fold your rectangle sandwich in half so that the short ends of both rectangles match up. Lightly press the fold to create a crease at the center of both rectangles.

Step 4: Cut out your heart template if you haven't already done so.

Step 5: Open up the folded rectangles and center the heart template 1 1/4" above the center crease.

Step 6: Use your disappearing ink marker/pencil to trace around the heart.

Step 7: Keeping both rectangles together, sew on the line of the heart shape you just drew.

Step 8: Using sharp scissors, carefully cut out the center of the heart shape through both rectangles, 1/8" inside your sewn line. Be very careful not to cut through your stitches.

Step 9: Turn the rectangles right side out, by flipping the exterior fabric rectangle through the center of the heart hole you just cut. You will need to use something with a dull point (ie. pencil) to push the top point of the heart right side out.

Step 10: Press your heart hole so that the seam on the edge of the heart is smooth and flat all the way around.

Step 11: Pin your vinyl square on top of the heart hole on the interior fabric side of your rectangles. Be careful to only pin through the four corners of the vinyl square. Do not pin through any of the vinyl in the center of the heart, otherwise there will be pin holes in your finished "window".

Step 12: Flip the heart window over so that the vinyl is on the bottom and carefully sew around the heart window 1/8" from the edge. You may need to adjust your sewing machine tension for this part. I found that I needed to tighten my tension. You can see in the photo for step 13 that my stitches are a bit loose and funky because the tension wasn't quite right on my first attempt.

Step 13: Trim the vinyl 1/8" outside of the stitch line.

Step 14: Fold each of the two fabric rectangles in half, with the right sides of each together. You will be creating a folded rectangle sandwich with the two sides joined by the heart window in the middle. Pin the long edges of each of the folded rectangles together. You are about to create the exterior bag and the interior lining bag.

Step 15: Sew the pinned edges of the folded rectangles together. Remove the pins.

Step 16: Press the side seams open, near the top of both sides of the sewn rectangles. (I had to go back and do this the first time around so the seams don't look pressed in the photo for step 17.)

Step 17: Turn the exterior fabric bag right side out so that the interior lining bag is inside of it.

Your bag should now look like this:

Step 18: Fold the top 2" cuff over and iron the crease so that it is smooth and straight all the way around (Make sure not to iron over the vinyl!).

Step 19: Pin the cuff down, making sure to match up the side seams and stitch it in place around the bottom edge. Be sure to back tack when sewing over each of the side seams to reinforce the stitching in that area.

Step 20: Make a second row of stitching around the cuff, approximately 1/2" to 3/4" above the first. Be sure to back tack when sewing over each of the side seams to reinforce the stitching in that area.

Step 21: Use your seam ripper to open the seam between the two lines of stitching on each side seam of the bag. You only need to remove the stitches from the top layer of the folded cuff fabric.

Step 22: Cut your 1 yd. piece of cording in half and secure a safety pin on the end of one piece. BTW, I found the really neat pink shoelace-like cord pictured below at Hobby Lobby after I had already taken the materials photo for this project. It was too cool to pass up. :)

Step 23: Feed the safety pin through one of the side seam openings you just made and work it all the way around the casing until it comes out through the same hole it went into. Remove the safety pin and secure it by tying the two ends of the cord together in a knot as pictured below. Repeat with the other piece of cord on the other side of the bag.

Step 24: Fill your Peek-A-Boo Heart Pouch with some delicious treats and give it to a friend!