The party that pinterest built

Many many years ago (about 5) I hosted a party the evite called "the white trash bash!!!!!!" I made quite the ass of myself and have not been able to convince my husband to let me have it again until this year. I had to meet the following conditions 1)it had to be on a holiday w/ fireworks 2) it must be renamed the redneck revival, bc white trash bash excludes other races (never mind that redneck typically excludes other races). There have probably been many advancements in civilization since the last redneck/trailer park/ white trash theme party but by far the most important (to me at least) has been the rise of Pinterest. I'm already a life long hoarder of hobbies, crafts and recipes so Pinterest is sort of like porn for someone like me, but w/ hassle free storage. Some of the recipes for the party were my standards (see hot stuff white trash sweets) but a few of them were new and courtesy of Pinterest here they are:

The sangria was sort of a no brainer bc who doesnt like sangria, even bad sangria? And this one turned out pretty great. I used apple instead of pineapple mainly b/c it was easier to cut into stars but other than that I stayed true to the recipe from punchbowl.com, click here for full recipe

Sweet nectar

Oatmeal lemon creme bars. I made this one bc I wanted it and there were a few left over, just for me. I used fresh meyer lemons straight from my mother in law's garden for these. They were awesome thanks to Justcallmemaria.com, click for full recipe

Mine! All mine!!!!

The snickers brownies I thought were going to scare ppl off... They tasted amazing but they looked like a melted train wreck fortunately it didn't deter anyone and there were nine left  and really only b/c they had melted over on to the filthy counter (success!)Thank you jaseyscrazydaisy.com, click for full recipe

Even as a melt mishap, still Delicious

One of my favorite pinterest inspired contributions was the drink napkin wreath. It must be a sign of how much of an eccentric old lady I'm becoming but I LOVE wreaths lately and this one was fun and easy to make and perfect for the occasion. Thank you Tipjunkie.com! For tutorial click here

Im not sure Lee Greenwood had this in mind when he wrote "Proud to be an American," but its still kind of sweet wreath ;)

Easter wreath renovation

 As much as I loved my crazy winky bunny wreath...Easter is only once a year. So why waste a perfectly good grapevine wreath? I decided to re-use it and give it a second chance to decorate my door, a resurrection in honor of its original holiday I guess. So here is its makeover, I have 2 versions one w/ my faux antique painted N and one w/o:

W/ the sweet faux N

still fab w/o the N

Here's my brief tutorial:
Cut stems to a manageable length and attach flowers by both sticking through the grapevine and securing w/ grapevine floral wire.

Faux N- spray paint letter w/ primer and gloss spray paint (i used krylon for both the color I used was antique white) let dry then coat w/ dark wood stain and wipe off w/ rag. Add and wipe stain until you get the look you want.

Crazy Crafter Inside!

This was my Easter wreath, but as the title state I think the caption for this photo could be "crazy crafter inside" almost as a warning label so visitors know what to expect. My love affair w/ wreaths and door decor is a fairly recent development, and this is my first actual attempt at a wreath we had what i would classify as a misadventure in crafting last Easter when i attempted the butterfly tree (Centerpiece fail) but crisis and opportunity are sometimes the same character...this year I resurrected the butterfly theme and brought to life my vision of a winking bunny through the magic of crochet :) my winky bunny made me smile every time i saw him (its a him, ck out his sweet Easter bowtie) I really have no directions or tutorial on this project its a grapevine wreath so I follow a "get in where you fit in" approach w/ arranging the flowers although I did re-enforce some of them w/ grapevine floral wire, the butterflies are clips (lucky find, thanks Michael's clearance table!), and the fab bunny was made by crocheting in rounds then embroidering a face w/ yarn using a K size needle. All colors were red heart supersaver its an excellent durable yarn great for projects that require some structure. Using this technique I messed w/ the size of everything until he fit just right inside the wreath.
Bunny Pattern:

body
ch 10
r1: 2dc in each ch
r2: 1 dc in each ch except on the ends; on the ends 3dc 1dc 3dc
r3: repeat r2

head
ch3
r1: 2 sc in each ch
r2: repeat r1
embroider face

ears
ch 4
r1: sc in each ch 2sc on each end (do this in pink, change colors for r2)
r2: repeat r1 in white

I picture him giving everyone the Wendy Williams "how you doin?" when they come to the door. See? crazy person inside, issues.

purple bunnies

Here is one of my creations from Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'n Bitch crochet The happy Hooker, or as I call it the crochet gospel.  My copy is filled w/ paperclip and post-it book markers on all of the projects on my wish list, these "Fluffy Bunny Slippers" were one of them and this was actually my second attempt at them. The fist attempt ended in frogging (undoing the work and salvaging the yarn for a different project) and this attempt was actually courtesy of a failed attempt at a knitting project. These were made of 2 different yarns one very thin kid silk blend and one thicker alpaca llama blend- the 1st failed attempt was w/ a synthetic mohair type yarn made by Red Heart, i dont remember the name of it and I would not recommend it I have not worked w/ it since and was not able to salvage most of it bc it snagged so bad. I was pretty proud of this project bc I think its adorable. The yarn used (which was as close as I could get to the type suggested w/o compromising the color) is VERY soft which makes for a very comfortable slipper but lacks some structure places like the ears that was kind of a problem. Nonetheless I love them, and think they are cute :)

Roller girl legwarmers

These snappy leg warmers were my 1st completed knitting project. The original pattern came from Debbie strollers's stitch n bitch nation. I didn't have circular needles at the time so I modified the pattern to work w/ straight needles and also tailored it to fit my legs:

Pattern
I used cascade 220 and size 8 needles
CO 45 (+ or - to fit the circumference of your leg comfortably)

Work in 2x2 rib (p2, k2) for 4in

Work in stockinette stitch for 12 in. (+ or - rows depending on your desired length)

Work in 1x1 rib (p1, k1) for 1in, BO.

Sew sides together (I crochet my seams)

Wear and enjoy!



I don't know how often I will actually wear these (since this is Texas and it is rarely cold enough or a light jacket much less wool leg warmers) but they are retro and fun....I can hear modern english's "melt w/ you" from valley girl everytime I put them on :)

had to model them w/ some awful patent leather shoes so you get the full 80's effect (pls excuse the cankles)

Dreaming of a seussical Christmas

For as long as I can remember the grinch has been my Christmas favorite- maybe bc we have so much in common >:) I have long wanted to make him the theme for my Christmas decor and this year I finally committed to make this dream a reality. It all started before Halloween when I fell in love...w/ yet another creation by the queen of decor Ronnie Hackradt. She had a display wreath and I had to have it- we added some aqua and it was the anchor for all of my decorations. Hopefully next year I will have a chance to expand on them- fortunately I have a whole year to plan ;) but I am really excited it came together and as added bonus has been all the comments from men that the decor has received. You know it's a big deal w the ups man says "now that's a WREATH!" or when the husband says "these are the coolest Christmas decorations we have ever done"- agreed

Thanksgiving decor

Any excuse to decorate right? Again I turned to Ronnie @ lala's land and was ecstatic w/ my wreath....leopard always has a place in my heart. I left my same pumpkin bowl bar decoration
Side note about the bowl- I originally loathed this bowl which was a trinket that survived my husbands singlehood and has some how lingered around for 8yrs of cohabitation. I was planning on doing something w/ it (paint, decorative decals, and just throwing it in the trash all crossed my mind) some how this piece grew on me, I think it's the neutral color, and now I use it as a centerpiece for the breakfast bar...you never know I guess

The center piece I was really proud of in addition to loving the outcome it cost about $5 to make. The foliage was on sale @ michaels and that's where the $5 was spent. The jar was a left over from heb/central market brand vodka sauce (the lazy Italians good friend) it was a "mason" jar and I thought it was so cute I kept it. I had some left over gold in my ever expanding paint stash to paint it w/ I used the same technique from my mercury glass project. There you have it! I have never decorated for thanks giving and had a great time putting it all together :)