DIY: Glass Ornament Christmas Tree

I decided not to get a real Christmas tree this year because I'm still trying to get the house in order (a year after moving in) and because it's one more thing to keep away from the puppy (although she seems more interested in "burying" soggy rawhide bones in our bed).

But I need some holiday decorations in the house so, in addtion to our chocolate advent calendars and evergreen garlands on the porch, I crafted a table-top Christmas tree out of glass bulbs.   It only took about an hour and a couple supplies.

Supplies

• 18" styrofoam cone
• 100 glass ornaments in various sizes (I bought my ornaments after last Christmas and got them cheap.  You can also get a tube of plastic bulbs at Target for $1 and they'll look just as nice.)
• hot glue and hot glue gun

Instructions

1.  To place the bulbs, dab some hot glue on the metal hook of the ornament and poke it into the styrofoam cone.  If your bulbs don't have a metal hook you can just dab on some hot glue and press it to the cone.  The hot glue will slightly melt the cone and the end of the bulb will sink right into it.

2.  Install the bottom ring of bulbs on the base of the cone.

2.  Once the bottom circle is done all you need to do is full up the rest of the cone with more bulbs.  If you have big gaps you can plug them up with small bulbs (it's okay if they don't reach the cone, you can glue them to the larger bulbs).

Friendsgiving 2010

Saturday night Jess hosted Friendsgiving at her awesome apartment in Greenpoint.  I made cranberry sauce (recipe below) and peanut butter & chocolate toffee cookies.  There was also veal, green bean caserole, kale salad, quiche, mashed taters, apple pie and much more.  We also got to say goodbye to Preeya and Dave before they head on their year-long trip around the world! I'm going to miss them so much, but I'm sooooo excited for them!!  The night ended with us drinking a can Four Loko so we could try it before it's banned - let me just say that the world will be a better place without that crap.  With Four Loko and wine pumping through our veins we turned Jess' computer into a YouTube juke box of 90's grunge rock.  I'm thankful for my friends, they're the best!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

This cranberry sauce is tart and full of delicious cranberry flavor, but you can add up to 2 cups of sugar if you like things sweeter. 

• 1 lb. whole cranberries
• 2 oranges (Valencia is best)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup crushed walnuts
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cinnmon stick
• 1-2 sprigs of rosemary
  
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

In a medium pot, combine the cranberries, sugar and water. Stir to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and add the cinnamon stick, allspice and nutmeg. Stir to blend and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Some of the cranberries will burst and some will remain whole. Turn off the heat and add the orange juice (be careful not to drop any seeds in the sauce) and stir.  When the sauce has cooled stir in the walnuts.  Pull out the rosemary and cinnamon stick before serving.

The Ancient Art of Temari

I learned about something new yesterday - the anicient Japanese craft of Temari.  Esentially, termari is the creation of hand-stiched thread balls.  The balls were used as toys and eventually became an art of the upper class.  Historically, temari balls were given as gifts, but with the emergence of sites like Etsy, temari balls are being sold by crafters for $40-$80. 

Some of the temari balls I see for sale are so gorgeous.  I'm thinking that would be fun to have an assortment of them in a bowl on your coffee table, use one as a pin cushion, use one as a very expensive cat toy (and I don't mean that to be sarcastic, I know there are people out there who appreciate modern, finely crafted cat toys), but mostly I'm thinking that these could make really awesome Christmas decorations!(Hmmm, I smell a craft project....)

Lots and lots more examples of temari balls after the jump!

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DIY: Halloween Luminaries

Luminaries are little candle lanterns made from small paper bags that line a walkway or driveway. This October you can make paper bag luminaries to add a spooky light on Halloween night. Place the glowing scary faces on your steps to illuminate the path to your door for trick-or-treaters.

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Halloween is Just Around the - BOO!

I've always been a huge fan of Halloween.   Just this afternoon I was describing costumes I wore over 15 years ago (8th grade: Grim Reaper, 10th grade: dalmation) and Abe was like "How do you remember these things?"  What makes it stick is that every costume I ever wore for Halloween was a DIY project and luckily my mom is a talented sewer and could help me realize my dreams of recreating Punky Brewster's purple vest.  I'm also lucky that my friends also all love to get in character and costume so I never had to grow out of dressing up for Halloween.

But, this year is extra exciting because it's my first Halloween as a homeowner!  You know what that means:  TRICK-OR-TREATERS!!

I'm trying to decide what kind of candy house we're going to be.  I picked up some Junior Mints today, but that's just filler candy.  What's going to be my man offering?  Kit-Kats and Almond Joy are feeling like pretty good options right now.