My DIY wreaths

Wreaths.  They're everywhere!  And a lot of them are terrible too.  For some unknown reason, I have the urge to decorate my door according to the seasons.  Maybe it's a sign of...my age continuously increasing?  Anyway, I never find ones that I like that much (that aren't $60 or more) and I always think I can come up with great ones on my own (for a fraction of the price too).  I have been pleasantly surprised with my handy work so far.  Here are a few I've done recently.

I did not even intend for this wreath to happen, but I got inspired on a trip to Hobby Lobby (looking for something completely different of course) when they had a sale for 50% off of wreathy-type things.  I bought a pre-made Christmas wreath a few years ago, and it's just not cuttin' it anymore.  I wanted something that I could use for both fall and winter, so I didn't want it too look too much like Thanksgiving or too much like Christmas.  I chose the evergreen wreath (~$5 on sale) instead of a grape vine one to set the tone of winter.  I didn't want the usual Christmas colors, so I chose to use gold and bronze accents.  I always tend to look for the cheaper items ($0.50 to $2 each) so I can arrange them myself instead of buying the more expensive pre-arranged bundles.  There are gold pine cones, gold/bronze branches of berries, and leafy-gold garland.  The little pumpkins and squash are supposed to be reminiscent of Thanksgiving.  Everything is secured with hot glue, making this a very easy project.  Not to mention much cheaper than anything available for purchase, and also much more appealing in my humble opinion.

 

 I'm really happy with the way these wreaths turned out.  I was actually looking for a cheap and awesome Christmas present I could make for my best friend, and these are what I came up with.  I made the gold and silver one for my best friend first (she absolutely loved it!), and then I was so happy with it I used the remaining colored bulbs to make the one on the left for myself.  

I can't help it when I find a good deal, so on a trip to the dollar store I stocked up on all the bulb ornaments I could get my hands on (there are also some little jingle bells in there t00).  The bulbs/bells came in packs of 15 for $1 each!  Each wreath has about 60 bulbs of all sizes on it, so that is less than $5 worth of decorations for each.  What a bargain!!!  

The most expensive part were the foam circles I got at Hobby Lobby for ~$5 each.  I first wrapped each foam circle in strips of white cotton fabric because hot glue sticks much better to cloth than to foam.  I started hot gluing the larger bulbs to the outside and inside of the circle, spacing them relatively evenly.  I kept filling in the empty spaces with smaller and smaller bulbs, with some of them being glued on top of each other instead of directly to the fabric.  It took several hours to complete each wreath, but I think the results are well worth it!  Another awesome (and cheap) wreath project.   

 

 

  

I know not every wreath lover has one for Valentine's Day (don't most people just skip to Easter?), but I couldn't resist when I saw the heart wreath on sale.  I can't remember exactly how much it cost, but knowing me I probably didn't spend more than $2-4 on it.  It was a little plain for my taste and I'm not a huge fan of the fake grass-like tinsel, but it was so cute and I love hearts <3  I found the flowers at the dollar store, and they are of surprisingly high quality for how cheap they are.  I hot glued them into place (after I arranged them 15 times until I came up with something I liked), being very careful not to melt the tinsel too much in the process.  I added the ribbon bow to finish it off.  Another very cheap and entertaining project!

The cutest part of my wreaths is the little 2 year-old girl down the hall that squeals every time she sees them!  It's an incentive for me to learn Mandarin so I can finally know what she says about them :D   
 

Hummus PERFECTION.

I have always been a lover of hummus since the first time I tried it, and it continues to be a major staple in my diet.  I've tried every brand I could get my hands on, but I was starting to get tired of even my favorite store-bought recipes.  And I was getting tired of paying the high price tag ($4-6 tubs didn't even last half a week)..how could chickpeas, oil, garlic, and spices be so expensive?  Turns out they're not!  You can make awesome hummus for cheap compared to what you buy at the store...those people are practically stealing your money with the 5000% markup.  Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still!  I've been using a friend's recipe (who is a great cook, by the way), and I absolutely love it!!!

Perfect homemade hummus
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 16oz can, drained) 
1 tbsp tahini
1/4 to 1/2 lemon, juiced 
1 to 2 cloves garlic (I like mine roasted or sauteed in a bit of oil)
1/2 tsp cumin
olive oil
water
salt to taste

I say a range in both lemon and garlic because it depends on how much you like them.  If you have the time, I recommend sauteing or roasting your garlic, it's definitely worth it!  Sometimes raw garlic can have an overwhelming tangy bite to it.

Put it all in your food processor and you're good to go!  To get the texture to your liking, add either water or olive oil (I alternate using both) until it reaches your desired consistency.  This process can take up to 10 min of processing and adding liquid, but it is worth it!  I would say you're going to have to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of liquid before it's ready.  And don't forget to add the salt!

The result is perfect!  I put it on everything from veggies, sandwiches, crackers, and chips.  The main things to watch out for are too much garlic, too much lemon, and too much salt.  I've accidentally done all 3!  That's when you give it to your bachelor coworkers and tell them to take it or leave it (they always take it).

I say the key here is a good food processor.  I use a Black and Decker ~8 cup capacity model (best Christmas gift ever, I also use it to make nut butters!).  It is mid-range in the food processor spectrum, but it gets the job done perfectly.  I've tried this with my little 2 cup Handy Chopper, and the poor thing just doesn't quite cut it.  Enjoy!

Dog coat for Christmas.

Hobby Lobby was having a sale on sewing patterns, and I came across this Simplicity dog coat pattern for only $1! 

 I bought it and told my mom about it, and she insisted on making my dog a coat for Christmas (which was on his wish list since he shivers in the cold).  I gave her the pattern at Thanksgiving, but at Christmas the only thing she had got around to doing was buying the fabric (for some reason she was extremely excited that it was Lightening McQueen from Cars).  I offered to make it instead since I seemed a little more motivated to do it, so she gave me back the pattern I had given her first. 

 

Here is the final product!  I made style C, which is called "Yuppy Puppy."  I decided to use a size medium, which turned out to be a bit too tight...somebody (or somepuppy) must have gained some weight. 

Instead of starting over and making a large (good thing we had a fitting session before I finished it), I just added a ~1.5 inch panel to the underside to accommodate his broad manly chest.  It's a stretchable polyester fabric so it should be much more comfortable now.  I also didn't add the collar because...I'm lazy?  And he told me it wasn't necessary?  Anyway, he loves his new sweater, or at least he tolerates it enough to keep his mom happy. 

My BFF.

My best friend is, of course, my dog.  Meet Ångström!  

He is half miniature Cocker Spaniel and half Shih Tzu...so that makes him a Cock-a-tzu!!!  (or a Cock-a-shit, but that one is not appropriate for a general audience)  He was born November 21, 2011, so that makes him about 14 months now.

Here he is about 3 1/2 months old a few days after I picked him up from the shelter.  I've always loved Cocker Spaniels, and I wanted my first dog to be a Cavelier King Charles Spaniel, which pretty much looks like a little Cocker Spaniel.  The only problem is these dogs are expensive.  At least for my college budget..I couldn't imagine spending $600 - $800 on a dog I might not even like that much.  I decided to look for a Shih Tzu because they're usually well-behaved dogs (at least several of my friends have awesome Shih Tzus), and they are generally much more affordable than my first choice breed.  I kept checking local shelters online until I came across him on Petfinder.com.  I instantly knew I had to have him!!!  I called the shelter he was at and it turns out his first owner adopted him and his brother from a breeder, and then broke her back only a few weeks later!  I fell in love with him after meeting him the first time, and he was mine just a few weeks later.  True love is real people <3

In case anyone is wondering, there is a reason behind his name.  I was in graduate school studying biochemistry at the time I got him (just finished my master's degree in Fall 2012), so of course I had to give him the nerdiest science name I could come up with.  An Ångström (pronounced Eng-strum in English) is actually a unit of measurement used to measure distances of tiny things, such as chemical bonds and proteins (1 Å = 10^-10 meters).  I was constantly thinking in Ångströms since my research was all about mutating and manipulating proteins.  "How many Ångströms away from the active site is that tryptophan?" is a common question asked in the lab.  His name was either going to be Ångström or Dalton, which is the unit used to measure the mass of proteins.  I finally decided on Ångström in the end because he was a famous Swedish scientist, and it seemed appropriate since my sister happens to currently live in Sweden.  Some people think it's a weird name and seemed confused when I tell them how to say it, but every once in awhile there is another science geek that understands how awesome his name really is. 

 

My jewelry storage solution

I have managed to collect a lot of jewelry over the years and I was getting tired of never being able to find anything!  It was all tucked away in jewelry boxes and baskets in my hall closest, and it was a nightmare trying to get ready in a hurry.  Now I am very happy to have a stylish and functional solution!  Everything is now out where I can see it.

 I found this detailed wood frame at a thrift store for ~ $10.  Even though it had a hideous picture in it, I bought it because it was matted nicely and protected by glass.  Not bad for ten dollars!  I initially planned on painting and glazing it and replacing the terrible art with something awesome, but I came up with this necklace holder idea instead.  

The frame was the perfect size, but I needed a practical solution to hang the jewelry in it.  I decided to use square dowel rods with tiny nails.  I started out by placing the rods where I want them on the back of the frame (where the picture and glass are supposed to go), and gluing them with Professional Titebond Original Wood Glue.  

I then painted it, starting out with Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Primer, and then spraying it with Painter's Touch "green apple" in a satin finish.  It's not exactly the green color I wanted, but the finish is great with no noticeable imperfections.  It was also really quick and easy, which is always a plus!  I initially planned on glazing it with a gold finish to highlight the wood details.  I wanted to wipe off the excess with a sponge so the gold would be left in the wood groves, but in the end I decided that wasn't the finish I was going for...although I'm still planning on doing that with other cool frames!

The final step was adding the nails (I ended up using carpet tacks because they were cheap and the perfect size).  I marked the nail locations two inches apart with a pencil, staggering the spacing between each each rod.  I then very carefully pressed/lightly hammered the nails into the wood.  I was worried I was going to split the rods and ruin the whole project, so I did not put them in very deep...only to where they were stable enough to not move around.  It worked perfectly and I'm very satisfied with the results!

 You might recognize my bracelet holder as a paper towel rack!  I was previously using wine bottles to hold my bracelets, but they were too easy to knock over since the jewelry made them top heavy.  I also had to use several of them since you can't fit that many bracelets on them.  I finally dug this paper towel holder out of storage, and now it is the perfect bracelet holder..sometimes it pays to be a pack rat! You never know when you might need something again :)  I found this awesome gold earring tree (or at least that's what I'm calling it) at a flea market for $3!  I also bought several pairs of vintage earrings with it for $2 each, which of course reaffirmed my dangerous love for flea markets and their fantastic treasures.