Making post earrings out of buttons!

You can easily make a pair of earrings out of acrylic or plastic buttons, it seriously takes about 5 mins. All of these materials can be found at Joann's or Michaels, unless you are allergic to certain metals then you should buy your earring posts online from a reputable dealer or at Michaels they have sterling silver.

Materials:

Plastic buttons (Or more accurately, buttons with plastic holes)

Pliers

Super Glue

Earring posts (I like surgical steel, but I buy in bulk)

1. Take your earrings off the paper backer  and use your pliers to remove the hole. Sometimes they are just glue on and pop right off but other times they are PART of the button and need to be bent, tugged, twisted, and pried off. If the latter was the case for your buttons, follow up with sandpaper to sand the back down. No sandpaper? No problem, go outside and use the side walk. Seriously, that's what I do.

2. Add a bit of super glue to the center of the earring and place the post there. Press gently and then set on table. You may be tempted to place the super glue off-center in an attempt to get the whole button ON your ear, don't do this. This only leads to droopy earrings. It is totally cute and okay if the button does not site perfectly on your ear. No one else will notice.

Done. Really, that is it. See some of the earrings I made below - I took less than an hour to make all three pairs. 

Happy Crafting!!

Infused Vodkas? Yes please...

Hello Crafters!!

This is an expansion of the Tea Bag Tutorial from the other day so enjoy!

You can make any flavor vodka using your new reusable tea bags and honestly, you don't even need the teabag - it just makes it a TON easier. The first Infused vodka I made was a peppercorn vodka, used for bloody mary's or any other spicy adult beverage. The method for making infused vodkas is generally the same for every flavor but some have some minor nuances. For example, the peppercorn vodka "infuses a lot longer than most at 7days. Most infuse for 3-5 days. 

Peppercorn Vodka (adapted from Alton Brown):

750 ml vodka

2 tbs cracked (not ground) peppercorns

Ready for this? Add the pepper to the vodka In The Bag, stir. Place in closet. Stir once a day for 7 days. That's it, no, really. Remove the tea bag from the vodka and add the vodka to  a bloody mary! This is a VERY spicy vodka, not for shots. Oh gosh, the horror. eeeps. 

Martha Stewart also has some fabulous recipes; although, I have not tried them yet. You can find them in the most recent magazine but I haven't seen them online. I'll add a couple of my favorites (CANNOT wait to try them!!!).

Grapefruit Zest and Coriander

1 1/2 cups vodka

2 strips (1/6 of the fruit) of grapefruit zest (the skin minus the white part, use a pairing knife)

1 tablespoon toasted and cracked coriander seeds

Infuse for 3 days. The grapefruit skin will not fit in the bag, but thats okay because it is super easy to fish out. 

Coffee Bean and Hazelnut

4 coffee beans

2 tablespoons toasted hazelnut, chopped

Infuse for 3 days and mix with heavy cream and some sugar. This may require a larger bag than the others.

Enjoy!!!

Make your own Reusable Tea Bag

Hello crafty friends! I have a special treat for you today. We are making Reusable Tea Bags for Loose Tea!! I have been using mine for about a week and I love it. I wanted to use it for a bit before sharing to ensure that it works properly, which it does.

Materials:

Muslin (100% cotton, unbleached if possible)

String (100% cotton, if possible)

1. Cute out a rectangle of muslin, I made mine about 4 inches high and 6-7 inches long. This is completely up to you, it depends on how much tea you make at once. I usually only make one serving and to be honest, I didn't measure my rectangle. :)

2. Place your (uncut) piece of string about 3/4 cm down from selvage edge (the edge that doesn't fray) and fold the muslin over. It should look like almost 1cm of folded muslin with a string running down the inside of it. This is a way of cheating and not making a super strong and durable drawstring; which, coincidentally is not necessary because by the time this wears out and/or the string breaks, the bag will be icky and you'll throw it out anyways.

3. Sew this close to the edge using a small stitch. Remember to backstitch at the ends.

4. Fold the "bag" twice lengthwise to simulate the bag being folded in half and then trim the corners to create a rounded edge. 

4. Sew along this rounded edge using a tight stitch, I used my smallest zig zag edge. Trim the excess or sew really close to edge, either will work. make sure NOT to sew over your drawstring!!

5. Turn the bag right side out and cut and tie your drawstring! Make a LARGE knot (several on top of each other work fine. :) 

Add your favorite loose leaf tea and enjoy! I love this so much because I can buy the variety I like and mix my own varieties as well. PLUS they don't pull apart like store-bought teabags. This can also be used for spices when adding flavor to a broth or soup without having to fish out your bits when you are done!

Another fabulous way to use this teabag is coming on Tuesday!! Get Excited, it involves liquor... ;-)

Great Post from a fellow crafty lady!

I realize this is late, its after New Years Eve - BUT this is too wonderful to pass up on. Take a mosy on over to "At Second Street" For a post on fabulous NYE Hats! They are so fun and I plan on making them next year. Here is a sneak peak of her post....

At Second Street: Last Year's Hats

Great News!

Hello fellow crafters and seamstresses, I have great news! After securing a solid job, moving, unpacking, and figuringout my finances with out a paycheck for the past several months, I am happy to say I will be returning to craft and blog world the 1st of January! To hold you over until then, I will collect some of my favorite christmas related posts of recent from some of my favorite craft blogs. This is super exciting and I will have all sorts of wintery, but not christmasy, crafts to hold everyone over until valentines day!

I would like to thank everyone for staying with my blog for as long as i have been absent, It has been as hard for me not to post as it has probably been for you to not have it to read! I will be starting some crafting this next week, and if I have time I might submit a few small crafts before my Grand Re-Opening on January the 1st. :-P We will see.