Did you believe me when I told you that I went on a major
crafting binge? Well the hits are still coming!
I saw on a blog (forgive me, I read 652, so I don’t
remember which one), these little margarita favor bags. Then, I was at Pat
Catan’s craft store and saw these ADORABLE mini margarita glasses and this
super cute bottle, so I decided to make this little favor!
You could totally use this as a gift for a friend that
just needs a drink, a bridal shower, a fiesta/Cinco de Mayo favor or a
bachelorette party.
What I Used To Make This:
·
Mini Bottle of Tequila
·
Mini Margarita Glass
·
Bag
·
DIY Bag Tag
You could totally buy a bigger margarita glass and fill
it with all of these items. Some other things to include:
·
A lime
·
Salt
For years now, I’ve been seeing tissue paper tassels on
blogs. I thought to myself – “Cute! Those are so easy to make.”
Then, I saw people selling them.
Let’s have a little intervention here. Don’t buy them!
Unless you need an absurd amount, they are SO EASY to make.
I bought a few supplies during my major craft weekend
just to show you all how easy these are to pull off. I also referenced this
tutorial from TomKat
Studio – just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.
Step 1 –
Buy Supplies. For my small
illustration, I just bought a few pieces of tissue. I used 1 sheet for each
tassel. JUST ONE SHEET! This is all that it takes!
Step 2 –
Fold & Cut! Fold the paper in half and cut lines about an inch away
from the fold.
Step 3 –
Open & Twist/Roll! Open the folded metallic and roll down the middle
like so. Warning – the metallic is rather fragile and rips easily! (sorry this photo sucks. The metallic is hard to photography with my poopy camera!).
Step 4 –
Make a loop. Once you’ve hit the end, twist and make a loop like so. My
paper wasn’t holding itself in loop form, so I used a rubber band and then hit
it with some metallic. Think like you are using your hair to cover up a pony
tail holder lol.
Repeat!
Step 5 –
String ribbon through the holes.
Step 6 –
Hang!
I only made 4 to
illustrate how easy this was. It took about 15 minutes.
If I were to do this for real, I would consider investing
in some longer tissue paper. I have 10 sheets of tissue paper left and spent $5
on the paper (I had the ribbon at home, but I think that was $1 too).
So before you buy these online, consider making them!
On this Tech Tuesday, I just MUST feature this book I purchased
last weekend.
Brady and I were at our favorite card store, Kards Unlimited, and
after he checked out he said, “You’ve seen that Alice in tumblr-land book before,
right?” No. I had not.
So I went over to the counter and one minute after I picked
up the “Alice
in tumblr-land, and Other Fairy tales for a New Generation” book, I purchased
it. The best $20 I’ve spent in a long time!
Being a “Social Media Strategist” (or even if I wasn’t),
this book makes me LOL. It’s a modern day spin on classic fairytale stories.
For example, the ugly duckling didn’t feel so ugly after she got Instagram and
found a filter that makes her look awesome.
The book is written by Tim Manley – the author behind the
blog Fairy Tales for Twenty-Somethings.
Perhaps a good gift for the next book baby shower or for
a social media-savvy friend!
No Drink-uary is more than half way over. So I thought I’d
do a little check in. You know, just in case anyone decided to join me on this
sober journey.
On Friday, January 10th,
I caved in. B and I went to Franktuary.
There weren’t any seats in the restaurant due to some big parties/groups, SO
they seated us…at the bar. The temptation was too strong, so we both gave in
and ordered a drink. ONLY ONE! Forgive me god. I had the Church Wine.
Sorry my photo skills suck. I saw that light reflection, but didn't want to be that nerd bomber that took another pic.
My pre-determined cheat day was
for our day trip to Morgantown on Saturday, January 11th. I imbibed
with some beers (and a shot of fireball). It was cheat day, right?
I haven’t drank since then.
Unless you count the drunken gingerbread cupcake that my mom gave on Saturday.
I felt like my breath smelled like liquor after that!
One of my unofficial resolutions for a while now has been
to create my own content for Shot of Brandi*.
Featuring other bloggers/websites content has always been
a bit scary for me. While I always site my source and the photos, I always have
a fear that someone will reach out and be upset that I featured their content. To
be honest, that’s why I didn’t blog as much last year.
This weekend I went to the craft store…alone. Usually I stick
a craft trip in while Brady is waiting in the car in between running errands,
but this time I went alone. It was glorious.
For under $45 I bought several craft projects that I can’t
wait to feature on here. And $6 of that $45 was spent on a mini-crafting iron.
It’s the most adorable thing!
First up was my last project of the day – a wine tote. Now one of my supplies wasn't in that $45 and I must say that I was very
skeptical of this, but it turned out to be my favorite item of the day.
A few weeks ago at Michael’s, I purchased this Glitter
Iron on Paper for $8. It was originally $16, but I had a 50% off coupon. The wine tote was $1 from Pat Catans (local
Pittsburgh craft store).
For the pattern, I just Googled “Wine Bottle and Glass”
and voila!
Now, here’s the tricky part. With iron on paper, you
typically need to print things backwards. That’s why I tried the bottle/glass
combo first – it doesn’t matter if it’s backwards. BUT with this stuff, you
iron over it. So you don’t need to print backwards.
Basically, you iron your item for 20-25 seconds. Then,
you put the non-glitter side of the paper down on your item. You leave the
clear film on the top of the glitter. Then, you put down a cloth or towel over
your cut outs and then press down on the iron for 20-25 seconds. Then, you flip
your item over and iron down for another 20-25 seconds. I ended up using my real iron once I discovered it wouldn't touch the glitter because it got hotter than the mini one.
Once your item is dry, you peel off the clear film and
BAM! You’re a craft genius!
So in the end, I made this for like $2 because I still
have a full role of paper.
Disclaimer:
This iron on paper is apparently for some fancy machine that cuts out shapes.
But I just printed some stencils and cut out my own stuff. I feel a little
guilty, but I would totally skip the machine.
I have another larger tote and wine bag, so I’ll be sure
to share what I make with those goodies!
(Source)
While watching the Golden Globes tonight for both some
work and play, I wanted to call out some of my favorite looks of the night.
Red Carpet Faves
·
Mila Kunis – Want.
Want. Want. I’m wearing this to my next wedding. I’m kidding. Sort of.
#VowelRenewal.
·
Zosia Mamet – Some
people may put this on the worst list, but I loved the black and white dress
and the hair. Loved. (It looked better on TV)
·
Reese
Witherspoon – she does no wrong in my book. Her bod looks awesome in that
dress – especially her boobs (I had to say it).
·
Margot Robbie – The
beading on that white dress was amazeballs. (Another one that looked better on
TV).
Honorable mention to Sandra
Bullock’s color blocking.
Tina
and Amy looked awesome when they walked out on that stage. Perfect colors,
perfect sparkle and perfect fits!
Honorable mentions to the bumps on the carpet – my girl Kerry
Washington, Drew
Barrymore and Olivia
Wilde. They all looked great.
I wanted to love Lena
Dunham’s dress. I did love the color! But the fit was off on top for me.
Of course I love J.
Law. I like the white dress….but it reminds me of her 2013 Oscar dress. I
get that she is a Dior ambassador, but…I want something different.
Lupita
Nyong is drop dead gorgeous and has awesome style. I loved her dress and
the color with her skin, but the cape just reminded me of Gwyneth’s 2012 Tom
Ford Oscar’s dress.
From far away, I like Julie Bowen. Once I zoomed
in on a pic, I was ehhh. This dress would make my sister, J Bo, cringe – it
looks part velvet.
Some months the Winey Women Wine Club selects a BYOB
restaurant to host our meetings. This month the club was brainstorming, so I
thought I would share some of my favorite BYOB’s in Pittsburgh!
·
Sarafinos – Family friend Joey’s restaurant in Crafton. I love
everything on the menu, but you MUST try the greens & beans and pizza.
·
Sausalido – Longtime friend Nick’s
eatery in Bloomfield. Get the Gouda app and you can’t go wrong with the
Crabcakes! Nick is also a master caterer!
·
Armstrong’s – I haven’t been to
this place in YEARS, but I still think about their club sandwich. Anyways, it’s
close to my hometown of Robinson and apparently BYOB!
·
La Tavola – You can’t beat a trip to Mt. Washington and La
Tavola is a great atmosphere with great food!
·
Noodlehead – A stone’s throw away from
my apartment, I went to Noodlehead with former reader Lindsay and we got three
meals and an app (one meal was for Brady) for $30! This place is delicious and
a steal!
·
Mia Madre: While I just ate here
less than a year ago, I sadly can’t remember my meal! I think it was good!? I
remember thinking that my dish was good, but Sarafinos was better. Anyways,
another option!
Some places that I haven’t tried, but that are on my
list:
What did I forget?
Typically my spare January time consists of two things: Crafting and
Cooking.
Despite no parking spots a Whole Foods and a canned tomato shortage at
Trader Joe's, this week I whipped up some delicious chili and have tortilla
soup on the stove as we speak (err type).
In between the cooking, I threw together a simple craft
project to brighten up my desk…the desk of a “social media strategist.”
Michael’s has these super cute wooden @ and # signs. I
painted them in black and pink for potential use in future client content AND because
they match my cube color motif! I then added a coat of the Martha
Stewart glitter finish.
I could see the # and @ signs being used to make a social
media-friendly sign on the wall of a house – perhaps #YOLO or @ShotOfBrandi on
my apartment walls!?
Total Cost:
$8ish – I already had the paints & glitter!
Hello Readers! Happy 2014!
Like I did last year, I like to use Jan. 1st
as a time to reflect back on my blogging stats from the past year.
Some things I want to point out…
·
2013 marked my 6th year of blogging,
but I also penned the least amount of posts!
·
California topped PA as the state with the most
readers! Ohio fell off the list this year. I blame reader Lindsay.
·
The 30th birthday party ideas post is
getting a lot of hits on my blog because someone pinned
it! Same with my 50
Shades of Grey Post!
Thank you all for following along to my little blog. I
always have some fun recipes, crafts and shopping lists up my sequin sleeves,
so I hope you continue to follow me throughout the year!
Oh and by the way....
Oh and by the way....
This is my 800th Post!!!!
So I wasn’t the first person to think of this. Google
tells me that it was this blog.
However, I haven’t seen this out there anywhere else, so
I’m the second person to think of this.
This January, I’m
going to celebrate: No Drinkuary.
That’s right. I’m going to not drink alcohol. Let me know
if you want to join me. We can have our own little support group.
There may be two exceptions or *cheat* days:
1.
A trip to Morgantown. I mean they practically
hand you a beer when you get off 79. I’ve never returned to Morgantown in the
last 10 years without having a drink!
2.
If our wine club meets, I’ve gotta sip the blends!
I’m the secretary!
I’ve decided to lay off the booze – specifically wine –
just to reset myself (and liver) after the holidays and use of prescribed
narcotics. I am not pregnant.
So water cheers to a great January! I’ll report back my
results!
Updated: My fav website, The Daily Mail, has wrote a story about Janopause....taking a pause from drinking in January! Studies show that there are health benefits to this!
Updated: My fav website, The Daily Mail, has wrote a story about Janopause....taking a pause from drinking in January! Studies show that there are health benefits to this!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons