DIY | Gift wrapping

People have called me weird because of this, 

but I absolutely love wrapping presents. 

I actually spent hours wrapping and re-wrapping presents this past Christmas.

I realize some (most) people don't really appreciate the wrapping,

as it's the thing inside that's got them all excited,

but I love giving people presents that are creatively wrapped.

Even if it's taken me several tries to get the wrapping just right, 

and they tear it open in mere seconds,

it's still fulfilling to me.

I think the thing that fascinates me is how simple it is to make it beautiful.

You don't need to add all sorts of frills and decorations,

just a little creative thought.

Brown paper, mason string from hubby's toolbox, and a stamp.

The beauty is in the simplicity.

- Lea Binta

DIY Christmas | Hearts

The stores are booming with all sorts of pretty Christmas decorations, 

but with a minimum of effort you can make your own decorations.

No Christmas without hearts, right?

And nothing is easier than to make than a few hearts.

Obelix likes hearts too. 

- Lea Binta

Quick DIY | Pink Lemonade

I'm seeing a friend tonight who just moved to a new apartment. 

I wanted to bring her a little something, but I'm totally broke,

so I had to make use of stuff I already had.

The weather this past week has been rain, rain, oh, and a little more rain,

so I thought it would be nice to reminisce about those summer days,

and what better way than to enjoy a little pink lemonade

and pretend the sun is shining outside? 

I don't really have a recipe, I just kind of taste it along the way,

but for just over a liter I use about 1 cup of lemon juice,

1 cup granulated sugar and 4-5 cups of water, depending on how strong I want it.

Add a touch of grenadine or some other red syrup for the pink color,

et voilá!

It's also great for cocktails!

Simple cocktail:

Squash a couple of berries (black berries are great for this) in

a glass, add 1 part vodka and 2 parts lemonade.

Top with a couple of fresh berries.

- Lea Binta

DIY | Crochet

Something about the windy, cold, rainy weather that makes me want

snuggle up on the couch with lit candles and yarn between my fingers.

I'm working on a bowl, which so far only looks  like this:

It's looking all slouchy right now, but once it's done it'll look 

more like this one I finished earlier:

And there's plenty more yarn when I finish this one.

I know what I'll be doing this winter..

- Lea Binta

DIY | Cake platters

Quick and easy DIY.

I picked the plates up at my local thrift store and used a porcelain pen.

Draw/write whatever you want, let dry and then bake.

(Follow instructions on porcelain pen)

/Lea Binta

DIY | Chili oil

I had a bunch of different chilis lying around my kitchen, and I didn't really know what to do with them. I had some oil, and so I chopped up the the chilis and dumped them into the oil. Let it sit for a few days, et voilá - chili oil. 

Use it for an extra umph in your cooking.

It's wonderful.

(And pretty.)

/Lea Binta

DIY | Onion peel easter eggs

Yesterday I enlisted the help of my hubby and a friend and used most of the day making easter eggs. I used a technique we used when I was a kid, and this is the first time I've done it without my mom. And guess what - it turned out pretty good!

First, we had to empty all the eggs.

Then we started the decorating process. We did some eggs with food colouring and some with onion peels. I'll show you how to make the onion peel eggs, but food colouring is exactly the same, just apply it to the wet tissue paper.

Get a piece of tinfoil and layers of wet tissue paper. Add onion peels around your empty egg.

Wrap up the egg and onion peels in the wet tissue paper.

Then wrap the tinfoil tightly around the egg (without crushing it). 

When you've covered all your eggs you boil them for about 45 minutes. It helps to add a plate on top of them to stop them from bobbing out of the water. 

After the 45 minutes you carefully unwrap them (they're hot and full of boiling water!) and hopefully they look something like this:

Let them dry for a few minutes, and they're ready for whatever use you have for them.

 /Lea Binta

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Birthday party | Easy hair-do

Yesterday we spent the day celebrating my cousin's birthday. There was great food, good company, and no less than 5 different types of cake for dessert! 

Her creative mom had decorated the table in such a cute and simple way:

Doing my hair in a bun, messy or neat, is something I do almost every day, so I thought I needed to spice it up a bit for the birthday party. 

I did an upside-down french braid, and did a neat bun on top. I actually thought it turned out pretty sweet.

What's your favourite hairstyle?

/Lea Binta

DIY | Frosted vases

Here's an easy DIY for some frosted vases. You can use any kind of glass vase - I used old milk bottles from my local thrift shop.

First off I bound them with some yarn, so they would have a random pattern when they were done.

The frosting spray I used was something I picked up at my local hobby store. 

I sprayed them once. (Use a very well ventilated room, if you can't go outside - it stinks!)

Twice.

And one final time. I let them dry 3-5 minutes between each layer, and didn't make the layers too thick.

Remove the yarn, et voilá: 

Then I made some quick and easy pompoms.

I added some wire to the pompoms, and they were ready to go in the vases instead of flowers. 

A nice, easy, and quick DIY gift for someone (or for yourself). 

/Lea Binta

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone