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January 18, 2015

Heart to heart

It can be tricky to come up with new and clever diy ideas all the time, there are quite a few talented people doing it, and I catch myself wondering what to do next...



The simplicity and beauty of this heart collage caught my eyes when I saw it for the first time a couple of years ago, and I knew, at that moment, one day I would end up making my own.


This is such an incredibly easy and quick diy, in about half an hour you'll have a new wall decor.

Supplies:
  • heart punch
  • old book (mine is from a thrift store)
  • scrapbook papers
  • paper glue 
  • paint brush to spread the glue on the back of the hearts.
  • frame and mat 


I hope you will feel inspired by this diy.

I enjoy every minute while making it.

January 11, 2015

I have a green thumb...

Specially with adorable succulents. I love their shapes, their leaf forms and textures. Their color nuances are so unique.


It amazes me how easily they propagate from their leaves, from their stumps, nothing goes to waste, and it's marvellous to see their little roots sprouting from the end of the leaves and teeny tiny baby plants beginning to grow.


I have a friend who has a green thumb as well, specially for orchids but not for succulents, so I've been nurturing some succulents I propagated from cuttings and leaves to give to her at her birthday at the beginning of spring.


Yesterday, when I woke up to one more gray sky I felt like making some diy to juice up my creativity instead of falling to winter blues.

I like simple things and like to personalized my gifts, do you remember these diy flower holders? So with the help of some stickers I embellished small containers to hold the succulents pots.

I think my friend will much appreciate getting the succulents dressed up in these personalized cachepots, don't you agree?

January 4, 2015

Story on a plate


After eating too much, and cooking all sorts of sweets over the holidays, I am ready to start eating healthier again. I avoid processed foods, and buy organic as much as I can.

My mother did not have to bother to look for organic foods, they all were, in essence, organic foods. They would come from the farms in the outskirt of the town, and synthetic chemicals being added to our food was not a way to grow them yet.

I see all these trend diets that pop up once and again, making people hungry, deprived, eating things they don't like just because they say we should, and in the end they make you feel less energy and more cravings then when you started.

The villain now is gluten. It is true it can be harmful to those who suffer from celiac disease, or who have gluten intolerance, and I am thankful that's not my case.

A while back we were told to completely eliminate eggs from our diet, right? Now the story has changed, again. 

I believe we must have knowledge about food, we must listen to our bodies, and have common sense. There is a far difference between eating eggs with whole wheat bread and eggs with sausages, home fries, and so on.

So, when yesterday, I craved protein-loaded food, to have tuna and boiled eggs for lunch was a natural choice.

This salad was inspired by the classic Salade Niçoise, a nutritious one-in-all salad. 

Light, colorful, flavorful, and nourishing.


Salade Niçoise (my way)

♥ hard-boiled eggs, sliced
♥ tuna cans packed in water, drained
♥ tomatoes, sliced
♥ green beans, cooked until bright green & crisp-tender
♥ black olives, sliced
♥ yellow onions, sliced
for the dressing: pink salt, olive oil, lime, freshly ground pepper, fresh basil

While growing up, my mother's salad dressings consisted in salt, olive oil, and lime - in Brazil, lime is more commonly used to boost food flavors than lemon.

To this day that's how I like to eat salads, specially when the ingredients are naturally flavorful as these ones.


I wish you all a blessed & healthy New Year!

December 28, 2014

Glitter it up!


New Year's Eve is right around the corner, and if you are celebrating it at home I have two easy and festive diy for you to get in the spirit.

Glittery Star Party Picks - these toppers bring a little extra festive sparkle to your party table.

Supplies: toothpicks, glitter scrapbooking papers, star punch, and glue.

Cut out as many stars as you are going to need with the paper punch; use two stars for each party pick; glue a toothpick between two stars so it looks pretty from both sides. Pronto! Now you have festive looking party picks.



Dressing up tea lights with glitter tapes. Not a new idea, I know, but good ideas are to be shared, plus they are so much fun to make, and a quick & festive addition to your party table.



December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas! ♥ Feliz Natal!

In the midst of rushing, baking, wrapping gifts, all while dealing with normal life issues and things that happen suddenly, unexpectedly, there is a quiet whisper to remember. Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, it's a time filled with wonder and joy, a time to bring hope into our lives and the lives of others. A time filled with fond memories from my childhood.

It's not a white Christmas, it's a raining one. The rain falls lightly, peacefully... This year, we are at home on our own, it's quiet, the Christmas tree lights are on, my home smells fresh aromas of homemade goodness, and it feels cozy & warm.


In this season of desserts, I wish I had had some time to post a last-minute dessert last week, but I lacked the time to write & photograph, so here I am today to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas and a joyful celebration!


December 12, 2014

Very Merry DIY Christmas Gift Tags - A Craft Café Blog Hop


I am very proud and happy to participate in this blog hop organized by a great craft blogger, Claire from Heart Handmade UK, a truly great idea as we draw to the end of the year and Christmas is approaching. 

Make sure to check out these inspiring blogs for more awesome ideas:


These fancy Christmas tree gift tags are one of the easiest DIY I've ever made, and a pretty way to add a personal touch to gifts.



I was excited to use these tags on my Christmas gifts, they're so easy to make, and I think they look so pretty!


Supplies:
  • cupcake cups - I used some mini-muffin cups  for smaller tags
  • scissors
  • double-sided tape (with small paper projects I prefer this kind of tape instead of glue - no mess, no fuss)
  • needle
  • string
  • fancy tape for a nice finish
  • embellishments - beads, bells, charms, glitter glue, etc.


Step One: Fold the cupcake cup in half twice making a firm crease.



Step Two: Using a small scissors (it's easy to handle) cut along the line of the crease - each cup will make two triangles. Next, line up the edges and glue them using the double-sided tape.

Step Three: After deciding how many triangles you are going to use (I made some tags using three, and some using four), attach them to each other using the double-sided tape on their back. For a nice finish, and to cover up the double-sided tape, add a pretty tape to the back.


Step Four: Cut a piece of a string and using a needle attach it to the tree. Tie the two string ends together, but not before embellish it with a few beads. Now you have a handmade hangtag. 


There are so many different variations you could do to get creative with these tags, just by switching up the cup colors, size and pattern, the color string, or the beads you use.



Happy crafting!


December 4, 2014

Christmas giftwrap

I wanted to show you how we can wrap up and embellish Christmas gifts without breaking the bank, and making gift giving more personal. I wanted to keep it simple using just materials I already had at home, not buying any new supplies.

So I gathered a bunch of papers, ribbons, tapes, golden ornaments, tie-ons, stickers, etc., and spread them all over the floor on my craft room hoping to come up with some ideas. Looking all around me I could imagine endless combinations and possibilities.

So it happened. I chose pink & turquoise as my color scheme, not the usual Christmas colors I must say, but yet pretty.


I have always liked gold and white together, so it was natural to me to choose a white fru-fru ribbon and a self-adhesive golden tape to wrap one of the turquoise packages, and to embellish it I used golden thread and jingle bells. Jingle bells are fun, aren't they?


Something simpler? Satin white ribbon to wrap a pink package, and to make it look like Christmas I added golden Christmas ball ornaments.


Golden and silver snowflake adhesives to embellish a package wrapped with two beautiful white ribbons, and to add a little spark pretty pink pearls. 


Layering is crucial to an interesting look, here a wide pink ribbon, a thin white one on top of it, and golden thread wrap a small pink package. I painted wood veneer snowflakes in gold using glitter glue, the same glue I used to glue them on the ribbon, and last but certainly not least I glued adorable blue pearls on them. 


Do you like the vintage Christmas stickers on the packages? Actually they are chocolate wrapping papers from last Christmas. I ate them all, the chocolate I mean, but I saved these cuties for a rainy day ^_^


The beauty of wrapping gifts to the ones we love is that there is never a lack of inspiration as to how to make them in different ways using just simple materials.

Have fun wrapping!