Projects – Page 7

DIY Mini Pumpkin Pie Thanksgiving Drink Stirrers

Published on November 10, 2015April 16, 2023 by Krys4 Comments

There’s nothing I love more than kitschy holiday decorations and cocktail accessories are no exception. What do you think of when you think of Thanksgiving? Pumpkin pie, right? Me too. That’s why I made these adorable mini pumpkin pie drink stirrers for all of the autumnal cocktails I’ve been drinking (specifically this spiced pumpkin pie nog cocktail).

I love making miniature things out of clay. It’s so…therapeutic. These mini pumpkin pies were particularly easy and fun. Here’s how I did it.

What You Need:
Oven-bake Clay (orange, brown or tan, and white)

Plain 6 inch Drink Stirrers

First I cut out triangles out of orange clay. The easiest way to do this was to use a small, sharp knife to cut a 7cm think piece of clay to a 25cm x 20cm rectangle. Then cut it into a triangle.

Mix some brown clay with a little white to get your desired shade of brown for the pie crust. Roll it into a ball and press it out into a 3cm thick disc. Place the orange triangle onto the disc.

Pull up and flute the clay to create the crust.

Then cut the remaining clay off.

Roll white clay into snake-like shapes and spiral it onto itself to make a dollop of whipped cream.

Next, use a cocktail stir to make a hole on the bottom of the clay pie.

Remove the stick and bake at 275 degrees fahrenheit. Using a little super glue, replace the cocktail stick into the pre-made hole.

And that’s it! Adorable, right? I got carried away and made a bunch of these as gifts. Happy drinking!

Halloween Devil’s Booze Cake Recipe

Published on October 16, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys3 Comments

If you’re in the mood for something super rich, chocolate-y, and boozy for your Halloween shindig, I’ve got the perfect cake for you. It’s a chocolate cake soaked in coffee flavored vodka, with gooey dulce de leche in between the layers and on top, and finished with black sea salt. It basically tastes like a boozy candy bar. In the words of Ina Garten, “How bad could that be?”. It’s perfect for Halloween! Or for when you’re generally feeling dark and want to eat your feelings, have PMS, etc. This cake has no limits, but it really is most perfect for Halloween.

Let’s bake.

This recipe was adapted from Beatty’s Chocolate Cake.

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coffee or espresso flavored vodka
Black Hawaiian Sea Salt for finishing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and dust the pans with cocoa powder. (I like to flour chocolate cake pans with cocoa powder. I think this gives it a nicer finish.)

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make your dulce de leche. Place two cans of sweetened condensed milk to a pot of simmering water. Make sure the cans are completely submerged in water or they will explode. Simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove from water and let cool to the touch. Be cautious of opening cans. If they are still too hot they may splatter.

Once cakes are cooled, use a tooth pick to poke small holes around the layer. Brush the coffee flavored vodka onto each layer (about 1/2 cup each layer). Let the cake soak up the vodka.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. Pour a good amount of dulce de leche on and spread around. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and pour remaining dulce de leche on top and let it run down the sides.

Top with a sprinkle of black sea salt. SO. GOOD.

Fall Holidays: Pink Pearl Apple Galette Recipe

Published on October 9, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys1 Comment

We all know that one of the most popular (and basic) autumn activities is to go apple picking. You’ve probably already noticed all the posts on Instagram with boots, scarves, cider, and apples galore. This is mostly known as a North Eastern tradition, but believe it or not we have orchards for apple picking in Southern California, too!

Last weekend the weather cooled down for a whole day and we finally got some rain, so my husband and I took the trip out to our favorite apple picking spot, Oak Glen, to take advantage of the cool, rainy, fall-like weather.

Oak Glen is a quaint little town about 2 hours outside of LA. There are lovely orchards where you’ll find all of the traditional autumn favorites, from apples to hayrides to hot cider donuts.

The reason I like going to pick my own apples is because I can usually find varieties that aren’t found in our local markets. This time we came home with Pink Pearl apples. These apples are sweet and tart with a gorgeous pink color.

We had some left over pate brisee dough hanging out in the freezer, so I decided to make a galette with the apples and apple jelly we got from our trip. These apples are amazing for baking. They’re super juicy and I think the flavor gets even better when they’re cooked.

Plus, they’re really pretty.

Here’s a recipe to make your own apple galette. You can use any apples you want, but if you can get your hands on some Pink Pearl apples, I highly recommend you do.

Galette Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Apple Filling
1 lb apples, cored
1/4 cup apple jelly
3 tbsp sugar
whole milk

In a bowl combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and use a dough cutter or food processor to mix the butter in until the mixture until it reaches a course meal texture. Add ice water slowly (1 tbsp at a time) until the dough just holds together without being wet. Divide the dough in half and into balls. Flatten dough balls into discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for one hour.

Roll out chilled dough on parchment paper or a lightly floured surface into a 1/8 inch thick circle. Chill again for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile core and slice the apples. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove chilled dough round from refrigerator and spoon two tablespoons of jelly on to the dough, leaving at least a 1.5 inch boarder.

Place apple slices over the jelly in slightly overlapping concentric circles. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Fold the plain dough boarder over the apples. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Transfer galette and parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees for another 15 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Heat remaining apple jelly and brush on top of cooked apples for a nice shiny finish. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

DIY Decor: Metallic Gold IKEA EKBY BJÄRNUM Bar Shelves

Published on September 30, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys8 Comments

One of the main challenges I always have while decorating my apartment is finding the decor I envision, at the prices I want. Neither of those are ever easy. Either I can’t find what I have in mind, or when I get close, somehow it’s the most expensive item in the store. I can drool over those high ticket items all I want, but let’s get serious, I’m no Rockefeller.

But it’s ok! This is where my handy-dandy DIY skills get to shine. This is where I get to do my favorite task of trying to figure out how to get the look I want for as little money as possible.

For example, I wanted to expand my home bar area by adding 3 shelves above my bar cart. I wanted them to be gold to match said bar cart. My search pretty much turned up empty except for one option that was almost the right dimensions (from a store that will remain nameless) for over $100 per shelf. My other option was an IKEA favorite of mine that I’ve been keeping my eye on for a bit, and it just so happens that the EKBY JÄRPEN/EKBY BJÄRNUM combo was the perfect size, style, and price I was going for. The only drawback was that the brackets are only available in aluminum. Womp, womp.

EASY FIX.

The right choice for me was clear and I’m glad I made it. Did I want to spend $300 on shelves from Unnamed Store, or around $60 for IKEA shelves and a can of spray paint? Um. DUH. The way I see it is if I can spend $60 total on a DIY version and use the extra $200+ toward other fun things like going away for the weekend or, I dont know, paying my bills, you’re damn straight I’m taking that route.

Let’s all just take a moment to reflect on the magic of spray paint. All I did was spray the brackets and screws with metallic gold chrome paint and it completely changed the vibe of the shelves. Done and done. So easy.

I styled them with the help of my growing glass and bareware collection, and a DIY framed print.

Shelves: IKEA
Paint: Montana Gold – Metallic Goldchrome
Glassware: Baigelman Glass, Crate & Barrel, Target, Vintage
Bar Cart: Target
Chair: Vintage DIY
Floor Lamp: IKEA
Dresser: Vintage DIY
Lamps: Target

DIY: Stenciled “Welcome To The Shit Show” Door Mat

Published on April 14, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys5 Comments

I’ve been in need of a new welcome mat for like a year now, but I haven’t found the right one that I loved enough to invest in. Luckily I spotted these colorful and inexpensive door mats at IKEA. I knew I could probably stencil my own design onto it, and for $8 I really had nothing to lose. It turned out perfectly and it’s totally me.

I couldn’t think of a more (in)appropriate way to welcome guests into my home than with “Welcome to the shit show”. There always ends up being something weird or unexpected happening when we have people over, so this is basically a fair warning of what you’re getting into when you come over.

To make this happen, I had to first make a stencil. I printed my letters out and then used an exacto knife to cut the letters out of pieces of card stock.

I repeated a letter in the beginning of each new stencil so I could align it with the last letter stenciled. That way everything would be in line properly.

After I decided where I wanted the stencils to go, I just taped them to the mat and used a sponge to put regular craft paint on.

Keep the details of the letters by leaving pieces of them connected, you can fill them in later.

Use a small brush to fill in any spots and do any touch ups that are needed. After it dries a bit you can use a small pair of scissors to clip away any mistakes and sharpen up the lettering.

Let it dry over night before putting it out. I don’t know how well the paint will hold up to being stepped on, but I can always go back and do touch ups, so I’m not worried about it.

DIY: Tropical Retro Inspired Decoupage Easter Eggs

Published on March 26, 2015September 30, 2024 by Krys11 Comments

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DIY: Mid-Century Googie Style Glass Mugs

Published on March 24, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys1 Comment

Sometimes I find myself perusing the tablewares section for things I totally don’t need but always end up buying anyway. One of my most recent unnecessary purchases were these little 69 cent glass mugs from IKEA. I figured I could use them for something or another, and I thought the shape was pretty cool, but I thought they needed something to jazz them up. I decided to give them a midcentury, googie style makeover using craft paint and painters tape.

First I found some midcentury style clip art and printed it so I could make my stencil. I used an exacto knife to cut the shapes into painters tape.

Then I applied the tape to the glass in a random pattern.

I used a screen printing method to apply the paint. This is where you put on a drop of paint and use a squeegee to drag it across and fill in the stencil to create a smooth finish. You can use a sponge or brush, too, but it probably won’t have as smooth of a finish.

Make sure to remove the tape before the paint dries. Otherwise the tape will take the paint off with it.

Let the paint dry for about an hour and then place into a cool oven and set the heat to 350 degrees. Let bake for 30 minutes and then shut the oven off. Let the glass cool in the oven and then remove. The paint will be cured and washable.

Pretty neat looking cups for 70 cents, huh?

Home Decor: Colorful Vintage Illustration Gallery Wall // DIY Gallery Wall Tips

Published on March 5, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys8 Comments

I’m always changing things up in this small, little apartment of mine. I was craving a little more color on my living room walls, so I planned on ditching the large abstract canvas and doing a gallery wall instead.

I’d been thinking about doing a gallery wall for awhile but art, even prints in the quantity I needed, were turning out to be too expensive for my project’s budget. I’m a big fan of vintage illustrations like the kind you’d find in The Saturday Evening Post, so when I came across a bunch from the 1950s, I ran to get frames immediately. Ok, more like power walked.

Gallery walls can be scary! Whether you’re doing a random pattern or lining them up strategically, putting that first hole in the wall is scary business when you’re not sure if you’re going to like how it’s all laid out once it’s up there. I hate patching nail holes more than anything, and I don’t even know where the touchup paint is, so I had to get this right the first time.

One of my favorite tips for creating gallery walls is to cut pieces of paper to the size and shape of your wall decor. Mark where all of the nails should go, and tape the paper pieces up on the wall to get a better idea of where everything will go. I rearranged my pieces at least 4 times until I got a spacing I was happy with. Measuring is fine, but I like to actually see everything up on the wall before I start making holes. Once I was happy with it, all I needed to do was hammer the nails into the pre-marked paper.

I hung every picture up and used a level to make sure they were all straight and in line, because when one is out of place everything looks wacky. That’s something I’ll probably have to go back and do every once in awhile but it’s SO WORTH IT. If you have a problem with your pictures staying straight, try using a little piece of gum tack on the back corners of the frame.

The illustrations add a lot of fun color and fun vintage character into the room. I’m definitely happy with it.

Valentines Day Aperol, Rose, and Sparkling Wine Cocktail Recipe

Published on February 3, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys2 Comments

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As you can see above, I really like this cool spot in San Diego called Polite Provisions, and one of my favorite drinks on the menu is the Veronica Rose. The menu’s description reads “Aperol, rose gomme, and sparkling wine”. Perfect.

It’s delicious and beautiful, but since I can’t get down to San Diego every time I want one, I recreated it at home. Here’s my version of the Veronica Rose.

This recipe makes two drinks:

1 oz. Aperol
1 oz. rose syrup (I recommend Royal Rose Syrup)
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
4 oz sparkling wine

Stir Aperol, rose syrup, and bitters with a cube of ice, strain into chilled glasses. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist or, as I like to do, a rose petal.

Or if you only want to make it a serving for one…get serious, just use a larger glass.

DIY: Ouija Board Serving Tray

Published on October 27, 2014November 29, 2025 by Krys9 Comments

If you want to be the Halloween hostess with the mostest, you need this Ouija board tray to serve your guests their cocktails and treats. Also, maybe conjure some spirits while you’re at it. Just kiddingggg…kind of.

You can find basic serving trays like this at most stores that sell home goods. I got mine at IKEA.

I wanted to use a classically creepy image and the Ouija board is one of the most iconic things I could think of. It works perfectly for this. I searched for the right image and decided on the William Fuld/Parker Brothers version. This is the image I associate most with the Ouija, and I like the cheekiness of the Parker Brothers name being on there. What a fun toy…and not satanic at all…it’s Parker Brothers!

oujia board — Click to download full size image.

Above is the image I used for my tray. For it to fit I had it printed at 24 x 18 on heavy paper. You can crop and resize it to fit the size of your tray and then take it to your local print shop. I went to FedEx Office.

First, I painted the tray black and then I cut out my Ouija image to fit in the bottom of the tray. I used Mod Podge in a matte finish to stick and seal the image on. Easy!

It looks legit right? I just hope the wine glasses don’t start moving over the letters to spell things out. Although, I’m sure if I drink enough wine it’ll look like that anyway.

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