Tutorial: How to Make Recycled Paper Beads

I remember making these in my 5th. grade class for mother's day present and I got so hooked, I went home and kept making some more. I totally forgot about them until I saw some at this trendy store in Orange County, California and they were selling it for like $10 for a bracelet!! whaaaaa.....???  lol. I'm sorry, but I would never buy a paper beaded bracelet when I can make my own. It's super easy and cheap! Here is a basic tutorial on how to make these beads.

You will need:

• Magazine papers
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue/Gloss ( I used Mod Podge since it acts both as a glue and as a finish gloss)
• Toothpicks
• Small Paint brush/Q-tip
• Pen

Take out a page from a magazine and using a ruler and a pen, you're going to mark this pattern onto the magazine paper.

This 8.5/11 inch paper makes 15 triangles strips.

Basically, bunch of long triangles. Measure the base of the triangles to 1 inch; which will be the size of your beads.

Cut out the triangles. Take your toothpick and start rolling the paper from the base of the triangle. Make sure you're rolling it tightly. 

As you get close to the edge, apply some Mod Podge with a brush or a Q-tip onto the paper and continue rolling to finish. Apply Mod Podge to the bead to seal and gloss.

Stick the toothpick with the bead into a foam to let it dry. You want to apply 2 to 3 coats of the gloss to securely seal the bead.

You wanna make beads like these??

Easy! All you have to do is use a longer magazine paper. Just glue together the ends of two magazine papers to make a long one, and make the base of the triangles to 1/2 inch.

Glue the papers together like this!

Use an elastic beading string, spacer beads and voila! A beautiful recycled paper bead bracelet!

This is a great project to do with your kids! Have fun and happy crafting!

Pumpkin Bread

I can't get enough of pumpkin this season, so I decided to make my favorite pumpkin bread recipe. I made this a lot last year, since it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it, especially my boyfriend. This was actually the first thing I made for him when we started dating, so this post is dedicated to him. I love you Darren.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread
adapted from allrecipes.com

• 3 1/2 C of flour
• 1 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground clove
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 4 eggs
• 1 can of pureed pumpkin
• 2/3 C. H20
• 1/2 C. vegetable oil
• 1/2 C. apple sauce ( if you don't have apple sauce, just increase the oil to 1 C.)
• 3 C. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 loaf pans (7 inch. by 3 inch)

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease and flour three 7 by 3 inch loaf pans. I used the disposable kind.

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground clove, ground ginger and whisk to mix the ingredients.

In a larger bowl, mix together the eggs, pumpkin puree, water, oil, apple sauce, sugar, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just to incorporate. Do not over mix.

Divide the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until the cake test comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to the cooling rack.

Pair it with cream cheese frosting and you're in heaven!

Enjoy and Happy Baking!!

My New Find

I won this  beautiful 1/2 scale Bespaq Lorraine French Country Sofa Set at the ebay auction and I love it so much! There are some stains on the fabric, which I'm guessing the glue they used bled through, but I'm not complaining because the price was so right! Maybe in the future, I'll reupholster it...we'll see.

It goes so well with the wallpaper in this room.

So you can see how small it is

I'm glad I found them!

Easy Guacamole

When avocados are on sale, I buy a bunch and use it for many things but one of my favorite ways to use them is in a guacamole. I like to make mine nice and chunky.

Guacamole

Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados
• Juice of one lime
• 1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 2 T of chopped cilantro
• 2 T. chopped onions
• cayenne pepper to taste or 1 chopped jalapeno
• salt to taste

In a bowl, mash the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Add and mix in the onions, garlic, tomato, cilantro and cayenne pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for about 30 mintues before you serve to allow the flavors to develop. Serve with chips or with your favorite mexican dish.

Enjoy!

1/2 Scale Miniature Furniture

Some of the few furniture I have:

Bedroom Set

Couch Set

Secretary Cabinet

Rocking Chair

Kitchen

I still have a huge list of furniture and decorations I need for my 1/2 scale Fairfield...It's going to be a long, but a fun process.

Granny Square Blanket

I started on a new crochet project: Granny square blanket. I've been learning how to make granny squares from this website, Granny Square How To. The instructions are easy to understand with step by step photos.

So colorful!

I didn't have a color scheme to go with so I just went with "no-color scheme"which works nicely. I'm using many colors and making different combinations. I'm playing with different tones, complimentary colors, and adjacent colors. It's a lot of fun and  I love how it's turning out so far. The colors are so cute! I still need to make some more squares and sew them together into a blanket. Keep checking for updates!

1/2 Scale Secretary Cabinet Makeover

I found this cute secretary cabinet at an antique store.  It was in a rough shape; the stain was faded, acrylic glass was warped and the door was broken. Time for a makeover! This is the before photo.

Sorry for the blurry photo. I took it with my cellphone.

And this is after!

I stained it darker, replaced the acrylic glass, fixed the door, and added a mirror. I like how the dark stain gave an antique finish to it. I'm very happy with the results.

My Finished Ripple Blanket

So, I finished my ripple blanket; my first crochet project.  It looks pretty good except I totally messed up on the dimensions. The stripes should run horizontally on my bed, but since I made it too wide, I have to use it vertically, lol!. A rookie mistake. Oh well, now I know what not to do if I ever make this again.

Make Your Own: Granola

Everything in the grocery store is getting more and more expensive. Especially cereals; 4-5 bucks for a box?! No thank you! Granolas are even more expensive, so why not make your own? It's super easy, cost effective, and healthier for you with no added preservatives. Plus, you can customize it any way you want with your favorite dried fruits and nuts. Here's the basic recipe:

My Granola

Granola

• 1 1/2 C. rolled oats
• 1 C of chopped nuts 
• 1/2 C. shredded coconuts
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 T. vegetable oil
• 3 T. brown sugar
• 3 T. honey/maple syrup/agave syrup
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 C. dried fruits

Preheat oven to 250 F

In a bowl, mix together rolled oats, nuts, shredded coconuts, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, mix together vegetable oil, brown sugar, syrup, and vanilla extract. Zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the brown sugar. 

Pour the sugar mixture over the rolled oats mixture and mix until well incorporated. Pour the granola onto a cookie sheet and spread it out evenly. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let it cool

Once it's cooled, put it in a bowl and add the dried fruits and mix. Store in an air tight container.

I made mine with 1/2 C. of chopped almonds, 1/2 C. of chopped pecans, and dried cherries.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I get excited when diner restaurants start serving pumpkin pancakes. They taste exactly like pumpkin bread, flavored with cinnamon and spices. They are denser than regular pancakes, moist, and delicious! Since I had some pumpkin puree left from the cupcakes I made previously, I decided to make them for dinner. Dinner for breakfast is the best; people should do it more often.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes

Yields 3 servings

• 1 C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 C. milk
• 1 T. vinegar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 C. pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 2 T melted butter
• oil

Add 1 T. of vinegar to the milk and set aside for it to curdle.

In a bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ground ginger, and nutmeg.

In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, egg, melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and the curdled milk.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop the batter onto a heated and oiled skillet over medium heat. Spread the batter out a little since it's thicker than regular pancake batter. When the batter forms bubbles and the edges are puffy, flip it to cook the other side.

Serve with butter and syrup. This recipe should make 9 pancakes.

Enjoy!

My Ripple Blanket in Progress

My Ripple Blanket 

Finally getting the hang of crocheting without messing up. This is my progress so far. Maybe about more than half way done?? I'm excited and I can't wait until I'm done so I can start on a new project.

'Tis the Season

I'm sad that summer is over, but happy that fall has arrived. I love fall flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; it reminds me of the holidays. Also, fall means pumpkin season! I love when stores start selling pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin beer, and etc. I'm also excited to bake with pumpkin! So, to start off the season, I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for my Love's birthday.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from joyofbaking.com

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C butter at room temp
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 C. pumpkin puree
• Chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

For the Frosting

• 4 oz. cream cheese at room temp
• 2 T. butter at room temp
• 1 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine and whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs one at a time.

Alternately add the pumpkin puree and the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions on low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl.

Using 1/4 measuring cup, scoop the batter into a lined muffin pan. You should be able to fill all 12 cups. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until combined, add the vanilla and the confectioner's sugar. Frost the cupcakes and top them with chopped nuts when they are completely cooled.

Enjoy and happy baking!