earring overload

Making earrings is my new obsession! Last time I posted about button earrings I was surprised by the comments that so many of you have crooked piercings in your ears! What a bummer! Then I remembered that the my second set of piercings was off center too but I let them close up years ago. Are multiple ear piercings even in anymore? I have no clue!

navy discs, orange discs, frosted white domes, tiny red discs

I bought a bunch of plastic rose cabochons from etsy seller PrettyLovelies.

The yellow roses are my favorite (of course!) and I wear them constantly.

I made these earrings for my youngest sister who celebrated her birthday WAY back in May. I was kind of embarrassed to send a gift that late but she seemed pleased!

my favorite pillow tutorial

I love to rearrange furniture but the layout of our family room makes for very limited furniture placement. I am so bored with it but there are no other arrangements that would work. So to freshen up the small space I often make new pillow covers. I use what ever fabric strikes my fancy in the moment but it is usually within my current favorite color combination: navy, aqua and yellow.

I have made many pillows with an envelope back. They are great for one sided pillow designs like the sunshine pillow or the ruffled pillow but for a basic pillow this tutorial from Design*Sponge is the best. Zippered pillow covers are so simple to make. There is really no need to fear the zipper! Zippered pillow covers look nicer and they are double sided. Did the baby spit up on the pillow right before company comes over? No worries, just flip the pillow over! I can't be the only one that does that, right??


I love this navy and white geometric print. It is called "Darcey" by Anna Griffin.

The sizes I made today (13" square and 18"x10") are perfect for cradling little heads during an afternoon movie.

party recipes

Over the weekend I co-hosted a going away party for my friend Meredith. I am so sad to see her go but she has moved to Denver, a city I would love to live in, so I am kinda jealous!

There was so much good food! Everyone brought something yummy to share. Here are the two things I prepared:

TOMATO CUPS
three cans of flaky biscuits
5 diced roma tomatoes or 2 cans petite diced tomatoes
4-5 green onions, chopped
6 oz. swiss cheese, grated
3/4 cup mayo
fresh basil (I used about 10-15 leaves), chopped
1/2 cup bacon bits (optional: our guest of honor is vegetarian so I left these out and the tomato cups were still delish!)
French Fried Onions

-Peel the biscuits apart (usually 3 layers per biscuit) and place in greased mini muffin tins.
-Blend all other ingredients except the French Fried Onions.
-Fill biscuits and top with the French Fried Onions.
-Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes.
-Serve warm or at room temp.

Yields: about 50 cups

This next recipe is one that everyone always loves! It was given to me by another good friend that has moved away. Why must all my favorite people leave North Carolina??

BUTTERMILK BITES
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk (I have used lowfat buttermilk and also buttermilk powder in this recipe, both produced great results)
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
60 phyllo cups (four boxes)
whipped cream
fresh raspberries (or your favorite berry)

-Blend butter, buttermilk, eggs, flour, sugar and vanilla in blender until smooth.
-Please frozen shells on a cookie sheet and fill almost full with blended mixture.
-Bake about 12 minutes at 350 degrees until puffed and golden.
-Cool and chill.
-Top with whipped cream and berry just before serving.

button earrings

I occasionally foray into the world of jewelery making but I have only made necklaces and bracelets. I first saw the idea for button earrings here. I like my earrings to be pretty simple and had a hard time finding buttons that I liked. When I spotted these tiny pale blue discs I thought they would be perfect.

I removed the button shank with a pair of jewelery making pliers.

Add a dollop of glue to the post (I bought my earring posts from Hobby Lobby). I used E-6000 an industrial strength glue. I am hoping that it will be more durable than hot glue. I have bad luck with hot glue in the past.

Repeat for the other button, let the glue set and you're done!

Cute and simple! Perhaps even bordering on plain but I love it.