Tulle Wreath

There is something happy about the colors in a peacock feather.  So bright and full of strong energy and I LOVE tulle, especially since it is so easy to work with.  Below are the simple instructions for creating your own tulle wreath, peacock or not. 

You will need:

1- 10" Straw or Foam Wreath

Coordinating Tulle 6-10 yards depending on how big you want you wreath

Step 1:

Cut your tulle in strips.  Mine is 3" wide by 20" long (this does not need to be perfect)

The easiest way I have found is to roll the tulle up and cut using the rotary cutter:

but you could also use scissors!

Step 2:

Grab your straw or foam wreath form and start looping the tulle around (some people wrap ribbon around the wreath first, but I have found it is not necessary if you make the knots tight enough.  I got the ends even (like I would my shoelaces) and then tied a knot!  I also cheated and used 2-3 strands of tulle at a time so it would make more poof...and cut down on the time I spent making this! 

If the tulle starts to get in your way, you can put it in a pony tail :)  I simply wrapped a hair band around the tulle to get it out of my way when I was tying my knots.  You can put your strands in a pattern, like mine, or you can simply eyeball it! 

Once you get around the wreath you are done!  Trim anything that is too long!  Add any embellishments to your wreath.  I added three peacock feathers to match my theme with a straight pin. 

Please post pictures of your tulle wreaths if you make them! Also, check back tomorrow for a yummy cupcake recipe!

 

Sassy Pearl Bobby Pins

I have been eyeing these for a while on Etsy.  I think they will look so cute if i just want to pin my bangs back or feel like a classic Jersey Shore poof at the top of my head...regardless, I wanted them but wasn't going to pay the going rate for them on Etsy.  So I grabbed some Bobby Pins I already had, along with a package of pearls I already had and some 20 gauge beading wire from WalMart for a whopping $2. 

Step One:

Cut your wire the same length as your Bobby Pin (you can go longer if you want to cut it off at the end but I found that the shorter the better!)

 

Step two:
Bead your pearl center of your wire.  Once you have it there, bend down each side.

Step Three:
Bead your bobby pin through each strand.  See below. 

Step Four:

Twist one wire around the top of the bobby pin and one wire around the bottom of the bobby pin.  Once you are at the end, squeeze the wire so that you don't poke yourself, or your friends if you give them away. 

This is something that took practice with me, but I've never worked with beading wire.  It gets much easier with practice.  I'd love to see what others come up with so if you make this, please share!

Taco Soup

Lately it seems like we have been unusually pounded by old man winter.  This week was possibly the worst for our small town who sees a couple inches once or twice a year.  This time we had a solid 1/2" of ice on top of our 6" of snow.  For most people it isn't a big deal, but our entire town was shut down.  Finally on Wednesday I was able to get out of the house and it's a good thing because I was getting a serious case of cabin fever.  I ventured out to get groceries and the ingredients for some Taco Soup that I had been craving for 2 weeks.  I couldn't exactly remember the recipe because my roomies used to cook it for me in college...so I just did my best and it was amazing.

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion
1 can- stewed tomatoes
1 can- Rotel Tomatoes
1 can- Chili beans
1 can- Kidney Beans
1 can- Pinto Beans
1 pkg Ranch Dressing Mix
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
2 cups of water
Sour Cream
Cheese
Frito's

Chop up your onion and then ground beef and onion in a skillet.
While that is browning, dump all of your remaining ingredients into a crock pot and stir.
Once the beef and onion has browned, add to crock pot and stir soup. 
Let ingredients warm for 1hr 30min.
Serve with a dollop of Sour Cream, Cheese and Frito's.

Serves 6-10 and cost around $20.