With all these blustery snow storms blowing around the Northeast, there’s been plenty of cozy afternoons stuck inside for some Valentine’s Day crafting. During a recent snow-in I got to work updating a store-bought box of chocolates with a piñata-inspired look. It’s a simple DIY that took about 20 minutes, and took a blah-looking grocery-store find to the next level! Here’s how to make your own:
1) Gather varying colors of pink and tissue paper, a glue-stick or scrapbooking tape-runner, a pair of fringe scissors and a box of chocolates (and maybe get some extra chocolates to snack on while crafting so you don’t eat your Valentine’s present).
2) Cut the tissue paper into 1″ tall strips, and then use the fringe scissors to cut fringe 3/4 of the way up the strip of tissue paper.
3) Run a strip of the adhesive on the top of the box of chocolates — starting at the very bottom of the box (set the bottom and the chocolates aside to avoid crushing them) and press down one layer of the fringed tissue paper. It’s okay to let the strip of tissue paper hang over the sides — we’ll trim it later!
4) Repeat this process, adding each layer on top of the other until you reach the top of the heart-shaped box. Using regular scissors, trim the edges to reveal the original heart shape of the box.
5) Give this custom chocolate box to your Valentine!
Over the weekend the lovely team at Jonathan Adler invited me to host a little Holi-DIY party for some of my best Boston bloggers buddies in their Chestnut Hill store. Our project for the day was a felt-monogram gift tag that doubles as a keepsake ornament once your friends and family open their gifts! I used a simple tutorial to create the monogrammed felt tags and everyone crafted up a bunch in bright jewel toned (and Jonathan Adler-inspired!) colors. Honestly, what’s better than a chilly winter morning working on holiday crafts with your girlfriends? After popping a little champagne, the JA team sent us home with some festive holiday swag — the perfect ending to a Holi-DIY fete! 
Those that know me well know that I like to brunch, and brunch hard. Among my favorite brunch elements is the Bloody Mary. I love a Bloody Mary for a few reasons: first, they always give me this little burst of nostalgia reminding me of my when I was a kid and my dad would order them when we were on vacation. Every time I order one I get transported back to the porch of the Spring House Hotel in Block Island and think about my dad sipping one on a sunny summer day. I also love them because I’m a sucker for any sort of savory, salty drink; I also love the garnishing options — a big spear of green olives for me please! One of my best buds also has this same affinity for Bloody Marys, so this year for her birthday I made her a little Bloody Mary kit as a party favor. A small jar of Bloody Mary mix, a pair of vodka nips, and teeny-tiny tabasco bottles for a little bit of spice made up a Bloody Mary-on-the-go! I think it’s a perfect idea for a little hostess gift, or favor for a post-wedding brunch!
I was in the hardware store a few weeks back and saw this neon cord in a big bin — I picked up and a little light bulb when off over my head — craft project! It’s been awhile since I’ve dabbled in jewelry making, and decided to put this neon cord to good use in my closet by making myself a new necklace. This project is as easy as tying your shoes — if you can make a simple knot, you can make this necklace! I cut a piece of the cord about twice the length I wanted my necklace to be (you lose length as you make knots). Then, starting in the middle, I added a wooden bead and tied a double knot on either end of the bead to hold it in place. Keep working on either side of the center bead, adding on additional beads and knotting just above the bead opening to hold it in place. I found that make a loose knot, and then holding my thumb on top of it while pulling tight helped keep it close to the bead. Repeat until you get to the desired length, and then grab the two ends of the cord and tie them together in a double knot to finish the necklace off! You can add a little bit of clear nail polish to the end pieces after you trim them, as well as a light coat over the top knot to keep it from fraying. Bright, cute and oh so simple, right?
One of my most daunting items on my 30 before 30 list is this: grow something from a seed. That may seem like a fine task for the average human, but for all of my skills in the kitchen and DIY tendencies, I seem to have a black thumb (coupled with some very mischievous city squirrels that like to dig up anything I plant). I am determined this year though to make it happen, and have been growing some herbs and veggies on the porch that were just about ready to be re-potted this weekend into their homes for the summer. I decided to make a few plant markers out of popsicle sticks to keep my seedlings straight! A coat of acrylic paint on the bottom of the sticks gave them a pop of color, and I topped them with some chalkboard paint to make them easy to label — a quick and easy DIY. Now I just need to keep those plants alive! 
I don’t know about you guys, but this past weekend felt like a summer weekend to me — we had our first warm night out on the porch with friends and sipped on some warm weather beverages. With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, I partnered with Seagram’s Escapes to put together a little DIY to get you in the summer entertaining spirit! I am a fan of all things nautical, and decided to customize some koozies to keep my cocktails cool as the temperature rises. Read on for instructions to create your own nautical drink koozies.
To start, use painters tape to mark off the stripes at consistent intervals on plain white drink koozies (I use the width of the tape to mark off where the next one starts to space them evenly). Once the stripes are taped off, paint the space between the taped lines and let it dry completely before removing the tape. Next, use a pencil to mark off your design — I used a stencil to draw an anchor for a nautical motif — and paint inside the traced shape. You may need to use two coats of paint when using a lighter color over a dark stripe. Be sure to let the koozies dry completely before using!
If you’re interested in getting into the summer entertaining spirit, head over to the Seagram’s Escapes Facebook page and enter to win a Seagram’s Escapes party kit!
This post was sponsored by Seagram’s Escapes; all opinions and DIY ideas are my own.
To make your own custom koozies visit: Imprinted Koozies
There is no better day than Cinco de Mayo to add a little extra flair to your cocktail, am I right? Which is why I made some pinata-inspired drink markers for our margaritas this year. Here’s how you make them: first, trace the bottom of your margaritas glasses on a piece of card-stock and cut out the circle. Then cut into the center of the circle about halfway, and cut out a smaller circle a little bigger than the circumference of the glass stem. Using strips of colored tissue paper, use fringe scissors to cut fringe. Cover the card-stock circle with glue and then start to wrap the fringed tissue paper around the outside. Repeat and layer on each new color until you’ve covered the full circle, and tuck the ends of the inner layer underneath the center circle to finish. Then slip your little pinata-inspired drink marker on to the bottom of your margarita and get ready to fiesta (think about making them in different colors to help your party guests identify their drinks!).
My little sister is born on Cinco De Mayo, so fiesta is a bit of an eternal theme for her birthday celebrations. I sadly can’t make her party this weekend so I decided to send a little fiesta in my place with some festive wrapping. I used fringe scissors, washi tape, and ribbons to give them an extra special treatment — and I think it’s official: I won’t be able to wrap a present without fringe ever again!
On Monday morning I did my normal check of the calendar to see what I had to look forward to the following weekend, and couldn’t believe Easter is already this Sunday. I can’t pass up an opportunity to get a little seasonal DIY in, and after getting some confetti from The Flair Exchange in the mail last week, I knew just the thing to use it for! I made some confetti-filled Easter eggs that I’m kindly referring to as ‘confetti bombs.’ The idea is to crack them up for a fun little confetti surprise — a good way to amp up your Easter egg hunt!
They’re simple to make; I started with eggs and lightly cracked the top of them on the counter, peeling back some of the shell to make a hole just big enough to drain the yolk through. Once they were emptied, I gave the inside a rinse and then popped them into cups of vinegar and food coloring. After the eggs are at your desired color, take them out and let them dry over night.
Then comes the fun part — filling them with confetti! I filled mine generously up with the confetti mixture until they’re almost all the way full. Then to close them off, I cut a small piece of washi tape in a similar color to seal them off (don’t worry if it’s not perfect, the tape will be on the bottom of the egg). From there you can put them on display and then when the moment is right, give those little eggs a smash for a pop of confetti! I guarantee this would be a hit with kids (given how much fun I had doing it as an adult!).
What’s a girl to do when she has some extra confetti lying around? Make some confetti drink stirrers, of course. I was working on a project this weekend and had a little bowl of leftover confetti that I didn’t want to go to waste, so I DIY’ed some festive little drink stirrers that were so simple to make. I pierced a tiny styrofoam ball with a wood skewer and covered the ball with glue. Then I just rolled the styrofoam in the plate of confetti until it was coated, and in any places that looked a little bald, I added on some more glue and dunked them back in for another coating. Then I just let them dry and they’re ready to adorn some tasty cocktails!
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