Made By Lex

Zach’s 30th Birthday Party

February 18, 2011 1:42 pm

Happy Friday! It has been raining here for 4 days and I’m getting a little stir crazy around here! I shared with you my paper garland
and wanted t show you what I else I did for Zach’s 30th. As mentioned, I’m not a big party decorator. So this was a big deal for what I normally do!

For the table, I wanted to do something really rustic so I wrapped the table in butcher paper. Then I made a table runner down the middle with the paper I had used in the garland.

I wrapped these mason jars in twine and used them to put tea lights in.

I also hung some up from the chandelier.

As you can see in the background, it was all black. I got the chalk cloth that we have and hung it up on that big wall.  Throughout the night I asked people to write something they loved about Zach on it. Then I got some olive branches and put them in the middle of the table.

I loved the olive branches with the warmth of the mason jar lights.

For the dinner I did diffeent homemae pizzas. Here were the different pizzas I did:

roasted brussel sprouts with leeks, bacon and blue cheese

roasted beets with feta

olive oil, garlic, anchovies and chili

plain ol cheese

root vegetables with sausage and mozzerella

Then I put them on the table and wrote the description right on the paper. I also made homemeade ricotta…

…and an antipasto platter.

Tags: decorating, entertaining, pizza
Posted in home, other | 7 Comments »

Paper Garland

February 14, 2011 9:26 am

First of all, thank you so much for your kind words following my last post. I couldn’t reply to all of them, but you have no idea how much they meant to me.  I’m going to print them out for my sister to read, too. I thought I’d share a picture of my sister, her husband and two children that was taken this weekend at the baptism of their baby. You can see on their faces that even through the suffering, there is still joy.

Zach’s 30th birthday was a couple weeks ago so I wanted to share some ideas I used for his party. I’m not a big decorator and I also didn’t want to spend a lot of money.  I wanted to try to do something nice since it was his 30th. So as I was thinking about it I came across some paper garland. I thought, “Perfect. I have paper!” So this garland was the first step for decorating. I got some old books I had and marked circles.

I cut them out with pinking sheers.

Then I cut out fabric circles from scraps, slightly smaller then my paper circles.

Then I placed the fabric circles on top of the paper and just sewed away.

I ended up with A LOT of garland.

I love the simplicity of the vintage paper and the fabric. I also love that it didn’t cost me anything. More to come on the rest of my decorating later this week!

As we were walking on the beach yesterday. I captured this random moment. I’m grateful.

Completely grateful.

Tags: fabric scraps, home tutorial, tutorial, vintage paper garland
Posted in holidays, home, other | 7 Comments »

Cloth Napkins

January 4, 2011 9:53 am

So as you read, I’ve been a creative slump. I decided to just try doing some really simple projects that were mindless and fun. I’ve been wanting to make cloth napkins for a while so we don’t waste the paper ones at dinner (and so the girls stop wiping their hands all over their shirts). I got all my little scraps of fabric that I couldn’t really make clothes out of. I pieced them together then cut out 11 inch squares and sewed them back to back.

Now we have fun and bright clothe napkins to use at night.

I love all the pieces of fabric put together. I also love how each different scrap reminds me of something I made. I can tell you what I used each of those fabrics for.

It was a really fun and easy project. I feel my creative cup filling up a little more with each little project. I think I just needed to remember that not everything has to be super detailed and challenging. I found so much joy in sewing these simple little squares.

Tags: cloth napkins, refashion, tutorial
Posted in home, other | 23 Comments »

Making Your Own Cream Cheese Couldn’t Be Easier

December 31, 2010 1:27 pm

*Note: after many inquiries on this, let me clarify a couple things. I suppose, after research, this isn’t classic cream cheese. It’s a mix of yogurt cheese and cream cheese.  So therefore, it tastes in between. It’s not as mild as cream cheese, but not as strong as plain yogurt. Sorry for the confusion. Secondly, I have no problem leaving my dairy out. I am, by no means, conservative when it comes to foods we eat. I like raw dairy, no pasteurization and all organic. So that gives you a little mindset on where I come from. I know some people are weary about leaving things out. Doing this just breads good probiotics and good bacteria that our bodies need. But if you are concerned I’m sure you can do it in the refrigerator. Here is my post on how to make yogurt in a yogurt maker if anyone’s interested.  All that being said, it’s delicious!

Wow. Now THIS is  a detour!!  In my quest to try to make as much as much of our own food as we can at home, I came across this method for making organic cream cheese. What’s so great about it is it’s made from plain yogurt so you get all the probiotics and other lovely things that yogurt offers. Most of the store bought cream cheeses are heated so much it kills all these goof qualities. But not this way! It has a slightly stronger flavor then store bought cream cheese, which I love. I bet you could go into your kitchen and you’d have all you need to make this. Here’s how!

Get some yogurt. We make our own yogurt, but just use plain yogurt. It’s also better if it’s closer to room temperature. It drains quicker. Quantity isn’t really important. Just keep in mind that it will shrink down by about 60%.

Get a bowl and lay a strainer on it.

Then lay either a floursack or cheesecloth on it. This time I tried floursack but I preferred the cheese cloth. If you use cheese cloth layer use about 4 layers.

Pour your yogurt in.

Hang it up.

Find a way to hang it so the liquid whey drains out. Here’s how I jimmy-rig mine.

Now let it drain for about 7 hours. Just check the sack to see the consistency. When it gets cream cheese consistency you take it down and here’s what you’ll have. ( I know. Gross pictures. I don’t know how I could have made it prettier)

Scrape it out and put it in a jar and you’ve got cream cheese!

Now, there will be the whey leftover. Instead of throwing it out, save it and check out these great resources where it tells you how you can put it to great use. (found here and here.)

Hope you enjoy and I’ll be back soon with a couple simple sewing related tutorials!

Happy New Year!!

 

Tags: cream cheese, homemade cream cheese, how to make cream cheese
Posted in home, other | 65 Comments »

Lex’s Italian Hot Chocolate

December 3, 2010 4:32 pm

My sister went to Italy and came back telling me about their hot chocolate. She said it was thick and creamy and  for whatever reason it completely enchanted me. So 7 years ago I researched Italian Hot Chocolate. I’ve finally perfected it after all this time and to not share it with you would be a crime. You’ll become famous for it. It’s one of those things you’ll think about year round and it will perplex people. It’s that good.  Trust me on this one. Go make it tonight.

Pour 8 teaspoons of corn starch in a pot.

Pour in 1/2 c. of cocoa powder.

Pour 1/2 c. water into the pot and turn the heat onto medium.

Add 3/4 c. sugar.

Mix well with a wisk.

Add 4 c. of milk.

Now, this is amazing as is. But I’ve added a couple touches that take it over the top.

Add a dash of cinnamon. You don’t want ti to be too cinnamon-y. So just a dash.

Now add a dash of hot pepper. Trust me here. It will add a little heat, not spicey with just a dash.  Don’t leave it out. Just go with me…

Now keep it stirring. It will begin to thicken as you stir. You want somewhere between hot chocolate and pudding. When it’s done, pour it in a cup.

For those of age, feel free to add a little extra something…

Now it’s time to top this baby off. Add some homemade whipped cream.

Now I’ve adapted this idea from Starbucks. They are good for something. Sorry. I know I’ve offended almost all of you by now. Pour a little caramel on top. You can use homemade or store bought.

Now for our final step- a small little supply of fleur de sel salt. Don’t try table salt, regular sea salt or kosher. You need it to be little rocks. I’ve bombed by using the other salts.

This will be your new favorite. It’s thick and creamy and you’ll get little tastes of the salty caramel the whole way down to the bottom.

Now go make it and come back and tell me how much you love it. It’s a great dessert treat and we love it with roasted chestnuts!

Tags: italian hot chocolate, recipe
Posted in home, other | 28 Comments »