a christmas diy!

i just love pinterest.  i love getting holiday inspiration and i try to accomplish at least one or two of my favorites.  well, i completed my first of the season!  i absolutely adored the look of these white christmas ornaments from bazar & co with festive words and stars on them!

white christmas boules collection

i knew that i could turn this into a diy with some plain white christmas ornaments and a paint pen!  i love the writing font as well, so i tried to copy it as close as i could while still keeping it easy and free-handing it.

well, i couldn't be happier with the results!!  it took hardly any time at all...perhaps 20 minutes at the most.  i can't wait to put these into a cute little container and display them for the holidays!

i'm tempted to pick up a few more and go to town making a bunch of these babies!  what do you think?

tumble time

i was gifted a tumbler for my birthday to use in my business.  i have been so excited to try it out and see the difference in my pieces after a little tumble.  well, i finally tried it out!

here is what i am using:  the lortone 3A 3lb tumbler.

i decided to try out a metal-only piece first.  the piece definitely came out shinier and full of a gorgeous luster.  however, note to amateur tumblers:  google how to keep necklace chain from getting tangled BEFORE you try it out for the first time.  boy was that chain a mess!

overall, i am VERY excited to try out more of my jewelry in this lovely machine.  this time with some tricks to keep my chain from getting all twisted-sister on me!

home made coffee syrup

i absolutely LOVE this recipe.  i have used it several times now and have even tweaked it a little by adding different flavors to it.  this is, by far, my favorite syrup base for my coffee.  i think the trick is that it uses both white and brown sugar.  divine.

vanilla syrup for coffee recipe

now, i HIGHLY recommend getting a funnel if you don't already have one.  i, however, DON'T.  so it is a very good thing that i make a little more than this lovely little recycled store bought creamer container can hold, as a good 1/5 of the syrup ends up down my drain!  (it's on my to-buy list, i promise)

this round i flavored it with 3T vanilla extract and 1T almond extract.  we will see how that flavor combination works out!  i have also used another recipe to make a pumpkin spice syrup.  HEAVEN.  if  i don't find myself a fan of the almond, i might just have to go back to pumpkin spice for the next time around.  nothing tastes more of autumn bliss than pumpkin spice coffee!!