Easy Earring Display Idea

I’ve just finished all my custom orders for the moment, so I thought I’d write a quick post to share a super easy DIY idea – an earring holder made from a window screen.

  

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of earrings. I used to have to dig for the pair I wanted when deciding what to wear.

So when I saw a tutorial or two for using screening to turn a picture frame into an earring rack, I decided to make an even simpler one with some window screens I had lying around from another project.

I can’t remember how much they cost but probably not much. And all I did was put the little bracket things on the corners, tie some cord around them, and cover up the ugly label. 

You could certainly make the edges prettier with some fabric, lace, scrapbook paper, paint, etc. But I’m lazy and I think the earrings add plenty of color.

  

Hang this in your bedroom or bathroom and you can see all your favorite pairs of earrings when you’re getting ready. I actually have a second one in my studio that I use for stuff I’ve made.

Well I hope you like this idea! How do you keep your jewelry organized?

Simple Homemade Salsa Recipe

  
The tomatoes in our garden are not quite ripe but we were given some, as well as a cucumber and some jalapeños. So I made cucumber tomato salad, a summer favorite, and decided to try my hand at restaurant-style salsa.

I basically made this up as I went along, but it’s probably a variation of one or two other recipes floating around in my head from the internet. 

This should go for one or two meals or a few helpings of chips. You can multiply  the ingredients to make more. 

Ingredients:

1 large tomato/handful cherry tomatoes

1/4 onion

1-2 jalapeños*

1-2 cloves garlic 

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon lime juice

Dash of salt 

Instructions:

Chop the vegetables, carefully removing and discarding the seeds from the jalapeño.** Mix all ingredients in blender or food processor. Adjust to taste and enjoy, or store in closed container and refrigerate. 

  
Please excuse my falling-apart leftover taquitos (another simplified Pinterest find). They tasted better than they look, even reheated. For these I simply put chicken breasts and salsa in the crockpot overnight, then added cheddar cheese, rolled small portions into tortillas, brushed with olive oil, and baked. 

*This was a tad spicy for me but my husband liked it, so you may want to start with less and add more if desired. 

**Also consider wearing gloves or avoiding touching your face (or children) for a while. I learned this the hard way, twice >.< 

Current Orders

I’m super busy with orders at the moment, which is a little stressful but great for business. So I thought I’d share some of what I’m working on.

This necklace, sold to a friend, is one of my first experiments with resin. I’ve had quite a challenge getting rid of the little tiny bubbles, but I’m pretty happy with the design.

  

These kettlebell earrings were for sale at the grand opening of my husband’s gym, Crossfit Metanoia of Fayetteville NC. Stay tuned for a possible full post about the gym itself!

  

I’m doing variations of these cat cake toppers for three weddings coming up! One of them will include a miniature of the Philadelphia “LOVE” statue.

  

And lastly, I’ve just sold 4 of my statement necklaces to one customer, which is really exciting because movie-themed stuff is popular (the HTTYD earrings are my best sellers) but I would also like to sell some of my more original designs like these. 

 
I’ve also had a couple smaller orders in between, and I have new items in the works that I hope to finish eventually! 

DIY Elephant Baby Shower Cake Toppers

Today I am going to share an easy & fun tutorial for a popular item in my Etsy shop – elephant cake toppers! I have a few different sets, starting with some bird ones I made for a friend, but people seem to really like the elephants.

The cake toppers help me supplement my jewelry sales during the non-holiday season. But when a customer has a last-minute cake crisis, there isn’t always a lot of time to order new decorations. So good news: these are pretty simple to make, especially with my printable template (my husband’s genius idea – I used to cut these out freehand!).

  
Supplies: All you need for this project is polymer clay in two colors (or one color plus some paint), toothpicks, a roller/brayer or round object like a pen to roll it out (unless you have a clay/pasta machine), an exacto knife or other sharp blade, a dotting tool (or your toothpicks), and something to bake on – a baking mat, tile, piece of foil, etc (whatever you use with clay, don’t use with food!). And of course, your printed and cut-out template. My larger elephant is about 1.5 x 2 inches; let me know if it’s not printing the right size.

  

 

Instructions: After conditioning your clay, you will need to roll out each color to about 1/8″ thickness. Then place one elephant template on each sheet of clay, smooth it down with your fingers, and carefully cut around it with your blade. With the leftover clay, cut out the two hearts (remember to use the opposite color for each elephant). Once you remove the paper, stick the hearts on where the ears would be and smooth out any rough edges.

As an optional finishing touch, you can use the dotting tool/toothpick to add little dots or “stitching” around the edges. Then carefully push one toothpick into the bottom of each elephant. Bake according to the package instructions. Here’s what some of mine look like (on my display cupcake). 

  

Well I hope that made sense! Now if you’re in a time crunch, on a budget, or just feeling crafty, you can make your own adorable cake toppers! Feel free to make them for yourself or friends, but if you’re using my template, please don’t sell them. I know I’m not the first person to make elephant cake toppers, but I did create my own template and wouldn’t want us to be selling the exact same thing. On the other hand, if you’d rather buy than DIY (available Here), now you know how they’re made. 

These are great as a baby shower decoration – boy, girl, neutral, favorite colors, etc – and I’m sure they could be modified for other occasions. I would love to see pictures of yours in the comments!