Pom Pom Craft

I am not the craftiest person, but today I tried something out. Tissue paper pom poms for the nursery. These are going over the glider (that we just purchased used on eBay for only $69!) to act as a mobile during nursing sessions. :) I found this craft on Martha Stewart's website and it was SOOOOO easy. It's also a great craft for decorations for a baby/bridal shower or summer party. On her website you can also make napkin rings out of these.

Supplies needed:

• Tissue Paper
• Scissors
• Floral Wire

1. Get 8-10 pieces of rectangular tissue paper and stack them neatly.

2. Begin folding and creasing the tissue paper in an accordion folder (about 1"-1.5" folds) all the way to the end.
3. Cut the ends into a point (or rounded if you want a more structured look)


4. Feel something weird behind you...realize that your dog has been watching over your shoulder creepily and quietly.

5. Wrap a 8"-10" long piece of floral wire around the middle of the strip of tissue paper and twist.
6. Pull around each end to form a circle fan type thing.

7. Very carefully start pulling each layer apart and fluffing them together.

8. Voila! I did 3 more after this and they turned out much better, but this is the general look of the poms.

Back to Basics

Now that the wedding is over and I have myself a new husband, I am trying to embrace my role as a wife and partner to Casey. I've always been a very headstrong independent person and even though Casey and I have been together for 6 years now, it's still sometimes difficult for me to let go and let someone be my life. Luckily I found Casey and I want nothing more for him to be my life so I've been in full on "nesting" mode since the wedding. We have completely unpacked all gifts and hung up all of the framed pictures we had/got, I have started making a menu each week so I can stay on track with cooking (thanks for the idea SB!), and I'm trying to find new and exciting things to do with my new hubby. :)

Last week I made Gnocchi from scratch as well as chocolate covered marshmallow s'more cookies that were so yummy! Casey helped with the gnocchi - I usually have no need for a food mill, but this was a time that I needed one, so we had to improvise by pushing the potatoes through a colander... not very easy. Here are some pics:





In the past two weeks I have cooked more than I have cooked in the last 6 months - crazy huh? Here are some of the things I've made so far:

Cuban Red Beans & Rice
Potato Gnocchi with marinara
Casey's favorite enchiladas
French Dip sandwiches
Corn tortilla chicken tenders with spanish rice
Cajun skirt steak with homemade creamed corn
Margherita pizza

As far as the new and exciting things to do, we registered for the MudQuest run in Waco for October 2nd and we are so excited to get to do something so fun with all of our friends. Pictures to come!