I love to entertain.  Over time, I’ve found the more gatherings you host, the better you get in terms of time management.  Like the best known entertainers will tell you, you host events to spend time with your guests…and how much time are you spending with them if you are constantly in the kitchen?

St. Patrick’s Day gatherings at our house have become a yearly thing.  Luckily, the food is so easy to prepare, and so naturally flavorful and good that getting an algorithm down for preparation isn’t half bad.  It is a meal that is a good place to start if you are just getting into entertaining.

My usual menu goes a little something like this:

Appetizers

• Cheese plate with crackers/fruit
• Pretzels with a fun mustard
• Crudites with some type of dip

*I always try to stick with a theme when entertaining.  For St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll typically pick up an Irish Cheddar, a stout infused cheese and something like an English Cotswold or an Apricot Stilton or some other fun variety.  For veggies and fruit, I choose what I serve using yellow, green and white as my color palette.

Main meal

• Corned beef and cabbage (and carrots and red potatoes)
• Irish Soda Bread
• Salad of mache, crisp green beans and tomatoes with a white wine-whole grain mustard dressing

*I find that the traditional corned beef in a bag that you get from your grocer is sufficiently delicious for this meal. It is so easy to not have to worry about brining and seasoning…it always comes out great!  So, to amp up the foodie factor, I spend time making my own bread and a nice salad.

Dessert

• Rich chocolate stout cake with a ganache drizzle and french vanilla ice cream
• Coffee and Bailey’s

* This meal is so rustic and simple, it almost demands a decadent dessert for a strong finish! A great way to round out a fabulous meal.

The key to a smooth evening is prep earlier in the week.  Cut your veggies (cabbage into quarters, red potatoes halved or quartered , depending on size and carrots peeled and chunked for your CB&C and slice your crudites for appetizers) 1-2 days ahead of time and put them in easy to grab ziploc bags or reusable containers.

I love to add blanched green beans to a simple mache and heirloom tomato salad with mustard dressing – blanch your green beans ahead of time, slice your tomatoes and make your salad dressing early.

One thing I love to do, since a cheese plate is always a staple, is cut the label from a cheese wrapper and affix it with scotch tape to a simple toothpick.  Trader Joe’s has a great cheese selection and particularly cute labels, so it is identification and cute decoration, all-in-one!  Place unwrapped cheeses in a reusable container, ready to plate!

If making Irish soda bread the day of (which should definitely be eaten right out of the oven!), get your wet/dry ingredients portioned out in mixing bowls and cover in plastic wrap so they are ready to go. I typically pop my unbaked loaf into the oven just after guests arrive as it takes a little over an hour to bake.  Nothing better than the smell of fresh baking bread! And don’t forget to take some butter out of the fridge the morning of to allow to soften for serving.

Clear out one shelf in your fridge and stick everything for that day there, so you don’t have to search for things.

Plan out what servingware you’ll use, pre-wash them, and set them out how you want them arranged the night before.

Iron your fabric napkins and polish your silverware and glassware with a clean cloth.

And most importantly, have a great time and enjoy your guests the day of!  Happy Entertaining!

What to do with the leftover yarn from your Party Animals wire animal project? Pick up some cheap tin cans of varying sizes from your favorite discount store and turn them into coordinating centerpieces, that’s what! Flowers are a must for me at any type of event and when you can get them gorgeous and on the cheap from your local Trader Joe’s, this craft really is a no-brainer! We ended up using the smallest can as a utensil holder…another great way to add some texture and color to your table!

Here’s what you need:

• leftover yarn
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• washed and dried tin cans (I went to Big Lots and bought the cheapest cans I could with the best size variation)

Here’s what you do:

1. Remove outer paper label from tin can and thoroughly wash both inside and outside of can.

   

2. Once dry, use hot glue gun to tack end of yarn to edge of can.
3. Wrap tin can 10-20 times or so, keeping some tension.

   

4. Scrunch yarn down to cover up any openings and to create the textured look.

   

5. Continue wrapping in sets of 10-20 until you reach the upper edge of can.

   

6. Cut yarn and glue down on edge.  Voila!  Gorgeous vase in less than 10 minutes!

   

Cost: Under $4 for five vases.

I had the privilege of helping out in the decorating department recently for a very special one year old’s birthday.  The parents had sent out an Evite with animal silhouettes, so when I saw the brightly colored print below on sale at Joann’s, I knew it had to be apart of the celebration.  In typical thriftycrafter fashion, I made a few table runners and a new bunting to incorporate the print, but still wanted some type of wall/hanging decoration to carry the animal shape theme.

I remembered seeing a super cute craft that a very talented friend of mine did for her sister’s baby shower that involved wrapping colored string around the wire frame of an old lampshade; I loved the textural look of it and knew I had to incorporate this technique somehow.  I decided to mimic the animal shapes from the print by bending re-purposed wire hangers from the dry cleaner, then wrapping them in interesting textural yarns that matched the colors in the fabric.  The best part?  Most of the yarn came from Big Lots and was $1/skein…now that is a thrifty craft!

We hung them along the backyard fence with invisible thread for some extra outdoor festivity.  I think they turned out so perfect and cute…the giraffe is my favorite.  What’s yours?

This last one is supposed to be a hippo, but I think the consensus was that he ended up looking like either a pig or an aardvark.

Here’s what you need:

• wire hangers
• wire cutters
• pliers
• yarn
• hot glue gun
• scissors

Here’s what you do:

1. Use your wire cutters to remove the top portion of the wire hanger.

   

2. With the print in front of you, use pliers to bend the hanger to mimic the shape of the animal. Each of my animals needed wire from two hangers to complete.

   

3. Use hot glue gun to tack separate pieces together.  Allow to cool slightly, then mold glue while it is warm (not hot!) to minimize any bulk.

   

4. Once your wire animals are complete, spot glue end of yarn to hanger.  Wrap yarn around hanger 10-20 times, then cinch down and pull taut to create the textured, rugged look.  Repeat until you’ve covered the entire wire frame.  This part of the project can be tedious, but it is perfect if you need some mindless activity or need to catch up on your tv programs! Once completely wrapped, snip your yarn and use hot glue to affix end.

   

Cost: While 4 of my skeins were only $1 at Big Lots, I spent $9 total on yarn for the 6 animals in order to get the right bright coral and bright green for the rhino and turtle.  Still, not bad and certainly a lot of bang for your buck! Look for sales, shop your discount stores and use your Michael’s and Joann’s 40% off coupons!

The weekends have been nice around the beach lately so we’ve been taking our dog down there to play. There always seem to be an abundance of nice, big, unbroken shells at Dog Beach (probably because you don’t see many little kiddos running around with their pails full) so I’ve been picking up the pretty ones and saving them for a craft.  As most seashell decorations tend to not be my favorite, I wanted to create something that brought in my love of nature-inspired, textural elements.

I’m a collector of all notions crafty  – when I head to a thrift store, discount store or garage sale (or even when someone does their spring cleaning and discards perfectly good items that could be repurposed!), I’ll take home things that I might not have an immediate need for and save them until inspiration strikes.  Such is the case with this twig wreath, which I found discarded on top of someone’s trash.  It originally had ugly, fake flowers not-so-delicately hot-glued on it which were easily removed to reveal a clean and natural base.  The lotus seed pods were found at a thrift store mixed in a bag with preserved leaves for $2 (but you can find them at any Michael’s) and my reindeer moss is leftover from some Christmas projects.  I wanted another textural component, so used my trusty 40% Michael’s coupon to purchase these interesting dyed and dried mushrooms.

While I think the addition of succulents would be gorgeous, I wanted something dried so that I could hang it, then store it away with the seasons.  So grab a hot glue gun,  get inspired by your findings and leftovers, and get creative!

My final Christmas post…whew!  I don’t know how the craft bloggers of the world do one post a day, unless that is their primary job. As a practicing dentist, wife, and mom of a not-so-independent dog, 12 days in a row is certainly a commitment for me! But, I digress.  For our last Christmas-inspired project, I’ve created some napkin rings for your festive holiday spread using oversized buttons and silver jewelry cord.  Paired with bright red linen napkins and set against crisp white porcelain, these little sparklers certainly pop!

Here’s what you need:

• stretchy metallic beading cord, like Dritz
• oversized buttons (mine were found at Joann’s)
• hot glue gun and scissors

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut your jewelry cord into 12-inch pieces.
2. Feed one end of cord through button opening and tie ends together in a double knot.  Snip excess.  From end of loop to base of the knot, length should be around 5.25 inches.
3. Use hot glue gun to secure knot to backside of button, making sure to seal off the ends of the cord.
4. Use loop end to wrap around napkin and over button.

Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to dress up your coffee table for the holidays.  Varying sizes and sheens of paper doilies are layered together in a seemingly haphazard fashion to create a simple, festive table runner.  The Dollar Tree carries paper doilies in white, silver and a bronze-y gold in 8, 10 and 12-inch diameters that work well for this project.

What you need:

• paper doilies in varying diameters and colors
• photo mounting squares

What you do:

1. Lay out your doilies in a pattern that is pleasing to your eye.  I wanted mine looking asymmetric and almost thrown together.
2. Use photo mounting squares to delicately adhere your doilies together in their final position.

   

Shopped at Trader Joe’s lately and noticed their holiday paper bags? Gorgeous white winter illustrations on brown paper bags inspired me to reuse them as a decorative band on my smaller Christmas gifts this year.  Add some simple red embroidery thread and you’ve got yourself a pretty, environmentally friendly wrapped present without lots of fuss!

Here’s what you need:

• Trader Joe’s holiday brown paper bag
• scissors
• iron and ironing board
• red embroidery thread (or some other decorative ribbon)
• tape
• gift box

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut out graphics from bag in wide columns.  Fold edge over and iron flat.

   

2. Wrap band around gift box, securing with tape.  If you box is too large, use pieces from the bag to piece together the back (no one will see it).
3. Use embroidery thread to add a bow.  Embellish with a written gift tag.

Thrifty Tip: I was able to decorate three lingerie-sized gift boxes using only one bag!

Start with a glass or plastic ornament, insert some reindeer moss as a soft base, add a clipping from your tree trimming, and gently scatter mini pine cones.  Do you hear the pine needles crunching under your feet as you walk through the forest?

Here’s what you need:

• glass or plastic clear ornament
• mini pine cones
• reindeer moss
• tree trimmings
• long tweezers (or something else to help insert your filler -  I used dental cotton pliers)

No instructions needed!  Finish off with a long piece of twine and tie into a bow to hang.

Tips: Everything Christmas is on sale at Michael’s.  The ornament and mini pine cones were $2 total after discounts and I had leftover reindeer moss from this project.

Previously, I crafted a felt rosette wreath that I absolutely adore and use as a decoration at both Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day.  I love the texture of the felt clusters and thought it would make a pretty ornament for our tree this year.  I picked through my scrap fabric bin (I always keep my leftovers!) and had both white and red felt pieces that I used for this craft.  The instructions are the same as for the wreath, except you are pinning the folded circles onto a craft foam ball instead of a wreath form.   Finish it off with a twine hanger and you have a lovely peppermint ball!

Here’s what you need:

• 2-inch diameter craft foam ball
• box of straight pins
• scrap fabric
• stamp pad (i had a green one from a previous project)
• a roughly 3-inch diameter glass/lid (really, whatever size fits your stamp pad)
• scissors
• twine for hanging

Here’s what you do:

1. Use glass to stamp circles onto felt.

   

2. Cut out circles.
3. Fold each circle in half, then in half again and insert straight pin at the corner.
4. Pin each folded circle onto foam ball, clustering tightly to create ruffle effect.
5. Fluff felt after adding a few and continue adding until all visible surfaces of ball are covered.
6. Knot a piece of twine and use straight pin to affix to foam ball.

   

Tips: Using a smaller diameter circle would give you a smaller ball, you’d just have to cut out more circles! The finished diameter here was ~ 4″ – definitely a larger ornament!

All you need:

• jute twine
• push pins
• scissors
• hole punch
• twine or yarn or twisty ties to fasten your cards

Here’s what you do:

1. Start with the trunk of the tree and create a loop at the free end of your twine.  Use push pin to secure in place.
2. Place another push pin to mark the apex of your tree, loop and knot twine twine, cut and secure.
3. Place third and fourth pushpins to mark the base of your tree.  Starting with a new loop at the apex, wrap around one corner, pull taut and wrap second corner, finishing at the apex.
4. Loop and knot free end of twine and secure.
5. Use a hole punch at the top of your cards and use twine, yarn or twisty ties to secure to twine tree.