Picture Frame Earring and Necklace Display.

Hello again. Today we are going to talk about something very important, accessorizing. Or, the lack of it. I don’t know about you but for me out of sight is out of mind. At least that is how it was for my jewelry. Which is probably why I would wear the same two pairs of earrings everyday (they were the ones that were always out on the night stand from the night before) My solution was to get the other pairs out there and seen so they could at least have a shot at the regular rotation.

Sorry the pictures are so small and crummy. My camera was stolen and I have yet to get the money together to purchase a new one. Right now I'm using my phone-camera.

Bonus it’s also a way of decorating an otherwise blank wall.

What you’ll need:

A picture frame (The size will depend on how many pairs of earrings you'll need to hang. The one pictured is 13.5x10.5 and works great for me.)
Wire mesh (Whatever you like at the hardware store just make sure that the holes are large enough for the earrings to hang in and it’s stiff enough to hold the earrings up.
Furniture tacks (regular tacks can be used but furniture tack have a longer post and work better. Plus they aren’t very expensive at the hardware store.)
Wire cutters
Finnish nails
A hammer
A tape-measure or ruler

For earring display:
1. Turn frame over and measure the mesh so it fits exactly where the glass would go in the frame. (That way when it’s hanging on the wall there will be room between the mesh and the wall for the earring posts to go.) You can use a tape-measure or just eyeball it.
2. Use the wire cutters to cut the mesh to size.
3. Place the mesh in the frame and use the small finnish nails to nail it into place.

Optional necklace hooks:
1. On the bottom-front of the frame measure where you want to hooks to go. To keep the left and right sides balanced start from the outside and work you way inward toward the center of the frame spacing the tacks apx. 1 to 1.5 inches apart.

And that, as they say, is that. Pretty simple.

FUNERAL POTATOS!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I had a little dinner party with some very close friends. I got to share with them piece of my cultural heritage. A dish I have dreams about. Funeral potatoes (also known as "Party-potatoes" which in my opinion is blasphemy. I will call them nothing but funeral potatoes until the day I die and then my ghost will watch my family eat them with the joy that only comes from comfort-food at a time of grief.) But I digress, my real point is that they are (forgive me mom) Fucking delicious!!! And in this edition I will teach you to make them to the delight of all you share it with.

Now, there are about as many recipes for this dish as there are cooks to make it. I will give you a base line and also my own variation. Experiment with these. Find your own way of making them.

Recipe 1-

Ingredients:
2lb bag of frozen potatoes/freezer hashbrowns. (You can also make your own potatoes by baking them half way and dicing them up. I don't do this for the simple reason that it's a pain. It's like store-bought pie crust, why make your own?)
2 cans cream of something soup (any cream of something will do)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 16oz tub of sour cream
2 cups cornflakes (or Ritz crackers, or just more shredded cheese)

Instructions:
Mix Butter, Sour Cream, Cheese and Soup. Then mix in Potatos. Spread in cake-pan or casserole dish. Crumble cornflakes and sprinkle over-top. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes. Easy as that.

Julie's Recipe-

Almost all the ingredients are the same but I leave out the butter, use frozen tater tots, prefer cream of potato soup and insist on cornflakes as topping.

Cooking is the same.

Enjoy.

LP Covers turned into storage. Hooray!!!

This little number comes from a great homemade design book called "Pad" by Matt Maranian. It takes reuse to a fun new level. I needed a place to put all my girlie stuff in the bathroom and these work so great. Plus it costs very little to make. Normally I wouldn't buy Records from the thrift shop because they're not usually in great condition. But when the purpose is not auditory but rather visual the hunt for the campiest cover can be super fun.

What you'll need:
Pencil
Ruler
Glue
Clear packing tape
Old LP cover
Xacto knife
Scissors
Clothes-pins
Paint brush



1. Separate the front and back of the LP jacket. Cover the edges with half an inch of packing tape to make it smooth and strong.

2. Measure four straight folding lines on the back of both sides of the cover.
2 and 1/2 inches for the front cover.
2 and 5/8 inches for the back cover. This will make a snug fitting box.

3. Cut four tabs from the corner fold lines.

4. (This wasn't in the book but I found it very helpful.) On the front side of the LP Jackets measure where the fold lines are and score them using the ruler and Xacto knife. Be careful not to cut through the whole cover you just want to aid the folding especially if the cardboard is o the thicker side.

5. Fold the edges over using the ruler as a guide.

6. Brush glue on the corner tabs and clothes-pin them into place until the glue dries. I like to leave them over night to be on the safe side.

And there you have it. Super great and easy.