DIY Tablecloth - Hand Painted Clouds Tutorial

Happy Friday to you all! 

I wanted to make a quick tutorial about the cloud tablecloth from the Hot Air Balloon Shower I posted last week! Yes, it was hand-painted! First I brag, than turn around and tell you how easy it was! ;)

We knew we wanted something subtle to match the color theme for the shower. We also didn't want just a plain white one. The idea of clouds came to mind. For me, DIY is always the first thought. But in fear that it would take too long, we scanned our fabric store (Walmart-- haha) and found cheesy cloud fabric for about $5/ a yard! Checking another local fabric store, the price was even more outrageous and not at all what I pictured. They had to be big. They had to be realistic, almost not there. So DIY-ing it became. And it was the greatest idea ever! (ok, I'm bragging again? not the greatest EVER but still so cool!) 

 
We found a light blue sheer fabric (maybe a chiffon?) at Walmart in the clearance section and it had just the amount we needed. Six yards to cover four tables. The price was $1/yd. :) That's more like it.


Acrylic paint at Michaels for about $3 (40% off one regular priced item. A coupon that everyone should be using when you go! They will even ring it up off your phone: just go to Michaels.com and click on the coupons link)

A glitter spray also from Michael's (which is optional but added a great final touch)


A big wholly sponge that I had laying around that we never really used :)

Squirt paint on to plate. Lay the fabric on top of plastic so that the paint doesn't seep through. (We used a cheap plastic tablecloth) Dab the sponge into the paint and then dab onto fabric.

Keep dabbing sponge in paint and filling in with the sponge until it looks like a cloud. Too much paint isn't need. The final touches should have little paint left to make it realistic like. 

Add the glitter spray after you have painted. We didn't wait for it to dry. Just spray in a circular motion, and just at parts of the cloud (not to drench it in glitter!) 


TIP: Lay all the fabric out right away so that you don't have to wait for it to dry and than move it. We thought of that late (because it was late at night!) and had to finish the next day. That worked out fine too if you don't have a big enough space. Just trying to save you a step!

It turned out so pretty we almost didn't want to use it as a tablecloth! We were scared it would get dirty! Maybe a permanent type of paint would be more ideal if you decide to reuse it in a different way... Such as a curtain panels or even add a lining and make into bedding or pillow covers! 

Total Cost: $12! 

I know yours will turn out just as perfect, if you ever need to sit on clouds. :)


Have a beautiful weekend!

Special Delivery Baby Boy Shower: Hot Air Balloon Theme

Hi! I can't believe how fast time has gone by! It seems like just last week I posted my sister-in-law's girly baby shower and here I am, showing you another shower! Praise the Lord both babies were welcomed into the world, healthy and beautiful. 

Hot air balloon's was the theme and was given to us by my super creative sister! Most credit of this shower goes to her! She gave us the idea of  "special delivery"  It was a play on the idea of the balloon bringing a "Special Delivery".  What a special delivery indeed! :)

This shower unfortunately brought lots of disappointments. We saw many inspirational pictures online and had a list of ideas. I guess the lesson is: Not everything you want to do will turn out. We pictured centerpiece bouquets anchoring large make-shift air balloons and lots of others hanging from the ceilings all around us. You want your presentation to have height to make a statement. Most of those ideas didn't work out :(  As sad as it made me, I feel like there as still ideas that DID work out so I hope you'll find something to inspire you! Or at least give you some enjoyment. :)

 DIY Tablecloth: We painted the clouds on ourselves! It turned out perfect! Subtle yet ethereal. I adored the connection to the theme: We were sitting on clouds :)

 Color theme: Orange and Teal. Napkins from Target. Silverware and utensils from Costco.

I loved how placing the tables in a square was so intimate! We were able to talk to everyone at the shower without feeling like you're yelling across the table. :)

DIY clouds

 

Pastry dough filled with cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

 

 Special Delivery Banner using the color theme and giant circus size balloons which were meant for greater things. Sigh...

 One amazing cake made and decorated by my sister and the showered mom (also my sister-in-law). I baked a little :) 

Who wouldn't want recognition for this awesome cake!?

Love it!

 It was yummy too! :)

My beautiful sisters and me. I'm trying to claim part ownership in the cake by taking a picture with them. :)

Centerpiece bouquets made by the showered mom. I'm in a family of very talented people!

 This is most of us! Thanks to all that came and helped make this shower possible! Without you, it would be empty :)

It was a wonderful evening.

 

I have another refashion to show you that I'm super excited about! Check back soon. Thanks for letting me be part of your day! Hope it will be beautiful.

Verison #2 Pelemeni - Russian Style Wontons with Meat Filling

Hello world. 

I want to get this posted as soon as possible so my brain can relax and move on and stop feeling like I'm forgetting to do something. It's like that anxious feeling you get when you know you need to get something done and it nags on you and you can't seem to silence it! Not that you, readers, ever nag me! It's me that doesn't want to disappoint. Or its insanity :) Whatever it is, I've finally got to it. 

This is Version #2. My last post I showed how to make Russian Chebureki (dough filled with ground meat and onions) and the coolest thing about this recipe is: using the exact same ingredients but just folding and cooking them another way, you get a complete different meal! So, repeat all steps to #4. I will show them again to those that are too lazy busy to open a separate link. ;)

Ingredients for Dough:
Flour (All purpose)
2 eggs
1 1/2 C Warm water
Salt


Meat Filling:
One pound ground Turkey
One pound ground Pork
Salt and black pepper
1 large onion, minced


Directions:
1. Mix the eggs with the salt and water. Add Flour. I dont have the exact amount but add by the cup full until the dough starts to form. It should be soft. It will be a little sticky still!


2. Knead a lot. Put it in a bowl and cover with plastic and let it rise half an hour. If it is still too sticky to work with, add more flour. If you do that, let it rise again another 20 minutes. 

3. While the dough is rising, make the meat filling. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients. You can add a splash of warm water if it isn't mixing together well. Salt and pepper to taste. It may seem like a lot of onion but the more onion, the tastier!

 

 

4. Cut the dough is three parts. Take out one section and cover the rest so it doesn't dry out. Roll out in a long fat snake form. It should be longer and thinner than you did for the Chebureki. About 1 inch thick. Cut into small pieces also about 1 inch thick. 

5. Roll out into a circle (around 2 inches long) and fill with a teaspoon of meat filling. Fold over. Press the dough together and connect the two tips.  

6. Place on a floured surface and continue until you have used up all your dough or meat filling. My opinion: the smaller, the cuter. What I have pictured is a little big. I personally like them bite size :)


7. Heat water until boils. Salt the water. Throw in the Pelemene and make sure they have enough room to "roll" around. Boil about 5-7 minutes. 

8. Drain and add butter. For about 50, I add 1/2 stick of butter. To be more health conscious, add less butter. We like butter in our family!


9. Enjoy! Add a dollop of sour cream and a dash of pepper if you'd like :)

I'll admit this is a bit time consuming. But totally worth it. You might also like to know that you can freeze these! So get together with some friends, double the recipe and freeze them! Place the folded, ready-to-boil Pelemene on a baking sheet so they are not touching and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen, you can put them all in a ziploc bag. Keep frozen until ready to boil. 

The honest truth is, I usually make the Pelemene first. After a while, I get a little tried of folding them so I leave the left over dough and meat in the fridge and make Chebureki the next day! :) 


I have another beautiful baby shower waiting to be posted! This was for a boy so check back soon for some inspiration. Hope you have a beautiful summer's day!