Suzanne Carillo Style Files: Crafty

Crafty

November 11, 2014

What I'm Working On...Lately...

Just a sneak peek...

At my blogger greeting card line

Linking up with: My Girlish Whims - Your Whims Wednesday

Posted at 04:36 PM in Cards, Crafty, To Buy | Permalink | 0 Comments

October 14, 2014

DIY Thanksgiving Table Decor - Easy Tapas Recipes & Free Printable Gift

I rushed Thanksgiving this year. Last weekend when I went grocery shopping they had a nice looking organic chicken and I picked it up and decided to make our whole "traditional" meal of roast chicken, tons of roasted veg and a pumpkin pie...a week before Thanksgiving.

So when this weekend rolled around and it was actually Thanksgiving I didn't want to repeat what we'd had just a few days before. Instead I decided to go with tapas, small plates - aka...appetizers.

The good thing about about tapas is more variety and no overeating.

The recipe I followed for the gougèrs was off. It should have had 1 cup of flour, not 3/4 of a cup (maybe even a bit more). Oh well, they still tasted good even if they weren't as puffed as they should have been. Thanks Martha!

The endive appetizer is my own recipe, super easy and very tasty. Also...it looks impressive.

Win win and win!

Cut off some of the endive spears, rinse well and dry. Mix 2 tbsp honey with 1/3 cup soft seasoned goat's cheese and spread a bit of the goat's cheese in each spear. Top each spear with a roasted pecan half and a dab more of honey. YUM!

The stuffed bacon wrapped dates turned out wonderful. I highly recommend them. A great blend of smokey, salty and sweet. Normally I don't eat meat, but sometimes I eat a little bit of blackened bacon. I cooked it for almost an hour in a slow oven, 350 F and then 90% of the fat melts away.

I make this hummus all the time. It is my own recipe.

Suzanne's 3 Minute Hummus

Throw 2 cans of rinsed cooked chickpeas, 1 large peeled garlic clove, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, pepper to taste, 2 small jalapeno peppers (tops cut off), the juice of 1 lemon and the grated rind of one lemon, and 2-3 tablespoons of honey into a food processor. Blend until smooth. If it is too thick just thin it down by adding some water. You may need to add a bit more salt depending on your taste.

I made the "Today I Am Thankful" printable for my table decoration. As a thank you to all of my readers (sorry Canada, I wasn't speedy enough for you to use it this year...) you can download it and print it off here. It comes 5" x 7" so it will fit nicely into any photo frame and would be lovely framed on a wall as a reminder to each of us to be thankful every day.

I was taught how to make the homemade shrimp cocktail sauce when I worked in Scotland at a secluded private hunting lodge. My husband's stomach thanks that Mrs Stronach every day for developing my interest in cooking.

I don't usually measure anything out when I cook, so I'm guessing at the exact amounts of the ingredients. You might need to adjust it a bit. As any chef will tell you, you always need to taste and adjust to your palette. I've adjusted the recipe to my tastes over the years.

Suzanne's Spicy Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

1/4 cup (light) mayonnaise
3 tbsp (light) sour cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
rind of one lemon grated
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp (or less if you don't like spicy) sriracha (Chinese hot sauce)
a bit of honey if not sweet enough

Mix it all in a bowl with a whisk and season to taste.

For my tablescape I just pulled out items from around the house and grouped them together using books or upside down vases for some extra height.

I made the bouquet as well. I had to go with what was available at the grocery store as far as flowers were concerned but I'm happy with the mix of colours.

A little tip when you are arranging your own flowers at home...use clear tape to make a grid across the mouth of your vase. It will allow you to space the flowers correctly in the vase.

I didn't care for the glass vase I was using so I wrapped it in newspaper and tied it with twine. You can also use wrapping paper.

It all turned out lovely. I found that making this type of tapas meal meant I was able to do it all in the morning and then just relax and enjoy the rest of the day.

For dessert we ate the pears that were part of the table decorations with some fresh raspberries and ice cream.

Tomorrow I'll be showing what I wore and on Thursday what my husband wore.

All I can say is, "Damn my man looks good!"

Do you have any favourite super easy appetizer recipes or party decorating tips that you'd care to share?

Linking up with: My Girlish Whims Your Whims Wednesday

Posted at 08:00 AM in Crafty, DIY, Home Decor, Recipes | Permalink | 0 Comments

October 13, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving Canada! A Shout Out To My Readers

Special thanks to all of you, my beloved and much cherished readers.

Without you this whole "bloggy thing" wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

bisous

Suzanne

Posted at 12:07 PM in Crafty, DIY, Home Decor, Travels/Photos | Permalink | 0 Comments

October 09, 2014

Ikea Hack - Pimping An Old Ikea Wooden CD Storage Case

This is what my old...yes very old CD cases looked like before. I had stained and painted them ages ago, way, way back when people actually bought CDs.

Yeah...I'm that old.

I spray painted them white, decoupaged on some of my own paper designs and added some stick on book plates and voilà!

All new home office storage, perfect for my crafting and jewellery making supplies.

I'd never decoupaged anything in my life before but I was inspired by Vix and all her craftiness. It really was super easy.

Cut the papers to the size you need to fit on the drawer, paint a thin coat of Modge Podge on the drawer front, stick on the paper, paint again on top of the paper with the Modge Podge and allow to dry.

It is a great way to renew an old piece of furniture that I was thinking of selling. Also I like seeing some of my old scrapbook paper designs.

If you really like the papers let me know and I will put them in my Etsy shop as downloadable printables.

I don't think Ikea makes this size of storage unit anymore, otherwise I would have provided you with the exact template that I used for the drawers.

Would you ever consider decoupaging a piece of furniture?

Linking up with: My Girlish Whims - You Whims Wednesday

Posted at 09:10 AM in Crafty, Home Decor | Permalink | 0 Comments

October 03, 2014

Butterfly Floral Wall Treatment & Home Office Decor Ideas

Some of you may have seen these photos from this post...

When I first showed off my first half of my home office rennovation.

Now I invite you to the other side of my newly (almost) finished office...

I plan on replacing the awful light fixture (which I didn't even photograph it is so terrible) with an antique chandelier. That is the last piece of the puzzle.

This butterfly floral wall treatment is so simple and so pretty. Buy a bunch of silk flowers at your nearest craft store (try to get ones that look as realistic as possible) pop off the heads and mount them on the wall with sticky tack. Some of the larger flowers had to be attached with a push pin.

I ordered the butterflies from Amazon. They also mount with sticky tack.

What do you think?

I know the two sides of my office are radically different from each other, but I like the contrast of the contemporary next to the vintage.

The best thing I like about the new wall? No matter the temperature outside, it'll always be spring in my office : )

If you like the illustration wall art I made they will soon be available in my Etsy shop.

Posted at 08:00 AM in Crafty, DIY, Home Decor | Permalink | 0 Comments

April 16, 2014

Are You Ready For Easter? Fun Easter Cards & Great Easter Ideas Round-Up

If you are stuck for a card I have a few in my Etsy store and some printables to make your own cards too.

And how about these simple Easter decorating ideas & recipes?

Egg flower planters

Easter Cupcakes

Bunny Napkins

Easter egg & flower centerpiece

Easter Table

Easter egg votives

Easter Candy Parade

Make these dark chocolate coconut macaroons instead of chocolate eggs...they are divine!

And finally some free printables for you...enjoy!

Spring Will Come Free Printable Graphic

Choose Happiness Free Printable Graphic

Liking up with: Favorite Things, My Girlish Whims

Posted at 05:50 PM in Cards, Crafty, DIY, Free, Home Decor, Recipes, Scrapbook, To Buy | Permalink | 0 Comments

March 19, 2014

Getting Ready For Spring - Decorating The Mantel

I ignored the blizzard and 2 feet of snow we got yesterday and decorated our tiny fireplace mantel in anticipation of Spring. I realize I may be overly optimistic. Spring could be on strike this year. I hope I'm wrong.

Anyhow, I'm in Jamaica on a beach right now.

The only thing I'm thinking about is why my cocktail glass is empty.

I will have the bunny print soon in my Etsy store...well as soon as I get my computer repaired. {GRRRR! I curse you Apple and all your BS that you never break down!}

I will also be offering the other 2 prints on my blog for free soon.

Did you notice the dried roses in the wreath? Yeah...I took those from the garland I made and tucked them in the wreath. I am getting full use out of those puppies!

Posted at 08:00 AM in Crafty, Home Decor | Permalink | 0 Comments

February 20, 2014

What To Do With The Roses You Got On Valentine's Day Easy DIY Rose Garland

Whenever I'm given fresh flowers as a gift I'm always saddened that they rarely last more than a week.

In an effort to preserve the flowers my hubby gave me I decided to make a fresh rose garland so I could enjoy them longer.

When the roses were almost fully opened and getting a bit droopy I followed these instructions.

I had the garland made in about 10 minutes and up and hung in about 15.

Now that they've started to dry it looks more like this

Not as vibrant but still quite pretty and charming.

Plus now I get to enjoy them longer : )

Linking up with: My Girlish Whims Craftberry Bush

Posted at 11:48 AM in Crafty | Permalink | 0 Comments

February 06, 2014

Mantle Makeover & Free Valentine Printable

So we got another foot of snow today.

I want to cry.

This is the worst, most depressing winter I can remember.

It doesn't help that my husband is away in Australia soaking up the sun FaceTiming me with a burnt nose complaining it is "too hot".

Oh sure he says it's for work...but really?

Meanwhile my neighbours are nice enough to come and snow-blow my driveway. Thank heavens. Otherwise I would literally be buried under the snow.

So to cheer myself up I decided to decorate my new fireplace and mantle for Valentine's and Spring. It may be the only Spring I get for months to come.

My Valentine to you is this printable text block. It is designed for an 8" x 8" frame but I decided to put it in an 8" x 10" frame and added the decorative masking tape to hold it in place.

I picked up the little silver vase and grape vine heart wreath from HomeSense (like TJ Maxx but for the home).

The fake flowers and frame are from Michaels. Believe me, if I had real ones I'd be using those instead. Sadly I don't expect that to happen for a long time yet here.

I planned on putting a few more decorative items up that I'd made but in the end I like it sparse and clean. It feels fresh.

If you don't remember this is what my fireplace looked like before...

Part of the bricks had fallen down and then I torn down the rest. I debated for a long time about trying to tile it on my own and finally broke down and got someone else to come and do it. I'm glad I did. It was TONS of work.

I think it has brightened up the room tremendously.

I'm excited to have a blank canvas of the white.

I wanted to buy this wallpaper for the other wall in the room, but when it turned out to cost $800 I said to the saleswoman, "What??? Are you serious? What is it made out of, spun gold?"

So I am trying to source it elsewhere. Either that or I will simply paint the wall white. I had my heart set on those darn barn planks. I love that look. Rustic but clean.

What do you think of my fireplace makeover?

Will you be decorating at all for Valentine's Day?

Posted at 08:00 AM in Crafty, Free, Home Decor | Permalink | 0 Comments | TrackBack (0)

January 22, 2014

Valentine Coupon Booklet - Love Trumps All

Husband don't read this.

I put together a little love coupon booklet for our "when first we met" anniversary that comes up on Feb 16th. Since our anniversary is just a couple of days after Valentine's Day we wait and celebrate our special day on the 16th. This works out pretty well for booking hotels or dinner out.

The love coupon booklet comes as one down-loadable PDF file.

Simply print onto matte heavyweight card-stock, trim and staple into booklet.

Easy peezy.

Coupons read as:

Your choice, Dinner - eat out or home cooked
You Win, I'm wrong
Your choice, Movie Night - with added bonus: Enthusiasm
1 Day No Chores - go ahead and take a nap
Extra Hot Sexytime - your choice
Your Choice, Date - whatever, whenever
1 Boys Night Out - no curfew

I just know that little "you win I'm wrong" is going to be used quickly.

Man how I'd love one for myself!