We’re spending the weekend in Washington, DC and it’s been an amazing time. It’s not just a gorgeous city, but it’s also very walkable and there are tons to experience.  After spending a few hours walking around, we were ready for a refreshing drink and came up with this very delicious cocktail. It’s our version of a bourbon Mojito, I guess, but we actually like this one better! Here’s the recipe:

Makes one cocktail

• 2 oz of Maker’s Mark
• 4 oz of ginger beer (alcoholic or sans, if you can’t get it)
• Fresh mint (chopped)
• Lemons

Fill a low ball glass with ice and add the juice of 1/2 lemon, mint, bourbon, and ginger beer. Stir well and garnish with a lemon slice. After walking around for about 5 hours today, this is the perfect drink to quench our thirst and re-energize our batteries. You must try it too!

We had some down time this weekend to do some late Spring cleaning. Spring cleaning is always a little nostalgic for us because I remember all of the things that we’ve done together. This weekend was no exception. As we were going through the closets and old boxes, we found some old teaspoons that we used when we were living in our apartment in Manhattan. (I’m not sure how they traveled with us all of this time, but I guess we need to go through our boxes more carefully the next time that we move!)

I hated to throw the spoons away because it reminded me of our tiny studio apartment, and I LOVED that apartment. As I was about to toss them in the trash, Alberto said that we could make new shower curtain hangers out of them…well, why not! We could turn the spoons into retro-modern hangers, and I could keep my memories (albeit in the bathroom, but better than in the trash I guess…) So now we have our new project!

Here’s what we used to make the shower curtain hangers:

• 12 metal teaspoons

This is what we needed to put it together:

• 2 pair of pliers (we used needle nose pliers, but that’s not necessary)

Let’s create shower curtain hangers!

The first thing that we needed to do was come up with the design. I had extravagant views on how we should bend the spoons. In fact my exact quote to Alberto was “I think you’ll be surprised at how easily they bend”.  Well, I was wrong…they were very tough to bend.

I started by bending the reservoir end of the spoon up to the stem.  The convex (outward curve) of the reservoir will be the outside face of the hangers. I placed the pliers at the bottom of the reservoir and bent it halfway. Then I used my hand to bend the spoon most of the way toward the reservoir. (Warning…After 12 spoons, your hand can become a little cramped.)

Next I started on the curve of the spoon stem. I placed one of the pliers about 3/4-inch from the reservoir and the other pair of pliers about 1/4- inch from the other. I bent the stem about 10 degrees. I continued up the stem about every 1/8-inch bending it about 10 degrees.  It created a natural curve.  Don’t get too hung up on the curve so long as it fits over the rod, however compare your spoons to each other to make sure that they’re close to the same shape.

We didn’t do a cocktail break because this happened too quickly, but we’ll definitely have one to celebrate. Maybe a gin martini is in order as we’ve finally had a Spring this year!

I used the spoons on the shower curtain, and they look great. What’s really fun is that they don’t look like spoons. They look like mid-century modern hangers. It just goes to show that you can do so much more with less!

We’ve been spending most of the weekend cleaning the house and fixing things that needed our attention now that Spring is here. With so many things to do we didn’t have time to come up with a new drink. Instead, we just gave an old favorite a twist. We made a Blueberry Gin and Tonic using just a dash of tart blueberry juice. It turned out to be just the right cocktail for the busy weekend! Here is the recipe:

Makes two cocktails

• 4 oz of Hendrick’s Gin
• 4 oz of diet tonic
• dash of Very Cherre Tart Blueberry juice
• Frozen blueberries for garnish.

Super easy…just pour all the ingredients into cocktail glasses, stir and serve. We use frozen blueberries because we found them to be sweeter and hold better in the drink. Now, back to cleaning the house!

I’ve been on a Pisco kick lately. Remember the Pisco sangria we made last week? Well after seeing it, many of our friends clamored for a Pisco Sour recipe. The Pisco Sour is the most famous drink you’ve never heard of. It’s amazingly good. It’s a classic, right up there with the Martini, Margarita and Manhattan. And if you’re making Pisco Sours, you might as well make some Ceviche. We made two kinds this afternoon, scallop and halibut. It’s the perfect Peruvian afternoon, except that we’re in New Jersey. Here’s the recipe:

Makes 2 cocktails

• 4 oz of Pisco Porton
• 3 oz of lime juice
• 2 packs of Splenda
• 1 egg white
• Angostura bitters

Yes this drink has raw egg whites. But don’t worry, as long as you are using fresh eggs, it’s not a problem (and I’m pretty sure the alcohol in the Pisco is doing its part). Pour the Pisco, lime juice, Splenda and egg whites into an empty shaker. Shake vigorously. Add a few ice cubes (do not fill the shaker) and shake again. Pour into cocktail glasses using a Hawthorne strainer (to keep the foam intact). Finish it with a couple of light drops of the bitters. Try it and you’ll fall in love with Pisco and Peru just like we did!

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Like many families, our fridge has become the main pin board of the house. We keep family pictures, greeting cards, business cards, calendars, reminder notes, and tons of other random items on it. It’s been great to have everything in a central place because it’s so easily accessible. However, it’s also very messy and cluttered. So finally last weekend we decided to organize all that stuff into a new area…a door adjacent to the kitchen. We primed the door with magnetic paint (to still pin and not damage the wood) and then painted it over with chalkboard so that we could write our notes right on the door instead of having scraps of paper everywhere. It was a great idea, and so simple!

Here’s what we used to transform the door:

• Chalkboard paint
• Magnetic paint

This is what we needed to put it together:

• Paint brush

Let’s create a Magnetic Chalkboard Door!

We started by painting the top door panel with the magnetic primer. I only put down a couple of sheets of newspaper under the door, and I set the paint on another sheet of newspaper on the table. I’m generally a neat person, so this shouldn’t be a problem…right? I don’t generally use painting tape because I find that the paint goes under the tape anyway, so you’ll still have to do touch ups. If you use a very steady hand, you can make a sharp line in the right place.

The fun is about to start…

Primer is usually dry to the touch after 30 minutes but Alberto didn’t believe it. To prove him wrong, I placed my hand, palm down, on the door. But when I pulled up my hand to show him, it was covered in wet charcoal gray primer, and the door had a very nice hand print of my hand. A hand print of a child as part of a craft project is adorable; the hand print of an over-confident adult is just plain embarrassing. (Maybe I should be more patient in the future…)

I covered the hand print with primer, but at this point I’m getting a little anxious because I need to do three coats and it’s getting late. We didn’t start this project until late afternoon on Sunday, so at this rate it was about to take me all evening to finish it. Well if a hairdryer can dry your hair, why can’t it dry paint?  And luckily we have one for the dogs! I got out the hair dryer, and started drying the door. It worked! The door dried in about 10 minutes.

I was so elated that I told Alberto to start on the cocktail break. It was time to celebrate. As I started the second coat, Alberto came up with a new sangria made with Peruvian Pisco. It was delicious. A perfect libation to have while waiting around for paint to dry! Here is the recipe: Peruvian Pisco Sangria

While most people don’t know it, I do have a couple of faults, but only a couple. Sometimes I get impatient and expect immediate results. Unfortunately in this situation, it means that I’m trying to rush through a project so that we can sit down to watch a movie or old reruns of Charmed.

What happens when you become impatient with a project? You get sloppy. Remember that I didn’t put down a lot of newspaper to start? As I’m putting the third coat on the door, I look down to find drips on the door, drips on the floor and drips on the table. I quickly run to the sink to get a damp paper towel while trying to hide my folly from Alberto. (He’d never let me  hear the end of it.) I clean up the mess as best as I could, but luckily we also have leftover white paint for doing touch ups. I guess I should be using tape after all…

After the three coats of primer were dry, I’m more careful with the chalkboard paint and I finish the door with two coats.  I get the white paint to do the touch ups, and everything looks amazing. It just needs to dry.

The new magnetic pin board really does look great! We realize that it’s not an original idea, but it’s a very clever use of an empty space. We’re just very glad that we have a new and organized central area for all our notes and photos. Try it!

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For a while now, we’ve been hoping to make a cocktail featuring Peruvian Pisco. Not many people in the U.S. know about this brandy made from grapes grown in the Pisco region of Peru. That’s all about to change. It’s now available in most large stores and it’s really delicious. Pisco is perfect for sours (the Pisco Sour is the Peruvian national cocktail) and sangrias. We’re making one of the latter ones this weekend, and it turned out to be amazing and simple. Here’s the recipe…

Makes one pitcher

• 8 oz of Pisco (make sure the Pisco is Peruvian!)
• 1 bottle of sparkling wine (we used Spanish cava)
• 3 cans of Diet Sprite
• Frozen pineapples
• Raspberries and mangoes (optional)

Start by soaking all of the fruit in the Pisco for at least 1 hour. To make the sangria, mix the Pisco fruit mix with the sparkling wine in a large pitcher and add the soda cans. Stir well and serve. Pisco is quickly becoming a favorite in our household…hope you try too! Salud!

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We have very exciting news! Our Crafty Home has been nominated for The Homies, Apartment Therapy‘s DIY Blog awards! The list of competitors is impressive but we’re asking everyone to take a couple of minutes and vote for us, and all the other DIY blogs you know and are nominated.

Here’s a link to the voting page. Please vote soon! The deadline is Friday, March 2nd at 11:59PM!

Thank you!

Ever since our friends at The Communal Pantry posted their amazing recipe for Banana Cream Pie earlier this week, we’ve been craving it. We even went out looking for it (we’re not big on making dessert at home.) Luckily, we didn’t find any. But with the crave still in us, we decided to do the next best thing…come up with a cocktail that would taste just like it. Now, it’s certainly not as good as the pie would be, but it has all the deliciousness the dessert does…and we can definitely have a second helping without the guilt and all of the pleasure! Here’s the recipe:

Makes 2 cocktails

• 3 oz of Cruzan Banana Rum
• 3 oz of Merry’s Caramel Cream
• 1 oz of Frangelico
• Whipped cream and caramel
  

Pour the rum, cream and Frangelico into a shaker filled with ice and shake well. Serve in a low ball cocktail glass and add the whipped cream and caramel on top. We love our dessert drinks and this one is certainly one that will be making an appearance at the next dinner party! Enjoy!
 

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As I look up to this week’s project, I realize that I’m always learning something new with each new item. This week was no exception. I learned volumes.

We have a small room off of the kitchen which has just been converted into an office that would also serve us as a craft room. We found a couple of very modern and sleek tables that work great for both a desk and a work space. We also added boards, shelves, and put some of our favorite projects around the room for inspiration. The only thing we needed to finish the room was a fun crafty light for the space. It needs to be cool, modern and fabulous! (Foreshadow…)

We found a cool plastic chandelier at IKEA, but we wanted it to look distinct. Alberto had the idea of using decorative radiator covers instead of the plastic pieces that came with the kit. (We really do love our radiator covers!) I thought, “Cool”!

All we needed was a couple of large panels of decorative radiator covers. This seemed like a throw away project. What could be more simple? Trace the two patterns on the metal, cut them and assemble. EASY!!! I’d be done with this in about an hour. Sweet!

Learning Moment 1: Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

We got home and I started tracing the patterns on the metal sheets. I didn’t want to use permanent marker because I didn’t want the lines to remain on the metal after I’d cut it out, so I used a regular marker.

Learning Moment 2: Guess what? A regular marker rubs off so you can’t see the curvy pattern. Who knew? That’s okay. I just had to be careful. So I put the template on the metal and started tracing.

Learning Moment 3: There are A LOT of holes in these radiator covers…A LOT!

Fine. I’ll just be careful as I’m drawing the pattern. Careful becomes tedious quickly. By the time I was finished, I’d been holding the pattern “perfectly”  in place (meanwhile my arm was shaking from the stress), and it only took 5 minutes. I’m still optimistic though, 1 down, 11 more to go…

The tracing does get easier, and after 30 minutes I start cutting the patterns out using metal sheers.

Learning Moment 4: The sheers don’t do corners quite as well as scissors on paper. Could it be that I’m cutting metal, and not paper?

Whatever. I continue cutting carefully while doing the best not to rub off the pattern lines I made with the marker. This is very hard.

Once I finished cutting one side, I realized that I could hold on to that side with my other hand while cutting the other side. Perfect! That will make it much easier. So I grab the cut side of the metal, and immediately scream from the agony of the sharp metal edges plunging into my skin.

Learning Moment 5: Cut metal is sharp! More care is needed, obviously. But I don’t have a choice; I’m now committed to finishing what I’ve started! I continue (vaguely) tracing the pattern and (painstakingly) cutting out the templates. (12 times . . . 12 TIMES!)

I looked up and Alberto is playing on Pinterest. I need a cocktail!

Yeah! After two hours, I’ve finished all twelve of the cutouts, and I’ve only been forced to don one bandaid! (This is a miracle) I just need to put it together. I start assembling the light with the IKEA instructions, only using my new pieces. This is going to be a piece of cake! (Guess I should’ve listened to Learning Moment 1.) I add the first two pieces, and they look amazing. I start adding the third, and . . .

Learning Moment 6: I realize that metal doesn’t bend (and recover) like plastic. I’m forcing the pieces together with my bare hands with razor sharp metal. I might as well be thumb-wrestling Edward Scissorhands!

Learning Moment 7: Finally, after a few cuts I think about putting on garden gloves. (Why didn’t I think about this before?) Putting it together may not have been any easier, but at least I wouldn’t need a blood transfusion.

I keep pushing, bending, shaping, styling and forcing everything in place. I put the last piece in place, and I was done! Yay for me! I showed Alberto, and in a very supportive voice he said, “It’s lopsided.” AHHHHHHHHH!!!! So I bent and pushed and shaped and styled and forced it as best that I could, but it remains misshapen, and it’s kind of not very attractive. I spent most of the day working on it and I told Alberto that it will be our chandelier. He finally acquiesced and went back to Pinterest.

Learning Moment 8: Pinterest is a good diversion. . .

Now we have a very unique chandelier in our new crafty office. For all the work I put in it alone, I will treasure it forever (or at least until I’m able to use my hands again).

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We’re already planning for the spring season at Our Crafty Home. In addition to several new garden projects, we’re also planning a few Easter crafts. One of our ideas actually involved a wreath made out of real carrots…who knows if we’ll do it (we really don’t want those pesky squirrels to make off with it!), but just thinking about this wreath made us crave carrots. Instead of heading to the fridge and snacking on a few carrots, we decided to get carrot juice and make one of our favorite cocktails…a margarita! We found a delicious blend from Ralph & Charlie’s made with mango juice, which only added more goodness to the drink. To give it a kick (in addition to the generous amount of Corzo tequila), we added ALOT of cayenne pepper. Here’s the recipe:

Makes 2 cocktails

• 4oz of Corzo tequila
• 2 oz of Cointreau
• 2 oz of Ralph & Charlie’s Mango Carrot juice
• 2 tbsp of lime juice
• Cayenne pepper
• Limes for garnish

Fill a shaker with ice and pour in the Corzo, Cointreau, cayenne, and the lime and mango carrot juice. Shake well, serve in cocktail glasses and garnish with the limes. We made our drink very spicy and it’s delicious! Now, back to our projects this week!

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