AliLily | Monthly Archives: July 2010

Photo Boxing

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Ami Posted in etsy, Jewelry, Tutorials 44 Comments

I read this great tutorial one morning about a DIY photo box. It was in one of the weekly Etsy “helpful” emails. It involved a large white poster board and an unshaded lamp. After a few weeks and I finally spent THIRTY NINE cents and got a white poster board. How silly is that? I was saving up for it I guess! HA!

After my sweet Alie Marie went down for a nap I got out my white poster board. I tacked it up to the wall letting half of it fold down to make a platform. Then I used a desk lamp, as I don’t have another lamp to un-shade. I think the unshaded lamp adds more light. The light really bounces off the white of the board to light your subject well. My cat Gizmo decided he wanted to be my photo subject. You just place your items on the board, aim your lights and snap away.

This is the original tutorial I read. It is a forum post within the Etsy website. BomoBob’s Lightbox Tutorial

These are some new pieces I have made for my Etsy shop. I took all of these using my new, seriously simple photo box idea. I know it’s not really a box.

Metamorphosis

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Ami Posted in Craftyness, etsy, Jewelry 23 Comments

Back when I started creating jewelry pieces, walking into the jewelry section at Michaels was overwhelming. I began with so many great ideas in my head, but when I stared at the supplies, beads, and tools available to me, my mind went absolutely blank!! Always being one with a “frugal” nature, I started to dig through the marked down bins. I spotted a pendant with a beautiful earth toned moth. I have always been someone that finds and loves beauty in the nontraditional sense. I fell in love with this pendant. I loved that it was a moth as apposed to a brightly colored beautiful butterfly. Staring at this pendant, I saw in my mind what I wanted it to become. A double layered long necklace. I began working on it at once. Over the course of the past seven months, I could never steer this project of mine away from disaster. No matter how hard I tried or how much I changed things, the moth pendant necklace was an epic fail. It was lop-sided. The twisted seed bead layer never stayed twisted. In fact, once when I was trying to fix it, more than half of the teeny and tiny seed beads fell off. I don’t have a bead-spinning stringer so they were all added by hand. I actually teared up when that happened. There were also strings and wires poking out all over the necklace. I did not know how to properly add a clasp.

When we moved from one side of town to the other, I never pulled the necklace back out. I just gave up on it. I found it the other day and thought. OK, it’s been a while and I am better at this craft. Maybe I should try again. I started working on it. I restrung the whole necklace and learned how to properly attach a clasp. Slowly as I worked on it, the piece began to come together. My excitement for my project reignited and I smiled while I worked on it. I even did a couple “happy wiggles” in my seat! Once it was done, I couldn’t stop staring at it. It was EXACTLY what I pictured the very first time I held that moth pendant in my hands. I am extremely happy with how it came out. So happy, I am not sure I can part with it now, but it was always meant to go into my Etsy shop. Perhaps I can make another one. This necklace is my first beaded double layered seed bead twisted piece.

It is interesting that the whole process of this necklace was metamorphosis. Just like the journey my beautiful moth went through. I looked up the species and I believe the moth is a Gymnoscelis Rufifasciata, or more commonly known as a Double Striped Pug Moth.

I need a better picture of the full necklace. Especially if I do add this to my AliLilly Etsy Shop. This will have to do for now. I will build myself a better photo box later.

I am linking up to these awesome parties!

{M} Tools Are For Women Too ~ Making The World Cuter ~ The Creative Girl ~ Skip To My Lou ~ Sumo’s Sweet Stuff ~Keeping It Simple ~ Between Naps On The Porch ~ Mad In Crafts ~ Santas Gift Shoppe ~ Finding Fabulous ~Trendy Treehouse ~ Sew Can Do ~ Its So Very Cheri ~ C.R.A.F.T. ~ Craft-O-Maniac {T} Bella Before and After ~ The Pumpkin Patch ~ Today’s Creative Blog ~ The Gypsy’s Corner ~ A Stoll Thru Life ~ All Thingz Related ~ Lucky Star Land ~ Sugar Bee ~ New Nostalgia ~I’m Topsy Turvy ~ Shannon Makes Stuff {W} Creations By Kara ~The Thrifty Home ~ Someday Crafts ~ Me And My Bucket ~My Backyard Eden ~Blue Cricket Design ~Just A Girl ~Beyond The Picket Fence ~Bargain Shopping Paradise ~It’s So Very Cheri ~Fireflies and Jellybeans ~Sew Much Ado ~Seven Thirty Three ~Dradonfly Designs {T} Between U & Me ~House Of Hepworths ~ The Shabby Chic Cottage ~Paisley Passions ~ Somewhat Simple ~It’s Sew Stinkin Cute ~Life As Lori ~Tools Are For Women Too ~It’s Fun To Craft ~What Allie’s Making Now {F} Finding Fabulous ~ Fun To Craft ~Fingerprints On The Fridge ~Frugal & Fabulous Design ~KOJO Designs ~ Tidymom ~A Few Of My Favorite Things ~Simply Designing ~It’s A Hodgepodge Life ~The Shabby Nest ~Chic On A Shoestring Decorating ~Simply Sweet Home ~Frou Frou Decor ~Punpkin Seed Productions ~Crystal’s Craft Spot ~My Romantic Home {S} Be Different…Act Normal ~I Am Only 1 Woman ~Funky Junk Interiors ~Tater Tots And Jello ~Along For The Ride {Sn} I Heart Naptime ~Under The Table And Dreaming

Super Easy Super Delicious Pasta Bake

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Ami Posted in recipe, Recipes and Food 29 Comments

It’s been just over a week of participating in link parties. Thank you’s to my sweet Sister-In-Law, Teresa at Nestled in Rosenberg, for introducing me to them! I noticed that you can post recipes! The more recipes I saw, the more excited I became. I couldn’t wait to post a recipe. This is a SUPER EASY & SUPER DELICIOUS recipe! My husband loves it so much he does not mind eating it two nights in a row!!

This recipe makes about 4 hearty servings

First you will need:

1 pound ground turkey or beef (I use ground turkey)
12 oz of ricotta cheese
1 egg
8 oz of mozzarella cheese
1 jar or can of any flavor spaghetti sauce (I use Hunts chunky vegetable)
salt (I use sea salt)
black pepper (I use a black pepper grinder)
1/2 cup of grated parmaesan cheese
2 tbsp crushed basil
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 lb pasta (I used tri colored rotini for this batch but ziti and penne work great too. You can really use any kind you like)

Because I like to get everything ready before hand, you will need these too.

large sautee pan

large stockpot

colander

cooking utensils (I used a wooden cooking spoon and spatula)

baking pan (I used two 9 inch round baking dishes but a 9×13 baking dish works great too)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook your pasta according to the package directions. While your pasta is cooking brown your ground turkey or beef. Drain pasta then in the same stockpot toss pasta in 2 tbsp of EVOO and 1 tbsp of basil. Once turkey or beef is brown add 1 tbsp of basil and salt to taste. Add the meat and pasta together.

See how pretty they look together.

Now add your sauce.

In a mixing bowl, mix the ricotta cheese with one egg and 1/2 cup parmasean cheese. Spoon a layer of about half the meat, pasta and sauce mixture in a baking pan. Then spread your ricotta, parmaesan cheese and egg mixture over the layer of pasta. Sprinkle about half the mozzarella cheese on top of the layer.

Layer the remaining pasta over the cheese layer. Then sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until nice and bubbling hot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pin It

Goes great with garlic bread and a nice green salad. I loved buying salad kits. They are easy and delicious. This is a great Hearty Italian Salad Kit. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please let me know if you try this recipe and how it worked for you and your family.

From Faux Pas to Victory

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Ami Posted in Alice Marie, Craftyness, etsy, Jewelry 1 Comment

I was working hard a couple days ago on a pair of earrings. I ran out of yellow. I hightailed it to the store with my Alie Marie. Searching and searching for yellow beads I came across a kids pack of brightly colored plastic beads. Thinking, this may work out for me, I bought them. Once I was home and I compared them with what I had used, they did not match at all. Even my husband gave them a funny look. Needless to say I was upset. I wondered if I could take them back. Suddenly a light bulb went off over my head. Watching Alie Marie playing I was suddenly inspired to make a line of jewelry for children. I have named the line Lil Lilly. These are the first pieces of the line, created from my faux pas.

Lil Lilly Necklace.