Follow:

Style

Travel

Home and DIY

Browsing Category:

Food & DIY

    Beauty, Food & DIY, Outfit, Travel

    Farewell, 2014!

    January 1, 2015

     

       

     
    For those of you who survived the endless scrolling, thank you so much for following along this year. If you happened to miss any of these posts and you want to check them out, you can click the picture to link back to the original post.
    Although 2014 was full of many changes, it was a good year for me. I have to admit that the beginning of this year was kind of rocky for me for many reasons. It seemed like many of my friends were moving away all at the same time, I was having several doubts about my career and life goals, and just feeling very stuck. I started this blog as a way to keep me from becoming a recluse, like I usually do when I’m feeling anxious about life, and it has definitely helped me with that. I’m a very private person and have always been afraid to put my work out there out of fear of what others might say, but your kind words and support have been very encouraging to me in my efforts to be more adventurous. Thanks to this blog, in the past year I went on trips to Austin and Portland, worked on many creative projects, started working on developing my personal style, opened up an Etsy Shop, and had an outlet for me to express my thoughts.
    I have many goals for this blog in 2015, and I’m very excited to work towards accomplishing them. One of my goals is to use this blog to grow my skills set; I want to become a better photographer, learn new crafts, master the basics of coding HTML and CSS, and work towards better optimizing and monetizing this blog. I also want to diversify the type of content that appears on this blog; although I love putting together outfit posts, I also want to work on more DIY, decor, recipe, travel and inspiration posts in the upcoming year. Basically, I want to truly make this the lifestyle blog that it is meant to be.
    Again, thank you so much for your continued support and Happy New Year!
    xoxo,
    Helen

     

    Food & DIY

    D.I.Y. Stamped Holiday Wrapping Paper

    December 17, 2014
    Today I’m going to teach you how to make your own stamp and wrapping paper, which is very fun and easy to do. If you like being crafty like I do, but don’t have enough time to make something for everybody on your list, this is a good way to add a personal touch to all of your holiday gifts. You might remember that I already did a tutorial on blockprinting if you’ve checked out my handmade Valentine’s Day card tutorial earlier this year. Even though I used the same concept in this tutorial, I ended up switching the materials a bit in order to make it easier for you to create a print, which is kind of necessary when you’re using a much larger area of paper. Instead of making a printing block, we’re going to make a rubber stamp that is more easy to transfer on paper. This method also allows you to use an ink pad instead of printing ink, which makes for a much quicker clean up.
    SUPPLIES:
    X-Acto Knife
    Pen or Marker
    Speedball Speedy-Cut Carving Block or any other rubber carving block
    Ink Pad
    Cookie Cutter (Optional)
    STEP 1: Start off by drawing and filling in your design on a rubber carving block by using a pen or marker. If you’re not artistically inclined, you can do what I did, and just trace a cookie cutter–there are plenty of festive molds that are less than a dollar during this time of year.
    STEP 2: Use a linoleum cutter to carve out the areas around your design on the block. Just trace out your design and don’t worry about carving out the entire block since you’ll be worrying about these areas in STEP 3.
    STEP 3: Use an X-Acto Knife to cut out your stamp. Doing this will help you see the outline of the shape that you’re printing, and better determine the placement of your stamp. When completing this step, make sure to cut at 1/4-1/2 inch away from your design in order to make sure that you have something to grip when you use your stamp.
    STEP 4: Place your stamp on an ink pad and then transfer it on to the postal paper. Your print does not have to be perfect, but if it isn’t dark enough for your liking, you can always re-ink your stamp and print over the area again. Continue to stamp until you’ve filled up the area of wrapping paper that you’ll be using, and then you’re done! You can space out your print as far apart as you’d like. However, I found that it was easiest to create a consistent design by printing out one row at a time.

     

    I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and that you put it to use if you haven’t already wrapped all of your holiday gifts. As I said before, this is super easy to do, so it shouldn’t take up too much of your time. In less than an hour, I managed to carve out my stamp and make enough wrapping paper to package 4-5 presents. If you do end up making your own paper, make sure to tag @SWEETHELENGRACE on Instagram so that I can see your projects.  Have a great rest of the week!
    xoxo,
    Helen

     

    Food & DIY

    Phyllo Dough Flat Bread

    November 10, 2014

     

    Today I’m sharing with you one of my go-to recipes: phyllo dough flat bread. I started making flat bread when I first moved out on my own and I needed to prepare meals that were fast and easy, and that could serve as leftovers for work. The great thing about this recipe is that it’s really easy to make. You can even prepare it in advance and just pop it in the oven right before mealtime. It can also serve as an appetizer at your next party. Although you can pick any of your favorite toppings to put on your flat bread, I am suggesting some of my favorite combinations in this post. One of my favorite appetizers is bacon-wrapped dates, so it only seemed natural to use those two ingredients as a topping in one of these flatbread recipes. I also love Greek salads, so I decided to combine some of the ingredients in my second flat bread. But as I said, the possibilities are endless. This recipe is also great with a side salad if you’re worried about getting in your daily serving of veggies. I know that I’m definitely trying to pay more attention to that these days. Haha!

     

     

     

    PHYLLO DOUGH FLAT BREAD RECIPE
    (Each flat bread makes 4-6 servings)
    INGREDIENTS FOR CRUST:
    (Makes 1 crust)
    10-12 Phyllo dough sheets
    1/2 cup of Olive Oil
    1/2 cup of Pasta Sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Marinara)
    GOAT CHEESE, DATE AND BACON FLAT BREAD
    TOPPINGS:
    8 oz herbed goat cheese
    3-5 chopped dates
    1 cup of chopped bacon
    Sliced onions (to taste)
    FETA CHEESE AND OLIVE FLAT BREAD
    TOPPINGS:
    1 and 1/2 cups of crumbled Feta cheese
    1/2 cup of chopped basil
    1 cup of chopped tomatoes
    1 cup of chopped Kalamata olives
    Sliced onions (to taste)
    Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, lay down a baking sheet or piece of aluminum on a tray, and lightly grease it with olive oil to ensure that the phyllo dough sheets don’t stick. To make your crust, start off by laying down a phyllo dough sheet over the aluminum or baking sheet. Use a brush or a paper napkin to rub olive oil over the sheet before you lay down the next, and repeat this until you’ve laid down all 10-12 sheets. Once you have your crust, spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over it, and then evenly spread your toppings over the crust. Finally, bake the flat breads for 45-50 minutes and serve.

     

    ——–
    I hope that you all had a great weekend. I spent most of mine in my loungewear, baking and studying. I don’t think that I have to say that my weekend wasn’t too exciting! I’m just trying to get through this month, take the GRE, and then have time to enjoy the holidays.
    Also, I’m sorry if I have been slow responding to comments. Your opinions and questions are very valuable to me! As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m trying to take a step back from blogging for a while, in order to make time for studying and self-care. However, I don’t want to completely ignore this blog since I really enjoy working on it and interacting with all of you. Nevertheless, I should be able to be more active here by the end of the month, once I’ve taken the GRE.
    xoxo,
    Helen Grace