D I Y

handmade projects you can make at home

BY ALLIE HECHT

H homemake your own tea bags. . . . . . . . . . . . page fourpressed flower stationery. . . . . . . . . . . .page six

foodtyler’s mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches. . . . . . . . . .page eight

mini lemon cupcakes withfresh raspberry buttercream. . . . . . . .page ten

snickerdoodle cake pops. . . . . . . . . . .page twelve

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beauty & accessorieswire headbands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page fourteen

geometric nails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page sixteen

photographycreate a bokeh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page eighteen

a note from the author

This magazine has been an adventure from start to finish. I couldn’t have

picked a more rewarding, exciting, and creative challenge for my senior project. I hope all you readers enjoy my maga-zine and try some of these awesome

projects at home--they are tons of fun!

all the best,Allie Hecht

MAKE YOUR OWN TEA BAGS

Supplies:

Coffee filtersScissors

Sewing machineLoose tea leaves

StaplerEmbroidery threadPaper for tags

Step 1:

cut two coffee filters into a

rectanglestep 2:

Leaving one ofthe small sidesopen, stitch the filters togetheron three sides.

Step 3:

fill the tea bagwith 1-2 tsp ofloose tea leaves

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step 4:

stitch the topof the tea bag

closed and fold down the corners

Step 5:

Fold the tip of the tea bag down, and use a stapler to hold it shut

step 6:

cut paper tagsand glue themto the endsof your

embroidery thread

steep yourtea in hotwater and...drink up!

Pressed Flower Stationery

what you need:

Dried summer flowersMedium to heavy-weight paper (or blank already-made cards)PencilTweezersSmall paintbrush (for glue)Clear-drying craft glue

how to press your flowers:

Place your picked flowers inside a fold-ed-over piece of paper towel, making sure the flowers don’t overlap each other. Put the paper towel inside a heavy weight book for 5-7 days to press your flowers!

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making your stationery:

First, cut your paper to the size and shape card you would like. Use a pen-cil to fold down the crease of the card.

Second, using the tweezers, carefully lift each flower and dab the back with a bit of glue

Lastly, attach the flowers to the card and allow to dry. Once dry, write your message inside !

tyler’s mozzarella grilled cheese

sandwiches

Ingredientsrye breadslices of fresh mozzarellaplum tomatoes, cut into thick slicesfresh basil pesto,Extra-virgin olive oil fresh basil pesto

1/2 cup pine nuts2 cups fresh basil leaves1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano2 garlic cloves1/4 teaspoon salt1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant (about

5 minutes).

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2Combine pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well

combined but still rough-textured.

3smear the insides of the bread slic-

es with pesto. Arrange a layer of sliced tomato and Layer the moz-

zarella slices over the top. then place another piece of bread on top

to make the sandwich.

4Drizzle olive oil over skillet’s sur-

face and place sandwiches on the hot skillet or panini press. when

golden brown and mozzarella has melted around the edges., your

sandwich is ready. enjoy.

mini lemon cupcakes withfresh raspberry buttercream

makes about 50 mini

cupcakes!!

for the mini lemon cupcakes:3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour2 1/4 ts. baking powder3/4 tsp. kosher salt1 cup unsalted butter, room temp2 1/2 cups sugar4 large egggs5 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice2 T. finely grated lemon peel1 1/2 cup buttermilkabout 50 fresh raspberries

ingredientsfor the raspberry buttercream:

1/2 cup unsalted butter12 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cup powdered sugarpinch of kosher salt

1 to 2 T. milk, i needed to thin out frosting

preparing the mini lemon cupcakes

step 1Whisk flour, baking powder,, and

salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Then add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then add

lemon juice and lemon peel. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the

buttermilk.

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step 2 Place about 1 tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each cupcake hole. Then, place 1 fresh raspberry on top of the batter, in the center. Cover raspberry with more batter,

about 3/4 full. Bake until fully cooked, about 20 minutes.

preparing the raspberry buttercream

step 1

Cook the raspberries in a medium saucepan over medi-um heat, stirring frequently until they are all broken down into a sauce. Pour the raspberry

sauce over a fine mesh strainer with cheese cloth to remove seeds. Gather the end of the

cheese cloth and press out the raspberry juice. Pour juice back into the pot and simmer until it reduces to about 1/4 cup. It will be a deep red and very con-

centrated.

step 2

With a mixer, cream the butter on medium high speed about 2 minutes until fluffy. Add 2 cups of powdered

sugar, the 1/4 cup of cooled raspberry sauce, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add another 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If you want the frosting less stiff, add

milk.

ASSEMBLE!

snickerdoodlecake pops

ingredients:

yellow cake mixvanilla frosting (I made homemade!)3/4 granulated sugar3 tbsp groud cinnamonlollipop sticks

for the homemade frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar1/3 cup butter softened1 1/2 tsp. vanilla1-2 tbsp milk

After the cake is baked and

cooled, crumble it into fine pieces in a large bowl.

to make frost-ing: blend in-gredients to-

gether.

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Add 2-3 spoon-fuls of frost-ing, mixing it into the cake

with your fin-gers.

Once the frost-ing is ful-

ly distribut-ed, use a cookie scooper to make evenly sized

balls.

In a small bowl, combine

sugar and cin-namon. Coat the cake balls in the mixture.

Serve as is, or add lollipop sticks to make

cake pops. YUM!

wire headbands

supplies:fabric

jewelry wireScissors/Wire cutter

Sewing supplies(or sewing machine)

first stepmeasure the length you’d like your headband to be and cut the fabric. wrap it around your head and add about 3 inches to each end. Fold your fabric

to the width you’d like the headband to be and cut the

excess fabric.

second stepSew the open sides together, from end to end. If your fab-ric has print on only one side,

sew the tube print side in.

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third stepFasten a safety pin to the

end of your fabric tube (only through one side) and feed

the pin through so your head-band is turned print side out.

fourth stepTake your wire and loop the end, and make sure the wire isn’t poking out anywhere.

Measure the wire to the length of the headband. Cut with the wire cutters and loop

the second end as well.

fifth stepFeed the wire through the

tube and sew the ends one at a time. Be sure you’re sewing the wire loop into the fabric. If the wire isn’t secure, it’ll be much harder to wear. I used two pins to secure the loop

while I sewed it.

sixth stepStyle the headband any way

you like and wear it!

geometric nailswhat you’ll need

blue painter’s tapenail pollish (2 or more colors)

scissors

paint your nails a solid color and let them dry completely!

(if they are not fully dry, they will get ruined)

once nails are completely dry, use the painter’s tape to create a triangle shape on

one nail.

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some other designs to try...

paint the triangle a different collor than your nails.

continue this process on each nail using colors of your

choice!

BOKEHWhat

you need

a few sheets of black construction paper or posterboard

x-acto knifescissors

electrical tape

step one

Draw a circular template wide enough to fit over the front of

your lens

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courtesy of meaghanmay at flickr.com

step two

Cut out a circle in the center and then find the circumfrence of the

large cirle. Use this measure-ment to cut a 2” wide rect-

angular strip.

step three

Take the front part of your lens filter and wrap the rectangular strip

around it. Attach the two ele-ments together with some

tape for a secure fit.

step four

make some interchangeable filters by cutting out some more circles from your paper. Cut the design

you want out of the center of the circle.

step five

After that shape is cut, just attach to the lens filter you just made. To use,

set your aperture to the lowest setting and take pictures in the

dark with lots of lights.

special thanks to:A Farmgirls’s Dabbles

A Beautiful MessThe Baking Robot

FitnessistaThursdays

Apartment TherapyThe Food Network