Sonya Nimri

Grommeted Notebooks eing a very organized person, I like to keep everything in a very specific place, and neatly at that. My recipes were in a state of disarray (folded in a tin-I know it's awful isn't it), until last Christmas, my friend Tina, gave me the most fantastic gift-a painted canvas three holed grommetted notebook with 3 hole punched 8"x11" paper inside. That sparked this idea- in the age of the internet most recipes can be printed on 8 1/2"x11" paper. Insert them into a stylish three-hole punched vinyl notebook. It's kitchen-proof as well. It's the perfect solution to a simple problem. With cutouts of food items, like a pie, or a ham, or maybe a chocolate cake depending on what type of cookbook it is, your cookbook will be the most stylish thing in your kitchen and you will love referring to it all the time!  What You'll Need: Pinking Shears 1 yard Vinyl 1/2 yard Vinyl in another color Hollowfill- just a pinch Sewing mac...

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Austrian Beer Fest etting up for an Austrian beer fest requires only a few elements that make it distinctly Austrian. The first element is red and white checks-which represent the Austrian flag. The second is "wild" flowers that have been plucked from the hills of Austria. The third is of course pint sized beer steins. What You'll Need: Red and white checkered placemats Daisies Baskets measuring 4"x 14" Alstromerias Amaranthus Wet floral foam Knife Pint-sized beer steins  Directions: Flower Arrangements: 1. First cut the daisies to the right height. About 8 inches high is good so people can see eachother across the table. 2. Next, Cut the Alstromerias a little shorter, about 7 inches. 3. Line the basket with water-proof plastic bags and place the floral foam in them so that it fills the basket, fill with water then start first with the daisies. Place them in a row down the center of the basket. 4. Arrange the Alstromerias on either side next to the...

Cigar Box Purses urgeon General Warning: Cigar purses may cause heart attacks in fashion conscious women and small dogs. What You'll Need: For the Light Version: A cigar case (preferably with a hinge) Pack of screw eyes  Steel wire-20 gauge  P lastic beads (I prefer the starflake shape and brass beads for a vintage feel)  For the Full-Bodied Version: Same as above plus a small mirror (I snap them out of make-up gift with purchases)  Craft jewels  Hologram or glitter sticker paper  Plastic toys For the lining you'll need raw silk, hollowfill, flimsy cardboard, a rulerand pencil, scissors, and a glue-gun. Directions: 1.  Take your ruler and measure where your screw eyes should go then screw them in into your case. One or two handles? It depends on your case. If it closes at the side, and you're going to flip it so that becomes the top, two is more proportionate. If it's a smaller case, a one handle might be more appropria...

Chinese Dinner Party ver served longevity buns or lychee martinis? Try something different by making your next dinner party a Chinese themed fete. Don't forget to Feng Shui first!  What You'll Need: One gold Thai silk curtain Round black placemats Round gold leafed chargers (available at Cost Plus) Clear dishes Red salad plates Gold small plates Soy sauce dishes Black napkins Jade baby bracelets Chinese Zodiac cell phone charms and faux Chinese coins Black chopsticks Glassware as needed Flower arrangements in small boxes Fortune Cookies Gold Paint Small, fortune sized pieces of paper Directions: 1. Set the table according to the photos. 2. For the napkins, fold into a paper airplane-like shape and run through the jade baby bracelet. Tie the Chinese zodiac charm on each person's napkin ring with the chinese coin somewhere in the loop. 3. Paint your fortune cookies gold, let dry, insert a fortune with a person's name into each cookie. Place on top of the pla...

Cinnamon Ornaments hese suede-looking ornaments are lovely additions to any Christmas tree and are great fragrant additions to any lonely door handle or linen drawer. What You'll Need: 1 cup ground cinnamon  1 tablespoon ground cloves  1 tablespoon ground nutmeg  3/4 cup applesauce  2 tablespoons glue  Directions: 1.  In a medium bowl, stir together the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix in the applesauce and glue. Work the mixture with your hands 2 to 3 minutes to form a ball. If mixture is too wet, add more cinnamon. If mixture is too dry, add more applesauce.  2.  Lightly dust a clean surface with cinnamon. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and use a toothpick to make a hole at the top for hanging with a ribbon.  3.  Dry in a slow oven 200 degrees F (100 degrees C) for several hours, or air dry in a sunny spot for 4 or 5 days. When dry, decorate with gingham and/ o...

Soiree Rouge ersonally I'm in love with the color red and love every shade of it from the dark cabernets to the bright cherries. Recently, I had a "Soiree Rouge" where everyone had to come wearing red and where only red food was served. It was fun to watch the frocks that people come up and the sea of color in one room is quite a spectacle. A tasty menu can be put together as there are so many red foods out there: tomatoes, red meat, lobster, shrimp, red apples, marsciano cherries, srawberry ice-cream, the possibilities are as endless as a sea of red. What You'll Need: Menu: Heirloom Tomato Salad Smoked Trout and Apple Salad with Horseradish Dressing Mascarpone Cheesecake with Red Berry Coulis Directions: See Eat

Bohemian Celebration agical swags of fabric and sparkling beads gleaming candlelight finish off the aura for an enchanted evening with good friends. What You'll Need: The Basics: 1 easy-assemble gazebo (available at Target or other stores) Plywood board measuring4'x8' Sturdy Coffee table Mat to place between plywood and coffee table to protect the coffee table Rug for the ground or tarp with fabric over it Decorations: Two curtain panels measuring 108"x50" 20 yards of tulle in complementing colors 8-10 floor pillows 8-10 place settings Dramatic twigs and tall flowers that look fine when they are out of water (to hang from the center of the gazebo Pliable floral wire Scissors 50 yards coordinating ribbon to swag and tie bows in various places Tablesettings for 8-10 Tumblers for floating candles 8-12 floating candles 2 candelabras 3 urn vases at varying heights Dramatic elegant flowers, I recommend green goddess lilies, orchids, sweetpeas, and vegetables a...

Baby Wipes Cover am constantly digging in my purse for this so instead of a boring old plastic case I thought that one of these padded numbers would be nicer. What You'll Need: Cotton Fabric  Polyester Batting Scissors- big and tiny nail scissors Hot Glue Gun Rick Rack Directions: 1. Hot glue the batting to the top of the box drawing a line of hot glue along the top of the box ¼ inch from the edge of the top. 2. Make a line of hot glue along the front top of the wipes case. Glue fabric to the front of the case. 3. Make a line along the bottom edge of the case. Close the box. Pull fabric tight and attach to the strip of glue. 4. Glue Fabric to one side at a time, pulling taut around the rounded edges. Slit fabric on the sides so that it is out of the way for the box to open and close. 5. Trim the excess bits with your nail scissors making sure the box opens and closes well. 6. Glue rick rack to the edge of the box covering the raw edge of the fabric. 

Strapping Room Divider wirls and twirls out of plastic strapping flow into a modern and functional room divider What You'll Need: Stapler Plastic Strapping (available at Uline.com)  Directions: 1. Curl strapping into a 5" circular shape and staple up to 4 layers together at the same time making sure they overlap perfectly so the curtain will hang straight. Twist in the opposite direction and make more curls and twists, stapling after every 3 to 4 layers, then stapling to itself to build it up to be wider and longer until the desired size and shape. If you want to make smaller pieces and staple them together after you make a few, this makes the size more manageable as you work on it. Hang from dowels or nails from a wall or from hooks from a ceiling.R

Nantucket Nightlight atch out Moby Dick! A fun project that uses your favorite animal and sets him up for a rocky ride. What You'll Need: One small nightlight with a hard plastic lampshade Pound O' Beads assorted colors Assorted sizes pearls in off white One plastic whale (usually found in the Pound O' Beads) Sixty blue, silver lined size eleven seed beads  Five aqua blue chips Hot glue gun Toothpick Directions: 1. Put a generous dab of glue in the middle of the nightlight and place your whale there. 2. Dump your pound o' beads into a wide bowl and pick out all the variations of the color blue and clear. 3. Glue the blue beads first, starting directly next to the whale, get the beads as close as possible to him without gluing beads on top of him. 4. Move outward, making sure to vary your colors, textures, and not burn yourself with the glue gun. It's important to move fast after you apply the blue because it dries very quickly. 5. When you reach the edge...

Beaded Wind Chime himes are lovely on a slightly balmy day, different tones of bells can be found to create different qualities of sound. What You'll Need: Measuring Tape 10 yards leather cord 3 yards 16 gauge copper wire Scissors 42 large snowflake beads 177 small snowflake beads 7 leaf beads with holes through their bases 1 5 inch metal hoop 6 brass jingle bells (3/4 inch) 1 slightly larger brass bell (inch) Directions: 1. Cut 2 yards of leather cord six times. Take your first piece, and thread a bead, a leaf, then jingle bell to the bottom of by running the cord through the hole and tying in a slip-knot underneath the beads so the leaf bead covers the knot. Repeat five times, then using the big bell,use your seventh piece of cord. 2. Make a knot an inch above your bell. Thread a small, bigger, then another small bead on the cord, make another knot another inch above those beads. Continue five more times. 3. Take your metal hoop and wrap the copper wire around it on...