Witchy Wine

I love wine. I love Halloween. And I am newly in love and completely addicted to anything with chevron stripes. (Many more chevron projects to come soon! One HUGE one!) Anyway, I decided it was time for new Halloween wine bottle labels since I have sold so many of the old versions. Where to start? With chevron stripes of course!

So cute! It took some work to get a skull and crossbones drawn that worked with the tiny chevron pattern, but I LOVE how it turned out. 

But you can't have just one design, so here are the rest of the new ones:

These are lot cuter and less glampire than my usual Halloween style, but I am really loving them. What else is different about these? I didn't go with specific wines in the names. This way I think they are also appropriate for a kids party for sodas or juice.

These are, of course, available on my Etsy site.

So cheesy

I'm fairly lactose intolerant but thankfully cheese seems to upset my stomach the least of all my favorite dairy products. (Sadly, ice cream tries to shank me from the inside out like a prisoner showing his bitch who's boss.) Anyway, I love cheese and we've had some pretty amazing ones lately.

Fromager D'Affinois with Black Peppercorn

This on was like a super creamy brie with black pepper throughout and concentrated in the rind. I usually like and eat a cheese's rind, but the rind on this one was actually the best part! Since this cheese, my new obsession is herbed or seasoned brie. I cannot get enough. Eat it with pretzel crackers or anything really. Costco actually sells a 1/4 wheel of herbed brie that is quite good. 

Boschetto Truffle Cheese

Truffles, right in the cheese. Need I say more? The truffle pieces were divine and had imparted their flavor on the entire block so every single bite was truffle-rific. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every cent. 

Ossau-Irati (Claverolle de Pyronees)

This is a firm sheep's milk cheese. This one is from the French side of the Basque region. I've had similar cheeses and they all seem to say Basque or have basque somehow in the name. I love to travel and want to go everywhere but France has never been at the top of my list. If I can eat cheese like this every day, I'll move there today. It's super creamy tasting and my dad, who swore he wouldn't sheep cheese, LOVED it. Seriously, don't be scared. Try it. You won't regret it. 

Tome Verte

Fresh goat cheese crusted with tarragon, thyme and pink peppercorns. I've never met a goat cheese I didn't love, but fresh chevre with either herbs mixed right in or used as a crust it's just about as perfect as cheese gets. 

I hope this post has encouraged you to go try a cheese you've never had or step outside of your comfort zone next time you're at the grocery store. I highly recommend getting to know your cheese counter person at a smaller local grocery store. They will usually let you try anything before you buy! These four cheese were all from Surdyk's in Minneapolis, but most local markets will have a pretty good selection to explore.

Ring around the rosies

I recently lost my favorite hair accessory and have been missing it dearly. I searched a few tutorials online and found two I wanted to try. The boutique flower tutorial at Diamonds, Fur and Laundry creates petals by burning the edge of fabric circles. I used this technique to make the biggest dark gray pinstriped flower.

I used the DIY fabric rosette tutorial from Write it in Lipstick to make the smallest gray satin rose. Tying a knot in one end and wrapping from there. This worked well too.

For the yellow rosette, I made up my own technique by starting at the outer edge and sewing and twisting my way to the center. When I got done with all three techniques, I decided they looked good together. I sewed them to a singe felt backing piece and the added a second piece of felt to create a sleeve of sorts. The end result slides on and off a headband, works with invisible barrettes, and can clip to a shirt, purse or necklace. It was fun and really quick. I think I need to make more. Lots and lots more.

Since I started this post, I made another one. It's so pretty.