Camera Ready: DIY

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to spice up my DSLR and make a camera strap for it. It turned out like this:

Isn’t leopard print always more fun?

Funny enough, as I went to write this post, I received this in my email:

p.s. can we check out the DIY iPhone cover in the corner?!

DIY camera straps seem to be “in” right now!

Here’s how I made the leopard print and pearl strap seen above!

You will need:

1 ¼ yards of cotton webbing

Two swivel latches

Gold & Black craft paint

Embroidery Thread

Beads and Beading thread

2 Small key rings

To Do:

1.     Free-hand paint gold “spots” onto the webbing. Be liberal and relax on the spots. Obvs, it’s animal print so there’s no right or wrong way!

2.     Add smaller black spots on top of and surrounding the gold spots.

3.     After paint has dried, add beads. I randomly added a few here and there to give the camera strap an extra dimension

4.     Loop the swivel latches onto either end, fold over the ends, and stitch with the embroidery floss. Mark an “x” to solidify the closure.

5.     Attach the small key rings to the ends of the camera, clip on the strap, and start shooting! 

Treat to Try: Personal Pizzas

This is a super-easy mainly summer go-to in my family as well as with our friends, and has been edited continuously depending on the pizza maker. The dough is pre-made, so really, there is no fuss involved!

My mom makes what we refer to as an “Elm City Special” (New Haven, for those who know what that is referencing…), which is a white sauce, sliced tomatoes, and some full and fresh basil leaves. Another favorite is, as my mom calls it, Salad Pizza a la Claflin. Salad Pizza hails from Jordan’s Pizza in our hometown, and consists of doughy bread cooked with tradish red sauce and then covered in a tossed fresh garden salad. It’s amazing. SP a la C is created with red sauce and cheese and then topped with a garden salad. Both SP’s include Italian dressing in the salad!

My personal favorite, and the one shown below, is a simply olive oil and cheese pie topped with arugula that has been tossed with lemon juice. Noms. Instructions below!

tell me your mouth doesn't water looking at this!

You will need:

Pizza Dough (Our local grocer sells frozen handmade personal pies that you defrost and cook (or grill!), but it tastes equally delish using good old supermarket pre-cooked dough. I know because we’ve made that too!

Olive Oil

Rosemary

Garlic

Whatever cheese you like! (I’ve had Fontina, Parm, Mozz, and dollops of  Goat Cheese all on one pie… yummy!)

Pepperoni

Toppings

Salt & Pepper

Arugula

Lemon Juice

To Do:

1.     Heat olive oil with rosemary and garlic to infuse. Brush on generally onto the pizza dough

2.     Laden the dough with whichever cheese you see fit. For this I used a mix of shredded parmesan and mozzarella, along with slices of fresh mozzarella to beef it up

3.     Add additional toppings, in this case: pepperoni

4.     Sprinkle with a little salt and generous pepper (depending on your tastes!)

5.     Cook pies… Mine literally cooked for five minutes at 450 degrees, but follow the dough instructions!

6.     While pie cooks, toss arugula with lemon juice

7.     Top pie with arugula and add extra S+P if deemed fit… I really love pepper

8.     ENJOY!

First Day of School!

Today is the last first day of the school year! And with that, I leave you with some getting-back-in-the-saddle inspiration! 

Sweet Summer Time

Home has been so relaxing that I have forgotten to keep up to date with blogging!

I flew home following the summer end of my internship, and couldn't have been happier to have had this past month at home! There is no place that does summer better than New England! {Sorry!!}

There were many hours spent at the beach at home...

.... with day trips to Watch Hill and the beloved Block Island...

... and lots of reading, yummy food, and fun projects! I have a few recipes and projects to share, but I have to head back to reading for classes and packing for the trip back to Milwaukee. It's been real, East Coast!!