Pup, the Magic Dragon

According to Chinese tradition (and Wikipedia), 2012 marks the year of the Dragon. Dragons are known to symbolize strength, boldness, determination, and prosperity. They are also the only mythical creatures in the Chinese zodiac family! Let's make this an extraordinary year, fueled with ambition, courage, perseverance, and boundless imagination. Happy Chinese New Year! :)

दोस्त - Friends

This past weekend, Chris and I bid a bittersweet farewell to our friend Sanjiv as he returned to India. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a special, unexpected friendship, and can't wait until the next time we meet again.

Some of my fondest memories from Sanjiv's visit revolve around the time we spent cooking and eating together. We were always in the kitchen! It was fun trading recipes and sharing dishes from our own cultures. A couple of you have been requesting recipes, so I will be sharing a few in the upcoming weeks. Yummy! Stay tuned!

Pretty, Pretty Pleats

Quite a few people asked me how I made the tree skirt from my previous post. It all started when I spotted a similar no-sew ruffle skirt project on Pinterest, pinned it, and decided to give it a try. I chose to go with pleats instead of large ruffles in order to achieve a more tailored look. Pleats always remind me of my wedding gown :)

This was a relatively easy project, but it did take a fair amount of time to complete. The most tedious part was carefully measuring and cutting 4 yards of fabric into 3" strips. I used shimmery blue-grey linen in hopes of creating "waves" under the ocean section of our tree. The best part about this project is the fact that it doesn't require a stitch of sewing whatsoever! All you need is a glue gun and a bunch of glue sticks, and you're good to go.

I didn't make a tutorial because there are already tons of fantastic ones out there. Here's a great tutorial if you're interested in making a tree skirt of your own!

Wonka was very curious and tried to keep me company, but he got sleepy a few hours in.

7 hours (and several burnt fingers) later...

Voila! We have a tree skirt!