I'm not a pink girl.

I am a self proclaimed black and grey girl only; I'm not a color girl and further more I am definitely not a pink girl.

So when my birthday neared and I had the sudden urge to wear a pink dress I had no idea what to do with myself. What better thing to do than combine hot pink with my usual black and grey.

So here it is, my first pink outfit in maybe forever and my first fashion post of the blog.

Yes, I'm that girl that spends her days on Pinterest fantasizing about glamorous outfits I can't afford, but that is the beauty of this outfit. Everything, except for the purse, is accessible and affordable to everyone.

Dress: lulus.com
Shoes: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: Forever 21
Thigh High Stocking: Victorias Secret
Purse: vintage

Glitter & Wine...a girl's two best friends

Now everybody knows that a weakness for a girl is one of two things: glitter or wine. So what better DIY gift for the upcoming new year than a washable glitter wine glass.

Supplies:

• Wine glasses (I picked mine up at the dollar store)
• glitter of your choice
• Mod Podge
• paint brush/sponge
• clear lacquer spray paint

Somewhere along the ling my photos of the beginning steps of this craft went missing but the good news is the steps are pretty basic.

• Wash the wine glasses
• Cover base, or wherever else you would like to apply glitter, with Mod Podge
• Shake glitter to cover glass
• Let dry for a day

And that's it for the beginning. Pretty easy if I do say so myself!

Next take you glittered glasses to an open space to spray them down with the lacquer.

I did three coats of the spray and waited about 30 minute between each coat. And voila, after airing them out in the garage for about three days they were ready to gift!

One thing to keep in mind the glasses are hand washable, not dishwasher safe.

Santa Cookie

With Christmas in the air it's hard to resist the perfect sugar cookie. Especially the perfectly crafted "Santa" cookie. If you have time to spare then this is the quintessential roll out cookie dough recipe for you.

I love this sugar cookie recipe, with the following changes to be gluten free:
gluten free all purpose flower (instead of regular flower)
1 tablespoon xanthum gum
and roll out with flour instead of powdered sugar

With this recipe it is essential to get the dough cold before you roll it out; do not think you can cheat and wait an hour and a half because you can't.

I used my royal icing recipe feature here, on my gingerbread post. And instead of just using white made various colors for decorating--side note I prepare gel food coloring instead of liquid  it keeps the consistency of the icing better. 

Gingerbread men.

With Christmas right around the corner what better goodie to make than the classic gingerbread men. Now I'm not going to lie gingerbread is not my favorite cookie but there is something irresistible about their smell this time of year; my family and I went through the entire batch in a matter of days.

As a gluten free baker I change regular recipes to suit my needs, I feel made to be gluten free recipes are never as good. So I played with this recipe:

And made the following changes:
gluten free all purpose flour (instead of wheat flour)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons xanthum gum (a necessity in gluten free baking)
1 teaspoon nutmeg (I love the addition of nutmeg in gingerbread)

Then I have a tried and true favorite icing. It is perfect for slathering on a cookie or for decorating. Side note, in decorating I use bottles instead of bags;they're easier to use and way easier to clean. The recipe is the following:
4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder (can be found at craft stores in the baking section)
10 tablespoons water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Put the powdered sugar and meringue powder in a mixing bowl along with 5 tablespoons of water. Mix and add the additional 5 tablespoons one at a time. Continue mixing until it is about the consistency of toothpaste and finish off by adding the vanilla. Finish mixing until it is a pure white color and vanilla is undetectable.

Photo ornament.

With Christmas right around the corner what better DIY to start my blog off with than a Christmas present DIY.

Completed ornaments.

This present is perfect for those on a budget. For both of these ornaments I spent only $7 at Walmart.

Supplies

The supplies for this project are:

• Glitter (can be any color)
• Mod Podge
• A bulb ornament (any color works as long as it is smooth)
• Ribbon to coordinate with glitter
• A paint brush
• A picture (mine was 3.5 inches wide)

Step one

The first step is to cover the back of you picture with Mod Podge.  Then carefully pick it up and place on the ornament. There will be some wrinkles but that's okay; when it dries the wrinkles aren't noticeable. Next dip your brush in Mod Podge and paint it over the picture and ornament. Wait for it to dry completely before moving onto step two.

Step two-glitter

Now that your picture has dried cover the rest of the ornament with Mod Podge and shake your glitter onto the ornament until it is completely covered.

Final product.

To finish your ornament grab your ribbon lace it through the top and tie a knot. Make sure it's long enough so it can hang off the tree. And there you go, a complete custom photo ornament. 

A hello of sorts

I'm Ashley an 18 year old soon to be 19 year old who strives to create a life of fulfillment for myself and those around me.

Which brings me to this blog; a lifestyle blog featuring DIY projects, various recipes and overall life inspiration.

Art and crafts have always brought me joy but it wasn't until recently I realized I could take crafts and turn them into DIY projects that I can fill my home with and gift to my family and friends. The one aspect of crafts that I never grew out of was glitter; feel free to judge my excessive use of it, I don't blame you.

Cooking and baking has been a part of my life since I was three, and about four years ago I took on the task of gluten free and soy free baking when food allergies and celiac disease appeared in my family. I take ordinary recipes found in cookbooks and websites and tweak them to suit my needs. So if you're a gluten free foodie like me feel free to adopt the changes I make to recipes and if you're an ordinary foodie the recipe can be used normally. I seek to bridge a gap between gluten free eating and normal diets so the same foods can be enjoyed by everyone.

As far as life inspiration goes I am a true believer in good energy and a positive attitudes. This way of living may appear from time to time and take from it what you like. Fashion, books, music and all other random parts of life may pop up from time to time as well--inspiration does come from everywhere after all.

Enjoy and I hope you use this blog to fulfill your own life.