Unifyhandmade, Now on Instagram

Hi everyone, I've finally created an instagram for my blog/shop. You can follow me at Unifyhandmade. I'll definitely be sharing more 'behind the scenes' pictures of what I'm doing daily for my shop/blog. Feel free to follow! 

DIY Card Kit

When my niece is over to visit, she always asks’ me if she can help with whatever I’m working on (when I’m working at my craft desk). It’s always hard for me to say “Not, right now cheeky, I’m working on orders”, and I always feel so bad saying no because I know that all the stamps, punches, glitter, and things looks so inviting for young children—but if you’re like me, you’re also super protective of all the expensive crafting supplies that are used. She’s only 3 so you can image the kind of damage a 3 year old can do to stamps and things.

I thought I’d make her something that looks cute, fun, and important. If I’d simply give her a few pieces of paper she’s look at them in disappointment because they don’t look nearly as cool as the things I’m working on (and I know that for a fact because I've tried it before, haha)—she’s a smart kid. So, I came up with this cute and colorful DIY Card kit. It comes with the elements needed to create 4 cards; and, everything can be stored in a handmade folder. My niece doesn't know how to make cards yet but this is still something she would love to play with because these are the same things I work with at times. I think what’s great about this little DIY kit, is that you can make it for a young child or even an adult that would like to learn how to make greeting cards.

How I made it—I took 2 pieces of white 8 1/2” by 11” cardstock, cut them in half, and scored them to create a perfect A2 size card. This makes 4 cards total. I included some white envelopes, stamped out some really cute banners and added some sentiments. I also cut out some 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” pattern paper sheets, and stamped out a few images using my Lawn Fawn stamps—all the things one would need to create some fun cards. 

How I made the folder—I used a piece of 12” x 12” card stock that has a double sided print on it. I removed the bottom strip, and scored down the middle at 6”, and then across at 8 3/4”. Once that was done, I removed 1/4th off of both sides of the 6” score line—but be sure to only remove this piece below the 8 3/4” score line.

Next, I folded the flaps up, and then I adhered the right and left ends of the flaps to the inside of the folder. Then I folded it in half, and added the ‘DIY card kit’ title to the front using my Lawn Fawn Quinn’s sets (to view them click here, and here).

Once it’s done, it’s ready to be giving as a gift; and, here is an example of the kind of card someone can make when they put all the design elements together. A few extra tools someone might need (if they’re not a crafter) is some scissors, 3D foam adhesive, and maybe a gelly pen—all optional of course. You can provide them with as many tools as you’d like, too.

I hope you loved this little DIY—I know I can’t wait give this to my niece. I know she won’t know how to make a card with it, but I’m sure she’ll love coloring all over everything and trying to make something out of it. I’m just really glad she expresses an interest in crafts—and as an avid crafter—how can I deny her that?

Breakfast Tostadas

Who doesn’t love tostadas? They taste amazing; and, they’re super simple to make using simple everyday ingredients. Today, I’m sharing this super yummy recipe that I’m barrowing from my boyfriend’s mom. Gabe’s mom is a seriously amazing cook, and every single dish she makes practically brings people to tears—because of the deliciousness.

I personally love making chicken tostadas because of the fact that they’re super easy to make and they taste great (especially when I have a ton of orders to work on), so making these breakfast tostadas is right up there on my top 5 easiest-most-delicious recipes to make. 

Breakfast Tostadas

Makes: 6

Time: 20 minutes

Level: Easy

Here’s what you’ll need:

1.                  6 Tortillas

2.                  29 oz. Can of Sun Vista pinto beans or fresh pinto beans (I used canned pinto       beans for this dish, it’s totally fine)

3.                  Sour cream

4.                 6 Eggs

For the sauce:

1.                 1 tomato

2.                  1/2 an onion

3.                  3 jalapenos

4.                  2 tbsp. of oil

Garnish (optional—but delicious, haha)

1.                  Queso Fresco

2.                  Cilantro

Ok, so first I took the onion, tomato, and jalapenos—and diced them up. I also removed the seeds from the jalapenos. Next I tossed these them into a small sauce pan that had been preheated with vegetable oil—you want to hear that sizzle when the ingredients hit the pan. Add a few pinches of salt—give it a toss and let it sit on the medium high heat until they’re transparent and a sauce forms.

While the sauce is turning awesome, you’ll want to take the can of beans and refry them. In order to refry them, I take a medium cast iron skillet, add 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil, and bring to a high heat. Once it’s piping hot you can add the canned beans—but be careful because once the water hits the pan it gets pretty scary. Once it’s all in, let it come to a boil, then lower the heat. When the beans are nice and hot go ahead and mash them. Those are ready.

Next you’ll want to fry up some tortillas. You can use the pre-fried/baked tostadas from the market—but homemade are the best! You can cook these in a small frying pan with just a little bit of oil (about 3 tbsp.) for a shallow fry. As you are frying these you’ll want to keep a spatula on hand because these tend to bubble up when they’re fried. Place your spatula on top of the tortilla as it’s frying to ensure it stays flat. I learned that little trick from watching Gabe’s mom makes these.

Next, you can fry some eggs in a small frying pan (I used the same pan I fried the tortillas in—no biggy). Once those are done you’re ready to assemble.

To assemble you take a tostada, put a layer of beans, a layer of sour cream, the fried egg, the sauce, the cheese, and some cilantro (and in that order—don’t mess around, haha). Now they’re ready to be eatin’. I hope you give these a try because they’re amazing!

Now stay tuned for Monday’s fun DIY. It’ll be a fun DIY to make as a gift or something you can make and give to a bored kid. I got the idea for this new DIY because my niece always wants to help me when I’m working at my craft desk, and I wanted to give her something really cool and fun to play with -–something that looked important, hehe. Well, I hope to see you back here on, Monday! Have a great weekend!

My Trip to Cabo San Lucas, Back from Vacation, Boohoo

Hi everyone! I’m back from vacation (I wish I wasn't),  but I have a couple of pictures to share from my trip to Cabo. In my last post I mentioned how scared I was to fly on an air plane for the first time—and now I feel like such a nerd for being so afraid! I actually really loved it. While in the airport, at LAX, I was so nervous—really nervous actually—but once I got onto the plane I started to calm down a bit, and when the plane took off I was so happy that I didn't have a panic attack, haha. We were on our way to Cabo San Lucas for a full week, and I was super excited!

 The view from our suite was amazing, and the hotel was beautiful, too.

After settling into our suite, we were a bit tired and it was about time for dinner so we went down to the restaurant in our hotel, and had dinner. Then walked around the beach at night for a while, it was so beautiful. There’s my father walking on the beach in front of me (I can’t even count the amount of times he fell that night—to much drinky-drinky).

Every morning we had breakfast by the beach at the outdoor restaurant in the resort, it was so amazing to have the all-inclusive package because that meant we never had to pay for our food or drinks—and I tried my best not to go overboard, haha.

We had a lot of activities lined up for this trip; such as, Jet skiing, swimming with dolphins, massages, and many other things. It was so much fun. I think my favorite was using the jet skis—or maybe it was riding a dolphin…but going out at night with my Mom, Dad, and brother was pretty fun too! We went to the popular Cabo Wabo bar in the city and hung out with the locals. We were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Sammy Hagar—I think my dad was the most excited, hehe.

When I was at the local market, and looking for souvenirs, I found this really awesome Day of the Dead, Loteria game set! I loved it. Isn’t it awesome?!

I also purchased this really cute purse from the market. I love it so much. I bought this because I didn't want to have any clutter with me on the plane. On our way to Cabo I felt unconfortable with my reguarl purse between my legs on the floor--so I down sized for the return home. This mini bag was way better--and cute, too!

Overall, I had such a great time in Cabo with my entire family. I have to admit I was seriously considering staying there. There is calmness in Mexico that is so addictive—and I wasn't looking forward to coming back to the fast paced Los Angeles.  I’ll never forget this trip, and now I can’t wait to travel the world some more—now that my fear of flying is finally done with. Who knows where I’ll go next. 

Stay tuned for Friday, I'm sharing a breakfast tostada recipe that is AMAZING, and on Monday I'm sharing a fun papercrafting DIY! 

My New Bike and Going on Vacation

I got he best surprise ever from my boyfriend, Gabe. He bought me a new bike! It's a bike that I've wanted for a while, and I was so happy when I saw him pull up on it--I was speechless at first, haha, then super excited. I haven't had my very own bike since I was around 9 years old. I always used others peoples bikes as a teenager and even before owning this bike I would also barrow bikes from Gabe. But now I can ride this to the store and to ship my packages. I go to the market almost everyday; so, this will definitely help me save some money on gas and help me burn some extra calories, too, hehe. Isn't it beautiful?!

Also, this will be my last post until July 15th. I'm going on vacation on Monday and I'll be out of the country until the 12th. I thought about planning guest posts' but I really would like to take a complete vacation and not have to worry about anything at all. No work, no blog, no e-mails, no phone, no worries (hopefully). I think I could definitely use a break from everything, than come back home with fresh ideas and a clear, rested mind. 

One thing I've been having trouble with, though, is the thought of the plane flight. I've never been on a plane before and I'm SO nervous! Are any of you afraid of flying? I'm not really afraid of the plane going down--I mostly get really anxious when I think about that fact that I'll feel trapped in the plane when I'm a zillions miles in the sky--with no place to go if I freak out. A small part of me is excited to try this for the first time but a large portion of me is really scared. Do you have any tips for a fearful flyer? 

Card of the Week--Star shaped Card

It’s been a while since my last ‘Card of the Week’ post. So I thought I’d take some time to create something cute and sweet—just for fun. I used my puffy star shaped dies, by Lawn Fawn, to create this star shaped card. I got the idea of making cards in a variety of fun shapes and sizes from Kelly Marie, over at LF. I think this card came out so cute. I never even thought of using different shapes for cards—I was always using the traditional A2 size. I've never even made a 5X7 card! I need to make one of those soon, too. If you’d like to know more about making star cards, or other shapes, check out this video with the detailed instructions showing how you can make your very own: click here. 

Here are a few shots of the stamp sets I’ve used to create this card. For the ‘Thank you’ text bubble I’m using this stamp set (click here), and for the botanicals  lion, banner, and sentiment, I’m using the following sets: (Click, here, here, here, and here). You can also see how I sneaked the gelly pen into the shot, hehe. This is the pen I used to create the faux stitching around the edges—I love it—especially on Kraft card stock. 

I’m also using the Dewey Decimal petite paper pack and I just love the designs in this pack—You can see a sample of how awesome this paper is be checking out the background on this card I made. So cute right?

In order to get the 3D effect, I used some dimension adhesive as shown in the image. I love use these when creating cards. I think it adds so much, and really looks like a lot of work was put into a creation. 

I really love this card, and I’m even thinking about all the different shapes I can make. What I love most about the LF dies is that the biggest die is the perfect size for an A2 envelope—so I don’t have to worry about finding any specific envelope. Love it! Let me know what you think of it in the comments. I can’t wait to give this card out. I wish someone would send me cards like this, lol.