DIY Tiered Server from Target Plates

3 Tier Server for a dozen cupcakes!

I love a cupcake.  I was going to say "I love a good cupcake" but that would be misleading you, dear reader.  I pretty much have never met a cupcake (good or not-so-good) that I couldn't gobble down in a jiffy.  So, when it comes to a pretty and practical cupcake accessory, I say OH YEAH, BABY!

Whether you are hosting a party for ten---or a party for yourself...no worries, I would never judge---cupcakes, scones, cookies, tiny sandwiches and bon bons just look more special if they have their own multi-tiered server to tempt you from.  Your delighted eye moves up and down, trying to figure out your plan of attack... and just which goody will be snapped up first!

But like many things that I choose to adore (er, obsess over), tiered servers are elusive and often have a price tag to match.  Whenever that happens, I dust off my DIY radar and get to hunting on eBay and YouTube to see if I can "create" what I cannot find...for a much more reasonable price.  The hardware for the server is readily available on eBay.  With many styles (t-bar, ring, oval, heart, etc), in both silver and gold-tone...you can make a veritable forest of servers (if you so desired...say, for a large party or a wedding!) for around $5 per for the connector kits.

Should you wish to dust off your own DIY skills, I am going to make ONE and show you how to do it!

First you will need some parts and tools:

• Tiered server hardware kit (for 2 or 3 levels)  here is one on eBay: Tidbit server kit hardware
• Melamine or plastic dishes (plates) for each level (optional bowl for base or top level)
• Drill with a range of bit sizes
• Masking or Painters Tape

Plates and Hardware Unassembled

Bottom Screw and Washers





Add painters tape and mark center for drilling.

Depending on the height that you wish to achieve (2 or 3 levels), you can vary they number of plates that you combine. 



First drill small diameter "guide" hole

Now drill larger hole.

I wanted a 3-tier server, and I wanted to have the base level be up off the counter surface....So, I chose a bowl (to be used upside-down for the base) and then 3 different plates that descend in their circumference (one dinner plate, one salad plate, and one appetizer plate). Plastic plates can be found in many places, mine were from Target, but I have seen them in many other stores and in-season holiday and theme plates are not hard to find. 



 

Elevate plate for drilling.

Simply find the center of the plate, mark it, then drill the holes in the plates and connect all of the hardware!  I recommend using painters tape to act as a stabilizer of sorts, when you are drilling the holes.  Melamine can crack and break off pieces (it is a brittle resin), so the tape helps to keep the hole from having too many chips around the edge of it.  I also chose to first use a small diameter drill bit to make a "guide hole", so that it reduced the chance of breaking the plate in pieces...then I used the larger drill bit for the final hole size.  (If you are drilling into porcelain or ceramic plates, please check the internet further as to how to do that safely for yourself and the plate...I think it might involve a special drill bit and water.) I recommend doing the drilling outside if possible.  Probably not a bad idea to practice safe DIY-ing and wear eye protection and a face mask to prevent dust from getting in your nose and lungs.  Be sure to hand wash all the parts in warm soapy water before using to serve foods.




Assembling the levels

You can dismantle the server to change out the plates (and to wash the plates in the sink after the party--be sure to air dry all the parts overnight before re-assembling) and store it when you are not using it with a minimum of space allocated.  Note:  when I used the bowl as the base, the bottom connector screw (from the kit; a size 6 machine metric) was too short...so I had to go to my local Ace Hardware to get one a little longer.  Be sure to keep the shorter screw, though, in case you configure your server with no base---you will notice that you can change up the configuration depending on your needs!  See the photos of all the ways you can change it up!





3 Tier:  Bowl as Top Level

Now all of the cupcakes in your life can have a proper presentation before YOU gobble them up in a jiffy!



3 Tier:  Bowl & Plate Top



2 Tier: Upside Down Bowl as Base

Adventures in Re-Upholstering

All cleaned up and ready for a good snuggle!

Cross another thing off my bucket list:  upholstering a wing chair and ottoman.  Let's just put aside for a moment, the fact that having this on one's bucket list is pretty wackadoodle and sad ....
 






Good bones, but funky...

I have been successfully avoiding this task for a year now (maybe two).  I found this treasure on Craiglist (oh CL, how much trouble you get me into!) for $60....including the ottoman.  Oh sure, I said to myself, how hard can it be to recover this beauty??!  (at this point I am but a babe in the woods who just fell off a turnip truck)  I tried to avoid it by thinking I could clean the fabric (yeah, not so much)...then I found a cool blog on painting the fabric (but then it would feel rough and still smell funky...maybe even funkier)  then I thought about slipcovering it (still the funky smell problem)...darnit all, I am going to have to tear this beast apart and recover it.  Plus, my dear patient hubby has been giving it the stink eye; from time to time he says slyly (when he wants to rile me up) "so, whatcha gonna do with that old chair in the garage?  donate it?  make it go away?"  I needed to rehab the beastie just as a "See, I told you:  A. I could do it and B. it IS gorgeous, you just couldn't tell because she is wearing an old dowdy dirty outfit."  Yep, the old "she has good bones" argument + my need to finish what I start (at all costs).



$$$ Linen or Drop Cloth?

I was hung up on the fabric problem for at least a year.  On the one hand, this endeavor is going to take some serious yardage...upwards of 8 yards...probably more... and I generally choose crazy expensive fabric to fall in love with.  Even if I clip coupons and compromise, I probably can't get by without spending $200 on fabric.  No way I am slipping that by hubby for my dubious project.  Then, on the other hand, there is a reasonable chance that I would be horrible at upholstering and ruin the fabric in a haze of tears and staples.  Another reason to not start at all!  Until.... I figured out that the fabric paint drop cloths at my local Fred Meyers look SO MUCH LIKE BELGIAN LINEN!!  And they come with about 5 yards of fabric (not normal 54" width, but close enough) for $14!  Who knew!?

Bought two, washed them and dried them up (to remove any sizing and to shrink them)...they ironed beautifully (however, they are most definitely not 100% cotton, because there was some melting at the highest temp on the iron...at least they will be durable and more washable!)

After spending one whole week taking the chair and the ottoman apart---can I tell you how many staples I pulled with my flathead screwdriver, needle-nose pliers and hammer (when the going got tough)?  About eleven thousandy million!  The chair wasn't heavy because of the wood--it was mostly metal staples!!!  Row after row of the vile things.  Like peeling an onion of pain and manicure mangling---and then one whole week putting them back together (with a fair amount of sewing involved because of cushions, single piping and double piping)....oh yeah, I white-washed the wood...

Voila, my chair and ottoman have been up-cycled!  I decided to get a little fancy and do an Ikat stencil print on the outside (prior to stapling) in white mixed with ivory latex paint.  It was either that or a large stripe down the center (which I could always do later, if the mood strikes).  Lucky for me that the insides of the chair (the webbing, the springs, the wadding, the foam cushions) were in perfectly good shape (all the funk was on the outside) and needed only to have a fresh layer of padding to fluff it up.....see honey, there were no mice living in it, after all!

It all turned out pretty darned good!   And now it is a week later and my hands have mostly healed up.  I recommend two things:  when you have a *professional* re-upholster your old smelly chair and the bill is way higher than you thought it should be....just pay the poor guy and smile.  Secondly, if a chair starts flirting with you on CL and says it only needs a little help, don't let it anywhere near your bucket list. 

Unless you have a solid 40-hour week to devote to the mad task.  And you are a wackadoodle like me.

No-Guilt Super-Quick Fresh Raspberry Jam

Who doesn’t want a taste of summer when all you see outside is gray clouds and raindrops?  Lots of raindrops.  Falling sideways, thanks to the wind.  I am a NW gal, born and bred—love me some green trees, green grass and (bountiful) green moss—but even I have limits of what I can tolerate…and late February is about my breaking point.  So I have devised ways to cope.  Seven layers of clothing at once?  Instant Bahamas!  Darkness getting to you?  Turn on ANOTHER lamp (dear husband groans)!  Want to jazz up your tastebuddies?  Invent a new low calorie/zero sugar/super quick and easy fresh Raspberry Jam that is ready in about 3 minutes flat!

Here’s how to make the jam:

1.  Frozen Raspberries are perfect for this (don’t waste the fresh ones unless they are just about to grow fuzz and you have no other ideas of how to save them)…you will want about a cup.  Put them into a microwave safe bowl or Pyrex glass measuring cup (2-cup capacity, at least).  Zap-a-roony the berries in the micro for about a minute.  If they still look frozey, then zap them for another 20-30 seconds.  Then take the back of a spoon and smash them down and stir them around until they are mostly liquid—if they are not very juicy, you can add a little bit of water to get them into a nice mashed state. (BTW, 1 cup of raspberries = 60 calories and lots of natural fiber)

2.  In a small pinch bowl (or ramekin) measure 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (1 tbsp = 30 calories) and then 1 tablespoon of COLD water (warm/hot water activates the thickening process, and you don’t want that to happen yet…) and mix well, until there are no clumps at all in the mixture.  It will look milky.

 

3.  Add the cornstarch slurry in a thin stream into the heated raspberry smash.  Stir well.  (It will look like you added milk to the raspberries). You can go ahead and add your preferred sweetener at this point…I like to add a couple of stevia packets along with a Xylitol (sugar alcohol granules that actually promote good dental health and the re-mineralizing of tooth enamel) packet, and mix that in as well.  The stevia adds no calories, and the Xylitol adds 10 calories for a 4 gram packet.  A few drops of lemon juice is a nice “brightening” flavor also, if you so desire.

4. Back into the microwave for about 40 seconds, or until it looks less watery and more solid.  If it is still milky looking, try another 20 seconds...when you are done, the edges will look a little dodgy/dark, but just give the whole thing a good stir and you are done!  Hot jam!

5.  Now make the toast and enjoy your bite of summer! 

This lasts for about 3 days in the fridge, covered.  If you eat about ¼ of your batch, you have given yourself a nice boost of fruit and only about 25 calories.  A no-guilt splurge!

You can do basically the same thing with frozen strawberries & blueberries.  I like to add the “jam” to plain yogurt, vanilla ice cream, and to spread it on pancakes …you can even add more water in the in the final microwave step, and that will give you a less thickened texture and more syrup-y, perfect for pouring.  Speaking of pouring, yes, it is still raining sideways.  Only 132 days until July 4^th; stay strong Seattleites!

Brow Makeup DeMystified

Makeup Question of the Day:  How do I fill in my very thin eyebrows so they look au natural?



Use a stiff angled brush to add shadow or brow powder.

The short (sort of) answer:  The best way to softly enhance thin or sparse eyebrows, is to use a brow powder with a small stiff angled brush.  If you really have next to no hair, then a few faint pencil marks before using the powder will help give the illusion a boost. You want to create the illusion of thicker brows by simulating the shadow behind the actual brow hairs you have.  You can, at the same time, change the shape of the brow or lengthen it.

Choose a color as follows:     Warning…you might need help from the nice lady at the makeup counter…as this is the one area of color cosmetics that tends to be better found at the department or specialty store vs. the drugstore.

Cool Dark Brunettes & Black Hair: 

Choose a medium toned gray/beige color (more to the gray with a touch of beige…not silver/blue gray) powder that is a few shades lighter in depth than your hair/brow color.  If you choose a dark brown or black shade, in my experience it becomes very difficult to make the color subtle and controllable… without ending up like Baby Jane.  Make it easy on yourself, and choose a lighter color than you think you need—definitely several shades lighter than the hair on your head.


Wow!  What a difference!

Strawberry Blondes, Gingers and Red/Orange Based Brunettes (Auburns): 

Choose a beige color with the slightest tinge of a red-head-ish tone when it is placed on your skin.  Test this on the back of your hand.  If you are not a natural red-based hair color, then you natural brow color will be a “giveaway”, so you need to increase the red/orange tone in the beige OR you can find a red-head based eye-brow gel to actually color the hairs (much like mascara, but without the thickening properties).  The darker the hair on your head the slightly darker the overall shade of the powder that you choose.


Notice brows are slightly lighter than hair.

Blondes, Dark Blondes, Light Browns, Light Brown w/Greyish, Salt and Pepper: 

Choose a gray/beige color (“taupe”), lighter to medium in tone.  You should choose this color on a lighter basis the lighter the overall color on your head--unless you want a very dramatic look (like platinum blonde with dark brown brows).  The grayer the hair on your head, the less beige (light brown) in the taupe—and the more grayer.  The more “golden” your blonde, the more slightly golden the beige/taupe can be.

Before and After for a light brown model.

Notes on the Theme:



This diagram shows where arch should go.

Where to place the arch is a perennial question, which I think the photo on the right answers pretty clearly.  It varies from face to face, but the proportions don't...so take a long thin stick (bamboo skewer?) and check your brow's beginning, end and arch to see that they alight with the points on the photo.  All starts at the out edge of the nose, the arch should align with the middle of the eyeball, the edges of the eye align with the beginning and end points for the brow.  This helps you know where to tweeze; or more likely...where to let the hairs grow back if you have over-tweezed.

For the platinum blondes in the group:  if your brows are too dark, bleaching them (oh so carefully) is an option…if you want a visual lesson in how changing the eyebrows changes the ENTIRE look of the face, simply look at photos of Madonna through the years (one album to the next)…the shape and color of the brows has almost as much impact as her revolving hair color/style in “reinventing” her look. 

I don’t always use brow makeup, but that is because my brows are pretty thick naturally…I do have to tweeze and shape them weekly (only the stragglers that fall outside of the shape I want).   If you  try a new “brow powder” and the color is going on too strong, try either blotting the area with a tissue first (if it is shiny from oils—natural, or from moisturizer—it will “grab” the color and make it darker and resistant to blending) or patting on a sheer layer of face powder prior to your next application.

Notes on Tools: 

·         You will need a proper brush to accomplish the look.  This is an angled, stiff, brush; specifically for dry-eyeshadow lining and powder brow color.  Sonia Kashuk makes a very nice one at Target for $5!

·         A “spooly brush” (like a clean mascara wand) is also very helpful to soften and blend brow color that has just been applied. 

·         Try using a clear Mascara (I like Covergirl’s) as a brow gel to keep the brow hairs from getting messy and unkempt during the day.

 

See how varying the shape of the eyebrow works with the overall shape of your face?

 In case you still have questions about brows, I found a website that sells “brow” stencils (no, I don’t think you want/need these AT ALL) that has a pretty comprehensive amount of brow information.  It talks about the shape of your face and what the shape of your brow can do to enhance it.  It also talks about (and sells stencils for) celebrities brow shapes!  Use it for informational purposes, though, as I  don’t have any idea of the quality of their products.   www.eyebrowz.com