Raspberry and White Chocolate Ganache Pistachio Macarons

Using a mixture of ground pistachios and almonds, I made these macrons with a raspberry and white chocolate ganache filling. The recipe used was from Sorted Food and the main alteration was making the almond flour a mixture of ground almonds and pistachios. It gives the macarons a slightly speckled look, although green food coloring would really emphasize the green of the pistachio. The ratio of almonds to pistachios was about 2:1, although it wasn't measured exactly.

(The scale was zeroed before adding more pistachio)

 The pieces of almond/pistachio flour that was left in the sifter was used as a garnish on half of the macarons before allowing them to sit.

 

The ganache was made from 2 parts Ghirardelli (214white chocolate chips and one part heavy cream melted in a double broiler on medium heat until it was fully melted and combined. I let it set partially in the fridge so it would be easier to spoon onto the macarons. I pressed cut raspberries into the ganache to finish.

MORE FUN: Swimsuit --> Crop Top Refashion

I made this quick crop top from an old bathing suit that I got from my mom. It used to be an attached two piece but I cut the bottom half off since I liked the print on top.

To turn it into a crop top, I started by taking the sides in to make it a little more fitted and then folded the bottom edges under. I used a zig zag stitch to hem it since the material is very stretchy, and then cut off the excess fabric after. (Very out of order, but I thought it was easier and the fabric doesn't fray regardless.)

Since the lettering on the front looked like it used to be coated in silver glitter, I finished off the shirt by adding on some glitter using a sponge and some silver glittery nail polish. The old glitter was in blotchy spots around the letters, so instead of coating it all in glitter, I painted it on in small areas and then blotted them with a makeup sponge to blend out the edges.

Black Lace Bow Shaped Purse

I made this black lace covered purse inspired by this video from K.L. aka Secret Life of of a Bio Nerd on Youtube using a couple of fat quarters and some black lace. Her tutorial is very straightforward and walks you through everything step by step and I'm very happy with how it turned out!

The materials I used were: 2 fat quarters (one black, one patterned for the inside), 10 inches of black lace fabric, lightweight interfacing, a gold jewelry chain, a 14 inch zipper, and magnetic closures (the two pack is for some reason cheaper than the individual ones). In total, all of the materials to make the purse cost less than $10, all of which I got at Joann's on sale.

I kept the dimensions of the purse exactly the same as in the video. Two fat quarters the perfect amount for this purse, although the strap pieces were slightly smaller. The main differences were that I added pockets to the lining, used an extra layer of the out fabric for the lace, not using the jump rings, and adding the magnetic closures before sewing them to the purse.

I cut out all of the outer pieces for the bag in black and later cut out pieces of lace for the pieces that would be facing outward only. For the lining (patterned fabric) I just cut a rectangle large enough to hold my phone (spoiler alert, the my phone in its case is too big to fit in the closed bag).

 I only had white interfacing, but you probably shouldn't use that when working with black fabric, although it ended up being sandwiched by the lace and the lining anyway.

For the loops that hold the straps. 

Attaching the lining to the zipper tape.

The pocket was based of this pleated pocket tutorial except with only two pockets instead of three. Instead of sewing a line straight down the bottom, I folded the sides of the phone pocket over a little to create some more depth. Before attaching the pocket, I folded in all four sides and sewed a straight stitch all around.

I attached the lace to the black fabric by sewing along the long sides.

Pressing the top edge of the outer fabric down. 

Finished zipper.

 For the bottom strap, I just sandwiched the lace in between the two pieces of black fabric. For the top strap with the pockets, I attached the lace to the longest pieces of black fabric first.

 To add the magnetic closure, it's probably easiest to attach it before you do the previous step since I had to turn the strap pieces wrong side out again.

After attaching the straps to the body of the bag and adding the chains to the loops (I didn't bother using jump rings), this is how the purse turned out: