A Mélange of Table Toppers

7:00pm on a Saturday night...what's there to do? Pub? Nah.  Shop Etsy/Beyond the Rack? Next pay day. Fine, how about a Jillian Michaels workout vid? Ha! Not. A. Chance.

Next time you and your friends have fun-block, try crafting up a table topper storm. We promise these creations will keep the night interesting and then some!

To compliment our coaster craft, we each picked a dish that was simple, delish, and could be eaten around your coffee table. First things first - let's get those drinks made and be sure to keep them coming! Silk Road - we love you! These earl green tea gin and tonics are the ultimate girly cocktail and are dangerously addictive. Quite possibly our new summer drink. As we gulped away, we roasted the curried squash, perfected each caprese skewer and meticulously drizzled each crostini with some honey. A satisfying night if you want to stop there...

But it's 9:00pm and our night is just about to get better (come one, cut us 9-5'ers some slack). 

Spice up your living room decor and show off your originality with some homemade coasters. Any excuse to use mod podge, is reason enough. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the fancy new table toppers. Functional, original and cheapy-cheap. Job well done, ladies! 

Even though we’re crafty, not all our creations are original. Big shout outs to the following sites and/or people for inspiring this ladies night in...

• Caprese skewers: Mels Kitchen Cafe
• Hummus modified from: Food Coma
• Crostini's:  Bon Apetit 
• Coasters: Two Girls Being Crafty
• Cocktail: Inspired by Silk Road Tea's tea cocktail seminar. If you live in Victoria and have a chance to take a class... you can find the schedule here. 

Guest List: Cindy, Hayley, Steph and Ashleigh. Want to know what makes us tick? Visit our Guest List.

How we prep... Getting ready

** Side Note: A bit of prep was completed prior to our night in for the aged song lyrics. If you are ambitious, feel free to tackle it all at once. However, if you want more time to enjoy your drinks and the company, begin these tips beforehand. 

With assistance from this helpful website:http://www.mevsthehouse.com/how-to-make-paper-look-old-by-aging-it-with-tea this process only took about an hour...

• I encourage the use of the instant coffee. Sparsely sprinkle it on the tea covered paper on the baking sheets, then dab with a paper towel
• This project was alot of fun! I ended up with a little assembly line and 'aged' 8 sheets! ...I got a little carried away with crafting 
• I would definetly try this project again, and perhaps frame meaningful lyrics, or poem, or story from a printed book **

And back to our evening! 

How we eat... Round up the posse

Curried Squash Hummus

• 1 squash (we used Kabocha squash, solely because it looked most like a pumpkin. Any kind will surely do)
• 1 can (drained and rinsed) chickpeas
• olive oil
• salt
• lemon
• curry powder
• toasted naan bread (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut squash into pieces (removing seeds) and lay out on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, then rub into squash. Sprinkle a healthy portion of curry powder over squash, and then place in oven. Cook until squash can be punctured easily with a fork, it took us about 50 minutes.

Scoop approximately 1-2 cups of squash into mixing bowl. (Depending on how squashy you want it to taste!) Add in chickpeas, 3/4 tbsp of olive oil, a dash of salt, and the juice from a lemon. Blend together with hand mixer, or food processor, or your biceps. Whatever is available. Voila! Serve with naan. 

Peach Prosciutto Ricotta Crostinis  

• A couple of peaches (they're not quite in season so we used nectarines)
• 100g of thinly sliced prosciutto
• Honey 
• Ricotta cheese
• Bread of choice 
• Olive oil
• Spepper (salt and pepper)

Mini Caprese Skewers

• Cherry tomatoes
• Basil leaves
• Bocconcini cheese
• Balsamic vinaigrette to drizzle over
• Toothpicks as skewers

How we drink... Bottle service

Steep 6 TBSP's of loose green tea (we used Silk Road's Earl Green..... delicious!) in 2 cups of Gin for 20 minutes. When infusion is complete, strain the loose tea out of the gin. Though it is tempting to get every last drop of gin from the tea leaves.... refrain from squeezing out every last drop or it will be too bitter. Mix gin in a pitcher with tonic, ice and squeezed limes. Pour in a pretty glass for your ultimate drinking pleasure! 

How we jam... Who's who on the dance floor 

What do we hear when there is a collaboration of girlie cocktails and small eats? Why, some slick beats of course! Check out some of the diddies that got our creations flowing!

The Puppini Sisters - Hollywood
Mop Mop - Ritual of the Savage
David Simard - Slower, Lower
Jill Barber - Mischevious Moon
Royal Wood - The Waiting
Hannah Georgas - This is Good
The Bahama Social Club - Rhythm is What Makes Jazz, Jazz
Emma Louise - Full Hearts & Empty Rooms

How we craft... party party party

We each made 8 tiles. Thank you Landon at Home Depot for not making us buy the box of 100. When in doubt, use your girly charm.

How we did... After party

Maps, music, and Peanuts... oh my!

How we flopped... The hangover

• 1 squash is too big for the hummus... but leftover squash turned into a great pasta dish with spinach and beef ravioli.

• The white glue we used to secure our art on the tiles bubbled for some, but actually made the 'aged' sheet music look even better!

• Home printed images don't hold up well to the mod podge - best to purchase your picture of choice

• Remember to read all of the directions. Somehow the last step of spraying our coasters with clear acrylic spray was missed. Turns out - coasters aren't that water proof without it!