Rosary Necklace Tutorial

I made this Rosary Necklace for Charly for her birthday.  It was my Great Grandmother's Rosary, and she had been asking for it since she was a little girl.  She would go through my jewelry box and ask for different pieces and try it all on.  The rosary was one of her favorite pieces.  Something she always loved.  So for her birthday I turned it into a necklace and it came out so pretty.  It has wooden beads and the cross is made of wood and silver.  It is a simple project and one that would be easy for you to do. 

Rosary Necklace

Supplies:

Rosary

1 clasp

2 jump rings

needle nose pliers

Directions

1.  Find the center of the back of the Rosary.  This is where you will place the clasp and jump ring.

2.  Use your needle nose pliers to open up the link between two beads.

3.  Separate the links



4.  On the right side you will need to place a jump ring into the link and then the clasp onto the jump ring and then use your pliers to close the jump ring.

5.  On the other side I had to remove 1 bead, because I did not have enough room to place my jump ring.  So remove the bead.

6.  Form a loop with your needle nose pliers, but do not close it.

7.  Then place your jump ring in the loop and close your loop with your pliers.

8.  You are done.  Just insert the jump ring into the clasp and you have a Rosary Necklace.

Now, I am not trying to put anyone's religion down, but turning my great grandmother's rosary into a necklace, we are not Catholic, and it was a shame to have it just sitting in a drawer.  So this was a way to pass a little bit of family history down to my daughter.  I hope this helps you with a necklace project.  I always love hearing from you.

Have a great day!!!

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Churros

Today we are sharing a recipe for Churros with you.  I made these also for Charly's birthday and they came out so good.  Danny was my taste tester.  I think he ate about the first 10 that I made, giving feedback.  He felt like this was a really tough job.  It was so hard he had to go take a nap after he finished eating these great Churros.  We ended up getting them just right.  So today we present you with a recipe for Churros that I found at Laurie in the Kitchen

Churros

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup flour
3 TB unsalted butter
1 TB vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 TB sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Fill a dutch oven 1/2 full with oil and heat over medium heat to 375 degrees.

In a large saucepan add water, butter, vegetable oil, 1 TB sugar, vanilla, and salt and bring to a boil.

Turn the Heat down to low and add the flour, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns into a ball.  Cook for 1 about 1 minute, still stirring constantly.

Add dough to a mixing bowl and add 1 egg at a time, mixing well in between each addition.

Add the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

Pipe 5 inch ropes into the hot oil, making sure to keep the oil at 375 degrees while cooking.

Cook for 2 minutes each side and remove from the oil.

Drain on a paper towel

Mix cinnamon and sugar and role in the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Repeat this process, cooking all of the dough.

We hope that you like this recipe for Churros.  We always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!

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Aquatinis for Friday's Happy Hour

Today we have Aquatinis for Friday's Happy Hour and they are delicious.  I got the recipe from the bottle of DeKuyper's Island Punch.  It is a simple recipe and really good.  I also love the color.

Aquatinis

Ingredients:

4 oz citron vodka
4 oz Dekuyper's Island Punch
splash of sweet and sour

Directions:

Pour vodka, Island Punch, and sweet and sour over ice in a martini shaker.

Let sit for a few minutes to get really cold, and then shake well.

Pour into two chilled martini glasses.

Serves 2 Aquatinis

This drink came out really good.  I hope you like it also.  I always love hearing from you.

Enjoy!!!

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Proscuitto and Brie Empanadas

My friend Wanda and I made these delicious and simple Prosciutto and Brie Empanadas.  It's always fun cooking with Wanda and it had been a while, so it was a great day.



(She looks so pretty when she cooks, I of course probably had no makeup and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  She always looks great like this. Perfectly put together,  I need some lessons.)

While David and I were in Argentina, we went to a restaurant that had tons of different empanadas, so when we got home from our cruise, I, of course wanted to make some too.  This week we have the Prosciutto and Brie Empanadas, next week I will give you a recipe for Beef Empanadas, and the following week I will share my Chorizo Empanadas.  So I hope you are ready to go on a taste tour of Argentinian Empanadas.

Proscuitto and Brie Empanadas

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough
8 slices Proscuitto
1 wedge brie cut into 8 pieces
fig preserves or jam

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray.

Unroll your pizza dough on a large cutting board.

I used a small 5 1/2 to 6 inch saucepan lid to cut circles of dough for the empanadas   I got 4 circles of dough from each pizza crust.  (There is quite a bit of waste, you could probably rework the dough and get more circles)

Next put a slice of prosciutto,  brie, and 1 TB fig preserves on 1 half of each circle of dough.

Then fold the other half of dough over the prosciutto and brie and roll the edges so that they are sealed. (Make sure they are sealed, the fig preserves will leak out, it's okay, but nicer if it doesn't)

Bake in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve immediately or remove from pan and place on racks to cool

Makes 8 mid size empanadas.

I hope that you like these delicious Prosciutto and Brie Empanadas.  They are so good and so easy to make.  You could also cut smaller circles and serve them as appetizers.  I always love hearing from you.

Have fun cooking.


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Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 46

We want to thank everyone who shared with last week's Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 45.  We love seeing all of your posts.  You are all truly amazing.  We also want to thank everyone who participated in the giveaway for the $50.00 Target Gift Card.  We can not tell you how much we appreciate your participation.

Welcome to Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 46.   There are not Co-Hosts this week or a giveaway, it's just Charly and me.

Congratulations!!! The winner for last weeks $50.00 Target Gift Card giveaway is Jenny Ham.  Please send me your address and phone number in an email so that we can send you the gift cards.

Now onto the featured bloggers from last weeks party.  Please take a look at their posts.  They are truly amazing and all of you picked them.  These are the most viewed posts from last weeks party.

Featured Bloggers - Adorned From Above Blog Hop 45

1.  Festival of Flowers from Hope at Fairhope Supply Co.

2.  Angel Cake and Jello from Linda at Crafts ala Mode

3.  Scrap Knitting from Katie at Horrific Knits

4.  Whipped Mounds Bar Body Butter from Marilyn at 4 You With Love

5.  Gel Stained Bookshelf from Leigh and Jeanette at Crafty in Crosby

6.  Linky Party Directory from Deby at Mom's Make Money

7.  Killer Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies from Marlo at Repurpose My Life

8.  How to Make Seaglass With A Rock Tumber from Mandy at The Comfy Crafter

Congratulations to all of this weeks featured bloggers.  Grab a button from the Side Bar.

So on to this weeks party.  The rules are easy.

1.  Follow all hosts in some way (GFC, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, or Linky Followers)

2.  Anything goes with posts. (recipes, parties, etsy shops, crafts, inspirational writing, absolutely anything.  Just make it family friendly)

3.  Comment on other posts.  It is a party.  Get to know your fellow bloggers.  I have met some of the nicest people at the parties, including some of my co-hosts.

4.  All featured posts will be pinned on Pinterest, so by linking with this party you are giving me permission to pin your projects.

5.  Also the party now runs from 9:00PM on Tuesdays through 11:59PM on Sundays.

We hope you have fun at this week's party.  We all love hearing from you, so we love your comments.

Now let's party

Have a great week.
Debi and Charly

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Tips for Making Money Blogging

Today's post is a departure from my normal posts. You have seen many changes on my blog over the last month, and there are more to come.  I have been working on getting more followers, adding ads, and trying to make money.  some of these things have worked, some have had mediocre results, and some have made me decide to reevaluate what direction I want to take Adorned From Above in the future.

I love all of you, and you are the reason I write Adorned From Above.  When I started blogging, it was not to make money, but to share my recipes and ideas with other like minded bloggers.  I love connecting with all of you.  Over the next few weeks, I will be deciding on the direction that I want to take Adorned From Above, and I am going to keep all of you informed.

I have already made some changes.  I will not longer work on Sunday's, and I am not sure about Saturday's yet.  I will not longer stay up until 2AM working on the blog.  That decision was made while on was on my cruise in February.  All of you know that blogging can take over your life, but I feel that we are writing to improve our lives, and working 20 hours a day, is not improving anyone's life.

Now about making money blogging.  Here is what I have learned during the grand experiment over the last month about making money blogging.  (even harder work)

1.  Adding ads -  I have started with many different affiliates.  Some work better then others.    Sign up for these different affiliates, and then it is trial and error, for what works.

2.  Promoting your ads -  Some ads you can just put on your blog and people with click on them, but I have found that I must promote them.  Which means writing posts and then promoting them on social media.  ( Hard work and not always enjoyable)

3.  Evaluating your ads - Once you have your ads up you will need to check them and evaluate how they are doing on your blog.  I normally check daily, and move them around or remove them if they are not getting any clicks or conversions.

Now for the different affiliates that I have signed up with and what I have made.  It's not a lot, but it is a starting point and I did better then I have done with Google's Adsense (February 5.44), but they all paid about the same this month.

Earnings for Month of March
You can sign up with each of these affiliates from their links below.

1.  Integrate -  $10.73

Has ads and giveaways.  I enjoy working with them, and pick products that I think you might like.  You do have to write and use social media to get people to some of their ads, but some sell themselves.

2. Escalate Network - $10.05

They do ads, coupons, giveaways and lots more.  I like working with them also.  Most of these just sell themselves.

3. Viralati - $4.82

This is super easy.  You just pin the ads and giveaways.  I check to see what they have each morning and pin away on my giveaway board.  They don't always have a lot, but it's pretty easy to do, and if I spend 5 minutes a day, that would be a lot.

4. Join shareasale.com, Earn Cash!  $11.72

I really like Share A Sale.  The ads are easy to put on your blog, but I have found that I need to really try to send people to them.   I love the Craftsy classes.  I am getting ready to take a few.

5.  Craftsy - part of my Share A Sale earnings

Is part of share a sale.  You have to sign up for share A Sale first and then sign up for Craftsy.  I love the Craftsy classes, I'm taking some this week.

6. Sponsored Tweets - $1.26

This is really easy.  They give you the tweet, sometimes you have to change it a little, but simple to do.  They don't have a lot, and they send you the offers.  You can take them or not.  This is for just 7 tweets and they take just a few seconds to do.

7.  Google Adsense - $9.54

You can sign up for Adsense.  They are easy to use, it is only Pay Per Click.  You can add on the other  part which is a Pay Per Conversion.  It may pay more.  I did it for a while, but had problems with my feeds, so I took the ad's out.  I may retry them in the future.

Six Sisters Affliiates Sales $2.70
Just display their books and earn commissions.  These are great books.  I have learned a lot from them.

Total March Earnings $50.72

This is not great, but better then February's $5.44.  I'll will give updates once a month on how different affiliates are doing.  There are some other affiliates that I have signed up for, but not added yet.  I will let you know how they do.

If you decide that you want to sign up for some of these affiliate programs, you can follow the links.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.  I had some difficulties with some of the forms and you may also, just let me know and I can send your information to my account managers, so that they can help you.

I hope this helps.  I always love hearing from you.

Have a great week.
Debi

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Easter - Matthew 28

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

What Christ did for us is so beautiful!!!

We are so very grateful.

Have a wonderful day with your families and friends.

Debi and Charly

28:1  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

28:2  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

28:3  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

28:4  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

28:5  And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Mat 28:6  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

28:7  And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

28:8  And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

28:9  And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

28:10  Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

28:11  Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

28:12  And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

28:13  Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

28:14  And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

28:15  So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

28:16  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

28:17  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

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Almond Crusted Poached Eggs

These Almond Crusted Poached Eggs were delicious.  You probably can not tell from the bulk of my recipes, but I really should be eating grain free.  I was reading a recipe in the Primal Blueprint Cookbook, that seemed perfect for a GF Breakfast. These eggs are poached and then you coat them in almond flour and fry them.  It feels like you are eating bread with your eggs, when you're not.  A delicious alternative to regular Eggs Benedict   Just add hollandaise and you are on your way.  This would be really good for and Easter Brunch. 

Almond Crusted Poached Eggs

Ingredients:

2 Poached Eggs

1/2 cup almond flour (separated in half)

2 TB fresh dill

1/2 tsp salt (separated in half)

2 eggs beaten

1 inch of oil in a frying pan

1 tsp vinegar for poaching your eggs

Directions:

Add 3 to 4 inches of water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Add 1 tsp vinegar to the water.

Turn heat down and let the water simmer.

Break your eggs into ramekins or bowls and gently slide them 1 at a time into your simmering water.

Cook them for 2 to 3 minutes, until the whites are firm and them gently remove from water with a slotted spoon.  Dry them off

While you are poaching your eggs start heating your oil.

Mix the almond flour, salt, and dill together.

Put your egg in a slotted spoon and spoon 1/8 cup almond flour on top of the egg.

Next, spoon 1 beaten on top of the almond flour.

Then spoon the next 1/8 cup of almond flour over the egg.

Next, next gently slide the egg into the hot oil, flour side down.

Fry 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown, then remove from oil with a spatula.

Drain and serve immediately

Makes 2 Almond Crusted Poached Eggs

I hope you like these Almond Crusted Poached Eggs.  I always love hearing from you. 

Enjoy!!!

Debi

Blue Raspberry Jelly Bean Martini for Friday's Happy Hour

Today's drink are Blue Raspberry Jelly Bean Coolers and they are even better then the Cherry Jelly Bean Coolers.  They are also really easy to make, and look really cute for an Easter Cocktail.  You even still have time to infuse your vodka

Blue Raspberry Jelly Bean Martini

Ingredients:

4 oz Starburst Blue Raspberry jelly bean infused vodka

6 oz white cranberry juice

Starburst jelly beans (for garnish)

Directions:

Infuse Vodka 1 1/2 cups vodka with all of the blue raspberry jelly beans from 2 bags of jelly beans for 2 days.

Then strain in into a pretty bottle.

In a martini shaker with ice add jelly bean infused vodka and cranberry juice and shake well.

Garnish with jelly beans.

Serves 2 5 oz Martinis.

We hope that you like these Blue Raspberry Jelly Bean Matinis.  We thought they were a fun drink recipe for Happy Hour and Easter.  We always love hearing from you.

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Lace Embellished Coach Evening Bag

I added lace to this little Coach Evening Bag and made my own Lace Embellished Coach Evening Bag.  I love the way it came out and it was very simple to do.  

Though before I do that I want to give you a little more background on me.  I have had several businesses over the past 16 years, and they all center around designing.  I have sewn since I was a teenager.  I truly love sewing and don't get to do enough of it.  I was a fine arts major in college, and then did additional schooling for graphic design, and finally clothing design.  I started in the late 90's with a slipcover business and I made custom slipcovers, bedding, pillows, and other things along those lines.  I then started a clothing design business, because I thought that would be a lot more fun the doing furniture.  For me designing clothing is a passion.  I love the whole process from the drawings, to making the patterns, to picking the fabrics, and actually putting it all and seeing the finished results.  I don't do as much designing as I used to, I mostly design hand knits for my online store Dreams by Debi.  Though you will see a T-shirt and skirt in the next week that I designed.

When I was starting to do this bag, I was originally going to put rhinestones on it, and then I decided to go another way.  I started pulling trim out of my trim cupboard and was trying to decide between bead fringe or lace.  The lace won.  I love lace even more then I love shiny stuff.  Now on to my Lace Embellished Coach Evening Bag.

Lace Embellished Coach Evening Bag

Supplies:

1 evening bag (mine was purchased from Goodwill for $14.99 in January)

5 inch wide lace (enough to go around the bag plus 1 inch, mine was 24 inches total 23 for the bag and 1" extra)

Allene's fabric glue

straight pins (to hold glued lace in place)

tissue paper to stuff bag

white chalk to mark top of bag for lace

Directions:

1. Stuff purse with tissue paper, so that the sides are not flimsy.  You want them pushed out so that they are easier to work with.

2.  Measure 1 inch down from the top of the bag and mark the bag with the white chalk around the bag.

3.  Starting at center of the narrow side of the bag dab glue on your lace and put the lace on the bag tacking the lace in place to the bag with your straight pins.

4.  Work your way around the narrow side of the bag and down one long side dabbing glue on the lace and tacking the lace in place with the pins. (once the glue is dry you can remove the pins) 

5.  Let the glue dry, and then you can start working on the other narrow side of the bag and down the opposite long side, dabbing glue and tacking the lace in place with your straight pins. 

6.  Let glue dry before working around the last narrow side of the bag.  (once the glue is dry you can remove the pins)

7.  Dab glue on the very end of your lace and fold over 1/2 inch of lace to the inside and pin the lace together until the glue dries.

8.  After the glue has dried on the end piece, remove the pins.  Then you will finish dabbing glue on your lace and tacking it to the purse and making sure it is attached with the pins.  

9. Let dry and remove pins.

This is a pretty simple project,  it took me about 2 hours total, but with letting the glue dry it was about 24 hours.

I hope that you like my Lace Embellished Coach Evening Bag.  I decided that I am going to give it  to my Mom for Mother's Day.  It will make a great gift for her.  I always love hearing from you.

Have a great weekend!!!

Debi

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Reebok End of Season Sale

March is almost over which means there are fantastic end of season sales as we head into Spring! 

Find dozens of products marked down by 40% during the Reebok End of Season Sale with promo code SPRING40! 

This is the perfect time to get a new pair of shoes and some workout gear to get back into shape before beach season is upon us! 

Save big on the great selection of Reebok shoes and apparel at unbelievable markdown prices.

My Craftsy Wish List

I see the Craftsy classes all of the time, and I have a few that I would love to take.  They are not very expensive and look like a lot of fun.

My Craftsy Wish List: 

1. Modern Piping - I would love to start learning how to do great piping on cakes and cupcakes.  I have just started learning, and I think it is so fun.  I am ready to learn more.



2. Advanced Fondant Techniques - I don't know why, but I have always been afraid of fondant.  Maybe it is the rolling part, but it always looks so beautiful, so this is on my list to take.


3. vintage Cake Techniques - These cakes always look so pretty.  How could you not want to learn how to make lace for a cake.  So amazing.

There are so many more classes I would love to take. Head over to Craftsy to see what other classes they have to offer.

Enjoy!!!

Debi

Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 45

We want to thank everyone who shared with last week's Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 44.  We love seeing all of your posts.  You are all truly amazing.  It was also the biggest party we have had so far with 358 links and 3200 page views in 5 days. We also want to thank everyone who participated in the giveaway for the $50.00 Visa Gift Card.  We can not tell you how much we appreciate your participation.

 

Welcome to Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop 45.   This week Linda from Crafts ala Mode and I are doing a giveaway for a $50.00 Target Gift Card, $25.00 will come from Linda and $25.00 will come from me.

Debi From Adorned From Above - Host
Linda From Crafts ala Mode - Co-Host

Congratulations!!! The winner for last weeks $50.00 Visa Gift Card giveaway is Pat lawson  Pat I sent you a message on Twitter, because I did not receive your email address.   Please contact me with your address and phone number at my email debrabolocofsky@gmail.com, so that I can send you the gift card.

Now for this weeks giveaway.  Here it is.

Now onto the featured bloggers from last weeks party.  Please take a look at their posts.  They are truly amazing and all of you picked them.  These are the most viewed posts for the last four parties.

Featured Bloggers - Adorned From Above Blog Hop 44

1.  Painted Glass Bottles and Vases from Margaret at Moving Foward

2.  Paper Mache Easter Eggs from Paula at Creating in Glass Slippers

3.  Easter Cross from Penny at Penny's Vintage Home

4.  An Unbelievable Ear Infection Remedy from Adrienne at Whole New Mom

5.  How to Grow Your Blog With Giveaways from Jenna at Rain On A Tin Roof

6.  What Are Your Life's Dreams from Annie at Annie One Can Cook

7.  Growing Your Blog - Small Ways to Go From 0 - 100 from Abbi at Seasons of a Homemaker

8.  Kate's Cottage Bedroom Reveal from Jessica at Mom 4 Real

Congratulations to all of this weeks featured bloggers.  Grab a button from the Side Bar.

So on to this weeks party.  The rules are easy.

1.  Follow all hosts in some way (GFC, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, or Linky Followers )

2.  Anything goes with posts. ( recipes, parties, etsy shops, crafts, inspirational writing, absolutely anything.  Just make it family friendly )

3.  Comment on other posts.  It is a party.  Get to know your fellow bloggers.  I have met some of the nicest people at the parties, including some of my co-hosts.

4.  All featured posts will be pinned on Pinterest, so by linking with this party you are giving me permission to pin your projects.

5.  Also the party now runs from 9:00PM on Tuesdays through 11:59PM on Sundays.

We hope you have fun at this week's party.  We all love hearing from you, so we love your comments.

Now let's party

Have a great week.
Debi, Charly, and Linda

This is where we party. Click to see all the parties.