We've Moved!

So thrilled to send you over to our new home!  It's almost finished and we couldn't be happier!  

G3QDesigns New Home on WordPress!

We have some Haunted Mansion crafts up today!

Thank you for following!

{G3QDesigns}

Spotlight: {Vintage} Dogs

When we are buying vintage we set out to try and buy things that we would put in our own homes, things that are beautiful and/or things that have heaps of personality.  Vintage dogs and dog figurines cover all three!  It's no wonder our "Dog shelves" fill and empty over and over again!

Awe!  This sleeping brass hound is a charmer! And,this boot scrape is one of my favorites!  If only we needed it more than 3 days a year here in southern California!

Letter holder? {Japan, 1950s} Ashtray? {Germany 1950s}

Wether you're looking for a little buddy to sit atop the books in your office, rest beside your bed, or help you get the mud off your boots, we have the perfect {vintage} pet for you!  Check out our shop on One Kings Lane.  And if you can't wait for one to pop up on our shop page contact us directly!  

Many Blessings,

{G3QDesigns}

Carmel Apples With {Stones}

Once I started crafting I couldn't stop.  And, Im completely obsessed with natural stones right now - wearing them, decorating with them, and just looking at them!  You can follow our how to make your carmel apple here!  And, for this second round I used a home-made carmel that I found on Our Best Bites.  It worked much better than melting the pre-made gooey-goodness.

Now that you've preped all of your apple fixings, it is time to decorate your sticks! Any stones or beads will do!  My favorite at the moment is malachite but my DIY budget didn't allow for any of it to adorn these apple sticks!  Instead: I went for some turquoise, alabaster, and quartz.

Oh lala!  A little leather for wrapping!

Take your widdled twigs and get creative!

I found it most helpful to string my beads on adding a knot on each one so that they stayed where I wanted them!  

Here's a little close-up of the finished sticks:

All of the stones used in this post are available for sale at our shop on One Kings Lane!

Enjoy your apples and if you do try these at home, please share photos of your finished product!

Blessings,

{G3QDesigns}

Silk Wrapped {Carmel} Apple Stems

Carmel apples are one of my very favorite sweets.  {And that's saying a lot because I pretty much love every sweet!}  I wanted to give these as gifts to the Gs teachers so I thought I would spruce them up a bit.  I wrapped away in some silk yarn, added some tassels and the end result was {in my opinion} awesome ~ how much do they remind you of truffula trees! 

Now carmel apples are not actually as easy as they look!  They are testy.  Here are a few things you can do ahead of time to make things go smoothly:

Go ahead and pick any type of apple.  I favor Organic Granny Smith because I like the tart & sweet combo.

1. Collect some interesting twigs or sticks

2. Widdle the end off your twigs using a knife {be sure to cut away from you!} 

3. Wash and dry your apples

4. Use a light grit sandpaper to get some of the wax off the apples {this will also help the carmel stick!} I know this sounds weird but trust me!

Next, the tedious task of unwrapping all of your carmels!  {I have to say my experiece with these wasn't great.  I ended up redoing these with home-made carmel and it made a world of difference!  Tune in tomorrow for them apples!}

Next: Dressing your stick!

You can even make little tassles to add:

Finally:

I used a double boiler to melt my carmels and added a little milk to make them creamy {one or two teaspoons is enough}. Once your carmel is melted, set it aside for a few minutes so that it is not too hot.  If the carmel is too hot it will run right off the apple!  Then go ahead and dip your apple into the carmel in a side to side motion.  I use a spoon to push the carmel over the top too.

After you let your apple cool and dry you can dip it in candy melts, chocolate and/or graham crackers!  Honestly, you can dip these little guys in anything!  I just liked the color and textures of the carmel, white chocolate, and graham!

Oh look at all that gooey goodness!  I hope you all enjoy making these as much as I did! Keep your eyes out for apples with stones tomorrow!

Many Blessings,

{G3QDesigns}

Giving Thanks

So thankful for the time I had with her but would give almost anything to have more of it.  When you suffer a major loss in life it makes the good times almost as unbearable as the bad.  I am so so thankful for all of the good in my life right now ~ wish you were here to share it with me Mom.

Praying for all of you who have the hole in your hearts that make even the best of times painful.

Many Blessings Friends,

{G3QDesigns}

Home Made With {Love}

I found these cute cookie stamps in Cost Plus the other day and I had to try them out!  They are super darling and make it easy to make a cute gift for friends in need of a pick me up or a holiday "'hello"!

Go ahead and make your favorite sugar cookie receipie! Two of my Gs were napping so G2 and I got to spend some one on one time baking! Cherish those moments!

First, we rolled out the dough.

Next, let your little helper cut out circles.

Then, stamp away!!! (Try lightly spraying the stamp with cooking spray or dipping in flour - the dough does stick a bit.)

We also cut some out and rolled the edges in sprinkles....

I also let G2 just roll some of these little guys with the left over dough.  Why not?  (It reminded me of making gnocchi with my uncle too!)  

So, the impression on our cookies didn't turn out great.  But, we had such a fun afternoon just trying out different ways to dress our sugar cookies in sprinkles!  I do think I will try the stamps on short bread or another more dense cookie!  I let you know how it works.  In the meantime, get to baking!  Your kids will thank you for it!

Many Many Blessings,

{G3QDesigns}

Domino is {Finally} Back!!!!

It's true.  It's not new new news but it is wonderful news.  On October 8th Domino officially relaunched.  It is now a quarterly magazine with an amazingly inventive website.

The site is packed with the same wonderfully creative interior spaces and helpful tips.  But, what's new and what is so fantastic about it is that you can shop right from the pages of the magazine or website by article or category.  

Not only can you shop the new site but you can save images to your own board on the site.  It's like Domino the mag meets One Kings Lane meets Pintrest.  Genius. 

The categories on the new site include: Features, shop, scouting, entertaining, travel, connect (vie instagram, facebook, etc.) and magazine.

Here is a shot from the entertaining page.  Look at the rich colors, the down-to-earth yet creative tips and the remarkable ease by which you can now shop what you see. 

I wanted to include the letter from Michelle Adams, the editor.  (She is the former and founding editor of Lonny.) In the computer age and the generation of social media I find it so easy to get disconnected from the people that are behind what we see and read.  Here is a woman who is taking a chance on a new venture and putting it all out there in what is pretty much a creative start-up company. The site is not yet perfect - {I can't even imagine the engineering that had to go into a site with so many variables!} - but I know it will be insanely inspirational to us all!

Creativity is contagious.  (A. Einstein) Let's pass it on.  Here, tag #welcomehomedomino and be featured on their site!

Happy Weekend Reading Everyone.

Blessings,

{G3QDesigns}