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I'm a creative person at heart and that carries on into the kitchen. I like creating and cooking new and novel meals for my family whenever I have time. Recently, I decided to try my hand at homemade pappardelle. I had a craving for luscious noodles and a rich beef ragu sauce with lots of parmesan cheese (check back soon for the sauce recipe). So, "for fun" I decided to try my hand at making my own pasta. It can't be that hard I thought, and they weren't, and let me tell you, they were delicious. You don't need any fancy tools for this recipe, just a clean counter, rolling pin, and knife. This is more time consuming so make sure to save it for a weekend night when you have more time to devote. I would say it took 15 minutes to create the dough, 20 minutes for it to sit, and then about 30 more minutes to roll it out. Overall, set aside at least an hour or even 1.5 hours of time to create this pasta. It's totally worth it though! Homemade Pappardelle *makes 8 servings Ingredients: 4 eggs 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt small bowl of cold water plastic wrap Directions: On a clean counter, create a large mound with your flour, make a hole in the middle, and add your eggs, olive oil, and salt right into the hole. Make your bowl of cold water and set it nearby to have while you make your dough. Slowly, with a fork, start adding in flour little by little into your eggy middle. Once the side of my flour pile broke, but I just scooped it all together and started using my hands to mix it. It will look kind of fluffy and jagged. Keep working it together. Add about a tablespoon or two of the cold water to your mixture until it starts to form a dough. I think I added about 6 tablespoons to this batch. Using your hands, create a ball with the dough, kneading it until it's smooth and slightly elastic feeling, about 10 minutes. It should look like this below. If it's too sticky add a little flour until it's more like a playdough texture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or covered in a bowl, and let sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature. Once it's sat, take a knife or bench/dough scraper and cut the dough in 4 pieces like a pie. Place the unused dough back in the plastic wrap until you are ready for it. On a clean, floured surface (I used the counter) use your hands to slightly press down the dough and use the rolling pin to roll it out. Make sure to keep dough, counter, and rolling pin floured to keep it from sticking. Roll out your dough slightly thinner than you think because it will puff up a bit when cooking. I just eyeballed this part. Once you have it rolled out as thin as you like it, take a knife and cut strips about 1 inch wide and about 12 inches long. It's okay if they aren't perfect that makes it more homemade. Add a little bit of flour to a bowl, baking pan, or space on your counter, grab the noodles in the middle and drag them in the flour to lightly coat them. Swirl noodles into "nest" on a cutting board or baking sheet until ready. Repeat the same process with the remaining 3 mounds of dough. * I've found that each "nest" makes about 2 servings of pasta. Lastly cook or store your pasta (see below) and serve with your favorite sauce! Cook: To cook the pappardelle, boil a large pot of water. Cook for 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness) in boiling water until al dente. You can finish off the noodles in your sauce of choice. Store: I usually cook my pasta the same day, but you can store it, covered, in the refrigerator for a few days or lay it flat on a baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours, and then transfer it to a plastic bag for storing in the freezer. I think I doubled the cooking time when I froze my last batch, but test the doneness to your liking.

In our post, Trends We're Keeping in 2025 we talked about embracing dopamine decor in our homes and lives. If you're a Disney lover you're going to want to see this Disney kitchen cookware we stumbled upon. Faberware has released some gorgeous Disney-themed bake and cookware that is sure to bring a smile to your face, and some magic to your cooking. They have a wide range of things including pots, pans, and Mickey-shaped cake pans. 8 piece ceramic Disney cookware - This monochromatic set is inspired by Disney's black and white animations from their early era. Ceramic nonstick interior with Mickey-shaped knobs. These are both dishwasher and oven-safe. 6 piece Disney bakeware set - This baking set has little Mickey emblems embossed on the pans. Our favorite is the three-piece cake pans that create the iconic Mickey shape. Disney Cast-iron Dutch Oven - This 3-quart pre-seasoned black cast iron pan will be perfect for oven-to-table meals. Bake with Mickey Set - With a muffin tin, baking pans, loaf pan, and oven mitts you are sure to bake up something sweet with this set. Bon Voyage Dutch Oven - Complete your set with this large pre-seasoned Dutch oven from the Bon Voyage collection , it's perfect for soups and one-pot pasta meals . We literally want it all! What piece is your favorite?

My friend gave me this potato soup recipe years and years ago. I tweaked it a little over the years, however, it still remains one of our rainy-day favorites. I use heavy cream in my recipe, but you could substitute it for milk if you have it. I usually use whatever cheeses I have on hand. I usually have cheddar, swiss, and mozzarella cheeses in my fridge so that's become my base recipe. In the past, I've used a variety of different cheese combinations. That's the great thing about cooking. You can totally make changes to a recipe to suit your likes or use up things you have in your fridge. Three Cheese Potato Soup Ingredients: 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced smoked sausage, sliced olive oil 2.5 cups chicken broth 4-5 medium potatoes 2.5 cups heavy cream or milk 1 cup cheddar cheese 1 cup mozzarella cheese 1 cup Swiss cheese Directions: 1. Start a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil and cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Boil in salted water for about 10 mins or until tender. 2. Meanwhile, in a large pot sauté onions, garlic, and sausages in olive oil over medium heat until the onion is slightly browned and soft. 3. Stir in chicken broth. Dump in drained potatoes and mash with a potato masher until smooth, some lumps are okay. 4. Add in salt and pepper to taste (I've added smoked paprika before) and stir in heavy cream or milk. 5. Stir in cheeses, leaving a little for topping. 6. Feel free to adjust the milk and chicken stock if the soup is too thick. 7. Once it's heated through, scoop it into bowls, top it with cheese, and serve. These Soup Bowls are my favorite for presenting cute soups and stews! Shop them here: I like to serve my potato soup with a big German pretzel or some crusty bread and a cold beer!

In my most recent attempt to be a healthier, I created this healthy green smoothie. It's so yummy and recently has been my favorite breakfast, even my kiddos like it! I finally got a chance to make it for Richard this week and he's a fan. It's so simple and super healthy with all that spinach! I created measurements for this post, but usually for my frozen fruits and spinach I sort of eyeball it. The measurements aren't always exact when I make it but pretty close. This smoothie is so good you don't even feel like you're eating greens. It's a wonderful way to get some green stuff into your body making your day start off healthier! Green Smoothie 1/2 cup frozen peaches 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks 4 ice cubes 1 cup cold water 2 fresh bananas, broken into pieces 1 fresh kiwi, peeled and sliced 3 cups fresh baby spinach 1 small container vanilla yogurt (6 oz) Blend it all together for a few minutes, stirring to ensure everything is getting mixed and enjoy! This makes about 36 ounces of smoothie.

No-sew Blanket This no-sew blanket is a perfect easy craft to do with a friend or by yourself while you watch a movie. Supplies: Fleece - 2 large pieces, however large you like, see below for sizes Scissors Measuring board - optional Step 1: Choose 2 coordinated pieces of fleece . We choose this gorgeous watercolor fleece fabric (currently out of stock) and a matching minty green to be the back. **I suggest using 1.5 yards to create a child-size blanket. 1 yard makes a good-sized blanket too, but would only work for a smaller child or baby. Of course, you could always go bigger and make a 2 yard blanket which would be good for an adult size blanket. For fleece here are some good places to start shopping - here , here , and here . Step 2: Layer the two pieces of fabric together and trim your edges to even them up, remove any fabric info and to make sure they line up correctly. Step 3: Cut out a 4 x 4-inch square from each corner of your blanket. Step 4: Cut strips – about 4 inches long and 1 inch apart, along all four sides of your blanket. Kind of like a fringe. Step 5: Fold your “fringe” back at the base and snip a small cut in the middle of each fringe piece. Maybe 1/2 inch, just big enough to loop your fabric through in the following step. Step 6: Fold back both layers of the fringe and loop through the snip. Step 7: Pull your fringe loop tight. My daughter calls these little fortune cookies. They help your blanket lay flatter and then you don’t have knots around the edges. Kids are great helpers for this part. My daughter and I sat across the table from each other and just talked while we worked on this blanket.

As we move into the new year there will inevitably be new trends that pop up. We are taking a look back at trends we noticed from 2024, that we are keeping in 2025. Beauty Trends Red light therapy - items like this facial massager that offer multiple color therapies as well as heat and massage, are great for lymph drainage, reducing fine lines, as well as increasing muscle tone and product absorption. Satin pillowcases - satin pillowcases aren't a new thing, but they made a comeback in 2024 and we are keeping them around for our skin and hair! Hydrating masks - keep your skin hydrated with this overnight hydro mask that turns white as the nutrients are absorbed into your skin. We're still obsessed with this. Pimple patches - No more picking at our skin, pimple patches can be cute or demure and help prevent scarring from skin damage. We like the discrete Mighty Patches or the cute StarFace patches . Home trends Air purifiers - help keep your home air clean by removing dust, smoke, and pollutants in minutes for better air health. Dopamine decor - Out with the beige mom aesthetic, we are creating spaces that bring us joy and are full of life. Find your style and embrace it in your home. Cozy wear - Being comfy in my own home, say less. Does anyone else immediately change when they come home? Whether it's my favorite pajamas, cloud shoes , buttery soft leggings , or a cozy blanket , I'm bringing comfort into the new year with me. Smart Homes - Adding things like the Echo Dot to create a smart home where you can dim lights with voice commands, listen to your favorite music, or ask questions. Smart homes are making things easier and I'm here for it. Being more sustainable - Whether it's through laundry sheets , reusable beeswax wraps , or creating a kitchen scrap garden, we're making small changes that we hope will have a big impact to our world. Food trends Chopped salads - Chopped salads went viral in 2024. With the help of gadgets like this vegetable chopper , we intend to keep chopped salads around for a while. They are easy and healthy and perfect to meal prep for lunches. Coffee at Home - Unless I'm having a really busy day, I focus on making my coffee at home. I know the savings aren't going to pay for a vacation or buy me a house but I enjoy making my personalized coffee at home. Would you like to see more coffee recipes? Cucumber salads - We are going to be keeping around all these bright and crisp cucumber salads that trended in 2024. Fun with food - whether it's cooking from a new cookbook, making your own pasta or bread, or trying new cuisines, we're going to keep having fun with food in 2025. Lifestyle Trends Hygee - learning it's okay to slow down and embrace and enjoy life's simple pleasures. We shared 10 ways to hygee this winter last winter and we're sticking to it again this winter. Micro-learning - Adding more books , podcasts, or classes to learn throughout the year instead of always doom scrolling. Mental health - embracing mental health, being aware of our boundaries, and realizing it's okay to say no to things if you are feeling burned out or overwhelmed. Saying yes to things you know would be good for you. Also, embracing self-care (see cozy, hygee, and beauty trends above) What trends will you be keeping in 2025?

We aren't big on lofty New Year's resolutions. The truth is, we have made them in the past, things like "loose 30 pounds", and after a few weeks we stop going to the gym and lose all momentum. Last year, we decided to keep it light and fun and do 24 fun things in 2024. There is a science behind having small wins to celebrate as well. We decided to do it again this year! We created these free printable new year bingo cards ! We will fill it with random things like "try 5 new pasta shapes" and "create a secret handshake" and see if we can get BINGO by the end of the year. We made several color versions and one that just says "New Year bingo" for you to choose from. Just save the one you want below and print it on regular printer paper. I filled the page with mine so I had room to write in the boxes but you could print them smaller if you want and write tiny on them. Download Pink 2025 Bingo Card // Pink Free Space Bingo Card Download Purple Bingo Card // Free Space Purple Bingo Card Download Green 2025 Bingo Card // Free Space Green Bingo Card Download New Year Bingo Card You can print it off on regular printer paper size and put it on your fridge or pin board. Color them in as you achieve each fun thing. To start you off, we are sharing 100 things to do in 2024. Hopefully, this will jump-start some fun ideas for you! Obviously, you can do a few serious ones, unique ones, and ones specific to you and your goals for the year! Just have fun with it! Here are 100 things to do in the new year! Learn a party trick Try new pasta shapes - choose how many you want to try! Learn to play an instrument - ukulele sounds fun to me! Get a different hairstyle/haircut Try a new recipe Take a day trip - Go the next city over or see what's within 1-2 hours of you and make a day of it! Go to a live sporting event Read a new book - go outside of your genre for even more fun! Visit a natural attraction - look up what is near you and start there! Plan a party - it can be a birthday, holiday, or just for fun like "paint and pasta" Listen to a new musical artist Try a new cocktail - lavender haze is a good place to start Complete a puzzle - we did a 3d puzzle last year! Go on a trip somewhere new - can't travel this year, then plan it for next year. I would love to go out of the country this year! Do a new activity - geocaching, bingo, axe throwing, crochet, so many choices! Explore your city - play tourist, try out the best yelp restaurant, and visit a fun local spot! Thrift a "new" outfit Try a new restaurant - branch out and try a new culture too if you're brave Volunteer your time - find something that inspires you Visit a forest and do some forest bathing Go to a museum - Check for free days or fun events before you go Go swimming - try a new pool, lake, or beach! Watch the sunrise Play/learn a new game - chess, board games , shuffleboard, tennis Treat somebody for no reason - it can be a stranger or someone you know Host a dinner Visit a National Park Take a tour - beer tour, ghost tour, segway tour, what sounds fun! Teach somebody something you know Take a class - cake decorating, pottery, glass blowing, whatever you like Watch the sunset Grow a new plant or plant a garden Go on a boat - paddle boat, ferry, dinner boat tour Have a picnic Do something physical - yoga and walking are great low-impact places to start Go camping - don't forget your camping gear Visit a botanical garden Start a good habit - drink a glass of water every morning, floss daily, or leave work at 5 pm. Play something with a team - I think it would be fun to do a trivia night at a local restaurant Bake your own bread Write someone a letter/card Go to a live concert Stay overnight somewhere unique - a winery, treehouse, tiny house, ice hotel Painting trend - thrift a painting and add your own touches. I did this at Halloween and had so much fun! Visit a local market - craft, produce, etc Get a massage - it can be from a significant other or book a treatment Start a journal - this can be specific like a dream, book, or travel journal Make something crafty Take an online course Print your photos - turn one into a fun photo shadow box Declutter a room/space in your house Learn a new dance - tiktok dances are great for this Plan a movie/dinner themed nigh t. Redecorate a room in your house - paint it, rearrange the furniture, buy a functional piece See a live show - comedy, musical, ballet, etc Go on a walk Listen to a podcast Go on a hike Ride a Ferris wheel Go to an art gallery Ditch one bad habit - just one thing you'd like to stop doing Learn to make fancy coffee at home Try a weekly food theme like Meatless Monday or Stir-Fridays! Watch a documentary Do some self-care - I plan to focus on skincare this year Compliment strangers - If you see something you like tell them Start a gratitude jar - as the year goes on write down things you are grateful for, pull out your jar at the end of the year, and reflect Start a recipe box or journal - collect those favorite family recipes too! Go to a poetry slam - or perform at one! Create a death binder - sounds morbid but it's nice to have all your important documents in one place in case of emergency Learn to make a balloon animal or origami frog! Visit a drive-in theater Make a fun food - zombie brain sushi and Cheshire cat tails are both fun! Have a star-gazing night or watch a space event Build a sandcastle or fairy house Complete a challenge - reading challenge, 365 photo challenge, running challenge Go fruit picking - berries, apples, peaches, find a local farm and plan a trip Make a vision board - this is good for those bigger goals Have a fondue night - cheese, chocolate, or gravy Sing karaoke Conquer a fear - did we mention singing karaoke? Eat at a food truck - tacos, ice cream, Japanese sandwiches, there are so many fun ones! Create a blind taste test - bottled water, salsa, whiskey, whatever you want! Create a gift for someone - Book bouquet or Boo Basket Visit a neighbor - I like to take our cookies, older neighbors always have the best stories or if you have kids, see if any neighbors have kids your age and plan a playdate Host a trivia/ game night Start a book club (or join one) Go to a local festival - food, book, music, flower, craft, see what your city has! Be more present - put your phone down more, engage in conversations, find the glimmers Have breakfast in bed Plan one way you can budget weekly/monthly- limit movie outings, cancel one subscription service, limit lunch out - make it achievable and try to stick to it See how many dogs you can pet - keep track on your phone, always ask first Make a birdfeeder - I would love to befriend a crow! Take a sunset picture every time you see one - share your year in sunsets at the end of the year, the 1 second a day app would be fun for this Learn to solve a Rubix cube Discover a new author Forgive someone - this one could be hard but do it for yourself Open the window every morning - get some sunlight and fresh air to start your day off Curate a playlist - even better, share it with a friend think mixed tape vibes! Create a secret handshake!

Yes, I said candle painting. This is a fun twist on a painting night at home. We threw a candle painting girls night in a few weeks ago. Ours the weekend that The Tortured Poets Department was released and listened to all 31 of Taylor's new songs as a group while we painted. Candle painting and TTPD listening party, what could be better? You could probably do candle painting with paint but that doesn't seem safe to burn and I wanted our candles to be functional. We painted our candles using wax from tea light candles. Here's everything I bought to throw a candle painting party! Candle Painting Party Supplies: pillar candles taper candles colorful tea lights more colorful tea light candles paint brushes candle lighter The concept is simple. Light the mini tea candles in a variety of colors and let everyone "paint" on their pillar or taper candles with the melted wax from the tea lights, whatever design they choose. Little tip, you do have to move fairly quickly because the wax can dry quickly on your brush. You can get really creative with your designs! We did a lot of florals, hearts, and bows! Sometimes you have to "dab" the melted wax onto your candle and sometimes you can make small paint marks. Play around with different techniques, just be careful and don't put your hand too close to the flame. We kept the whole night pretty casual. I decorated the table with fresh wildflowers in mini bud vases to serve as inspiration for our candle paintings. For snacks, I created a black and white snack board to go with our TTPD vibes and we had a build your own mini pizza bar. This set of candle holders makes a great place for everyone to put their candles once they are done painting them. Check out our Taylor Swift Party ideas or all our Taylor-inspired posts . We have a lot! Would you do a candle painting party with your friends?

We love a pretty flower bouquet but today we are upping our game and making a DIY book bouquet that is perfect for surprising a friend or loved one! These make great birthday gifts for bookworms in your life. DIY Book Bouquet Supplies: Books cellophane tape scissors duct tape or another sturdy tape wooden dowels brown paper (or paper of your color) string or twine tissue paper (optional) ribbon fresh or faux flowers - I used 2 different types of fresh flowers Directions: Pick your books. I found the book bouquet easiest to make with three books otherwise the bouquet gets too big and heavy to hold. Wrap each book in the clear cellophane and tape them up. Like little presents. This keeps the books protected but you can still see what the books are when you make your bouquet. Using duct tape, attach a dowel to the back of each book. Then you can arrange your books in a shape with 2 books in the back and 1 book in the front. 4. Now that we have the basic shape, cut out your brown paper to be slightly wider and longer than your books on sticks. Do this twice, you'll save the second piece of paper for later. ( Note, if you want more color you can add tissue paper between your books and the brown paper). I like the simplicity of the brown paper and flowers but feel free to personalize it to suit your needs or the person you are giving it to. 5. Next, we're going to place flowers around to form the bouquet. I used 2 different flowers to add contrast but keep it simple and not visually overwhelming with too many colors. 6. Now you're going to fold over the paper at the base, leaving the top open. Tie with twine to secure it. 7. This is the time you are going to use that second sheet of brown paper. Cut it in half so that you have two almost equally sized pieces. Fold one piece at a diaganol as seen below and lay it on the front of your bouquet bunching it together at the same spot where you did your first layer of brown paper. 8. Repeat this step a second time on the other side of your bouquet. Tie wtih twine or tape to secure it down. 9. Lastly, you can decorate your bouquet with a ribbon and you have a beautiful DIY book bouquet to give as a gift! Check out our Gift Guide for Book Lovers for more gift ideas!

Light painting with sparklers is so pretty and fun to do! Many people get frustrated trying to capture good sparkler photos so I'm going to try to help break it down and teach you how to photograph sparklers using your smartphone! How to Photograph Sparklers with Your Phone Decide if you want some color and details in the background of your photograph or want your photos to be darker. It's a personal preference and honestly, it can change depending on your mood or the holiday/event you are photographing. Taking photos right after dusk will allow your photos to have more background details in them, while waiting until it's later will cause the background to be darker. While I'm not a professional photographer, I do enjoy photography as a hobby and love playing around with settings to see what I can come up with. Let's get started. Camera Mode "Manual" mode or "Pro" camera mode works best when trying to capture sparklers with your phone. I have an Android phone so my instructions may be slightly different than yours, but the concept is the same. Once you're in the camera app, go to "more" to change your camera mode and then select "pro" to change your settings. My settings are along the bottom and I can click each one to change them. Keep your ISO low, mine is set to 100, to keep your background from being too grainy. Sometimes I don't mind the grainy background but a lower ISO makes your image sharper. In a digital camera, I change my f-stop, but in my smartphone, I don't change it. If you can or choose to change my photos are set to f1.8. I didn't change mine from the settings when I switched to "pro", so you might not have to either. Phone Settings What we are going to be playing around with is the "speed" setting or shutter speed setting. If you're new to photography, shutter speed basically tells your camera how long to "stay open" to capture light. For most sparkler photos, I found settings between 1/6 second and 8 seconds work the best, but let's break it down more. To capture a pretty picture of the sparkler, you'll want a setting more like 1/6 or 1 second. If you want to draw shapes and create long lines of light using your sparklers, you'll need to increase your shutter speed to more like 4-8 seconds. Sparkler Photography Now, let's look at some examples and what shutter speed I used to capture them. Shutter speed - 1/6 second I wanted this one to be her holding the sparkler and that was my focus. I didn't mind the dark background. Shutter speed - 1 second This photo was taken after the first one. You can see by increasing the shutter speed, it captured more light, and therefore the sparkler is brighter, you can see your subject more, and the background has some color in the sky. Shutter speed - 1/6 second I changed the angle a little bit and shortened the shutter speed again. Sparklers are unpredictable and this time I captured a little sparkler flair that was a fun surprise! I always recommend taking a few of the same shots because every time it's going to be a little bit different. Writing with Sparklers Writing with sparklers is fun to do by yourself or with other people. Each person can be assigned a word or number to "write" with sparklers. Or you can strike a fun pose and have a second person run around you creating the light trails or designs. When writing with sparklers and having a long shutter speed, you'll create blurry images if you aren't careful. Set your phone against something to help stabilize it or use a phone tripod. All of my photos below were created without a tripod. Shutter speed - 8 seconds Having a long shutter speed allowed me to have the time to do light writing with sparklers to write the word, love. Shutter speed - 8 seconds The kids enjoyed playing around and drew wings behind each other. Shutter speed - 4 seconds You can see the differences between this and the previous photo. We learned through trial and error that 4 seconds wasn't quite long enough to finish the design they had in mind. This was taken a few years ago but you can see the idea behind writing dates or numbers for your photos. This is fun to do while ringing in the New Year ! Here are some other fun examples of playing around with light writing and creating shapes and designs. If you're doing a design with a second person, the faster that person moves, and doesn't stay still in one spot, the less you will see them. These tips will also work with smaller ground fireworks as well. Bigger fireworks are a different post for another day.

I recently created this black and white snack board for our The Tortured Poets Department listening and candle painting party! But, this high-contrast snack board can be perfect for lots of other types of parties. Maybe you're watching an old black-and-white film, throwing a Halloween party, or having a graduation retirement, or birthday party that is black-and-white themed. Either way, this snack board was a hit for us and we think it will be for you too. Here is what we included on our snack board and some other ideas for yours! Black and White Snack Board Mini powdered donuts Oreos Blackberries Black grapes Hershey's Hugs White cheddar popcorn Cookies and cream brownies cut bite-sized Start with a large black (or white) serving tray to keep with the theme. I have had my tray for so long I can't even remember where I got it from but you can find a variety of black serving trays that will suit the vibe you are going from. Fill up your tray with a variety of sweet and savory treats to enjoy, keeping each type of food grouped together. Throw in some fruit like our blackberries and grapes for good measure and let everyone graze or have it beside a dish like mini sliders and you're golden! Other ideas to include: white chocolate-covered pretzels black olives marshmallows white cubes of cheese black and white cookies Pirate's Booty Play around with it and have fun!

Welcome to our female rage era! We can't believe it has barely been over 1 month since The Tortured Poets Department has dropped and we're fully obsessed with listening to it. We decided it would be fun to try to recreate Taylor's watch necklace that she wore at the Grammys when she announced TTPD. It was easier than we expected and we had a lot of fun creating it. Here's how we made this DIY TTPD clock necklace! Supplies: Watch faces 5/8 velvet ribbon jewelry making kit wire clamps super glue tape measure scissors Directions: Measure your neck or whoever you are making this necklace for. Then you will cut your ribbon 1 inch shorter than you measured. Our model measured 13 inches so we cut our ribbon to 12 inches long. 2. Grab one of the crimp clamps out of your jewelry-making kit and line it up on one edge of your ribbon. Use your wire clamps to close it gently, squeezing along the edge of the clamp. 3. Choose what watch you want to be the watch for your necklace. Slide it on the other side of your ribbon, making sure the ribbon lays behind it. Once you get the watch centered on your ribbon, add some super glue to the back of the ribbon to help secure it in place. Let dry completely, this only takes a few minutes. 4. Now you can add the same type of crimp clamp to the other side of your ribbon, using the same technique you used with the first side. 5. Add one jump ring and 1 claw clamp to one side. Use your wire clamps to open and close the jump ring. You'll want to do this on whatever side your dominant hand is on so you can put the necklace on easily. Also, decide how you want your watch to orient on your neck. Taylor's watch had the 12 facing her left ear so we did the same. 6. On the other side you can add the string of jump rings using your wire clamps. You're done! It's a pretty easy craft. You can play around with different types of ribbons or other necklace accessories you like with it. We tried a lacy ribbon but, ultimately it wasn't sturdy enough to hold up the watch. Be sure to check out our Taylor Era page with lots of fun ideas or if you're looking for TTPD specific posts, head over to our candle painting TTPD listening party , TTPD inspired gift guide , and black and white snack board .