DIY: Soft Pretzels at Home Recipe

Who can resist the smell of Auntie Anne’s pretzels at the mall? Someone without an extra five bucks to spare, that’s who. Take us for example…we’d rather whip up some soft pretzels right at home, which is exactly what we’ll show you how to right now with a recipe from Fifteen Spatulas:

Ingredients

  • 12.5 oz all purpose flour (2.5 cups)
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2.25 tsp instant quick rise yeast
  • 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
How To Make Them
  1. Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl and mix/knead for 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch.
  2. Lightly dust the dough with flour, then place in a ziploc bag and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. 
  4. Remove the dough from the bag and place onto a lightly oiled countertop. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (just cut it with a knife).
  5. Whisk to combine the warm water and baking soda and cook in the microwave for 1 minute.
  6. Roll each of the eight pieces into a long rope, and shape each one into a pretzel.
  7. Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, then let them rest for 10 minutes.
  8. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown. Brush the pretzels with the melted butter while they are hot out of the oven. You can also sprinkle on some cinnamon-sugar mix.
  9. Enjoy while they are hot!

Hiking Ringing Rocks Park

Last weekend we packed our backpacks with sandwiches, water, and…hammers. Why? Because we were off to explore Ringing Rocks Park in Upper Black Eddy. When you hit certain rocks with a hammer, they’ll ring just like a bell. There are similar rocks in England and Western Australia, but this trip was just as fun minus the cost of a plane ticket.

DIY: Metallic Tipped Ballet Shoes

This is a project we’ve seen a couple other bloggers do first, so we won’t take all the credit! But our version is easy and SUPER cheap…you’ll certainly save a buck or two on the Chanel version!

Materials: Painter’s tape, a paint brush, white or silver fabric paint, metallic silver or gold fabric paint, a paint palette and black ballet flats (hint: ours were five dollars at Five Below!)

1. Section off the tip of each shoe with the painter’s tape, and use the edge of your nail to really seal it off.

2. Paint the tip of your shoe with the white or silver fabric paint. You’ll need a few coats to make sure none of the black color is showing through, giving you a solid base to work with.

3. Squeeze a generous amount of the metallic silver fabric paint onto you shoe and blend in with the paintbrush. Again, don’t be stingy with the layers!

4. When completely dry, peel off your paint. You may need to do a little cleanup—we used paint thinner on a Q-tip to get our edges smooth. Ta-da! 

DIY: Minnie Mouse Jean Shorts

MINKPINK is hosting a DIY contest right now called ‘Suped Up Slashers, so we decided to give it a go! There are so many amazing entries, but we love our easy, classic and summery polka dot shorts. (OH AND PLEASE GIVE US A VOTE OR TWO! JUST CLICK HERE AND THEN LIKE OUR ENTRY!) A little bit Minnie Mouse, no? Here’s how we did it:

Materials: Jean shorts, a pencil with an unused eraser, white fabric paint and a painter’s palette. 

1. Dip the eraser of your pencil into the white fabric paint so it’s completely coated. Don’t use too much or too little (you’ll know what we mean after the first try!).

2. Evenly stamp polka dots all over! Make sure they are evenly spaced out (practice on paper first) and that you clean off your eraser after every few dabs. 

Ta da! What do you think? Tweet us @calypsoletters! 

DIY: iPhone Cover Collage

We spotted this triangle collage iPhone case from Free People a few days ago and debated spending the $14 on one. That was until we saw a plain white case at Five Below and got creative! 

Materials: Mod Podge, Scissors, a paintbrush, a blank iPhone case, magazine pages or wallpaper. 

1. Trace the shape on the iPhone case onto the page or pattern you’d like to act as your background. Cut it out.

2. Paint a layer of Mod Podge onto the back of the case, then place your first piece of paper on top. Cover the paper and the case in another layer of Mod Podge. Use as much as you need, this stuff dries clear!

3. Cut out other shapes like triangles, hearts, faces, animals…whatever! Keep Mod Podging them on until your iPhone case looks complete. Let dry!

DIY: Collar Clips

Similar collar embellishments sell for over $60 from places like Zara—but all you need is a little kitchen hardware, some tools and earring backs and you can make your own version for close to nothing!

Materials: Hammer, E-6000 glue, earring backs and posts, metal hardware, pliers, a kitchen towel.

1. Flatten your hardware using whatever tools you have with you.

2. Hammer out your hardware until all rough edges are smooth and hardware is totally flat.

3. Cut your hardware so it fits the tip of you collar.

4. Glue your hardware on the earring posts and let dry. Attach to the collar tips of your shirt and you’re done!

Blue Jean Baby

Denim has a rich, full history both as a practical fabric and a timeless icon of fashion. Today, we’re loving blue jeans. 

The Joanie Mini Bag

The Joanie Mini Bag from Thomas IV and Of A Kind is the next generation of the little black bag, and straight up our alley. It’s a blend of texture and color that’s big enough for errands but small enough for when all you need is a cell and wallet. Plus it’s bright and that’s how we like…well…everything.