One my sweetie’s favorite libations (other than a fancy craft beer!) on a summer evening is Citron & Tonic. So last time we were at the store, eyeing the big $30 bottle of Absolut Citron, we decided to see if we could make something similar (or even better) ourselves, for less money! I’d read previously that you could filter cheap vodka and get it closer to premium vodka using a water filter pitcher–and we already knew how to infuse spirits with citrus (remember Making Limoncello?) –, so we figured why not try?

We bought a less expensive vodka* and went home…

[Part 2 is here]

I have a request for the tutorial to make the Perry the Platypus Cake, and since it’s needed in a hurry, I’m doing this tutorial in two parts.  By the way, I did a really detailed tutorial on last year’s dragon cake, and this year’s cake is actually similar, if a little simpler. So it wouldn’t be a bad idea to read through that tutorial in case I miss anything I covered there, as far as techniques.

More pics of the cake and the party here!

We’ll start with the prep work: assembling your hardware, getting the shopping done, and…

For the Clone Wars section of the birthday party, (for the Phineas and Ferb themed cake, go here!) the hubby and I came up with the idea for upside down clone trooper helmet cupcakes.  These cupcakes were the hit of the party with the five-year-old boy set, though I will warn you, they are a bit time consuming to assemble. But well worth it! So here’s how to do them.

Cupcakes: You’ll need good firm cake, similar to pound cake. Here’s the recipe I used. I don’t know if it was luck, or overfilling the cupcake cups, but this cupcake came…

One of The Boy’s bestest buds had a medieval themed birthday party on Sunday, and somehow we decided 3 hours before party time that he needed a knight costume.  I blame the husband!

So, what follows is not exactly the most well crafted costume I’ve ever done, but it was easy to make, and looked great, and the boy was absolutely loving it!  By following these general instructions, and actually taking some time and care, you can have an even better costume!

Also note:  This is a summer costume, so he just wore shorts and a t-shirt under it to avoid heat…

Here’s a great idea for cake or cupcake decorating, using tootsie rolls! They come in all kinds of wonderful colors now… My friend Grieg made these (apparently he’s not just a great photographer, but a great cook as well), and was generous enough to show us how!  You can see some of his other creations at Foodwhirl, too!   (Like the Cheesecake Cookie Cupcakes, and Chocolate Hearts)

How to Make Tootsie-Roses

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My lovely neighbor Katie has made a ton of these slings, for both herself and for friends, and she’s graciously shared this tutorial. This makes a great baby gift for a friend, and even if you’re not overly sewing proficient, you can make one for yourself while the baby is napping! These work for small babies, up to toddlers…

Katie has given us a great step by step with pictures, but if you have any additional questions, just ask!

Making a Baby Sling

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Today we have another lovely guest poster here on Dabbled,  Kelly from Tresijas!  I discovered Kelly through some of the really cool creations she had posted in the Dabbled Flickr group–especially her vinyl record creations–, and I asked her if she’d honor us with a tutorial.  And she agreed, so here it is…  Enjoy!

How to: Make A Bracelet from Vinyl Record

List of materials:

Toaster oven with tray
An old pair of scissors
stretchy gloves (to protect from heat)
record album
low grit sand paper
bracelet mandrel or other cylindrical object (a soda can or skinny glass bottle will work too)

Most of these items can be found…

Long time readers will be saying “Finally!”… I’ve been promising this tutorial for months. So here it is, and I hope you enjoy it. – Dot

Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur, tasty to sip by itself, use in cocktails, or whatever you would like to do with a cold tasty lemony alcoholic treat.  And you can make this with oranges, or any citrus fruit.  The steps are summarized below the slideshow ..  Click the slideshow to start viewing the pictures!

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Twitter It!

Today’s guest post is by the very talented Brooke, of So She Sews. I discovered her work on flickr one day (love it!) and I thought her style was such a great twist on the fused plastic trend. And it turns out she’s also an Atlantan, how cool! (Look at this cup holder! Isn’t it neat? You’d never guess that came from grocery bags!) So I asked her if she’d do us the honor of a tutorial.. and she did a great one. I had seen fused plastic bag tutorials before, but not with the thin grocery bags like this.

Hope you…

Make something cool for the xmas tree! Below are several cute ornament tutorials I found on flickr, then under that are more ornament links… And please feel free to add your own links in the comments!

Edit: Check out this new Shrinky Santa Ornament Tutorial!

Click through to the picture for a link to the tutorial: 1. Scrap Fabric Ornament, 2. felt ornament dove, 3. Heart and Star Ornaments – free tutorial!, 4. stocking ornament tutorial 021.JPG, 5. more snow folk ornaments, 6. snowman ornament guts with instructions!, 7. hang him up, 8. Baubles, 9. Shrink Plastic

Direct links to some of the…