Gridiron Grub

Hopefully I’m not throwing all two of you loyal readers for a loop by introducing another feature on GE&H, but here goes.  Last week we started A Day in the Ham and this week it’s Green Eggs.  Yes, my friends, Green Eggs.  Derived from the title of this ol’ blog,  Green Eggs will provide recipes and food-related posts.  “Why food?” you might ask.  Because I like food (a girl’s gotta eat!) and I’m hoping you do too.

For our first foray into Green Eggs, we’re tackling gridiron grub.  In laywoman’s terms, that’s football food.  Super Bowl Sunday is this Sunday, people, so it’s time to prepare.  I’ve got the perfect recipe for you if you’re like me and like to go into a food coma during the big game.  Behold, the magic that is the Bacon Explosion.

1 package thick cut bacon
2 pounds Italian sausage
Barbecue dry rub
Barbecue sauce
Aluminum foil

Only four ingredients and I can attest that this baby is Super Bowl party gold.  How so?  The boy and I made it last year for the Super Bowl party we went to.  It’s as much a conversation piece as it is delicious bacony goodness.  Here’s how we got our bacon on last year.

Weave bacon into a mat in a lattice pattern.  I believe ours was 6 strips by 6 strips but do whatever feels right to you.  This is Green Eggs so it should be fun!  Sprinkle some barbecue rub over the mat.

Now layer your two pounds of Italian sausage onto the bacon mat.

Fry up the remaining bacon (just like you would for breakfast) and crumble it over the bacon-sausage mat.  Cover this in barbecue sauce and more barbecue rub.

Next roll the sausage all together at the edge of the bacon mat.  To do this, carefully separate the sausage layer from the bacon mat and begin rolling.  Include all layers in your roll except the bacon mat.  Keep the sausage as tight as you can and remove any air pockets.  Once the sausage is all rolled up, pinch the seams and ends together so everything stays inside snug as a bacon in a rug.

Now’s the time to get the rest of your roll on.  Move the sausage roll over the bacon mat until you end up with one cohesive roll.  Seal the ends as best you can.  You should end up with a bacony torpedo that looks a little something like this:

Line a casserole dish with aluminum foil (this  prevents the meat from sticking to the dish) and place the bacon torpedo seam side down in the dish.  Now put more barbecue rub and barbecue sauce all over your bacon torpedo.  Sorry, I don’t have pictures of this step but hopefully you get the idea.

The bacon explosion originators cooked theirs in a smoker.  I don’t have a smoker and neither does the boy so we cooked ours in the oven.  I think we set it at 375 degrees.  It took a while to cook through, maybe an hour and a half or two hours.  This isn’t an exact science – it’s cooking and it’s fun.  Just keep cooking and checking your bacon explosion until it’s cooked through.  We had to turn our bacon explosion over half way through because the bottom side of the torpedo (the side that was in contact with the casserole dish) wasn’t cooking as fast so watch out for this.

Once it’s cooked through, use a basting brush to brush barbecue sauce all over the bacon explosion for a nice glaze.  Cut into slices and serve plain or with rolls.   Here’s our finished product:

As you can imagine, this baby isn’t for the faint of heart – it has an estimated 5,000 calories and 500 grams of fat.  Keep in mind that you’re not eating the whole thing.  You’re having one small slice and sharing the rest of the explosion with friends.  I understand if you’re watching your waistline, so if the bacon explosion is too much for you, head over to my pal Amanda’s blog – Modernation - where she always has great recipes that are friendly to your figure.

Look Into My Eyes

A day in the Ham, round 2.

“You want to drop that food into my mouth.  Your hands are getting heeeeeavy.  Just let go.  The food will not go to waste.  It will go to one very deserving Boston Terrier.  Look into my eyes, my big, beautiful eyes.  Look at me.  Now drop that food…”

Ham Burrito

This is the first installment of A Day in the Ham.  Consider it a spin on “a day in the life” in which we’ll examine the many facets of Hamlet’s everyday life.  A photo or two, a sentence or two, hopefully providing you with a small break from your everyday life to laugh, “oooh,” “ahhh,” ponder, and boost your hamminess happiness.

So, without further ado, I give you the Ham burrito (a.k.a. hung over Ham after too much tequila):

Roll 20 pounds of ham in a tortilla, I mean Mexican blanket, and serve warm inside a blue crate.

Hamlet loves to burrow under blankets and pillows.  He rarely goes inside his crate but on this night a few weeks ago found it particularly alluring.  All he had to do was ball up his blanket in there, burrow underneath it and voilà! – cozy as the Four Seasons (or should I say Cuatro Estaciones?).

Removing the Bark from the Bite

A couple of weeks ago while I was up in Hamlet’s face snuggling Hamlet on the couch I noticed that his breath smelled.  Not the horrible, awful, no good, very bad dog breath that some dogs get.  Just a little more stinky than his otherwise neutral breath.  His breath hasn’t ever smelled in the six months that we’ve had him so far but I now consider this to be by the grace of the Dog God because we haven’t ever brushed his teeth.

I know – I’m a horrible dog owner!  The training DVD that came with the training book we bought when we adopted Hamlet said you should brush your dog’s teeth once a day.  Once!  A!  Day!  I’m sorry but that seemed excessive to me so I made it my goal to brush Ham’s once per week.  I did really well, too, brushing his teeth all of zero times in the first six months we had him.  What was my excuse, you ask?  As previously stated, I’m a horrible dog owner.  I almost completely forgot. I hadn’t purchased his toothbrush and toothpaste yet.

In any case, the smelly breath was the catalyst to Ham getting his teeth brushed.  After purchasing this canine toothbrush kit at Target, we were in business.  The kit includes a toothbrush, canine toothpaste, and a fingertip toothbrush.  The fingertip brush fits over the top of your finger so you don’t have to wrangle your dog’s mouth open and dexterously maneuver a traditional toothbrush at the same time.   Hamlet is very patient about most things (getting his harness or t-shirt on and off, getting his nails trimmed) but I don’t know many dogs that like to have their mouths opened by humans so the finger brush is my new best friend.

ProPet Dental Oral Care Starter Kit (image courtesy of Target)

The kit says to feed the dog a bit of toothpaste so they can get used to it and then proceed with brushing.  I thought Ham would be gung-ho (is it “gung-ho” or “gun-ho”? I’m using “gung” as “gun” sounds a bit aggressive for the Ham) for toothpaste.  He LOVES human toothpaste, after all.  I know this because he smells it when I brush my teeth and comes a-runnin’ to the bathroom, sits down on the bath mat, and patiently waits and hopes for toothpaste-foamy drool to drop on the floor.  Or he will lick it off my face if I make the mistake of sitting on the bed while brushing my teeth.  Or sometimes I feed him a small dollop off my finger.  I don’t feel bad about the feeding part as a) I reason that it’s minty and helps with his breath, b) he loves the taste, c) it’s probably low-cal, and d) after purchasing the dog stuff, I discovered it’s essentially the same ingredients.

Back to the task at hand – dog tooth brushing!  As directed, I fed him some canine toothpaste so he’d get used to it, thinking he would die and go to heaven over the wonderful taste.

Hamlet's first taste of dog toothpaste.

He was less than impressed and kept making a weird face.  It was hard to capture on camera because the little guy moves pretty fast but Mike did his best with this one:

"You lied. This tastes nothing like human toothpaste."

I waited a minute or two for him to settle down and not suspect I was up to something.  Then I loaded up the finger brush with about half a dime sized amount of paste and peeled back his lips to scrub his pearly whites.

Getting his front teeth with the fingertip brush.

As I expected, this was less than successful.  Hamlet’s main goal was to get my fingers out of his mouth and secondarily to close his mouth and get it away from my wiley grip.  My grip on his mouth/head wasn’t so wiley after all because peeling back his lips sort of covers up his nose because he is snub-faced.  I have to be careful that he can still breathe while I brush.  I may have waited six months to brush his teeth but I’m not going to have him pass out for lack of oxygen during the first go-round!

"I said get that thing away from me!"

I did my best and reasoned that I would keep at it (once a week) so that he gets used to it and it becomes easier with each brushing.

Your teeth look grrrrreat, Ham.

It’s been two weeks since I last brushed his teeth.  So…any recommendations for dog breath fixers?  Treats?  Mints?  Pick your poison and pass them along to a girl in need.

*My apologies for the sub-par quality of the photos.  We have a very hard time capturing photos where Hamlet’s eyes are not blue. We’re obviously amateur photogs!

Dear Cash

Dear Cash,

I know you’ve already been officially introduced to the blog world but I want to be the first dog to welcome you to your new life in which my mom’s best friend Amanda and her beau Aaron will take care of you no matter what.

Amanda's new Labrador puppy, Cash.

I welcome you with especially open paws, as up until now they have only had a cat (Trigger, we’ll discuss him some other time).  And you know should learn this old saying – Dogs Rule, Cats Drool!  Cats simply can’t do the work of dogs.  Now, I know you may be a bit worried at the mention of “work,” being that you’re only 11 weeks old.  Well, take it from me (a wiser and more handsome 17 month old), this work is the best kind because you get stuff in return.  All you have to do is unquestionably love and be loyal to Amanda and Aaron, your humans.  Be kind and polite to other humans too but A & A are always your first priority.

"Pay attention, this is important."

You may be asking, “but what do I get in return for all of this hard work?”  Well, you’ll feel happier than you ever have before.  (“Happy” is that warm, fuzzy feeling that you get when good stuff happens.)  First, you’ll learn new things like sit, stay, come, down, and anything else A & A can cram into that always-on-the-go puppy brain of yours.  Second, I know you’re a baby so you may not remember everything, but coming from a shelter and a foster home you must be confused as to why you keep moving around.  Well, worry no more because you’re here to stay.  Aaron and Amanda are your humans and they are always on your side, are always looking out for you, and will always do so.

"Make yourself at home because you are."

Finally, have fun.  This is the beginning of your new life – it’s awesome!  I’m doing the rope dance in celebration.

"Jumping up and down and rearing up on your hind legs shows the humans that you're excited."

Oh, and one more thing, in addition to your standard food, water, and shelter, you get all kinds of great extras like treats, the occasional scrap of human food (just wait – you’ll love it!) and toys.  I highly recommend squeaky rubber cats as the best toys but that football you’ve got looks like a pretty good start.

Hopefully Shelley will soon spring for my first plane ticket so I can come out to Sacramento and meet you dog-to-dog.  I’ll be the handsome Boston Terrier wearing the tuxedo.  Until then, have fun and don’t go to the bathroom anywhere indoors (for some reason the humans don’t like it and then they cut down on your treats).

Dogs Rule,

Hamlet

Great Christmas Wrap-Up of 2009

The wrapping and unwrapping of gifts is all done but the story of Hamlet’s and my Christmas isn’t so without further ado (I’m already eleven days late!), I give you the great Christmas wrap-up of 2009.  And if you’re completely out of holiday spirit and resent the “wrap” pun, then just consider it a summary of what Ham and I did over Christmas.

We’re Christmas Eve people in my family.  What does this mean, you ask?  It means that all the action takes place on Christmas Eve: we have our big dinner on Christmas Eve, we open ALL of our gifts (except stockings from Santa) on Christmas Eve, and my brothers and their significant others and the boy and I spend the night at my mom and stepdad’s house.  The sleepover allows us to maximize playing Wii and drinking Maker’s and Coke family time together.  The great bonus for me this year was that Hamlet also got to spend the night.  He loves my family and my family loves him so there was lots of canine Christmas merriment.

A group photo by the tree is a must every year. Thank goodness for auto timers on cameras.

We ate our traditional Christmas dinner of lasagna (my parents started this tradition a million years ago so there was little time spent on cooking and cleanup and lots of emphasis on playing with new toys and celebrating).  No, we’re not Italian, we just happen to like easy-to-make dishes of baked pasta, delicious sauce, and warm, gooey cheese.

Hamlet wore his red t-shirt for the occasion so he was sure to look festive.  I tried finding him some Christmasy pajamas for the sleepover.  I envisioned bright red long johns with a trap door but could only find this weird tank top, elastic anklet onesie thing at PetsMart that the boy deemed “grandma’s nightgown” so no pajamas were had. Sorry, no pictures of “Grandma’s nightgown” because my camera battery died in PetsMart right as I whipped it out to capture Ham’s humiliation.

Hamlet getting in the Christmas spirit. Don't ask why the stuffed animals are wrapped in plastic; it's a long story.

After Christmas dinner we always celebrate with a chocolate shot.  A chocolate shot (or a “chocolate cordial glass” if you’re fancy) is just that – a shot glass made of chocolate.  We fill ours with our liquor of choice (this year it was Kahlua) and down them after dinner (drink the liquor, eat the shot glass).  No, we’re not boozehounds.  No, we’re still not Italian.  My mom found the chocolate shots a few years ago and purchased them as a joke and they’ve been a tradition ever since.  There was a close call this year where we could find no chocolate shots and us boozehounds were in a total depression we thought we might have to go without but thankfully my stepdad came to the rescue and found some last minute.  Thanks Steve!  It wouldn’t have been Christmas without chocolate-Kahlua-y goodness.

My brother and his fiance enjoying their shots.

The boy in the chewing phase of his chocolate shot.

Gift opening was next – it’s the best part because it’s when we make the most jokes.  My niece was just shy of one year old this year but she got in on some unwrapping with help from her dad (my brother).  Of course the tissue paper was much more interesting to her than any of her presents.

My brother, my niece, and her beloved tissue paper.

My mom hugging her present. I think she reeeally liked it.

My stepdad in his brand new Broncos hoodie.

My brother acting fancy in his new cardigan.

My soon to be sister-in-law showing off her new tortillera (tortilla holder).

My boy testing out his new golf shoes.

My sister-in-law, mom, and niece checking out my niece's gifts.

One of my favorite parts of gift opening was when I realized I hadn’t seen The Ham in a while and said to everyone, “where’s Hamlet?”  Everyone looked around for a second and then my stepdad said, “he’s under the tree.”  As soon as we had moved some gifts out of the way he had snuggled under the tree.  We guessed that he liked the heat from the Christmas lights.  Since I know my Ham, I also know that any blanket (read: tree skirt) on the floor is fair game for him to burrow into and make a Ham-nest.

No Snuggie necessary.

The boy then said, “can you imagine if you had found Ham under the tree last year as one of your gifts?”  Yes, it would have been great to see little Hamlet last year as a gift under the tree (he would have been about 4 months old in Christmas of 2008 and I’m sure the cutest Boston Terrier puppy you’d ever seen).  I’m just glad we have him period and seeing him under the tree just made my heart melt.  I’m sure the laughter of my niece playing with tissue paper, being surrounded by family, and drinking and eating for eight hours straight helped with the heart melting too.

What is your favorite Christmas memory of 2009?

New Year’s Greetings

I know I’m a bit late in sending out glad tidings for the New Year but I blame it on my utter lack of blogging and on spending the weekend skiing – my apologies.  However, in the mail today I found a great little greeting card for New Year’s that my mom and stepdad sent to Hamlet, the boy, and me.  Taking a cue from this Hamburger’s House post, I couldn’t help posing Hamlet with the card.

Hamlet takes a more relaxed pose than his regal New Year's-reveling friend.

Don’t believe that my mom would write a card to Hamlet?  The envelope was addressed to me and the boy but on the inside you can see who is most important in my mother’s eyes:

The card is addressed to "Hamlet, Mike, and Shelley*" Mom indicates that the asterisk (*) signifies she listed us in alphabetical order. She is ever the fair one, that Mama o' mine.

Did you also note how she refers to herself as “Grammy”?  Yep, she’s head over heels for Hamlet.  But how can I blame her? 

Belated best wishes for a wonderful 2010 to you and your canine friends from Hamlet, the boy, and me!

Fall Fido Fashion

As the cold weather rolls in and we experience our first snows in Colorado, I am thinking of how to keep Hamlet warm while out on our walks.  Enter: Fall fido fashion.  Say that five times fast!

Dog clothing is new to me since growing up my family had a lab/greyhound mix and a lab, both with thick enough coats to keep warm during their bathroom breaks in the winter (they preferred to be inside when it was cold).  However, Ham’s coat is practically non-existent on his underbelly and is rather thin around his neck, legs, and ears.  He is Chilly Willy the Penguin when it’s cold outside, even if we’re only out for five or ten minutes.  So, I’ve been window shopping on this great society of the world wide web and finding all of the apparel that any Hamlet could want.

Here’s a run-down of what Hamlet and I are panting over for fall and winter.

Mascot’s reversible puffer jacket will keep Hamlet warm on cold, snowy days.  It doesn’t hurt that it’s super fashionable either!  The red and blue color provides a masculine touch.

Mascot's Reversible Puffer Jacket

Beantown Handmade’s shop on Etsy offers handmade, unique dog apparel and gifts (such cute stationery!) for those looking for something different than what’s available at the PetsMart around the corner.  I love this Beanzilla hat and especially love the picture!  I’m not sure if Hamlet would tolerate a hat, but a girl can dream.  Plus, Beantown Handmade is a member of Etsy for Animals (a group of more than 500 artists who combine their efforts to provide charitable relief to animals) and offers items for the monthly MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue (MABTR) raffle.  And we all know how much Ham and I love MABTR!  Plus, how can you resist a Boston Terrier as cute as their mascot/inspiration/model, Bean?!

Bean wearing Beantown Handmade's Beanzilla hat (via Etsy)

I’m totally loving the rough-and-tumble vibe of this skull sweater from Hands N Paws.  I imagine that the boy would like it for its uber-manliness.  However, it’s hand wash or dry clean only and with the way Hamlet sometimes smears a mixture of drool and Purina crumbs, I would have to pass for something machine washable.

Skull sweater from Hands N Paws

The Climate Changer Fleece by Ruffwear is not onlymachine washable but made of Polartec fleece so is sure to be rugged enough to handle the drool/Purina crumbs mixture as well as anything else Ham can throw its way.  Ruffwear says it’s ideal for clear, cold conditions but I can imagine Hamlet lounging around the house in this sage green beauty (it also comes in black and has a side zipper for easy on-ing and off-ing).

Climate Changer Fleece by Ruffwear

Speaking of Ruffwear, I have been lusting after these Bark’n Boots Skyliner dog boots since before I even had a dog.  That’s the gospel truth and no exaggeration; I do write a blog about my dog so you know I must be pretty dog-obsessed. Blog about my dog, blog about my dog – say that five times fast.  Just look at the Golden Retriever and how comfortable and callus-free she looks tromping around in her Bark’n Boots.  Hammy and I are jealous, my Golden friend, Jealous with a capital J.

Bark'n Boots Skyliner by Ruffwear

So that wraps up this installment of Fall fido fashion.  Hopefully Hamlet and I can pick up some of these warm goods for Christmas.  Hint hint, Santa Claws!

What are you and your dog loving for fall fashion? It could be anything from a new bowl to an additional four-legged friend for the household so spill the beans.

Note: I was not compensated in any way by the companies or individuals listed above.  I simply find their products stylish and worthy of Hamlet’s fashion must-haves.

Denver: Coyote Country, USA

Sunday night I came home from dinner at my parents’ house to find two coyotes hanging out on the street corner.  The street corner that is about 100 yards from my front door.  The street corner that has two streets running by it (hence the term street corner, right?).  I had to do a double-take to make sure I had seen them correctly.

Upon my second look, yes, they were indeed coyotes.  Yes, two of them.  Oh my gosh, much bigger than any other ones I’ve seen.  They are obviously well fed.  I hope they have been dining on rabbits and squirrels and not canines and felines. (Sorry Thumper and Rocky, but you live in the wild and are therefore at risk of coyote consumption.  Domesticated, suburban animals should not be subjected to such risks.)  Oh boy, just look at the surreptitious looks on their faces.

Yes, these are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I drove past the two brutes smoking cigarettes and cackling on MY street corner.  Ok, so they weren’t cackling and smoking cigarettes.  But they may as well have been for how comfortable they looked in the neighborhood.  With people driving by.  In cars.  On the street.   Under a bright street lamp.  Enough exaggerated fragment sentences but I just can’t get over how utterly right at home, and not scared in the least, they looked standing there on the sidewalk.

For illustration purposes only. Do you really think I would whip out my camera to commemorate those hoodlums' presence in my hood? (Ok, I would have if I could have done it safely but no dice.)

Metro Denver has had a coyote problem over the last year or so.  I have seen a few scampering about in the night time but had never seen any up close and personal like the cigarette smokers.  Plus, my previous coyote sightings were of skinny, mangy guys that looked like they were trotting out of harm’s and human way while these two lugs looked like they were waiting for the cocktail waitress to bring their Amstel Lights.

All joking aside, let’s review the best practices for staying safe while coyotes are afoot.  Afoot, get it? (Numbers 2, 5, and 6 taken from the Colorado Division of Wildlife.)

1. Always stay alert.  Keep your iPod to a level where you can hear what’s going on around you and not Katy Parry’s “Waking Up in Vegas” whatever you’re rocking out to.  Nix the cell phone in favor of your own thoughts.  Keep those eyes scanning for anything suspicious.
2. Keep your dog leashed and close at hand (coyote country is not a time to be pulling in your 50 foot retractable leash, trying to reel in Fido).
3. Avoid walking or running early in the morning or late at night, when most animals prefer to hunt.  Also, avoid walking when it’s dark (which happens to be early in the morning and late at night).
4. Assume that any coyote(s) you encounter are dangerous and treat them as such.
5. Do not approach the coyote.  Avoid, avoid, avoid!
6. If necessary, attempt to scare it off by yelling, clapping, or even throwing something at it.
7. Carry a can of pepper spray that attaches to your belt so you can have it handy if the coyote gets too close for comfort.  Buy one like this and keep it with you on walks.
   

So in my neck of the woods the coyotes have won this battle with their street corner scare tactics but I will win the war.  Hamlet will remain safe and sound and those coyotes will hopefully lose their smug, smiley grins and hightail it for the high country.

Note: No coyotes were harmed in the writing of this post.  Normally I do not hold anything against coyotes.  However, they are highly adaptable animals that have been known to thrive rather than dwindle when forced from their original habitats.  They are happy, regardless of suburban street corner or high country meadow, as long as they have food and shelter.  These factors and their getting accustomed to people and the city life make them even more dangerous so be aware.

About Doggone Time for a Wedding Gift

Let me begin by saying that this post has nothing to do with Hamlet, dogs, pets, or animals in general.  It is a little DIY (do it yourself, for those of you living in the Dark Ages) project that I have been working on since my dear friend Teresa got married last November.  This project happens to be my gift to Teresa and her husband for their wedding.  Yes, I realize that it’s now September but doesn’t Emily Post say that we technically have one year to give wedding gifts?

I just had to share this project with you because I think it’s a great idea for a wedding or shower gift.  And you can certainly put your own spin on it for a baby shower gift, birthday, or anything else you can put your mind to.

It’s a tray that has been personalized with invitations, photos and embellishments.  Use a tray with a glass insert (I bought mine online from Barnes and Noble here) so that you can put the invitations and photos underneath the glass.

The Barnes and Noble Venice Espresso Photo Tray

I removed the photo mat so that I had more space to work with.  Of course I forgot to take photos along the way, so you’ll have to use your imagination.

I used the bridal shower invitation, save the date card (cut in half so both sides are visible), wedding invitation, engagement announcement from the groom’s hometown newspaper, and a photo of the couple from the wedding (actually the thank you card they sent to each guest) as the eye candy in this masterpiece.  Silk flower petals and leaves and the word “love” cut out from wrapping paper provided the icing on the cake.  I arranged these items on the piece of paper that was in the tray behind the photo mat so I was sure to work with the right dimensions and knew exactly what would fit where.

I then used the tray backing (the piece that slides into the tray to provide the back) to trace a guide on the wrapping paper.  I cut out the rectangle of wrapping paper which provided the background for the invitations and photo.  I moved the cards, photo, and embellishments from the paper to the corresponding spot on the tray (be sure to put them face down).  Then I put the wrapping paper face down on top of the cards and photo.   I added the piece of paper that I had the cards and photo on and the foam-ish pad-like thingy (the inserts that came with the tray) behind the wrapping paper to make sure it was a nice, tight fit and the cards and stuff wouldn’t slide around.  I didn’t use any tape.  I’m sure you could but I just moved everything around about ten times until I got it just right.

The finished product

Now I will wrap up this bad boy and gift it to my friend just two months shy of her one year anniversary.  I am justifying my tardiness by telling myself if I were married it would be fun to get gifts almost a year later because it would be like stretching out my wedding into one long year of fun instead of just one day.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Supplies and the finished product

Here’s the breakdown of supplies and cost:

• Tray – $34.95 from Barnes and Noble. (I’m sure there are less expensive ones but I had a specific look in mind.)
• Wrapping paper – $4.99 from Target.
• Silk flower petals and leaves – $1.00 from the dollar store (I dissected a branch of flowers.)
• Invitations related to the event – free (save them from the wedding and other wedding-related events).
• Photo of the couple – free (my great friend sent a thank you card with the couple’s picture on it to each guest who sent a gift).  I had to ask for one of these since I hadn’t yet given her her gift yet.  Just say you need it for a fun project and it’s going to a good use!

So that’s how I made a personalized wedding gift for under $45.  Close ups of some of the items are below.

Save the Date (front of card)

Photo of the couple in the form of a thank you card (for a gift not yet delivered, haha!).

Hamlet was sleeping on the couch but woke up to eye the silk petals and give me a weird look.

Do you have any ideas for DIY gifts?  Any brides or grooms out there who love/hate this gift I put together?  I love your comments, as always.