how ironic that thanksgiving is ruled by sagittarius? the sign of generosity, almost to a fault, rules this holiday of culinary excess (at least to the luckier among us). inspired by martha’s article below, i thought her idea would be a perfect holiday garnish. it’s simple, just prepare a bowl of cut, folded, and slit leaves. upon arrival, ask guests to jot their holiday thanks on the inside of a leaf or two. at dinner, garnish each cocktail with one of the inscribed leaves. Treat them like fortune cookies and have guests read their leaves aloud. or, fill the leaves out yourself before the guests arrive with creative words of gratitude, and serve them on welcome drinks. cheers!

wow, how awesome do my halloween bottle labels look? jessica of jessica of MOONKISSD, used my clip art during a retreat she attended: “sex, death & magic,” out in CA (where else, right)? so thanks jessica, now we can see how these labels really do dress up the party. get martha’s and my clip art here:

last year i blogged martha stewart’s halloween bottle labels. they were such a popular search item, that i’ve created some of my own this year. a big halloween treat from me to you!

see last year’s labels here.

been hittin’ the can pretty hard lately? what to do with the empties? make can art! how cool would this be to have sitting in your cubicle? co-worker holiday gifts–BINGO! this chair is made from the king of beers, and is fit for a king. or at least a parakeet worth several hundred dollars! this sweet thing is what is known as a venetian bronze statue, which are quite rare and highly collectible.

bummer i couldn’t find the instructions to make this chair, but try a beer can ashtray, or beer can airplane.

this spring i designed a marriage sign shot glass candle for arielle & russell. their nuptuals were performed on may 2nd, making their sacred union a taurus. then this august i helped shelly & brendan realize their leo dream-wedding: “navigating by the stars.” see pics below of both weddings, but first let me explain the concept of marriage sign astrology: everything with a beginning has a sign. hence, the day on which you exchange vows determines your marriage’s sign.

the bride and groom’s sign have don’t have much to do with their marriage sign, all though their marriage sign can impact their “couple personality.” for example, my sister is a reserved, shrewd, sensitive cancer. she got married under the sign of leo and now she’s throwing parties. normally this would have been out of character for her, but not only is there a new husband in her new life, but a new celestial influence… she just gave her hubby a set of MARRIAGE SIGN SHOT GLASSES for their tenth anniversary!

for more on marriage sign astrology check out my nuptual readings, or buy STAR GUIDE TO WEDDINGS by april elliott kent, or, visit IT’S ABOUT TIMING to calculate the most auspicious time for you and your partner to get hitched. whatever you do, think twice about saying i do on saturday. the day of saturday is ruled by saturn, the harsh planet of constriction.

arielle was really into the fact that intoxicated zodiac donates a portion of their proceeds to animal-related charity–AND–that we are also environmentally friendly. soy wax candle, recycled paper, the whole nine…. let’s raise our glasses to arielle and russell… cheers!

TAURUS MARRIAGE SIGN READING PRINTED ON GLASS:
“A Taurus Marriage: Arielle & Russell
When a wedding is held Apr 20-May 20, that marriage belongs to Taurus.
Thus, this union is permanently imbued with these Taurean traits:
SENSUALITY GRATIFICATION LUXURY RELIABILITY STRENGTH
BULLISH DETERMINATION… A toast to the stellar couple… Cheers!”

below we have the leo marriage sign shot glass i designed for shelly & brendan. we actually printed leo’s celestial cocktail recipe, rose geranium gimlet, on the back instead of a reading.

we decorated the cake with constellations… one of which was leo. notice the boat cake topper…

MRS. SHELLY DIY, used compasses instead of traditional place cards. she glued the name and table of each guest inside the compass and instructed guests to take them home.

the seas were explored by starlight and compass…

a nautical globe to set the mood in cocktail hour…

instead of a lame old guest book, we found a colossal manuscript from taschen with ancient maps of the heavens and seas printed inside. every page of this incredible book was either beautiful, informative or outright awesome. guests signed their names to which ever page they saw fit. (the feather pen was from michaels.)

on the deck, we set up a telescope. this was a HUGE hit with the kids, and i highly recommend it for any wedding just to keep ‘em busy. (forgot to snap a pic, so photo credit here)

MRS. SHELLY DIY created the three-sided menu stands. on one side she printed the constellation. on the other side she listed the history of the discovery of the constellation. and on the third side (sorry i forgot to snap a pic again), she listed the menu. all the while pasting glittery, sparkly stars across the whole thing. how leo! did i mention shelly’s a leo?

a toast to this stellar couple’s future indeed! cheers shelly & brendan…

for cool halloween parties only… uber leo, martha stewart, has graciously posted free clip art to paste on your bottles. the downloadable art is HERE. OR, VIEW GWEN’S NEW CREEPY LABELS HERE.

i’m a martha fan. i love reading all her mags, and was so bummed when her latest one, BLUEPRINT, failed. but her LIVING magazine seems to be eternal, and it certainly is full of eternally good ideas. here’s one i liked from her last issue…

TREE COASTER:

martha uses white birch disks to best absorb the stain. but any found wood will do, as long as it’s sawed into smooth disk shapes. now you know what to do with your christmas tree trunk next year!

Materials:
• Sanding block
• sandpaper in fine or medium grade
• foam brush
• colored wood stain
• clear matte polyurethane

1. lightly sand the top surfaces of each disk.
2. with the foam brush, apply wood stain. wipe off any excess with a paper towel. let dry. repeat until desired color is achieved.
3. with a paintbrush, apply 1 coat of polyurethane. let dry.

what to do with your mismatched glassware… add flowers! VIA DOMINI MAGAZINE

merry christmas everyone! check out some of the goodies i received from santa… yes, i know, shamefully materialistic.

this is the CYCLONE COCKTAIL SHAKER. how cool! it’s acrylic and stainless steel and runs off two triple a batteries. no more shaking vigorously for at least ten seconds… all though these days that’s the only exercise i get… BAD GIRL gwen! just dump the ingredients and press on. dont’ leave on for too long because it will actually heat the beverage from the sheer energy. (bed bath & beyond) thanks bryan : )

next up are some HANDMADE COASTERS… made out of a rescued tile en route to the dumpster. one tile was cut up into nine coasters, ground down around the edges, and then sis’ pasted velour on the bottom. this IS recycling at it’s best!

then we have a beautiful HAND QUILTED APRON from mom… perfect for bar cheffing.

and lastly but not leastly, my niece katrina looks like a future bartender, no?

the runways have dictated that we must embrace origami style folds in our clothing this season. of course, the designers may tell us what to wear, but and it’s ultimately the consumer who has the final word on what trends will fly and what won’t. personally, i dig the origami folded fabric and pleated look… it’s funky and cool and kinda futuristic looking. but what to drink out of when you’re wearing your new christian dior folded dress? well an equally folded martini glass of course, to make totally sure you’re origami chic. actually, it might be easier to sew the dress than to follow these directions, but some people just have a genius for folding paper. i once knew a hard core origamist and what can be made out of a piece of paper, or two, without the use of scissors, glue or tape is simply astounding. and not for a brain like mine. good luck paper imbibers, may the fold be with you…
SEE INSTRUCTIONS, thanks to creator STEVE HECHT.

(photo: ALEX MAGAZINE)