Just a couple of projects to share from Jason's birthday.  He was sweet enough to send me flowers at work on our date-a-versary back in June and it was such a nice surprise, I wanted to do something similar for him at work.  After looking at some of the more masculine floral/plant delivery options, I decided to make my own booze-quet for my bourbon-loving hubby.

I got a dozen different mini bottles of bourbon and whiskey (and one scotch....I ran out of options).  I used E6000 glue to affix a wooden skewer to the back of each one, then put a strip of packing tape across it and left it for a couple days to cure.  I got a cheapo but heavy ceramic wine holder, layered several pieces of styrofoam, then inserted the skewers.  I made a few little flowers out of tissue paper and my trusty fringe scissors (affiliate link), plus added some tissue paper (both solid and Makers Mark-printed from our visit to the distillery gift shop!).  I think he - and his coworkers - got a kick out of it, and it's a gift that keeps on giving!


Another of his gifts was a group of 6x6" canvases of photos from several distillery tours we've taken in Kentucky.  I used this tutorial from Lovely, etc. and am pleased with the results, though it would've been easier to manipulate my prints on thinner paper.  Maybe this project works better with larger format prints?  My matte photos were purchased from Snapfish, and since I was working with 6x6" canvases, I got 8x8" square prints made with a matte finish.  I'll definitely try this again - it was an easy and heartfelt gift that will have a special place near our bar and reminds us of some fun memories!

For Jason's birthday dinner at home, we did filet steaks and an amazing pear and arugula salad in The Food Lab cookbook (affiliate link) - this thing has come to serve as our kitchen Bible.  Since his birthday was on a Friday, we spread the celebrations out all weekend long, having friends over Saturday for pizza, beer, and bourbon, then dining out at a new fave spot - Main Street Public House.  It's only been open a few weeks and we've already been several times!