Free Downloadable Binder Covers

One of our all time most popular posts is our “Decorating Notebooks” post from a year ago. We thought that, since it’s still crazy popular, we should bring it back with better and bolder designs. I decided to create free downloadable binder covers for y’all and I hope you love them as much as I do. I can’t wait to use them this year for school! These covers can be inserted into any binder with a clear pocket on the cover.

 I’m planning on hopefully coming up with other designs, so if you aren’t head over heels with this set then be on the look out for different styles! Here’s how to create your own: 1.Click the link that says "download" and then download the "blank canvases” to your desktop 2.Upload them into Word, Pages, Photoshop, etc. 3.Use your favorite font to write your class name on the white part of the cover. (I used Antonio from Font Squirrel!) 4. Print!

click here to download pink + blue + navy binder cover

click here to download pink + blue + yellow binder cover

click here to download pink + pink + pink binder cover

Really! It’s that simple. Let me know what other patterns and color combos you would like to see… polka dots? watercolor inspired stripes? pink and green? yellow and mint green?

If you do happen to use these free downloadable binder covers, we’d love to see how they look! Tag us on Instagram or Twitter (@popcosmo) and you just might be featured on a blog post!

xox Chloe

DIY Diamond Pinata

We are so excited about our DIY Diamond Piñata that we created. Although we always say our latest DIY is our favorite, we really think this one is since it's big, shiny, packs a statement, is shaped like a diamond, and... can be filled with candy. What more in life could you need than an enormous candy-filled diamond piñata? We happen to like our diamond pinata just for decoration in our office, but the possibilities are endless: cinco de mayo, wedding showers, weddings, bachelorette parties, sweet 16....

And who says a piñata has to be filled with candy?? Why not confetti or tiaras? Dream big, we say, dream big.

Our guest post on Best Friends for Frosting has the directions for our DIY Diamond Piñata. Go check it out!

Milk & Cookie Shot Recipe

The rage with cronuts by Dominique Ansel's Bakery are are being followed up by his hugely popular milk and cookie shot. Recreating his cookie shot is right up there at the top of our list of favorite recipe posts (along with how to make glitter lollipops and the best cake pops) we've brought y'all, because somebody (us!) had to taste test every single chocolate chip shot to make sure it was up to par. And we now have a signature dessert to bring to book club, Kentucky Derby parties, wedding showers, well… just about any party. And clean up is a snap: just down the milk and eat the shot glass. Couldn't be easier. Although there are a variety of recipes we tested, we're sharing our winner: the most simple one that didn't leak and didn't involve an extra layer of glaze to seal the cookie. (But there are glazes below.)

DIY Cookie Shot recipe on Popcosmo.com

Ingredients: chocolate chip cookie mix mini popover pan tinfoil corks shot glass flour milk

Directions: Follow the directions of your cookie mix or use your own chocolate chip cookie recipe. However, add flour to your mix after you have completely mixed yours together. We added between 1/4 - 1/2 cup to ours in order to create a dense cookie mix. Then mix in the flour.

Roll out some of the dough about 1/4" thick and use the shot glass to cut circles. Place the circles on the bottom of each popover mold.

Take pieces of dough and roll into a ball, then a log shape, then flatten and place in a the popover mold being certain to attach it to the circle on the bottom so that no milk will leak through the seam. You'll see that our cookie shots are rather thick. This is intentional! They are thick and dense (and yummy!) and why no glaze is required.

Take your cork and roll it in tinfoil, then place it in the center of each cookie shot. This will prevent the cookie shot from falling into the center.

Bake until brown, or like us - the maximum time suggested, and let cool.

If you would rather have a thinner "shot" wall, then you might need a glaze. Whichever you choose, be sure to coat the inside of the "shot" well so that there are no cracks and pour off any excess. You can use:

• dark chocolate and melt it. Pour and coat bottom and sides, then chill.
• magic shell for ice cream. Coat all sides and bottom, let harden
• confectioner's glaze: a little bit of confectioner's sugar + a small amount milk + vanilla. It should have the consistency of thick paint. Paint it on the inside with a clean paintbrush. Chill overnight, then bake for 5 minutes (so you might want to initially bake your shot for the minimum amount of time or until just barely brown).

Add milk (or kahlua or...) and enjoy!

FYI:  we let our chocolate chip cookie shot hold milk for 4 hours in the refrigerator for the sake of testing. We couldn't wait any longer in our taste testing gorge-fest to see how long these would last. They were far and away the best cookie shot glass recipe we made: no leaks, fabulous consistency & no need for a glaze. Plus, we realized that if the milk sits a while, it makes them taste like chocolate chip cookie cake. Yum.

Enjoy and let us know how your shots taste!

Cupcake Toppers

Cupcakes are the cutest of desserts: a mini cake that you don’t have to share. Because when it comes to dessert, sharing isn’t fun, it’s stealing. One thing I love seeing lately are cake toppers. They are such a cute way to add a little extra something special to a cake. A cherry on top, if you will.

However, I haven’t really been seeing anything that goes on top of cupcakes. I mean there are those cheap plastic rings that grocery stores put on top of their cupcakes, but those don’t really count. So I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be fun to make a little something for the top of cupcakes.” And because this thought seemed rather rational compared to my other ones (ie “is a banana still edible if you spray paint the outer peel and then eat the inside?” or “if the sun was black would the sky be black or just a darker blue?”) I decided that I should make a few cupcake toppers!

The star is a classic shape, & when you make the star gold you can channel your inner Rachel Berry, from Glee, because she puts a gold star on everything she likes. Plus, I’m assuming she likes cupcakes, so we’re actually just helping the Rachel Berry cause. I also thought we could get more intricate and make a trendy leaf heart shape.

And aren’t these cupcakes just absolutely gorgeous? We partnered on this post with our fab friend Hunter, of Vivian & Me, who writes a blog about allergy-friendly food recipes. I can not wait to try out these insanely gorgeous basil infused pink grapefruit cupcakes that have a vegan buttercream frosting and candied grapefruit on top! So be sure to stop by her blog for the cupcake recipe &  more amazing, mouthwatering, insanely yummy recipes (buffalo chicken dip, anyone?). And tell her we said "hi!"

Directions for toppers:

With the brand new, awesome Cricut Explore (it's on sale right now!): 1. Insert a picture of a star to your Cricut Design Space (we drew our own in Photoshop so it would look kind of rustic and imperfect). If you would like to create our heart & leaf shape, we’ve attached the file below so that you can upload it to your Design Space 2. Print it out on your paper of choice - of course we chose glittery gold! 3. Hot glue the shape to a toothpick 4. Let it dry 5. Then decorate your cupcake until it looks like a masterpiece - maybe Hunter at Vivian & Me has some tips on piping icing that we'll share soon ;)

xo ~chloe

DIY Camera Lens Cap

We've made camera straps, but I've never touched my camera when it comes to DIY. Seriously, how could you DIY your camera? Well, I found a way (you knew I would) with a DIY lens cap. I think these would even make my brother smile and say cheese instead of making his usual silly face.

Supplies: Snap on lens Cap* Cricut vinyl (Happy note: Cricut vinyl is on sale through 3/4!) Cricut transfer tape (for "say cheese") Cricut Explore *We ordered a plain lens caps here. To determine what size you need you can find it by looking on your lens for the symbol Ø with a number next to it. This number is the size in millimeters of your filter threads, which is the size cap you need. This marking typically appears either on the rim of the front of your lens, or on the side of your lense barrel.

Instructions:

If you’re using a Cricut Explore, use Cricut vinyl to create the camera lens caps. Directions are below.  Otherwise, you could use an Exacto knife or punches to cut out the shapes that you want to create.

1. Open up Cricut Design Space and click “New Project” 2. Then click “insert images” 3. Search “donut” and find one that you like! (We used the donut part of Studio DIY’s and created our own frosting.) 4. Then click “insert image” 5. After it’s on your canvas, highlight the image and look at the bottom of your layers palate and click “ungroup.” 6. Then delete the frosting layer. (This is what we did, but feel free to leave all of Studio DIY's donut - hers is so cute, but we had created our idea before hers was available, and then printed the day it became available, so we wanted to use part of hers and ours to see how it looked! Of course hers is amazing!) 7. Next click “upload image” and then find your frosting layer. We simply drew our sprinkles on with Sharpies since they would have been tiny little dots! Here's our file you can upload.

8. Next, measure the size of your lens cap and make your donut and frosting that size. 9. Then click the “Go” button and follow your on screen instructions.

To create the "Say Cheese" you would find a picture in Step 3 of cheese or cheese pizza or whatever cheese-y. Then use text and transfer tape to print & apply the words "Say Cheese."

It’s as simple as that! And the results are fun and different, and just might make someone smile. If you make one of these camera lens caps (or your own version), be sure to tweet or Instagram us a picture. We’d love to see your creations.

xo ~chloe

DIY Jewelry Tray

Like mother, like daughter: we tend to wear the same jewelry day in and day out. Occasionally, we'll change it up for a big occasion. But we both are a bit careless when we take our jewelry off at night, I set it my bathroom and Chloe sets her jewelry on her nightstand, both of us always with the thought of "I hope I don't accidentally knock anything off." This cute little tray solves our problem and we'll definitely be a few others and placing them around the house, like near the sink when I want to take off my rings. It would also make a fabulous customized gift. Supplies: 1-Modge Podge Rocks Peel & Stick Stencil (We were sent this stencil & loved it, but there are 6 adorable designs) 2-Modge Podge 3-pouncer 4-glitter (we used this glitter tube and since nobody loves a glitter mess - this was the perfect solution to direct where glitter went!) 5-Cricut vinyl & transfer tape 6-Cricut tool to peel vinyl 7-small tray

Directions: Apply Modge Podge Rocks Peel & Stick where you want your design to be.

Use your pouncer to place Modge Podge over only the area of the design where you want the glitter to be located.

Lift the stencil and squeeze and direct glitter onto the area which has Modge Podge. Chloe and I love the glitter look, yet detest glitter clean-up. This was absolutely far and away the cleanest glitter project we have ever created! There just might be more glitter in our future, thanks to Amy at Modge Podge Rocks!!!

Repeat on the other side of the tray, or continue the pattern on all 4 sides. Once you have finished modge-podging all sides, place the stencil on the backing and rinse so that it can be re-used. Not only does Modge Podge rock, these stencils do too - they held the curved shape of our tray just fine.

We then applied the Cricut vinyl (oh yeah, expect TONS more about our Cricut Explore to come very soon -we are experimenting right now, but will have loads and loads of projects for you in the near future!) for a simple, yet very effective jewelry tray and trinket tray. You could also apply a coat of Modge Podge over the glitter border to keep the glitter from flaking.

And that's it! No more searching for a ring here, and earring there anymore. You have all your jewelry in one place with our DIY jewelry tray. Hope you enjoy! xox ~kim & chloe