cakes & crafts, et cetera

Halloween Yard Witch and Cats

2010-09-07T17:21:00.012-04:00

It's September and in my book, that means it's time for Halloween!

Or at least time for Halloween decoration making!

My mother and I have always been huge Halloween fans. Of course, it helps when your Mom can pretty much make anything you dream up for your costume. Per her sewing abilities, I have been a skunk, dragon, chicken (real feathers) and various cats, not to mention a gazillion others.

Since Martha Stewart became the Queen of Craft, Halloween has become an even bigger holiday for us. We are always trying to find inexpensive, yet impressive, decorations to create the spookiest Halloween!

Lucky for me, my best friend (Farrah) co-hosts her Halloween party with me every year I am nearby. Along with her ingenuity and belief that anything is possible when we attempt it, we have come up with quite a showing when it comes to Halloween decor. However, it did not happen over one year - it's been many years in the making!

Our first major Halloween project is still one of our favorites. Not only is it impressive, but it involves tools! The kind you have to plug in to use!

The idea comes from the aforementioned Queen of Craft: Martha Stewart. It wasn't actually up on her website last year to make, only to buy (more on that later). However, it is up there this year and I'm going to tell you how to do it!

Witch and Cat Lawn Ornaments

Tools:

- Jigsaw
- 2 - Sawhorses (or other steady things to put your boards up on)
- Screwdriver
- Hammer

Materials:

- 1 - 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" (or more) OSB sheathing
- 1 - 4'x4' sheet of 1/4" - 1/2" OSB sheathing
- Black paint (spray paint, latex paint, or whatever you have handy)
- Conduit straps (3 - 4 for the witch, 2 for each cat - use metal not plastic as it will break)
- Wood screws (length short enough to NOT pierce through the wood)
- Witch template
- Cat template
- 6' length of metal conduit for witch
- 3 - 3' length of metal conduit for cats

Directions:

The first step of this project is the hardest: printing the templates at full size. When we first made the witch, I thought to myself "I have access to a big printer! Why don't I print it on that?" To answer my own question..."because Martha Stewart's templates are easy to print in single 8.5x11 sheets and just tape together." But then, after taping them together, you need to cut out the templates. Why not wait until you use the jigsaw to cut them out? Because, how else are you going to trace around the shape if the shape isn't cut out yet? Ha!

So - first step - print templates, tape them together and cut them out (with scissors).

Next, tape the template to the OSB board and trace the shapes. Trust me, this is much easier than trying to tape the template onto the board and cutting around it. Not awesome. The jigsaw has a tendency to shred and tear.

Why OSB and not plywood, like Martha says? Well, because it's cheaper. You can use anything that you might have laying around if you want except MDF. MDF will just turn to mush in the rain. Also, be sure to use a thicker material (1/2" or more) for the witch since she's tall. She gets caught in the wind easily and can get knocked over or have her top half cracked if she's too thin.

Now a little info about using a jigsaw: it's very easy. Just remember to watch your fingers! Be sure the shoe (the plate on the bottom of the jigsaw that you set on the board) is always on the board otherwise there will be too much movement and you might cut off a digit. Or two.

Also, you can do curves with a jigsaw. However, you cannot do tight curves in one try. Only because the thickness of the blade will prevent you from turning The last thing you want to do is force the jigsaw and cause the blade to snap. Remember to always use sharp blades.

The beauty of the jigsaw is that it's fairly light and easy for us weak (ha, ha) little girlies to use. You can start and stop wherever you need to be with ease.

Wear goggles, girls (and boys). Mostly because of the sawdust in your eyes, but also because you might get a splinter in your eye and that would be bad.

Don't wear flip flops in case you cut something off and forget to catch it and it lands on your foot.

Both of these last two points were ignored by my mother and I, however, we were lucky.

Don't test your own luck.

Please note that in the pictures below, Mom and I used the witch and cats that we had a few years ago for our templates instead of printing them out.

After cutting out the lovely witch and cats, your next step will be to screw in the conduit straps to the back of the shapes. You should only need a screwdriver and some wood screws. Unless you like power tools, then you may want to use your cordless drill.

Next, paint those cuties! Black, black, black!

We used spray paint, but Martha's instructions say to use black latex paint. Whatever you want. Every year, we do have to touch them up a little here and there but the spray paint never peels. It takes more spray paint to cover the shapes than latex though. Be sure to paint both sides. You can see both sides during the day and no one wants to see the unpainted back side of a witch!

Don't forget the finishing details! Attach a cup hook for the lantern. We used a conduit strap for her broom so we can slip it in and out if we need to. The broom came from Walmart and we just spray painted it black.

Finally, use something to pound the metal conduit into the ground and slip your decorations in...then let the fun begin!

Oh. The back lighting....hmmm...we use some simple spotlights. Don't set the witch and cats up the same day as your party (or Halloween) because you will need to do a little adjusting with the lighting before getting the perfect spooky appearance at night.

Also, if you feel like you have no craft skills at all, you may order these silhouettes at Grandin Road. They are crazy expensive though! $149 for the witch and $59 for the three cats. Especially when one piece of OSB is only about $10!

The witch and cats look perfect in a cemetery yard setting. More on Halloween decorations coming soon!

Felt purse for Colleen!

2010-08-03T21:11:00.013-04:00

For Colleen's Christmas present, I decided to make her a felt tote. Well, more like a small version of a tote.

I'm not going to go into the details on this one because I did use a pattern to start the design and then made some adjustments according to what I wanted my end product to look like.
Basically, I saw some other projects on the internet (Etsy to be exact) where a solid color color (like charcoal) is backed with a bright color (orange, lime green, turquoise, etc) that is exposed by cut outs in the fabric.

Here's an example:

I used pattern # 3715 by Simplicity for the basic shape of the purse.

For the purse basics, the decided to use a wool felt. Wool felt, unlike polyester felt, has a lighter color and doesn't stretch. So nice.

Because Colleen owns an orange Vespa and it's one of her favorite colors, I decided to go with orange felt.

For the orange felt, I cut a piece the same size as the gray fabric. I used some glasses in a variety of sizes to make the circles on the gray fabric (I used a fabric pencil). After cutting the holes out, I hand-stitched the orange running stitch around the edges of the circles and then down to make the "stems."

Next, I simply sewed the purse together using the instructions with one more minor change.

I wasn't too fond of the purses straps. Mostly because I sewed them together and it was SO HARD to turn the felt inside out. Instead, I just used a larger stitch on my sewing machine (more like a basting stitch) and sewed two strips of felt together with 4 equal stitched lines in them to make the straps stiff and sturdy. I used the orange thread on this to add that touch of orange color.

My final change was that I didn't like the closure on the purse. I ended up putting a magnetic piece inside of it (matching the turquoise of the flashy interior color) to hold it closed. Although it's a bit strong, it works like a champ!

For the inside of the purse, I wanted something cute and flashy. I went to my favorite fabric store, Sarah's Fabric, in Lawrence, Kansas. Sarah's has an amazing selection of cotton quilting fabrics. Perfect for purse projects!

I had two issues with the final project. Too OCD, I believe.

First, I disliked the way the inside fabric met the outside felt. It wasn't sharp because of the thickness of the felt. I wanted it to be precise, not blurry.

Second, the purse has a tendency to slouch. Next time, I will add some stiffener to the sides (like I kept telling myself to do the whole time I was sewing it) so it will stand up on its own.

I think that overall it turned out really cute!

Baby Mobile - Hooty Hoot Owls!

2010-08-03T18:37:00.018-04:00

Earlier this year, I went with Farrah to our favorite little gift shop in Columbia, The Butterfly Tattoo. They specialize in cute gifts for girlie girls and funky baby products.

Trent and Kara were expecting their first baby and Farrah had heard through the grapevine that Kara had fallen in love with a particular crib bedding at the boutique. It was the perfect solution to their office gift.Of course, as soon as I saw the print on the crib bedding, I was in love. Infatuated is probably a better word. "Silly Owl" by LittoKids Inc. is the bedding. And boy, oh boy! It is adorable!

Inspired by retro designs, it features this cute little owlie (I named him Arnold) surrounded by a kind of fleur de lis meets mid-century pattern in orange, white, gray and brown. It rocks. So super perfect for a little baby boy (or girl).

With that in mind, I decided to give them the gift of handmade: an owlie baby mobile.

The first step was to find a usable image of the owl. Harder than it seems, LittoKids has very few closeups of their bedding. Silly company. I finally found an image that some dummy like me had uploaded :) Yay for dummies!

The image had a few issues so I used photoshop to touch it up and mirror it to use as my owl pattern. Cute!

When doing any kind of hand-stitching project with numerous matching felt guys, I advise you to make one first and figure out what you are doing before moving on. That's what I did!

Owlie Parts (Cutting):

My first step was to decide what kind of parts I needed, in what color and to make a pattern for those parts. After making the pattern from the original image, I cut out all the little owl body pieces.

Here's what I ended up having:

2 - full body - brown

1 - breast - orange

2 - wings - orange

1 - eye foundation - orange

2 - eyeballs - white

2 - owlie corneas - black
(not shown)

1 - beak - black

2 - feet - black

1 - heart - orange

Wow. That's a lot of little pieces! And a lot of little pieces leftover too! If you're a packrat like I am, you end up keeping all those little pieces for weeks until it drives you crazy!

After cutting out the little pieces, I assembled the front of Arnold's body.

Owlie Parts (Sewing):

First, I added his little orange breast using a running stitch. I used 4 strands of a matching orange embroidery thread to attach the breast to his little brown body.

Next step, I attached the wings and orange eye foundation in the same fashion.

Now for his eyeballs. I used the normal 4 strands of (white) embroidery thread to attach the whites of his eyes using a running stitch.

Finally, add his little eyeballs with black!

I nearly forgot to stitch his beak and heart on last!

After I put Arnold's front pieces all together, it was time to give him some dimension.

Starting at his right owlie ear, I began attaching Arnold's back to his front using all 6 threads from a matching brown embroidery skein. At his bottom half, I had to remember to add his cute, little legs into the stitching. His legs are just single pieces of black felt.After binding Arnold together everywhere but the top of his head, it was time to add his stuffing.

The hardest part to stuff in the owlie was his little wings. I stuffed his bottom half, just a tiny bit of stuffing at a time. After he was pretty plump in his southern region, I added a little bit of stuffing into his wings. I had to use something (a pencil) to get that stuffing to the end his little wing tips.

After stuffing my owlie, I stitched up his head. Arnold the Owl's body is all done!

I was able to successfully add a ring to the top of Arnold's head for adding his hanging string. Yay me! I just used a couple of black embroidery threads and stitched in on there firmly. Finally, I added a string to hang him to the mobile!

Then I finished Arnold's 3 brothers!

I'm pretty sure little Clark likes them since in the picture below, I was told he fell asleep on his belly and rolled over to look at his owlies during the night! I'm sure that was the reason...

Creepy, Crawly Wreath

2010-08-03T17:08:00.000-04:00

Post started in October 2009

I promised Christie that I would try to update the craft blog because even though neither of us have been mega-busy at our work (me having been laid off this work, her not having a ton of stuff to work on besides her typology class), we haven’t been motivated to blog. Funny how when you have tons of time, you use it for other things.

However, I have been a craft maniac. I haven’t been a total craft loser.
I guess my first craft post back will be the Halloween wreath.

Over Labor Day weekend, Mom and I were wandering around Pier 1 when we came upon a really cool Halloween wreath. It was $25. It was super cute, but much too expensive. Mom and I took a picture and moved on.

Here are the list of supplies you will need for certain:

- 1 - 12 - 14 inch wreath
- black spray paint
- 1 - black feather boa
- hot glue gun and glue
- various creepy crawly plastic creatures

The first thing we did was spray paint the wreaths black. We invested in straw wreaths for two reasons: 1) Spray paint doesn’t eat through straw and 2) Straw wreaths are much cheaper than styrofoam.

After the wreaths were thoroughly saturated in black paint (they don’t need to be perfectly covered), I wrapped the wreath with the black feather boa (mine was black with silver flecks in it). I attached one end of the boa onto the wreath with hot glue and allowed it to dry (be careful not to burn your fingers like I did!). Then I wrapped it around the wreath. It won’t completely cover it, but it’s fluffy and looks pretty good. Just attach the other end of the boa to the original end of the boa with hot glue.

I flipped the wreath over to the "back" side. I took some white embroidery floss (6 pieces) and hot glued the ends, criss crossing them to make a web. At the intersections, glue the crossings so it will make a stronger connection. Once again, don’t stick your fingers in the glue!

When the hot glue has dried, attach your creepy plastic creatures onto the wreath in the bald spots. Mom and I bought a big spider and I suspended him under the wreath. Creepy!

I addition to the big creepy spiders, I added some middle spiders and some small spiders here and there. I also added some creepy critters ON to the web.

I have a wreath hanger that goes over my door. If you don’t have a hanger, hammer a nail into the very top middle of your door (I’m talking the top end) and loop a black ribbon over it to suspend the wreath.

In addition to the wreath, I added some spiders I had left over to "crawl" up the door. Since I live in a rental and who wants the fear of chipping the paint on the door anyway, I used an old Farrah trick and cut up pieces of 3M double sided foam to attach to the spiders/door. When you are ready to remove the spiders, it should come right off the door without peeling any paint. Clever trick, Fe. Mine are arranged as if they are crawling up the door to the wreath and the door handle.

Please note that I am REALLY afraid of spiders. I could hardly touch the middle sized spiders when I put them on the wreath. Yek.

All in all here are the expenses for the wreath:
Straw wreath $2.49
Feather boa 40% off of $7.99 at Joann
Bag of 100 creepy crawly critters $4.99 at Big Lots
White embroidery thread free leftovers from other projects
Hot glue free leftovers from other projects
So all in all the wreath (we actually made two - one for each of us) cost about $10. Much less expensive than the less cute one at Pier 1.

Sorry the picture isn't the greatest! This pic was taken before I got my new camera (that is now lost as of Saturday night).

Baby Mobile - Weiner Mobile!

2010-08-03T15:00:00.002-04:00

Super Lesley, a Columbia friend of mine, had a cutie patootie little girl earlier this year named Rosie Eileen. One of Super Lesley's many quirks (many, I say! - just like me!) is her true love of all things Dachshunds. Her and her husband, Don, own three little girl doxies: Lulu, Bird and Sheba.

Before Christmas, when I was doing all my felt creature research, I found a girl on Etsy who makes felt Dachshunds. I knew as soon as I saw them, I knew I had to make one. Or two. Or four.

Four because that's what fits on a baby mobile!

Puppy Body (Cutting):

I began by "borrowing" a picture from the earlier mentioned website to have a pattern to cut out my felt doxies.

I cut two identical doxie bodies in a brown felt.

I also cut out two ears in brown and a square piece of light pink for under the ears.
Later in this post, I will discuss Doxie tails, but for now, here is pic of the puppy's brown body pieces.

Puppy Ears (Sewing):

Using 4 strands from the embroidery thread (same color as the brown felt), I used a running stitch to stitch the brown felt to the pink felt. After knotting the end of the thread and snipping, I trimmed the pink felt closely to the edge of the brown felt.
Puppy Eyes (Sewing):

For the puppy's eyes, I took the puppy body and lightly dotted in the outline of the eye because I'm a much better seamstress when I have a line to follow. Please note in the picture below that I used tracing paper...a luxury us architects keep around the house ;)

I then took 4 strands of black embroidery thread to make the line of the eye (closed). I used a simple back stitch, following the slight curve of the eye. I ended up doing two rows very close together to simply make the eye show up better. I then took 2 strands of the black thread and sewed on the eyelashes. You can make these as long or short as you wish!

My doxies are all girls, so I went for mid-length eyelashes.

Repeat for the opposite body side of the puppy.

Puppy Tail (Cutting):

Let's just pretend that if you are making felt doxies, then you have been around doxies. Therefore, you should know that most doxies have skinny, long tails that curve slightly upward. I didn't use a pattern for my tails and just cut them out based on how the tail looks. It took a few tries for the first tail but once I got it out, the other three were much easier! I didn't do any sewing to the actual tail piece since I used only one thickness of felt.

Puppy Body (Sewing):

For each puppy, I used pins to hold their cute, tiny bodies together while sewing them. I started around the ear area and worked to the tail then to the underside of the body and back to the tail. Once again, I used a simple running stitch.

Don't forget that when you get to where the tail should go, to add the tail! I forgot once and had to pull and restitch my puppy's behind!

Once I got the back foot stitched, I went ahead and stuffed it with some polyester filling. Otherwise, it would be too hard to get the filling deep down into the foot area as it's pretty tiny. As I stitched more of the puppy, I would add filling to the finished part to keep the filling more evenly spaced. It has a tendency to bunch up in a ball.

Puppy Ears (Sewing onto Puppy):

My first suggestion for the ears would be to make sure that they line up perfectly on each side of the head.
Starting with one ear and 2 strands of embroidery thread, begin attaching the ear by hiding your knot under the ear. Once again, use a simple running stitch to attach the ear. Do the same for the other side/ear.

Puppy Nose (Sewing):

For the nose, I used 4 strands of thread and used a stitch similar to a satin stitch. Beginning on one side, using future stitches to hide the knotted end, I basically looped the fabric over the end of the nose/felt and came back through near the original stitch from the backside. Do this several times until you feel you have a likable nose size!

Puppy Bow:

I used a different color 3/8" wide ribbon for each puppy. I simply tied the ribbon around the puppy's neck and trimmed it to my liking.

Adding The Puppies To The Mobile:

Using a tiny jewelry circle, I attempted to attach this to the back of the puppy's back and it just didn't work.

In the end, I just used all 6 steins of the embroidery thread and sew it through the puppies. I tied a nice knot and then kept the length of the thread to use for the actual hanging part to attach to the mobile. After tying the thread around the mobile, I snipped off the extra bit! Don't want baby reaching up for that!

Felt Flowers (To Cover Up The Sad Unadorned Music Box):

Per my mother's suggestion, I checked out a link she sent me earlier this week for felt flowers. I ended up making three of them (purple, orange/yellow and red) with coordinating button middles to put on the music box of the mobile to make it prettier. I'll add some finished pictures but if you feel like making these cute and easy felt flowers, just go to this link and follow the directions!

After making the flowers, I hot glued them to the music box. Woo!

And then I sent those puppies out in the mail!

It looks like Rosie enjoys them :)

Dick Van Dyke makes a furniture comeback!

2010-08-03T12:54:00.001-04:00

This past summer, I bought a chair for $4.98 at Goodwill. When it comes to ratty looking, sturdy pieces of furniture, I’m like the cat lady who lets in any old Tom. Instead of 50 cats and an overflowing kitty litter box (I’m down to one cat, thank you very much), I have an infinite number of places to sit, most of which have needed or will need a facelift. The "Dick Van Dyke" chair, as the Goodwill folks named it, was no exception.

The chair came in a yellow stain with a matching faux yellow leather seat. It was very…monochromatic. But underneath all the jaundice, I could visualize a colorful clothing catch all for my bedroom. My clothes needed a place to call home instead of the floor when I tried on 15 outfits in the morning before finally settling back on the first one I tried on and this chair would be that place.

My first plan of attack was to remove the seat. Be sure to save the screws! I put them in a plastic Ziploc sandwich bag for safekeeping. For some reason, the chair had a massive amount of extra screws where the arms meet the legs. None of them were actually holding anything together so I removed them. What was up with that?

After the screw removal, I had a number of holes that I had to fill. Unfortunately, my wood filler was DRY. No worries. Just add a little water IF you have a water based filler like I did. Not too much water, just enough to turn it back into a soft putty. Then I filled any gouges or holes (useless screw holes!) with the filler and a flat metal putty spatula.

This is the part where I add that, while taking the chair down to southern MO to show my Mom my wonderful find, I pulled the chair out of the car and knocked off the edge off the top of the veneer. I taped it to the chair at that time so I wouldn’t lose the veneer. When I was doing my putty work, I simply added a small amount of wood glue to the veneer, taped the crap out of it to the chair so it would be secure and fit closely and let it dry. I filled the holes after it was completely dry.

When the holes have all dried been filled and dried, take your chair either outside or to a well-ventilated room and sand it. I sanded the filled holes down to blend in AND I sanded the entire chair lightly to prep it for primer. I wasn’t about to restain this chair. Great find but not worth the staining effort. It was going to look much better in a nice shade of blue than a nice shade of walnut stain.

I used a spray paint primer on the chair. Outside. I used white. In hindsight, I should have used gray since I’m painting it blue, but the white looks so much more crisp.

After the spray paint has dried, allow the chair to sit in the middle of your living room taking up space for over a month or so. Just because. That’s what I did. No point actually FINISHING a project.

In addition to the fine painting cosmetics of the chair, you will need to recover the seat. My seat feels like a piece of hard plywood. Maybe that’s because it is. No matter what I did, short of creating a new seat with some sort of fabric bottom instead of plywood, it will always feel that way. Therefore, to ease the pain in my tailbone when I forget it’s hard and sit down fast, after removing the gross old fabric (only two layers) and a gross old batting, I covered the existing foam with a new quilted polyester high loft batting. You can find it in the "quilting" and/or "batting" aisle at the hobby store. I was going to replace the foam, but it appeared to be in fairly good shape and not too stinky. I used my trusty staple gun to secure the batting to the underside of the existing plywood chair seat.

The fabric I chose is a thin cotton Kona Fabric. I like the Asian influence Kona Fabrics embrace and it really goes well with my bedroom decor and colors. I didn’t feel like using an upholstery weight fabric mostly because of cost but also because I want to feel like I can change the fabric anytime I want. For some reason, I feel limited with upholstery fabric. I simply stapled the fabric onto the plywood like the batting.

For the actual chair painting, I used Dutch Boy. It’s available at Wal-Mart and comes in these cute little easy pour containers. Plus, it’s fairly inexpensive. I just used an everyday interior latex in a semi-gloss (easily cleanable) for the job. To apply the paint, I used a mini roller for the large parts and a foam brush for the more intricate, hard to reach detailing on the back of the seat (Asian influence?).

When the paint had COMPLETELY dried (another month in the middle of my living room, of course), I screwed the seat bottom back onto the chair and voila! A perfectly cute and useful new piece of furniture!

I think my total cost ended up running around $25 ($5 for chair, $10 for fabric and let's say $10 for the paint because I can't remember!) Not too bad! (I'll post a better picture soon!)

Gocco Part II: How-to - Family Reunion Napkins

2010-07-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Provided you’ve managed to acquire a Gocco printer and get your hands on the basic supplies -- Gocco flashbulbs (either 2 or 4 per screen, depending on your Gocco printer), blank Gocco screen, Gocco ink (either ink for paper or ink for fabric will work for the napkins), and of course a big stack of blank napkins -- you’re ready for the Gocco magic to begin. The images here are from some commemorative Family Reunion napkins Carrie and I made a couple years ago.

First off, Making the Image
To make your screen you will need a black and white printed image at least slightly smaller than the size of your screen (a good rule of thumb is to leave about ½” margin at all sides to assure proper printing). Consider whether you want your design printed square to the edges of the napkin or at a 45-degree angle. Also keep the crimped napkin edges in mind. It’s a personal preference, I guess, but I prefer to keep my image entirely off the crimped edge.

Black and white means black and white. When making your image, it’s important to remember there are really no shades of gray with Gocco. A graded dot pattern will give you a fading effect, but you should basically think of your screen like a stencil: either ink comes through, full color, or not at all.

Equally important is to realize that you cannot print two different colors directly adjacent to each other (again, like a stencil). Different colors will either need to be separated by at least 1/2" of space (more is better) or printed with two separate screens. (This is possible, but it’s very tricky to get the screens to register exactly the same. For a “simple” project like paper napkins, I don’t think it’s worth the trouble.) So, for instance, for the Family Reunion, we started with this cute color image:

You'll notice these cute little chickens have several colors (yellow, orange, red, black) touching each other – a big NO for doing a single-screen Gocco print. I brought the image into Photoshop and made some adjustments to get it Gocco-ready. First the hen: I deleted the color from her head and feet, leaving a heavy outline at the edges. This means the head will be left the background color of the napkin, allowing the beak, comb, wattle, and eye to all stand out. Because the rooster has the same color for the head and body, I removed the color from his eye, beak, comb, and wattle (leaving an outline around the edges), as well as his feet. The little chicks mainly needed their eye-color deleted, similar to the rooster. I also gave them a little more definition by “cutting out” a partial outline under their little wings. Finally, I scooted the entire rooster further to the right, so it would be easier to use a different color ink for him than for the chicks. Here’s the resulting image, ready for the next step:

Now, because the Gocco process relies on carbon-based inks to burn the image into (or out of) the screen, take your printed image to the nearest black & white Xerox machine and run off a copy or two (one should be enough, but I’m a big believer in back-ups). Please note that it is very important that you use a black & white copier, NOT a color copier, or else you won’t get the carbon ink necessary to cut the screen. It may also be a good idea to make a copy a little bit larger than full-size and one a little bit smaller, so you can be sure you end up with the right size for your napkin.

Making the Screen

Before you make your screen, decide exactly how you want your image positioned on the napkin. I do this by cutting away the excess paper from the edges and laying the image on the actual napkin. (Here's where you can try out the various sizes you printed.) Now take the napkin and place it on the Gocco printing pad, with the image in its desired location on top. Mark the location of where to place the image. (I use a couple of strips of masking tape for this.) Insert a blank screen and four fresh flashbulbs into the printer lamp. You’re ready to cut your screen – almost.

This next step is more or less important depending on how “old” your photocopy is. If you’ve run it off within the past 30 minutes, you can probably go right ahead and burn your screen. If it’s been sitting around for awhile, though, take out a hair dryer and blow-dry your print (yes, seriously) for about two minutes. Somehow heating up the carbon ink helps in the screen burning process.

Now reposition your image on the ink pad, put the lamp on top of the printer, and press down until you hear (and see) a flash.

Close your eyes (they probably should have been closed anyway in anticipation of the flash) and pray. Remove the lamp from the top of the Gocco, and lift the lid. If all went well, your paper image should now cling to the underside of the screen, and the image should be "burned" out of the screen. To see if you got a successful burn, carefully peel back a bit of the paper. (Don’t peel it off all the way. You want to leave it “stuck” so that you can use the paper as a guide for where to put the ink.)

Inking the Screen

On to the fun part. If you plan to print in multiple colors, you’ll need some of Gocco’s handy foam ink-blocking stuff. This is like a large foam sticker that you can cut into strips and place between different-colored parts of your image to stop ink from running from one area into another. Make sure you ink the right side of your screen! The cellophane side should be face-up. Pull back the cellophane to expose the screen. Cut foam strips about ¼” wide and stick them in place as necessary, making sure you have a continuous wall between the different areas.

Keep in mind that once you start the inking process there’s really no stopping until every last napkin is printed. This is because the ink will dry out if left in the screen for too long. Also it’s very useful to have a helper for the inking process. It can be done alone (trust me), but it’s faster, and easier to avoid screw-ups, with a second set of hands. If you’re sure you’re ready, take your ink tubes and squeeze a generous amount of ink over the cut out portions of the screen (the black areas of your image). The ink will eventually spread, but if possible try to keep it as far from your foam separator tape as possible.

Printing

When everything has been inked, fold the cellophane back over the screen, insert the screen back into the printer, and carefully peel off the paper. Before you waste ink on your precious (if inexpensive) napkins, it’s always good to do a few “starter” prints on some scrap paper. It usually takes a few goes to get the ink fully flowing to all areas of the image. When you feel like your tests prints are looking satisfactory, bring out the napkins. Now, bleed-through isn’t as much an issue with napkins as with t-shirts, but it remains a possibility. For this reason, I like to keep scraps of thin cardboard (cut-up manila folders are handy) to slip inside the napkin, just under the top layer. Slipping the cardboard in is one of the many little jobs you can have your helper do.

The printing process itself is very quick and easy: insert napkin/press/remove napkin. The trickiest thing, in a way, is finding somewhere to put all the napkins until they’re dry. (Don’t want to stack them while the ink is wet.) A very useful tool, then, is a laundry drying rack. These will hold several napkins, and they make your house (apartment, whatever) look very crafty and productive in the meantime. Invariably, though, I end up using every horizontal surface available to me as well. From time to time you’ll notice an area of the image that’s not getting its full color. Simply remove the screen, lift up the cellophane, and reapply ink to the fading areas, then get back to business.

And there you have it! Unique, personalized napkins for any and every occasion!If you think you might want to print your image again in the future (more napkins, t-shirts, whatever), make sure to clean the screen well. Using a rubber scraper or a scrap of cardboard, scrape off as much as the ink as possible. (The thrifty among us will store this in an airtight container for another day. The rest of us will toss it.) Then use simple soap, water, and LOTS of paper towels to remove as much of the rest as possible. (Don’t expect to completely remove all color from the screen – just make sure no ink is left in the cut-out portions.) You don’t want your screen to warp, so be careful not to get the cardboard edges wet. I typically lay the screen on some reliably sturdy scrap paper, and rub gently with a damp, soapy paper towel. You will have to frequently change the paper underneath. Cleaning the screen is the messiest part of the whole process.

If you want a more thorough tutorial, with pictures, on how to Gocco, check out this website.

As mentioned in the previous post, these little gadgets are becoming increasingly scarce. I know there’s a new home-crafter screen printer out there called the Yudu, but I haven’t heard a lot about it. From what I can tell, though, the Yudu screen-cutting process is much more complicated and time-consuming than the flash-bulb burning of the Gocco. The scarcity of Gocco products (screens and bulbs especially) may have all of us looking for another way soon enough, but we can always hope another manufacturer resurrects this fun, if only marginally useful, technology.

Gocco, Part I: Party Napkins - A Last Gasp for a Dying Technology?

2010-07-17T11:49:00.013-04:00

Time for a little divergence into near-obsolete technology!

Gocco (rhymes with “cocoa”) printers, made in Japan, are essentially a very easy way of making and printing from your own screens. They use flash bulbs to burn any black (carbon-based ink) & white image into a screen which can then be inked and printed onto virtually anything. Pretty cool, maybe, back in 1980. Now that everyone in the world has access to photo-quality inkjet printers, not to mention laser printers, it’s a little hard to know what use to make of Goccos. Yes, an inked print is longer-lasting and possibly more satisfyingly tactile than a standard inkjet print, but is the difference really worth the expense and trouble? To put it another way, what can you do with a Gocco that is truly unique and otherwise impossible?

Let’s examine the facts.

Gocco Negatives

Increasingly harder to find supplies (production appears to have ceased several years ago, and supplies are only available from online sellers (etsy, ebay, etc.))

Screens can only be made from carbon-based prints – meaning you have to seek out old-school black&white copiers

Screen-burning process is incredibly finicky – make sure to have back-up bulbs and screens at the ready

Screen-burning process is fairly expensive: 4 bulbs and 1 screen (minimum, see above item) = upwards of $15

Multi-color prints only possible when colors are separated by at least ½” or so

Gocco Positives

Incredibly cool and gratifying, when it works

Multiple, multiple prints from a single screen

Very fast printing: you’ll be done in no time

Unique projects (see below) to impress your friends and intimidate your foes

I bought my Gocco in a triumphant ebay bid several years ago. The printers come in two sizes: the smaller can print an image up to 4”x6” and the larger up to 7”x10”. I knew I wanted the larger model, as my first line of Gocco endeavor was t-shirt printing. For a couple of years my roommate and I went crazy making t-shirts – snagging designs out of books, making our own out of thin air, or abstracting photos into posterized black & white images. The results were quite neat and unique, and we got the technique down pretty well (masking-tape markings for shirt positioning, cardboard inserts to stop the ink bleeding through, testing and re-testing on paper before printing on the precious t-shirt, etc.).

Inevitably, though, there were a lot of throw-away shirts in the process – probably the biggest downside to t-shirt printing with Gocco. Either not enough ink would come through, or too much ink, or despite your best efforts the design was crooked. Attempting to print a design both on the front and back doubled the risk of disaster. I began to associate a queasy sensation in my stomach with the whole Gocco process and the terror of opening my eyes to see failure. (At least, thanks to H&M, we had a good source of relatively inexpensive shirts.) The t-shirts, at least in the quantities we were making them, also failed to take advantage of one of Gocco's greatest features - the ability to make so many prints from one inking.

A sampling of old used Gocco screens from projects past:

A couple of years into Gocco-ing, I diverged into what has become my favorite type of Gocco project. What else, besides clothing, is fun to personalize but impossible to run through an inkjet printer? Party napkins! Now, in my mind, these are the perfect project for the otherwise obsolete Gocco printing method. The issue of cost and waste is negligible; IKEA’s fabulous FANTASTIK napkins are four cents or less apiece, so no sweat over the odd screw-up. But aside from cost, I think the napkins are more unique and useful: how many weird little t-shirts do you really need? There are only 52 weekends in a year, and in Boston half of those are in sweater season! Besides, the napkins make for great conversation-starters, depending on your design, and it’s more acceptable to personalize. (I don’t know about you, but I haven’t gone around with my name on a t-shirt since about age ten.) And of course the Gocco will let you print as many napkins as you need - tens, hundreds, thousands!!! (Yes, probably thousands, if your arms, and your ink, hold out.)

Sadly, and stupidly, I don't seem to have hung onto samples of all my napkin projects (although, since I still have the screens, I suppose I could always print more). Here, though, are a couple of favorites.

This first one I did for one of my best friends' wedding - not the wedding itself, but a cocktail party the night before. (That meant it didn't have to be too formal.) I was stumped initially as to the

design, but she sent me an image of one of the fabrics they were using for the wedding (except they used blue, not red):Then I looked through their online registry for ideas, and hit on their champagne flutes (still available from Crate & Barrel, if you're interested):

I brought these two images into Illustrator, played around with them for a bit, and came up with this design:

Cute, yes? But not how the napkins turned out. Why, you ask? Because light-colored inks just don't show up well enough on dark colored napkins - the ink sinks into the fibers of the napkin and well, the resulting image wasn't as peppy and fun as intended. This is one of my many learned lessons of Gocco-ing. Napkins are cheap, though, so after a wasted afternoon of printing lackluster, faded dark-blue napkins, I woke up the next day and printed the following:

Front side:

Back side:And of course the entire thing unfolded:

MUCH better contrast, much better result. AND my first-ever two-ink, two-sided design! I was happy, Julie was happy, a good time was had by all, etc., etc..

This next napkin, for a birthday party, is simpler, but to me is just a perfect confluence of all the right ingredients: inspiration, color, design. For this one I found a favorite photo:

(Sunglasses pics are always a plus for this kind of thing as it gets around the problem of weird, ghostly eyes. They also tend to be flattering, so you're not likely to get a "Why did you use THAT picture?!!!" from the honoree.)

Anyway, I brought the image into Photoshop, made it grayscale (you might want to play with the Brightness & Contrast a bit first), and posterized it with the minimum number of levels (2). I cropped out the part I wanted, then added in some text, courtesy of VH1):

And here's the result:(Yeah, it's awesome. You know it. I know it. Definitely my favorite so far.)

Stay tuned for some more specifics on how the actual printing is done, in Gocco, Part II.

We Are Climbin'....

2010-07-15T16:07:00.039-04:00

...Jacob's Ladders!!!

A Jacob's Ladder is an old folk craft/toy that I've seen in the odd craft fair over the years but never paid much attention to -- until recently, that is. Typically a Jacob's Ladder is made up of several panels - traditionally wood - connected by strings or ribbons in such a way that each panel can flip backwards or forwards. It's actually kind of hard to explain how it works in words - in fact, it's hard to understand even if you're holding one in hand and watching it move. Here is a somewhat pedantic video that nevertheless does a pretty good job of showing you what the basic toy does. (I especially appreciate the decorative wrinkled bedsheet in the background.) The more interesting Ladders, however, have pictures on both sides of the panels, so that the image switches from one picture to another as it flips back and forth.

"Very interesting. So what?" you say?

Well, they only became interesting to me last fall when I needed to make a book for my Typography class. The emphasis of the assignment was on the content of the book rather than the binding process, but we were encouraged to find a creative way to bind it, nonetheless. Because there were two different topics for the book - typography journal on the one hand, process documentation on the other - I initially thought of making an accordion-folded book, with process on one side and the journal on the other. Then I came across a mention of Jacob's Ladders in a book-binding book I have at home. Immediately I was intrigued. Fortunately in this digital age not only can you find videos of odd Australian men demonstrating how to play with Jacob's Ladders, you can also find videos of scrapbook-obsessed women demonstrating how to make Jacob's Ladders.

Whereas the panels in wooden Jacob's Ladders, as in the first video above, are typically single blocks of wood with ribbon attached at the ends, each panel of the scrapbook-style Ladders is made up of two boards (typically mattboard or somesuch) sandwiched around the ribbons. (This makes more sense if you watch the video.) Unfortunately, the online tutorials I found only show how to assemble a Jacob's Ladder with blank panels -- onto which you apply photos after the fact. This might work OK for a scrapbook-y look, but I knew that for the look I wanted (perfect) I would have to mount my "pages" first, so that I could get them precisely even with the edges of my chipboard panels. A little trial and error was therefore necessary to figure out how to orient each board as I glued up my Ladder. (I loosely taped some trial pieces together until I got the hang of it.)

The other major problem I had with the typical Jacob's Ladder was the obtrusive ribbon right in the center of the panel. True, I could design my pages around it, but there had to be a better way. That's when I noticed that the ladder in the second video linked above has not three, but four ribbons holding it together. In effect, the center ribbon has been split down the middle and pushed to either side, next to the outer ribbons. The physical phenomenon is the same, but the center of the Ladder is left unencumbered. Brilliant!

The ribbon on that ladder was also much narrower than the others. How narrow a ribbon could I use, I wondered, and still have a functional ladder? Did it have to be ribbon at all? I went to the hardware store and looked at various options - fishing line, hemp, etc. - and finally settled on a decent-weight string, about 1/8" diameter: sufficiently flexible, yet strong, and not too stretchy. To accommodate the increased depth of the string (as opposed to a flatter ribbon), I used an Olfa knife to cut shallow little grooves in the back of each panel. This time-consuming step not only allowed the panels to adhere better to each other, but also provided additional surface area to allow for better adherence of the string.

Then it was just a matter of gluing/flipping the string/gluing/etc.. I allowed plenty of drying time in between gluing each panel, using heavy books to weight it down while it dried. It came out ... not perfect, but, you know, acceptable. I was happy with the overall graphic style of the book, and there was a sufficient number of pages that it was very long (tall?) and made a nice clacky sound as it moved along. The extreme length also makes it more fun to play with - you can get it going both directions at once.

Here are some videos of the result. (No, that isn't me in the videos.) Sorry there are no process photos - it was difficult enough to get this finished by the due date without stopping to take pictures. If you have a quick eye you can also get a look at some of the projects I made for Typography class. Enjoy!

Fun Birdhouses!

2010-04-25T22:03:00.008-04:00

Mom and I have been hitting all the local flea markets and junk stores for general JUNK. We got this idea for me to hang little bird houses on my screened in porch wall for color and funky fun!

Of course, you could buy a finished bird house at any craft store for $15 or more...you could also get an unfinished bird house for $5 or so.

OR, you could be a junk store junkie and find some old and dirty bird houses at the flea market and junk stores for 50 cents - $1.50 and paint them yourself!

That's what I did!

I don't have any before pictures because I completely forgot like a silly goose. At least I remembered to take AFTER pictures!

Thus far, I have finished 3 of them and am working on a 4th! I'll post pictures after I'm done!

It's a hoot! - Felt Camera Case

2010-02-05T16:44:00.005-05:00

I needed to figure out a way to protect my brand new camera! The reason for the new camera was because the old camera, after 5 years of pure torture, finally bit the dust after it made contact with a concrete floor. Therefore, it became obvious that the need to keep the camera well padded and safe were high on my list of camera priorities!

I decided to make a prototype camera case because I couldn’t decide what to make but I wanted to do something with my hands. I chose some leftover wool felt from Colleen’s purse. I cut out one single piece of felt and simply folded it over. I rounded off the two sides of the flap that would cover the opening, where the closure snap would go to give it a softer look.

Then, I made a HORRIBLE decision to add the embellishments after I stitched the bag closed. Like I said: prototype.

I used a blanket stitch to close the sides of the bag. If you are like me and have never done a blanket stitch, I would suggest practicing a couple times. It’s easy but a little confusing at first. Go here for instructions on how to do a blanket stitch. I used all 6 threads of the embroidery skein for the stitch. In a contrasting color to make it pretty.

After completing the blanket stitch, I added the snaps to the bag. This is where I discovered that I had cut the bag a little too small. Once again: prototype.

I made a little owl that Jono named Oliver to put on the front. Overall, he was put together with felt and fabric glue with only 2 threads of embroidery thread in a running stitch on his cute, tiny wings.

I also made a couple of felt flowers held together with fabric glue and a contrasting button as the center of the flower.

I added the flowers and the owl with fabric glue. Then, this is where my stupidity kicked in, I decided to add some flower lines using a contrasting back stitch.

Anyway, here’s some pics of the finished project. I will be redoing it in a few weeks to make it a little bigger and to add my flower and owl embellishments BEFORE I stitch the sides together.

Carrie & Martha - Streusel Cupcakes

2010-02-04T18:27:00.007-05:00

These cupcakes are exactly what Martha says to introduce them: "all the features of a traditional coffee cake - tender cake base, crumbly streusel top, and simple milk-and-sugar glaze."

They came out pretty yummy. I believe I over baked them just a tiny bit due to the fact that it is a bit difficult to tell by their tops if they are done. Be sure to use a cake tester to see if they are done in the middle.

They are incredibly crumbly, which means messy. Very messy. Keep your dustbuster handy while eating them!

My big suggestion on these cupcakes is for the streusel topping. Although it was my first attempt at making these cupcakes and I haven't perfected them yet, I would suggest adding a little bit of extra butter to the streusel topping, possibly 1 or 2 Tbs. I felt that even after some crazy usage of my pastry blender (first time use!) and some finger squishing of the topping, I blended it properly with a correct amount of crumbliness. However, even after coming out of the oven, the topping simply looked like brown sugar clumps hanging out on top of the cupcakes. The butter seemed to have very little baking effect and didn't brown the brown sugar to my liking. I believe that it would help to make the streusel less crumbly and more baked to add a little more butter.

Streusel Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanille extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
Milk Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder,and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scarping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in vanilla by hand. Add flour mixture and sour cream; stir until just combined.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups. Sprinkle half the topping over cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; drizzle evenly with milk glaze. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Streusel Topping
(makes enough for 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the utter using a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives until combined but still crumbly. Regrigerate30 minutes before using.

Milk Glaze

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 Tbs. milk

Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.

Carrie & Martha - Blueberries-and-Cream Cupcakes

2010-02-04T18:07:00.005-05:00

Dear Martha Stewart,

I love your new Cupcake Cookbook. I have to admit though that I noticed that only half of the recipes were actual cupcake recipes. The other half were muffins. That’s okay. I forgive you for leading one astray with the misleading name.

In an effort to bake more, I have decided to attempt a Julie & Julia move and begin to bake each of your recipes from both the Cupcake Cookbook and the Cookie Cookbook. I began by making the Blueberry & Cream Muffins.

I followed the recipe to a "t" minus the part where I was on the phone with my mother and I completely forgot to add the 2 tsp. of vanilla to the recipe. Not so good. Also, after I realized that the homemade cream would only last about 3 hours, I chose to just buy some canned whipped cream. I know that’s blasphemy, but I wouldn’t be serving the muffins within three hours.

So, even with the vanilla missing, the muffins turned out quite good. I would think that with the addition of the vanilla, they would even be fabulous. My fresh blueberries were incredibly delicious and fresh, even for being the dead of winter.

Overall, I would give this recipe a big fat A and will definitely make it again, this time with the homemade whipped cream. Mostly because I would be making it as a breakfast muffin and serve it immediately after baking it. The blueberries were so amazing all warm and yummy right out of the oven.

Thanks for being so great, Martha.

Sincerely,

Carrie Ann

Blueberries-and-Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
2 cups fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
Whipped Cream (recipe add end of post)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each in incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fold in blueberries by hand.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until pale golden, about 25 minutes for standard and 15 for mini. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.
To finish, dollop cupcakes with whipped cream, and garnish with berries. Serve immediately.

Sorry, I completely forgot to take pictures of these!

Holiday Greenery

2009-11-27T22:33:00.004-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mom and I made use of our country setting and ran around the farm and dirt roads acquiring various bits of greenery for our holiday decorating. We gathered pine cones, pine cones on pine branches with pine needles, dried red sumac, strange hot pink berries, thorny berries (those hurt when I cut them) and cedar branches.

Mom wanted to decorate her front porch with her old sled and bench. We used the greenery we found along with an oversized ornament (two for $1.99 on sale at Shay's in West Plains) and a couple little ones. We also used some of her existing outdoor decor (birds on the branch and wall vase) for some extra umph.

So with a little imagination, some gloves and time, we were able to transform her porch into a winter wonderland. Oh. And some canned snow.

More pics to come!

Holiday Candle Arrangment

2009-11-27T22:14:00.008-05:00

Mom and I went to a bunch of holiday open houses the first day of deer season. Apparently around here, it's the thing to do!

We saw a TON of great ideas. Us being us, we took some pictures of our favorites and decided to make some of them.

Today's project for Mom was the candle arrangement we saw at one of the floral shops. I'm not sure how much it cost in the store, but considering that it can be used year after year, it's final price to DIY is much cheaper! And so easy!

Supplies:
box or tray
candles in various sizes
candlesticks
greenery

Mom didn't have a tray on hand and around here, without any kind of Hobby Lobby or Michael's, when you do find a tray for sale the price is somewhat outrageous. We found a shiny green box for $2.99 at Alco. The actual box was too deep but the lid was perfect. We chose green to offset the color of the red candles. You can buy an unfinished wood tray from a craft store and paint or decoupage it.

Some of you may even have Holiday trays around with Santas or what not on them! Use those!

Mom hit both Dollar Tree (everything is $1!) and Walmart for her candles. All in all, she spent no more than $2 for each of them, even the bigger ones! She used candle holders she already had for the tapered candles. She arranged these on the tray to her liking.

Next, we took advantage at our setting in the country and took a drive around the farm and along the back roads. We found a good collection of dried, yet still red, sumac and pine sprigs we snipped straight from the trees. Mom then took some fun sprigs and sumac and arranged them around the candles on the tray.

Finally, for additional color and bling, she added some of the glittered pine cones I had decorated earlier in the evening.

We think the final look is much more exciting than the version in the store!

Glittered Pine Cones

2009-11-27T21:47:00.007-05:00

Today's project is incredibly messy and time-consuming but well worth the effort. Plus, it's very easy!

Supply List:

pine cones
glue (Aleene's Tacky Glue is always my top choice)
paint brush
glitter

Optional Supplies:

bowl
paper plates

Directions:

Brush the tips of a pine cone with a thin layer of glue.
Dip or sprinkle glitter onto pinecone (sprinkle over a bowl to collect glitter to be put back into container after use).
Allow to dry (paper plates work best).

See? Easy! Even Randy (hands shown in pictures) joined in the glitter fun! Now we have a ton of blingy, glittery pine cones for decoration! Woo!

Holiday Wreaths

2009-11-26T18:59:00.021-05:00

Hi!

I don't know if you're excited about a craft post, but I certainly am!

I have been spending some time at my mother's house for the last two weeks. Of course, what do Mom and I DO when we get together? We craft!

Since it is so close to the winter holidays (i.e. Christmas) we've been working on various Christmas projects. We've been working on Christmas presents and decorations. This post will be all about wreath making!

I actually stole my idea from an Etsy project that I fell in love with a few weeks ago. I have an adoration for owls and decided to look around for an idea incorporating owls and wreaths. I found this wreath by Red Marionette (for $55 - 75). Cute!

Here is a list of what you will need for this project:

12 - 14" styrofoam (rounded) wreath
yarn
hot glue gun
hot glue
felt
embroidery thread
embroidery needle
popsicle sticks

Optional Items:
white pom poms
garland or ribbon
foam snowflakes
holiday decor (bells, Poinsettia sprays, Holidays leaves, berry sprigs, flat ornaments such as snowflakes)

First, unroll a whole bunch of yarn by winding it around your palm.

Take one end of the unrolled yarn and attach it to either the back or top of your styrofoam wreath using a dab of hot glue. To keep from burning my fingers, I held each side of the yarn and pulled it down onto the hot glue, holding in it place until it was dry. Then I snipped off the extra.

Wrap the yarn tightly around the wreath until you run out of yarn and lightly glue the end.

Repeat until the wreath is completely covered. It took me about 2 hours!

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the finished yarn wrapped wreath!

The next step is to make your cute little felt guys. I chose the owls, as I stated above. I made a template so my owls would be similar in size (and symmetrical).

After I cut out the cute little felt owls, I sewed them together by hand using the embroidery thread (matching closely to the felt color) and needle.

I then took some fuzzy yarn and wrapped it around the bottom of the wreath where the owls would sit to make it look like snow.

Before mounting the owls to the wreath, I wrapped silver garland around the wreath to add a little bling to it.

My next step was to secure a piece of the popsicle stick to the back of each owl by sewing them on. I then mounted the owls onto the wreath using hot glue.

I then arranged various faux holiday flowers and stuff around the wreath until I looked like I wanted. I also added white pom poms around the owls feet to look like snowballs. I went a little crazy on mine. Oops. I also added some foam snowflakes for fun.

As you can see from the pictures, Mom made two wreaths with blue yarn and snowmen. She made a mini wreath (with a shorter snowman) and a larger wreath.

We also made a wreath for Mema using red, gold and green. We made a red felt dove with a gold and red beaded tail and glittery feather wing.

Oh. And my all green owl is Bernard. The green owl with purple wings is Gertrude. I can't wait to welcome them to my front door!

"Freedom Fries" (and burgers)

2009-07-10T15:47:00.032-04:00

Well, there's been much about which to post, but little time in which to do it lately. Let's start with something relatively easy.

A few weeks ago, the remarkable Bakerella astounded me once again with yet another beautifully-photographed, unbearably-cute new take on the cupcake.

(If you didn't follow the link, here's a quick rundown: yellow cupcakes split in half for the "buns", brownies cut into circles for the "patties", and skinny sugar cookies sprinkled with sugar for the "fries".) Incredible, yes? I mean, the cupcakeburger on its own is cute, but pair it with sugar-cookie fries and put it in a handmade paper tray, and it becomes irresistable. Literally irresistable - as in, I was still in remission from my last insane cake-decorating project (post to follow), but still couldn't keep myself from making these for our little 4th of July party.

Here's the result:

I'll readily admit this isn't nearly as perfectly-cute as Bakerella's version, but they (I made 8) were cute enough to bring smiles to my nieces' faces which, after all, was the object all along. Depending on how you define "easy", this is a pretty easy project - not too messy, not too technically demanding. The issue isn't ease, however; it's time. Because cute as they are, these cupcakeburgers are a complete, time-consuming pain to make. Consider the steps involved:

1) Make the cupcakes.

2) Make the chocolate cake (or brownies).

3) Make the cookies.

4) Print the little trays.

5) Cut out the little trays.

6) Assemble the little trays.

7) Design the stupid little french fry holders.

8) Print the stupid little french fry holders.

9) Cut out the stupid little french fry holders.

10) Assemble the stupid little french fry holders.

11) Tint 3 colors of frosting.

12) AND, assemble everything (which of course includes splitting the cupcakes, cutting out chocolate cake-rounds, etc.).

Hey! It's a 12-step process!

Anyway, at least that 12th step is pretty gratifying, as you're left with amazingly cute & sugary little fast-food meals.

I chose to make my life slightly more difficult (but make the project more rewarding) by making everything - cupcakes, chocolate cake, cookies - vegan so that my little 4-y-o niece could for once fully participate in the fun dessert. Not that at 4 my niece is already making life-choices about her eating habits. She's just still (hopefully) growing out of several food allergies that prevent her from having any dairy or egg products. Meat, she's OK with, but unfortunately most cupcake recipes don't involve ground beef (not even for cupcakeburgers!), so it's hard to take advantage of this.

Fortunately - both for my niece and in this case for myself - the world we live in is fairly replete with nondairy options. For the "patties" I made what has become one of my niece's dessert stand-bys: Crazy Cake, a quick-and-easy chocolate cake recipe with none of the offending allergens:

Crazy Cake*

Mix together:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 Tab. cocoa powder

Add:

2 tsp. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

5 Tab. oil

1 cup cold water

Mix well and pour into greased pan (8" or 9" - or whatever works for what you're doing).

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

I made this in a 9x13 baking pan so it wouldn't come out too thick and, when it had cooled, inverted it onto a cutting board and used one of my nifty Ateco circle cutters to make my cupcakeburger patties. (Helpful tip: Don't forget to grease the pan. I somehow neglected to do this the first time around and had to scrape the entire cake into the garbage and start over. Argh.) I ended up splitting each "patty" to make it thinner - otherwise they were too thick relative to the "buns".

For the "buns" I used a Cherrybrook Kitchen yellow cake mix that I picked up at Whole Foods. The cupcakes came out more like muffins than cupcakes in my opinion - both in appearance and in sweetness - but that's a minor issue, I guess. I tinted a Pillsbury vanilla frosting - which contains no dairy products (though you should always read the label just in case) - for my ketchup, mustard, and lettuce (along with a LOT of red food coloring for the ketchup). And finally, I googled "vegan sugar cookies" and came up with a plethora of recipe options for my "fries". (I went with this one because it only involved one obscure ingredient - vegan maragine - whereas others also involved tofu or soymilk or somesuch. (OK, I guess they all also involve egg replacer, but I have that on-hand anyway, so I don't consider it obscure.))

Bakerella very kindly posted a pdf with templates for the tray, french fry holder, and liner paper. (I skipped the personalized liner paper since I was unable to find vellum.) Of course, her little faux fast food meal was made in honor of Father's Day, whereas mine was for Independence Day. Thus, I did a quickie 4th of July design on the blank french fry holder template that she helpfully provides.

Finally, I couldn't resist putting little American flag toothpicks into the burgers. Since I had none of these on hand, and couldn't think of a nearby store that was likely to sell them, I did a Google image search for the US flag, scaled it to about 3/4" high, made a horizontally-flipped version of it, and printed as many would fit on a sheet of 8 1/2"x11" paper - cut them out with an Olfa knife and used double-sided tape to wrap them around plain toothpicks. The extra step of making the flag-picks sounds like a pain, but it went pretty quickly (in comparison to, say, making the food trays) and added a really cute touch.

And there you have it - Fourth of July Burgers and Freedom Fries for the sweet-tooths (sweet-teeth?) among us. Don't worry, Father's Day and Independence Day may be behind us, but it's not too late to make these for Labor Day or any other summer get-togethers you have coming up. Just be prepared to spend some time, or find a helper to make all the paper products!

Oh, and, belatedly...

*My recipe, copied from the original in my Mom's cookbook which was given to her by a former neighbor, spells it "Crazy Kake". OK then, but why not go ahead and make it "Krazy Kake" and at least be consistent? Though that reminds me of the old "Kleen Kar" carwash next to my old elementary school, which even as a first grader used to drive me crazy. (Or did it drive me krazy?)

Summer BBQ Party

2009-05-17T20:31:00.022-04:00

Sorry, this will have to be a picture-less post, but at least you'll get lots of links!

So, my boyfriend is an architecture professor at MIT, and his students had their final reviews a couple of weeks ago. Because their project was in Palermo, I got to know them all a bit when we all went over for the class field trip in January. I was therefore more excited than usual about having an end-of-the year party.

Main Dish
Typically when he's hosted parties for his students, Mike will just order a bunch of Chinese or Thai take-out, but this year I suggested something a little different. Although he has no desire to actually live there again, Mike is fairly proud of being a native Texan, and in particular is a huge fan - and promoter - of Texas barbecue. So I suggested we order up some real Texas BBQ from one of his favorite Austin (or outer-Austin) places, the Salt Lick. We've done this a couple times before; they ship the meat frozen in a styrofoam box, and it arrives usually still frozen or very cold. Give it a day or so to defrost, and either heat it in the oven or on a charcoal grill. Because the weather has finally gotten spring-like, we opted for the grill (the extra flavor is definitely worth the extra trouble). We ordered two racks of ribs, a brisket, and sausage. One of the fantastic things about Salt Lick BBQ is the sauce - it's somewhat Asian-inspired (ok, a slight departure from the traditional Texas formula, but tasty), and has a nice but unusual kick to it.

But of course you can't only serve meat at a party, so while we left the main course to the Salt Lick, Christie got to take control of the rest of the menu......and went a little bit overboard - not so much in terms of the quantity of food, but in regards to the quantity of work involved.

First off, we needed a non-meat main dish for the non-carnivores among us, so I made up and froze several veggie enchiladas. I got into making enchiladas when I bought a Cook's Illustrated the other week - an entire issue devoted to make-ahead food, including a recipe for chicken enchiladas. This inspired me to check out vegetarian-friendly options, and led me to this recipe for "Two Cheese Enchiladas" which in addition to the aforementioned cheeses include pinto beans, corn, and cilantro. I made the recipe pretty much according to directions, except substituting Cook's Illustrated's enchilada sauce (sorry no link - you have to subscribe to their webpage), and freezing according to CI's directions. It's an amazing system in that you cook the enchiladas directly from the freezer - no defrosting required (aside from the sauce) - and they turn out amazingly well.

Salads
So now we had a main course for both the vegetarians and the carnivores, now for some sides! First something starchy, this fabulous potato salad recipe from the My Recipes site: Potato Salad with Artichokes and Asparagus*. I've made this salad before with great success. This time, sadly, I had limited success - mainly because I underboiled the potatoes and stupidly didn't notice until I had mixed them up with the vegetables and dressing. Another issue was that I used spicy brown mustard instead of the coarse-grain mustard the recipe calls for. You wouldn't think this would be a big deal, but the dressing lacked the kick it normally has. This was a disappointment, but I could live with it. What I could not live with was undercooked-potato salad. I tried microwaving to remedy the problem, but this just seemed to make the vegetables blander, paler, and still (in the case of the potatoes) underdone. I ultimately decided to pour the whole thing into a baking pan and roast it in the oven just before dinnertime - about half an hour at 400, and then another hour at 200 (we had to turn the oven temp down so we could keep the brisket warm while the ribs were on the grill). This seemed to solve the problem, but I wouldn't say it was one of those great discoveries like penicillin or Reese's cups or something. Next time, I will check the potatoes (by taste, not just pricking them with a fork) before I mix up the salad - and preferably before I pour out the boiling water.

The second salad came out perfectly, as always. This is a fabulous Southern Living recipe that goes really well with barbecue or hamburgers or just about anything: Toasted Pecan and Broccoli Salad**. I have never served this salad without receiving rave reviews. It's simply delicious. A couple of notes, though. First, the recipe calls for only 1/3 cup of cranberries. I start with at least double that, and add more until I get a nice balance, visually. The other thing is to make extra dressing. I've doubled it in the past and had a lot leftover. This time I made an extra half recipe, and used most of it. I guess it's a matter of taste, but I don't like a dry salad. (Now that I've actually written this out, it occurs to me that perhaps the reason I always get rave reviews on this salad is because I double the tastiest ingredient and use lots of extra dressing. I guess that would yield rave reviews for just about any salad.)

I chose the recipe for salad number three to compliment the enchiladas, knowing it would also be a nice match for barbecue. I got this recipe from epicurious: Cucumber and Chayote Slaw. I first made this a few weeks back for Cinco de Mayo (paired with enchiladas, along with rice and beans). It's incredibly refreshing and tasty. To thin slices of cucumber and chayote, you add diced pineapple (in fact, I don't know why they don't call it "Cucumber, Chayote, and Pineapple Slaw", because the pineapple is just as important), and toss everything with a slightly spicy dressing. One nice thing about this recipe for my purposes is that it needs to sit for 8 hours or overnight - one less thing to do on party-day.

Bread
Finally for the "meal" portion of the party, we needed a bread. And what better bread to have with barbecue than cornbread? OK, some places in Texas just give you several slices of white sandwich bread, but what works in Lockhart, TX doesn't necessarily go over as well in Cambridge, MA. The last time we did barbecue I just made up a Jiffy cornbread mix, but I didn't think it had a great flavor. This time I wanted to make something "from scratch". I found this Golden Sweet Cornbread recipe at All Recipes.com, and poured the batter into mini muffin tins. It was a very easy recipe, but the quest for the perfect cornbread recipe continues. I just didn't think the flavor was all it could have been - certainly not as good as what I've had at barbecue joints.

Dessert
If I had stopped at making the above, party-day would have been busy, but evenly paced. But once I start thinking about cooking, I have a hard time stopping myself. For one thing, we needed a dessert, and mid-May seemed to me a perfect time to bring back Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I'll take just about any excuse to make this pie, it's so delicious, especially right out of the oven. Because we had about a dozen people coming I obviously had to make two pies. I briefly toyed with making a different second pie (leaning towards Key Lime), but we decided things were complicated enough as is. I've graduated to a better pie crust than the method I posted about last summer - Julia Child's Pâte Brisée. I don't really know why I said I "graduated" to this recipe because in fact it's very simple. It just feels more grown up, I guess, to do things Julia's way. The dough goes together very quickly - no food processor required - and after chilling, rolls out very nicely. This occasion was not, however, my finest attempt at this pie crust. The kitchen was warm, and because I had forgotten to buy shortening the day before, I didn't end up rolling out the dough and assembling the pies until 20 minutes to party time, so I was more rushed than I should have been. This meant I ended up leaving the bottom crust a little thicker than the desired 1/8", my top lattice was a little skimpy and messy, and the edges were dreadful-looking. The best moment, though, in making these pies was when I went to mix up the filling and discovered we were low on sugar. I had bought extra flour in anticipation of making the crust, but completely forgot about sugar! To make a double recipe I needed 2 cups of sugar. The sugar cannister contained about 1 1/2. Pondering whether there was time to run to the store, or whether we could get by with a tangier pie, I looked up and saw the Alessi sugar bowl that sits,unused, decoratively on the counter. I tentatively lifted the lid to - Hooray! - discover plenty of sugar for my final half cup, with plenty leftover for spinkling on top of my inferior lattice. The pies were trouble, and stressful, but they were also a huge hit. Authentic Texas BBQ and homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Pie? Killer party, every time.

Snacks
Finally, I turned to a couple of what-have-come-to-be-standbys for pre-dinner snacks. First, the always-delicious, always easy Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers, peppadew version. The self-contained nature of the peppadews is too good a bonus to ignore, so they've pretty much become my standard pepper of choice when it comes to goat cheese fill-ability. The only down-side of the peppadews is they tend to be a bit sticky to handle, due I suppose to the brine in which they're packed. This time I therefore drained the peppers into a collander, rinsed them thoroughly with water, and set them upside-down on a paper towel for about half-an-hour to dry. I bought and filled two jars of peppadews, and all but about 3 were eaten by the end of the evening. The pre-rinse seemed to take care of the stickiness factor.

The other standby for us is Ana Sortun's amazing Whipped Feta with Roasted Red Peppers. If you don't live in the Boston/Cambridge area, or if you do but have other things to think about than eastern-Mediterranean restaurants, Ana Sortun is the proprietor and chef at Oleana, an amazing Cambridge restaurant. (Watch out for that link - it comes with startling background music.) The Whipped Feta is one of the restaurant's pret à manger items, and it's incredible. The recipe is included in Sortun's cookbook Spice. Not sure what the protocol is on reprinting cookbook recipes, but since, by comparison to the Whipped Feta, all the other recipes I've tried from this book are extremely complicated, time-consuming, and failure-prone, I don't feel too bad giving out the ingredients for one little starter dish:

1 lb sheep's or goat's milk French feta, drained and broken into rough 1/2-inch pieces or crumbled

2 medium red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped, and drained of excess juice

2 tsp. Aleppo chilies plus a pinch for garnish

1 tsp. Urfa chilies plus a pinch for garnish

1/2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika plus a pinch for garnish

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and combine so that the sweet and hot peppers coat the cheese.

Purée the mixture in a food processor for about 2 minutes, until very smooth and creamy. The mixture will be quite loose, but will set when chilled (at least 30 minutes).

Sprinkle with a pinch of all three chilies to garnish.

I've found that a half recipe is plenty for pre-party snacking. Although I've tried oven-roasting bell peppers, the only successful method I have found for roasting them - sufficient to allow for peeling off the skin - is to set them directly on a (gas) stovetop flame and allow them to char for several minutes on all sides. (This also makes your house smell very nice and spicy.) When blackened on all sides, place the pepper(s) in a bowl, cover with plastic, and allow to steam for about 5 minutes. Remove from bowl, and peel/rub off skin.

I lucked into a very good spice shop in Inman Square where I can usually find both Urfa and Aleppo chilies - not sure about their availability elsewhere. The feta has almost a pimento-cheese flavor about it, but it's so much more. It's deliciuos on bread, but can also be served with celery, endive, or fennel. (I've personally never tried the fennel and wonder if it mightn't be too strong - not sure.)

So, that's the story - that's our party. (Leaving out the customary olives, cheese, chips and salsa, etc.) Very good food - a little too much work to try to take on in one day, but each of the above recipes is perfectly doable on its own, delicious, and highly recommended. And don't forget Salt Lick next time you want a unique main dish for a big group.

Lessons Learned:

#1 Better to have slightly overcooked potatoes than slightly undercooked - pretty much in all cases, but certainly for potato salad. Check the potatoes - with your teeth - before taking them off the stove.

#2 Less is probably more, but if you can't resist making up all your favorite recipes, at least plan ahead enough so that you can make, or start, a few things the night before.

#3 Always check your sugar - and flour - cannisters. Everyone thinks to buy strawberries, or apples, or what-have-you when making a pie, but when was the last time you checked your sugar supply?

*The recipe calls for bacon, but I substitued soy bacon to make it vegetarian-friendly. I'm sure it's better with real bacon, but oh well.

**I left the bacon out altogether for this one.

Deep Chocolate Cake

2009-05-07T22:24:00.009-04:00

Another long time no see. Write.

Tonight, I made a cake because tomorrow is our business manager's last day at work. Now, I realize that I have only been at this job for not even three months, but my loyalty is in my cakes. I guess you could say.

Dana requested a chocolate cake. Amazingly, in all the cakes I have made, I haven't made many chocolate cakes. I went all out and got a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens and tried it out. I'll post the pics of the finished cake tomorrow.

The cake is a deep chocolate cake. It smelled heavenly in the oven.

Deep Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups milk

Directions:

First (my own instructions) before you do ANYTHING, melt the unsweetened chocolate. Otherwise, you'll be waiting around for it to cool.

Grease three 9-inch round baking pans, three 8X8X2-inch square baking pans; lightly dust each pan with 1 teaspoon of the cocoa powder. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.

Beat in chocolate and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to chocolate mixture, beating on low speed until well mixed. (Batter will be thick. - That's what they say - I say it looks like chocolate mousse! Yum!)

Divide batter among prepared pans; spread evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

My cakes only took 17 minutes to bake. It was my first experience with this oven so that may be the reason...I have the world's crappiest oven. It doesn't even have a viewing window. Crapola-ish.

While the cakes were baking, I curled some milk chocolate. It was warm in the house and the chocolate didn't want to curl nicely so I got mini curls. They look fine and taste even better, but for nice curls, just simply use a vegetable peeler along the length of a good quality chocolate bar. The longer the better. So pretty. I used parchment paper for the curls to fall on and then put them in the fridge until frosting time. Like I said, it was warm in the house and those little curlies melt fast.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting:

Ingredients:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate pieces (2 cups)
1/2 cup butter
8 ounces dairy sour cream
4-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (about 1 pound)

Directions:

Make sure to buy sifted confectioner's sugar. Most of the time, you won't need to sift it like I had to tonight. Which made my arm HURT and my frosting wasn't nearly as fluffy or light in color (meaning it was well beaten - with chocolate frosting, the lighter it gets, it usually means it is getting fluffier - but not always - I'll stop commenting now...)

In a large saucepan melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. This frosts tops and sides of three 8- or 9-inch cake layers.

Cake Assembly:

Optional Ingredients:

Chocolate curls
Fresh raspberries
Fresh mint sprigs

Directions:

To assemble cake, spread Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting on tops of two of the layers; stack. Add top layer; frost the top and sides of the cake. If desired, while frosting is still moist, use a 4- to 6-inch wooden skewer or tweezers to lightly press chocolate curls into frosting around the bottom two-thirds of the cake. If desired, garnish top with raspberries and mint. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

I used strawberries. They are in season and raspberries aren't. So there, cake recipe people! Anyway, I hulled those tasty little guys and halved them and just arranged them nicely on the top of the cake. I sprinkled the top and the bottom edge with the chocolate sprinkles. It still needed a little pretty, so I added so malt balls - some halved - and strawberry quarters along the bottom edge. I would probably use more chocolate curls next time and more malt balls. They look cool in the picture on BHG's website.I hope it's good!! I'll let you know.

Super-Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-03-14T19:48:00.016-04:00

Just a quickie post about yet another very simple but satisfying recipe.

Last summer when I was moving, I promised a coworker of mine cookies in exchange for his box- and furniture-lifting skills. But not just any cookies, for this particular coworker is very finicky about what makes for a good cookie: not too sweet, not too doughy, no chocolate, etc.. Since I didn't want to be wasting my time making something he would scoff at, I asked him to bring me his mother's cookie recipes - his particular standard for what all cookies should be. He gave me three recipes: molasses, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter. This recipe is for the latter, which is probably the easiest cookie recipe I've ever made. In fact, when I first saw the ingredient list I thought there must have been a mistake - that is, an omission - in the ingredient list.

Here's what you need for one batch of cookies (makes about two dozen):

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter (your choice as to smooth or chunky)

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Only four ingredients! For cookies! No flour, no butter, no nuts, no chips. So simple!

Can this possibly produce something edible? Keep reading...

The only sort of un-fun part of this recipe is what comes next:

Mix.

As we all know, peanut butter is a uniquely sticky, stubborn substance. It doesn't mix particularly well with our own saliva - a phenomenon I once tried to capture in song with a catchy little number called Peanut Butter Stuff Me* - let alone with sugar, egg, and vanilla. If you have the initiative to involve your mixer, then you're home-free. Personally, I hate to drag out the Kitchen Aid for a four-ingredient recipe. What's the point of simplicity if I have to wash my mixer when I'm done? So I opt for good ol' elbow grease.

When you've got the ingredients reasonably well combined, roll the mixture into 1 1/2" balls, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. (Leave sufficient space between cookie-balls for the cookies to spread as they bake.)

At this point the recipe just says to press with a fork, but if you don't mind getting another dish dirty, my Mom and I recommend pouring a little sugar onto a dish and first dipping your fork in that (you may have to press one cookie first to accumulate enough grease for the sugar to stick to the fork). With your fork nicely sugared-up, press each cookie-ball with your fork in the traditional criss/cross pattern.

Place the cookie sheet in a preheated 350-degree oven, and bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, depending on degree on desired crispness, and keeping in mind that cookies will continue to bake (and therefore harden) after they're removed from the oven. I generally start checking them at about eight minutes, because an overdone cookie is not a particularly appealing cookie - to me, at least.

And there you have it. Taste one. They're very yummy - not too sweet - pretty much just solid peanut butter, with a little sugar so you know it's a cookie, and a little egg to hold it all together.

* This was followed by the lesser-known but slightly more tuneful Eatin' Jelly with Mom and Dad. I'll readily admit that at age 5 (or 6?) my song compositions weren't especially complex or clever, but both are catchier, if less didactic, than the annoying Peanut, Peanut Butter - And Jelly song. (Although one of my nephews used to love that song as a little kid, so I hold no grudge against its having made the big-time while my humble offerings remain in virtual obscurity...)

Now broadcasting from Kansas City

2009-03-01T17:19:00.006-05:00

Why hello!

Okay, so I don't actually have any cool projects to post. I have done very little after my move to Missouri. Plus, my camera DIED. So terrible.

Anyway, I can't say that I didn't do ANYTHING. I helped my (step) sister's Mom reorganize and redecorate her basement office. I will post pictures of that as soon as I can get over there with a camera. The only thing I did crafty was to make her four curtain panels from a pair of curtains I bought at Target. We also did a great combination of black with brown and tan. Who says that black and brown don't go together? Ha!

Like I said, pics to follow.

Also, I am moving this Saturday so I can begin to post pics of the new place! It's pretty plain Jane but I am excited to get moved in and all decorated living in my own place in midtown Kansas City! Two minutes from work!! Woo!

Oh. And I bought this fantastic chair at Goodwill for $4.98 and we're hoping to make it even more fantastic in the next few months. I just love mid-century furniture (it's a Baumritter which in 1969 changed its name to the well-known Ethan Allen.)
One more thing, Mom got my funky, swivel chair a makeover from an upholsterer over Christmas, so I'll post pictures of how good it looks (no more kitty scratching post!) when I get it up here!

Until then, see you and miss you all (especially Christie!)!

Man, that wedding soup looks AWESOME.

Pralines

2009-02-22T16:40:00.016-05:00

Well, Mardi Gras is just a couple days away. I've never been to the various parades and festivities in New Orleans myself, but my Mom being from New Orleans, I grew up playing with boxes of Mardi Gras beads and dubloons. It's probably just as well that my family stopped going down for the parades before I was born, or I could have ended up in a picture like this, but at any rate, an appreciation for this particular holiday has always stuck with me.

When my old roomie Julie and I moved to the Northeast many years back, we were shocked and dismayed to discover that no local bars or restaurants seemed to acknowledge the event. So we began hosting our own mini-Mardi Gras, festooning our dumpy little apartment in purple, green, and gold, and serving up Central Grocery-style muffalettas, crab dip, King Cake, and other Southern delicacies to mildly bewildered coworkers. We got more creative as we went along, at our apex serving up color-coordinated pre-mixed cocktails (margaritas for gold, "leapin' lizards" for green, and I believe hurricanes for purple).

Without an equally-enthused cohost these days, and with considerably less energy myself, I can't say I'm up to all the effort of putting on a whole party, but I like to continue the festivities on a smaller scale. This recipe is from my Mom, and I think it's a safe assumption that she got it from her mom - above, far right - or from her wonderful aunts - above, far left and second (adult) from right. Praline recipes vary considerably - some are hard, some are sticky. These are the kind I grew up with and are therefore just right as far as I'm concerned. I love to break off a piece and let it slowly disintegrate on my tongue into sweet, buttery goodness. They're heavenly, and they bring back fabulous memories, if not of New Orleans, then certainly of our old house in Arkansas.

The best thing about this recipe is how little time it takes, start to finish. Mom used to go into the kitchen and emerge 10 minutes later with a fresh plate of pralines. And when they were gone, she would (sometimes) pop back in and make another batch just as quickly.

The second best thing about this recipe is how basic the ingredients are. If you have a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, you can probably make them right now. Probably at most all you need to go buy is some pecans.

Before we proceed, however, it is vitally important that you know exactly what you're making - which is to say, that you know how to pronounce it. Repeat after me: "PRAH - LEENS". Can you say that? Very good. Make sure, too, to get the accent on the second syllable. You may have heard others refer to a Southern candy called "PRAY - LEENS." I have no idea what this could possibly be, but it sounds dreadful to me. Alright? All set to make some prahleens? Let's get going.

To make approximately 16 pralines, you will need:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup milk

1 T. butter

1 cup pecan pieces

1 tsp. vanilla

I like the pecan pieces to be fairly large - I break them by hand into the measuring cup, breaking each pecan half once at most, and leaving a few unbroken.

Combine sugars, milk, butter, and pecans in a heavy saucepan.

Bring to a boil.

Boil for 1 1/2 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Add 1 tsp. vanilla.

Beat to a cream, about 3 minutes.

Drop in spoonfulls onto greased wax paper and allow to cool.

Once the process gets going, it moves quickly, so it's important to prepare your wax (or parchment) paper before you start cooking. For a candy recipe this is pretty simple (no exact temperature requirements); however, it's important to time things exactly according to the directions. For me this means resisting the urge to start tidying up while the candy is boiling.As you beat the mixture to a cream, you'll notice - probably after about 2 minutes - that it will start to thicken up quite quickly. The exact moment at which to stop beating and begin dropping is difficult to describe, but in general it's better to guess a bit early (when it still seems runny) than late (when you could end up with one giant praline stuck to the inside of your pan). The best thing to do is to test-drop when it starts to thicken and see whether the candy runs all over the counter or whether it sets up.

The longer the mixture stays in the pan, the more rough & sugary the consistency will be. This means the final pralines you drop may not be the prettiest. I like to drop the last dregs in small, coin-size pieces in between the larger pralines. These make great "tester" pieces for the cook or other "helpers" who happen to be standing by.

If you end up waiting too long to start dropping and the mixture is un-droppable, no worries. Run some water in the pan, wash it out, and start again. Chances are you have enough ingredients to make another batch, right?

Finally, I can't resist telling my personal Praline Disaster Story. Everything was going smoothly; I timed the candy boiling perfectly, and added my teaspoon of vanilla just as I was supposed to. Except, at this point I noticed that the candy suddenly had a less buttery-sugary smell and more of a harsh-minty smell. What happened? As I continued to beat my mixture to a cream, I glanced down at my bottle of vanilla. Except it wasn't a bottle of vanilla. It was a bottle of peppermint extract. What else could I do but continue to beat the candy and eventually drop my weird praline mints onto the paper? Take it from me, this is was not one of those peanut butter/chocolate collision moments.

However, if you do have interest in trying some variations on the classic praline flavor, there's an old Southern Living article - no longer, alas, on their website - with several different flavor possibilities using a slightly different recipe. Some helpful person has transcribed the original article at post #15 on this page.

Italian Wedding Soup

2009-02-16T12:50:00.019-05:00

Let's pretend that this whole months-long blogging hiatus never happened and just dive back in, shall we?

When my boyfriend had an unexpected dentist issue/visit the other day, I embarked on a quest to find a new soup recipe for dinner. My existing soup repertoire consisting of vegetarian chili, which isn't really soup, and one semi-failed attempt at potage parmentiere, perhaps this was a worthwhile endeavor regardless of the dental situation. As it was, the potage didn't seem filling enough on its own, and the chili had troubling spiciness issues. (It's also a bit time-consuming, or is if you do all the chopping by hand - something I always do with that recipe because the texture comes out much better that way. Sometime I should post that recipe, I guess.)

Seeking something simple yet filling, I somehow landed on the idea of Italian Wedding Soup. My first go-to recipe site is usually epicurious because its recipes come from both Gourmet and bon appetit, which I consider to be pretty reliable and kind of more upscale, which I like. Oddly, however, there were no IWS recipes to be found there. Next I checked My Recipes, which accesses recipes from Southern Living, Cooking Light, and Sunset, among others. Again no results that had anything to do with what I consider to be Italian Wedding Soup. Finally, I hit on a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis over at the Food Network site. Now, Giada doesn't look like she's ever eaten so much as one meatball, let alone a bowl-full of them, but who says being a good cook has to go along with being a big eater? Anyway, in her case I assume she inherited a trunk-full of recipes from a healthy-looking nonna-type who's not afraid of a little butter.

This recipe is much closer to the type of soup I had in mind: broth-based (chicken), with leafy greens, meatballs, and a little parmesan.

Ingredients - meatballs
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients - soup
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and pork. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet.
To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and curly endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about 8 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

A few things were unexpected. I hadn't heard of including egg, and I was expecting some sort of pasta. Also, whereas she uses curly endive for her veg, I'm more used to seeing something like kale or spinach. I guess because of these issues, I clicked over to the Comments page that accompanies the recipe. If you're willing to suffer through bad grammar and folksy parlance such as "Hun this is the BEST !!", there's a lot of useful information to be gleaned from the comments page.

For starters, many people seem to have substitued spinach for the curly endive. I had been willing to try for endive or - her suggested substitution - escarole; however, Whole Foods let me down on this one, so I too opted for spinach. Another main comment was using sweet Italian sausage in place of some or all of the recommended ground beef and pork. Again I was willing to follow the recipe here, but finding no ground pork at the store I was happy to know I would be safe using Italian sausage instead. Also regarding the meatballs, many people said they had first browned them before adding them to the broth. I didn't read back through the entire comment log, but I'm guessing that if people are doing this, it's because unbrowned meatballs either fell apart in the broth or were undercooked. Either way, I was happy to take the time to brown them. (In fact, Mike browned them while I got the broth going. He was also helpful rolling the meatballs, which I believe would otherwise be the most time-consuming part of the whole recipe.)

The one change - addition, I guess - I knew I wanted to make was adding some pasta. Not only does this increase the filling-ness factor, but it also jibes better with what I think of as classic IWS. Several commenters recommended a pasta called acini de pepe. I had to wikipedia the name to determine that it was a type of pasta (as opposed to some type of Italian pepper?), but it's apparently a very small, pepperc0rn-size pasta that's often used in soups. Many other people, however, had used orzo, with which I was familiar. I was all set to go with the acini de pepe but, not finding it at the store, went with the orzo. Given the opportunity I think I'd prefer the acini etc., as its texture would be kind of fun in the soup and it somehow feels more Italian. One of the downsides of adding something extra to a recipe is you don't know exactly when and how to do it. One commenter said she'd used a cup of orzo so, making a half-recipe, I put in a half-cup right after the broth came to a boil and pretty much immediately added the meatballs and spinach. I don't know if this was really a mistake or not. It's definitely true that the orzo was not fully cooked within the 8 minute cooking time for the meatballs and spinach; however, I don't think the meatballs and spinach were particularly hurt by hanging out another 5 minutes waiting for the orzo to cook. I suppose, to do it over again, I could cook the pasta separately and add it at the end, but that creates another pan to clean (you're already adding one for browning the meatballs) and another burner to focus on. I think instead I would let the pasta cook a bit longer next time before adding the rest of the ingredients, although even here you have to be careful, because you certainly don't want to come out with mushy pasta.

As for the egg, I think I could take it or leave it. We happened to have eggs at home, so I didn't mind adding them, but I don't know that I'd buy a carton of eggs purely for their inclusion in the soup.

But, to get to the important thing, this soup was absolutely delicious and also very easy and relatively quick to make! We had enough for leftovers the next day, and it was equally good, if not better. To coin a phrase, Hun this is the best! I definitely plan to make this recipe a few more times while the weather stays chilly up here. However, my modified take on the recipe will be as follows:

Ingredients - meatballs
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground sweet Italian sausage
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients - soup
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs (optional)
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup orzo, acini de pepe, or other small pasta

Directions
To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and Italian sausage. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs.
Heat 2 T oil in a large skillet. Add 2-3 T butter. When fat has melted to coat the pan, add meatballs to pan in a single layer (do half at a time if necessary). Cook until lightly browned, turning as necessary. Remove from pan and set aside.
To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook one or two minutes, depending on recommended cooking time. Add the meatballs and spinach and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, the spinach is tender, and the pasta is cooked to desired consistency, about 8 minutes. Whisk the eggs (if desired) and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

Holiday Turkeys

2008-11-12T12:19:00.007-05:00

So I have to admit that the following project was not made by me. Nor Christie. It was made by my coworker, Andrea, who has quite a few crafty tricks up her own sleeves.

I couldn't just let this project go though - they're just too cute!

If you feel the need to make placecard turkeys for your loved ones at your turkey dinner, these turkeys could give you some needed inspiration! (she even made a mini turkey for her tiny nephew!)

Holiday Turkey Project

Enjoy!

Hummingbird Cake

2008-11-09T20:54:00.009-05:00

Yup. It's made from cute little hummingbirds.

Okay. Not really. That's gross.

This cake is actually a kind of spice cake morphed with a fruit cake. Most people, including myself, cringe at the thought of fruit cake. Well, cringe no more people! This cake is super moist, super rich and ultra decadent. It will be a smash hit at any party. Be sure to bring some milk to wash it down!

Hummingbird Cake:

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 - 8 ounce crushed pineapple - undrained
1 1/8 cup chopped pecans (save 1/8 cup for frosting sprinkles)
1 3/4 cup mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 bananas)

Directions:

Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl and mix.
Add (beaten) eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat.
Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans and bananas. Stir well.
Pour batter into 3 - 9 inch greased and floured pans. Be sure cake is thick around edges.
Bake @ 350 degrees F for 23 - 28 minutes. Insert toothpick until clean. (My cakes were done at 20 minutes so be sure to keep a close eye on them.)
Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Removed from pans and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 - 16 ounce package powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Cream butter and cream cheese with mixer.
Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and beat more.
Spread cream cheese frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle pecans on top.
Refrigerate.

(Trying something different with the bullets - not sure if I like it or not...)

Halloween Ghost Bags

2008-10-28T12:35:00.012-04:00

So for me, Halloween wouldn't be Halloween unless candy was involved. However, I have very few friends who appreciate getting a big bag of candy from me for Halloween (likewise). I came upon the cutest candy bags knowing that my friends would appreciate the sentiment but not the contents.

But who does love candy? The nephews.

I spent this Sunday past making a handful of fun felt bags to fill with goodies and send out to the nephews (three of them, ages nearly 3, nearly 4 and nearly 14) and to my stepbrother (age 14). I know that for the two bigger boys the end product may be a bit childish but the goods inside will be appreciated.

I found the idea for the ghost bag online at Better H ome s and Gardens (yup, my fave craftie website). I knew that when I finished my test a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to do SOMETHING not involving studying so I guess this was the project.

I downloaded the template from the website and blew it up until I had the size I wanted. I think I ended up with a 9" x 11" template (it doesn't matter as long as the ghost fits!). My next step was the craft store.
Normally, I would just suggest buying squares of pre-cut felt, but I decided to go with the felt on the bolt because in general, it's a bit stiffer. I got a yard of orange and a yard of white (on sale 50% off!) and then a couple pieces of black and purple in the pre-cut pieces. I felt that purple is a more Halloween-y color than the navy blue that BHG suggests for the "Boo!" letters.

When making multiples of anything, make one first to make sure it works. Then you can have one completely done and just tweak the remaining whatevers.

Ghost Bag:
My first step was to cut out a template for the actual bag. I used the 11x17 sheet of paper the ghost was printed on (I had multiple copies) and measured it out. Remember that 90 degree corners are awesome (not 87 or 92, etc). I used that template (cut out) to just draw an outline with a Sharpie (one of the fine point kind). You can also pin the paper to the felt and cut out the bag that way. Don't forget to cut out two!Next draw an outline of your ghost and cut it out of the white felt. You only need one of these.
Now take one of the bag pieces you have cut out and position the ghost piece where you want it with his entire body on the felt - you will cut off the excess in a bit. Pin it on and sew the entire edges with the sewing machine (if you don't have a sewing machine, you can sew it by hand but it will take forever).The next step is to take the ghost felt rectangle and plain orange felt rectangle and stitch the three corners, leaving the top open. Personally, I chose to stitch the bottom of the bag so the stitch was in the inside of the bag (place the ghost felt and the plain felt outsides facing inside and stitch the bottom. Snip the excess fabric and turn inside out.).
Turn the bag so the outsides are facing out. Sew each side of the bag shut. Using shears or regular scissors, cut the excess of the side of the bag.
Now you will have to draw a line from the ghost handle part out in each direction along the top of the bag and cut the excess orange felt. Make sure that the front and back line up while cutting.

Yay! The bag is done! Now for the decorative elements:

Turn on your tv. This part is a bit time consuming.

Decorative Elements:
Using the letters from your template, cut out two eyes, one mouth, one "B", two "O"s and one exclamation point. Using fabric glue (I'm guessing you could use hot glue except that it might leave trace amounts on the fabric if it leaks through) apply the appropriate letters and eyes and mouth. Use a heavy book for weight and lay it on top of the bag. Leave overnight for best results.

Now you're really done!

Tags:
But, if you are like me, you have multiple bags...so after finishing your bags you may want to make tags.I simply used a cookie cutter to outline a bat shape onto black cardstock (only because I'm lame and like everything to be the same). After cutting out the bat shape, I took a hole punch (well, more like a brad punch because I couldn't find my single hole punch) and made a hole in the corner.

I wrote the recipient's name on one side with a rock star product called (generally) the metallic paint marker. These things are FABULOUS. Except if sniffed in excess, may cause wooziness (please try to avoid sniffing especially if pregnant). They write superbly well and are super shiny! Love it! So anyway, I used that to write the recipient's name and my name on the tag and tied it onto the bag with a black cord ribbon I had lying around. Because I have stuff like that. Lying around.
Now for simplified instructions because I got really wordy up there:
1. Cut out felt (ghost and bags).
2. Sew ghost onto bag.
3. Sew bag together.
4. Cut excess felt off top of bag to align handles with top of bag.
5. Trim with shears.
6. Cut out decorative touches.
7. Glue decorative touches.
8. Label bag.

Say Goodbye to Summer with This Simple Summery Pie

2008-09-19T20:30:00.002-04:00

Yes, some kids have been in school for a month already. Yes, I've been wearing a jacket to work for the past week. Yes, the sun is gone by the time I get home at night. But the official first day of fall is still a few days away, believe it or not.

It might not be beach weather anymore, but you still have time to whip up a delicious, summery pie before those turning leaves turn you to thoughts of apple, pumpkin, and pecans.

I got this recipe from Mom (actually her entry in an old Union County Cookbook), and it's almost too simple to be believed. Here's what you will need: 3 egg yolks, one can of sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 cup key lime juice, plus a graham cracker crust and whipped cream. Now maybe this makes me lazy, but I think any ingredient list that I can count on ONE HAND should win some sort of award.

And the directions are just as simple: beat the yolks, stir in the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice, and pour into the crust. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, cool, and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Serve with whipped cream. The result is a smooth, tart, summery burst of flavor.

I was inspired to make this pie for the first time a couple weeks ago. Because my local grocery is Whole Foods, I wasn't able to buy a prepared crust, so I pulled out the iphone and quickly found a simple recipe for that as well: 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers, 6 tablespoons melted butter, and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix these together and press into a pie plate, then bake 8 to 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Making your own crust adds a nice homey texture to the pie and only adds about 15 minutes to the process. (Always assuming you're working with cooperative grahams; my first attempt involved some frighteningly resilient ones - considering how hard they were to break with a mallet, I don't want to know what they'd do to teeth.)

pre-baked crust, ready for filling

I baked my first pie conventionally - that is, in a conventional oven - but for pie #2 (about a week later - what else are you supposed to do with the rest of that lime juice?) I decided to test out our fabulous countertop oven. Originally I bought the oven for heating up party foods, which it does quite well, but this was my first attempt at using it as a real "oven" oven. The pie came out perfectly - not noticeably different from the first one - and without having to heat up the house by turning on the big oven. Too bad I learned this trick so late into the summer - would've saved some AC bills. Stay tuned for additional tests of the Delonghi oven...

Postscript: To me there is no greater testament to the simplicity of this pie than that, after reading a boastful email from me about pie #1, my friend Russ - admittedly talented at many things but not exactly known as a baker - was inspired to go home and make one of his own, and had made yet another one within a week (again, the leftover lime juice...). If you like lime-y-ness, and you like pie, there's no excuse not to try this yourself.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers, Round Two

2008-09-14T14:30:00.003-04:00

Round Two of my quest for the perfect goat cheese stuffed pepper, or rather for the perfect recreation of the bite-size stuffed peppers I had my last night in Barcelona at the excellent El Xampanyet, took place a few weeks back. To refresh your memory, the first round of peppers was tasty but was too heavy on the garlic and, due to the use of peppadews instead of bell peppers, a little too peppery to pair with the subtle goat cheese flavor.

So, with Carrie coincidentally in town to help out with my next attempt, I next opted for a jar of fire roasted red peppers, also packed in brine (not necessarily the brand depicted here, but something similar).

I was delighted to find that the jar contained several whole, peeled bell peppers (I was prepared for pieces); soon after removing and draining the peppers, however, Carrie and I realized that filling these peppers whole and intact would result in an alarmingly large quantity of goat cheese per pepper - much more than any mouth would want to take on. (Just think of what a ripe bell pepper looks like, and imagine the interior capacity - quite a mouthful!) Instead, I ended up halving each of the roasted peppers lengthwise.

I used the same ingredients, in roughly the same quantities, as before: about 7 ounces of goat cheese, a minced garlic clove (minced by hand this time rather than with a press), and several finely chopped black olives (despite the fact that Carrie's not an olive fan, she actually didn't mind these once they were safely masked in the goat cheese), plus salt and pepper. Because I knew I'd be using the Ziploc trick to fill the peppers, this time I went ahead and put my ingredients directly into the bag for mixing. This requires significantly more kneading/mixing than does the deviled-egg filling (you don't want anyone getting a huge chunk of garlic in a single bite), but is achievable, and it saves washing a bowl. Then, as before, I snipped a corner off the Ziploc. With the halved pepper lying open on the plate, I squeezed about a 3/4" diameter log of the goat cheese mixture along its length, then folded, or rolled, the edges of pepper half up around the goat cheese. After doing this for each pepper half, I put the plate in the refrigerator to chill until dinner - about two hours.

When it was time to serve, I sliced each pepper/goat cheese log into pieces of about 1 1/2" in length. If serving these as hors d'oeuvres, you might want to secure each segment with a pick; this would ensure that the pepper remains secured around the cheese but would also allow guests to avoid handling the slightly slimy peppers. For our casual dinner, though, I left them as is. We thought they were delicious. The goat cheese mixture stood up well against the more subtle red pepper flavor, and the balance of garlic against goat cheese was just right as well. I think this may have had to do with avoiding the garlic press; the slightly larger, and less juicy, bits of hand-chopped garlic result in a subtler flavor (in my opinion at least).

The pepper strips were a bit messier looking and messier to eat than the tidily self-contained peppadews, but in general we were happy. I would say if you're looking for more goat cheese flavor than pepper flavor, this is your best option so far.

Lesson learned:

#1 Mixing the goat cheese mixture in a Ziploc bag works well and saves washing a bowl. (Apologies to the environment for the whole disposable plastic bag thing.)

#2 Hand-minced garlic results in a subtle garlic flavor that provides a better balance with goat cheese than does pressed garlic.

Brady Bunch Lunch

2008-09-12T19:49:00.019-04:00

It’s a seminal moment in life when one’s formative years resurface as pop culture nostalgia…. Wait a second. We’re reminiscing about the 90’s already? My copy of Jagged Little Pill isn’t even dusty!

But having your teenage years serve as fodder for VH1 is nothing compared to watching them turned into American history for the preteen-and-under set. For my sister, this milestone came last fall when her younger daughter saved up and bought herself the newest “historic” American Girl doll: Julie, a young girl growing up during the bygone days of the 1970’s. Leave it to the folks at Mattel to unearth rainbow patches and Jiffy Pop as essential artifacts of American history. In fairness, I can see that our nation is young enough that you quickly run out of relevant eras to commemorate – it may not be too long before they introduce “Madison, Girl of the New Millenium” complete with iPhone, Crocs – er, sorry, Rainbows – and Jonas Brothers cd.

At any rate, my Mom had a lot of fun whipping up a bunch of clothes to augment Julie’s peasant-blouse-and-bellbottoms wardrobe: tie-dye top, loud print dresses, and cranberry velvet ensemble worthy of Laurie Partridge, to name just a few. Another project she had in mind but didn’t get done in time for Christmas was a metal lunchbox similar to the accessory set you can buy from American Girl . We tried to get this done in time for Christmas, but as often happens that time of year, other things took priority. I ended up taking it home with me, promising to send it to my niece (“Julie”?) ASAP, and giving her full permission to nag me until I delivered. (A crucial measure given my notoriously poor performance in actually finishing projects such as this.)

In fact poor “Julie” (and Julie) didn’t get her lunchbox until this summer – many stupid things factoring into the delay – but I believe she was pleased with the results.

Although I’ve tried my hand at many things, I am certainly no metalworker. Thus, to make this box I of course needed to find a small-sized metal lunchbox to cover. Often you can find these filled with candy at Target-like places, especially around Christmastime, but we had trouble this (last) year. In the end we found the perfect size mini-lunchbox, not in a store, but in one of my sisters’ minivans: a used but perfectly acceptable specimen about 4” x 2 5/8”, with the Tootsie Pop logo on both sides and around the edge.

Julie’s lunchbox features a 70’s-ish flower graphic – cute, but to me, not as uniquely true to the era. In my memory at least (and admittedly, my lunchbox-carrying days were in the 80’s, not the 70’s) lunchboxes were all about branding: TV shows, movies, and toys. My sister had Annie, I still have my old Dark Crystal, and one of us had Strawberry Shortcake at some point. I remember people with the Dukes of Hazzard, Cabbage Patch Kids, GI Joe, etc.. No doubt many would have gone straight for Scooby Doo to evoke the 70’s, but for our family the quintessential TV brand of the era will always be The Brady Bunch.

Now as it happens I have a bit of experience in the area of recovering metal lunchboxes. Several years back, in the spirit of many things Christopher Guest , I gave my brother a Mitch&Mickey full-size lunchbox that has never to my knowledge carried a peanut butter sandwich but has intrigued one or two people over the years it’s sat in his office. For the Mitch&Mickey box I just formatted scanned images into two rectangles the size of each face of the box, printed them onto sticky-back paper, trimmed, and attached. I made smaller “stickers” to cover odd existing designs along the box edges, then gave the whole thing a couple coats of clear acrylic spray to both protect and add a nice sheen. (This final step is a bit dicey if you’re using an inkjet printer, as the ink can run if you’re not careful.)

The process for the Brady Box was essentially the same, although I had a bit of trouble at first finding high-resolution Brady images online, particularly the classic blue nine-square grid which I had envisioned as one face of the box. In the end I found a few helpful sites, the best of these probably being the Brady Bunch Shrine, and also scanned some of the images from the episode guide that accompanies The Brady Bunch – The Complete Series which I just happen to have on dvd. Then I just messed around with the images in Photoshop and InDesign, formatting them to the dimensions of the box.

Whereas for Mitch&Mickey I could use smaller stickers to cover the edges of the lunchbox, the scale of the Brady Box was too tiny for that. I opted instead to completely paint over the edges of the Tootsie Pop box with enamel paint (like you use for model cars). The stuff’s a bit of a pain to use – very goopy – and careful as I was it was virtually impossible to avoid getting it where you didn’t want it, but two coats of the stuff did a good job of covering the Tootsie graphics. As with Mitch&Mickey, I gave the whole thing several spray coats of clear acrylic protection.

For a fun touch, I took a few additional Brady images I’d found online and made them into magnets using inkjet magnet paper (very fun stuff) to decorate the inside.
Julie’s official lunchbox comes complete with an actual (albeit inedible) lunch, including sandwich, chips, thermos, and Hostess-style cupcake. Although I’ve made my fair share of FIMO/Sculpey items in the past, for this project I opted for a more basic, and in many ways easier modeling option for the food: salt dough.

I have a great fondness for this medium. High on my roster of happiest memories are the nights we would pull out our homemade salt dough ornaments each Christmas along with our salt dough Nativity set. (My own contributions to both of these were minimal and somewhat embarrassing; I was probably about 5 when we made them.)

Salt dough is a very easy-to-make and easy-to-use dough that you typically mold, bake, and paint. (I suppose you could tint it into individual colors if you wanted.) Anyway, salt dough really deserves its own post, but here are the basics: 2 parts flour to 1 part salt to ½ part water (approximately – actually, start with that much water but be prepared to add half as much again). This forms a Play-Doh like dough that’s easier to mold than Sculpey and of course far cheaper. If you want, you can add wallpaper paste for elasticity (I don’t do this) or a little oil to make it less sticky. Because of the salt, the finished texture is a bit courser than Sculpey, but the results are pretty satisfactory. In fact, for food (especially bread) the texture is almost desirable. After molding, set your items on a cookie sheet and bake for several hours at a very low temp (about as low as you can set the oven) until hard.

My salt-dough apple attempts kept cracking (possibly adding the wallpaper paste would’ve fixed that), but I eventually got something satisfactory. I made the sandwich in separate components – lettuce, cheese, ham, bread – so they would be easier to paint, and ultimately assembled it with GOOP glue (you want something goopy to make up for unevenness). I even lucked into finding a tiny ziploc bag the perfect size to hold Julie's ham sandwich. (Wikipedia says Ziploc bags were originally test marketed in 1968, so nothing anachronistic here.)

My cupcake was the most fun; it felt like cheating to just paint the swirly icing on, so I formed my own, carefully, with the salt dough, and glued it onto the cupcake after painting. I used craft acrylic paint for everything and, as with the lunchbox, gave everything a good coat of clear acrylic to protect it.
Julie’s lunchbox comes with a cute little thermos, but I had no luck finding anything good to convert into a mini thermos. Chapsticks are too tall and thin, medicine bottles, even small ones, are too big and often have raised writing on the caps. The only other good options are made from glass, which seems inappropriate for what after all is supposed to be a toy. In the end my food took up so much space inside the lunchbox there wasn’t room for a thermos anyway, so I decided that “Julie”’s Julie probably buys milk from the cafeteria.
Assuming they even had pasteurized milk way back in the 1970’s...

Triple Layer Lemon Cake

2008-09-09T12:42:00.008-04:00

This cake is tasty.

It's tangy and sweet, but mostly sweet. Everyone is always so impressed with a triple layer cake. It's so easy to do though.

A coworker of mine requested a citrus-y cake and I forgot to download a recipe before going home for the weekend. Luckily, I had made this cake earlier in the year and had the recipe at home. It's pretty time consuming, but completely worth the effort.

The cake recipe comes from Better Homes & Gardens website (one of my personal favorites) and even has pictures! Woo!

Here's my suggestion on order of making the three parts of the cake:

Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
6 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons water
6 beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut up

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

2. Stir half of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks. Return egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Add butter pieces, stirring until melted. Cover surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour or for up to 48 hours. Store covered in refrigerator up to 1 week or transfer to a freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator before serving. Makes 2 cups (sixteen 2-tablespoon servings).

Lemon Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 recipe Lemon Curd (see Recipe Above) or 1 cup purchased lemon curd
1 recipe Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
Lemon peel curls (optional)

Directions:

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and lightly flour three 9 x 1-1/2-inch round cake pans. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, lemon peel, and lemon juice; beat until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Add flour mixture and buttermilk or sour milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Pour into prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.

4. To assemble, place a cake layer on a cake plate. Spread with half of the Lemon Curd. Top with second layer; spread with the remaining Lemon Curd. Top with third layer. Frost top and sides with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. Cover and store cake in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with lemon peel curls. Makes 12 servings.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon lemon juice
16 ounce box Domino 10x sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl combine cream cheese, butter and lemon juice; beat with electric mixer on low to medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating well until reaching a spreading consistency. Stir in the lemon peel.

Cake Assembly

To assemble, place a cake layer on a cake plate. Spread with half of the Lemon Curd. Top with second layer; spread with the remaining Lemon Curd. Top with third layer. Frost top and sides with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. Cover and store cake in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with lemon peel curls. Makes 12 servings.

Here are my personal recommendations/suggestions:

You will need about 4 -5 lemons for the lemon peels because by the time you use your nifty lemon zester (my fave tool...oh crap! I literally just now remembered that I bought a microplane and never used it!) and chop the lemon peels, they get a lot smaller. Make sure to chop them as it will be very zesty!

Make your lemon curd first and refrigerate it for a good bit (more than one hour). It sets up VERY nicely over an hour.

When putting your lemon curd on the cake, first put some frosting in a decorator's bag (you don't need a tip) and cut a small hole in the end. Pipe frosting around the bottom layer of the cake and then put your lemon curd on. The frosting will contain the lemon curd and make sure it doesn't ooze over the edge, into your frosting sides. Do the same for the middle layer.

Lemon curls are pretty on top. Leave one lemon for decorating the top. It's pretty.

Note: The picture above is from the first time I baked the cake. I forgot to take a picture this week!

Where There's Newprint, There's a Way

2008-08-26T22:05:00.002-04:00

Like me with my Brady Piñata, my Mom hadn’t dealt with papier-mâché in years when she went about making her fantastically scary Shelob. Once she got going, however, she was inspired to further inventiveness with this incredibly handy and versatile craft-form. First, Mount Doom, but later, masks to represent orcs and Ringwraiths. (In this case, no human actually wore the masks, but they were mocked up to be terrifying on their own – and can I just say that I’m not sure I would really want to wear a papier-mâché mask on my head, at least not without its having the opportunity to air out for several days. The flour/water paste combined with newsprint is an incredibly foul smell to have so close to your nostrils.)

She started by inflating several standard-size rubber balloons to about the size of a human head, maybe a bit bigger. These she covered with two or three layers of standard newsprint papier-mâché. This yields an egg-shaped base, which when dry can be cut in half to make two basic “masks.” When I arrived in Georgia, she and my nephew had already made a couple of these into orcs by applying features such as eyes, nose, scars, and scary lumps to the half-eggs with other bits of newsprint molded and dipped into the flour glue.

Here's her orc after having its newsprint features applied.

The night before the party, while Mom made two other masks into Ringwraiths, she asked me to do a couple more orcs from the remaining bases. For inspiration, I pulled out pictures from the Lord of the Rings movies showing some of Weta Workshop’s especially unpleasant creations.

Orc #1 was based on this attractive guy:

It was quite helpful to look at this image as a model, as I immediately realized that, while the egg shape made a good base, I would need extra dimension to really bring him to life. Taking fists-full of soggy newsprint (and momentarily oblivious to the fact that he would need to be dry and painted in less than 24 hours), I first started building up the sides of his face to form his high, elongated cheeks. I did the same to build out an area around his mouth, so that it would appear to be a cavity in the mask rather than something applied to it, and for fun added a protuberant tongue. (For lack of time, I didn’t attempt to build any dimensional teeth - perhaps a mistake.) Again for the eye sockets, I built out newsprint both below and above, mainly above. The nose was fun – more clumps of newsprint, up into which I stuck my thumbs (yes, gross) to create deep nostrils. I knew I couldn’t recreate this orc’s massive batwing-like ears without some kind of extra support – maybe cardboard? – so I went for a smaller version of the same thing. Because I was working fast, and sloppily, I found that my surface was pretty rough – even ridgier than that of my lovely orc model. Given more time, I suppose you could let the built-up papier-mâché dry and go back over with a couple smoothing topcoats of newsprint. But these are orcs after all, not beauty queens, so I wasn’t too worried about the wrinkles.

Orc #2 was based on an orc called Grishnakh – different looking but just as generally disgusting as the first model. I used the same process as before – this time giving him a wider nose and heavier browbone. I should say that all this built-up wet newsprint gets a bit heavy, such that especially for this guy the shape of the mask was somewhat distorted by the weight. In a way he looked more clownish and silly at this point than scary, but the great thing about making orcs is that it’s nearly impossible to mess up – your result might be different than expected, but it’s no less an orc. Sum total I probably spent about an hour and a half on both orcs, getting my hands completely gooey in the process, then left them to dry overnight.

Next day, I had two still quite soggy orc masks sitting on the counter. Seeing as the newsprint was more than an inch thick in several places, not too surprising. With the party a few hours away, I pulled out a hair dryer and, switching back and forth between the two orcs, began drying. I regret to say that the carbon footprint for this project was relatively large, as I spent more than a half-hour blow-drying orcs, passing the time reading Entertainment Weekly, until they were still clammy but dry enough to paint.

(That's Grishnakh on the left, Orc #1 on the right.)

As with my vase, the orcs looked quite cool in their bare-newsprint state – somehow about as scary and gruesome as you’d want them to be. As before, though, I knew that to achieve a true orc-y effect, I needed to go ahead and paint them. Again using my images for guidance, I squirted several different shades of acrylic paint onto a palette: grayish hues for #1, reddish brown ones for #2. Working quickly and haphazardly, I daubed different colors from each of the chosen palettes over each mask; this achieved a nice blotchy skin tone which to some extent made up for the loss of the patchy newsprint effect. Because I had defined the features so well dimensionally, I found not too much additional painting was necessary beyond the blotchy skin tone. However, I added dark paint to the insides of any crevices or cavities to exaggerate the depth, and did some general shading around the cheeks and brows. Then I used a pinkish white color for the eyeballs of each, and gave the grey one a reddish-black tongue and the brownish one rotted-looking teeth.

As party time neared, I was charged with the task of setting up the orc ambush scene. Mom found several odd garments to use for their bodies – old graduation robe, pancho, lengths of old fabric – which I took out to the chosen cluster of trees, along with coat hangers, wire, duct tape, and the four orc masks. Working with my brother-in-law, I found that the best method for hanging the orcs was to make two holes in each mask: one at the bottom (below the chin) and the other at the top (above the forehead). We pulled the coat hanger hook up into the bottom hole, secured it inside the mask with duct tape, and wrapped a length of wire around the top of the hook which we pulled up through the hole at the top of the mask. Then we tied the other end of the wire around a tree branch at about head height. Afterwards I draped the fabric and clothes over the coat hangers, trying to suggest some type of body mass beneath. Some of my judgments here, however, were questionable: particularly the pairing of a red length of fabric with a black graduation robe, effectively turning Grishnakh into a University of Arkansas grad. Anyway. To add a little ferocity, I found several long branches, which I propped up alongside the orcs to represent some type of staff-like weapon. (All the "real," plastic weapons were in use by the party guests.)
Once assembled in the woods, the effect was pretty cool. Somehow my initially clownish Grishnakh proved the scarier (despite his Razorback regalia), while the pointy-eared orc looked a bit goofy. Perhaps it was the lack of teeth. Neither actually came out much like my model - I guess the images wre more inspiration for my own unique creatures than literal models to be copied. My nephew’s and Mom’s orcs looked equally good, and the grouping as a whole made a great backdrop for the archery contest.
The whole papier-mâché dimensional mask idea is one that I'd love to try again - given more time it would've been fun to add stringy hair, build out the ears, use cardboard to make teeth, and otherwise get these guys a little closer to the Weta models. However, I think it was pretty good work considering the time constraints. Maybe for Halloween. Or if my brother ever decides he's Peter Jackson.

Lesson Learned: Where there's newsprint, there's a way: Dimensional papier-mâché sculpting is a really fun and reasonably quick way to achieve great effects; however, next time allow at least a full day for the thick, gloppy newsprint to dry.

Midsummer Madness: A Birthday in Middle Earth

2008-08-26T22:00:00.008-04:00

As noted in this space before, I come by my slight creative insanity honestly. This was clearly in evidence on my recent trip home to Georgia. One of my nephews (we’ll refer to him as “Legolas”) had just turned twelve, and my visit coincided with his party, to be attended by two friends of approximately the same age, his brothers and sister, and several of his cousins, ranging in age from two to sixteen. These kids have celebrated each other’s birthdays for years, and it’s always fun to see them have a good time together. Last year, Legolas’s parents put together an incredibly elaborate and fun Harry Potter party, which featured various activities related to Hogwarts classes, etc.; this year, he wanted a Lord of the Rings theme. (What can I say? The kid has good literary taste.) Over the course of several weeks, and making ingenious use of dollar store finds, my Mom and sister set about planning a range of activities that could see the kids through the major highlights of the saga. (My own contributions to the party were minimal [insert link], but the party as a whole is worth posting about, so due credit will be given as appropriate.) I have to say, too, that one of the things which really made this party work is the fabulously diverse nature of my parents’ lot, which provided amazingly convincing settings for many Middle Earth locales.

Before I get to the activities, I should mention that several of the party-goers were in costume: Legolas complete with pointy prosthetic ears, Aragorn, Éomer, and others in mail shirts with shields, etc., boy Hobbits in tunics (Frodo with a gold ring on a chain around his neck), girl Hobbits in cheerful vests and skirts, Éowyn in a more Rohan-esque vest, blouse, and skirt, and of course Galadriel in white gown with golden crown (crafted from a dollar store windchime). Nearly all of this was made by Mom in the days leading up to the party.

First stop for the group was The Prancing Pony, otherwise known as my parents’ back patio, where Barliman Butterber (the cleverly disguised father of the birthday boy) served the guests salty snacks with beer (that would be IBC for some, barrel-shaped HUGS for others) while local fiddlers, possibly recognizable to their party-going children as two of my violin-playing sisters, provided entertainment.

When all had had their fill, Barliman escorted the group around the side of the house to the front yard, where (possibly transformed into another character?) he instructed them on the basics of fencing, before leading them up to meet Gandalf (another brother-in-law, complete with cloak and staff) at Weathertop – conveniently located on the hill in front of the house. Here, the fencing lessons proved life-saving, as two terrifying Ringwraiths – papier-mâché masks, spray painted black, suspended on coat hangers with flowing, weblike black fabric – were awaiting them amidst the trees. Each member of the group, including the two-year-old, got a turn fighting off these fearsome baddies.

After Weathertop, the party proceeded through a creepy patch of woods, where they were ambushed by four gruesome orcs [read here about orc fabrication]. These they fought off with bows and arrows (of the suction-cup variety). Safe at last, the group continued around the other side of the house and down a steep incline to Lothlorien, the (spray-painted) golden wood. (Yeah, we skipped the Mines of Moria. This way Gandalf didn’t have to go anywhere.) Here our lovely Galadriel was put to work, presiding over her silver mirror and testing each of the other guests’ knowledge of Tolkien lore with LOTR trivia questions . Upon a correct answer (younger ones were given assistance), guests were presented with a bag of lembas, a popsicle (maybe not canon, but very appropriate considering the Georgia midsummer climate), and of course a green cloak with an attached leaf brooch (cloaks made by Mom from dollar a yard Wal-Mart fabric, with my sister and I on brooch assembly: silk leaves, stripped from their plastic veins, ironed onto a sturdy fabric backing, and highlighted with gold paint).

On around to the swingset frame, where none other than Shelob – papier-mâché piñata courtesy of Mom, with wiggly hairy legs of doubled-up pipe cleaners and eerie bulging yellow eyes – awaited the group for yet another challenge. Each guest took a blindfolded turn at defeating the horrible spider, armed only with courage and of course Sting, one of many plastic swords in my parents’ grandchildren-friendly collection.

The spider proved so formidable that our initial Sting actually broke from its hilt and had to be replaced. Mom had cleverly given Shelob a segmented body, with two separate balloon-formed cavities. The nice thing about this was there were actually two piñata-bashing victories, and two candy spillages. When at last the beast was bested, its sugary sweet insides collected by the assembly, the group proceeded inside for the final challenge.

The front hall may not look like Mordor, but there at the foot of the stairs rose the fiery Mount Doom, another of Mom’s papier-mâché creations. Each guest was given ten gold rings, and standing above the mountain, took his turn at destroying the Ring of Power (or actually, getting the highest out of ten into its opening). (The rings were a dollar-store deal: 100 for $1.)

Next, all gathered round the table to celebrate by feasting on Mount Doom cakes – mini chocolate bundt cakes drizzled with fire-colored frosting and bedecked with more of the gold rings (made by Mom) – along with miniature Ents – made from pretzel rods and green-tinted chocolate (courtesy of my sister).

That's our lovely Éowyn with an Ent in hand, partially obscured Mount Doom on her plate, with Legolas besider her (note the Vulcan - er...Elvish ears).Desert plates were then whisked away and replaced by cards for a special LOTR version of Bingo (my sister’s creation), with L-O-T-R across the top of the card and various characters arranged below each letter. As characters were randomly drawn and called out (eg., “R-Treebeard”), players marked off their scorecards with precious gems (er…dollar-store green glass tiles). Adults were amused that each round of the game was won by one of the very youngest party guests, but that’s the lovely, equalizing nature of Bingo.
Finally it was time to depart Into the West – that is, about five minutes away to the home of Legolas – where presents were opened and Hobbit-hole cake (made and decorated by my sister) was served. Then, exhausted with knife, sting, and a long burden (or something like that), the adults crashed while the older kids stayed up watching The Return of the King and younger folk watched the much shorter Lord of the Beans. A fitting, restful ending to a truly fun and memorable day.

Lessons Learned:

#1 Kids' birthday parties ought to include cake and ice cream, but that's not to say you can't also introduce a little bit of culture into the festivities.

#2 Never underestimate the potential of papier-mâché: from piñatas to fearsome creatures to fiery mountains, newsprint and glue can be a great friend.

Cake Decorating Class - Course 1

2008-08-20T17:40:00.001-04:00

I took the Wilton's Course 1 Cake Decorating class.

I learned a whole lot. Apparently. I mean, I couldn't make roses and now I can make cabbages that resemble roses.

Also, I learned that the best decorator's frosting is made with vegetable shortening...with trans fat. So don't use Crisco, folks. It contains zero trans-fat and that makes it not as good as your store brand vegetable shortening when making pretties for a cake.

An additional lesson learned is that you should always put on a crumb coat (very thin layer of icing) before you ice your cake. Basically, this coating of icing will contain the crumbs so that when you go to put the icing on later none of those nasty cake crumbs will be showing (well, hopefully). You can add Meringue Powder to your icing and it will set up nice and firm, not so sticky as without. Meringue Powder can be added to any frosting you choose to ice the cake. I wouldn't suggest the vegetable shortening icing...only because it seriously tastes just like powdered sugar added to vegetable shortening, but that's just me. I hate it.

Be sure that when applying the crumb coat that you do not put your spatula back into your icing. It probably has crumbs on it and once you get one crumb in your clean icing, you get a million crumbs (they multiply like rabbits, y'all). Use a clean spatula to get icing out of your bowl.

Here is the official buttercream frosting that Wilton uses for their cake decorating class. Note that there is no butter in the frosting: butter melts at 80 degrees and guess what temperature your hands are? Well, hopefully they are 98.6 degrees! That would melt your butter into a nice mess.

1 cup solid white vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon Wilton Flavor (vanilla, almond or butter - our instructor used 1/2 tsp. each of vanilla and almond)
2 Tablespoons milk or water (use water unless you plan to refrigerate)
1 lb. pure cane confectioners' sugar - approx. 4 cups (10 x powdered)
1 Tablespoon Wilton Meringue Powder

Cream shortening, flavoring and water together in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy.

There are three basic consistencies for this icing: stiff, medium and thin.

Stiff icing is what you get with the basic buttercream recipe.

Medium icing is what you get when you add 1 tsp. of water for every 1 cup of (stiff consistency) frosting.

Thin icing is what you get when you add 2 tsp. of water for every 1 cup of (stiff consistency) frosting.

Now, if I had just gone to Wilton's website and watched their little rose video, I would never have figured out how to do a rose being all left-handed and such. With that said, I would recommend taking a Wilton course near you...otherwise just watch the video on their website and Godspeed. Seriously, you will need some help from a higher power because this rose making business is not easy. I'm still making cabbages.

In Course 1 of the cake decorating class, you learn roses, sweet peas, shells, leaves, bows, etc.

So enjoy my cake images (she gave us about 15 minutes to decorate our iced cakes) from my final class...I still have a lot of work to do!!

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

2008-08-20T13:01:00.008-04:00

Something you should know about me: I'm a cupcake fanatic.

There. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? Anyway, with this cupcake fanaticism that I suffer from comes the need to bake cupcakes and eat cupcakes anytime I can, regardless of worries of weight gain or unhealthiness. It doesn't matter. Cupcakes are the sacred dessert to me.

I usually try to bake a cake for everyone in the office when it is their birthday. It gives me an outlet for baking and a reason to bake, without the guilt of having to eat the goods all by myself. I can practice recipes and know that they are going to a good cause: the bellies of my coworkers. For some reason, I find it interesting that as of late I associate cakes with the men and cupcakes with the women. Is a cupcake really more feminine than a cake? Doubtful, but they are daintier, just like women (usually). Hence, cupcakes for a female's birthday this week.

Now, I have to admit that as usual, I didn't make this recipe up myself. I got a little help from Sunset magazine (Okay. A lot of help.). But I have made it so many times that it has nearly become my signature in cupcake baking.

Cupcake baking:

I was lacking in time when I baked these tasty little cakes, so I chose to go the route of the cake mix. Don't sue me! Cake mix can be very handy when dealing with cupcakes. I would NEVER use a cake mix for a normal cake (unless it was a decorating practice cake). However, these cupcakes are all about presentation and what's in the middle that counts, so I used a cake mix. I believe I went for the Pillsbury Devil's Food mix. Most cake mixes contain pudding so they will almost always be moist, unless you TOTALLY forget them in the oven. Not good. Never, under any circumstances, leave a cake alone for the last 10 - 20 minutes of its baking time. Most of the time, it will bake much more quickly than the time states it will. Cookies are okay if overbaked. Cakes and cupcakes are just down right raunchy.

So never overbake your cakes....even if from a cake mix.

I have used the recipe from the Sunset site, but didn't love it. I would suggest finding a good Devil's Food recipe to use if you don't want to use the Sunset one or a cake mix, but make sure to make Devil's Food.

Let those little cupcake guys cool before moving on to the next step.Cupcake filling:
Your first step should now be to cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake. Be sure not to dig too deep or near the sides or you will bust out the sides. Not so good if you don't want sticky fingers. The Sunset magazine says to cut a 3/4" cylinder out. I say try a cupcake out and see how much you want to cut and go for it. Practice makes perfect, right?
After the tops are cut off you are left with a hollow cupcake. Now the fun part!
Take a plastic decorator's bag or even a Ziploc bag and scoop your marshmallow creme into the bag, cutting a small hole at the end to allow it to come out. DO NOT attempt to use a spoon to scoop marshmallow creme into the cupcakes. It won't work and you'll just be left with a big, sticky mess.
Squeeze the marshmallow creme into each hollowed out center, allowing a little room on the top for the top of the cupcake to sit upon.
Don't forget to have a little snack of marshmallow creme before tossing the bag.Taking the tops you cut out recently, cut off the excess cake with a knife, leaving only a thin shell to go back onto the top of the cupcake.

Cupcakes after putting the top back on shown below.Cupcake Icing:

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese - room temperature
1/2 stick butter - room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa

In a stand mixer (or hand mixer) on low speed, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Slowly add the cocoa to the mix, then the powdered sugar until well blended. Crank that baby on high and make it fluffy and smooth...usually about 2 minutes.

Now, the Sunset recipe tells you to sift your cocoa and powdered sugar together. Fine. But that's just a lot of work you don't need to do. For one thing, if you buy a 10X sifted powdered sugar, like Domino, your sugar has already been sifted 10 times (hence the 10x). It's pretty darn fluffy.Also, the recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Dudes. Have you EVER measured powder sugar? No. Because it's too fluffy and there's too much air in it. Basically, one 1 pound box of Domino 10x powdered sugar contains 4 cups. I used the whole box because I like my cream cheese frosting to be a little sweeter and more dense. However, I add it slowly in order to make sure it does not become hard to work with. You will have to do a little fine tuning with your frosting recipe to come to a similar (or different) conclusion. Don't worry...it's nearly impossible to mess up as long as you use the right ingredients!

For this batch of cupcakes, I chose to spoon the frosting into a decorator's bag and use a star tip instead of the normal spreading of the frosting. It all looks good. And they will eat it. I added chocolate jimmies this time to give it a little spark. Everyone was very impressed with the star tip frosting and it only took me an additional 15 minutes (if that).
Presentation is key.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2008-08-18T17:21:00.007-04:00

No pictures of this one (yet). Sorry. Just the recipe, which is great for outdoor events like picnics or family reunions and potlucks. It's quick and is a mix between brownies and cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a large sheet pan (cookie sheet with sides).

Combine in a bowl and stir:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

In a sauce pan combine and stir:
1 stick butter (or margarine - I use Parkay)
4 Tbs. cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
Bring to a boil, then pour over flour/sugar mixture.

Add the following:
1/2 cup buttermilk (or add 1/2 tsp. vinegar to 1/2 c. milk) Don't make the mistake I did the first (and only time) and add 1/2 CUP vinegar to 1/2 cup milk. Gross!!!
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well. Pour into pan and bake for 20 minutes. Be sure to check the cake (toothpick comes out clean) in order to avoid over baking.

While cake is still hot (directly out of oven) mix the following in a medium pan over heat for icing:
1 stick butter (or margarine)
4 Tbs. cocoa
5 Tbs. milk
Bring to a boil. Take off heat and add a box of powdered sugar (1 lb.) slowly. You may not use the entire box. If the icing gets too thick, add a bit of milk. Too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Add 1/2 cup (to 1 cup) pecans
1 tsp. vanilla.

Stir.

Spread over warm cake quickly as it hardens super quick!

Eat and enjoy.

Decoupage me!

2008-08-01T12:33:00.001-04:00

So Christie's post about her amazing pinata demonstrates how to paper mache. Personally, minus those two or three times in summer camp for various what nots, I have never paper mached. I know, call me crazy! I think it's amazing and well, her pinata looks great, but I have never really required paper mache for a project.

However, decoupaging IS something I partake in quite often. Boxes, letters, more boxes, more letters...I have Modge Podge on over half of my winter sweaters (making J & C boxes a gazillion years ago). Currently I have Modge Podge on my nice wood dining room table. Only because each time I put down paper, my letters (which is what you will get to see today) kept sticking to the paper and then getting the paper print imprinted on them. Therefore, I went with the table (testing that the glue, with careful scrubbing with a soft paper towel and water) would come clean.

Let's begin with the basics of decoupage. First, you need some kind of object to decoupage. I used a chipboard letter (well, lots of letters, but whatever). If I ever can find it online, I'll post a link.

Oh...I should put a list of items you will need first:
Modge Podge (use the kind you feel comfie with...I usually just use the Classic kind)
Object to be decoupaged (box, letters, frame, canvas, etc)
Paper or fabric (I love ordering paper from Paper Source)
Exacto knife (No. 1) with a No. 11 blade
Extra No. 11 blades
Cutting mat
Metal straight edge
Brushes

After you choose your object, you need to choose something to cover it in. You can use fabric or paper. I used paper because fabric has a tendency to get saturated with the liquid part of the glue and turns an odd color. But sometimes it does fine, you just have to experiment. Kara did a fairly amazing job decoupaging fabric onto a dresser. It's a great project in general for a furniture facelift.

In truth, you can use almost any kind of paper. I've used handcrafted paper, printed paper from an inkjet (make sure it dries well! It will still have a tendency to bleed though), cardstock, stickers...pretty much anything. Cardstock is a little harder to work with if you need to bend something around an edge, but you can do a pretty good job if you cut it. On this particular project, I just found different papers I liked ranging from cardstock to handmade paper.

Your first step would be to brush your letter with Modge Podge (make sure you have it facing the correct way if using letters - the "correct" way is reading as the letter when it faces you with the paper over it - unlike my finished, backwards "J" shown below).
I usually go ahead and brush the paper with Modge Podge also. Then, I simply place it face down and stick a heavy book on top of it and let it hang out overnight to dry.

After it has dried, I take my metal ruler and cut the excess off the paper. Because I want to fold the paper over the edges to cover the sides of the letters, I measure the average distance to cut. It turns out that the perfect distance is the width of my metal ruler. Woo!

When using letters or even boxes, it gets a little tricky when corners are concerned. We'll start with a square corner. There are several ways to do a square corner. You may just have to experiment a few times to see what works best for you. My favorite (and in my opinion, the easiest and least thought) is to cut a straight line from the corner out to the edge so that it ends up being square. Do this for ALL your corners before moving on to more gluing. After all your corners are cut, gently fold the corners how you want them to get them to be shaped. You'll probably want the corner tab you've created to be under the opposite edge.

Before gluing your corners, if you have a letter with curves or what not, you will notice that your folds may not cover the sides of the letter (or object). In order to fill in this void, you will need to cut strips of paper from your leftovers (once again, I just used the width of my metal ruler). Place this strip in the area you need to cover and measure it, cutting off any excessive ends. Go ahead and glue this strip (or many strips in some cases). After the strips dry you can continue to the next step.
After shaping your corners, you can now go ahead and apply an even layer of Modge Podge to the inside of the paper and then fold them where you want them. Try not to go overboard with your glue as too much glue means you'll be holding a corner for a while. Too little glue, however, means that you will have bubbles in your paper. Not so good as you can't exactly go back to get rid of them as this is your big moment.

So, up until now, basically all that you have accomplished is gluing your paper to your letter (box). Guess what? The easiest is yet to come: actual decoupaging.

Now, just cover your objects (over your paper) with a layer of Modge Podge. Make sure not to do every side of it as it's likely you're not going to want to sit around and hold your object while it dries. That would just be silly!

You can do another coat or two if you like (after it dries of course). I usually do two coats and that seems to do the job.
Here are my finished letters for the kids (note I used the backwards "J" for Jace's name and simply mirrored the image in Photoshop so you could see the finished product).

Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppers

2008-07-25T10:35:00.010-04:00

Naturally, I couldn't spend ten days in Spain without developing an interest in Spanish cuisine. I'm not about to undertake paella anytime soon; however, so many of the little tapas that we had left such delicious memories that I've been anxious to try to replicate them at home. As part of his birthday present I therefore bought a copy of 1080 Recipes for my boyfriend last month. It's referred to as the Spanish Joy of Cooking, and it's a beautiful book, but that many recipes can be a bit overwhelming. More importantly, it doesn't include a recipe for our favorite of the various little goodies we had in Barcelona: small peppers stuffed with goat cheese.

Happily I recently came across two different tapas cookbooks for $3 apiece (thank you, Marshalls). Since each had a variation on the stuffed peppers, I decided to buy both. Last night I made my first attempt - the general consensus was that they were very yummy, although I still don't think they're quite the same as what we had in Barcelona.

The recipe calls for pimentos (in other words, red peppers cooked, seeded, and skinned) packed in oil. I immediately diverged from the recipe and bought peppadews instead, as these are closer sizewise to what we remembered from Barcelona. Unfortunately they were packed in brine rather than oil, which I think gave them a stronger pickled flavor that fights a bit with the subtler goat cheese flavor.

The recipe gives three different filling options: one tuna-based, one cottage cheese-based, and one goat cheese-based. Obviously I went for the goat cheese. To 7 ounces of soft goat cheese, you're supposed to add one clove of minced garlic, a third cup of finely chopped black olives, and one tablespoon of the oil in which the peppers are packed, plus salt and pepper to taste. Those quantities are supposed to fill about 36 peppers. Since I decided to make only 12 peppers, I cut back on each ingredient more or less accordingly. I started with approximately 2.5 ounces of goat cheese and with my garlic press added the smallest clove I had - instantly I realized this was too much garlic, so I added probably another ounce of the cheese to compensate. Because my peppers came in brine rather than oil, I just added about a teaspoon of olive oil, then about 5 or 6 pitted kalamata olives, chopped as finely as I was able. (I'm not too handy with a chef's knife.) I had left my cheese out for about a half hour to soften, which made mixing the ingredients pretty easy.

Now for filling the peppers. That little Ziploc bag trick is too good to reserve only for deviled eggs, I thought, so at this point I scooped my cheese mixture into a Ziploc, snipped off a corner, and began filling. Words cannot express my level of satisfaction with how well this worked. Holding the pepper in one hand and the bag in another, I could actually feel the pepper swelling up as the cheese made its way into each crevice of the cavity; it felt, and looked, a bit like filling a wall cavity with spray foam insulation - in a good way, of course. Not that I actually tried the filling-with-a-teaspoon method, but I cannot imagine the results would be as satisfactory.The peppers are supposed to chill in the refrigerator for two hours before serving; since I wanted them ready sooner, I stuck mine in the freezer for an initial twenty minutes or so.

So, that's round one for the stuffed peppers. These were pretty tasty, but I still think I got too much garlic in the filling and that the briney flavor of the peppers was too strong against the goat cheese. Watch this space for subsequent attempts.

Sorry for not having a real presentation-style photo - I guess I became too interested in eating them to worry about photographing them.

While I just made these as a pre-dinner plate, I think they would be wonderful for a party food. If you use the Ziploc trick they are very quick and easy to make (and next time I might even go ahead and mix my filling in the bag, as with the deviled eggs, therefore eliminating even the cleaning of the mixing bowl), and since they need to chill anyway, they could be made several hours ahead. (I'm always on the lookout for good, easy, make-ahead party foods.)

Lesson Learned: Next time try peppers in oil, rather than in brine.

Baby Blanket 101

2008-07-14T12:47:00.009-04:00

Well, not quite.

So I had this cute fabric by Erin Michael for Moda Fabrics (I heart Moda!! - they have great fabrics!). The fabric was supposed to be an apron for a friend who turned out to be a toxic friend almost 4 years ago. Then I found out that Little Sister was pregnant and I thought to myself "What is cuter than a sock monkey baby blanket besides kittens? Nothing!"

I bought some of that fuzzy, soft red fabric that you can find in the kid's section at most fabric stores. I don't even know what it's called but it feels like a chinchilla. So soft.

My thought was to simply take the two fabrics: sock monkey and soft fabric, and sew them together (right sides together). Then I would turn the blanket right side out and add a simple satin blanket border. Easier said than done!

The sock monkey fabric is 100% cotton, which means it only stretches, if at all, in one direction. That red, fuzzy, soft stuff stretches in every direction! So, by the time I finished my edges, I had huge bubbles in the blanket between the layers! So annoying.

My blanket was fairly large at this point (I researched different sizes on Etsy and finally ended up with a 54" x 60" blanket) so I decided to go ahead and turn it so that the right sides were facing out. I flattened it out with my hand as much as I could and pinned it. Then I sewed it again. Well, it did better this time, but still not great. So I did it again. This time it was still bubbly but not nearly as noticeable. Third time's a charm, right?

Now that I had the blanket the correct (but smaller) size, I needed to add the border. I thought that a yellow border would be so cute with the red in the blanket. Oh it was...minus the fact that if you buy the pre-packaged blanket binding in satin, you can see right through the satin. Well, my seams weren't too pretty from all my resewing of blanket edges, so I had to come up with some other method.

I finally decided to use the stripe fabric I had bought with the sock monkeys. The colors are all coordinating so that was good. I took the fabric and cut it how I wanted it. I think I ended up with a 8" piece. I folded that in half and ironed it (and starched it!). I then ironed each of the sides in half so that it was 1/4 of it's original size. This way the fabric could basically act as a "bread" with the blanket being the "meat" in the "sandwich." Yeah, I know. Dumb analogy.

I had to do the striped border in 4 pieces because I didn't have the length to do one big piece that I could fold at each corner. Therefore, being my first baby blanket with blanket binding, my edges look horrendous, but passable. I also had a problem with the bubbles coming back along the edges while I was sewing but I did the best I could do given the circumstances.

Regardless, the baby will just be pooping and puking and drooling on the blanket anyway, so I'm not TOO worried about it being perfect. It's cute and that's all that matters in the end!

Kids and Babies: The shopping and ideas

2008-07-12T18:46:00.003-04:00

Here's the dealio:

Never tackle a project without having a good idea about what you want to do.

As I have said before, I believe in getting ideas and making them my own. That's the way I am. So, as I was looking for ideas for both Wyatt and Leah's bedrooms, I found a lot of fun websites for all kinds of decorating ideas for little ones.

Shopping:

Modern Nursery - the cool design place to go when you have too much money, apparently. Who gives their babies real designer furniture? Anyway, an impressive collection of all things baby and all things ultra modern with a hint of funky.

Modern Tots - same kind of idea as Modern Nursery

2 Modern - Yup. It's too modern for my budget, but I love it!!

A super cute bath idea!

Storage ideas for kids!

Ideas:

Dollar Store Closets - transform your kid's closets with dollar store finds!

Pops of Color Kids' Rooms - you heard it: color!

Vroom to Grow - A transportation room of from every boys' dreams!

Animal-Themed Bedroom

Rock star nursery - my words, not theirs

Idea-packed nursery

Calm and Collected Nursery

Baby Room Details - ideas for any nursery

Leah's Room Redux

2008-07-12T17:47:00.008-04:00

Now for little Leah's room. Real little since she's still in her mama's belly!

Basically, Little Sister wanted to keep the old nursery, which was Wyatt's, and convert it into a little girl's nursery. Who can blame her? Nursery bedding is freakin' outrageously priced! The nursery bedding was pretty gender neutral as it had blues, yellows, reds, pinks, greens and leopard print in it. However, it was heavy on the blue, so we needed to make it more girlie.Mom took on the nursery as her personal project. Yay Mom!

Mom and I fell in love with the jungle theme in the bedding. So cute!

Alicia, with the help of Stacie, had painted the bedroom pale yellow on the bottom and white (I swear to you that it's a pale blue, but Alicia claims it's white) on the top and put the border up in the middle that matches the bedding.

She found the same type of wooden pieces at Walmart in jungle animals as I had for the sports balls (technically, she found them first). Originally, we were going to take some canvases she had bought at Walmart ($3.88 each - 10"x10"), wrap them in gingham and then do this little project that was featured on Martha Stewart. However, time always catches up with us and by the time we were working on the canvases, the last thing we wanted to do was paint something else! Instead, we put Alicia to work on hot glue the cute little wooden animals to the pre-wrapped gingham canvases (thanks to Mom and her staple gun). We hung them over the area where the crib will go (I'll get crib pictures as soon as they are sent to me).
Another project was painting an existing dresser that Alicia had from her childhood. One lesson learned (as Christie would say): never paint in extreme heat/humidity. First, we painted a couple of coats of Kilz2 primer (latex, baby!) on the dresser and then added 3 layers of the red paint leftover from Wyatt's block wall (multi-tasking paint). It could have taken a third coat, but like I said before, we were DONE painting! It kind of looks like a distressed dresser now. Woo. Anyway, the reason to NOT paint in a garage in extreme heat/humidity is because our paint gooed up a bit on top of the dresser. Luckily, the top of the dresser will be covered mostly with baby diaper paraphenalia (see the picture below...minus NB diapers that are going into the vertical gingham/red basket). I got the red gingham baskets in a set of 3 (one big, two square) at IKEA. I heart IKEA! Of course, no project can go perfectly for us and after getting the drawers back in the dresser, we realized that the trim between the dresser drawers was curved (while the drawers aren't) and we (I) missed painting that part! Darn! Alicia said she'll go back and fix it. I hope so! Also, I didn't get all the cute little knobs on the dresser before I left (time ran out!!), so we hotglued them on for the picture. We also hot glued the leftover butterflies on the dresser because they were TOO CUTE!! Mom got the knobs at a discount store for $7.99. Yup! They are the jungle themed animals! How perfect! And cute!
For the square mirrors above the dresser(see picture above), we simply took the mirrors, taped them off to make sure no paint got on the mirror, and spray painted the crapola out of them with some red paint Mom had. That Mom...she has lots of stuff hanging around! After they dried, we took the tape off and hot glued the cute butterfly and spirals. We spray painted the spirals with a pale yellow Mom had hanging around. The spirals are similar to the blue spirals in the wallpaper border.

All I did in the closet was move the white storage shelves in...they had been sitting in the dresser area and I thought it would be easier to put them in the closet to HIDE stuff instead of keeping them out in the open. We added some cheap storage boxes and that was that! Whew. I love closets.
I hung the IKEA net in the corner, over where the glider will be placed, to get the stuffed animals off the floor. So many stuffed animals! Now I can see why stuffed animals drove my Mom crazy! They're everywhere!!Mom bought the little leopard print lamp shade at Walmart in the clearance section for $3. We just added the red ruffle (that matches the window shade) with what? Hot glue!!
The roman shade in the window was made by Mom. She got the idea from either an Urban Outfitters catalog or an Anthropologie catalog. Either way, they are cute! She used the bright yellow gingham on one side and a swirlie butterfly print in yellow on a white background on the back side. That way, when it's rolled up, you can see both patterns. She added a line of red rickrack along the top and a line of the red ruffle for extra color (our favorite colors for the room: red and yellow!). She used red satin ribbon for the tie ups. Cute! It's a simple project...all you need is a sewing machine, fabric, thread and the exact dimensions of the window.The decals, that match the jungle animals, on the walls I picked up one day at Target while I was just wandering around. I love wandering in Target! You never know what you'll find!!Mom took the glider cushions (etc) home with her to recover them. I think she picked a cute animal print in a suede like fabric, but I guess we'll never know until she gets it done! She also took the ottoman home with her...

Stay tuned for crib and chair pictures!

Wyatt's Room Redux

2008-07-09T12:36:00.016-04:00

So my little sister (technically, my step sister, but some technicalities fall by the wayside whenever you act like real sisters) found out she was pregnant. This will be her second baby (and her last, according to both her and her husband). The first, a boy, will be 3 in December. He's getting so big!! Anyway, she's due late September and lo and behold, it's a girl, even though she swore up and down that she was always going to have boys (due to the track record of her husband's side of the family).

In order to make way for Baby #2, it was decided that Baby #2 would move into the current nursery and Baby #1 would be placed in the current guest room.

My first dilemna was the fact that Little Sister isn't exactly the most organized person in the world and the room (both) was a total wreck. She did a fairly good job dividing and conquering much of the mess before we got there, but it still needed places to go. I'll get back to that in a bit.

I knew that I wanted to do a blue, brown and red palette. I kept seeing cute boyish comforters in blue and brown/khaki stripes and knew it was a popular color. I am a firm believer in visual research and found the exact idea (plagiarism? Who wants to reinvent the wheel?) in a nursery scheme. It wasn't exactly the right colors, but it gave me a good foundation. I then came up with this idea (only confirmed after a trip to get paint) of taking the block scheme and using two shades of brown, two shades of blue (both on the same paint chip) and bright red.
First, I painted the focal wall (the intended block wall) white. It was such a relief to paint over the dirtiness of the existing white wall. White paint may seem like an easy color when you are going neutral, but just remember it's like wearing white pants to a barbeque...everything is going to be highlighted in all it's dirty glory when it gets on the white. After the paint dried, I measured off 20" blocks. I started with 24" blocks but those looked too big and 18" blocks looked too small. Since I like to do things 6 - 12 times instead of just once, I ended up remeasuring the blocks about 12 times. I finally came up with a composition that I liked...and that was perfectly centered on the wall. I used my laser level to make sure that the tape (I used a 1.5" painters tape as it would come off nice and smoothly...although where we had to use masking tape when we ran out of painter's tape, some spots are so nice and smooth) was as straight as Carrie possible. (humanly possible for other people).

According to my good buddy, Martha Stewart, after the tape is placed in the appropriate spot on the wall, you should seal the edges of the tape (where you are painting) with an acrylic gloss sealant. I could only find this sealant in spray form and since Little Sister is pregnant, I chose a different product that ended up working just as well. It was some kind of clear glass acrylic. Basically, it just sealed the edge without adding color.

After a full day of watching the boys play grown up volleyball, sitting out in the shade, enjoying our independence (in Independence!) painting the closet and remaining three walls the beige color, I made a color drawing of the block wall in order to come up with a pattern (or NOT pattern in this case). I wish I had taken a picture of my drawing: it was on the back of my flight info and was colored with an array of crayons that were not even close to the colors they were representing. After following the pattern, we painted. We had to paint two layers on the beige and light blue, three on the dark blue and brown and 4 on the red because after putting two coats up, we decided the red was too pink and bought a new red. It looked much better after the change.
Once the paint was dry, we carefully peeled off the paint. Of course, there were still some areas that bled under the tape, but overall it was a lot less bleeding than if we hadn't sealed the edges. I was incredibly happy with the overall look...Little Sister and the kid loves it too.
After finishing up the walls in the bedroom, we tackled various other little projects.

We added (hot glue is my bestest friend EVER) some painted wooden pieces that we picked up both at Walmart and Joann's Fabric (already painted) to the dresser and nightstand. Cute!!We also painted a 5 hook shelf we found at Joann's Fabric for the rock bottom price of $10.99. It came unfinished so we just used the leftover paint from the walls to do it in two shades and then added the balls with hot glue. Cute!! Johnny had to hang it after I left because it wasn't done when I left (even though Little Sister and I were working up to the very last second before she took me to the airport).We wanted to put his big toybox in the closet so that when he is going to sleep at night, he isn't distracted by toys. Because of that, we had Johnny cut some boards down for us and painted them the light blue and hung them in the closet. Perfect for the $3 and $4 crates we bought at Dollar General.
We found the football toy box at a yard sale for $10! Score! It was fate...right? I mean, how often do you see a football toybox at a yard sale on the weekend you are turning your nephew's room into a sports themed bedroom??Little Sister purchased the comforter at Walmart for a mere $25.Mom made the curtains one evening with fabric from Joann's. I had my handy dandy 40% off coupon that I receive every few weeks from them so that was a nice deal. The cute football curtain rod was found at Walmart for $10. It went too perfectly with the sports theme to pass up!The lamp we bought at the Goodwill for $5. It was a Pooh lamp so we removed the shade and painted the yellow lamp with a nice coat of red spray paint my mother had hanging around. She added leftover fabric from the curtains with hot glue and I added the double bias tape to the edges in the contrasting blue (also with hot glue).The letters over the bed I decoupaged a few weeks ago...I will post a "how to" post as soon as I can (I'm working on it, but needed visuals).The green square mirrors beside the window were these mirrors from IKEA. We simply spray painted them (make sure to tape off the mirror or you'll be scraping off spray paint for days!) and attached the sports balls with hot glue. Once again.
The square canvas frames I had painted before the Redux. You can view that entry here.

So that's that. I hope you enjoy!

Don't forget to check out Leah's Room Redux too!