elliemoon

I AM AT MY MOST PRODUCTIVE WHEN AVOIDING A DEADLINE

nail on the head, case in point::

notice i am getting further and further from the sewing machine. sonofa.....

HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?

in short, paper mache is cool! making that statement? maybe not so cool, but seriously, i can't believe we'd never tried this before. kai was amazed. equal parts water and flour (and a little salt) and you're in business. add some old newspaper and some stuff from the recycling bin and you could pretty much craft anything. you are limited only by the amount of flour and newspaper you possess::

our recipe::

3 cups flour

3 cups water 

1 TBSP plus 1 tsp salt

stir it up, add strips of newspaper, take it away!

kai and i both have a running list now of things we could make with paper mache. i can see it being an ongoing craft this summer. the sculpture above is bob. kai needed to design an alien that could survive on jupiter! again, cool! he came up with some pretty impressive stuff and loved the whole process. little lu on the other hand, was not a fan of bob. she was more than happy to see him off to school yesterday morning. something about those red pupils and metallic talons had her worried!

THESE ARE THEM!!

holy scribble scrabble! thank goodness for the blogging connections that we make! last week i made oatmeal raisin cookies. they weren't what i was looking for. they were probably my third attempt at finding the right recipe. then faith left a comment, and the search is over, just like that::

so dense and chewy and absolutely fabulous, EXACTLY what i was looking for. and the recipe was hiding in the quaker oats box all along! so faith, i owe you one. and all of you can get to know faith by checking out her crafty blog here. she also sells some killer jewelry on etsy here. now if you'll excuse me, i have four dozen cookies to eat. happy weekend!!

USE YOUR NAPKIN

i've had this material for roughly 9 months. and we've been in need of some new napkins for even longer. i bought this yardage for precisely that purpose. and since i have the machine out for bella's doll quilt and other sewn goodies i plan to make her before the birthday bash, it seemed only fitting that i should prioritize and get the napkins done straight away. it just won't be right unless i'm trying to finish three birthday projects in the last 18 hours before the big day hits::

note to self: when napkins are finished, remember to check and double check that all the pins are out before vigorously rubbing off sewing chalk. nothing like being impaled to get you going in the morning. i also used up the larger scraps and made some smaller square napkins:: 

perfect for sandwiches, snacks and tea parties!

THE GODFATHER

prepare yourselves! i'm about to lose all of my vegan followers. bear with me here. the craving for this sub hit yesterday and i had to follow through. thought some of you might want to come along for the ride. grab your best italian accent and lets get going on the toppings::

think of this as another form of salsa. heavy on the tomatoes, add onion, then peperoncini's, and vinegar peppers. tailor this to suit your needs. i love peperoncini's so i load up on those. sometimes we even add a bit of chopped pickles. cherry peppers are a nice addition as well. then we start building::

moving clockwise from the top left, start with a few slices of provolone cheese (sharp or mild, whichever you prefer), then my favorite; hot capicola, followed by soppressata (genoa salami works fine as well and was all that was available yesterday) and mortadella. notice i only use a touch of mortadella. this is personal preference. i like the flavor to be there but too much is definitely too much. then just spoon on the topping and some oil and vinegar (or a little italian dressing if you're into that) and::

fogetaboutit.....lets eat! 

 

THE SPIRAL BLANKET

i finished this one up over the weekend. i guess, at the very least, all this procrastinating with the birthday crafting for bella is helping me complete other projects. i try to keep an optimistic outlook on the way my brain works...."optimistic" sounds so much better than "delusional", don'tcha think?

this was initially meant for my etsy shop. but it seems as though it has grown on more than one person and one person in particular. exhibits A through E::

uh yeah, i think this blanket might just be staying with us. maybe i'll bring it up north. it would really bring out the colors in the framework and exposed wires. i crocheted it double stranded so its super thick and heavy and warmer than any other blanket i've made. and yes, it also grew on me. quite literally actually!

SPRING AND THE SUPERMOON

happy vernal equinox. and happy perigee-syzygy! quite the magical weekend. i took the tripod outside before going to bed saturday night and took a few shots, most of which were overexposed. my hands were going numb from the cold and so i decided against spending any extra time monkeying around with the camera settings. when i loaded the pictures onto the computer yesterday i was initially disappointed. then i dialed down the exposure and played around with the saturation and this appeared::

like magic! right in our backyard. 

FOOD COLORING AT ITS BEST

happy belated saint patrick's day to you all. i have to admit, i probably would have let this one slide by if i hadn't been called out by the kids. i was planning on doing a little boozing after hours to honor my irish roots, but the boys in particular wanted to do something......anything. so i told them i would surprise them with something green::

these are crunchy and buttery and absolutely delicious. you should have milk on hand. my mom used to make these for us when we were little and the smell and stacked cookies brought me back. the boys were appeased!

mom's sugar cookies::

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup sugar

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 well beaten eggs

dash of salt

1 cup oil (just pretend your not adding it)

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups + 4 TBSP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

colored sugars or sugar in the raw

cream butter and sugars together. beat eggs and salt, add to sugar mixture. add oil and vanilla and mix until smooth (here's where you would add the food coloring if you're going the st. patrick's day route), sift in dry ingredients. roll into balls, place on parchment. flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in colored sugar. bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until bottoms are just golden.

my mom would use colored sugars to coincide with whatever holiday we were nearest. i used some clear sugar crystals so i wouldn't take away from the green cookie color. normally i use turbinado (sugar in the raw) for the tops. when you start out flattening, take the clean flat bottomed glass and smoosh a ball of dough first to get a little grease on the bottom; something for the sugar to grab hold of. then just keep on stamping! also, a half batch should make about 4 dozen cookies. just something to consider. happy weekend!

BLUEPRINTS FOR ANXIETY

or, a recipe for disaster, whichever. my optimistic sewing teacher refers to these as merely, my 'cheat sheets'::

thankfully she did all the math.....and talked slowly.....and repeated herself (thanks willie!). i must say, i have some serious doubts about my sewing skills now that i'm going to attempt quilting. granted, this is for a dolls bed (remember that gift for bella?) but its still quilting. i need to keep breathing and remind myself that, at one time, crochet and knitting patterns looked just as unfamiliar. last night i tried a pinwheel::

yes! its a pinwheel. no! its not perfect. i missed class this week and i forgot a couple of tips that i picked up last week. its a start though. i've got four weeks to pull it together before bella's birthday. wish me luck, i'm going back in.

ON A MISSION

an old friend of mine surprised me with this book a while back (thanks again meghann) and i guess it shouldn't be too surprising that the first thing i went hunting for was a cookie recipe::

this book has just about everything in it (just incase you weren't going to take its word for it, the title is pretty accurate). at some point i will implement my initial plan, which was to make one new recipe every week. for now, i will use it for oatmeal raisin cookies::

not too bad. these were pretty light and fluffy though. which is nothing to complain about. however, i have been looking for an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that will match the thick, dense and chewy richness of the monster ones you get at any bagel shop or deli. the search continues.....