“You did what with my old t-shirts?” December 17, 2009

Another day, another craft….  this one turned out really cool!! 

I saw a book the other day at Michael’s and paroosed through it as I waited in the tremendously long line (my fault for going there on a saturday, less than 2 weeks before Christmas).  The book is called “Generation T” and has some awesome ideas to turn boring old t-shirts into fabulous fashions.  I am going to go back and get it for my daughter who loves to make t-shirt designs, but I have to wait for another 40% off coupon.

Anyway, the book had this idea for a scarf made from an old t-shirt.  Which was super cute, but required a little bit of sewing.  Since I don’t have a sewing machine, I went home and googled “t-shirt scarf”.  I found some of the cutest designs, many of which required no sewing at all. 

Next I found some under t-shirts of my husbands that he has never worn because they were too short (being 6′6″ – it happens much too often).  I chose those because they are super soft and have no seams on the sides.  I took some fabric dye and dyed them a light teal color.  Once they were dyed, washed well and dried, I got out my sharp scissors and started snipping. 

I cut across the shirt just under the armpits.  Then I cut off the bottom seam.  This left me with a “tube”.  I laid the tube down flat and cut 1″ wide strips from side to side leaving me with around 10 strips of fabric that formed a circle.  I cut a strip from what was remaining from the t-shirt that was 1″ wide and about 1′ long.  I gathered my 10 strips and tied them together with the extra piece.

Here is an example of the scarf (until I upload a picture of my own) to give you an idea of what I mean…

example of t-shirt scarf

I like to double it around my neck for a fuller look and warmer feel. 

I plan on trying some of the other designs that I found as well.  I’ll keep you all posted on how they turn out!

Mmmmm…. Beer Soap….. December 16, 2009

So I decided to dabble a little in the art of soap making. However, I chose to go the easy, less time-consuming, less toxic route and tried my hand at the melt and pour technique. 

I’ve heard and read all about the different ingredients that you can put into soap and all the benefits that go along with them.  However, the one that has always intrigued me is beer.  It is said to be very good for the skin, plus I know what to do with the leftovers!

I bought some melt and pour glycerin soap at Michael’s that also contained goats milk.  I also bought some different essential oils at Super Supplements (and had a few on hand) like clove oil, orange oil, tea tree, lemon, lavender and peppermint.  I bought some Guiness, poured a can into a cup and let it sit until it was flat and could be worked with.  I melted the soap, mixed in the beer and oils, then poured the concoction into a soap mold.  I  let it sit for and hour or so and then released it from the mold.  Easy peasy pumpkin pie. 

Tip: I did read that your soap to liquid ration should be about 4:1 for it to set correctly.  I see this being a very important tip that may have saved me a lot of time and frustration in the process. 

One thing I really liked about making the soap is that if I didn’t think the scent was strong enough, I could cut up the bar of soap, re-melt it and then add more oil.  It was a no-brainer and I have the facilities for it (especially this time of year).

I am a pretty sensitive skinned person, so I tested some of the samples I made (leftover that I poured into dixie cups for testers) out in the shower the next morning and it was NICE!!!  My favorites were “Citrus and Clove” and “Peppermint”.  They lather up really well and leave my skin soft without irritating it.

I covered them in a little syran wrap, labeled them “Tera’s Drunken Goat Soap” and put them in Christmas cellophane bags with curly ribbon for gifts.  Finally, a craft project without a thousand hic-ups!!

Have I become a Grinch? December 7, 2009

I’ve noticed that in the past few years, I have become less and less excited about Christmas.  I use to look forward to it every year… baking cookies, going out at 4 in the morning on black Friday, finding just the right gift, decorating the house, ornately wrapping presents with fun paper, tags and big colorful bows…  I would do all of it, and I would do it with a smile on my face.

Now I have to drag my butt to the store to find gifts.  I don’t bake nearly as much as I use to.  I put off decorating until I absolutely feel I have to… and I have noticed that half of my decorations never make it out of the box.  I still love the idea of Christmas, but it just doesn’t seem as magical as it use to.  It has become a lot like a papsmear… I know it has to happen, however, I feel it will go a lot smoother for everyone if I could just be sedated the entire time.

I had all these ideas earlier in the year for “Hand-Crafted” gifts that I was going to create for Christmas gifts.  And even though I am still making a lot of my gifts by hand, I have compromised and purchased many “substitutes”.  Instead of sewing or knitting, I bought scarves and purses.  instead of making handmade soaps and sugar scrubs, I went to Bath and Body Works. 

I am so disappointed in myself.  I guess I still have time to redeem myself by getting done some of the projects that I set out to do… but I am not trying to kid myself.  Maybe I’ll start working of presents for next year…

(On a positive note, I have watched either National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf and/or A Christmas Story every day since Thanksgiving.  At least one tradition is still alive and well!)

The Sugar Scrub Experiment November 20, 2009

I have been wanting to make home-made sugar scrubs for some time now.  It just seemed so simple… sugar, oil and stink… How hard is that?

So I decided last night to give it a try.  I absolutely love my Vanilla Chai body wash and lotion from Organics, so I decided that I wanted to make a vanilla chai scrub to compliment my other products.  So I started with a cup of brown sugar and added 1/2 cup of olive oil.  I mixed it up and it turned it to the perfect consistency for sugar scrub.

Next, I needed to make it smelly.  I added vanilla  and then pondered a way to give it that chai smell.   Hmmmm…..   

FYI people… Don’t brew black tea and add it to the sugar base.  I should know that warm water makes sugar dissolve, but everything was going so well up to this point, I think I got cocky and let my guard down.

Starting again from the beginning, I began with the brown sugar and olive oil.  I then added the vanilla.  This time I broke open the tea bags and poured the contents into my concoction.  It took about 4 teabags to get rid of the olive oil smell, but once I added them, it actually smelled pretty good.  Now all I had to do was give it a test run.

Another tip… do not use tea to make sugar scrub.  Especially black tea.  It will stain your sink, the towel you use to dry off with and whatever part of your body that you choose to scrub.

Discouraged, but determined to make some sort of sugar scrub, I threw out the idea of “Vanilla Chai” and pulled out my trusty peppermint oil.  I was almost out of brown sugar by this point, so I took 1/2 cup of brown sugar and mixed it with 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar.  Then I added the oil, mixed and said a little prayer.  I added 5 drops of peppermint oil to the mix and… VOILA! 

I now have some kick-ass sugar scrub that smells like candy cane.  Just in time for the holidays!  Luckily I have some peppermint body wash and lotion to go along with it!  Yay!

My Computer has the swine-flu… November 18, 2009

So, I haven’t posted anything for a couple weeks now.  My computer had the swine-flu or something and decided to eat its own hard drive.  So I said goodbye to the laptop and got a new “more powerful” desktop.  At least that is what they tell me.  Technology… where did our stress come from prior to computers?

Anyways… I have been preparing majorly for my jewelry show in 3 weeks, so most of my creative energy has been centered around that.  I’m very excited about the show.  It is the 3rd “Christmas Open House” and hopefully the biggest yet.  My Christmas shows always seem to do the best and I am hoping this one really does well.  I need it… both financially and emotionally. 

I have been working on some “vintage-inspired” and “altered-art” pieces that I think are going to be a big hit!  I am going to post some jewelry pictures really soon…  Promise!

Awesome Craigslist Find!!! November 5, 2009

Oh my goodness… OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  I am so super excited about my newest craigslist find!!  I just purchased an antique Woodstock Typewriter for $10!!!  I’ve been wanting to find an old typewriter to use for jewelry for so long, but have not been willing to shell out $50 for typewriter keys or $100 for a typewriter I am just going to turn around and destroy.  But for 10 bucks?!? 

My only problem now is that it is so cool looking, I’m afraid to destroy it.  Maybe I can turn the rest of it into some sort of planter or something….

A Woodstock Typewriter

Whoo-hoo!!!

Creative Break? November 2, 2009

How did I know that I would not be able to go an entire weekend without some sort of creative adventure?  I know I said I didn’t have time, and that I was going to take a break from my projects… Who was I trying to kid?

The weekend started with the Mat Kearney concert.  As much as I enjoyed the show, I found myself drifting away from the music at times to brainstorm.  At one point, two women in front of me stood next to each other - one wearing a pale turquoise top and the other wearing a rusty-red and brown top.  As they stood next to each other, I thought “I must make a necklace in those colors!!”  I thought about just strands and strands of seed beads, each strand one of those colors, wrapped and twisted… 

Then, at another point during the evening, I saw a woman with a wrap necklace that totally got me thinking.  I didn’t like the beads that were used to make it (cheap and mass manufactured), but there was something about the piece that started to inspire me.  I have made many wrap necklaces before, but this one used a unique combo of medium-sized gemstone beads next to some oval-shaped silver rings and then small seed beads in between the clusters of silver and gemstone.  I thought if I used some very elegant, classy pearls or even mother of pearl beads in combination with the silver… 

Then my focus went back to Mat.  Then back to the ladies in the tops.  Then back to Mat. 

And this was just Friday night.

Luckily, Saturday was BUSY.  If I wasn’t helping my daughter with her costume, funk-i-fying her hair or creating the perfect Zombie color combo with make-up, I was driving her from party to party, house to house, all so that she could get 6 lbs. of candy (most of which she will never eat and will eventually find its way to the trash can before next Halloween). 

Finally, on Sunday I started with a major cleaning of two of the rooms in my house.  I spent the majority of the time contemplating how I was going to reorganize and redecorate the office/craft room.  I found the perfect desk and organization system on the Pottery Barn website – but then realized it was going to cost me close to 2 grand to get everything that I wanted.  New plan I guess.  Time to search Craigslist and Ebay.

I spent what little weekend I had left working on some more Cakeballs.  Pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate coating.  I got everything done except for the coating.  I will post a photo as soon as I get them finished. 

In the meantime…

Pumpkin Cake Balls

I began with yellow cake mix, 1 – 15oz can of pumpkin, 4 tsp pumpkin spice, 2 tsp baking soda, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup of veg oil.  Mixed and baked on 350 for 45 minutes.

Again, once the cake was done, I crumbled into a large mixing bowl and blended with an entire container of cream cheese frosting.  I rolled the dough into balls just larger than marbles, but smaller than ping-pong balls.  Then I set them into a container and placed them in the freezer overnight. 

Tonight, I will melt white chocolate candy (from Michael’s) in my double-boiler and coat each of the balls in white chocolate.

The New Bed October 29, 2009

So, my creative time has been drastically limited this week.  Between getting ready for Halloween, my Mother-in-law’s 60th birthday and preparing for the arrival of our new bed… I’m exhausted.  Luckily I have a huge, comfortable, warm new bed to rest in! 

I’ve been mostly gathering ideas this week, but I haven’t had the time to execute any of them.  I’d like to think that I will get around to some of my projects this weekend, but with a concert this Friday, Halloween activities this Saturday, and Sunday to re-organize the house (spare bedroom is now becoming the office/craft room and the spare bed is going down in my daughter’s room to replace her old loft bed)… I might just take a creative break this week.  Some break, huh?

Cake Balls!!! October 26, 2009

So, if you haven’t tried cake balls yet… YOU ARE SOOOO MISSING OUT!!!!  These things are little bites of awesome.  I highly recommend!

This weekend I make Orange Vanilla Cakeballs with Dark Chocolate Coating.  I didn’t really have a recipe for this particular type of cake balls, but that’s the great thing about this dessert… you can do whatever combination or cake, frosting and coating you like. 

Here is the jest of it…

1. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.  For this recipe, I used vanilla cake and added 1 tbsp of orange extract and some orange food coloring.  When the cake is done baking, crumble it up while it’s warm into a large bowl, and stir in a container or cake frosting until your concoction is crumbly and moist (I added 1 tsp orange extract and some food coloring to the frosting as well).  
2. Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the cake mixture – then realize that you don’t need the melon baller, say “screw this” and just use your hands (or at least thats what I do).  Once you’ve rolled all your balls, place them in the freezer for at least an hour.
3. Melt chocolate coating in a double boiler over the stove (I used dark chocolate candy chips that I got from Michael’s – I would suggest getting 2 packages for every box of cake).  Dip the balls into the chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set.   Once they are set, enjoy and try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Here  is a picture of what mine looked like…

Orange Cake Balls with Dark Chocolate Coating

They were a huge hit.  I made them Saturday night and with a little help from my husband, daughter, sister and brother-in-law… Let’s just say it’s time to make some more cakeballs!  And go to the gym…

I need to get a round “tu-it”… October 21, 2009

So I was saying last week that I was going to work on the creative memories frame (see the post from 10/16).  And not to disappoint, I have worked on it… a little…

I picked out a really beautiful rustic frame.  I found some cute, but simple ribbon and two metal buttons for the “clothesline” thingy in the front.  I even glued the ribbon and buttons onto the frame.

However, that is as far as I have got.  I know I promised pictures, but a few other projects with time constraints have gotten in the way.  I’ll try and work on it some more this weekend and have pictures by next week (crossing my fingers and my toes).  Wish me luck!

 

I really need to quit my job so I can just “craft” all day!