IRISH you luck!

Completed Project

As previously stated, I have been working on several Saint Patrick's day crafts. My sister is throwing a medium sized get together so we have been collaborating on the decoration needs for the party. One of the many ideas that I came up with will be today's topic of crafty discussion! So I know I have used these white canvas boards in a couple other posts but that is only because I had three of them and I felt that I had to use all of them. Every time I walked into my craft room they were just sitting there begging me to make something amazing out of them (and apparently I have no will power, because use them I have).

Moving on...I love the look of the 'subway' signs (One time I saw it referred to as subway sign, so that has now stuck in my little brain). They are signs that have run on words with a common theme and sometimes have the words going all different directions and in different fonts ( I might be mixing up two different ideas here, oh well!). Anyways, I love the look of them and wanted to make a St. Paddy's themed one.

The beginning phase

Step one: Create a work space (mind you I do have a complete craft room, but I chose to do crafts in the living room on a coffee table, I am weird) complete with all things green, many different lettering techniques, and a bunch of other crafty stuff that you want to play with.

Step two: Come up with some wording or phrases that have to do with your theme. I chose things like 'shamrock', 'pot of gold', 'irish' and a bunch others. I came up with a ton of phrases knowing that I would not use all of them.

Step three: Figure out which words are going to fit where and with which technique you will be writing or applying them.

Step four: Don't be afraid to venture outside of the norm! I spray painted some pennies gold using spray paint (is that an illegal use of currency?). I also created shamrocks out of glitter! Go nuts!

Gold coins!

Step five: When all is said and done, Mod Podge it all! I found that with some mediums, like stamped ink, the mod podge can smudge it so just be careful not to brush it around too much. To cover the glittered shamrocks I just literally goobed the mod podge on without even touching the glitter for fear it would completely be destroyed!

The ending mess and project

IRISH you the best of luck! 

Eat, Craft, and follow the rainbow :-)

Chicks go peep-peep-peep!

Lovely display method :-)

Spring is an exciting time for crafts. There are so many little holidays that need to be celebrated and decorated for. There is St. Patrick's day (which will have it's very own post when I get the supplies for that craft) and also Easter (there are plenty more but these are my focus for now). When I think of Easter I picture bunnies, and baby chicks, and pretty eggs, and children wearing pastel colored dressed and hats! I almost never think of candles, but VOILA we are making Easter Egg Candles! (I would like that to be read in the style of Oprah, thanks!)

So I do not think that I need to get into the logistics of dying eggs, that seems to be a pretty simple topic that I am sure you can figure out. Feel free to color them and design them any way you would like, but just keep in mind that we are going to be breaking these delicate little nuggets in half ( and if you are anything like me, only one half will survive this step).

Egg candle example

Supplies would include but are not limited to :an old candle that no longer will burn but has plenty of wax left (annoying right?), dyed Easter eggs (and everything that goes along with that process including the blowing out of the actual egg), a bit of wick string (I do not know what you would call that...I am a horrible instructor) and a little patience with your blogger :-) for she is not very organized today.

Highly technical way of melting candles

OK lets get started. Blow out and dye your eggs (this might be a good craft for after Easter and just use those already done eggs, what else are you going to do with them?). Now carefully crack your egg in half. I actually unsuccessfully tried this several times and found that the best way to complete this horrid task without destroying your entire project was to simple break away chunks using the hole you created to drain the egg (again my tutorial is a little spotty).  Now the fun part! Place the no longer awesome candle (that is in a glass container) into a pan with a little water in it and set it on LOW heat (you do not want this glass bomb to explode in your kitchen). Once the wax is melted, place the wick string into your egg and pour in the wax. TA-DA! I found that placing the egg into the egg carton was the best way to assure that it would stay upright and not spill during the drying process.

NOTE: I do not think that these would really be practical candles to burn! They are unstable and will spill and set your entire home a flame! But they are pretty decorations :-)

Eat, Craft, and buy a fire extinguisher!

Breakfast surprise!

Acorns are more fun than circles

As I set about the task of creating breakfast this morning I was feeling a little ho-hum. I usually make a simple egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on toast. Apparently you can only eat this a million times before you get extremely sick of it and bored. I tried changing the toast, using cinnamon raisin English muffins, different cheeses, but it was all the same. DING! My brain had an idea. Today I would make a 'surprise egg'!! (Note: Food can always be crafty in my world)

Hmmm....what is a surprise egg? A surprise egg is only the coolest and most fun way to eat fried eggs. Some may call it by a different name (I have heard a reference to something about a hen and a basket? or something like that), but my mom always called it a surprise egg so there ya go.

Just yummy!

Now forever I always used a cup to cut out the middle of the bread but I was feeling a little sassy so I used an acorn cookie cutter (twas more pleasing on the eye than a plain circle I think). Butter the bread and the cut out shape and set on skillet. Crack egg into middle section. Flip when you think appropriate (FYI:the point is to have an over easy egg). Once you have cooked your deliciousness, use your grilled little acorn to dip into the yoke!

SURPRISE! 

Eat, Craft, and be Surprised!

Unwrapped: Adventures with Mystery Cookies

A friend of mine once told me that I should not commit to making a baking day on the blog because it was too big of a commitment for me...he was right. So instead whenever I bake, that is when I will post. Simple solution :) Begin baking brookies blog now. 

Brookies might not be the exact right term (brownie+cookies= brookies, get it!) for what I am creating but I think it is a cute name so that is what I will call them (others might be upset by this, tough!). What I am actually attempting to make is a brownie stuffed chocolate chip cookie.  I had the pleasure of once eating these magical concoctions when I was moving out of my apartment in Burlington (what a sad day). A friend (Shout out to Bob George) brought them over as motivation and we fell in love with them. Mostly we were amazed at how they were made, we just could not figure out how on this awesome earth the brownie got inside. It was a mystery to us (two college grads, can  you believe it?). Now years later I have seen the light. Pinterest, you sassy minx, you have given me the key to the mystery. (This is where I got the idea, but I did not use these recipes, just the technique).

Note: Never crack your eggs directly into your mix,
you never know what's in there! Baby chickens!

Since I don't have all day to spend making things from scratch as I usually would, I am cheating a bit and using prepared mixes for both the brownies and the chocolate chip cookies (don't judge me). I did sass up the cookie mix by adding vanilla extract (my mother's secret) and more chocolate chips though. So mix up both batters and cook the brownies while the cookie mix chills. Technically I should have cooked the brownies earlier and let them cool, but being the inpatient manic person I am, I will use them hot! I am so daring!

I made a top and bottom part to the
 cookie to surround the brownie

Now cut up the brownies into 1inch squares, and smother them in cookie batter. These are probably going to be some of the biggest cookies you ever make. Now bake them as you would your normal cookies, but make sure to give them plenty of room to spread out since the brownie will sort of melt in the middle (I know just thinking about it makes me hungry!) Now let cool and enjoy!

Eat, Craft, and Be happy :-)

(Warning: You will eat raw cookie/brownie mix and  sample burnt cookies...sugar overload is a real possibility!)

Concussion Shmushion

Supplies

As the title implies I am concussed. So what better way to spend my day then staring at my computer screen writing my blog! How did I receive this concussion you ask? Not doing arts and crafts, that's for sure. I should just stick to the safety of my craft room and never venture out into the world again (yeah right!), well at least for today anyways. I fell on my snowboard (going really fast), nothing serious, I was wearing my helmet (thank god) but some big time bruises are definitely in order. So along with this blessed brain smush I also now have to deal with the after affects of soreness of joints, muscles, tendons, and pretty much every other part of the human body. True to my crafty nature though, I have found a craft to do! Homemade heating packs! YIPPY!(I am also a little delirious from no sleep)

Almost done!

So to the sewing machine I went. I had some left over fleece (it is perfectly microwavable safe, I tested it first) which is super soft and snugggely and that is definitely how I want to be feeling right about now. I simply cut the fabric to the shape I wanted. I choose to make it about 10 inches wide (you will fold it in half later, so it will be about 5 inches final) by about 10 inches. You can make it any size, length, or shape you would like. I then sewed up the right sides alone the long edge and one end. Invert the tube you have just made and add some rice! You will be making compartments within the tube so don't pour the whole bag in at once. I used about 1/2 of a cup in 4 inches of fabric (you can customize this for your needs). You don't want the rice to be too tight or else it wont lay perfectly on your sore neck though. To make sure the rice stayed in while I stitched I used pins to seal off that section about an inch from where I was actually going to stitch. Repeat this until you have successfully completed your heating pad.

awww...Relief :-)

Now heat it in the microwave in 30 second intervals  (make sure to test it before you lay it on your skin first!!!) and get relaxing those sore muscles!

Eat,Craft, and Enjoy a heating pad! :-)

(NOTE: During this entire crafting session I was wearing two heating packs. One is slung around my hips while the other is resting over my shoulder...Oh yeah, I am sore)

If it is cold, wear a hat! DUH!

As I awoke this morning dreaming of a beautiful 85 degree day at the beach I found my illusion fading as I prepared to walk my dog Beau. It is a toasty 18 degrees here in New Hampshire today and I was in need of a hat! So away I went to dig through the piles and piles of winter gear looking for a certain cap of warmth. I found it.

UVM Hat

Once again my Alma mater(I seriously dislike that term, I don't know why) has made its way onto the blog spot. I love when I am in need of a certain piece of knitted material to keep my noggin warm and I know exactly which hat I want to wear. It's just fun when you actually find that one silly hat that you haven't worn in forever (I will explain why I rarely wear it later, OK I'll explain it now). I tend not to wear this fabulous piece of UVM pride too often for the simple fact that it is too little. Once again I made a knitted project for a tiny person (when will I learn?) Regardless of size, the design is the coolest thing ever. I had never used two different colored yarns to make a pattern before so this was my first go around (in the round, hardy har har). I made this hat during my senior year (probably during finals week knowing me) so my materials for sketching out the pattern ended up being my graph paper chemistry notebook.

The hat in action!

 I used each square to represent a stitch and set about making a pattern that was big enough to make the letters look sweet. Then I had the issue of carrying the other colored yarn around the entire hat (I was unaware that I did not need to add this step at the time) So I added snowflakes around the back to finish out the pattern. I have since then used graph paper to mark out patterns for other knitting projects and have found it the simplest way to visualise your pattern as well as an easy way to follow along! 

Snowflakes on back of hat

If it happens to be a chilly day where you are and you are in need of a crafty project for the day, go ahead and make yourself an ear flapping, pompom waving, patterned hat! I don't remember what the actual pattern was for the hat, but it was just a simple stockinette stitch in the round. I made the ear flaps first in just straight stitching and placed them on holders. Once I was ready to start the hat in the round, I then joined the flaps on. Ta-Da! The tricky part was the duel yarn!

Eat, Craft, and Stay Warm! :-)

You know the feeling...

The idea phase, blank canvas

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I am a walking movie quote encyclopedia. I just love quotes, I have spoken about quotes before in my blog so clearly I find them interesting bits of knowledge. The key to a good quote, I think, is being able to relate to it personally. One of my favorite all time quotes comes from a Sex and the City episode in Season 5 (you know the one, the season finally in the Hamptons for Bobby and Bitsy von Muffling's wedding?). The episode ends with one very special quote by Carrie,

"I still get butterflies"

 "Some people are settling down. Some people are settling. And some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies." I just love it!

Done!

Long story small, I wanted to make a craft that had to do with that special feeling of butterflies (there really is nothing better!). Begin craft project now. You will need a white canvas (whatever size you want), a butterfly stamp, different colored inks, Mod Podge, and a black fine point marker (I used a piece of scrapbook quote paper instead of writing for mine). Write in the corner something to do with butterflies (you can even use Carrie's quote!), mine says "I still get butterflies." Stamp some butterflies( remember less is more) on the canvas leaving some awesome intriguing white space! Now Mod Podge swirls over everything to give it a cool texture and that's it! The simplicity is the best part of this project. 

Eat, Craft, and Get butterflies ;-)