Making the best of what's on hand.
In the September issue I have delved into the world of miniature crafting. It’s been a blast making tiny crafts on the small scale and reminiscing about playing with my Pink Panther as a kid. Ah the adventures that 10″ high pink plushie and I had.
By Friday the coop was just about ready to go. All we had to do was get some previsions and put on the roof.
We opted for the mason jar style feeder and water holder. And some feed called Start n’ Grow. And one huge bag of pine shavings.
(We dubbed them Mac n’ Cheese. Mac is on the left and Cheese is on the right.)
Sunday we put the roof on and it actually was really easy. I just have to say that those Garden Ark instructions are amazing. We were able to finish in one week just putting in a few hours each day. I think I’m actually going to miss working on a wood working project each morning.
Two things recently happened that lead to me giving yogurt making another try. First, my dear Yankee friend Unplugged yogurt making with this great post on the process–no fancy equipment here. Second, I bought a dehydrator to make our own camping food. It came with instructions for making yogurt and a few dishes specifically for yogurt. How could I not try again? What happened the first time? Well, too hot, then too cold and that pretty much tells the story.
Friday’s post really inspired me to get my act together and organize my fabric. Each box is 11″ x 12″ x 14″. I opted to sort them by color, which seems to be my best organizing option yet.
I can count on just my hands the things I’ve bought from the craft/yarn store this year: painting supplies for a painting class, yarn for a pair of socks, yarn for a present for my mom, fabric for a shirt and dress (I actually made both, so that’s good.), a small fabric kit. Yet, I still have more craft supplies then ever. Friends routinely give me fabric (which I love) and so I always have an over flowing source of fabric for project making, hence all the fabric projects here on the blog. In fact, it’s the largest category in the project archive.
We ventured into the world of chicken coops this week and are attempting to make the Garden Ark Chicken Coop. Read about how chickens are coming into our lives, the coop we are attempting to make, and our progress so far.
You may or may not have seen all the hubbub on Twitter and Facebook, so I wanted to give a quick here’s what’s up. :: Floods :: Last Tuesday Ames was hit with the another huge thunderstorm. It was enough to push the already elevated waters to flood levels and […]
I make a lot of swatches when I’m working on patterns. You know, working out patterns, figuring out the count. The color combo. When I was making the library tote for this month’s Craft Leftovers Monthly, it was same as usual. This time, instead of shooting for “coaster” sized swatches, […]
Have you been to Pancheros or Qdoba? Have you tried their naked burritos? They are delicious! After going and spending $6 to get rice, beans, and what looked like what I usually have hanging out in my fridge from dinner the night before, I opted to stop “treating” myself to lunch there, and packing it for lunch instead.
Here’s how I generally make mine. You can vary it a lot. Mostly it depend what I have on hand – what came from the garden, the farmer’s market, what I made for dinner the night before. On nights we go out for wings, the next day I toss the leftovers in. Today’s version is a vegetarian naked burrito.
This was about the easiest patio installation ever! And by that I mean all I had to do was uncover it. It was one of those unknown treasures. The people selling the house didn’t know it was there and didn’t include it in the house listing. When I was poking around in the backyard I saw a buried brick. Then another. Then I started poking harder with a shovel and found that it was a complete brick patio hidden by years of creepy charlie.
In the spirit of full disclosure, Quarry Publishing sent me this book to review. That being said, I never review a book I don’t enjoy. Cut It, Paste It, Sew It: A Mixed-Media Collage Sourcebook (Quarry Books, September 2010, $17.99, paperback) arrived in the mail and I immediately read it […]
Two weeks ago, I trimmed down my bamboo shades and realized that I had in my hands the most wonderful leftover–bamboo sticks! Twining. Oh twining, I love you. This, my friends, is a wonderful way to “weave” multiple things together.
To demonstrate it’s power I give you:
Thrift Kitchen Each Thursday I post about ways to be thrifty in the kitchen. To me, it isn’t just about being cheap, it’s about living creatively! Finally have some food for eating from the garden. I’m scarfing it all down as quickly as I can. I’ve stored the potatoes in […]
Crafty Business: All the ins and outs of running a small, creative one woman business. In the last Crafty Business post, I talked to Kristy Hall about making progress and how feeling like you’ve done “enough” can be elusive. I mentioned my progress report sheet and linked to the pdf. […]
This past weekend was not a weekend for projects. Instead, it was the final push to get 100% out of the apartment + get it super cleaned up for the new folks moving in. We tried our best, but, wow, was that carpet a mess–from before we even moved in. […]
And speaking of lovelies from Su, she contributed to the August issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly and sent these great zines along to share. Everyone who places an order by midnight on Wednesday + everyone who has a standing subscription gets entered to win a zine set. There are three sets, so three winners :)