tank top

Problem: Yesterday it was hot. I own two tank tops and didn't want to wear either of them. Solution: Attempt to make a tank top out of a ridiculously large t-shirt that I found at a thrift store months ago for a ridiculously cheap price (and that I absolutely love but don't ever wear because of the size issue).

I basically just put the shirt on the ground, set a well-fitting tank on top of it, traced it, then stitched it. I suck at hemming, but I managed to make something fairly wearable for super hot days where you don't really leave the house...

it also makes a nice cover-up for swimwear ;-)

resin casting!

I've been toying with the idea of resin casting for a long time and about a month ago decided to purchase some Easy Cast 2-step epoxy resin and give it a try! I did a bit of research about mold types, inclusions, etc. for a couple of weeks then finally started casting. I found a cool little ice cube tray for $1 to use in the experimental pour.


I made a few heart shaped magnets with candy and popcorn kernel inclusions, also Wenk asked to have a Big Sky Brewery bottle cap turned into a magnet.

After the first round of casting I was hooked and started coming up with ideas for things to use as inclusions. I also bought two bangle bracelet molds on eBay off of a nice lady in Texas who has a "resin obsession," and a sweet store of casting supplies because of it. The first round of bracelets is made with plastic bb inclusions. I found an old stash of Wenk's airsoft pellets supplies and went to town. I'm afraid I may be well the way to my own little resin obsession with this bangle thing because the bbs are super cheap and come in a million different colors...


check out my Etsy shop for the opportunity to purchase some of these items!

breakfast food-filled corn muffins

It's that time of year where friends are moving away after completion of grad school, which also means that we acquire more "stuff." I have only accepted useful stuff, mind you. That chest of drawers was much needed, and it never hurts to have more than one set of muffin tins. Okay so I may or may not have needed all the muffin tins, and Chris probably had the right to wryly ask if I was going to open up a muffin shop. After that very appropriate comment I actually started brainstorming muffin ideas and came up with some interesting breakfast muffin ideas.

Now, these were not the traditional fruit and cream cheese filled muffin ideas. I started thinking, "sausage and gravy corn muffins?" or, "bacon, egg n cheese?" Just before work yesterday I decided to experiment. I found a basic corn muffin recipe using masa harina, and started filling them with ham, peper jack, and eggs. The tricky part was trying to figure out how to make a barrier so that the scrambled egg wouldn't just run into the mix. I tried cheese barriers and ham barriers. The ham seemed to work the best...but didn't do exactly what I had imagined it would.

I didn't get any photos of these glorious creations because they were compled just minutes before I had to leave for work, and when I got home from work, all but two were gone - and they were not the two best examples of the batch.

At any rate, I think i'll keep experimenting with muffins. I'm thinking - Chicken Tamale muffins - or- Chili and Cheese???

here's a link to the masa harina corn muffin recipe I followed. I'd recommend it over the usual yellow cornmeal muffin.

strawberry-blueberry sorbet

Yesterday we attended a bbq for a friend who is moving out of town. Strawberries happened to be on sale and it also happened to be a fairly warm day so sorbet was made! I didn't get any pictures because it was made at the last minute then devoured within seconds of being shared, but just imagine a rich dark red frozen delight sprinkled with seeds and flecks of deep blueberry skin. I modeled my recipe off of a simple strawberry one that I found through a google search but added blueberries and used lime juice instead of lemon (because I had a lonely lime waiting to be used for something). The blueberry wasn't very prominent but there was just enough to notice that it wasn't just strawberry, which is what i was going for. More blueberries can be added to this recipe as needed.

2 lbs strawberries, rinsed & hulled
1.5 c sugar
2 oz blueberries (about a handfull)
juice of 1 lime

Puree all ingredients into food processor until smooth. You can pour the mixture through a sieve if you don't want seeds, but I firmly believe it will compromise the aesthetic integrity of the dessert. freeze in ice cream maker as manufacturer's directions or freeze in airtight canister.

I believe that experimentation with food, no matter at what level, is a very important part of life...especially when you're in college. I've since graduated the years of nothing but ramen noodles, pizza and sandwiches but still end up randomly eating like a student, and I have to admit that I keep a small stock of ramen in the pantry. This "regressive eating" happens mostly on Fridays when the week's groceries are starting to dwindle and I'm at my laziest.

Today happens to be a Friday, a day that started with thrift stores and rummage sales. The last rummage sale I went to was in a church and while sifting through piles of other people's used stuff, the all too familiar smell of what I like to call "cardboard pizza" started wafting through the air vents. I immediately craved it, but didn't want to go to the store and buy only a frozen pizza. So, when I got home I realized that we had some frozen chicken nuggets (for emergencies only, i swear) some jarred pasta sauce, and some cotija cheese leftover from Cinco de Mayo. What does that make? A little something I like to call, Ghetto Chickn Parmesan. This is the closest I could get to something pizza-like in the sense that it has sauce and cheese. HA! The cotija cheese is really what makes it. I like to think that the Mexican crumbling dairy solid tastes like a mix between mozzarella and Parmesan, so it worked perfectly. It ended up being a couple of levels higher on the taste scale than those frozen cheapo chicken parm dinners you can but in the freezer section, so I'd say it was a success.

I really wish my pictures were more flattering, but I'm convinced that it takes a pro or a HD camera from the Food Network to make it so. I've had a few conversations in my life about the unflattering-ness of most food photos, and it really doesn't help that I've been using my phone's camera! I'll eventually have everything I need to use my "real" camera again but for now they'll just have to look like those nasty old photos of jello molds in your mom's cookbook that are more nauseous than appetizing.

First thing's first: PIE!!!

From the moment that I decided to create this blog, a mere 6-7 hours ago, I've been contemplating what would be the optimal first post. Today I didn't have to actually work much, so I planned on cooking a bit. Wenk had purchased a few mangoes the other day with the sole intention of convincing me to make a pie. A month or so ago, there was a huge sale on the aromatic bulbs and I had decided to use them in lieu of peaches in a traditional 2-crust southen dessert favorite. Wenk loved it but soon after eating it talked to his mom and realized that a cold mango pie, made to imitate his great aunt k's cold-peach pie would be wonderful. He knows me well enough to know that if he gets the ingredients and throws an idea at me that I'll eventually whip something up. Well, I didn't get the recipe for that but found a good and healthy looking recipe to follow for my cold mango strawberry pie. Fresh peach and yogurt no-bake pie

I really wanted to make my own graham cracker crust with some cinnamon grahams that have been occupying my pantry but soon realized that I had lent out all my pie pans to our friend Carrie, who recently did her non-fiction thesis reading which included a piece on searching for authentic pies and of course featured several pies at the reception. So the crust was store bought sadly enough, but ended up being delicious. I substituted 3 decently sized mangoes for the peaches and used a 6oz container of strawberry flavored yogurt from Tillamook (yum!) for the yogurt/sour cream option. While mixing the vanilla into the yogurt I couldn't stop myself from adding some powdered ginger, which ended up amounting to probably 1.5 tsp.

On a less healthy note, Wenk has also been craving tater tot casserole. I've pretty much stopped making anything that calls for a condensed cream of mushroom soup, but decided it wouldn't hurt to make it since it's kind of a comfort food. I used cousin Erika's traditional recipe, 1lb gr. beef/2 cans green beans/2 cans cr. of mushroom soup/tots, but substituted the gr beef for some elk. Wenk had a baseball/bbq get-together the other night and a buddy brought elk burgers.

There were a couple of well seasoned ones left over so I just crumbled them into the mix. Yay comfort food! Great first post, me!

shopping bag

So, I haven't posted for quite some time because we've had some major computer issues, but i've made a few things. The most recent venture into the crafting world was a couple of shopping bags made from reclaimed fabric and old cloth napkins found at a thrift store here called the Wunderground, which by the way is an amazing place under the senior citizen's center here in Missoula.

Here's a pic of one...

things to carry things

since i've moved to montana, i really haven't made anything. i definitely haven't posted anything on this blog for quite some time. recently, my mom told me how how make a really simple, flimsy bag out of an old t-shirt. making these bags out of "my sized" shirts is just ridiculous, so i went to the local goodwill and found a couple of baby-sized t-shirts to experiment with. they're still pretty ridiculous and flimsy, but also fun.



i've also made my first wallet with some kickass vintage fabric that my mom's friend, who runs a recycling center, salvaged for me. mom sent a care package for me not to long ago with a bunch of crafty seasonal stuff that she had made, and also enough of this fabric to make a king sized blanket and have enough left to reupholster a large sofa. anyway, my previous wallet had mysteriously disappeared...then i found it three days later in the trash and smelling like rotten bananas. what motivation to create something new!!! i'm pretty proud of it...

purse!

i'm so excited! i actually finished a purse, and it looks decent! i used fabric from two vintage pillowcases that i had lying around and this pattern

i actually took the time to measure out and make my own version of the pattern with an old newspaper. i decided to go ahead with the inside pocket, but didn't have the patience for the button closure. maybe i'll add velcro or something in the future...

this project was successful AND resourseful in the recycling sort of way. i can't wait to make more!

recycled calendar postcards

yesterday i finally made some postcards with my 2006 Van Gogh calendar. hooray! i finished with 18 total and sticky hands from spray adhesive. they're so pretty!

felt balls

yesterday, we were all recovering from (hopefully the last) winter storm...out of boredom I decided to try my hand at making some felt balls with the left over roving i had from my felted soap venture earlier this winter. it was a lot of fun to make these things...and i think i could like the idea of making stuff out billions of little felt balls...

also i just finished this weird little owl thing i started out of felt scraps like a month ago...

another beanie + pom pom!

On thurday night, Rayna showed me how to make pom-poms...i started a hat from some of the huge bag of yarn i got for christmas and just finished it last night! I think i could have made it a bit longer, but oh well...

successful beanie!

i finally made a beanie that will fit a normal adult-sized head! i used this pattern as an example for the amount of increases needed. I used two strands of worsted weight acrylic yarn in contrasting colors with an N hook (that i finally purchased the other day!). i wasn't planning on having the green band at the bottom, but i ran out of the yellow...and actually i think it looks much better than it would have with all yellow and green. its too big for me, and too small for the BF's GIANT head, so i'll be passing this one along to some lucky cranium.
i swear i'm not covering up herpes in this pic. or am i? afterall, it is the day after VD...

*edit* here's the new and proud owner of the hat,our neighbor, Chris.

pantalones & kitty toys

so, i made some pajama pants out of the fabric the wonderful Kristi Papesh gave me as a gift. i did okay, but didn't really make the casing (waist) the right size for the width of the elastic. Sometimes my patience is limited, especially when i'm excited, so instead of ripping the seam out and trying again - i forged forward. they work... they stay on my ass and keep my legs warm...but i've learned my lesson. my next pair will be fabulous!


i also broke out the sewing machine and some felt pieces the other day and created some avereage-looking simple cat toys. the kitties freaked out. check it:


oh crap, and i forgot to mention that i FINALLY met a person of the male persuasion that knows how to crochet!!!! life is good.

its been awhile...

well, since my last post i've done x-mas gift crafts - the big one being my mom's chenille lapghan. i did this with a size Q crochet hook...and the lovely wenk is modeling it for me. as that skanky and talentless
fergie ferg would say, CHECK IT OUT!














also, i decided to do something with the big broken stereo thing today. i took it out of it's cabinet, took the glass door off and made it into a new "media center" to go next to the bookcase in the living area.

as i was taking the glass door out to the dumpster, i realized that i could do something AWESOME with it and a box of rockstar trading cards that we've had in the closet for about a year now.

the glass piece is a bit bigger than the desk itself but it should work...so long as i don't go crazy with the sewing machine.

oh, and i know you're wondering about the awesome tackle box. it is THE BEST X-MAS gift EVER! from kristi....along with the fabric shown in front of it on the desk. here's a couple of close -up pics of kristi's boredom-turned-craftiness

crappy, ugly granny square scarf

haha...so i made these granny squares probably over 6 months ago. they were my granny experiments and i found them tonight in the "wicker craft shelving unti thing" -as i call it. i decided to put all the little squares together and make an ugly scarf. i did a REALLY CRAPPY attachment job, and i absolutely HATE the vibrant colors. hahah. i'm posting a bulletin on myspace and i'll give it to the person with the most enthusiastic reply.

first hat

so, i decided to finally try my hand at crocheting a beanie. i used worsted weight yarn with an I hook. the pattern that i used called for lionbrand homespun yarn with a K hook....which would explain why it turned out MUCH smaller than i anticipated. i guess i didn't make the correct adjustments. i've learned my lesson....and it's a good thing i know a 2 yr old that might be able to wear it!