Thursday, August 26, 2010

Mommy, so 80s right?

Upon cleaning out the "girls' room" closet at my parent's beach house, my sister discovered her high school tube socks. Thick, scrunchy pink socks with rhinestones all over them. You know what I'm talking about, and you must admit you wore them, too. Needless to say, my daughter and niece were mesmerized. Each wanted her own sparkly socks, and who could really blame them? So this project was born. If someone could stick rhinestones to socks using puff paint 25 years ago, then so could I! And so I did.
Materials
  • socks, bright colors are best
  • puff paint in a contrasting color
  • flat-backed rhinestones in assorted colors. I used 4mm and 3mm sizes. The socks with a few of each size look the cutest. I got the paint and rhinestones at Michael's craft store.
Directions
  1. Slip a scrap of cardboard into each sock. Lay socks flat on a table.
  2. Squeeze small dots of paint onto the socks, scattering dots as desired. I recommend not going too low, as the bumps might irritate the wearer's ankles.
  3. Place one rhinestone on each paint dot. Press into paint until paint oozes up around the edges of the rhinestone. This is important so the sparkles don't fall off. I used a toothpick for this step. A damp toothpick tip easily picks up the rhinestones, places them neatly on the paint, and is perfect for pressing the sparkle down without messing up your paint dots.
  4. Let dry for a few hours, flip socks over, and repeat with other side.
I initially made two pair- one green and one purple. My daughter, in classic form, insisted on wearing one of each. I made them two days ago, and she wore the opposite pair on the second day. This morning she was pretty sad that the "sparkly socks like Auntie Rachie's" were all in need of laundering.
Yesterday I made four more pair to send as gifts to the kids of people I was friends with in the 80s. Clearly, I need to make more. And while I'm at it, I might just make myself a pair. The 80s are back, right?

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Search Continues...

The kale chips were a huge success- delicious, healthy, easy to make. In fact, I made them for my family this past weekend at the beach, and everyone loved them. I mean everyone, including my 3-year-old daughter. I definitely want to continue the search for easy, healthy, homemade snacks, so I looked up some recipes for roasted chickpeas. All the recipes I found online were pretty similar. This recipe is my adaptation of a few combined.
Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
  • 1 (12 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • seasonings(All seasonings are optional. This is a list of some yummy options.)
  • salt
  • pepper
  • garlic powder
  • cayenne pepper
  • cumin
  • za'atar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Blot chickpeas with a paper towel to dry them.
  3. In a bowl, toss chickpeas with olive oil, and season to taste with your choice of seasonings: I used salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder.
  4. Spread on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. The chickpeas on the perimeter will darken most, so be sure to spread them out on the pan so the browning will be more even. I then sprinkled half of the tray with cumin, and half with za'atar to try two different flavors.
  5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until browned and crunchy. Shake pan after 10-15 minutes. Watc h carefully the last ten minutes to avoid burning.
These were good, though not as good as the kale chips, for sure. Also, I erred on the side of under- seasoning, but they needed more. The flavor dissipated as they cooked, so what I thought would be strong ended up bordering on bland. I'll certainly make them again, but the search continues.



Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Applique Attack

There is nothing more annoying than paying a lot for kids clothes that are grown out of after one wear, or pooped on after 5 minutes of wear. That's an exaggeration. There certainly are more annoying things, like telemarketers calling on Saturday mornings or the buzzing sound only the dentist's polishing tool makes. Anyway, I for one can't quite abide expensive children's clothing. However, I often find myself wishing I could afford to dress my kids in cute, one-of-a-kind pieces. Three years ago, when my oldest daughter was born, I started to explore the realm of homemade. I made her a few ribbon embellished onesies, and these two dresses.
Each time she wore something I'd made for her I felt a strange sense of pride. (I also felt a strange sense of time travel to the days of prairie life and homemade everything.) So I'm expanding my repertoire. This project is super easy, and other than the onesie or t-shirt you use, only requires the smallest scraps of fabric. Like many quilters I have quite a stash, so I had a lot of options. The possibilities are endless, and I plan on exploring many more of them.

Materials:
This materials list is for a flower pattern similar to the one below. Alter color of fabric scraps according to your design.
Onesie or t-shirt (I think it's cuter when you start with a color other than white)
Fabric scraps
Green:
3 rectangular pieces 1/2" by 3"
4 1" leaf shape pieces
Orange:3 circles roughly 1 1/2" diameter (these can be oblong or round)3 circles roughly 3/4"diameter
1 circle roughly 1/2" diameterContrasting thread

How-To:
1. Trim all pieces with pinking shears.2. Arrange as desired on front of shirt (or back, or shoulder...like I said, endless possibilities). I cut a lot of extra circles so I could play with the color combination of each flower.
3. Secure each of the pieces with a tiny dot of fabric glue. Make sure to place a piece of paper inside the shirt first so the glue doesn't fuse the shirt front to back. You could also pin each piece very carefully instead of gluing them down.4. Using contrasting thread, stitch 1/4" from perimeter of each shape. Feel free to get fancy with your stitch selection. If your machine is like mine it has a lot of stitches that you rarely use. Now is your chance.That's basically it. I know, easy, right? I think it will look even cuter after washing has frayed the edges of the applique a bit. Now I need to find some more solid shirts to attack.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Roasterphobia and the Chex Mix Alternative

After finally getting the green light from my MD, I went back to the gym this week. One swimming session and two Zumba classes later I felt inspired to take my "get-your-ass-back-in-shape" endeavor to a whole new level. You see, I'm a snacker. I like snacks; greasy fries, chips that leave your fingertips orange, cookies and milk, etc.. I imagine you get the picture. When I'm not in shape, and not doing anything to get in shape, I find myself eating more of these things. I don't know what it is, but there's probably a good deal of resignation involved. Now, don't get me wrong, I like my fruits and veggies, and we eat a balanced meal for dinner every night at my house. But when given an opportunity to eat a bag of Cheetos, I have a hard time turning it down (even when I read the label and know that bag holds 2.5 servings). Regardless, while in the shower at the gym today I got a hankering for a snack. Something crunchy and salty. There have been times, many I imagine, when I've felt like my recent work-out will cancel out whatever I feel like eating later on, and I'm therefore entitled to whatever junk I crave. Today, however, I found myself wanting to go all in. ALL IN I SAY! What does that mean? Well, it sure as hell does not mean no more Cheetos. I'm just not that kind of girl, you know,the kind that can live on salad alone. What's the point? But I think (key word there) that I'm the kind of girl who could be more disciplined, more conscious, more proactive about my diet. Some guy on Oprah this week (yup, I'm admitting that I watched Oprah for 15 minutes on Wednesday) stated this rule about healthy eating: "Eat as much junk as you want. Just make it yourself." I suppose the argument is two-fold. One, if you make it fresh it's automatically healthier than anything processed you'd buy. Two, this man said he can still eat french fries whenever he motivates to make them, which is maybe once every few weeks.

Thus enter the kale chip. This strange sounding snack has been mentioned a few times recently. The first time was when Jessica Biel told a morning news interview that she grew up eating them. While the audience made strange semi-gasping sounds, I found myself intrigued. When, a few weeks later, a recipe for said chip appeared in a parenting magazine I figured it must have been a sign. So I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when, in the locker room this morning I decided, with no hesitation, to pick up a bunch of kale on the way home. I have to say, the resulting chips were tasty and satisfying. It's a serious buzz kill to be filled with regret after enjoying a snack. Today I snacked with no guilt whatsoever.

In addition to the adventures in kaleville, I have, once and for all, faced my roasterphobia. Have you seen that Purdue commercial where the family stages an intervention? Well, there was no dramatic intervention today, but while at the grocery store getting kale I also purchased a 4 lb chicken with the intention of cooking it. Whole. By myself. I know, earth shattering concept, right?

The recipes for both the kale chips and the chicken are below. Read on...

Kale Chips (recipe adapted from Parents Magazine, Sept. 2010)
1 bunch kale (washed and dried)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt.


1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Chop kale into 1/2 inch strips. I tore my kale into chip sized pieces. Less mess.
3. In a large bowl combine the oil, lemon juice, and salt. Hand toss the kale in this dressing. Make sure all pieces are coated so they look shiny.
4. Place kale on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until kale is dark green and crispy.
6. Cool and serve.


Roast Chicken with Cumin, Honey, and Orange
(This recipe is from the NY Times, author Mark Bittman. I have no idea when we clipped it. The newsprint is a bit yellowed so it must have been in our recipe binder for a while.)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbs. ground cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper.
1 3 lb chicken, giblets removed

1. Preheat oven to 400. Use a non-stick roasting pan or line a roasting pan with a double layer of tin foil. Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a bowl and whisk until blended. Place chicken in pan, and spoon all but 1/4 cup of liquid over it.
2. Place chicken in oven, legs first, and roast for 10 minutes. Spoon juices over chicken, reverse pan back to front, and return to oven. Repeat four times, basting every ten minutes and switching pan position each time. If chicken browns too quickly, lower the heat a bit. I also covered the drumsticks lightly with foil so they wouldn't burn. If juices dry up, use reserved liquid and 1 or 2 tablespoons of water or orange juice.
3. After 50 minutes of roasting, insert an instant-read thermometer into a thigh; when it reads 155-165 degrees, remove chicken from oven, and baste one final time. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Flower Sashes

The Purl Soho website is one of my favorite resources. There are often projects posted that I want to try. This one looked so fun and simple I had to give it a shot. It is, indeed, as simple as it looks. Now I want to make a lot of them, so I'm scouring my scrap piles to put fabrics together.


These directions are adapted from the Purl Bee.

Materials

To make one approximately 40-inch long sash with two flowers:

  • Three 1/4-yard pieces of fabric that you like together, we'll call them Fabric A, B, and C in the pattern. Try to be adventurous in your combination!
  • Two felt balls. There are instructions to make your own felt balls here, but I ordered some from Art Fire. Search for felt beads and choose the color and size you like. I think the 10-15mm beads fit best.
  • Thread to contrast with your fabric.
  • Pinking Shears

Cutting

In the original directions, all cutting is done with the pinking shears. I have a really old pinking shears, so it's a bit hard to use. To simplify things, and save my wrist, I only pinked the edges that would show.

For the braided sash cut:

  • A 2-inch X 44-inch strip from Fabric A*
  • A 2-inch X 30-inch strip from Fabric B
  • A 2-inch X 30-inch strip from Fabric C

For the large flower cut the following from whichever fabric you like*:

  • A 3-inch X 17 1/2-inch piece for the outer layer of the flower
  • A 2-inch X 15-inch piece for the middle layer
  • A 1 1/2-inch by 13 1/2-inch piece for the innermost layer

For the smaller flower cut the following from whichever fabric you like:

  • A 2-inch X 15-inch piece for the outer layer
  • A 1 1/2-inch by 13 1/2-inch piece for the inner layer

*The longest strip is the belt piece if you use it that way. The 44" piece was too short for me, I'd suggest making that piece longer and then shortening it as needed at the end. Also, I decided that the large flower is too big for me. When I made a second sash, I made the small flower my big one, and made another that was slightly smaller.

Braiding

Iron the short ends of one of the long strips you cut of the braided sash 1/4-inch to the wrong side.

Then fold the long sides in 3/4-inch wrong sides together so that one side is on top of the other and none of the wrong side of the fabric is showing.

Using the contrasting thread zig zag stitch down the middle of the strip closing it and sewing down the fold in the process. One pinked edge will still be visible on the back side of the strip.

Repeat this for the other two long braid strips.

Lay the longest braid strip right side up and flat. Sew the shorter two braid strips it 10-inches from one of it's ends. Sew the three strips together thoroughly and don't be afraid to show off the contrasting thread!

Loosely braid the three strips together until the two shorter strips end.

Sew the ends of the shorter strips to the longer strip in the same manner.

Making the Flowers


I have all my flower pieces ready.


Gather one of the long sides of a flower piece together as shown above.

Keep gathering it along this side until you have a circular flower shape gathered in the middle.

Sew the gathered middle together to keep this shape in place.

Repeat this process with the middle and center layers. Sew the layers together.

Trim each of the layers with the pinking shears until the flower looks like you want it to. Repeat this for the second flower.

Sew the flowers on about 5-inches from the start of the braid (or wherever you like, really!)

Sew a felt ball into the center of each flower.

When I made my second sash I substituted buttons for the felt balls. The designer, Sydney Albertini noted that this can be worn as a necklace, belt, or headband. I also think they'd make great reusable gift wrap decorations or curtain tie-backs. I'm sure there are other uses, too. Happy Sashing.



Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Fabric Sihouettes


A few years ago, a favorite fabric designer of mine, Anna Maria Horner, demonstrated this craft on the Martha Stewart show. Since then, I've wanted to make one of my own. I've had the fabric and paint set aside on my "works-in-progress" shelf (which is full, by the way). Well, over the last two days I finally did it. In fact, I made one just like the example here and I made a set of three smaller ones, which I love.

These directions are adapted from Martha Stewart.
Tools and Materials
  • Wren or Friesian templates, both of which are down-loadable from the link above. (This time I used the friesian template.)
  • Blank canvas. For my horse I used a 12" x 12". The set is three 8" x 8" canvases.
  • Fabric. I recommend a fabric that is all colors in one family, otherwise it will be hard to choose a contrasting paint. Look for something like some of these by Kaffe Fassett.
  • Staple gun
  • Clear medium gloss
  • Scissors or utility knife
  • Paint
  • Paintbrush
Silhouettes How-To
1. Start with a blank canvases. Trim fabric to appropriate size to cover the front and stretch around to the back of the canvas, approximately the dimensions of the canvas plus 2 to 3 inches.Stretch and secure two opposite sides of the fabric onto the canvas back with a staple gun. After folding in the corners neatly, stretch and secure the fabric onto each of the remaining two sides. Always start from the center and work outward so your fabric doesn't pucker.
2. Prime the fabric covered canvas on front and sides with a clear medium gloss like modgepodge to help it adhere. Let dry for 30 minutes. I forgot to do this step, but I do think it would make my fabric smoother. Next time, I guess.

3. Download and print the template that you want. There are other templates on that site, too. Try these farm or ocean animal sets, and you could clearly use any shape or stencil you have. (The small set I made uses a paisley stencil from Michael's craft store.) Cut template out using scissors or a utility knife to create paper silhouette. I traced the template onto stencil paper so it would be more durable for reuse.

4. Position the negative paper silhouette on the fabric canvas where you want your image to be.
5. Select color of paint and paint the stencil. Peel stencil off carefully. Allow paint to dry.


Keep reading to see the development of the mini triptych.

Now I just need to find some more walls...anyone need some art?