In addition to being quite talented in the crafty arena,
Nikki is also a professional pastry chef! Every now and then she shares a recipe with her readers, but this is the first one I've tried. It is the
cookie recipe she posted a few weeks ago. Here they are ready to go in the oven.
I've never made cookies by slicing a log up before. I think I like the way they come out. I also go to use my relatively new kitchen scale, since Nikki uses metric measurements for her recipes. That was fun! Fresh out of the oven:
I put peanut butter M&M's on top since that sounded so good with the chocolate cookies. They cracked in the heat, but are still very tasty.
Peter doesn't think he likes chocolate cookies (though he hasn't tasted these!) so I'm planning to take them to work tomorrow... though I'm tempted to eat them all myself! Cookie stack:
I think I'll try the
carrot cake next!
Labels: cooking
I've never really considered myself a runner. Then last January I ran my first half-marathon. I'm doing it again this January, and I've finally started running again. I have to get up at 5:30 am to "train" since it's too hot after work. I can't wait for fall, or what counts for fall here in Houston!
Labels: photography
I finally made the jewelry set for the charity auction at work.
The necklace is very similar to the
one I made for my sister, but I got better pictures of it, and I like the matching earrings better:
I've got some scrapbooking plans tonight, we'll see if I get it done or if I get sucked into 24 again. We're watching the 2nd season on DVD, and it is so addictive! It's ruining all my crafting plans...
Labels: jewelry
Nothing too much big to show today. My sister suggested making simple pouches, to hold things that we don't want to fall out of our purses, if you know what I mean. I dipped a little into my Amy Butler stash and here's the result:
These are super easy to make, and I think I'll modify the design to make little pouches for the jewelry I'm donating to the United Way auction at my work.
I also made another baby blanket
like these.
This one has a silver border, but is otherwise the same as the others. Oh, and I noticed I had a couple whole zoo animals on my scraps, so I cut two out and machine-appliqued them to the back of the blanket.
This is going to the recipient today, along with some clothes or toys from their registry, so hopefully he likes it! (As much as a 7 week old can like anything, anyway!)
I have a fascination with the skies in Texas. They change so quickly, and are so beautiful. I often take pictures of the sky when I can, but usually I don't have my camera. The picture above was taken on February 2, 2002 (02-02-02) at sunrise just before my husband proposed to me. We were at the top of Enchanted Rock, near Fredricksburg, TX.
More crafty posts to come - I've been crafting, but not finishing!
Labels: photography
I decided it was time to try a new pouch design and this is the result. The lace trim is so delicate - I got it in the bargain bin at JoAnn's, and I think it is so pretty. I hid the zipper at the top of the pouch, as you can hopefully see in this lining shot.
Sorry the lighting is crummy. I finished after dark but was too impatient to wait and photograph it during the day!
Labels: sewing
Okay, so maybe I shouldn't call anything
my favorite. I seem to be quite fickle. I was all dressed for that bridal shower, but I was unhappy with the necklace I was wearing with my outfit. So I made a new one. And I love it!
Here is a full view. It is pretty long, about 18" (though I'd have to measure to be sure). All the stones are carnelian, and they are connected by short lengths of sterling silver chain.
I think I'll make another one to list on Etsy or to save for the craft fair my mother-in-law is trying to talk me into at Christmas!
Labels: jewelry
Got some great fabric on eBay and it came in the mail today.
I really love it and can't wait to make a bag or apron, or maybe something new and different!
And my favorite, the main reason I bid on this auction...
I think this will definitely have to be my new book bag and "art pouch" to take to drawing class!
I was asked to make a shower game prize for that shower I keep talking about... I decided to make wine charms, to wrap with an inexpensive bottle of wine. I made two slightly different sets --
I got cute little clear-topped tins to "wrap" them in.
I tied them with ribbon to the neck of the wine bottle, and they seemed to be a big hit with the two recipients, and the other guests! This was such an easy thing to do, but everyone seemed so impressed that I had made them myself... always makes me feel good!
Labels: jewelry
Alternatively titled "Holy Cow I Made a Quilt!" as I exclaimed to my husband as the last stitch was sewn. I know pictures say more than words, or something like that, so here:
Instead of using batting and cotton backing and all that, I just quilted the top to some polar fleece. So easy! And cozy! I want to keep this for myself! Here you can see the yummy blue backing:
Quilt #2 goes under the needle this weekend.
EDIT: I went out to the kitchen after posting this, and just had to take a picture of my kitty... he always finds the best places to sleep, like on brand new handmade quilts!
Labels: quilting, sewing
I can never fix my hair the way my hairdresser does. Do you think she'd like to live at my house? Here I am with a new haircut, wearing my new dress.
Someone I met a few weeks ago was wearing a really pretty necklace, and she told me she made it entirely from things she found at Hobby Lobby. Since I can be somewhat of a copy cat, I ran to Hobby Lobby and found some similary beads. Here is the result:
And the whole necklace:
It's just tiger's eye chips and glass beads. I'm really happy with how it came out. And I'll wear it a lot, since I seem to have a lot of clothes that are chocolate brown!
Labels: jewelry
I tend to get obsessed with one type of craft, and that's all I can do for a while. This explains the large rash of jewelry posts. I've finally been back into sewing, and though it isn't as easy to churn out sewn items as new pieces of jewelry, it is still very rewarding. Here is another pouch made using
Thimble's awesome
tutorial.
The inside is lined with the same fabric.
I love the ribbon on the outside. These are so much fun to make! I sent this one to Laurie for our
swap, but I think I might have to make a similar one for myself!
I also only have the binding left on the first wedding quilt... I can't wait to finish it. Stay tuned!
Labels: sewing
I find so much inspiration among fellow bloggers... Like over at
SouleMama I saw these
wonderful cards. They reminded me of the
mini quilts I made a while ago, but I hadn't thought about making cards. I also love the
fabric postcards made by
Gerrie. So here is my interpretation!!
This pink card is going to be for Lauren, my best friend from high school. She is getting married in September and we're having a lingerie shower for her Saturday. (The shower I got to plan in three days! Everything is fine with that now, by the way!!) The gift I got her is pink, so I thought a pink card would be appropriate.
This card is for Lauren's sister, who had a miscarriage last week. She was 25 weeks pregnant. I feel absolutely heartbroken for their family. Add to that their mother went into the hospital Tuesday and they don't know what's wrong, and that family has more than their share of troubles. I'm sending all my spare positive energy their way.
I've been having a kind of stressful week for various reasons (one of which is getting to plan an entire bridal shower in three days... this is why I prefer to do things myself!), and I was a little frazzled when I got home today. I was relaxing, doing things like trying on the results of a little retail therapy, when I suddenly noticed a package on the kitchen counter! No, wait, TWO packages!! For me!! I totally did a little happy dance. One of the packages was from Laurie at
Liquid Paper. I have really been looking forward to this, so I had to document the whole process!
Peter thought I was nuts, taking all these pictures. Isn't the packaging cute?
Look at all that awesome stuff! Here's a better view after I unwrapped it all:
These are the pins she made me using pictures of my animals. I also got a bonus - one of the
ninjas I've been coveting, a sweet bird, and a mod dot!
Thanks so much Laurie!!
And though it was totally anti-climatic after Laurie's awesome package, I also finally got some beads I bought on eBay.
Large chalcedony pendant beads, about 1.5" long! I can't wait to use these in a necklace.
This is one of my favorite photos of our wedding, almost two years ago. It's hard to believe how fast time flies. I am in the picture now, also, you just have to look a little closer.
First, some new "serious" earrings. I got this color of swarovski crystal called Bermuda Blue - it looks mostly black, but flashes turquoise when the light hits it right. Exactly the same turquoise as some other crystals I have. So I had to make this pair of earrings:
I also had some fun deconstructing about five pairs of the 80's earrings I found in
that box and remaking them into one pair of earrings.
As Peter put it, they're pretty awful. I will probably salvage the parts for later projects, since I now see there's a reason I didn't miss those earrings during their long stay in hiding!
For dessert last night I tried a new cookie recipe, from my
Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts cookbook.
The dough was a pretty different consistency than I was used to, because I've never made crispy cookies like this before.
They didn't come out as flat and crispy as I expected, but they still tasted really good, and the four of us last night ate all three dozen!
Any
pastry chefs out there with advice about why they didn't come out flat and crispy? I'll have to try these again sometime, though, since they were definitely yummy!
Labels: cooking
The act of painting is easy, but setting up, and cleaning up after, is so time-consuming. We're finally done in the living room, and I can get back to crafting! Here is the before picture - cream walls, tan furniture, very blah...
For some reason the people at Home Depot recommended this grey primer. I think we're going to go with tinted primer next time - the grey is really noticeable where it didn't get covered up by the new paint.
And finally, the finished product!
It's amazing what a change a coat of paint can make...
I have been in training all week, which totally fries my brain. We're also in the middle of painting the living room, so I haven't had much to post. Today was my last day of class, and it was pretty slow, so I ended up doodling quite a bit. I was motivated by my new plan to take
"You, Too, Can Draw!", a continuing ed course at
Rice. It's totally for beginners (the first class is "How to Hold a Pencil"!), so I think it will be perfect. Anyway, since I haven't done anything else recently and I think these little doodles are cute, I thought I'd share!
Also, since Heather doesn't have comments on her site, I have to say here how much I love
this post. I love all of Heather's monthly newsletters, but this one seemed especially touching. Go! Read!!
