Under Construction

For correspondence

Today was my niece's 6th birthday party.

I had wanted to give her a mailbox, mail carrier's bag and the relevant equipment but the proper mailbox eluded me.  This tackle box was perfect (and less than $5 at Walmart). I filled it with label stickers, pretty stickers and princess pens from the dollar store along with envelopes and her very own stationery.

Making the stationery was super fun and only took a few minutes.  I also enclosed a stash of 1 and 2 cent stamps, some pre-postaged postcards and a princess address book. You know, for until she starts keeping up with her friends via Facebook.

At the last minute I threw in some rubber stamps and an ink pad (second hand) and a roll of tape.  Tape is a critically important office supply. I also put her name on the mailbox (crookedly).

I'll admit, this gift didn't seem to compete with Barbie Mariposa nor the High School Musical Barbie Golf Cart but I'm hoping she'll have fun practicing her writing and "doing mail."

Next up: stationery for ME.

Clay and the camera flash

Ok, I admit it, the "natural light elitist" bloggers sometimes drive me crazy. You know the ones. With their perfectly staged images who never use the flash and wait weeks to show off a project because "it's just been so gray and the light is so terrible" etc. etc. Sorry, if you're reading this and you're one of those folks. Trust me, I still love your blog, I'm probably just jealous that you apparently have daylight hours available for photography.

ANYWAY this was not really meant to be a rant on photography, more of a comment that maybe those folks are on to something.

Exhibit 1:

Granted, neither is a masterpiece of photography but the non-flash image (left) is a lot more true-to-life colorwise and has more depth.

Exhibit 2:

I actually kind of like how the flash (right) blacks out the distracting background but the left image is much more realistic as to the state of my coffee table.

Yeah, yeah so maybe they are on to something. If my overhead lights count as natural light :) Maybe next I'll figure out how to stage photos so you can't see the mess in my kitchen or toys in my living room.

My nine mini coffee mugs are almost dry enough for bisque firing.  The tea (coffee) set is coming along.
   

Flour Child

Last Friday Biscuit was in a fashion show.  It was sponsored by the food science department and the fashion had to be made out of "food or food packaging." I had big plans involving corn husks but it was a giant relief when I found two vintage flour sacks at an antique store the weekend before the show.  I immediately knew exactly how I wanted the dress to look. And, amazingly, it worked out.

Even though Biscuit couldn't stop talking about the upcoming fashion show being the center of attention is not something she enjoys (see: hysterical crying over happy birthday singing at her party). I knew I would have to walk the runway with her so I threw together a coordinating skirt.

I was very proud that she walked the runway by herself all the way to the twirl. At which point she realized, hey, there's an audience, and demanded to be carried the rest of the runway.
You can see we were surrounded by greatness.The "orange bag" dress to our right won first and "miss sushi" to our left won second.  That sushi dress was AMAZING in it's detail.  That parasol is made on a frame chopsticks with rice bags as paper. The green fringe on her dress is folded twist ties. Even the shoes are handmade.  Biscuit received an honorable mention, mostly for being cute.

Bad photo of Biscuit but let's examine the details (this project took up all my crafting time last week so we need to focus!). The bag, from a vintage sugar bag (same antique store), cotton batting and red lining fabric from Ikea.  Filled with two mini baguettes we made for the occasion. The necklace(s) are strung bread pieces, Biscuit 'designed' the pendant and cut out the little leaf shapes. She also rolled the "snakes" we baked into bracelets. She ate a bracelet before the show and snacked on the necklace post-show.

See? Necklace, partially eaten. You can also sort of see the cool logo from the flour sack.

Here's the back of the dress.

It was so fun to have a project that I was 'pushed' to do (because I signed up for the show ages ago and couldn't let my friends down) that then came out exactly as I wanted. And now Biscuit has another summer dress to wear--just as soon as the weather warms up again.

Maybe I should just move to Davis

I already drive to Davis (30ish minutes away) every day for work.

Saturday I was there for Picnic Day.

Biscuit loved the parade, especially the bands:

She also enjoyed the (infamous) doxie races; a fuzzy shot of some doxies that don't understand the concept:

I got to milk a cow:

And this was just a funny photo op:

Then, today, I was back in Davis to take advantage of the wonderful Craft Center. I forgot to take photos but Lauren remembered. Her stuff came out way cuter than mine so go look at her images. We were working on screen printing and I was messing around in the clay lab. 

It felt like a jam packed weekend but very little blog worthy content to show for it! Hope your weekend was fun.

Clay

I bought a $4 bag of recycled clay. Biscuit and I collaborated on a small plate (she added the lump next to the snail). Tonight I made three more (snail-less) plates. My goal is a tea set....

This is fun!

Oobleck-y

One part water; Two parts cornstarch; many parts messy fun (add a bit of kool aid for color and scent)

After giving a tupperware full of this to a friend I realized you have to have a high mess tolerance to enjoy this activity. I have a very high mess tolerance--we made this two evenings in a row. I might have even liked the goop more than Biscuit.

And that's saying a lot.

Mr. H, ever the high school science teacher, found this explanation of how it works. Summary: long polymer chains.

Pyrex--the quest for the nested bowls

It was all about pyrex today. From mixing pancakes for breakfast to searching for vintage pieces at the antique store after lunch.
 
About ten years ago a co-worker at my first "real" job gave me a nesting set of orange pyrex bowls.  They were practical and sort of neat so I kept them. Now it appears I am very hip.  I don't have the fancy turquoise pattern and my bowls are smaller than most but, hey, they were free. And now I'm including them in my (almost daily) month-o-kitchen-stuff-I-love posting series. These are great bowls if you have a 2 year old who likes to mix. They're nice and heavy so they don't tip over.

...awkward transition.....So this afternoon I spent an enjoyable few hours antiquing with my Craft Mafia pals. Thanks for hosting, Tamie!! I was going to get out of there for $0.75 but in the last 10 minutes of shopping, I...ummm....managed to spend a whole lot more than that.  I'll share the loot later this week. The other gals scored some really great pyrex!

I found the mushroom pyrex at the thrift store several months ago for $5. It's a nice big size for a salad.

I'm not sure how to end this post so why don't we close with a cute photo of my kid? Ok?

The "noculars" grandma made have been a big hit. Perfect for "looking for bugs."

Cookie therapy

Hi, welcome to the "all cookies all the time" blog. No photos today, just a note on cookies. And salt.

First, cookies. One should never underestimate the power of a warm, freshly baked, chocolate chip cookie to improve the mood.

Second, because of the first, one should always have, at the ready, a supply of ready-to-bake cookies

Therefore, next time you mix up a batch of the Contessa's cookies, bake one cookie sheet's worth (they're only worth eating right out of the oven anyway). During the 15 minute baking time, scoop the remaining dough in cookie size portions onto your other cookie sheet and put it in the freezer.  After you have enjoyed your cooked cookies, transfer the frozen dough balls to a ziploc. Don't bother to date or label--they won't last long.

If you follow this strategy exactly, you will be well prepared for an especially sucky day. Like, say, today.  You can get the kid in bed, open the wine, turn on the oven to preheat, put the required number of frozen dough balls on the cookie sheet (they'll thaw just enough during the preheat) and 25ish minutes later you'll be feeling muuuch better.

And today's best loved kitchen item: Kosher salt. The Contessa recommended it and I thought it was a scam (Mortons, so cheap; Kosher, so expensive) but I swear it makes food taste better.  Also, if a recipe calls for kosher and you don't have it, use less Mortons--table salt packs together more. I buy my kosher salt at Trader Joes.

New podcast with Emily of The Black Apple is up at Craftsanity. I can't wait to listen!

I was shocked to discover that some people aren't reading Swistle yet

You know who you are. So go here for a most excellent post on parenting (perfect for non parents too)

For those of you already clued into the Swistle thing, might I suggest Constance? She recently conducted a poll, the results of which may (or may not) be interesting to some.

And if you prefer crafting to parenting....hmmm...Bitter Betty has been fun lately. And Speckled Nest has some great, new tutorials up.

And if neither crafting nor parenting is your gig, read Seth Godin with the rest of the blogosphere.

Finally, my kitchen recommendation for the evening--the Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Chunk Cookies from her Parties book. I'm not going to post her copyrighted recipe on the web but you can buy the book on Amazon.  It's worth it just for the fact that a tray full of these cookies, warm from the oven, will convince your friends that it's okay you were 30 minutes late to a meeting.  Not that I would know....

Can't leave without a photo

More artisan bread experimentation.  Pretty but mediocre. Again :(

Bug hunting and lemon juicing

My camera is periodically eating photos. It's driving me crazy! So if you think, "hey, this photo could have been better," just assume my camera ate the better one.

I've got baby gifts and a long list of other items I need/want to sew. So I spent the weekend bug hunting (aka gardening). I would show you a photo of my garden but the camera ate it. :( But the bug photo is safe and sound.

Do you know this bug?

What about this juicer?

You should (know the juicer that is). Best. Juicer. Ever.

I'm kinda enjoying documenting my fav kitchen tools. Maybe that is weird. But it's fun.

Hope you had a great weekend!