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Roll ups for the lunch box

I wasn't sure which Instagram filter was best for sliced ham. I chose Hefe. Still not sure.

Anyway, Biscuit asked for "roll ups" for her lunch this week. Here's the recipe I came up with that has satisfied all three roll up eaters in the family:

• Lavosh bread (from Trader Joe's)
• Sliced ham (from Trader Joe's)
• Cream Cheese Spread

Cream Cheese Spread recipe (adapted from the UC Davis Coffee House Cookbook)

The measurements are (obviously) approximate. Use what you've got!

• 1 green onion, finely chopped (2-3T)
• 2 small carrots, grated (1/3-1/2 cup)
• 1-2T parsley, finely minced
• part of a green pepper, finely chopped (1/4-1/3 cup)
• pinch of salt
• few grinds of pepper

Stir into 8 oz of whipped cream cheese.

Cover Lavosh with thin layer of spread. Lay a single line of ham slices across it and roll and slice. (Each lavosh made 8 little roll up slices).

Yum.

 

Crazy (awesome) silhouette art tutorial

Because I'm a week behind on everything, including New Years, I'm still working on my resolutions. But I think one will be to post one tutorial here per month. But then the internet is FULL of AWESOME tutorials whereas mine tend to be a bit more...hmmm... homespun? Novice? Crappy? So I'm also considering a resolution of making one thing per week all year.

Either way, this Crazy (Awesome) Silhouette Art project totally fits the bill.

Supplies:

• a piece of wood or plywood or some other smooth surface (I used a square of 1/4 inch masonite about 14x14 inches)
• photo of your subject in profile
• Contact paper
• Scissors or really, really sharp exacto
• spray primer in black (or some other cool color)
• assorted acrylic paints and brushes
• spray on clear coat (if desired)
• string and glue gun (or some sort of hanger)

Process:

1. Take a photo of your subjects in action. Aim for a neutral(ish) background and faces in profile. Convert to black and white and crop as desired. Print out on regular typing paper the size you want your silhouette to be (I printed the image below on 8.5x11" paper)
2. Spray your wood with primer. This will be the color of your silhouette. You only really need to spray the area where your silhouette will be. see how the wood below has primer on one side? And the photo is printed (ignore the blue stripes--printer issues!)
3. Tape your contact paper sticky side up to a self healing mat. Tape your photo on top and cut out image using exacto. (notes: you might want to outline with a pen first to ensure you know where to cut. If your exacto is anything less than razor sharp use double stick tape or a glue stick to adhere the photo to the back of the contact paper and cut out with scissors)
4.  Peel it all apart and stick your contact paper silhouette to your primered wood. Press down the edges really well.
5. 
6. Here's the trick I learned about on HGTV at some point....spray paint again over the contact paper mask. This should help keep the edges clean as they'll be sealed down with matching paint!
7. Now go to town with the acrylic paints. Choose colors you like and don't worry about it. I recommend employing a child to help--it'll force you to be spontaneous and to not try to do anything too fancy. Or you could just paint it a solid color (if you're booooring....)
8. 
9. That red smear looked vaguely heart shaped so I made it a bit more heart shaped. That was about it as far as trying to do anything planned.
   
   
10. Watch your paint dry. (in our case, force your child to take a bath with the promise of peeling off contact paper when she's done.)
    
11. PEEL! Carefully peel off the contact paper with fingers crossed. Yay! I hope it looks awesome.
12. If desired, spray on a coat of polyurethane or acrylic clear coat. If you're hanging your work attach the fastener. For this light masonite a hot glued a piece of ribbon to the back and it seemed to work fine.
13. Hang and enjoy!

Watercolor building block art--a tutorial

I have been having so much fun with this project I thought I'd share a little tutorial. It started with Biscuit and I working on some Eric Carle inspired art. So colorful and fun!

Start by using water colors to brush blocks of solid (or blended) colors onto whatever paper you have on hand. We used some computer paper, some sketch paper and found the backs of the covers of sketch pads have a great texture for watercolor. Biscuit was trying some stippling but I liked the look of straight brush strokes or swirls in the finished project.

OR, even better, if you have a toddler/preschooler odds are you have some painted art that has come home. I had an entire sheet of paper a younger Biscuit had painted brown and used it throughout this project since I didn't have brown water color. What a great way to use/repurpose/save young children's art. I wish I had more of her paint scribbles (no idea why I had the brown piece).

Use a papercutter (or craft punches if you got 'em?) to cut out traditional block shapes. I used somewhat consistent sizing so the 'blocks' would fit together. I cut a mix of squares in 2x2 or 1x1 inches, rectangles in 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 2x3 an 2x4 and triangles which were 2x2 or 3x3 squares cut in half on the diagonal. Remember that blocks always have those cool arch pieces. I cut those rectangles 2x3.5 or 2x4 and free handed the arch cut leaving about 1 inch on either side for stacking. Use the interior of the arch cut outs as well. Here is an image for inspiration that makes me think I should have cut some of my rectangles into triangles. Next time.

Now have FUN playing "blocks" and making castles and towers and other arrangements on a blank sheet of cardstock. I tried to "design" each block tower to be something that could actually stand up if it were 3-d. Ideally you'd have a kid to help you with this section but I was addicted and Biscuit had NO interest in arranging blocks--she was too busy with her own project.

Glue! I used a glue stick to get the glue all the way to the edges of each block. When pasting, leave a sliver of white showing between each block. As soon as everything is glued press your piece under a stack of books or magazines to get it flat.

We made this building block art to supplement the project we did here and a note Biscuit wrote her brother at school. My goal is to create a wall of original "art" by family members to hang in Oscar's room. The frames are all cardboard and part of the project as well (I have a phobia about having real picture frames fall on me when I sleep--hello growing up in earthquake country--so cardboard frames felt just right for above a crib. Plus they are fun to make, kitschy and the price is right too!)

Here's what we've got so far. The lower left with the car, horse and tree is Biscuit's piece. I love it and feel bad the "frame" isn't a better fit. Hard to find really big pieces of cardboard.

Have fun!

Monoprint(ish) Valentines

I should start by noting my complete lack of art training but I had a vague memory of the term "monoprint" and a random desire to try it so I googled and then faked it.

I cut up an extra piece of bamboo flooring into 4ishx5ish inch pieces and quartered some nice, heavy art paper into 6ish by 7ish pieces. I also found some mailing tags and acrylic craft paint in the craft room.

Biscuit (or I) used a paintbrush to cover the entire smooth side of the flooring block with a thin, even coat of paint.

Then we used a q-tip to remove some paint and make a design. (q-tip worked far better than alternatives we tried including: dry paintbrush, other end of paintbrush, finger, other color of paint)

Then we pressed the paper (or tags) on top and rubbed really hard with our fingers trying not to move the paper at all.

Voila! Biscuit will write From/Love, Biscuit on the front and tape a Trader Joes mini chocolate bar (28 bars for $1!) to the back and call it a Valentine.

Sadly, the project didn't scale well. We tried it with nine Daisy Girl Scouts and encountered problems such as: slow painting and delays=>too dry paint; frustration with the inherent imperfect nature of the print even in best circumstances; a general desire to just paint directly on paper. Oh well, I had a great time!

Picture quilt

I turned Biscuit's little drawing:

 

Into a lap quilt:

 

And then I wrote an instructable about it. Click here for the full tutorial.

It was surprisingly quick to make--I worked on it over 3 days, a few hours a day and I love the result.

Upholster your dresser in vintage sheets

This is a project that can be completed in an afternoon (or two afternoons if you’re painting). It’s a great way to spruce up a boring dresser. I was inspired to cover my daughter’s dresser after finally completing a quilt for her bed and wanting the furniture to match.

Before (boring):

After:

 

Directions:

Choose a piece of furniture without any engraved or textured elements. The drawer faces are curved on this piece but a contoured drawer edge would be difficult. Also, choose something with drawers that overhang the front of piece (as opposed to inset drawers).

Gather your supplies: sandpaper, large paintbrush or foam brush, mod podge, scissors and pieces of lightweight fabric large enough to generously cover the drawer faces. I used scraps of vintage sheets for a cheap and cheerful option that matches the vintage sheet quilt on the bed.
 

Remove the drawer pulls or other hardware and take the drawers out of the dresser.
 

Lightly sand your drawer faces. Four-year-old assistant is optional (and not all that helpful) (no idea why this photo is sideways)

**NOTE: if you are working with a lightweight or light background fabric (like a sheet!) and you intend to paint your dresser, paint the drawer faces at this point. I learned from my mistake--the wood grain shows through my fabric and is quite obvious against the white paint.**

Cut rectangles of fabric to the size of your drawer front plus a few extra inches on each side. You’ll trim it later.

Roll a tube of scrap paper and stuff it into the holes from the hardware. You don’t want to fill the hardware holes with glue!


Brush the entire drawer face with a thin, even coat of mod podge. (pretend those paper plugs are already in the holes in this photo--I was learning as I worked).

Pull the plugs and lay the fabric over the drawer face using your hands to smooth out any bubbles. Do not leave this task to a four year old.

I found that adding another coat of mod podge on top of the fabric led to an unpleasant, rough texture. Therefore left the fabric uncoated which means the dresser will be easy to stain and hard to clean but the fabric feels nice.

Once the front is smooth, trim the fabric so it wraps around and meets the drawer sides without bunching up. Notch the corners to remove bulk.

Spread mod podge on the back edges of the drawers and wrap the fabric around folding the corners to make them look tidy. A binder clip can help hold the fabric in place while the glue dries.

If you’re going to paint, paint the rest of the dresser and the hardware. Allow to dry.

Once the mod podge is dry on the drawers, you’ll be able to feel a dimple at the hole for the hardware. Use something pointy (scissor tip?) to poke through the fabric and replace the hardware.

Enjoy your beautiful new dresser!

Sew some quick felt slippers for the kids

Got cold floors? Got a bag of felted, wool sweaters lying around? (oh, that's probably just me. Hmm, wash 100% wool sweater on hot. Dry in dryer. Voila! Felt! ok, moving on) Need some slippers?

 

These took about an hour total. First, up, make the pattern. Look, here's a scan of my pattern complete with a ruler for scale. And here's the pattern I used to visualize the shape the upper part needed to be. Since that was an adult pattern I had to wing it. Here's what I did.

 

Trace the foot and cut out a rough foot shape about 1/2 to 3/4 inches larger than your traced foot. I did a scant 1/2 inch and it was barely enough. Can you see the trace line inside the foot shape above? Also, my toe should have been a bit more rounded on these.

 

Then, here's a trick for making the curved pattern pieces fit together. Use a string to determine the circumference of the foot shape. Start your string at a line (marked near the toe, above) and move along around with the string following the pattern edge until you're back at the mark. Cut or knot the string. The length is the distance around.

Since the upper will be in two pieces, each half of the bottom edge of the upper needs to be the length of half the sole circumference. Got it? I ignored seam allowances throughout because 1. wool felt is forgiving and 2. I was hand stitching so seam allowances would be minimal.

Okay, now sketch the curve of the bottom of the slipper using the Martha pattern as a visual aid.

 

Make the curve of the sole extra long and use half of the string length as a guide for where to put the heel. (obviously the string isn't held tight in the photo above but you get the idea). Then sketch the upper sole and heel. Cut out two uppers and a sole for each foot being sure to make a left and a right foot (flip the pattern for the sole). No need to add a seam allowance.

Hand stitch together using a whip stitch and a double strand of durable thread (ideally in a matching color if your stitches are as messy as mine!). Follow the directions at Martha or just do the center seam in the upper to the dip for the ankle and the back seam at the heel to create the upper. Then pin the upper to the sole (pin in about 4 places to ensure it fits and to center the heel seam on the back of the sole heel.) The stitches will face out in the final slipper creating a bit of a ridge.

That's it! I have grand plans of adding another layer of wool in the sole for padding/warmth/durability and maybe even stitching some leather to the bottom for anti slip/durability. Odds are I'll leave them just like this. Done is nice.

2010 calendar

This is what I gave my co-workers for Christmas (but picture it with a binder clip rather than a magnet clip)

 

This is what the pages all look like. These are all photographs I took in 2009. They're not all great but, I'm not a photographer.

 

But I do love September, November and May in that order. The other ones, kinda meh. And with that ROUSING endorsement, here are the pdfs in case you want to download and have your own calendar. Just print on cardstock and cut out. Ignore the fact that one is called "2009." I wasn't thinking

Download Calendar 2

Download Calendar 3

Download Calendar 2009 page 1

Download Real cover calendar 2010

If you trim them inside the lines they fit inside a zip disk case (I am probably the only person who has a stash of these cases, should have made it to fit a cd case. Oh well. Each page is about 4" square)

 

Here's to 2010. I'm running out the door to spend New Years Eve with my in laws. Hope yours is happy.

Felt noodles for the play kitchen

Yes, Mr. H made a whole fridge and I just made noodles but the noodles have been fun too.

 

And they are super easy to make!

Cut a strips of felt in noodlish colors about 1.75 inches wide. Then use pinking shears to cut into 2.25 inch lengths (or a little shorter--this one was a touch long).

 

Then  look at a piece of bowtie/farfalle pasta for inspiration on how to fold. Basically, do this:

Fold in half then fold the sides back. (photos just in case this is clear as mud)

Then sew it together. You can sew however you want but I made a LOT of these and found this technique worked pretty well. Use a hand sewing needle and strong thread or doubled over regular thread.

Make a knot and pull it into the center fold.

 

Then  take two stitches to secure one side. See below how there is already a stitch securing half the noodle? You have to go around again to catch the other half.

These photos are getting worse and worse.  After you stitch one side, take a stitch to get you over to the other side of the noodle and wrap the thread to secure that side.

 

Then tie it off and bury the end of the thread in the middle of the noodle.

 

I realize those photos didn't help much but it's seriously so easy you don't need any help! Put them in a real noodle box and you're all set.

 

Happy pasta making!

Make felt rocks in the washing machine

Ya'll seem to like the felt rocks; I encourage you to make your own. Here's how:
Find up to 10 smallish, roundish rocks. I wouldn't go any bigger than about 2 inch diameter.

Rinse if needed (it also helps the wool stick if the rocks are wet)

Now, if you have wool roving, this will be easier and your finished product will be smoother. In Sacramento you can get wool roving inexpensively and in every shade at Rumplestiltskin. (www.yarnyarnyarn.com). I have found that the more natural colors (less bleach used in processing) felt better.

Anyway, grab a largish handful (about a 2 foot long strand) of roving and spread apart the fibers a bit and wrap around the stone changing directions as much as possible so the strands don't all line up. Don't worry, doesn't need to be perfect.

If you happen to have raw wool that you can't be bothered to card, you can use that too. Lump handfuls of it around the stone and secure in place by wrapping with 100% wool yarn.

For either method, make sure your rock is completely covered as evenly as possible (you want the rocks in your washing machine to be padded!)

Now cut the leg off a pair of nylons.

Grab a wool covered stone in your hand and shove your fist all the way to the toe of the stocking. Be sure to use your hand to keep the wool from moving around. Bad photo, sorry.

Now tie a knot in the stocking. Don't use a bit of string to separate the stones, definitely knot the nylons. Trust me ;) Continue adding stones and knots until you run out of stocking. I found 10 smallish stones was the most it could handle.

Now, be brave and put it in the washing machine. I put it in with blankets and sheets and towels (wrapped in a blanket) to protect my new front loader as much as possible. Wash with soap on hot. Regular cycle.

After the wash, the wool will have shrunk around the stones and should be all felted. It may have fuzzed through the nylon a bit. It's okay (kinda unavoidable).

Untie the nylons (you can use them again for felting) and peel out the stones.

All done! The white ones look cocoons. This one is made with wool roving:

These two are from the raw wool. Much lumpier and they didn't felt as tight. Mr. H said they looked like granite. I think they look like sheep.

That's all there is to it. Enjoy!