Three Years

Today marks the end of my third year of blogging and the beginning of the fourth.  I've published 185 posts, most of them crafts and an assortment of recipes. (more than any craft book I've ever bought) At this time, I have 90 posts ready to be published so it looks as though I will be blogging for quite some time in the future. I keep expecting to run out of ideas but each time I visit a store, read a blog, a catalog, a book or a magazine, I get new inspiration.

I started this blog in an effort to find others who were craft addicts like me, which I have. The unexpected discovery is that I found that I enjoy archiving all of the things I like to make.  No more digging through files to find instructions; just look them up on the old blog.

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A Fortunate End to a Meal

It's Chinese New Year and although fortune cookies originated in San Francisco, I can't think of a better time to make these. They can be made up to a week before a party and are a great conversation starter as well. Although, since it is at the end of a meal, I guess it could be called a conversation ender.

First, you need to think up a bunch of fortunes, print them and cut them out. It helps if the party has a theme.

 I've searched the internet for recipes and after several different attempts, I think I found just the right one.

2 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1Tbsp water

8 Tbsp flour

8 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

place in food processor and process until blended

Heat oven to 375˚ 

 Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet then place 3 tsp of batter on the paper. (I make 2 at a time) Spread the batter into a 5" round using a circular motion with the back of the teaspoon. Place the cookies in the oven.

Remove the cookies after 5 minutes or when the edges are slightly brown. Take them off the cookie sheet with a thin spatula or icing knife.

Place the fortune in the center of cookie.

Fold it in half and then fold it over the edge of a glass. (it really helps to wear cotton gloves to protect your fingers from the heat)

Put the folded cookies in a muffin tin to set up. Each recipe makes 8 large cookies. When you are finished, lower the oven temperature to 250˚ and put your tin into the oven for 15 minutes to crisp them. When cool, place them in a plastic bag.

Serve them with this sorbet for a refreshing light end to your meal.

Etch a Sketch

I must confess that I got interested in Photoshop as way to make my paintings easier and better. I figured that if I could turn photos into sketches, half of my work would be done. I've tried almost every recipe for turning photos into sketches and this one is my favorite.

Remove color and duplicate layer.

FILTER>ADJUSTMENT>INVERT to invert top layer.
Change blending mode on top layer to color dodge. The picture should be plain white.
FILTER>BLUR>GAUSSIAN BLUR. Adjust blur radius till you have the amount of sketchiness you desire.
LAYER>FLATTEN IMAGE.

LEVELS to darken the lines.
It isn't as easy to make a sketch out of non-geometric objects such as people. Photoshop finds edges all over the place. After using the same techniques, paint white to cover the "freckles".

Look-key, Look-key

Have you ever noticed that certain objects multiply if left in dark places? Wire hangers, bills and keys come readily to mind. I'd been playing with a way to make a sunburst mirror when I stumbled upon this box of keys. A new project was born!
Materials:

wooden circle (this one is 6")

old keys (about 40 for this size)

round mirror (this one is 4")

brass screws (20 flat head and 20 domed)

Tools:

drill

small drill bit

screw driver

Lay keys around the perimeter of the wooden circle, allowing the notched areas to overhang the edge. Drill holes into the wood at the key openings that are a bit smaller than the diameters of the screws. Use the flat headed screws to attach the keys.

Glue the mirror in the center.

Surround the mirror with the rest of the keys with the tops overlapping the mirror's edge, offsetting this row. Drill holes as before but use the domed screws for this layer.

Tips:

I used slotted screws instead of phillip's head for an older look.

The domed screws give a more finished look, but use the flat heads on the first layer so that the top layer lays properly.

Predrill all holes as brass screws are soft and the slots tend to bend if you force them with the screwdriver.

Check your junk drawer and ask friends. I'm sure you can come up with 40 keys in no time.

You Have the Cutest Little Clock Face

I opened a new catalog (well new to me) and spied a large wire clock. $300? I don't think so. It does have 2 things I like; clock faces and wire. Maybe I could make one. To be honest it isn't a working clock and it isn't 49 inches in diameter (like the catalog one) but hey, it's cute and very affordable.

 I started with two wire rings found at Michael's in the leather-craft section. You can buy rebar wire at Home Depot.  Oh, and get a couple of pliers while you're at it.

Place the smaller ring in the middle of the larger one. You'll need to refer to a ruler now and then to make sure it remains centered. Cut four wires and wrap one of the ends around the smaller ring at the 12/3/6/9 positions on the clock. Then wrap the other ends around the larger ring. Pull the wires taut with your pliers while you wrap. Clip off the ends.

Make your roman numerals. I found by trial and error it was best to use one piece of wire for each stroke. In other words, if you want to make the numeral "3", use three separate pieces of wire rather than one long one. It's just too cumbersome to use long pieces.

I did use slightly longer wires for the "X" and the "V" so that the extra would be wrapped between the angled lines, spacing the wires apart.

I followed the catalog clock face numerals which used "IIII" for "4" rather than the "IV" like I was taught. I was probably done for aesthetic reasons rather than accuracy.  I hope that the roman numeral police don't catch me.

Spray it black if you'd like.

This is so nice in a gallery setting. It'll add lightness and whimsy to all of the heavy ancestral portraits you have. 

No More Hat Head

I love wearing hats, especially for fun events, but I suffer from that dreaded affliction: Hat Head. Again, CSMT to the rescue.

The materials are simple; a cereal box, a cardboard tube and a headband. I prefer to use the tubes from wrapping paper because they are sturdier, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. Cut a short length of the tube and use it to trace around on a piece of cardboard from a cereal box. A wine glass makes a good template for the brim.

Cut out the circles. Run a bead of hot glue around the inside of one end of the tube then attach the smaller circle. Trim it when the glue has set up. Using the same technique, attach the brim to the other side. Obviously, don't trim this circle. 

Spray the completed hat heavily with black spray paint. While the paint is still wet, shake the glitter on it until it is completely covered.  Allow to dry then shake off all the excess glitter. (Do this over a sheet of paper to capture the extra glitter)

Hot glue it to a dollar store headband and ring in the New Year, confident that your hair will retain it's glorious bounce throughout the night.

Strawberry Christmas Tree

Do you want to knock their socks off at the annual Christmas buffet party? Bring this. It's not that hard, but looks spectacular.

I usually use a styrofoam tree, but I found this papiermache one at Michaels. It's about 13" tall. You don't need to buy one any bigger because the strawberries increase the size considerably. (You actually might want to buy one a bit smaller when you read the rest of this tutorial)  

Buy an 8" cardboard cake round for stability and a doily for disguise.

I bought 3 - one pound cartons of strawberries (ones with smaller berries)at the grocery store and 2 packages of chocolate candy melts from Michaels, but I've used semi sweet chocolate chips in the past and they have worked just as well.

Cover the tree with waxed paper. Tuck in the ends and tape to secure it to the cone. Use melted chocolate (I microwaved it) to stick the tree to the base. Cut a hole in the doily and slip it over the tree.

Separate the strawberries by size and remove the greenery. Dip the large ends of the biggest berries in the chocolate and place them on the bottom of the tree. Add the next layers with the medium sized berries, saving the small ones for the top.

Okay, this is a craft fail. It was too late and the grocery store was too far away, when I ran out of strawberries. Inspiration struck. I spread chocolate on the top of the tree......

.....then scooped the melted chocolate into a small plastic bag, snipped the tiniest hole in one corner, piped a few stars on a piece of waxed paper and popped them in the fridge until they hardened. Using a bit more melted chocolate, I added a couple of stars onto the top of the tree.

Now tell me that this isn't elegant. It sure beats the baby carrots and onion dip I usually bring to these soirees.