Ending the Month with Baking

The month has one day left in it when I started this post.  Oh my how the time has flown.  Lots has happened in the past 30 days.  Birthdays, surgeries, work, creative time, bringing in the wood so we don't freeze our butts off and a whole lot of other things.  I have to ready a box to ship overseas to a friend stationed in Afghanistan.  This means I have baking to do.  It is Valentine's Day coming up so lots of chocolate baked items are in order. This whole month has been a juggling act to get accomplished what needs or I want to get done.

In my effort to keep myself "focused" I have decided to focus on fast meals to make.  This means I look a lot at Rachael Ray's website. I subscribe to several  food blogs in an RSS feed so they come right to my google reader. However I think these are possibly some of my favorites:

1.  The Smitten Kitchen,  is full of wonderful tips, techniques and a no nonsense approach to culinary nirvana.  
2. Baking Bites works to have one properly getting all nutritional needs met from sugar, butter, occassional chocolate and all things delish!  This link does go to the blog but to a particular recipe for Nutella Bread Pudding.  Oh god I think I just passed out from the joyful thought of the combination.
3. Cookie Madness is a recent find that I think will come in handy all year around and not just for the holidays. I see a trend here already of the food blogs I follow.  Yes I am a baked goodoholic.
4. King Arthur Flour Blog one cannot go wrong.  There is always something there to make me salivate and eyes glaze over.  

It is amazing to me that my honey and I don't weight 600 pounds a piece since we are both really, really in love with our goodies.  Seriously. What I did end up making this morning was an Irish soda bread.

I am on the search for a creamy mac and cheese recipe. Somehow it all ends up being not so saucy. I get good but I want more sauce.  Perhaps doubling the sauce and cheese...now there is a thought.

A Magic Carpet Ride

I am thrilled with taking the Magic Carpet Ride along with other bloggers for the ONE WORLD ONE HEART party.  This event was thought of by Whimsical Bohemian.  I can't wait to meet some new people and see some new ideas.  All very exciting.

My giveaway will be a selection of the "fabric paper" I make to do my mobiles and mixed media work with.  There will be 4 sheets no smaller then 8"x10" that are along the lines of this one shown below.  I will be making each sheet so no two will be alike and no to packs will be alike.  They are so much fun to work with.  I have gotten tons of compliments on them.  I may throw in a couple of other surprises as well.


In Order for you to be eligible to win you must leave a comment on this post and you must be a blogger. A winner is randomly drawn from the list of those who leave a comment. Leaving a comment also means I get to come visit you and your blog. The Magic Carpet Ride ends on February 15th so get on now and let the good times roll!

Creating Space

Over the past couple of years I have come to realize that sometimes having less is really a good thing.  I tend to hoard certain things because I love them, or I think I will never see them again or they are just to precious for me to use at the time.  Eventually they become less precious but I still associate them with being precious. I will pick them up and fondle them before boxing them away.  I decided that has to stop.  There is something freeing about getting rid of items or throwing out stuff.  Being from Maine the it is really hard for me to throw out something unless it is really beyond the point of being useful.  To get rid of something I need to be able to sell it or trade it.  Right now the sell it is the more favored option.

Hence Second Life has come back into being.  Second Life is my destash and vintage shop on etsy.  I have started to add items back into the shop.  Right now I have lots of vintage buttons to get in the shop.  Like these will be in there some point today.

They are all mother of pearl shank buttons  One is degraded quite a bit.  But I love the texture and color. 

I will also be putting things in like this old pork and beans glass jar.  The label is still good even if the top is no longer legible.

It would look so cute on some shelf holding ....holding something.  But there you have it.  The start of the great purge.   Keep checking back to see what else is being added.

More with my Heart

I have been working more in my studio.  I have managed to successfully do the minimum of ten hours a week as planned.  The past 4 days have really helped out in getting some more streamline focus.  I have gotten several pieces going.  Here are the current ACEO valentine Cards that are in my etsy shop.

This first one is done on fabric that I altered for a challenge in the Fiber Arts/Mixed Media Group that I am a part of.  It is run by the artchick a.k.a. Susan Sorrell.  Great group! I had photos of the fabric accidently deleted from the new camera.  I will have to take them over again. Not sure if it will happen.

This one was made with a hand cut stamp.  I finally found the linoleum cutters and went to work on a couple of erasers. The fabric is a vintage linen handkerchief that was my great grandfathers.  I have alot of them that have been hanging around doing nothing.  I would like them to do something.  I have some ideas from this as well. 

Still looking for some main theme to work with.  Right now it is the hearts because of valentines day.  I would like to have something else that is weighty in concept.

Blue Bird of Happiness

blue-bird-orner-d
Originally uploaded by backwoods creations

I made many, many of these little bird ornaments/mobiles for the holidays. I gave them away for gifts and sold a decent amount through various brick and morter venues. So far I am not tired of making them and actually have a couple of ideas to embellish them a bit more. Fun is the key!

Valentine Be Mine or I love you no matter what

I have been working on the monthly challenge and my first experiment FAILED.  So I am working on a second try of the shibori technique over a fabric I don't like.  In the meantime I also have been putting together some valentines cards.  Here are some close ups of what I just put up in my etsy shop.  There was a little bit of a delay because my scanner/printer died.  But I am back up and running.

The cards are mixed media made from the fabric paper I make up embellished with different odds and ends. Fun stuff that can be given as a valentine card then framed for the memories.

I should have something to show for the monthly challenge and maybe some more cards by the end of the week.  Short work week today because of a state shut down day on friday.  Use that time off to my advantage!

January Challenge for Fiber Focus Group

The January Challenge for the Fiber Arts Mixed Media Group is to take a piece of cloth I don't like and alter it.  I new instantly the piece of fabric I was going to change.  This is a stand alone challenge but I decided to combine it with the Monthly Experiment.  Both things to get me going in my studio. Just jump in and create.  Don't think. Don't judge. Just do.

The new technique choice might have turned into a weeks long search for the "perfect" thing to try.  I had to jump in and get the flow going, good, bad or indifferent so I couldn't spend hours pouring over my collection of books and magazines to determine the "best" technique.  I also know myself well enough that whatever I chose I would vary from the rules in some fashion.

The fabric I want to alter was to purple and to cute.  I chose the from the latest Quilting Arts magazine the shibori technique.  Which also means that I immediately deviated from the directions.  I am using colored fabric not a piece of white or cream colored muslin. I will not be using dye but a  mixture of acrylic paint, water and fabric medium.

The sample piece measures about 12 inches square.   The piece pictured below has the running stitch lines already sewn through it.  One end knotted and the other long enough to pull and pleat the fabric.

This gives a better view of the stitching.  I did not have any real plan of where to put the stitching.  I just sort of winged it as I went.  Afterall this is an experiment to see what if.

Then I pulled on the tails first one way to pleat and scrunch the fabric.

Then I pulled the stitch lines along the bottom.  My twelve inch square become about 2-3 inches wide in some areas and less in others.

It has been smooshed against a mixture of acrylic paint, water and fabric medium.  I will let it dry to tacky before unscrunching.   Pictures on that product will follow.  Then what will I do with my altered fabric?

The New Year Word is...

I could list all of these things that I want to get done. But the bottom line is all that all of them need is FOCUS. So my word of the year and the area that I need to work on is maintaining FOCUS for my projects.

I had a really hectic fall with lots going on work and health wise. I am so looking forward to the new year being less frantic. I did clean up my studio over the holidays and have started working just for the sake of re establishing my routine. I am working on some fabric paper ACEOs that will be turned into cards.

Trying to be flexible but FOCUSED :). I have several ideas to pursue and am trying to spend at least 10 hours a week in my studio...em...well doing studio based stuff. Sometimes I crawl into bed and sketch for an hour or so before sleeping. It still qualifies as studio time because I  am working on ideas and keeping those creative channels open. That is my rational.

My trusted companion and muse, Rudy,  also agrees.  Sir Poodie of Pie aka Mr. Grumblebutt aka Rudeboy in all of his relaxed glory. Cleo is upstairs making a cat's life miserable which is why he is so composed.  Dogs do know how to lay back and relax.