Songs to LIve By: Cut Copy - Far Away

I love this song. I must admit, it totally freaks me out to hear music I like on television shows, for example when this song showed up in a club scene in the 6th season of Nip/Tuck (yes. I watched Nip/Tuck on Netflix). Having gone to college in the 90s, I was so used to having to struggle, pour through music rags, spend hours at the record store, and attend countless hours of live music to find anything worth listening to. Thank you internet....

Around Our House: Bea's 3rd Birthday

Cutting the cake. Note the reuse of our old sea themed shower curtain as a table runner.

Well I am a little late with this post, but for those of you gearing up for your own birthday parties, here's our version of a fun fish party. The girls and I had a great time planning together and working on the decorations and goodie bags. This party was at least four afternoons of crafts and activities.

We started out by making our goodie bags. I found some fun fish stickers, made little packs of gummie worms and swedish fish, and purchased beach balls for all of the kids. We always buy plain paper bags in different colors and have the kids draw on them. It is hard to find printed birthday materials that aren't covered in Disney characters. For the candies, we found clear plastic treat bags and bought bulk packages and divided them up to save some money. I bought the beach balls from Oriental Trading (not a big fan of cheap throw away toys, but the beach balls SHOULD last all summer).

We also bought cheap plain paper plates in fun aquatic colors and had the girls either draw on them or if you kids are too young, have them stick a few theme related stickers on them. We also purchased three rolls of streamers and a package of balloons. I had an old sea themed shower curtain that I cut into table runners and a cover for our fireplace screen. I had also scored a few seaweed like decorations from a garage sale (by the way always look for decorations at thrift stores or garage sales and conversely anything you do not use or can be used again, be sure to try selling at your garage sale or donate to a thrift store).

I like to have a craft for all of the kids to do, so for this party, we made fishing games. Ahead of time, I made the fishing poles. I purchased short (about 12") dowels, twine, and magnets. If you can find magnets with holes, get hose, otherwise the regular ceramic discs are fine.

Do it Yourself Fishing Game:


Craft foam cut into fish shapes with paper clip hooks. Allow the kids to decorate their own with markers and crayons.


Finishing up the poles with hot glue.

12" long dowels about the thickness of a pencil (or wooden chopsticks)
twine
ceramic magnets (with a hole if available)
assorted colors of craft foam
paper clips
hot glue gun and sticks

Cut your twine into 12" long pieces. Tie to one end of the pole and seal it with a small dab of hot glue. If you have magnets with holes, tie them to the other end of the twine. If not, apply a dab of glue to one side of the magnet and stick the twine to the glue allowing yourself enough room to tie the twine around the magnet.

Cut the craft foam into fish shapes including eels, octopuses, starfish, or any other sea creature you can think up. Allow the children to decorate their own fish using markers and stick on shapes. Slip a paperclip over the end of the fish mouth to act as a hook.

This game is fum for all ages, but you should use caution with magnets around small children who might choke on or swallow the magnets (they can come loose from the twine and pose a serious health risk for young children if swallowed).

Day Before the Party

The girls decorated the starfish with sprinkles and I edged them with frosting.

The day before, we baked and decorated our starfish and fish shaped sugar cookies. We also made our gummie worm and peep sushi. If you have ever made real sushi, these are very similar.
Use a rolled out fruit roll-up in place of the seaweed, rice crispie treats as the rice mixture, and gummie worms and peeps for the "meat". Form the sushi rolls while the rice crispie treats are still warm and flexible and thoroughly butter or grease your hands while working.


The candy sushi was a BIG hit. I wish I could claim credit for this one because they are FABULOUS!

Day of the Party

I woke up early and decorated the cake that I had baked the night before. I was going for an aquarium cake. Check with your local library, many have cake pans to loan.


My kids are always grouchy on party day. I can't figure it out.

After squaring away the food, I decorated the house with three rolls of streamers. I made sure to use them all and the effect was really fun.


The food table with streamer skirt.


I put streamers everywhere.


Grandma Louise keeping my very pregnant cousin company. The green seaweed spirals were a garage sale find.

The party was really fun and the girls and I are already planning for the next one...

Recipes: Super Duper Easy Fruit Juice Slushie

Beatrice enjoying her Apple Raspberry Slushie

Nothing is more refreshing in the heat of summer than an icy cold slushie. My problem is that I can't bring myself to give my kids the nasty sugar packed toxic blue slushies they want from the ice cream shop, so we make ours at home. All you need is a decent blender, frozen juice concentrate, water, and ice cubes.

1 can frozen juice concentrate
16-18 regular sized ice cubes
1 1/2 c cold water

Add all ingredients to the blender and blend on high until smooth. If the slushie is too thick, add a little more water. Serves 4-6.

Note: we often cut this recipe in half (i've got two small kids) and reserve the remainder of the juice concentrate in the freezer for next time.

New Product: Giant Fleece Dice

Six dice ready for some fun! Shown here are purple, red, light green, kelly green, yellow, and lavender.

When a customer requested giant fleece dice, I had no idea how much I would like them! The second Sylvia (my 5 year old) saw one, she informed me that I would have to make her a green one. Beatrice (my 3 year old) quickly followed up with her order for a purple one.

It turns out there are numerous ways to use these giant dice, but my hands-down favorite is to play the clean-up game. Each night before bed, we all take turns rolling the dice and then putting away that number of toys. It usually takes about three rounds to get the whole room tidied up, and the girls are thrilled to play!

We have also been playing a math game where we roll two dice and then add the two numbers together. And admittedly, when the room has been destroyed, we roll BOTH dice during the clean up game.

These can be made in any color, I have a large stock of fleece on hand. I can also make these out of wool for a slight bump on the price.

Order yours today by following this link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45604573/clean-up-game-giant-fleece-dice-one-dice

Around Our House: Blue Violets... For DINNER

Lovely Blue Violets in a tossed salad of fresh picked spinach and dandelion greens accompanied by blooms and leaves of a very resilient Pak Choy that overwintered in our garden.

If you ever needed a good reason not to spray your yard with nasty chemicals, consider all of the edible "weeds" that voluntarily grow each year. One of my favorites (aside from the dandelion) is the Common Blue Violet (Viola papilionacea). Every spring, little heart shaped leaves peek out from the ground to be soon followed by a sea of dainty purple and white blossoms. When I was a little girl, we had violets all over our backyard and spent countless hours picking them and pressing them in books. As a botany student at Iowa State in the late 90s, I discovered these cuties were also edible.

Taken from Peterson Field Guides: Edible Wild Plants by Lee Allen Peterson.
Use: salad, cooked green, soup thickener, tea, candy The tender young leaves can be added to salads or boiled for 10-15 minutes to make a palatable green, or added to soup as an okralike thickener. Violet leaves are rather bland and are best mixed with other greens. The dried leaves can be made into a tea. The flowers can be candied. The leaves are rich in vitamin A and C.

My FAVORITE thing to do with my violets is to add the flowers to salads. In the early spring, when there is not much color in your garden aside from the lovely greens, these little flowers make a cheerful addition.

In the past we've also made candied violets by brushing each petal with a diluted mixture of egg whites and then coating each flower with extra fine granulated sugar and allowing to completely dessicate before storing. One year we packaged these up for Mother's Day.

Other fine edible (midwestern US) plants include white clovers, common plantains (not the bananas), dandelions, lamb's-quarter, day lilies, and shepherds purse (to name a few more common yard weeds). Wild plants typically contain a broader range of phytochemicals and nutrients since they are tasked with having to survive outside of the neatly confined and carefully tended environment of the garden. So before you destroy the bounty that nature has bestowed upon you, take a moment to get to know your weeds (buy a book of your region!) and take a nibble.


Common plantain. Very young leaves can be added to salads or boiled for cooked greens.


Shepherd's Purse. Young greens can be eaten as salad or cooked. Dried seed pods can be ground for a pepper-like seasoning.

Around Our House: ASPARAGUS!

Victory is MINE!

It took two growing seasons, but this, the start of the third growing season, has given us ASPARAGUS! I just cut my first handful about five minutes ago. My stalks are about the size of my fingers and beautifully green. Admittedly, I will have a hard time waiting for Scott to come home for dinner to eat them.

In honor of my asparagus, I want to share one of my favorite asparagus recipes. Lemon asparagus coleslaw.

Lemon Asparagus Coleslaw

1 pound asparagus
1/2 head green cabbage
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 lemon
2T olive oil
salt and pepper

Lightly steam the asparagus (about 3 minutes) and immerse in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Pat dry and slice on the bias into thin slivers. Thinly slice the cabbage and onions. You'll want equal parts asparagus to cabbage. Zest the lemon, and add to the mix. Add the olive oil and the juice from one half of the lemon (unless you like your coleslaw with a bit more zing). Toss and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4-6.

I also like to add white beans or dried cherry tomatoes to this salad.

Handmade Pretties in the Press: Readymade - April 2010

This is the cover you MUST find on your newsstand!

This is the perfect example of why I ALWAYS do my best work with every order I ship. When Shay Ometz purchased a set of rainbow sweater balls and a personalized giant fleece ball from me, I had no idea they would end up in the pages of one of my favorite magazines!

Pick up the April 2010 issue of Readymade and immediately turn to page 70 and 71 to see three of my balls in the amazing East Dallas home that Ometz shares with her husband and two children. A few of these photos were also featured on Design Sponge.

Don't forget to check out page 34 to see Brianne Sanchez' awesome engagement photos. She's a friend of mine who writes for Juice Magazine in Des Moines.

Page 70. I have dreams of a kids' room this lovely.

Pg 71. Divine

Around Our House: Kombucha or Bust - Part 2

Well I have successfully started a kombucha mother from a bottle of Original GT's. Due to the fact that we are total cheapskates, I had to wait about 4 weeks for it to grow to a decent size (our house is at about 65 degrees in the winter). After it warmed up a bit (in the 70s last week!) it really took off.

Last Wednesday, I started my first batch. I am using organic green tea that I bought at Wang's in Urbandale, although next time I think I'll get my tea from Friedrich (they have a great selection of bulk teas). I brewed about 1 1/2 gallons of green tea (about 14 tea bags) and added 2 cups of turbinado sugar (i would have used regular refined since it gets used up by the kombucha mother, but I actually did not have any.) I moved the mother out of the starter jar (never letting her touch metal!) and into the shiny new 2 1/2 gallon jar I bought at target for $19. I also added about 2 cups of the starter kombucha. The remainder I bottled with a slice of ginger and it is sitting on my counter for 5 days then it is into the fridge for consumption! I have heard the first batch used to grow the mother is not as tasty, so we'll see how my first bottles taste.



As you can see it is getting disgusting! In about a week and a half, I should be able to bottle the batch and start the next one! For those of you in the Des Moines area interested in trying this out, I should have mothers to share in the next few months.

Recipes: White Bean Fennel Salad with Lemon and Dried Cherry Tomatoes

This salad is a good reason to grow fennel this summer. Its bright slightly sweet anise crunch pairs nicely against the tang of the fresh squeezed lemon and creamy starch of the beans.

Ingredients:

1 can great northern beans (or 1 1/2 C freshly cooked white beans)
1 fennel bulb
2 T chopped green onions
1 lemon for zest and juice
2 T chopped dried cherry tomatoes (if using regular sundried tomatoes, soak and chop first)
2 T olive oil
salt to taste
lettuce leaves for garnish

First rinse the beans and place in medium bowl. Slice the large portion of the fennel bulb into thin bite sized strips. Mince 2 T of the fennel leaves if desired. Add the fennel, onions, and beans together. Mix in the zest from one lemon, and the juice from one half of the lemon (the whole lemon can be used however I find the result to be a tad too tangy). If using dried cherry tomatoes, pulverize in a baggy with a rolling pin to create a fine mince. If the tomatoes are not dry enough to shatter, you should soak briefly and mince with a knife. Add to the other vegetables. Add the olive oil, mix well. Salt to taste. Serve on fresh lettuce leaves.

Serves 2 for a meal or 4 as a side

Dried Cherry Tomatoes

When summer gives you too many cherry tomatoes, a food dehydrator can be your best friend. We try to dry at least two quart jars of cherry tomatoes each season. Simply slice your cherry tomatoes in half and place on the tray of a food dehydrator for one to two days. They are delicious on salads or reconstituted in stews and casseroles.

New Product: Vintage Tie Gadget/iPod Cases

Dad does NOT want another tie! He WANTS a gadget case MADE from a tie!

I finally found a use for the giant stash of vintage ties I have been saving. These fun little pouches are perfect for cell phones, iPods, and any other device that needs protecting. Each is lined with wool blend felt and closes with a flap.

Around Our House: Seeds are in the Mail

We ordered seeds for these cute little egg gourds. It is never too early to plan a craft for the kiddos.

Last night Scott and I finally made our seed order from Baker Creek Heirlooms. The catalog showed up in December and we have been oggling it for the last three months.

We ordered from them last year and got a great Purple Podded Pole Bean, that grew more beans than we could ever eat. I was harvesting over 7 pounds every few days! We also got a few orka varieties, pak choy, and three different melons.

This year I made sure to add a good variety of lettuces, broccoli, herbs, carrots, and most importantly squash and pumpkins. I found it the hardest to pick out squash. I love all the different colors and shapes of squash. After making pumpkin pie out of one the the most beautiful Long Island Cheese pumpkins last fall I don't think I can ever use a regular pie pumpkin again.

The girls and I will start planting out seedlings today, and then it is out into the muck to clean up the garden and get it going! I did notice yesterday that some very helpful bunnies have fertilized for us...


I couldn't resist this French pumpkin, Musquee De Provence.

Etsy Favorites: Bonnet!

I didn't even know I wanted a bonnet until I opened Etsy this morning and found this fantastic reversible bonnet!

Miss Minoes out of Leiden, has created this amazing reversible flip-flopable sunhat/bonnet (there are four ways to wear it) that is so casually crazy that I think even I could pull it off (and I am NOT a hat person). I might need this for our summer outings and even a little light gardening.

New Products: Something for the Ladies

Here are a few pics of my new line of ladies skirts! I got bored with making straight panel skirts (not to mention finding copy cat sellers), so I put on my thinking cap and designed these fabulous skirts!

They twirl and sway a little like a square dancing skirt but are fabulously light and cool. Perfect for spring and summer. They are made from recycled jersey and T-shirts. Each one is guaranteed unique, as I do not follow a specific pattern (it's more of a process!) I pull together coordinating fabrics, and get to work. Each skirt is overlock serged for extra durability. My wide jersey fold over waistband allows you to wear your skirt up or down a few inches depending on your mood. It also allows for a wide range of fit, so if you plan to drop a few pounds over the summer, order a size or two smaller than you need and wear it as you lose weight!

Click here to order one of your own!

New Products: What's New in March!

I have been diligently designing new product lines for Handmade Pretties. Here are a few gems that have come off of the machines in the last few days.


Recycled Jersey Skirts!


Recycled Jersey Skirts with built-in Pantaloons!



Recycled T-shirt Bloomers!


And One Super Fantastic Floor Length Sweater Skirt!

Personal Favorites: 15 Albums

I originally posted this as a note on my facebook page, but I found it to be blog worthy, or rather I have been feeling too lazy to write new blogs so I am reposting this.

So here are 15 albums that in someway changed my life and/or made it more tolerable. These all span from about 1993 to 2006 (mostly known as the college years). I find it harder to become completely smitten with an album in the age of the iPod. There are a few, but that is another post entirely.

Gateway Albums = pot for your ears...

1. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream: This album made me love music again. Popular music in the late 80s and early 90s had nearly destroyed music for me. When I heard this album, I had finally found a jumping off point. I am not saying it is the best album or that I would even haul it with me to a desert island...but.


2. Bottledog - Hot Dolphin Terror at Chirpgobble : THIS album completely changed music for me. I was in Ames in the early days of Bottledog, and when Laura Watral (of Coupleskate) sent me this album, it totally freaked me out. I thought it was really really weird and maybe not in a good way, and then it totally got under my skin and completely changed the way I listened to music.

The actual album cover is a painting by Andrew Kleindolph (Femur).

Saved My Soul From Breaking into a Million Pieces Albums = Prozac!

3. Bedhead - Beheaded : Perhaps I could have lived without this album, but I am fairly certain that I would not have wanted to.


4. Dirty Three - Horse Stories : Same deal. My cd player actually asked me to pick something else.


5. Rex - C : I had entire friendships based on a mutual love of this album.


6. The Palace Brothers - Days in the Wake : Vinyl. Probably trashed from repeated playings. It is still one of the first albums when spinning some vinyl


7. P.J. Harvey - Stories from the City Stories from the Sea : Grad school really sucked the first term. PJ helped me deal. This is not necessarily my favorite PJ album (Dry probably holds that title), but it was somehow more important.


8. Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne : Good grad school elixir.


9. Neko Case - Blacklisted : My children subconsciously know this entire album b/c I sang it all the time in the car whilst preg. Beatrice will sing "I Wish I was the Moon" from start to finish.


Albums that Made good art = crack?

10. Godheadsilo - Elephantitus of the Night : Try NOT to paint to this


11. Trans Am - It's a tie between Surveillance and Futureworld : Painting in the OMB!




12. Bill Ding - Trust in God but Tie Up Your Camels : I remember making a lot of paper to this
album.


13. 18th dye - Tribute to a Bus: General mayhem.


14. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Self titled : I recall doing a lot of sewing to this disc


15. The Arcade Fire - Funeral : many a website was created with this playing in my ears.