So in addition to the Zombie Apocalypse Survival Project, my sister has roped me into a challenge: crafting something every day for a month. Much like The Bread Project, this will force me to create. Unlike The Bread Project, I'm going to pick something a bit simpler, that I enjoy but don't do enough.
Earrings! They can be as simple as taking something, drilling a hole in it, then putting it on a hook. Or very intricate and complex if I feel like it. In hopes that I just won't make the same thing every day I've decided on a few theme days:
Mondays: Bottle Cap Earrings - MUST feature interesting bottle caps, mostly an excuse to buy new beer haha. Also if I don't limit myself to one day a week of these, they will end up being what I make every day.
Wednesdays: Office Supply Earrings - Pretty self explanatory.
Fridays: Upcycled Earrings - Take something that would otherwise be thrown out, try to make it pretty.
Sundays: Studs - I need to force myself to do this, otherwise I'd just make dangly earrings for 30 days. It's also a different thought process which should push me out of my normal creative moves.
In general I will attempt to make them interesting- i.e. not *always* just drill a hole in something and stick it on a hook- but I'm also a fan subverting contexts by doing just that.
I've picked up the following supplies so I can't use lack of basic materials as an excuse: hooks (silver and gold), head pins (silver and gold), and fancy plier set. I still have some jump rings I bought years and years ago as well. Beyond that I do have some backlog I've been meaning to make, but most of this month will be whatever I can find.
Added funness: I'll have to wear my creations every day, even at work- though I usually rock weird earrings so I doubt people will be especially surprised.
Join me tomorrow for the first project!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Dread Pirate...Rabbit?
How does the March Hare turn into a pirate?
- Attach one leg, be unsure about the placement and put off attaching the other
- Be indecisive about left eye placement and accidentally snip off some fabric while removing said button
- Decide to hell with it, you've just embroidered on the nose, might as well put on an eye patch to hide that hole
- Show D, who loves the pirate look, and thinks it's pretty cool he's already missing a leg
- Create a peg leg out of leftover corduroy (which is stretchy and ends up bigger than the other leg. whatever)
Running with the pirate/embroidery theme I decided to add some tattoos. Some got a little lost in the crazy fabric pattern (which you may recognize as the lining for [link]this bag[/link]), but I don't mind.
The Rose Compass - between what would be his shoulder blades
Ma Tattoo on his tush (Mom just wouldn't fit)
I'm so happy with the way it turned out, especially after I completely botched that eye placement. Eventually I'll make more. For now this one sits on my desk at work- oddly enough no one has commented on it. Either it's too normal or too weird I guess.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Bread Project Week 5: Apple Cinnamon Homebrew Bread
Short on time, or bad at planning, I wasn't able to work on a yeast bread this week. So instead I made beer bread!
D and I occasionally homebrew- he usually spearheads the recipes, I help hold and stir and sanitize. I'd been looking for an excuse to use our latest batch, a bock we mock aged in bourbon barrels using oak chips he'd soaked in Jim Beam. It also just so happened we had apples we were never going to finish before they spoiled. Thus an idea was born.
I have a habit of baking with beer- something I should post more of but never usually take pictures- and per usual I searched for a similar recipe for the ideas bubbling around in my brain. In this case I used one as a base and threw in extras hoping to get the flavor that I wanted.
Apple Cinnamon Homebrew Bread, based on these recipes from Food Blogga
Ingredients:
3 cups AP flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (12-ounce) bottle Oaky Bourbon Bock
1 cup grated and Empire Apples, some of the juice squeezed out
1 tsp cinnamon
Easy easy: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients, then stir in the beer and apples. Put the batter in a sprayed 9x5" loaf pan then bake for 45 or so minutes.
Result:
The apartment smelled so amazing, and I was a little desperate for bread so I probably should've left mine in longer...or squeezed more juice out of those apples. It was a little wet, but that just gave me an excuse to toast it, and toasting gave me the excuse to add a little butter. Delicious.
D and I occasionally homebrew- he usually spearheads the recipes, I help hold and stir and sanitize. I'd been looking for an excuse to use our latest batch, a bock we mock aged in bourbon barrels using oak chips he'd soaked in Jim Beam. It also just so happened we had apples we were never going to finish before they spoiled. Thus an idea was born.
I have a habit of baking with beer- something I should post more of but never usually take pictures- and per usual I searched for a similar recipe for the ideas bubbling around in my brain. In this case I used one as a base and threw in extras hoping to get the flavor that I wanted.
Apple Cinnamon Homebrew Bread, based on these recipes from Food Blogga
Ingredients:
3 cups AP flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 (12-ounce) bottle Oaky Bourbon Bock
1 cup grated and Empire Apples, some of the juice squeezed out
1 tsp cinnamon
Easy easy: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients, then stir in the beer and apples. Put the batter in a sprayed 9x5" loaf pan then bake for 45 or so minutes.
Result:
The apartment smelled so amazing, and I was a little desperate for bread so I probably should've left mine in longer...or squeezed more juice out of those apples. It was a little wet, but that just gave me an excuse to toast it, and toasting gave me the excuse to add a little butter. Delicious.
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Bread Project Week 4: Whole Wheat Garlic No-Knead Bread
I said you'd see this again, and behold!
Recipe: Same as last week's... but different.
Changes: Substituted 2 cups of bread flour for whole wheat- or unsubstituted the 2 cups of bread flour if you're looking at the original recipe- but kept everything else the same. Even separating the dough into four rolls.
The Result: delicious! Also, I forgot to take pictures.
Per wheat bread standards, I like it but D does not. Kept two loaves out- they went perfectly with my cold remedy of choice: rosemary onion zucchini soup.
Homemade soup + homemade bread = love.
Recipe: Same as last week's... but different.
Changes: Substituted 2 cups of bread flour for whole wheat- or unsubstituted the 2 cups of bread flour if you're looking at the original recipe- but kept everything else the same. Even separating the dough into four rolls.
The Result: delicious! Also, I forgot to take pictures.
Per wheat bread standards, I like it but D does not. Kept two loaves out- they went perfectly with my cold remedy of choice: rosemary onion zucchini soup.
Homemade soup + homemade bread = love.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Bread Project Week 3: No-Knead Garlic Bread
D and I went to his sister's for a combined Mother's/Father's Day dinner. I figured it would be a good opportunity to share the bread instead of eating it all myself, ruining my whole weight loss project. It's the (not so) hidden danger of baking bread every week.
Recipe: Macheesmo's Roasted Garlic No-Knead Bread
Changes: Using all white bread flour, since D isn't a fan of whole wheat. Also, after the two hour post-shaping rise I split the dough into four pieces for smaller (faster cooking) rolls and let them rise for a half hour while the oven preheated.
Result:
At first I thought it was once again too moist but after half a roll I realized the interior was surprisingly close to a favorite garlic bread of mine: Wegman's Tuscan. The other three came up to Albany with us and were enjoyed as part of the dinner. You'll definitely be seeing this recipe again, and soon. It's well worth the extra forethought and time to roast the garlic.
Recipe: Macheesmo's Roasted Garlic No-Knead Bread
Changes: Using all white bread flour, since D isn't a fan of whole wheat. Also, after the two hour post-shaping rise I split the dough into four pieces for smaller (faster cooking) rolls and let them rise for a half hour while the oven preheated.
Result:
At first I thought it was once again too moist but after half a roll I realized the interior was surprisingly close to a favorite garlic bread of mine: Wegman's Tuscan. The other three came up to Albany with us and were enjoyed as part of the dinner. You'll definitely be seeing this recipe again, and soon. It's well worth the extra forethought and time to roast the garlic.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Target Knock-Off (Part 1)
I have a philosophy about bags: if I can make it instead of buy it, I will.
Sadly my last bag broke- or, more specifically, the zipper did. In general though it was looking it a bit worse for the wear so it needed to be retired. After a (much much too long) hiatus using a freebie bag from work, a something Target caught my eye:
The outside was gorgeous, military inspired design; I just wasn't a fan of the lining. Not so much the color (I am a noted fan of bright orange- as you will see), but the feel of the material- a cheap, "what hunters wear so they don't get shot," kind of fabric. So one day I went into my local Target with my measuring tape and got all the pertinent dimensions.*
While my final plans for the bag involve some corduroy and gorgeous green leafy lining, I figured my muslin was the perfect place to start using up the giant stash of old jeans I've deemed too ratty to donate to Salvo. In addition I used stash fabric for lining, and some buttons that will look familiar if you checked out that last bag.
The result:
Inside with the first use of the C.R. Loves logo:
I used the last of the orange fabric to line the flaps, but there wasn't quite enough for the interior.
There are a few changes for my second mockup though:
*I'm not sure everyone could pull this off, but D works at Target and was standing next to me the entire time I did this so no one bothered me. Apparently though D ends up having to measure things all the time though for people shopping at the store, so I'm sure you could come up with an excuse. Or just buy and return?
Sadly my last bag broke- or, more specifically, the zipper did. In general though it was looking it a bit worse for the wear so it needed to be retired. After a (much much too long) hiatus using a freebie bag from work, a something Target caught my eye:
 |
| This is out of stock, oh well. |
The outside was gorgeous, military inspired design; I just wasn't a fan of the lining. Not so much the color (I am a noted fan of bright orange- as you will see), but the feel of the material- a cheap, "what hunters wear so they don't get shot," kind of fabric. So one day I went into my local Target with my measuring tape and got all the pertinent dimensions.*
While my final plans for the bag involve some corduroy and gorgeous green leafy lining, I figured my muslin was the perfect place to start using up the giant stash of old jeans I've deemed too ratty to donate to Salvo. In addition I used stash fabric for lining, and some buttons that will look familiar if you checked out that last bag.
The result:
Inside with the first use of the C.R. Loves logo:
I used the last of the orange fabric to line the flaps, but there wasn't quite enough for the interior.
There are a few changes for my second mockup though:
- Front pockets need to be bigger- they are mostly useless, just big enough to hold my work ID, metrocards, and maybe a few napkins
- Needs interfacing or an interior support fabric...maybe? I tend to have those in bags, and I'm tempted to see what this would be like with more support
- Should probably add that handle to the top flap
- Bias tape! Didn't feel like messing with it on this one since I was more concerned about general construction, but feel like it's a good finishing detail I have yet to try on a bag
*I'm not sure everyone could pull this off, but D works at Target and was standing next to me the entire time I did this so no one bothered me. Apparently though D ends up having to measure things all the time though for people shopping at the store, so I'm sure you could come up with an excuse. Or just buy and return?
Monday, July 4, 2011
The Bread Project Week 2: No Knead Wheat
In an effort to not overtax the air conditioner, D and I close off the kitchen during the summer. Any use of the oven makes the room unbearable. So will someone explain to me why I chose the summer to start my bread making adventure? Ah, that's right, I'm a crazy
Anyway- onward!
The recipe came from my favoritest food blog: Macheesmo. Every time he puts up a recipe, I want to go out and make that thing. Per French Culinary Institute-student and coworker Betty's suggestion that (loaf 1) may have been over-kneaded, I went the no-knead route.
The Recipe: No Knead Whole Wheat Bread (cookie sheet method)*
The Verdict: Kelly needs to learn to follow directions.
I thought the dough looked a little dry upon first mix, so I added more water. Once it rested overnight though, the dough was waay too wet. There are no pictures of the kneading and shaping process since I was completely overwhelmed and my hands covered in sticky sticky dough.
Much flouring and slight amounts of freaking out later, and then after some resting time and ovening, we ended up with these:
That picture makes them look so much better than they did in my kitchen. IRL they're pasty as all get out. Should've let them cook a little longer. Here's the inside:
Ahh well I enjoyed the bread, especially toasted with a little butter. And it made for great french toast!
This was hands-off enough I'll most likely do it again, and soon. There's a variation on the site that looks especially delicious...
* I won't post the recipe because really, go check out that site. He's got carrot cake pancakes! And beet burgers!
Anyway- onward!
The recipe came from my favoritest food blog: Macheesmo. Every time he puts up a recipe, I want to go out and make that thing. Per French Culinary Institute-student and coworker Betty's suggestion that (loaf 1) may have been over-kneaded, I went the no-knead route.
The Recipe: No Knead Whole Wheat Bread (cookie sheet method)*
The Verdict: Kelly needs to learn to follow directions.
I thought the dough looked a little dry upon first mix, so I added more water. Once it rested overnight though, the dough was waay too wet. There are no pictures of the kneading and shaping process since I was completely overwhelmed and my hands covered in sticky sticky dough.
Much flouring and slight amounts of freaking out later, and then after some resting time and ovening, we ended up with these:
That picture makes them look so much better than they did in my kitchen. IRL they're pasty as all get out. Should've let them cook a little longer. Here's the inside:
Ahh well I enjoyed the bread, especially toasted with a little butter. And it made for great french toast!
This was hands-off enough I'll most likely do it again, and soon. There's a variation on the site that looks especially delicious...
* I won't post the recipe because really, go check out that site. He's got carrot cake pancakes! And beet burgers!
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