clearlytangled.

mymemories digital scrapbooking software review + giveaway

2012-02-01T18:13:00.003-06:00

a few weeks ago, i was asked to review mymemories software, a digital scrapbooking program. naturally, i said yes, even though i was in the throws of an intensive course and didn't have a single second to spare. but now that things have settled down a bit, i took some moments to play around with the software.

keep in mind that i have not made a real scrapbook in about... eight years, if i'm remembering correctly. it took me ten months to complete a scrapbook about my first trip to europe, and not only did i spend approximately $300 on supplies, the album weighed a ton. i never made one again, as i found this traditional form so darn cumbersome. i have made photo albums using other online programs, but that is a story from another day.

what i find most interesting about the mymemories software is the way it merges traditional scrapbooking with the modern digital age. i have wondered if traditional scrapbooks, with various patterned backgrounds, ribbons, brads, would be soon be completely obsolete. with this software, however, i think they can live on in a better form.

i think the mark of a good software program is the ease in its' use. the mymemories software IS easy to use, just random clicking here and there and i was able to produce a page out of a calendar to my liking in a short while. here's a screenshot:

i was more interested in trying something other than a traditional scrapbook page, which is why i tested the calendar options. i think i need to do some more playing around before i fully understand how to make the best use of the program, though. there are many options for layouts and backgrounds, pre-designed and design-yourself. there are additional digital kits that you can buy at an additional cost, but you could get by just fine with the available choices. the program costs about $40, which is pretty inexpensive considering how much money a regular scrapbook would cost.

oh, and i nearly forgot the giveaway! i have a copy of the mymemories software for you... ONE of you. you can have up to two entries to win:

1. (this one is mandatory) please visit the mymemories.com website and leave a comment on this post telling me which digital paper pack or layout is your favorite.

2. for an additional entry (separate comment letting me know), follow my blog.

*don't forget to tell me how to reach you if you should win*

i will draw a winner in one week.

for those of you who want to go ahead and purchase the software for yourself, mymemories.com is offering my readers a $10 discount offer. just use code STMMMS8931 at check out.

good luck!

------------

thanks for everyone for entering. the winner is #2, faith!! i'll be contacting you shortly with more info.

felt. flower. headband.

2012-01-11T20:41:00.000-06:00

i realize i'm a little late in the game here, but happy new year!

i wanted to share this headband with you. a very good friend of mine made it for me for christmas. isn't it absolutely adorable? the flower is made of felt petals that are both glued and sewn to the headband.

did you receive any great handmade gifts over christmas?

2011-12-16T03:08:00.000-06:00

i've been incredibly busy lately, but a couple weeks ago managed to whip up some easy projects. here are a couple bibs made out of my kiwi bird parade and chunky olives fabrics. have a great weekend!

kiwi? berry?

2011-11-06T19:22:00.000-06:00

have you ever seen these before?

have you ever tasted one?

have you ever tasted one??

my mom is forever introducing me to new foods, and this has been the latest treat: KIWI BERRIES. apparently you can get them at sam's wholesale club. they are grape-sized but taste exactly like kiwis.

delicious.

crate and barrel marimekko store

2011-10-18T16:47:00.001-05:00

crate and barrel has had a long partnership with marimekko, and every season i peruse their current line being produced just for cb clientele. last year i heard that they were planning on opening cb marimekko STORES in select cities, one being new york (of course). i immediately put it on my wish list of places to visit.

i finally made my way to new york recently (and really, what took me so long? it's only about 4 hours away, and if you're really really lucky you can get a $2 round trip bus ticket) and one afternoon, while wandering around soho, i found myself standing right in front of crate and barrel with marimekko plastered all over the windows. by found, i mean gps-ed my way there intentionally.

was i excited? you bet i was. walking inside, i realized that the marimekko store was within the crate and barrel store, and was very much like the individual stores you'd find in finland.

so bright and colorful.

little did i know then, they also opened a cb marimekko store in boston, so i did not have to wait until new york. oh well.

611 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

212.780.0004

on my way to becoming a new englander

2011-10-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

it appears that one of the steps toward becoming a new englander is to go apple picking in the fall. we visited shelburne farms, which is about an hour outside of boston. we enjoyed apple cider and donuts, and brought home something like twenty pounds of apples. the varieties included fuji, cortland, and mcintosh.

on site they also had a cute little shop where you could purchase all kinds of apple and farm products.

what kind of activities do you like to do in the fall in your neck of the woods?

packaging edison

2011-09-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

half the fun of making a gift is deciding how to package it... for me at least the elephant in the last post was a present, and i contemplated a while on how to tag him. i made this card with edison's story inside (see story in the post below). my lotus root pattern is printed on one side of a 3"x3" card that fits into a square envelope, also with my lotus root pattern printed on side. the husband kindly participated by making me an envelope template.

my chinese is very limited and i made a typo. oops.

unfortunately, i forgot to take a picture of it, but i cut slits in the envelope, slid a ribbon into it, and then tied it around the elephant's head. it was all sorts of adorable. truthfully, deciding how to present edison was almost more fun than making him.

my name is edison

2011-09-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

i love to eat ramen, and bananas covered with chocolate and chili.
i like to sing, take bubble baths, and afternoon naps.

on nights when the weather is nice, i often look out and contemplate the stars.

please take good care of me, and hold me while you sleep, every night.

if you would like to make a ridiculously cute friend like edison, DIYfluffies sells a great pattern.

barely autumn dress

2011-09-13T20:01:00.000-05:00

autumn has snuck up upon us in the northeast, but not before i could make one last summer dress for the year (maybe). i made this dress by copying a dress i already owned and adding an elastic waist to change it up a little. the original dress was pink on top and black on the bottom, and a-lined out.

i bought the floral fabric on our last trip to finland, and the maker is liberty- which i believe is a english brand. the cotton is very comfortable and superb quality.

somehow the dress became shorter than i intended. i guess my legs aren't as short as i thought!

philly

2011-09-07T11:32:00.000-05:00

we spent the labor day weekend in the city of brotherly love. i don't know why it's known as such. do you?

we visited some historical sites. the husband learned what the liberty bell is. i learned that what they taught us about the liberty bell in school is a lie.

i got a little bit of a work out...

...gosh that's heavy.

we also indulged. heavily. i recommend a visit to morimoto (a restaurant of one of the japanese iron chefs) if you ever make it to philadelphia. if you don't know what an iron chef is, i'm not sure we can be friends.

just kidding.

kind of.

marimekko guest post

2011-09-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

i'm guest blogging today on marimekko (surprised?) over at imadeitso.com.

pop on over and take a moment to meet ana. she has a fabulous blog, and also believes in the minimal use of her shift key. my kind of gal.

another laptop case...

2011-08-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

this time for my macbook.

the outside (canvas) fabric is made by another finnish company, finlayson. i have it in two color ways, and felt that a laptop case would be a worthy use of this grey, brown, and white one. the inside is lined with a basic purple cotton fabric. i padded it with stiff interfacing and two layers of felt, much like in my kindle tutorial.

on the "front", i chose to pleat it the same way i pleated this clutch, thanks to noodlehead's tutorial.

stripes, stripes, and stripes

2011-08-22T14:24:00.000-05:00

as i was unpacking my bags during my last vacation, i surveyed what i brought, and realized that 95% of the clothes in my suitcase had stripes. horizontal. diagonal. vertical.... multidirectional. thin. wide. colorful, monotone. they are all different, yet all the same.

i felt the need to further expand my stripe collection by sewing a loose knit top. i bought the knit during our last trip to finland. the store had a huge selection of nice quality knits, and i visited several times admiring their collection. i traced another top (also striped), and altered the pattern a little to create this shirt. i keep on forgetting that my shoulders are narrow, though, and made the neckline too wide. seems to be becoming a habit of mine. i'll just pretend that i meant the shirt to fall off one shoulder, all 80s-esque.

i forecast that my next clothing obsession will be tiny floral prints (which is so unlike me). what trends do you see in your current wardrobe?

strawberry mango mint iced tea smoothie

2011-08-14T18:35:00.000-05:00

sometimes it's just too hot to eat real food.

the temperatures are cooling down here in the northeast, but i know a great deal of people out there are still being tormented by insufferable heat. when it's exceptionally hot, i often opt for smoothies in place of solid food. a few weeks ago when we were in the throws of summer, i blended a strawberry mango mint iced tea smoothie.

you need:

8 oz of frozen mangos and strawberries (because the fruit is frozen, it's not necessary to add ice)

3-4 oz silken tofu (excellent source of protein and makes the smoothie filling)

8 oz cold brewed green tea with mint (twinings makes cold brewed iced tea packets)

preferred sweetener, to taste (i didn't need any)

blend. blend. BLEND.
cold. refreshing. filling. ahhhh.

la provence macarons

2011-08-09T11:14:00.000-05:00

it's been a great two weeks. i've been on the road again, and then immediately afterward had friends visiting us from LA.

and they brought us this!

a box full of GIANT macarons. i have never encountered macarons so large. and yes, i ate some for breakfast. go ahead, judge me. i don't care.

these have a nice texture and flavor and aren't too sweet. thank you so much, laura & tim! my taste buds applaud you.

la provence patisserie & cafe
brentwood gardens
11677 san vicente blvd
los angeles, ca 90049
310.442.1144

or

beverly hills plaza
8950 west olympics blvd.
beverly hills, ca 90211
310.88.8833

laprovencecafe.com

chihuly exhibit

2011-07-26T16:48:00.001-05:00

note to self: waiting until the second to last week to visit an exhibit before it closes is a bad idea.

second note to self: waiting until the second to last week to visit an exhibit before it closes is a bad idea, especially when temperatures in the northeast have been 100+ and everyone in town is looking for indoor entertainment (with a/c).

this past weekend we decided to finally see the chihuly exhibit at the boston museum of fine arts. we found ourselves in lines. lots of lines. line to get into the parking lot. line to get into the museum to buy tickets. line to get a snack. line to get into the actual chihuly exhibit.

but once we made it, we were pulled into the world of dale chihuly's through the looking glass exhibit. his work was impressively grand and whimsical. i have never seen glasswork quite like it.

apparently inspiration for some of his pieces was drawn from a trip he took to finland in 1995 -- such as the piece above, called ikebana boat. unfortunately, i did not bring my baby dslr. but how amazing is that boat!?

a small part of one of his "chandeliers". these hung high up on the ceiling and were many feet long.

how in the world they managed to move and reconstruct all these pieces without damaging them is beyond me. the insurance on his work must be incredibly high.

despite all the lining, it was a nice way to spend an uncomfortably hot afternoon. how do you like to escape the heat?

the town of fiskars

2011-07-17T16:48:00.002-05:00

crafters, gardeners, or even those that have a particular affection for scissors (and maybe knives) may be familiar with the brand fiskars. they make a wide range of products for the aforementioned group, but probably few realize that not only is it a finnish company, it is also named after the town of fiskars in finland. its' history reaches as far back as 1649, where the company began by manufacturing a variety of iron products. since then, it has changed hands several times evolved considerably into the international company it is now.

today, fiskars is a cute little artisan town, with cafes, restaurants, and many shops featuring unique artisan products. you can also visit several artisan workshops, such as a blacksmith and a glass blowing studio. it is an easy day trip, only about an hour and a half drive from helsinki. this was my third trip to the town, and it was a chilly, cloudy day- a nice respite from the sunny, semi-hot days we had been experiencing. between and after lunch and a coffee break, we leisurely perused familiar shops, studios, and an art exhibit.

goofing off in front of an art installation

i bought a 5 euro book about fiskar's history, and learned some interesting information about their signature orange handled scissors. apparently, the color was chosen quite by accident. the company had recently produced another product and was left with an excess of orange pigment, which was then used as a prototype for the scissors. later the color was put to a vote, and the orange color was here to stay.

good choice, i think, since orange is my favorite color!

do you use fiskars products? did you know that it was named after a finnish town?
did you also know that the company nokia was named after the town of nokia?

marimekko unikko skirt

2011-07-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

i have a tendency to buy multiples of clothing and shoes i am particularly fond of. after making my marimekko samovaari elastic waist skirt (which, btw, had a dye-wash mini disaster... a story for another day), i thought it'd be nice to have two. i whipped up one using marimekko unikko fabric and black elastic before we left for our trip to finland. it seems so fitting to flounce around town and the cottage (as pictured here) in such a nationally recognized fabric. for those of you unfamiliar with this pattern, it has been in print in different color and size variations since the 50s.

these photos were taken in the woods by the family cottage (in finland), and is a very typical scene in finnish nature. i am always particularly struck by the beauty of birch trees. i think they may very well be my favorite type of tree.

so tall and sleek! it's difficult to say whether the finnish countryside is most beautiful at the height of summer or in the dead of winter... although i'd choose the summer temperatures over the winter in a heartbeat.

land of the midnight sun

2011-07-03T05:21:00.000-05:00

there is something nearly magical about finnish summer. the hours of daylight linger on and on, never quite fading in some parts of the country, even in the dead of the night. here, i am standing at midnight, on the pier of the family cottage. it is the perfect place for quiet introspection, for joyful reflections, or melancholy brooding.

hoop handled handbag

2011-06-26T14:15:00.004-05:00

my friend (thanks, anna!) sent me the link to this great tutorial: hoop handled handbag by delia creates.

she made one. i made one. you could make one too. i used one of the fabrics i bought in taiwan.

and a peek at the inside. i sewed in a lot of pockets.

one can never have too many pockets.

i wouldn't ordinarily choose this style of fabric for a handbag, but it just seemed so fun and so right.

craft room revealed

2011-06-21T09:02:00.001-05:00

one of the challenges and annoyances i've discovered as a renter is dealing with furniture. it's hard to find pieces that are versatile enough that will fit in the next space, and even worse, hard to keep furniture in good shape after it's been moved from apartment to apartment. inevitably, things get dinged up, and once nice looking chairs and tables start looking pretty grungy. nearly all the furniture we actually brought to houston suffered cosmetically and/ or structurally.

because of this, i have been generally hesitant to purchase expensive or long-term furniture. with this most recent cross-country move, we decided to sell about half of our furniture on craigslist, and put the money toward our joint craft/office room. the goal was to create a completely white space (please humor me and pretend the walls you see are stark white and not cream- our landlord didn't want us to paint) that was inexpensive, functional, and minimalistic.

don't mind the messy boxes.

after several trips to ikea (three cheers for ikea!!) and home depot, my side of the room slowly came together. two table tops form a L so i have plenty of space for sewing, serging, cutting, and occasionally computing. most of my essential supplies are hanging conveniently on the white peg board, and i keep other supplies in the drawer unit and the cabinet under my table surfaces. you can't really see it, but i also have a three drawer sterlite container where i keep a half of my fabric stash (the other half is in the closet). directly across the room from the pegboard are more shelves, and a cabinet to store more supplies. technically i could use more storage space, but so far this has worked out really well.

a closer look at the use of my drawers.

they're pretty deep, and hold quite a bit. the insert/divider is also from ikea.

the other cabinet.

here is a break down of the pieces/prices i purchased to complete the craft room, if you are interested in replicating any part of it:

vika amon tabletop 48 3/8" X 24 1/4"- 19.99
vika amon tabletop 59 3/8" X 30 1/8" - 39.99
vika curry legs (4) - 3.50
vika alex cabinet - 49.99
vika alex drawer unit - 79.99
jules swivel chair - 39.99*
antonius shelf (2) - 5.00
ekby jarpen (2) - 9.99 (not entirely sure about this one)
shelf bracket (8) - .50 (not found on ikea website)
effektiv cabinet frame -80.00
effektiv base legs - 40.00
effektiv doors - 65.00
peg board - about $20, all materials from home depot

total: approx 483.00, spending just a little more than the amount we made off of the furniture we sold before we moved.

*i think the price may have gone up on, i feel like i only paid $30 for it.

while some of the pieces i purchased are clearly not the highest of quality, they are certainly sufficient for apartment living!!

what does your dream craft room look like?

it's not always fun and games

2011-06-13T17:05:00.000-05:00

i'm not exactly sure why, but i take great displeasure from altering my clothes, even just a simple hemming job. maybe because it's so tedious. which is why it took me three months to hem these jeans. despite them being "ankle" length, i still had to take them up nearly two inches. in my next life i'm going to have longer legs. or be wealthy enough to have my own live in tailor.

what are your plans for your next life?

a skirt for summer

2011-06-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

the alliums in the boston public garden are starting to bloom. this past weekend we went to enjoy them, and i went wearing the new skirt i just whipped up. it was the kind of day that makes you appreciate being alive.

freshly picked has an easy tutorial to follow to make this very skirt. i didn't follow her tutorial exactly- the width of my fabric wasn't twice my waist. i ended up just using what i had left of my marimekko samovaari fabric, which was more like 1.85 times my waist, and was pleased with the amount of gather and flare. additionally, instead of pulling the elastic taut as i sewed, i did a basting stitch on the edge of the fabric and gathered it (to the same width of the elastic) before sewing it to the elastic. i found it to be easier than her method, but that's just me.

in case you're wondering, i bought 3-inch wide white elastic and dyed it purple (with liquid rit dye). the purple didn't come out as rich as i hoped, but still, good enough.

my hidden pockets in a pale purple.

boston public garden and commons were swarming with people, including college students with signs saying "free compliments, and hugs upon request". a tall smiling girl called out to me and said she liked my skirt.

hooray.

how do you like to spend a beautiful summer's day?

kindle case tutorial

2011-06-03T08:02:00.000-05:00

"where's my kindle???" i asked, scanning the room.

"...did you just say your kindle?" the husband teased me in mock irritation.

oops. busted.

this past christmas i bought the husband a kindle. i was a bit nervous about the gift, because i wasn't quite sure how he felt about e-readers, so i was relieved and happy when he received it with great excitement.

i was pretty excited too. i had been interested in the kindle for a while myself, but hadn't been ready to take the plunge. the husband still had some real books that he had lined up to read, so during our new year's trip to tahiti, he kindly let me use the kindle.

i was totally hooked, as you can see, from the short conversation from above. once i uttered those words, i knew it was time to get my own.

i spent some time deliberating the kind of case i wanted to make for our kindles, and eventually came up with this. the covers are padded and semi-firm. the kindle is held inside on one side with elastic bands, and the cover is held shut with an elastic band. the construction of this cover is really simple, except for maybe the placement of the inside elastic straps- if you're indecisive like me.

what you'll need

for the inside padding:

1 piece 8x11.25" extra firm non-fusible interfacing (i think this is referred to as ultra-firm stabilizer)

2 pieces of 8x11.25" felt

the outer shell:

1 piece 8x11.25" light weight fusible interfacing

1 piece outer fabric, 9.25x 12.25" *

2 pieces inner fabric, 6.5x9.25"

1/4" wide elastic, about 25" total**

*i used my kiwi bird parade fabric for my case, and marimekko's onnellinen fabric for the husband's. i also dyed my elastic pink.

**depends on where you decide to put your elastic, it's better to have more than less! i underestimated how much i needed and had to get creative.

first make the inside padding.

take your extra firm interfacing and the 2 pieces of felt, cut rounded corners on all the pieces. you can use your kindle as a guide if you like.

place the three pieces together and pin. i put the interfacing on the bottom, with the two felt pieces on top. sew them together, with lines down at intervals, and then around the edge. you should now have a fairly stiff piece. put it aside for now.

take the light weight interfacing piece and iron onto the outside fabric (in my case, the kiwi bird fabric).

take one of the inside lining pieces and decide where to place the four pieces of elastic. i needed about 4 inches (each) for the top two pieces and then 3.25 inches for the bottom two. i wanted to have the bottom bands angled at about 1.25" x 1.25" (the elastic being the hypotenuse, if you imagine a right angle), making the actual coverage of the corner of the kindle to be about .5". for the top i aimed for the elastic to cover a bit more of the corner, so i angled them at about 1.75" x 1.75" (again, imagining the elastic being the hypotenuse).

bear in mind that you still have seam allowances to consider when you pin down your elastic, so you'll have to do a little bit of geometry. it helped me to mark where the actual kindle would sit on the fabric and then play around with the different placement options before i made a final decision. once you've decided where to put your elastic straps, pin them down, and sew them to the lining fabric to hold them in place (you can skip the sewing part if you want, i just prefer doing it to make sure they don't move around later). if you need help doing this, feel free to e-mail me.

cut a piece of 9.25" elastic. pin it about 1.5" from the left edge. sew to the seam allowance.

take the second lining piece, and fold one long side (the 9.25" side) in .25". finger press or iron. with the outside piece pattern side facing upward, place the lining piece with the folded edge on top. the raw edge of the folded edge should be facing upward. place the other lining piece with the elastic to the left side, elastic facing down.

cut rounded edges. pin, and then sew around the edges, leaving a .5" seam on all sides. trim excess fabric, and then flip inside out. iron! slide in the stiff pad you made earlier into the opening slot.

to finish up, sew a seam down the middle to close the slot, and then sew around the entire edge of the case.

originally i was concerned that the elastic straps wouldn't be able to hold the kindle in adequately, but so far they keep it firmly in place. i have found this case to be a perfect light-weight protector.

do you have an e-reader, or do you prefer the feeling of an actual book?

memorial day weekend recap

2011-05-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

we made a rather last minute decision to make a quick road trip up to maine this past long weekend. one of the greatest things about new england is that everything is so close. we didn't venture too far into the state, but saw a few lighthouses, and simply enjoyed the outdoors.

how do you like to spend your long weekends? are you the type to go on spontaneous trips?

more crafts to come soon- i have a tutorial or two up my sleeve.

je ju island, south korea

2011-05-26T10:05:00.002-05:00

it's getting a bit late to blog about this, so i'll make it brief. after our visit to taiwan, we headed straight to south korea to visit family friends. our lovely hosts had arranged that we leave immediately to je ju island, an island at the very south. we spent three days there, exploring the island with a private tour guide/photographer. our hosts had arranged our itinerary down to the T, and so all we had to do was follow. it was a mixture of indulgence (had a couple extremely rigorous massages given by tiny ladies and enjoyed some spa time) and sight-seeing. our activities ranged from seeing an elephant show to walks along the coast, eating tasty korean food, and even a surprise wedding shoot for my parents. i played bridesmaid, while my parents dressed up as the bride and groom. our friend told me that she had arranged the photo shoot so that my parents could feel like newlyweds again. how cute is she? it may be one of the top 10 funniest activities of my life. while i won't share any wedding shoot photos, here are few others from the trip.

now the proud owner of this elephant painting. wish i knew where i put it though.

can you guess how many people this food was for? six. SIX!!!

fabric hoarder

2011-05-21T12:53:00.001-05:00

i am a fabric hoarder.

over the last few years, i have amassed quite a collection, not so much because i buy an excessive amount of fabric, but more because i have trouble deciding what i want to use it for. it's not an easy decision, you know.

sometimes i just take out fabric and admire how beautiful it is, raw, clean, and uncut.

do you know what i mean?

however, on a whim, i decided to make something out of my new hippo fabric from taiwan: a passport sleeve. the back jacket slides into a pocket, and it closes with an elastic band. this way, the passport is protected but still easy to take in and out at the airport. in my experience, customs and other airline security generally ask for passports to be removed from their sleeves, so i figured this would be a suitable design.

new fabric

2011-05-17T12:49:00.000-05:00

don't ask me what the sign says. i can recognize two characters in the shop name. "bird" and "fabric". i also know that on the far left it says "japanese import fabric".

one of my cousins kindly took me fabric shopping in taiwan. we were pressed for time, but we were able to visit a couple of shops on the same street. the one above was nice and small but full of fantastic fabric. i really struggled trying to decide what to buy. the choices were endless.

just down the street from the japanese import fabric shop was a very large fabric store with numerous different fabric vendors. i'm pretty sure i could have spent hours in there - luckily we had to meet some family for lunch, otherwise i would have lost all control!

i walked away with (only) four different japanese import fabrics.

i ate my way through taiwan

2011-05-10T10:55:00.003-05:00

i had a few objectives during my trip to taiwan:

1) spend quality time with relatives
2) sight see (for once)
3) eat as much great food as humanly possible

if given a letter grade for how well each objective was met, i'd give myself a B- for numbers one and two, but a solid, golden A for number three. i have to thank my cousins for my triumphant grade, as they absolutely excel at eating. in fact, i had forgotten how much more they love food than i do- something i think most people who know me would find difficult to believe.

almost everything that passed through my lips during the trip was delicious (and really, no exaggeration here). i think it was a combination of my family's good taste, my genetic predisposition to love taiwanese food (if there is such a thing), and the icky asian food that i've had to put up with since our move to boston. hearing me proclaim that i planned on gaining twenty pounds on my trip, my cousins accepted the challenge seriously. they did quite a bit of strategic planning, that often called for random stops on the road so they could wait in an absurdly long line for an interesting beverage or other street vendor food. we would then all share a portion to ensure that we wouldn't get too full before the next food stop.

one of the best places to eat a wide range of delicious goodies is at the night markets. i also really enjoy being able to watch as my food is prepared. here's a brief glimpse of some of the goodies we devoured.

hot hot hot scallion pancakes

i watched in fascination while this man made incredibly thin wraps (ours had a variety of vegetables inside) with just the twist of his fist.

i tried one of these for the first time - a thin crepe like shell with a red bean filling. we also tried ones with cream filling and vegetable filling. mmm. so. good.

watching the red bean crepes being made

we also visited this trendy cafe.... where they served THIS:

a small loaf of lightly sweetened white toast filled with custard/cream ice-cream and berries. they offered different combinations of tasty toppings.

we also had lunch at din tai fung (sogo department store location), famous for their soup dumplings. i've visited one of their locations in LA, but the one we visited in taipei blew it out of the water. the dumpling skins were much thinner and everything was overall much more delicious. especially the taro dumplings.

look how beautiful they are...

they had a window display where you could watch them work. each piece of dough is weighed before they roll them out into perfectly thin, round pieces. it was like watching art being created.

me and my cousin watching, absolutely mesmerized... and developing little foodie crushes

by the end of the trip, i was all fooded out. it certainly didn't stop my relatives who simply ignored my claims that i was so full that i was going to explode. they just stuck more food in my mouth as i begged for mercy. by some miracle, i actually discovered that i lost a pound after i returned to the states. when i told my cousin, she said that we had to do better next time.

i can't wait.

globe trotting: taiwan

2011-05-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

several weeks ago, i was talking to my mother on the phone about her upcoming plans to visit taiwan. during our conversation i mentally counted the years it had been since i had last gone with her and spent time with my relatives. it came out to be nearly ten years. i counted again. could it really have been that long?

the years really do go by with a blink of the eye.

so i did what i should have done several years ago. i invited myself to go along.

i had the best time ever.

the food. the family. everything.

here are some photos from my trip. it appears that i forgot to take pictures of taipei, which has become quite the city. as for the food, i think i'll have to save those photos for an entry of their own. most of the pictures below are from outside taipei.

a six person bicycle. loads of fun.

really fat hippos at the taipei zoo. highly recommend this zoo.

now that i'm back, my heart aches for them.

felt tissue cases revisited

2011-05-03T13:14:00.014-05:00

last month i posted about felt tissue holders that my friend scrappybug made using a martha stewart tutorial. i decided to make some with a twist- i added an elastic strap so that they could fit over the sun visor in our car.

to do so, follow martha's instructions of cutting a 5 7/8" X 6 3/4" piece of felt. but instead of folding the short ends together in the middle, fold the long ends (at least the tissue packs i bought fit better this way) into the middle. measure the around your car's visor and then subtract 6 inches from it (the length of the tissue holder). cut a piece of elastic (i used about 1 inch wide elastic) of that length.

tuck in one end of the elastic (about .5 inch) into one of the short sides, centering it. sew down the side. do the same with the other end. make sure the elastic is on the back side, not the side with the slit opening. you'll have to pull the elastic a bit out so that you don't sew over it in two places.

back view.

finished with some embellishments.

and a third one, beaded, but without elastic, just for kicks.

on travel, airports, and ICN

2011-04-28T10:58:00.000-05:00

be warned. this blog will have a grand total of zero photos.
zero. none. ZILCH.

i mean it.

i remember in the early 2000s when people wrote blogs mainly for their friends and families. i had such a blog, and i often wrote about mundane daily things, so ordinary i won't even bore you by listing them here now. these blogs rarely ever contained photos. flash forward a decade, and you find millions of blogs written for strangers, chock-full of images.

not only do i revert to an image-less entry, but i also digress....

because this is not today's topic.

today i want to talk about airports. if you haven't noticed by now, i love to travel. i travel at every chance i can (reasonably) get, and when i was still working, strategically mapping out the use of my generous vacation allowance was one of my favorite games. but like many other travelers, the love of travel is often tainted by airports and airport security. i dread the security line like you might dread kissing your aunt mildred- you think it's really gross, but it just can't be avoided.

don't get me wrong. i have no issues with the idea of my luggage being scanned (my body, though, is a different story). i get it, there are lots of crazy people in the world, some precautions have to be made. however, every time i go through one of these lines, i am disgusted by how unsanitary everything is.

first, i have to take off my shoes for flights to and from the USA, and walk on a dirty floor. gross. then, i have to put my shoes in a bin. a bin that people also put their laptops, jackets, and other personal items. which means... my personal items are going to bins where other people's dirty shoes have been. and i have no idea where their bacteria infested shoes have walked. my thoughts are consumed with this every time i go into one of these security lines... and once i am through, all i want to do is to disinfect everything that has touched one of these bins.

do you feel my pain?

i was mulling over this as i was preparing to go through the line at seoul, korea's ICN airport, when i noticed that they had two types of bins. shoe bins and everything else bins. i perked up. then i noticed a large, boxy, refrigerator-like container with transparent doors, with a sign that said "shoe disinfection" (or something like that). now i started to get excited. i took a closer look, and inside were rows of slippers. i looked again at the shoe bins sitting out. every bin had a pair of disinfected slippers for passengers to put on while they put their street shoes in the bin.

total love.

i believe this is the first airport i have ever flown through with such a smart, sanitary system. have you ever encountered such airport brilliance?

happy easter

2011-04-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

my in-laws sent us a care package full of finnish goodies, including this:

it's an egg.

right?

or... is it?

taking a closer look...

solid almond-nut nougat inside.

solidly fan-tastic.

when we lived in finland, i looked forward to the easter season so i could procure one of these delicious chocolate eggs. this is one of the oldest product lines from fazer (the chocolate company), dating back to 1896. the eggs were apparently even eaten by the russian royal family.

happy easter!

jewelry fix with a scouring pad

2011-04-07T14:44:00.009-05:00

last year the husband purchased a couple pairs of earrings for me that i wear all the time. unfortunately, as silver often does, i noticed that they were starting to tarnish. without thinking about it, i grabbed a silver polishing cloth... and discovered that it removes brushed finishes. was i supposed to know not to do that? did you know?

oops.

i guess i shouldn't have done that.
i mentioned this at craft boston when i was speaking with bree richey designs, and they shared some most useful information on how to fix my mistake, without sending it to a jeweler or buying fancy supplies.

scotch-brite.

so the last time i went to the grocery store, i picked some up - technically a brand called pure power.

i cut off a sliver and went to work. brush, brush, brush.

i tried taking before and after pictures, but wasn't able to capture the difference. however, i can definitely tell the difference in person. they aren't quite as beautiful as they were in their original state, but they are much improved.

craft FAIL.

2011-04-02T08:47:00.002-05:00

my standard weekday breakfast usually consists of one of the following: cereal and coffee, cereal and tea, oatmeal and coffee, oatmeal and tea, banana and coffee, banana and tea. not a particularly exciting array of breakfast foods, but it does the trick, and i fill my foodie needs during other meals of the day. however, for the last ~~two~~ three days, instead of my usual mundane regime, i have been eating chewy molasses cookies for breakfast instead. with coffee, of course.

you could say that i'm eating my feelings. or just eating my craft. either way, please don't judge me. too much.

since moving here, i've felt a little off, due to all the chaos, and everything else that comes to adjusting to a new city and home. i still reach for the trash can under the kitchen sink, even though we no longer keep the trash can there. i still look up the weather by our old houston zipcode before remembering that we're living in a city that's about 40 degrees colder. most importantly and most disasterously though, is that my craft skills have been...unskilled. generally speaking, i lump baking and crafting together under crafts (and often cooking too). i am not that frequent of a baker, but i have always enjoyed it, and usually i am met with fairly successful results. being sans-job and the apartment being mostly useable space, i decided to embrace my kitchenaid mixer a little more often. i've been met with mediocre results. the same thing has occurred with my crafts, things i have been working on haven't quite turned out the way i've hoped (remember the baby shoes?), even projects that should have been easy.

take this plain, brown clipboard, for example. i had just picked up a pretty sheet of wrapping paper at paper-source, and thought that it would be a perfect (and simple) way to glam it up. i cut out a piece to fit the board and proceeded to mod-podge the sheet onto the board. apparently i was being too slow though, because by the time i was finished, i realized that the glue in the middle had dried before adhering to the sheet, but the edges were solidly sealed. i decided not to fret, and to put a layer on top, thinking that the glue would soak through the sheet and subsequently glue itself down onto the clipboard. this seemed to work fairly ok, but not without huge bubbles still, so as i tried to smooth them out, i tore a piece of the paper. i also noticed that there were random dark parts from the clipboard showing through the paper, presumeably from layers that had peeled off earlier when i was trying to readjust the sheet.

i was frustrated, and also annoyed with myself for botching up something so easy. after quickly tallying up my recent craft and baking failures, i wondered if i had completely lost my craft mojo. the husband suggested i just buy a new clipboard. i refused, and proceeded to peel off all the paper, and then wash/scrape off the remaining residue until it was almost like new. the next day, i started over again. this time, i proceeded with more caution (and less confidence). despite my care though, somehow the new sheet i cut didn't fit quite right. the sheet went on well, nonetheless, but i still encountered bubbles, which i once again tried to carefully push out. instead i managed to tear a hole (again!) smack in the middle of the pattern. and not only that, there are still these mysterious dark sparks showing through the board. this is when i gave up and decided i was a loser. see??

total craft FAIL.

and when i fail at crafts, i have insatiable urges to do something else, anything else, and succeed. which is how i came to make molasses cookies. successfully. so successfully that i have rejected my normal breakfast routine for a new, horribly unhealthy one (temporarily) - cookies for breakfast.

have you ever lost your craft (or whatever your hobby may be) mojo? did you ever get it back?

craft boston

2011-03-29T16:10:00.000-05:00

on sunday, the husband and i made our way boston's seaport world trade center to visit craft boston. the show runs twice a year, once in the spring and once in the winter. while i would have hardly called it spring-like on sunday with temperatures still hovering in the 30s and low 40s, at least it was a sunny day, and the show was indoors. something funny i noticed is, exactly a year ago, we visited the bayou city art festival in houston. what are the odds? anyway, the show had about 200 artisans and we easily spent a few hours admiring everyone's work. it was incredibly hard to walk away without doing serious damage to our wallets, but i managed, even though it still hurts to remember all the beautiful items i had to leave behind.

i was pretty taken by missfitt's felted accessories. her prices are some of the most reasonable i have ever seen for felted goods. take a look at her site for more.

but my absolute two favorite artisans were bree richey designs and jeung-hwa park.

i was immediately drawn to the clean, modern, but whimsical lnes of bree richey's jewelry - and not to mention that both she and her mother were the nicest people, something i could not say about some of the other vendors i encountered. my favorites were the pebble pendants and the pod and rosebud collection - possibly because they remind me so much of some of my own stationary designs (not sure what that says about me). i also really loved this bird pendant, the wing lifts up to expose a teeny pearl egg. so clever! the husband hinted not so discretely that he'd keep them in mind for future gift ideas.

source: bree richey designs

jeung-hwa park had the most beautiful wool and silk felted scarves, in a rainbow of colors. i took a felting class once, some years ago, and have since always paid special attention to felt artisans, but i have never seen any scarves quite as beautiful as these. i learned from another blogger, betz white (she also has more pictures of her work), that jeung-hwa park's method is known as shibori felting. she doesn't have a website, but you can email her directly for more information on where to find her beautiful scarves. i really really wanted one of her scarves, but i couldn't justify the big purchase. maybe one day...

shoes for the tiny

2011-03-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

the craft room is still coming together, but in the mean time i've snuck in some sewing here and there. these baby shoes are for a friend's baby shower this weekend (my first big social event in boston). the pattern i used is from ithinksew.com, and is really well put together.

but, to be honest, i am not particularly happy with how the shoes turned out - it can be terribly frustrating to work on something so tiny (absolutely no fault of the pattern maker)! they ended up being a little wonky.

i'm hoping my friend won't notice. i'm also hoping the baby won't either. how embarassing would it be if she rejected my shoes?

ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #5: felt rosette wreath

2011-03-15T16:46:00.000-05:00

my friend olivia of olivia's ultimate recently began a new cute blog with a friend of hers called deux petite amie. she posted a felt rosette wreath tutorial in february that would be a great way to use excess felt, if you ever find yourself in a predicament like mine.
check it out the full tutorial here.

noodles with sesame sauce

2011-03-08T16:13:00.000-06:00

so far in the race to become liveable space, the kitchen is winning. while there are still cabinets to organize, and items to place, it is more or less functional. one of the first dishes i made in our new kitchen is noodles with sesame sauce, one of my favorite kind of chinese noodles. it's a very easy dish to make, and completely delicious. the husband can't get enough of of the sauce, and neither can i. i often double or triple the recipe so we have plenty of leftovers.

ingredients

1/3 lb chinese wheat noodles (prepare as indicated on package)
shredded chicken breast (i steamed mine)
shredded cucumber

sauce
(this can be made in advance) in a medium sized bowl, combine the following, mixing with each additional ingredient:
3 tb sesame paste (found at asian grocery stores)
1/2 tb sugar
1/2 tb vinegar
2 tb soy sauce
2 tb sesame oil (found in the asian aisle at a regular grocery store)
5-7 tb water, depending on your preference- start with less and taste test

start with the noodles on the bottom, add shredded chicken and a generous amount of sauce, and top with shredded cucumber.

this dish can also be served cold.

serves 2.

ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #4: make tissue holders

2011-03-03T14:08:00.000-06:00

my new craft room looks like this right now:

which is why i have nothing to show you. however, i'd like to share these felt tissue holders my friend made using martha stewart's tutorial. cute huh? i really like the little flower detail she added.

i plan on making a bunch of these for my mom and her thousand friends later on. it seems like the kind of thing they'd like. and yes, i brought the majority of my felt stash with me, although i did give away a yard or two, and i parted with a lot of scraps (that was really hard).

mary poppins wouldn't need garment bags: a mini tutorial

2011-02-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

growing up, i was very fond of mary poppins. i owned the movie, watched it countless times, and also read the entire book series. i find myself thinking of her particularly often when i am packing for travel or a move-- and desperately wishing i was mary poppins. she is my version of a super hero. she can jump in and out of chalk drawings, and flies through the air with an umbrella (a dual purpose accessory, how practical). but most importantly, she has a carpet bag that fits just about everything, as is. something i desperately wished for during this big move. when mary poppins snaps her fingers, items jump neatly to their place. so instead of taking weeks to unpack and pack, all the while discovering things that have been broken or damaged in the process, everything is packed, moved, and unpacked in a few, fun-filled moments... in song.

and she certainly wouldn't have ever needed garment bags. while we were packing up our clothes into wardrobe boxes, i found myself in the sudden need of garment bags. altogether we had about six, when we needed a couple dozen. the husband went out to look for some at target, but came back with a bag of trash bags instead...and that's what we used.

i took each trash bag and folded it in half vertically and snipped off a piece at the fold at the base of the trash bag, and then pulled them over the batches of clothes. our bags had pull tie closures, which worked out very well. if we had bigger or longer clothing, i just added an extension to the bottom.

it's a good thing that we used them, since half the wardrobe boxes came crushed and the bags covered in dust and grime (and even some ripped clothing!).

so long, and howdy.

2011-02-13T23:51:00.000-06:00

our lives are in boxes. the next few months will be a series of busy changes, because we are moving. not just across town to a new apartment, but across the country to (outside) boston.

this decision did not come about lightly. while i am incredibly excited about our next life stage (a little hard to tell at the moment), it's also really difficult to leave. we are leaving a lot behind, and i am beginning to realize that i will miss a lot here. i will no longer be able to meet my parents for dinner on the weekends. i will no longer be a mere ten minutes drive to my best girlfriend's house. boston has zero central markets, and their chinatown certainly can not compare. we will no longer be able to bike to our favorite brunch cafe on sunday mornings, nor will we be smack in the center of town.

we have spent the last month juggling packing, finding housing, and meeting friends and family for final farewells. we said goodbye at our jobs. it confounds me that i will no longer be seeing and talking to my coworkers and bosses daily- if you think about it, most of us spend more waking hours with the people we work with than our own families.

with these somewhat somber thoughts...
so long, texas. howdy, massachusetts!

double-sided flannel scarf

2011-02-06T09:55:00.000-06:00

it wasn't until i was in college and visited europe in the dead of winter that i realized that scarves are more than a fashion accessory. growing up in south-east texas will do that to you. since then, i have amassed quite the collection of hats, gloves, and scarves, and have found them to be functional and nice gifts for friends and family.

recently, i made double-lined / dual-patterned flannel scarves for my parent-in-laws. i had forgotten how nice and soft flannel is, and found it particularly pleasant feeling around the neck. most of my scarves are made of some kind of fleece, cotton, or wool blend- none as soft or cozy as this flannel scarf.

materials:
1 2/3 yard flannel pattern 1
1 2/3 yard flannel pattern 2
thread

cut a piece of each flannel to 10.5" (or however wide you'd like your scarf to be, plus .5" for seam allowance). line them up against each other, pin, and sew around the edges with .25" seam allowance.

make sure to leave a gap at one end. clip the corners.

turn the scarf inside out. ladder stitch it shut. iron. top stitch around the edges.

sweet bora bora

2011-01-26T19:12:00.000-06:00

ah. sweet bora bora. initially i had doubts over the island- surely, the beauty must be much exaggerated? surely, the waters aren't really that blue?

wrong. and wrong again.

yes, bora bora really is that beautiful. and yes, the waters are that blue. my photos hardly do it justice. we stayed at the st. regis, which was luxury and beauty through and through. this is hardly our normal traveling style, but let me tell you, it certainly is something i could get used to...

our overwater bungalow was extremely comfortable, spacious, and pristine. there were moments that i sprawled myself out on the living room floor staring through the glass under the coffee table into the ocean.

complete with a living room and enormous bathroom

a private dinner on our deck

there was so much to do and see in a very short amount of time, that we were actually filled with anxiety. we quickly recovered from that, and also managed to make some friends (see the sea turtle on the right?). the little guy on the left was a shy but curious porcupine fish, and was hanging out right below our bungalow.

it was absolutely amazing.

snorkeling in moorea, french polynesia

2011-01-17T22:41:00.002-06:00

aside from our honeymoon and a few short weekend trips around the texas coastline, we never go on 'beach vacations'. but after a year of travels full of activity, where i often found my physical limits stretched (allthough, don't get me wrong, i usually had a blast) i thought perhaps it was time for one. so, as i mentioned two posts ago, for the last holiday of 2010, we went the relaxing and luxurious route, and found ourselves in beautiful french polynesia.

we spent the first three days in moorea, and filled our time with relaxation and snorkeling. snorkeling may very well be one of my top favorite activities of all times. we snorkeled everyday, sometimes twice, and it was always difficult to tear ourselves out of the water. it never failed to amaze me that all i had to do is float and put my face into the water to see a whole different world, teeming with life- and when i lifted my head, it was just gone.

the amount of fish off the beaches of moorea was incredible. even just walking along the beach you could spot fish darting around. we saw an impressive amount of life, even though we were always inside the reef, and the water was never very deep. i doubt it was ever more than seven feet!

we opted for one excursion, the helmet dive with aquablue during our trip, namely because we got to wear one of these:

and walk around the bottom of the ocean. it was just as fun as it was hilarious in concept. oxygen is pumped into the helmet (notice the tube?) so one can breathe normally underwater. we felt like water astronauts as balancing was rather tricky, and it was great fun bounding around the ocean floor. it also gave us a slightly different experience with the sea life, and we petted sting rays, fed fish, and warily observed a javanese moray eel from a distance. if you ever have an opportunity to do this, i'd highly recommend it.

runaway elf!!

2011-01-08T17:25:00.002-06:00

MISSING: small christmas elf

physical description: adorable smiling finnish elf in red, donning a traditional red pointed hat. he is approximately 2.5 inches tall (to the tip of his hat). he enjoys the smell of spruce trees and sipping mexican hot chocolate.

last seen: hanging out on the christmas tree with his other elf buddies. he went missing while all the others were preparing for their 11 month hibernation. elf in question most likely ran away, grieved by the idea of once again leaving his happy christmas home, however, elf-napping is also highly plausible.

please contact me, clearlytangled, should you run across an elf fitting this description. it is likely he is enroute to the arctic circle in finland, where santa lives, and christmas trees are up year round. he answers to the name, "tonttunen". his safety is of utmost importance!!!

hello, 2011

2011-01-06T19:26:00.000-06:00

we were one of the last people to welcome 2011, on the beach in the middle of the pacific in french polynesia. it was the perfect way to end 2010 and begin 2011. i hope your year started off with a bang (a good one)!

ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #3: make a gift pouch

2010-12-29T18:32:00.005-06:00

i trust that everyone had a fantastic christmas. i intend to post something about ours, but we'll see.
for my third installment on "ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt"... make a gift pouch. with a button.

like this:

just cut a rectangular piece of felt, and fold one end upward so that there is sufficient amount left for a flap.

sew up the sides with a generous seam allowance. trim with pink shears. you can also cut the flap to add some interest.

fold the flap in half (vertically), and make a small slit for the button hole. sew on the button to the top part of the pocket, using the button hole as a guide.

an alternative for little gifts or treats... something to think about come valentine's day?

original felt stash estimate: 30 yards
last felt stash estimate: 20 yards*
current felt stash estimate: 11 yards*... meaning i haven't made any progress

goal: 5 yards or less

*my estimates are most likely completely wrong.

why am i doing this? see this post. have a happy new year!

partially actualized christmas baking fantasies

2010-12-21T20:27:00.001-06:00

every christmas i suffer from baking fantasies. i daydream about packing up perfect boxes with a large variety of delicious treats, and promptly becoming the most celebrated and loved person in the office and among my friends. this of course never happens. there usually is way too much going on and the holiday baking dreams fall to the wayside, and i become a slave to my sewing machine.

however, this year i was determined to do something. last year, under the influence of my hopeful delusions, i had purchased a couple of new cookie cutters, that i failed to even remove from the packaging. last week, i decided i couldn't let another whole year slide by without using them... so i made gingerbread men and snowflakes for the work folks using this recipe, (the chewy version). if i made these again, i think i'd add a lot more spice in it, but that's just how i prefer my gingerbread cookies.

aside from the fact that i made a complete mess of my kitchen two days in a row, and i discovered that taking one wilton cake decorating class almost ten years ago does not mean that decorating cookies will be a breeze, i'd consider it to be a moderate success. i packaged them individually in cellophane bags with twisty ties and made little round stickers that said "i hope you like gingerbread. i'm really sorry you don't. happy holidays!". not quite the elaborate boxes of decadent treats, but as they say, it's the thought that counts, right?

the comments i have received about the gingerbread have been sending me into fits of laughter, mostly because of their cannabalistic references (not that actual cannabalism is funny...).

take this comment, for example from one coworker:

"i went for the arm first, but then i couldn't stand him looking at me, so then i ate the head."

and this e-mail from another:

"thank you for the gingerbread man! it’s REALLY good. i ate its' head and will probably save his body for j, or maybe, just save one foot for him."

thank you bakingbites for the gingerbread man + scarf idea.

free christmas tag download (pdf)

2010-12-16T18:04:00.003-06:00

i designed some christmas labels for you to use.

you can either:

1. make them into stickers by printing them on full label sheets and punch them out with a 2" round punch.

2. make them into hang tags by printing them out on cardstock and punch them out with a 2" round punch, and then punching another little hole at the top and thread through ribbon, embroidery floss, etc.

you may have to cut the page into strips first for punching. if you don't have a 2" round punch, you can also take your scissors and trim around the red dotted circle (leave a bit of space).

ruffled coffee sleeves

2010-12-10T22:22:00.003-06:00

what's better than a button coffee sleeve? ruffled coffee sleeves.

side ruffle.

top ruffle.

lots of ruffles...

ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #2: create embellished cards

2010-12-04T20:50:00.000-06:00

after i arrived at my parents house last week for thanksgiving, i had the following conversation with my father:

dad: grandma called earlier. she told me to thank you for the card you sent. i told her you made it.
me: you told grandma i made the card? ... i didn't make the card. i bought it.
dad: you didn't make it?
me: no... what made you think i made the card? you didn't even see the card.
dad: don't you make ALL your cards? i thought you make all the cards you send, that's why i said it.
me: i make SOME of the cards i send, not all the cards.
dad: ok. well. i guess you can tell her that you didn't make the card next time you talk to her.
me: yeah.. i'm pretty sure she'll figure it out, since it says "carlton cards" on the back.

i don't know why, but our conversation made me laugh. it really has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but i wanted to share.

anyway, it had been a while since i had made any cards, but i thought that making a felt embellished card would be a fun little project and reduce my weighty stash by .000001%. YES!!!

i printed the stems + greeting on cardstock first, and then cut out felt circles using my sizzix. i stacked some of the circles and sewed on buttons to the pieces, forming three flowers, and then glued them on.

btw, the font i used is "babyboston" from kevinandamanda.com.

it was terribly sastifying to mesh paper crafting and sewing together again. so i made more cards. a lot more cards.

original felt stash estimate: 30 yards

last felt stash estimate: 20 yards*
current felt stash estimate: 11 yards*

goal: 5 yards or less
*my estimates are most likely completely wrong.

why am i doing this? see this post.

i grew fungus.

2010-11-24T22:44:00.003-06:00

from a box. ON PURPOSE. the soil is made from used coffee grounds. it was SO MUCH FUN. and delicious.

the guys that came up with this idea are geniuses. if you love the idea of growing your own mushrooms (and then devouring them) like i do, you should order a box, pronto.

reasons to love this kit, aside from those already mentioned above:

1. it's mess free. no need to touch dirt, which works out for a priss like me.

2. once they started growing, they were doubling in size daily. i ran to the windowsill every day to check on their progress in the morning and after work. extremely exciting.

day 2

day 3!!

3. the mushrooms are clean. i didn't need to brush soil off of them, or examine the gills for insects.

after harvesting them, i simply sauteed them on a pan and sprinkled truffle salt on one half, and green tea salt on the other.

they tasted fantastic.

i'm currently nurturing my second batch. fingers crossed that they'll grow.

on a completely unrelated note, happy thanksgiving (or just a happy thursday for all you non-americans)!

lotus root fabric wall panel

2010-11-16T19:14:00.002-06:00

i finally decorated the barren wall in my craft room with this:

here is a tutorial i wrote a while ago. i used a larger version of my lotus root fabric in orange (i made this panel with the hope that one day i will have white walls).

a couple notes...

no overlocking the edges this time... just tucked the fabric under for a neat seam.

the husband drilled a hole for hanging.

ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #1: make a 2X eco-coffee sleeve

2010-11-11T21:04:00.000-06:00

for my first trick, i present to you the 2Xeco coffee sleeve tutorial.

in case you're wondering, my 30 yard stash of felt is eco-fi felt, which is made from recycled plastic bottles- thus the double eco-ness of this project.

for this sleeve you'll need:
- 1 disposable coffee sleeve for your pattern
- two pieces of colored felt
- thread
- buttons

choose the felt color you want for your primary top color. i chose orange. open up the disposable coffee sleeve, and trace around on the felt. cut pattern out. do the same for the bottom piece, except cut it a little bit wider than the pattern.

pin + sew together (this can also be done by hand if you don't have a sewing machine).

fold coffee sleeve pattern back together- and use it as a guide to make sure your coffee sleeve is the right size. pin, and then hand sew the two ends together with buttons.

as a side note, not only do i have a lot of felt, i also have a lot of buttons.
luckily, they are easier to store.

throw it in your purse. keep it in the car. tuck it in a drawer at work. make fifteen and give them as gifts this holiday season. if you have as much felt as i do, you could probably make a thousand.

original felt stash estimate: 30 yards
current felt stash estimate: 20 yards
goal: 5 yards or less

why am i doing this? see this post.

two days in d.c.

2010-11-08T21:40:00.001-06:00

the husband + i recently went on a quick trip to d.c. for a mini-family reunion. we were able to see a couple of old friends and spend a day with his brother (visiting from finland).

don't underestimate all the things you can do in two days.

you can....

wait in really, really long lines (and spend hours on the metro).

wander about museums.

gaze at the washington monument...

and the lincoln memorial.

spy on a panda (+ other furry friends).

appreciate sculpture.

plus, admire the foliage...

and that just covered part of it.

crazy christmas lady

2010-11-05T18:34:00.000-05:00

you may have noticed the appearance of christmas products in my etsy shop. sometime this summer, i was struck with the insane idea that this year i would make + sell whimsical, non- traditional tree skirts and some stockings.

i was inspired. it was going to be fabulous. i could NOT wait. i would make a minimum of 25. maybe 30. even 40. different sizes. different colors. different patterns!! the fabric store was having a sale on eco felt, and in my enthusiasm, i bought nearly 30 yards of felt. at once. i brought the husband along so he could lug the bolts around for me.

the lady cutting for me naturally was curious as to why i needed so much felt in the middle of july. i explained. she made a comment implying that she would not want a bright pink or peacock blue tree skirt in her house.... and ever since that encounter, she has greeted me as "the christmas lady" every time i enter the store. if you heard the tone of her voice, you would realize what she is really thinking is, "the crazy christmas lady".

i kind of really don't like her.

maybe she's right. maybe i am the crazy christmas lady. and maybe no one will want a bright yellow tree skirt with green dots all over it, or a bright pink one with tiers of lace (although people do seem to want a floral pink ones).

i do know for certain that i should NOT have bought 30 yards of felt. that was clearly a huge lapse in judgment. it's not like i have a full time job or anything. in fact, i'm rather surprised the husband didn't try to talk some sense in to me. maybe i can make this his fault. that's a thought.

so now i am on a personal campaign to deplete my stash of nearly 30 yards of felt. i entertained the following thoughts. I could...

1. hide the leftover felt in boxes somewhere deep in a closet
2. give out felt to strangers on the street
3. write 30 blogs in 30 days on 30 felt projects with tutorials

what i promptly did to these ideas in my head:
~~1. hide the leftover felt in boxes somewhere deep in a closet~~
~~2. give out felt to strangers on the street~~
~~3. write 30 blogs in 30 days on 30 felt projects with tutorials~~

and why:

~~1. hide the leftover felt in boxes somewhere deep in a closet~~
    - i am out of storage space
    - deep down inside, i'll always know the felt is lurking there

~~2. give out felt to strangers on the street~~
    - people will question my sanity
    - especially concerned strangers may try to commit me (fairly easy to do in
      texas)

~~3. write 30 blogs in 30 days on 30 felt projects with tutorials~~
     - as mentioned above, i have a full time job
     - we don't have a maid
     - i can barely write one blog a week
     - i have a full time job (oh, did i already say that?)

so instead, i propose that i begin a series "ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt". i will post when i have time. when i feel like it. at random. this could be two posts. it could be twenty-eight (ok, probably not...). it could be ZERO. who knows? not even me.

fat quarter giveaway winner

2010-11-04T20:56:00.000-05:00

congratulations to commenter #19: abi!

i will be sending you an email shortly to get your address. as for the rest of you players, i plan on doing more fabric giveaways in the future, so stay tuned!!

baby bibs are fun

2010-10-27T21:25:00.002-05:00

our friends continue to reproduce, which means i continue to produce tiny cute baby things. for the last round of gifts, i decided to make baby bibs. they are fun to make, and there are multitudes of free patterns online.

birdsntrees

lotus root

i don't remember where i got this one (sorry!), but here are a few patterns you could try:
http://www.poopockets.com/free/bibs/bibs.htm
http://www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/home-crafts/craft-ideas/sewing/sewing-project-simple-bib
http://www.liaspace.com/2010/04/tutorial-babys-bibs.html
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/baby-bibs

mine are backed with a double layer of terry cloth for extra absorbancy (i heard a rumor that babies drool and spit up a lot) and have snap closures. the husband kindly helped out with attaching the snap closures, since i tend to hammer my fingers when i do it. the patterned fabrics are designed by me, and you can still win some fat quarters to make some of your own. a fat quarter can probably yield two or more.

clearlytangled fat quarter giveaway

2010-10-24T20:20:00.000-05:00

it's time for another giveaway! i'm giving away three fat quarters (18" x 21") of my own fabric: kiwi bird parade in pink, lotus root in orange and white, and chunky olives in purple and chartreuse.

to enter and possibly win these three fat quarters...
you have the opportunity of up to three entries:

entry 1: follow my blog + leave a comment to inform me (if you are already following, leave a comment stating so)

entry 2: leave a comment on this entry
entry 3: blog about this giveaway, and leave me a 3rd comment + link me to the post

make sure you leave a way for me to contact you on your entry/entries!

the giveaway will close on wednesday, november 3rd, midnight, CST.
1 winner will be chosen via random.org on thursday, november 4th.

no-sew sizzix fleece scarf

2010-10-14T07:31:00.000-05:00

this summer i purchased a sizzix bigkick for my crazy christmas products. on a whim i thought i'd take a stab at making a hole-y no-sew fleece scarf with one of my (two) die cuts.

you need:
a sizzix bigkick (or other compatible sizzix machine)
sizzix bigz die - 1" circles
fleece 6" x however long you want it

i ran the fleece through my bigkick repeatedly, carefully making sure the holes stay aligned. then i trimmed around the holes to finish it up (a bit tedious, but didn't take too long).

If you don't know how the sizzix works, basically you create a sandwich: an acrylic cutting board on top, the fabric, the die cut (facing up), with the 2nd cutting pad on the bottom. you push the sandwiched pieces through the machine to make the cuts.

i'm still not sure how i feel about this scarf. i kind of like it and i kind of don't. i like the concept, but it's a little fragile. also, the husband pointed out that all the holes kind of defeat the purpose of a scarf. but i think it can be cute on a cool autumn day... maybe?

the final product

an easy way to make the scarf wider would be to have a 12" wide piece of fleece folded in half (so 6" wide X whatever length), thus giving the neck more coverage. the die cut should be able to get through the two layers (although i haven't tried yet). i have another idea on how to make this better, but it'll have to wait!

so what do you think? ugly? yes or no. i can handle the truth... the fleece only cost me $1.

show + tell monday

2010-10-11T22:23:00.000-05:00

it's monday, and i have a show + tell.

i decided that i needed new stationary to go with my new banner. so i made a notepad and flat notecards.

that's all. have a great tuesday!

simple tunic tutorial

2010-10-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

now, i realize that it's october and that the majority of you are putting away your summer clothes. i on the other hand, decided to finally cross off a long awaiting project on my list- this simple tunic. the weather here between the months of october and december can be pretty unpredictable (read: annoyingly warm at times), so i'm confident i'll be able to get some use out of this top before the year is up.

made with marimekko ritva fabric
v-side facing front

anyway, the tunic can be elongated for a dress or shortened for a smaller top. as you can see from my photos, you can wear it either with the V in the front, or in the back, and change up the way you tie the sash- subtle differences, but kind of fun to change it up a bit! it's very similar to the pillow case dress that little girls often wear.

to make one for yourself:

measure your hips at the widest point. add 7 inches. this is the width of A.

add another inch to width A, plus 1 inch. Divide by two. this is the width of B pieces.

measure from your collarbone to where you want the tunic to end. add 3 inches to that number. this is the length of pieces A + B.

cut 1 of A, cut 2 of B.

cut two pieces (may need to join multiples if you don’t have enough fabric) for straps:
3” x 54” (or however long you want it)
5” x 108”(or however long you want it)
or… use ribbon.

fold each strap in half and sew together, with a half inch seam. trim seam. using a safety pin to help, turn both straps inside out. you should now one strap that is 1 inch wide, and one strap that is 2 inches wide. tuck the ends inward in each strap, and ladder stitch them shut. iron.

measure the length between your collarbone to the point at your chest where you want the V to stop. add 2 inches to that number. pin both B pieces together (patterns facing) and mark where your seam begins based on where the V will end. Sew the remaining portion of the B pieces together with half inch seams.

pin piece A and piece BB together, patterns facing. mark about 10 inches down from the top on each side (more or less depending on how big you want your arm holes-make sure to add 2 inches to the armhole length). mark 2 inches up from the bottom (not necessary, i just wanted mine to have little slits on the side).

using an existing top you have as a guide, draw a curved waistline between the two marks. sew along the guides. trim with 1/2 inch seams. if you’d rather not bother with this, just sew straight lines down. since my fabric is rather bulky, i wanted to thin it out a bit.

hem the raw seams of the V neck. hem the raw seams of the arm holes.

fold down the top of piece A and BB first 1/2 an inch down, then over again another 1.5 inches and sew to create a channel (basically a hem).

hem the bottoms up 1 inch. serge or zigzg remaining inside seams.

pull the 1 inch wide strap through the channels as you like– the tunic can be worn with either the v-neck in the front of the v-neck in the back. tie wider strap around waist.

v-side in the back with bow strap facing front

the one-hour dress

2010-09-26T10:53:00.001-05:00

when one of my best friends showed me this dress tutorial she wanted to make, i immediately wanted to make one too. so we journeyed together to the fabric store and made an evening out of it. she chose a turquoise knit almost identical to the one pictured, and i chose a honey (or mustard) linen blend.

from craftsylish.com

without a belt, the dress is enormous. it could double as shelter in an emergency. with a belt (and a bit of adjusting) it becomes pretty cute (although not exactly slimming with this fabric). i was bombarded with compliments when i wore it to the office.

notice that the folding is more dramatic with linen

if you read the comments on the tutorial, most agree that the dress takes much longer than an hour. i especially enjoyed the comment by user liudadovy, "my experience as a sewer: nothing that claims to take an hour actually ever does, and it always looks like it took an hour, and it shall be worn for exactly an hour."

i believe our ~~one~~ multi-hour dresses actually took us over four hours from start to finish. i added inside pieces to stabilize the collar, and serged all the seams. my friend went even further by adding darts, and nipping and tucking in the sides. we also didn't have a french curve, which added to our time. we created templates using the neckline curve from one of my tops, and the waistline of one of my dresses. both worked out fairly well, except the neck ended up a bit wide.

i love you, fried pork chop rice!

2010-09-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

one of my closest friend's boyfriend, T, has learned two phrases in chinese: "i love you" and " fried pork chop rice". he enjoys saying them together, "i love you, fried pork chop rice!".

while other people may have opted to learn more useful sentences, like, "how are you?" or "where is the bathroom?", i'd say this is a pretty good start.

fried pork chop rice is a delicious, casual (and admittedly, unhealthy) dish in taiwanese cuisine, and most people would heartily agree with T's enthusiastic declaration. using the recipe from my chinese rice and noodles cookbook (recipes are both in chinese and english), i attempted to make my first fried pork chop rice.

the recipe is as follows.

ingredients:
2 large pork chops, 1 lb. (i used loins, not chops)
1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
vegetable oil

combine the following:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp five spice powder
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg yolk

pound the pork chops until tender and somewhat thin. marinate with the soy sauce mixture for at least 10 minutes. dredge with cornstarch, and set aside. in a deep skillet or pot, add enough oil to to cover and deep fry the pork chops. fry on medium-high heat until the surface begins to change color, and then reduce heat to medium. fry until golden brown and meat is cooked thoroughly(this may take some trial and error; ours took about 8 minutes to cook).

we ate them sliced over rice with cooked nappa cabbage. bok choy sauteed with garlic would also be a suitable companion.

dushanbe tea house - boulder, colorado

2010-09-13T21:01:00.003-05:00

when i travel, i probably spend as much time researching food as i do attractions. we had several noteworthy meals in boulder, but the most interesting was afternoon tea at dushanbe tea house (you might remember my great affection for this tradition).

the tea house is a quite unique place, as the decor and much of the structure (ceiling and wall panels, etc) was made in their sister city, dushanbe, tajikistan, and shipped as a gift to boulder.

when we arrived, a bit late for our reservation, the tea house was milling with people. there were people already enjoying their afternoon tea, others having a late lunch, and still others just wandering around, touring the beautiful building.

once seated we were introduced to the tea list, and our orders were taken. as we waited, we were presented with an appetizer- a small plate of noodles. they were lightly sauced in what i think may have been tahini (sesame paste). it seemed like a strange prelude to what was to come, but still, it was tasty.

service was a little slow, but eventually we were brought our teapots and then finally our three tiered tray of savories and sweets, accompanied by devonshire cream, lemon curd, and raspberry preserves.

the bottom layer featured puff pastries with artichokes + cheese and lemon scones. the artichoke purses were delicious. neither of us are fans of scones, but it had a nice lemon flavor (especially enhanced after slathering lemon curd and cream on top...). the second layer had cucumber sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches. the cucumber sandwiches had a very nicely herbed butter slathered on. i couldn't quite figure out what the herbs were, but they really enhanced the simple traditional sandwich. the top contained baklava, lemon layer cake, chocolate cake, and scattered berries.

we ate it all.

a weekend getaway to boulder

2010-09-09T21:34:00.002-05:00

long weekends are excellent opportunities for short getaways, and the husband and i escaped this past labor day weekend on a quick trip to boulder, colorado. inspired by a couple friends, the trip destination was actually a surprise for him. he was very pleased and excited when he finally looked up at the display at our departure gate. there is nothing he enjoys more than time spent in nature.

it was a surprisingly hot weekend- a high of 96 on sunday, the day we took our longest hike in chataugua park. the altitude and dry air was a bit difficult for me, but it was worth it, because we saw FIVE chipmunks. yes, i counted.

the trail was about five miles long and ascended about kilometer upward.

the royal arch was the reward. the rest of the trip was spent on more hikes, exploring the center, and of course, eating (sadly, the fires started the day we left...).
to be continued!

clutch happy.

2010-08-25T21:02:00.001-05:00

make one of these.

it'll make you happy.

or better yet, make it for someone else, and make them happy. i did.

tutorial from noodlehead here.

mien storage box

2010-08-18T20:58:00.000-05:00

ikea saves the day again. after many years of searching for a jewelry box that wasn't hideous, i found this gem at ikea:

the mien storage box - $7.99

while it could stand to be bigger, it's an excellent companion jewelry tree i have (also from ikea).

what the box did need was some cushion... a nicely patterned cushion. so while there are several different always i could have approached these lightly padded "cushions", i went with a somewhat unconventional route.

as i am still excited about my recent appliqued onesies, and am currently in possession of a large quantity of felt (more on this later), i decided to once again fuse cotton fabric and felt using double stick fusible web. the webbing just prevents the edges of the patterned fabric from getting frayed, and also adds a slight rigidity.

want one too?

all you'll need (besides the box) is:

1 piece of patterned fabric of your choice 5 1/2" x 10 3/4" (i used heather bailey's pop sway fabric)

1 piece of felt of your choice 5 1/2" x 10 3/4"

1 piece of double stick fusible web adhesive sheets ( i use steam a seam 2)

follow the instructions on the package on how to adhere the pieces together (use the base of the box lid to trace the shape of the cushion), and stitch around the edges.

a laundry disaster

2010-08-10T19:13:00.001-05:00

a few weeks ago, i posted about this dress. promptly after i posted the entry, i thoughtlessly threw the dress into the laundry for its' first wash. when i retrieved it from the washer, i was dismayed to find that the floral detail had completely unraveled into a mess of furry thread.

apparently the dress was hand wash only. normally i read labels on new clothing (actually, typically before i buy it), but since the dress was knit, it didn't even occur to me to check.

so what was a girl to do? naturally, i pouted. for the rest of the night. i hadn't gotten a chance to wear the dress- not even ONCE. when i finally could bear looking it over again, i decided my "ruined" new dress could be salvaged. i could replace the flowers.

i bought some matte satin (at least i think it's satin...) from the fabric store, mainly because it was the only fabric i could find that matched the color almost exactly. i cut different sized circles, and burned the edges over the candle. you've probably seen this method elsewhere; it's an easy way to seal the edges from fraying, and also nicely makes the edges curve inward. perfect for making flowers. oh, and as a side note, i'd recommend doing this somewhere far away from your smoke detector, especially if yours is sensitive...

i unstitched the frayed mess from my dress....

bare dress....

and stitched my new flowers on.

fixed. with a new look.

so the moral of this story is, don't forget to read your clothing labels, even if your clothing item seems obviously machine washable. you may have some shabby chic floral detail that, while cute, will be completely destroyed in the washer.

moo

2010-08-07T16:01:00.001-05:00

today i have a show and tell.

moo.com was having a sale the other week, so i ordered a set of mini moo cards and also ordered a set of cards for the heck of it.

i wasn't completely sold on the idea of mini moo cards when i first heard about them, but now i am totally on board. so small and cute! i uploaded four of my designs. i love the itty bitty box they come in.

with the greeting card pack i played with a couple of photos i took: icelandic horses, and my photos of a play-doh penguin that has sadly dried and is slowly falling apart. for some reason, i can't bear to throw him out. i'm going to have to reshoot the penguin pictures (light poorly diffused), but i like the concept.

the card in the back says "having a bad day? i know how you feel. i used to be a penguin".

make your applique POP

2010-07-27T22:14:00.001-05:00

i had some trouble deciding what gift to make a friend for her recent baby shower. a minky baby blanket? a kimono?

nah... i had already made those for other people. i wanted to try something new. like applique onesies. i'm sure you've seen them. they are all over the place, and for good reason. a plain onesie is nothing much to look at, but slap on an applique car, bird, airplane, giraffe, or puppy, and you suddenly have yourself one adorable baby outfit.

if you search google, there are endless hits for "applique onesie tutorial". still, i had trouble finding exactly what i was looking for. i wanted my applique to "pop" off the onesie. a year or two ago, i had purchased some onesies that had a raised applique, and i wanted to replicate the process. the secret appeared to be a felt backing.

unfortunately, the felt i had (from the bolt, not the craft felt you buy in small sheets), claimed to not be machine washable. i was disappointed, and at first resigned myself to doing a normal applique. but after some thought, i decided to try it anyway with some old scrap knit.

i used steam-a-seam 2 sheets, because there is a lining on both sides, so i could draw the image on before cutting. the instructions are simple: 1. draw the design on in reverse on paper liner. 2. remove liner and press onto the wrong side of your fabric 3. cut shape. 4. peel 2nd backing, stick on to the product, and iron (to fuse).

however, instead of fusing the applique on the product, i stuck the applique onto a piece of felt instead, trimmed around, and ironed it to fuse. then i sewed the applique onto the scrap of knit. i threw the test in with the laundry, and ran a normal wash and dry cycle. no damage!

i made her two onesies. one with her future baby's initial (using alexander henry's bangle dot fabric), and one with a bird (random fat quarter from joanne's).

give it a try. make your onesies POP.

PS, i love you

2010-07-21T20:03:00.002-05:00

houston just got 100 times better.
maybe even 1,000 times better.
and why, why is that, you ask?

because...

a paper-source just opened in highland village. when i received the flier in the mail, i screamed (a happy scream).

i love paper-source. i have been an avid fan for years, since i discovered it in 2004, and have since been dreaming of the day that they open one in houston (or helsinki). i've been ordering paper and paper-related supplies with them ever since i found them online. i ordered all the paper from both of our weddings from them, not to mention all the other orders i made subsequently for various crafts. needless to say, i have spent an embarrassing amount of money at this place, and also make it a point to visit various locations when i happened to be in a city graced by a real, live, store. a seriously great tourist destination! not to mention the customer service in-store, via e-mail, and by phone has always been superb.

and now it's finally here!

perfect timing, i'd say, because i've been scratching my head wondering what i could get my friend for her birthday. i wanted to give her something handmade, but i was lacking inspiration until my first visit to the new store.

i managed to leave the store with only one item: a container of PVA glue. when i walked up to the checkout counter clutching my bottle of PVA, the store clerk pleasantly asked me if i was planning on book-binding.

paper-source.com

"oh no", i responded excitedly. "i'm going to make notepads!"

she replied with an equally enthusiastic statement, with no hint whatsoever that my excitement toward adhering stacks of paper together was just a tad over the top.

i found this super easy project on the how-to section on their website, and i had been waiting for an excuse to try it. clearly, the opening of the store was a sign. clearly, notepads were the right handmade gift for my friend's birthday. she just didn't know it yet. i personalized the notepads with my own graphics and variations of her name (initials, first name, first and last, title+ first and last), and separated the variations with a solid sheet of colored paper (a la paper source). i upcycled some cardboard for the backings.

i have a lot more glue left. which can only mean one thing... more notepads!

paper source

houston highland village

4016 westheimer road
houston, tx 77027

oh, and they are having their grand opening event this saturday. read more about it here. maybe i'll see you there.

handmade baby shower favors

2010-07-15T21:43:00.002-05:00

in preparation for an upcoming baby shower, i got together for an afternoon with the mother-to-be and the hostess (the talented scrappy bug) to make the favors. we planned on making duck shape soap "bathing" in tubs, and packed in pink take out boxes.

the soap was an easy process, made from soap blocks that only required melting, adding fragrance, and pouring into molds. the part that tickled me the most was the craft is self-cleansing. definitely a plus. we had trouble finding adequate soap molds at michaels, so we turned to the candy making section and found little duck molds.

the paper bathtubs were made from the hostess' cricut. one of these days i may have to get one; it is one of the neatest things i've ever seen in the craft world. we cut two tubs per box, attached a strip of cardstock on the bottom between them, so that we could put the "water" (crumbled blue tissue paper) and the soap ducks sitting upright inside.

all the components were tucked into the box, and sealed with a pretty strip of scrapbook paper, with little thank you labels created with a stamp and fiskar punches.

we stacked all the boxes on a cake stand, ready to go for the shower (still to come!).

too fun, and too cute! it took us nearly four hours, but what a great way to spend four hours. so tell me, reader, what is your idea of a fun afternoon with friends?

beautiful blossoms on etsy

2010-07-10T17:51:00.004-05:00

i'm a low-maintenance hair girl. i have never learned how to style my hair, so i normally opt for an easy to care for hairdo. sometimes i like to spice things up a bit by adding an accessory- specifically, headbands. i found beautiful blossoms' shop a couple months ago, and have been visiting often, admiring the pretty floral headbands. last week i could no longer resist and bought this:

it's my new favorite accessory. the flowers are dainty and the feather makes it a tad quirky. i went with black for optimal versatility and i am ever so happy with it. it doesn't even give me a headache like most headbands i've encountered. another bonus- the shipping was lightning fast and came with a sweet note from the seller.

take a peek at beautiful blossoms' shop. she has so many colors and style variations to choose from.

who loves macarons?

2010-06-30T18:42:00.022-05:00

i do! do you?

i first tasted a macaron several years ago, and while i can not recall when and where i first tasted this delightful treat, i can say with utter certainty that it was love at first bite. in recent years, there has been quite a macaron craze, and i have often found myself ogling over tartelette's blog, daydreaming about her luscious looking macaron recipes.

one day i felt restless with an overwhelming desire for a macaron. my recent local tastings had mostly underwhelmed me, so i puttered around my kitchen and realized i had nearly everything i needed to make green tea macarons with raspberry marscapone filling (save the raspberry preserves). the next day i procured my final ingredient, and bravely tried to make my very first batch, using tartelette's in-depth recipe (and the filling from her recipe here). there were many times i sensed failure, and tried to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable tantrum that would follow (think julie from the movie julie and julia).

but they came out, more or less properly with little feet. sure, they were a tiny bit flat, on the large side, and the filling was quite thin- sadly, you can't see the filling sandwiched between. but i really did not care, as they tasted oh. so. good. the husband and i were all over it, and it was incredibly difficult to find the generosity in my heart to pack a box to share with people at work.

after this happy attempt, i could not stop thinking about macarons. i wanted more; i wanted different flavors. i knew for the sake of time and my waistline, i couldn't spend all my evenings and weekends experimenting with batch after batch of different flavored macarons. so, instead, i decided the next best thing was to find a bakery in houston that could fulfill my needs in small quantities.

i already knew that jungle cafe in chinatown sold macarons, but they were disappointing. i once encountered macarons at andres pastry and cafe, which were lovely, but sadly rarely offered. central market also carried them for a brief time, but quite some months ago, and i never had a chance to try them. so i was searching for something new- and i discovered maison burdisso. maison burdisso's macarons are only sold at kuhl linscomb (for a hefty price), rice university's farmers market, and the midtown farmers market at tafia.

i first tried a lemon macaron at kuhl linscomb and was immediately in love. this was it. absolutely delicious. chewy, well-infused flavor, and not too sweet. needless to say, i wanted more, but not at $3.75 each.

on the next free saturday, i dragged the husband to tafia's, looking for maison burdisso's table. i couldn't help myself and bought seven flavors. she has forty-three flavors listed on her website, and she rotates the flavors she brings to the farmers markets. the best ones we tasted that day? orange. violet. rose. but they were all scrumptious.

so if you live in houston, and need a macaron fix... what are you waiting for?

the easiest alteration. ever.

2010-06-26T18:34:00.001-05:00

recently, on a mother-daughter shopping outing, my mom and i were perusing the racks at ann taylor loft. she pulled out a cute eggplant colored, pleated dress with some fabric flower detail on the shoulder, and tried to hand it to me to try on. i absently waved it away, explaining that i had tried it on on an earlier shopping trip, and it didn't fit right. ignoring me, she held onto the dress anyway, and when we finally made it to the dressing room, she insisted i try it on.

sure enough, the fit was poor. it was the correct size, yes, but the way the dress hung was just somehow unflattering. after a few moments of eyeing me, my mom concluded it was because the fabric belt was poorly located. it wrapped around right in the middle, somehow making me look shorter, and *gasp* a little chubby.

my mom immediately stepped onto her soapbox and ranted about the fashion's industry inability to design clothes to flatter- that they often get close, but fall short with one minor detail. she demonstrated where the belt should be instead by pulling it out of the side loops, and tying it around me a few inches higher. suddenly, the flaws of the dress melted away, and it was perfect. i lamented on the one, seemingly insignifcant flaw in the dress that made it unpurchaseable. my mother then gave me a funny look, and said, "you know how to sew. you could easily fix this yourself."

oh, right. i sew. how silly that i didn't even think of this. still, i was hesitant. there is nothing really enjoyable about altering clothes. in fact, i had a number of items in my closet that have been sitting and waiting for me to fix them for months... maybe even years. i dislike simple tasks like hemming pants (being short, i've done a fair amount of this) or taking in straps- it doesn't bring the same kind of satisfaction as making something from scratch. so i expressed my reluctance, but my mom (as she often does) convinced me to get it anyway. afterall, it was on sale, and they were offering an additional 20% off that day. plus, this truly seemed like a painless fix, and therefore a pretty good deal.

initially my plan was to sew the belt right onto the dress in the new place, but it occurred to me that i could simplify the task even more by simply by attaching new belt loops. so i bought some corded thread from the knitting and cross-stitching section at my local fabric store, and completed my project in 5 minutes- a total of 4 jabs with the needle, 4 knots, and 2 quick scissor snips to remove the old loops. so easy that i wouldn't count it as sewing.

old loop, meet new loop.
sadly, i couldn't find perfectly matching corded thread.

easiest fix. ever.
and to think that i almost didn't buy the dress.

so reader, when you run across clothing you like but just don't fit quite right, do you put it back on the rack and move on, or do you take a moment to think how you could make a quick fix to make it perfect?

one yard, one apron

2010-06-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

spoonflower is currently running a contest for apron designs, where each design is a full pattern (instructions included) that fits onto one yard of fabric. i love the idea of having a pattern printed directly onto the fabric- it's so clever! it cuts down project time considerably when you don't have to be bothered by cutting out a pattern and tracing it onto fabric. you could whip out one of these in no time, for about $20, for yourself or as a gift. below are a few of the ones that caught my eye.

milto42 designed this cute little number, called tablier de cuisine. i like how the kitchen utensils extend into the pocket where it will be partially covered. even though no one will be able to see that there are spoons resting inside your pocket, you know, and can always take a peek and giggle at the hidden little secret.

vina has several apron patterns following the same style. i don't think this one was submitted to the contest, but i like the whimsical floral pattern. i am particularly fond of how her designs cross in the back and button to the shoulder. it's possibly my favorite style of apron. i talk about it as if i have dozens... i actually never use aprons, but now i really want to.

gurumania designed this sweet apron, le jardin nocturne. i like the strap detail- it buttons over the front of the apron, but only one side. it's very feminine with a touch of cuteness.

there are many other fun apron patterns on the contest page (open for voting until wed), if you're looking for a new and functional sewing project.

globetrotting in iceland: floating in a glacier lagoon

2010-06-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

in the sparsely populated southeast iceland, lays vatnajökull, the largest glacier in europe. driving in this area of the country, you are exposed to glacier tongue after glacier tongue, so many that in a short time you lose count. many of these are receding; a famous one, breidamerkurjökull has been melting into a glacier lagoon, jökulsárlón, only since the 1930s.

we took a 45 minute boat trip around the lagoon littered with little icebergs. never mind that the vessel was uncomfortably overflowing with people. peering out at the water, you quickly forget the strangers practically pressing up against you. instead, you stare out in wide-eyed wonder, trying to understand how something so eerily beautiful exists.

the lagoon constantly changes. even in the short time we were there, we saw giant boulders of ice collapse and move before our eyes. it was mystical and absolutely breathtaking.

globetrotting in iceland: the horse not named frida

2010-06-08T19:27:00.002-05:00

"what was the name of your horse?" the guide asked cheerfully, pen poised to jot it down onto my certificate.

"um, i'm not sure...she was solid white and i think it started with a F." i replied.

after a moment's thought, her eyes lit up and she scribbled down the name and triumphantly reported that my horse's name was frida.

my horse was most certainly NOT named frida. but as my certificate now clearly stated so, i decided not to argue.

maybe i should back up a little. the husband and i were just in iceland, on a 10 day vacation around the country. it was the second day of our trip, and we had just completed a little icelandic horse excursion right outside of reykjavik. although in general possessing lukewarm feelings toward horses, i had become somewhat enamoured by the idea of icelandic horses. therefore, i was very enthusiastic about this excursion, and had a made a point to book it early in the trip planning process. it wasn't until the end of our drive to the ishestar center (they conveniently picked us up at our hotel for the tour) when i decended from the mini-bus and hit my head on the door frame, that i began to wonder if this was actually a good idea.

after checking in, we were directed to the back room to put away our things, pick up a helmet, and then sent out to the corral to meet the horses. we were told that a horse would be selected for us based on our ability. being a beginner and of petite stature (i was surely the shortest person there, save a youngish looking boy), i had been nursing the false hope that i would be given a small horse. the smaller the horse, the closer to the ground, and the closer to the ground, the safer i would be... right? but to my dismay, the guide selected one of the largest horses, the horse not named frida (and henceforth known as notfrida) for me. i doubtfully took the reigns of notfrida, and got myself acquainted with her. the husband was many feet away meeting his horse, gepla.

meanwhile, the other guide came out to help assist people with getting in the saddle. surprisingly, i was able to get up smoothly and easily. after brief instructions on how to sit in the saddle and how to to place my feet in the stirrups, the guide drifted off to the next rider, and i was left alone with notfrida. i sat there, feeling quite unsteady, painfully aware of how far away the ground was. the next thing i knew, she had taken off across the corral to investigate piles of hay, and for the next ten minutes i found myself being lurched back and forth as her head bobbed up and down as she fed. i was definitely getting nervous, and wondered if notfrida could tell just how uneasy i felt. next to me was an english woman, who after a few minutes, announced that she felt far too unsteady and uncomfortable and declared she needed to get off. i tried to turn to see her leave, but notfrida stubbornly insisted on having our backs to the rest of the group.

once everyone was ready in their saddles, one of the guides gave instructions that i could neither see or hear, as notfrida was still busy with the hay, facing the wrong direction. i was relieved when notfrida seemed to notice that the group was moving, and began to saunter after everyone else, keeping quite a gap between us and the rest of the group. i didn't mind this slow pace; it made the experience less scary, and allowed me to focus on a) not falling and b) not falling. the second guide, however, told me to keep up, and handed me a whip to enforce it.

i was starting to feel a little more comfortable on notfrida. but the comfort was rather short lived. the terror began when the guides decided to lead us into a gallop. if i had not already been gripping the saddle (which i'm guessing is not what i was supposed to do) along with the reigns, i am certain i would have fallen off. as i found my body uncomfortably bouncing up and down. trying to keep my feet in the stirrups, my mind was running a thousand miles a minute. normally for this kind of excursion i looked to the husband for back up physical and emotional support, but he was way up in the line, no where close enough to sooth me and my growing panic. so, thoughts of impending doom began running across my mind. how could i have thought, i wondered, that i could handle riding an animal, no matter how well trained? i imagined all kinds of scenarios, all ending withe me in an icelandic hospital or morgue. what was worse, around this time, i realized that one side of the strap of my new dslr camera that i had slung across my back had come completely loose, so i had no choice but to hold the reigns, the bulky camera, and the saddle simultaneously.

luckily, the galloping periods were relatively short, and i was fairly comfortable with the brisk trot by this time, despite the addition of my camera in my hands. after about an hour we stopped to give the horses a break, and i was faced with the task of dismounting the horse. somehow i managed to scamper off without trouble, and perhaps even some grace. when i turned from my horse, i saw the husband watching me from across the field, with a look of astonishment on his face. we met halfway, and he admitted that he had been worried that i wouldn't survive the ride, or the dismount. this time we fixed the camera strap to be quite secure, and i slung the camera in the front, and tucked it into my jacket.

all too soon, we were back on our horses (this time i mounted without a guide overseeing me), and the rest of the trip went by with only a handful of panicky moments, and at some points i even remembered to look around and enjoy the scenery. as our ride wrapped up and we approached the corral, i felt a sense of pride and accomplishment, wondering if anyone else on the ride was as proud as i was of the simple achievement of not falling off their horse. my pride quickly turned into embarrassment as notfrida abruptly stopped right inside the gates of the corral, blocking the way for the rest of the horses behind us, clearly ready to get rid of me. with the prodding of one of the guides, she reluctantly moved forward just a little more so the other horses could come in. she stopped again, once again sending the message, "i'm bored of you, please get off, thanks".

feeling embarrassed and suddenly stressed, i realized i was just as eager to get off notfrida as she was to be rid of me. i was suddenly not sure the best way to dismount- i had no idea how i had succeeded just an hour before. i leaned forward as before and swung one leg over, and the next thing i knew, i was flat on my back, on the concrete. i had narrowly missed a giant pile of manure, and one of the guides came forward to ask if i was okay. notfrida completely ignored me. amazingly, i was fine, a little dusty, but with only a bruised ego and rear end.

i led notfrida to tie her off and remove her saddle, as the husband examined me over for traces of damage, and reassured me that very few people noticed my most ungraceful dismount. despite this rather stressful experience, i still look back and consider it a "fun experience". while i didn't exactly bond with notfrida, i find icelandic horses quite beautiful creatures, and am glad to have tried a new activity. later i asked the husband how it was possible that it seemed that half of our activities on any given vacation pushed my comfort zone and physical limits and terrified me, and yet i always walked away exclaiming it a grade A holiday? his response: "good question".

a nice slap on the ear

2010-05-25T20:29:00.001-05:00

as we find ourselves facing june, i can't ignore the looming texas summer any longer. the heat. the humidity. the utter nastiness.... causing me to experience an overwhelming amount of reverse homesickness for finland, and finnish treats, of course. i suggested to the husband that we take a stab at making korvapuusti (a finnish pastry reminiscent of a cinnamon bun), and he was immediately on board. roughly translated, korvapuusti means "slap on the ear". this is a very common sweet bread that you can find easily in a grocery store, either in the bakery section or the frozen food section in finland. it is also easily found in cafes, pretty much everywhere in the country (as far as i have seen, at least). korvapuusti is part of a larger, more general term for sweet breads, pulla, which can either be similar to the korvapuusti, or more closely resemble what americans consider 'danishes'.

it was my first time working with yeast, and the results weren't too shabby.

adapted from the finnish cookbook by beatrice ojakangas

for the dough
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup of warm water

2 cups half and half (or whole milk), scalded, and cooled to lukewarm

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn cardamom*
6 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted + cooled

*we only put 1 tspn of cardamom in, but i suggest upping it to 1 tbspn instead.

dissolve the yeast in the water. add milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, and half the flower. beat for about a minute. stir in the melted butter until well combined, and keep adding the remaining flour to make a stiff dough. if you feel the dough isn't 'stiff', you can try adding a little bit more flour into the dough. turn the dough out onto a board and knead until smooth- this should take about 10 minutes. put the dough in a greased bowl, turn it to grease the top, cover, and let it rise in a warm place until it has double in size. this may take up up to 2-3 hours.

filling (we used a combination of the two fillings)
1/2 cup soft butter

1 tbsn cinnamon

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup ground nuts (we used walnuts and almonds)
(mix all together)

or
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup marmalade- we used apricot for one part

topping
large granulated sugar
egg wash (egg yolk and a little bit of water)

once risen, roll the dough out to a rectangle of about 24" x 36".spread the butter evenly over the rolled out dough. spread the filling of your choice over the the buttered layer. make sure to stop the filling the long side about 1/4"-1/2" from the end. roll the dough up into a tight log, making sure it's well sealed.

cut diagonally into the log to make trapezoid-ish pieces (about 1 inch on the short side, and 2.5 inches on the long side). flip each piece upwards so it's sitting on the wide bottom, and press down the middle with a finger to flatten it out, forming little ears (really creepy looking ears). brush with an egg wash to add a glow, and sprinkle large sugar granules on top. place on a greased cookie sheet, and bake at 375F for about 25 minutes.

marimekko unikko tote giveaway winner

2010-05-20T19:30:00.002-05:00

the winner of the marimekko unikko tote bag is....

congratulations, erin! i will be contacting you to get your mailing information. thank you to everyone else for entering. perhaps you'll be the winner next time.

ironing board cover tutorial

2010-05-14T17:02:00.002-05:00

i have always wondered about the history of ironing. who came up with this painful chore? who decided that having nicely pressed clothes was a necessity? probably someone with too much time and money. regardless, i loathe this person.

like the average person, i hate ironing. i can't count the number of times i have accidentally burned myself...or ironed my clothes only to discover that they look even worse than they did pre-ironing. so to be perfectly honest, i rarely iron my clothes, and when they really need ironing, often the husband steps up and kindly does it for me. he is much, much better at it than i am.

but even with my active avoidance of clothes ironing, i still spend an exorbitant amount of time standing over my board. you can't escape ironing when you're a sewer; it just can't be avoided. it must be done. because of all this time i spend with my iron and ironing board, i decided to make a new ironing board cover. i was tired of looking at the ugly, semi- burned mess all the time. besides, what better way to make a terrible chore a little more tolerable?

the materials i used:
- 2 inch double fold bias tape (needed just over 1 package)
- a little over 1.5 yards fabric
i used jessica jones herb fabric. i love her fabrics, and turns out she made a cover too (ok, so it was over two years ago), which makes us ironing board twins! we're also favorite color twins (orange). but i guess that's not as special.
- string (pulled out from my old ironing board cover)

take your old ironing board cover and lay it out over the new fabric, using it as a pattern. my old cover was a tad small for my board (which makes absolutely no sense, since it's the cover the came with the board), so i cut a larger piece around the old one. but if your original cover fits well, just cut along the edges. lay your string around the border of the new fabric piece, and then pin the bias tape around the edge, every few inches.

close up.

make sure the thread stays away from the edge you're sewing on. the extra thread should be hanging out where both ends of the bias tape ends. this way you don't have to spend a hour violently swearing while trying to pull the thread all the way through. sew the tape on. place cover on your board and tighten.

i've seen another great tutorial where you use the casing of your old board to make a new one. i didn't want to do that- but if you do, take a look here at u-hand's blog.