Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Bows: Brooches & Barrettes

Here is what I did with most of my afternoon! I don't usually ask, but...what do you think?? Which one is your favorite? Or not-so-favorite? What do you like/dislike about them? I think they're a lot of fun, to make AND wear! Some are hair clips, some have pins on the back. But this is my first batch of this particular style, and I think I could improve possibly...







Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Collage No. 3


  1. Cootie catcher madness! I am loving cootie catchers lately. Don't know why. It just seems appropriate. This is part 1 of Miss Mandi's small housewarming package.
  2. Owl fabric cuff, with a JustPuff button and loop closure.
  3. Lace and pretty printed Japanese linens, tied together with a bit of handspun. Part 2 of Mandi's package! (Sadly...I forgot to photograph part 3.)
  4. Pink hyacinth...getting too big for its little container! We are behind on gardening this year.
  5. So I realized that the yeast in the fridge is about to expire...and have decided to get baking. Pictured is my favorite, easy bread. It's super yummy too!!
  6. Fuchsia sock yarn from Twist...I'm calling it unicorn yarn. I am just savoring it for a while in hank form. Perhaps I'll start knitting it before the weekend...or not.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Buttons by JustPuff

These gorgeous, large, ancient-looking buttons were made for me by JustPuff! I was going to use them in some items for the shop, but I might end up keeping them!! I just love the way they look.

Made from earthenware clay, and then glazed. I don't think there are any buttons in her shop currently, but just send her a convo and she will be more than happy to try and accommodate you with a custom order. :)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patty's Day Parade Snippets

The only bad thing about being in a parade is that you can't actually watch the parade, or at least you'll miss out on most of it. Our group was pretty much smack dab in the middle of this one, so once we rounded the block we dashed back to Douglas Street to see the rest.

Here are a few of the pics I managed to get (except the first one, which is courtesy of Shelly!) I hope to get a better shot of my costume...although I'm not sure if anyone has one! :(












Sunday, March 14, 2010

Trust me, I'm Irish...

The St. Patrick's Day festivities began yesterday here in Wichita, with the 4th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Historic Delano. Wichita Handmade marched along with the fun, making it their second parade. (I will try to get some pics up later.)

In honor of this fun holiday, I bring you my St. Patrick's Day Etsy finds. Enjoy!


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Give Beets a Chance


I know, I've been a bit lax where blogging is concerned. Between getting ready for the big parade, trying to whip up some clothing to sell at Lucinda's, and the every day hustle and bustle--that phrase make me giggle--I haven't had time to do more than a few quick posts.

So I'm going to take a break and blog...

About beets.

I touched briefly on my love of beets not too long ago, and thought I'd expand here.

Some people think they're gross, which I simply cannot fathom because they are heavenly to me!!! I hadn't had any for months, so I recently bought a jar of pickled beets (pickled is my favorite way to have them), and it was like...it was like...well...words escape me. But it was pretty awesome.

Store-bought beets are great, but as with everything else, homegrown are the BEST. So how do you grow beets?

In Kansas, beets should be planted at the end of March or in April for a June or July harvest (they take about 55 to 60 days), or you can plant them in July or August to be harvested in September/October. The seeds are planted in rows, with each seed 4" apart.

(Of course, some of this information may vary depending on your climate and seed variety. It's always a good idea to check your seed packet for the most accurate info.)

And, if you don't want to grow them yourself, take a trip to the farmer's market! KS Farmers' Market is a great resource for Kansans; you can use it to search for farmers' markets near you.

But how to pickle? Well...sadly enough...I don't remember which recipe we liked the best. (Very informative of me, I know!)


However, I can give you a few pointers for pickled beets that can be stored in the refrigerator for a week (not canned):
  1. Scrub your beets well, and cut off the tops. But don't cut off the entire top!! Leave about 1" to 2" of the stem/leaves, or they'll bleed like crazy.
  2. Boil for 50 to 60 minutes.
  3. After they're cooked, you can cut off the rest of the tops, slip their skin off, and slice them. Once you're through with this, put them in whatever container you'll be storing them in. We use a glass bowl.
  4. Here is the part that I forget: the recipe for the juice. Water, vinegar, sugar, and pickling spices are all you'll need for this. The amounts of each ingredient can be varied, depending on how sweet, spicy, or bland you like your beets. This concoction is simmered for 15 minutes before it's poured over the sliced beets. After this, just put it in the fridge!

When I find that recipe again, I will be sure to post it.

If you haven't already, give them a try!!

Catch Some Cooties!

MMMkay, so for my friend Shelly's 30th birthday, I went all out and made her something really special...

A cootie catcher!!! And it was a doozy, let me tell ya.

However, it seems that I have inspired her to make some cootie catchers with class!! Go over to the I Didn't Sign Up For This blog and enter to WIN!! There are three individual cootie catchers, all made with love, so there will be 3 winners! I love things like this. They are super fun if not a little nostalgic.


Saturday, March 6, 2010

Folk at Lucinda's

To all my Wichita/Kansas peeps--check out what's new at Lucinda's!!

I am so very pleased to announce that one of my FAVORITE local stores, Lucinda's in Old Town, is currently carrying original, one-of-a-kind accessories made by me! All of the items below are currently available for sale. Buy local, buy handmade! :D

And even if you don't think you need any of my items below, visit the store anyway--it is truly fabulous. Lucinda's is a great place for unique and beautiful clothing, bags, wallets, jewelry, shoes, stationary and much more. I am proud to say that they carry A LOT of handmade things from local artists. Visit their website HERE. (It is currently under construction, but you can see their hours and address on the home page.)









Thursday, March 4, 2010

Beautiful Blogger Award!

Today I was tagged in this blog post by the lovely Mandi of Red Planet! She has presented me with this beautiful blogger award, for which I am very grateful--not just because it's swell to win such a nice award from someone with an awesome blog, but also because it makes me get my butt in blogging gear, if only for this evening!

The object here is for me to give seven facts about myself...a seemingly easy task, but we'll see about that. So check out the trivia and then have a look at Mandi's blog if you haven't already (and if you already have, check it out again, it's definitely worth following!) She also has a great shop, Red Planet, which is currently in vacation mode due to her moving soon, but sign up to get the notification for when it re-opens!

*deep breath....*

uh....

*blank stare*

um....okay:


1. Closet stats: I would say about 75% of my clothes are handmade. 8% are second-hand/goodwill finds...and the predominating colors are green, red, brown, and yellow. (Yes, I happen to be sitting in front my closet right now!)

2. I love beets, particularly when they're pickled. Apparently, this makes most people gag, but I think they are delicious!!! (Don't hate!)

3. I also think I Lady Gaga, which also makes some people gag. I might be completely in love with her if I wasn't so torn; on one hand, she is a little too crude for my taste...to put it nicely. But on the other hand, I think she's a real artist and knows how to put on performance. I think there's more to her than just dressing up "weird"...and I can't believe I just wrote that much about Lady GaGa. Wow.

4. I have bad handwriting. There have been different times in my life when I have tried to change it. I used to do "writing exercises" which I never kept up for too long. Now I just try to make sure it's legible.

5. I'm going gray. Sort of. I have dark brown/almost black hair, and when I was about 18 or so (I'm 26 now) I began getting a couple white hairs on the top of my head. I keep getting them, and in the last year or two it has become very noticeable. I am hoping it becomes a solid white streak someday soon!

6. I love bellydancing. I don't think I've blogged about this, but it's in my profile info, so maybe this doesn't count as an unknown fact!! But I'll elaborate anyway. Really, I like just about any kind of dancing. I haven't been taking classes now for a number of reasons which I won't go into right now, but I can't go too long without dancing, so a lot of it's done in my room. Hehe. But I think bellydance is particularly fun. Especially the costumes and music.

7. I have a lot of OCD-ish tendancies--some make sense, some don't. One that doesn't make sense is that water on the faucet or countertop creeps me out! If the bathroom counter has water on it and I touch it, I have to wipe it off of myself as soon as possible. Even when I know it's clean water. (But I also used to know a girl who couldn't touch used tape, so this isn't so bad, right? Right???)


And now I shall bequeath this award to:


(I know some of you've already received this, but heck, you deserve it again!)

Monday, March 1, 2010

Some Things.

I thought I was going to get A LOT done this weekend!! Well...I was busy, but I still haven't done everything I wanted to do. I still have a parade costume to complete, a zine to make, seeds to plant, and the list goes on...here are a few pics from this last weekend's (mis)adventures. I didn't get nearly as many good pics as I had hoped I would.

Fabrics!!! I am in love with these Japanese linen prints (of which I will have better pictures in the future.) We went on another visit to Charlotte's Sew Natural in Newton.

Plants!! We visited Atwoods on the way back.

Awww...

Awww!

Run down old motel.

This is not a great idea; I do not know why the owners tied her up here...it will kill the tree and I am not sure how good it is for the horse, either!! But it was still cute. Cute and stupid.

It may have been just a *teeny tiny* bit wet for tilling, but it was a gorgeous day and we can't wait for spring!

Rhubarb number 1...

Rhubarb number 2!

Pretty pod.

An unexpected sight in rural Kansas...a Buddhist temple, I think? I believe this building is new.