Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Spoilers?

I have several crafting projects in the works but most are for a swap at Craftster.org and I don't want to post them, just in case. I am also in the process of completing the decor in baby girl's room. It's painted and furnished but I'm still working on the finishing touches like tie-backs for the drapes and setting up the wall art. My sister-in-law's birthday is fast approaching but I haven't decided what to make her yet. I did crochet her an afghan - two years ago actually - that I never gave her. I feel a bit silly giving a blanket in July during triple-digit heat though.
Stay tuned for these projects, as well as Independence Day fun, including cookie decorating.
What are you working on this week?

Friday, June 24, 2011

Introduction to Fused Glass


I went to a one-hour fused glass workshop at the same place I took the crash glass workshop. In the workshop you are given several options of what you can make - pendants, a coaster, a nightlight, et cetera. I chose pendants because I would be able to make two different items, and thus play around more. They are fairly large but surprisingly lightweight.

This pendant consists of a black base rectangle, shards arranged on the base (two shades of blue and one piece of dichroic) to form the middle layer, and a clear rectangle to form the top layer and encase everything. The two little bubbles are trapped in the center layer.

This pendant is a novice homage to Dr. Who, specifically the TARDIS. It is a base layer of clear, with a small yellow triangle and a large blue rectangle next, topped with a small white rectangle and blue stringer.
Both pendants have bails attached with E6000.


Monday, June 20, 2011

Cupcakes in Disguise




Inspired by a picture in "What's New, Cupcake?" and the cover of Woman's Day magazine, I made cupcakes for our family Father's Day get-together. One dozen were red velvet cupcakes disguised as coals; one dozen were lemon cupcakes disguised as corn on the cob. I threw in crispy treats made to look like hamburger patties and some creative plating to complete the cook-out theme.

The "patties" are cocoa crispy treats formed with a circular cookie cutter. The marshmallow was dyed a dark pink for an authentic look.

The coals are red velvet cupcakes topped with vanilla icing, marshmallows cut to different heights, crushed chocolate wafers (Oreos without the cream), and red sugar sprinkles. They were displayed in cake tins and covered with small cooling racks and the faux burgers.

The corn cobs are lemon cupcakes topped with vanilla icing, lemon and toasted marshmallow jelly beans, and partially melted yellow Starburst candies. They were plated three in a row with corn-cob skewers poked into the ones on either end.

They were all three a big hit, but I must say I was surprised to discover that the cocoa crispy treats were the most popular. They are much sweeter than the plain variety of rice cereal treats and, I think, were a nice change for some of the adults that hadn't had this more child-friendly treat in a while.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A New Way to Scrapbook


Using a Groupon.com discount, I took a "Crash Glass" class at a stained glass store in a nearby suburb. It is essentially a scrapbook layout enhanced with glass. Images, papers, et cetera (items must be flat) are epoxied to the top of the glass in a picture frame. Larger pieces of glass are epoxied over focal images and the rest of the area is filled in with broken tempered glass. Grout to fill in the gaps and hold everything together and you are done. I had some areas with too much epoxy that kept the grout from being as clean as I'd like. Overall, though, I think it looks good for my first attempt.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Pretty Petunia Cloche


I bought the crochet pattern for the Pretty Petunia Cloche from CharmingCrochet on Etsy.com when I discovered I was expecting a little girl. It worked up pretty easily and uses so little yarn you could make multiple hats or coordinating accessories. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn, which I love using in children's items because it really is soft with a lot of drape but 100% machine-washable acrylic.
The hat is absolutely adorable, but my daughter is on the petite side shall we say and won't be able to wear it any time soon.



Now that I've pulled out the hooks and yarn, I couldn't resist picking up some ridiculously sweet patterns from Crochet My Love on Etsy.com and can't wait to get started on them. There is a seriously ruffled diaper cover and Vanna's Choice yarn calling my daughter's name.