Day 12: String Jar

This nifty string jar has a jumbo eyelet in the lid so the string is easy to use, stays clean (it tended to get linty in the craft drawer) and it looks cute on your craft desk or shelf.  I am pleased to finally do a project that follows the theme for the day on the 30DoC calendar.  I saw it here in a blog written by Cathe Holden of Just Something I Made.  Her site is loaded with great ideas, lots of DIY, and beautiful vintage stuff.  Oh, and lots of freebies too, so check it out!

I used a Mason jar from Kerr and the jumbo eyelet (1/2 inch) is from Stampin’ Up, but I’m not sure if they are in the current catalog.  I’ve seen them in craft and fabric stores and a smaller size will work too.

I used my Crop-a-Dile Big Bite to punch the hole in the lid and to set the eyelet.  Cathe used an eyelet kit you can get at the fabric store, plus a hammer and nail.  I’m probably not the only one who has a fancy tool she hardly ever uses, but if you don’t have a Crop-A-Dile tool, you can get an eyelet kit. Then punch the hole using a nail with a block of wood behind it.  Push the nail through the hole to enlarge it enough for the eyelet to fit.  Put the eyelet in the hole so the back of the eyelet is on the bottom of the lid, use the eyelet tool and hammer to spread open and flatten the back.

I have Aluminum Duct Tape that I used in several projects last year during 30DoC and it was great for a label on my jar. I punched out the label shape, stamped on it using StazOn Ink, (great for non-porous surfaces), let the ink dry, peeled the backing off the tape and put it on the jar.  A Sharpie would work too, and a paper label would be great.  Or no label.

I made a Needle Felted Placemat last year on Day 12.

I hope you are enjoying 30 Days of Creativity, thanks for stopping by.

Day 11: Button Rings

Today I wanted fast and easy.  This was a little fussier than I’d hoped, but it was fairly fast and pretty easy.

I have two button rings that I enjoy wearing .  Sometimes just one little ring can make me feel as if my whole outfit is pulled together.

Both are made from unique, old buttons.  The black button ring was made for my big fingers with a wrapped wire base and the white button is on a bendable size-to-fit base.  But because my fingers are not a size 7 or 8, the white one doesn’t get worn as often because…well, it doesn’t really fit!  After awhile it starts to pinch.

Last summer I did a project with wire.  The memory of that project was enough to convince me that I didn’t want to attempt a wire button ring.  So I found some ring bases to try.  They’re different that the bendable one on the white button ring but I have a feeling I’ll have the same problem.   I think they will make cute gifts or maybe I’ll do a Button Ring giveaway!

I ordered the ring blanks of Etsy and raided my moms button box for interesting buttons.  That was so fun, I went to Jo-ann Fabric and Crafts and bought some more buttons.

Some of the buttons have shanks on the back but I just snipped them off with some trusty nippers.

I also had to adapt some of the ring bases to work with the different buttons.  They had a little rim around the disc on the top of the ring.  For some buttons that was fine but others didn’t fit inside the rim so I cut it off,  cutting through the edge with the nippers than using sturdy scissors to cut it all the way off.  I use a sanding block to smooth the cut edge and than sanded the top of the ring base to rough it up a little, all the better for gluing.

Finally, it was a matter of my good ol’ E6000 adhesive.  It’s a little stinky so be sure to work in a well-ventilated space. I squeeze out a small pea-sized dab on a piece of scrap paper because it starts to set up and I don’t want to waste it.  Then I use a toothpick to apply it to the top of the ring base and the back of the button.  I found it worked best if I let them set up a bit before pressing together.  Any smaller buttons were added in the same way.

The picture of this turquoise Flower Power ring didn’t quite capture the pink color of the center button, but it does show how cute a button ring can be.

This heavy coat button with pearl beads is a true knuckle duster.  I think it would even fit the trendy title of “statement ring”.

These three started as pretty buttons but really look finished when second button is added.

Now if only I didn’t have such large fingers, I would have a whole new wardrobe of rings.  Once the adhesive has cured, I’ll see if I can adjust the size enough to squeeze one on and give it a test wearing.

Last year I did a project using buttons on cards.  My Day 11 project was not quick or easy, but it was pretty awesome: a Miniature Paper Dress.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Day 10: Vegetable Potato Salad

It was HOT out today.  Salad weather.  Sit in the shade with a fruity, icy drink in your hand and do nothing weather.  Well, as it happened, it wasn’t a do-nothing day.  But somewhere along the way I decided to make potato salad to eat tomorrow.

I went to the Marin County Farmer’s Market this morning with the idea that I was going to take a bunch of yummy photos to make a photo montage.  But it was hot and crowded and most of the the gorgeous fruits and vegetables were in the shade.  I did get a shot of some cherries and updated my blog header.

I also saw some new potatoes and then some green beans and I thought of this recipe.  This is one of those non-recipe kind of recipes.  It is a series of guidelines and suggestions and it’s the kind of dish that never comes out exactly the same but is always delicious.

This is one of my favorite potato salads.  It is a combination of new potatoes and fresh vegetables, some raw and crunchy and others tossed in with the potatoes near the end of their cooking time, cloaked in a mayonnaise-yogurt dressing, and has more veggies than potatoes.  It will make a lovely supper with a deviled egg or two on the side.

Vegetable Potato Salad

Ingredients:

About 1 lb. new potatoes

a small crown of broccoli

a handful of green beans (about 5 oz. before trimming, or 1 heaped cup after trimming)

kernels cut from 1 ear of corn

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins.  If large, cut in half.

2 stalks celery, sliced

2-3 green onions, sliced

1 cup frozen petite peas, defrosted

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons dijonnaise

1 to 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Directions:

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and drop in potatoes.  Cook until just barely tender.

While potatoes are cooking, trim the ends of the green beans and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Trim stem off of broccoli crown and peel, then slice into discs.  Cut broccoli into small florets.

When potatoes are nearly done, drop green beans into the pot with the.  Set timer for 2 minutes.

When time rings, add broccoli to the pot and set time for one additional minute.  When timer rings, pour contents of pot into a colander in the sink.  Run cold water over potatoes and vegetables to cool them down. Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, celery, green onions and peas.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into cubes.  Add the potatoes, cooked green beans and broccoli to the bowl.

Spoon Greek yogurt, mayonnaise and dijonnaise onto potatoes and vegetables.  Sprinkle on red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir together to coat salad.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

If you like dill, by all means, add some dill.  Some chopped hard-cooked egg would be good though I like eggs in a different potato salad so have mine on the side, deviled.  I’m sure other vegetables would work too, this is the combination that I find works and I usually have most of the items on hand.  I imagine black olives would be tasty in here.

I also picked up apricots and cherries and can attest to the fact that they taste sublime with Lemon Custard Ice Cream!

Last year the theme for Day 10 was neon and I took a photo of these hot neon flames coming out of a toaster.

Stay cool and thanks for stopping by.

Day 9: Glass Tile Pendants

This is a wonderful project for anyone who has beautiful paper and wants another way to use it.  Of course it only uses small amounts but that’s ok.

This is yet another creation I originally saw on Pinterest.  I followed the link to a great site, Simply Modern Mom, read the tutorial and purchased supplies on Etsy from Sun and Moon Craft Kits: the glass tiles, silver bails (little loops for hanging) and the ball chains in different colors.

It was easy, inexpensive and fun.  I already had Diamond Glaze, paper, E6000 adhesive and all the paper I could possibly need.  Until I see something else that I want.

The glass tiles are 1 inch in size and have slightly rounded corners so trim the paper just a little smaller and round the corners.

Tiffany at Simply Modern Mom uses toothpicks but I found I worked best just using my finger to apply the Diamond Glaze.  I did use a fair amount of paper towel and I had to go to the sink to wash my hands every few minutes.

Spread a bit of Diamond Glaze on the back of a glass tile.  Put your trimmed paper onto the glaze, making sure the surface you want showing goes face down on the glass.  Press the tile down on a nonstick surface (I have a little pad for using with a hot melt glue gun, but wax paper was suggested by Simply Modern Mom and I imagine parchment paper would also work) with the paper side down.  This will press the paper to the glass and smoosh out any excess Diamond Glaze.

Quickly wipe excess glaze off the edge of the tile.  I took the corner of a wet paper towel and carefully wiped off the sticky edges of the tile that inevitably resulted.

It sets fairly quickly but isn’t really dry yet.  Now you want to protect the paper with a layer of Diamond Glaze to cover it including the edges. If the paper you are using is thin or has a lot of texture you may want to put a layer of another, sturdier paper over the thin paper or yet another layer of glaze over the textured paper.

One the glaze is dry, you can attach the bail with the E6000 adhesive.  Check the front of the pendant so you are sure to put the loop at the top so the pendant hangs correctly.

Once it has dried, your pendant is done and can be strung on a ball chain, cord, ribbon or other necklace.

In the one pictured below I made a tiny little collage of purple paper, a flower rubber stamped image, and some vintage sheet music.

The other one is a beautiful little scrap of origami paper.

This is a little messy but the tiles are small so it is small-scale mess.  Glue on your fingers probably means you are being creative!

Day 9 last year: Pink Glass Earrings.  Is Day 9 the day for glass? Interesting.

As always, I appreciate your visit.

Day 8: Cardamom Pecan Cookies

When I was browsing sites for ideas for this month of projects, I saw a cardamom cookie.  I love cardamom but have never used it in cooking.  I bookmarked the site but when I revisited it later, the cookie seemed overly complicated. Then I found some recipes for Lemon Ice Cream and I thought a good a simple, buttery cookie flavored with cardamom would go with Lemon Ice Cream.

I looked around and found a recipe from the wonderful Smitten Kitchen. Deb at Smitten Kitchen offers up a slice-and-bake cookie recipe that is the base for many add-in options.  I decided to give it a try with the addition of cardamom and chopped pecans.  Smitten Kitchen uses unsalted butter which I know a lot of recipes call for.  I don’t usually have it on hand, so I used my regular, salted butter and omitted the pinch of salt she added.

I’m happy with the results but after 30DoC is done and I bake another batch, I’d make a few changes: I’ve been thinking about some chopped, candied ginger to balance the cardamom and add a little more sweetness. A bit of orange zest would also go well with the flavors in this cookie. Another option would be to roll the dough into balls and coat the finished cookies in powdered sugar, much like a Mexican Wedding Cookie.  The recipe as it stands is not very sweet.

In the meantime, I was right about the combination of the cookie with yesterday’s Lemon Custard Ice Cream.  The short, buttery cookie with the cardamom flavor familiar from chai tea or perhaps from Nordic baked goods is a delicious match with the refreshing zing of the lemon in the ice cream.

Let me point out something that should have been obvious this morning when I started making the cookies.  I’d read quickly through the recipe, I knew the dough needed to be chilled.  But it is chilled twice: first you make the dough and divide it into two balls and chill for 30 minutes.  Then you roll it into logs, chill for two hours and proceed to slice and bake.  So plan accordingly!

Or…do as I did after the initial 30 minutes and pinch off balls of dough, place on parchment covered baking sheet and press with a sugar-dipped glass and bake.  They turned out fine and I was able to bring them along when I went to see my mom this morning.

Cardamom Pecan Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 50 cookies

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature (you can put the eggs into a bowl of hot tap water for a few minutes to take off the chill)

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 cup finely chopped (or ground) pecans

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

granulated sugar for topping (optional)

Smitten Kitchen has many suggestions of options to add in to the basic recipe or to roll the dough logs in before slicing.  For example, grated orange zest and dried cranberries, or mini chocolate chips.  If you omit the nuts, add another 1/2 cup of flour.

Directions:

Beat butter until fluffy.  Add the confectioners sugar and beat until combined.  Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.  Beat in cardamom and pecans.  Add the flour and beat until just combined.  Don’t over beat.  I turned off the mixer and finished stirring in the flour at the bottom of the bowl.

Scrape the dough into a ball, divide the ball in half, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

If you are going to make these as slice-and bake cookies than drop down to the next paragraph.  If you are ready to bake now, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pinch off small pieces of dough and make little balls (about 1 inch) and place on parchment covered baking sheet.

Dip the bottom of a glass in granulated sugar in a small bowl and press on balls of dough.  Bake for about 12 minutes until set but not browned.  Cool on racks.

Back to the slice-and-bake directions: Roll each ball of dough into a log that is about 1 inch to 1 1/4 inch thick.  It was fairly sticky so I found it easiest to do this on a piece of parchment paper.  Cover dough logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If you want to coat the log in something (chopped nuts, poppyseeds), this is the time to do it. Slice logs into pieces 1/3 inch thick and place on parchment covered baking sheet.  Bake for about 12 minutes until set but not browned. Cool on racks.

Dough logs can be wrapped tightly and kept in the fridge if you want to just slice off a few cookies at a time and bake.

Day 8 from last year: Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love my ice cream maker?

Thanks for stopping by.

Day 7: Lemon Custard Ice Cream

I’m ending the first week of 30 Days of Creativity with a delicious dessert: rich, creamy Lemon Custard Ice Cream.  I saw the recipe at Good Life Eats who adapted it from Tartelette.

Before I went to work in the morning I put together the base – in two parts.  The first part is a combination of lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar.

The second part is 4 egg yolks (guess who had scrambled egg whites with spinach and mushrooms for breakfast – yup, me!) combined with warm milk and heated again until thickened.

Heavy cream is added and the  two bowls go into the fridge to chill and I go off to work.

Before going to Jazzercise I blended the two mixtures and tasted the creamy results.  Oh, my.

Pour the cold ice cream base into your ice cream maker and watch it turn into a sweet, lemony ice cream.  I put it in the freezer so it could get a bit firmer and had a dish after dinner.  So good!

We’ve made a custard style vanilla ice cream in the past and it was delicious but this particular combination: the bright  hint of tartness, bits of sunny lemon zest and the richness from the heavy cream and egg yolks  really stands out as a wonderful dessert.

Update: I’ve added links (above) to Good Life Eats where I saw the recipe that I adapted and to Tartelette where Katie Goodman from Good Life Eats saw the recipe she had adapted.  When I went to Tartelette I saw that with the *changes I made, I had pretty much made it back to the same as Helene at Tartelette but without a pinch of salt.

* Changes: I didn’t use any half and half (I didn’t want a container of heavy cream and another of half and half in my fridge) and I omitted the xantham gum that Katie added to keep the ice cream from being too icy and hard.  I didn’t have any xantham gum in my pantry and maybe my freezer just doesn’t freeze as cold because it wasn’t a problem with the batch I made.

 

Lemon Custard Ice Cream

Ingredients:

finely grated zest from 3 lemons

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 cup milk (I used 2% milk as that is what I have)

2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar in a glass or other non-reactive bowl and refrigerate for an hour or two (or in my case, all day).

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks slightly.  Heat the milk in a large saucepan on medium until it is just starting to simmer and pour slowly over the yolks, beating until well combined.  Return the milk and yolk mixture and heat gently until it thickens and coats the back of the spoon. I strained the mixture at this point because there were some lumpy bits, but that is optional.

Combine the thickened milk and yolks in the bowl with the heavy cream.  Chill at least an hour but several hours would be even better.

Combine the lemon juice and sugar mixture with the cream mixture and pour into your ice cream maker.  Process as directed by manufacturer.  Get ready to enjoy this luscious treat!

Last year on Day 7 I created Refrigerator Word Magnets.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 6: Shrinky Dink Rings II – Fail!

I love the idea of this project.  I loved how the rings turned out when I did them last year.  I didn’t like how they  broke but I thought it was because I was using generic shrink plastic.  So I wanted to give it another shot.

Bad news.  I used the real deal Shrinky Dinks and made really cool rings.  But sadly, they broke too.

I’ll try another Shrinky Dink project, but no more Shrinky Dink rings.

But all is not lost because you can still look back at my project for Day 6 last year: Infused Oil.

Thanks for the visit.

Day 5: Tape Dispenser Before & After

I saw this, where else, on Pinterest.  I knew I would need some quick and easy projects for 30DoC and this is exactly that: quick and easy!  Helena on Craft and Creativity did it beautifully and, by the way, has a wonderful site that you should check out.

Tape Dispenser Before

Tape Dispenser During

Tape Dispenser After

Day 5 project from 2011: Shrinky Dink Rings.

Have a great day and thanks for making my blog a part of it.

Day 4: Double Sponged & Embossed Cards

I’ve got a whole list of different crafts and recipes to try during 30DoC but when my friend Carson posted a link for this Double Sponging Technique, I decided to try it.  Heather Telford at Bits and Pieces created a wonderful tutorial showing this process.

In Heather’s version, she first sponged ink onto card stock then stamped a music background stamp over the paper.  I don’t have a music stamp so I adapted her technique and used actual sheet music!

The vintage sheet music is a bit fragile and I didn’t use the adhesive I usually do when making cards.  Instead, anytime I was adhering sheet music to card stock I used a glue stick.

First I sponged several light colors over a piece of sheet music.

Than I used VersaMark ink to stamp a clear butterfly image on this inked background.  I embossed the butterfly with clear embossing powder and heat set it.

Next I sponged over the whole piece with darker colors of ink.

Finally, I put the butterfly on a mat of colored card stock and used it on a card, along with a greeting and embellishments.

I made two butterfly cards and one bird card using the Double-Sponging Technique.  This is definitely a technique I will use again after 30DoC.  Thanks for sharing the link, Carson!

Last year on Day 4 I made Pizza Bites.

I appreciate your interest and support.

Day 3: Icebox Cupcakes

These little cuties are a variation of Icebox Cake, a simple but delicious concoction made with chocolate wafer cookies and sweetened whipped cream.  The cookies are stacked with whipped cream between the layers and put into the fridge.  After 5 hours (or overnight), the whipped cream has softened the chocolate cookies to make a cake-like dessert. These are also nice for warm weather when you don’t want to turn on the oven to bake a cake.

Rem and I stretch out our birthday celebrations from a day to a month, if possible.  He birthday falls on the first day of June a.k.a. Day 1 of 30 Days of Creativity! So some of my projects, like this one, are in honor of Rem’s Birthday Month.

I used the classic Famous Chocolate Wafers by Nabisco.  The package has a recipe on the side for Icebox Cake but on their website they call it Chocolate Refrigerator Roll.  One box makes 8 little cupcakes that are each 5 cookies high.

This was only the second time I tried this recipe – the first time I put it in a loaf pan and this time in the cupcake stacks.  One cup of heavy whipping cream should make enough for one box of cookies.  I used a pint and I had leftovers but I don’t consider that a bad thing!

Spread about a tablespoon of sweetened whipped cream (I also added some vanilla when I whipped it up) between a pair of cookies, and press the cookies together.  Add another tablespoon of whipped cream and another cookie until you have a 5-layer stack of cookies.

I used an offset spatula and spread whipped cream on the sides to get an even layer all the way to the edges.  Once you have a stack of five cookies, make sure the cookies are aligned then either spread a final layer of whipped cream on the top of each stack or pipe it on for a fancier finish.

I’m sure it will be just as delicious without the raspberry and mint leaf garnish but I love how these look, especially on my new cake stand!

My project for Day 3 last year: Security Envelope Flower Cards.

Thank you for stopping by.