reupholstering

Hi y'all.  A while back I reupholstered a bar stool/chair.  Quite the endeavor!  There was a lot of sweating and cursing.  Ideally, you should be able to take off whatever upholstery is on there, make a pattern from it and pretty simply stitch together the new covering, slip it over and staple away.  Mine require a little more effort because the new cloth wasn't as stretchy as the old cloth.  I had to make an additional seem around the lumbar area.  In the end, it was well worth the effort.  A great way to reclaim an old piece of furniture!

Old chair...
New chair!

Divide and Conquer!

I recently moved into a loft in Dallas. Thinking I would need something to divide up the space so I could have a smaller isolated studio, I set out to make partitions. I swung by a local recycled building material resale warehouse. You can find similar warehouses in your hometown by typing "recycled building materials" into a google search. At Discount Home Warehouse I found four wooden slab doors. I had to remove the door knobs which was a feat in itself. I now know about all different types of door knobs and the various ways you might be able to remove them. Fascinating. Two of the doors were easy to put together because the hinges on them were complimentary. The second two had matching hinges unfortunately, so I had to replace one set of hinges with a complimentary pair. This was a pain, but fortunately the doors came with extra hinges so I had the right hinges on hand. The process involved removing the original hinges, scraping off a small sliver of the door's spine so that I could slip the hinge into the depressed area designated for it facing the opposite way that the previous hinges had faces. Complicated. Half an hour or so later (it took a long time to line up the doors correctly and get those screws in) I had two beautiful door partitions! Sadly, after much agonizing, I realized I didn't really have the space for these two partitions. You can find them listed on ebay for $50 each. Buy mine, or make 'em yourself!

Nooooooo!

i tried to make curried carrot soup and failed.
it tasted like baby food, but spicy and chemical-like.
do not try this at home.

The birth/attempt of a painting:

Like it:

Green Thumbs Rock

How do you cut a melon if you don't have a knife?

Use a saw.

(the skilled hands of eric.)


the gift of melon:

Just Wondering...

Does anyone know an efficient and odor-free way to kill a stink bug?

Please do let me know.

Plant Stuff

do try this at home.

crafting makes all my problems disappear (in vat of dye).

make me

granola. so the other day i wanted cereal, but there was none in my house. i was forced to make granola. it was successful. here's how i did it, but you can improvise (if you're smart).

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup peanut butter or any other type of nut butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• canola oil
• raisins (optional)
• chocolate chips(optional)
• flaxseeds (only if you're cool like me)
• nutmeg
• cinnamon

heat up the honey, oil, brown sugar and peanut butter in a saucepan (on low heat) for a few moments. pour it into a separate bowl with the oats and all the other stuff you want to add. mix well. put onto a tray with wax paper. put in the oven for 15 minutes at 300 degrees. you're done (almost). add bananas (only if you're cool like me) and consume with soy milk, which is milk minus the cow.

Packing is Hard

I'm not exactly a perfect packer, but I try. I've generated a list/diagram that helps me not forget anything. I hope it can help you:

I Love Green Stuff

Over spring break I went to Washington D.C.

They had these cool environmentally conscious food carts.

I wish we had them in Philadelphia. I can't guarantee they'd make my life better, but they'd certainly make it tastier and healthier.

I guess that is kind of better.

Check Out this Cool Philly Internet Show/Website

Obviously, I love food and so should you.

This is all about finding good food carts in Philadelphia:

Preloved

::PRELOVED::

This store is great! If you're ever in Montreal check out this gem of a boutique. Here you'll find quirky clothes, men's/women's shirts, skirts, dresses, pants and jackets stylishly tailored from reclaimed pre-owned clothes. Everything is unique. I got a couple of great tops. They were pricey but VERY much worth it. Check out the website!

Butternut Squash Soup

What you'll need:

• 1 butternut squash
• 3 medium sized onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 cups apple cider
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• sage leaves
• large soup pot
• large bowl
• wooden spoon
• blender

Step 1: slice onion and garlic, and set aside.

Step 2: cut butternut squash in equal sized slices (here's how to cut a butternut squash - i didn't know how to at first)

Step 3: heat olive oil in a large soup pot.

Step 4: add onions and garlic, and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat until the onions are translucent.

Step 5: lower heat and add apple cider, water and butternut squash.

Step 6: cover pot and let cook for 30 minutes (when the squash is tender). stir occasionally.

Step 7: carefully pour the cooling soup into a large bowl.

Step 8: ladle soup into the blender - this took me about 3 cycles with my blender. puree and pour back into the large soup pot.

Step 9: once all the soup is blended and back in the pot, add a few bay leaves, turn the heat on low, and stir occasionally for an hour.

Step 10: add salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste and remove bay leaves.

Step 11: enjoy!

Sunday Morning Trip to the Flea Market

Caramel Popcorn!

So good... Caramel Popcorn

What You'll Need:

• About 4 cups of popcorn
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
  
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
  
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
  
• one large pot
  
• stirring spoon
  
• tin foil
  
• tray
  

Step 1: Preheat oven to 215

Step 2: In a large pot combine sugar, butter, corn syrup and baking soda. Heat for about 5 minutes - stirring constantly.

Step 3: Add vanilla and continue to stir for 5 more minutes.

Step 4: Turn off heat, wait a minute and then add popcorn, stirring until each piece is coated.

Step 5: Place the popcorn on a tin foil-covered tray and put in the oven for 2o minutes.

Step 6: Enjoy!

My Homemade Lip Balm is Popping

I love lip balm and use it all the time. Here is my own recipe. I'm still working to perfect it. This recipe makes about three lip balms.

What You'll Need:

• cosmetic grade beeswax (a bar is okay, but pellets are easiest)
  
• grape seed oil
  
• vitamin e oil
  
• something for stirring
  
• a small glass cup or jar
  
• a container for your balm
  
• lip balm or lipstick ( for coloring)

Step 1: Put 3 tsp beeswax into a small jar and heat within a pot of boiling water for about 4-5 minutes.

Step 2: Add 9 tsp grapeseed oil and mix for 3 minutes

Step 3: Add 1 tsp vitamin e oil and mix

Step 4: Add pieces of lipstick to the mixture. The more you add, the deeper the color

Step 5: Mix until all lipstick is dissolved

Step 6: Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes

Step 7: Mix the cooled mixture and then reheat for 3 minutes (or until liquid)

Step 8: Pour into container and

 let cool

Step 9: Wear it!

Easy Dyeing

Sometimes I get bored of the colors in my closet and just want to change things up, but I hate all the mess dyeing fabrics can make. I've been working on a easy and mess-free dyeing process. I tried this last night and it worked out pretty well. It produces deep, but not completely even coloring:

What you'll need:

• a tee shirt (100% cotton)
  
• 1 tbsp baking soda
  
• fabric dye (I used Rit Dye - it's about $3 at the grocery or art supply store)
  
• 2 tbsp salt
  
• plastic gloves
  
• microwave
  
• 3-4 cup glass jar
• oven mitts
• large glass bowl

Step 1:

Fill a glass jar 3/4 of the way full and add baking soda. Add your dry shirt to the jar. Shake it and then put it in the microwave for 3 minutes (if the lid is metal take it off or something bad will happen)

Step 2:

Using oven mitts, remove the jar from the microwave. Intermittently shake the jar for 10 minutes, ensuring that the shirt is fully saturated.

Step 3:

Pour the shirt and the baking soda/water solution into a large glass bowl. Move the shirt around, so that all of the shirt is wet.

Step 4:

Pour about 3 tablespoons of dye into the glass jar and add salt. You can use as much or as little as you want depending on how saturated you want the color. Pour two cups of water into the jar, put the lid on and shake until all the dye is dissolved. Add the wet shirt

 to the jar. Microwave the jar and shirt for three minutes. Intermittently shake the jar for 30 minutes.

Step 5: 

Let the jar sit overnight.

Step 6:

Wearing gloves, unscrew the lid of the jar carefully. Pour out the dye and run the jar underneath cold water for 2 minutes. Remove the shirt from the jar and repeatedly rinse and ring out.

Step 7:

Wash the shirt in cold water separately or by hand for its first 2-3 cycles of being in the wash.

Spring Really is Coming!

Yesterday, on my snow day, I took the train down to the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Convention Center. It was amazing. There we spectacular exhibitions, creative arrangements and plenty of just plain weird stuff to look at. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but the colors, textures and innovative materials got my crafting thoughts flowing!