30 December, 2012

Pinterest




These photos were all re-pinned on Pinterest.
***technical term for 'borrowing' photos.


I have gone over to the dark side.
Of time, I mean.
See my Pinterest board here on ideas for more bags to sew.

As if I had time to sew.
Let alone the time to PIN.

I can see why this is so addicting - pinning.

It's so easy to start looking.
Then comes, "what a great idea, I should save that."

All I'm doing right now is re-pinning.
How does one pin for the first time?



I want to add this photo to my pinterest board but I'm not sure how. It's a sewing pattern printed on white leather made into a zippered purse.

I held off as long as I could but I believe I am riding the slippery slope down into saving/pinning everything.


I already have 28 bag ideas on that board. Can one sew that many in a year? If they are working 50 hours per week? lol

OMG



08 December, 2012

2012 SMS Giveaway Winners

 The WINNER of the first giveaway is Maureen Hayes. She's been notified and as soon as she sends me her address, I will post all the sewing goodies to her.
As far as the caramels are concerned, it appears she has numerous allergies, including dairy, but she can re-gift those.

I asked entrants to name their favorite Christmas Carol and it was all over the board compared to 2011 and 2010, when O Holy Night won both years.
But - because I mentioned it, had everyone scurrying to nominate more than 58 other carols!
A little nudge  *wink*wink.

For 2012, Silent Night came up 33 times whilst O Holy Night braked at 8.
Mary, Did You Know was a surprising tie with Carol of the Bells at 7 votes.

I find numbers very intriguing as well as people's behaviors so this 'contest' was definitely fun for me watching voters name any other carol except O HolyNight. There were a couple of entrants who also could not believe O Holy Night won the last two years.

Several voters threw out two or three titles. I particularly loved this one from Tricia: "I would say a tie between Silent night and The First Noel. I always sang the first to my oldest and sing the second every night to my youngest."

All in all, Silent Night stole the show.
Thank you all for entering. I'll be back again for the May Giveaways that SMS hosts.
(did you know SMS is from my neck of the woods? About a 30 minute drive away  - if they had a brick & Mortar store)


Keep reading for the winner of my second giveaway and some fun Christmas Carol videos.




 GIVEAWAY TWO for my airplane towels went to Miss Enota from Minnesota. Rhymes.
She also has been notified and I'm off to pack these up along with some apple cider caramels.



I am making another batch of caramels this weekend so I can fill all my packages that need to be mailed Monday in order to have a chance at arriving before Christmas (read Sweden, Finland, Germany & Japan! plus one for Nephew's unfortunate birthday on the 18th of December.

It's Christmas Day Family Force 5





Santa bring me a dinosaur-Funny Christmas song by Bob Brown




Barenaked Ladies - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings"




olivia newton john silent night

03 December, 2012

2012 SewMamaSew Giveaway Day #2


***GIVEAWAY ID NOW CLOSED****thank you

Welcome to my second giveaway for SewMamaSew's 2012 Giveaway Day.

I don't usually talk about myself as I ramble on when I am journaling away on my blog.
I love to sew and craft and currently, I have taken over two and a half rooms in  my house in order to play. I also live on an airpark. When we want to go flying, we roll open the hangar doors and pull the plane out. The runway is at the edge of my backyard. Which I also like to play in. I live on an acre where I garden - both flowers and the edible things. The blog has turned out to be a surprisingly good place to put all those flower photos.


Recently, my work dumped me into a six days a week plus lots of overtime scenario, so crafting time is at a premium. I am definitely looking for quick & easy projects to keep my creative mojo happy.




This is the most amazing & totally gratifying project out there. It literally takes less than five minutes to create something.
That makes me happy.

I can't recall where I linked from but I did end up here for this transfer tutorial and here to buy my CitraSolv, and here to look at graphics.

Basically, you are transferring a laser image copy (not from an inkjet printer) onto fabric with Citra Solv. You can also transfer the image to wood or leather. Amazingly fun.



Spot the boo boo? I forgot to flip the image so the text reads correctly. Oops.
 Giveaway is for two airplane kitchen towels. These are 100% cotton flour sack towels.

How to enter Giveaway 2:
1. Answer this question: What type of airplane do I own?
2. Admittedly, there's a little bias towards my regular readers and my airplane buddies. --only because they are quicker to the mark.
3. I will ship to a winner anywhere in the world - USA or International.
4. Giveaway is open Monday December 3 until 5pm,Friday, December 7th, 2012
5. You might get some bonus apple cider caramels - maybe.


***6. added Tuesday am:  Hey You!   yes, the no-reply blogger.
If you are not sure if I can reach you via your blogger/online name, PLEASE  make sure to leave your contact in this format: specialperson(at)wherever(dot)com.
I already have three of you that I cannot contact. :(



Giveaway ONE is here:

Please check out all the other blog people who have entered  their fun stuff into the giveaway.
SewMamaSew is the best online fabric store out there. They are super fast on shipping and have a great selection.

SewMamaSew 2012 Giveaway Day I


***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***thank you.

SewMamaSew Giveaway numero uno:


It's that time of the year again when SewMamaSew coordinates a massive giveaway day that now lasts the entire week. This enables you to check out and enter all the giveaways.
I've never managed this.

I have, however, found a couple of new friends by looking at other crafty people's blogs.

 I have two giveaways this year.
This first one is for superb sewing supplies - most of which are vintage.
Buttons, Patterns, Laces, Trims, Needles, Elastic.
Random.



 Three patterns for girls: Simplicity 5551 ( sz 10 girl),  Simp 8065(sz AA toddler 1/2,1,2), & Simp 3244 (sz 8 girl).
Buttons and trims to embellish. Elastic and needles, snaps, covered buttons, etc., etc..

Even some tiny rick rack in white & gold.



And you might get some of these tasty apple cider caramels. If there are any left. . .


I'm running my usual "Tell me your favorite Christmas Carol" contest.
2010's winning song was "O, Holy Night".
2011"s winning song was  "O, Holy Night".

I bet you can guess what 2012's favorite song will be. lol.
Surprise me.

All entries will be entered into the  pot of randomness and given a stir. I will ship to either a domestic or an international winner.

Vote (comment) on your favorite Christmas carol between Monday December 3 & Friday, December 7th, 2012 (5pm PST). I will draw the winner either Friday night when I get home from work or after I finish work on Saturday morning.

If you are unclear as to whether you are a no-reply commenter, please leave your contact e-mail in this format: specialperson(at)wherever(dot)com. ***Added Monday night - already have three who I have no way to contact.


You can see all the other entries linked up here - at SewMamaSew.
Please take time to look at SewMamaSew's store as they are the world's fastest shipper of fabric.

They are a fabulous sponsor with about a million tutorials on things to sew or craft.


*** and Giveaway Two (2) is here.

02 December, 2012

Apple Cider Caramels

 Wow. These are seriously good. Totally in the autumn season.

 Small bites, wrapped in wax paper.

 See the squiggly one on the left - yeah- that's a 'sample'.

 Easy to make - but time consuming.


Forgot how I stumbled across this recipe but I found a really cool blog, The Smitten Kitchen, because of it.

These are melt in your mouth caramels that are so apple pie happy. Just a dash of salt and cinnamon.

I reduced the apple cider in the morning and after 1 1/2 hours, finished the cooking. Then the mixture had to cool for a few hours. Set aside a day or at least half a day to make these. Worth the time.


APPLE CIDER CARAMELs
By The Smitten Kitchen.


Apple cider (sometimes called sweet or “soft” cider), as I’m referring to it here, is different from both apple juice and the hard, or alcoholic, fermented apple cider. It’s a fresh, unfiltered (it has sediment), raw apple juice — the juice literally pressed from fresh apples. It’s unpasteurized, and must be refrigerated, because it’s perishable. In the Northeast, I usually find it at farm stands and some grocery stores. I occasionally find vacuum- sealed bottles called apple cider in the juice aisle, but none of the bottled varieties that I’ve tried has the same delicate apple flavor as the more perishable stuff sold in the refrigerator section.

4 cups (945 ml) apple cider
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, or less of a finer one
8 tablespoons (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (110 grams) packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
Neutral oil for the knife

Boil the apple cider in a 3- to- 4- quart saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in volume. This takes about 35 to 40 minutes on my stove. Stir occasionally.
{Kathy's note: Try 1 1/2 hours. I was afraid to put the burner on High. However, when it does go thick, it can burn (almost!) fast. So- watch it carefully towards the end.}

Meanwhile, get your other ingredients in order, because you won’t have time to spare once the candy is cooking. Line the bottom and sides of an 8- inch straight- sided square metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of crisscrossed parchment. Set it aside. Stir the cinnamon and flaky salt together in a small dish.
Once you are finished reducing the apple cider, remove it from the heat and stir in the butter, sugars, and heavy cream. Return the pot to medium- high heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side, and let it boil until the thermometer reads 252 degrees, only about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it.
(Don’t have a candy or deep- fry thermometer? Have a bowl of very cold water ready, and cook the caramel until a tiny spoonful dropped into the water becomes firm, chewy, and able to be plied into a ball.)
Immediately remove caramel from heat, add the cinnamon- salt mixture, and give the caramel several stirs to distribute it evenly. Pour caramel into the prepared pan. Let it sit until cool and firm—about 2 hours, though it goes faster in the fridge. Once caramel is firm, use your parchment paper sling to transfer the block to a cutting board. Use a well- oiled knife, oiling it after each cut (trust me!), to cut the caramel into 1-by-1-inch squares. {Kathy's note here: Unwrap a cube of butter and constantly edge the knife on it. If the knife gets too cruddy, wash in hot water and do the butter thing again.}

Wrap each one in a 4-inch square of waxed paper, twisting the sides to close. Caramels will be somewhat on the soft side at room temperature, and chewy/firm from the fridge.
Do ahead: Caramels keep, in an airtight container at room temperature, for two weeks, but really, good luck with that.


Allergy note: does contain butter and cream. But - oh-so-good.