Kindle Love

Oh hey blogosphere! It's been over two and a half months since I've last visited. I promise to be more diligent in the future. The main reasons for my lack in crafting/cooking are that I've packed up my super cool but super old (and therefore frustrating to use) sewing machine and I've been having some stomach problems since March that have resulted in a not-so-interesting diet.

ANYWAY

I've pulled myself together and sewed myself a Kindle cover by hand:

Pretty, right?! The exterior fabric is from a friend of mine and the case is lined with tan and white felt to provide some cushion for the kindle. I used this pattern. As you can see I decided to only do one strap and went for adhesive velcro instead of fussing with a button.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I'd definitely change a few things though if I were to make another one. You can't really tell from the picture above, but the measurements didn't quite work out - no matter how much I pull, tug, and push, that kindle will still peek out of the top the tiniest bit, even when the tab is closed. Also, I'd trim the edges in addition to the corners of the lining before inserting it into the exterior fabric. The 1/2" seam allowance on the exterior fabric and the 1/2" seam allowance on the interior fabric don't lay nicely together so the edges are a little wonky (this could also be due to uneven sewing by hand).

It was easy to do and I've used it lots this past week while carrying my kindle during my daily commute.

BeetsBeetsBeets

DELICIOUS. 

We love beets. If they are on a menu at a restaurant you can bet that we'll be ordering them. We've tried making beets a few times in the past and have not been successful. I found what appeared to be a very easy beet-pickling recipe via pinterest and decided to give it a shot. 

I am so glad I did. These beets are incredibly easy to make and really flavorful. 

First cut the greens off of the beet and chop them into equally sized portioned - I cut mine into quarters.

Boil for 30 minutes. The cut beets made the water a brilliant orangey-red which was a lot of fun to watch. However, I did not want to leave the kitchen in case it boiled over and stained our white oven. Drain, rinse with cool water, rub off the peels with your fingers, and slice up. I made my slices pretty thin and was thankful for it. While the pickling marinade tastes delicious, some of the larger chunks can taste a little too vinegary.

While the beets are boiling you can mix up the marinade: apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, sugar, olive oil. Toss the beet slices in this marinade and let it hang out for a good 30 minutes.

DONE. So easy and sooo yummy. We're obsessed. I definitely recommend trying this recipe.

Flowers!

Simon has been telling me to explore new hobbies for years. I've just never really been a "hobby" person. Growing up I spent all my time singing and acting, so much so that I never really found a need to kill time. When I moved to Boston I found myself no longer performing and a little lost. I tend to justify my wasting hours away in front of the TV as "relaxing" when I am, in fact, just wasting hours in front of the TV. I have spurts of diversions like when I ran the half-marathon or when I get caught up reading for hours on end, but nothing that I would consider a "hobby" that I could just come home to and pick up if I so desired. That is, until I started experimented with making book-page flowers for the wedding...

I spent Saturday making flowers.

And by Saturday, I mean ALL DAY Saturday. The whole day. Coffee to Sleepytime tea. Here is what I have to show for it:

I was completely content keeping my hands busy, having the TV off and good music on, drinking tea and trying not to burn myself with a hot glue gun. I found following origami directions calming and zen-like. I think I have a hobby : )

Some of these tutorials I found on Pinterest, some on other websites, but I'll link to each one below the picture.

Kusudama Flowers

3D Star (the actual tutorial is in some language I don't know...but the pictures are easy to follow)

Easy Paper Flower

Rolled Flower

Large Paper Flower

Storybook Rose (this one is my favorite - also the most time consuming)

Glass Etching!

Simon and I store a lot of our food in mason jars. Not only do they look good, but they do a great job keeping food fresh. I've always loved the look of labeled mason jars such as these:

or this (both images found on Pinterest):

Not too long ago I found this tutorial on how to use glass etching cream to make permanent designs on mason jars. I didn't even know glass etching cream existed. What a good idea! So I decided to do a test run on an extra mason jar we had around the kitchen. I'm really glad I did so because this is definitely a DIY that will take some practice to perfect.

First I made the stencil out of painter's tape. 

The lines weren't perfect but I was happy with the overall look and fit.

Applying the etching cream was awkward and nerve-wracking. This stuff apparently destroys skin if it comes in contact. I was also using a sponge instead of a paintbrush so the application was very uneven. When all was said and done, I did not burn my skin. 

I was a little uncertain about how long to keep the cream on, so I gave it 4 minutes before rinsing it off and removing the stencil. 

Here's what I learned:
1) the stencil can't have any wrinkles - the etching cream will seep in to them and ruin the straight line you spent so much time making
2) the cream really needs to be applied evenly
3) the cream probably could have stayed on for a good 6 minutes to get a really nice distinct etch

I actually pretty happy with the results. They clearly aren't perfect but I have four more sides to practice on before moving to the jars we actually use!

not-so-good boutineers

My mom got me the book "Handmade Weddings" for Christmas and it has some beautiful crafts and photos.

One of the projects that caught my eye were these beautiful felt boutineers: 

They looked pretty simple and I couldn't see any reason not to try it with book pages. Making the buds went pretty well with some practice. I couldn't get the tight spiral since unlike felt, paper creases. The biggest difficulty occurred when I attempted to put the buds together using floral wire and floral tape. Can I just say that floral tape is really, REALLY frustrating. It's more tacky than sticky and only wants to adhere to itself. The tape kept sliding off the paper leaving the whole project looking pretty messy.

I don't think I'll be making these for the wedding. So it goes though, right? I am going to attempt to make this boutineer next, which I found on Style Me Pretty:

I will use the directions found here. Wish me luck!