Pink Drink: A Pom Soda for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and one of the many things I look forward to at this time of year, is the excuse to serve anything red or pink to my husband. I'm normally not a girl who leans towards the "cutesy" or "frilly" but when I stumbled across this recipe for pomegranate soda on MarthaStewart.com, I knew the deliciously pink drink would have to be sampled immediately!

 

Truth be told, I made this recipe for our New Years Eve celebration, and it was so good, that we've had it several times since that night. It's easy to whip up and really makes any week-night dinner feel like a special occasion.

Prep Time
: 5 minutes / Total Time
: 10 minutes / Yield
: Serves 8

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
Club soda, for serving
Maraschino cherries, for garnish (optional)

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and juice; bring to a boil over high, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Reduce to a simmer; cook, without stirring, until mixture is syrupy, about 2 minutes. 

Fill glasses with ice. Pour 2 tablespoons syrup in each glass, and top with club soda. Garnish with cherries.

I suggest serving this with a swizzle stick, because when the pomegranate juice is stirred up, it is just too pretty!

It's like romance in a glass, really! 

Ok, not really, but it's a sweet way to share a yummy pink drink with someone you love!

And note that to store the extra syrup (which is also AWESOME drizzled on vanilla ice cream, BY THE WAY), you can refrigerate it for up to 1 week in a sealed container. Enjoy!

Photo Saturday: New Friends, Small Gardens

I had the pleasure of spending the morning teaching a private lesson on terrarium-making. My student was delightful and we had a ton of fun choosing and arranging an assortment of plants that would grow well in her home conditions. We were both so pleased with the final product, that I had to share it with you here today! If the weather outside is not amazing where you live, I hope you will consider making a tiny terrarium for your home because it sure feels great working in the garden- no matter how small your garden is!

The Good (wood) Life: An Etsy Treasury

Today's etsy treasury was inspired by my LOVE of woodworking! While these pieces are all really different in how they were made, they all share one thing in common- I want all of them for my home! Hope you enjoy!

Interview with a Hat-Maker

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing an extremely talented hat-maker and fellow Urban Craft Center instructor.

To read about Corina Haywood and her awesome free-form felt and sisal hats, check out my guest post on the Urban Craft Center's blog HERE.

Speaking at the Craftcation Conference

Hi friends! I just wanted you to know that I will be a speaker at the upcoming indie business and craft conference, Craftcation this March 22-25th!

This conference is very special to me for many reasons! It's being organized by the insanely talented Delilah Snell, whom I love and adore, I get to speak THREE times on crafting, blogging and photography (some of my VERY favorite things!), I'll be selling DVD copies of the two Craft Photography Videos I recorded overseas this summer, AND it's being held in Ventura, CA- the sweet, sea-side town I called home for five years before moving to Los Angeles!


You can find the full schedule online, but I really hope you will consider signing up for my sessions- we are going to have a TON of fun!


- Thursday, March 22nd: Making the most of Craftcation through social media


- Friday, March 23rd: 10 Common blog photography problems & how to fix them


- Saturday, March 24th: Crafting a light box to take professional photos at home




Please visit the Craftcation website to register- I hope to see you there :)


xoxo,
radmegan

Small Crafts: Nestled Needle-Felted Landscapes

When I discovered the lil fish blog, I was immediately filled with hope. Life at that blog seems to be dotted with Aspen trees and wrapped in warm, hand-made mittens. It's comfy, inspiring and it helps me believe that someday I just MIGHT live on a big farm surrounded by similarly beautiful bits of nature. I like that blog. And it was on that blog that I first saw the tiny landscapes made by the talented Lisa Jordan.

I grew up fantasizing that I would turn into Thumbelina, so terrariums, miniature gardens, and wee little landscapes bring me RIGHT back to a place in my imagination where I can bathe in the dew of a tulip and sleep under the wing of a hummingbird. I wanted to try my hand at small needle-felted landscapes the second I saw the magic she made in hers. I immediately began looking for Thumbelina-sized containers to model my pieces into. Below are the results:


Housed in a walnut shell, this was my first needle-felted landscape.

Followed by my second attempt in this broken, dried up old gourd.

I used this seed pod for my third, and tiniest landscape. 

For inspiration, I used a couple pictures I'd taken during travels. Namely these:

Whether they were successful as landscapes or not, they were fun to make. They reminded me of travels and re-connected me with natural materials.

Craft Tip: Embroidery Transfer

Last month, I assisted a friend of mine in teaching embroidery at a local craft camp. Embroidery is one of those crafts I picked up somewhere, but never formally "learned" how to do. I have a couple of lovely books with useful stitches and a few cool patterns I've collected over the years, but for me, embroidery had never seemed like a craft I really knew how to make my own. In fact, it wasn't until my embroidery teacher pal shared a tip with me, that I realized how quick and meaningful embroidery can be.

Flash forward a few weeks to the day of my niece's birthday. It was hours from her party, and I was without a gift. I was feeling the pressure of delivering big on my meager budget and ridiculous (self-imposed) deadline. My niece, only nine years old, is one heck of a blossoming chef. I had picked up a couple of children's cookbooks for her on sale months before, but it wasn't enough. She has a lot of siblings, and I wanted something that she could identify as HER OWN. Something that would allow her to stand out. Something personalized.


Enter: EMBROIDERY 
I hopped in the car and hit up the nearest Smart & Final to pick up a $7.00 cotton apron. If I could quickly stitch her name on an apron using some of the embroidery floss I'd squirreled away over the years, I could give her a cohesive present that was thoughtful and unique. My handwriting is pretty lousy, so I was extremely reluctant to write out her name directly on the apron before stitching...

ENTER: THE EMBROIDERY TIP

If you are short on time and have sloppy, illegible handwriting (like I do) a great way to transfer letting onto your material before embroidering it, is by typing up your desired words, phrases etc. on your personal computer, in your favorite application (Word, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.,) holding the fabric right up to the computer screen and using it as a make-shift light box! The light from your monitor will shine through the fabric. Using a pencil and a light touch, you can then trace the letters- fancy fonts and all- right onto your fabric! It's quick, it's cheap and it really allows you to personalize your embroidery without too much time or money!

One note about this: I would not recommend pressing your pencil down hard against your screen while transferring letters if your computer does not have a hard-glass surface.

When my niece opened up her present (about 20 minutes after I'd finished working on it!) she was thrilled! She wore the apron for the rest of the night and offered to cook dinner for me and my husband while wearing her special threads.

Her siblings have since been dropping not-so-subtle hints that they too would like their own custom aprons. Even though neither of them cares a fig about cooking. 

If it hadn't been for the quick transfer tip that my teacher pal had shared with me, who KNOWS what my niece's apron would have looked like. Big thanks to her for helping me be a great aunt with this great embroidery tip as my secret weapon!

D.I.Y Cupcake Candles

I just recently came up with this "recipe" for cupcake candles when I needed to put together a craft for a kids' birthday party. This craft was a HIT with the kids because everyone got to decorate their own candle with the wax colors and real sprinkle toppings of their choice- and the wax wasn't too hot for little fingers. I think they are really stinkin' cute for any age, so here's how you make 'em!

You will need:

1 pound block beeswax

1/2 lb bag soy container blend wax

1 spool cotton wick

1 package metal wick bases

Pliers

Scissors

Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Silicone cupcake pan- OR 1 package cupcake papers

Assorted sprinkles 

Double Boiler

Tape

Optional- Hot Glue Gun

Step one: Cut lengths of the cotton wick long enough to reach through the height of a frosted cupcake (about 3.5 inches long. Take one end of the wick, and run it through the metal wick base. Pinch the tube of the metal wick base with pliers to secure the cotton wick.

Step two: Take your threaded wicks and your hot glue gun, and put a dab of glue in the center of each baking cup, then place your wicks on each glue spot. This will help prevent your wicks from floating away when you pour in the hot wax. 

When the wicks are all glued in placed, take your non-stick cooking spray, and give the entire pan a good spritzing. This will help you pop your candles out of the mold without any trouble. If you are using cupcake papers- you will want to spray the insides of those as well. 

Step 3: Place the block of bees wax in the double boiler (or a regular old sauce pan full of water with a metal bowl placed on top.) I like to use a silicone spatula to help the wax melt evenly.

To give my cupcake a pink look, I unwrapped a fuchsia crayon and dropped it into the double boiler with the melting block of wax. Using metal tongs, I removed the crayon after only a few second. Apparently, crayon wax is a mighty powerful color additive! I would recommend 1/4 of a crayon to add color. 

  

Step 4: When the wax had completely melted, I poured it straight into the individual cups of the silicone cupcake pan- leaving about a quarter of an inch from the top of the cup. Be sure to wear oven mitts for this stage, as the metal bowl can be hot. Also- be mindful of the condensation on the bottom of the bowl- the steam from the saucer below builds up, and if the water drips into the wax, it can create ugly pock marks. Wipe it up and keep pouring the wax!

Step 5: While the wax is still hot and liquefy, set the sprinkle containers between the cups of wax, and tape the wicks to the sprinkle containers so that there is no slack in the wick. Let the wax cupcakes cool completely. Remove the tape from the wicks and let them fall freely.

Step 6: Take the Soy Container Blend Wax (or any other wax shaving you have) and place them in the double boiler for only about a minute or so. To add color to this "frosting" break off a little more crayon and mix it into the wax flakes. 

Step 7: Pour the semi-melted wax flakes on top of the solid cupcake bases. Use a spatula or your fingers to mound the candle wax flakes up towards the center of the cupcake. Give the wick a tug to make sure it is taught in the center of the frosting.

While the wax is still wet, generously shake out sprinkles over the cupcake candles! Homemade cupcake candles are an awesome way to add a personal touch to any party or get-together!

And they are a great craft to do with kids: be sure to supervise the hot wax while it melts in the double boiler and then ladle it into the cupcake bases for them. The top, partially-melted "frosting" wax is cool enough that they should be able to mold with their own hands. Just test the temperature first to be sure! 

In fact, just this weekend, I taught over twenty kids, ages 10-16 (see their creations above,) how to make these cupcake candles and every single one of them said that it was the most fun craft they had ever done!

Helpful notes on cupcake candle making:
When the candle-making fun is done, place your wax-coated bowls, spatulas etc into the freezer for about an hour. The wax will easily chip off once it's frozen. Collect the wax bits that scrape off and save them for your next project- they will melt down again and again!

Also, if you have existing pillar candles that are half-melted, you can always re-melt them in a double-boiler and use them for brand new projects! It's a great way to up-cycle. 

And always burn your candles on a saucer or plate to avoid hot wax from dripping down to the surface below. 

Photo Saturday: Good Reads

I normally don't say much on Saturdays except for an occasional note on where a photo was taken. But last week, I was lucky enough to receive three books I was previously unfamiliar with, and a few note cards from a contest I'd won.

I was so inspired and tickled when I started reading through the Windy and Friends books, that I knew I wanted to share some pictures of the books with you.

 

Every page is pure joy. The photographs are of hand-crafted characters that illustrate the stories. 

The stories themselves are so sweet and thoughtful.

There are wonderful surprises around every corner and even under the book jacket!!

I had considered giving these books to a few of the kids I adore, but I am so over-the moon, head-over-heels in love with these books, that I think I'm going to greedily keep them FOREVER and just buy copies for my favorite youngsters! 

I cannot thank Robin Mitchell-Cranfield and Judith Steedman enough for putting together such lovely books and being so very inspiring, and of course the lovely contest at B:Kids blog from whence they came!

The Thin Black Line: An Etsy Treasury

I needed to look at clean lines and simple, lovely designs so I made this Etsy Treasury: The Thin Black Line. I am LOVING all of these pieces! A great way to kick off the weekend, right? Hope you enjoy these lovely finds as well as your weekend <3

Movie Inspired Craft: The UP House Pincushion

The movie, UP came out in 2009 and it's funny how often I still think about it. The last time I posted a movie-inspired craft, I was already thinking about this one. I knew I wanted a miniature version of the house that carried Carl and Russell away on their adventure. AND I knew I had to use my colorful glass head pins as the balloons that played such an integral role in this heart-warming film. I considered building a miniature version of the house out of clay or wood but still struggled with making it a tutorial that many people could follow. 

And then... I found THIS. That's right, Disney-Pixar actually made a paper house pattern available for alllll of us UP fans! Here's a direct link to the PDF pattern.

I do suggest printing out one full-sized PDF as-is (to actually see where all of the fold lines are), however, I opened the PDF in Adobe Photoshop and shrunk the image down to 1000 pixels wide at 350 DPI. (Making the main part of the house only about an inch wide when printed.) By shrinking it down so dramatically, we create a paper house small enough that the pins will look proportional and pass for the hundreds of balloons that carry the house away to new lands! 

Additional items you will need to make your own UP House Pincushion are:
- The house pattern printed out
- Scraps of upholstery or other foam (even a new kitchen sponge would work)
- A very sharp Xacto knife and cutting board
- Ruler or straight edge 
- Mod Podge
- Rubber Cement
- Old Paintbrushes
- A slice of tree branch any size (this becomes our "Tepui") 
- A few bits of dried moss
- A small container of dried Dillweed
- Toothpicks
- LOTS of glass head sewing pins

After printing out a few color copies of my mini house pattern, I used a ruler and Xacto knife to carefully cut out all of the paper house pieces. I then assembled them using rubber cement; dabbing a little bit of glue on all parts of the paper patten that would be touching, and letting them dry for a few seconds before pressing the paper together. This creates a MUCH stronger bond. 

Next, I used my Xacto knife again to cut thin pieces of foam to fit in each compartment of the house. I glued the foam bits inside the house using the rubber cement as well. 

When the house was completely assembled and full of foam, I used a generous amount of rubber cement on the center of the branch slice, and on the bottom of the house. Since the bottom of the house has so much exposed foam, and the slice of tree branch is quite porous, I applied the glue liberally.

Next, I sealed my entire house and the top of the wooden platform with Mod Podge. I wanted to increase the structural integrity of the house and begin creating the plant-rich environment of the Tepuis!

To create a miniature plant-scape around the house, I used tiny bits of dried moss and dill weed (from my kitchen cupboard!) and sprinkled the various greens around the surface of the wooden disk. Be careful not to sprinkle any on the house itself!

The addition of the green "plant-life" really seemed to bring the piece to life.

I *should* have let the house dry completely before jamming it full of pins, but I was so excited to see my pincushion in action, couldn't help but start jamming them in!

While I don't own QUITE as many pins as I would need to create the exact same look the movie poster has, I'm pretty pleased with my new, miniature, magical pin cushion!