im taking an a.p. studio art class next year and have 7 pieces to complete during the summer.
one has to be an exploratory piece, which HAS to use the following materials: 

- gesso/white paint
-charcoal
-ink or black paint
-masking tape
-newspaper
-a discernable figure
-cardboard

any idea of what i could do? i was thinking something with like eating disorders 
but i dnt have a clue how i could tie it in. anything would be helpful
even if you think of something frequent shown in newspapers like re-occurring articles i could work with
thanks so much everyone =)

Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs.Oota!

May you share a wonderfully long, happy & prosperous life together.

http://www.avocadolite.com/expiration/archives/002203.shtml

thalia: aina mo jadi apa kalo udah gede? (translation: aina, what do you want to be when you grow up?)

aina: mau jadi ANAK! (i wanna be a kid!)

ari+thalia: *looking at each other* errm... ha ha ha!

.......

thalia: aina mo jadi dokter? (do you want to be a doctor?)

aina: ngga. (no.)

thalia: kalo jadi kasir, mau? (how about a supermarket cashier? )

aina: mau! (yes, i do!)

thalia: kalo jadi om pos, mau? (how about a postman?)

aina: ngga. (no.)

ari: kalo jadi om yang ketok2 di belakang (tukang bangunan), mau? (how about the guy next door who hammer things? -- the house next door is being renovated, so this refers to the construction workers. )

aina: engga. (nope.)

ari: aina mau jadi designer? hee hee. (do you want to be a designer? hee hee.)

aina: ngga. (no.)

thalia: *chuckled*... kalo jadi ilustrator? kerjanya ngegambar terus-terusan, lho! (how about an illustrator? they draw all the time, you know?)

aina: umm, engga. (umm, nope.)

thalia: oh, aina mau jadi penari ballet? (oh, do you want to be a ballerina?)

aina: *eyes light up* oooh! mauuuuu!! (oooh! yes, i doooooo!!)

thalia: lebih mau jadi kasir apa jadi penari ballet? (would you rather be a supermarket cashier or a ballerina?)

aina: *thinking* umm, penari ballet... (umm, ballerina...) *starts twirling around while singing "la la la"...*

ari: kalo penyanyi? aina mo jadi penyanyi? (how about singer? do you want to be a singer?)

aina: engga, penari ballet aja. (naah, i'd rather be a ballerina.)

The CHA Craft SuperShow (Website)is July 31st - August 1st. Anyone near the Orlando area going? If so, you might wanna check out your local Joann fabrics shop for a discount coupon for admission.

See you there!

What a tough time I had getting these pieces done. I have never had as many issues with resin as I had making these. Finally I got them right and I am very happy with the result! Two Edward Scissorhands bracelets, 3 Edward Scissorhands necklaces, 1 Labyrinth bracelet, and 1 Nirvana bracelet... The photo bracelets are all double sided... tell me what you think :-)

Edward Bracelet one


( More, more, MORE! )

Alright, I'm moving and I've come to realize that I have 100s of magazines. Lately I've been making different stuff out of them like a bowl and a wall decoration.

Does anyone have any links to crafts made out of magazines?

I don't know if this is allowed or not but does anyone want some magazines? You'd just have to pay postage. I'm discovering all kinds of fun stuff to make out of them!

small update:

New set of Meringues!

( More! )

Seriously, who wouldn't want to do that? Fun sounds tasty.

Tonight we're having Toad in the Hole.

I'm rather excited for some reason and after consulting with The Hubbs, he's renamed it "the frog dish" and he, too, is looking forward to it in a strange way.

After flitting around looking for a good representational recipe, I've come to the decision to do my usual and doctor two recipes.

For the sausage & yorkshire pudding part, I'm using Jamie Oliver's recipe for Toad in the Hole. No changes, except perhaps use only 4 sausages.

The second part of the recipe, which I have discovered is an absolute must, is onion gravy. That recipe I've gleaned from a random UK website. The ingredients in this one just sound more interesting.

Toad in the Hole
sunflower oil
4 large good-quality sausages

1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup plain flour
a pinch of salt
3 eggs

Mix the batter ingredients together, and put to one side. I like the batter to go huge so the key thing is to have an appropriately-sized baking tin – the thinner the better – as we need to get the oil smoking hot.

Put 1cm/just under ½ inch of sunflower oil into a baking tin, then place this on the middle shelf of your oven at its highest setting (240–250ºC/475ºF/gas 9). Place a larger tray underneath it to catch any oil that overflows from the tin while cooking. When the oil is very hot, add your sausages. Keep your eye on them and allow them to colour until lightly golden.

At this point, take the tin out of the oven, being very careful, and pour your batter over the sausages. Throw a couple of sprigs of rosemary into the batter. It will bubble and possibly even spit a little, so carefully put the tin back in the oven, and close the door. Don't open it for at least 20 minutes, as Yorkshire puddings can be a bit temperamental when rising. Remove from the oven when golden and crisp.

Onion Gravy
30g/1oz unsalted butter
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 sprig of thyme
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp flour
150ml beer
300 ml beef stock
Salt and pepper

Heat the butter in a pan and sweat the onions and thyme for 5-6 minutes, until golden.
Add the wholegrain mustard, flour and stir together.
Pour in the beer and allow to reduce by half.
Add the beef stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until thickened. Season to taste.

Melbangel is having a Christmas in July sale TODAY!  $1.50 per pattern!!!  WooHOO!
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=87376

She has a really wide variety of designs, including dolls, animals, Gorgeous FOOD...



I adore her designs and had to share this exciting news with you!  :o)

( More examples of her designs... )

Go see all the goodies in her shop before the patterns are all gone!  ;o)

ETA:  Well.. those of you who know me know that I knit nearly all of my ami's, AND I never work from patterns... but I had to buy three of these patterns ANYWAY!  Just to glom her cool techniques!  ;o)

Here's a kitty I crocheted recently.

I've been trying to perfect my lined zip purse technique but no matter what I do I keep on running into the same problem. The end where the zip stop is looks lovely, but the end where the zip itself rests is puckered. I'm following this tutorial and I can't see where I'm going wrong - only both my ends don't end up as flat and pretty as hers, only one does!

Can anyone shed any light on what I might be doing wrong?

I've been watching this community for a long time. I just can't remember if I have actually ever posted anything before.  Lol.

( Read more... )

I am totally obsessed with making little Sackboys, from Little big Planet, I'm still not quite satisfied with sewing on the legs this way, so I'm going to make another and sew the legs on as I make the body.

Any hoooooo, suggestions welcome.

Why has this pattern been sitting unloved and unused for 25 years?



Because it sucks.

Whoever designed this thing had to have been sniffing glue, or perhaps otherwise impaired.
My hunch is that the good folks at Butterick patterns simply cheaped out and used the commercial patterns, then hired a trained chimp to write the directions.
Things like carefully cutting out a perfect circular hole, and lining it up directly with another perfect circle and sewing it on. Or calling for you to sew EIGHT layers of fake fur at once.

Don't you hate it when you reach the point of frustration, but have already invested too much time/money to quit the project?

But I finally triumphed.

( victory over Popple )

♥ Name: Julie

♥ Age: 25

♥ Location: Charlotte, NC

♥ Your cupcake history: I've been partial to cupcakes for about a year now, and particularly love trying out new recipes and interesting combinations. My first ever cupcakes were Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

♥ Why you like cupcakes: They're the perfect size, easy to make adorable, and so fun to reveal. No cake cutting necessary. I also love cake balls (you can see my little chickie cake ball in my user icon) and basically anything delicious.

♥ Anything to share?: I'm excited to have found this cupcake-specific community! I'm surprised I haven't really looked for one before. I'm making some savory cupcakes tomorrow, so perhaps that'll be my first "official" cupcake posting -- if they turn out! I'll leave you with a link to my baking blog in case you want to peruse anything I've done so far: Willow Bird Baking. Can't wait to meet you all and enjoy your cupcakes :)

hi all,

I own a couple of necklaces that are connected together with a couple of knots that slip to adjust, rather than using metal clasps.
I decided to make a few of my own, as this sort of jewellery is quite quick to do and is far kinder on the hands than bending bits of metal about with pliers!

( pics under the cut )