Photosensitive Paper Art

Have you tried working with photosensitive sunprint paper? We had one very sunny day this week and collected some pretty flowers during our walk. I showed our daughter how to use the special paper and now we’re trying to come up with more abstract items to use next time.

Here are three creations we made. The first photo in each one is how we assembled the flowers. The second photo is what the paper looked like when we removed the flowers. And the third photo is what it looked like after we washed the paper under cool water for a minute.

The set we have came with an acrylic sheet to place on top of the assembled objects. The line at the bottom was a shadow of the edge of the sheet.

I’m not sure what we will do with the sheets now but I kind of just want to frame them. We’ll probably cut them up and make cards with them. The next time we use the paper, we are going to see what happens if we leave it in the sunshine for more than five minutes. What would happen if we use washi tape on it? What would you try to use on the paper?

Stay safe and be crafty!

Watercolor Wednesday

During this time of social distancing and no school, we’ve developed a schedule for our 8-year-old daughter to have a little bit of structure. She misses school, her teachers, and especially the extracurricular classes – art most of all. So we’ve allotted an hour and a half each day specifically for creative time (but if you know me, that’s totally easy to fill). And today, we brought the watercolor paint and water brushes out. I turned on some Lindsey Stirling violin music in the background, and we dove right in.

how to fill a Lego brick container

There is this thing that lives inside just about every Lego store.  It’s so big and bright and calling out to my kid, “Come over here and take me home with you!”  You guessed it: it’s the Lego brick wall.  And how can anyone resist, right?  Piles of colorful, shiny, new bricks just waiting to be used in some way.  Our 4-year-old is beginning her migration from Duplo blocks to the small bricks so we’ve been known to bring home a container of loose bricks once in a while (vs buying a whole set with directions and a real purpose).  On this trip to the Lego store, I decided to get the most for my money (hey, I didn’t say that this brick wall option was cheap!) and see how well I could fill a small Lego brick container.

chocolate buttermilk layer cake

Happy Easter with chocolate layer cake.  And buttermilk.  Chocolate cream cheese frosting.

You’re welcome.

And the recipe is here: Donna Hay’s Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake

 

It was delicious!

card making: easter eggs by the dozen

Easter is coming!  There’s still time to whip up a cute card so here are a dozen different ideas made to inspire you.  Use techniques such as heat embossing, doodling, using fabric, hand-stitching, and masking to create a different spin on each design.

recipe: apple pie sticks

I think I first saw a photo of these somewhere on Facebook and could not resist seeking out the recipe.  Before you click on that link let me just warn you with two words: FOOD PORN.  Oh yes.  There are some mighty sexy photos of apple fries dipped in a yummy gooey caramel sauce attached to that very link.  You. Have. Been. Warned.  {giggle giggle}

Mine?  Well.  Let’s just say that I’m not gonna try to call them fries.  They are not skinny.  They are not dainty.   They are big sticks.  But these be yummy sticks so at least they taste better than they look.

recipe: ginger coconut pumpkin seed granola

Homemade granola is so delicious and extremely easy to personalize.  This was the first time I tried to make it at home and man, I am so glad that I did!  I followed this simple recipe for the first batch (just to test the water and try my hand at it) and my husband loved how it turned out (didn’t add anything to it like raisins or nuts, just good ol’ oatmeal).

2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,700 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

last show of the year

Alas, November has come and gone without a single post until today!  It was quite a busy month with travels and a one-year-old’s birthday celebration.  And although it’s quite last minute, here is info on my last show of the year taking place tomorrow (Saturday), December 1st in Newton, MA.  It’s Trefler and Sons‘ first annual holiday open house from 10 am to 2 pm at 29 Tower Road.

Somehow I actually managed to put together two new holiday card designs within the past few days.  Oh wait, I know how … it’s called caffeine!!  🙂  These two designs will be available at tomorrow’s show along with a couple of other designs still in progress.

And if you can’t make it out to the show tomorrow, I’m happy to say that these two designs are available at Gather Here in Cambridge.  I’ll have them posted in my Etsy shop online after the show this weekend (if there are any left!).

Hope that those of you in the local area can make it to the show tomorrow!  Happy holiday shopping!

christmas is coming

Santa siting on Mass Ave

… in 8 days! Holy crap. Where did the time go?! 2010 flew by. So much happened this year. Crazy.