Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Green Craft Spring 2011

The New issue of Green Craft is due to hit news stands any day now! it's packed full of wonderful ideas as usual! I have an item in the Gallery as well as in the Article Package Toppers. Here's a sneak Peek!





Nancy Baraw, Rubyellen Bratcher, Monica Johnson, Tracy Schults & Cean M. Schopf


Monday, January 24, 2011

Wow Hoops

I found this Yummy shop on Etsy just now~ she bought something from me last month so I like to check out everyone's shop if they have one~ and who would have thunk it custom Hula Hoops?? I wish I could Hula~ afraid I might pull something but after I get in better shape I will be sure to buy one of these and hula in my front yard all summer long!!!

Almost Famous

It seems lately every time something happens and I get excited it doesn't follow thru so after the last let down I decided to keep my mouth shut until the proof was out! So back in December I got a call~ wait wait let's go back further~ I had a show in Fenton, MI and there was this lady at my friends booth what seemed like most of the day and I chatted with her on and off but not really about my goods, she was very excited about my friends upcycled vinyl purses. So the show was wrapping up and that is when she saw my goods and my book so we chatted this time about my stuff and how I began and blah blah well she said that she had a reporter friend that she was going to tell about me because i was a local person. So I didn't really think about it because sometimes folks have the best of intentions but things don't come to fruit~ then she called me and let me know she passed my info on to her friend~ really how nice is that to call and let me know not to many folks out there like this fabulous lady! so again I didn't put much stock into it because he had to want to talk to me~ he called and set up an appointment to come to my house along with a photographer! crap now I have to clean my house!!!!!!!! so they came and all was fab. then the article came out this past Sunday in the livingston Press & Argue (michigan paper). I read it online then went to pick up a copy and to my surprise my mug was on the front page! whoot whoot~ ok not the most attractive picture but I'm not going for Ms. Michigan! and the article inside was wonderful too~ hubby said it doesn't get any better than that for a newspaper article! very excited and I have gotten a lot of calls and emails!

You can read the article here  http://tinyurl.com/4r4sagn


Saturday, January 22, 2011

scraps

When you fuse shopping bags you end up with a lot of scrap from the bottom of the bag and the handles of the bag. You can't throw them away that defeats your efforts but you can use them to stuff thing like this hanging heart.
for purchase at www.RadicalRecycks.etsy.com

But when I store my scrapes I line them all up and the a piece of scrap around them this makes it look like a pom pom! so I have all these plastic pom poms around my sewing room. Well I have been wanting to put them on a stick and glitter them up~ today was the day I finally came thru! I used an old chopstick~ not sure where they come from but seems I always have a ton of them in my silverware drawer! I hot glued the chopstick up in the middle then hot glued around the base so that it stays put! I trimmed up the pom pom to make it look its best then sprayed it with glitter spray! this would be a cute, quick, cheap & eco friendly way to make some pom poms for those sporting events! oh I will have to make my friend some for football season since her son plays and she of course goes to every game to cheer him on! I think I can even spray paint them to match the school colors! 




Sunday, January 16, 2011

Homemade Granola

Well I not eaten much Granola in the past and when I think about buying it it is pricey! So I figure it has to be cheaper to make the stuff myself and then I can add what I want!
This is the second time I've made Granola and the first time it was Yummy to but not as sweet~ I'll post that recipe too. I did have grand illusions that there would be these big hunks of Granola that I could grab but with the first batch since there wasn't much holding the stuff together it was more crumbly but frankly I could care less. This batch however has bigger hunks! must be the brown sugar!

5 Cups of Oats (pretty sure this is a must and the base of the recipe)
1 Cup chopped nuts
1/2 Cup Wheat Germ
1/2 Cup Coconut
1/2 Cup Dried Pomegranate 
1/3 Cup Ground Flax Seed

Now keep in mind I am winging this recipe and you can change out anything except the Oats.
I would normally put my own dried fruit in the mix but didn't have any on hand to dry.


Now for the bonding stuff
3/4 Cup melted butter~ I make my own butter
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Honey (all I had was whipped Honey)
1/3 Cup Oil 
Almost forgot 1 tsp Vanilla & 1 tsp Cinnamon 

Mix it all together~ this takes a bit because of the honey and it's not super wet.


Once mixed spread out on a cookie sheet or if you have a dehydrator then on a fruit mat so the granola does fall thru the trays. I dehydrated my at 120 degrees for 10 hours. You can use the stove on the lowest setting for less time since I don't believe a stove goes down to 120.  Just keep checking it.


This Granola is Sweet.

If you don't was a Sweet Granola then I suggest this recipe (this was the first one I tried)

Mix:
1/2 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup hot water
1/2 Cup Oil
2 tsp Vanilla

Pour it over:
4-5 Cups of Oats 

Then add:
1 Cup of Chopped Nuts
1 Cup Flax Seed
1 Cup Coconut (didn't use this the first time)
3/4 Cup dried Fruit (I used Banana's & Strawberries)
3/4 Cup Wheat Germ

again I just used what I had and liked.
Mix up and Dry.



Saturday, January 15, 2011

When did that happen?

So I was in bed the other night just about to drift into my land were all things are good when I thought back to my childhood and how I use to do handstands~ I would do them against the wall with my head on the floor and then in the yard trying to balance myself and progressed to just supporting myself with my hands.  I thought to myself when did that happen that I couldn't do a hand or headstand anymore? I thought for a second I can still do that but then quickly remembered I am bigger now and to let all my weight rest on my head is probably not a good idea and if I even tried a handstand and it didn't work out it could cost me some bucks having to go the chiropractor for a week! Oh to be young!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Upcycled Bracelets!

So I can't get the Used Gift card medium out of my head so here's what else is on my 2011 to make list!
Bracelet's I of course first thought I should make them how I make my plastic bottle charm bracelets like the Elephant one below........................

but after some pondering thought you really couldn't see the gift cards and that wouldn't be much fun so this is what I dreamed up!