Pay It Forward

I'm sure you have all heard of random acts of kindness and the idea of 'paying it forward'. Annie of Blue Gables had a post on April 30th called Pay it Forward and I decided to try it myself. I enjoy making all sorts of things, so this ought to be fun. Here are the rules for those of you who wish to join in:

I will make and send a surprise to the first 5 bloggers who leave a comment and agree to join in. If you aren't a blogger - start a blog! Or you could arrange a Pay it Forward with your co-workers, neighbors or ??? This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. This is an adventure!

2. What I create will be just for you with love and good wishes. It will be made of actual materials, not of cyberspace.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be! Well, I may ask a question or two about your tastes etc, depending on what I make.

5. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your Blog and create five things for the first 5 people to respond to your post.

6. Send your mailing address after I contact you.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if you do not post on your own blog to pay this forward.

Think you're not crafty enough? If you are feeling a little skittish don't worry! There are many things that can be made, whether you sew, craft, cook, write etc. Your gift could be a poem, a recipe and the makings (like cookie mix or soup ingredieants in a jar), homemade soap or candles, a cd with some music you made or songs you think the person will like. I'll tell you what, if you want to join in and you're having trouble thinking of something, let me know and I'll brainstorm with you, ok?

I think this is going to be lots of fun and I hope you will give it a shot!

Mojito: Part Two, er...Dos!

I did it. I made my first mojito. Then I made my second, and third, and......well, you get the idea. I feel like I know what I'm doing now, so I shall share with you my mojito experience..with pictures even! First off, I don't own a shot glass, or if I do I can't find it. Hence the measuring cup. Very scientific and bar-like, don't you think? I followed the recipe I put on my first mojito post...but changed it as I tasted.

As you can see my drink making supplies leave something to be desired. Since I don't own a 'real' muddler I used the end of a wooden spoon. A muddler has more surface area for muddling so you probably get faster muddled results with one. The ones I've seen on-line resemble miniature baseball bats. I went and read up on muddling too. Apparently you can muddle too much and bring out the bitterness of the fruits / leaves you are muddling. Well. I wouldn't want to do that. I made the simple syrup (2 parts sugar / 1 part water boiled together for a minute). I made plenty for future use...works well for lemonade and iced tea, too. It's the stuff in the mason ball jar,if you were wondering.



Also, no ice crusher. Well, no fancy ice crusher - just the low tech version that looks suspiciously like a hammer. My younger daughter thought that it was gross to use a hammer, until I told her I put the ice in a plastic bag for crushing.





The recipe calls for a sprig of mint. My sprig had about 8 or 10 leaves or so. One recipe I saw called for 12 leaves. Guess it depends on how big the leaves are and how much you like mint. I used one whole lime (reduced to half a lime for all future drinks - much better!), and added a bit more syrup than called for. You can use whatever brands you prefer for club soda and rum (if anyone from Bacardi sees this, feel free to send me a thank you bottle...or two...for my upcoming vacation / family gathering). The verdict? Tasty, refreshing and full of delicitude, or delishitude, depending on your spelling preference for non-existent words....

Mt. Tater

Who among us hasn't made a mashed potato and gravy volcano on our dinner plate? I did it a lot as a child. My younger daughter recently had the opportunity to make a volcano for a science project and she chose the quintessential mashed potato volcano for hers.

Originally she wanted a gravy eruption - because, hey, who wouldn't? She had this idea the the mountain could erupt and then everyone could dig in. Theoretically this would be possible, but in practice, not so much. We thought about numerous ways to make her volcano erupt but eventually we settled on the basic vinegar and baking soda combo to get the job done. To make our lava red we used condensed tomato soup that was thinned out with some vinegar. We experimented with quantities of baking soda and soup mixture until we got the eruption we were looking for.

Then we built this:

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mt. Tater! Yes, its actually made of mashed potatoes. If I had thought of it at the time I would have taken pictures of my daughter up to her elbows in potato flakes and water. Basically, she mixed a couple of large boxes of mashed potato flakes (bargain brand) with water and about 3 eggs. The eggs were to help the mixture hold together. We built Tater Mountain around a water bottle and some wadded paper towels (to lighten the load)and when it was done we 'painted' it with some caramel coloring (the kind you buy to darken gravy). A dusting of pepper around the top was reminiscent of volcanic ash. We did all this the night before and wrapped it in plastic to keep it from drying out.

Each student had to talk about their volcano (what type of volcano and the type of eruption) as well telling about their choice of building materials. One of the nice things about Mt. Tater is that it's easily biodegradable (except the water bottle inside). The opening is plugged with some paper towel and the figure made of paper on top is her science teacher with a word bubble. My daughter and her teacher had an ongoing argument over a test question and my daughter decided to rib her teacher about it by placing him at the top during the eruption. Thankfully he has a good sense of humor! I wasn't able to leave work to attend the actual eruption but I hear it came off as planned and Mt. Tater was the talk of the school. Yes, my daughter was quite pleased with herself!

Mojitos . . .

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my nephew's wedding in South Florida. The bride was beautiful, the groom was beautiful, the weather was beautiful! It was a wonderful weekend and I really enjoyed the getaway. The last night I was there several of us went out to dinner, where we sat out doors and enjoyed the weather, the company and the food. One of my sisters had introduced me to the mojito a few years back and when she ordered one before dinner I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered one as well. Because, you know, they're tasty and light and refreshing...and I hadn't had one in a while.
My drink looked like what you see here, except there was no lime or mint leaves hanging around on the table for a photo op. Now, I'm no connoisseur of mojitos, although that certainly seems like a noble profession, does it not? After one sip of my drink I was ready for a career change. That first sweet sip of minty delicitude (ok, that's not a real word...except in my world) had me thinking "Mojito Connoisseur" was the perfect new job title for me!

A mojito, for the great unwashed (mojito virgins,if you will), is made with fresh mint, sugar syrup, lime juice, rum and club soda. Or sparkling water...depending on what recipe you find. If you don't have sugar syrup (and don't want to make it - come on now, it's only sugar and water boiled together!) you can use plain sugar. I've been reading up on these babies because I'm on a mission this weekend to re-create that perfect and awesome mojito that I experienced.

So, the recipes all say that you have to muddle the mint/limejuice/sugar mixture. Muddling sounds like something I can do! All day in fact. Who wouldn't want to muddle? There's even a tool for muddling - called a muddler! Who'd have thought? Think mortar and pestle. Well, more like tall glass and pestle. I'm telling you this because I want you all to go and try this so I won't be muddling alone this weekend. We can all muddle through this together. Awe, come on, you knew that was coming...

Anyhow, you can use the recipe below or find another on line. They are all fairly similar:

Mojito

* 1 Large Sprig Spearmint
* .75 oz. Simple Syrup
* 1 oz. Lime Juice
* 2 oz. White Rum
* 3 oz. Sparkling Mineral Water

Gently muddle the spearmint sprig and syrup in a 16 oz mixing glass. Add the lime juice, rum, and mineral water with the spent lime hull for garnishment. Fill with crushed ice and stir until drink is combined and glass is frosty.

The first time I had a mojito it was not particularly sweet. You'll need to adjust the sweetness level to your taste. I'll let you know how mine turns out - perhaps if I think of it I'll get a picture too. Let me know if you give this a try, ok?

Oh, and happy muddling!

My Art Gallery

My girls are creative in many ways. They write fabulous stories, make up songs and create some pretty imaginative works of art. Today I'm going to share with you some of their creations. Let's start with The Crab. My youngest made this when she was in 2nd grade, using styro-foam and toothpicks. She did this while patiently waiting for our food to arrive at a restaurant.





This next piece was made by my youngest about 2 years ago with found items from the junk drawer. He is a robot, and was made to assist Gerbil Thingy - her favorite beanie baby/superhero/plaything. Robot has a head/snout made from a binder clip, one foot is a key and the other is the metal spring from a clothespin. The racket-like object is one of those Easter-egg dippers that finally found a use. Put a pipe cleaner and a bit of junk in a child's hands and this is what you get.


Before you is Fred da Cactus, the newest creation of my youngest. Fred was designed to enhance her notebook, which has a clear pocket on the front where Fred resides, much to the amusement of her middle-school friends. I suspect he came to exist during a period of boredom in class. That's how it is in middle-school.






















I present to you, Beavis Maximus. My eldest created this regal sculpture in honor of beloved Beavis during her first year in high school. No, I don't know why. He wasn't an assignment, just something she came up with while hanging out with a friend in the art room after hours. Love his laurel wreath...he even has tiny, little nipples... oh my! She and her friend had many a laugh over this fellow. This photo doesn't really do him justice.


This artwork I shall simply title, Flowers. Eldest created this to hang on her bedroom wall. The colors match her bedding and it's a combination of paint, glued on construction paper, markers and ink. The reverse side is a painting she made that she didn't like. Nothing like a bit of recycling, eh? Again, my photo does not really do it justice.



Last, but not least, is my eldest daughter's 3D Art. Ok, that's not really it's name so much as it's description. This piece was an actual assignment. I like the fact that I can turn this sculpture in any direction and it works! I also like the vibrant colors - most of her work is done in vivid colors.


My collection of the girl's artwork dates back to their earliest creations. I'm sure the collection will continue for as many years as I am around to display/collect/store it! I hope you have enjoyed it too.

Beaded Acorns

Just in case you don't have enough to do before Thanksgiving - here's something more! Beaded acorns!! A couple years ago one of the local beading shops featured these little sweeties. I couldn't resist making some for myself, however all but one have disappeared. Not to fear, though, I still have some supplies to make a few more.
If you would care to make some for your Thanksgiving table they are quite simple to put together. As you can see, they consist of a wooden form, some beads and some glue. If you want to be fancy you can use silk stems/leaves at the top.

To begin, you will string some beads on a beading thread, leaving a tail of half an inch or so. String about 6 inches of beads on and then glue the tail onto the base of the form. Now all you do is wind the beads around the form, gluing them in place and adding more beads as you go (the beads will cover the tail you glued down). When you reach the 'cap' of the acorn you will leave another half inch or so of thread and glue it down just under the rim of the cap.
Starting at the top of the cap you will first glue on your stem/leaves (or ribbon loop to make an ornament). Ignore the fact that in my photo I obviously started beading the cap from the rim...ahem.... Then you will repeat the same process as you used on the lower half, working from the tip down to the rim of the cap. That's it in a nutshell. Sorry - I couldn't resist saying that. Cheesy, I know.

If you want to get really crazy and obsessive about it you can find all sorts of wooden forms (fruits etc) and make ornaments or other table-top decor. If you want to make this even simpler you could use glitter or hole-less beads (known as micro-beads or micro-marbles) and just spread glue on your form and roll it in the beads. Happy crafting!

A Bit of Fun for a Sunday

This word cloud was generated at http://wordle.net/.

I've seen these word clouds on various web sites and now I have one of my own. You can have one too! In fact, you can create as many as you'd like. Just visit Wordle and by entering your URL, or your choice of words, you can make your own unique cloud. The site allows you to tweak your cloud by changing the font, layout and coloring of the cloud.

I see lots of possibilities here: school projects, personalized special occasion cards, and posters to name a few. For now, just a little bit of fun for a Sunday :)

Moth Ball Earrings

(Disclaimer: No actual moths were hurt in the making of these earrings.)


Introducing, for the first time ever (that I know of) the fuzzy and fabulous Moth Ball Earrings. For the discerning woman everywhere! You may recall (from a previous post) my desire to give my daughter a gag gift of 'moth ball' earrings. What you see before you is the final product of some painstaking handiwork heretofore unseen by sane eyes. The first photo depicts our lovely 'donor' moths and the finished earrings. The second shot is my daughter modeling her lovely gift, and the third photo is how she prefers to display her earrings while they are not being worn (in their natural habitat so to speak).


What can I tell you about this jewelry making adventure?

First of all I didn't actually intend to kill any moths. Second, I didn't want your average unattractive moth of the sort that seems to be outside my door after dark. They would be too small to 'supply' the size balls I had in mind. So I went out shopping for metal earring parts, moth balls (sold in stores under the clever title 'pom-poms'), and a couple of 'donor' moths. Apparently there is no place in this town where one can purchase fake moths, or dead moths (you know, pinned to a mat and framed), or moth stickers. The craft store had none. The scrap-booking store had none - and believe me that store has everything! Looking for googly-eyed hamster stickers? They have that. Need John Deere tractors? Dragonflies? Puffins on crack?? They have it. Ok, not the puffins - I was just seeing if you were paying attention. I checked out the collection of butterflies hoping for an ugly brown one. No luck. Besides an ugly brown butterfly would be a moth and they don't have moths! I even tried a local sporting goods department thinking maybe there are moth lures for fishing. You never know. Is that really so far fetched?


At any rate I decided I'd have to create my donor moths. It's part of the presentation you know. If someone ever asks you who would do such a thing, now you know. Not that you want to admit that to anyone. To make moths you need some small pheasant feathers, brown felt and a brown pipe-cleaner. It also helps to have an accomplice to help you, and my younger daughter was happy to provide her expertise. We looked online for some real life moth examples and did our best to make some moths. I think they turned out respectably well....especially if you squint.

Next we had to decide between stud earrings and dangle earrings. Hmmm. They certainly both have their merits...I mean, what male moth wouldn't want to be a stud? And yet dangling balls seemed appropriate too. As you can see, we chose the dangle and after a bit of needlework, gluing and whatnot (trade secrets) the gift was ready. And the recipient? When she finally stopped laughing, she thanked us, put the earrings on and said she was having the best birthday ever.

My work here is done.