Harry Potter / Doctor Who Crossover...LOVE!

As a huge fan of Harry Potter and the Whoniverse, this video is a perfect marriage of them both. The Goblet of Fire already stars the wonderful David Tennant as Barty Crouch, Jr. and the Doctor (# 10 - or 11th if you count John Hurt...who is ALSO Ollivander!) I swear, these British actors are in some club where they get these awesome intertwining roles!

Either way, take a gander. I really enjoyed this short and sweet crossover and hope you do too. 

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Shows and Shops around Chicago...

As I try to branch out and sell my wares in places other than Etsy (which if you sell jewelry there, you know how it can be a pointless endeavor) I've found a few venues I rather like in the Chicagoland area. My first consignment operation was with the very unique, artisan based shop Blue Eyed Jack in LaGrange, IL. It's been a place I could sell my jewelry when Etsy has proven to be impossible...and lame. Its a great shop to check out...they even sell vintage if that's what you fancy.  And for my dolls, I've found that Local Goods Chicago is a nice fit so far AND I get to teach there too! If you're free November 30th and want to learn how to make bird nest pendants, by all means join us!

One more announcement: I'll be taking part of the Third Thursdays held by Beehive Chicago THIS Thursday so come out for vintage goods of all kinds with a bit of handmade thrown in. Maybe even get a bit of Holiday shopping done. Be there or be square ;)

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Humble Art-ish Request

I'm working like, a lot, as of late... just teaching art and ceramics. I'd like to teach machine sewing; currently it's all by hand and I want results now! And so do my students. If anyone is the Chicagoland area has a sewing machine they'd like to donate to the RAC, do let me know! P.s. it would count as a tax write off since we are a non profit org. JUst email me at Crankheartpony at gmail dot com. Thanks!

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How To: Cake Pops with Bakerella

Image used  from Bakerella.com

 I love sweets. They may be my downfall one day, I'm sure my own blood has been replaced with cake batter. Anyway, I've seen these really cute cake pops that people make. They look adorable and delicious and I always wondered how they are made. I love the Bakerella blog for all its sweet wisdom and came across her Video How-To for her upcoming book:
Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treat.

And with a price like that how could I NOT get it?! Just look at these....

Images from Amazon.com

OH, And I am doing my Craft Every Day Challenge - I need to post the pics. I've revamped a shelf, a wallet, and repurposed some other goods. Stay Tuned!

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Too Cute To Sell

My husband and I like to go out finding new vintage items for our shops, because, well, we have to. Sometimes we'll be at a place and something adorable will catch my eye. Sometimes it takes a hold of me with its sugary sweetness and I must have it. That happened when I saw these deer figurines. Oh my stars are they cute. I thought "oh these will look good in my shop" but deep down I'm really thinking  "these are mine...ALL MINE!" This happens to me often. There are several things I have kept with no intention to list in my shop. I know its pointless to keep them since I have no where to put anything. Plus all these fun shiny pretty things also catch the eyes of my 2 & 4 yr old girls who insist on seeing with their grubby hands instead of admiring them from a distance. If they're up high, these clever kids will stack chairs and books and anything else to get them and eventually cause the demise of the poor defenseless creatures. That's how I reason with myself to part with such things. I don't want to be one of those mothers who cry "Why can't we ever have nice things?!" as I dramatically throw my hands over my head, then run to my room and bury myself in my pillow. But sometimes I am. Here are a few other keepers I have around:

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If you have a love for Fonts...

If you love fonts, go here for over 1000 different fonts in all shapes and sizes - which includes some really fun graphic fonts - graphic as in some are little fun pictures of things aka Dingbats :) I usually type in my shop name when I feel like changing up my shop banner (which I recently did using said fonts). You just download them to your computer and install them - they will show up in all your programs like Word, Photoshop, etc.

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Hey Valentine, Feelin' Crafty?

I saw these cute conversation hearts over at whipup.net and thought we could make this in my sewing class I'm teaching next week! I really wanted to make some over sized ones out of clay for my Valentines in Clay class I taught over the weekend, but that idea will have to wait til next year. Here are a bunch of cute ideas for sweet things this V-day - some examples:All adorable, yes? Sometimes I wish guys really would dig these fun crafty things we can make them! Well, there are always parents, kids and friends to make them for.

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Family Trees: The Many Options!

Creating family trees can be a daunting task, especially for me, who has 16 people on my immediate side alone - that's just parents, siblings and kids..then adding my husbands side is easy since its just 5. But hope exists! Its how creative you can get with it. Here are some great ideas I found around the interwebs that look WAY better than those cheesy ones they had you make in school.
I particularly love this Balloon Family tree - well, I guess its not really a tree, but you get the idea. Its fun for a kids room..or any really. but I'm sure mine would want it in their room. I love that its in a shodow box, which makes it easy to add new additions to the family... we have those a lot!

This literal tree is a bit more sophisticated and grown up. Its great if you have a big family or include more than just immediate members. Its a bit of trickery too since at first glance you probably would not notice what it is exactly until you got up close and personal.

Here is another fun one; simple, geometric, colorful. Great for small-ish families or just condensing yours.
Here is a clever tree that has pics of family members - visualizations are always great. This would be a fun one that you and your little one(s) can do together.

Well, I hope to delve into some Family Tree fun now that I have some inspiration!

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Before & After: Making the boring UNboring

AS hard of a time I give IKEA, I do love the place and what I as a crafter like the most is how plain and simple their items can be - its makes an easy instant canvas for creativity.

Take these glass air-tight food storage jars. I got them for the many flours I use; bread, wheat, all-purpose. The only thing was how do I distinguish them from each other? Well, I had some left over Rub-ON Letters from Maddy's party favor coloring books and decided I'd use them - they were fun and colorful!
I rubbed each letter on, making sure I wasnt spelling the words wrong like "Beard Flour" or something. After all that, I sealed them with some sealer to waterproof it. Doing this is better than just using a sticker that would be ruined by water and my hands (covered in cooking oil, or whathaveyou) , or printing out a clever label and taping it to it...lame. Plus this has a very clean, seamless look. I was very pleased with the outcome of this idea and now search for cool rub-ons to put on our vast amount of glass jars I store our other dry goods in.

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Fun Projects worth exploring

I've been on the lookout for new and interesting projects to delve into...here are a few ideas that have crossed my path:


Ok, I've been wanting to do some painting on dishes - plates, tea cups, mugs, you get the idea. So our former jail-bird friend Martha has a little cute idea on that line of thought. Very simple. Let's face it - life needs simplicity. I've got the paints to do it, i think I just may have to take a trip to the 2nd hand store and get some fun dishes to try it out on!

I've been wanting to make a mobile for the girls' room - but lacked the inspiration. Over at Sew, Mama, Sew - a favorite blog of mine, Amy from Badskirt shares a fun way to highlight some of your favorite fat quarters with her Fabric Mobile Tutorial. There are a ton of really awesome projects using only fat quarters that are posted on the Sew,Mama, Sew blog at this moment that need checking out! Find this very cool Deer Head tutorial over here at Chronical Books Blog. Its an art peice - a coat hook - a jewelry hanger - a scarf rack- you decide. It has the template right there on the page - just print out and start creating. All the materials are cheap and easy to find! I think I may have to try this one out sooner than later since I have no place to hang so many many accessories that are so very homeless.

Everyone and anyone should try these or just explore the fun blogs and sites!

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DIY Moss Terrarium

Have you seen these on Etsy? I have and have been wanting one but don't exactly have the dough$$ for them - they're oddly very expensive yet so easy to make! Here is the easiest way (that I found) to create a moss terrarium.

1. Get a clean vessel that you want to use to exhibit your moss - old jam jar, votive holder, tart dish, etc.

2. Find moss! You can find moss in shady damp areas - wooded areas, outdoor plant pots, - in urban areas you can find it too. I found mine in the courtyard our our building in a hanging flower box that has nothing BUT moss growing in it.

3. Using a garden shovel, or in my case, a large metal spoon, scoop up some soil surrounding the moss into a plastic container.

4. Carefully scoop up the moss, digging beneath it - try not to disturb the moss its self since its very fragile. Place moss on the soil you just put in the container.

5. Place some soil at the bottom of your chosen vessel. Pack it down a bit. Gently take some moss with a spoon and place on top of the soil. If some moss breaks apart, that's ok, you can sorta fudge the stuff together - as i did in the photo above.

6. Place the moss as you see fit and BAM you have a moss terrarium. Now you can put tiny, itty bitty things in there to create a lovely little mossy world. I put some baby rocks in mine.

Any questions? Pretty easy. I'd love to see anyones DIY terrariums - send pics if you try it out!

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A good reason to go Thriftin

If I had a dream job, it would be to shop at thrift stores all day for cool unique finds. Just the other day - when it was unseasonably nice out - we went over to a little second hand shop we like to frequent. I love the basement, its the place to find lots of fun vintage stuff. As I approached the top of the steps, be still my heart there it was - at the bottom of the stairs just waiting for someone to clean him up and take him home - my Chair. Not just a simple chair, but those desk chairs where the little table flips up. Now I'll have a place to write my hate mail to Wal-Mart. He was so dirty with God knows what caked on him, just a good cleaning revealed the vibrant shade of my favorite color blue. He's one of them fiberglass chairs with a metal base and legs. I think he was once property a bowling alley because 'Brunswick' is marked on the back. Ive actually been searching Craigslist for this kind of chair for months, all I found were ones for $75 to $100 EACH! I'm glad I waited cuz this sweet thang was only 5 bucks. Now if I wanted to - I could turn around and sell it for 20 times more, but im content in getting what Ive wanted...only when Im in dire straits will I let him go.

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Ultimate Handmade Holidays Tutorial List

Need some good handmade gift ideas? Not only that, but to make them yourself? I love the Sew Mama Sew blog and if you never heard of it, make sure to become very familiar with it - its amazing. They have the ultimate handmade holidays list of tutorials the likes ye have never seen! Some examples above!

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So I've been 'Tagged'

I think its good and quite informative to learn a little bit about eachother and to search our minds for good things to share...things that many obviously don't know about - and many people who dont know anything at all -about me. So I was tagged by The Ordinary Housewife from the Turquoise Tangerine . Im supposed to share 7 things about myself - so here they are:

1. I love creating, yes, thats obvious - but I have this crazy desire to be in a constant state of creativity -its almost like an addiction..maybe it is! I am seriously a jack of all trades (but a master of none) I love to sew, crochet, make jewelry, silk screening, graphic design, and oh so much more!

2. I really really love to laugh - I'll crack stupid jokes just to make myself laugh...is that normal?


3. I have 2 kids and I think 4 or 5 would make my life complete - then I'll just need a house to cram them all in. I also want that house to be a Chicago Bungalow with the stained glass windows and it has to be an Octagon too! Am I asking for too much?

4. I am soon to get my next tattoo but can't decide what I want. I was thinking about getting the Hebrew word for woman and my husband would get man so when we put them together it would spell God - pretty neat! But I think I'll get something ...uh...gosh I dont know!

5. I am extremely extremely annoyed by people who fight to the death to be 'hip' -i call them 'pseudo-hipsters'. yak! I don't like regular hipsters to begin with.

6. I am related to 2, count them, TWO U.S. Presidents: Garfield and Ulysses S. Grant. Don't ask me how - but I know its on my mom's side. My dad is Mexican and Native American so i doubt its from his side...unless........


7. I really really want to take swing dancing lessons with my husband- that would be so fun, learn something new and get exercise! We actually talked about this tonight, so all we need is a sitter and hope its not too expensive.

What then to do when you are 'tagged': RULES
1) Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok, now Im supposed to Tag 7 more people, so here they are:
HerAnatomy, Cofygirl, ComfortJoy Designs, Kat'sLife, Little Red Cottage, Nicki Leigh, TheHoggyHedge

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If you've ever lost your way...

Get a compass and find your way back again! I bought this way neat compass ring from JeweledAbrosia's lovely etsy shop - I came in the mail today. Its a fun thing to have when lost! Its funny how when you get off the red or blue line (the underground ones) and you are completely confused as to which direction you need to go once you come up to the street - at least, thats always my problem. I think I got this ring for that very reason. No more walking miles in the wrong direction for me!

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Blog Overhaul

I've been toying around with my blog and I hope I can finally stick with a layout/design Im happy with. I think I got it now. I 've been obsessed with Blogger Buster. Thats how I was able to create 3 columns, add my header Image - since the normal header hasn't been working for a while, make a label cloud...and I 'll probably go back to do more fun stuff. Editing html has been getting easier, now that I got back in the grove of things. If you want to gussie up your blog, that's the place to go!

Another fun thing I found was premade blog templates by Quirky Bird. There are 4 fun themes: *Bird on a Wire*PeepMe*Gnometastic*Funky Sock Monkey. They have easy directions on how to make it your blog theme...make sure you save your current template, otherwise you'll lose all your widgets.

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Coffee Break

I was really stressed watching 3 kids today...2 being mine and the other my nephew. They're fine until all are screaming and crying at the same time. I was like "serenity NOW!" So once I got them down for naps and pacified, I decided to indulge myself in my favorite coffee drink. Its like a mocha frappaccino- but home made, not one of those rediculous $4 sucker traps.

SO Here's what I use:

1. Drink Mixer - the kind to make hard drinks, martinis and such
2. Brewed Coffee - I use the whole foods 360 French Roast and grind that up. We only have a 4 cup pot, so i grind 6 tbs of beans
3. 2 tbs. Creamer - not skim or even 2%, it has to be half and half!
4. Ice - about 6 large cubes
5. 1 tbs. Chocolate Syrup - I love Trader Joe's Midnight Moo
6. 2 tbs of Sugar (or agave nectar)

Now I take the drink mixer and add the ice, creamer, sugar, and chocolate. Then I add about 2 cups worth of coffee, close the shaker tightly, shake for a good 20 -30 seconds, or at least till the shaker feels really cold in your hands. Open, taste it so its to your liking, if not, add what you think it needs more of. Pour into a glass (with or without ice in it) and Enjoy!

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Deerly Beloved...

I was going through scores of wall art / decals on etsy and the web. I came upon Wallcandy and I must say they have some sickly sweet stuff, but its still really fun. Their prices are not to bad either, considering the size and intricacy of this particular decal kit which contains 1 pink deer & 1 blue deer (21½x14”), 18 flowers, 6 hearts, 9 mushrooms and 12 candies all for a grand total of $50.

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Who likes buttons? And cookies?

Buttons are great for many things; closing items, embellishments, and so on. Who knew you could eat them too! I found the recipe posted by Minzimiu on Flickr and they seem like lots of fun to make and eat. Just to save time, here's the recipe:

RECIPE
2cups sifted all - purpose flour,plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup(1 stick)unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Gel - paste food coloring in pink and green
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Whisk together flour , salt, and baking powder in a large bowl; set aside.Put butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy.Mix in egg and vanilla.Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Divide dough into thirds. Knead pink food coloring into 1 piece and green into another. Shape all 3 pieces into disks. Wrap disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 325 . Remove 1 disk from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature until slightly soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a piece of lightly floured parchment to a 1/8 - inch thickness, dusting with flour as needed. Cut out circles with a 1 3/4 inch round cutter, then lightly press with a 1 1/2 inch round cutter. Make button holes with a skewer. Reroll scraps, and cut.(If dough becomes too soft,refrigerate 10 minutes) Repeat with remaining dough. Space 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
3. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.
4. When you are done do not forget to invite me some! hehe...ok guys...that is it. Hope you enjoy it ..now i need to get some OJ(orange juice) hugs:)

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Photo Fun!

Somehow, on a city street, this was found..so bizzare. Just kidding! Its of Maddy when we were in Africa. Go to http://www.photofunia.com/ and you can upload any pic in several scenes - this one looked fun to me. Its a fun way to fool those who are not very tech savvy - like parents for instance. I think Im going to try convincing mine that this was really posted around some random street in a far away place...like - oh, lets say Denmark.

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