Still Avoiding Typing=Lots of Pictures

What have I been doing (besides not typing out my "adventures in camping post")?

I've been making stuff. I think I'm getting a better feel for my sewing machine, and a better understanding of how it works. (I don't get bobbin thread bound up nearly as much or break needles as often. I guess that's progress.)

I have slowly been adding to my cloth diaper stash, I have enough fabric to make 30 more but so far I've only made 8. And I have been wanting to make a few aprons for various things. I have finally made 2. They are so cute I can't hardly stand it. I'm not sure if I should really be using them to work in.




Last weekend Gabe finally built me my clothesline.




We had all the wood already so he only had to buy some brackets for it. He also finished painting and hung my pantry door which has been sitting for 8 months, and he straightened the garage in preparation of a good cleaning and organized his workbench. He's trying to impress me. Next month is our 14th anniversary and I know he has something up his sleeve for that too. I think it has something to do with him sculpting something but of course he's not telling and I wont know until the 29th so stay tuned!

Gabe just loves his ugly, floppy hat.

I would also like to point out that despite my tiny work conditions, I have made some headway in my studio. Just look at the neat little piles on my fabric shelf! Lovely.

Lazy Bum

I updated my Etsy shop. Finally. I only took the pictures over 2 weeks ago. I should probably take some more pictures. Of other stuff.



Also, I have a rather long, possibly 2 parter totally fabulous post that you certainly can't wait to read. But you'll have to, because I haven't typed it out yet. 'Cause I'm a lazy bum.

Where I Create...(hopefully these will be 'before' photos)

I just read the new edition of 'Where Women Create', they have such beautiful studios. All filled with glitter and billowy fabric and soooo many lovely little storage containers. To store things. I like keeping things neat and orderly. I like having my sock drawer organized and it is very vexing when someone (named Gabe)(who does the laundry)('cause laundry is a boys job, so there) puts the short sleeved shirts in the same pile as the long sleeved shirts. Yes. Vexing. However, as you may have guessed, I am grossly outnumbered (5-1) in the 'lets keep things neat and orderly' department. And despite my efforts to do so, things are not kept as neat and orderly as I would like. Even when I label them with little pictures on them like this:


I also suffer from a sever lack of neat little totes. (And I probably have more than the 'normal' person) But that's my excuse. Because while I'd love for my studio to look like that:









images from 'Where women Create' fall '09


(and by studio, I mean the tiny space that used to be a small portion of the family room but now houses all of my crafts, plus the kids school, plus Gabe's home business) sadly, it looks like this:

And this is on a good day. I even cleaned up a little. Note Gabe's space in the background. Surprisingly, mine looks worse at the moment. Don't know how that happened.




Here are some of my plans to improve my studio (apart from building above the garage where I would have a studio with a kitchenette and a balcony overlooking my tea garden-which is really a weed garden right now, but that's another story).

My desk is far too small for me and Gabe's is too small for him, we also have a tiny house (before we finished the basement we had 860 square feet) with a tiny bedroom so I plan to remove the closet doors and replace them with either bi-folds or a pretty curtain. That way I can use 1 or both doors as a nice big desk. Then Gabe can have mine. I also plan to move him so I can have this whole space to myself. I don't like sharing. (Last week Gabe said he was going to send me back to kindergarten so I can learn how to share) (I said stay away from my chocolate, buddy.)

I hope eventually to add some more shelves and of course paint and make a slipcover for my ugly chair. ( I have several ugly chairs of various sizes. I love their style but they really are ugly)
And I definitely need more neat little containers with labels. Definitely.

Please tell me I'm no the only one with desk issues...

Meliss

What Have I Been Doing?

Well, I'm trying to get more items on my little Etsy shop. I have several finished pieces already, several almost finished as well. And of course plans for things that I really need to schedule if I am to actually get them done. I posted 2 new pieces today and have photos of several more that are just waiting to be posted as well.

I haven't yet started my #mailart postcard project but I was able to get better paper. I wasn't happy with the thickness of the paper found at normal craft stores so Gabe made a trip to Xpedex especially for me. I have some ideas for the pieces and not a lot of time so I had better get started.

And of course I've been cooking. With zucchini. I'm thinking I may need to make categories in my blog so they are easier to navigate. Art and recipes and mom stuff. Maybe?

Today's recipe was borrowed from a friend. Marilyn writes for the Denver Examiner and recently interviewed me on my fabulous frugalness. (Really she wrote some questions and I gave her like 8 pages of answers.) I hope to expand on the things I left out in the interview soon.

The recipe was for Mock Apple Pie. I altered it a bit, that's what I do. It called for a double crust but I only had 1 so we made a crumble top for it instead. Here is the original recipe:

4-5cups zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced (like apples) -FB
1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
1 can (2c) applesauce -FB
1-2 T cinnamon
2 pie crusts
mix ingredients and pour into bottom crust, add top crust and make slits, cook for 1 hour at 400F.

Now here are the changes I made and will make in the future:
We had 1 crust so we made a crumble top. Mix 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup oats, 1/3 c brown sugar, and 1/4 c oil til crumbly and sprinkle on top of the pie filling after its in the bottom crust. Bake as normal.


This pie was pretty good, but not totally appleish. Part of the problem, I think, was that Gabe used the apple corer so the zucchini was in big eatable sized slices instead of thin appley pie slices. The bits that were quite small did have the apple pie taste that they were supposed to so I think that was just us not doing it right. The big chunks were not bad, but we could tell that they were not apple pie. Slicing nice and thin is probably an important step in tricking the kids into thinking its apples. I also may add just a bit more sugar to the filling as it was not as sweet as pie. (But we had it for a lunch so less sugar is not a bad thing.) I think I may also add 1 apple next time so that the appley pieness is more appley. And I will probably stick with the crumble top. Its less healthy, but I think its more tasty.

Give it a try, tell me what you think.

Meliss

P.S. Here's a little sneak peek of new items I will post soon...

necklace detail

bracelet detail

a one of a kind ATC with tiny 1" painting by me, sent to customer as a free gift