December 14, 2009
Watching Martha Stewart one day, I saw her and Claire Danes making homemade marshmallows. Ever since the days of My So-called Life I have had a major crush on Claire Danes, she is just so cute. It looked relatively easy and I wanted to make something for an upcoming party I was going to be attending. Only recently becoming a fan of Martha I realized her magazine Everyday Living has some really good ideas and always has great recipes. I also starting subscribing to one of her other magazines Whole Living Body and Soul which focuses more on leading a healthy lifestyle and doing things that are good for you and the environment. If you are interested in D.I.Y. then I highly recommend either magazine. So I looked up the recipe and decided to make the marshmallows. And this is one of those situations where the homemade version ended up being much more expensive but sooooo delicious. The only thing I would have done differently is to get vegetarian gelatin. Real gelatin is made up of animal skin and bones and I try really hard to keep most animal products out of my diet. After I made them I realized I probably could have found vegetarian gelatin at Whole Foods but they were still really good. This is the recipe for those of you who would also like to try your hand at making marshmallows. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/vanilla-marshmallows
vanilla bean
The recipies are for vanilla and peppermint, but I hate minty flavored things so I used almond extract and they were great.
Boiling sugar and corn syrup.
It also tells you to use a stand mixer but since I don't have the room in my kitchen for that I used the worlds oldest hand mixer and it work just fine.
This is how they sat in the fridge over night.
I cut them into perfect little squares and tossed them into powder sugar.
Bag them up.
And enjoy.
October 30, 2009
Cole Haan makes beautiful things. Always. They have a new line of handbags called ‘Genevieve’ which is made of a really nice woven brown or black leather. I absolutely love it! Being that the bag costs $525, I did not run out and get my very own. But like many things, it got me thinking about possibly making my own handbag. Going into it, I really thought I was getting in over my head and didn’t actually think I was going to be able to pull it off. I found instructions on how to make a simple messenger bag from a book I checked out from the library called Weekend Sewing. I used it as a VERY loose template and went on my way trying to make myself a handmade purse. My goal is to make things that do not look handmade. For me that is the ultimate fail. Here is how the process went…
This is the fake woven leather material I found at Joanns fabric store.
*I have to add that this material was originally $30 a yard. I bought 1/2 a yard and I had a 50% coupon, so after that the material I bought only cost me roughly $7.50.
This is the hardware I bought for the purse. I didn't end up using the straps, but did use left-over material from an old dress for the lining.
The lining.
Before adding the hardware and the strap.
And there she is.
My purse.
*Please notice the handsome dog sleeping on the couch in the background.
Cole Haan purse.
My purse ended up costing about $10-$12 with the hardware. Not bad compared to $525 for the Cole Haan bag. I was really happy with the way it turned out and I have been using it ever since I made it, but I can’t lie…I would still love to own this Cole Haan bag.
October 22, 2009
After weeks of waiting the beer is finally finished and ready to drink! Ryan and Mikey did everything perfectly and were so eager to taste it. When they twisted the cap off, it had the perfect little Pssht! of any nicely carbonated beverage. Ryan then poured it into a few frosty mugs that we had prepared in the freezer.
And the verdict…
eh. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t really good either. Ryan and Mikey drank it, but me and Tina did not. The good thing is that they think they know what they did wrong so they would like to try again. But that’s what homemade is all about, trial and error. How else would you know when you’ve made something successful, unless you’ve made a few flops along the way. They had fun doing it…and isn’t that the most important thing?
Please pay no attention to the KFC on the table. I did not eat it, I swear. OK…maybe a biscuit with some honey, but that’s it!
October 9, 2009
I LOVE homemade bath products! Pangea is about the closest you can get to homemade without actually being made in someones home. They make fantastic products and they are a great company. This is straight from their website…
Pangea products are (and always will be):
• Crafted by artisans in small batches, using pure, organic ingredients that replenish the skin
• Hand-blended to soothe or stimulate your senses
• Preserved using the gentlest of methods to retain the nurturing properties of the botanicals in each customized blend
• Intentionally sourced from organic farmers through fair trade practices whenever possible
• Honest above all else: if it’s in our products, it’s on our labels
NEVER
petroleum-based ingredients
sulfates or detergents
synthetic preservatives
artificial colors or fragrances
The only problem is the price…boo. The salon next to my house sells the lotions for $16, the lip gloss is $12 and one bar of soap is a whopping $7!! So you can imagine my excitment when I walked in the salon and saw the 75% off all Pangea sign!! That means $4 lotions $3 lip gloss and $1.75 soaps!! There are not enough !!’s to explain my excitment. Needless to say…I stocked up. But it also got me thinking about making my own products…hmmm? New project?
There is actually more stuff that didn't make it into this picture and I have a feeling that I may go back and get more.
October 7, 2009
Make your own beer? Sure why not. This was a project done by Ryan and Mikey not me, but I’m hoping they want to share when it’s all done. Or else I will just have to beat them up and steal their beer. I bought Ryan this beer kit for his birthday and he wasted no time to start brewing. The bottles are currently hanging out in a cooler while they finish brewing, but here’s how the process went.
Step 1: get two eager beer loving guys...check!
The kit came with a can of stuff that you mix with some sugar and let ferment for 2 weeks. And these pictures do not convey the horrid smell that came from the brewing process. gross.
fermenting beer
After you cook the beer in a big pot it has to be carefully transferred to the keg and kept in a dark place for two weeks. This keg made a comfortable home for itself in a kitchen cabinet.
After two weeks in hiding, it came out and had to be bottled. The beer gets a few more spoonfuls of sugar and a good shake.
Back into the cabinet for another week.
And there it sits. The beer is in a cooler because apparently the bottles have the ability to explode before they are ready. So far no exploding bottles and we are patiently waiting to drink the beer. I will make another update when it is finished, cross your fingers!
September 28, 2009
Ok…I did not actually get a summer break. And neither did Chicago. But I did get the chance to make a few things. So as an easy way to start my new blog here is a wrap up of some things I have been working on over the last few months…
My ‘Audrey’ pants, inspired by the gap ads a few years ago featuring a dancing and prancing Audrey Hepburn. These started off as a pair of flared dress pants from Express. They still fit but were feeling a tad outdated. So all I did was cut off the bottoms, take in the sides and VOILA! I now have a lovely new pair of black cigarette pants. And the best part? Totally Free!
I made a few dresses, some successful and some not even wearable. There were my two favorites.
For this cream shift dress I used a pattern from www.burdastyle.com which I use often. It is a great community of people interested in sewing. There are plenty of free and cheap patterns you can print yourself at home. There are also lots of tutorials and interesting pictures of items people have made. If you are into home sewing like I am you should check it out. But back to the dress, it turned out a little shorter than anticipated but at 5 ft. 0 in. with a pair of opaque tights, I think I can pull it off. And who doesn’t like a short dress every once in a while?
