Playing With Fabric Again!

 Hellllllo there!  How the heck are you all doing today?  Fab?  Super fab?  I hope so!  I have been playing with fabric again, and loving every second!  :)   First I have a super quick little business card holder I zipped together for a convention I am attending this week.  I used some fun Bali or Batik fabric (I am such a hoarder, it is time to USE this lovely fabric!!!)  ~

Next I have been adding smidges of stuff to some fabric mini books I made ( hope to offer classes in the Spring of 2013).  Here are a few sneak peeks ~

I have also been making boatloads of fabric art journals, but don't have any sneaks to share.  I will soon!  My Beginner's Guide to Fabric Class should hopefully happen soon at the Art Studio.  We are having a Grand Opening Bash before long, details to follow as they become available.  

I am also working on some projects for the house.  

Remember how I have mentioned my high tech plastic $50.00 tables we are using for an island?  After almost a year, I decided it was time to get my rear into gear and upcycle something cool into an island.  We purchased an old pretty sturdy antique buffet several years ago at an antique store.  We never got around to using it, partially because it needed refinishing, and partly because we found something else to use instead (at our old house).  It has sat in dust in the barn for a few years so we finally hauled it out to our house and I am going to strip it and then paint it.  Then we hope to put either a butcher block top or some other sort of solid top on the piece and use it as an island/workstation.  I am over the top excited about this project!  Here are some pictures of the piece now ~

can't WAIT to show you what it looks like when it is finished!  I also picked up some wood cupboard doors at the Restore store (all proceeds from the store go to Habitat for Humanity) and I am going to turn them into some cool signs using paint and vintage images.  You can see the various cupboard doors on top of the antique buffet above. Stay tuned for updates!  

Well friends, that is it for me today, I need to get things ready for a conference I am attending for work.  I get to present at the conference, I am pretty excited about it. :) 

I hope you all enjoy a joyful and creative day!  ~ Pam

Holy Smokes, It Is SEPTEMBER! Better Eat Some Watermelon Sherbet!

 

How did this happen?  I am so not ready for September, but here it is.  This year has zipped by so quickly I can't believe it.  I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Labor Day yesterday!  We had a great day, the kiddos and grandkiddos came over and we swam and swam and swam, then ate and ate and ate.  My daughter went skiing for the first time in several years and was happy to see she can still get up on skis.  I had no doubts, but she thought she was getting old  as she is almost thirty, but she is a baby yet, right?  ;)  My son jumped on every raft we owned, soaking everybody in the process.  He is definitely still a baby.  :) I made some delich ribs, and a fun dessert.  I used to make this every summer, for at least one holiday, and sometimes just because.  My daughter has asked me to make it several times this year, but I haven't had the ingredients or the time to pick them up.  Working really long days, with a stinko commute has left me unmotivated to head to the store during any free time.  I love where we live as it is very peaceful and beautiful, but trust me it is not really close to many stores.  The photo above is a result of a 9 pm Monday shopping expedition to Meijers, a grocerystore chain that is about 20 minutes from work, and 35 - 40 minutes from my home.  I needed to pick up something for a treat for some coworkers, but after working all day (we had orientation for our new volunteers), everything was closed.  I decided I could whip together some white, milk, and dark chocolate covered strawberries so I did.  It was definitely a looooooong day, but hopefully worth it to the coworkers the next morning at 7 am. 

Anyway, here is the fun and yummy watermelon sherbet dessert, and how I made it.  It is pretty easy peasy, as long as you can get to a store to pick everything up.  :)

First, soften a quart or two of lime sherbet, then spread it in a large bowl.  Be sure to put some plastic wrap inside the bowl first, so you can get it out of the bowl later.  :)  Freeze til firm.  Whatever yo do, don't swing the bowl around while you are on the way to the freezer, and shlump sherbet all over your floor.  That is a mess, trust me!  If for some strange reason you do shlump sherbet all over your floor and the remainder is a sad and not enough bit of sherbet to look like a watermelon rind, in a pinch you can tint pineapple sherbet green.  Still tastes yummy.    OK, on to the next step.

Next mix several quarts of softened raspberry sherbert together till smooth.

Time to pour in a generous amount of semisweet chocolate chips!  

Stir till mixed, then spoon mixture into frozen lime sherbet in your bowl.  Do this gently, you don't want to mix the colors, you just want to add the raspberry sherbet with chips to the bowl.

Freeze several hours til firm, or overnight is best.

Slice that frozen sherbet just like watermelon slices!  You can flip it onto a platter if that is easier for you to slice and remove from the bowl.

 Would you take a look at that fun and refreshing dessert?  Yummy!

It helps to have an appreciative audience gobbling up the watermelon dessert!

Mimi, this is gooood!

Since I was in a making food treats kind of mood last week I thought I would try out a recipe for rolo cookies.  Holy smokes they were DELICH!  Super simple to make too.  I can't remember where I found the recipe, I think it may have been on pinterest.  Basically you take a boxed chocolate cake ( I used triple chocolate, it had chocolate chips in the mix), add some canola oil and a few eggs, mix till sticky, drop on a cookie sheet, plop an unwrapped rolo in the center, plop more batter on top, squish together a bit with your spoon, then bake.  When cool, sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar.  YUM!  

Well, that is enough about sweets and desserts, I am getting way too hungry thinking about it.  As a side note, I should have an update on my Beginner's Guide to Fabric Class soon, I will keep you posted.  Can't WAIT to host that class, there is a ton of info included that you can have as a reference for years to come. 

I wish you all a joyful and creative week!  Happy crafting (& cooking!) ~ Pam