Wow, what a sad turn of events.  It’s been months upon months since I’ve updated here.  I feel sad about my little blog.  The thing is, we’ve had so much going on here, I haven’t had the time to do any sort of crafting in a long time!  School is starting up next week so I might have some more time to myself, but I’m still not sure since I’ve recently taken on a new project.  (big surprise, right?  If it’s not a craft, it’s at least a project of some sort)

It’s no secret I am an entrepreneur.  I love being in business for myself.  Honestly, if I had a choice between being behind a desk making money for and taking orders from someone else, or taking a chance and working for myself doing what *I* want, even though it may take a while to see a harvest, I will choose that any day.  I am a carefree spirit.  I can’t be pinned down with a 9-5 job.  ha!  So after Booty Parlor closed the doors to the direct sales department, I decided it was time to stop going the independent consultant and take a chance and do it all myself.  Nothing wrong with direct sales, I just didn’t want to keep doing that.

My new venture combines my love of all things entrepreneurial with my appreciation for healthier, cleaner living.

Garden to Belly

On my site you will find top of the line juicers, grain mills, yogurt makers, sprouters, vermicomposting bins, urban growing bins and lots more to come!  If it sounds at all interesting to you, I’d appreciate your visit.  I’ve also got another blog connected to the store where I will post healthy recipes and tips for sustainable gardening.  (It’s still in its infancy, so bear with me)  Consider following me on twitter and facebook as well!

I’m not giving up on this blog.  I do love it here.  It just may be a while before I can post anything for a while.  I hope you’ll stick around!

Autumn

homemade chocolate chip waffles

plus

local strawberries

plus

homemade whipped cream

(is there anything better than homemade whipped cream?!)

equals

A delicious way to start a lazy Saturday

Happy Saturday!

Once or twice a month my girlfriends and I get together for a “cooking club”.  (we have since conceded that it should actually just be called “eating club” because it’s not like we exchange recipes, we just get together to eat.)  I was drawing a blank as to what I was going to bring today, when at the last minute I decided to do a Mozarella Salad.

The thing is, I didn’t want to bring everything with me and assemble it there, which would mean the salad would actually look presentable, but I didn’t want to make it at home either because it would look … not pretty by the time it got there.

I decided to do these one bite appetizers instead.  I have made them before with a whole cherry and a whole mozzarella ball (Ciliegine) with a basil leaf atop each one, but it wasn’t something you could just pop into your mouth.  Plus, I wanted them to be able to stand up.

Instead I opted to half each of the main ingredients.  This is very very simple to put together, but I think it makes for a really nice presentation.  Just cut your cherry tomatoes (and you can use whatever kind.  My husband just happened to pick up the yellow ones) in half and spear the skinned side with the toothpick.  Then, place a small leaf or a portion of a larger leaf of basil on the toothpick and finish up with half of a mozzarella ball.

There are several recipes you may use for your dressing, but I am a simple girl when it comes to this combination.  I simply sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and finish up with a dash of olive oil and a good quality balsamic vinegar.  Add some basil chiffonade for garnish and extra yumminess and you are good to go!

This presentation allowed me to put the oil and vinegar on the bites while maintaining an appetizing appearance.  I do think it tastes better when you let it marinate a little.

It’s amazing to me how sometimes the most simple of flavor combinations can be the most delicious.

-Autumn

I had seen these little doodads before but never really knew how much fun they were. I have to admit, I may have had as much fun as the kids did with these things.

Depending on the kit you buy, you may receive a square peg board, or a shaped one, as we did for the party. I chose to bring the craft to my Daisy Girl Scout meeting as our opening craft, where the girls were able to choose either a monkey or a lizard.

It’s super easy to put these together. You basically just put the beads on the peg board in whatever way you want, place a piece of wax paper on top, and then iron over it in small circles.

When it cools, flip it over and do the same.

The batch for the party also came with key rings which was fun. Sadly, our meeting wrapped up so quickly that I didn’t get any photos of the girls’ completed projects. Boo. BUT, here are some examples from the Perler gallery that I really liked.

Did you know you can also make 3D crafts?

Some of my favorites are the old game characters.

As you can tell, you are only limited by your imagination.

I can’t recommend this craft enough. It’s saved us many meltdowns during the super cold we had not too long ago. When the kids were pent up inside the house, this would keep them occupied for hours. Definitely check them out!  And don’t forget to check out House Party.  Let me know if you get selected for any parties, yourself!

-Autumn

I’ve got a few projects in the works, and when they are complete I will post them.  I’m almost ready to open my Etsy shop too!  I know you’re just as excited as I am, right?  haha  Before I even had a blog, I wanted to open an Etsy shop, and now that I finally have a blog, it seems like the perfect compliment to open one.  I will be filling it with various goodies ranging from vintage finds, homemade jewelry, maybe knitted goods?  Who knows.  I call myself the Fickle Hobbyist for a reason, you know.  I can’t manage to stick with one art medium for too long before I move on to the next.  I can’t wait to get started!

I hope you’ll stick with me into my second year of blogging. 

-Autumn

These coasters were made specifically for each girl’s teacher.  I have made baskets full of homemade goodies including Christmas coffee (a delicious blend that my family makes every year), sugar/cinnamon almonds, and homemade blackberry jelly.  I think the coasters will look great nestled in with all of that.

So first, I scanned each girl’s photo into the computer, and added a border on Photoshop.  Then, I printed on the waterslide paper and sprayed acrylic over it and let it dry.  Then, following the instructions from the last post, I transferred each drawing onto a plain old, white floor tile.  These were about 4.25″ square.

Once the transfers had dried, I coated each coaster with a generous coat of acrylic to seal it all in.  Then, to finish the backs, I used a roll of cork liner.  (I found mine in the shelf liner section of Home Depot).

Not being one to waste, I used a ribbon that was around the new sheets I just bought to hold the coasters together.  I fashioned the bow out of the excess.  I’m all about using what you have on hand!

I absolutely LOVE how they turned out.  I think they’re adorable.  Of course, I could be bias since my kids made them.  I hope the teachers like them!

-Autumn

It’s a tradition that I make ornaments for each of my cousins every year, so last year I was looking for something a little more “professional” looking than, say dough ornaments or something.  (which I actually still love)  My research led me to this product.

It’s essentially gelatin on top of paper.  You print an image onto the paper using your glossy setting, coat it a few times with a lacquer, and then you’re ready to add it to whatever surface you’d like.  This year I was making ornaments for the Brownie troop I am now a co-leader of.  I made sure to take a photo of each girl at our investiture ceremony so I would have something to work with.  I took these photos, put them into Photoshop where I used a feathering on the sides so that the color wouldn’t have an abrupt edge to it.  I also made a little thing that said “Oh My Honor…” with the troop number below.

After taking this photo, I took it to the garage and did about 3 or 4 coats of a clear, glossy lacquer.  Once it was dry, I was ready to transfer the photos to the ornaments.

Last year I used ornaments that looked like this:

These were great because they provided a smooth, flat surface to which I could apply the transfer easily.  The problem was that I ordered these online and this year I waited too long to get them, so I had to see what they had at Hobby Lobby.  This is what I found:

These were great, but they posed 2 problems.  The first one is that they were slightly convex.  I know this would probably cause a little bit of an issue with the transfer, but because the curve wasn’t TOO bad, I figured I could make it work.  The second thing is that they are clear.  When you print on the gelatin, it doesn’t actually print the white out, so anywhere there would be white in your photo, would actually be clear.  I thought to get around this problem, I could just fill the ornaments with something white and it would be fine.  Well, that didn’t actually work, but I’ll show you how I got around it.

When you’re ready to slide your transfer onto your craft surface, you’ll need some warm water.  Cut around your photo and dip it in the water.  You’ll want to give it a minute or two until the decal begins to slide around on the paper.

Then, put your decal up against the surface of your craft and gently slide it off, and directly onto your surface.  You’ll want to avoid getting bubbles underneath it, but if you do, don’t worry.  You can use the very paper you just slipped your decal from to ease the bubbles out.  You’ll feel that it’s still a little slippery, so fold your paper, slippery sides out, and use that to wipe the surface and smooth any air out.

From here, you can use a paper towel to dab the water off and let the ornaments dry.

At this point, you could be done if you wanted to be.  However, because you can *sort of* see the decal’s edges, I wanted something to smooth it out, so I went over the surface again with the lacquer.  I didn’t do this last year, though, so it’s up to you.

Now, if you look at the ornaments above, you’ll see what I mean about the color issue.  Without white behind it, the image is pretty difficult to see.  I noticed while the ornaments were sitting on top of something white, that the image was able to pop, plus I really liked the 3D effect of having the words above the picture.  So, instead of filling the ornament with something white and having two sides, I decided to grab some enamel paint and paint what would now become the back of the ornament.  (don’t mind the mess, this table has become craft headquarters)

So when they dried I was left with this:

I was really happy with how they turned out and I think the girls really liked them.

Now, if you are a visual learner and have to see how things are done, here is the video I taped LAST year before I even had a blog.  I just shot this for some of my friends to show them how it was done, so it’s not the best quality.  However, it walks you through the whole process.  Enjoy!

And here is the ornament that was seen in that video:

-Autumn

This is what the package looks like. I imagine there are many different brands on the market, just make sure they say “shrink”.

The bag inside is really quite large, large enough to accommodate a pretty good sized basket.

Place the basket inside, get it all settled as to how you want it.

Hold it together at the top, and shrink wrap securely around the gift basket with blow dryer.

You will see that it starts to shrink around the basket, making a nice tight fitting. If you had a handle, or anything around the top, it would shrink right around it. I wanted to leave a little room at the top, so I just stopped the blow drying process once it shrank around the basket, yet still had space at the top.

The package included a decorative pull bow.

Pull it and secure it around the top of the bag.

There will be a lot of plastic left at the top, just cut it off with scissors at the desired height. The plastic will fit nicely around the basket, and hold everything in place. They turn out really cute.

For the last cooking club, not only did I bring the candied apples I previously outlined, but I also brought this Butternut Squash Risotto.  Now, I had never made a risotto before, and while I knew it would take a lot of time stirring and adding the broth, I don’t think I realized just how much.  However, it was totally worth it!  The end result is a nice, creamy blend of rice and butternut squash with a hint of Parmesan.

I found this recipe HERE. There are some other really tasty looking recipes over there. Be sure to take a look around!

You’ll need:

6-8 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups butternut squash, peeled, and finely diced
2 cups arborio rice (can substitute medium grained white rice, but arborio is preferred)
1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped chives or garlic chives
Salt

(surprise surprise, my grocery store didn’t have the garlic chives or even regular chives, so we did without.  It was still delish.)

First, peel and chop your squash into bite size pieces.  I think if I do this again, I’ll cut them even smaller than I did.  Melt 4Tbsp of butter and sautee the onions and squash until the onions are translucent.  While you do this, heat your broth in another pot and keep warm over medium heat.

Add your rice to the onions and squash and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add your wine and stir constantly until the wine is either absorbed by the rice or evaporated.  Then, ladle broth over rice until it just covers it.  Cook over medium heat until the broth is absorbed.

Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.

During the last few minutes of cooking, add the remaining butter, 1/3 cup of Parmesan, and chives.  At this point it should be nice and creamy.  Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with remaining Parmesan.

This was a big hit!  I am looking forward to making it again, actually.  It was the first time I really had eaten butternut squash too!

Enjoy!

Love you!!