Many Projects...One Post

Weeeeellllll...I've done better with my Pinterest challenge than I have with blogging about it.

Here are a few projects that have been finished in the past month or so:

1.  Crochet Necklace

Here's the pin.

Here's my necklace.

This bannister post looks eerily personesque

I think the next one I make will have more beads, smaller beads, at varying intervals, and pull the crochet tighter around the beads. But I really like wearing this one.  Simple, and great colors.

Look at those great colors. So great.

 
I got these beads at Michael's on WICKED SALE...50% off...and decided on DMC pearl cotton for the stuff to crochet with.  I used a small crochet hook (size B...the smallest I've ever used).  I "loaded" all 20 beads onto the floss and started single chaining.  Every 20 chains, I'd bring a bead up and crochet around it.  It's just one big loop...I thought it looked best on me with four even loops which made little bead outcroppings, but it's unbound and has the flexibility to be worn differently.

I'm all for flexibility in accessories.

2.  Nightstand!

Here's the pin.

So. I didn't have a nightstand next to the bed. I was using a ClosetMaid Horizontal Organizer unit. Like this one:

It's an organizer! It's horizontal!

Except on end.

No longer horizontal! And less effective as an organizer!

Which is fine, except that our shoes are all over the floor, and as awesome as the ClosetMaid Horizontal Organizer is, it's NOT a nightstand.

So we got this one for free on Craigslist.

Ug. Ly.

Since I had to sand it down so much, I took the time to prime it.  I'm glad I did.  It made the paint go on nice and easy.

I found a can of "new black" paint that had been returned to Lowe's. $5! A pretty Martha Stewart stencil on the drawer, a coat or two of Rustoleum polyurethane over the whole thing, and a $1 knob from Second Use, and...

A thing of beauty and a joy to be able to store my nighttime crap in.

...voila!  So pretty! It looks great next to our black bed frame, and will go with any quilt we choose to put on the bed.

3.  Pot Roast

Here's the pin.

I don't have a picture of the final roast, nor did I actually get to taste it. But I heard from Recipe Taster #1 that it was pretty good. He's not got a super sophisticated palate, and usually enjoys whatever I cook, so I'll have to post more about this the next time I make the recipe.

Purple Scarf - Pancreatic Cancer Sucks

Last week's Pinterest challenge was this awesome fringy scarf.  But, it's the story behind the scarf that I want to talk about.

What is that story? Will you tell me? Will you tell me while I wear this awesome fringy scarf?

Pancreatic cancer is awful.  It's tremendously difficult to diagnose, and has an extremely low survival rate.  According to the NIH, "Ninety-five percent of the people diagnosed with this cancer will not be alive 5 years later."

My friend, Megg, has this blog, and one day she used some strong language.  I understand that strong language, having lost a few close to me to cancer.  She said she was feeling powerless, and wished she could DO SOMETHING.

So, we came up with this idea to sell purple scarves, and donate the money from the sales to help find a cure for Pancreatic cancer.

Here's her post, "Calling All Knitters":

I have a personal vendetta against pancreatic cancer.
I'm collecting purple scarves to sell for Pancreatic cancer awareness. ALL money (not just profits) will be donated to pancan.org.

Here are some facts about pancreatic cancer:

• The pancreas is used to produce insulin. Due to the fact that it doesn't have any nerves, pancreatic cancer often isn't diagnosed or even noticed until it has spread.
• There are very few treatments for pancreatic cancer.
• Only 2% of the American Cancer Society's research budget goes toward pancreatic cancer.
• Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.
• The average life expectancy after diagnosis is 3-6 months.
• There are no early detection tools for pancreatic cancer.

I know what you're thinking. Everyone has a cause, and mine happens to be pancreatic cancer. Yours may be diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, ALS or any number of horrible diseases that have touched your life. You can't help all of them.

My request is simple. Make me a scarf. The scarves will be sold for $15 (I'm looking into how to sell them, but I'm going to start on my Etsy shop) and all that money will go toward pancreatic cancer awareness. Do you knit or crochet? Please consider making me just one scarf. I can't do it all...I need your help.
{I am requesting purple scarves, since that is the color of pancreatic cancer awareness. All shades, patterns and types of purple scarves will be accepted!}

Don't knit or crochet? That's OK. Would you consider buying a scarf? I'm planning on setting up a paypal for this alone, separate from my personal one.
Cancer has touched almost everyone. Please consider donating or helping me out, no matter what your personal cause is.

If you're interested in making or buying a scarf (I'm hoping to have WAY more options that my one, soon!) please email me at crazymegg at gmail.

***

 It is difficult to be angry at something that isn't sentient, like cancer.  But. We. Are. Angry.  We know those purple scarves aren't the solution, but it gives us something to do, to keep us busy and help focus that anger into something productive.

If you're a knitter and want to help, contact me or Megg.  

Here's the scarf I made, modelled by my amazing sister.  I will keep making scarves and posting about them here.  And Megg will be selling them here.  Thanks for reading.

Look how fringy! And purple! I just know the money from the sale of this scarf will be what cures Pancreatic cancer.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup - First Trial

Last week's Pinterest project was Coconut Curry Chicken Soup.  I'm on a HUGE kick for this soup, having found a delectable option at our local supermarket.  But $3.99 is a lot for a cup of soup, and, while I appreciate the convenience of the supermarket deli, I can't afford to buy as much of this soup as I want to eat.  Clearly, making my own is the only way.

I went to Pinterest and searched for Coconut Curry Chicken Soup, and pinned a few interesting and delicious looking options.  My first trial was this option, because it looked a little more filling than the others I had pinned, what with the noodles and all.

As with oh, so many recipes, and particularly recipes from magazines, there are places in the instructions that leave room for interpretation.  "Shredded cooked chicken breast" is one of these.  I had some random Foster Farms lying around, and put them in the oven with some chicken broth to cook through, thinking it would keep them moist and the chicken broth flavor would be complimentary to the soup itself, as it contains 6 cups of the stuff.  Wrong choice.  The soup itself was mildly curry-flavored to begin with, so the standout flavor was indeed CHICKEN COOKED IN CHICKEN BROTH instead of the delicious curry-flavored chicken my mouth was wanting.  Lesson learned.

I was disappointed with the broth.  The lite coconut milk was too light, the curry flavors were understated, and the chicken broth was overwhelming.  Fine, acceptable, adequate...but not amazing, awesome, or delicious.

The vegetables and noodles were wonderful.  Keep that part.

I plan on making this recipe again, with some tweaks.  When I do, I'll write a review...and possibly an amended recipe.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of this adequate dish.  Mine looked pretty much exactly like the picture in the original post, which is featured below.

Not my picture. Cooking Light has better photographers than me.

Pinterest craft #2 - Wall Hanging Hanger

My original Pinterest project for this week got postponed due to rain, so I did something else.  Yay productivity!  And it wasn't even a direct Pinterest descendant...it's Pinterest-once-removed.  Let me 'splain you.

Here's the original pin.

My sister made an amazing "Grandkids" display for my parents and her in-laws for Christmas, and made me this adorable display of my own baby (and her cuties) as a surprise.

Surprise cuteness!

It was too cute to just hang on a plain old nail.  Even a painted nail.

Andy has discovered the "funness" of browsing through second hand building materials shops, and he's got me on a kick too.  There are several around Seattle, and our favorite so far is Second Use.  We picked out a drawer pull ($1) and an old brass escutcheon (the plate that goes around a door knob or a keyhole...they used to be fancy) ($12).

I cleaned it, and primed it with Martha Stewart's Metal Primer. I used a sponge brush and painted it all over with Black DecoArt Americana Gloss Enamel paint.

I might have used a USPS box as a painting platform.

I followed that up with a coat of Shimmer Silver DecoArt Dazzing Metallic paint.

Blackish-silvery. New-old.

Finally, I gently sponged White DecoArt Americana Gloss Enamel paint on the raised filigree on the escutcheon. (Don't you want to just write it again and again and again?  Escutcheon!  Escutcheon!)

I mounted the painted escutcheon (last time, I promise) on a small piece of craft plywood, painted with a lovely desert turquoise DecoArt Americana acrylic paint and "distressed" with white.

Not too shabby, but definitely shabby chic.

I screwed the drawer pull on where the doorknob would have belonged.  And...voila!  A picture hanger cute enough to hang my sister's gift upon!

Adorable, if I do say so myself.

What do you think?  Etsy worthy?

UPDATE:  Here's the whole thing a-hangin' on the wall!

Two great crafts that taste great together.

Pinterest Craft #1 - Meal Planner

So I joined Pinterest, and immediately pinned about a thousand things I wanted to create or bake or eat or read. And DID NOTHING.

My 2012 resolution - do something.

I roasted beets and parsnips based on this pin.  And I baked the most delicious figgy peppery bacony scones based on this pin.  Then, it was time for crafting.  Clearly, crafting based on eating was going to be important.

Figgy Peppery Bacony Deliciousness in scone format

Here is project #1...a menu planner.  We had signed up for a CSA box of organic vegetables to be delivered to our house...a particularly Seattle-y thing to do, we felt...but we have a nasty habit of leaving our fresh veggies in the crisper too long.  If we planned our meals in advance, we would introduce some intentionality to our eating, and use those delicious veggies up. 

Here is the original pin.

I started with a collage frame from Michael's that I'd gotten for about $5 the day after Thanksgiving.  There are actually 7 days in a week, but this frame has only 6 openings.  (It's fine...we eat out on Sundays.)  Each opening is 4"x6".

Whoever these kids are, they're adorable.

 Next, I picked out 6 pieces of patterned scrapbook paper.  TO THE STASH!  I decided on colors/patterns that I thought black dry erase pen would show up on easily.  Also, we have an orange wall nearby where I wanted to hang the menu planner, so I coordinated with it.

Finally a use for all these delightful papers!

I wanted to put day-of-the-week markers on the paper itself, under the glass, so I was free to write over the entirety of the opening.  TO THE STASH!  I had these wonderful metal letters that were self-adhesive...and they matched my color scheme!

Read down, L-R. I know the order.

Put those papers in the frames, and voila...one menu planner!

All we need is some groceries!