angry chicken

another t-shirt for poppy

This is another t-shirt I had made for Pete. This one was for his birthday. Like the one I made before, I used CustomInk and was so happy with how it turned out and how fast it shipped. I did feel a little guilty, like before, that I didn't get all DIY on this and burn my own screen, but when I only want one shirt, it's such an easy way to go. I'm sure there are lots of companies that do this, feel free to suggest some others, this is the only one I've used so far. I think there's a local option, but I haven't checked them out yet.

I had the girls each draw something they know Pete likes, so Liddy drew a rocketship, Sadie a guitar, and Delia drew a robot. I scanned them and made them the same size and then uploaded the art to their site. I did convert it to line art first (in Illustrator) so I could change the ink color to white. I wonder it they could do this for you if you don't have a program that does it? I'm not sure.

Then a few clicks and and a few days later it was here and he loves it so much. We spend way too much time thinking about making t-shirts around here, mostly with sentences that are probably only funny to us. I'm sure we will make another for father's day.

the rock n' roll undies workshop is here, now.

Okay, the workshop is now available over at Creativebug. It's part of the subscription, or you can buy it as a single class. And you can watch a little preview right here. Just click on the photo. Woot!

new class at creativebug—rock n' roll undies!

My newest video workshop is almost here over at Creativebug! It will be up Thursday, April 25th. I'm so excited to have this one out there. I'm showing how to make a camisole and undies from an old t-shirt. I did a similar project years ago for BUST magazine and am thrilled to offer this much more detailed how-to. The cool thing is you make the pattern yourself from your own favorite undies and cami—so no worries about trying to guess your size or anything. I hope you all start digging through your old shirts. The larger the t-shirt the better, FYI. When the class is available it will be right here on my instructor page.

And I am super proud and excited to announce that Creativebug is nominated for a Webby award for best Online Film & Video: How-to/DIY this year!

They really deserve to win. You can vote right here. Please vote! Voting closes the end of the day this Thursday, April 25th. I know I say this every time I mention their name, but I just can't tell you how wonderful it is working with these people and how continually impressed I am with the quality of workshops they offer.

tiny printed photos taken from my phone

I've been pretty slow on the tech front the last few years, so I'm sure most you you are already hip to all this—I just got my first smart phone last year (do people even call them smart phones anymore?) and then because it wasn't an iphone, had to wait to use instagram until it was available for android. I am only just now printing these photos, and it's so fun.

Last year all my phone photos I put on my computer and used them in family albums, but this was the first time I had prints made directly from my phone and they are so stinkin' cute and fun to look through and hold. I'm sure there are quite a few different sites out there that sell prints directly from a phone (Right? I didn't really look, but you'd think there would be.) These are from Printsagram and I purchased the mini 2"x 2" size, 48 total prints. I need to find/make a box to store these in. I'm not sure if they will be placed in an album yet, right now they are on rotation on the front-of-the-refrigerator gallery. I should probably get mini-magnets. I think these would be so swell in pasted in sketch books and as little enclosures with gifts. Thrilling!! The girls love them and I think it's such a great format for their for their photos— to tuck in letters and notes and for art projects, I'm told they are practically fairy sized.

homemade wrapping paper

When we were doing the painting for our paper mache a bit back, a whole new project was invented during the clean up—homemade wrapping paper. With the leftover paint and the scrap newspaper dozens of wrapping paper sheets were made. They left them out to dry, which took up a lot of room. On a nice day, drying outside was better, but I neglected to weigh them down with rocks, so then there was a chasing-painted-newspaper-around-the-yard fiasco. The papers got rolled up tight after they dried and are used for wrapping gifts and other crafts. They really are pretty. I love the modern two-color one here.

I finished Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore (a quick read—not too deep character-wise but very entertaining) and am now reading The Snow Child. Thank you again for that amazing list and even more book suggestions in the comments of that post.

A big thank you so much for all your Facial and Perfume Oil orders. I just got a big batch of them. Alicia, you rock. I am working hard to get them out the door. Right now it's taking me about 4 days to fill the orders—thanks so much for your patience. Also, for those of you that have ordered Facial Oils in the past, I now use a cap on the bottles and suggest you keep your dropper out of the oil for storage, because some of the rubber droppers have broken down over time making a sticky mess. If your dropper ever starts to look funny, take it out and let me know, I will send you a new one.

The bombings in Boston are so shocking and horrible, I'm not even sure what to say about it. But I have to say something. I am sending healing thoughts to everyone in pain there, especially when I meditate. This short video has helped me focus. I really appreciate Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and his books and teachings.

breakfast

I read once, long ago (I don't remember where) that there was no point in having a blog if you can't show what you had for breakfast. This was before Instagram. But I think it's true for both. So here's my breakfast. I have even blogged about this particular breakfast before (recipe here.) I make these often and I feel they warrant another mention. I call them Dutch Babies, which sounds like I am eating a small human from the Netherlands, but that's what we always called them growing up. I feel like I am cheating when I make these because they are so easy. I usually have it with maple syrup, jam, and lemon. And powdered sugar. Pete and I split half. So far the girls aren't interested, which is a good thing, because we only have one cast iron pan.

• Thank you so much for even more book suggestions in the comments of the last post. I hope to include them in the list too. (She said optimistically.)

• This book list reminded me of these music suggestions in an awesome list complied by you all, from a bit back.

• I get mad at linen. I always sew with it but try a bunch of tailored details and then it's hard to execute and gets off grain and hangs weird, so I am making some linen pieces and letting them be what they want to be—simple with few seams and darts. I'm just going to let the Hobbit out with these projects. I made a simple pair of elastic waist cropped pants that turned out great. And who wants to pay $89 for these?

• I would like to make some lime curd very soon. I got some at Cost Plus and know I can do better. I always make lemon curd, it's time to shake it up. I have been meaning to try grapefruit, too.

• Grammie has her last chemo appointment this week. What a long haul. She has soldiered on with humor, grace, bravery, and sass. She is a true inspiration to me. I think a dessert for her containing coconut is in order.

 

a list of books suggested by you awesome people

Here's a list of all the books suggested in the comments, I don't think I missed any, but some might have been added later.

These look so good and most are new to me. There's some YA, mysteries, and books in series mixed in here. Excellent! Thank you all so much, I know I will be referring back to this list all summer. I put some notes next to the titles, so I can print this and remember what I've read, want to read, and other stuff. I should get this all into Goodreads, which I love, but that's not going to happen right now.

• Crusoe's Daughter by Jane Gardam

• The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (read sample)
  

• The BFG by Roald Dahl

• Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple (I've tried to read this twice, but can't seem to get into it.)
  

• The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (I've read)
  

• River Town by Peter Hessler

• The Illustrated Lark Rise To Candleford by Flora Thompson (just got the dvds grammie told me I had to see them)
  

• The Dirty Life: On farming, food and love by Kristin Kimball

• Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (I've read)
  

• Three Pines mysteries by Louise Penny

• A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

• Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie (read sample)
  

• Mr and Mrs Bunny, Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath (kids)
  

• Karen Marie Moning's Fever Series

• Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (reading right now this very second)
  

• Jayber Crow and Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

• Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (YA)
  

• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (YA)
  

• Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

• The Silo Series by Hugh Howey

• No Shame, No Fear by Ann Turnbull

• Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels

• Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

• The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis

• Started Early, Took My Dog and Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (read Museum)
  

• Come Sleepwalk with Me by Mike Birbiglia (just saw the movie)
  

• Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

• House of Silk the "new" Sherlock Holmes novel by Anthony Horowitz

• Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

• The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moynes

• Drown by Junot Diaz
  

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

• The Snow Child by Ewoyn Ivey (I have been meaning to read this!)
  

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (I've read)
  

• The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
  

• The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

fairy work

The girls have been making some pretty amazing fairy environments in our yard. They got some resin pieces for gifts and have been adding homemade touches almost daily—which are amazing. A clothesline, a toilet, (of course) and lots of other cute things.

Thank you all so much for your book suggestions!

I will list them all in a post soon so we can all refer to that without digging through the comments. I downloaded about 6 samples on my kindle— I love real books so much, but the ability to read a long sample of a book before I buy (or get from the library) is so worth it to me. I already am hooked and well into Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore. 

lime coconut muffins (really, they are cupcakes.)

I had some coconut milk left over, but not much so it found its way into muffins. I liked these much more than everyone else in the house, but the kids don't really dig lime/coconut anything, so I wasn't surprised. I used this basic recipe, which I love. I used coconut milk instead of regular milk and then made a thin glaze with a whole lot of lime juice and rind. I didn't have any. They are so good. They have become glazed cupcakes in my mind, no longer muffins. This photo makes them look sad and washed out (the instagram doesn't always work for me on the blog) but they didn't look like this in real life,  were very pretty. And they kept well.

• The other morning I laughed so hard at the podcast interview on By the Way, In Conversation wth Jeff Garlin with Lena Dunham that I got an eye twitch. (thanks for the tip in the comments last post!)

• My knitting is going, I am 2/3rds done with the first sleeve of the sweater for the 8-year old, but got distracted with Easter and sewing a gingham skirt, which ended up having 3 different waistband treatments before I settled for a basic straight in front/gathered in back. I hacked into this thing so much, it was really a process. I liked it so much I kept altering it and almost wrecking it. Which reminds me of my brother telling me, when I asked him where all his beloved Star Wars figures went from his youth, that as a boy he set them on fire because he loved them so much and wanted to see what they looked like melted. And then he was sad.

• I'm not reading any fiction right now, and I need to start something, pronto. If you have a compelling but not too depressing or sad suggestion, please share.