The Hourglass

The Hourglass from Ikepod on Vimeo.

Directed by Philip Andelman

Documenting Marc Newson's take on the hourglass for Ikepod.

This video captured my quiet love for glass.

Etsy Craft Party

Etsy Craft Party is a global event in which crafters get together in their home towns and host craft parties.  This year's Craft Party is June 10th.  Etsy provides all the tips and information on how to promote a party, and I wish we could do one in Gainesville.  Any theme, any materials, anywhere.  It doesn't even have to be on the 10th.  

julieincharge of the Etsy blog, the Storque, wrote:

"It's time to celebrate! Last year's first-ever global Craft Party was so much fun, we've decided to orchestrate it again this year on Friday, June 10, 2011. No matter where you live or what you love to make, you are invited to participate. Musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, farmers, hackers, gardeners, designers, jewelers, bookbinders, printmakers, teachers, makers and doers of all stripes, as well as art enthusiasts, curators, vintage lovers and supporters of the independently made, we're calling on you! We challenge you to meet your neighbors and come together to make something surprising."

Even if it was just some of my gal pals, their moms, and their friends, I think it would be a great thing to do in Gainesville. 

What do you think? 

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/events/throw-an-etsy-craft-party-in-your-town-12650/

Special

 

We have baby blue birds.  

Correction, we had baby blue birds.  

I got a picture of them yesterday, and Dad just told me that they flew away today.  I feel so lucky to have managed to capture them on my camera before they left!  We've checked the bird house since the nest was made, the eggs laid, when they first hatched and the babies finally got fluffy.  

Now they are gone.  

Mickey D's Lemonade

I've pretty much written off McDonald's.  I have a very sensitive stomach and just don't eat fast  food or anything fried anymore.  But Mickey D's may have redeemed itself: Mom gave me a coupon for their new strawberry lemonade.   

Mmm...delicious!

Reach For the Stars, Jeremy

We're hosting a goodbye party for Fletcher's friend, Jeremy.  Mom wanted a poster for everyone to sign that was also space-themed because Jeremy wants to be an astronaut some day.  So I got out my trusty crayons.  It was a very quick, ten minute job, but I like how it turned out.    

Cake Pop, why do you hate me?

Today I had over some of the Ace Gang for a Cake Pop Party.  I had baked a funfetti cake the day before, and the four of us poured over Cake Pops by Bakerella and in a daring move decided to try out a more advanced recipe: Cake Pop Owls.  Note that the book strongly advises you to start off nice and easy with cake balls and then work your way up.  However, ABC was showing a Harry Potter marathon and we were going to make Hedwigs.  Our resident culinary genius was out of the state, and looking back on it, it was a little unwise to attempt such an undertaking without Amy.   

Words of advice for those of you who would like to try making cake pops yourselves:

1.  

DO NOT CAKE POP SOLO.  You need more than two hands for this job, especially if you want to decorate them.   

2.  

Leave space in your refrigerator.  Unless you are planning on eating them all in one sitting (don't do it, one is filling enough, those things sit like sweet sinful bricks in your belly), leave space for your pops.

3.  

If you don't have a "foam block" on hand, turn a cardboard box upside down and poke holes in it for the pops to stand in.  

4.  

Embrace the mess.  Things are going to drip, crumble and spill.  Just leave it and move on before you drop your Cake Pop.

5.  

Freeze the suckers.  Zap 'em for a good 45 minutes.  The book reccommends a 15 minute chill in the freezer before you stick and dunk them.  Don't kid yourself, they will FALL APART, leaving you a whimpering, sticky mess.

6.  

Do them in small batches, maybe four or five at a time.  Let the others chill in the freezer/fridge, so that they don't go soft.

7. 

Coconut and sprinkles cover a multitude of sins.  Cake Pop look ugly?  Roll it in something yummy and suddenly you look like a pastry pro.  

8. Give them away!  Cake Pops are too cute not to share!  For easy transport, wrap them in pretty cellophane tied with a bow and balance them in a cup.  

Despite our melodrama, we had a TON of fun, and we're all very proud of the results.  Those Cake Pops whipped us at first, but we ended up beating them in the end.  

Karma Cup

Today I found the design winner of an initiative to reduce waste from coffee-to-go paper cups co-led by Core77 and Starbucks.  The design, Karma Cup, wasn't for an actual cup, but for an incentive program.  Every customer who brought in their own cup would mark an "x" on the chalkboard next to the register and every tenth customer to mark an "x" would get a free item from the menu.  What a great incentive, utilizing a (using my Honors Psychology vocab from first semester, here) fixed-rate ratio variable schedule so that the free item is a definite thing, not something so random as a prize drawing.  It is something the customer can hope for, but also statistically count on.  Just the right mix of chance and certainty.  

Anyways, I thought it was an awesome idea.  

Here's a link to the Karma Cup Initiative

http://www.jovoto.com/contests/drink-sustainably/ideas/4751

I've never been a coffee addict--caffein has absolutely no effect on me--but a yummy cup of something creamy-steamy has always been a favorite splurge of mine in the colder months.  I purchased my Handlebar Mustache Insulated Coffee Mug by Vessel Drinkware last December.  It knocked down the price of my mochas and was my small contribution to reducing waste.  

Good Start

My sketch journal is off to a good start.

Olive

Precisely my favorite shade of green.  It never occurred to me to call it "olive" (rather than "umm...a sort of army, mossy, nearly poopy green") until a sweet but clueless dad and his disgruntled daughter at Old Navy asked for my assistance in finding an "olive" dress.  Apparently they were taking pictures and he insisted they all wear head-to-toe olive.  The dress she picked out was strapless, so he wanted to find a matching olive sweater for it. I tried to talk the man into a nice khaki, but they decided it would be less trouble to just buy her a strapless bra.  Might as well, it is an essential wardrobe staple.  

Promiscuous Piggies

This is the painting I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  Upon seeing it, she was so gleeful that she insisted on keeping it in her lap during the church service and showed everyone afterwards.  Her only concern that she communicated to each viewer was that the mother pig was doing laundry naked!  I had a good laugh about that one.  I had not intended to paint promiscuous piggies.