Wednesday, May 30, 2012

*hot* pink


I just finished this hot pink crochet piece this morning and I am in loooooove with the color!  It's a gorgeous shade from my often-used favorite Sprout organic cotton yarn.  The perfect summer color, I think.


This piece is now available in the Etsy shop : )


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*happiness*


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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

dressmaking


Today I chose some fabric for a new dress... it's going to be my first time sewing a fancy dress!

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Yummy Recipe :: Vegan Cinnamon-Vanilla French Toast

I love French Toast!  And all breakfast foods, really.
This weekend I tried a new vegan-friendly recipe for French Toast and was totally impressed with the results, if I do say so myself : )


I used slices of homemade cinnamon raisin bread, but any bakery bread that you can cut into thick slices will work just fine.

You will need:
6-9 thick slices of bread (I made 6 slices, but I had enough batter dip for a few more)
2 small to medium ripe bananas
3/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
maple syrup to enjoy on top

Put the bananas, soy milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a blender or small food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour this batter into a wide, shallow dish (like a pie plate or round cake pan) and dip the bread slices into it, coating both sides well.  Cook the slices on a griddle or in a skillet until they are golden brown, flipping to cook each side (I also used a little Earth Balance on my griddle to keep the slices from sticking, I found the batter tended to to stick to the griddle surface without it).

This French Toast is wonderfully sweet and you can really taste the banana, cinnamon, and vanilla flavors.
Top with maple syrup and enjoy! 

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Friday, May 25, 2012

a beautiful day (diy links)


It's going to be a busy but wonderful day today : )  I have orders to make, others to ship, a to-do list of chores around the house, and then we're going out for Thai food to celebrate the weekend.

I've also been checking out some fun DIY's for future project ideas.  Check out a few of my favorites:


Have a beautiful day!

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

{New Project}

I've set aside a little time to work on a new project this afternoon!


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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Down to Business

I'm packaging orders and tying up loose ends today !  So much to be done!


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Monday, May 21, 2012

*Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner*

The winner of the $50 Shabby Apple giveaway is Elisabeth!
Congratulations!



Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

11
Timestamp: 2012-05-21 22:31:58 UTC




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*Easy Hot Breakfast Recipe*

I love hot breakfast foods, but I'm not usually in the mood to make an elaborate meal in the morning (so much other stuff to do!).  I've come up with an acceptable compromise in this simple oatmeal recipe - it's hot, quick, and healthy.


You will need:
1/2 cup of quick cooking oats
1 cup of water
1/2 cup chopped apple
1 tsp cinnamon
and any seasonal fruit you may have scored at the grocery store or farmer's market : )

Mix the oatmeal, apple, and water in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Add the cinnamon and give everything a good stir, mixing it in well.  Let it stand for a minute to thicken and cool.
Enjoy it just like this or top with more seasonal fruits, like the blueberries I scored this week!


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Saturday, May 19, 2012

handcrafted chocolate : )

Have you seen this video about Mast Brothers chocolate?  What an awesome business to own!
Plus, I like the beards!

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Friday, May 18, 2012

eep! my *new* shop is now open!

I can't believe it's true : )
cornflowerbluestudio.com is now open for business and I'm so happy to have my own little shop up and running!  It's been a goal of mine for a while and I'm super happy to be able to cross it off the "to do" list and enjoy watching it grow.  I've listed some new pieces in the shop, as well as some of my favorite embroidered notes (and I'll be adding more pieces soon, too!).

To celebrate my new endeavor I thought it would be fun to post a few of my favorite projects - some are recent and others are from waaaay back!


And don't worry Etsy fans, my Etsy shop will stay open, too : )

Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple giveaway - I'll be choosing a random winner on Monday.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

*A Lovely Giveaway with Shabby Apple*

*****The giveaway is now closed!  Thanks for entering****

Today I am so pleased to partner with Shabby Apple to bring you a lovely giveaway - one lucky reader will win a $50 gift card to use in the  Shabby Apple online store!  Plus all readers can receive 10% off any purchase with coupon code cornflowerblue10off.  

Shabby Apple has beautiful vintage inspired clothing and accessories (even swimwear and maternity!).  One of my favorite pieces is the Alice dress from the Mad Hatter collection (perfect for a wedding I have coming up this summer): 


To enter simply "like" Shabby Apple on Facebook, then leave me a comment with your favorite item from their online store and be sure to leave your email address or link so I can contact you if you win : )  
This giveaway is open to U.S. shipping addresses only.

I will choose a random winner on Monday, May 21st!


Maybe you'll use your prize on the pretty Frabjous day dress or this elegant Rhythm Dancer number?


Or maybe a pair of glittery flats?  They would go with everything!

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

knitknitknit

Today I am in the mood to knit!


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Monday, May 14, 2012

a new shop in the making!


I finished this little piece over the weekend and I'm also working on designing a new Cornflower Blue Studio  shop to list it in!  I've been building my own shop for a couple of weeks, working on it here and there is in my spare time - it's almost finished now and I can't wait to show it to you : )  I've decided that it has to be finished this week (and that's a firm deadline!) and it will have some wonderful new pieces for sale.

Eep!  I'm so happy about it!


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Friday, May 11, 2012

*a sigh of relief*

I'm seriously glad it's friday : )
Seriously.
Have a lovely weekend!


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Thursday, May 10, 2012

*in progress*

Today I'm making a paint mess on my coffee table and working on a new project!


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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Quick Quilt

I stayed up late last night to finish a quick quilt!  I used my Moda fabric to whip up this little project:


This was my first time using pre-cut squares and I loved it : )  So much less work!  All I had to do was lay out the fabric, come up with an arrangement, and sew, sew sew.  




I used the Moda vintage modern layercake for this one, in case your interested : )

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Eep!

Have you seen the trailer for the new ballet documentary First Position yet?  It looks amazing!
I have watched the documentary Ballerina soooo many times... I can't wait to see the new film.

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Monday, May 7, 2012

DIY Basket Planter


I have been pretty obsessed with filling my apartment with plants this year - they make every room more fresh and beautiful!  I have ferns in clay pots, air plants on a wood tray, some others in ceramic pots, but I also wanted to try making a basket planter. I love the look of plants in baskets, I suppose because it looks so natural and rustic.

I found this small green basket when someone in my apartment building had thrown it away - I rescued it and I'm so glad I did because it was perfect for this project.  I also find a lot of great baskets at thrift stores!


After you have chosen your basket and your plant (I planted some rosemary here) you'll need to line your basket with plastic.  I used two plastic grocery bags (one inside the other for double thickness) and simply placed them in my basket.  I added a small layer of gravel to bottom of the  bags for drainage since this plant is going in my living room and I don't water draining out.  If you're going to put your basket outside you could simply cut a few slits in the bottom of the plastic for water drainage.  

Next fill your basket with potting soil and carefully add your plant.  Then use scissors to cut away any extra plastic.  You'll still be able to see the top edge of the plastic sticking up above the soil line, but that's ok!  We'll cover that up in the next step.


I used some pretty stones to line the edge of my basket, covering up the plastic edges.  You could also use sea glass, Spanish moss, or even green moss collected from outside.  


Ta da!  A lovely basket planter : )


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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Easy Dutch Oven Bread Recipe


I've been having a lot of fun cooking with my new dutch oven, trying old recipes in it and experimenting with new ones!  One thing I was dying to make was dutch oven bread - I saw a wonderful post about it here  that directed me to this recipe from Mother Earth News.  It looked so good, but the 8-12 hour rising time was a little but much for me because I'm used to making a quicker version (I cut the recipe out of the newspaper a long time ago... it's called "New England Bread" but I  haven't found the same recipe online).

So I decided to combine my dough recipe with the basic baking method used on Mother Earth News and the results were wonderful!  It's light and fluffy on the inside, crusty and chewy on the outside.


You will need:
5-6 cups of flour
2 Tablespoons of dry yeast
2 Tablespoons of sugar
2 cups of warm water
1 1/2 Tablespoons of salt

Put the yeast and sugar in a large bowl, then mix in the warm water and allow it to proof (if you haven't proofed  yeast before you can find the basics of it here).  Add 3 cups of flour and the salt to the yeast mixture and mix it well.  Stir in the remaining flour until your have a nice dough that isn't too sticky.  Flour your hands and knead it for 4 or 5 minutes (I knead the dough right in the bowl to minimize messiness).  Form the dough into a ball in the bottom of the bowl, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 Celsius) with the dutch oven inside as it heats.  When the dough is ready (it should have doubled in size after 20 minutes!) you can lightly flour the top and bottom (I put flour on a tea towel, turn the dough onto the flour, then sprinkle some more on top) and then put the dough in the warmed dutch oven (be careful because the cast iron will be quite hot).  Place the lid on top and bake your bread for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid from the dutch oven and continue to bake it for 10-15 minutes more until is lovely and brown.  

Let your bread cool before cutting in to it.
Enjoy!


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Thursday, May 3, 2012

My #1 Craft Organization Tool!

Keeping my projects and small business organized are top priorities in my life.  I'm usually a very organized person, I don't like clutter, and I like everything to have it's place -- until you look in my craft supply closet!  It tends toward chaos and is packed with all kinds of supplies (even things I don't necessarily use, but I might need someday... one of the worst clutter excuses ever!).

I've been working very hard at keeping it under control and there is one tool I've come to rely on as essential for keeping my organized.  This box:


This art supply box has really saved me.  I use it to store all of my most needed items (scissors, the thread I use on embroidered notes, tape measure) as well as shipping supplies.  I keep the box on a table next to my sewing machine so it's right at hand when I sew, but I also carry it around when I'm working on a project at my desk or on the couch, or when I'm wrapping up a big item that needs to be shipped.  Many of the items that were getting buried in the supply closet are now neatly stored at my fingertips.


One of the best things about this particular box is that it has three storage levels!  The top level is part of the lid and I use it for small things like needles, spools of thread, and tiny scissors.  This is my favorite part of the box, not all art boxes have these compartments for little bits.

The second level is a removable tray, which I used for medium sized items like tape, fabric markers, larger scissors, and my sketchbook.


And the third level is the deepest storage area, so I use it for bulky items such as tissue paper, bubble mailers, and my giant stash of foam brushes (they were on sale for five cents each!).


That's my #1 craft organization tool - if you are having trouble corralling all of your supplies I would totally recommend checking out the art supply boxes at a local shop.  
If you just have to have this particular box, you can find it at Art Alternatives (it's the 20 inch size).

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

{take a peek!}

Take a peek at my newest finished piece -
I love love love these colors and the oval frame!






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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

good day to you

I'm working so diligently to finish up some projects that are almost done... just a little more work to do!
A new soft sculpture is almost completed, embroidered note orders are being filled, the bottom of my couch needs a little repair (a good reason to use the staple gun!), and I have a new cast iron dutch oven to try out (starting with this bread recipe).
Not to mention the new zines I've been meaning to make forever now : )


I also have some wonderful new moda fabric waiting to be sewn into a quilt (!!!) - I can't wait to have time for that project.  


I have a lot of work ahead of me this week!


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