Crafty Elements

I haven't posted in a while because I cannot find the charger for my camera....it was there one minute and gone the next. I've reconstructed a shirt, finished the scarf (yey!), have come up with an present for xmas (yes, it's early) for my relatives, made soup, and probably more. With so many things done, hopefully I will find the charger so you guys can see what I'm doing! I made chicken dumpling soup yesterday...I was told it was good...so here's the recipe 2 Chicken Breasts 8 c. water 7 Boullion Cubes 2-3 Carrots 2-3 Stalks of Celery 1 Onion 2 Cloves Garlic 3-4 T. Parsley Dumplings Boil the chicken until done...probably about 20-30 minutes. Cut up into pieces and put in pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes. I don't have exact measurements because I just threw it together. As a rule of thumb, I use the same amount of both celery and carrots. I will include the recipe for dumplings, as I actually made them from leftover pierogie...

I haven't had a lot of time lately to do much crafting, but should have more time next week, YEY! I did get a chance to work on the diamond scarf I started last week (or was it earlier this week?). Anyways, I had a lot of time to work on it yesterday. In the picture, it is partially folded over, where the pocket on the end is going to be. I have also been searching for ornaments to crochet. I've looked at CPC but haven't found anything that I really liked that was semi-easy. Does anyone have any ideas?

I'm obviously a craft nut, and have tons of things that I want to do, multiple things I've started, some which I have forgotten about. After finally giving in and reorganizing my yarns and fabrics, I found a scarf that I had made out of really soft, fuzzy yarn. However, it was a plain cream color...key word... was . I decided to add some really cute flowers on it. I got the idea for the pattern from the Pillow Trio with Flowers pattern on Lion Brand's website. I did 5 petals instead of 6 and I made the flowers all one color. I also place the flowers differently on either side to add interest. My next project was dinner. Let me start out by saying, yes, I consider myself a vegetarian, although I do eat fish once in a blue moon and I don't particularly eating it that much because it was a living animal. I also eat it for the protein but will probably take it completely out of my diet, especially because it keeps grossing me out when I think about it. Anyways, I fo...

I've been really busy this past week....parents' anniversary, apartment inspection....busy, busy, busy! However I still have been crafting :) I made a dozen red roses to complement their 'date basket'. The hardest thing about the roses was putting together the tops, but after that, it was easy! The 'date basket' consisted of - wine - bagette - vegetable seasoning ( http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/ 0,1725,144173-250194,00.html ) - skillet lasagna in a jar ( http://www.thatsmyhome.com/ general/lasagna-mix.htm ) - a dozen red crochet roses - a gift certificate from Blockbuster for a movie - popcorn & other movie munchies (I got some ideas from this website as to what to include, but I thought of the idea before I found this: http://www.thatsmyhome.com/ general/movie.htm ) You can probably make a basket for almost any occasion, just think outside the box...or the basket! Another project I have been working on is a dress made from one of my shirts that doesn...

I forgot to post a blog yesterday. Our snuggle bag...which is a huge 5' in diameter bag filled with foam needed to be cleaning. It is a major project in itself :-/ Now...on to the good stuff! I made some quick and dirty "stir fry" yesterday, and it was pretty good, but not really stir fry by definition. 3 Packs Ramen without the seasoning 1/2 bag of frozen veggies 3 oz. stir fry sauce Boil ramen according to directions (3 min.) Throw in veggies until it boils again. Drain, and add stir fry sauce. This recipe only takes about 15 mins to make, the longest part is waiting for the water to boil. I also found a henna kit I had purchased a couple months ago...so I went to work! I bought it at Michael's, but I'm not sure I would recommend getting the same one. The henna dyed my skin fairly well, but it did not make a lot. Not really worth the $15 they sell it for (I got mine half price because they had a special going on). You can probably get henna at a healt...

Been really busy all day today....and it's a scorcher (hot weather = not a whole lot of craftiness). I did make some awesome bean salad today, although I don't remember where I got the recipe on the internet: 3 cans beans, rinsed and drained 2 stalks celery, chopped 1/2 onion, chopped 1 c. fresh parsley, chopped 1 T. fresh rosemary, chopped 1/3 c. vinegar 1/3 c. sugar 1/4 c. olive oil 1 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. pepper Mix vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper together until sugar is dissolved. Add remaining ingredients. Let sit so the beans soak up the flavoring. This is a quick, easy recipe that's good for summer time :). Usually I don't wait to eat it, and I use either cilantro or dried parsley in place of the parsley (2 T. Fresh = 2 t. dried).

I've been periodically talking about all the earrings I make. I have hundreds of beads, and a practically an unlimited supply of gadgets to take apart. What if you don't have any beads or gadgets you want to destroy? Fear not! Look no further than your boyfriend's, husband's, or even your own toolbox! Metal or rubber washers, nuts, wire, springs, resisters, etc. Anything goes, be creative, plus he'll probably never miss it :) I found the easiest white cake recipe ever. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Simple-White-Cake/Detail.aspx You can use different extracts instead of just vanilla to give it a different flavor. I added lemon zest to mine (about 1 1/2 t.) and it turned out very well. I also used soymilk instead of regular milk. This cake is extremely moist and I have even found that you don't even need frosting for it, just use a sprinkling of powdered sugar or sprinkle colored sugar on it before you put it in the oven. You could probably even add frui...