A Year of Handmade: I'm Crackers

 

So yeah, this blog has been a little heavy on the domestic arts of late: I hear you. I swear to you that sometime soon, it will be full of illustrated goodness. Please hang in there, I'm trying to be patient too.

This week has been nutt-o. My brain is experiencing a lovely fog that I hope will lift soon. Because of said fog, I messed up my only childcare day this week - so all my supplies are locked up in my distant studio crying like Rapunzel for yours truly.

Anyhow, we've been home a lot this week. Yesterday, in a moment of rare clarity and  inspiration I decided the kiddo and I would make crackers. Because that is what you do when you really should be doing about 100 other things (none of which are making crackers).

These are really yummy. Akin to those Nairns oat cakes . I used a recipe similar to this one. 


Really people, what is happening to me?

 

A Year of Handmade: handmade tortillas

As the year of handmade plods along, I am finding the idea of making stuff I'd usually buy creeping into unexpected places - like my dinner table.

My kiddo is a picky, picky eater. One thing she will eat with gusto are quesadillas (which she calls tacatillos - one of my new favorite words). As I reached for yet another package of store bought tortillas I saw how many strange ingredients and preservatives were listed on the package. I remembered hearing how easy tortillas were to make so I put the package back, and vowed to give it a try. 

Guess what? They were easy, delicious, and so satisfying to make - only 5 ingredients, all of which I had on hand.  Mine (above) were not perfectly round, but they tasted delicious. I used this recipe - I used vegetable shortening instead of lard, and they were still tasty. 

Yay for handmade food!

A Year of Handmade: progress report

Last week was my step- dad's birthday, and I decided that I should stick to my 'year of handmade' challenge. He is a big BBQ enthusiast so I made some different dry rubs that I found in The Joy of Cooking. It was a fun, easy project to do with my kiddo. I also made some horrible, yet homemade BBQ sauce that got chucked right down the garbage disposal. To round out the gift, I broke down and bought a nice bottle of wine. So, not a complete success with the 100 % handmade, but it is a start.I think I am learning that I better stick with things I know are going to work out or start way, way early!

A Year of Handmade begins!

Yep. I was serious about those resolutions. This morning I dusted off my birthday calendar to address Mid-Year Resolution # 2 (send cards to family and friends) and realized that I have a few birthdays coming up for friends who I love giving gifts to. As I sat there I thinking about Resoultion #3 (give only handmade gifts) I thought, "why not start now?" Delayed gratification has never been my thing. 

So, off to the local  St.Vincent de Paul for a few men's cotton dress shirts. What will they become? I'll show you next week. They mark my official beginning of a Year of Handmade Gifts.

The dreaded "budget talk" happened last night and while it wasn't as bad as I anticipated I think this Year of Handmade Gifts challenge makes monetary cents (haha) along with just feeling a heck of a lot more meaningful. My brain is going nuts with possibilities, and I think I'm going to become better friends with my serger and sewing machine. Whoo-hoo!

For those of you who tune in for my art stuff - I realize it has been lacking in the past weeks. I'm very busy with freelance projects at the moment (theater poster mania!) - so you'll be seeing a bit more of this kind of stuff for a bit. Think of it as the stuff that keeps my creative juices flowing when I can't spend hours behind the computer. Stay tuned though - I will be adding new stuff to my shop - that is all just taking a bit longer right now. 

I hope you'll enjoy reading about this handmade challenge as the year goes on!