Yay! It's "Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday"

And now, for my next trick, as I try to delve further into the world of blogging....

My very first link up for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesdays!  How exciting!I can't wait to see all the other pins!

Yellow, how do I love thee, let me count the pins....

 

Source: easyfashion.blogspot.com via Marissa on Pinterest

Zero-tolerance for knock-off Louboutins. 

Source: shoes-addiction.com via Marissa on Pinterest

Sweet Lulu is one of my favourite "window shopping" places online!

Source: shopsweetlulu.com via Marissa on Pinterest

Source: shopsweetlulu.com via Marissa on Pinterest

Tips for making an Amy Atlast worthy candy buffet!

Source: athome.kimvallee.com via Marissa on Pinterest

My new favourite online photo editor - quick, easy, free. 

Source: pixlr.com via Marissa on Pinterest

Christmas is ages away, but how cute is this!  And doing a Halloween version would be so easy!

Source: cookiesandcups.blogspot.com via Marissa on Pinterest



Oh How Pinteresting Wednesdays!

Oh good.  Because I needed another reason to pin obessivly! :)
Michelle over at The Vintage Apple has a fun game for us all!  "Oh How Pinteresting Wednesdays".  

What is Pinterest you ask?  It's kind of an online inspiration board.  Or boards rather, because you can have a whole bunch of boards dedicated to specific topics/themes/colours, whatever you want!

Need an invite?  Just leave a comment and I'll send you one!  Then head over and look at all the lovely pins she's sharing, grab the button and start pinning!

So now you can obessivly pin guilt free, because you're really doing it for the better of the community!  Yes.  Let's go with that. 


Thanks Michelle!

Ruffled Pendant Lamp

There's this corner of my living room that's pretty dark.  It's just the way the lighting is.  It's a funny shaped room with crazy high cathedral ceilings.  So I was hunting around online for interesting lights. 

And I found the ruffled pendant lamp.  Ok...I like where it was going!  But I did NOT like the gigantic price tag attached to the plastic versions.  Then I came across someone who made a version of it with cupcake liners.  "I can do that"  thought I!!

Then I saw someone had done one with coffee filters!  (And was selling it for $300 on Etsy.  Holy smokes!  Still not in my budget especially for a coffee filter paper lamp.)  So I went out and rounded up the supplies I needed.  I spent about $40.00 on the paper lantern and light fixture attachment (around $30 at Pier 1)then I went to the grocery store for coffee filters.  Who knew they were so much money at a grocery store!?!!   *Facepalm* duh Marissa!  Why did I not think to check the $1 Store first...hellllloooo bought almost the entire $1 Store supply of coffee filters and got enough to cover the whole thing for under $10!  All in all, at this point I'm pretty happy with the $40 lamp and I hadn't even started building it yet thankyouverymuch!!  (What can I say, I love a good bargain!)

About 4000 coffee filters and a lot of glue gun action later....here's my version of the fluffy cloud pendant lamp!  (ok ok, it's not hung yet.  But I'm short.  And I don't have a ladder.  So either hunny is going to have to hang it up, or dad's going to have to come over with his ladder)

Step 1. Gather supplies...

• Glue gun
• LOTS of glue sticks
• EVEN MORE coffee filters
• Premade paper lantern
• Light fixture for the paper lantern (they're usually sold together, or are at least displayed close to one another at the store)
• A good movie (...or 12)

Step 2 - Step bazillion.  Glue on the coffee filters.  I found it easier to separate a stack of coffee filters BEFORE I started folding and gluing...it streamlined the process a bit instead of having to fold, glue, stop, fight with coffee filter pile to separate from giant stack, repeat.   I've seen a few different ways that people have done this.  Some of them have the ripples from the filter in much straighter lines but I wanted more of a haphazard look.  I like the look of the ones I had seen kind of bunched up like a flower.  To accomplish this look, take the coffee filter and fold it in half.  Put a bit of your thumb in the middle along the fold and then twist it up around your thumb.  Squish the bottom to flatten it a bit.  Put a drop of glue on the flattened bit, and stick it on!

*DISCLAIMER: I know this is a mediocre description...but it's hard to figure out how to put it in words.  The moral of the story is it doesn't really matter what technique you use for ruffling the coffee filters, because they'll be all squished together and you won't even see the bottom of them.  So however is comfortable for you, go to town!  (Hey, did you ever make those little parachute/rocket thingies out of gum wrappers?  The kind you held onto and smacked the bottom of your hand to push air in and send it flying?  If you know what I'm talking about, it's KIND of like one of those, except your thumb goes in sideways, so the "hole" is on the side instead of the bottom...did that make it worse? Ok sorry...)

Repeat...ad infinitum...ad nauseam...ad 8 Criminal Minds episodes and about 4 movies.  (Thank goodness for rainy days!)
Look at all those coffee filters (inside view of the lamp).  It was a bit annoying at first because the paper lantern kept rolling around on the floor (I sat on the floor surrounded by a sea of coffee filters and glue gun sticks...it was a beautiful sight to behold I'm sure!).  But once I kind of got a system down, it went a bit better.  I basically just followed along the seams in the paper lantern.  (You can sort of see what I mean in the picture that shows inside the lantern).I just glued the coffee filters in between the wires so they were in nice straight lines.  Then, I fluffed the filters out a bit once I had finished a section, and sort of tangled them up around themselves to avoid having any holes or spaces between the filters.

Here's the finished product!  Way easy, just time consuming! Because God forbid I choose a resonable sized paper lantern for my first attempt.  No no...go big or go home is my motto when crafting!  So this thing quite literally stands halfway up my thigh. (I know, I'm only 5'3"...ok fine...only if I have my heels on...but that's still a big honkin lamp!)  When it's finally hung I'll send some pictures.  I'm putting it over the chair you can kind of see in the picture.  It's a comfy reading chair, but needs more light.  Hopefully this will work!

Have you done any light makeovers?  I'd love to see them!!

Summer snacks! Avacado Dip, Kiwi Pops and Summer Strawberry Cake

Oh. Em. Gee.

I Frankenstein-ed together two recipes to make the YUMMIEST dip/guac that I have ever tasted!

Although I have no pictures (face slap...DOH!) trust me when I tell you it is yummmmmers to the max!  (Even my hunny the chef said he was going to file that recipe away for later!)

Here goes!

"A.L.R.ight Dip (Avocado, Lime, Radish Dip)"

2 Avocados chunked up

8 radishes diced

1 lime (juice and zest)

1/4-1/3 cup of cucumber diced (I really am guessing here.  I diced about 3 inches of the cucumber I had in the fridge)

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (again...just ball parking....add as much or as little as you like.)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix it all together in a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for a bit so it gets all yummy!

We had it with lime tortilla chips make by a local New Brunswick company.  They were quite...intense on their own, but with the dip it was a perfect combo!

"Kewl Kiwi Pops"

 

Peel kiwis

Cut into thick slices

Find some kind of stick (kabob skewers cut in half is what I had on hand, so that's what I used) and push into the kiwi so it looks like a sucker. (Make sure to push it in really far so the kiwi doesn't fall off when you put the chocolate on.)

 Put them in the freezer while you get the chocolate coating ready.

Use a double boiler (a.k.a. a sauce pan of water with a heat resistant bowl sitting on top...just make sure the water does NOT touch the bowl, and be careful of any escaping steam!  Don't want a nasty burn!)

Melt enough chocolate to coat the kiwis.  (I used 3 squares of dark baker’s chocolate and 1 bag of white chocolate chips and mixed them together.  YUM!  But I have about 1/2 a cup left over, so I probably didn't need that much)

Take the kiwis out of the freezer and dip them in the chocolate to coat completely.  Put them back on the plate and pop them back in the freezer while you're eating supper so they have time to get nice and cool again.

ENJOY!

And finally, for a work pot-luck that we had last week, I made a nice light summery strawberry cake. 

"Summer Surprise" Cake

Prep:

I used just a basic white cake recipe, but added pink colouring to 1 of the cakes (you can choose what ever colour combo you want!). 

For the frosting I mixed together a tub of cool whip and a block of cream cheese (make sure they're at room temperature...especially the cream cheese- it just makes life so much easier). 

I also chopped up a box of local Jemseg strawberries (so delish!!!)

To put the cake together:

Alternate between colours for the cake layers

In between each layer spread a dollop of French vanilla frosting (or whatever kind you would like.  More cream cheese frosting would be good too!), and then sprinkle with pieces of chopped up strawberry.

Frost the cake with the coolwhip/cream cheese combo, and decorate as desired!

To make the little banner, I just used some foam I had left over from my pinwheel wreath.  I used my glue gun to attach it to some twine, and tied it around kebab skewers I had on hand.  Poked them into the cake and bob's your uncle!   So simple, but so super cute! (I'm on a slight bunting obsession phase right now...)

Keep the coloured layers a surprise and watch the smiles and laughs when they cut the first piece! :)

Happy summer everyone!!

Put Away the Aluminium Foil Suits and Dust Off That Cell Phone!

Ok fair warning: this is not a craft related post at all.  But as someone who really values reading, communication and self-education, I felt the need to share this (read: vent) with the folks who might stumble across this blog. 

So remember when, a few months ago, everyone was freaking out about cell phones causing brain cancer.  (Oh wait...I mean freaking out again...Am I the only one who remembers a similar "12 Monkeys"-esque hysteria a few years ago?...Oh, yeah, and a few years before that?...I digress).  Now this morning I read that the WHO takes back what they said, stating in a Fact Sheet issued in June "To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use."  (http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/New-study-says-mobile-phone-use-not_7185.html)

Great.  Fine.  Dandy!  Collective sigh of relief!  But now that this is all said and done (for a month or two) can we all promise that next time some headline like this starts trending on Twitter/Blogs/Facebook/Google+ etc...to take a moment and have a little perspective? 

There are things that are far more tangible risks to health than worrying if answering your phone is going to cause brain cancer. 

1. Do you smoke or hang out with people who smoke? (not just tobacco, mind you, all smoke contains carcinogens)
2. Do you wear your seatbelt? Does your car have side, head, and dash airbags? Do you drive the speed limit?
3. Do you floss your teeth? (flossing reduces bacteria growth that shows a causal relationship to heart disease)
4. Do you get enough exercise? Is your rest pulse rate below 70? Are you overweight?
5. Do you fly in airplanes? (exposure to cancer-causing radiation like ultraviolet rays and cosmic rays increases at high altitudes)
6. Do you eat fast food, drink alcohol, donuts?
7. Are you stressed? Do you get enough laughter? Do you meditate, do yoga, pray, wander around in a zone of bliss?
8. Do you talk on the phone or text while driving?
9. Do you live near a busy street? (air pollutants cause a host of ailments from  asthma to emphysema)
10. Do you eat barbequed food? (the charcoal from burnt flame-cooked food is a carcinogen)

Once you have all of these covered, you could consider wearing an aluminum foil suit to protect yourself from stray electromagnetic radiation. Such a suit would actually work, provided you make sure that it connects to the bottom of your shoe so you can stay grounded. It's about the only way to prevent exposure to either natural or unnatural electromagnetic radiation, though it does nothing to combat cosmic rays."  (I loved this list.  You can read Ransom Stephens's full article here: http://www.examiner.com/science-society-in-national/ten-health-risks-to-address-before-tossing-out-your-cell-phone)

In a refreshing "wake up and stop believing all the hype" moment Mr. Stephens shares what he found when he actually read the report: Cell phone electromagnetic radiation was classified as 2B (which, from what I understand means that they are possibly harmful.  Possibly.)  He smartly points out that coffee, talcum powder, lead and mustard gas also are classified 2B...soooo where do you draw the line?  That seems kind of far reaching classification to me! 

I have a feeling that snacking on lead paint chips and huffing mustard gas may be a bit more harmful than a cup of coffee and a chat on the phone...

In this day and age of reading no more than the headlines of the paper, or getting our news only from a few 140 character Tweets, let's be careful not to jump into blindly believing whatever happens to be the "trending worry of the day".  Remember when we used to actually read whole articles, and then went out and searched out more info and discussed our opinions with friends instead of just re-tweeting whatever link someone else posted or changing our Facebook status because someone else told us to?  Let's do that again.  I miss that. 

...I guess that says a lot about my tolerance (or complete lack thereof) for mass-hysteria filled messages and posts about how Facebook is going to start charging me a monthly fee unless I change my status, that the aspartame in my diet coke is going to make me blind, or that a serial killer is trying to coax me out of the house with a recording of a crying baby...


Disclaimer:  Please don't send me hate mail if you are an avid believer of the link between cells phones and cancer, if you hate the idea of sharing an opinion particularly if someone might disagree with the Twitter profile or email forward source that you revere, or if you are an entrepreneur/designer who recently started an Aluminium Foil suit company and are offended by my total lack of support for your product line.  In all honesty, I'm using this topic to make a point more about our collective need to take a step back, pay attention to how much time we spend actually forming our own opinions and educating ourselves as much as we can before virally spreading fear. 

I promise.  I think you look very fetching in the shiny suit.

Relay For Life

So a few weeks ago (I know...I know...I'm just getting around to posting this now...I feel like a big lazy lump.  I have been neglecting both posting and promoting this blog...I digress)

SO...a few weeks ago I had the honour of participating on a team in the Relay for Life in my city.  It was, despite the rain, a really lovely event.  It always touches close to my heart for a few reasons.  My Aunt Nan, who I loved dearly and still do, was a breast cancer surviror.  She was one of the strongest women I knew.  Sadly, she passed away, not of cancer - so she is still a survivor strong and proud in my mind. 

My favourite part of the Relay is the Luminary Ceremony.  You can purchase luminaries in memory or in honour of your loved ones.  When night falls (because the event is an all night relay usually from 7pm to 7am) candles are lit in the luminaries around the Relay track.  It is such a silent and still moment, I can't really describe it.  But if feels like everyone there is connected and there is an immense feeling of love, support, sadness, happiness...so many emotions.  It's difficult, but beautiful at the same time.  I decorated a luminary for her again this year. She was such a fashionista, I think she would have liked the red and the sparkles.

If you'll please pardon the quality of the following photos (I took them on my phone.  In the dark.  What can ya do), some shots from after the luminaries were lit.

The following week I was so very honoured to be asked to perform at the Relay being held in the town next to mine.  It was really special to me.  There was 100% LESS rain (YAY!)  But it was pretty chilly!  I played for about 40 minutes at midnight to end off the live entertainment.  It went over really well.  And as it happens, the Boston Bruins were playing a hockey game against the Montreal Canadians that night.  A co-worker of mine was there with her young nephew.  He was, with great attention, enjoying the musical entertainment, however, before I got up to play we were discussing the score of the hockey game (Boston was winning - hurray!).  When I was playing, my co-worked told me that he informed her, in all his 4 year old seriousness, that he really liked my music, and he was going to clap for me, but he was going to clap under the blankets...because I am a Boston fan.   It was so cute I could hardly stand it!  I don't have any pictures from that night, but it has been one of my favourite performances to date!

I've also got a backlog of crafty goodness to share with you - but I'm running short on time at the moment - so they'll have to wait for the next update (which I promise won't be 6 months in the making!)



Pinterest Party?! Be still my heart!

Oh dear...I'm not sure I can handle this.
A master list of crafty people's Pinterest accounts you say?!  I may never get anything done spending all my time drooling over the lovelies that other people are creating!

Oh but what the hey!  Here we go!
Do you have Pinterest?  Join the fun!!

Here's the info:

Hosted by Tammy (Not Just Paper and Glue) and Michelle (The Scrap Shoppe),

...incidently, both lovely blogs that you should definitely check out!

"The goal for this party is to create a Master List of Pinterest accounts for crafty folks like yourselves.

This is a one time link party that will remain open indefinitely."
Head over to either of their sites to link up, grab the button, and spread the word!