HELLOmynameisHeather

Stripped Teaser

It's Saturday!  And I'm determined to spend a good part of my day outside.  I'm either going to prune the rose bushes or clear out the garden to prep it for planting.  It's stormy outside, so we'll see how it goes.

Isaac is finishing up two big tables for the studio.  (The same ones I mentioned last year.  You know how that goes.  They are looking awesome though!)  After having at these reclaimed table legs with a palm sander for a while this morning (above), he gave up and purchased an orbital sander.  This has made a huge difference, especially with the deep, turned contours at the top and bottom of each leg.  The palm sander wasn't working too well on the rounded surfaces.

The rest of the table parts he has built from scratch and everything is ready for assembly.  These tables are HUGE and I can't wait to spread projects out all over them.  I might have to try them out for napping as well.  They are that big.

What are you up to today?  With the way the wind is blowing outside, I might be baking cookies and crocheting granny squares by nightfall.  Cold-weather activities sound equally appealing.

Holiday Mints - Recipe

I'll take any excuse to whip up some sugar-coated sugar.  Of course, for Valentine's Day no justification is needed.  That's what makes it a holiday right?

Or is it love? 

Something like that.

This year Charlotte and I did a little Lucy & Ethel.  We put on our aprons and our disposable food-gloves and cranked out the candy.  We used a favorite Christmas Mints recipe to make Valentine hearts.  Really the easiest recipe -- three ingredients, plus food coloring.  Normally, we just roll each mint into a ball and press it flat with a fork, a la peanut butter cookies. 

This was my first go with the candy molds and they worked perfectly.  Now to keep an eye out for a good Easter mold - not too big though - I like these mints small.  Imagine pink, yellow, green, & blue bunnies.  And if we're not too sugared out come July, we could put together some red, white, & blue stars -- but only if there is a party going on -- this is a lot of sweet -- definitely a great treat to share with a group.

 

Christmas Mints / Valentine Mints
Easter Mints / Anytime Mints

1 pkg cream cheese, 8 oz.
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
food coloring

Let cream cheese soften in bowl for 15-20 minutes.  Mix in powdered sugar gradually.  When a third of the sugar has been mixed in, add mint extract and food coloring. Knead* mixture till coloring is consistent throughout, then gradually knead in remaining powdered sugar.  Roll into 3/4" balls.  Toss in fine sugar & press with fork to flatten.  Chill mints in freezer to cool.  Refridgerate till served.

Candy Mold Option: Toss in sugar before pressing mint into mold for an easy release from mold. Chill mints thoroughly before releasing from mold.

* Disposable, food-prep gloves recommended. Otherwise, scrub your hands really well, as recipe requires a lot of kneading.

The Plan, the Plan!

Tonight is "Preview Night" at one of the high schools we are considering for Elijah. We're taking the big tour. We did the same thing with another high school last Wednesday night. It was crazy. They had everything from business and marketing classes to horse-care and computer-repair classes. You can raise your own goat or chicken at this school, yet it's totally state of the art -- straight out of the movies. Where was this place when I was a teenager?  Right here, I guess -- not in San Ramon, CA.

Anyhow, there I was going through the typical process of accepting that I have a child this old and that he really is going to high school next year, when the principal gets up to speak. His ENTIRE presentation was about planning for college and how our kids need to carefully plot out their high school 'careers' in order to best pursue their futures. Whoa, Mister, one wrinkle at a time!

Speaking of wrinkles. I have been so good this week. I've gotten a ton of big things done, yet my to-do list is longer than it was on Monday. What's up with that!?

To combat this annoyance, I'm now keeping a list of weekly accomplishments. As I wrap up a task, I move it from the devilish to-do list to the angelic all-done list. It's fantastic. Try it out sometime.

One big project I'm excited to get going on is our Trunk Show Program -- a travelling circus of sewing-pattern samples for fabric shops to display. I'm busy drawing up fabric choices and construction notes for elephants, turtles, handbags, Happy Stackers, you name it. If you have a quilt shop and are interested in receiving info about this program once it's ready, email Nica and we'll put you on our list!

Now to plan out some class Valentines with Charlotte. The whole troop has just trumpeted through the front door, feeling particularly chatty today.  If you can't shush 'em, join 'em!

One Way or Another

What I want to know is whether the 15" green leather bag from The Cambridge Satchel Company will fit my 17" laptop. This is a pressing matter, as my birthday is only six months away.

If that won't fit, then perhaps these will. Of course, leather boots may not work for Arizona in August. 

Hm. 

Half Birthday then?  That's next week.

Want to help me out here?

Who is good at this?

 

 

Toughen Up boots by Poetic License

Batty for Birthdays

Here's what I ended up with for Charlotte's 'spooky' birthday cupcakes.  I used an Oreo Cakester for the body, two chocolate-covered sunflower seeds for the eyes and black scrapbook paper for the wings.

For easier assembly, I cut the wing and ear for each side as one piece. I used a paper punch from Martha Stewart to give the wings a more girly personality.  Though the sinister Cakester-frosting smile was entirely unplanned, it was a welcome surprise.

After I prepped the wings and things, Isaac put the cupcakes together while I stitched up dragon tails.  All together (not including baking), the cupcakes and tails took us a bit longer than one run of the original True Grit on AMC. (I think Isaac made two trips to the store in there too.)  Who says bats are for Halloween alone? 

It's true, Charlotte, you ARE your own self.

Legendary

What a party!  We must have had forty people there -- mostly little kids, including a ninja, a pirate, a wizard, a knight, and several princesses.

Isaac's pinata was a hit.  He spent two hours the night before making a "legendary" dragon out of a common dinosaur.  With an impromptu blindfold made out of tinfoil, we had to keep the turns quick as it was a warm, sunny day.  (January!?)

Isaac let each kid decide if he was to fight a fierce dragon or a friendly one. Choose fierce and the dragon roars and moans as he swings around.  Choose friendly and he says things like, "Why are you hitting me?  I thought we were friends.  Ouch.  That wasn't very nice."  This kept all of the kids in giggles, and happy to wait in that long ol' batting line.

Dragon Tag was a soup of at least twenty kids running in an arena, pulling tails.  It's a miracle we didn't have any major crashes.  We handed out 24 tails to the "dragons" and all remaining kids became the "knights."  The knights chased the dragons, and as each dragon's tail was pulled, he joined the knights on their hunt.  The last dragon standing was the winner.  It was hilarious.  I believe we wore them all out. 

We definitely wore ourselves out.  Happy 6th Birthday, Charlotte!