Project Shishkabob: 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas in your Mouth Cookies

I made these cookies for Lela's birthday party/our housewarming party.

They were a huge hit...so I made them again for Christmas.

Chewy Chocoloate Gingerbread Cookies or as Lela likes to call them, "Christmas in your Mouth Cookies." I think I like that name better.

We're ready for you, Santa!

Find the recipe here http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies

*I substituted all organic ingredients including Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour. Also, in my opinion, Sugar in the Raw is better to roll the dough in before baking. It gives it a crunchier texture and it's prettier too!

** Grating fresh/organic nutmeg was extremely exciting!

***Working with molasses was veeery interesting...

Recycled Cork Bulletin Board

Ages ago, Carolyn and I stopped at a local frame shop in Little Havana to get a poster of mine framed that was long overdue. Somehow we ended up in this little hole in the wall Middle Eastern grocery/cafe. Sitting in the cafe, eating dessert and sipping tea, we heard the entire life story of the charming owner.

After explaining to him our original plan, he offered to take us next door himself, promising a good deal...it turned out that his friend was the owner.

The "good deal" was perhaps a good deal, but definitely exceeded my budget. We said goodbye, promising to return again soon, and went to the parking lot.

As soon as I pulled out of the space, we saw the little man running to my car with a large gold frame. He gave it to me, telling me to put my poster in it...wanting to save me some money.

Experiences like this restores my faith in humanity.

Although I didn't use the frame for my poster, I did recall the bag of wine corks my friend gave me to make a bulletin board. She acquired them working in a fine dining restaurant. I found them sitting in the back of one of my closets collecting dust. I hadn't known, but I was just waiting for the perfect frame...and I found the one.

I attached the corks to the back of the frame using wood glue.

It fits just perfectly in my little sewing area.

DIY Salvaged Bookshelf

Lela and I were in need of a bookshelf. I didn't want to go to IKEA and get one that I could potentially see in anyone and everyone's living room. Plus, I wanted to make my very own.

We also wanted to make a bookshelf using all salvaged materials. So...we went on a bargain hunt.

We found bricks at a salvage yard for $0.25 each. We brought them home, scrubbed them, and then covered them with a clear coat of paint.

Driving through Little Haiti we stopped at a random junk lumber yard. After digging around the back of the yard (which unfortunately reeked of urine) with a man with no teeth, we found 2 pieces of pine in good condition. (!) They cut the pieces in 1/2 for us and charged us $15.00.

We painted each piece...and Vwalaaa. I'm in love.

Whiteboard Erasers

I had a whole pile of felt on the table to be cut in Joann Fabrics (one of my favorite hang-outs). This lady walked up to me and asked me if I was making a blanket. (Do people really make blankets out of felt?!? ewww, scratchy)

I said, "No. I'm making erasers for my classroom."

She was confused. I told her I wanted a more environmentally friendly way to clean the little kid-size whiteboards my students use.

"I'm a teacher too! Why don't you just use paper towels?!? That's what I use!"

"ummmm...I just said environmentally friendly. Reducing waste. Not creating."

~Wow. Why am I not surprised?

Anyway, so I designed these little guys to hopefully create a little fun while we learn in the teacher center. I'm so excited to use them!

Which one is your favorite?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Celebrating with cookies!

I made pride cookies for my lela. I used a soft sugar cookie recipe, white cookie icing, (so i could stack them) and food coloring to make all the different colors

cafe curtains!

I got this vintage skirt from my friend who gave me his grandma's sewing materials (love him soo mucho) . That's seriously the waist band that i cut off (i'm assuming this skirt was for a child- cuz dang).

This project was so easy. I kept the original hem of the skirt (you can see it at the top of the curtains) and used it to feed the curtain rod through. btw- hung that curtain rod all by myself too! I am DEFINITELY not a perfectionist kind of person...i can't cut in a straight line, i dont like pinning or ironing, etc. i like to think this allows for some character to come through in some of my projects. :) the seam in the left curtain is from the skirt and i kept it there on purpose.

Embellished Shirt Part II

thrifted red sweater used to make beanie for my nephew for xmas, out of style/not cute rainbow shirt from back in tha day, old navy tank top, cutest dog in the universe who insists on sitting on anything i put on my floor= mass amounts of lovliness!
wore this to pride in st.pete!

Embellished Shirt part I

i'm a regular at threadbanger.com. i watched a tutorial about embellishing shirts and made a couple of my own. love them and get tons of compliments every time i wear them. The designed fabric came from a pant suit (sounds scary but its cute!) i cut the pants to make them shorter then used the extra fabric to make 2 layers. inbetween the layers i used a sort of
sweater-lik

e material (in that roll looking thing) I got that when i purchased my vintage sewing box that was full of old sewing materials (such a cool find). i used the bottom of my star

bucks cup to trace the circle cut outs.

Inspired by Love

My Lela loves turtles. I created this little guy using recycled vintage plaid scraps (from my friend's grandma's fabric collection he generously gave me!). The feet, tail, and head are made from a thrift store sweater. The eyes are vintage buttons.

bachelorette gift

I created this magnet by decoupaging pieces from recycled magazines
for my dear friend Holly. I quoted Emily Dickenson (her favorite author) at the bottom.

Wedding gifts

I made his&her pillow cases from a recycled bed sheet (found at a thrift store).

I also made these napkins and hand towels from a thrifted vintage table cloth that was severely stained. I attached a ribbon so they could have the option of hanging two ways.

i just have one thing to say...

"meow!"
I found this cat thingie in the alley behind my apartment. I attached it to a black stretchy skirt I made from a cotton blend fabric, then stitched a red ribbon down the side.

tube top mania

apparently i am somewhat obsessed with tube tops. they're so easy to make! and dang it's hot in miami!
i bought the rainbow coat in my favorite thrift store (of all times) and wore the tube top to pride this year.
pic of the green and black tube is just embarrassing- but cute!
tiger shirt was found in the alley behind my apartment.

Personalized Greetings

it helps when you have two of the cutest dogs in the history of the world! :)

Christmas 2008

I made this beanie for my brother (for Christmas) from a sweater I bought in a thrift store.

From bed sheet to tube top

Twin sized sheets found at thrift stores make excellent tube tops! who knew?!?!?

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer!

awwww...One of these little guy's antlers got broken..
my sister sent me this recipe online. i just tweeked it a little and made them with a soft sugar cookie recipe (the original was peanut butter i think) . They were delicious and a big hit in the classroom!