These Girls Are Crafty!

Cool new craft material here:

2007-07-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Reynolds new fun shape aluminum dishes. I think these really are fun and could be used in all kinds of ways!

Here I used them as dishes for instant pudding. Pistachio pudding is my favorite, so that's what I used. If you just use regular powder mix it only takes a few minutes and 2 cups of milk to make 4 servings [4 fun shape dishes]. I also chopped up some pistachio nuts and sprinkled them on top for more flavor and pizazz.

Possibilities!

Guest crafter: Erin Rice!

2007-06-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Candice and my good friend, Erin Rice shared a crafty story with me today. The following has not been edited.

ER: okay. i want to tell someone and i feel that you would appreciate this the most.
EB: okay!
ER: i was riding my bike, and it somehow broke my sandal. grr! while i was riding. and they are just cheap flip flops but still, i have to walk in the post office!
EB: oh geez
what did you do?
ER: and the little tab actually broke ff and i only have the straight end that goes in the hole but not it wont stay bc the tab is broke! and i have to go in the post office, i dont want to slide in and drag my foot! or go barefoot
EB: hahaah
ER: uuuh walk in barefoot, go straight to the corkboard, put a cork to act like a tab at the bottom so the fip flop is still foced to work!
EB: HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH
you are so crafty
ER: this old guy watched me do this. and then stand in line. and he stared at me and shook his head
EB: hahaha
was he amused?
or was it a "shame on you!" shake?
ER: well yeah. lol
hey my sandal works perfectly again!
EB: i get both kinds.
well good!
do you mind if i put this conversation on the craft blog?
ER: lol sure
i can even take a picture for you
EB: okay cool
YEAH!
ER: lol
EB: i think our readers will enjoy a guest crafter
(no one reads it, i dont think)
ER: lolmaybe
im uploading some really good pics

Here are the really good pics mentioned above:

To our faithful readers:

2007-05-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

School's been out for close to a month now, and Candice and I have parted ways for the summer. We promise to craft once we get back in the fall. We will have a new apartment to decorate, and I'm sure after a summer apart, we will have plenty of new crafty ideas.

Candice is currently home in Tipp City, where she enjoys coffee and donuts, her family, and her dog, Mosby. Next week she is headed to Washington, DC to work for a personal finance magazine as an intern. Good for Candice!!

I, Emily, am currently living in Los Angeles, California with Mike, Grant, and Megan. I am interning for a production company in development.

To hold you over, here is some crafty ingenuity on Candice's part at a barbecue we had in the beginning of May at Bowling Green's City Park. The barbecue was poorly planned, seeing that none of us had ever planned a get together such as this. We showed up with the (frozen) meat, some pasta salad, hamburger buns, hot dog buns (but no hot dogs) and a plate of brownies. People went and got a few of the things we were missing. Steve brought charcoal, and we realized that we had left a lot of our grilling essentials at home--like a spatula. Candice got to work and fashioned one out of some sticks she found on the ground and some foil that had been covering the brownies.

crafting in action!

close-up

it worked pretty okay

steve also used a plastic fork, that soon melted

sew proud!

a good idea

no drinking in the park!

Can Votive Holders

2007-05-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

9:30ish, April 26, 2007: Blackout. (note: Candice told me that the writer of that article read this craft blog once and was amused. Here's a holler at Dave!)

Marie, Megan, and I were getting ready to drive over to Chilly's Convenience Store to pick up some candy when everything in the apartment went dark. Being the children that we are, we screamed for a while, but eventually got a hold of ourselves. The three of us went out to the back porch to see if we could figure out who had power and who did not. Emergency lights were on at Offenhauer, however most everything else was dark. For once, the Noise Factory sat dark and silent. We hopped into the car to see if Chilly's might have some power, because we really wanted some candy. Sometimes when the craving for Swedish Fish hits, there is nothing you can do to stop it.

image from BGNews.com

We called Candice, who had been in the Union computer lab when the power left (and said there was a collective cursing/crying.) Since it was not only storming, but pitch black, we picked her up at the bus stop. For a few minutes we cruised until we got a call from Corey, telling us to come over, because they were drinking beers and wanted to play some board games. We stopped by Kroger (they had power) and grabbed a bag of votive candles. The store was mostly empty, but the people there were all buying beers and batteries for their flashlights.

With the power still out, we made it over to Crunk Manor, where we found Corey, Dustin, Grant, Mike, Sarah, and Steve sitting in a circle, two candles, and an open case of Keystone Light. We came in, sat down, and cracked open some brews.

After finishing my can of refreshing cheap beer, I got bored. I reazlied that in my bag I had my handy multitool (I'm such a Girl Scout) that had a bright blue LED flashlight. It's no fancy Leatherman or Gerber, but it does the job.

leatherman multitool; mine is not this nice.

Gee, what did you do with your multitool, Emily? I am sure you, our faithful readers, are asking yourselves. Did I shine the flashlight in Steve's eyes? Well, of course I did. I also decided to get crafty!

The plate we had been keeping the candles on just wasn't cutting it for me anymore. After making sure that my can was good and empty, I took out the blade from my geeky gadget and cut the can in half. Then, I took one of the 50 votive candles we had laying around and put it inside. I then grabbed a match out of the box of matches that was in my car (seriously, I am always prepared!) and lit the candle inside. Ta-da! A beautiful votive holder!

the lovely votive holder.

your beloved craftster, emily!

Anyway, that was a long way to say that I cut a can in half and put a candle inside.

blackout!

I Love My Boys Underpants

2007-04-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Oh, oh, oh, I made a new craft.

Today I, Emily, decided that it was a good idea to start making a collage of things that I like. I cut out a picture of Ben Kweller and a picture of an old man wearing a cowboy hat, and then I came across an iron-on transfer in the November issue of Glamour. It's the logo of some show that I'm pretty sure was on the CW, and almost definitely got cancelled: I Love My Boys. SO I GOT AN IDEA.

I NEEDED A PAIR OF "I LOVE MY BOYS" UNDERPANTS!

See? I am full of great ideas. I went straight to my underpants drawer, and found a white pair of undies that I had never worn. They are 100% cotton Haynes Her Way Boy-Cut Briefs. The transfer suggests that I use something that is at least 50% cotton, so I guess 100% is the best I can get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some pics:

the lucky underpants

ACTION CRAFT SHOT

the finished product

even marie loves the new underpants

where they hang.

Lovely.

the most silly post ever

2007-02-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

Consider yourself warned. This is the most ridiculous post I have ever made, and probably will ever make on this blog. (Unless I try to knit a scarf for my house or something.) Candice and I have not posted much in a while, so I figured I would take the time to walk around the apartment and take pictures of everything we've "made."

First off:Jug shovel! Almost two weeks ago we received about a foot of snow in a night, and my car was buried under drafts coming off our building. What did I do? I left it there for nine days, and waited for the snow to melt completely. Candice was more proactive than I, and she made a handy shovel by taking a gallon jug and cutting the bottom out. Had I not been a wimp, I would have gone out and removed the snow. Regardless of my sloth, kudos to Candice for being resourceful!

Next up:

Coaster! You may recognize this lovely magenta coaster from the post "down to the knitty-gritty!" This was originally started as a scarf, however I tightened up the tension which made the yarn very difficult to work with. Spring is (finally) on its way, and knitting a scarf just sort of seems like asking for another ice storm. I was also sick of looking at it on the needle. I casted off and now I have a great coaster/pot holder.

Moving right along:

Yarn doll! While watching the Oscars last night, I eyed the yarn I had recently gotten sick of using, and decided to make another project. Yarn dolls were one of my favorite things to make as a child (read: 14) They are a very simple craft. All you need is some yarn. I took a small notebook, wrapped the yarn around the notebook about 20 times. I then tied the yarn on the top with a new, smaller piece of yarn. That's the top of the head. Then the yarn at the bottom was snipped and the head, arms, torso, and legs were tied off, using more short pieces of yarn. Meggy is pictured holding the yarn doll that she creepily named "Dakota Fanning." Just kidding. I made the yarn doll for Candice, and to my knowledge, she has not named it.

Jumping out of order:

Hearts cut out of paper! The weekend before Valentine's Day, we had people over to our apartment for a "Sweethearts Dance." The event was complete with a makeout closet, cheesey home made decorations, and bad, bad music. Here is the "Makeout Closet." Romantic or what?!

Something Marie made:

Collage! Marie made a collage of things that she liked yesterday. Supplies: magazines, paper, gluestick. The collage features photos of a rainbow, a unicorn, and X-Tina. (Not kidding.)

Something Joey made:

A Tiny Christmas hat! Joey helped us with our Christmas decorations. I guess it's about time to give credit where credit is due. He made a little hat for our kitty picture in the bathroom, as well as for our lamp-version of Pope John Paul II, and the Alf poster. Sadly, only the kitty is still in the Christmas spirit. Probably because it is late February.

Foodies:

Pasta salad! I made pasta salad on Saturday. There's a little left in the fridge. It's way more appetizing than it appears in my less-than-professional photograph.

Not a craft:

This is a kitty I got for Meg for her 20th birthday. It sits on the back of our toilet and is very creepy. It's not a craft that we or anyone else we know made, but someone, somewhere designed this weird little critter, and I am very glad that it has made it into our apartment. I love getting out of the shower early in the morning and seeing the creepy blue eyes. How adorable.

Good [crafty] Morning

2007-02-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

Due to last week's snowdays, thanks Sid Ribeau, there was plenty of time for crafting. Tuesday morning after waking, watching the news ticker, celebrating, I made pancakes. Now I don't want to take much credit here - because I use the mix that only requires adding water. Anyways, the pancakes got a bit crafty despite their simple-minded recipe.

See?

that's Mickey

paw print... duh

Delicious.

So sorry!

2007-01-22T16:09:00.000-08:00

I ran into Kellie today. She told me that she hopes we update soon. Candice and I really love Kellie. A lot. It might be unhealthy. We promise to update soon. Really.

Until then, here is a photo of Candice and I making pancakes:

down to the knitty-gritty

2007-01-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

I vow to honor and respect the art of knitting and to uphold the code of knitters and to carry on the upstanding tradition of the knitting community around me.

I'm officially a knitter! Thanks to my partner (in crime and crafts), Emily, I have realized the way of the big giant needle. Over winter break I stopped in JoAnne Fabric to pick up the supplies. I bought a set of needles - size 11 - and some hip yarn. It's called "Through Thick and Thin" so the diameter of the yarn is not consistant. This is good and bad:

good - it's really giving the scarf a nice texture
bad - it's tough to control the tension and it can make things confusing, but it's nothing you crafters can't handle

Anyways, the scarf. My first attempt turned out to be wider than my needles. It was a sad moment that I un-did it all and started over but "Scarf II" is going nicely - though some would say that it is still too wide, you know who you are. And Corey told me it looked like a piece of prank vomit made of yarn, but I think it's pretty. I've learned that knit-beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Emily started a new scarf with me too! Hers is hot pink and she'll be rocking the size 1o needles. You ot'ta see her knit, it's inspiring. Neither scarf is finished, or near finished, but stay tuned - these crafters are soon to have some warm necks!

At the end of the day, i'd say knitting is a good time.

Two crafty thumbs up.

Jell-O Fruit

2007-01-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

First off: Comment responses!

Thank you to Erin Rice and Sarah for leaving us encouraging comments! We hope that you check back frequently. And maybe craft with us sometime? Yes, yes. Come craft.

To Amy:
I did a little research on what you can do with empty cans. I have not tried any of these things yet, and most likely will not try them, but here are a few ideas:

Tin Can Alley over at StichyMcYarnPants.com Here are several kitchsy ideas on how to combine knitting and trash...
Tweleve Days of TADA Check out #11
Or, if you have a LOT of cans (about 40,000) you could try your hand at the Beer Can House

Oh, look! It's our first real post about our domestic feats!

Candice and I were feeling particularly crafty on Saturday night. We had worked on our new knitting projects all afternoon, and while I was trying to figure out how to use my new circular knitting needles, I came across a project that I have wanted to try for years: Jell-O Fruit.

Our pals Joey and Steve came over for ice cream, and after Joey kindly drove us to Myles Dairy Queen (God bless Chip Myles!) he took us to the grocery. Candice and I were very excited to pick out oranges to use as our Earth-friendly Jell-O cups. Joey and Steve were very patient with us, and followed us around the produce area. We also picked up some milk so that us girls could enjoy some cereal in the morning. I tried to juggle two of the oranges and dropped them three times before giving up on a great juggling career.

Back at Frazee 14 Candice and I carefully removed the fruit from the peels with Joey's help. There were two fruit removal injuries: I cut through the peel and cut my finger (Steve bandaged me up) and Joey got some citrus juice in his eye. The citrus fruits really can get you! I found that the best way to get the fruit out was to carefully cut around it with a knife, and then slowly pull the fruit out from the bottom with a spoon. Be careful not to cut through the skin, because you could cut yourself, and the Jell-O will drain as it settles.

After gutting our fruit, we whipped up some Jell-O. We followed the regular Jell-O instructions instead of the Gigglers recipe that are both offered on the back of the box. I did not take exact measurements, however I did not put in the full two cups of water, in hopes that the gelatin would keep its shape better. This worked well. We used a muffin pan as our try, and each peel got its own peel. We carefully filled each peel, and then set the tray into the top rack of the fridge.

Since it was around 1AM when we finished up, we left them in the refrigerator overnight.

After a yummy meal from Chipotle, Candice and I decided to try the fruits of our labor (get it?!) for desert. We called Joey over to enjoy a little Jell-O fruit before work. We turned the fruit Jell-O side down and carefully cut through the peel with a serrated knife. Next time I will use one that is not serrated, so that there are not cut marks in the Jell-O.

The fruits came out very nicely. We did not really stick to the traditional colors of the fruit (because we only had one orange-colored pack of Jell-O and found that each packet fills 2.5 orange halves.) We used peach, cherry, and black cherry, and came out with a nice looking array of our fake fruit. We also used one lemon to see how it would work. The lemon fruit was very easy to work with, and the color of the peel held up nicely, even after being refrigerated overnight.

photo by joey catullo

These Girls Are Crafty!

2007-01-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Candice and I have made a New Years resolution for ourselves: 2007 is going to be a crafty year! So I decided to start a blog about our crafty endeavors. Why? I love crafting, and I love blogging. Anyway, let me introduce Candice and myself to you!

This is Candice. She's from Tipp City, Ohio (near Dayton). She's a junior at Bowling Green State University, where she is majoring in Print Journalism, and minoring in Creative Writing and Environmental Policy. She likes to drink coffee, reading, writing, and being outside. She is a new member of The Sierra Club, The Society for Newspaper Design, Society of Professional Journalists, and she writes and edits for the BG News.

This is me, Emily. I am from Centerville, Ohio (near Dayton.) I also attend Bowling Green State University. I major in Film Production, and minor in Telecommunications. I like to ride my bike, watch and make films, cook, and read. I am a member of the Girl Scouts of America, the secretary of the University Film Organization, I work for the Projector, BG's film and media journal, and plan to join The Sierra Club very soon.