Trying Something New

 Kale chips!

Have you ever heard of that?

That was our appetizer

Tasted OK.. . . .

How does one prepare kale chips?

"Massaged", I was told with some kind of yeast plus a touch of pepper, then dried

Nanette and I had lunch where her friend works

Shangri-la Tea Room and Cafe

where Overland Rd ends in the east end of Boise, overlooking the bench

 Munch a bunch

yes we did

Oh my goodness, Nanette, you  match the decor

 Shangri-la bills itself as Boise's only all vegetarian restaurant

Here is Nanette's veggie burger

and chick pea/bulgar salad

 Falafel for me

At first I thought it was a Christmas word

fa-la-la-la food

No..... little chick pea patties and a load of veggies tucked into the pita bread

Again......quite tasty

Here is the inside view

My falafel. . . .  exposed

I'm proud of myself . . . .that was totally different from my usual choices

I can check something off my bucket list that wasn't even on there yet!

Our visit also included a couple of hours of art play at  my craft table before we went out for lunch

Thanks for the visit, Nanette

I Love Miniatures!

Been seeing this cute craft on Pinterest since I first got on

I am so entranced by things tiny

So.......it was the perfect candidate for a quick craft at Girls Night

I laid out the parts and we worked (played) at making them......assembly line style

Cut....cut....glue....write.....glue...glue....snip

Krissi added that ending "snip"

After this picture was taken

she cut the bookmarks appropriately shorter

even making the tiniest little "v"

in the end of the ribbon

Too dang cute, doncha think?

Pinterest Party..... Daughter Night

It's Pinterest Party time

We each brought a wrapped gift we had made . . . . inspired from a post on our own Pinterest page

We drew names and gave the gift we brought to that person

First to open her gift was Alisha's out of town guest

Krissi.....our adopted daughter for the week

To Krissi, From Candice

Two t-shirt scarves

One tubular

One curvy 

Wow......so versatile

How DID you do that, Candice?

 To Alisha, From Karen

Shower curtain rings

turned into delicate tree ornaments

 Presto chango

with the cutest tiny jingle bells attached

To Karen, From Alisha

Jenga key rings

Add a screw-in eye hook and a metal ring

decorate with stickers or cute paper

Voila!

 Can't have too many BSU mementos!

 To Candice, From Krissi

Seasonal popcorn with recipe

Melted almond bark with crushed peppermint

 Happy momma

says she loves peppermint

Yum

 To Amber, From Mom

Three royal crowns

from painted and stiffened lace

 And a fantasy dancing scarf

Have fun!

To Mom, From Amber

Oh yea!   I've always wanted to know how to make my own lipgloss

Vaseline plus some shiny and a bit of scent

in the handiest little containers

Plus a hefty bag of Hershey kisses

Look at this classy presentation

OK....we all agree

THAT WAS FUN!

So . . . . . . . what is your next "to do" from a Pinterest page?

Getting Ready for a Pinterest Party

Alisha's idea for this month's Girls Night:

a Pinterest Party

That sounds like a great idea!

The "rules"

Make something from your Pinterest page

Wrap it

Bring it

Exchange it with another

Enjoy the array

and

justify our Pinterest time....ha!

So . . . . . bring on some royal accessories

 The crown-from-a-piece-of-lace on my Pinterest page

has been intriguing me for a couple of months .. . . I'll do that

My can of bronze paint came in handy as I laid lace on newspaper in the garage

Then I pinned the painted and slightly stiffened lace

around an oatmeal cylinder

and slathered on Mod Podge

Then it became REALLY stiff

Stitched on a strip of elastic at the back

I discovered the lower edge of the lace was rough with dried Mod Podge

so I added a little strip of foam

Hopefully it won't scratch any little heads

 Bonus gift:

a Kool-Aid dyed dancing scarf

in a special bag

(another Pinterest project, uh huh)

Ah hah . . . . glue still wet

Bejeweled

and royal looking

Just trying it out

Daughter of a King 

Since all my daughters have girls

and dress up bags

I figured it was a gift that could go to any of the families

Who would it be?

My BSU Buddy

While his daddy and sister were at the BSU game

Levi was my buddy 

 I loved watching him

explore

the ins and outs

of the miniatures

 Hard to go wrong

with Captain Moroni

at your elbow!

Toys

books

snacks 

and

hugs

I discovered

this little guy

is a pretty good natured errand buddy, too

Library drop off

Chirping about the helium "ba-oons" at the dollar store

His only homesick moments

were the times he happened to babble

"ma-ma"

When he heard himself. . .

his face would pucker up

remembering she was gone

Distract....distract!

Dharma Silks plus Kool-Aid via Pinterest

5.

Been wrestling with these photos......failing to get them into the order I want

Drat....and oh well

I'll just write about them at the bottom

2.

4.

8.

7.

9.

1.

6.

3.

OK....Several years ago I ran onto this online source of white silk scarves (Dharma Trading Co).  I've read about dying them delicious colors.  That has intrigued me ever since. 

So why would anyone want a rainbow of scarves? 

They are magical for all kinds of make believe or dress up.  I've also used scarves as a feeling management tool for kiddos.  In the confinement of indoor space, a child can toss scarves in the air----instead of balls or beanbags----and shift a load of feelings.  Hard not to start laughing as you throw scarves in the air and then leap to grasp them before they hit the ground.

With the Pinterest inspiration of a Kool-Aid dye list, I took the plunge.  Sent in an order for white silk scarves.  Bought a load of Kool-Aid packets.  Prepared to cook up some fun.

Oh my......you should have seen those white scarves soak up the color.....fascinating.

1.  Here is an array of my Kool-Aid colors.  

2.  I've got mail!  Quick service from Dharma Trading Company.  Hemmed scarves: 30" x 30"

3.  Presoak scarves 1/2 hr in the sink with some vinegar in hot water.

4.  Pretty!  Wring the sink water out of 2  scarves and put in one dye batch.  (The dyeing batch:  3 packets of Kool-Aid, 1/2 c vinegar, 2 c Very hot water.) I would have gotten better color coverage if I'd dyed one scarf per 3 Kool-Aids.....but I wasn't willing to go buy twice as much Kool-Aid.....and I rather like the slightly mottled look.

5.  OOoo-ahhh!  I discovered that I needed to quickly  flip the fabric as soon as I got it into the colored water.  It soaked up the dye super fast.  It was fun to watch that happen.  In just moments, there was no more color left in the water!

6.  Juicy and brilliant.  After the initial stirring, I cooked the color brew in the microwave for 3 minutes.  (The online instructions said to do the 3-minute heating 3 times....which I did not do.)  I let each finished batch sit on the counter for a while, then rinsed with cold water.  I dryer tumbled the scarves one color at a time....with a big fluffy towel....til they were only damp.  Then ironed with low heat.

7.  Be.you.ti.ful.  Such pleasure for my eyes.

8.  This scarf is the best sample of the mottled/veined effect that I like so much.....essence of tie dye.

9.  Oh-h-h-h, I am rich with color.   I like!

I am very happy with this experiment. . . . . .so fun......so pretty. . . .ready for years of creative play.

Stamps, anyone?

I've read several ideas lately about making your own stamps.

One idea:  craft foam!
I want to try that . . .

I cut a circle of sticky backed foam and stuck it on the lid of a medicine bottle

Drew a design on the foam

using a ballpoint pen
The pressure indention from the pen does its magic.....voila!

How cute is that!

In lieu of an ink pad

I did a quick smear of felt tip marker

and stamped away

Whoa.....that worked so fine

I love the whimsy of the designs

The color doesn't wash totally off the foam between colors.....but good enough

I think I see some 

chat and carve 

kiddo fun ahead at school

Easy to see how this can be useful and therapeutic as I counsel with my young friends

I showed my sample to several teachers

I saw their brains start spinning about classroom art project potential

I want to try it on blocks or strips of wood

for my personal use

But in the meantime, bring me some of your milk jug lids

I think they will be my best freebie stamp  base

Gotta go try that . . .