RSSArchives: Shawn Connally
CRAFT Holiday Gift Guide 2009: For the Foodie
I'm a big fan of homemade food gifts, which in my mind include alcoholic items, condiments, spices, etc. In fact, my mom recently told me that one of her favorite gifts in years past was a jar of Bronzed Chicken Spices that I mixed together in a big batch and doled out to family members along with the recipe. Mom said it took the hard part out of making a yummy dinner, and it was a thoughtful and helpful gift. Bonus!
That conversation greatly influenced my selections when I sat down to choose the items in this year's Foodie Gift Guide. It can take just pennies to make a gift that's likely to end up as someone's favorites list this year, so why pick products that cost a fortune, no matter how cool they are? Sure, we'd all like to have a fancy mixer or espresso machine, but in today's economy, a nice whisk or a pound of good coffee are just as welcome.
So here's a baker's dozen of food and kitchen items that you can either make as gifts this holiday season, or pick up without emptying your larder, er, pocketbook. (Puns definitely intended!) I'd love to hear about other gifts you plan on making or buying for the foodie in your life. Please tell us about them in the Comments! Merry merry, happy happy!
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Homemade Coffee Liqueur
A few years ago we made two different versions of coffee liqueur, dutifully marking them brew #1 and brew #2. Some recipes call for instant coffee and some call for a pot of brewed java. The bad news was that we forgot which recipe went with which number. The good news was that both batches were tasty, and our friends and family really appreciated the gift, especially when certain name brands can be quite pricey. This also needs to sit for a month, so factor in the time this needs to sit on the shelf aging to perfection.
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Posted by Shawn Connally |
Nov 19, 2009 11:00 AM
Food, Gadgets, Holiday Gift Guide 2009, Holiday projects, Homemade |
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Get Cozy with Vaska Contest
Berkeley-based Vaska, makers of botanical-based laundry soap, is holding a Get Cozy With Vaska Contest, which sounds like it's right up our alley.
Twelve winners will get $300 in cash and a page in the 2010 Vaska Cozy Calendar, sure to be a collector's item (or so they claim). The contest ends at midnight Jan. 4, 2010, with winners announced on Jan. 10. So now's the time to get making cozies! The cash would be a nice help in paying off some of my holiday debt, is what I'm thinking.
And I appreciate the fact that their PR efforts are focusing on crafters and our mad crafting skills:
"The Get Cozy Contest is a way of introducing the crafts community to laundry care products that conserve the integrity of their designs and, at the same time, we can reward them for their creativity. We know crafters will appreciate Vaska's softer, brighter, greener results," says Julia Fry, Vaska creator. Fry is a former fashion designer, whose love of textiles led her to create the herb-based detergent.
All the details, contest rules, and info on where to buy Vaska detergent can be found on their website.
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Nov 12, 2009 11:00 AM
Announcements, Contests, Fiber Art, Green, Homemade, Refashion, Yarn |
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Screen-printed Bags for the Memories
My grandmother never threw anything away, and kept all of her possessions in pristine order. As a child, this was a little hard to deal with -- don't sit on the bedspread, no shoes on the couch, fold the towel after you dry your hands -- but as an adult I've come to appreciate her fastidious care of her items, some of which I now possess and thoroughly enjoy.
This WWII Army Housewife bag is one of my favorite hand-me-downs. Apparently, it included a sewing kit back when it was issued, and these kits were issued by the Brits and the Swiss as well. Nowadays, this little Army Housewife bag holds my jewelry on overnight trips. And it makes me smile every time I look at it.
When I started to think about making gifts for my family, I decided that I wanted to try and capture that same smile-inducing nostalgia for my relatives. Since we've got a few silkscreen-type machines in the office, I thought I'd beg one friend to make me a design and another friend to show me how to use the Yudu machine (I've used the Gocco printer before, but wanted to try a new device).
I'm loving the results! So much that I've now screen-printed about 12 bags and 8 dish towels, and am wondering if I can get away with giving nothing but self-branded textiles for all my gifts. (And thanks to Daniel and Brookelynn for helping me out, not to mention everyone else who helped with the manual labor in the name of learning!)
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Nov 5, 2009 11:00 AM
Design, Fabric, Fiber Art |
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Halloween Cakes, Because We Need More Sugary Treats
I'm not sure who decided that Halloween cupcakes, cookies, and regular-sized cakes were a good idea for Halloween, but I'm not the one to buck tradition, especially when it involves frosting. And creative decorating.
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So over the years I've made quite a few graveyard cakes, and in recent years I've branched out to spider cakes, ghost cakes, jack-o-lantern cakes, and dirt cakes. I do, however, refuse to make a litter box cake, no matter how many times I get sent the photos, links, and recipe. Apparently, imitation cat poop is where I draw the line.
Ive figured out that donating the majority of the cakes to the local Halloween Carnival helps reduce sugar consumption. Well, until my kid wins a cake in the cakewalk and brings it back home. But at least I tried!
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Here are some hints for making fabulous Halloween cakes, if you dare!
- For glowing eyes on the Ghost Cake, use halves of egg shells, rinsed off and dried. Then place a sugar cube in each half of the shell, poor a very small amount of lemon extract on the sugar cubes, and light that sucker. Don't leave this unattended!
- For the ghosts on the Graveyard Cake, I've used cut-and-slice cookie dough, cut out sugar cookies, and lollipops wrapped in white cloth. Whatever you've got around will suffice.
- For legs on the Spider Cake, find some Pockys, which are delicious cookies from Japan. I've found them at Cost Plus and specialty grocery stores. I also thought Pirouette wafers might work, or maybe even Twix bars.
- For all the cakes, don't be afraid to substitute Skittles for M&Ms for Reeses Pieces for Gummy Bears. Most anything will work when seen in context -- you're bound to hear "Oh, those are the spider's eyes," or "Oh, little bears are lining the walkway, how spooky!" (As opposed to, "Why did you use Skittles instead of M&Ms? That doesn't work at all!")
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 29, 2009 11:15 AM
Food, Halloween, Holiday projects |
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Favorite Scarf (for now)
This is my favorite scarf. That I bought last year.
I have several other favorite scarves. Probably about 10 or so that are favorites, and another dozen or so that I really, really like.
Favorites include the one I got at a thrift store in Germany this summer; the one I bought in San Francisco with my best friend Jenny on a Mom's Night Away; and the one Marie Kare (love ya!) knit for me a few years ago. So many fabulous scarves!
But back to my favorite scarf (that I bought last year).
I got it at Bazaar Bizarre in San Francisco from Lauren Brady, the woman next to the Craftzine booth where I was working. It's designed with quilted pieces on one side and a rust-colored, very soft corduroy on the other.
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Besides the pattern and fabric choices, both of which I love, it includes two clever features. The first is the little embroidered bird on one end. So cute! The other is a button sewn onto the corduroy side about a third of the way down the length, and a corresponding hole sewn into the scarf near the other end. You can button your scarf in place! This keeps you super toasty and super fashionable, all at the same time. Such an awesome feature for a favorite scarf!
And I can't wait to find my next favorite scarf among the entries in the Me, My Scarf, and I contest. You're all clever, crafty, and motivated, so maybe I'll end up with 2 or 3 favorites this year!
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 26, 2009 11:00 AM
Contests, Sewing |
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Shrines, Just Because
My neighbor Teresa Cuseo is an amazing artist and crafter -- every time I talk to her or go over for a visit she's doing something creative, from terrific mosaics to yummy baked goods to cool jewelry and clever shrines.
She recently bought a Day of the Dead crafting book and has plans to make some Day of the Dead altars, but the shrines and altars she's created thus far pay homage to the various incarnations of the Virgin Mary, bicycling, her loved ones, other religious figures, and roses. I like each and every one of them, and think they offer a lot of inspiration for our Day of the Dead shrines, too. Check them out after the jump and see what you think!
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Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 23, 2009 02:00 PM
Arts & Design, Contests, General |
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Homemade Kid Costumes
For years I didn't consider myself a crafter or even very creative. Sure, I always decorated the house for holidays, did crafty projects with my kids, made my own gingerbread houses and face masks, loved to try new recipes, and shunned store-bought costumes for what I think are way better homemade creations, but a crafter? Not really.
These days I'm trying to convince myself that I am indeed a crafter. And when you're surrounded by knitters, crocheters, professional seamstresses, painters, and soft-circuit mavens, you need lots of convincing! I recently went back through photos of the kids in their Halloween costumes that I've made, and gosh darn it, I am a crafter (of sorts). Enjoy the photos after the jump!
PS: Two of the costumes shown were store-bought, or mostly purchased at a store and then embellished with homey touches.See if you can spot them. And one of the boys is a former intern, not one of my kids, exactly.
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Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 22, 2009 11:00 AM
Halloween |
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Impressionist Cake
PT on the MAKE blog points to this Starry nom edible masterpiece...
Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 15, 2009 03:00 PM
Arts & Design, Food |
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Recipe: New Mexican Frijoles
Growing up in northern New Mexico has left an indelible mark on my senses, particularly my sense of taste. I love spicy food, I hate cilantro (it's not commonly used in New Mexican cooking), and I'll always pick pintos over black beans.
In the fall, you could walk into any kitchen in almost any northern NM village and find a pot of pintos beans simmering on the stovetop. If you were even luckier, there'd be fresh red chile sauce simmering next to the beans, some homemade flour tortillas wrapped in foil in the oven, and maybe even some crumbled chorizo sitting in a skillet nearby.
A pot of frijoles is easy and economical to make, plus fills your tummy with something yummy and satiates the craving for warm, nourishing food I get when the weather starts to cool down. The only hard part of the recipe at all is that you need to soak the dried beans overnight, so plan ahead!
When I was setting out to write down the recipe and document the process, it got me thinking about other New Mexican dishes I'd like to share -- calabacitas, posole, homemade tortillas, sopapillas, and more. Stay tuned!
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Recipe: Pinto Beans
Ingredients
Pinto beans about 2 cups dried
Stock or water
Onion 1 medium, chopped
Garlic 3-4 cloves, minced
Red chile powder New Mexico is best. Found in the Hispanic section of the grocery store, usually in cellophane packets.
Vegetable oil for sauteing garlic and onions (optional)
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Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 15, 2009 11:00 AM
Food, Recipe |
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How-To: Yarn Scrap Embroidery
Fall is in the air, and I'm feeling a need to embroider. If you're like me, you have an enormous pile of yarn left over from other projects. In my case, it sits in my needlework bag and taunts me, daring me to dig into it and make something pretty. So, one early fall afternoon with Vivaldi's Autumn Allegro playing on iTunes, I took the challenge. Using one of the butcher linen placemats from my Felix Populi product line, I set about laying down some fall foliage in yarn.
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Posted by Shawn Connally |
Oct 12, 2009 12:00 PM
CRAFT Projects, Fiber Art, Hand Embroidery, Sewing, Yarn |
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