the “finished project” statement is always a hard one for me… i tend to have to just tell myself to stop at some point with a piece of work. i finally said ‘done’ with the birds and buttons a couple of weeks ago. here is the ‘finished’ product:
the dial is from a water meter my dad found at the local junk yard
button branches
button cluster
i have been reflecting on time, longing and patience for as far back as i can remember. i would love any feedback!
Posted in Bethany, mixed media
emerging out of a several month hybernation ….. the winter makes me become a bit anti-social. TADA! the sun came out today and spring is on her way. i wanted share two baby blankets in the round that my sister, kath, just posted to our family etsy site! hooray!
they are simple and colorful. a perfect size for a new baby to cocoon in. these are just a start to what i know will become a tiny obsession in the next couple of months until i run out of colorful yarn (god forbid!). so please feel free to donate (dump) any colorful acrylic yarn you might have lying about … my yarn box is running thin.
be sure to check out the etsy site: www.etsy.com/shop/webercrafthouse.
watch for updates … finished mixed media piece pics and ideas for a new weaving project!
first final project from the mass of colorful acrylic yarn
it turned out beautiful! not sure if any of the future acrylic yarn projects will be able to top it.
maybe i’ll just make a series of rainbow blankets … or scarves as we are finally feeling the winter weather out here in cincinnati.
i have been on a peanut butter cook-athon! my new favorite cookies is the peanut butter munchie – for all ohioans, this is a buckeye in cookie form. now for all of you who were like “whats a buckeye?!” this cookie is like eating a reese’s cup in cookie form. mmm mmm good!
here’s the recipe …. i don’t have any pics (because alas my old computer died along with all my photos! boo!) so if you choose to take on this adventure please post your results!
PEANUT BUTTER MUNCHIES
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions:
(1) set oven to 350 degrees – sift together: flour, cocoa, baking soda (2) beat together: butter, 1/2 c. sugar, brown sugar, 1/4 c. peanut butter — add eff, milk, vanilla and beat well. combine in dry mixture. form into 32 – 1 inch balls. set aside. (3) peanut butter filling time: combine powdered sugar and 1/2 c. peanut butter. shape into 32 – 3/4inch balls. (4) on work surface, slightly flatten chocolate dough and top with peanut butter. shape chocolate dough over filling. roll dough into a ball — continue until finished. (5) place 2inches apart on cookie sheet and slightly flatten on bottom of glass dipped into sugar. (6) bake 8 minutes.
super delicious outcomes – must be made regularly! i must admit i had a slight baking fiasco the first go around. the chocolate dough turned out all crumbly and dry! aaaah! i had to throw it all away … then spent the next couple of days having a slight freak out that i had lost all my baking abilities. so when i finally got the courage for the second go around – i giggled to myself when i realized i had forgotten the butter the first time. the giggle fest continues now — yes, i am ditsy. enjoy.
spurred by our first art gallery debut at The Frank Duveneck Arts & Cultural Center … katherine got on the ball and set up an online shop for all of us (us being = amy, katherine, mom, me & sisters).
check it out WEBERCRAFTHOUSE !
the weber women are a force to be reckoned with — watch out etsy here we are!
view some beautiful pics of beaded photo albums and journals (thanks to katherine) to purchase as well as fabulously decorated platters (per my mother). soon to come will be screen printed wonderfullness by amy and my own arts & crafts! exciting …
sneak peak:
'wedding wishes' wedding album by katherine
with quite a delay – craft night #2!
abby found a great, old candling making book that reeked of cigarettes. there were several options – (1) dipping (2) molds (3) carving …. candle molds won out.
val translating the mold pattern directions
putting some arm muscle into breaking up the wax for melting
foil lined double boiler pot ... good for melting wax
getting the pyramid molds together
craft night always needs snacks! mmm mmm good
isn't that pyramid mold precious?!
mold set up for liquid wax
pouring the liquid wax into the mold - a two person process
the initial pour into the mold resulted in a jar full of wax. after some deliberation – we decided to (a) allow the wax cool a bit and (b) reinforce the mold with some more tape to secure the seams of the mold …
the mold needed some extra reinforcement
YAY! it worked!
wax takes time to cool down
all cooling down
unmolding the first one!
all set up in a row
we had a blast with this project … as crafting goes with our little group. no one had worked with wax before so it was a lot of “oh this didn’t work … how can we make it work?” but with our powers combined we found hot wax to be enthralling. in the future there are several things that i will keep in mind: (1) read up on wax temperatures for different types of candles (2) purchase separate pots and utensils only for wax use! (3) always make candles with people … two people are a must for mold pouring!
i hope we provided some motivation to go find a candle book and get to it!
i recently had dinner with my grandparents … after a relaxing meal (complete with coffee and everyone sampling my favorite new chocolate peanut butter cookies) grandma and i scurried up to the sewing room. she had been waiting for me to visit in order to bestow upon me – oh yes! – a stash of yarn. after a little confusion in the crawl space of the attic – found it! a HUGE box of multi-colored yarn plus two more bags! yay!
you know me – i was up bright and early on saturday morning frantically sorting through skeins and skeins. standing back to survey my progress, i found out that even acrylic yarn looks beautiful all color coded and bunched together.
rainbow of acrylics!
just when you thought the blanket making was over …
take 4 girls + lots of paper/glue/scissors + talk + throw in some creativity = craft making accordion books!
in the beginning was a clean floor
more colorful supplies
me ... making some decisions
val and abby pondering action
lots of cutting
val in the mess o' paper stuff
first attempts
little pockets for future garden seeds
lovely green designs
birthday book ... for a girl with a poor memory for dates
we had a blast. got sticky with glue … with zero exacto knife incidents – YAY!
coming soon … craft night candle making!
ps. thanks nicole for all the wonderful photos and yummy food
Posted in Bethany
ok generally i tend to stick to the familiar aka i don’t like change. but lately i have been stepping out of my box… trying some new things. so how about a new cookie recipe?! peanut butter chocolate chip cookies – mmm mmm good.
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter *i always split my butter with crisco
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups chocolate chips
some granulated sugar
ingredients
directions: preheat oven to 375 degrees. combine flour and baking soda in small bowl. beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
(nothin better than butter & sugar)
gradually beat in flour mixture. stir in morsels.
mix mix mix
drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. press down slightly with bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar. bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set but centers are still soft. cool and consume.
mmm cookies!
success! beautifully yummy peanut butter cookies with chocolate delight hidden inside. a great alternative to Grandma June’s famous plain chocolate chip cookies. try them out – best eaten warm with a large glass of milk!
i found a sweet box of yarn at an estates sale last saturday!
yay!
so on with the big circle blankets… no fear of a yarn shortage in the near future!
also – an update on the blankets: i am about 2/3rds finished with one. suggestions are gladly welcome!
i've gotten to the hard part now...
fun layers
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