5-A-Day Swap

garden's bounty
Originally uploaded by Corgipants

This weekend (Sunday night) is your last chance to sign up for the 5-A-Day Fruits and Veggies themed swap I am hosting over at Create A Connection. We'll be swapping (with one partner) at least once fruit or veggie themed item (preferably handmade) and at least one recipe featuring fruits and veggies. Come join us!

Hankie Tussie Mussie Pocket Tutorial

Oc-Tute-ber tutorial #3 for:
Hankie Tussy Mussy Pocket Tutorial


I LOVE hankies! I collect hankies. I have over 100 easily. And sometimes you find some extra cheap because they have a tear or stain on them. These are cute little pockets made from vintage (or repro) hankies. You can get 4 pockets out of each hankie if it isn't damaged. But I have a hard time cutting a hankie that is perfectly lovely and unmarred. So I usually use my stained or torn hankies. You can see in one of the photos that this hankie has a tear in the middle of the left side, but because of its location, I could still get 4 pockets out of it! Bonus!

You'll need:
Hankies, their size determines the size of your pocket, I like to use fairly large ones, at least 12" square. The one in this demo is 16" square.
Fabric glue
Ribbons and rickrack
Scissors
An Iron
Heavy starch

Start by ironing and starching your hankie heavily. I usually spray the starch on one side, iron that side, then flip and repeat so that it is nice and crisp. Try and keep it as square as possible.


Then you'll have to do the unthinkable, CUT a hankie. It was hard for me the first time because I love them but just remember they'll still be around and in a more useful and adorable form! Cut your hankie into four equal squares.


To make the pocket we will be folding the corners in on the diagonal. This photo shows you the fold lines.


Now, I assemble my pockets using glue because I like things quick and snappy! But you could easily hand sew each of the next steps using a running stitch for a homespun look. To do it the quick and snappy way, apply a thin line of glue along the edge of one folded-down corner. You can see that I have cut a piece of junk mail to fit inside my pocket because the glue with seep through thin hankie material and you pocket could stick together and cease to be a pocket but more like a stiff, gluey hankie.


Fold the other edge onto the glue and press. Now it's time to start embellishing! Choose some ribbon or rickrack for the front of your pocket. Glue this to hide your glued seam.


Next, we apply ribbon or rickrack to the inside of the pocket. Measure out a length that will go completely around the edge. Apply a thin line of glue inside the front of the pocket. Starting with the center of your length of rickrack or ribbon, apply this to the center front inside your pocket.


Follow that by applying a thin line of glue to both top edges inside the pocket. Here is our pocket with rickrack glued along the entire inside edge.


Next we apply our hanging loop. Make a loop of ribbon, gluing together at the raw edges. Then glue this loop to the top back point of the pocket.


To cover up our raw loop edges and any glue seepage from the inside ribbon/rickrack, we apply ribbon or rickrack to the outside edge using the same thing line of glue method. Also make and glue a lovely bow onto the front, which I forgot to do until after the photo shoot so it's missing in my completed shot above. Oops! Here is the front:


and back of our finished pocket:


These are great for holding flowers and candy for a little gift!

Note to my secret dishcloth pal

Dearest Secret Dishcloth Pal-
I didn't meant to be a tattle tail, I understand we all get busy. But I was worried about you and being a secret swap, I had no way to contact you! I am glad you are ok! And thank you for getting in touch with me, I love all your comments and I like knowing you are around.
-Jenna

Recipe: Wassail Bowl Punch

Ju Lo requested the recipe so here's what we call Wassail. The recipe is from Country Woman magazine and I made it last year for my cookie exchange and people went ga-ga for it so I've made it several times since and looking forward to it being Wassailing season again! Sadly I don't have a picture so I'm not calling this an Oc-Tute-ber entry.

Wassail Bowl Punch

4 cups hot brewed tea (I use an assortment of Earl Grey, Breakfast and good old Lipton, whatever I have on hand)
4 cups cranberry juice
4 cups unsweetened apple juice
2 cups orange juice
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
3 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves

Put all of this in your crock pot, cover and cook on high for 1 hour or until it begins to boil. You can put the cinnamon sticks and cloves in a double thickness of cheesecloth and tie it into a little bundle but I never do, I just sort of pluck them out once we're ready to drink. For parties, I also do a couple of batches on the stove over medium-high heat just until boiling and then turn it way down to warm. Your house will smell SOOOO good, you won't need candles for a couple of days!

SwapDex

The SwapDex got a nice mention on Craftzine and was also mentioned on Indie Crafts the other day. (Thanks to both!) Visitor numbers have gone up and one of my favorite things about that is seeing people from all over the world pop in. I love to see where everyone is coming from! Iceland, Australia, France, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, El Salvador! It's fun to think about crafty people on so many different continents!

Fall into Autumn Topic of the Week

This week's question is: Are there any recipes you especially enjoy
having in the Fall? Any foods that are seasonal that you especially
enjoy?

I love fall foods, mostly because it's when you can start baking for reals because it's cool enough to have the oven on! I love baking! Last night I made apple crisp with Krispy Kreme
donut topping, which is the recipe I an entering in the href="http://www.tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/krispykreme/krispyrecipe_0807.php">Recipe
Contest! I'll be making cupcakes later this week for my craft
group meeting on Saturday. I love pies and cakes and crumbles and cobblers and cookies and brownies!

I also love soups! I love making potato soup and vegetable soup! Yum! Pop some ingredients in the bread machine and simmer a pot on the stove!

I also love making mulled cider in the crock pot. Mmmm, it smells so good! I call it Wassail but I guess wassail is more alcoholic than my tea-cider-spices combination.

Spiral Felt Ornaments Tutorial

Oc-Tute-ber Tutorial #2 for:
Spiral Felt Ornament

Cute on the tree at Christmas or hanging around the house all year long! Keep your eyes open Monday, Wednesday and Friday as I think that is when I will be posting tutorials this month.
Supplies:

Felt-full pieces are better than scraps because we will want to make long strips
Scissors
Long beading needle or other long needle
Assorted beads-make sure the holes are big enough for the needle to pass through
Assorted yarns and ribbons
Perle cotton thread or other thick thread
Jump rings
Pliers-optional

Cut 1 inch wide strips at l2 inches in length from two or three different colors of felt.

Start at one end (the color you want in the middle) and roll the felt tightly into a spiral. When one strip ends, overlap about 1/4 inch when adding the next strip.

I usually make mine about 1.5 inches in diameter so when you have rolled your last strip, place a dab of glue under the end and use a pin to hold it in place.

You can also pin it temporarily between rounds to clean up any uneven strips. Sometimes you will cut a strip wider then the others and it will stick out. You can simply cut this excess off with scissors.

Now we'll make the tassel. Choose your ribbons and yarns. You'll probably want about 3-4 different yarns/ribbons and each piece should be about 10-12 inches long. To create tassel, bundle the pieces together and fold them in half with a 24" piece of perle cotton through the folded end. Tie a piece of perle cotton around them about 1/2 inch away from the folded end and wrap a few times, tying off when you're done. Cut off loose ends that you tied and trim ends of yarn/ribbon so they're even.


Thread your needle with both ends of the thread that is within the eye of your tassel. String a bead into your needle and push it down the the top of the tassel. Insert the needle into the middle of the felt strip at the point where your pin had been and push in all the way through the spiral so that it comes out at the opposite side.

It can be hard to pull both threads all the way through so use pliers if you need to to get it through. Pull taught but not so taught as to distort your spiral. String another bead onto your cotton.

Remove the needle and string a jump ring onto one of the threads. Tie a double knot with both threads to hold the jump ring on. Cut ends short. You can thread a loop of string through the jump ring or you can use it as the place to attach a wire ornament hanger for your tree.

Quite random

I just got the nicest phone call from someone who saw my letter to the editor in today's paper and thought I was right on. I wrote in response to someone else's letter a few days ago saying her daughter's dog, who was in the yard with her while she gardened, had been hit by a van who didn't stop or seem to notice. I expressed the appropriate sympathy but then reminded the citizens of our fair city that they should really restrain their animals, for their own safety. Even if they're in your own yard, they should really be fenced or on a leash because once they cross into the street, which you have no way of stopping them from doing if they see a squirrel as this dog had, they are a danger to themselves and possibly others. It was nice to hear that others felt the same way when they read her letter. But this call also taught me that looking up letter-writers in the phone book to tell them they are either right on or way off is acceptable! A new hobby! Just kidding, though I do love reading the letters to the editor. There's just something about hearing the opinions of one's neighbors that's much more grounded in reality than reading what the news has to say about the issues at hand.

Also, a warning to anyone expecting a swap from me: I am on a purple kick, for no reason other than one person mentioned they liked purple and now it seems I can't start a project without it turning purple! Purple was my sister's very favorite color in the whole world, her room was purple, purple velvet carpet, purple painted walls, purple crazy quilt and purple shag carpet rug by her bed. And a giant stuffed purple gorilla wearing a purple corduroy vest and purple newsboy hat!

Biscuit Donuts Tutorial

Oc-Tute-ber Tutorial for:
Biscuit Donuts

The very first in our Oc-Tute-ber series! For those of you who wanted a more in-depth recipe as opposed to "fry a can of biscuits."

You will need:
1 can Grands or other refrigerated biscuits
1 cup sugar
2-3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
oil for frying

Begin heating oil to medium high heat. The pan does not need to be full of oil, just enough so that the donuts are immersed half way, about 1 inch deep should do.

While the oil is heating, remove biscuits from can (love the pop!) and separate. Using a small circle or heart cookie cutter (or shot glass, top from a spice jar or anything you have handy) cut the center out of each. Save this for making donut holes!

When the oil is hot, place biscuit gently into oil. In my pan I can do two at once, but the biscuits should not touch so you'll have to see how many you can fit in. If your oil is hot enough, there should be massive bubbling around the the edges. When this dies down a bit and the dough is brown on the underside, flip it over. This donut is ready to be flipped.

Once the second side is brown, remove from oil and drain quickly on paper towels. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then roll drained donuts in cinnamon-sugar, making sure to coat both sides. Eat warm if at all possible!

Donut holes are done the same way but you may have to roll them around in the oil to brown all sides. Using a heart-shaped cutter will leave a heart-shaped hole in the donut but sadly the donut holes puff up enough that they are not recognizable as hearts. They still taste awesome though!

FRAP!

New haircut
Originally uploaded by Corgipants

Alicia's adorable posts about their new addition, Miss Clover Meadow Paulson, has got puppies on my brain! And her most recent post about a FRAP session inspired me to relate a bit more info for those not in the corgi-know. Corgis do something most dogs leave behind in puppyhood. Most dogs, when they are puppies, race around excitedly for seemingly no reason, flailing and turning, racing in circles and figure eights at top speed, only to stop mid circle and crash onto the ground like nothing happened. And most breeds discontinue this activity once they leave their puppy teeth on the carpet. This is called a FRAP. Corgis (and a few other breeds of dogs like Scottish Terriers) FRAP their whole lives. FRAP is an acronym, customarily standing for Frequent Random Acts of Play, and more scientifically known as Frenetic Random Activity Periods. Earlier this year I hosted a contest on Corgi-L, a corgi message group, to challenge everyone to come up with new phrases that FRAP could stand for. I share them here for your amusement:
Free-wheeling Rambunctiousness As if Possessed
Frenzied Racing Action-packed Play
Furry Rumble And Pants (as in tongue hanging out slobbering)
Frazzling Runs of Arooing Playtime
Fervent Recreational Art of Psychosis
Flurries of Rowdy Arbitrary Peril
Fantastically Riotous and Acrobatic Pandemonium
Frantic Random Acts of Pursuit
Frenzied, Ridiculous, Amazing Playtime
Frequent Repetitive Affirmation (of the) Pedigree
Frequent Racing After the Papillon
Frenzied Romping and Playing
F-A-S-T Rambunctious And Playfulness
Fanatically Righteous Antics Play
Forever Remembering Actions Puppyhood
Freaking Ridiculous and Annoying Playtime
Fools Reliving Actions of Puppyhood
Feline Rodeo Awakening Poopies
Frisky Running at an Accelerate Pace
Frolicsome Rushing About the People
Free Range Agility Practice
Frantic Revolutions About the the Place

And now for the shameless plug. To benefit our local Corgi Specialty's rally portion of the show, Mike and I created a few t-shirt designs. One of those incorporates all of these phrases on the back and shows FRAPping corgis on the front. It's available on cafepress in a Cardy version, a Pem version and one with both. You can also see the design with both breeds over on the sidebar at the right.

{The picture included in this post is of my new haircut but I thought it was appropriate since it includes Sully!}