Wedding Poem

My good friend read this poem at our wedding. She recently got married herself (eloped to Santa Barbara in fact) and so I've been working on some gifts: the napkins and this painting. I've had this frame bumping around for a while, originally I think it came from my Nana (my paternal grandma).

I Love Quiche

I made a quiche last night for dinner that was both tasty and well formed. I wish I had taken a picture before we gobbled it up but I did not, so you'll have to look at this one; it was the inspiration for me to find a new recipe. I used the "Madame Quiche's Quiche Au Fromage" recipe from epicurious.com and modified it this way.

First, I used Trader Joe's Frozen Pie Dough, thawed it, shaped it into a 10-inch pie dish, and put it in the freezer again (like the recipe says). I baked the crust, as instructed. I'm sure home-made pastry dough would be better, but this worked out pretty well.

For the filling, I used 1 1/2 cups whole milk, no cream (didn't have any), 6 eggs, 4 ounces goat cheese, salt and pepper and a little nutmeg. I mixed the filling using a non-electric hand mixer, which resulted in a nice fluffy texture. Before pouring the filling in, I lined the bottom with chopped basil. I baked it at 425 F for 30 minutes, as instructed. The one thing I will do differently next time is cover the rim of the crust with foil while baking the filling - it was a little beyond "golden brown".

I loved it, Chris loved it, Sofia loved it, Maia, well, she ate it. That's about all I can hope for.

Gift Napkins

I'm going to start calling these "Lexi's Eco-Napkins". I love making them for people. These are for a friend who I've know since I was twelve and she was eleven. She eloped recently so I've been working on some gifts for them. I made these using 20 different quarter flats; each one makes two small "everyday" napkins. My family uses them for all our meals and we just throw them in with the regular laundry every week.

Fun Project

I go to a parent-child class with Maia once a week. There is always an art project for the kids to do and this week, Maia was particularly engaged. The flowers are made from coffee filters, diluted food coloring, and pipe cleaners. I think she made about 8 of these. The idea was to get them to use an eye dropper, working on their fine motor skills, to drop the color onto the filter. Then we twisted the middle of the filter, attached a pipe cleaner and voila! A beautiful bouquet.

Caterpillar Updates

The caterpillar metamorphosis is being well documented (I'm a little obsessed). I don't think I ever did this as a kid, so I'm completely fascinated by the whole process. The caterpillar has now started turning into a chrysalis. We've also confirmed that it will be a Gulf Fritillary, which is the same as the butterflies I saw around the vine where I found the caterpillars. Picture updates are being posted at our flickr site.

Just another trip to the mailbox

Maia and I went out to get the mail today and noticed some pretty flowers that had bloomed. Then we saw the lizard by the door. It was a much larger variety than the blue-bellies we normally see in the back yard. This one was about 9 inches long! Then we saw the grasshopper jumping around, on the grass. So I ran and got the camera. I couldn't let all this nature go without some documentation.

All this after our adventure collecting a caterpillar this morning. I had seen a bunch of these caterpillars on my walk yesterday, so I took Maia back there this morning to see them. I brought one home, along with the stem/leaves it was sitting on. This is the one we brought home.Here is his current home - I'm still reading up a little about what it will need. Mainly, plenty of ventilation, plenty of the fresh leaves it was eating, and some moisture. If all goes well it will metamorphose into a beautiful orange butterfly. Then I will be sure to release it in the same place I got it.

Future Bruin Mascot?

The game was, well, less than pretty. But it wasn't for lack of spirit on our part. Sofia decided to put on her bear costume to cheer on the Bruins, but it didn't seem to help. Next year, next year.

Notecard for Swapping

This is my contribution to Regina's Notecard Swap. I was inspired by photos taken by our neighbor of his plum tree blossoms with bees. I first did a quick sketch by hand and then refined it to a simple line drawing. Next I scanned it in to Illustrator and separated it into color layers. Each color layer was then printed in black. I used these to make print gocco screens and then did the printing with the gocco. I was disappointed with the white ink coverage. It didn't show at all on the lighter colored paper. So, after experimenting a little, I found that hand painting with a white Caran D'Ache crayon worked. The cards are printed on DCWV acid-free and lignin-free paper. Other contributions to the swap will be posted here.

Play Imitating Life

Well, it seems that Sofia and Maia are having a heck of a time with their wagon today. It keeps breaking down. They have been trying and trying to fix it, calling the tow truck, and renting other vehicles to drive home from Grandma's. Hopefully they'll have better luck than us.

Cotton Scarf

I took a break from my wool hooded zipper sweater to knit this scarf. I picked up this yarn at a spinner's and weaver's fair a while back. I kept looking at it and putting it down and in the end I couldn't resist - I'm in love with the colors. I didn't have a project in mind for it, but when I saw this at JC Handmade, I thought of this yarn. It's a 1x1 rib (20 stitches) knitted with size 11 needles. The yarn is 100% cotton by Araucania.

Trains to the Rescue

Maia and I don't have too many struggles, but if there's anything, it's food. This morning I said no to something she asked for (this was after two mini bagels and a whole banana for snack) and she went into an extended laying-on-the-floor-whining-and-crying episode. I tried suggesting we play a game, ignore it, left the room, but it was the trains that finally pulled her out of it. And then I thought the light was pretty.

Creative Sketchbook Workshop

I went to a workshop this weekend, made possible by a generous grant from Chuck and Julie (i.e. FIL and MIL). The instructor had us bring a new sketchbook, paint, pens, pencils, ink, magazines, old books, etc. She then showed us her creative sketchbooks and examples of other student work. It's hard to describe exactly what it is - sort of journaling, testing out ideas, playing, creating, painting, stamping. It's very free and loose, and unintimidating. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think I will try to keep it up. It seems like a great way to do something creative without any pressure. And now I have a place to put all those scraps of pretty, cool stuff I have around in piles. All in all it was a very inspiring way to spend a Sunday and I'm so glad I did. Thanks Chuck and Julie. See flickr for larger images.

New View

I decided to take matters into my own hands and dig the hole for the St. Francis pedestal to be put up. I chose a spot where I could see it from the kitchen and my desk. It also faces our outdoor dining area. Chris helped with the concrete mixing when he got back from his bike ride. The hole digging brought me back to my early environmental consulting days of having to hand auger holes to collect soil samples - sometimes to 15 feet. It was jobs like those that really had me wondering why I went to college. Don't miss it a bit. I'm pretty sore today, too. My dad and Katherine made the pedestal as a replica of one my grandfather made in the 40s. They commissioned the St. Francis statues (my sisters and I received them as Christmas gifts this year). I really love it. I love having pretty and peaceful things around the yard, other than the plants. Such a nice gift. More pictures of St. Francis here.

Happy Valentines

They were actually freezing cold while I took their picture. Sofia made it all worth it this morning when she opened her bag with the skirt and shirt. She ran to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Ooooh Mommy, it's so beautiful, thank you Mommy." I had originally planned to put some sort of peace/love symbology (is that a word?) on the t-shirts but then I saw this at Creative Kismet's site, and thought a Valentine Fairy would be better. More pictures here.

What about my most important Valentine? Well, he gets a yummy roast chicken dinner (the girls' favorite lately) with artichokes and chocolate pudding for dessert. I rented a movie too. Oh, yes, and my everlasting love. Smooch!

Chocolate Cake

I'm a relatively inexperienced baker, so I was thrilled that this cake turned out so yummy. Everyone loved it, except Maia, but I'll get to that in a minute. This was the Double Chocolate Layer Cake from epicurious.com. It was delicious, so chocolatey. The only changes I made were that I used 2 9-inch cake pans (plus some cupcakes) and baked the cake at 325 for an hour (started checking at 40 minutes, just to be sure).

The party was fun, very mellow. Just six kids (including my two) and one baby, just free playing, no entertainment. Like I said in my last post, Maia has been planning her birthday cake for months; chocolate with chocolate frosting, raspberries on top, cookies around the outside, and ice cream. Last night after the party she said, "I didn't really like the chocolate, just the good stuff". I said, "Oh? What's the good stuff?" to which she replied, "The cookies and the raspberries." Shrug. Goofy kid. I'm so not offended, everyone else gobbled theirs up!

Happy Birthday Maia!

Maia turns 3 today. Everyone says she looks just her sister, but we see a totally different little person. For one, she has murky green eyes, instead of murky blue eyes like Sofia :). She is so sweet and mostly easy going. She of course has her opinions, especially about food. And a bit of a sweet tooth. She loves playing games like Hi Ho Cherry O and Orchard and Memory. She loves playing dress up with Sofia.

We spent the morning at the LA Zoo and visited the new gorilla habitat, the chimpanzees, snow leopard, lions, giraffes, sea lions, and the bird show. We have a small "trains and tea" party planned for tomorrow. She's been planning her cake since Sofia's birthday: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and raspberries on top, cookies around the bottom and ice cream. I'll do my best.

Valentine Peasant Skirts

I am on several children's clothing catalog lists (why do I torture myself?) and I was coveting some really cute dresses for Sofia and Maia, but since it is (was) January and the renewal of our commitment to a leaner budget (ahem), I went searching for a pattern for a peasant skirt. I found one here. It has a cool calculator based on the wearer's actual measurements. I had to make adjustments for length because the pattern is for adults, but it was pretty simple. I learned how to do the gathering from this pattern, which I hadn't done before. I think they will love them - at this age they really like having matching things. I'm still working on some american apparel t-shirts with some kind of applique with the remnant fabric.

Wedding Shower Gift Box

My good friend is getting married soon and a friend of hers is having a "tea" for her. The gift theme is lingerie, and well, I'm sorry but I don't buy lingerie for 35-year old friends. So in trying to stay close to the theme, I bought her some body oils and creams, some washcloths and here's the fun part, decoupaged a box and made a little lavender filled sachet. The illustration on the cover is from our joint "Naughty Natalie" project, which is shall we say, on the back burner. She created this fun little character and book and I illustrated it.

Next up, my first sewing project since those dreaded bear costumes - much simpler matching peasant skirts for Valentine's Day.

No Peeking!

Finished cards for 2007. I'm very pleased with them. Even when there are mistakes with Gocco printing, I still like the outcome. This year, the green is not quite aligned with the other two colors but it still works. I really love that Gocco printer. I first saw it in an art class with Clayton Brothers about 3 years ago. I told my honey about it and next thing you know he had purchased one. How did he know I would love it so much? Come to think of it, he was the one who suggested we buy a nice sewing machine with some wedding money (I had never sewn anything). How did he know? I think he knows me better than me!

Favorite Traditions

This weekend I spent much of my time working on Christmas cards. First I sketched the idea and scanned it in. Then I used Illustrator to edit and separate the colors for printing on my Gocco Printer. This is the first print layer of three. I've been making holiday cards since I was a teenager, first for my parents and now for my family. There have been years here and there when I haven't done it and had to gasp! buy cards. Making cards is one of my favorite traditions of the holidays.

I saw a product display at a store yesterday that said "Inhale. Exhale. Repeat." It was a display for incense and incense accoutrements but it seemed to be implying that the shopper must be stressed and having trouble relaxing. I think we mostly create our own stress at this time of year. Self-imposed stress. Making cards is my self-imposed stress. But I really like to do it. Maybe I should start a little earlier next year though.

Thanks and Pay It Forward

I have so many things I want to post, mostly knitting, but I am refraining because they are gifts and I'd like the recipients to be surprised. So instead I'm going to post some things that have been given to me (us) to say thanks. A while back I responded to a fellow blogger, Creative Kismet, and she sent me this wonderful package of fun things, simply for responding to her blog. Thanks Regina, for my first blogger gift!

Second, my mother-in-law, also known as Grandma Julie, sent this wonderful Advent Calendar for the girls this year. I have been coveting hers for years and had considered making something myself, but it's down at number 36 on the list of things to make. So, I was very excited and pleased that she made one for us.
Next, for my birthday recently, I got together with my local friends for a night of handwork (sewing, knitting, whatever...) and received these very nice handmade gifts. Gift bags for Christmas presents and a needle book. Thanks everyone!
Finally, I signed up to participate in Creative Kismet's Pay It Forward game, also a while back. Then I hesitated a bit, thinking, wait a minute, how is this going to work? No one reads my blog!! But what the heck, I'm going to try it anyway. Here's how it works...

“I will send a (small) handmade gift to the first 5 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.“

So, this should be fun. I have no idea what I'll make yet, but if you're out there wanting to join in some blog exchanging fun, here's your chance!

Needle Roll

I worked up this needle roll this weekend to organize my knitting needles. I am slowly getting my workspace more organized and this was just one piece of the puzzle. It is made with wool felt, sewed on the machine and then embroidered along the edges. The tie was a bit of an afterthought, which made it a little tricky to sew on. Overall the project was pretty simple. I'm not sure I would even embroider the edges next time.

Next post: a proper blog thank you and a little PIF promise.

Birthday Party

Sofia mentioned that she wanted to have a dinner party for her birthday this year. I latched onto the idea, hoping to save a little money by keeping it small. There was a total of 8 kids plus the parents, but the kids got to sit at the birthday table. I wanted to create a magical birthday atmosphere, not in a Disney princess way, but with some nice homemade decorations.Each guest got a favor box with chocolates inside. They were a little young to expect them not to eat their chocolate before dinner was served. I used some mismatch silverware I got from my grandmother, and Sofia chose her favorite colors of our cloth napkins to use.
The centerpiece was made of tissue flower arrangements and the birthday ring. Sofia helped make streamers, paper lanterns, and tissue paper cutouts to decorate the walls. It was a lot of fun for her to help. The tissue flower arrangements were an idea from here, one of my favorite crafty bloggers.
I had to recreate this after the party, since in all the excitement of the day, I forgot to take nice pictures of the table before the kids came. Sofia chose a roasted rosemary chicken, broccoli, fruit salad, and bread with butter.

Birthday Ring

Chris and I made Sofia a birthday ring for her birthday this year. There are twelve little characters made with felt, glue, acrylic paint, embroidery floss, ribbons and beads. Chris made the ring with his computer numerically controlled (CNC) router. My flickr site has more photos.

Halloween Teddy Bears

I get to post these two cuties here because I made their costumes. I don't think I'll encourage them to be the same thing again. It was hard to motivate myself to make the second costume. I guess I could have done it more like an assembly line but I was working with one pattern and I wanted to make sure I had done things right before I cut the pattern into the smaller size. They were some pretty cute teddy bears.

Monster Returns!

Yes, you've seen this before, but I took a better picture this time. And I'm entering him into a monster contest. This is Sofia's monster, named Murdoch. Acrylic on canvas board. 9 in. by 12 in.

The contest is Monster Mash 2007, presented by Penelope Illustration. The monster entries can be seen here at Penelope's flickr site, or here at her website.

Grow

Pen & ink and watercolor on paper, 6 in. by 9 in.

Extremes

Ink on Paper. 4 in. by 4 in.

This is just a quick little sketch for this week's illustration friday, submitted at the 11th hour, literally. We've been having a little mouse problem in the kitchen this week. They've been testing to what extremes we will go to keep them out. So far, the sign on the door hasn't worked.

OPEN

OPEN
Originally uploaded by mscahillman

I saw the IF topic last night and decided to go for it. I needed a little motivation I guess...

Acrylic on illustration board. 8.5 in. by 10 in.

Knitted Elephant

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Originally uploaded by mscahillman

I finished this elephant a while ago, but I didn't post it because it is a christmas gift. I decided that since the recipient probably won't be checking my blog (although her mother may), I would post it anyway. It's knitted with that kool-aid dyed yarn from a few posts back. The pattern came from Zoe Mellor's "knitted toys", which has a bunch of really cute stuffed toys. I'm working on the rabbit now as another gift.

Gocco Birthday Scene

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Originally uploaded by mscahillman

Sofia's upcoming 5th birthday inspired this drawing. I scanned the original drawing, fixed a couple errant lines in Photoshop, and printed it the size I wanted for cards. It seems our printer's ink contains enough carbon to make a good gocco master. These test prints are on various handmade paper scraps that came in a set from Michael's. The higher contrast ones look better. Next I think I'll add some color layers and turn this into birthday cards and/or gift tags. Full size photos over in flickr.

New Logo Work

This is the logo I did for Natalie's bookstore along with the front and back of the business card.

Breakdance Daniel

Pen and ink with watercolor on illustration board. 8 in. by 10 in. This was done for my niece as part of a "secret buddy" exchange at her theater group. Her buddy describes himself as "metro" and likes to breakdance. Apparently, he loved it.