Lace Jelly Fish ...Would you like a tutorial?

I made these litte snippets for a really lovely project that is being made by a very creative person that I discovered because she left me a comment. I think I failed to reach out to her earlier, but from the moment i followed her profile to her beautiful blog...I not only was fascinated by her project, I actually wanted to be her.

Shelley Noble is making a movie. A beautiful looking, intensely rich picture poem and it is going to move. Like it is alive. It's called Halfland and and it has captured my imagination entirely.

Happily, Shelley was looking for contributors for her underwater scene.. So in a very small way I did get to play at being her. The detailed puppeteer without strings.

I'll be mailing these to her as soon as I get back from careening across states with my wild teenage artist. We will be leaving guerrilla art souvenirs and sampling as many kinds of pies as we can find. Documenting our progress in polaroid and fisheye lomo along the way.


But should these be a tutorial? Does everyone need some fancy tiny jelly fish and a few less doilies?

Made By Someone Else Monday: thinking about the week

On Monday, I Never Go To Work,
Except to Scrub The Fridge Out,
Betty

WIP Wednesday: Peaches Loves Basil

"Oh Peaches, How I adore you!"
"Oh Basil, you make me blush!"

It sounds like a 1920's Love Affair. Peaches and Basil sitting in a tree....
But it isn't. It is this years Experimental Jam Recipe winner! (Yes, I ran my own personal jam contest. I'm eccentric that way.)

I met and schmoozed with a lovely farmer at farmer's market yesterday and got 12 pounds of jam peaches. Jam peaches are like jam strawberries. They are mostly good (the funky bits are easily trimmed away) and very ripe. They must be processed within the next 24 hours or they will quickly become overripe and then, almost instantaneously- compost. But they are the most reasonably priced locally grown organic produce I have ever found. These were a 1.00 a pound! And often they are not advertised or displayed... Hence, the schmoozing with the farmer.

I decided it was affordable enough to experiment with!

I made 2 types of jam in 2 Quart batches. (That is 2 quarts of pre-processed fruit, in case you were wondering.) One features a yummy vanilla, cinnamon style peach jam and the other is my favorite, peaches with lemon and basil infused.

Peach Pie Preserves:

• 2 quarts of peeled sliced peaches
• 5 Cups sugar
• juice from one lemon
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 vanilla bean opened and scraped
• plus vanilla seeds from pod

Cook peaches and 1/2 the sugar for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add remaining ingredients, mix and mash with a fruit or potato masher while boiling. Continue to stir increasingly as fruit cooks. When fruit starts to seem to adhere to pan bottom between stirrings, the jam is ready to can.

Peaches Loves Basil Jam

• 2 quarts of peeled sliced peaches
• 4 Cups sugar
• juice and zest from 2 lemons
• 8-10 fresh basil sprigs ( mine were 4-5 leaves per sprig)
• 3 fresh lemon balm sprigs

Cook peaches and 1/2 the sugar for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add remaining sugar and lemon, mix and mash with a fruit or potato masher while boiling. after another 5-10 minutes put in the herbs. I tied mine with a kitchen twine to make it easier to remove. For a more intense basil flavor I also rolled over mine with a rolling pin to slightly bruise the herbs. Continue to stir increasingly as fruit cooks. When fruit starts to seem to adhere to pan bottom between stirrings, the jam is ready to can. Pull out the herbs, and can as usual.

Basic Jam Canning:

• Sterilize jars by boiling for 10 minutes.
• Heat canning lids and rings but do not boil these.
• Put hot jam into hot jars.
• Wipe jar rims and place a lid and ring on each jars, tightening slightly.
• Process all finished jars in boiling water bath (2 inches of water should cover each jar) for a quick 5 minutes,
• remove with canning tongs and cool.

My 12 pounds of peaches yielded 13 1- cup jars of jam, plus enough extra peaches for a yummy peach and blackberry crisp.

I know.. You want to come over for dinner now.
Well, Okay. Come on Over Already!

Love your Peaches, Wanna Shake Your Tree,
Betty

PS: The Lovely and Talented Jen of the Austin Craft Mafia/Naughty Secretary Club/CraftLab mentioned that suitcase project in a really great round up she just blogged about. ( Um.. Now I need to make a minibar...hello?)
Thanks Jen!

And to those I have forgotten to thank before... Thanks now and I apologise. Flakey like a croissant, but deep down grateful to every one who links, comes by or comments. ( Like, Molly, for instance...)I really love you guys. I'd be lost without you.

Made It Myself Monday: An Actual Actor

What can I say?
He worked hard. He paced it well, stayed in character, hit his marks. Perfectly.

And he can sing.
(Who knew?)


Two thumbs way up for my kid as Rolf in the Sound of Music.

And a huge recommendation to anyone who wonders if they should push their kid out of their comfort zone and into theater.
Do it and sit back and let them amaze you.

Made It Myself Monday: This Jacket May Be Too Graphic For Sensitive Viewers

Well, at the beginning of spring I picked up a Burda Magazine and this is the third thing I have made from it's pages. I really had sort of thought the graphic wouldn't look quite this large, translated to clothing, but here you go!




I bought the canvas fabric at Ikea and really tried to stay on top of the designs as I cut. Placing, changing and hoping the shapes would still be nice with the darts and all.
The jacket was pretty easy to make but a little boxy ( So far I have found all their patterns a little on the boxy side...) but I altered it by adding a belt, and curving the front corners at the bottom, to match some of the shapes in the print.


It isn't the jacket I would pick for a wallflower shy day... But I guess I'm not really that type of girl anyhow.

Boldly Going Pretty Much Everywhere,
Betty

Work In Progress Wednesday: Original Design Commission

Hey All You Sizzleans!

Well, on top of being quite warm, it's been super busy, as summer tends to be, (The lazy days of summer? where did that crock of baloney come from?) so posting is getting squeezed in when it can.

Here is the work in progress today.



This is the muslin and fabric for an original design by me! It is for a friend who wanted an eyelet swimsuit cover up. The design was altered to make it a little less full in the skirt,a little shorter in the sleeves, but basically was pretty much good from the get-go, which made me very proud.


Self taught clothing designer.
I'm breaking my arm patting myself on the back.

So far, I am still not holding up my "Holiday Gift Plan", averaging about a half a gift a week, but swimsuit cover up, and strawberry jam deadlines still trump anything in far off December.

Saving You A Seat By The Pool,
Betty