This week was kind of a whirlwind. While normally I have time to read blogs, and get inspired, I didn’t read any blogs this week, and felt like I had my head in a hole all week. I’m feeling most inspired these days by the sun. It denotes what mood I’m in, what activities will happen, what I wear and eat- it really does inspire a whole attitude for me. While also- the absense creates a totally different thought and action process. Here’s to you dear sun!
my friend india gave me the idea to make fruit leather, and so i went to my local grocery store to see what fruits i could pick up to make some. I scored Mango, Strawberries and Blueberries, all on sale!
I made each batch seperately, but I bet you could mix fruits if you wanted to!
1) de-skin, pit or core whatever fruit you’re working with, cut it up, and put it in a pot to boil with some water (enough to make it mushy- if you use too much, you can drain it out after, which i used to make fruit pops!) boil until it’s nice and soft, then mush it up!
(I boiled the mango, and then the peels fell right off..)
2) put it in a blender, and “liquify” it.
3) India said to put plastic wrap on a pan, or pie dish- but i was a little hesitant to put plastic in the oven (toxic?) so i used tin foil. perhaps that was my mistake, as I had a hard time in the end with it. Non the less- pour out the fruit liquid nice and thin, and bake until it dries out, mine took about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
The Mango turned out really well, I think I lost most of the strawberry, because it went from liquid to TOO dried out so quickly, i didn’t catch it in time, and the blueberry i learned my lesson and let it sit out and cool completely before peeling off, and it turned out great too.
Healthy snack!
After using a regular old overhead projector at work to enlarge things to make signs, I was almost ready to drop $200 on my own. As I was wandering around Staples contemplating such a large purchase, I ran into my friend, Mike and he tipped me off to an opaque enlarger that lets you use regular paper instead of expensive transparencies and it was only $80! I headed to Pearl to get one right away. This is my new toy, the Tracer….
My friend, Tim of Happy Cat Organics asked me to make him a sign for his booth at the Head House Square farmers market, so I printed out his logos and reduced it to 5″ x 5″ to fit under the Tracer, blew it up on a piece of canvas, traced it in pencil then painted it.
Here’s the finished sign….
The possibilities with this thing are endless. Love my Tracer.
Love,
jenna
I’m in love with polaroids all the different kinds of cameras and films and how each camera has it’s own quirks and foibles. It’s sooo special. I’m also obsessed with alternative processes that use film. I thought I’d give emulsion transfers a try.
What you’ll need:
A polaroid camera that takes 669 peel apart film. You can find them on e-bay. I found mine at a local thrift store for $1. You can also buy the film on amazon.
You’ll also need almost boiling water, a bucket and watercolor paper.
First take a photo with your camera and allow it to dry completely. Mine were sitting for a couple days.
Next heat your water to near boiling temperature and pour it into a bucket.
Then put your photo into the bucket and let it sit for about 4 minutes.
Now your photo should look like it’s bubbling.
Now you’ll need to remove the photo from the water and start peeling back the emulsion from the corner with your thumb.
Now stick the emulsion onto your piece of water color paper and smooth the edges.
And then you get a fun weird image transfer.
Here are some other examples of polaroid emulsion transfers.
As a kid- I love, Love, LOVED making, writing and illustrating books. My grandmother taught me how to make books by folding and cutting pieces of paper to fit together like a puzzle. I’ve also recently been trying to make crafts, and do projects with simple things I have around the house. Its cheap and or free- and provides enjoyment, creativity, and something fun to keep or give away! Yesterday I made a book to commemorate Ryan’s 1 year anniversary of his motorcycle accident. Here’s how:
First sketch out your story, and what will go on each page, so you know how many pages you’ll need.
Next cut whatever paper you are using to the size you would like your book to be.
Then fold the pieces, one at a time, creasing them REALLY well.
Finally- sew that bad boy together! I used a simple “under, over” method- which kept it together great.
Then all you need to do is add your content! I forgot to take a picture of the final thing, but believe me when i say it was filled with fake blood, a tiny bed, maps and motorcycles!
love, Lana
I went to the Art Star Craft Bizarre here in Philly on Sunday and found the most amazing natural bath products by Bunny Butt Apothecary, made in Manalapan, NJ. I bought their deodorant, which I LOVE, and a fragrance oil that Leann and I both agree smells like Lana 
Natural product, locally made, great prices, check them out.
Love, Jenna
Hello! It could be my impending trip to deep southern mexico (just north of the belize border, right on the water) or how summer always makes me love bright colors- but i’m loving these mayan textiles..
xo, Lana
i’m sure you all have someone in your life you just can’t get enough of. someone you think is just dandy, and who could win awards for all their awesomeness. Well I have that in Ryan, and recently told him I was going to make him an award for being so great. I gathered up some materials and got to work..
What I used:
old urban outfitters shopping bag
graph paper
hot glue gun
thread
I don’t want to give you super specific directions- so that you have the chance to be creative and make yours unique, but i started out by sewing some words on a piece of the shopping bag, and then cutting/ripping it into an almost heart. I took 2, 4×6″ish pieces of paper and fan folded them REAAAAAAL tinylike, and folded them in half, gluing the edges together. that made the circular backing. Luckily “Urban Outfitters” has an “R” and “A” in it that I could cut out for his initials.. Here’s to you my sweet dear beb!
(this one is blurry so you can’t read my love note..<3)
I’m loving these recycled leather bags, made out of old jackets. Ashley Watson, available online at Beklina (another drool worthy shoppe)
this one is unisex!
xo, Lana
Loving this book on jamming and pickling. Who doesn’t need to know how to make their own bacon?
LOVE!
Haley
I was bleaching out some fabric in the backyard for work, and got some on my BRAND NEW SHIRT. Lame, I always get so caught up in making things that I forget to change into play clothes. So I decided to roll with the bleach theme and “fix” my shirt.
1. Make a bleach and water solution. I used a super concentrated solution of 2 parts bleach to one part water.
2. Get gloves and spritz the shirt with your bleach solution and gloved hands. Don’t be afraid to get some big drips on there.
3. Ta-Da Bleach shirt!
I cannot pass up a good men’s plaid shirt at the thrift store even if it’s way too big. Usually I just wear them as is, but I decided to try and cut up a few to make them fit a bit better and look a bit cuter for summer. I started with one semi-large men’s short sleeve plaid shirt from the thrift store.
I cut both sleeves off along the seam edge and saved them to use later.
To see the fit again, I put the shirt back on and pinched the fabric in the back to see how much I wanted to take it in and pinned it. When I took it off, I measured the length of the pucker and found that I needed to take the shirt in about 6 inches. I found the middle of the shirt, measured 3″ in each side and pleated it as neatly as possible.
I stitched the pucker by hand to hold it in place.
Then I grabbed one of the sleeves, cut a small peice to cover the pucker, pressed it and folded the edges under. I pinned it over the pucker on the shirt and stitched it on.
I decided to sew on a few buttons even though they serve no purpose. They’re still cute.
At this point, I put the shirt back on to see how it fit and to tackle the arm holes. Because the sleeves on men’s shirts are so big, the sides needed to be taken in a few inches. I pinned each arm hole where I wanted it and pinned the shoulders where I wanted them to fit. There’s no formula with this, you just have to keep trying the shirt on and pinning it to fit you. I figured that I needed to take in each side 2″, then taper it back down to the side seams, so I measured, marked and stitched.
I aslo had to cut off about 1 1/2″ on each shoulder.
Next I turned the shirt inside out and folded under the arm holes, pinned them and stitched them up to finish the seams.
Done! I love it and it fits great. Here’s the back…..
And the front…….
This project has given me hope that with a little bit of time and determination I actually CAN alter the pile of thrift store clothing that I’ve been collecting for years. Happy sewing!
Love,
Jenna
