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2012-01-05T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2012-01-05T22:00:00.002-08:00

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2012-01-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

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2012-01-05T19:18:00.004-08:00

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2012-01-05T19:18:00.003-08:00

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2012-01-05T19:18:00.002-08:00

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2012-01-05T19:18:00.001-08:00

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2012-01-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

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2012-01-04T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2012-01-04T22:00:00.003-08:00

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2012-01-04T22:00:00.002-08:00

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2012-01-04T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2012-01-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

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Pantry Makeover

2012-01-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

Talon and I had 10 full days off of work. It was glorious! Of course, several of those days were filled with Christmas activities but I had a big plans for the others....

Yep,a Christmas vacation 'to do' list. Have I mentioned that I have no idea how to relax? Literally, I can't sit still. If I do, I go straight to sleep. Lucky for me...Tal was on board for the majority of the list. In case you have trouble reading here is a quick run down. 1. Pantry {More about that in a minute} 2. Go to Movies {Had to have fun stuff to look forward to! Plus we never do this because it is SO darn expensive.} 3. Clean Oven {The inside of course. Just one of those things we never get around to doing}. 4. Wash Duvet {Easy task. I love to check things off a list} 5. Organize Attic {Not so easy task but was a great time to do it since we would be putting up Christmas decor} 6. Starbucks Date {So fun} 7. Clothes Shopping {This was for Tal - I have no problem making time to clothes shop for myself:)} 8. Paint Office {More on that later} 9. Stencil Office {More on that later} 10. Fish Scale Art {More on that later} 11. Ping Pong {Nothing better than a little competition to spice the week up} 12. Drawer Organization {Again, more on this later in the week}How's that for a Christmas Vacation? It was SO much fun though. Talon and I love doing projects together...nothing better than quality time spent covered in dust and paint:) So, first on the list was our pantry. Not to long ago we built a custom spice rack for the back of our pantry door. More about that here. It has been so wonderful that we wanted to do some more updates in the ol' pantry. See those ugly wire shelves....

We wanted to get rid of them and that is what we planned on doing. Here is how....First up, removing all of the wire shelves and hardware. We plan to craigslist them to cover some of the cost of the new shelves.

Once done, we were left with lots and lots of holes to deal with.

We used Carpenter's Wood Filler to patch all of the holes. It's purple when you apply and turns white once ready to be sanded down. Making it very easy to use.

After the holes were patched I gave it a nice coat of paint to pretty it up. Luckily, I was already painting the office (remember that was on our to do list too) and the color was only a hair darker than what our kitchen is so I was able to use that and it blends very nicely! Once all the prep work was done we were ready to tackle the big stuff...the shelves themselves. We purchased and sanded pine plywood ($26, 4x8 sheet), 6ft 1x6 select pine for facing and 3 1x2 select pine for the shelving cleats. Once we found the studs in the pantry we then determined appropriate shelf depth. We then cut the cleats to the appropriate length. Pre-drilled holes and countersinks attached cleats to the pantry wall with 3" drywall screws. The pantry shelves were cut out of the sanded pine plywood to the appropriate depth and width and nailed in place with a nail gun.

We then measured and ripped down 1x6s to the appropriate width for the facing. They were then nailed in place with the nail gun. All seams were caulked and wood filler was used on the joints. Allowed to dry and then it was all sanded....

After a fresh coat of white paint....they were ready to hold all of our daily necessities!

No more falling through the cracks of the wire shelf. We can utilize the entire space and it glorious!

We've been collecting storage containers from IKEA to help organize this space.The labels are hand written so they can be removed and modified easily depending on what is being stored in each piece.

Is it weird that when anyone comes over I want to scream "look how awesome our pantry is!"??? Yep, we love it that much. Between the spice rack and all the added shelf space it's perfect!

Total cost for this pantry makeover (shelves only) was around $50.00 (excluding things we already had like paint, wood filler, nails and the fact that we only had to use 1/2 the sheet of plywood). We think it was well worth the time and money spent since the pantry is something we utilize every single day. Anything to make life a little easier!

Until next year...

2012-01-04T00:21:00.000-08:00

Crafty Christmas Club crafters - good work! Thank you for sharing all your lovely makes and being inspirational. Let's give ourselves a break now until next year - the blog will be open again from Autumn 2012. If new members would like to join, please get in touch then.

See you anon!

Tilly

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2012-01-03T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2012-01-03T22:00:00.003-08:00

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2012-01-03T22:00:00.002-08:00

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2012-01-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2012-01-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

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The Dawning of Music in Kentucky

2012-01-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

I recently came upon a nice short essay by Kyle Gann called 'American Romanticism: Music vs. Painting'. It discusses nineteenth century music in relation to the paintings of artists like Frederic Edwin Church and Martin Johnson Heade, mentioning in particular three early orchestral works inspired by landscapes: 'The Ornithological Combat of Kings (1836) by Anthony Philip Heinrich (1781-1861), the Niagara Symphony (1854, though it doesn’t seem to have been performed before the current decade) by William Henry Fry (1813-1864), and Night in the Tropics (1861) by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869). All three were based on New World subject matter – South or Central America in Heinrich’s and Gottschalk’s cases, like so many of Church’s and Heade’s best paintings. All three offer effects unknown to European music of the time – particularly Gottschalk’s pop-music syncopations and the rumble of eleven timpani with which Fry evokes Niagara’s cascade. All three are marked by a technical ineptitude that any sensitive amateur could pinpoint – Heinrich’s marching-band momentum badly needs a rest now and then, Gottschalk’s harmonic rhythm is deadeningly predictable, and Fry lapses into Wagnerian banality whenever he’s not being onomatapoetically athematic. They seem today like brave but Quixotic figures, would-be heroes whom the passage of time reduces to clowns.'

Frederick Edwin Church, Niagara Falls, 1857

Anthony Philip Heinrich is a particularly interesting figure: a Bohemian wholesale dealer in linen, thread, wine, and other goods who settled in America and only decided to take up music after the failure of his business and death of his wife. According to David Barron, he travelled to Kentucky and in the spring of 1818, where, in a move that anticipates Thoreau, 'he withdrew from the musical society of Lexington, Frankfort, and Louisville and went to live in a log cabin in the woods around Bardstown. This was a significant moment in Heinrich's life, for here he paused to study and instruct himself in the art of music by improvising on the violin, and finally to write down these expressions as vocal, piano, and violin compositions.' His first major publication, a collection of songs and pieces for violin and piano, was called The Dawning of Music in Kentucky or the Pleasures of Harmony in the Solitude of Nature (1820). Like William Henry Fry, he composed a noisy piece inspired by the Niagara Falls, The War of the Elements and the Thundering of Niagara. He was friendly with John James Audubon and in addition to the The Ornithological Combat of Kings mentioned above, composed The Columbiad, or Migration of American Wild Passenger Pigeons. Heinrich's music was performed to acclaim in New York in the 1840s and there were successful concerts back in Prague in 1857, but four years later the old man died in poverty.

John James Audubon, Passenger Pigeon, from Birds of America (1827-38)

The article by David Barron quoted above includes an amusing description of an occasion on which Heinrich was introduced to President Tyler, written by John Hill Hewitt, the piano teacher to Tyler's daughter:

'The composer labored hard to give full effect to his weird production; his bald pate bobbed from side to side, and shone like a bubble on the surface of a calm lake. At times his shoulders would be raised to the line of his ears, and his knees went up to the keyboard, while the perspiration rolled in large drops down his wrinkled cheeks.
The ladies stared at the maniac musician, as they, doubtless, thought him, and the president scratched his head, as if wondering whether wicked spirits were not rioting in the cavern of mysterious sounds and rebelling against the laws of acoustics. The composer labored on, occasionally explaining some incomprehensible passage, representing, as he said, the breaking up of the frozen river Niagara, the thaw of the ice, and the dash of the mighty falls. Peace and plenty were represented by soft strains of pastoral music, while the thunder of our naval war-dogs and the rattle of our army musketry told of our prowess on sea and land.

The inspired composer had got about half-way through his wonderful production when Mr. Tyler restlessly arose from his chair, and placing his hand gently on Heinrich's shoulder, said;
“That may all be very fine, sir, but can't you play us a good old Virginia reel?”'

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! We sure did. It was so relaxed and uber laid back. Which made it all the more wonderful! Here's a few photos of what our Christmas Day and Eve looked like....

My parents and I on Christmas Eve.

Our nephews ready to open presents....

Creed Baby.

The whole fam on Christmas morning...

Santa was very good to Tils:) We were blessed with an amazing Christmas! After the holiday shin digs were over we did manage to use the rest of our time off work to be VERY productive. SO many house projects to share in the next week!!

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2012-01-02T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2012-01-02T22:00:00.003-08:00

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2012-01-02T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2012-01-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

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2011-12-31T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2011-12-31T22:00:00.002-08:00

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2011-12-31T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2011-12-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

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Rudolph's roundup

2011-12-31T12:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I think my big list of potential makes was a tad optimistic! An awful lot of my time (far more than I had originally anticipated) was spent knitting the rudolph jumper.

I'm not going to lie. It was a hard make. Perhaps not the best pattern to knit my first jumper from. That may be a little harsh though - the plain red bits were fairly straightforward, it was just knitting the reindeer that slowed me down. It wasn't until half way through I finally figured out how to strand properly, so inside the top half looks all neat and tidy, like this....

Whilst the bottom half looks a fine mess...

I had a few heart stopping moments though. When I reached the top of the antlers, I realised I'd forgotten to shape the armholes. The thought of having to frog 20 rows made me feel more than a little sick, and I didn't touch it for a week - I didn't want to make yet more mistakes by rushing into correcting it. And then when I knitted the neckband to join the front and back together the night before I was due to go back to my mum's, I realised that I couldn't fit it over my head, so there was no way it would fit over my brother in law's head. Rather than have to frog and reknit the neckband, mum had the genius idea of using buttons on the shoulder. This led to a last minute dash to a local knitting store with my mum (about 30 mins before it was due to close on Chistmas eve) to find some suitable buttons...

Still, it was suitably appreciated by the new owner, who modelled it with great aplomb. He even wore it down the pub on Christmas day (although, sadly no photos of that!).

OK, so there's no sleeves, but I think he carries it off! Plus, what else could his present be next year? I still seem to have quite a lot of red yarn left, so I put some of it to good use when wrapping.

I'm still loving the Christmas bunting though, and I might make some more bunting next year in the smaller size for the other shelves. Sadly the ribbon wreath didn't work out. I'm not sure if it was the type of ribbon I bought, or using a wire form rather than foam, but after adding about 20 bows, I realised it looked more like something to be used when dancing round the maypole, rather than a classy Christmas wreath. Next year, I'll attempt the felt flower wreath now that Adele has pointed me in the right direction of foam wreaths!

And while I keep thinking that's all I've made this Christmas, I also made a fair few make up bags and tote bags.

So, that's it for 2011. See you all next year!

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2011-12-30T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2011-12-30T22:00:00.002-08:00

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2011-12-30T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2011-12-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

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Round up of Christmas presents

2011-12-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a little look at some homemade Christmas presents. Both the ones I made and gave away and the ones I got. For more inspiration check out my Pinterest board "Making Christmas Gifts 2011" and my blog Eddie's room.

A bag I made for my husband with embroidered (not by me) birds (he is a big bird fan)

A tray my husband and I decoupaged with maps for my little brother who is studying geography.

I made a couple of these porcupine pin cushions for my mother and sister using this wonderful tutorial from Prudent Baby

I made these Christmas stockings for my husband and myself using this free tutorial.

My sister made this vinyl record bowl for my husband. There is a free tutorial for this here.

She also made him this fab pencil case for his art pencils.

For me she made this pretty shawl which I can't wait to use.

A Book of Migrations

2011-12-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Solnit's A Book of Migrations (1997) was reissued this year and classified as history/memoir rather than travel, though it is ostensibly about a month spent in Ireland. The book circles round the themes of landscape and memory, place and identity, journey and exile, as Solnit ranges across the history and culture of Ireland from the flight of the cursed King Sweeney to the bitter experiences of Travellers in contemporary Ireland. The ways in which Ireland has been viewed through the prism of English cultural attitudes are illuminated by the frequent reminders of her own radically different experiences growing up in California, with its arid landscapes and long, straight roads, short historical memory and assumptions about the possibility of an unpeopled wilderness. At the Cliffs of Moher she looks out at the sea, 'a deeper blue than my own churning gray Pacific, blue as though different dreams had been dumped into it, blue as ink. I imagined filling a fountain pen with it and wondered what one would write with that ocean.'

Cover photo by Dave Walsh who reviews the book on his website.

I'll try to convey here just one of the many interesting points she makes on landscape and culture, although I should stress that the elegance of her argument is difficult to convey out of context. In describing the sixteenth century suppression of Ireland by English colonists and its deforestation for shipbuilding and metal smelting, she also talks about the concurrent campaign to suppress the Gaelic poets, whose rhymes in praise of military successes were seen as a kind of propaganda. But 'what is most peculiar about the war against the poets and trees in Tudor era Ireland is the close involvement of the two greatest English poets of the age, Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser.' Furthermore, these were the two writers who practically created the English tradition of pastoral poetry. You might think, she wryly observes, that 'a country of wandering poets and pastoralists should have enchanted the English rather than appalled them.'

Sir Philip Sidney's father was Lord Deputy of Ireland and urged the English to 'spoil' and take the goods of any 'rhymers' they caught. Sidney himself would later go on diplomatic missions to Ireland for Queen Elizabeth. Spenser went over in 1580 as secretary to Sir Henry Sidney's successor Lord Grey and wrote a lengthy report A View on the Present State of Ireland, which recommends subduing the Irish by starving them. He took over an estate in County Cork, formerly the seat of the Desmond family, and 'immediately became unpopular with the neighbours'. It was targeted by rebels in 1598 - Spenser was lucky to escape to England, where he died later that year. Back in 1589, when Sir Walter Raleigh visited him, Spenser's home 'was surrounded with woods of "matchless height"; a few years later only bare fields surrounded the castle.'

The remains of Spenser's Kicolman Castle, County Cork

Photo: Early Modern Whale

For Solnit the shadows of Spenser and Sidney's political lives in Ireland lie across their artistic merit. 'The exquisite poetry of Spenser's masterpiece The Faerie Queene is inextricably linked to his brutal prose A View on the Present State of Ireland ... Should the magical trees he celebrated in the poem be weighed against the trees he uprooted in County Cork? Can one have the latter without the former, since Ireland's lack of a landscape tradition is rooted in its scarred landscape? Can one understand the presence of English literature without the absences of Irish literature? Are the presences in the former, at some level, bites taken out of the latter? Is England gardenlike because Ireland was prisonlike? Does the English pastoral, and the security and abundance it represents, depend on the impoverished land and people of other lands?'

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2011-12-29T22:00:00.004-08:00

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2011-12-28T22:00:00.004-08:00

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Kirsty Gallacher Wallpapers

2011-12-28T22:00:00.002-08:00

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Testing Williams Content Wallpapers

2011-12-28T22:00:00.001-08:00

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Maggie Change Perfect Wallpapers

2011-12-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

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Oliver + S Explorer Vest and a Knitting Needle Roll

2011-12-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

Greetings, Crafty Christmas-ers! I hope you all were able to finish up your projects before Christmas. I completed my last Christmas gift on Christmas Eve morning thanks to a cold that decided to show up last week and knock me on my ass for a few days.

I made the Explorer Vest from Oliver + S' Little Things to Sew for my nephew.

I'm happy to report that he loves it! He promptly shoved all of his spy gear into all of the pockets!

The pattern was really easy to follow. I'm so excited to make more projects from the book. More information can be found on my blog.

My last Christmas-y project was for my mom's birthday. It is today and since she's getting back into knitting, I made her a roll to keep her knitting needles in. I used the Tool Roll pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. It was pretty easy to follow but I made a few modifications (more info on that can be found here). Since I've been wanting one too, I made us matching needle rolls!

I don't know about you guys, but I am so happy that Christmas crafting is over! I've had a great time reading about all of your crafting adventures. Until next year!

Cheers,

Lindsay

Honda Retro Stories Image Images Wallpapers

2011-12-27T22:00:00.004-08:00

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Desktop Wallpapers

2011-12-27T22:00:00.003-08:00

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Tickets About Point Cedar Golden Inside Wallpapers

2011-12-27T22:00:00.002-08:00

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Whale Custom Encounter Images Download2 Wallpapers

2011-12-27T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2011-12-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

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The African Bull Dog ( KENYA )

2011-12-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Sustainable by all means.

Mombasa (Kenya) is the location where this unique prototype was conceived. Details are outlined from their Facebook page.

Completed

30th January 2011

The vehicle

The african bull dog is a Kenyan Built Off Road 4X4 Vehicle and MPV; This car is built for every day use, it can be used in farms as a produce cart, or even as an ambulance at Marsabit desert to provide emergency care to the forgotten communities and as a truck to ferry drugs to those remote places that you have never heard of!; With ample backing, the African Bulldog can do for Kenya what the Citroen 2CV did for France and the V.W Beetle for Germany!

Company Overview

Heino Autoworx is a Leading 4x4 vehicle workshop based in Mombasa at the Mtwapa Creek, Kenya. We have been involved in the maintenance of 4x4 vehicles and S.U.Vs for years and we decided to push the boundaries.

Description

The African Bull Dog is the brain child of Engineer Heino, he has a vast experience in the automotive and boat industry. The crew has been working tirelessly to ensure that we meet our target and we build a vehicle that meets the standards of the 4X4s we work on on a daily basis.

Mission

4X4 Extreme Efficient Performance!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Bull-Dog/160682840649799?sk=wall

BAILEY LMP2 ( SOUTH AFRICA )

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

This is an African Phenomenon for 2011. Below are the stats straight from the makers mouth describing this awesome beast.

"Bailey Cars took the Bold and Brave step of building a current day Prototype car in 2009. Its taken 2 years of intense design and manufacture to produce this master piece of south African engineering.

The car has had many firsts for South Africa such as full carbon Tub, full CFD body design and building a car to the A.C.O Le Mans 24 hours regulations

The car is available to customers who would like to compete in sports car racing throughout the world in events such as ALMS, Le Mans series, Asian Le Mans Series and even the South African Le Mans Series and RSA GT challenge.

Chassis

· Carbon composite monocoque chassis

· Monocoque certified to all ACO and FIA structural and crash standards

· Adjustable pedal box and steering column

· Safety equipment includes 6-point lightweight seat belt harness

· Plumbed in fire extinguisher system

Engine

· 460hp maximum as regulated by ACO
· The engine must be made in a minimum of 1000 units in 12 consecutive months and must come, either from a grand touring car, Or from a large production car.
· Choice of homologated BMW, Lexus, Toyota or Nissan 5000 cm3 8 cylinders maximum. maximum
· Or 3200 cm3 forced induction engine with max 6 cylinders
· Diesel not allowed in LMP

Suspension

· Double wishbone layout all round

· Pushrod rocker type with damper and coil over spring all round

· Third-spring option for front and rear suspension

· Frictionless bearing seals all round

· Same upright all round

· Angular-contact wheel bearings all round

· Chromoly steel-fabricated TIG-welded wishbones

· Quick adjustable ride height, camber, and toe

· electrically power assisted rack-and-pinion

Fuel System

· 90-litre bladder type fuel cell

· Dual Low-pressure fuel lifts pump plus dual high-pressure pumps

Transmission

· Ricardo sequential-shift gearbox

· Six forward speeds plus reverse with torque input capacity in excess of 500 Nm

· Adjustable gear ratios

· Paddle shift as standard

· Gear oil cooling system

Bodywork

· All body panels of lightweight infused epoxy glass composite construction

Brake System

· AP Racing six-piston aluminum calipers all round

· 380 mm diameter ventilated discs front and rear

· Full carbon brake set up as option

Wheels and Tyres

· Wheel dimensions 11”wide x 18” diameter front

· 13” wide x 18” diameter rear

· 3 piece wheels

· Centre lock and anti loosen to FIA standards

Cooling System

· 1 water radiators

· 8-litre dry sump oil tank

· Twin engine all cooler

· Twin Electric oil scavenge pump

· 1 intercooler

· Driver air-conditioning system

Electrical System

· Military-spec chassis wiring loom

· FIA-regulation emergency power cut-off switch

· External start jump plug

· Digital dash display and with full data logging

· Xenon headlamps

WEIGHT

· Minimum weight as specified by ACO 900kg excluding driver and fuel

Bailey - Beautifully Engineered Cars

http://www.baileyedwardscars.co.za

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2011-12-26T22:00:00.004-08:00

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Beach Early White Boracay Wallpapers

2011-12-26T22:00:00.003-08:00

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Kitchen Christmas Apple Decoration Silver Retro Wallpapers

2011-12-26T22:00:00.002-08:00

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Winter Illustrations Windows Beautiful Wallpapers

2011-12-26T22:00:00.001-08:00

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2011-12-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

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Winter Journey

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

It is ten years since the untimely death of W. G. Sebald and earlier this month there was a special event to celebrate his work and launch Across the Land and the Water: Selected Poems, 1964-2001. There were contributions from Iain Sinclair, A. S. Byatt, Andrew Motion and others who knew him (like poet Will Stone, whose recollections of studying with Sebald were particularly poignant). It was sad to reflect that the last time I had seen translator Anthea Bell on stage it was next to Sebald himself, reading from the recently-published Austerlitz. The crumbling Victorian Wilton's Music Hall was a particularly resonant setting for the readings, and for the performance of songs from Schubert's Winterreise by Ian Bostridge. Hearing the Winterreise in this context prompted thoughts of all the journeys and sadness in Sebald's writings.

There are many clips online of Ian Bostridge performing the Winterreise - the one I've included above is the opening song in the sequence. I thought it would be interesting to provide here short summaries of the cycle's twenty-four songs, to show how many of them start with some aspect of the winter landscape - the rustling sound of linden trees, ice on a frozen river, a tree's last few leaves trembling in the wind. Many of these natural elements are evoked in Schubert's piano score (for example, in 'Der Lindenbaum', 'the piano’s fluttering triplet figuration in E major which opens the song evokes the gentle breezes and whispering leaves of summer: the figure returns later, altered with chromatic harmonies, to depict the cold wind and eerie rustling of the tree in winter, and the young man’s growing sense of delusion'.) Rather than do a plain synopsis I've turned the Winterreise below into a set of tanka-style verses - I know this is a complete travesty (as Mrs Plinius was quick to point out when she saw what I was doing) but I just found it more fun than writing a set of bullet points... I've based this on the English translation at the Lied, Art Song and Choral Text Archive, using Arthur Rishi's titles; you can follow the link to read proper translations, or the original German poems by Wilhelm Müller.

Good Night

I leave, a stranger -
Remembering the flowers
And the talk of love
As I walk this path in snow
And write “Good Night” on thegate.

The Weathervane

The weathervane blows
Whistling at this fugitive.
In that house, the wind
Plays quietly withpeople’s hearts.
What is my suffering tothem?

Frozen tears

Frozen teardrops fall
Like morning dew turned toice
But spring from a heart
That’s burning hot enoughto
Melt all the ice of winter.

Numbness

No trace of her now
Walking on this once greenfield.
Pale turf, dead flowers.
And if my dead heartshould thaw,
Her image would melt away.

The linden tree

By a fountain, near the gate:
A linden tree. Though it’s dark
I try not to see
The words of love we carvedthere.
Still, I hear the tree rustling.

Torrent

The snow drinks my tears,
But when the grass starts to grow
And the ice breaks up
A brook will carry them through
The town’s streets and past herhouse.

On the stream

Wild stream, with a hard
Solid crust of ice onwhich
I carve her name, and
A broken ring. Underneath
There is a surgingtorrent.

Backward Glance

I’ll not pause until
The town is out of sightwhere
Once the windows shone,
The linden trees wereblooming
And a girl’s eyes wereglowing.

Will-o'-the-wisp

A will-o'-the-wisp
Led me astray. Now I walk
Down a stream’s drycourse.
Every stream will find the sea,
Every sorrow finds its grave.

Rest

Too cold to stand still
I’ve walked this desolateroad.
Sheltering now in
A coal burner’s narrow hut
I cannot rest, my woundsstill burn.

A Dream of Springtime

Dreaming of flowers
And the song of birds inMay,
I wake in the dark
With ravens shriekingabove.
When will all these leavesturn green?

Loneliness

A dark cloud passing
Through clear skies, I make myway
Through bright, joyful life.
When the tempests were raging
I was not so miserable.

The post

What makes my heart leap
At the sound of a posthorn
Coming from the street?
Why would I want to look there?
There is no letter for me.

The grey head

My frost coated hair
Soon thaws and leaves megrieving,
Sad to think that death
Is still far off. This journey
Has still not turned my hair togrey.

The crow

A crow is circling.
It’s been with me since the town
And won’t leave until
The end. Not much further now.
Fidelity to the grave.

Last hope

A few coloured leaves
Are visible on the trees.
If that one I choose
Is caught and blown to the ground
I too will sink down and weep.

In the village

The hounds are barking
Whilst men sleep and dream ofthings
They do not have. Bark
Me away, you waking dogs.
I am finished with all dreams.

The stormy morning

Weary shreds of cloud
Flit across a storm-torn sky,
Red flames among them.
This morning is to my taste -
It is nothing but winter.

Deception

Before me a light…
I follow it eagerly
Through the ice and night
Imagining a warm house…
But it is all delusion.

The signpost

I search hidden paths
Over cliff tops and wastelands -
One sign before me,
My eyes fixed upon the road
From which no one returns

The inn

I reach a graveyard,
Its death wreaths tempting to
The weary traveller.
But all the rooms are taken
And I must go further on.

Courage

Snow flies in my face.
I shake it off. My heart cries,
But I sing brightly.
I have no ears for laments
And stride on against thewind.

The phantom suns

Three suns in the sky –
They seem to stare down atme.
Gone, the best two suns,
And I do not need thethird:
I’m better left indarkness.

The hurdy-gurdy man

Barefoot on the ice,
An old hurdy-gurdy man.
Nobody listens.
Shall I go with him and let
Him play along to my songs?

Wellwood Calendar Canuckz January Wallpapers

2011-12-25T22:00:00.004-08:00

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Diablo Images Papers Photos Spots Wallpapers

2011-12-25T22:00:00.003-08:00

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2011-12-25T22:00:00.002-08:00

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Flowers Golden Various Images Wallpapers

2011-12-25T22:00:00.001-08:00

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Change Background Image Photoshop Grooveshark Changing Files Wallpapers

2011-12-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

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I'm still technically not done, but...

2011-12-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

If you can't tell by this post, I'm a procrastinator. Thought I'd recap what I was able to give out (and technically finish) these past couple days, though I'm still needing to finish a couple more gifts. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and that everyone enjoyed your amazing crafty gift goodness!

Another pleated clutch, with layered fabric

Ginger schnapps, in single size jars

Shortbread

Cockroach ornaments, based off of Very Purple Person's tutorial<.td>

Poorly self-drafted capes

Felt-applique t-shirt

Diaper clutch, again poorly self-drafted

Earthworm ornaments

Better late than never.....

2011-12-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

Hi! This is Jonquil. I hope everyone is enjoying a merry Yuletide!
Here are what I have been busy with this season. The three stockings with names are for the grandchildren, with the blue one for me & the green one for my daughter. The ornaments are for the grandchildren. I try to make ornaments every year so that when the grandchildren are old enough for their own tree, they will have enough ornaments to fill it. Next year I should have the counted cross-stitch stockings done. Two fronts are stitched with the third started. Now for blocking & adding beads afterwards.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all have a safe and blessed Christmas!

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2011-12-24T22:00:00.003-08:00

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Rose Mcgowan Wallpapers

2011-12-24T22:00:00.002-08:00

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Computer Custom Monitor11 Wallpapers

2011-12-24T22:00:00.001-08:00

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Coraline Stores Dinglehopper Start Download Wallpapers

2011-12-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

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Happy Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, now I am officially, really done Christmas.

I made up a batch of Martha Stewart's Vanilla Marshmallows and Peppermint Marshmallows, along with some Hot Chocolate to share with friends and family. They were pretty easy to make, though I was surprised by how different each recipe was! Of the two, I prefer the Vanilla Marshmallows. The Peppermint recipe makes a much fluffier marshmallow, more like meringue.

I found some great printable tags Here &Here that dressed up my simple paper bag, and cellophane wrapping! I got clothes pins at the dollar store to keep the bags closed tight.

Now... I have to finish wrapping everything! You can read more about my Christmas gifts over on my blog, Ohhh Lulu.

It's been a pleasure seeing all of the beautiful and creative gifts that everyone has made this year! Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Moustachmas!

2011-12-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a last minute Christmas gift that always makes me smile! Chocolate moustaches!

Chocolate moustache on a lollipop stick

Just melt some milk chocolate in a microwave/ban marie/chocolate fondue melter whatever your melting procedure of choice and once melted add a few drops of orange flavouring and then pour into a mould of your choice (I got this mould online posted to me by a friend in America as they wouldn't deliver to the UK, but think there are now sellers of this mould over here), set aside to cool and then transfer to the fridge for a few hours or overnight and then wrap prettily! No one who receives something like this can resist pulling funny poses before devouring them! Here's the proof!

Got to keep those moustache ends twirled!

Sneaky looks

Big smile! Well, Moustache!

Merry Christmas!

What I ended up making for Christmas

2011-12-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I've seen some lovely homemade gifts on this site, and have been so inspired! Sadly my Christmas gift planning was a complete fail. I didn’t make any of the things I planned to make, but did end up making something I wasn’t really planning to make at all. Thanks to a comment from Marie I decided to make a pair of boxers for my boyfriend. I used Kwik Sew pattern 1672 and am totally chuffed about how well they have turned out.

Not least the amazing fluke pattern matching at the centre front, it’s (almost perfect).

I also made some embroidered gift tags, partially inspired by this purl bee tutorial, although I made the tags bigger and embroidered the names on instead of using card.

I hope everyone elses Christmas making plans went well. Happy holidays everyone!!!

Last Minute Christmas Knits

2011-12-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Festive Crafters!

It's Kerry from Kestrel Finds and Makes. By now I'm sure that most of you have your handmade pressies wrapped up and ready to be gifted. I wanted to share my two Christmas knitting projects with you - one which has already been sent and opened and the other which is for my sister-in-law to open tomorrow.

First up, Owl & Pussycat Mittens for Sian Lile Makes as part of a Christmas Blog Swap which was to include handmade and thrifted items.

I used the pattern for Owl Mittens which can be on for free on Ravelry, and made one owl into a cat.

As Sian is vegan and was concerned about the potential of wool farming to be harmful, I used organic wool which had been dyed using natural dyes.

My Blue Leaves Scarf was made using the Saroyan pattern (also free - don't you love Ravelry?!) and Sirdar Sublime aran yarn which is a mix of cashmere, extra fine merino and silk. It is beautifully soft. My sister in law wanted a blue scarf and I loved the lace leaf edging and tapered ends of this scarf. It's a straightforward knit too, perfect for beginner lace knitters.

I hope you all managed to get your handmade gifts finished up this year. I didn't make as many as I had intended, but I bought some handmade things, which is nearly as good in my opinion, and definitely better than just buying something from Amazon! Maybe next year I'll be a bit more productive!

Now I just need to wrap the last of my presents. A very Merry Christmas everyone!

K x

Extreme last minute crafting

2011-12-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

Hello again, Aleah from no time to sew with my last (last minute) crafty gifts. First up, made the night before it was gifted, a couple things for a work friend:

The first is a purse organizer and a small zipper pouch. She always wants to change her purses to match her outfits, but complains about what a pain it is to transfer all her purse contents all the time, so I thought this might help. It's basically a strip of pockets that she can fill with purse stuff, roll up and stick in one purse, then pull it out and move it to another purse easily. I just winged the construction, more details here. The zipper pouch is from this tutorial.

The second item is this super simple jersey circle scarf. This has got to be the easiest gift of all time to make. I bought a third of a yard of jersey from the bulk bin at my local fabric shop. I trimmed off the selvages, then used a ruler and rotary cutter to make the long edges nice and straight, and sewed the short ends together. Done. So if it happens to be Christmas Eve and you're one gift short, might I suggest a jersey circle scarf? I think it took me longer to buy the fabric than to make the scarf, seriously.

I also made my mom a case for the Kindle Fire my dad is getting her:

It's basically from this tutorial, resized for a Kindle (luckily, it turns out that the dimensions of the Fire are the same as my regular old Kindle, so I made this case the same size as one I made earlier in the year for myself). I lined the case with a scrap of black corduroy left over from a skirt I made last year. The lining is visible around all the edges, of course, because my lining always seems to end up bigger than my outside fabric for some reason, but I'm just going to pretend it was intentional since it kind of looks like trim. Here it is open, with my Kindle in it. The bird screen saver seemed appropriate for the fabric (it's Alexander Henry's Bird Seed, which my mom actually gave me last year because she liked it but couldn't think of anything to make with it!)

So woo-hoo, Christmas Crafting complete! Have a Merry Christmas, everyone. May it be filled with family, friends, food, and plenty of crafty gifts too!

Edible Christmas Goodies

2011-12-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

Kat from KraftyKat here again....Over the last week i have been a busy bee in the kitchen, making a selection of goodies both as presents, as well as for me and my family to devour! Here i would like to share with you a selection of my yummy makes (i can confirm they are yummy, even if i do say so myself, because my boyfriend and i had to shoulder the arduous task of taste testing everything before they could be given as presents...it's only right after all....!)

Orange and Pistachio Stollen Bars

A fun twist on traditional Stollen, the recipe for these can be found here (you have to scroll down a bit). These were very easy to make and turned out pretty well i think...these pictures do not show them in bar form as these are intended as gifts and therefore to preserve as best as possible i have wrapped uncut...but the recipe suggests to dust with icing sugar and chop up before serving. Yum! It is promised that if well wrapped these will keep very well for up to 2 weeks...mine are tightly wrapped in foil so fingers crossed!

Cherry and Ginger Fudge

This was my first venture into the land of fudge and i was very apprehensive! I choose to use this recipe. I used a sugar thermometer but I'm not sure it was working properly...consequently the fudge did not set as well as i would have liked. I initially planned to chop it up into squares but it is too soft for this...therefore i wrapped it as tablets and am warning the recipients to keep it refrigerated! It still tastes good though, so not a total loss.

Lebkuchen

I have always loved Lebkuchen, and this year i decided to try my hand at baking some. I used this recipe, which was recommended by Tilly last year. It was so quick and easy to whip up, i ended up making too batches. A definite winner. The only changes i made were to use a bit of lemon juice in the icing to add flavour, and i omitted the egg whites from the icing as well. I also made a small batch of these gluten free for a celiac friend, this worked really well, i just used gluten free flour in place of the plain flour.

Petite Fours

Marzipan Fruits...guess the fruits! I am especially proud of the grapes.

Rum Truffles

Every year my Nana and i make some Petite Fours. Our favourites are marzipan fruits and rum truffles, shown above. For the marzipan fruits we make the shapes out of marzipan, colour them with food colourings and add cloves as stalks where required! The rum truffles are made by mixing melted chocolate, icing sugar and butter together with a few tablespoons of rum. These are rolled into balls and covered with chocolate sprinkles, and then left in the fridge to set. Both of these treats are great fun to make and are the kind of thing that kids can easily join in with...that's how i first made them!

Well, that's about it from me in terms of Christmas makes this year! I have very much enjoyed reading about everyones gift ideas, and i can wait to be involved again next year (i am already planning to be much more organised next time as i did have to forfeit some plans for the sake of time sadly!).

Have a great Christmas everyone!

K xx

How is it only 2 days til Christmas?

2011-12-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Gillian here, in Canada... (I'm really hoping my sister doesn't follow this blog - but if she does: Hi Anne! Don't look to carefully!) I've been meaning to post for... oh, you know, months! Yet somehow I find myself here, 2 days before Christmas. I finished the last of my gifts today, and almost everything is wrapped.

I'm pretty broke this year, so I made a lot of gifts by hand. I've been blogging my progress at http://crafting-a-rainbow.tumblr.com/ Luckily I have a pretty huge stash of materials from 5 years of living in Japan. (Seriously, the one thing I miss about Tokyo is 7-story-tall craft stores!)

Here are some of the things I've made:

Lots of wreaths for friends and family

A reverse-applique felt pillow for my Mom

Felt Heart Ornaments for friends. These are a family tradition, and I make more almost every year! *Bonus Cat Picture!*

some Zippered Bags from Elizabeth Hartman's "Perfect Zippered Bag" pattern - and my goodness, it's addictive. Normally I fear patterns, but this one is so easy and clear that it's like a little miracle every time! (Sorry, no pictures yet!)

Finally, a whole bunch of felted ornaments, using sweaters and wool roving felted around styrofoam balls. *Follow the links to tutorials* (These are so easy, and they look much harder than they are! If you need to make a few last minute gifts, you can crank these out in no time!)

For the nerds in my life...

I'm a little sad that the Christmas crafting season is over! I've loved having an excuse to crank out heaps of crafts - Now what do I do? Keep everything? Wait for birthdays? Not as fun as Christmas!

I've really, really enjoyed watching everyone's creations here on the blog - It's been lovely to connect with other crafty people. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and see you again next year!

Whew! Almost finished

2011-12-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

Life got away from me the last month. Apparently trying to make Christmas gifts and starting a blog while working a full time + part time job was not a good idea. ;)

I want to share some of my finished (as of 10 minutes ago) gifts.
For my two nieces:

The skirts are the circle pattern from Favorite Things - easy and fun to sew.

The pleated purses are from http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleated-purse-tutorial.html . The pleating takes a bit of time but the instructions for these are great!

We also gave away over 30 jars of homemade jelly.

And my homemade vanilla and lemoncello is ready to decant and bottle up.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to get regular about blogging! I received a pressure cooker for my birthday so I anticipate more canning and my fabric stash is getting out of control so sewing will be happening.
I've really enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading about everyone's gifts. Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring me.
Happy Holidays!

Landscape in the Trésor des Histoires

2011-12-23T01:48:00.000-08:00

Landscape in the Trésor des Histoires, Bruges, c. 1475-80

Image from the British Library's Facebook Pages

The British Library's Royal Manuscripts exhibition includes books made from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries but begins with the extraordinary collection of Edward IV, including this copy of a French historical chronicle lying open at 'one of the earliest known European paintings in which landscape is the principal subject.' I've just found that this image also appears in a list of mill images at the Medieval and Renaissance Material Culture site - a good source for other glimpses of landscape in the Middle Ages. What I like about this sort of list is the way it ignores the subject of the picture in favour of an unobtrusive detail - yes, there's an interesting windmill in the illustration below, but you have to drag your eyes away from the gruesome murder to see it (the windmill here nicely balances the clump of trees in a V-shaped composition pointing to the heart of the Roman Emperor). In other images on the site, mills are quietly grinding corn in the background whilst Narcissus looks down at his reflection, King David kneels before God, Elisha raises a woman's son from the dead, Arthurian knights go head to head in a tournament, Priam inspects the reconstruction of Troy, the Romans colonise Latium and ships navigate the coastal waters of Britain.

The assassination of Vitellius in De casibus, first quarter of the 15th century

BNF Fr. 226, fol. 201v, source: larsdatter

Pillows, Snoods & Table Decorations!

2011-12-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I posted here due to some unexpected travel, but here's what I've been up to in the crafty Christmas world:

Pillows
I made these pillows for my sister from fabric she bought on our trip to Hawaii last year (Kapaia Stitchery on the island of Kaua'i, great prices!). These were supposed to be for her birthday in February (oops), but better late than never! I bought pillows from the craft store and just sewed 2 fabric pieces together and flipped them right side out. I slipstitched them closed after inserting the pillow. I bought the blue fabric to make a dress, but borrowed some of it here since I thought it made for a more complete group!

Snood Fever Continues!
This is my version of the snood made world famous by Karen from Did You Make That? I made 3! This snood is made from Merino wool that I bought at the Brooklyn General Store in Brooklyn, New York and was my first knitting project in years. I started it in New York and finished it in Virginia! This one went to my friend who is heading back to France next month. Should keep her nice and toasty.

Table Runner/Napkins

And finally, I made a table runner and napkins for my mom, as she loves decorating for the holidays. I gave them to her a bit before Christmas so she could enjoy the festiveness! For the table runner, I used sew-in interfacing to weigh down the lighter weight reindeer cotton and found that slowly ironing out the bumps in the fabric helped keep the fabric flat. I also used my walking foot which helped keep the fabric layers from shifting.

The napkins were made using the rolled hem setting on my overlocker. It's the first time I've used this feature and I love how it turned out! It looks like the edges are bound with a narrow bias tape and it was so fast and easy to make.

Happy holidays, all!

~Amanda from Sewin' in the Rain

Peppermint Soap and a Knitted Scarf

2011-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hi all! It's Lindsay checking in again with a couple of finished gifts! Last year I made peppermint soap for my co-workers and a few of them have mentioned to me over the past year that they loved it and were sad when their bars ran out. So I knew I had to make the soap again!

I like to give a little something to all of my co-workers and since I have about 40 of them, making soap is an easy and cost-efficient option. The process went a little more smoothly and quickly than it did last year, even if it still is a little scary to be dealing with such a toxic ingredient (lye). Once again, Mr. Pinds and I suited up with our protective gear to make the soap, which I’m sure caused our neighbors to wonder what we were up to.

I used the Good Morning Soap recipe that I used last year from Raleigh Briggs' How to Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off. This year I measured everything out before we started the process, which worked out really well. When the time came to add the next ingredient, all I had to do was reach for the bowl and dump it in. Of course I waited to measure and pour the lye until we were outside.

The fats in the soap are coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, shortening, and castor oil. I added sea salt and sand for exfoliation and flavored it with basil and peppermint essential oils. Our house has smelled like peppermint since I first made this on December 4^th! It’s great walking in after work to the delightful smell of peppermint—I’m sad to have it go away.

The first step to making this soap is to add the lye to water, or in this case, to peppermint tea. You then melt the fats. Once the lye mixture has cooled to the same temperature as the fats, you add it to the fats and then mix until you reach trace.

Trace means that if you run a spoon through the soap it will leave a trail behind. If you’re just stirring by hand, reaching trace can often take hours, but I read somewhere that if you use an immersion blender it happens within minutes. And I’m all about efficiency, so I picked up a cheap immersion blender to use for concoctions. If you’re going to do the same, I highly recommend that you label the non-food blender. I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I would feel funny preparing food with the same blender that has had contact with lye. Once you reach trace, you add essential oils.

Then add the sea salt and sand and mix thoroughly. It’s really simple!

I use two shallow but long plastic containers as soap molds. You just have to grease them beforehand (I used Pam) and once the soap has molded it pops out really easily. You let the soap stay in the mold (or as my book says, "put them to bed") for a day or two and then they are ready to be cut.

Mr. Pinds came up with the great idea of marking guides into the top of the soap with a pizza cutter before we started cutting. Brilliant! I enlisted Mr. Pinds to cut the soap for me. He used a serrated bread knife to cut the blocks of soap into bars, which he said worked perfectly.

Once the bars were cut, I placed them on drying racks and they cured for a couple of weeks. I had to hide them in our laundry room where our rascal cat wouldn’t have access to lick them all day while we were at work.

To package them, I wrapped each bar in plastic wrap (I know, not the most environmentally friendly, but it was the easiest and fastest option) and then wrapped the bars in postal paper.

Each bar got tied off with some raffia and was topped with a mini candy cane and a printed feather (I found these on How About Orange and there are more here) as a gift tag. I think they look pretty festive! I waited until I got to work to put the feathers on because I was afraid they’d get creased during my commute.

I’m glad to tell you that the soaps were a hit once again. A few of my co-workers told me that they were secretly hoping that I’d refill their soap bins!

We also did a Secret Santa gift exchange and my Secret Santee requested a scarf. With a $20 limit, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get an amazing handmade scarf from Etsy, so I did the next best thing: I decided to knit one myself. Even though I am a very beginner knitter, I think it turned out beautifully. I made a simple 50 stitch wide scarf in a knit stitch. This yarn is so soft! I wasn’t able to make it to a specialty yarn shop (why do they all have such strange hours?) so I spent a good 20 minutes in Joann rubbing all of the yarns against my face to find the softest. I ended up with Caron Simply Soft in Autumn Maize. I wanted a gold yarn, but that was the closest I could get.

When I was about halfway through the scarf I realized that I made it a little wide, resulting in a wide but short scarf. Oops! It turned out OK in the end though and my co-worker loved it. And because I made the scarf instead of buying it, and thanks to a Joann coupon, I was able to pick her up a bottle of wine without going over our $20 limit! I do enjoy when things work out.

A Father Christmas Pillow

2011-12-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow crafters! It's Amy from Sew Well here again with another gift for my niece.

This little Father Christmas pillow perfectly sized for my niece was super easy to make. The pattern was printed right on the fabric, so all I had to do was cut, sew, and stuff. If only garments came preprinted like this! Spoonflower, perhaps?

Introducing Molly Ellen

2011-12-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Meet Molly Ellen! I made her for my daughter and I know she will love her. My husband made her adorable glasses, as we all wear them. Now she's really one of the family!

I used a Waldorf doll kit I bought almost 2 years ago from Weir Dolls (can I call this stashbusting - LOL!). She's 16 inches tall and made from super soft organic stretch knit. I borrowed Making Waldorf Dolls from the library, which clearly details how to make your Waldorf doll head - the hardest part - and the body. For her hair, I used the Crafty Sheep's tutorial.

Her clothes are made from bits and pieces from my stash. Her dress is the doll version included in this pattern and her blouse and pants are from here. This is the first time I've made a Waldorf doll and, even though the process can be tricky, I found it really rewarding. I can't wait to see my daughter's face when she opens this!

Glass Lamp

2011-12-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

Getting so close to Christmas I can hardly stand it!! So excited for all of the festivities. However, there's still a day of work left. Let's make that go faster by looking at our updated lamp....

That's what it looked like when my mom and I picked it up at a yard sale a few months back. I've seen this glass lamp style everywhere over the past few months.

Although this one wasn't exactly a looker at first I had high hopes that we could dress it up with a can of spray paint.

I was able to pull the whole thing apart (kinda) via a bolt on the bottom.

I cleaned it up really good and taped off the important stuff so that spray paint would not touch it.

1 can of Oil Rubbed Bronze later....

It didn't turn out to shabby at all and I have to admit I had my doubts.

I picked up the lamp shade at Target. I think it's a tad small for the lamp but it will do for now.

I love that I could potentially fill that glass lamp base with whatever I wanted. For instance, Christmas decor! Why am I only thinking of this two days before Christmas?

What do you think? Any comparison to those with the high price tags?

Christmas Crafting Complete!

2011-12-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

My Christmas Crafting is complete! FINALLY!

I made a bunch of these slippers from http://www.ithinksew.com/ . I found that the pattern required a little tweaking, but after 1 test pair, they were really simple to sew and REALLY cute! I want to make a dozen for myself!

I found the best tweak, was to add a stretchy panel at the heel, reinforced with a bit of sturdy elastic. It allowed the slipper to stretch a little, while the elastic held it snug on your foot. I found that making them up "as is", they were either slightly too tight, or falling off my foot. But, with that one little change, the slippers are great and so comfy (I made a pair for myself a few weeks ago that I have been wearing non-stop!).

I added non-slip "hearts" appliquéd to the bottom of the soles to make them a little safer for wearing around the house. I'd imagine with out these, they could be dangerously slippery!

Now... to finish wrapping everything...

phew . . .

2011-12-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

I thought I wouldn't finish these throws in time.

Nearly finished my shopping and wrapping - now for some serious baking!

More festive fun over on my blog

Christmas Chaos!

2011-12-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

I'm Fiona and I have fairly recently started blogging over at Diary of a Chain Stitcher. I never got round to posting about my Christmas Crafting Plans (it's taking me a while to get into the swing of blogging all that regularly especially amongst all the Christmas chaos) but I have been determined to post about what I've been up to!

As I haven't long been crafting I knew attempting to hand make too many of my presents was just going to be pushing myself a little too far and would only result in a horribly stroppy me for the last few days before Christmas which no one would appreciate. So instead I've done a combination of handmade, produced with a lot of thought but not completely made by my hand and shop bought presents. As much as I'd like to give everyone handmade gifts I one don't have enough time and know that my handmade taste is not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.

My main made project was my Stepdad's iPad case (from this tutorial) with fun chemistry related lining! (He works in a lab) I love it because it looks very professional on the outside so he can take it to meetings but inside it's fun and colourful. I got the lining fabric from Spoonflower which I have only just discovered and highly recommend. There are hundreds of prints to choose from, and if you can't find what you want you can get your own design printed up.

I've also made my boyfriend some boxer shorts using a free pattern from BurdaStyle. They were really quick and fun to make so I think he'll be getting some more of those for his birthday! I don't have a picture unfortunately as I wrapped them as soon as I finished to avoid any accidental discoveries. The surprise is one of the best bits of a gift I think!

One of the gifts I'm most proud of is a cookbook I put together for my Mum and Nan filled with our favourite family recipes. It was a big and time consuming job but I really enjoyed it and it was very straightforward to do using the software on Blurb. They have lots of page templates to choose from which you just fill with the photographs and writing you want, press publish and they'll print up as many copies as you want, and speedily too.

I've made the majority of my Christmas Cards by cross stitching festive designs, which I also sell on Etsy. I can't stand how much printed mass produced cards cost in the shops and would much rather make my own which can be tailored to the recipient and the effort is always appreciated much more.

I've made a few Christmas decorations this year too including crackers, a table runner and these stockings:

Finally I've been doing A LOT of baking including some little Christmas boxes of shortbread for family friends who always send me a little something and who I never know what to give. A little discovery for everyone - shortbread holds up very well in the post! And this recipe for orange pastry is a winner!

Ooof writing this post has made me realise I'd actually done a lot more than I thought! Good luck with the last minute crafting everyone! Merry Christmas!