My Favorite Crafty Podcasts

I recently just got into listening to crafty podcasts and I highly recommend it to everyone! When I'm at home during the day and I'm making stuff, I used to always have the TV on in the background. I found the TV ended up being too much of a distraction, or I ended up watching programs that I really didn't care to watch. One day, I decided to download some craft-related podcasts to listen to while I craft and it was such a good idea! These podcasts are entertaining, informative, and provide some inspiration while I craft. Through listening, I am being introduced to new methods of crafting, stories about fellow crafters, and entertaining stories from around the world. Here are a few of my favorites:

Hello Craft Podcast - http://www.hellocraft.com

The Hello Craft Podcast is hosted by Tina Seamonster and it allows crafters to share their personal stories about their crafts. Whether it is a story about how they opened their first shop online, their first crafty creation, a crafting mishap, or their personal inspirations, I find this podcast to be a great listening experience. Hello Craft allows anyone to call their own toll-free number and leave a recording with their story (up to 5 minutes in length), and it could be played back on an upcoming podcast!


CraftyPod - http://www.craftypod.com

CraftyPod is hosted by Sister Diane (aka Diane Gilleland) and is the podcast all about making stuff. It relates to everything and all things crafty. Each podcast has a certain crafting theme or a featured craft, and often times has interviews with people who work in that particular craft. If you're looking to learn about a new craft or get inspired, definitely check out CraftyPod! Diane has also recently had her own book published called Kanzashi In Bloom, which showcases the Japanese art of Kanzashi. I've never tried Kanzashi before, so I may have to check this one out!

CraftSanity - http://www.craftsanity.com

CraftSanity is hosted by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood and this podcast is also a general crafting podcast that features interviews with fellow crafters and artisans. There are over 100 episodes of CraftSanity and Jennifer has been podcasting since 2005. There are loads of interviews, crafty projects to try, and reviews, so check this one out if you get the chance!

You can check out all of these podcasts (and many, many more) by subscribing and downloading them on iTunes. I also like to download any Etsy podcasts and CRAFT: podcasts as well.

Do you have any favorite podcasts, crafty or non-crafty? Please share them with me as I'm always looking to check out new ones, whether they be audio or video podcasts.

Tutorial: How to Make Portable Mini-Notebooks

I'm sure you've seen these before - little portable mini notebooks that you can keep at hand on your desk for jotting down something quick, or to keep in your purse in case you need to write something down. These are especially good to keep on hand if you tend to have a smaller purse since they're only a few inches wide!

Here is another great way to recycle those old magazines, scrapbook papers, book pages, or anything else that you might have lying around - make miniature notebooks out of them!

All you need is: a paper cutter (or scissors), a stapler, fancier paper to use for the outer part, and blank (at least on one side) paper for the inside pages. For the outer page, just cut a larger strip of paper that you can fold in half with a folded flap on the bottom. Then, cut approximately 10 tiny sheets of paper for the inner pages (white sheets in my pictures). Staple the inner sheets to the folded flap at the bottom and you're done!

Electronic Music Demo

A friend of ours hosted an Electronic Music Demo at the Ford Plant in Brantford, ON yesterday afternoon. A fun time was had by all! My fiance, Paul (pictured in the first photo) brought along some of his gear, as did a few other friends. Some of the gear that was there: Synthcart (Atari 2600), KORG DS-10 (Nintendo DS), Nanoloop 2.2 (Gameboy Advance), Mario Paint Music Program run through effects and pedals, plus plenty of drum machines, effects, and more! It was quite loud! The event also provided others with the opportunity to stop by and try out some of the musical equipment.

Also being held that day in downtown Brantford was a car show. There were plenty of car show attendees that walked by looking very confused about the loud bleeps, bloops, and noise that we were making!

It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon - making music with your friends!

A Card Holder for the Die Hard Video Gamers...

This is my newest creation - a Famicom controller business card holder! This one is a twin to my Nintendo Controller Card Holder, only this one resembles the controller from the Famicom (Family Computer) system in Japan.

What is the Famicom, you might ask? It is the 8-bit video game system, released slightly before and during the times of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan and most of Asia, while in North America, we got the NES.

The card holder is made with Perler Beads. It will hold plenty of business cards while showcasing your video gaming pride! Great to bring to the office with you - you might get some co-workers asking why your Nintendo controller card holder has such funky colors on it. Then, you can wow them with your expertise on retro Japanese gaming systems!

While I do own quite a few video game systems myself (I won't list them all off here...that will be for another blog post entirely!), I have yet to purchase a Famicom and I would very much like to own one. I can't read or understand Japanese, but I'm sure I can fake my way through some games that aren't heavily text-based! I've also wanted to take a Japanese language course for forever now, so maybe after I take a semester's worth, I can reward myself with a Famicom! :)

Etsy Blogger of the Month - Miesmama

The Etsy Blogger of the Month for July is the Etsian, Miesmama! There are lots of bright and beautiful goodies to be found at this Etsy Shop! Miesmama creates with a variety of wool, fabric, and felt. Pictured above is the Tree Fern Clutch Bag, which is a beautiful wool felted small purse with 100% wool felted fern leaves sewed to the front.


I also adore this Sunflower Pin made out of felt with a button in the center. It would look great on any bag or purse, or even pinned to your sweater!

You can also check out the Miesmama Blog for some bloggy goodness!

My Craft Room!

I've been posting a little bit about this on my Twitter lately, but I spent some time last week making a craft room for myself! Unfortunately, it has been pretty dark and overcast these past few days, so the lighting conditions were not the best for taking these photos. Hopefully you will still be able to get a clear view of my little crafty corner of the house!

Now, I should explain that my fiance and I are currently living with my fiance's dad, so there is some existing furniture that I was able to work with in this room as well as some of my own. There are many fixtures in this room that I wasn't allowed to change, such as the color of the walls/drapes/etc. He also won't let me hang anything on the walls, which explains why many photos and things are propped up against the walls and floors. Regardless of these limitations, I was still able to construct a pretty awesome place to create and craft, as well as a small office space to attend to emails, mail packages for my Etsy Shop, and so on.

This first picture shows the desk where I have the laptop, as well as the TV set in the background just in case I want to watch some TV while crafting. Also please note the picture on the desk of my two kitties that currently live with my sister. I adore them!


This shows the desk and shelf where I keep all of my paper supplies, scrapbooking supplies, button-making devices, beading and needlepoint stuff. This larger desk is directly beside the computer desk.


Here is a close-up of the shelf on the desk. There are many jars filled with random beads, buttons, etc. and canisters with scissors, markers, pens, and everything like that. The idea for the jars (and some other ideas) are heavily inspired by Craftster forum member Crafty Intentions' craft room.

Here is where my paper collection lives, which includes many of my favorite Japanese Washi papers. The button maker is to the left and the paper cutter is to the right. I also made a make-shift ribbon holder that hangs across the two shelving units constructed from part of a curtain rod (found at the dollar store). Behind the spools of thread, there is a case that is home to my paper punches and things like that. On the shelf, I keep my stamps, card making supplies, seed beads, and embroidery floss in containers.


This is a bookshelf filled with many crafting and recipe books, as well as novels. My craft magazines live on another shelf in the room (not pictured). Beside that is an Ikea shelf with plastic shelves full of wool! I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to fit all of my wool into these shelves but it just barely fit! I have a bit of a yarn problem, I think! On the top shelf, I keep all of my fabric fat quarters and felt.

This is a close-up of the TV area where I keep all of my Perler Beads in tupperware containers organized by color. You can also see mine & my fiance's record collection here on the shelf, as well as some cute Totoro toys beside the TV.

I hope that you enjoyed this little tour of my craft room! Before I had this, I had my crafting supplies either shoved into a closet, or spread out all over our bedroom which was a tad messy. I love being organized! This new room has provided me with so much inspiration and motivation to keep creating new things, as I'm able to get new ideas while seeing all of my supplies out in the open, ready to use!

Recipe: Green Beans with Toasted Sesame Sauce

Here's a great side-dish or appetizer that we tried for the first time tonight for dinner and it was yummy! This one has been in my recipe book for a little while and we finally decided to give it a shot. I wish I could have taken a picture of the one we made, but I found this picture online and it looks very similar to the one we made.

This dish is really quick to prepare and make - you'll be done in no time! It is very healthy and fresh tasting. It was a great way to use the green beans that I bought at the local farmer's market!

INGREDIENTS:
10oz green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp packed brown sugar (we substituted with pure maple sugar)
2 tbsp sesame oil (we substituted with garlic-infused grapeseed oil)
1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (ie. Kikkoman brand)
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch the green beans for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh in ice water, and drain again.
2. In a grinder, coarsely grind sesame seeds and transfer to a bowl. Mix in sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce and salt to form a paste. Stir in the beans to coat.

Recipe: Edamame Dip

Last night for dinner, I tried a new recipe for an Edamame Spread/Dip and it was so good that I wanted to share it with you! If you are a fan of hummus or any kind of bean spread, you will surely enjoy this variation using edamame (or soy beans). If you haven't heard of edamame before, or haven't tried them, I suggest that you read about them on Wikipedia and check the frozen section of your grocery store - they sell them in the pod or shelled. For this recipe, I recommend that you purchase them without the shell because it will make it a lot easier for you - the pod isn't edible and you have to remove them from the pod for this recipe.

Pictured above is the edamame dip itself, which we topped with minced garlic and cayenne pepper for a little bit of added spice. You can top the dip with any additional ingredients that you choose - perhaps roasted red peppers, additional soy beans or chickpeas, or a variety of spices - or you can just eat it without any toppings.

The second picture shows what we used to dip into the edamame spread - pita bread and a variety of vegetables. We found that the cucumber tasted the best out of everything. You could also dip potato chips or tortilla chips.

Here is the recipe! I originally found out about this recipe from a show on Food Network, and we adjusted it slightly.

Edamame Dip

INGREDIENTS:
12oz cooked edamame
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic (we are garlic lovers so we probably added about 5 cloves instead!)
1 tsp miso paste (red miso)
1 tsp red chile paste
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Blend all of the above ingredients, and slowly add 5 tbsp of olive oil, one tablespoon at a time while blending. Be sure to taste the dip - you may have to add more salt to taste.


We also made a Lentil Salad for dinner as well - please see my recipe post for information on how to make it - Vegan Lentil Salad. This salad is packed with nutrition from the lentils and flax seeds in the dressing.

Hidden Zelda Triforces in Google Doodles

The triforce from the Legend of Zelda games for the Nintendo (as seen pictured above in my Perler Bead Zelda Triforce Card Holder) is turning up in many of the doodles that are constantly changing on the Google search engine homepage. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Zelda games, the triforce is described by Wikipedia as:

a triangular relic which features throughout the series as a nearly-omnipotent sacred item representing the essences of the Golden Goddesses. It is made up of three smaller triangles known as the Triforce of Wisdom, Triforce of Power and Triforce of Courage.

Tiny triforces have been popping up all over the Google doodles in hidden places on the drawing! Here are some examples so you can see for yourself. [Thanks to Google Blogoscoped for the original article!]

Nikola Tesla logo, July 10th, 2009

Earth Day 2009


France, October 4th, 2008

Olympic Summer Games 2008

Earth Day 2009

July is National Hot Dog Month!

July is National Hot Dog Month! This doesn't come as too much of a surprise as the summer is here and people are itching to barbecue. I'm not sure if National Hot Dog Month is just an American thing or if it extends into Canada. Regardless, since I am a vegetarian, I thought I would throw a little twist into National Hot Dog Month by posting a recipe for a vegetarian hot dog that you can try! My fiance, Paul is really into buying the Yves Hot Dogs / Sausages at the grocery store, and I would love to try out a homemade recipe for us!

I searched around on Google for some Veggie Hot Dog recipes and was surprised that there really weren't a ton of recipes posted. A lot of the recipes were merely toppings applied to pre-made veggie dogs and weren't made from scratch. I found this one posted on the Vegan Dad blog and it sounds fantastic! While I haven't tried the recipe myself (I need to buy a food steamer, first), he assures his readers that these taste amazing - better than any that you can buy at the grocery store. He put them right on the BBQ to grill them after they were finished being steamed. Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

- 1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup cold vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, grated (with a microplane, or very finely minced)
- 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Several dashes fresh black pepper

METHOD
1. Before mixing your ingredients, get your steaming apparatus ready, bring water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.
2. Have ready 6 sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the pinto beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 6 even parts. Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome.
3. Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes.

Now, in the spirit of National Hot Dog Month, here are some of my Etsy Hot Dog Picks!


Panchito - Hot Dog Crochet Pattern by anapaulaoli, $4.25


Mini Hot Dog Magnet by ChrisCreatures, $5.00

Tree Project at the Horticultural Society of New York

I am taking part in the Tree Project, a project by Hiroshi Sunairi at the Horticultural Society of New York. As soon as I heard about this project, I was very intrigued and hoped that I would be able to participate! Here is the basic premise, from the Tree Project blog:

Over sixty years ago, the city of Hiroshima was burnt to ashes by one nuclear bomb and people thought that nothing would grow for 75 years. However, sprouts sprung up from the remains of burnt trees and weeds came out of the ground. The trees that still live from the time of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima are called, Hibaku trees (A-bombed trees). This new life gave encouragement to the people who had lost hope.

Since 2006, Riki Horiguchi, a tree doctor in Hiroshima, has provided me with seedlings and seeds of Round Leaf Holly, Persimmon, Chinaberry, Chinese Parasol, Japanese Hackberry, and Jujube. These seeds are the second or third generation of Hibaku Trees.　By sharing these seeds with people in the US and elsewhere around the world, I would like to share the pleasure of growing plants, especially the plants from Hibaku seeds. I welcome all participants to learn, nurture, and enjoy the process.

I sent an email a couple of weeks ago and requested some seeds from the website. I didn't know if I would have any luck since the project launched back in January, but sure enough, there were still some Chinaberry seeds available! Just a few days ago, my Chinaberry seeds arrived in the mail and I planted them, as instructed, in an unglazed ceramic pot. I put the little pot in a window that gets a lot of sunlight and will be watering it often.

Hopefully the seeds will sprout and I will have my own little Chinaberry plant from seeds that are descendants of Hibaku trees! The blog and Flickr page are fantastic as people from all over the world are sending in photos of their Hibaku seeds that have sprouted into little plants. These images (and actual plants themselves, if you are able to get to New York City in December 2009) will be used in an exhibition in the HSNY Gallery. I hope that my plant grows so I am able to send in my photo to be a part of this wonderful project and exhibition! Once the plant starts to grow, I will be sending my photos to Tree Project as well as posting them on this blog!

A big thank you to Hiroshi Sunairi for allowing me to participate in the project by mailing me the seeds! If this interests any of my blog readers, you should check out the Tree Project blog and send an email to possibly get your own seeds by mail and be a part of the project!

I will leave you with a quote from the blog by the tree doctor in Hiroshima who has provided the seeds and seedlings for the project:

"Nature tells us with no ideological standpoint about war, atomic bombs, peace, nature, and the environment."

- Dr. Riki Horiguchi

Mario Magnets - Underwater Level

Characters and items from an underwater level in Super Mario Bros. 1 that are fridge magnets! These are fully hand stitched in needlepoint. Each item or character has felt on the back to hide the stitches and a sturdy magnet so you can stick them to your fridge. There are 10 fridge magnets in total, including:

- 1 Fiery Mario
- 2 Fire Balls
- 3 Gold Coins
- 1 Blooper Enemy
- 2 Cheep Cheep Enemies
- 1 Underwater Plant

These would be great to decorate a video gamer's fridge, locker, or anywhere else that's magnetic that could use a little bit o' geek!

My Flickr URL Has Changed!

This is just a quick note to let everyone know that my Flickr account information has changed! I tried to log on to my Flickr account last night and it wasn't there anymore - they removed it and didn't even let me know! I guess they don't contact the user when this happens.

Flickr is very strict on their policies (as I recently found out) and if you post pictures of your Etsy work, you are not allowed to say anywhere in the description that it is available on Etsy.com. The only place where you are allowed to mention your Etsy shop is in your profile.

Anyway, I am going to be very careful this time around! My new Flickr URL is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lost_mitten . I would appreciate it if you added me as a friend, and I will add you as a friend right back. Since I had to start a whole new account, I not only lost all of my photos (that took me hours to upload and add descriptions), but I also lost all of my contacts, friends, and groups.

It makes you wonder if I had a Flickr Pro account if they would have given me a warning or contacted me before deleting it...

[update (09:51pm): After talking to some people on my Facebook, I have discovered that apparently Flickr will also delete people who have Pro accounts without warning since it is a violation of their rules. I'm discovering the bright side to this situation - I've been able to upload a lot of new photos that I never had on my Flickr before, and I've been able to meet some new contacts & friends through this discussion, too! I've rediscovered the love for Flickr - I didn't pay too much attention to it before, but I'm joining some new groups and communities on there and having a lot of fun! Maybe this has been a blessing in disguise!]

Darien Lake's Ferris Wheel

I didn't blog at all yesterday because I spent the day at the Darien Lake amusement park in New York. I've always had a fondness for going there since I spent many family vacations there as a child. I was surprised at how quickly it took us to drive there - it was just a quick drive across the border, and soon enough, we were there!

I've always loved the iconic image of the Darien Lake ferris wheel. It was first showcased at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee and was the world's largest ferris wheel at the time. I am the type of person who goes on all of the roller coasters and mostly all of the rides, but the ferris wheel at Darien Lake still makes me a little bit nervous on the first ride up to the top. I always forget how high the ferris wheel actually travels, and I am a little bit nervous about heights. Once you get to the top, you are rewarded with an incredible view over the entire park and all of the surroundings. Also, going 'round and 'round on the ferris wheel, there is always a relaxing cool breeze on a hot summer day that hasn't changed since I rode the ferris wheel as a child.

Keeping with the theme of ferris wheels, here are some great Etsy finds using the image of the ferris wheel:


Ferris Wheel Scrabble Tile Pendant by ItsAllAboutThePrint, $8.95



Ferris Wheel and Russian Doll Votive Duo by maryink, $18.00



Fun Park Stickers by bndesigns, $8.00



Yee Haw Ferris Wheel Gocco Art Card by twoguitars, $3.00

Organization for those Pesky Adapters

If you have a variety of electronic devices like I do, you probably have had a similar problem - tons of adapters lying around! We have different adapters for cell phones, iPods, cameras, Nintendo DS, plus others. These adapters kept getting thrown on to a shelf and ended up turning into a huge tangled mess of wires. Every time I had to charge my cell phone, it was a battle - Me vs. Tangled Mess of Adapters. Eventually I would win, but only after spending each time untangling the cords to get to the one that I needed.

I finally decided to organize the adapters using an old shoe box. It was really easy to do - I figured out how many spaces I needed, cut out that many pieces of cardboard, and taped them into place. This gives each adapter its own little space in the shoe box - no untangling required!

Of course, I had to decorate the front of the shoe box a little bit. This is my first step in trying to become more organized. It is leading up to my larger plan of eventually completely organizing all of my craft supplies since they're in all different places in closets and bins - it would be nice to have everything organized and in one place! Gotta start small though - my adapters will no longer live in a tangled heap!

Our Visit to the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada

On Sunday, we visited the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada, which is situated in Guelph, Ontario. The mission of the Donkey Sanctuary, from their website:

We are dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and protection of abandoned, neglected or abused donkeys, mules and hinnies. Animals admitted to the DSC are given a lifelong home.

The picture above is the Donkey Sanctuary's official charter that is posted on the side of the main barn. The DSC is a non-profit organization that is run by volunteers. They rescue neglected, mistreated, abused, and unwanted donkeys from all over Canada and even parts of the USA. The donkeys are protected by the DSC and are free to live out the rest of their lives in this wonderful environment. The DSC also provides educational opportunities for school children to visit with the animals, and has interactive therapeutic programs involving the donkeys and people with special needs.

We visited the DSC on a sunny Sunday afternoon when the farm is open to the public. We were greeted with a warm welcome upon our arrival, and the entrance fee is a suggested donation that goes completely to helping the donkeys. The main barn was open and visitors were able to go inside the barn and groom the donkeys if they wished. The donkeys were able to come and go from the barn as they pleased, whether they wanted to walk behind a fenced-off area, or walk right out to the front of the barn where the people were. There were many donkeys just roaming around the main path as these ones really seemed to enjoy the company of the visitors.

There were many volunteers there that afternoon that were happy to answer any questions that we might have had. They also provided us with some great information about the donkeys, like how there are currently 61 donkeys living at the DSC and that the oldest one is 48 years old!


I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to the donkeys' temperament, but they were all very gentle creatures. They seemed happy to get petted and often times walked right over to greet us. There was also a separate area with mules, and there were also some sheep and goats that we saw roaming about.

The DSC's website also provides a story about each donkey that lives at the sanctuary. It was interesting to be able to look up the details on the donkeys that we interacted with that day. Many of them have very sad stories that make you wonder how someone could ever abuse or abandon an animal. Thankfully, the donkeys are given a chance to live a fulfilling life after being rescued by the DSC.

Paul pointed out this quote to me (there were many inspirational quotation boards posted all around the farm) and I found it to be very thought-provoking and very true:


If you live in Southern Ontario or you're looking for a fun day-trip for you or your family, I would highly recommend checking out the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada! They are open Wednesdays and Sundays throughout the summer months - check their website for details.

If you'd like to see the rest of the photos that I took at the Donkey Sanctuary, please check out my web album at Picasa.