Featured EtsyBlogger for August: Memoriesforlifesb

I just made it in time for the month of August since it's August 31st! The featured Etsy Blogger for the month of August is Memories for Life Scrapbooks! There are some lovely scrapbooks and albums in this Etsy shop, including the one pictured above: Notebook in Teal with Bird and Cage. The very talented Edi of Memories for Life Scrapbooks has been creating handmade paper craft for the past 12 years and shares her love for scrapbooking with us in creating these wonderful albums!

Scrapbooks are such an awesome day to store photos and memories. They're a great gift for a special friend or relative - a great way to look back at all of the fantastic moments you've shared with them!

You can also check out Edi's blog: http://memoriesforlifescrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Recipe: Vegetarian/Vegan Tom Yum Soup

Here is a super nutritious quick & easy soup to make that is also vegetarian and vegan. It is called Tom Yum Soup and is a vegetarian variation on this popular Thai dish. It has a distinct flavor from the lemongrass, which you should be able to find at many grocery stores in the herb section. Paul and I used to always enjoy this soup from a Thai place in the food court, until I realized that it most likely had fish sauce in it. Since we're both vegetarians, I found a vegetarian version of this soup and modified it slightly a number of years ago, and this has been a favorite of ours ever since!

When I buy lemongrass at the grocery store, I often get asked by the cashiers what I use lemongrass for in my cooking. Hopefully this recipe will allow you to enjoy the wonderful flavor of the lemongrass in your cooking, too, if you've never cooked with it before!

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2):

4 cups vegetable broth
3 large stalks of lemongrass, trimmed, bruised, cut into 2" lengths
3 green onions, cut
2 tbsp roasted chili paste
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soy sauce
lots of sprouts, steamed
lots of broccoli, steamed
noodles (rice vermicelli or cellophane noodles)
3 garlic cloves, cut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring stock to a boil, add lemongrass to broth, reduce to simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Put green onions and garlic into a serving bowl. Steam sprouts and broccoli.
3. Remove lemongrass. Add remaining ingredients to the simmering stock. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Serve. You can add red pepper flakes to the bottom of your bowl if you're looking for even more spice.

Nintendo Tissue Box Covers

My newest creation - Nintendo tissue box covers! These are made out of Perler Beads and will cover standard-sized square or rectangular tissue boxes.

One is made to look like a Question Mark Block from the Super Mario games, and one looks like a retro Nintendo controller. They slip easily over top of the tissue boxes and fully cover them with a space in the top to pull the tissues through.

Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week - Nikky Lee Designs

Nikky Lee Designs is the featured Etsy Twitter Team shop of the week, congratulations! She creates beautiful jewelry and amazing photographs for her Etsy shop. You will find some wonderful gifts at this shop for yourself or a loved one! I just love the one that is pictured above - a pretty pink bracelet and earring set, created with genuine Rhodonite, cherry quartz and miyuki beads.

Listing Pictured Above - Bracelet and Earring Set, $48.00

Be sure to also check out Nikky Lee Designs' Blog and Twitter page.

FO: Cable Knit Cardigan from Knit.1 Magazine

I finally finished my sweater! I'm so happy! This is the Cable Knit Cardigan from the Spring 2007 issue of Knit.1 Magazine. This has been an ongoing project for about two years now and I was beginning to think I would never see the day that I finished it.

After knitting something that took this long, I was hoping that it would actually fit me properly. Thank goodness it did! The sleeves are nice and long, just as I like them. I knit it as a size "small" and it is large enough to still be cozy, but fits snugly enough so it isn't too bulky. I'm so happy to have this finished just in time for the approaching Fall weather!

I didn't knit this with the fanciest of wools - it is a taupe acrylic yarn by Vanna's Choice. For my first larger project, I wanted something that was fairly inexpensive and easily washable.



This knit sweater has a hood attached to it. The hood is nice and large so it actually fits over your head (and stays on), unlike other hoods that seem to be somewhat decorative.


Here is a close-up of the sleeve. You can see the fun bobbles that are knit throughout the sweater that are super cute!


These buttons are just perfect. They are vintage plastic faux tortoiseshell buttons from the Etsy shop, Love Buttons. If you need any buttons for any of your projects, be sure to take a look at her shop because it is filled with gorgeous vintage buttons. She puts such care into the packaging and presentation of the buttons that I was just delighted when I received them in the mail.

Thanks for taking a look at my FFO - Finally Finished Object! ;)

Back to School - EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival

Since finishing university and college about three years ago now, back-to-school hasn't meant too much for me. My fiance is still attending college (last year!) but I have just been working. I really miss school; I wish I could be a permanent student! I love to learn new things, and school seems to give structure to the seasons and different parts of the year in an odd way. Right now, it seems like the Spring blends into Summer, Summer blends into the Fall, and the term "summer vacation" doesn't seem to hold as much meaning.

While I am still employed freelance, I decided to take the opportunity to attend a night class for something that I have always wanted to try to learn - Japanese! I will be starting my Japanese language class on September 14th and the class runs until the middle of December. At that point in time, I can decide whether or not I want to keep taking the continuation of the class in January. Learning Japanese has been something that I've wanted to try for a long time because I'd love to be able to pick up a bit of the language when I travel there someday. I know it is going to be tough, especially since the only language that I know is English!

I've already picked up the text book, pictured above, Japanese For Busy People. Wish me luck!

Chippie! A Fun Friday Post

I haven't posted in this blog for a little while now...eeek! I'm going through a little bit of blogging withdrawal. Since it's Friday, I thought I would post about the cutest little chipmunk that lives down the street from us in a friend's backyard. Chippie is very friendly and loves to eat peanuts. They put the peanuts inside of this ornament on their patio table and Chippie will go down into it, grab peanuts, and come back out either the side or the top of it. In these photos, Chippie comes back up with a peanut, poses for the camera, takes a look at us, and poses some more!

In the next photos, you will see him taking a peanut out of my fiance's hand, and then sitting perched on his hand for a little while, too. Chippie is so friendly, especially to our friend that lives at the house who has "trained" the chipmunk for a while. Chippie will often times sit in our friend's hand and allow himself to be petted. Chippie has also run right up his arm to his shoulder once before! Chipmunks are so adorable, aw! :)

(Be sure to click on the photos to see a larger, more close-up version of the pics!)

Space Invaders Card Holder

A retro neon Space Invaders Card Holder for your office or desk. This will hold plenty of business cards, scraps of paper, or anything like that to keep your desk tidy and organized. This will also add a piece of retro video game art to showcase your love for older arcade games!

There are two different Space Invaders aliens - one on each side, one in neon pink and one in neon green on a black background.

Etsy Bloggers MEGA GIVEAWAY!

The Etsy Bloggers Street Team is having a mega giveaway where you can win one of 25 fantastic prizes! Wow, I sounded a little bit like the Price is Right there for a moment.

It's easy to enter. Just leave a comment on the blog with a favorite item of yours from one of the featured Etsy shops. There are many ways you can get additional entries to increase your chances of winning!

You are able to win one of my Computer Diskette Coaster Sets (pictured above), along with a variety of 24 other handmade goodies - a great variety of items, all handmade by Etsy sellers. Check out the giveaway blog post for more details on the other prizes...and enter the contest while you're there!

This contest ends on Friday, August 14th at 23:59pm ET and the winners will be announced on Saturday, August 15th. Good luck to all who enter! I'm looking forward to sending my coasters off to a lucky winner!

Cherry Blossom Japanese Bead Crafts

Cherry Blossom Coaster Set: Each coaster has a Japanese influenced cherry blossom design in shades of pink, purple, orange, and red. They all have a sky blue background. They are square and they measure 3 1/2" by 3 1/2". These would fit any size of glass.

Card Holder - Sakura Blossom: Stylish and Japanese-influenced art for your desk, not only cool looking but also functional and useful! It reminds me of patterns that you see on Japanese Washi / Chiyogami paper. It measures approx. 5" by 3", and measures 1" across, so it will hold lots of your cards. Also can be useful to hold important information or scraps of paper that you might have lying around.

I'm Craftster's Featured Needlework Artist of the Month!

Check it out - I've been chosen as Craftster.org's featured needlework artist of the month! This is such an honor - I have been a member of the Craftster forums for a number of years now and I am in love with this site! It allows crafty types to share their creations, post tutorials, photos, do crafty swaps, and connect with other crafters from around the world.

If you're interested in checking out my interview, please visit the forums! Yay!

Etsy Seller Spotlight - Jerseymaids

I recently completed a trade with the Etsy seller, jerseymaids, and wanted to show off these beautiful necklaces! Jerseymaids is a very talented photographer who sells many of her Polaroid pictures in a variety of forms, including these unique and wonderful necklaces! The first is called "Cherry Blossoms" and the second is "Autumn Afternoon". I was very fortunate to be contacted by Lauren (both of our names happen to be Lauren!) of Jerseymaids for a trade - isn't it the greatest when you can create something crafty, and trade it for something wonderful in return!

My fiance, Paul and I each picked out a necklace since they feature her beautiful photography as a wearable art piece, and we've never seen anything like these before. They are made with shrink plastic and hang perfectly on your neck from a silver chain.

You can also find many original Polaroid photographs, Fine Art prints, earrings, night lights, cards, and other goodies in her shop.

If you're looking for some new jewelry with an artistic flair, or you'd like to buy some gorgeous new photographs to frame and hang on your wall, be sure to check out Jerseymaids at Etsy. A great way to buy handmade!

Perler Bead Notepads - Two New Ones!

Domo Kun Notepad

Domo is the mascot of Japan's NHK television station, appearing in several 30 second stop-motion sketches shown as station identification during shows. Domo, the main character, is described as "a strange creature that hatched from an egg." Domo's favorite food is Japanese-style meat and potato stew, and he has a strong dislike for apples, due to an unexplained mystery in his DNA. Domo can only communicate via producing a low-pitched noise which sounds somewhat like his own name, but other characters appear to understand him.

This notepad is constructed from Perler Beads, paper, and binder rings. Domo Kun's face is on the front and the back. Just pop it into your purse when you go out, great for writing down information or carrying a shopping list. It is also great to have around your desk or computer if you have to write anything down.

Space Invaders Notepad

There is a blue Space Invader alien on the front, and a green one on the back. Great for anyone who is a fan of retro video games or Space Invaders!

The great thing about these notepads is that they are reusable and will last for years to come. The Perler beads are easy to wipe/clean and the paper inside the notepad can be easily replaced. The binder rings that keep the notepad together can snap open (similar to inside a binder) so you can fill it up with more paper once you use what is inside. Great to recycle scrap pieces of paper!

Recipe: Fresh Salsa with Veggies From My Garden

We finally got to make the fresh salsa today using veggies from the garden! And let me tell you, it is absolutely delicious! Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
5 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped (we used about 3/4 of an onion)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp lime juice
1 hot banana pepper, chopped
1 cayenne pepper, chopped
salt to taste

Just combine all of the ingredients together, and add salt to taste! Originally, this recipe called for 1 jalapeno pepper, but I had the hot banana peppers and cayenne peppers growing in the garden, so I used one of each. It has just the right amount of spice!

Veggie Garden Update!

Veggie garden update! Many of the veggies are ready to be picked or are starting to ripen. From top to bottom: Freshly picked roma tomatoes and a huge cayenne pepper, tons of hot banana peppers, cayenne peppers, roma tomatoes, and green onions.

Unfortunately, my cilantro did not survive one really hot day (I didn't water it enough) and it never bounced back. My basil is still going strong. The edamame stalks are growing to be quite tall but I have yet to see any soy bean pods sprouting...hopefully they will start to grow soon!

I have grown everything out of pots this year as I do not have any room to plant in the ground. I'm surprised at how well these plants are surviving and producing veggies from being grown out of pots - I recommend this to anyone who lives in an apartment or in a smaller space without any sort of backyard to plant a full-sized garden.

To compare, here is my post from the beginning of July when the plants were growing.

Tomorrow, Paul and I hope to make a fresh salsa out of some of my tomatoes, peppers, and onions! I'll post the recipe and some pictures when we make it!

Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups - No Baking Required!

Making your own peanut butter cups from scratch will make you never want to buy the pre-packaged kind again! These are really easy to make and require no baking at all - just a little help from the microwave. In no time, you'll be devouring your very own homemade chocolate peanut butter cups.

INGREDIENTS:
12 mini cupcake liners
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp peanut butter (I used Kraft Light, but any kind including natural peanut butter will work)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Add 2 tbsp peanut butter and stir. Set aside for 5 minutes to let it cool.
2. Place heaping tablespoon of chocolate mixture into each cupcake liner and spread all over with the back of a spoon. Place chocolate covered liners on a plate and into the fridge to harden.
3. In the meantime, stir peanut butter, vanilla, and sugar together. By this time, you can remove the chocolate liners from the fridge and divide the peanut butter mixture into all 12 liners, pressing down.
4. Top each liner with a heaping tablespoon of chocolate from leftover chocolate mixture. You may have to melt the chocolate a little bit again first.

Chill in the fridge for one hour before consuming.