A little bit O' Patchwork

I love patchwork. Something about all the randomness of it....the colors, patterns, different fabrics... I just think it is great. I have a bit of a problem with collecting (AHEM Hoarding) scraps of fabrics I find at stores, the dump, etc. 

With my move back to Fairbanks coming up super soon, I have been trying to use a bunch of the fabric scraps in some sort of useful fashion so that I am not hauling trash bags of random scraps back with me.  Below a little showing of all the fabric scrap projects I have done over the last year, and am still currently working on.

So I originally found this scrappy quilt at the dump, washed it, and have slowly added more random patches to it to keep it sewn together.  It is the centerpiece of my bedroom, and I cannot imagine a room of mine without it at this moment.

This white dress is uber comfy, but the silhouette and style always seemed a bit on the fancier side to me. And I don't often have to wear anything even remotely fancy... so I decided to lighten it up (aka make it more everyday-able) with some fabric scrappy pockets. I already know i want to add MORE fabric to this dress...at the hem, or in the neckline, I just haven't decided exactly how yet...

 
This monstrosity is a very random patchwork blanket I am working on. obviously it will be rough, awkwardly sewn, and VERY ugly. All things that endear me to it Immediately. I am hoping to finish this in the next two weeks before I move!



And finally, I decided to follow the trend of multiple tutorials I have seen online (one here at A Beautiful Mess) and give a plain grey jumper I have some sweet heart elbow patches. Once again, I think I may eventually add the same fabric to the from kangaroo pocket, but I wanted to test drive the patches first...

DIY: Foodie Edition!

              BAKED CREAM CHEESE WON-TONS!
I don't know about you, but I am a HUGE fan of the cheese won ton. HUGE FAN. I cannot enter a Chinese establishment without ordering cheese won tons. I get VERY upset if they are crab Rangoon, as I don't eat meat. I just want the CHEESE. So I decided it was time to try and make my own. I started out with a VERY basic recipe, just to make sure the general concept wasn't lost on me... recipe as follows:

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp sour cream

8 oz cream cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tea. ginger puree (I used 2 tea. i like ginger...)

.5 tea soy sauce (I used 2 tea. i like soy...haha)

Wonton Wrappers

Olive Oil

Simplest recipe ever. Preheat over to 415 degrees F. Step two? MIX EVERYTHING TOGETHER. (well... except the won-ton wrappers and olive oil). Put mixture in center of won-ton wrapper, wet edges and fold wrapper into triangle formation. Make sure to really push and seal edges together... I did not, and had a lot of seepage.  

Place Filled Won-Tons on foiled sheet, sprayed with some olive oil on top of won-tons so they get all golden-like, and bake for 12 minutes! TADA! Cheese Won-Tons! (side note: I used to buy stuff like Pam, etc. but then realized I could just buy a small squirt bottle...OR WATER GUN ....Oh man I just thought of that... anyway, small squirting bottle or gun, put olive oil in it, and BAM. tasty way to use oil without pouring loads!)


The fact that these are so easy makes me realize that I could put so many more things in them. Planned right now? Sunday im gonna do salmon ones for a party I am having. future? Mushrooms, scallions, cranberries, you can make them savory or sweet. SO MANY OPTIONS.

Adventures: The Big Island

Today's adventure kids takes place in Hawaii, on the Big island to be more specific. I flew over there at the end of 2010 (after Christmas) and stayed through the entire month of January 2011.  Here was the deal: Two wonderful people I know where building a second house on some property they bought just south of Hilo. They offered up to all there friends that if anyone wanted to fly over while they were there  for  just over 2 months in the winter and help them clear land and build their home, they would feed and offer up adventures for us.  So, pretty free labor for them. And a deal I could not pass up for me. 



Top L: The entrance to the Property, which was dubbed 'Sweat City'.     Top R: The Party Tent, which is where we congregated for meals, and late night shenanigans because it was the only place where we could get electricity (aka, one light. and music).     Bottom L: My Home for a month.     Bottom R: Our gracious hosts



Top: We rode around in a very illegal fashion(three people in front are not pictured...sadly)     Bottom L: I got to go snorkeling for the first time! It was MAGICAL.     Bottom R: I rule this hunk O' Rock. WHAT!?



Top L: The Warming Ponds. They were wonderful, and at night even more so. They also kept us (relatively speaking) clean.     Top R: Our Slumlord bosses gave us a reward of sun and fancy bread and cheese for an afternoon.     Bottom L: LAVA TUBES     Bottom R: Inside Volcano National park



Top: OH THE FARMERS MARKET. How I was excited for you each and every time.     Bottom L: Our Kitchen on the property.     Bottom R: This bakery was 2 miles away, and the closest thing to walk to when needing to just get out on your own. I could ask for worse places to run for alone time. :D

L: On one glorious adventure day, we swam under waterfalls. Fact.     R: Cliffs on the edge of the world. A band was also created this day, and they shall live on forever as Milkshakes and Lava Flows.

My favorite portion of the island was by far the south point. The town was amazing, and the views gorgeous. The best part though was parking the car and hiking out a few miles to green sands beach. Worth the hike everytime. Plus, hiking out means there isnt a shitton of tourists. SCORE.

Top: Some great graffiti on abandoned housing in south Point.     Bottom L: Admiring the view from the car park at south point.     Bottom R: WE'VE MADE IT TO GREEN SANDS BEACH. and no, I didn't make the heart, it was already there. Truth.

And in the end, a gorgeous, gorgeous structure was created. I mean, just look at this roof. You know the rest is top notch to go along with that, no questions asked.

Fancy Favorites #6

I've always been jealous of girls who can pull off a good blazer look. They can be thrown over dresses, with shorts, jeans, etc. Just a classy touch. This Boyfriend Blazer seems a good fit.

THESE ARE AMAZING. Makes me want to buy porcelain pens immediately. Check out this Etsy Store.

I just love so much about this household. The decor is wonderful, the exposed brick, and esp. this arrangement behind couch pictured.

And Finally, I encountered this artist at the Craft-O-Rama and immediately bought a few cards. I just realized she was on Etsy too, so check her out!

Topshop, can you do no wrong? (though I believe my skin is this very color...)

30 before 30: #1-10

So, In recent conversations I got to thinking about small things that I always say I want to accomplish, or just try out and give a shot, but somehow they always get pushed to the back burner. There always seems to be more important, relevant things in the fore front. SO I decided to make a 30 before 30 list. This give 3 years to accomplish a list of ridiculous, glorious, wonderful things that are always on my mind. Most are small, but some are bigger feats and adventures I hope to sneak in there before I'm 30 :D

I decided that doing this as a 3 part series so here are the first 10 items on my list!

Learn to Ride a bike with no hands
Batik. I already own all the supplies...
Learn to Drive a Stick Shift
Embroider a Classy/BadAss Pillow
 Make it to Moab, Utah to camp In Arches National Park
  Go Snowshoeing
  Learn to Cross Country Ski
 Run a 5K
 Learn to properly use a Sewing Machine
 Start earning 1/4 of my wages online