This Week: Cupcake Chevron-Striped Pouch

It's been a long week y'all. My goals for the week included getting caught up at the office, working out at least a few times, and finding some time to craft. With last-minute fire drills popping up daily at work, I've barely had time to think, let alone find time to work out. But as I got home each night, my mind whirring full of the craziness of the day, the only way to calm my frustrations was through craft.

When a day just seems to spin out of control, there's something empowering about using your own hands to create something from nothing.  "Nothing" being defined loosely, however. I had just purchased this beautiful blue chevron-print fabric and was itching to put it to good use:

I love chevron! I also have some sunny yellow terry cloth that's so soft to the touch. So what better use would there be for these two fabrics than a zippered pouch?

By the end of the week, I impressed myself by the ability to channel all this excess pent-up energy into something positive and cheery. I love my new cupcake terry cloth pouch (with chevron print interior) and I really hope you do too. Now available on Etsy.

Cupcake Applique Tees!

New merch in da house! I'm giddy with excitement with our new children's cupcake applique tees! The first one has now been posted, but check back often as I'll be listing others throughout the week.

What I love about these tees is being able to pair my love of cupcakes with my love of beautiful printed fabrics to create a unique applique.

A preview of the other tees to be posted later on throughout this week (in an array of colors, patterns and children's sizes):

Pork-Stuffed Tomatoes

I made myself a most delicious meal last night and just have to share. I found the idea of making ground pork-stuffed tomatoes on Pinterest and then started searching the Web for different recipes. Pulling from a variety of recipes I found, I came up with a unique, Vietnamese-style receipe of my own:

Ingredients:

4 large ripe tomatoes

Pork stuffing:
1 lb of ground pork
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 bunch of watercress, blanched and finely chopped
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
ground pepper, to taste

Olive oil

Sauce:
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F.

2) Slice the top part of the tomato off and scoop out the seeds and flesh to leave a hollow cup. Reserve seeds and flesh in a separate bowl for the sauce. While preparing the pork stuffing, place the tomatoes upside down on a plate to drain.

3) In a medium-sized bowl, combine ground pork, shallot, watercress, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper.

4) Take the tomato cups and gently pat the insides dry with a paper towel. Fill the cups with the pork stuffing, tightly packing all the way to the top.

5) Add enough oil to a frying pan to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and heat over medium high. When the oil begins to slightly sizzle, place the tomatoes meat-side down. Cook until the tops crisp up and brown, approximately 10 minutes.

6) Transfer the tomatoes to a baking pan, meat-side up, and bake for 40-45 minutes.

7) While the tomatoes are baking, add the reserved tomato pulp to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. While it's simmering, stir in the ketchup.

8) Combine fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and water separately. After the tomatoes are done simmering, remove from heat and add fish sauce mixture.

9) Serve stuffed tomatoes with rice and pour sauce on top. Enjoy!

Etsy Craft Party 2012

Have you seen the latest event posting from the crafter's mecca that is Etsy? On Friday, August 24, Etsy is hosting a Craft Party: A Global Celebration of Meeting and Making.

Deets direct from Etsy:

Craft Party is a time to get to know your neighbors and exercise your creative spirit. Craft Parties take place around the world when communities come together to participate in art, craft, design and DIY in every form. Anyone can organize a Craft Party and anyone can participate — the power is literally in your hands!

This year's theme: Wish You Were Here

We encourage you to work together on projects that reflect your hometown. Think about local and regional crafts, music, style and food; ways to pay tribute to a notable landmark or place; an activity that tells local lore through handmade means; or any creative project that has local flavor. It's up to you to decide how you showcase the theme at your party — go wild!
Etsy and our special sponsor, Michaels, will provide every party that has at least 25 participants signed up with a free box of craft supplies. The deadline for RSVP sign ups is August 12. The more people signed up for your party, the more generous the box of supplies! (Of course, we encourage you to continue garnering RSVP and participation right up till the big day too! We set this deadline, so we can get the box of supplies to the party organizers in time.)
We will also provide every event organizer with a free, downloadable Craft Party Kit containing how-to project instructions and templates, party decor ideas, and other tips for hosting your own party, plus a few surprises.

Get involved

To organize or find a local event, visit the Etsy hub on Meetup Everywhere. Add your event — big or small, public or private — or find one nearby to join.

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There are a ton of groups already formed so check out the Meetup page for your local group. Or start your own Meetup if no one has already! For those residing in Washington, DC and the surrounding area, I would suggest joining this group (already over 25 strong!). This is such a great idea to bring likeminded people together and garner that sense of community. Hope to see you there!

Deal of the Day: Craftsy

One of today's nationwide LivingSocial deals really piqued my interest: $20 for an online crafting class of your choice at Craftsy. I hadn't heard of Craftsy before so I decided to check it out. I couldn't believe I hadn't stumbled on this site before! One hour later, and my mind was racing weighing my options:

Should I learn about sewing ruffles and embellishments?


Or perhaps how to make knit beads?


Or even a product photography primer?


I quickly purchased the deal. I'll report back on which class I ultimately pick and my review of how it goes. The tough part now is narrowing down my choices!

This Week DC: Handi-hour at the Renwick

Calling all DC crafters: If you're free this Wednesday evening, come check out the Handi-hour at the Renwick Gallery. For $20, you get two beers, live music, and all you can craft. The theme of this Handi-hour is all about mail art. For details, check out the Renwick Gallery's calendar page or see below:

 

When Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 5:30 – 8pm Categories After Five, Demonstrations, Performances, Workshops Location Renwick Gallery Event Location Grand Salon Cost Admission is $20 at the door, cash only, and includes two drink tickets, snacks, and all you can craft. Ages 21 and older. Note This summer, the Renwick Gallery’s Handi-hour goes “postal modern” with the National Postal Museum. Join us for craft projects themed around making and sending beautiful mail while sipping on craft beer from Churchkey/Birch and Barley and listening to live music by Brad Pugh of Practically Einstein. The Sit ‘n’ Knit corner is available for all skill levels if you want to work on a project or learn from the beginning. Attendees takes a scavenger hunt through the permanent collection galleries for fun and crafty prizes. Check out the American Art Museum's YouTube Channel for how-to videos on our featured crafts at here.

Beach Week: Craft Inspirations Day 2

No trip to the beach would be complete without collecting some seashells by the seashore. It's always interesting to see what you'll find washed up ashore.

Here are some of my finds for this beach trip:

In addition to shells I found some awesome-looking sea glass - would make for some great new Ring Bling rings :)

I used some of the larger shells for display in a round glass on a wall ledge. I was curious to see what other craft projects utilized shells and found a good roundup on the Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart sites. The possibilities are endless!

My wall ledge (and shells!)

Shell wreath

Sand jars

Seashell candles

Shell lights

Shell stationery