Happiness!
A moment to savor and remember.
Keep an eye on CraftyPod for more!
September 2010
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This Moment - Shared with Diane
Submitted by Pam on Thu, 09/30/2010 - 16:38 -
Indian Corn and Pumpkin Seed Necklaces gone Astray!
Submitted by Pam on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 01:01
This is not how this post was supposed to go!
THIS was what I had planned. A two picture, very quick post about letting your kids make necklaces, hat bands, or bracelets out of Indian Corn and squash or pumpkin seeds!
And this picture - the very easy tutorial!
Indian Corn is appearing on farms and in markets everywhere. It hasn't hardened yet, so it is the perfect time to string the fresh kernels and some cleaned and dried squash (or pumpkin) seeds.
Unfortunately, sitting quietly, feeding the squash seeds and Indian Corn kernels onto my fishing line gave my mind way too much room to start playing with ideas!
And the next thing I know, Easter Eggs came to mind and I am mixing up a strong solution of Wylers drink mix (no Kool-aid in the house) to see if I can dye squash seeds.
After about four hours and nothing significant to show for my effort, I tossed the mixture knowing the squirrels would love feasting on tropical fruit flavored seeds!
Food coloring?
That was the ticket! But, it was necessary to leave them in the jar overnight.
For the first few hours, the seeds just floated so only the parts exposed to the liquid actually absorbed color. By leaving them overnight, the seeds absorbed enough dye water to sink to the bottom of the jar and the dye was then able to reach all surfaces.
I started with red. And then thought - well, red is great for testing, but this is FALL! I need orange and black!
Orange was easy - I mixed red and yellow together.
But black? Blue and red make purple. I added green. The solution looked yucky black to me!
As you can see, the red food coloring did a great job of dying the seeds evenly. Although not as even, the dyes did work on the orange and black (I don't care what your eyes are telling you, that is black).
Dry and ready to string!
I decided to use the red seeds along with the orange and purple - er - black. I even added some naturally colored seeds. The combination reflects the colors found in Indian Corn don't you think?
Actually - I love this necklace!
And I think kids would love making their own. Stringing is very, very easy and goes surprisingly quickly.
A few tips!
As soon as you remove the seeds and slimy, yucky pulp from the pumpkin or squash, dump them in a basin of cold water. Magically, the seed separate from the pulp.
Spread the wet seeds onto a non-stick jelly roll pan to dry, stirring them frequently to allow air to reach all surfaces. Use wax paper like I did and you will be sorry! Seeds stick to wax paper. (Drying usually takes most of the day and final drying overnight.)
If you plan on saving your seeds for several months, be sure to thoroughly dry them out in a very low oven for a couple hours. Otherwise, the moisture remaining in the seeds will encourage mold to grow when stored in air-tight containers.
Of course, if you are dyeing your seeds, once clean, dump them in your dye bath! No need to dry them first.
I doubled 6 lb. super soft mono filament fishing line to string the corn and pumpkin seed necklace. And since my sweetie recently gave me a roll of nylon kite string I decided to give it a try as stringing material for the seed necklace. You can't break that stuff! Highly recommended for stringing kids projects if you have some.
For a necklace, use a piece of "string" about 12" longer than the circumference of your child's head so it can be slipped on and off easily. String seeds 2" longer than the head measurement. Tie a little slip knot to hold the seeds in place. Leave 2" - 3" on each end so that the necklace can rest on the back of the neck comfortably. Tie a surgeons knot and you are done!
I didn't try it, but I am thinking elastic used in beading would work great for bracelets.
Since there is the possibility that the dye might bleed onto your child's clothing if the seeds get wet, I am thinking it would be a good idea to spray the seeds with acrylic spray before stringing. But I have been wearing my unsprayed necklace for several days and have had no problems with dye transfering to my clothing. Of course, I am staying out of the rain and sprinkler hoses!
Or just stick to my original idea and string Indian Corn and natural pumpkin seeds!
Thanks everyone for letting me share my adventures playing with Indian Corn. And I invite anyone with more ideas to share them in comments!
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Yes! You CAN Eat Indian Corn! And it is Yummy!
Submitted by Pam on Tue, 09/28/2010 - 01:38
You see why I have ears and ears of Indian Corn laying around! I consider it eye candy! That blue one on the left is my absolute favorite.
But eat it? Not only is it too pretty to eat but it is hard as a rock!
However.......... in the interest of finding out, I decided to sacrifice three of the least attractive ears in my collection
Since we have had a unusually cool summer this year, the Indian Corn is not yet ready to harvest. I am using Indian Corn harvested last fall and dried in my garage all year. My sweetie hangs several ears together from the garage rafters slipping a plastic bag over the top to keep the dust away.
Fresh Indian Corn from the this year's harvest is not dry enough for grinding - you will need to let it dry a few months.
Removing the kernels from the husks is very easy as they pop right off when you apply gentle pressure with your fingers. There may be bits of the husk attached which can be removed by swiriling around in a colander.
I was feeling quite timid about this little experiment - mainly because I had no clue what I was doing! So I first removed just these few kernels to see how they would respond to whirling around in my Cuisinart.
Very noisy! I will give it that! But not an efficient way to grind Indian Corn!
I am aware that there is a wonderful machine available for grinding grain, but since I don't own one, I wanted to see if I could find a tool more commonly found in kitchens that would work.
After totaling my spice grinder and watching as the kernels moved through my grinder unscathed, I moved on to my, vintage, workhorse Oster blender that has not failed me in 25 years of service!
Just look at this! Once the powdery mixture in my blender was run through a fairly fine strainer, I had lovely fine cornmeal and chunks about the size of coarse polenta or grits.
I was feeling pretty satisfied with my results; but, thinking that I might have overlooked something, I turned one last time to google.
Now, I have to tell you I have been searching for answers to my questions about Indian Corn on two separate trips through Google land - and found little that was of any help. But on this day I hit on the right combination of words to produce answers! "How to grind Indian Corn"!
I found these three really useful and informative posts. I think you will find them interesting reading!
Added 9/28: Be sure to check out Fay's comment below for some great info about grain mills for home use. I see one in MY future!
Having already found this yummy sounding recipe in my King Arthur Cookbook for Maple Cornbread, I felt bold enough by now to strip those three sacrificial ears of Indian Corn to their bones!
Three 8" ears of Indian Corn yielded 1 1/4 cup of fine cornmeal and about 3/4 cup of course grits.
Actually, I did try running the "grits" through the blender a couple more times, but the process yielded only a little more cornmeal and didn't reduce the size of the "grit" kernels much. But - it is an older blender so maybe your blender will do a better job.
Just to be on the safe side, I only processed about 1/3 cup of kernels at a time.
While reading instructions for "Popping Indian Corn", suddenly, out of the deep, dark recesses of my mind - a memory! A friend had given me five gorgeous little ears of miniature Indian Corn grown in his garden for that exact purpose!
Of course, I would never think of doing such a thing to little beauties like these. I simply saved them from year to year as fall decorations and forgot their original purpose.
So now, armed and dangerous and getting more curious (and excited) by the minute - I made cornbread, grits and popped corn two ways!
I chose this recipe for maple cornbread for two reasons. First, it is from King Arthur Flour and I haven't had one of their recipes fail me yet!
And secondly, I thought the addition of maple syrup would compliment the flavor of the Indian Corn
And I was right on both counts! This turned out to be the most delicious cornbread either of us have ever eaten.
Perhaps a bit more work than most of us moms would normally have time for - preparing the Indian Corn - but I think kids would get a huge kick out of stripping the ears and helping to mix the batter! (The recipe is easy peasy - no mixer required.)
Just a little comparison to "regular" grits! We eat grits at our house - my sweetie loves them.
But I am not wholeheartedly recommending cooking Indian Corn grits for breakfast! Normal cooking time for grits (see Making Cornbread and Grits) is about 30 to 40 minutes. I cooked mine for over an hour and my grits were still, as my sweetie referred to them, "al dente".
Actually - the flavor is delicious - but not creamy enough for my taste. He loved them!
Pop Corn! Really yummy!
I removed about two thirds of the kernels from one little ear. And, can you believe it, the Luminary Queen didn't have a single paper bag in the whole house?
So, I popped the loose kernels the old fashioned way - in a kettle on the stove. Refer to Popping Indian Corn for instructions.
I just HAD to try popping some right on the ear, so in lieu of the paper bag, I tried using a pyrex casserole.
Fun to watch! I think I would stick to popping loose kernels in the future. But it would be fun for kids to pop the corn right on the cob and see where popcorn comes from!
Popped mini Indian Corn is so yummy. You just have got to give it a try. Get some at the farmer's market this fall, dry it out, and have fun on movie night in January!
Cautionary note!
Do not purchase Indian Corn you are planning to eat anywhere other than a farm; or, if you purchase at a farmer's market, make certain the corn hasn't been treated for preservation.
After storing and drying, I would suggest quickly rinsing the ears in warm water and immediately drying with an absorbent towel. If the kernels are still moist when removed from the cob, dry them out before grinding or popping.
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How to Make Matryoshka - Russian Nesting Dolls - with Gourds
Submitted by Pam on Sat, 09/25/2010 - 01:09
Happy 90 Days until Christmas! "90 Days Until Christmas" is a big holiday at my house because it is the official kick-off to the "getting ready for the winter holidays"!
I am celebrating by putting up my 90 day count down to Christmas calendar and putting the final coat of spray on my Matryoshka ornament...
and this set of Matryoshka - Russian nesting dolls - made from gourds.
I have been having way too much fun with this project! Which is a surprise as I have been putting it off for at least three years.
I promised a tutorial a few days ago in the Folk Art Giveaway post!
And, since it is the time of year to pick up some lovely gourds at local farms or farmers markets, now is the perfect time for you to make your own Russian nesting dolls!
Except for the tiny 2" jewelry gourd, I picked these up at the Pumpkin Patch. However, if you don't have access to gourds, you can order them from Amish Gourds (east coast), or Wellborn Gourd Farm (west coast) , or Northern Dipper Gourd Farm in Canada.
Bottle gourds are probably the best gourd shape to use for this particular project. And, if you want them to nest, be sure they will fit inside each other.
This may take a bit of guess work, so you might want to pick up a few extras. You can always use the extras for ornaments or gifts!
A word about leaving some areas of the gourd surface exposed and unpainted.
Although my original intention was to paint the entire surface of the gourd, using flesh color for the face and a color that would contrast with the robe on the "tummy", once I began working, I decided to leave these parts of the gourd unpainted.
This is a personal choice, one born of a love for the uneven coloration on gourd surfaces. But it may not work for everyone. Even I was a little disappointed that the acrylic spray darkened the face of the largest doll.
If you choose to paint the face and tummy areas, do so between steps 5 and 6. I would suggest applying two coats of paint.
Materials needed for making Matryoshka
Bottle gourd - three to five
Acrylic Paint - I recommend Plaid Folk Art Acrylic Paints
Paint brushes - broad to fine
Pencil and eraser
Masking tape
Acrylic Spray - gloss or matt
To clean and cut the gourd - see below
If you are planning to make a nested set, you will need to cut and clean your gourds. Diane posted a great tutorial on Craftstylish some time ago. Check it out!
I have to tell you that I am not thrilled with the cuts I made in my smaller gourds - they are pretty uneven. I think I have been used to working with larger gourds and used just too much "power" while cutting. The smaller bottle gourds are a bit more fragile than the larger gourds, so keep that in mind when you are cutting.
Slowly and carefully - just keep those words in mind while cutting.
1. Once you have cut and cleaned your gourd, put the two halves back together and tape into place with a couple pieces of masking tape.
2. Draw the outline of the doll's robe (large red or purple areas covering the back and top and bottom in the photos at the top).
3. Paint along the edge of the line. Taping the hemispheres together will insure that the edges of the robe will match where they meet at the cutting line.
4. Let the paint dry about 20 minutes and then remove the tape and continue painting the entire robe area. Trust me, these are much easier to handle while painting the robe if the gourd is in two pieces.
Note: Painting the robe on an uncut gourd is a bit more challenging because there is the pesky little problem of where to hold it! Paint all of the robe area, but leave a bit at the top and the bottom area unpainted. These can be painted after the robe area is dry.
TIP! I found little squares of wax paper worked wonderfully well for holding dabs of paint. When I was finished using a particular color, I would fold the paper in half and toss.
5. Once the first robe coat has dried for at least an hour, apply a second coat.
For most of the designs, I only used one coat of paint. But for this large surface area, and especially on a gourd with dark stains on the surface, a second coat will give you a beautiful, even finish.
6. Tape your gourd hemispheres back together making certain the edges of the robe match up.
Note: Originally I taped them back together just to be certain that my designs would match from one side of the cut line to the other. But I soon found out that it was also MUCH easier to paint the designs holding a whole gourd rather than half of a gourd!!
7. Now the fun begins! Using your pencil, draw your design onto the surface area not covered by the robe. Mistakes will easily erase.
(If you would like, you are more than welcome to copy my designs if you are having trouble coming up with something.)
8. Begin painting!
Note: There are no rules! But, because acrylic paint tends to dry very quickly, I did find that it was easiest for me to work with one color at a time.
9. To avoid smearing, let the painted designs dry completely between different color applications.
Note: Once the acrylic is dry, you can actually draw on it! So, if you would like to create a little design along the edge of your Matryoshka robe - or decorate the entire robe for that matter, you can do so. Just draw on your design. And, if you need to erase something, you can - without disturbing the paint. Let the paint dry a full hour before drawing on it.
10. Paint the face! For those of you who might need guidance in this department - like I do - Joanie (Nini Makes) has provided this very helpful tutorial for doll face painting. I hate to even think of what my doll faces would look like without her help.
This face is very similar to the face I painted on my Gracie Doll which I made using the step by step instructions in Joanie's lovely e-book Stitch Village.
Sometimes I see Matryoshka with their little eyes closed. These are much easier!
If you read the previous post about Folk Art Acrylic, you might remember the little apron I painted on the 2" gourd.
Finished!
Almost done! Just a bit of paint here and there.
11. Let your dolls sit overnight so that the paint can completely dry.
12. Spray with acrylic spray - matt, satin or gloss - whatever your preference.
Gourds usually require two to three coats of gloss to achieve a very glossy finish. Matt spray - one coat is usually sufficient for protection.
Although I seldom use gloss on gourd projects, I really wanted a high gloss look on my little nesting dolls.
TIP: I found that egg cartons make great holders for spraying little items like these that may need a bit of support or need to sit at an odd angle when sprayed.
To hang your ornament, drill or make a small hole with an ice pick in the top of the gourd. Insert an eye screw.
As always, if you have questions, please ask! I will try to help.
Added 9/29: Andy asked a very good question. Apparently I didn't make myself clear on this point. I did not cut the gourd I used for the tree ornament (shown at the top of the post).
I am hoping to see your gourd Matryoshka in my flickr pool!
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Testing! Testing! Plaid Folk Art Acrylic! And a Fab Giveaway!
Submitted by Pam on Thu, 09/23/2010 - 02:02
True Confession! Except for a little watercolor atc that I made for Chris last year, I have not touched paint since I was in college. Well - there was that youthful love affair with Casein paint when I was 12, but other than that, paint and I have never exactly bonded.
So, when Amy (Mod Podge Rocks) invited me to test and review a couple Plaid products, it occurred to me that the Folk Art Acrylic Paint would be a good product to try since I am basically a rank beginner - paint wise!
In addition to that, I have a little project that I have been putting off for quite a while because it requires that I paint! I am thoroughly intimidated by paint!
And that means - I don't need no stinking paint challenges!
Well - guess what! Folk Art Acrylic didn't present one single stinking paint challenge!
And - I am in love with paint again! At least I am in love with Folk Art Acrylic! Seriously! I am!
Look at that lovely bit of paint! It is light and creamy and yet it totally holds it's shape! Which means - it stays exactly where I put it - no running or sagging or wandering off into pores and scratches on the project surface!
As I applied it to the gourd surfaces it felt almost as if I were brushing on silk! And as you can see, once the paint is applied, it can be smoothed so that the brush marks all but disappear.
I left a few brush strokes in the bottom half of this section so you could see the difference!
For the most part, the Folk Art Acrylic did a beautiful job of covering the mottled surface, as you can see; but when I got to the really dark stains, it was obvious a second coat would be needed.
I took this so you could see just how well the paint covered the relatively clean surface on the top half of the gourd and how the dark staining challenged the paint on the bottom surface.
A second coat completely covered the surface stains beautifully. I let the first coat of paint dry for an hour before applying the second coat.
With my lack of experience, there are bound to be some mishaps! Like accidentally getting wet paint on my fingers and then touching my gourd!
I have not pre-treated the gourds with an acrylic sealer, so the surface is porous and the paint will be absorbed rather quickly. However, I am happy to report that as long as I didn't let the paint totally dry, I was able to remove it with a damp towel.
OK - now the part of this I have been sweating! The small stuff!
The fluid and "stay put" nature of the Folk Art Acrylic makes this product a winner for detail work. Especially in the hands of a newbie like me! I mean - why do you think I have been putting this project off for so long? The thought of painting all these little flower petals - thats why!
But I am finding this part of the project to be much easier than expected. MUCH! And fun, too! Imagine that!
I really came to appreciate just how lovely this paint is to work with when painting the little eyes.
Needing a bit of brown, I turned to a little sampler packet of paints I had picked up to make the eyes for my "Gracie Doll". These paints, while acrylic, were NOT Folk Art.
What a struggle. And as you can see - not a very straight line at all.
I planned on also using a lovely pink color in the kit for the little mouth and cheeks. But after the challenges endured while applying the eye lashes, I decided to simply use the Skintone color I had ordered! Much better! The little mouth glided right on.
The only problem - the color isn't good for the mouth and cheeks. So I mixed in a bit of the Apple Red.
Perfect! Just wait until you see her!
Once Folk Art Acrylic is dry, it seems to be pretty stable. I found that I could draw designs right onto the surface of the paint.
And erase them too! Without disturbing my lovely painted surface!
And "do-overs" are totally possible! The paint picks right up with a dampened q-tip so the design can be re-applied.
So - with all this success - using my Folk Art acrylics, I got brave!
This gourd is 2"! I tried painting an open work apron! Like I said - brave!
I used the Skintone again as the only white I have is in that little kit - and I am not going there again!
The surface of this little Jewelry gourd is very smooth and non-porous. The Skintone color is pale. And there is no way to work evenly around those tiny little openings in the "lace".
Two coats were necessary. Even while still wet, the apron looked much better with the second coat.
Now about that Giveaway!
Plaid will send the lucky winner of this giveaway SIX 2 ounce bottles of Folk Art Acrylic Paint in the colors of your choice. See all the yummy colors you have to choose from right here!
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me how you plan to use your paint if you win! Sorry, because these bottles contain liquid, we can not offer this giveaway to international readers.
Entries must be posted no later than 6:00 PM PST October 1st.
Happy 90 days til Christmas everyone!
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Indian Corn Accident Becomes a Lovely Ball of Yarn!
Submitted by Pam on Tue, 09/21/2010 - 02:56
I am pretty excited about this ball of yarn - because I dyed it myself - using, believe it or not, deep purple Indian Corn husks! And no dangerous mordants!
You remember these soaking buckets from the Indian Corn Wreath post? I soaked all my Indian Corn for just a minute or so in hot water, just long enough to soften the husks so I could work with them easily.
Three or four of the ears had very dark purple husks. And when I removed them from the bucket, I was surprised to see how dark purple the soaking water (and my hands) had turned. Four ears - in just a minute or so!
Just look at that water!!
I was making quite a mess so I grabbed a little rag to clean up - just in case it would stain. The rag accidentally fell into the bucket and was instantly dyed purple!
So of course, my brain waves went into overdrive and I ran for my camera!
If one of my blogging buddies can dye yarn with kool-aid (here and here), why can't I dye yarn with Indian Corn juicy juice!
After all, the American Indians have been dying their own hand spun wool for centuries with plant materials growing in the wild. And I am fairly certain, in the beginning, they did not employ toxic materials like tin or copper (mordants) to set the dyes.
So I decided not to pour my beautiful dark purple soaking water down the drain and try to dye some yarn instead!
I happened to have a small skein of pure white Cascade Yarns 100% Peruvian Highland Wool I had picked up for a little weaving project.
I poured the dark purple dye into a stainless steel pot, heated it up to boiling, and added at least a cup of vinegar. Then I opened my skein of yarn and, leaving the little ties in place, placed it in the water, let it very gently simmer for about half an hour, turned off the heat and let it sit to cool.
I had planned on removing it in an hour or so and started working on the wreaths, completely forgetting all about the yarn! It sat in the dye bath over night!
Maybe that was a good thing - because, when I took the lid off the pot the next morning and peeked in - all of the color had totally disappeared from the dye bath. It was completely clear!
Which means - all of the color was in my yarn!
I placed the skein into a large basin of water to rinse, fully expecting to see the color drain out of my yarn. But as you can see above, that did not happen!
A recent post I remembered, showed dyed yarn left to dry pretty much as you see above. But after about 20 minutes, I got concerned my wool might stretch from the weight of the water still in the fibers, so I laid it out on a couple wire racks, turning it every hour or so until it dried completely!
Can you tell I am excited? I don't know what I am going to make just yet as I only have 220 yards - maybe a small cowl?
If you can get your hands on some lovely, dark purple Indian Corn husks this fall, why not let the kids try their hand at dying some fabric or yarn. Just be sure to wear gloves and old clothing because this stuff stains!
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Perfect Christmas Socks Begin at Yarnia
Submitted by Pam on Fri, 09/17/2010 - 21:16
Ok! OK! OK! My daughter definitely beat me to the punch on this one! Her video post about our visit to Yarnia to pick out a custom designed yarn for her Christmas socks went live yesterday!
Anyway, I still think I should get to tell MY side of the story! Right?
Yarnia is the most magical yarn shop I have ever visited. Whether you knit, crochet or weave, the minute you walk through the door, you know you have entered yarn heaven.
It took every single ounce of discipline I could muster to keep from buying one of those cones of green on the far right for my next pair of socks. But I was there on a mission - to enjoy watching my daughter pick out the yarn for her Christmas socks.
Yup! I am knitting her socks for Christmas! And once they are done, I have a perfect excuse to return in January and score that green yarn.!
Of course that cone of purple on the left is trying hard to get my attention too!
Like I said - yarn heaven!
Clear up to the ceiling!
Did you know you don't have to live in Portland to create your very own custom yarn? Check out this page on the Yarnia site! Following a few simple instructions, you can select the colors of yarns you want to blend, fiber content, weight and quantity. Lindsey (brilliant owner of Yarnia) will make it up and ship it to you.
Or you can order one of her already blended yarns from her on-line shop.
Right now she is pretty much shipping within the USA and Canada. But she is looking into the possibility of making world wide ordering and shipping available so don't hesitate to inquire.
Ok - back to the story!While waiting for Diane to arrive, I watched as a lovely young lady carefully selected four yarns she thought would work together for a sweater she is planning to crochet.
Lindsay has created a cozy little corner complete with comfy chairs and a vase full of knitting needles and crochet hooks so visitors can try out their selection and see how it works up.
Her selection turned out exactly as planned.
Yummy!
Once Diane arrived we went through the same process!
And a little test swatch. This worked for Diane, but once Lindsay realized I was knitting socks, she suggested using only two yarns to give the fingerling weight we were seeking. And since we didn't know any better and had selected all bamboo for it's soft feel, Lindsay suggested replacing one of the yarns with a 100% wool yarn so the final yarn would have more "give".
She really knows her stuff! And she is always willing to help.
And she teaches! Check out the class schedule!
And now the magic begins! Right here in this little corner of Yarnia!
Ha! I actually did catch some of the yarn in motion!
This is the coolest bit of machinery! Lindsay had it specially made for her just for blending yarns.
Learn more about Lindsay and how she started her business.
Lindsay with Diane's Christmas Sock yarn! Sorry this is a bit soft, but she just doesn't hold still! It seems me taking pictures of her inspires giggles. And then Diane joins in and my photos are doomed!
See! Happened in this one too! Neither one of them would hold still!
Lindsey is winding the gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous, yarn that Diane will be using next in her granny square project. Notice the yarns feeding into the machine from the little hooks just under the window. Brilliant use of space.
In addition to the blending machine and the shelves and shelves of breath taking yarn, there were several other things about Yarnia that caught my eye.
Like this owl yoke sweater on display!
And this thoughtful chart Lindsey put together for fiber care.
And this card filing system designed so that a sample of the yarn combination you selected can be saved and later matched if you need more.
However, it is unlikely that will happen! Needing more that is!
Lindsey has math skills! Her fingers fly as she plugs in equations, and weights, and fiber content. As if by magic, she can figure out just how much extra special blended yarn you will need.
Now - here is a cool idea for a most excellent Christmas gift for anyone on your list who knits, crochets or weaves.
Order a cone of custom blended yarn - about 400 yards is perfect for a pair of socks. Once it is wound, it looks for all the world like a Christmas tree! Crochet or make a little star for the top and voila - a gift - and a holiday decoration!
And now, I am leaving you with a picture I snapped from way across the room (in dim light) of my sweet daughter and my grand child, Pushkin, who wouldn't even let me pet him on Thursday.
Oh - just one more!
Can you believe it? Diane is trying to talk me into giving her socks to her before Christmas!
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Indian Corn Series Part 1 - Making an Indian Corn Wreath
Submitted by Pam on Wed, 09/15/2010 - 22:07
I am crazy about Indian Corn!
Every year, in the fall, I end up buying more - even though I have bunches and bunches of it already at home. I just can't resist the stuff!
So - this year I decided to actually DO something with all those bags of Indian Corn my sweetie has so patiently hung from the garage rafters year after year. He never complains, but I know he is convinced I am nuts!
So to say the least, he is thrilled that I just completed three corn wreaths and two of them now live at the Pumpkin Patch as displays for the Indian Corn Wreath tutorials I am sharing in the market.
That is why you are getting these rather scruffy quick shots of the finished wreaths. I forgot to photograph them before I took them out there!
That big guy at the very top is about 28" across and this one is closer to 16" just in case you want to know!
The third little wreath? Only 10" across. And it is living with me because it is a Winter Holiday Wreath! It is put together a little differently. If you are interested, the directions for the Winter Holiday Wreath are at the very end of the post.
Making a Corn Wreath is the first of a series of four posts devoted to playing with Indian Corn. I hope you enjoy!
HOW TO MAKE AN INDIAN CORN WREATH
Materials needed:
- 1 standard green wire wreath form (12” for large corn and 8” for small corn)
- dark green floral wire (24 gauge wire for large corn and 26 gauge for small corn
- Indian corn in mixed colors - between 16 to 18 ears for one wreath
- Wire cutters and craft scissors
- Elmer's Glue or a Hot Glue Gun (optional)
Steps for making a corn wreath:
1. If you are making a wreath using large corn, a quick dip in warm water will soften the husks so that they are easier to manage. Small cornhusks are easy to work with so there is no need to soften them.
2. Some ears will have one or two inches of stem still attached. Pull the husks back to reveal the stem and clip off all but about a half-inch of the stem. Garden clippers make this job easier. A few husks will come off with the stem but this is not a problem. But be sure to save them. You might need them later.
3. Select the ears that will be attached at the “north”, “south”, “east” and “west” points on the wreath form.
4. Cut a length of floral wire about 18” long. This is longer than you will need to attach the ear of corn but the additional length makes attaching the ear much easier.
5. Pull back the husks into a bundle as shown.
6. Fold the husk to what will be the back of your ear of corn.
NOTE! Before going on - a bit of light housekeeping!
Sometimes you will bring home a spectacularly beautiful ear of Indian Corn but it has only a little bit of husk attached. Or, maybe when you trimmed off the stem, you lost more than you intended. Well - there is a solution!
Simply place several of those husk trimmings under the corn as you see above. Don't worry about attaching them, they will get "attached" in the following steps.
And more often than not, you will find there is an ugly, dried up tip. I always cut this off using a pair of craft scissors or garden shears.
Now - back to the tutorial!
7. Loop the floral wire under both of the middle supports bringing the ends of the wire back to the top of the wreath form.
8. Hold the husks in place and lay the ear of corn (husk side down) on the wreath form right next to the floral wire.
9. Holding the husks to the back of the ear, arrange the husks so that some are at the back of the ear and a few are positioned on each side. The husks along the sides will fill in the gaps between ears.
NOTE! This is the wrong way! If you attach your corn with all the husks gathered together next to the ear of corn, there will be big ugly spaces between the ears!
11. Pull the wires over the corn leaving a space of about 1½” between the wires where they lay across the ear of corn..
12. Pulling the wires tightly against the corn, return them to the back of the wreath form making sure to again work the wires between the husks as before.
13. Make sure to place the two wires on each side of the middle supports.
14. Pull tightly and twist the wires around each other to secure. About three to four twists is sufficient.
15. Now pull one wire around the loop you made when the floral wire you are currently using was first attached to the form.
16. Pulling tightly, bring the two wires back together and twist together about 6 times.
NOTE! Don’t cut the wires - yet. The ears may need to be tightened when the wreath is dry or it may be necessary to shift an ear while adding the rest of the corn.
17. Continue wiring the ears in place until the wreath is completed, attaching the four compass points first and then fill in with remaining corn. As you can see, I didn't take my own advice while mading the first wreath; but trust me, placing the first four ears at the compass points makes it easier to fill in with the others and avoid any "slanting effects".
18. Once the all the corn has been wired onto the wreath form, let the wreath dry out a couple days (if the husks have been soaked).
Turn the wreath frequently to be certain both sides get lots of fresh air!
19. Once your wreath is dry, tighten any wires that need to be tightened, and cut – leaving enough length to tuck them into the back of the wreath. I usually wrap them around the wreath form supports a couple times and then just tuck.
NOTE! It is usually best to handle these wreaths only by the wire form, so to avoid cutting your fingers, be sure the wire ends are tucked into the body of the wreath.
20. To fill in any gaps, extra husks may be attached using a hot glue gun or Elmer’s glue. See the little Winter Holiday Wreath tutorial below to see how great this works!
WINTER HOLIDAY WREATH
Material needed are almost the same as above except you will want to use a 6" wire wreath form and you will definitely not need to soak the husks. They are very easy to work with.
I have no idea what these gorgeous little red "corns" are called. (Anyone who knows, let me know and I will pop the name in here.)
ADDED 9/19 - Thank you Gill! Apparently the beauties above are called Strawberry Sweet Corn! Of course they are! Perfect - right?
But - I love the dark red color against the creamy white husks. Perfect for holiday decorating!
1. Cut away the top part of the husks.
2. Tie three to five husks together into a little bundle using florist wire.
3. Tie each bundle onto the wire form. You can tie them on any old way - just so they are secure and won't fall off.
4. Wire on the red corn using the same method used above for the large corn wreaths; however, this time, instead of securing the corn by placing your wires over the top of the ear, place them together right where the corn and husk meet. The wires will disappear!
But these wires won't! Disappear, that is!
Glue husks cut from the "extras" between the little ears where you can see the exposed wires.
DONE!
Hang your wreath and enjoy. Since these are Winter colors, you can enjoy your wreath until Spring!
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Winter Holiday Survival Planning Guide
Submitted by Pam on Sun, 09/12/2010 - 23:57
100 Days until Christmas!
The kiddos are back in school and for most of us - a couple quiet weeks ahead. A perfect time to block out a couple hours on the calendar, curl up in your favorite spot with a plate of cookies and a pot of tea, and make a plan of attack for surviving the winter holidays!
Without planning ahead - the holidays can look like this! Lots and lots of fabulous, fun, lovely plans and ideas filling your head - in a big jumble!. Waking you up at night and stressing you out. And often, not happening at all. Or turning your holidays into the most stressful time of the year.
But with some thoughtful planning, you can sail through this busiest time of year and enjoy the festivities.
Many readers are already ahead of me on this - like my brilliantly organized friend Rachel (One Pretty Thing). She is an organizing inspiration!
ADDED 9/22. I just put this link in comments in answer to Sarah's comment but I think more of you will find it here. Diane's Podcast interview with Rachel Klein of One Pretty Thing.
But for those of you for whom the ideas of long range and short range planning - especially at the winter holidays - is a new concept, I hope this little plan to wrestle all those holiday plans into submission will be helpful.
And here is how to do it! In four easy steps.
STEP 1 - Make a list of every activity you want to include in your holiday preparations and celebrations.Most of us do this anyway! But although making a list of tasks is the beginning of this process - be warned - just making a list will likely never get you to your goal - to accomplish the tasks!
It's value is simply to get the tasks out in front of you so you can begin the planning process.
(made by Diane - 1986)STEP 2 - Break each item on your list into tasks that must be done in order to accomplish the goal - completion! Write them in order from the first task to the last. I find it most helpful to visualize myself going through the process of the task at hand.
As an example. I am listing the steps necessary for sending holiday cards to friends and family. I find that this one has more little pieces than almost any other so it works well for illustration. (Baking cookies - lots fewer tasks)
- Make a list of card recipients (This will tell you how many to buy or make)
- Make or purchase cards (we will get to steps in "making" in a minute)
- Address the envelopes (can even be done in September!)
- Write a Holiday letter
- Print your letter or take to a printer
- Purchase stamps ( Doing this early or by mail saves lots of standing in line time)
- Sign and write personal notes on the cards
- Fold letters and insert into cards
- Stuff and seal and stamp pre-addressed envelopes
- Take cards to the PO
And if you are making your cards - there are more steps to consider.
We have made our own cards for the past 20 years, and while satisfying, it is definitely a lot of work. It is crucial that we start early. (And I use TV time for many of the tasks that require little concentration.)
For illustration purposes, here are the steps we take when making our cards.
- Select a photograph
- Take file to printer ( if you are making 10 cards print them yourself. But if you are making 100 - it is much, much less expensive to have them done at a photo lab like Ritz Camera.
- Mount photos to card stock
- Sign the photo and ID the image
STEP 3 - EASY! On a monthly calendar, fill in any special activities as a Holiday Train Ride, or dinner with your best friend, family get-togethers, tree decorating, putting up outside lights.
Then, fill in the deadlines for tasks like mailing cards, baking holiday treats, making gifts, wrapping gifts, etc.
You may not want to mail your cards until December 10th, but there is no reason you can't get them out of your hair early! Set an early completion date!
(made by Diane 1985)STEP 4 - Schedule the tasks listed in step 2. This one will take the most time and some mental gymnastics, so if you need to, come back to it another day with a fresh mind and a fresh pot of tea!
While this is the most time consuming step, it is also the most important. It is the tool that gets the job done! It creates your "plan of attack"! And without it, very little on your list will get done.
To illustrate, I have sacrificed a couple 2011 calendar pages.
As you can see, I have filled in activities such as Tree Decorating, and Tamale making. And some crafty time with my daughter! (Actually these activities will probably not change so I have November 2011 half planned already!)
Then I assigned a day for each of the tasks listed in step 2 for sending holiday cards. ( I marked these with a double star so you can find them!).
I find it is easiest to work backward, beginning with the last task (take to PO) to be done and assign it a spot on the calendar. Then move on to the next to the last task (stuff, stamp and seal envelopes) and find a spot for that. Continue in this way to the first task on your list.
Making your own cards? Back up a little further on your calendar and designate days to make them. In this case, the tasks are scheduled in October.
Note that on the November calendar, I also have assigned days for baking cookies and holiday breads - single star.
All that is really needed here is to figure out what goodies you want to bake. Then, referring to your recipes, make a list of ingredients needed, check your pantry and make a shopping list and plan a shopping day.
Most ingredients can be purchased a couple weeks ahead of use, so planning ahead and buying everything needed at one time saves trips to the store for that vanilla you just discovered you used up last week.
To make this process easier, I have created a spread sheet for each of my favorite holiday recipes showing how much flour, sugar, butter, eggs, etc are needed for each recipe. This is a huge time saver when making up ingredient and shopping lists.
This is probably not a place most of you want to go! For me it is essential for when I make my Valentine cookie trays and am planning and baking 2000 cookies in less than a week. And it sure comes in handy when I am planning my holiday baking!
You are done! It's time to have a little celebration!
Now, when you awake in the middle of the night thinking about that cake you are supposed to make for the office holiday party, you can relax knowing it is on the calendar and you don't have to think about it until the day you have scheduled for baking it.
And if you think of something you have forgotten to schedule, write it down and plug it in in the morning!
Which brings me to my last point. Be realistic about how much stuff you can reasonably do. The whole idea here is to make your holiday experience more stress free - not to see how much you can cram in to a couple months!
Leave some wiggle room in your calendar for those times when things don't go as planned or something unexpected crops up.
Don't be like me and Diane and fill every possible minute on your calendar with something to do!
And always be flexible so that if you can't get to everything you have scheduled it is OK.
I hope I have presented this clearly, but if I have left you with questions, please ask them in comments or by e-mail.
And now an extra special thank you to Kenneth G. Libbrecht for the spectacular snowflake images used to illustrate this post. He shares his snowflake photography, and many interesting facts about snowflakes, a guide to snowflake shapes, even videos of snow flakes growing, on his site Snow Crystals.com. Here is a direct link to his gallery.
You can find his lovely books, cards, and images for sale here. I own several books and have given many as gifts.
It is no secret to many of you that I love snowflakes!
Happy 100 Days til Christmas everyone!
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Make Easy Fall Themed Pinatas using Gourds
Submitted by Pam on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 15:36
I just had to try this out to see if it would work!
I have been thinking for some time that gourds would make the greatest "ready-made" pinata forms! And, you know what? It turns out they do!! No paste and layers of newspaper strips and drying and more strips..... None of that yucky stuff!
When I fished the gourd under all this orange tissue paper out of the gourd bin the whole bottom was rotted and crumbly. But it is my favorite gourd shape and it was nice and big so I took it home and cut away all the bad bottom parts. It had great potential to be a squash shaped pinata!
Say hello to my wooly worm pinata made from a fish or club gourd. The Pumpkin Patch always has a bunch of these in their gourd bins but I have been stumped about what to do with them.
And then one day a light went off in one of those dusty corners of my brain and I thought - Wooly Worm - of course!
Amish Gourds is a great place to order gourds if you can't get your hands on them locally. I especially appreciate that they make their gourds available individually so that you don't have to purchase a whole box. And they are already clean!
Just look at all the cool shapes they have to offer!
My personal favorites are Martin (kettle) gourds, Tobacco Box gourds and Copper Canyon Canteens because the make great boxes - and I just plain love the shape. But check out these cool warty gourds! Just in time for Halloween! And these are pretty cool too - they are called Apple gourds.
Making a Pinata using a gourd is very, very easy.
You just want to make sure you don't get a really hard shelled gourd. Both of the gourds used in these pinatas were easily cut using a fine blade pumpkin carving saw that you can find in any pumpkin carving kit now showing up in markets everywhere!
You will find instructions for cleaning, cutting and preparing gourds here.
Once the outside of your gourd is cleaned, cut a fairly large hole in the bottom or the side, depending on the shape. Remove the seeds and dried pulp from the inside. I like to scrape down the inside walls with a spoon to remove loose material and then wash with water and let dry.
Fill the cavity with your favorite candies but be sure to only use wrapped candy in your gourd pinata.
Smear regular Mod Podge (or white glue or wheat paste) on the outer surface of the gourd and the outer surface of the piece that was cut from the gourd. Just don't let it drip on the candy!
Place the cut out piece back into place and immediately cover the cutting seam with newspaper.
Apply another coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface of the newspaper. Let dry and add another coat if you like. I didn't seem to need the second coat of Mod Podge.
While the Mod Podge dries, prepare tissue or crepe paper strips in the colors of your choice.
Cut your paper into 2" wide strips. I like to stack several sheets to make cutting faster.
Now cut each strip into 2" squares.
Cut each square making cuts about every 3/16" from the bottom edge to within 1/2" inch of the top edge. Again, cutting several layers at the same time makes cutting go much faster.
Starting at the bottom of the Pinata, smear Mod Podge over about a 2" wide strip all around the gourd and begin attaching your tissue strips placing them so that the ruffle edge is toward the bottom and the straight, uncut edge is toward the top of the pinata.
Continue applying Mod Podge and paper strips, working from bottom to top, until the gourd is completely covered.
Embellish as desired! I happened to have saved a bit of paper covered wire that was originally used in packing my Christmas Tree. It worked perfectly as tendrils for the squash and the antennae for the Wooly Worm.
Easy isn't it? Have fun!
Addendum! I just received a comment from Sarah asking "do they still break easily when you hit them?"
Other than having dropped a few and watched them crack and break, I have to admit, I actually have never attempted whacking one with a stick! I have assumed the gourds would meet a similar fate!
So in the interest of finding out, I whacked one of my old wannabe bird houses. One whack and success!
Does the added coat of Mod Podge make a difference? Nope! Three whacks this time using a 1/2" thick stick.
I think the cut out actually weakens the gourd enough to make it break fairly easily. And if you will note - I do suggest not using the thick, hard shelled gourds for this project.
And I found that the gourd pinata broke cleanly - no shattering. I like that in a pinata!
Thank you so much Sarah for your great question.
