These were both holiday projects I never posted. I’ve hardly uploaded any pictures since October, so I’ll probably be backposting for a while!
The first picture is a geeky logo shirt I screenprinted for my brother. If you can name them all, try going out in the sun once in a while. The others are two of the gingerbread cookies I made New Year’s Eve. One is R2D2 (sort of), and the other lost his leg in an unfortunate baking accident, but that made him my favorite. I guess I uploaded the wrong picture. I’ll get him up tonight. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been on a quest since mid-November. Longer, really, but that was about when I got seriously dedicated to The Quest for the Perfect Biscuit. It’s an art, and an art at which until now I was mostly failing to master. My mom occasionally comments on her own skills in the art, including the facts that her grandmother’s biscuits (and everybody knows grandmothers make the best biscuits) were made with lard, and the lard was cut in with her hands. None of this fancy Cuisinart shortcutting.
One day in Target, I saw lard. Now, I’ve seen plenty of lard for sale. But usually in buckets, measured in gallons. But Target sells it in a one-pound little box that looks just like a box of butter. Well, except for being green, saying LARD instead of BUTTER, and smelling like strange meat products. I will not tell you lies. This stuff does not smell good. But it makes some damn fine biscuits.
As a side note, I asked a nutritionist about the whole lard thing. I’ve always thought of lard as, “yikes! bad fats! stay away!” But once I bought the lard and read the package… really it’s no worse than butter. It’s even better, in some respects. So I said, “Hey, nutritionist lady. What’s up with all the anti-lard movement?” And she agreed with me that lard is no more bad for you than butter. So you heard it here. The nutritionist green-lighted my lardo biscuits. And I’m extending the green light to you.
Then I commenced reading everything the Internet could tell me about the art of biscuit making and applied said knowledge. I have not perfected the biscuit, but I’ve gotten pretty darn close. They are crunchy and flaky on the outside, smooth and fluffy on the inside. So I’m ready to share what I’ve learned. (The picture, by the way, is of tonight’s thawed and baked batch. More on that later.)
Here’s the how-to. Read the rest of this entry »
I had a turbocharged crafty night last night to get ready for the costume contest at work today. Here’s a picture of everything I had to do or finish up:
Clockwise from center/top:
- Screenprinted Blue Sun shirt from Firefly
- Sew pearls back on Amidala dress formerly known as the lavender nightgown
- Star Trek communicator made out of Sculpey
- Gryffindor scarf
- Finish Jayne hat (crocheted, cheating, I know)
I layered five costumes and played video clips from each show/movie:
- Harry Potter: Just a black robe and quick scarf I made
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The much-blogged-about Elizabeth Swann
- Firefly: The Blue Sun shirt and Jayne Hat
- Star Trek: TNG uniform
- Star Wars: The dress formerly known as the lavender nightgown
For Halloween, I wore Elizabeth Swann. All the time that went into that, I might as well wear it as much as possible! Husband decided to be fat Elvis (in his later years). The kidlet was going to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz until I discovered her little ruby slippers were a bit too big, and she couldn’t walk in them without looking like she’d had a pitcher of margaritas. So she became daddy’s biggest fan, which really, wasn’t much of a costume since she already is!
It turns out there used to be Elvis patterns in the usual pattern books, but there aren’t anymore. There isn’t even a basic jumpsuit pattern. If you find someone willing to sell you one of the old Elvis patterns, they’re going for about $60. So instead I used a basic pirate shirt pattern to get the collar I wanted and then attached it to pants at the waist. I split the shirt down the center front for the zipper. Then I lined the inside of the lower sleeves and put a gusset in the pants leg, both with the red crushed velvet from the inside of the cape.
Pictures behind the cut. Read the rest of this entry »
This is without a doubt my favorite of all the cakes I’ve done. What’s really crazy is that it actually turned out to look pretty much like the original idea in my head.
The depth of field threw the Snoopy moon and sign out of focus, but it’s Linus’ “WELCOME GREAT PUMPKIN” sign.
The characters and pumpkins are made from candy melts and stand up in the cake with toothpicks I set in them. It gives it a nice 3D look in person that doesn’t come through well in the picture, although you can see it a little better in the full size photo.
Amusingly enough, the first item in the list WordPress gives me of sites linking to this one is the headline, “That’s no moon…” referring to the Death Star. But this is a moon! Since moon pictures seem to be all the rage on the internets today, I decided to run outside for a few minutes and try it myself. I didn’t really think I could with what I have, but I noticed on that second link that a guy had listed the settings he had used with a camera and lens almost identical to mine, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
Of course I left my tripod mount on the video camera at work. So I laid the tripod sideways on the roof of my car and propped the camera up on that. Never let it be said that I have patience. Because you know, the moon might not be there tomorrow night. So here’s what I got!
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 300 mm
Then there’s this one:
Exposure: 0.2 sec (1/5)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 300 mm
This was one of the first two pictures I took when I decided to try to get a moon picture. I was just rolling through settings, and here’s where I started.
What’s interesting is the double moon effect. The bright one on the right is the one I saw in the viewfinder. The shadowy double, if you zoom in on the original, actually contains the detail of moon surface. What’s further interesting about it is that I saved this shot because I saw the double on my D50’s screen, but when I downloaded it, I couldn’t see the "shadow" moon until I blew up the levels.
I posted the Death Star cake back in April, and I’m still getting about 100 hits/month on it, plus fairly regular emails asking for a “how to.” I really only spent about an hour on it just to do a quick and fun cake. One day maybe I’ll do Death Star 2.0. But here’s what I sent the most recent requester about how this one was made:
The Death Star cake is super easy if you have an airbrush. I used the Wilton ball pan, which you can get from Michael’s, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, or anywhere you’d get the Wilton pans. I scooped out the dent in the side with a knife (I suspect a melon baller would be perfect, but I don’t have one of those) and frosted the whole thing with a gray buttercream. Then I used black airbrush color to spray on the pattern. I just googled up a picture of the Death Star and looked at it to freehand on the design. Nobody’s memorized exactly how many rows there are or things like that, so as long as it’s similar, you’re good. And that’s it!
If you don’t have an airbrush, my second plan had been to do the same thing but use black marshmallow fondant for the black parts. For marshmallow fondant, melt marshmallows with a little water on them and add powdered sugar until it’s stiff enough to work with. Here are very detailed instructions that make it sound harder than it is. If you have a KitchenAid, just let the dough hook do the work for you. After it’s made, you can roll it out and cut shapes. To get it black, the easiest thing might be to use the chocolate marshmallows if you can find them or to add cocoa powder before you use black dye. I haven’t actually tried either of those things yet, though.
Good luck! Send me a picture if you do it!
I’ve got a wide-angle lens coming tomorrow in time for our trip to Asheville this weekend, so I’ve been wandering Flickr looking for wide-angle inspiration and to get an idea of where leaf color is at this point. Looks like it’s just starting to change. But of course I couldn’t stay on-topic and ended up wandering. So:
Pictures like this one make me wish that Flickr photos came with explanations of what the photographer did to get the shot.
I’m so addicted to HDR. I’ve got to finally get around to making one. I don’t like what it does to water, though, but it’s perfect for a glass gallery.
For some really lovely nature shots, check out Flickr user NatureWalk.
The Lost Colony is America’s longest-running outdoor drama, and Tuesday night lost nearly all of its costumes. Costumes going back to the 1940s, including those by Tony award winning designer William Ivey Long, were lost. Shoes, hats, and fabric are gone as well.
They are now accepting donations to help replace what was lost.
I finished at 3 a.m. the night before we left for Dragon*con. And to be honest (shh, don’t tell!), I didn’t put all the pieces on together until I went down for the contest.
This picture is actually from Sunday. Friday for the costume contest, I straightened my hair, which worked pretty well to replicate the texture of Keira Knightley’s hair in the movie. I also got caught in a bit of rain and considered staying out there for a really authentic look, but then I thought better of it.
I’m really pretty happy with how it turned out, and I won Best Use of Materials at Dragon*con’s Friday Night Costuming Contest. Next weekend I’m planning to go take more pictures of it out on the beach.
