Joining Ohdeedoh's Big Blog Family: Thanks Katie!

That Katie of the clever Matsutake fame and now a regular contributor to Ohdeedoh is such a peach.  She has just put up the most lovely blather about me and Chez Beeper Bebe on Ohdeedoh as part of their Big Blog Family series.  I am so flattered, and even a little gobsmacked, really.

And if you are visiting here from Ohdeedoh for the very first time, well, welcome.  Come on in.  Have a seat in that chair over there, put your feet up and let me get you a cup of tea, or a cocktail, if you are of the same mind I am.  Feel free to look around the place at your leisure and try out some of my projects or recipes, and by all means, tell me what you think because I would love to have a little tete à tete and know all about anything that might be on your mind.  Visitors are always welcome around here.  Especially visitors who are sent by Katie and her pals over at Ohdeedoh.

Oh, and the rest of you, you know those of you who are regulars around here?--you know who you are.  Anyway, you are always welcome here too--help yourself to the wine, grab a snack, and settle in for the afternoon.  Friends around the place always make it a little warmer.

And if you have a minute, please check out Katie's write up on Ohdeedoh--you can find it here.

Nuno: Forest Edition

Just do yourself a favor already and go purchase the first ever edition of Nuno post haste.  Seriously, people.  I downloaded it over the weekend while I was away at a cabin with friends (photos coming soon) and was speechless at the beauty of the photos, the grace of the designs and the sheer number of projects contained within one single issue--try over 30 projects.  Gentlemen, start your crafting engines.  The magazine is 150 pages, all ad free, loaded with said lovely photography of each project, and templates and tutorials galore.  

You can purchase a copy here at Elizabeth Abernathy's blog, or for the skeptics amongst you, there is a 28-page preview of the magazine available for free download (find that at her blog too--in the sidebar)--but trust me, that one merely gives you a taste of the loveliness that lies within the full edition.  There is something for everyone in Nuno--clothing, knitting, nature-y crafts, puppets, book-making, and almost all the projects employ sustainable resources (recycled, or natural).

And if that is not enough for you, Elizabeth's blog also happens to be chock full o' tutorial and project goodness--like all those projects you see above.  More clever loveliness than you can shake a stick at, I tell you.  What are you waiting for?  Go purchase a copy of Nuno now--$5 was never put to better use.
(all photos are courtesy of Elizabeth Abernathy and her fantastic blog)

What 6 Years Old Looks Like

Yes, this is what 6 years old is looking like these days.  This is what you get when you attempt to take a photo of your boy laying on the lawn on a summer's day.  What was I thinking?

On a side note--you may have noticed that my blog banner has become a bit more cluttered.  Yeah, I switched it up because it just seems a more accurate depiction of what my workshop is looking like these days.  Lots going on and lots of mess.

Sharing: Some Back-to-Schoolish Projects I Love

Some little school-ish projects I have had bookmarked that I wanted to share since it almost (please don't hate me for reminding you) back to school time. I will definitely be making some of those trinket keepers from Amazing Mae for Beeper to attach to his backpack, lunch box, and wherever else he deems necessary.  And AshleyAnna Brown's snack bags have been on my to-make list for too long and the time has come, people.  And tell me, is Katie's book covering tutorial not sheer brilliance?  So, go have a look at the links over in my Projects Found Elsewhere You Should See file and get your back-to-school craft on.  

Possibilities

Don't you just love the endless possibilities represented in a stack of freshly washed and ironed fabrics?  All that potential, neatly folded into dormancy, just waiting to be unleashed.  A little bomb of creativity waiting to explode into what will be.  Or for the Harry Potter loving amongst you, an Erumpent Horn on Xenophilius' wall, not yet detonated.  For now, the little stack and I are exchanging knowing smiles whenever I pass, flirting brazenly, our courtship.  Our time will come, my pretties, soon.

Read This: Butterflies in My Stomach

I purchased this book, Butterflies in My Stomach (and other school hazards) by Serge Bloch, right about this time last year, before Beeper had his first day of kindergarten.  You see, buying books is an act of celebration for me--sure, I buy them for the unadulterated pleasure of reading them, but they are also like uncorking a bottle of champagne to underscore something simple and good occurring in your life.  Some people eat when they are happy, I buy books (well, okay, I might also order dessert).    Anyway, what I am trying to tell you here is that I bought this book last year in a happy moment, wanting to earmark the transition Beeper was about to make to beginning school.  

It is a sweet but clever story about a little boy's first day of school, told entirely through commonplace idioms that are interpreted literally in simple line drawings mixed with photographic imagery.  Like having butterflies in your stomach...

 

...or being in a real pickle (for missing the school bus, of course).

   

I loved this book.  It not only provided a venue for Beeper and I to talk about his first day of school and being nervous about it, but we also discussed the real meanings of the metaphors used in the book.  He loved that and found so many of them hilarious in that way 5-years-olds do--like having ants in your pants or opening a can of worms.

  

And I have to admit that Beeper had a bit of a rough transition to his new school (strong emotional attachments to his pre-school were not easily left behind for him--and I so understand.  I was completely like that as a kid)--so we came back to this book many times over the month after he started kindergarten.  And he actually used one of the sayings in the book to describe how he felt--he was blue.

  

Anyway, this is a lovely and original book.  We still revisit from time to time even though that school transition is done now.  And I still hear him using the phrases from the book now and again (or sometimes mixing them up and telling me that he has bugs in his stomach).

Eat This: Homemade Popsicles

This is what I have been obsessively doing for the past month--making bazillions of popsicles.  Our freezer became so overrun it was starting to look like I should I just buy an ice cream truck that plays that creepy music-box-y music and head down to the beach and go into business.  

But instead, all the kids who visit our house get to luck out and eat a popsicle of her/his choice upon entry.  The thing is, popsicles are really, really easy to make.  And so delicious--and some are even relatively healthy for you--or at least they are corn syrup free and may involve some yogurt and fresh fruit, so there's that.

I began this odyssey making some of the frozen pops from this book--Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon--which is an excellent book all around, by the way--full of how-tos on making everything from ricotta cheese to poptarts ...

...to marshmallows to several varieties of crackers...

...and even real jamaican ginger beer...and photos of everything (I love photos in a cookbook--it is always the photos that woo me into buying)--plus, an entire chapter devoted to frozen confections (the fudgesicle recipe in here is delish--a little dark, fudgey and nothing like what you find in the store in such a good way).

So, this was my popsicle primer--and then I just sort of took off from there and went freestyle--mixing all sorts of fruits and ingredients together willynilly--my family dutifully trying each new variety of popsicle and letting me know if it was a keeper.  And now I am here to share my fave new frozen pop creations with you--orange vanilla, coconut pineapple, banana-strawberry-pineapple bomb pop, and cherry lemonade.  Have at it:
DOWNLOAD RECIPE

Keep on enjoying summer with a vengeance and make some for yourself.  (and when I say make some, I mean make lots because you should, and that vanilla orange popsicle might-be mood-altering all on its own.  If you know what I mean.)