Love - a painting

I decided that rather than continuing the stare at my blank canvases I'd purchased a while back, I'd finally work up the nerve to throw some paint on it. I wanted to make something bright and fun, and after making the background a bright pink in different tones, I decided to go with a love theme and make a painting for my daughter's room. She complains that she doesn't have anything fun on her wall (Seriously, she's crazy ... her room's walls are full of fun projects and paintings!), so I thought this might placate her for a while.

After I had the background the way I liked it, I used some painted bubble wrap to give the bottom of the canvas some texture and visual weight, then set about stenciling in the word "love."

I used a bright blue and a sponge to stencil the letters on the painting, with a background whitewashed in some gesso. I then went back and added the lettering to the bottom of the painting, the additional detail at the top of the painting and free hand drew some hearts in a light blue. I then covered the entire canvas with a sealer, and called it done. I'm very pleased with my first attempt at a painting and feel better about giving the other canvases I have a go. I have a very large canvas I'd like to paint for above our bed in the master bedroom, as well as a bunch of smaller canvases.

In fact, I had so much fun, I got Hannah a little canvas and let her have a turn at throwing some paint on the white background - but that's for another post!

DSLR quilted patchwork strap cover

Since I've had my DSLR - quite a while now - I've been wanting to make a strap cover, or an entirely new strap, to replace the thin, basic Canon one that came with the camera. If you've even had a DSRL hanging around your neck for any length of time, you'll know that the basic strap is not that comfortable. And let's face it - it's not that glamorous looking either!

So, while the kids were out the other morning, I used my free time to whip up this patchwork, quilted strap cover for my Canon T3i. I had browsed a couple of tutorials, but in the end, just kinda of winged putting it together.

I cut seven pieces of fabric 5.5 inches by 5 inches and sewed them together with a quarter-inch seam allowance on the 5.5 inch sides. I used a strap measurement of 27 inches and cut the extra length off each side of the long patchwork strip equally. I then cut a piece of fusible fleece 5.5 inches by 27 inches and fused the patchwork to the fleece. I quilted on either side of the patchwork seams and in quarter-inch lines down the length of the strap. I then turned the ends under roughly 1-inch twice, and sewed down the ends, giving it a finished edge. I then sewed the length of the strap with a quarter-inch seam allowance and turned it right side out (this is the hardest part!). I ironed it and threaded it onto my camera strap ... and it fit perfectly. The finished length is about 23 inches long, which was just right for my Canon strap.

If you're looking for a good basic camera strap cover tutorial, check out this one here by Cluck Cluck Sew! Happy sewing!

Good Folks voile scarf

After staring it my two yards of Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks voile for the past few months, I finally broke down Sunday and cut into it. Despite having a ridiculously large stash of voile, I've been very hesitant to cut into it and sew with it as I was a little afraid of the texture (it's so slippery!) and some of the stories I've read in blogland made it seem like it was a challenge at times. But, I had bought these two yards with the specific intent of making this scarf, using this tutorial from Jen at BettyCrockerAss. She used regular cotton in her tutorial, but I figured the voile would work as well, just be a bit wider and longer, and it did.

Jen calls her tutorial "super easy" and I would say that was the case with this, although I'm sure it took me much longer than her to do all the lining up of fabric, as the voile is slippery and required lots of pinning, and the fussy pressing before top stitching took a long time. In the end though, it was well worth it.

I think this is the perfect light weight scarf for spring and fall. It's quite long and wraps around one's neck a number of times. It might be a bit warm for what's left of this spring, but I will look forward to wearing it this fall with my fall jackets!

It felt really good to know that I could sew with the voile and while it did require a little more finesse than regular quilter's cotton, I think I can move on to trying to sew a Wiksten tank out of some of the voile in my stash I have designated for that ... then, provided that's a success, I can move up to the Wiksten Tova, which I have even more voile designated for! I'm excited to be sewing clothing for myself as I've often admired those I follow who do just that.

Patchwork QAYG iPad sleeve

Yesterday I had a bit of kid-free time in the morning, and I needed a couple of quick projects to see me through the day. One of the things that's been on my to-do list was making a sleeve for my iPad, which we received as a hand-me-down from Hannah's grandpa when he upgraded to the newer model. Hannah had picked off part of the protective covering and I needed a new solution to keep it safe when not in use.

So, I looked over a couple of iPad sleeve tutorials online but didn't find any that really floated my boat, so I went with my trusty QAYG method and made two panels, from and back, out of some of my favorite scraps in my stash. This was the perfect project to use a bit of my much hoarded Melody Miller typewriter print! I made up the two panels and cut them out with an extra 1.5 inches around each edge of the ipad, then cut the lining out based on those measurements.

I then sewed the lining to the quilted panels and right-sided the sleeve. I topstitched around the edge and added a closure. The sleeve fits the iPad snugly and closes with elastic and a covered button on top (my mom will recognize that little scrap from one of her coveted Spoonflower prints!). The lining is a Riley Blake circles print in chocolate and tan and it compliments the colors on the outside of the sleeve.

The back features more QAYG patchwork and more of my favorite prints, including another Melody Miller print from Ruby Star Rising. I'm thrilled with how this quick project turned out and happy that the iPad is now well protected when not in use. This was my quick project of the day - my other, making a voile scarf, took much longer, but that's for another post!

Death by Chocolate (Torte, that is!)

This is hands-down, the single best recipe I have ever made! If you like chocolate - and who doesn't? - you won't be sorry you tried this one!

This is another Pinterest-found recipe that turned out to be just as good, if not better, than it sounded when I read it! I was motivated to find the perfect torte recipe after coming across this great Pfaltzgraff torte pan at an op shop for $1.99. It just screamed "make a torte in me!" so I snatched it up and went home in search of the perfect recipe.

Dark Chocolate Tart by Gourmet

For the Crust:
9 graham crackers, chocolate or honey
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the Filling:
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate - I used Ghiradelli 60% cacao
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (you can substitute evaporated milk here to cut calories some)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Chocolate Glaze:
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (evaporated milk works great here too)
1 3/4 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate - use the same as in the filling
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon water

1) Make the crust: In a food processor, finely grind up crackers, add sugar. Add butter and pulse until well combined. Press into a 9 inch tart pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Then let cool for 15-20 minutes.

2) Make the filling: In a saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over the 8 oz chopped chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes, then gently whisk to combine. Then, whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into cooled crust and bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes - until filling is set about 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly. Let cool for 1 hour.

3) Make the glaze: In a small saucepan, bring the 2 tablespoons cream to a boil, remove from heat. Pour over 1 3/4 oz chocolate. Whisk to combine. Then, whisk in corn syrup and water. Pour onto tart, tilting around to spread the glaze evenly. Let set 1 hour.

Yield: 8 servings.

I made mine with heavy whipping cream and figured the calorie count based on that, which was quite high, coming in at roughly 500 calories per slice. Substituting evaporated milk for the heaving whipping cream would cut down calories some, but really, when you're making a dessert like this, who is counting calories? This is a decadent, over-the-top dessert meant to be enjoyed. Life is too short sometimes to worries about every little calorie!

Friday Favorites: Quilty Goodness

1. Scrappy Trip, 2. PLPS7 sent!, 3. Circular Edges Mini Quilt, 4. IMG_8600, 5. Baby quilt for Theo, 6. PTS 10: Completed, 7. PLPS 7, 8. Happy Trails, 9. Open Wide Pouch

I realize I've included the triangle quilt in the center of this mosiac twice now in two weeks - I think it's screaming out to me that I need to try some triangle piecework in the near future! :)

TTV photography with a DSLR

After reading on A Beautiful Mess how to rig a vintage camera to take picture through the viewfinder with your DSLR, I had to give it a try yesterday. I took my vintage Argus 75 and rigged a simple light shield out of white card stock and taped it to the top of my camera. I then used my 55mm lens on my Canon T3i and inserted it into the top of the tube, focusing on what I saw through the viewfinder. Post shoot, in Photoshop, I cropped out the surrounding detail, leaving just what you'd see if you'd taken the shot with 620 film in the camera.

 I really do love the result, but if I were to do one thing differently, I'd pick a less pristine vintage camera from my collection to shoot with. The Argus 75 in my collection looks like it has never had a roll of film in it before and its optics are amazing ... you loose some of that grainy, aged look you find in older, well-used TTV cameras.

But the focus was soft and the light was excellent, so overall, I'm pleased. I think today I'll take the tube off the Argus and try it with my Argoflex, which has seen a little more love in its day!

This last shot is probably my favorite, because you can see some aging and spots on the lens that appear on the wall behind the plants. But Hannah was more than willing to be my subject for the morning, so most of my shots included her! This afternoon I'll try and get some more artsy shots with the Argoflex.

If you're really interested in giving this a go yourself, here's the link to a Flickr group that discusses all the different types of contraptions one can make to achieve a similar result. It's amazing to see both how simple some people's designs are and how complex others are! For now, I think I'm going to stick with a card stock tube, but I might make it out of black card stock to help block some additional light.

New App fun - A Beautiful Mess

In case you were somehow on Instagram yesterday and missed it, the lovely Elsie and Emma behind the blog A Beautiful Mess released their first iTunes app! Before they'd even had a chance to blog about it, it took off like wildfire!

The app costs $.99 for the basic version which includes a handful of filters, fun borders, fonts, quotes and quirky doodles. For the basic price, there is a lot to work with, but for additional fees you can add even more shapes, borders, doodles, quotes and fonts. I have just been playing with the basic version.

The photo above is done using a border, doodle and quote over the top of a painting in progress that I've been working on.

Here, I used a tooth-edged border to lend some interest to the upgrade I did yesterday to my front porch sitting area. I used some free time yesterday to get some basic patio furniture and plant some annuals. It definitely pretties up the entrance to our home for little time, effort and money. I have a ton more plants that need to get planted today, but I ran out of both dirt and pots, so it's back off to the store for me again!

I did, however, manage to get my pot full of basil planted! I used the A Beautiful Mess app to add a fun flowery border and some text as well. I love how this app makes a relatively uninteresting photo just "pop."

And lastly, I just have to share this capture because it's the funniest thing! It's been sitting in my photo folder on my iPhone with no idea what to do with it. While it was funny - a total accident while asking my daughter to "pose" for the camera - the use of the quotes on the A Beautiful Mess app were just what it needed to take it from funny to hilarious! For the record, my daughter was in the process of moving her hand to make her pointer finger and thumb stick up (to look cool, she said) ... I just happened to catch her mid hand gesture with the 50 or so shots I took hoping for the one good one where she didn't look totally silly or blurry. I just about died laughing when I saw this one ... so here goes:

For the record, she's never seen this gesture and I didn't show her the picture or tell her why I was laughing either ... don't want to explain this one to a four-year-old or let her think it's at all funny so she starts repeating it. But those of you with little ones know, sometimes you get the unexpected ... and it's just downright funny! This app just took this picture over the top for me!

So, if you're interested in learning more about the A Beautiful Mess app, check out their FAQ page here. Or log on to Instagram and search #ABeautifulMess for more examples of the app's abilities. And if you're already convinced you need it ... head on over to the iTunes store and download it! You won't be sorry, I promise!

Banana Bread Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

How many times do you find yourself with overly ripe bananas sitting on your kitchen counter? Is your go-to plan for them to whip up a quick loaf of banana bread? That's usually mine ... however despite trying a variety of recipes, I find that more often than not, I end up with trouble getting the bread to cook all the way through, leaving a gooey mess in the center of the loaf that nobody wants to eat.

My solution? This great recipe I found via Pinterest - Banana Bread Bars with Browned Butter Frosting! Not only do they taste just like banana bread, they cook all the way through - every time! (And I should know, I've been making these a lot lately!)

I don't know about you, but I find recipes I pin on Pinterest to be pretty hit-or-miss. Either they're wonderful, or I've wasted about $10 of ingredients on something nobody in my family - me included - is going to eat. So, I figured I'd give you all a heads up ... these are worth making!

The recipe is from The Girl Who Ate Everything. I've made some changes to it (like cutting down the amount of powdered sugar in the frosting, which helps cut out some unnecessary calories).

Ingredients:

Banana Bread Bars:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

2 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 9x13-inch baking pan.  For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.

2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

4.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). 

Yield: approximately 16 large bars.

I did a rough calorie estimate on these and figuring about 16 bars per pan with the frosting, it ended up being roughly 300 calories per bar. Of course, you could leave off the frosting and save yourself many of those calories, but really, that's what makes this recipe!

I've made a couple pans of these and rather than eat all them, found that my neighbors LOVE getting a plate full of warm banana bread bars ... so feel free to share! But be warned, you might just eat the whole pan yourself too!

New additions to the camera collection

So, a couple weeks back, I got some ridiculous deals on vintage cameras to add to my collection. Too good to pass up! I finally cleaned them up and figured I'd share the latest three additions.

The first is this Sabre 620, a simple plastic box camera for 620 film. It was manufactured from 1956-1972 by Shaw-Harrison and was made in a variety of colors, including this tan model. I've seen it in red, black, teal, aqua, and even mahogany. It was also sold under the name Valiant 620 as well. I picked this one up for $6. Apparently these are easy to come by, but I've yet to see one in person prior to receiving this one and the ones I've found online on Ebay and Etsy have been ridiculously expensive. So, I was very happy with this one - which came with it's handle intact!

The next addition was a set of two cameras I scored for $5 total - this Imperial Mark XII Flash model in grey.  It was manufactured in Chicago by Herbert George and takes 6x6 images on 620 film. It is made of plastic - like most Imperial cameras - and was available in a variety of colors, including grey, black, tan, red, light blue, a brighter blue and green. There were also variants of the camera with different face plates that were labeled as the "Official Boy Scouts of America Camera," the "Official Girl Scouts Camera," and the "Official Brownie Scouts Camera." The design of this camera is very basic. It is a fixed-focus, one shutter speed camera with a single aperture.

The other camera in the two-for-$5 deal was this Ansco Pioneer. It was manufactured from 1947 to 1953 in Binghamton, New York and came in two film sizes - 620 and the larger 616. This camera is the 620 size. The body is made of metal and Bakelite. What is interesting about this camera is that the film plane is curved and the lens is designed to match the curvature of the film plane. It was designed by Henry Dreyfuss, who had originally made designs for Bell Telephone Laboratories before making cameras. This is an older model (having the red-capped shutter release lever) and does not have a bulb mode, only the instant 1/50 second shutter speed. The lens is a f/14. It was also manufactured under the name Afga Pioneer.

So, for $11 and a little bit of shipping cost, I added three fun 620 cameras to my collection! And I am now in desperate need of a new floating shelf as I have run out of room and my cameras are now stacked upon each other!