car cookies

I saw this instructable for dashboard baking and thought it was a great idea!  it's an idea that's been around for a while, but somehow I've never seen it.  anyway, it's WAY too hot to bake anything in the house from May-October, but I could go for some baking in the car.  it's an oven that's already always going, and your car smells like fresh baked cookies, so I just had to try it and see.

I grabbed some chocolate chip cookie dough and set up my car for baking.

 

I did a pan by itself, and one with the reflective sun screen thing around it just to see if it made a difference.

 

after 1 hour this is how they looked and the 150°F was holding steady - couldn't really tell a difference between the two pans.

 

after 2 hours they looked a little more cooked, but not quite done yet.  I think the pan with the reflector looked slightly more done at this point.

 

after 3 hours - no real difference between pans - temp still holding.

I pulled them out at 4 hours because they didn't look like they were changing anymore, and I needed to use the car.  I was hoping to see the brown bottoms like in the Instructables picture, but they just looked more dried and had these air pockets underneath... which kinda puzzled me.  they had a caramelized texture/flavor on the outside but were chewy on the inside, and they didn't feel or taste under-cooked.

I think if I wanted a more traditional cooked cookie I'd just put my toaster oven out on the patio and bake them that way if I didn't want to heat up the house in the future, but it was a cool experiment and they still tasted just fine - we ate them all that afternoon!

eternal waves

I made myself some friendship bracelets (I just realized that sounds pretty sad as I was typing!) since the bracelets I made 8-9 years ago in Mexico that I'd been wearing every summer since had seen better days.

after I finished off the boys bracelets, I still wanted to make more so I tried this pattern from friendship-bracelets.net that looked interesting and doable.

I made one to go with a top I wore on Easter.  I thought the colors went good with the blouse, and they looked good in my head, but when I started making it I had to convince myself to continue because I wanted to abandon it partway through!  I don't know what I don't like about it, but this one just wasn't what I had in mind.  I do like the button closure (even though it's not the button I wanted to use) and the two braided, tassel-like tails that hang down were probably my favorite part.

I tried the pattern again with just one color and I liked it a lot better.  I also was able to use the button that I originally wanted to use for my first one on the second, so that worked out.  I added some beads this time to give it a little extra something.  I probably should have added more but I thought I'd just see how it went first.

the pattern comes out really cool, but I thought it was a little difficult to keep the tension the same throughout the bracelet to make sure all the outer threads looked the same, and it didn't curve to one side.  I think adding more beads to those threads might make it look better, but I'm still happy with how they came out.

friendship bracelets 2014

the weather had been going back and forth from cold to hot so I wasn't thinking about bracelets for the boys until a friend of mine sent me a picture of all these bracelets she's been making.  I felt so behind!  it took me two weeks to finish all 6 of mine (why did I decide they need 3 each??) but I got it done.

I was looking for some interesting new pattern ideas and I really liked this rainbow zig zag... then I realized I did that one already year before last in yellow and black!  with gradient colors it gives it a different look so I did it again, anyway.

Scarlet King Snake colors/pattern (red on black, friend to Jack) is a must now so I did some framed chevrons to represent snakes - I think these are my favorite.

I did each of their names in gradient colors with some accent triangles for a tribal sorta feel.

when I gave Leo his first bracelet he wore it for a little bit and then asked me to take it off :(  I was pretty bummed, but he came around and asked for it again later.  every time I had a new one to put on them they both held out their arms and patiently waited for me to tie them on, then went back to playing.  I would love to still be making friendship bracelets for them years down the road, but I know one day it'll come to an end when they decide they're too cool for mom's dorky crafts, so I'm glad they are willing to wear them for now!

another flip flop project

last October my mom and I worked on some flip flops for our vacation craft, and I just finished mine over the weekend!  that's how far down on my to-do list completing them was.

I watched this video (it's not in English, but you can see what's being done) and thought it looked easy enough that my mom and I could tackle it in a few days (well, she was able to!).

it's a basic macrame knot around the straps, with beads strung on one of the ribbons.  I used the thinnest ribbon they had at the craft store, 6/0 seed beads, some polymer clay beads I made forever and a day ago, and the middle beads at the toe were just flat glass beads.

if I'm lucky, I'll be able to do another pair this summer, but I really wish I had the time to make a pair like Luis Quintero - I love watching him macrame sandals, even if I have no idea what he's saying!

bracelets for my boys

it's not quite summer, but it feels so nice outside that I pulled my summer bracelets out the other day and Leo immediately wanted to know where his were.  he walked around the living room whining about it because his past 2 years of bracelets are framed up on the wall.  I had to quickly whip one up, which he got excited about, but then went back to whining because one wasn't enough.  he's so smart.

 

as I was making more he came over to "oooooh" and "ahhhhhhh" over my basket of embroidery floss.  he kept saying "purple!" over and over so I told him I'd make a purple one.  then he wanted blue.  and green.  and black.  and whatever other color he pulled from the pile of floss.  it's so cute how passionate he is about his summer bracelets now :)

I made Jack some, too.  my favorite is the Scarlet King snake - red on black, friend to Jack :)  I thought it was pretty clever.  maybe someday he will like them as much as Leo does his.



knot for Leo

I made Leo some friendship bracelets to wear last summer that are now framed and up on my Leo wall of fame in the living room.

he was a sport and wore them for 4 months without a problem! I'm trying to make it a summer tradition to make him new ones every year and these are what I did for 2012.

the top one is a zigzag pattern in yellow and black, the middle one is basic letters that I made on a grid, and the bottom one is a 5-strand flat braid like I did on my flip flops strap. I finished them all off by leaving tails to tie together that I fishtail(or fishbone?) braided.

I tried the same 5-strand flat braid with 7 strands for a friend. I'm sure it could be done with many more and I want to try a really wide one... some day.

I was worried that because Leo's older he might mess with them, but he actually seemed excited to wear them (maybe he remembers) and sat still with his arm out for me to put them on! he doesn't seem to notice they're there now.

if you're new to friendship bracelets, here are the 4 basic knots: