Ringing in the New Year with Eco-friendly style!

Eco Friendly goods, eco-friendly art, and amazing cupcakes! What better way to ring in the new year? Come to Green Spaces Colorado at 1368 26th Street On Jan 1st from 3:30 in to the night! It'll be First Friday down in the Santa Fe district so you can swing by this show and stay around downtown for some fun times! See you there!

Christmas, A Little Late but Still Sweet.

After a few days of delay we had a big Christmas with the boys family. Lots of gifts around the tree and the whole she-bang. I almost finished the Sweater in time, with just the front pocket not done. After a big meal we all got out computers out and had a mini LAN-esque party...
That's right, all of us are avid WOW players so we got together and all made new characters together and played as a group. This is what family together time looks like in their household! (And yes those are all Macs, this is a Mac house just like mine...)

White Christmas

We has it... Happy Politically-correct Non-denominational Mid-December Celebrations people!

The Gadget Lover makes Christmas Cookies

At some point in the distant past my Grandmother must have received a cookie press from some relative, and a family tradition was born. A delectable shortbread like cookie known as "Spritz" shaped by extruding it from a tube like adhesive from a caulk gun. A perfect blend of handyman skills and fine baking!

The cookies are a simple recipe, I use butter but my mother swears by margarine for optimal stability during handling. Note - if you use margarine it must be the full fat variety, even a high percent will make gummy cookies.
Cream together 1 cup butter and 2/3 sugar. Add 1 egg (the original recipe called for 3 egg yolks, but with new views on cholesterol and the larger modern egg this is the best substitution). 1 tsp flavoring (almond or vanilla, even a few cubes of melted chocolate works).
2 1/2 cups flour, start mixing with a machine but finish with your hands, not quite in a kneading motion but close. You want a fairly firm dough.
The press is a simple mechanism. We own several as my mother always grabs them at estate sales so we have spare parts. Each comes with little metal dies that make different shapes. Some make better looking and better baking cookies, the little dog ends up looking more like a fat horse. Some shapes are just traditional in the family. Most of our batch was made with the single star shaped hole, made into wreath-like circles.
The dough is put into the tube and the ratcheting handle squeezes it out. A cold cookie sheet is important for getting the dough to stick so it pulls off the press neatly. One also must be careful not to squeeze out too much as really big cookies don't cook well.

Here's our pile of cooking happiness. The trees were dyed green, one could flavor them also if you desired. Mom and I like to add lots of sprinkles sparkles and red hots (the little cinnamon dots) but there are a few scrooge-y purist in the family who prefer them totally plain, we even keep them in a seperate tin to avoid contamination by goodness... ^.^

There you are, what better thing to do on a cold snowy December afternoon... too bad it was clear sunny and almost 60! Winter in Colorado is a fickle thing.

I'm getting in the Holiday Spirit

Well that Holiday is sneaking up. We're making cookies, we're puzzling over what to get the teenagers on our list, we're drinking eggnog in the traditional manner (with rum that is). So I decided to waste some time on Etsy and make a blog post, whet better thing to do during the busy Christmas season?

First, a reminder that I really have to keep working on my Christmas knitting! (just one more quest, I promise, I'm almost a level 71...) This awesome art yarn from AuthenticFiction has all the best. Merino? check. Felt flowers? check. Sparkles? check. It's a Christmas party in a skein...

how about some art as a reminder that red and green weren't pulled out of no where. They are seasonal colors because of the bright reds that are left over from fall in berries and leaves. These red maples from TwoDogGardens remind me of Christmas in Tokyo last year, with bright red maple still hanging on.

Now red and green doesn't have to be just a seasonal thing. These earrings from MarjorieWells could accessorize a holiday outfit, and be worn the rest of the year too! Peridot is a favorite gem of mine so I know I have plenty of clothes to match this green...

Not all of us can pull off a plaid skirt... (I know I can't) but all of us can carry a cute little bag made from a plaid skirt! SandBagsDesigns created an upcycled tote in Christmas colors so you can put some green and red in any outfit.

How about something a little bit crafty? Like some sweet little crocheted flowers ready to be stuck/sewed on to your next project? CraneCrochet makes some awesome little items, perfect for adding some flair to an item. Also perfect if you are like me and have not yet figured out crochet patterns :p

You're running out of time to order things online for the Holidays, but you can still pick up some sweet stuff for year round, or just get a jump on next year ^.^

Another Awesome Local Indie Craft Fair

Start the new year off with some eco-friendly fun! (And free Shoppe cupcakes to the first 100 people. Their cupcakes are really good!!)

Holiday Handmade Awesomeness!

This weekends show was super! I had a very nice space (check out that pottery display, that was built in to the wall!) and hung out my finest. I sold lots of stuff, I'm awefully short on yarn now, and I sold the Rocket teapot and all four rocket cups. (Now someone else can worry about them breaking...)
There were tons of people! People lined up out side more than an hour ahead of the start time trying to nab swag bags full of awesome stuff.
And the 60 crafters were laid out in three, count them three, rooms of awesome handmade goodness. Big thanks to Fancy Tiger and the Denver Handmade Alliance for putting together such a great show!

Holiday Handmade this weekend!

Be there or be square!
Tonight Friday December 4th 6pm-9pm
Tomorrow Saturday December 5th 10am-4pm

Get there early for free swag bags!

It's being held in a Church just a block from Fancy Tiger,
32 Lincoln just off of Ellsworth and Broadway

Come check out the crafty awesomeness!