Sampler

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but sometimes I’m in the middle of working on a bunch of things and can’t seem to get anything totally finished before I need to move on to something else.

That’s where I’m at right now.

So I thought I’d share a preview of things I have in progress and things you can read, listen to, and share in the meantime.

Film Festival Reviews

I’m working on more in-depth reviews of the films we saw at Arizona International Film Festival (AZIFF) last year.

For AZIFF 2019, I’m planning to cover more days of the festival and would love to know what you’re most interested in hearing about!

Comment:

What film festival stories do you want to read?

Reviews of more films? Any particular type/genre (documentary, comedy, animation, etc.)?
The AZIFF experience and tips for getting the most out of it?
Filmmaker Q+As or interviews?
Would you prefer any of the above in video or audio (podcast) format instead of written articles?

Quilt Show

This year I went to two days of the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival in Phoenix. The first one was with my mom (who introduced me to the Festival) and the second with my sister-in-law Dinah and friend Kelli (who was my co-presenter at Craft Camp and co-taster at Macayo’s Scottsdale).

I’ve been editing photos and am impressed all over again with the creativity and inventiveness of the exhibitors we met there!

Read:

A couple crafty posts from Kelli…

Festival Food

While we were at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival, I wanted to investigate the food vendors at the Fairgrounds a bit more.

I found out that the concessions actually come from several independent businesses, who really do care about the food they make. Over the 2 days we were there, my quilt show squad and I got to sample a huge Indian taco, several flavors of kettle corn, a whole buncha barbecue, and this ridiculous brownie sundae.

Local Art Loves

I haven’t done an official kick-off post yet, but I definitely want to celebrate local art you love again this Valentine’s Day!

Share:

You can start anytime by snapping a photo of art in your neighborhood and sharing it using #localartloves.

Read/look at:

Last year’s Local Art Loves

[UPDATE: 2019’s Local Art Loves kickoff post is up now!]

Phillip in the Wampa’s Lair

Okay, not really something I’m doing, but Phillip was recently interviewed on the Wampa’s Lair Podcast! It’s a Star Wars podcast that we’ve been fans of for a long time. (Phillip wears their t-shirt everywhere. And one of the hosts, Jason Hunt, shared some great tips for our Phoenix Comicon newbies post.) Anyway, they have a series called “Tales of the Lairians,” where they ask their listeners (a.k.a. the “Lairians”) to share Star Wars stories from their own lives, and Phillip is featured on the latest one!

Listen:

Tales of the Lairians #13 – Phillip Liebold

And that’s it for now! So at least I finished one thing. Hopefully, this starts a trend.

Just FYI: we received complimentary quilt festival tickets, food, and a 2018 AZIFF media pass from the respective organizations/vendors. More info will be in upcoming posts, but let me know if you have questions!

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019

House of Glass

For the past eighty years, the St. Clair-Rice family has been crafting art glass using techniques passed down through generations.

I remember seeing this St. Clair Glass on the kitchen counters and shelves and window sills of my dad’s side of the family since I was a kid. It comes from the same place they do: Madison County, Indiana.

Of course, the people and the glass have made their way across the country, moving for better jobs or better weather or bigger cities. Our family’s business used to be farming, but, even the relatives that stayed in the region left the farms years ago.

Every so often when I was growing up, my family would make kind of a pilgrimage from our home in Arizona to visit our Indiana family. Sometimes we’d visit the St. Clair glass factory (The House of Glass) in Elwood.

The showroom had shelves and tables stuffed full of lamps and vases, and so many paperweights — palm-sized sculptures shaped like birds, bells, baskets, apples, and angels with a landscape of colorful glass inside their clear exteriors. Each one was made by hand in the on-site workshop.

My parents would buy gifts to bring back for the friend who collected apple things or the one who was dog-sitting while we were away.

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You could see new pieces in progress, molten glass glowing from the heat of the furnace as the artist turned it and added color and shaped it into something you could recognize. It was like magic.

And it still was when we visited Madison County a few years ago. The store shelves were more sparse, but through the back door in the sweltering workshop, artist-owner Joe Rice was still firing the glass by hand.

Even then, he was concerned that he hadn’t been able to find an apprentice. Like my great-grandparents’ farm, there wasn’t anyone willing and able to take on the work long term.

As he used a long metal pole to heat up the liquid that would become a teapot-shaped ring holder, Joe Rice (who sometimes signs his work “Joe St. Clair,” using his mother’s maiden name) explained how it wasn’t just that he didn’t have a successor, there were few glass makers out there who could match both their production numbers and commitment to flawless glasswork.

And now there are even fewer.

Joe Rice announced last year he’d be closing up shop at the end of 2018, limiting his work to only select projects.

I still hope that one day soon someone will have the passion to learn his trade and fire up the furnace again.

December 17, 2018

15 Holiday Ornaments You Can Make Today!

A Christmas ornament can trim a tree or grace a garland, be a gift topper or the gift itself.

Here are 15 DIY ornaments, most of which you probably already have the materials for and/or are simple enough to make that even kids can join in!

1. Cardboard Tube Ornaments

These super colorful ornaments are made from painted paper towel tubes strung with ribbon and beads! / via Vesna Taneva-Miller

2. DIY Gold Leaf Ornaments

Transform clear glass ornaments by swirling colorful paint inside and gluing gold leaf outside. / via The Sweetest Occasion

3. Quick Clay Owls

These cute ornaments start from a circle of clay that you fold to create the shape of an owl. If you don’t happen to have modeling clay around, Paging Fun Mums has a recipe for making your own with cornstarch, baking soda, and water. / via Paging Fun Mums + 4 Crazy Kings

4. Simple Felt Tree Ornament Tutorial

Basically, you just use Handmade Charlotte’s PDF template to cut out felt circles of increasing sizes, stitch up the sides, and stack them up. I can’t decide which I like more: the trees with different colored layers or the ones that are just a single color! / via Handmade Charlotte

5. Upcycled Fabric Ornaments

Braid scraps of fabric to give old ornaments a new look! / via Simply Notable

6. Jar Ring Map

An old map and the ring part of a mason jar lid make a keepsake for remembering a trip or celebrating your hometown. / via Happy Mothering

7. Modern Leather Ornament

Delia (of Delia Creates) took leftover pieces from a leatherwork project to create this lovely minimal ornament. She mentions that you can substitute grosgrain ribbon for the two smaller (contrasting) strips. / via Delia Creates

8. Kusudama Paper Ornament

While Japanese kusudama balls were traditionally made from real flowers, you can make a paper version by folding origami petals and gluing them together. Robin (a.k.a. Robayre at Inspiration Junkie) makes a new one every year before Christmas. She has made them from old catalog pages, origami paper, and paper she’s decorated with herself with gelatin prints. / via Inspiration Junkie + Full tutorial at PlanetJune.

9. Pet Photo Ornament

Make a mini-plush pet ornament with a favorite photo and some iron-on transfer paper. You can use a complementary cotton fabric for the back — check your stash for those random extra pieces! / via Live Free Creative Co

10. Woven Cookie Stars

Super easy project using thread wrapped around cardboard! To mix it up, use variegated string or multiple colors. / via Aesthetic Outburst + Full tutorial at The Crafty Crow.

11. Watercolor Ornament

You get this watercolor look by dipping the ornament in nail polish and warm water. / via Unexpected Elegance

12. Wood Burned Christmas Ornaments

Use a wood burning kit to decorate thin wood slices cut from a tree branch. / via Simply Notable

13. Cinnamon Stick Himmeli

Gwen McKenzie (for Jojotastic) created this project based on the geometric shape of traditional Finnish himmeli ornaments, except using 12 cinnamon sticks instead of straw. I bet it makes your house smell like the holidays! / via Jojotastic

14. Hoop Ornaments

This is actually a series of 8 different ornaments designed for various people on your gift list — including grandmas, Goths, teachers, and teammates! They make use of small (3-4″) embroidery hoops and require little to no sewing. / via Crafts Unleashed

15. Resolution Time Capsule

I shared this one in the Violet color stories post, but such a fun idea is worth repeating! You fill a glass bulb with confetti and rolled up pieces of paper with your New Year’s resolutions on them and then, a year later, you can see how things turned out! / via The Crafted Life

Each image links to its source.

December 4, 2018

October 2018: Terra Cotta Pots

On our anniversary this year, we took Quijote for a picnic at The Farm at South Mountain.

We saw herbs in terra cotta pots on these stepped shelves that looked like little plant bleachers. Maybe they were cheering on the good weather!

November 21, 2018November 21, 2018

11 Cranberry Recipes for the Holidays and Beyond

It’s the time of year for all things cranberry!

The fruit’s tart taste is an excellent balance to the creamy and sweet foods the holidays are heavy on. And they just happen to be that deep red color that goes perfectly both with Thanksgiving’s fall palette and the merry shades of Christmas.

Whether they’re in a centerpiece or a serving dish, cranberries instantly make a table look more festive.

Here’s a scrumptious compilation of cranberry recipes, so you can get cooking!

Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish

Every year NPR Correspondent Susan Stamberg shares her mother-in-law’s recipe, a surprisingly controversial twist on the classic side dish. The relish was originally meant for Thanksgiving, but she also recommends it putting it over latkes for Hanukkah. / via The Salt

Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Chicken

This is a gluten-free, paleo, single-dish entree with a one-minute video showing the simple prep. I imagine you could use the same recipe for turkey breasts, as long as you adjust for a longer cook time. / via Cotter Crunch

Sugared Cranberries

Candying cranberries adds sweetness and gives them a little extra sparkle. You can then use them to top desserts or garnish drinks. / via Fork and Flower

Sweet Potato Bake with Fresh Cranberries and Apples

Memories of a friend’s Thanksgiving table – and of the sweet potato and apple dish that was served on it – inspired Marlee of I Just Make Sandwiches to create her own version for family members trying to eat healthy. / via I Just Make Sandwiches

Cranberry Hazelnut Pear Tart

A unique addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table, I’m pretty sure that both #TeamCake and #TeamPie will be fans of this tart. / via The Everyday Mess

Cranberry Pistachio Baked Brie

Ali at Gimme Some Oven has a great tip: choose a “go-to appetizer” for the entire holiday season that you can whip up every time you need something to take to a party or serve to guests. This 7-ingredient, 20-minute recipe for a melty wheel of brie topped with cranberry sauce, pistachios, and orange zest looks so pretty and festive! I’d be curious to know how well it travels, but it certainly sounds delicious! / via Gimme Some Oven (h/t Jenny Collier’s Friday Favorites)

Holiday Cocktail

Vodka, rosemary syrup, tangerine and cranberry juice make up this Warhol-inspired cocktail, which you can garnish with a sprig of rosemary and sugared cranberries (use the recipe above or the less-sugar version in this post.) / via Fork Knife Swoon

Chiltepin-Cranberry Relish

Another unusual take on cranberry relish uses wild chiltepin peppers to spice it up and either honey or agave syrup for sweetness. Try it with peppers that grow where you are! / via Savor the Southwest

Mixed Nuts & Cranberry Magic Bars

Great idea for a holiday season snack! / via The Kitchen Is My Playground

Fig and Cranberry Compote

This recipe calls for fresh or frozen cranberries, dried figs, cardamom, and honey. You can make it up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate, and then just bring it back up to room temperature before serving.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Greek yogurt standing in for mayonnaise is the secret to lightening up this chicken salad. While it isn’t just for the holiday season, I could also see it inspiring a new take on Thanksgiving leftovers! / via Damn Delicious

Photos via their respective sites.