Fake-torial: Split Rings

So, remember my key necklace?  I believe I promised that I would show you how lazy cheap people (like me) make charm necklaces.  As mentioned, I got some split rings, but I didn't really think it through.  I didn't realize that split rings require special pliers to get them open so that you can get your charm on.  I live far from the craft store, so it's not easy to make a quick jaunt down there for every little thing (plus I don't want to buy more tools that I'll only use once).  If you're going to be attaching lots of charms or just generally using many split rings, then by all means, use split ring pliers.  They're definitely easier, I'm sure.

Putting a single charm onto a necklace? Then let's dive right in:

1. (World's Tiniest Proposal?) Get your split ring and find where the ends of the ring are
2. Use a pair of fingernail clippers (I have a pair that I don't use because I somehow have several) and carefully "clip" between one of the ends and the ring so that the end lifts up away from the ring slightly.
3. Carefully wedge a flat tool underneath the lifted edge while still opening the ring with the clippers.
4. Wedge the tool further under so that the ring opens up more.  It has to be far enough away from the very end so that a charm can be slipped on.
Add your charm and slide it all the way around until it locks in to the middle of the ring, just like putting a key on a key ring.

Done!

Maybe this was slightly harder, especially if your fine motor skills aren't up to snuff, but it was cheaper, right?

Who's with me on this?  Anyone else grappled with split rings before?

Pretty Japanese Candies

I don't know what it is about the Japanese, but they somehow manage to come up with the cutest things!  These are some cute little sugar candies that my coworker brought back from Japan.  I think they look like little viruses! (I guess it's just the biologist in me.)  And they come in this cute little rice paper package that is flecked with little gold foil bits, I love it!

Meanwhile, I've been traveling, so I'm hoping to share some photos from that soon!

I've jumped on the bandwagon for...

...Audiobooks! AKA Books on tape! Actually it's more like books on CD these days, but I just wanted to rave about how great I think they are. 

I basically never understood these when I was younger and saw all these at the library.  I love reading books, and I love the experience of reading a book (yeah, I know, I'm one of those.)  But I have since then changed my tune.

I get motion sickness if I try too hard to focus on something while I'm riding in a car even though I used to be able to read whole novels in the back seat.  These days, long car trips are pretty boring without a book, so it's either music for several hours or try to take a nap.

But! I checked out audiobooks after my aunt suggested that it was really nice for commuting in the mornings.  I got Terry Pratchett's Small Gods for a recent trip (a friend often quotes it), and it was amazing! I was able to load up all the content onto my iPod and then put it into one big playlist.  You can also check out the CDs from the library and play them in the CD deck in your car if you have one and want to share your book with your driving partner :)

I'm totally hooked on Discworld novels now, I hope my local library has more of them! You should check them out too :)

The Fig and Pig (A shameless recreation of a local seasonal favorite)

This combination, as you can tell by all the food blogger hype, is really delicious.

We used this Smitten Kitchen homemade pizza dough recipe, and we liked it a lot, not too difficult.  We also made the SK leisurely pizza dough from her cookbook when we did pizza night with some friends, also delicious!

Here's the topping order to make our version:
-Onions sauteed in balsamic vinegar
-Shredded Mozzarella cheese
-Pieces of prosciutto
-Sliced figs
-Crumbled Gorgonzola

Bake at 450F until crust is golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes? See the SK recipe for basic baking instructions.  We just put on all the ingredients and baked them all together, no crazy layering of toppings or anything like some of the other recipes.

Fresh figs courtesy of Chad (of former Hawaiian butter mochi fame). Otherwise, I'm sure we would have no idea where to get fresh figs other than battling it out at the farmer's market.

The figs are sweet, and the gorgonzola and prosciutto are both very salty. Obviously a winning duo, but hold the arugula, please.  I can't tell you how many fig, proscuitto, arugula recipes I saw, and I just don't want to eat my pizza like some kind of strange salad.



Variations: (Tested and approved!)
1. Use dried fig slices when fresh figs are not in season.
2. Goat cheese, dried fig slices, pepperoni/salami slices, and crumbled gorgonzola toasted on a slice of french bread for bite size snacks.

The Key to my Neck(lace)

My newest necklace!  I'm not much of a jewelry maker or wearer, but I've been wanting to make this because I had all the supplies except extra jump rings to put the damn charm on the necklace.  I liked this small, unobtrusive key charm (picked up for free via Diamonds International, haha), but I didn't like the dingy brassy finish or that it would probably not react too well to lots of wearing.

My sister bought me some nail polish during her recent polish shopping spree, I love the color, but I do not wear nail polish.  Making a faux enamel key is the next best use, right?  It's really easy, just coat your charm with a few thin coats of nail polish, let dry between coats, until it has completely covered the base color.  I topped mine off with some clear nail polish to make it super smooth and hopefully chip-free.



I also tried free lensing to get this picture! Taking macro shots are impossible with the Fifty, so I thought I'd try free lensing in order to get super close. Free lensing is also apparently impossible for me because I could hardly hold my lens still enough to get a clear shot, and I was already using a tripod.  These two were the only clear-ish shots that came out, but I do kind of like the interesting pink cast in the second.

Stay tuned for an interesting faux-torial on how to use split rings without buying the coordinating pliers! :)

Crepes, crepes, and more crepes for breakfast

Two things conspired to get us to make more crepes.

One. We found a cute little cookbook at an estate sale that is all about crepes, savory and sweet.
Two. N's sister bought him a great crepe pan in Germany.

It's fate, right?

We used this recipe from Me Versus Martha to make our first batch of banana and Nutella crepes.  They were delicious and super filling, but Nutella is always awesome, so... biased.



Same basic crepe recipe, but this time, with a syrup/reduction made of blackberries, water, and sugar.  We strained out the seeds and put in into the creamer to pour over the crepes.  Since it wasn't very substantial otherwise, I made some fresh whipped cream to fill it out a little.

It's actually very easy to make fresh whipped cream.  I used maybe a 1/2 cup (or less), two spoonfuls of sugar, and a splash of vanilla.  Those three ingredients went into the Pyrex measuring cup and then whisked for several minutes until stiff.  That's it!



Yum! Crepes seem really fancy even though they are really just thin pancakes.

Batty about VooDoo Maggie

This is not the last VooDoo Maggie creation you've seen from me, although I am running out of the patterns in the book that I actually like.

I immediately loved this guy, but I was dissuaded at first from making him because "it wouldn't sell unless it was around Halloween."  Well, I sucked it up and made him anyways because I do what I want, haha.

A cautionary note: make sure you know where to attach your safety eyes.  The head, body, and legs are made all together in once piece so there is definitely a front side to him.  I accidentally put the eyes a little to the side of where the true front was so he has a quirky head tilt to the side (see bottom photo for proof).  Character design, right?