Spring Break.

So, it's Spring Break, and I promised my sister I would finally illustrate the children's book she wrote this week.  So, I picked up a nice, hardbound sketch book and some alcohol based blending markers and busted out my art supplies.

I might have also ordered some ebony pencils and art gum erasers,because... art supplies are my heroin.

I think I've had art on the mind a lot lately.  In my fifth grade reading class, I was teaching poetry using "The Road not Taken" by Robert Frost.  not because I have an affinity for that poem,I actually don't like it, but it was in the STAAR resource we were using, so I had to.

While trying to get them to visualize the poem using the scant sensory language, I asked them to draw a picture of what they saw.  I got a ton of roads with cars on them and one train track.  So I went through, line by line and asked them what each line described, as I sketched out what they said, using crayons, because it was on hand.

My instagram from work.  Typos are because i have fat thumbs, and am not technically supposed to be instagramming.

I suppose the juxtaposition of the quick sketch against the poem's title is what got my brain spinning about art, and how I have an on-again-off-again relationship with drawing.  I've always been a doodler.  It's in my blood.  My mother is a consummate doodler.  Her vines and butterfly trails are legendary.  But my junior high art teacher, Mrs. Acker, she was so dang encouraging, I loved it.  So I did Art in high school, too...

But I left.  See, my friend was an "artist."  She wore john lennon glasses, wrote in only lower case letters and drew skeletons because "they were the most pure image of a person."  Literally, an "artist."  There wasn't a place in our friendship for the cute little doodley things I would do, because, Art was Deep.  And I was insecure.  I wrote a book once, about that toxic 15-year friendship.

So, I tried art again in college.  It was awful.  I don't know if it was because I went to an all girls school, or what, but some of the men there were totally abusive dickfaces.  I dropped after 3 weeks.  Apparently, I didn't understand shadow.

Here's the funny part about that.  I believed I could draw anything because of Commander Mark.  Most positive and affirmative art program on the planet, dudes.  When I taught math last year, and it was geometry time, kids were like "How are you drawing those cubes?"  and I'm just like... how are you not?  Foreshortened squares, man.  Go watch Secret City.  No, really... Go.



Off the tangent, the stupid week of "The Road Not Taken."  Did you know that in most super informed circles, this poem is about how Robert Frost was embittered and actually obsessed with how everything bad that happened to him because of things in the past.  The sigh in the poem people misread as a happy sigh, is actually a melancholy sigh... "It's all because of this one moment in my youth..."  Whiner.  Seriously, though, go read his autobiography.

So back to my rotating world of hobbies.  I started doodling in earnest yesterday.  Because I need to be able to draw an adorable, anthropomorphic spider, in various situations, consistently.  And I also kind envy hand-letterers.  I dabble and post on my instagram.

So, everyday this week, I'm going to do what Commander Mark taught me... "Practice, practice, practice!" and "Draw, draw, draw!"

Mark said this all the time.

And to keep myself accountable, I'm going to post on my blogger, and on my probably on tumblr.  Because, you know what?  There is a place in art for cutey doodles.  And people on tumblr love that shit.  Yeah, they like skeletons and deep crap, too, which is really, the lesson about art.  There's a place for everyone in the art world, people.  Even for literary nerds who like to doodle and plan to illustrate their sister's children's book.

He's cute.

A doodle quote.

Doodley Pages.  Feel free to close up on my "hitchhikker's guide" whale.

Doodles and inspirational quotes rule.

Other things I am nostalgic about: "The Effects of Gamma Ray Radiation on Man in The Moon Marigolds."  That's where this quote came from.  Killer opening monologue.

This might get framed and mailed to Terry Jo for Christmas.

I got this quote from a bike ad.  And i'm working on consistancy in my lettering.

Lettering practice.

The Red Panda looks like a Punk Rock Fox and the baby duck has terrible hair.

Flowers aren't the worst, but they're elusive.

That Alien is straight outta Commander Marks playbook.

A Post! A Post!

I opened up a blog post window about 500000000 times in the last year or so.  And I didn't end up doing anything but stare at the empty space.

It is hard sometimes to convince yourself that your voice is important.

What do I add to the world?  Is it my sense of humor?  Because people are killing it with comedy-blogs-gone-books.  Hell, some people got twitter accounts turned into television shows.  I honestly expected that to be better, by the way.


Do I have the most boring blog in all of blogdom?  I feel like it's missing that fanciness everyone else has.  Because EVERYONE else has a blog.  Hell, last year, one of my fifth graders had a blog, and a few thousand followers.  This student smarmily asked me what I could possibly teach him that he didn't already know.  Humility?  Grace in obscurity?

I feel a little locked in with my url.  And I don't feel like stopping the auto-charge and changing it, so from this point on, "sweets" will cover baking, fiber arts, and basically anything at all.

I'm on summer break.  I am still not used to having that.  It's been far too long, but also, the days are dragging ass.  I feel like it's been summer for decades now, and I'm ready to have a purpose again.  I have trouble without a goal of some kind.  I should totally do a weight goal, but for me weight loss is like  some creature from the X-Files.  It only happens when I'm not looking directly at it, or actively attempting to do anything about it.

 So, in order to update everything that's happened since last I blogged, I shall share this interpretive dance to explain everything:

In this scenario, you're probably Meg.

So, I'm in the midst of a quilting project.  Have you ever heard of the double-slice layer cake quilt?  I am doing a variation on it using Kate Spain's Aria fabric and A Bella Solid layer cake.  I'm killing it.  It's going to be beautiful.  I have to totally geek out over this fabric line.  It just reached out and snagged me at a local quilt store, and I've gone gaga over it.  It isn't in the colors I usually favor, and it's nothing if not girly.  but, I love the shit out of it.

I mean LOOK:




I can see the envy on your face.

I get it. 

I'm also working on a top secret project to give a friend.  I can't show you the project, but please scope this amazing fabric:

Go ahead and click on it.  It's just spectacular.

I'm pretty sure I bought more than I need for the project, so I might also make a cover for a nook or kindle.

Which reminds me that I need to finish my nook cover.  I need to go do some sewing and ironing.  I'll post when I'm finished.  I got the CUTEST pattern at Tea Time Quilting here in Houston.  I love that place.  If you are local, I can't say enough about it.  It seems small, but the owner/operator is super nice, and knowledgeable, and she gets to know her customers.  That's where I found the Aria line.

Well, I'm not working on any of my WIPs, if I'm busy chatting around here.

so you want to "fall back" on teaching.

I made this VERY BASIC flow chart for the 8 people I've seen post on facebook about switching over to teaching as a "fall back" job.  Please review it.  Teachers, feel free to let me know what questions I've left off.

The evolution of a fairy Garden

So, I can't post this on Facebook, because I do not want to tip off the recipients of the anonymous Faery Garden, but I don't want this not to be out there for people to see.  And, yes, I'll switch from Faery to Fairy, because I can't decide which spelling I prefer, thank you very much.

There are these two little girls, children of a dear friend, who truly, deeply and completely believe in fairies.  So, My sister, my mom and I made them a "Faery Garden" surprise, and snuck it into their backyard.  My mom deserves extra props for coming up with the plan.

Here is a photo collage of how the work went down.

You can click any image for a bigger version.  Yeah.  It's awesome, I know.

 Here's the Ice Tea on a Tray.  I picked up the tea pitcher and glasses at a miniature shop called Crickets and Caterpillars.  The tray is made from a beer cap.  Megan bent it with a multi-tool.

 

Tiny pot, early edition..  It changed slightly in the final product. It's filled with a couple of layers of packing foam and then potting soil, covered with Spanish Moss.  The mini toadstool house came from Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  The stepping stones are mosaic tiles flipped upside down.  And the flowers are from Michael's. 

 The wheelbarrow is from Hobby Lobby.  I painted it myself.  I was really adamant with myself about having a yellow walled black tire.

 The gardening tools are from Hobby Lobby.

 I made a bug rock, we didn't use it.

 Here is the hand sewn throw pillow and Hand Crocheted afghan my mom made to go with the Cute metal bench we bought at a Garden place called Another Place in Time.

THIS  IS a HAMMOCK made from leaves.  It's gonna go in another garden we make.

HERE are some more pictures with the two different Pots that are linked together with a staircase made from a picket fence from Joann Crafts.

The bird bath is a potpourri warmer from the dollar tree!

And here it is, dropped off for the girls, with little moss covered letters for their names.

 Also, a hand written letter thanking them for being friends of the Fae folk.  Sealed with a wax seal with an F in it.  For Faery.  Underneath the letter are personalized key chains with tiny faery keys.  Signed with a Gaelic Salutation at the end.  Oh, yeah.

Here is a graphic to pin, if you would like to do such a thing:

Homemade peanut butter cups.

I made homemade peanut butter cups.  IT IS SO EASY! I will share the hows:


NEEDS:
Creamy Peanut Butter
Chocolate Candy Melts (Milk or Dark or White, take your pick)
Pastry bags.  Always use pastry bags.  They make life better.  They also now make some that are made with corn based plastic, so they make life better and less guilty.
Small Candy mold.  I got mine in a mini-cupcake baking kit from a scholastic book fair.  Best purchase ever, it came with a tiny cupcake silicone pan, a couple of fondant cutters and little pastry bags and tips.  And a recipe book.  SO CUTE!

STEPS:

Melt Candy melts inside pastry bag in the microwave.  I use half power for 1 to 2 minutes.

Put a few tablespoons of creamy peanut butter in a pastry bag.

Once the chocolate is melted, pipe a small layer into the bottom of the mold.  Let it set.  After it has set, pipe your creamy peanut butter into the mold in a pile.  Do not let it touch the sides.

Now,  Pipe the melted chocolate into your mold, letting it drizzle around and settle about the peanut butter.

Let candy set (Put in freezer for one minute if you aren't patient.)

Pop out and enjoy.

The end.

I said this on facebook, and someone made me this picture.

Belated Christmas.

So I took a break.

I never intended to take a break.  It's not like I was giving it up for Lent, or NaNoWriMo or anything remotely awesome.  I just, didn't want to talk about myself.  Which is weird.  But I am weird, so it actually isn't weird at all for me... or is it?

I have some pictures to share with you.  I made some peppermint bark and some tuxedo popcorn for Christmas for my uncle.  I've listed my peppermint bark secrets here before, but my tuxedo popcorn is new.  And sort of made up on the spot by my mom and I.

So here are some pics:

My peppermint bark.  I added red and green melts to the white bark this time around.

And my tuxedo popcorn, based on the idea of popcorn drizzled with white and dark chocolate: (in lieu of white, i used red and green tinted white)  Switch up the color of the candy melts for any holiday... pink and lavender for Valentines, green for St. Patrick's day, pastels for Easter... and so on...

You need fresh popped popcorn (We use a stove top hand-crank popper) with no butter or salt.  Then drizzle with melted white and dark chocolate.  Let set on a cookie sheet, then break up to package in a tin or bag.

These were my great endevors.  Well, that's not true.  A few weeks ago, I made a nutella/ferrero rocher cupcake for a coworker, and it was pretty fantastic, but no pictures, so i guess it didn't really happen.

My battery is about to go kaput, and I had a million things to blog about that I've been thinking about since last I dialed in, but I just don't have time now.  enjoy the foodie post.

-Robyn

Peppermint Bark, Robyn style

I posted this recipe last year, but am reposting due to it's popularity on pinterest.  I had no idea my blog had gotten pinned over 90 times from this little bit.  So this time, I've put it back up with my new watermark and very clear step-by-step directions.


PEPPERMINT BARK - ROBYN STYLE

So, I love peppermint flavors.  Peppermint mocha?  Yes, please.  Peppermint lifesaver?  Always.  Peppermint Bark?  So divine.

I learned this recipe from the internet a while back.  It basically is a quick candy, which makes it super easy for a gift.  But I'm not a big fan of using candy canes or peppermint starlight mints like most people suggest.  So I use my happy little cheaty method.

This happens to be a favorite of my out-of-town uncle and so I make it every time he comes into town to visit my Grandparents.  So, every few months or so.

I start with one package of Almond Bark Coating.  You can find this in most grocery stores around Christmas time.  When it's not Christmas, it's a little more difficult to find it.  However, if you're willing to say, drive to 8 different stores in the off season, you will eventually find it.  Or, you could use Candy Melts, though they usually cost twice as much per ounce.  Me, I'm a driver.

You also need decorative sugars and peppermint candy oil.

You'll need a microwave safe bowl, a pot holder, a spatula, a spoon, a cookie sheet and parchment paper.

So, rundown:

• One 24 oz. package Almond Bark (or equivalent amount of candy melts)
• Peppermint candy oil (NOT EXTRACT)
• Colorful Sugars (I use seasonal ones... pastels in spring, fall colors in Autumn, etc)

• Microwaves safe bowl
• Pot Holder
• Spatula
• Spoon
• Cookie Sheet
• Parchment Paper 

Spread the parchment paper on the cookie sheet and sprinkle some of the decorative sugars on top.  Set aside.
 
Break the Bark into 3 chunks of four squares.  I break it once along the length and then in the middle.

Melt one 4 square in the microwave safe bowl for a minute on half power.  This is VITAL.  If you do it on full power, you scorch it.

Remove and stir.  Add two drops of peppermint oil.  If fully melted, pour in place.  Use the spatulas to ensure you get it all out of the bowl.

 Repeat until all your chunks are melted and poured in.  Two or three drops of the candy oil per 4square.  Once it's poured onto the cookie sheet, you can shake it a little to even it out or spread it with the spatula.

Sprinkle with the sugars.  The oil provides a perfect amount of peppermint without the pain and drama of crushing candy canes or, God Forbid, starlight mints.  Starlight mints need diamond tips to shatter, swear.

I used to do the whole package at once, but the edges sometimes scorched.  DO NOT SET IN FRIDGE OR FREEZER.  I've learned an ugly lesson from this.  You have to let it set at room temperature.  If you set it in the freezer, it will be difficult to break and it will sweat later.

Once it's set, you can break it up into chunks and then place it in your container, in this case, a little cardboard treat box: