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Etsy Finds Friday

Bottle Vase, $30 from Alissa Ettinger.

Lillian forever flower garland, $60.25 from Emma Lamb.

Lace Star Earrings in silver, $26 from JooJoo Land.

Girl in a Tree Swing fabric, one yard for $8.50 from Sweet Pea Fabrics.

Tapio, the Cooking Bunny (made to order), $25 from Runaway Dreams.

Handmade Wallet with Liberty of London fabric, $55 from Happy Kathy.

Mother’s Day Deluxe Cookie Box $42 (% donated to Japan relief efforts), from Scrumptulicious.

Rainbow Polka Dot Straws, $8 for set of 50 from Hey YoYo.

Felt Green Leaf Ribbon/Garland, 10 yards for $4.75 from Caramelos.

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Vegan Crispy Treats

We’ve been doing a “staycation” for much of spring break (made-up word alert) after returning from North Carolina where we escaped the pollen and got snow flurries instead. So we’ve been doing some yard work and a bit of cooking. As I mentioned a few months ago, our diet has been somewhat crazy after we discovered my daughter’s food allergies, but we have eased up a bit these days. Still trying to avoid wheat and now milk too. And really, don’t get me started. Food is such a source of frustration, but when I find someone who has all the answers I’ll let you know.

Anyway, as vegetarians we avoid gelatin. Okay, and if you don’t know why gelatin isn’t vegetarian, I won’t tell you about it. But my 8-year-old will be happy to tell you in graphic detail. And I apologize for that. So, we made some vegan marshmallow treats with puffed rice cereal from Whole Foods, Dandies vegan marshmallows and Earth Balance. I know. We managed to turn a 50 cent treat into a four dollar gourmet fancy thing. But they were good! Pretty much the old-fashioned recipe, just substituted with expensive hippie ingredients.

And we ate them with the girls’ new favorite smoothie — coconut and strawberry. I use a can of coconut milk (yes, the canned kind to get some extra fat in my kid’s diet — 72 grams per can!) and blend it with fresh and frozen strawberries and a bit of soy milk. Very tasty.

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Quick Crafty Round-Up

Cranes for Kids (make a paper crane and OshKosh will donate an item of clothing to a child in Japan).

Passover Craft Placards from Creative Jewish Mom.

Kellie from Ricebabies makes paper masks for Whip Up.

Bead and Pin Basket from Design Sponge.

Bias Tape Bunny Ears from Country Living.

Masking Tape Mini-Quilt from The Purl Bee.

Zig-Zag Skirt from Melissa Mortenson for Moda Bakeshop.

Felted Finger Puppets from Marcie of Mossy, guest post for Whip Up.

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Red and White Quilts

You’ve probably seen photos from the American Folk Art Museum’s exhibition Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts that ended last week in New York. Displayed at Park Avenue’s Armory, the exhibition was designed and installed by Thinc Design and curated by Elizabeth V. Warren. The massive grouping of 651 quilts came from the collection of Joanna Rose, who wished to see the quilts on display to celebrate her 80th birthday.

You can read more about Mrs. Rose and her “accumulation” of quilts here. But what I find most interesting about the exhibition is the way that the quilts were hung, in spirals from the ceiling, creating a breathtaking display that overwhelms with its sheer volume. After reading this article, I started to think more about this issue. As the curator of the exhibition said in this article “…when you bring them together, the whole is greater than the part.” This is an interesting idea. You have all of these quilts that were made by different individuals and are beautiful on their own, but become remarkable when grouped together. Suddenly they are transformed from craft to art. There was a grouping of chairs in the center, reminding the viewer of the quilt makers who have become inconsequential, lost in the floating sea of red and white geometry.

I just think it’s something to think about as I see so much possibility for quilts to enter the art world in new ways. I think everyone makes things for different reasons, but what does it take to elevate craft to an art form?

You can see more photos of the exhibition on flickr here.

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Toy-let Box

Don’t toss out that old toilet seat, turn it into a toy box! With a few simple supplies, you’ll have a nearly new toy box that the kids will love! This project can be made with any box you have around the house and it’s also great to take on those long road trips when you can’t find a rest stop.

Supplies:

  • toilet seat
  • toys
  • box
  • industrial strength glue
  • chainsaw

Step 1: Using the chainsaw, carefully remove the toilet seat from its base.

Step 2: Clean the toilet seat with a mixture of formaldehyde and iodine spread evenly onto a catcher’s mitt. Allow the mixture to set for a few moments, then gently lick it off.

Step 3: Glue the seat to a box and let the kids stuff with their favorite toys!

Note: This is an April Fool’s Day joke. My daughters came home from school today and the younger one cried because she thought I had made a real toy box, despite the fact that I said it was for April Fool’s Day. Then my older daughter sat right down on it, laughed and said “It’s a toy-let box”. Why didn’t I think of that? She’s a clever girl.