Friday, October 29, 2010

Shopping Handmade: Collisionware or the coolest housewarming gifts for Gema & Pilu!

Friday is here, and Halloween is only a pair of days away! Got your costume & candy ready?


I'm doing another of my Shopping Handmade features to show off to you all how there's always the perfect handmade choice for every occasion!


Two of my best friends have recently got their own places, and I've already blogged about part of the gifts I got for them here, but there was missing the other part.


I don't like doing things the usual way, and that also applies to how I get presents for people. I fell in love with Collisionware's handmade pot holders and oven mitts and got a pair of sets for myself, and then got the idea to get two sets custom made to match both Gema's & Pilu's new kitchens!


Angie, the brains & hands behind Collisionware, was really helpful & nice during the whole process, and helped me choosing the better way to accent the fabrics I had chosen for each set.


Since Gema's kitchen is done in green & lilac and she loves baking, I chose this super cute lime green cupcakes fabric, that was accented with a light purple fabric, so cute!






And they look great like part of the decor of the kitchen, aside from being functional!






For Pilu's set I went with a black fabric with fortune cookies, with red accents, Pilu's kitchen is mostly white & silvery so I wanted to add some colour, and like me, Pilu loves Chinese & Japanese food!






The set contrasts really nicely with the rest of the kitchen, giving it a touch of colour!




If you're thinking you need a new set to brighten up your kitchen and inspire your cooking, why not get this super cute Halloween inspired set?

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Camamiel!!

One more week Wednesday creeps up, and with it so does Wearing Handmade Wednesday!






This week it'll be a lil Halloween themed, since Halloween itself is this Sunday. This year I won't be celebrating it, since I'll be working night shift, but I have a few lil secret plans that I'll be sharing next Monday!



Well, you may say I'm not wearing them, but that's just a technicality! I am proudly displaying my collection of Camamiel felt dolls! All nurses, like yours truly! Escarlatina was the first one to arrive, and as of late she had been feeling a lil lonely when I was off to work, so when I saw the new nurse dolls that Ana had created: Cholera, the Vampire nurse & Influenza, the Zombie nurse; I knew they'd be the perfect friends for Escarlatina!


If you have fallen in love with this dolls, check out Ana's shop: Camamiel, more cute dolls, brooches, ornaments & more cuteness to be found there!

Monday, October 25, 2010

MTCoffinz, more than just tutus!!

Monday is here, once again, and we embark in the week of Halloween! I hope you all guys have loads of fun plans, I work night shift on Halloween so no plans for me, but I'd still be getting into the Halloween spirit!


This blog entry is dedicated to one of the big names in the AOTC forums & handmade community is general, and to one of the most successful crafters I know, so much that her craft has taken over her life, and as such she is known as a cyborg, part seamstress, part sewing machine! The lady in question is none other than Jinx, the brains & talent behind MTCoffinz & MTCoffinz Underground, her two Etsy shops, though she also has her own website.


Jinx is best know for being the Queen of tulle & tutu skirts, but in her shops you can find not only all sorts, sizes & colours of tutus (micro, mini, formal, tea length... you name it, she has it!) but also embroidered scarves & fingerless gloves & headbands that are embroidered right there at the MTCoffinz studio with the most awesome designs you can imagine, but also hairfalls, veils, masks... well, to really know all is there, you need to go and take a good look at both shops!


I already own a super awesome mini tutu, cause right now I have no space whatsoever in my wardrobe for a bigger tutu, but I have plans, oh yes, I do have plans... but that's all I have to say for now. Shush! ;)




Recently Jinx added a bunch of new embroidered scarves to her MTCoffinz Underground shop and when I saw the Nurse Skull Crossbones design, I just had to get it!






It's super cool, and I'm sure I'm gonna be the envy of all my co-workers once the weather gets cold enough for scarves! And the scarf itself is made of black alpine fleece, so warm & soft! I'm surely packing it for my trip to India next month!




And yes, those are a pair of Zen & Coffee gloves!


Take a lot at both shops, you're sure to find something(s) you'll love!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Shopping Handmade: Pilu's Birthday with home baked cupcakes!

Friday is here, once again, and this blog entry is dedicated to last Friday and my friend Pilu's lil birthday celebration and gifts, all done the handmade way!


I had promised Pilu I'd make her the delicious Mojito cupcakes from Heaven is a Cupcake blog, so on Thursday evening I got onto baking them, and they came out looking pretty yummy! I used the "Happy Birthday" liners I got from the Cupcake Social, and once again went with some shortcuts for the recipe, using Mojito mix instead o white rum & lime & peppermint extract, and for the frosting, I used the Flying Bird Botanical's Lavender Mint cacao, it really gave them a lovely minty flavour!




I was waiting for some bakery boxes I had ordered from Paradise Cupcakes, and they luckily arrived on Friday, so I could pack up a dozen frosted cupcakes without them being squished or arrive looking all wonky.






I used a bit of ribbon from my last SugarKitty corsets order and a HK as a panda sticker to give it the final touch. And yes, I am aware cupcakes are not corsets, but hey it was the only ribbon I had handy!




My parents drop me at Guadalajara's train station on their way to the cottage, where Pilu picked me up (thankfully I didn't have to take the train with two bags of presents, two boxes full of cupcakes and a handbag) and we drove to order some sushi to take, and two Sapporo beers for the birthday lunch!




We returned to Pilu's house with our loot and set up table to eat our veggies tempura, small sushi & maki set and the restaurant special, salmon & tuna tempura maki! Miss Indy, Pilu's doggie was hoping she'd get a bit of food, but sushi & beer is not for doggies!











What she did get was a new Fabulously Fierce Pets collar, cause her old one is too small for her now, she's grown quite a bit in the two months I haven't seen her! She's such a gorgeous and loveable puppy! I also got Pilu a pair of leash bags, and she absolutely loved them! They're perfect to keep treats for the doggies when walking them, or for keeping your phone & keys if you have no pockets!


Miss Indy modeling one of the leash bags!

After lunch, it was time for the presents, while we made room in our tummies for the cupcakes! I got her a ComfortRead pillow from Inverness Studios, and she absolutely loved it! She's as much as a bookworm as I am, and I knew she'd love the idea of having something to rest & hold the book while reading in bed or on the sofa, and with the pocket to keep the bookmark, no more fumbling around for it! And can also be used as a travel pillow, cause it has a handle.




Since she's a huge tea lover like myself, I got her two tea kits from Purpose Design, a chai tea kit, and a herbal tea kit. Both are amazing, and smell great!




I also got her a RockyTheZombie t-shirt, I knew she loved Rhi's shop cause she had seen my t-shirts and loved them, and even signed up for Etsy to buy a RTZ baby tee for a friend's baby boy, so I just got her a Zombie Kitty tee in green, her favourite colour! She absolutely loved it, and I think I might have got her hooked for good to RTZ...




She also loved her b-day card, custom made for me by the talented Deb of On Cupcake Moon with Miss Cinnamon in them, and that I hand stamped with my Skull And Cross Buns cupcake stamp!


After all the gifts, we moved to the kitchen and decided to prepare some nice & spicy Chai tea to go with the cupcakes, with her new kit that includes the recipe! I prefer to throw all the spices & tea directly in the milk and boil it all till the colour & smell is right, so that's what we did, we overdid it a bit on the sugar, but otherwise, it was really yummy!






Once the tea was ready, we went onto devour the cupcakes, which Pilu really loved, cause she ate three right away! I ate two, and poor Alberto, Pilu's boyfriend arrived in time to eat the last one of the box! Luckily for him, there was another box!








After we enjoyed a tea with cupcakes and chit chat, we decided to go for a walk with Indy, since the day was great & sunny, without being hot, a lovely early autumn day! The perfect ending for a very nice day & a great way to burn those cupcakes down! ;)


Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Smarmyclothes!!

Wednesday has arrived, once again, and with it, so has Wearing Handmade Wednesday!


This week I'm featuring another of my all time favourite sellers, the amazingly talented Lex of Smarmyclothes.


My Smarmyclothes' Sneaky Mr Bat top!


I own many Smarments (Smarmyclothes pieces) and many of them are custom pieces. Whatever she does, she always makes outstanding pieces! Not only she has an Etsy shop, she also has her own website and also manages WhatTheCraft.com, a website dedicated to crafters, with tutorials & all sort of resources and now, even awesome giveaways!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Monday Munchies: Sweet & Sour Chicken with Mashed Potatoes.

A new weekly feature for the blog! Monday Munchies!



Monday Munchies are my way of sharing recipes I love to start the week with something yummy to look forward to! They might not be an every week feature though, but now and then, you'll be getting one!


Today's recipe is from a Spanish magazine called "Cocina Fácil" (Easy Cooking) and it's one of my favourite dishes, yummy, super easy to make and total comfort food!


Sweet & Sour Chicken with Mashed Potatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breasts.
- 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (also known as Módena vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
- Mashed Potatoes (you can use a ready made mix, I just make them from scratch).
- Milk
- Butter

Method:

- Cut the chicken breasts in bite sized pieces & season them with the salt & pepper.




- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium size pan (a wok would work too) on high and fry the chicken on all sides till golden.




- Lower the gas, add some more salt & pepper to taste, add the honey, the vinegars, and small glass of water. Let the chicken boil on low gas for about ten minutes, till the mix begins to thicken and look like caramel.



- If it gets too dry too soon, add some more water and simmer for an extra 5 minutes.





- While it boils prepare the mashed potatoes. I just boil the potatoes (make sure you so this in advance, so the chicken doesn't get cold while you prep the mashed potatoes), mash them with a fork and add the butter & milk and voilá, done!





- Distribute the mashed potatoes on the plate, and serve the chicken on top of it, all piping hot!



Enjoy!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Hollyrocks!!

Hello there! Happy Friday!


Happier for me, as since after working the last two weekends on a row, I'm having a long weekend, and enjoying Friday, Saturday & Sunday off!


Today, I'm gonna be celebrating my friend's Pilu b-day with her, having sushi for lunch, and she's getting a good few handmade pressies too! So, to celebrate this rocking Friday, I'm featuring the talented & lovely Holly from Hollyrocks!


I met Holly through her Hollyrocks blog, where she shares her lovely handmade creations, her stories about squirrels, her work and her loves! From there, it was only logical that I'd check her Etsy shop, fell in love with loads of goodies, and eventually ended up buying something!


I decided that my first purchase had to be her Spiral Heart pendant, not only cause it's gorgeous but also cause it belongs to a series of listings from different sellers (Etsy Project Embrace) from which the funds go to the American Cancer Society, and since I work as an Oncology RN, I thought it was a great idea for a very worthy cause.



Holly sent me not only my wonderful pendant, but two gorgeous extras! The original pendant is in pink, so it'd be a great purchase and present this month since pink is the colour of October, to remind us of the fight against breast cancer. And she added a purple and a deep red ones!





She packed everything so lovely, I felt I was getting a proper present! And not only she included the two pendants, but also added a lil handmade magnet with her shop name, so cute!











I'm so in love with all the pendants! I'm trying to decide which one to keep and which ones to give as gifts, but I just can't decide! Maybe I should keep them all? But I really shouldn't be greedy, and share the gifts I get! Oh well...




I do plan on getting some more goodies for Holly's shop, since I'm in love with her Fall Leaf pendants, the red one is my favourite and also her I Caught A Star necklace!