S and B at Jan's

This week we met in Jan's studio.  We had two special guests, Cathy from Portland and Gwen from next door.  Here are Pinky and Cathy, having a good laugh.  Cathy brought two pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream to share.  Yum!  Thanks, Cathy!

Gwen spent her time sketching, when she wasn't laughing and eating ice cream, that is.

Karen was creating cards....

and so was Mary....

while Pinky was working on her next crocheted rug...

April was creating some special gift boxes and Jan worked on some little folded books.  Both April and Jan joined in a Pay It Forward gift giving project where we will give away a hand made gift to friends who then agreed to give away hand made gifts to who ever will agree to give hand made gifts to...well, you get the idea.

Mary frequently is the photographer and doesn't get included in the blog photos.  I snuck this one in of her.

See you next week at Pinky's! 

Laughing At Jan's Till We Cry...

Pictures:

#1 Jan's hand made raven stamp. (we are hoping to do a workshop on these)

#2 April's hand made gift box

#3 Left...Pinky Center...Cathy Right...Karen

#4...Mary's Answered Prayer Box (used old wooden thread spools for the legs & antler button)

#5...Jan's Vintage Family Portrait Box (used old family portraits for top, inside, and front)

#6...April's Box (used bronze wood beads for legs, elegant papers, and ribbons)

#7...Pinky's Stash Box (used letter beads, wooden bead legs, hand made papers)

#8...Karen's Raven Box (used a card sister, Lyla, made for the top, unique papers, and cut out ravens for decoration)




Today was one of those days. One thing led to another and we were laughing big time and so much that tears appear...the best medicine a doctor can recommend.

Thank you, Jan, for such a nice day. The muffins were wonderful, the coffee yummy, and the friendship amazing...

We all brought our cigar box challenges to share. Pinky gave us all small cigar boxes to alter. It was so much fun to see what each one did with theirs. I know that three of them had crows/ravens on them. I thought that was interesting... Take a look at the pictures to see what each of us did with our individual boxes...very fun.

We had special guests today. Cathy Otto was with us and so was Gwen Jarvela. It was just fun to visit with them both and do some catching up. Cathy was working on a hat for herself and Gwen brought a sketch pad and sketched most of the time she was with us.

Jan gave us each some wooden beads to use as legs on this cigar project or ,maybe, a future one. Thanks, Jan!

Jan was working on a special project, making little booklets...April was making hand made boxes out of scrapbooking papers...Pinky was working on a crocheted rug...Karen was working on cards, and Mary was working on Valentines. We all were on a roll...

See you next week at Pinky's on the Long Beach Peninsula!

Birdseed Cake Recipe...

For those of you who might think this sounds like fun...here is the recipe:

Materials...

Twine, string, or ribbon

Unflavored geletin powder such as Knox brand

Birdseed

Cookie sheet

Waxed paper or plastic wrap

Shaped cookie cutters that have no tops...the metal goes around the design

2 Tablespoons of clear corn syrup

Directions:

1. For each cake, cut out a 12" lenth of twine, string, or ribbon. Loop and tie the end in a knot.

2. Mix 1/2 oz gelatin (2 packets of Knox). corn syrup, and 1/2 cup boiling water. Stir well to dissolve completely.

3. Add about 1-1/2 cups of birdseed to gelatin mixture. Mix Well. If mixture is still watery, add more birdseed until it has a stiff, but sticky consistency. (We were using birdseed with larger particles in it and it seemed we needed more than the recipe called for to make it stiff, but sticky. I think I used almost 4 cups. Just add until it isn't watery anymore and you can pack it in the cutters.)

4. Line your cookie sheet with waxed paper or platic wrap. Place cookie cutters about 1" apart on the cookie sheet.

5. Fill each cookie cutter half-full of birdseed mixture. Place knotted end of hanging loop on top center of mixture. Fill cookie cutter with more birdseed mixture on top of the loop. Firmly press mixture with back of a spoon to compact into place.

6. After a few hours (worked better to let it sit over night) gently unmold each cake onto the waxed paper or plastic wrap. Flip these a couple times a day for 72 hours, or until completely hardened before hanging.

7. Have fun!

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FUN WE HAD MAKING THESE!

Workshop at Mary's

Mary asked us to bring some certain items for a surprise workshop. We were to bring a cookie sheet, cookie cutters with no handles, wax paper, and some rubber gloves. We were all pleasantly surpirsed to find we were making bird seed cakes.

We were supplied with a bowl, a drizzle of corn syrup, and powdered gelatin. Mary poured a cup of hot water into each of our bowls and once we had the gelatin and corn syrup all disolved we added a few cups of bird seed which Mary also supplied. This bird seed looked more like granola as it was full of nuts. I wanted to munch on some myself! Then we packed this mixture into the cookie cutters. Add a string for hanging and pop them out after they are dry and the birds will love them!

 Cute, huh!!

Mary also had cooked up a delicious pot of home made chicken noodle soup with hand made noodles and home baked bread! Wow! It was so good we nearly polished off the pot and she had intended to be able to serve the left overs for dinner. Sorry Mary, it was just so delicious we couldn't stop! Rocky said, "I will finish it for you!"
It was another fun day on the peninsula. Thanks for your generous sharing of goods and knowledge, Mary.

Making Bird Seed Hanging Cakes For Our Fine Feathered Friends...

I am ashamed...I was having so much fun making these things that I didn't take any pictures. I am hoping Jan will come along behind me and post any that she took. It was a fun day here at my house (Mary's).

We all mixed up bird seed, gelatin, a little corn syrup, & water and put them into cookie cutters that are open on both ends. It was fun because they all were different shapes, so each of us took home one of a kind bird treats.

I am enclosing a picture of mine when I turned them out to dry this morning. Now, they have to dry 72 hours before hanging them out for the birdies. This was a very fun project!

Oh, and yes...a little elf left me a beaded wooden sewing spool with an angel on it...thank you, Jan!

More celebration at April's

Mary already made a nice post but I am adding a couple of photos from my (Jan's) camera that turned out well. first here is April showing the collage book that Lyla sent her. It was a really cool book, well done!

Next here is a photo of the lunch April laid out for us. It was delicious, nutritious and very pretty too! What could be better? Thanks, April!

Delayed Christmas Party Time!!!

On Tuesday, Jan. 3 the whole gang got together (Lyla...long distance) for our Christmas party. It just felt so good to see everyone again. I think it has been almost a month since we all have been together. There was sickness, trips, Dr. appts., you name it.

I don't think any of us did one creative thing on Tues...just lots of catching up with one another. I think we all brought something to work on, but just never made it there :>))It sounded like we all had memorable Christmas times.

April made us a wonderful lunch of salad with all the fixings and Christmas goodies to share. We even had a little glass of bubbly apple/peach juice after lunch and a toast.

We all draw names around Thanksgiving and that is the person we get a Christmas gift for. It is always so fun to see what everyone gets and to pass the gifts around for "inspection". It was such a fun day together with lots of laughing going on...

We will meet at Mary's, if the weather allows, next Tues.

Scroll down for more pictures of Tues. at April's.

More Delayed Christmas Party Pictures...

I had all our pics on here from Tues. and came back to write a blurp or two and they were gone...hmmm. Mary's back!!!! Here, we are all getting ready to unwrap our presents. April got one long distance from Lyla.

Our faithful mascot, Rocky was...of course...looking for treats. Lower bottom pic...Pinky is giving him a goody.

This was such a fun day.

Pinky says--
April-your apron for Jon turned out so nice. Bet he really liked it. Looked like a lot of work. What a nice present.
Jan--your quilt for Steve's Mom is beautiful ! What a wonderful gift.
I sure enjoyed today with everyone. Fun day and super lunch, April. Thanks !
Love,
Pinky