how-to

Beggar’s CAN Be Choosers

Nibbles

Or choice morsels to treat yourself and guests too.

Minted Pea and Mushroom Beggars Purse

Minted Pea and Mushroom Beggar's Purse

I mean beggar’s purses, of course, like the kind I made for this year’s Fairy Fest. They most likely get their name from the Medieval-style cloth purses made from a circle of fabric and a simple drawstring. Whether made from pastry, as below, or crêpes or pasta, the fillings can be sweet or savory–really, anything goes.

Personally, I love the pastry ones best and prefer to use square pieces as a base as as not to have any waste. Puff pastry doesn’t do too well re-rolled (though if you’re going to try it, stack the scraps together and then roll out to the desired thickness–this keeps the layers intact the way just smooshing the bits together will not). Plus, when the sides are gathered up, the pointed corners make a delightful petal shape on top of the purse that is quite decorative.

Minted Pea and Mushroom Beggar’s Purses

Makes 36

8 oz Frozen Peas
1 stick (4 oz) Unsalted Butter, diced
8 oz Mushrooms, diced
2 Tbsp chopped Mint
1 Tbsp dried Thyme
1 Tbsp dried Parsley
1 tsp Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 packages Puff Pastry Dough (4 sheets)
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash
Fresh Chives, optional, for ties

To Make the Filling:

Cook peas according to package directions; drain off any remaining water.

Stir together the cooked peas with butter, mushrooms and seasonings, allowing the heat from the peas to melt the bits of butter. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 375° F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide each sheet of puff pastry dough into 9 equal pieces, about 3 inches square. On a lightly floured surface, roll each square out, gently, to about 4″ squares.

To Make the Purses:

To each square of puff pastry add 1 heaping tablespoon of filling to the center.

Brush a circle of water or egg wash around the filling (this will help the pastry stick together up top).

Draw together the centers of each side and then the corners, leaving the ends of the corners free to lay to the side like tissue paper out of a gift bag.

Squeeze together the top of the newly-formed pouch, just under the corner-points and finish with a tie of chive around the neck of the pouch. (See illustration below)

How to Form Beggar's Purses from Puff Pastry Squares

How to Form Beggar's Purses from Puff Pastry Squares

Brush the tops of the purses with egg wash and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown.

Either serve warm or let cool and refrigerate until needed. They keep very well and will reheat in about 30 minutes in a 350°-oven. They do okay in a microwave, too, but it’s not my first choice for reheating.

(adapted from the recipes “Sweet Peas with Mint” and “Mushrooms in Cream” from Celtic Folklore Cooking)

This filling would also be excellent pureed smooth and used as a filling for ravioli. They smell divine when baking and taste even better!

Pretty Earrings Can Make Even Bad News Sound Good

64 Arts

Continuing our exploration of the Jewelry Arts, it’s time to actually make something pretty to wear or to give as a gift.

~~~oOo~~~

Green Goddess Earrings

Green Goddess Earrings

 

What’s better than a new pair of pretties to wear? The knowledge that you made them yourself!

This past weekend I got a chance to sit down at my work bench and make a couple of pairs of earrings using the mother of pearl disc beads I’d picked up in preparation for this art.

While everything else came from my own, well-stocked craft shelves, to make these projects you’ll need only a few bits and pieces from your local craft store of choice. (If you’re new to buying jewelry supplies, you may find my eHow article, How to Choose Beads, helpful.)

ProTip: a piece of felt or fleece on your work surface keeps the beads from rolling all over the place. Granted, it does nothing when you open the box of beads upside down, no where near the felted surface–but you probably already knew that.

For the Green Goddess Earrings:

  • Green Goddess Earring SuppliesHoop Earring findings, pre-drilled with 5 holes each
  • Sterling Silver wire, 24 gauge
  • 2 Mother of Pearl discs
  • 4 Green glass beads
  • 4 Silver bell beads
  • 8 Silver-tone 10/o or seed beads
  • Tools (Needle-nose pliers, Round-nose pliers, Wire cutters)

These earrings use some basic wire skills, namely wrapped loops. If you’re not ready to tackle wire-work, the second earring project, below, just uses needle and thread.

Securing the base of the beads Begin by making a small loop with the needle-nose pliers on one end of the silver wire and bend the wire at a 90-degree angle at the end of the loop, creating a stop for the beads. This is a quick way to work around not needing headpins around for every project.

Slide on your first bead (or bead group) and trim the wire off with a 1 inch tail measuring from the top of the bead (or bead group).
Beads ready for attaching Repeat with the rest of the beads. For each earring you will have:

  • 1 mother of pearl bead on wire
  • 2 each of the green glass beads topped with 2 silver-toned 10/o or seed beads*

For the little silver bells (of which you need 2 per earring), use a wrapped loop through the loop on the bell and leave a 1 inch tail of wire above.
Adding the bead drops to the earring finding. Begin the wrapped loops above each bead (group), making a 90-degree angle with the needle-nose pliers, then making a loop around the very tip of the round-nose pliers.

Thread them onto the earring finding to test your arrangement. Now is the time to make any changes before completing the wrapped loops.
Completed earring. Complete the wrapped loops for each of the 5 dangles and then repeat on the matching earring.

You might wonder what’s the point of doing 5 drops when 2 of them will be hidden by the large mother of pearl disc? First of all, some people might see them from the side, and those empty holes just look accidental. Secondly, doing it this way keeps the earring balanced–to skip it would risk the earring hanging funny when worn.
Pearl Drizzle Earrings

Pearl Drizzle Earrings

*After putting together the prototype first earring, I noticed the green glass beads were obscured by the silver bells. Adding the silver-toned seed beads lowered the green glass beads enough to looked balanced. It’s always a good idea to do a dry run.

For the Pearl Drizzle Earrings, the supply needs are even simpler:

  • Sterling Silver French Hook earring findings, 1 pair
  • 2 Mother of Pearl discs
  • 20 Silver-filled bugle beads
  • 18 Silver-tone 10/o or seed beads
  • 2 crystal 6/0 or e-beads
  • White beading thread
  • Beading needle

If you can thread a needle and tie a knot, you can make these earrings, that’s how simple these are but you’d never know it to look at them! Perfect for the upcoming beach-wear season, think how great these would look with a flowing sundress!

Laying out the earring map. Since I tend to be a visual crafter, I always layout my project before I sew or attach anything. It’s not a foolproof method by any means, but it works.

The order the parts go is

  • bugle bead->mother of pearl disc-> e-bead,
  • then splits off into 3 tails that are alternating bugle and seed beads, ending with a seed bead

Thread about 2 feet of beading thread onto the needle but do not knot it.
Starting the beading. Beginning with the last bugle bead on one tail, thread the needle through the bugle and the seed bead and then back through the bugle, leaving about 2 inches of the tail not pulled through.

Tie 2 double knots just above the bugle bead to secure the thread, do not trim it yet. Thread the next seed and bugle bead set, working your way up the tail, onto the thread and tuck the loose tail into those beads. Trim the thread tail as close to the top of the second bugle bead as possible.
Attaching the first full strand. Thread through the remaining seed and bugle bead for the first tail, through the central section (e-bead, disc and bugle) and loop through the earring finding.

Go back through the central section and, this time, thread through the entire center tail. Skipping the last seed bead, thread all the way up to the finding loop and back through the central section.

Repeat for the third tail, stopping above the e-bead on the way back up. Tie 2 or 3 knots above the e-bead and then go through the disc before trimming the tail between the disc and the top bugle bead.

Repeat for the other earring.

It sounds like a lot of back and forth, but once you get the hang of it, this sort of earring takes minutes to make and can be a very versatile pattern with just a change of focal bead and accents.

~~~oOo~~~

We’ll have more tutorials to come, this month! Want to know how to do something in particular? Leave a request in the comments!

Hand-Knit Cowl

Today’s Cowl

64 Arts

If you read a lot of historical novels and the like, you probably think of hooded monks when you hear the word cowl. Why would anyone want to wear one these days when hoodies (which, by the way, I cannot comfortably wear to save my life) are so easy to find?

That’s not what I’m talking about, here.

Today, a cowl can just as easily refer to a knitted tube, worn around the neck like some cross between a fluffy necklace and a scarf  but without the tails. Some cowls–often called clouds and knitted in wonderfully fuzzy mohair for a nebulous effect–are long enough to pull over the head like a hood and keep the ears warm and toasty.

My version was a product of a single skein of camel-colored wool found at Tuesday Morning while shopping for new bath mats and some time on my hands post-move. I’d been itching for a simple knitting project to keep my hands busy and, after flipping through my copy of One-Skein Wonders I settled on the Sofia Cowl. It was a simple lace pattern that kept my hands busy a few nights and gave that awesome sense of instant gratification that good, quick knitting projects always do.

How to Wear a Scarf with no Tails

Pretty much any way you want to.

Wait, not exactly what you were expecting? Okay, I can do a little better than that.

Sofia Cowl Worn 3 Ways

Sofia Cowl, 3 ways

After playing around with my newest accessory, I came up with several variations: these were my top 3:

  1. Fold the back of the cowl down, doubling the warming layers around the nape of your neck, and pouf out the front to fullness. This looks great peeking out of a coat or v-neck sweater–a great way to transition from Fall to Winter and Winter to Spring when you may not need full-on bundling but a little extra warmth wouldn’t hurt.
  2. A fun, slouchy, casual look can be achieved by twisting the tube inside itself a few good turns to create a continuous spiral effect. Try it against a contrasting turtleneck or just on it’s own as a statement accessory.
  3. My favorite look is to arrange it high in the back and fold the edges over at the neck, securing with a pin or clip (like the large French twist clip in the photo–think outside the brooch!). This looks so nice and tailored that it can work as a wardrobe element, not just a cold-weather protector.

If You Love Something, Set it Free!

Hand-Knit Cowl

Enter to Win!

I wanted to knit something and I did. Problem is, I live in Florida where it doesn’t really stay that cold. For pity’s sake, we were the only state in the Union without snow on the ground this past week–this is not an item that’s going to get a lot of use in my neck (hah!) of the woods.

So…. Hows about I offer up to one lucky reader?

If you’d like a chance to win this hand-knit accessory, there’s one simple rule:

Leave a comment on this post.

See? I told you it was simple!

Now, if you’d like an additional chance to win, you can follow the blog via RSS or e-mail. There are links for both options at the top of the far-right side-bar. After you subscribe using the method of your choice (or if you already do!) leave a separate comment on this post for 1 additional entry.

That’s all there is to it.

Cowl Details:

  • Dimensions: Approximately 27″ around, 13.5″ wide (when flat), and 7″ high with quite a bit of stretch.
  • Knit out of “Deluxe Worsted” 100% Wool, Made in Turkey, Imported by Universal Yarn Inc (Concord, NC)
  • Suggested Care: Hand wash in 85 degree F (30 degree C) water

Comment-entries will be accepted until 5pm EST, Wednesday, January 26, 2011, and the winner will be announced the following day.

~~~oOo~~~

Don’t forget to leave those comments! This post takes care of our Art of Dressing discussion. Our next art on the horizon? Jewelry!

Random Appetites: BYOP Basics

Nibbles

In September, 1999, I had just ended my brief career as a pastry chef to return to the more lucrative bookkeeping job I’d left and had recently been dumped by my boyfriend of more than a year. It was the first time in two years I found myself with loads of free time.

Not only did I start watching a lot of television around this time, I also got back into crafting. And while flipping through “Crafts” magazine, full of all sorts of Halloween projects, I saw a small inset about throwing a BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) party. That Fall was my first of a string of very successful Pumpkin Parties whose invitations are, actually, quite coveted.

This year is, unfortunately, a non-BYOP year for me as I have a couple of schedule conflicts but, hopefully, next year will see BYOP-6 (I mean, I already have a theme in mind!). But if you want to throw your own, here’s the basics:

  • Have it up to a week before Halloween itself. This prevents schedule conflicts with the actual holiday and gives people more time to show off their creation. Depending on your October weather, a week may be pushing it.
  • Start in the early afternoon and leave a few hours for people to to work on their pumpkins. Asking your guests to clean out the gourds ahead of time will lessen the clean-up for you, but have a bag or two available for guts and discards.
  • Have lots of patterns and tools available. I like to provide everything BUT the pumpkins for my guests, including carving tools, patterns, paints and brushes and sundry other items (toothpicks, candles, etc.)
  • Serve refreshments. My first couple of BYOPs were pot-luck because I was on a serious budget and this party started big! (both friends and family came as well as a church “youth” group) The last several I’ve supplied everything from appetizers to desserts and plenty in between as my budget allows.

Other things I like to do are to award prizes for Most Original, Scariest, Funniest and Best in Show and have goodie bags for when people leave, after supper and general hanging out. Anyone who doesn’t carve a pumpkin gets to acct as the judging committee or we do silent ballots–so far there’s always been a couple who haven’t carved but come for the rest of the fun.

And I’ve had all sorts of pumpkins show up! Huge ones big enough to fit a small child inside (I have picture proof…somewhere) and little baby pattypie pumpkins that were painted instead of carved. We’ve also had a spaghetti squash that was painted (so it could be washed and roasted later and therefore not wasted) and last year featured a very scary looking parsnip!!! Just roll with it!