The eyes have it....

well, ... sort of.... guess we'll see when I get around to trying to use some for my next dolly.

I've been looking for some eyes without the whites.... and there don't seem to be many out there.  Or... maybe I haven't quite figured out yet how to track them down.  They must be out there ...somewhere...

Two doll making buddies did share their sites ...but, while I am looking... I also decided ...perhaps I can make some of my own.

My first simple attempts.... just colouring with pencil crayons... on water colour paper.  Wetting it down a bit.  Adding a pupil with a Pigma pen.

Then...using Glossy Accents.... dropping on some gloss.  The first few I did a couple of separate applications.  Began just covering the colour with a thin coating.   Then... after it has completely dried... at least 24 hours to make sure...added a second drop and on one set of eyes...a third layer.
You can see on the middle set of eyes.... they are getting progressively higher ... I was thinking to make them about as bumped up as the left eye....  but, you can also see that my blobs are not perfectly done on top of the other layer of gloss.

At first the Glossy Accents looks cloudy and murky...and seems to magnify the size of the pupil...but, when dry... it's clear and glossy and the pupil looks exactly the size I made it in the first place.
I like this stuff for several different things.  Some of you may remember I used it for the glass on my white rabbit's watch.

Just to demonstrate...the middle pair and also the lower right...have just recently been dolloped on.  Still cloudy looking 'til they dry.  Also, the eyes on the lower right I tried using only one single large drop instead of several layers  ...a large, slow drop  .. to keep it from overflowing the outside edge of my colour and also so that I don't have to try to keep it exactly on top of the first layer.. ...we'll see how it dries.  Seems to be staying in position at the moment.  I don't think it will spread out now... but, we'll see.  If so...that's definitely the way to go with my experimental eyes.  One good drop.

My next trick will be to learn how to cut around them perfectly...or see if I can find a punch that can punch them out without ruining them..or without hiding them in a portion of the punch from whence it cannot be retrieved!  lol....

Here's looking at you, kid!  Ack...scary eyeball ! ... big pupil... totally distorted til it dries... hahahha....

Wordless Wednesday..

Ooooh.... and it was tasty!

We never did get quite as tidy a slice as they did for the photo in the book....but.... it was very tasty anyway.  Ours seemed to have a few more crumbs stuck to the pink filling.... ah, well.... 

Recipe on my other blog if you'd like to have a go at making one some day.   It's called Black Forest Decadence.

Gwendolyn refused to look at the cake....

Somehow she knew she would not be included in the festivities.....
                                                                            

Wordless Wednesday..

I won socks!!!

Makes me feel a bit like Dobby!  wooohooooo

Anne had a giveaway and I won!   ....yes... I do get pretty excited about things like that!

Check out the beautiful socks she is going to knit.... and we even get to choose the colours. Some lovely new yarn she just received.  Here is my colour... ooooh...I can hardly wait to see them in person.

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And...in other news...

Gwendolyn found a friend in Frikkles .... they like to hang out together on the table... he really loves the attention.

Yep...she whispered her name to me the other night as I was pottering around doing something nearby and keeping my eye on them and the antics ...

She actually looks pretty ladylike here...but, she has a sense of humour too believe me... much like myself it seems.  Mostly conservative...but given to bouts of silliness on occasion.

Hey Anne!!

lookie here....

I made a "sponge"

and...

it's darn yummy!

Anne and some friends have a group that meets every so often to enjoy each others company and do some chatting and sewing on projects.  I have no stitch and bitch or doll or bear making group... so... I ate it all by myself.  Well... Mr. BV did help..

She sent me the recipe after I've had to endure drooling over it on her blog several times.  I faithfully followed the British version.. weighing and measuring... which seems so much more complicated than our method of baking.. just tossing in a cup of this and 1/2 cup of that.. and only having to wash up one bowl... but, it turned out to be quite a tasty morsel.

Forget Wordless Wednesday...it's dolly day...

Finally finished her.  I am pretty slow with all things doll and bear related.  But... I'm usually pretty happy with my results...so....that's a big plus in my book.

Decided to make her shoes the colour of the flowers on her dress fabric...it took a few tries and 3 coats to get the colour right.  She seemed pretty happy with them..

.... Although, she did seem a bit reluctant to pose for some photos...

But, then...it was like...."I'm ready for my close-up now Mr. DeMille"...






































Then...all of sudden she got cheeky and showed a bit of leg... woohooo,,,,,

Embarrassed herself I think...hahhaha..

...and soon....she was pooped.....

Here are my gals for inspiration.... The dolls of Black Eyed Suzi.  I decided to make one for myself, even though I don't actually know her techniques... all I gleaned was from some of her photos of her own works in progress.  What fun it would be to spend a few hours with some of the well known doll makers....

In the meantime... I'll bumble along on my own and see what I come up with .... hence the BumbleVee.....

.. and...no more time today...

Exercise to do... shovelling just completed.... and supper to be done next.

See what I mean?  Real life just gets in the way of fun, doesn't it?.

The dolly is not yet done... and I almost feel guilty posting without having a finished dolly to show for my boasting... ..hahahha... talk about putting pressure on myself.... whew.... but....I AM working on her... look.  Limbs... and she has some hair... I'm just still not sure about the attachment of the lower legs... working on it...

There. I got over it.

New year.... old stuff...

Some things I like to start fresh.  Remember how when we were kids and we started a new school year?  All new books...brand new pencils ...  even some things our Moms purchased for the year in the list of supplies that we had no clue about?  It was a surprise... to be leaned at a later date. The surprise of my little metal box of Geometry stuff is still a surprise... who knows what those bits were for...

January sort of feels like that to me.   And..  I want always to begin with a clean slate. {{ Maggi, if you read this... don't gag....this year..yes... I really am going to finish those projects... honest !! }}.... beginning with my Black Eye'd Suzi look-alike... 

Absolutely one of the reasons I don't bother with resolutions.... they just get sidestepped or moved to the back burner when something more interesting or pressing happens along.  It's just life. Come on...you know it happens!

So far I've been re-organizing my huge storage space ... because, for some reason I didn't do it last January.  Oh, I just looked back at my blog postings...and found out why.  I began making my little clay over cloth dolly in Jane's tutorial.  What fun that was for a beginning to the year.  See? Much more fun than organizing and arranging.  No wonder I got sidetracked.  

The Christmas decorations are in several boxes .. including one huge box for the tree..oh, and one smaller box for it's smaller twin.  It was a chore to drag them out over a bunch of other "stuff"... and I'm not dragging them back over top of all of that again.   This year I do have to stay on track.

First..I need to move everything around that was accumulated over the past two years.. shift golf bags.. roller skates, skies, motorcycle gear, old monitors and computer towers, box of door knobs and hinges, boxes of electrical and plumbing stuff (we've done a lot of our own renovating..can u tell?) a 9 X 11 rolled rug, crates of papers...even the massage table is in the way.... sheeesh.... etc. etc.. I'm sure you know the list. Time to purge.  Then... re-arrange it so there is a walkway down the middle of it.  I want to be able to see everything at a glance and to know where and what is in that storage space.  It's annoying not to be able to find things and then... you guessed it...to have to purchase the same damn things ...again!  Did that this year with my foam for sticking greenery into for making table centres... now...I found the old stuff...and.... have 4 chunks.  sigh....

Off I go to box up the rest of the ornaments and little bitty things.  I think I have two new better shaped sturdy boxes to use this year.  Perhaps I'll be able to whittle down the numbers or at least change the shape and amount of space the old boxes take up.  The tree is still up... and will be til the weekend.  I love the lights...and still love to sit with my coffee in the dark mornings and admire it... if it wouldn't need dusting in a month or so...I'd love to leave it up.

Later... I'm gonna play with clay !... and wire...and today...I am darn well attaching some legs and arms to that poor little patiently waiting, legless, armless, dolly.

Oh....and... bake the last eggnog loaf.  Gotta get rid of the good stuff in a clever manner.  Triple wrapped in the freezer ..it'll be as fresh in July as it is today.  And..... soooo good when I have a craving for eggnog in the middle of summer and there is none to be had.

Wordless Wednesday..

Wordless Wednesday..

Recycling the good stuff....

Just a little blurb about yesterday's Christmas card in my tree...well, actually.... the several cards in the tree...every year.  Yesterday's was one from my sister one year ....

I hate to throw away pretty cards... especially those with a bit of bling and also some special meaning. They are perfect for that dark spot...or that wonky spot or ... well, anywhere in the tree actually, where you want a bit of "something" that the balls and other decorations just aren't providing....


This one I just cut around the edge of the gold trimmed centre of a lovely card.... it stays in the Christmas decorations box....been there about 6 years now.... love it...

Store bought cards are horribly expensive and some are perfect for this... and... those beautiful handmade cards? .. well,  they 're just too special to chuck in the garbage.

With some, I save the whole front of a card...some, I just save the middles...or maybe only a particular piece.  Yesterday's ... the whole front...cut with deckle edged scissors...and strategically placed in the tree.. lights shining just so onto it.

You can make labels or tags with the smaller pieces... or use them on your own handmade cards next year... or... well, I am sure you can think up other uses for them as well.  I have a box full of them for when I think of other things to do with them.  It doesn't take up any space at all in my big storage area... just stack it with my other 4 or 5 boxes of things.  The origami papers (oh, yes...don't forget...save all the beautiful foil type wrapping papers too...for those!!  (they only need 3 pieces of 3 X 3 inches each) If you don't want to make any...save it for me! Send me a few bits and pieces in a card envelope.... hey!  I could make you a few and send them back to you next year.... hahahha... oh, yeh...what else?

There is a box of walnut mice....another box of whole cards for making boxes... some boxes of greenery for making some table centres and arrangements.. and,  ... oh, alright, alright....... I admit it.  I have several more boxes ...of all sorts of things for Christmas and other crafts.  Sigh...

Must p.u.r.g.e.  Maybe it's time to give away some of the stuff I just know I'm not going to use anymore.... wish I knew locals who want to do some crafting....

here are the links to last year's card posts...

Better get a move on... today I'm making soup from the tiny chicken carcass... foccaccia bread to go with soup for supper...another 'nog loaf....and oh, ... better do some treadmill.  The Christmas goodies are beginning to show...around my middle.....

.

....... day after Christmas

Ghosts of Christmas Past....

Thank goodness we've come a long way since then..... whew.....

Have a happy day everybuddy.....

I hope you have a fun tree to enjoy ...

and some yummies...

some chocolates ...goes without saying really....

.

Merry Christmas !!!

Hey, just a darn minute here.  Does anybody remember these little lights being this tangly last year?..huh...do ya?

Well, they weren't... Im sure of it.... so who played with them besides us?


Merry Christmas everybody.....

.... and...... here's to a healthy, happy 2011.....

let's make it a fun one!


.

Don't panic!!

I know there is very little time left and some folks get so caught up in the whole festive season hype....   Of course, it's only my humble opinion...but, I'm sure they just try to do too much.  Sometimes simple ..or at least simpler... is better.  Really.

It's all gotten so commercial hasn't it?  Maybe it's time to mutiny or rebel... just do it a whole new way.  Or... go back to the old ways.... well, at least some of the old ways.  They weren't all great...

Here's a suggestion, for what it's worth.  If you still plan to do some special baking... make it "special".   Do one fabulous thing instead of a lot of "stuff". Trim it or plate it in grand style...and that could be it.  How about Cranberry Coffee Cake?















If you want a great seasonal loaf... try Eggnog Christmas Loaf with Buttered Rum Glaze.  Can't go wrong with that one! A fancy plate.. a bit of gold ribbon.. a few ornaments...and just the loaf itself...they'll be drooling.  It is droolworthy. And... make a few more after Christmas with the leftover 'nog... double wrap and freeze for oh,.. say... July?  YUMMY !!  I love Christmas in July.  Can't believe I can't find a photo of one of the lovely loaves...  I'll look again tomorrow.....

Press somebody into helping with cute Chocolate covered maraschino cherry cookies...  cuties... they are a bit fiddly for one person, but, still not all that bad.....however, with another pair of hands... a snap.  Again... they look so special...  and worth the effort.  Everybody will be impressed.... it happens every year.  Look how cute.

And... biscotti.  For some reason, everybody thinks it is difficult to make.  Not so.  Even though I, myself, had a few hiccups this past week with my baking... biscotti is still a special and yet an easy biscuit to make.  Decorate by dipping into chocolate... drizzling with chocolate... sprinkling with nuts... and the combinations of ingredients is endless.  I have a few on the other blog...but, you could always just go to food.com and type in biscotti.  You'll be flooded with recipes!  Tomorrow I'd like to get some pistachio/cranberry biscotti done.  But...I also want  to do a bit of grocery shopping...and try on a blouse I saw the other day..oh... and do my treadmill.. so... eh... maybe the biscotti won't get done tomorrow.  There's still Friday...   and, I do have at least one eggnog loaf in the freezer........

Oh, my ... these just look so plain beside the other goodies... okay..then... scratch these for this year....

Is Mars in retrograde?

I've heard that description before... maybe it has to do with baking woes.   Or is there some other wonky planet alignment?  Maybe my Biodex is in a downward swing.  Whatever's happening.... the kitchen disasters..or near-disasters have continued throughout the past few days.  Maybe I'm just losing it...or... well, who knows....

Actually, I (and Mr. BumbleVee too) "eated" a lot of cookies.   He always rubs his hands in glee... and has a big grin... cuz he knows it means more for him.  Cheeky!   There I was ...baking second batches. Because they were not quite right.  The edges of some biscotti refused to cut nicely.  There was some breakage..or there was crumbling.  And...I want perfect when I send them, darn it!

This is definitely not the norm.  I bake.  A lot.  And... not much goes wrong ...usually.  Well, sure there is the odd thing that happens, but not like this.  Read that in a very whiny voice.... .

This week, I have had nothing but "blog fodder"...   I could get miles of written word out of my "happenings"  in the kitchen.. ....sigh...
everything from trying to use butter that was too firm and whacking myself out trying to whisk the lumpiness into something smooth.... to not being able to get white chocolate to drizzle...hmmmm..... all of which, of course, I've done previously.  Many times.

Oh, well, suffice to say... finally, today, I am finished with my planned baking that I am sending to my sister.  It's become a tradition.  She doesn't like to bake very much and still has a bit of trouble with staying focused as far as wordy recipes are concerned.  Most of you that are regulars know that she fell years ago... about 9 years now I think....on an icy parking lot.  Knocked herself out cold; sustained a terrible concussion. There was and still is some residual brain damage.  If you meet her you would never know because she has clawed back most of her former self.......almost single handedly I might add.  Nobody in or outside of her family helped much at all. But, there are some things that still elude her or make her feel nauseous ... and baking from recipes is one of them...  plus she wanders away from the kitchen and things happen then for sure.  There have been a lot of ruined pans and things burned to a crisp on her stove in the past few years... and a lot of fire alarms and worried cats.  She has decided it is safer not to bake... or cook much at all as a matter of fact.

The past week... she is definitely not in her kitchen.  She is stuck on the couch or wandering around in pain and frustration.  She fell and broke her wrist and finally after a week of waiting... they have placed a cast on it.  They had just cleared their steep driveway with the tractor...the blade left glare ice...and two steps onto the ice ... down she went.  Well, of course, after all the agony of the first few years after her concussion... all she could think of was.."don't hit my head!!" .. and out flew both hands to prevent that from happening.  She said as quick as it happened...that was still her first thought.  She also knew that the second she threw out her hands... she was going to be in big trouble. She was; it broke straight across the second it hit the ground.  Damn!!

So...I love to bake...always have and love to send her some.  I'll be off to the Greyhound soon to get her package away.  The Speedy Doggie as Mum used to call Greyhound... her favourite mode of transport in the day.

Update:::  Aaacckkk!!  I knew it GP!  Something is definitely not quite right.  

hahah...of course, I don't know much about any of it...although I do find it interesting if I read up on some aspect of it.  Once I even had my horoscope chart done... many moons ago... 

..and look at this... an excerpt from the info regarding the retrograde phase of Mercury.

"Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!"

There we have it..... is it even worse if I'm a Capricorn?...cuz...I am..... 

Nuts!!

Literally... and figuratively .....

When a recipe says roast nuts in a 350F oven for 15 minutes...and alarm bells go off??.... listen to your alarms!

This is where the first batch ended up...

If it looks like a garbage can... that's because it is.
Walnut halves are like gold.  A big bag was $14.99....on sale.  Oooooooooohhh.... that burns me almost as much as it did the darn nuts.

I was going along so well too.... this is how amazing they were just after I added a splash of my real Quebec Maple Syrup from a friend of a relative.... just brought all the way across the country.  Wasted Maple Syrup is an absolute crime!!  Anybody who has ever had the real thing will tell you that. Then...a generous grinding of lovely black pepper.  These are spicy glazed nuts. Mmmm... well, they would have been mmmm...

... but, then... the recipe called for putting them in the oven.  So.. I set my timer for 12 minutes..not even the required 15... but... too late..... they were already past tasting burned when I grabbed for the baking sheet.  There were some "french words" as somebody used to say..... who was that now?  I forget.  Anyway.....it was disheartening to say the least because it was just the beginning of my plan for an amazing salad for supper.

Onward.... second batch.  Never quit when you are behind.

You can bet your bottom hard earned dollar that I was watching like a hawk this time around..... my eyes were glued to that oven.  Don't even walk out of the kitchen.... cuz you know how fast nuts can be ruined!

Ahhhhhh.... that's more like it.  I had the oven at just over 300F this time...and it only took about 6 to 8 minutes really.... ....

Then....I poached my lovely pear.  In wine and cinnamon infused syrup....

It was a thing of beauty.... well....to my eyes at least it was.  It stayed firm... soaked up the wonderful flavours...and was absolutely the nicest pear I have ever seen or eaten.  Including the creation by the chef at the restaurant where I first had this salad... and now... I've copied it to the best of my recollection.

Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Glazed Walnuts......

I used some peppered goat cheese and instead of just crumbling on the bits...I wanted to figure out a way to cut the soft cheese into rounds.  Looked on Google...and found a few suggestions.  Love Google.

Dental floss.  Yep.  You can saw it across it if you like...as in the video I saw... but, if you just lay it under the roll of cheese...then draw up each side of the floss and cross them over each other...it slices straight through the cheese as easy as can be.   Even very thin slices come away so cleanly it is amazing. I did put the cheese roll in the freezer for just a few minutes (watch that too... you don't want to ruin a lovely little log of cheese) .. so that I could cut away the packaging without damaging the roll.  Why can't they make it easier to get the roll of cheese neatly out of the packaging material?

A vinaigrette with a few tablespoons of the poaching syrup finished it off. YUM....

Take that Chef Kevin....