Cursiiiiiiiide Recycling

So. a few weeks back on a walk from downtown, I was collecting newspapers for my kids to make paper mache. I picked up a bag and discovered....MAGAZINE LADY. This picture is a sample of her wares. Magazines galore! This is my idea of recycling. You pick it up off the curb and you use it. Also tonight we found a nice painted tin and a serving tray.
The End.
ps- all these magazines are current. ON STANDS NOW. These aren't old magazine dudes and dudettes.

mmmm, i like curry.

I made this curry with an an interesting purple cauliflower(even though you can't tell from the picture) and it came out awesome. I love a green curry every now and then( or a red curry for that matter).

I'm pretty excited about tomorrow, it's the premier of the buy fresh buy local movie. My parents were already planning on coming to town for some vittles, so that worked out great! They (my mom) has kind of been a lifelong buy fresh buy localer for various reasons. We even used to go to a dairy farm to buy raw milk when I was a kid. She was always "putting up" this or that. At the time I didn't quite get it. I remember thinking why does she do all of that work for green beans, tomatoes etc, when you could just go to the store and buy some for 59 cents. (I remember thinking that I didn't want to do all the work that went into it, I especially remember hating having to shuck bushels of corn!!!(and weeding totally sucked!!!) I like the whole cyclical aspect of all of this on so many levels. I love the fact that my parents are still alive and I can still learn how to do all of the things that I never wanted to do as a kid.

Yesterday was quite a day for all of us. It started with the wrap up shoot fot the "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" documentary. We went to market and the creww got some footage of Chei and Tuli buying some of Tommy's goods(I mean GREATS). After the filming Tuli and Chei went to a craft date with Esme And Jessica, while I did dome crafting of my own and began to clean up my studio(I have serious issues with my studio space). We then met back up with Damian and Jonah to have some delicious Jamaican food, Damian and I then took the kids to see Wall-E(pretty cute), and then the fireworks as pictured above. Big day for a little girl(as welll a the rest of us).

This is one of the beads that I mentioned earlier. Tin can and acrylic sheet. I have high hopes for these as well. I have plans to build them and make them into necklaces and earrings(and maybe even some rings). Maybe I can sell some of these on Etsy. If not, at least I have a good excuse to make some art. I can always sell it elsewhere.

Having a good time figuring out this process...

So I decided to:

a) open an Etsy shop with my dearest
b)try using some "new" recycled materials
c) blog today.

Pictured here are some flat beads I made by melting together some shopping bags. These are the plain old white kind that you get at the grocer. I hope to find some of the more exciting colors, but alas, I am not much of a shopper. Sooo, if any of you are reading this and happen to have some colorful bags in your collection I would be much obliged...
I am quite pleased at my first attempt with the process. I came up with the technique after reading the etsy tutorial on fusing bags together to make strong sewable fabric from shopping bags. The top photo is the melted/formed billet on a silver melting stand i made for it, and the bottom is the slices that are intended to become jewelry. My next attempt will be using tubing so that they will have the silver center with a hole for both ease and appearance. I can't wait to try this with some colored bags. I am also eagerly anticipating building some jewelry with these recycled beads and getting them up on Etsy. I'm having fun building stuff.

I am also developing a means of production for some tin can bead jewelry. The picture of one of the beads that I am working uot the process for is already on our Etsy shop, but I am plannig to build jewelry out of them once I have my tooling all worked out. Excited about this too!!!

2nd Annual is in the works...

So, the boys and I are planning ahead for the 2nd annual Christiana Blacksmithing Extravaganza. GOOD TIMES TO BE HAD BY ALL!!! I'm excited already folks.

Tofurkey? No-furkey!

So when I had tons of work to do to get ready for this week and had put it off all weekend, it came down to yesterday, and what did I do? I made a GD tukey dinner, that's what! Sensible? NO! delecatable? Yes! Thanks ole bird, your flesh hit the spot.

In case anyone is getting the idea that my life revolves around food, I do a few other things besides cook and eat. Today I managed to start a glass club at my high school. There was no glass option, and one of my students was talking to me about glass and asked if i had ever worked with it. I said yes, and agreed to start a glass program here if we could work it out. So basically, I worked it out and the ball is up and rolling as of today. Glass club comin' at ya. I'm hella stoked about it, both for me to make some cool shiz and for my students to rock it out too. Recycled is the fare of the day:free, fun and fantastic. It's a win-win. I can support my ecological ambitions while empowering children with a new media for expression. It's a double feel good at the end of the day.

Poppy seeds were on sale...

Well, they were on sale, so what was I supposed to do? I bought a lemon and made these strawberry filled lemon poppyseed muffins. They were pretty good, but they paled in comparison to the chocolate cornbread pudding with bourbon sauce that I made. That shiz was the bombmmmmmmmmmm!!! Hope you'ins had a great easter. I do love me some ham! My Tuli and my father and I went for a walk after dinner(at Tulia's request), it was nice to take her down to throw stones into the same crick that I did as a boy. She also got to pet lightning(a local equinian friend). The ole neighborhood has changed so much, so few trees, so many homes. Progress? What;s the better answer? Who knows, but it all seems so sad doesn't it? And I'm so damn negative about this whole topic sometimes. WTF?!

A lil' ole' spinach pie

So, I guess I couldn't stay away. Anyway no promises on frequency, but I'll post when i feel like it. It'll mostly be things that won't get me fired. This pic is a spinach,sausage and mozzarela pie that I made with Tuli the other day. Not too pretty, but dang did it taste good. I missed all of you.