Happy November everyone! Just found another gem of a desktop calendar from London-based illustrator, Christiane Engel's site, desertfriends.com. I love this illustrator. Her work is rather nostalgic and comforting to me; retro flannel pajamas and children's bedding comes to mind. Visit her blog to download.
Last week Poppytalk contributor and photographer, Janis Nicolay and I got together for a super fun craft day! We had both been longing to do something together and driftwood was the chosen theme. So after spending another day (a few weeks back) beach combing a local shore (not too far from where I live - and a bonus day by the way) we found some beautiful pieces to work with.
As we collected, ideas were thrown back and forth, God's Eyes became a focus (so we started looking for longer thinner pieces), Janis had an idea to make a square wreath and I was thinking of possibilities such as coat hangers. In the end after taking stock of all that we found, other ideas also evolved, and initial ones dropped. But all in all, we decided to make it a holiday-themed decor idea, but really, these could be translated into any theme of course. One could also use tree branches in place of driftwood if you live inland, maybe even removing the bark to get the smooth effect like driftwood. Or as Megan says, however you roll. (All photo's by Janis Nicolay).
selected pieces God's Eyes
As it had been years since I made God's Eyes (an old summer camp craft), Janis gave me a mini lesson. And really, it's pretty easy, but definitely a little tricky at first if you're a novice like me. So we made this mini video to help explain the process. (Excuse the quality, it was taken quickly using my iPhone).
Basically we tied two twigs together with the yarn, and then went from there; first creating a cross effect and then starting the weaving process (over and around on one twig and then under and around on the next and continuing through to the end). We used two colours, tying the yarn when it was time to and then to end it by weaving through and knotting it.
Driftwood Wreath
Janis' wreath craft started out with some festive craft fare such as pinecones and glitter dust.
First she wired together the driftwood pieces creating a square. She then applied some glitter to the pinecone and wired it (using floral wire and a glue gun) to one corner. A found piece of curly bark was added for interest.
Afterwards Janis tied some grey yarn around the top to hang it with. A simple and clean modern take on a traditional holiday accessory!
Yarn Wrapped Driftwood
As Janis was making her wreath, and as I looked at my driftwood, a thought had come to mind to perhaps wrap some different coloured yarns around the edges of a few pieces. What ended up were these pieces below; which I rather liked and may stick around even longer than the holidays.
We hope you enjoyed our craft day as much as we did. There's nothing more refreshing than removing oneself from the computer and getting together with a sweet friend (who makes delicious coffee and a good lunch). She served her olive + rosemary mini bread (a must try recipe)! Plus the craft wasn't too overwhelming, and rather rewarding in the end. We were able to make quite a few God's Eyes, the wreath and some wrapped sticks all in an afternoon!
Some people tend to get stuck on recipes. If they don't have everything the recipe calls for, they'll put it away until they've made a run to the grocery store. Me, I'm a bit of a player (well, at least when it comes to recipes and board games). If a soup recipe calls for sausage and I'm out, I'll add in some smoked paprika instead and make it into something vegetarian.
When I spotted this warm cabbage salad recipe on 101 Cookbooks (an always inspiring website for vegetarian recipes), I quickly realized that I was out of sunflower seeds, golden raisins and Parmesan. No worries, because I did have some unsalted roasted peanuts and a bag of Craisins. I also had dried rosemary instead of the fresh stuff. When I looked closer at the recipe, I realized the sunflower seeds needed to be candied, but since I was already feeling a bit sugared-out due to all of the fun-sized Halloween candy laying about, I left my peanuts alone. There was already balsamic and dried cranberries in my recipe to take care of the sweet factor. Looking to play a bit more with this warm salad? I think some chopped apples would be an excellent addition!
Maybe the salad wasn't as delicious as the original version, but I thought it was tasty and healthy - not to mention easy to whip up as a quick side dish. It's perfect for fall and winter when your larder is heavy with root vegetables and cabbage. And a cabbage recipe with a slightly sweet and salty twist is always a welcome find.
Warm Cabbage Salad with Dried Cranberries & Peanuts (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small red onion, sliced into thin half moons 3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly 1/2 large head of red cabbage, sliced thinly large pinch salt & a good grind of pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1/3 cup dried cranberries 1/3 cup roasted peanuts (unsalted) 1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil, onions and garlic together. Saute until soft. Add in cabbage, salt and pepper and stir about for a few minutes until the cabbage wilts slightly (about 3-5 minutes or so) without over-cooking it. Add in the rosemary, peanuts, cranberries and balsamic vinegar. Stir everything and remove from heat. Dump everything into a large serving dish and sprinkle with feta cheese. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
It's here! Our November Lookbook! Filled with heaps (over 50 pages) of talent and holiday gift and decorating ideas from our holiday-themed market at Poppytalk Handmade. Click on the image (above) to enlarge or visit our page at issuu.com to view. (All items are clickable to each vendor's virtual table). Happy browsing!
Contributor post by Daniel and Valeria of Hindsvik
A few weeks ago we did a post on our blog of vintage view-masters and reel scans and wanted to share some more scans and some history with you! Using a slide scanner, we captured some of these images and although the whole 3-D effect is lost, they are still some captivating stills!
Alice in Wonderland, 1952
View-masters have been around since 1939, and although is now considered a children's toy, it was originally marketed as a way for viewers to enjoy stereograms of colorful and picturesque tourist attractions.
The view-master has stemmed from two photographers who had invented devices for viewing stereo images. Together they had the idea of updating the old-fashioned stereoscope by using new Kodachrome 16-mm color film which had recently been available.
Smokey the Bear, 1969
While a view-master disk holds 14 film slides, there are really only 7 pairs as two film slides are being viewed simultaneously. One for each eye, thus simulating binocular depth perception.
Bambi
In the 1940's, the US military recognized the potential for using View-Master products for personnel training and purchased 100,000 viewers and nearly 6 million disks from 1942-1945.
Prehistoric Animals
View-master also eventually signed with Disney, and began it's Personal Line, which included a 35-mm camera for it's users to make their own View-Master disks. Although at first they were successful, the line would be discontinued within 10 years.
View-master had merged and signed with many companies and now belongs to Fisher-Price. Despite it's long history and many changes in model and material, the same basic design of the disks and internal mechanism has persisted throughout ensuring that every desk ever made will work in every model produced!
selected pieces
Some people tend to get stuck on recipes. If they don't have everything the recipe calls for, they'll put it away until they've made a run to the grocery store. Me, I'm a bit of a player (well, at least when it comes to recipes and board games). If a soup recipe calls for sausage and I'm out, I'll add in some smoked paprika instead and make it into something vegetarian.
A few weeks ago we did a post on our blog of vintage view-masters and reel scans and wanted to share some more scans and some history with you! Using a slide scanner, we captured some of these images and although the whole 3-D effect is lost, they are still some captivating stills!
The view-master has stemmed from two photographers who had invented devices for viewing stereo images. Together they had the idea of updating the old-fashioned stereoscope by using new Kodachrome 16-mm color film which had recently been available.
While a view-master disk holds 14 film slides, there are really only 7 pairs as two film slides are being viewed simultaneously. One for each eye, thus simulating binocular depth perception.
In the 1940's, the US military recognized the potential for using View-Master products for personnel training and purchased 100,000 viewers and nearly 6 million disks from 1942-1945.
