The Season of Fruitful Mellowness

It is upon us, that season of fruitful mellowness. In more than one sense. I am free. I have finished my college degree (admittedly already several months ago - but as is usual, I stepped right from the high of finishing three years of college into a depression over the purpose-less future of my now degree-decorated life). So my life is now mellow again and I can return to my second favourite past-time: crafting.

And with the season that is in it, my first project revolved around the fruitfulness of autumn. Yes, it is foraging time again. And after shamefully missing blackberry season last year and having to resort to shop-bought berries for my raspberry jelly 2011, I was adamant I was going to pick some blackberries this year and make that jelly truly my own.

And so I did - I went blackberrying yesterday, up the back of Bray Head on a narrow country lane. The blackberries were not all ripe yet, and you had to look hard to find them. Some even grew in the grass at the bottom of the hedgerow. And the bushes certainly resisted me - in concert with the nettles they seem to team up with. My poor hand bears the reminders of nettlesting and bramblescratch. In the end we came away with what turned into nearly two and a half litres of blackberry juice. 

(If you want instructions on how to make jelly, check this post from last year.)
Much to my delight, the jelly set beautifully. I came away with six and a half jars of what I call "really fruity" blackberry jelly. This is jelly that is made with jam sugar that uses twice as much juice for the amount of sugar that is usually recommended. The result is a slightly less overly sweet, but much more intensely fruity jelly. (Unfortunately I yet have to find a jam sugar brand that produces this kind of sugar in Ireland. I actually imported the jam sugar from Germany this summer. Over there it goes by the name of "2:1".) A second batch of jelly had to be made with the remainder of normal jam sugar - i.e. you use as much sugar (in weight) as fruit juice to make it. This is my so-called "really sweet" jelly, a stash of only three jars.

But as usual I cannot get the ultimate satisfaction for a job well done unless even the details are right. In this case the jars needed labels - because they had to be distinguishable for the two types I made. And I couldn't rest until I had designed my own little label to my own specifications. Such fun to play around...

Now, with the labels stuck on, I am really happy with my jelly. Can't wait to taste it. (Feel free to copy the image and edit it for your own use. Just by cutting out my name and the month you could re-use it for your own purpose.)

Best,

From Ugly Mug to High-Profile Mug

In one of my former lives I used to work for a large internet company, popularly associated with the colour purple. Guess who it was? Yahoo! You've got it... One of the superficial little perks of working for a large American corporation such as Yahoo! was the bits of merchandising that were continually thrown our way. I haven't really counted, but during my 3,5 year stint there, I came away with two jackets, about eight T-Shirts, two bags, two USB-computer lights, several baseball caps, a desk clock, other miscellaneous stuff and three mugs. Now that I am no longer associated with my former employer, I might as well pretty up those mugs.

One of my favourite crafty helpers is blackboard spray. In the past I have created blackboard labels on storage tins and on jam jar lids, a sweet little blackboard and my memory pebble. Then the other day I came across this great re-vamp via the link party at A Soft Place to Land. Jennifer Juniper at Hope Studios used blackboard paint to paint over the logo-ed mugs and create a writable blackboard label on them. I loved the idea - and have adapted it with my own little twist: A blackboard label in the shape of a classic, black silhouette.

Here is how I did it: First of all I printed a photo of myself in profile onto the back of a peelable, clear sticky film. (What do you call that stuff - you know, that film you can cover books in...). Make sure your silhouette is big enough to cover the logo on your mug! Also, unlike my illustration left, make sure you have enough space around the edges of the profile! (I forgot to take a pic of the second attempt at printing it on the film...)

Then I cut out my profile. This is a bit tricky - use nail scissors so you can negotiate the delicate line of the profile. Start by cutting a little slit in the middle of the "head" and then cut outwards to the profile line and cut out the shape. (*ahem* I prettied myself up a bit there, getting rid of my double chin...) Discard the middle bit and you are left with the template.

Peel off the backing paper and place your template on the mug. Make sure it covers up the logo completely - you do not want to have a big purple exclamation mark to peek out next to your profile... Push along the edges of the film with your fingernail so no paint bleeds under it. Cover the rest of the mug with paper so you don't get any paint drops anywhere else.

Now spray over the template. You should give it at least two coats of paint, to make sure you have covered it completely. Let it dry for at least half an hour in between coats (or whatever your brand of blackboard spray recommends).

After drying, carefully peel off the sticky film. And you are done! Chances are, that the spray paint has bled a little bit under the film. No panic - take a craft knife and slowly and carefully scratch off any bumpy bits from your silhouette - you don't want to end up with a blobby big wart on your elegant nose *hehe*.

What do you think? Hm, it may seem a little bit egocentric to have a mug with your own pretty "mug" (Irish slang for "face" *hehe*) on it. So make a few more for all the family members. Write a little witty slogan on it and personalise your breakfast table ;-)


Now, I have no idea how well these fare in the dishwasher. I suspect it may rub off in there. So this might be a precious mug for those special occasions. Ah well, form cannot always follow function. Nonetheless, they are an improvement from an advertising gizmo to a personal piece of crockery!

Best,


Linking to 

 

 

I'm still there...

Hello everyone - no, I haven't been taken by a Halloween ghost. It's been a bit quieter here than usual because first I was away for a few days, now I have some visitors staying with me and on top of that I am a bit preoccupied with college. But I always have a bad conscience when the blog lies low - 'cause I know what it feels like to follow someone else's blog and waiting for updates...

Unfortunately nothing to show at the mo, but I would like to draw my esteemed readers' attention to another blog which I have come across because its talented writer/crafter Yasemine recently contacted me. She has written a blog post on using blackboard spray and is linking to my earlier post to my blackboard spray projects. Please check out her blog - Love Live Survive Home: Blackboard spray paint labels DIY

Crafty greetings!

Announcement: MoW becomes MoM - And what you can do with Blackboard Spray

Ok, it's time to face up to the truth: The whole Material-of-the-Week-thing didn't quite work for me. I still like the idea of showing more than one meagre project that involves a particular material within a certain period of time. But my chosen time frame simply put too much pressure on me to craft and to update the blog. After all - there is a life beside blogging...

So I have decided to turn the MoW into a MoM! No, I am not going to focus on mommy-crafts now (how boooooooooring), but instead I will choose a Material of the Month from now on. That will make it easier for me to pick a material and then come up with ways of using it. And besides that I will still have time to update the blog with other crafts ideas which I have come up with but that do not feature the MoM.

Here is this month's MoM: Blackboard Spray!

Ireland is not exactly a crafter's paradise. I do not really know why but there are very few Crafts Shops around. And those that do exist do not have the huge array of crafts supplies that you would find at home in Germany. Generally I find that Irish people are not as dexterous as Germans, for instance. Also, I have the impression that home-made gifts are not appreciated here as much as back home. (Although this does actually not apply to my Irish family and my circle of friends here - they are all special *haha*. Or maybe they have just learned to humour the Queen of Crafts???*thinks*)

Anyway, I was shopping in a stationer's last week and when picking up a can of spray varnish (which I baaadly need because I am slowly but surely running out of my clear nail varnish which has been misappropriated too often for crafts projects), I came across a can of Blackboard Spray purely by chance. I did not really have any particular project in mind, but I knew I had to have the stuff. And at € 5,00 it was a chance I could easily take.

The ideas came pretty quickly, though, and I couldn't wait to use the stuff. So here is what I came up with: Rewritable blackboard labels for storage cans. Here is what you need: Some tins, masking tape, newspaper and blackboard spray.

I still had a few large tins with plastic lids back from the days when I had to make formula milk for my baby children. (Yes, that is a good while ago - I am such a hoarder...) I sprayed the tins with white, matt fridge paint. Then I masked off a rectangle on the tin with masking tape. If you want to make it easier, use a credit card or cut a template the size of your envisaged label and then draw around it with a pencil marking the shape on the tin. Use masking tape to create the rectangle on your tin. Then use newspaper and more masking tape to cover the rest of the tin so it doesn't get any spray markings.







Then spray away. For best results you should spray at least two coats, leaving the first coat to dry for a minimum of one hour. (If you are too impatient you will botch the label - the chalk will scratch of the blackboard paint when you write on it. Trust me - it's happened to me like that!) Carefully peel off the newspaper covering and the masking tape.




And voilá - you are there. Some fancy rewritable labels on your nice white storage tins. Go with any decor and always look stylish. Ha, and hardly cost anything.

Edit: I am linking this to Remodelaholic's Linking Party!