Handmade Gift Exchange, 2013: Woodland Creatures

I'm so excited to be able to participate in another round of the handmade gift exchange hosted by Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous. I was paired up with Gabrielle from Oh Boy, Cato!

From browsing her blog and Pinterest page, I noticed she loves woodland creatures. So I thought these earrings would be fab!

Basically, I made fabric covered buttons into earrings. Because you know, that's my favorite craft in the book. :)

And, I threw in a few panda pins.

It was at this moment that the hubby informed me that pandas aren't woodland creatures. Sigh.

And some lipgloss that I made via my Whimseybox.

Hope you like them Gabrielle! And thanks to Linda for hosting!

Whimseybox Review: Homemade Lip Gloss

I'm all about DIYing. My poor husband just sighs as another project starts and stares at our walls, shelves, tables trying to think of where it will go next. See what fun we  have!? :) When the Whimseybox arrived, I eagerly dove into it and began unveiling the contents. I was so excited that I literally couldn't wait until this morning to share my Whimseybox review with you all!

What is Whimseybox?

Whimseybox is the original subscription for DIY and craft lovers. Every month we ship our subscribers a box with craft projects along with a project idea. We are also an online community where anyone can discover, learn and share the best in DIY and craft.

The project? To create lip gloss. LOVE.

What I really love about the Whimseybox is that all the necessary instructions, tools and ingredients are right there. You don't have to go out and buy anything additional.
The only downside? Things weren't labeled. It's hard to see, but in the second small picture there are two bottles. One contains castor oil, the other, peppermint. I guessed (correctly, thankfully!), which was which, but at first it took me a moment to figure it out. Also, I don't work with castor oil or essential oils that often, so if you do, you probably could figure it sooner than I did.

The instructions were super easy to follow. Basically, you mix 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of beeswax (in the pouch) with a tablespoon of castor oil and five drops of peppermint oil. I may have gone overboard with the last step. Whoopsie. Then, you heat in a glass bowl over hot water and voila, lip gloss!
Total creation time? 40 minutes. And it probably would have been even less, but I got nervous about heating the glass bowl so my heat was really, really low for awhile.

All in all, I'd totally do another Whimseybox!

If you have a DIY lover in your life, or if you love a good DIY, I'd highly recommend it. You can pay $15 a month (add an extra $5 for shipping to Canada) or $45 for 3 months, $90 for 6 months or $165 for 12 months. You can cancel anytime with the month to month subscription via the website.
Have you tried Whimseybox? I'd love to hear your Whimseybox review if you have! And what do you think of the idea of a DIY subscription box? Would you try it?

To sign up for Whimseybox, click here!

A Veggie a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

It's that time of year again, CSA time!

We are doing a half share this year, because frankly, it was WAY too much food before. I'm still completely overwhelmed with veggies (who ever thought a vegetarian would say that?!), but not nearly as overwhelmed as the previous year.

We're paired up with One Straw Farm and I'll tell ya, they grow some delicious stuff.

Here's our recent hauls.

Week One:

Swiss Chard

Kale

Green Leaf Lettuce

Red Leaf Lettuce

Radishes

Strawberries

Garlic Scapes

 

I keep calling the scapes, snapes, because you know, I love me some Harry Potter. :)

What is a scape you ask? I hadn't a clue either.

 

This is from our CSA person. " Scapes are the early sprouts of garlic -- you will get the heads later on. I like to coat the scapes with olive oil and a little kosher salt and toss them on the grill until they just soften for a mild, soft early summer taste of roasted garlic."

Nom.

 

To get through week one, we made a lot of salads. Since I was saladed out for awhile, I then proceeded to throw the kale, strawberries, some blueberries, plain Greek yogurt, honey and orange juice in a blender and serve and enjoy. I loved it. Chad did not. It scared him. Wuss.

 

I also bought some asparagus, from the same farm. It just wasn't included in the CSA, but we put it to use.

 

 

This is a concoction of asparagus, Swiss chard, Parmesan cheese (nom),  lemon and garlic. It was divine.

 

We've yet to eat the scapes. I informed him we must do so ASAP. 

 

Week Two:

 

Rainbow Swiss Chard

Green Leaf Lettuce

Purple Radish

Nevada Lettuce (akin to Romaine)

Turnips

Kale

Broccoli

Strawberries

 

Looks like I'm making more smoothies!

 

And thankfully, Chad LOVES broccoli, so I know that will get eaten. 

Also, I've never had a turnip. They make me nervous. This will be new.

 

What recipes can you suggest for kale, as I have an endless supply? And what did you pick up at the farmers market or in your CSA this week that you're excited about?