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| Becka's Library Shelf |
| Becka's Games Shelf |
Sunday: More craftiness which will be revealed at a later date, since it is a gift for some lucky person. general goofing around.
Monday: Rachel starts at camp "The Enchanted Faerycraft Workshop". Class is oodles of fun and they are making really neat stuff.
I even managed to sneak in working on a couple of gifts for some upcoming birthdays...(pictures to be revealed soon) 
becka on 06.28.05 @ 07:34 AM CST [link]
have i mentioned the tuna casserole phenomenon at my house before? every time either of my sisters come to visit, they both want tuna casserole. tuna and shepherd's pie are the only casserole like dishes i ever make and i like to think i am pretty good at making other interesting things. but tuna casserole is always on the top of their list. basically, andy and i make a glorified macaroni and cheese. noodles + cheese sauce made with sharp cheddar + tuna and bread crumbs on top. andy, oddly enough, does not like veggies in his tuna casserole. go figure. so it's dinner time and what are andy and rachel doing this minute? you got it!
becka on 06.26.05 @ 06:14 PM CST [link]
friday we hung out and did a little of this and that. andy and rachel took a long bike ride in the morning. then we went for noodles & co and ran a few errands (the ever popular michaels) to get supplies for weekend projects. we decided it might be fun to hang out with scott and danielle, so we called them up, went and got some dinner at macaroni grill (crayons and paper on the tables was very entertaining). then we came back to our house, played a few games and eventually crashed.
saturday was movie making day. our production is top secret, but we got out the video camera for this one and dusted it off. a friend is loaning us a gizmo to translate video to computer so we are set. we took a break from filming to check out the block party some neighbors were having. we waded in the kids pool for a bit before we ran off to see "the importance of being earnest" at the minnesota showboat. the theater is on an old paddle wheel boat that is docked in st paul. the show was lots of fun. we made some dinner and then walked over to target for ice cream and a new board game. we played the "perilous parlor game", which is based on "a series of unfortunate events" and the baudelaires beat count olaf!
becka on 06.26.05 @ 09:23 AM CST [link]
ingredients for spring rolls:
cold cooked shrimp
thai peanut flavored baked tofu, sliced
bean thread or cellophane noodles
your favorite lettuce/salad mix (plain lettuce or lettuce with herbs like mint and basil)
rice paper circles
1. cook the bean thread noodles by pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for about 10 minutes. drain and rinse in cold water. put in a bowl and set aside.
2. soak the rice paper rounds in a shallow pan of cool water until they get transparent, soft and flexible. i usually do about 4 at a time because i never know how many i will need.
3. place a softened rice paper round on a plate. in the middle of the circle, add 2-3 shrimp, a couple of slices of tofu, a bit of lettuce and a bit of noodles. fold in two sides of the rice paper and then roll it up. place it on a tray and set aside.
4. make as many as you like. i like to chill them for a bit before serving to let the rice paper stick together.
meanwhile, make some sauce...
ingredients:
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c soy sauce
1 c orange juice
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp peanut butter
1. saute the garlic a bit in a sauce pan.
2. add orange juice and soy sauce to the sauce pan. add the cornstarch and whisk it together.
3. add ginger, honey and peanut butter. place the pan over medium heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened and glossy. if it gets too thick, add some orange juice.
4. let the sauce cool to room temperature. serve chilled spring rolls and sauce. yum.
becka on 06.24.05 @ 12:53 PM CST [link]
we have been just too darn busy to write anything on our blogs! here's the quick version....
tuesday: rachel went to work with becka. she sorted and wound a million yarn balls from a big donation. she made copies and delivered mail. after work we hit the grocery store and then when we got home we realized that the "celebrate northeast parade" was going on just a few blocks away. we saw several marching bands, lots of beauty queens, nabbed some candy and only managed to get a tiny bit of sunburn (mostly me). then we made tacos and rachel and andy made cupcakes and got ready for the dye party.
wednesday: rachel came to work again. more sorting and winding. she learned how to weave on and inkle loom and put up a bulletin board about dyes. we had a big tour group of home ec teachers come to the textile center and rachel demonstrated inkle weaving while i did some silk painting. then we hurried home, had some pizza and a bunch of friends showed up to dye tshirts. we did 30+ shirts in a couple of hours and suffered a few mosquito bites.
thursday: it was 101 degrees and most of us laid low. i went to work, andy worked at home and rachel read and played on her computer. when i got home from work, i decided that there was no way we were going to heat up the house by turning on the stove. so we went to the store and got spring roll ingredients. we made shrimp and tofu spring rolls and dipping sauce and then watched a movie (13 going on 30).
no guinea pig sightings yet!
becka on 06.24.05 @ 12:39 PM CST [link]
Camp Ickyanu II opens today. Campers will be checking in at around 2 pm. Activities planned for this year include sun-printing on hats, baking a sandcastle cake, going to fur trade days and stopping by Sebastian Joe's ice cream shop.
Camp Ickyanu is what we call my youngest sister's annual summer visit. We spend a couple of weeks doing all kinds of fun stuff and mom and dad get a mini vacation from having to be mom and dad.
becka on 06.18.05 @ 07:42 AM CST [link]
i have had a couple of requests for "becka bags" at the art shows that i do. so i have started making a few to start building up the stock. hancock fabrics had a good sale last week, so i picked up some fun & funky fabrics. (the giraffes of course are all for me.)
becka on 06.15.05 @ 07:33 AM CST [link]
as i was waiting for everything to dry, i wasn't sure it was working, but after coming out of the wash, you can see the resist worked great. so, after the last update, i hand washed everything to get all of the extra dye out. then it was in to the washer for a round of hot and cold rinse. finally into the dryer. the glue washed out completely and the fabric dyed really nicely. it has a slight sheen, which is pretty. the funny thig about putting on the resisit with a stamp is that the glue mostly went into the negative areas of the stamp and left the design "unglued", so you see the flowery pattern is dyed and the blobs around it are white. interesting effect.
becka on 06.14.05 @ 07:50 AM CST [link]
painting on the dye. i put some navy in a spray bottle and spritzed that all over. my spray bottle wasn't so good. then i got out a small sponge brush to do the rest. after i had painted all over it occured to me i should have drawn flowers or something instead of just randomness. maybe next time. the resist is ??? you can just barely see a flower pattern in the close up. it's there, but i can't tell if it's resisting the dye or not. now i need to look up how long i should let this sit. i would like it if the colors were a little lighter i think, so i might wash it out soon. generally, the longer you leave it sit, the brighter the colors end up being. besides the fact that it is starting to rain once again. the tank top part is still white. i thought the resist patterns would show up better that way.
becka on 06.10.05 @ 02:44 PM CST [link]
ready to add the resist. i spread a layer of glue gel on a piece to tin foil and rolled my stamp through it. then i rolled that on to the shirt. yes, the shirt looks very see-through. there is an attached tank top underneath which i have pulled out of the way. my plan is to leave that white for now. then i hung this out on the clothesline to dry. i think that there may not be enough glue there to be a good resist.... stenciling something or painting it on directly may have worked better....
becka on 06.10.05 @ 02:36 PM CST [link]
i am looking forward to a day off tomorrow and so naturally i needed a creative little project to occupy my time. since it is supposed to be nice outside tomorrow, i decided to do a little backyard dying. i walked over to my friendly neighborhood shopping center and got this shirt. it is knit fabric made from silk and tencel. very soft. $10. what is tencel? i had no idea but i was hoping it was dyeable. a walk home and a quick google query later....hooray! tencel is a man-made cellulose fiber and should dye beautifully. we shall see. i want to do an experiment with resists. i have a couple of great dying books that suggest elmers glue gel is a quick, easy and inexpensive resist. i wanted something that would wash out and leave the shirt soft and silky. seems like a good bet. my normal steps to dyeing a tshirt are as follows: get it wet, squirt on dye, blend and scrunch, pour over soda ash "fixer", let it sit, wash it out. but since the glue is washable, i need to paint on the dye and not soak anything after the resist is there. so i have soaked the shirt in soda ash "fixer" first and i am letting it dry on the clothesline. the fixer will already be in the fabric when i add the dye, so i won't need to pour that over afterwards. next step is to add my resist designs....
becka on 06.09.05 @ 09:49 PM CST [link]
i have been on hiatus with i-fri, but i am back. the first thing i thought of with this topic was when digital watches became the cool thing at school.
becka on 06.08.05 @ 11:28 PM CST [link]
i can make a tassel while blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back. seriously. i think i could. i have just spent 17 of the last 48 hours perfecting my technique.
(i was managing a couple of tables in a large tent at a huge childrens art festival. we were one of 20+ free hands-on art making activities for kids and adults. i figure we probably saw about 1000 people come through our tent in 2 days.)
i am going to go collapse now. 
becka on 06.05.05 @ 10:34 PM CST [link]
