A Mother’s Day Read

lovely lula — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:48:57 +0000

Mother’s Who Write Mothers Day Reading at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts is on Saturday May 12, 2012. It is free and open to the public. I am reading a piece I wrote recently called The Lottery and it is dedicated to my mom.Come out and have a listen!

Summer Screenprinting Workshop

lovely lula — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:41:19 +0000

I am teaching a hands on screen printing workshop for freezer paper screen printing, and for the YUDU screen-printer. This is a super fun and messy creative process, so bring an apron the rest of the supplies will be provided. This workshop is for tweens and will be held in Glendale, AZ at the Sahuaro Ranch Park in the Historic fruit Packing Shed. To sign up visit: The City of Glendale

June 18 – 21 Daily from 9 am to 12 noon - WHAT CAN YOU DO SCREENPRINTING (813211)

Hanging Garden Shelf

lovely lula — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:03:31 +0000

The work on the backyard garden continues. I was standing at the window looking outside from my pantry and baking studio overlooks my garden and the other day I was thinking I should put in a window box planter. Then I realized the wall was stucco and metal framed so installing a planter box would prove difficult. The Tall One has a lot of old reclaimed boards around so I asked for one he wasn’t using and combined with cable wire I created an instant Hanging Garden Shelf. I am so thrilled with how simple it was and how great it looks! I am in love with this rough old farm board!

Girl Soccer Themed Birthday Party

lovely lula — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:05:21 +0000

The short one recently celebrated her 6th birthday and asked for a soccer themed party with a twist of girly to it. So I added in touches of pink and flowers. It was a hot dog cook out at a local park and was a big hit! The vases were sports drink bottles shaped like soccer balls, the green underneath were FLOR carpet squares in grass colors. To create to chip bowl covers, I found square bowls at the dollar store and topped them with 12 x 12 paper to look like grass with paper soccer balls and white paper with black stripes created out of colored masking tape, plastic whistles were glued to it to look like a referee. The cupcakes were all strawberry flavored with pink or white frosting, topped with plastic soccer balls from the cake decorating store. The invitation was pink paper with a pink soccer ball on it and pieces of fake grass at the bottom.

Easter Vignette

lovely lula — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:40:10 +0000

I had these little wooden churches rolling around in a box for the last few years, waiting to become a part of something and it finally hit me. I used Tulip® Fashion Graffiti Cannon Fabric Paint in Neon Pink because I love the glow it gives to anything you use it on. I painted each of the houses then cut paper to serve as the roof lines or eves of the houses. I painted a wooden lid green and little picket fences white. The bunny is a vintage cake decoration I had on hand and the ‘eggs’ are candy jelly beans.

Easter Bell Jar Decor

lovely lula — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:26:57 +0000

I was inspired by Martha Stewart’s Bell Jar Keepsake and I thought I would use it as a model to create an Easter bell jar decor project to display. This turned out so well I think it is safe to say it will be up all spring. I have had the bell jar around for year. The nest, plastic eggs, bird and butterfly all came from various craft stores. I also used a Tulip ® Fashion Graffiti Big Phat Fabric Marker to color the bird and the butterfly florescent pink, where they were white before.

The Hunger Games Inspired Snack

lovely lula — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:20:18 +0000

The Hunger Games Unofficial Cookbook is now available. After seeing this I knew I needed to whip up something to honor the opening of the movie tonight at midnight. I haven’t bought the cookbook but having read all the books and having tickets in hand to see the midnight showing I was inspired to make a Hunger Games snack. So I came up with Katniss Herb Spread with Peeta Bread, that makes me smile every time I say it!

Here is the snack:

Here is the recipe:

Katniss Herb Spread with Peeta Bread

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
2 tablespoons ground thyme
1 teaspoon whole thyme
2 teaspoons savory
2 teaspoons ground marjoram
1/2 teaspoons whole dry marjoram

(Any green herbs or spices that are on their last legs)
1-2 tablespoons ground sumac
1/4-1/2 cup unhulled, toasted sesame seeds, ground
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon dried ground lemon peel or zest of two lemons

Preparation:
1. Grab a medium to large bowl. Dump in all of your dried green herbs and spices that have reached their life cycle. The varied amounts are fine. Just mix them all together.

2. Grab a cookie sheet, cover it with sesame seeds, toast them in the over on 350 degrees until lightly brown.

3. Remove from oven, cool the crush sesame seeds with a pestle in a small bowl.

4. Combine with green herbs.

5. Add in olive oil, enough to create a paste out of the herbs. It shouldn’t be dry.

6. Sprinkle on a tsp of sumac if you have some on hand

7. Add lemon zest to bowl

8.Spread on pita or ‘Peeta’ bread and bake or broil until heated through (350 degrees for 6 to 9 minutes)

Or download it here: Katniss Herb Spread with Peeta Bread

Green Fairy Cake

lovely lula — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 02:33:59 +0000

We wanted to bake for Saint Patrick’s Day and the short one was asking about the history of Leprechauns and after sharing with her she said “oh so they are sort of like fairies then?” Yes, I guess they sort of are. So for Saint Patrick’s Day we made a green fairy cake. You can’t see the actual fairies, only their clothes because you know they are invisible after all and the idea is to try to catch them.

Patio Cabana

lovely lula — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:30:49 +0000

While our planters are being created we worked on the back porch patio. We had tiles put down for the floor surface and found some fantastic vintage wicker furniture for the space. We completed the feel of the cabana by selecting fabric at a supreme discount from Tempe Sales, sewing it to the width and length to create panels that could hang to frame the patio in like a room. On the outside of the fabric panels we attached sunshade fabric to ensure that it would last through more then just one extremely hot Arizona Summer. We love our dreamy new space that has a ceiling fan to keep us cool and panels that will allow for shade in the summer months.

Recycled Concrete Pavers

lovely lula — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:12:48 +0000

For the back corner of our yard we used recycled, broken, concrete chunks to create pavers and created a pattern with used bricks. This corner will serve as an area for raised beds and container planting for vegetables and herbs. Stay tuned for what we do for the beds and containers.

BEFORE

Planning the brick pattern

Laying out the bricks

Placing the broken concrete

Adding small stones and wetting to secure in place

Finished Surface