What could possibly be more romantic than cold, metal, heartless, robots?  Well, lots of things … but for some reason robots are cute.  At least these robots I found in my weekly Etsy search are …

Robots may not have hearts, but they can give them, as depicted in this adorable greeting card by JulieAnnArt.  $4.00

The perfect card for your very own love machine, designed by ArtbyKellie.  $4.00

These mini art blocks are the perfect gift for the robot lover in your life.  I know they would look great on the shelf in Mike’s office.  Crafted by artist, John W. Golden.  $48.00 / set of 8

You can customize these canbots or pick out of the many creative designs at Sage12888’s Etsy shop.  Made from recycled cans.  Prices vary.

Show off your robot love with this shrinky dink ring from Dillon Designs.  $8.00

I love this T-shirt – design by Youngsun Compton, available at the Whootiz shop on Etsy.  $18.00

Here’s something for your little love machine – a cute onesie by Give A Good Day.  $15.00

I found this zipper pouch at Nancym4’s Etsy store.  It’s perfect for storing loose items in your purse or in your child’s bookbag. Available in a wide range of patterns/styles.   $10.50

These robots can get you clean.  Robot soap from LoveLeeSoaps is made from glycerin and shea butter with a fresh lime scent. 1 4oz. soap, $5.00

Top your wedding cake with these cute creations from The Junk Bucket.  $40.00

I had to include these guys because they are so darling [and inventive!].  Made from vacuum tubes by Justina Kochansky.  $10.00 each

I also love this little sculpture made from various materials by Morning Bicycle.  $35.00

And even though it’s a dog, it’s still a bot that you can’t help but love.  Available at Adoptabot on Etsy.  $195.00

This craft is so simple that even someone with no crafting skills [like me] can do it!  It’s also perfect for little ones who can wield scissors.  As you can tell from the photo, my scissor skills aren’t the greatest, [I can't cut a straight line to save my life] but Ava doesn’t care.  She loves taking the pieces off and rearranging them.  I also use it to tell her stories.  Originally, I glued the widows and door onto the house, but she just pulled them off [she's 14 months] so I recommend just keeping all the pieces separate for those too young to understand the concept of “please don’t break that”.

What you will need:

Canvas [or piece from a cardboard box]

Spray Glue

1 Sheet of Stiff Felt

1 Pack of assorted felt squares

Scissors

Spray glue the stiff felt sheet to the canvas or cardboard.  Cut out some shapes, characters, etc. from the felt squares.  That’s it.  You’re done.  You can’t really get any easier than that. Send me a picture of yours when you’re finished and put mine to shame.  LOL

When I was a little girl, my grandpa built me a beautiful dollhouse.  It was blue and had a hinged roof with little wooden shingles.  He had also custom made some of the furniture inside and put carpet in the living room and bedrooms, and tile in the kitchen.  I loved that house.  I have it in “storage” [at my grandma's] and am just waiting until Ava is old enough so I can redecorate it and give it to her.  Now, I’m no carpenter like my grandpa was, so I went looking for some DIY dollhouses that pretty much anyone can create …

This felt creation by Melissa Crowe is actually a piece commissioned by the Wintergreen Arts Center in Maine, but it’s a great idea you can make for your own home [little ones old enough to use scissors can help!].  The house is mounted on canvas and decorated in felt and moleskin that can be moved around [just like a felt board].  For more photos [and more great crafts], check out Melissa’s blog, Checkout Girl.

These adorable wooden dollhouses are made from unfinished cd houses that are then painted and decorated to your own liking.  I have been dying to make one of these for Ava, but so far have been unable to find the unfinished wooden piece [which is said to be available at Michael's Arts & Crafts ... so far I have only been to one and the hunt will continue this weekend].  Visit Angry Chicken for more info on this piece …

…and Bright and Blithe to check out this version!

I also found several versions of these cute cardboard and foam core board dollhouses.  The customization possibilities are endless and it’s super mobile and would be a fun project to put together with your little one.  The tutorial for the picture below is available at Cookie Magazine.

That tutorial was the motivation for this super duper dollhouse put together by the obviously crafty Amy of Sweet Sweet Life.

Taking inspiration from the Constantine Dollhouse from Kidsmodern, this creation was born out of a cardboard box, lots of tape, and some magazines.  Read the full tutorial from Elsie Marley.

This tutorial for a recycled materials dollhouse can be found at Craftastica, where Kristy and her daughter Eva fashioned this house based on the above idea.

I found this multi-level cardboard dollhouse in a feature on Ohdeedoh.  It was made by Adrienne and decorated with scrap fabric, wallpaper samples, popsicle sticks, etc.

This dollhouse gets an A+ for creativity – it’s built on a closet organizer!!!  [via Gina2424 on Flikr]

I will admit it – before making this recipe I had never eaten a pomegranate.  I have had pomegranate juice, but this was the first time I’ve purchased the whole fruit.  I had Mike open it up and get the seeds out for me [it kind of looked like a pain to me - thank you, honey!].  I popped one in my mouth – a little crunch, a little explosion of deliciousness!   Yum!

This Cucumber and Pomegranate Salad recipe is adapted from my Lucid Food cookbook by Louisa Shafia.  It’s fairly quick and easy to make and should be devoured immediately.

You will need:

2 Cucumbers [halved, peeled, and seeds removed - or use little Persian cucumbers like I did and just peel and slice]

Seeds of one Pomegranate

2 chopped scallions [original calls for just the greens, but I used the whites too]

Some fresh cilantro

Feta Cheese

Salt & Pepper

Lemon & Sweet Grapefruit [or a Lime]

Olive Oil

Just chunk up the cucumbers and add 3 or 4 tbs of pom seeds, the scallions and cilantro.  The original recipe calls for lime juice, but I didn’t have any around so I used the juice of a sweet grapefruit and a lemon.

Squeeze the juice in and add a little drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper to taste, and then toss together.  Crumble some feta cheese on top and enjoy!  This salad is super refreshing.  I’m addicted.

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Since Ava came into our lives, I have become even more aware and concerned about what we are putting in our stomachs and calling food.  We are limiting our intake of red meat and when we do serve up some steaks, we make sure they come from a farm [usually local] that practices responsible and sustainable farming for the least impact on the environment and our bodies.  We also try our best to purchase organic produce and prefer local, but especially in the winter months, that can be difficult.  Then I did a search for local produce delivery and farmers markets and came across more options than I imagined.  [If you are not in the Chicago area, I suggest doing your own search to see what's available to you ... and I would love to hear about your own local organic groceries and markets!]  Our family will be trying each one out over the next couple of months and I’ll be sure to let you know about our experiences.

Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks. Chicago residents and parents of two, Irv & Shelly, started this year round local delivery service to help local independent farmers prosper by bringing fresh, chemical free, and delicious food directly into our homes.  In addition to seasonal produce boxes, you can also make a la carte selections from an assortment of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, eggs, and more.  We recently tried this service out and were very pleased.  We chose a double box of veggies for $25 [which included lettuce, radishes, scallions, potatoes, tomatoes, an eggplant, marinara sauce, a green pepper, and some mushroom patties], a few apples, some bok choy, whole wheat flour, blueberries, and tofu.  The delivery guy was super friendly and took the time to explain the drop off process to me and when I realized our mushroom patties had been left out, they were quick to get back to me and offer to drop them in our next order or give us a refund.  So far, we have only used the potatoes, scallions, and lettuce and they were delicious.

Newleaf Natural Grocery. Strong advocates of supporting local farms, this grocery stocks their shelves with as many local goods as they can get their hands on.  They offer a variety of grass fed meats, fresh produce, fair trade coffee and bulk foods, and a hefty raw foods selection.  They offer six different box varieties for pick-up or delivery and this is next on our list to try!  Located at 1261 W. Loyola Ave.

Natural Direct. This grocery service serves the greater Chicago area and seems to have the largest selection of locally grown and organic foods that you can have delivered to your door.  You can customize your own order or choose one of their weekly boxes [they even have a grass-fed meat box!].  The site is easy to navigate and there is a pretty substantial list of grocery items in addition to the meat, produce, dairy, etc.  I’ll give you more details after we try it out.

Green Grocer Chicago. Although as far as I can tell, they don’t deliver, Green Grocer does have a produce box subscription.  There are two sizes available [$15 / $28] and you get a mix of local and organic veggies and fruits that you can pick up at their store every Wednesday.  I have yet to visit the store, but from what I hear they have a great selection.  I’m going to try to check it out sometime this week.  Located at 1402 W. Grand Ave.

Green City Market. This farmers market in Lincoln Park is the city’s most popular destination for local farm shopping.  During the winter months, you can visit it indoors at the Peggy Notebart Museum and the next date is February 13th [meat & potatoes].  There is no option for delivery, but it’s worth the trip and you get to meet some of the farmers and sample the goods and there is always some treat you didn’t expect to find – like chef demonstrations and little festivals.  Check out their site for a calendar of events.

And while I was looking into all of these local food sources, I came a cross The Local Beet – a site full of forums and blog posts all about “a practical approach to local eating”.  Check it out!!!

I love the look of old luggage – it has so much character, so many stories to tell.  But what do you do with it?  Many vintage suitcases are too heavy or too musty to use for packing clothes.

So why not turn it into a pet bed?!  This idea falls into the category of “I could totally make that …. but I won’t”.  There are several different styles of these vintage suitcase pet beds at Love-Nostalgic-Whimsy on Etsy!

The Love-Nostalgic-Whimsy store has several other upcycled vintage suitcase items for sale, including this retro looking side table.

A vintage suitcase filing cabinet?!  Love it!  Courtesy of Poetic Home.

Another side table idea – this time on casters!  So easy and so cute [doubles as storage too].  Via sassycrafter on Flikr!  Oh and be sure to check out Kim’s blog – The Sassy Crafter – she’s going to be posting a DIY tutorial for this lovely piece!

Just stacking a few vintage suitcases can make a great side table too!

[Via m.bibelot]

[Via deardaisycottage]

I don’t know about where you are, but here in Chicago IT IS COLD.  Right now I am looking out the window at a fresh blanket of snow covering the ground and even more flakes falling from the sky.  All I can think about are things that make me warm – hot cocoa, fuzzy slippers, comfy sweaters, and the warm glow of a fire.

There is something so mesmerizing about fire – watching flames dance around as they curl around the logs, listening to the crackling of the wood … the smoky scent that fills the air, the warmth radiating from the hearth … ahhhhh.

[image via Frau Nocturna]

Modern fireplace design comes with a hefty price tag, but there are some really amazing options to gawk at and dream of maybe one day being able to afford.

Don’t have a fireplace?   Candles just aren’t enough?  Try this tabletop fireplace designed by Carl Mertens.  Two stainless steel “logs” that can bring a warm glow to any room.  Available at Generate Design.

These indoor/outdoor ottoman fires turn your fireplace into a functional piece of furniture when not in use.  From Conmoto.

These little hot pot fires are also from Conmoto and would work great for outdoor entertaining.

And one more from Conmoto – a fireplace you can roll around.  What will they think of next?!

This amazing fireplace design is from Rutz Feuerstellen [Troja]- the door slides open and closed, turning your fireplace into a work of art.

Another “hideable” creation from Rutz Feuerstellen [Amfri]- beautiful!

Timber, leather, glass, and stainless steel sit upon a swivel base … introducinng Zeta, designed by John Dimopoulos and featuring EcoSmart technology.  Ventless, portable, sleek, and definitely on my Covet List.

I always helped my gramma or mom frost cut-out sugar cookies every Christmas.  We would spread the creamy frosting onto wreaths, santas, angels, trees, and candy canes before stacking them into tins and eventually eating them.  These are the cookies my brother and I would leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve.  This year I decided I would carry on the tradition and whip up a batch for Ava to enjoy.  I found a simple recipe to follow and started mixing up some dough …

My bowl wasn’t really deep enough and using the mixer turned into a giant mess so I had to reach in and finish it off with my hands.  So much for keeping things neat and simple.

It tasted pretty good so I must have done something right.  I put the dough in the fridge to chill, cleaned up the counters, and had a glass of wine.  Ahhhhhhhh.

Two hours later it was time to get the cookies rolled and cut and into the oven.  I enlisted Mike’s help for this.  We realized we do not own a rolling pin so we had to use cans of diced tomatoes to roll out the dough.  We got the first batch in and out of the oven, but then we were either working too fast or impatiently because our gingerbread men starting losing heads.  Let’s just say the majority of our cookies looked more like blobs than snowflakes, candy canes, and gingermen.

Finally it was time to frost!  I must have used too much milk because it was pretty thin, but I was out of powdered sugar so we had to work with it.

“OOOOO.  Cookies are hard.”

A few of them came out looking okay I guess …

But in the end we just gave up, piled all the cookie pieces onto a plate and drizzled icing over them.

I know for a fact that Santa won’t mind.  Will I be making these again anytime soon?  No.  Will they all get eaten?  Yes.  Maybe things will turn out better next year.  Happy Holidays! XO

It is no secret that I love cookies.  In fact, I have a few almost every night with a glass of milk while relaxing with Mike on the couch after Ava finally goes to bed.  My favorite – chocolate chip – and I cheat by baking up batches of Pillsbury’s Simply Cookies [as you will find out in tomorrow's post, I am not a baker].  Growing up, we always had trays and tins full of cookies to eat at Christmastime.  My gramma must have been baking them in her sleep.

One of my holiday favorites are Russian Tea Balls [or Russian Tea Cakes or Mexican Wedding Cakes].  I have lost more than one of these in my glass of milk.  Nutty, cakey, little balls of goodness covered in powdered sugar … and fairly easy to make!  I found a great recipe for these at Peppercorn Press.

[Click image for recipe]

How cute are these little gingerbread houses?!?!?!  Thanks to Megan of Not Martha you can print out a pattern and start building your own tiny houses to accompany your mugs of coffee, hot chocolate, egg nog, etc.  Mike and I were thinking this recipe would be great to make little Santa’s to hang on your mug or snowflakes or candy canes or whatever.  Maybe one day I will give it a try and if you do, I would love to see the results!

[Click image for recipe]

While we’re on the subject of gingerbread, check out this recipe for Gingerbread Man Cookies [on a stick!] created by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks.  Kids will LOVE these!

[Click on image for recipe]

Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking? is to thank for these Chocolate Snowballs.  It’s basically a delicious chocolate cake and some cream cheese frosting rolled into cute little balls of goodness and dusted with powdered sugar.  Mmmmmm.

[Click on image for recipe]

Now, this next recipe isn’t exactly a cookie, but it is a major Christmas sweet treat staple for my family [Ohio].  Buckeyes aka Peanut Butter Balls.  Sugar coma, here I come.  The family recipe Michelle from Brown Eyed Baker [or her old blog, Sugar & Spice] uses is pretty close to the Buckeyes my gramma makes.

[Click on image for recipe]

I love chocolate and Mike loves candy canes, so these Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are perfect for us.  Just looking at them makes my mouth water.  Get the recipe from Susan at Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy.

[Click on image for recipe]

Who can resist the crunchy creamy goodness of an Oreo?  Not me.  And even better?  A Homemade Oreo from Deb at Smitten Kitchen.  OMG these look amazing.  Milk!!!  I need milk!!!!!

[Click on image for recipe]

And to wrap things up … I couldn’t have a Christmas Cookie Roundup without including some fruit and nuts.  This recipe for Cherry Chocolate Nut Cookies comes from Sybil Brown, via Taste of Home.

[Click on image for recipe]

So there you have it.  Eight amazing Christmas treats to fatten up Santa [and your friends].  If you have an awesome Christmas cookie recipe, let me know and we can share it!  XO!

]]> http://furiousshirley.com/blog/2009/12/21/christmas-cookie-roundup/feed/ 2 http://furiousshirley.com/blog/2009/12/15/alternative-wrapping-paper-ideas/ http://furiousshirley.com/blog/2009/12/15/alternative-wrapping-paper-ideas/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:02:22 +0000 Shannon Young http://furiousshirley.com/blog/?p=1519

I’ve been buying gifts like crazy online today, trying to get my orders shipped so they arrive before the big day.  Pretty soon, the boxes will start piling up and I’m going to need to bust out the tape and ribbons and rolls of – WAIT!  NO!  There’s got to be a better way.  I can’t see all that paper getting shoved into trash bags and tossed in the garbage this year without feeling guilty.  [Thanks to an article I read on Earth 911 informing me that most wrapping paper cannot be recycled due to dyes, additives, the tape, etc. and that around 4 million TONS of wrapping paper and shopping bag waste is produced during the holiday season.  This is definitely going to lead to a post on ways to reuse wrapping paper.]

Know someone that loves to sew?  Wrap their gift in old sewing patterns!  Even if they don’t sew, the idea is still really cool – I’m stealing this one for sure!  Read the full tutorial by Rikkianne at Creature Comforts.

This idea is similar to the one above, but with a masculine touch.  Recycled architecture plans [via re-nest]!  Now, where can I get my hands on some of those?  [Andy Taylor, are you reading this?  lol]

These wrapping alternatives are even better than the traditional wrap if you ask me … so much more personal and creative.  I love the idea of wrapping up wine bottles with tea towels – two gifts in one!  These lovely designs are from Studiopatro in San Fransisco.

A burlap sack?  Yes, a burlap sack.  It never looked so good thanks to Faded Plains [there are some other great wrapping ideas to check out there as well!].

So what have we learned?  Traditional wrapping paper usage is wasteful.  Tea towels, burlap sacks, old sewing patterns or blueprints, newspaper, wallpaper scraps, old book pages, magazines pages, shopping bags … geez – almost anything is a better alternative.  Take a look around your house and wrap up something unique.  Then send me a picture. XO!