The Craft Begins

I’ve been running into some serious computer problems lately, but it looks like I’m back for a bit at least!

So I’d like to share with you all a really, really easy recipe. I love fresh herbs in the summer, and buy way more than I could ever possibly consume. I dry a lot of them (upside down in a paper bag) which works like a charm, but I wanted to find another way that I could preserve those yummy summer flavors.

So I settled on infused olive oils! I thought that it would be really difficult, and that it wouldn’t turn out, but they ended up being wonderful. Now the kind of oil you makes really depends on your tastes, but some of the ones I made were: blood orange; citrus (orange, lemon, and lime); herbs du provence (rosemary, thyme, garlic); lemon dill; and green meanie. Green meanie is the most delicious – every fresh herb I could find, including garlic, thyme, dill, rosemary, and basil. All you have to do is pick a flavor combination that you love (I made my mom some straight basil oil) and then find a clean, pretty bottle. Place the herbs in the bottle (the more the better, I say!) and then fill to the top with olive oil. Let it sit at least a week – the flavor will be nice and intense by then. It keeps indefinitely, or at least so it seems. And the best part is, when you use some of it you can just refill the bottle with more oil and that way it lasts forever!

I like to use these oils as an easy salad dressing, as a marinade for chicken or fish, to dip bread it, and pretty much anything else you can think of that needs a bit of light herb flavor. Go crazy! Add peppers or flowers or anything you want. The possibilities are endless (and I use this in a lot of my recipes so it never hurts to have some on hand).

It’s that time of the week again! I’m pretty sure that I waste WAY too much time every week looking at all of the fabulous things there are to find on Etsy, and I can at least make myself feel a little better about spending all of that time if I can share my favorites here!

1.  First off is Stacey Winters. Her photography is fun, playful and colorful, and involves lots of cute kitschy little creatures, and tons of different little deer! She has a great aesthetic and tons of different cards so you’re sure to find something that will fit your stationary needs.

2.  I can’t say enough good things about chewingthecud. The shop has a great aesthetic (and a gorgeous banner) and all sorts of paper goodies. Would be good for the hipster or the minimalist in your life!

3.  Then we have Swallowfield. She has some outstanding artwork. It’s truly rare to find such a talent, let alone have the opportunity to own such amazing work for such a fair price. She’s had tons of sales so far, and I’m sure that she’ll keep it up with the quality of work she’s been presenting. One of her prints might have to be the next thing I buy.

4.  Last we have Carnival. I bought some of her stuff earlier this year, caramel nut crammers, or something like that. Let me tell you, that was some of the best sweet stuff I’ve ever had! I don’t like chocolate much so it’s hard for me to find sweets that I will eat, but these were great. She’s got stuff for just about every taste, fast shipping, and generous portions.

I recently bought this hand-painted silk hand fan from Gilbea. She had one in her shop that I coveted for ages, but as soon as I got up the nerve to buy it, it was gone! Luckily she had a few more in stock that hadn’t been listed yet and she promptly put one up for me. I haven’t quite received it yet (checking the mail every day!) but it’s starting to get warm here and that puts me in a summer kind of mood.

So it’s no secret to my friends that I’m in love with all things Spanish. On previous trips to Spain, I was always enamored with the beautiful fans but thought them too ornamental for every day use (plus, can you imagine how much you would get made fun of in the states?). However, after spending some time there in the summer, which is, shall we say, muy caliente, I started to realize the advantage of the hand fan.  And all of the little old ladies in the subway seemed to fan themselves constantly, and it was pretty adorable. I managed to find a simple, pretty white one that I used at every opportunity. What a difference they make! It makes summer bearable, pleasant almost! So now I believe that this age-old tradition needs to be brought from Spain to the rest of the world. Not only does it keep you cool, you can even send secret love signals! Any object that does that is OK in my book. There aren’t too many sellers of hand fans on etsy yet, but that just means that you’re ahead of the curve on this trend! Of the few there are, they seem to have a lot of selection and nice quality so you’re sure to find something great!

Many of you may have seen Erin Tyner’s work on Etsy. Frequently in a spot on the front page, her works are very unique and identifiable. She approaches photography with a sort of painterly style and a touch of whimsy. Her photographs are like still lives from a childhood dream long forgotten. She does some work with a macro lens and water droplets that are very impressive in their own right, but the Half Awake series is much more compelling (at least in my opinion). I also like that she is a self-taught photographer; you can tell in the way that she approaches her subjects, it’s very fresh. I can imagine these being stills from a stop motion film or something equally wondrous. Plus, I think that things are more fantastic when they are in miniature – I think that it reminds me of when I was younger and read far too many fantasy books. Anyway. Her prints are also very affordable – an 8×8 print will run you $24. A small price to pay for such wonderful, original art!

Each week, I’m going to do an interview with an awesome Etsian, illustrator, artist, writer, whatever. Someone who I find interesting and want to pick their brain, but would otherwise not have an excuse to do. I find people’s stories interesting, especially people that inspire me! So we’re going to kick off this week with awesome jewelry designer PiperJ.

PiperJ’s jewelry is understated feminine chic. Delicate and yet daring, it walks the fine line between everyday and special occasion jewelry. You could wear it in any circumstance and not feel self-conscious about it. She uses wonderful materials like gold and sterling silver, and has great taste in semi-precious gemstones. Combined with delicate findings and a great eye for color, her work definitely stands out. Plus, she names all her jewelry after different drinks! She was nice enough to answer my barrage of questions (20, to be exact) and this is what she had to say! So, in no particular order, some questions with PiperJ.
1. What is your favorite color?
My favorite color changes, right now I would say its yellow & brown.

2. If you were stuck on a desert island, what three creative supplies would you bring?
Paper, a paint brush and watercolor paint.

3. What’s a cool thing you think people should be checking out right now?
Agave cactus nectar, I use it as a sweetener instead of sugar or Splenda.

4. What is your signature dish?
I rarely make the same thing twice, so I don’t think I have a signature dish. Lately I have been eating a lot of fish, scallops and mussels.

5. Did anyone inspire you to start creating? Could you share a story?
While my parents and I always made jewelry, Donna Kirsh gave me the opportunity to get into jewelry professionally drilling pieces of glass for pendants in her lofted studio. I was probably 16. Donna was a bit of a free spirit who couldn’t focus so I got to everything from store displays, to packaging to ordering supplies to designing new lines & creating & shipping orders. My well rounded experience working with a professional artist made me hope to one day support myself in a similar manner.

6. What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you?
I got left in Mexico by my high school sweet heart.

7. One pillow or two?
One under my head & one over my eyes. It smells of lavender and knocks me out in a jiffy.

8. What did you have for breakfast today?
Same thing I have most days, yogurt and coffee. Note that it was Horizon organic yogurt.

9. Is Etsy your primary business? What else do you do?
Yes, but on the side I am a consulting engineer in computational mechanics. I am what you would get if a computer scientist, mechanical engineer and applied mathematician had a love child.

Here are some of my latest favorites on Etsy. There are so many great sellers on the site, it’s hard to make a choice!

Today I have discovered the holy grail of Paper Crafters: Paper Source. It may be old news to some, but not to me! I find their collections of handmade papers simply inspiring, and their craft kits and other assorted items (envelopes, colored labels, etc.) simply useful! They have amazing letterpress stationary, paper in a wide range of prints, sizes and colors, and some other amazing things. One of my favorites is the envelope templates – so that you can make or line your own! Seeing this many amazing products makes me wish that I could open up a store like this of my own! Since I can’t, I’ll have to content myself with the website that you can find here. They are worth checking out, because you can get good prices on buying things in small amounts. And sometimes that’s all you need! I know that I don’t have too many good paper shops nearby, and sometimes it’s just nice to have something shipped straight to your door.