Nov26

Modified Instant Russian Tea Recipe

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Modified Instant Russian Tea Recipe
Modified Instant Russian Tea Recipe

The old, “passed-around,” instant Russian tea mix recipe called for a cup of sugar in addition to two cups of Tang instant drink mix. The main ingredient in Tang IS sugar. So, here is my modified recipe:

Instant Russian Tea Mix:

2 cups Tang instant drink mix
1/2 cup instant tea (no sugar!)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

That’s it! Put it in a jar, and shake it up! Add 2 teaspoons of the mix to a mug of hot water. Stir and enjoy! (I have tried other orange drink mixes besides Tang. They just weren’t as good.)

Nov23

Clear Command Hooks for Suncatchers!

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Clear Command Hooks for Suncatchers!
Clear Command Hooks for Suncatchers!
It’s like they read my mind! I am so tired of the suction cups that hold my suncatchers falling off the windows when the temperature changes. I knew the 3M Company made clear hooks, but I was wishing they made them with clear adhesive strips. Well, I found them (at Lowes Home Improvement and Michaels!)

They work great! Be aware, though, that the hooks may have a larger circumference than the hanging loop on your suncatchers. I solved that with the addition of a key ring sized jump ring:

Here’s one in the package:

‘Hard to see, aren’t they? Exactly!!!!
Nov21

Still Uncertain

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Still Uncertain
I still can’t make up my mind on which color palette to choose in Erin’s color challenge. My daughter gave me this focal bead to recycle, and it’s a perfect match for the Meandering Mississippi  palette:
Still, I like these sodalite and bone beads together:
I think they match the other palette very well. I may just choose to do both!
Nov17

Fairy Lights

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Fairy Lights
Fairy Lights

I want my craft room (studio!) to be an inviting, enchanted space. So, inspired by these:

(They are by Mallory Jane of Hayseed Homemakin’. I found them on Pinterest.)

I bought a string of 100 white lights with white wires and these rolls of trim:

I strung the lights along the handrail in the stairwell that leads to my room. I cut short, 5-6″ lengths of the sparkly pink organza ribbon and tied them around each light bulb:

I cut the rosettes apart on the other trim, poked a hole in the middle of each one, and slid them over the tiny light bulbs:

I compared to see which I like better. The pink organza ribbon won hands down, though I do think the little white rosettes would be cute for a wedding.

Now, I only have 94 more to cut and tie!

Nov16

Playing with “Paint”

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Playing with “Paint”
Playing with “Paint”
Here’s another nifty item I ordered:

It’s a CD of Victorian Religious Images, and it is lovely. It’s from Lunagirl and can be found, along with other image collections, on etsy.

I love Brandi Hussey’s use of photoshop to pull a palette from a photograph. She has a tutorial on her blog, but my Photoshop software came preloaded on my old Gateway desktop, and when the hard drive died, so did the Photoshop.

I’d used the eyedropper tool in “PAINT” before, so I set out to see if I could use it to “pull a palette.” Before I selected “Open with Paint” from the right hand menu, I made a copy of the image for editing. I enhanced the colors, also, by using the photo editing software on my laptop to increase the saturation of the colors:


Then I used the rectangle, eyedropper, and fill bucket tools to “pull a palette:”

It’s not nearly as professional looking as Brandi’s, but I was just playing, anyway.
Some of the cross images from my Lunagirl disc show ribbons that, to me, are in need of words:

I used the text tool (A) from Paint to add “Holy Bible” to this one:

I am pretty pleased with my “PAINT” play, today!