I have been obsessed with some of the really simple breakfast cookie recipes floating around the internet.
First I came across these two ingredient cookies from The Burlap Bag in banana, and pumpkin.
Then I saw Chocolate Covered Katie had these cookies that use banana or applesauce, (I love…
Source: veganbakingfailures
It’s easier to make decisions about purging, whether or not to replace something, once it is broken.
This time the re-organization has moved to the kitchen. I wasn’t really planning on it, but then I broke my coffee grinder (when I tried to grind something other than coffee.) And my blender started smoking if it is on anything higher than “stir.”
And while things are breaking I should also point out the crack growing in the bowl of my ($20 thrift store, first generation, smells like it came from a smokers house) cusinart food processor.
So I thew out the broken coffee grinder, and replaced it with a magic bullet. The magic bullet will be able to grind coffee, as well as other things, so by-by single purpose appliance.
I’ve offered the smoking blender up on freecycle for someone who likes to tinker.
I’ll donate the cuisinart, along with a vintage mixer that I never use. In their place I’m buying a vitamix blender instead.
So I replaced 4 appliances with 2.
I also created an out box for other things I think I can part with. Do I need two fry pans? Maybe I can donate those mugs?
Once I get started it seems easier to make those kinds of decisions. And the joy of the out box (an apartment therapy idea), is that if I change my mind I can take it back.
I have found the cardboard spindle so useful this past week. I thought I’d share a few ideas I had on some variations of the cardboard spindles.
Cut out a center hole.
Use a compass to draw a circle slightly smaller than the toilet paper roll. Then use the same center point to draw a second circle.
Use a utility knife to carefully cut out the center circle.
Similar to the original directions, apply glue to one end of the toilet paper roll. Turn the roll over an look down through the middle of the roll to center it on the cardboard circle. (See the photo below).
Allow to dry, then repeat on the other side.
Use the printed side of the cardboard.
These two circles came from a box of cereal, which I selectively cut out for the images. Then follow the original instructions.
Double up the ends.
Follow the original instructions. Then apply glue to one end of the spindle and apply a second cardboard circle. Two pieces of cardboard make the spindle sturdier.
You could also double up on the end using decorative paper instead of a second piece of cardboard.
A Shorter Spindle
You could trim the toilet paper roll down to make a short squat spindle.
Putting the spindles to good use with new Plastic Bag Yarn!
The shop update is underway, but there is more to come. This week I made these wonderful cardboard spindles to hold Plastic Yarn. 
Materials:
Flat cardboard
toilet paper roll
pen or pencil
scissors
round object to trace (or compass)
glue
1) Trace circles onto the cardboard. My circles were about 4 inches in diameter.
Then use scissors to cut out your circles.
2.) Put a small amount of glue onto one end of the toilet paper roll.
3.) Then press the glued end of the toilet paper roll down onto the center of the circle. (I just eyeballed it.)
Then I added another small ribbon of glue around the base. And left to dry completely.
4. Once dry, repeat steps two and three on the other end of the toilet paper roll. Allow to dry.
A new tenant in the building next to mine doesn’t believe in lampshades, or closing the blinds. Then there was coonstruction going on early this morning. Usually I drink tea in the morning, but today was definitely a coffee sort of morning. But I only had rice milk on hand, which is usually a bit thin for coffee, but not if you brew your coffee with milk instead of water.
I heated rice milk to 165° F, used 2T of ground coffee per 6 oz. milk, and let the it steep for 5 minutes. It was delicious.
This also provided the motivation to continue my spring cleaning. The project this week is to work on this:
So there should be a long overdue shop update soon.
Usually it is the end of winter that seems to last the longest. At times it feels like winter might never end. This weekend spring finally showed up. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t put away my winter coat yet, there are still more cold days to come. But it was wonderful to open all the windows and let in the fresh air.
Last weekend I got these beautiful Liberty print shirts, along with some other goodies, from my friend Lindsay when she was doing some spring cleaning. I haven’t decided what to do with them, but a really love the print. So for now I just have them hanging on the door, so I can look at the fabric.
I do my best to adhere to the one in - one out rule. So I started a little spring cleaning of my own, and took a couple of bags to the Salvation Army. It only made me realize that I really need to reorganize the craft closet.
5 Different Non-Dairy Milks Reviewed
How to Substitute Condensed Milk (Buttermilk, Evaporated, Sweetened Condensed, Powdered
“It may or may not “curdle” like dairy milk, but homemade dairy-free buttermilk alternative still serves it’s purpose in recipes.”Rice milk, which I had…
Source: veganbakingfailures
I was thinking about vegan alternatives to silk, and I remembered an article in Spindlicity, a now defunct online magazine for hand spinners, called Seri-Similitude.
My bookmark redirected to an archive on beebonnet, but some of the links were dead. Thank goodness for Wayback Machine Internet Archive, where you can find Spindlicity archived.
In Seri-Similitude (archived on Wayback Machine) Janel Laidman spun samples of man-made fibers and compared them to silk based based on several qualities, as well as provided information on the manufacturing process and what type of dye would be used.
Soysilk, Bamboo, Tencel and Ingeo are all vegan options. It’s too bad that the image of the spun samples is missing from the archived article. However, the article is still a great resource.
One of my favorite sources for fiber is Mielke’s Fiber Arts because they have a large selection of both man-made and vegetable fibers for spinning.
viscose processed bamboo top (L) and Tencel® top (R)
photos by Mielke’s Fiber Arts, used with permission.
Spin Off magazine Winter 2013 issue featured an excellent article on Peace Silk by Karen Selk titled ”Peace Silk — what does it really mean?”
Karen Selk is a textile designer and founder of Treenway Silks. She clearly has a love for and extensive knowledge of sericulture.
The article defines peace silk, also talks about the lifecycle of a silkworm, sericulture and the different types of silk.
What I appreciate most about the article is Selk’s complete honesty about sillk and sericulture. Both in terms of the its sustainability and the role it plays in lives of the rural farmers, but also in terms of dispelling myths surrounding Peace Silk.
You can find a copy of Winter 2013 issue here, or at your public library.
