Shoe Addict Thriving: Binge vs. Budget-- Canvases

Shannon:

02/23/2011

Image Credit {diyideas.com}

I went to go buy some canvases for the wall art collages in Ben's mancave. I took Ben with me because I was getting some pretty large canvases and needed his large manly arms to carry them through the store for me. (He did very well at this task except for when we got to the registers and he turned abruptly towards me to ask me a question and hit me in the face with them.) He gasped quite loudly and protested greatly when we walked around the corner and he saw a 16x20" canvas on sale for $50. 

 
I quickly explained that this was the professional grade, heavy duty, gallery wrapped canvas....we were going for the cheap stuff - back stapled, on sale, and about $20 (sale price) for a 24x48" canvas. If you are a professionally trained artist and you are planning on doing high-end works of art worthy of the MoMA then by all means get the professional high quality canvas.

However, if you are like me and just dabble in DIY wall art made on the cheap so you don't feel guilty when you swap it out in six months, then I suggest you get the cheap stuff. Here are some fun article ideas for DIY wall art on canvas.

Paint Four Separate Canvases

Enlarge Textbook Copy on Canvas

Homemade wall decorations with canvas

My chair to canvas project

Shoe Addict Thriving: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Shannon:

02/21/2011

{Image Credit: Travelpod.com - pops4}

 Well, I am back from vacation and trying to get into the swing of things again. Crafting has been the last thing on my mind since I got back on Saturday, and it probably won't be a high priority until the million other things on my to do list are complete.

My first priority and motivation were pretty clear. I started the Holiday season with 3 lbs more than my "ideal" weight. After taking the cake decorating class and eating through the Holidays I added about 8 lbs to that. By the end of the cruise I just got back from I felt like all of my clothes were too tight. I figured I gained a couple of pounds, but when I jumped on the scale out of curiosity when I got home I gained 6 lbs! That is one pound per day on the ship!

This shouldn't have been surprising because there is always food readily available everywhere and anytime you might want it. You start getting into the deplorable habit of eating every 90 minutes. The day starts by room service bringing you breakfast...this you keep somewhat healthy: scrambled eggs, apple juice, wheat toast and jam, and some fresh fruit. Then you venture out into the ship, onto the boardwalk section where the free donut shop is. You adore donuts. They are you favorite food, and they are free. So you have one, okay, two donuts.

It's 11:30 or so by now so you wait and hour and then go grab lunch from the cafe. You grab a fairly healthy sandwich...and then a cookie. Deciding to stroll about the ship while nibbling your cookie you find yourself on the pool deck just as you finish it. Your tiny hand is feeling bereft and needy right as you look up and see the self-service frozen yogurt machine. So you take a cone of fro-yo as you pass. You manage not to eat much more than maybe another cone of fro-yo for a long while and then you're wandering around the ship with 2.5 hours left until dinner and you think, "I should go grab something to hold me over." And you do...you go get a piece of pizza because it's free, and you might get too hungry before dinner actually starts.

Finally, you manage to make your way into dinner. You would think by now that the amount of calories consumed would make you feel sick and you would just pick at dinner. But the formal dinning room has the best food on the whole ship. Everything is made with heavy cream and butter and is extra delicious. You can order whatever you want...even two of something if the mood strikes you. You feel a sense of accomplishment with every bite you get down while cruising. So you eat 3 sourdough rolls, a vidalia onion tart, sea bass with asparagus, the dessert sampler, and a piece of the cheesecake. And after going to your show you stroll down for another cookie while waiting for the late night entertainment to start.

Really now that I think about it the miracle is that I ONLY gained 6lbs. So armed with determination and an empty refrigerator I decided to do the South Beach diet and cook all my food instead of buying it. I managed to cook every night so far - and each meal took less than 20 minutes to throw together. Our menu so far has been:

Night 1: Chipotle seasoned Mahi Mahi burgers with sliced avocado
Night 2: Garlic and Herb marinated Mahi Mahi with steamed green beans
Night 3: Grilled sirloin steak for Ben, Gardein for me and the rest of the steamed green beans
Night 4: Mahi Mahi burgers with mixed green salad with pecans, tomatoes, red peppers, and avocado. Throughout the day we munch on raw peanuts and pistachios, sliced red pepper and broccoli dipped in hummus, skim milk cheese snacks, or mozzarella and tomato salads.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Crafting on the Go

Shannon:

02/01/2011

I am in the process of packing for my vacation and I always take along a few things with me to do on the plane. I usually take a small crochet project and a sketch book with me. Here are some tips for taking crochet on the plane.

1. Get yourself some bamboo or plastic hooks. This goes for knitting as well as crochet. Crochet hooks tend to look less threatening than knitting needles. This article has great tips for knitting. While plastic hooks are cheaper I have to say I would invest the money in the bamboo. I purchased them a year and a half ago for an Orlando, FL. vacation with my husband and they are now the only hooks I use.

2. Small, blunt craft scissors with a blade under 4 inches are allowed on the plane! TSA's prohibited sharp objects list shows that "Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than four inches" are allowed in carry one. I am always paranoid that they are going to take away my craft scissors even child ones with blunt tips. Also, the cruise line that we are going on has notorious crazy scissor confiscation stories and a whole message board dedicated to ways to outsmart the scissor police. So here is an out of the box option - Empty Floss Container!

3. Don't get to carried away. Be realistic you will probably only work on it during the flight so work on something with only a couple of colors.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Pineapple Upside-down Rum Cake

Shannon:

01/28/2011

I recently tested out this recipe from cdkitchen.com. (I have had pretty good luck with their recipes) It was for a Pineapple Upside Down Rum Cake. My co-worker has been asking for a cake like this since I first started the cake decorating classes back in August 2010. I have never made a rum cake or a pineapple upside down cake before and so I had no idea how to tell if this was a good recipe or not.

I purchased this adorable individual pineapple upside down cake pan from Amazon. Well, my co-workers birthday was yesterday so although the cake was not delivered to him on his actual birthday due to snow...I baked the recipe last night and made one pan of these. (I had left over batter, but was way too lazy to bake it up.)

I have a pineapple allergy so I made three with pineapple rings and made three like regular rum cakes. I used Myer dark rum and while it was pretty expensive I read up and found that this was a recommended dark rum for baking with. Remember when cooking with liquor - you are cooking out the alcohol and are being left with the taste/flavor. You don't want something that is cheap and tastes gross...it is good to put your money into what will soon be in put to the test on your taste buds.


Without delicious pineapple :(



It was not a hard batter to make it was difficult to put into the pans because it was a thicker batter and did not pour and settle like a typical boxed cake mix. The difficulty to this recipe was really that it had multiple components with the glaze, fruit, and batter. I baked it 5 minutes less than the recipe called for and when I did the toothpick test the cake was still gooey. I let it bake for the remaining 5 minutes and although the cake is still moist...it probably could have cooked for a couple minutes less.

I like my rum cake rummy so I also poked some holes into the bottom of the cakes and put a little of the left over glaze on the bottom as well. Overall, I really liked the recipe it had really nice flavor and texture. My co-worker had a great suggestion for me to add peach rings to the bottom of the pan as a substitute for the pineapple I am allergic to. I am definitely going to make it again and try that out!


The birthday boy's cake...two cherries instead of just one!