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I had some leftover acrylic paint from the pumpkin project, so I made some plant signs. A small how-to in case you’re interested:
1. Find something you already have for the plate. Basically everything works, as long as it’s hard enough and is, or can be cut to the right size. I used cork coasters cut in halves for the bigger plates and about 1/8s for the small ones, like the one on the photo.
2. Spread out some old newspapers, lay down the plates and cover them with one or two layers of black acrylic paint, both sizes. Let them dry.
3. Using a lighter tone of acrylic paint (try to choose one that comes in tubes, the type you can apply right from the tube), write a few letters on a newspaper, just to test your paint and handwriting. Then write the names of your plants on the plates. I wrote the names of the species mostly, but feel free to be creative. Actually, I made a plate for my plant called Adam, too. Just saying. Again, let the paint dry.
3. Try to find some skewers in your kitchen. I broke them in halves, but it all depends on your size of pot, so just measure the length you find ok and stick with it. Glue the skewers to the back of the plates. I used some extra strong glue, but some duct tape could help the case too.
4. Apply some more black paint if you feel the need. I left the skewers plain.
5. Let the glue and the last layer of paint dry, and you’re ready to decorate your pots.
Extra tip: I tried to be as rainproof as I could. I grow my plants on the balcony, where they tend to absorb huge amounts of water every now and then. If you grow them inside or somewhere waterproof, you can use blackboard paint and chalk.
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I put together these bat pumpkins for the annual pumpkin day held in the little town we’re living now. Theye are made of little pumpkins, black cardboard, custom white paper, acrylic paint, some glue, duct tape and a few toothpicks. I used this as inspiration and template, but there are a few things you might need to know:
1. Don’t let anyone fool you: those little ones on the other photo are made from plastic pumpkins. You won’t get real ones in this size without any bumps and with perfectly visible ribs (ribs?) Just do them anyway, bumps look good on these.
2. I used acrylic paint spray. This requires huge amounts of newspapers. You can choose regular painting, but whatever you use, take care of your floor and furniture!
3. I used cardboard instead of craft foam. It’s not rainproof, but I think it looks way better. If you use cardboard (and paper for the eyes), make sure to keep your pumpkins away from moist.
4. I resized the template to match my little pumpkins. I used a 80% size for wings for the largest pumpkin and a 60% size for the two smaller ones. The eyes are 100%, 80% and 60%.
5. I wanted to have double strength of the toothpicks, so I glued them to the wings, then taped them. I only had green duct tape, so I covered the back of the wings with a layer of black paint.
Winner will be announced later today, so fingers crossed :)
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Four more nights and, after five years, we’re out of this town. Frankly, I can’t wait.
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I have absolutely no time since I’ve got a new job (which means 2 jobs, the university and the spanish classes). Anyway, here’s an update on what we are up to these days. First own-made gingerbreads of our lives!
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No, this is not a stone. It looks like one and it’s quite hard, too, but it’s actually a soap my grandfather’s sister’s someone made a few decades back. There are five or six of them remaining, and my parents have kept them in the basement for about 20 years because we’ve never really wanted to use them. They’re made of lard and have no smell. I brought this one with me, I’ll post about our experiences later.
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Yam-potato-sweet-things
Today was one of the rare occasions I saw some sweet potatoes in the nearby shop. (Well, I still don’t know if they were sweet potatoes or yams, but I keep hearing it doesn’t really matter.) We’ve never tried them before, so we’ll start with something basic: a sweet potato buttermilk pie via smittenkitchen. I’m very curious.
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I just had my first ever Spanish class. The teacher asked us why we’ve decided to learn Spanish, so I told him about movies and Márquez and being 16 and how I couldn’t decide between Spanish and Serbian for years until I realized I could speak both by now if I had started by the time I first thought about it. I know it’s weird, but sitting there, I still wondered if it was the right choice to start with Spanish. Anyway, there are no language schools in town where I could learn Serbian, and I can’t afford a private tutor right now. It still remains on my to-do list, though.
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aaaaaaaand garlic and basil focaccia it is!
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Recipes are definately better than movies
I recently realized that collecting recipes is quite like collecting movies, only a bit (actually, at least ten bits) better. The thing is, I have literally tons of movies waiting for me to have enough free time, lists with a few hundred movie titles on each of them, a full hard drive and a pile of dvds. It has already begun with recipes. I’ve got some cookbooks and magazines, and more and more word docs in my recipes folder.
But the thing is, while not watching movies every day, or sometimes skipping it even for weeks, we usually have to eat. And we like to eat. A lot. So I don’t really think there will be recipes waiting me to try them out for like, 5 years or so, as my movies do. That’s a reassuring thought. I’m gonna grab a few more ones, I think. What about a garlic and basil focaccia for tomorrow?
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The photo doesn’t really show it, but this “chickpeas with tomatoes & spinach” (hey Good Food, not much fantasy there, is it?) made a great lunch. In the evening I baked smittenkitchen’s single-crust plum and apple pie, but no photo of that, we almost ate the whole thing while watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Also, rollerskating along the river in the cold wind is priceless.
