no-weave wall hanging

Okay, first I’ll admit that I started this project the weave-way.  That is, I made my own loom out of a carefully-carved cardboard box (genius!), wrapped some twine around my box creating, what looked to me, like evenly spaced strings….or whatever you call them.  I proceeded to weave my yarn in and out, creating cool tassels and textures, just like all those pictures you see on Pinterest.  With each passing day, my cardboard box started to soften and cave in, and i would pull the strings tighter, which in-turn caused the cardboard to cave more.  Sometimes when a project is not going right, you have to just set it aside for a while and ask yourself, “do I go on or do I start over?”  In this case, I needed to re-strategize and start over.  Turns out, it was one of the best decisions of my life – with inspiration from Kipi, I was able to get the same effect I was looking for WITHOUT spending money on a loom.

ingredients:

a piece of plastic canvas (found in the needle-work section of most craft stores)

a piece of driftwood (found on most beaches) 

twine (thin enough to string through your canvas)

an assortment of yarn (I chose 5 different types including some mop-ends)

sharp scissors (I bought a brand new pair)

1. The first thing you want to do is figure out your pattern.  There is a ton of inspiration out there to get you started.  Once you have a general idea, you can begin!

2. This project is all about “tassels”.  So begin by deciding the length of your first row of yarn and start cutting strips that are twice that length (they will be folded in half).  I suggest giving yourself extra room for trimming as well.  Once you have cut a few strands, you can use your twine to tie the strands together in the center and create a tassel.  For thicker yarn I used about 5 strands per tassel (folded to make 10), and the thinner yarn I used about 10 strands per tassel (folded to make 20).

3. Once you have your tassels, you can begin stringing them through the canvas (equal distances apart – about 5 boxes), and tying the twine at the back of the canvas in tight knots.

4. Because there is no weaving involved, this project is all about layers and textures.  I highly suggest creating lots of layers.  Instead of doing one row at the top with  Yarn “A”, create a short row and then a longer row underneath before you move on to Yarn “B”.

5. Also keep in mind, you never want your canvas to show through so make sure you build your second layer underneath the first, the third layer underneath the second, …etc.

6. As you create rows, you can begin trimming the ends of the yarn into straight lines using very sharp scissors.  Trim off small amounts each time until it is at the desired length.  This step is kind of like plucking your eyebrows, don’t go too crazy because these strands won’t grow back!

7. Once you have all of your tassels tied, you can snip off the excess twine at the back of your canvas.

8. To attach the driftwood, use a long strand of twine and string through the canvas and around the driftwood, tying a tight knot at the back of the canvas.

9. From here, you can begin stringing the twine through the canvas and around the driftwood at equal spaces apart.

10. When you reach the end of your canvas, make sure to tighten each loop so the canvas is taught against the stick before tying your final knot at the back of the canvas.

And voila! No weaving required!

 

 

happy crafting!

xoxo, keya and erica

 

market dates

 Creative dates are hard.  Not knocking dinner and a movie, but sometimes it’s fun to mix it up a bit.  When Erica and I started the Little Things it was very much to help keep us creatively motivated in our everyday work lives.  Not just with crafts, but everything we do.  And why not with our dates?  So every once and while when we think of a fun date idea or activity, you might see a little post about it around here!  This past weekend I thought it would be fun to spend our Saturday exploring the farmer’s market and then making a dinner from all market ingredients.

So, rewind to Saturday morning, mind bustling with the fun afternoon ahead, I woke my boyfriend up to remind him of our plans.  In all honesty, I expected him to be WAY more excited.  I mean, this is a cute idea and farmer’s markets are great so I don’t get it. Nonetheless, I powered forward, brought him coffee and reminded him that he had already promised he would go.  And thus, my very sweet and patient boyfriend and I hopped in the car and headed off to the PSU Saturday Market (a real gem for all of you visiting Portland).  Now at this point you may be thinking to yourself, why am I reading a blog post about fun date ideas that even your boyfriend doesn’t want to do?  Fear not ladies, because he will like it.  Farmer’s markets have tons of food and usually a good helping of puppies so it’s really a mix that nobody can resist.  We ended up spending a few hours strolling the aisles, sampling different products and chatting with the farmers.  I think that we can both agree that the highlights were kombucha, focaccia pizza, and spotting a mini husky puppy (honestly, the puppy was the highlight.  Never seen anything cuter.)

 

We grabbed our normal lettuces and fruits and a pack of beautiful homemade pappardelle.  Then we happened upon a local meat stand specializing in rare meats.  This ladies, might be one of the issues with bringing your guy to the market, because upon his sparked interest, I found us leaving the stand with a pound of ground yak meat.  (Definitely a new one for me).  A bolognese sauce was on the horizon.  We picked up a fresh loaf of bread, some lacinto kale, rhubarb, and some fancy local salt for fun.  Also I tried all of the cheese and wine samples.  All in all, it was a lovely way to spend the early afternoon.

When we got home, I made a strawberry rhubarb pie because I couldn’t resist.  Also, the bf loves pie.  We made a bolognese sauce, substituting the yak for beef.  True story guys, it wasn’t bad.  I couldn’t tell the difference.  After admitting this though, the bf said that he wanted to try yak steaks to really compare.  Eeeek not where I saw that little truth heading- biting my tongue next time!  I also threw together a lemony kale salad (MY FAVORITE).  If you want the best kale salad recipe ever, check out my mom’s blog.  You’ll thank me later.  All in all, I would say the date was a success.  

Are you a fan of your local market?  What are some of your favorite finds?  Hope everyone has some fun weekend plans!

xoxo, Keya

 

lime infused vodka

Can we just take a moment to sing the praises of one of my favorite cocktails, the moscow mule?  Light, refreshing, citrusy, and a wonderful ginger kick? Man, I could go for one of those right now.  But, alas, I am writing this post at 11 am so…I’ll refrain.  I’ll admit that one of the favorite parts of the mule is that I can’t taste the vodka- that’s the sign of a good cocktail right there folks.  And how to better disguise the flavor?  Infused vodkas.  Oh yes.

My love for moscow mules aside, you can use any citrus that you like and add it to your favorite cocktail.  Lemon infused for lemon drops?  It’s super easy and simply requires a little bit of time to infuse.  So make ahead of time and store in your fridge so you’re ready whenever 5 o’clock happens to roll around.

Ingredients:

vodka

1 lime (peels)

a clean jar

How to:

Pour your vodka into your clean jar.  You can make as much as you want.  If you’re planning on infusing your vodka for a party and want to use the whole bottle, then feel free to go ahead and use that bottle.  Add lime peels.  I used about 1 limes worth for mine.  Exact amounts aren’t imperative, and just be sure to adjust accordingly depending on how much you make.  Store in the fridge for about two weeks.  After infusing, strain your vodka to remove lime peels, and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it!

Enjoy!

 

xoxo, Keya

 

 

rosemary grapefruit spritzer + rosemary simple syrup

One of the things that I love about cocktails is how limitless the options are.  Once you’ve accumulated a sufficient collection of hard liquor and mixer options, you can pretty much make anything.  Sometimes I have an idea for one cocktail, and end up being inspired to try three other options.  Usually when I’m trying different things I make baby versions of the cocktails so I don’t have as much waste and well…sometimes you have to sample a few batches…

A great, and inexpensive way, to mix up your homemade cocktails is to make your own flavored simple syrups.  This is something you’ve seen a few times around here (1, 2) because we’re big fans of it.  All you need is sugar, water, and your flavor of choice.  I’m currently really loving making herb-infused syrups, so get excited to see more herby cocktails in the near future!  This one is sweet and a little tart and oh-so refreshing!

Rosemary Grapefruit Spritzer:

1 oz. vodka

3 oz. grapefruit juice

1/2 oz. rosemary simple syrup (recipe below)

sparkling water

Mix vodka, grapefruit juice, and rosemary in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake thoroughly.  Pour into martini glass and top with sparkling water.  Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a slice of grapefruit.

Rosemary Simple Syrup:

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. water

3 sprigs of washed rosemary

Combine all ingredients in a pot and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the sugar as dissolved and you feel the rosemary is sufficiently infused.  Let cool.  Strain rosemary from simple syrup, and store in the fridge.

xoxo,

Keya

watercolor pineapple print

This little print is so cute and easy to make, and will make the perfect summery addition to my kitchen walls.  I’m thinking of making a few more of different kinds of fruits and veggies to hang with it.  As long as you’ve got watercolors and paper, the total cost of this project is the frame, which makes it a really affordable way to decorate!

tools:

pineapple stencil  (this is the link for the stencil that I used)

watercolors + paintbrushes

watercolor paper

wax resistant sticks / pencil

frame

spray adhesive

white card stock / thick paper (measured to size of frame)

how to:

     First you’ll want to select and print out your stencil of choice.  I wanted mine to have lot of detail for the pineapple leaves, but I think that a simpler stencil would be really cute as well.

     Once you’ve cut out your stencil, place it in the center of your watercolor paper and make a thick outline with the wax resistant sticks.  I tried this project a couple of ways, just outlining the stencil in pencil and with the wax.  I personally like using the wax because it holds the paint inside of the stencil marks and creates a darker outline around the design where the paint is trapped. Also, make a thin line between the fruit of the pineapple and the leaves to prevent color bleeding.

     Mix your watercolors to your desired color.  I wanted my yellow and green to be bright.  I mixed a few variations of each, but ended up mostly using the pure yellow.  I used more variations of the green to create the effect of multiple leaves.

     So the picture below was kind of my trial and error run, and I’ve got some tips to share from it!  I found that the final project turns out a lot better if your paint in layers.  First by finishing the yellow portion before painting the leaves; this will help prevent the two colors from bleeding into each other, as you’ll see in the picture below.  (If this happens, then quickly dab at the paint with a paper towel to remove it, and paint over the problem section.)

     Another tip is that the thicker the wax outline the better.  I thought that I would be able to freely run my paint strokes over the edges of the outline and that it would remain, but that didn’t really work out.  So the next time around I did the thicker outline and I was much more conscious about getting too much water on the wax and was much happier with the results.

     Paint a light coat of paint first and let it dry.  Then paint a second or third coat depending on your desired color. Have fun making the paint thicker in some areas and lifting your paper to let the paint run and blur.  This creates the pretty watercolor effect.  For the leaves I brushed arching stroked from bottom to top with varying colors, letting them dry in between.

     Once your painting is dry, it is time to cut it out.  If your outline isn’t exact enough, place the stencil over the top, and outline once more in pencil.

     Spray the back of the pineapple with spray adhesive and gently lift and place onto your card stock in the center.  Let dry and place in your frame!  I wrote “piña” on mine, and to make it fit, I placed my pineapple slightly above center- this part is up to you!  There are so many ways to interpret this craft depending on what you want to make!  I’m thinking tomatoes and watermelons next… Clearly summer is on my mind!

xoxo, Keya

stars and stripes mixed berry pie

My experience with inspiration goes like this: it strikes when it strikes and generally it does not strike at the most practical time.  Which is how I found myself, at one this afternoon, heading off to the store for ingredients to make this pie while I should have been busy barbecuing.  Another thing I’ve learned about inspiration is that if you don’t act on your thought in the moment, it tends to fade away and that first glorious sense of realization tends to seem far less brilliant as it did when the idea first struck.  So here I am blogging about a 4th of July pie that it’s too late for any of you to make! There’s always next year, right?  Besides Americana is in right now, and you can be patriotic any day.  Also, I really just couldn’t resist!

For the recipe, I went off of Cafe Hon’s recipe!  So you can check it out here for more detailed instructions.

Stars and Stripes Mixed Berry Pie

Dough: I bought it!  Hey, this was all very last minute!

Filling:

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

2 cups fresh or frozen rasberries

1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Roll out the bottom crust of dough and place in pie dish.

3) Mix all the filling ingredients together and fill the pie.  (If you are using frozen berries, make sure to defrost and drain first).

4) Roll out the top pie crust on a piece on parchment paper.

5) To begin making the flag, first lightly trace the image by making slight indentations in the crust.  Once you are satisfied with the design then cut out the strips of the flag and star gently.  Once you’re done, it’s ready to be placed on the pie!  I found that it was easier to move if I placed a second piece of parchment over the top.  This way, I could lift the crust up easily and remove the bottom piece of parchment without spreading the design.  Seal the endges, cut off extra pie crust, and use your thumbs to make ridges along the edge.

6) Brush cream and sprinkle sugar over the top of the pie.

7) Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

8) Enjoy!

xoxo,

Keya