Joyful Abode

Here’s another apron sneak peek. This is the one with the pocket I thought would be perfect for clothespins!

And these are the “Carolynn” aprons… I made one grown-up half-apron, and two kiddie full aprons. The grown-up version has three pockets in the front that would be perfect for scissors, paint brushes, or other craft materials. The kiddie aprons each have one front pocket.

Things I learned:

1. Check your ingredients BEFORE you start cooking anything. Luckily, I had 4 eggs (the exact amount the recipe called for) and a little over 2 cups of flour (I needed 2 cups). I also ran out of walnuts.
2. Pam for baking (with flour) is awesome. And it smells like sugar cookies. I bet you could spray it around your house just to make people think you were baking, like air freshener.
3. Wear an apron. Flour is messy. Pants optional.
4. Food processors are FANTASTIC. I shredded a bunch of carrots in no time. But learn how to take apart all the pieces before you use it. I had a couple carrot shavings caught in the feeding tube and it took a while to figure out how to get them out.
5. If you don’t have a recipe that rises a lot, you will NOT get a pretty, domed muffin top. You will get an overhang. (Note: Muffin tops are only pretty on muffins.)
6. Smelling good does NOT always equate to being pretty! (This goes for food AND people.)
7. Just because your food is ugly doesn’t mean it’s gross. Mmmm…

I melted some cream cheese frosting that was in my fridge, and drizzled it over one of the muffins. I don’t like loads of fluffy frosting on things like this, so it was perfect. Just a light glaze.

(More pictures are in my flickr. Click the muffin to see.)

1 1/2 cups veggie or canola oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups finely grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Prehead oven to 375F.
2. Spray muffin pans with Pam for Baking
3. Blend the oil and sugar together, then add eggs, beating well.
4. In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Stir a lot.
6. Fold in the carrots and walnuts.
7. Pour into muffin pans. Do not overfill, or you will get an ugly overhang like I did! I’d say 2/3 would be good.
8. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Remove the little cakes, and let them cool bottom-side-up.
10. Serve with cream cheese icing, if you like that sort of thing.

My mannequins are in the mail! The guy I ordered them from is in California, but he sent them by FedEx so hopefully they’ll get here soon. In the meantime, I’m still making aprons.

Tonight, I made one that has a deep pleated pocket that would be perfect for clothespins. I don’t line-dry my clothes, but when my students were painting outside, we did hang up their pictures to dry on a line. And when I took them down after they had dried, I wished I had a big deep pocket in the apron I was wearing.

I have a question for you… I ordered a lady mannequin and a child one. They are basically just the front part of the torso, not full mannequin. What do you think I should name them? I want something cute, not too common. And the child’s name needs to be asexual. Any ideas?

Just a sneak peek of some of the aprons I’ve been making. Hopefully next week, they will be in my etsy shop. (Nothing is there yet.) I am waiting for my mannequin lady to come in the mail. Well, really she’s more of a quarter of a lady. But she will wear aprons!

You will need:

• one picture frame, whatever size you like. I used 18″ x 24″
• a piece of corrugated cardboard cut to fit your frame
• cork tiles, which you can find at Michael’s next to the whiteboards, about 10 dollars for 4 (12″ square)
• pretty fabric, a little larger than the area to be framed
• hot glue gun + glue
• stapler + staples
• x-acto knife

Step 1: Glue the cork to the corrugated cardboard. You will probably have to cut some pieces, but that’s okay. No one will see! Just make sure they are pushed close together, no gaps.

Step 2: Try out your fabric in the frame, just to make sure you like it.

Step 3: Lay your fabric wrong-side-up on the floor or table. Then place your cork+cardboard cork-side-down on top. Stretch the fabric around it and staple to the back. You can use a regular stapler for this; just open it up. Start at the middle of each side, then work toward the corners.

Step 5: Install the fabric covered cork in the frame. I took mine to Michael’s and they did it for free. Lovely!

Step 6: Hang and use!

I was sitting at my desk, setting up Joyful Abode, when it occurred to me that nothing about my desk area was working. (Click this picture to see the tags in flickr.)

Oh my goodness… horrible! I had “organizational things” but it wasn’t working for my needs. So I needed a change.

At times like this, I always do the same thing. Make sure my bed is made, then pile the offending objects on my bed. I totally cleared my desk, then dusted everything.

After that, I went through all of the junk on my bed, analyzing it. Why do I need all of my paper on my desk? I don’t! So I found a clear plastic drawer unit to put it in. That went under my desk.

Next, the mugs for the pencils and pens went into the “give away” box. They were replaced by cute tin buckets I got from Walmart several months ago. I had been using them in my classroom until now.

I had a few pieces of trash, which went in the trash of course… but I noticed something sad. I had expired coupons and things that WOULD have been useful to me, had they not been buried under a pile of sadness. I determined I needed a bulletin board.

I also decided I needed a smaller place to file my reciepts, bills, and paystubs… the tall black filing tray monstrosity had to go!

So I made a shopping trip to Michael’s for the smaller filing tool and the bulletin board. I found just what I wanted, too. These “creative home accents” are lovely, and currently 50% off! More on the bulletin board later.

I tore the fabric off of my chair to reveal a much less offensive grey. When I get a staple gun, I’ll re-cover it to match my bulletin board.

And now, I am working in a much more joyful place. Clutter-free and attractive. My bulletin board is reminding me about today’s sale at Hancock Fabrics, and I’ll make a trip there later.

Happy birthday to me, and happy birthday to Joyful Abode!