Easter Eggs....

So....I didn't really do much "work" this weekend, but I was able to cross off a couple things from my "Easter crafts I would really like to try but don't have the time list." It was sooooooo awesome. I lost track of how many eggs I bought.

Below are pictures of egg craft #1. I saw this idea in Martha Stewart Living (April 2006). You use a Dremel tool to make ~1/2 inch hole in the bottom of the egg, blow the egg out, and sterilize. (My husband did all the drilling....thanks honey!)

After the sterilizing, you dye the eggs with food coloring, and let them dry for two days... That's why this project is so intense, you need a lot of advance planning, which generally is not my forte.
After the eggs are completely dry inside, you fill them completely with chocolate, or make them into chocolate truffles, which is what we did. The finished products are shown below, on display.

Here's a link for the actual instructions (Chocolate Egg How-To)
We had to take a break from all the eggs to see UNC dominate Mount Saint Mary's in the first round of NCAAs at the RBC Center in Raleigh....



Next up was my husband's favorite-ever egg project, straight from the creative archives of Martha Stewart. A couple years ago, she had this lady on who uses cut up silk neck ties for dying Easter eggs. We raided my husband's closet for ties that he never wears any more and got to work. Here is a picture of the first batch twist tied up with silk touching the egg and covered with a square of old white tee-shirt. You just boil them for 20-25 minutes.......

.....and you get this! You have to try it... Here's the link: Silk Tie Easter Eggs

I'd like to take a moment to point out other fine examples of Easter baking and crafting.

Example 1: Chocolate cake with chocolate rolled fondant.... The finale to a 21 course Easter dinner at the home of our friends Ben and Jason.

Example 2: Eggstra special handmade card from Laura D.

Another one of these baby sweaters that I'm trying to finish up. I've pledged to only knit at home while I am watching reality television.

My evening activity... New purchase from Barnes and Noble.

Not enough time for procrastination...

This weekend, my dad and brother drove all the way out from Kansas to spend a few days with us in Durham. This meant that I had to stow away all things paper crafting, and turn the "craft room" into a second guest room. Putting away the rubber stamps may have been a blessing in disguise, as I think I have been a bit over-indulgent with the card making. I think the table will only go back up once all chapters of my dissertation are drafted. (I use the word "drafted" loosely).

Don't worry about me though. Even though I won't be card making, I do have a knitting project that needs to be finished up soon, and I have a couple of eggcellent projects lined up for Easter weekend. (Sorry, I had to do it.)

While the family was in town, we did a lot of basketball watching, since NCAA Division I conferences had their tournaments this weekend and figured out our brackets. (GO HEELS!) (An aside--if you are interested in joining a just for fun bracket challenge, e-mail me ASAP!) While my father and husband went golfing one afternoon, my brother and I checked out the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham.

Red Wolf

Butterflies

Gobble gobble...

Baaaa Raaaam Ewwwe

He is short, but this pygmy goat does not look like he wants to be messed with.

The Paper is Submitted!!!

Woo Hooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Procrastination Levels are Low!

FYI:
I put together the post with all the pictures of cards last night, and added it to the blog when I got home this evening. I did not craft anything tonight, but we did watch a movie. I didn't blog at all during the day, and I was actually quite productive, both scientifically and with regards to my law school application. While I was watching Lost (DVR'd), I was editing my paper figures--the paper is getting submitted tomorrow!!!! Woo Hoo! Although, I better give those figures another check in the morning just to make sure I didn't label any axes with "Ben is a freakin' psycho" or "Last of the Oceanic Six Will Be Revealed." Tomorrow is card class day, so I'll have structured crafting time built into my day.

I just thought I would clarify that I actually do manage to get work completed during the day, just in case anyone was worried about me.

New Cards!

I recently reorganized my paper-crafting area--see below.
I think it's looking pretty good.... This is just "how I roll."


Below are a few cards I made this week--I'm finally trying to get the post-birthday thank yous out...



I think I should attempt to find an alternate backdrop that doesn't have sharp knives and dirty wine glasses in the background. I'm procrastinating, I don't have time to be perfect.

Candles, Sour Cream Containers, and Sweaters.....Oh my!

Well, my accomplice in crafting (Laura) and I had a lovely afternoon of hungover crafting a few weeks ago. I am very impressed that we started out with just materials, and came away with a very cute variety of favors.


Exhibit A: Sour cream container. We got this idea from our Stampin' Up Demonstrator Paula. We had originally done this with vellum card stock with heat embossed red hearts for Valentine's Day (filled with Hershey's Kisses, of course). After searching around on Splitcoaststampers, we saw that people were doing this with transparencies. Laura used Versamark ink to stamp the image (which, by the way, is the best baby stamp ever) and opaque white embossing powder. This was kind of tricky, as we quickly realized that if the heat tool got too hot, it would melt the transparency. We used sticky strip adhesive (the stuff that comes on the orange roll) to adhere the edges. Laura then filled with impending baby boy-appropriate blue and white Jelly Bellies. You just can't even order stuff this cute. Way to go Laura!Exhibit B: I also made some sour cream containers from some light blue patterned scrapbook paper that I had around. I would suggest using card stock, because they will be a little sturdier. I made these just a smidge bigger, and used the paper crimper to give the edges that authentic "can I get chives and sour cream with my baked potato?" look. They're not as cool as the ones that Laura made, but they do have chocolate inside, so they can't be all bad.Exhibit C: All of this sour cream container making was actually in addition to our original favor idea, which was hand-poured jar candles. A couple years back, while savaging through the rummage of a closed, run-down, out of NIH funding lab, Laura found this box of jars that we thought would be potential snow globe vessels. Unfortunately, the lids that came with them didn't actually fit the jars. We then decided that they would be adorable for little jar candles, and when our friend Jessica announced that she had a bun in oven.....GAME ON!


All of the favors together, in situ.

I have been spending a lot of time on my 25-minute each way bus ride knitting with my new favorite yarn -- Sugar and Creme 100% cotton worsted weight. Right now, I'm trying to make it through Pillars of the Earth, but for the past few weeks I have been hard at work on these, taken from Mason-Dixon Knitting.

As soon as I finish Pillars...it's back to quality TTA knitting time. I need to get a couple more of these busted out before April!

ISO More Ways to Procrastinate

Well, in completing my dissertation, it is inevitable that I have sought out as many ways as possible of procrastinating. I quickly learned that the Internet is only so vast, and that CNN.com can only be checked so many times within 10 minutes. News only happens so fast kids.

So, I decided to give myself yet another distraction--creating an online chronicle of my crafty distractions. As I try to preserve my current level of sanity, I find myself knitting furiously on the bus, or just sitting at my desk thinking, "I wish I was paper crafting...." If these diversions weren't swallowing up enough of my time, I have decided to waste even more time by taking pictures of everything and putting them up here. I probably have a better shot of curing heart disease this way.

Enjoy :o) I know I will.