Le Petite Artiste

Antoine De Saint Exupery's depiction of a Boa Constrictor eating a wild beast

     I first read Antoine De Saint Exupery's Le Petit Prince in my high school english class, senior year. I read it again, in its original french translation, during my sophomore year of college. Each time I read it, I was enchanted by Saint Exupery's simplistic yet heartfelt drawings of the Little Prince's journey, and the profound lesson's carefully hidden in between the lines of his text.  

     Inspired by Saint Exupery's artistry, I re-created four of his colorful drawings (complete with my own color palette) on small canvas and hung them in our living room.

 

For those of you who haven't read it, check out this lovely digital version on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTi536xVuw4&feature=related)

My depiction of the Boa Constrictor eating a wild beast

Homemade Mitten Ornaments

     Every Christmas for the last 20 years, my fiance's family organizes a homemade ornament exchange. And every year, I scramble to come up with a fun, creative and inexpensive ornament just weeks before the exchange. This year, my inspiration came from mitten shaped gift tags from Target. Using the gift tag as my guide, I created my very own mittens which I embellished the with colorful pom pom trim, sequins and sparkly gems.


To make your own mitten ornaments you will need the following:

 

Spool of pom pom trim
Spool of black satin or sheer ribbon
Spool of decorative trim
Assorted Craft Gems & Sequins
9"x12" Felt Square
Hot Glue
Scissors
Colorful thread
Sewing Machine

Mitten Template

 



1) Fold the longest side of the felt square in half
2) Pin the mitten template to your felt square. Cut around the mitten, making sure to cut through both layers. Once you are done cutting out the template, you should be left with two pieces (a front and back)

*Keep in mind one felt square will make 3 mittens, or one and half pairs of mittens.

  3) Pin the two pieces together and carefully sew around the edges - make sure to leave the bottom opening untouched.




4) Measure your pom pom and trim against the length of the mitten's opening, add a quarter inch to each end for safety and cut accordingly.

5) Using a hot glue gun, glue the pom pom & trim to opening of your mitten. *Note: you only need to decorate one side of your mitten.
6) Embellish each mitten by gluing sequins and gems to the center in any design you'd like.
7) Cut a 6" piece of black satin ribbon. Carefully dab hot glue on one end of the ribbon. Tuck the glued end of the ribbon a half inch into the mitten's opening. Make sure to tuck the ribbon opposite the thumb end. Repeat on the other side.

HAPPY CRAFTING!

Holiday Party Recipe: Sausage Strata

 
  You know it's the week before Christmas when you start getting piles of invitations to holiday parties. And if you're like me, you never arrive empty handed. Whether you're hosting or attending a holiday party, this Sausage Strata recipe is simple, savory, and best of all it can be prepared the night before.
   
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound of ground sausage
6 slices of bread cut into medium sized cubes
2 cups of shredded jack cheese
6 eggs
2 cups of milk
1 cup of fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook sausage in a medium size skillet until evenly brown

2. Place cubed bread, cooled sausage, basil and cheese in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.

3. Layer mixture in a rectangular casserole pan.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat together eggs, milk and salt and pour over bread mixture.
5. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Please note this dish can be refrigerated the night before you plan to bake it.
6. Preheat over to 350 degrees F
7. Bake for 45 minutes. You will know dish is ready by inserting a knife into the middle of it. When the knife comes out clean, it's ready to removed from the oven.
8. Let stand for 10 minute before serving. Enjoy!

Addams Family Dinner

    One of the great things about having a birthday in October, is that I can have a costume party and feel comfortable knowing my guests won't be hard pressed to find a costume store, especially in LA where there is practically one on every block.  Last year we celebrated with a Hitchcocktail Party, and this year we decided to keep the theme more open so that people could dress however they liked. A girl scout, a devil, a Gatsby girl, a princess, and a bat, were just a few of the people in attendance.

 
     We feasted on quite a spread (pork loin, apple-cornbread stuffing, and bacon-wrapped dates to name a few), yet the biggest hit of the night was definitely the Lemon-Rosemary cupcakes. The recipe, which was given to me by my future mother-in-law, can be found below.

Lemon-Rosemary Cupcakes

One Small Packet of Lemon Pudding

1 Cup of Plain Yogurt
1/2 cup of Warm Water

1/2 Cup of Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons of Melted Butter

1 Box of Lemon Cake

2 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

4 Eggs

1) Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well
2) Fill each baking cup 1/2 way with batter
3) Bake according to the instructions on the Cake Box

4) Enjoy!

     This recipe can be made with any cake or pudding mix combo, and can be made as a standard cake or bundt cake.

Sunday Funday: Halloween Party Preparations

Bizarre Vintage Photos I Found Online

With only six days left until my Halloween soiree, I'm scrambling to put together the final decorations before my guests arrive. I made a much dreaded trip to Michael's for spiderwebs, black glitter and craft glue for my glittery skull and bones project. The party gods were definitely on my side considering that most of their Halloween decor was long gone, yet I managed to find all the items I was looking for. I found wonderful photos online (featured to the right) that I plan to put in place of our hung family photos. Tune in next week for more photos.

Sunday Funday: Sunny San Diego and the Chargers!

     I'm not usually one for gambling but when I found out my co-workers were puting together a survivor football league, I couldn't resist especially since my other half (Sean) is an avid football fan. Before Sean, I had no interest in sports whatsoever, with the exception of tennis. Nearly six years later, my interest in sports hasn't increased much but I have managed to attend at least one major sporting event (i.e. hockey, baseball, and basketball) with the exception of football. Yesterday marked my first NFL game and it was amazing, not only because the Chargers won but also because their victory ensured I got to survive another week in the Body of Proof survivor football league. The pre-game entertainment was just as exciting as the game itself. Minutes before the game, colorfully dressed men, women and children danced to a LIVE mariachi band. Even though I have no loyalty to any team in particular, I'm really looking forward to my next game!

Sunday Funday: DIY Terrariums

     If you've ever been to  the Rose Bowl flea market in Pasadena, you know what amazing treasures are waiting to be found. Today Whitney and I roamed the vendor filled parking lot with hundreds of other treasure seekers looking for glassware to re-purpose for our afternoon craft project: succulent filled terrariums. Whitney chose a clear glass globe lamp and two hand-painted rocks glasses, and I chose a hurricane vase and centerpiece bowl. We were lucky enough to come across a vendor who had a variety of colorful mini succulents for $1.00 each.

     We filled each terrarium with cactus soil and stone/sea glass to ensure proper drainage.

Left: Whitney's Lamp Terrarium, Right: My Bowl Terrarium

       The cherry on top of our craft day was certainly the housemade gelato/sorbetto at Pazzo Gelato.

      Until next time...