From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
Maybe everyone knows to make their own veggie broth. I didn’t until a couple of years ago when I had a pile of veggie scraps and an aha moment. After a couple of quick searches, I decided to toss everything in the slow cooker and see what happened.
AMAZING happened. I ended up with a complex unique broth that I was eager to cook with.
Since then I’ve saved almost all my veggie and fruit scraps in a bag in the freezer, and when it gets full it gets turned into what I lovingly call “trash soup”.
RECIPE: Scrap Veggie Broth in a slowcooker
Author: Alison (Adventures-in-Making)
Cook time:
Total time:
This simple veggie broth will use up all your fruit and vegetable scraps, and make your next meal that much better.
Ingredients
1 Tsp. Salt (to Taste)
A Variety of Raw Vegetable Scraps*
You can use skins, scraps, and leftover: Zucchini, Greens, Spinach, Okra, Apples, Tomatoes, Asparagus, Artichoke, Peas, Green Beans, Onions, Cabbage, Broccoli, Leeks, Garlic, Peppers, Carrot, Mushroom Stems, Herbs…. almost anything.
Instructions
*Make sure to only use ingredients that you COULD eat fresh. Nothing dirty, slimy, moldy, etc. A little soft is fine. The key to the best broth is variety. Try not to use too much of anything with a strong flavor- but remember that this is a low pressure process. If it doesn’t turn out, no big deal!
Put all your scraps in a slow cooker and cover with water.
Sprinkle salt over the mixture and mix it slightly with a spoon.
Put crock pot on “low” and leave overnight– 10-20 hours– checking occasionally for taste and to stir gently.
Ladle broth over a strainer to separate out vegetable scraps and broth.
OPTIONAL: Simmer the broth on Med/High to condense the soup for freezing. Allow to cool completely before placing in a container or ziplock bag, and freeze until you’re ready. (Make sure to label your container with tasting notes and a date.)
3.3.3077
For my broth today, I had a wide variety of veggies. From highest to lowest volume I used: zucchini, brussel sprout greens, tomatoes, onion, okra, mushroom stems, lemon rind, apple, bell pepper, and basil stems.
Make sure your scraps are clean and in relatively small pieces, then dump them into a medium crock pot,
and cover them with water.
Add about a teaspoon of salt (to taste) to the water.
Cover the crock pot, set it on “low” and let it do its thing through the evening and overnight. (It’s good to taste the broth, and stir occasionally to make sure everything is going well. If it starts to get bitter you can either stop the process, or give it some more time to possible cook itself out.)
After about 10-20 hours your concoction will look more like this:
and will smell up your whole home in a delicious way. Use a ladle to spoon out the broth over a strainer…
to separate out the broth and veggie chunks. Throw those depleted veggie scraps in the compost and look at what you’ve made!
Beautiful, complex, broth– a perfect way to start almost any recipe.
Optional: If you want to save the broth for another day, you might find it useful to condense and freeze it. To do this, put your broth in a small pot and simmer on medium-high under a fan.
Excess water will be released as steam, and after a while you’ll have a thicker, darker condensed broth. (This process can take some time, so I usually plan to do dishes, cleaning, or other kitchen activities while I wait.) Take the pan off the heat. As your broth is cooling, do a final tasting and label your container (or ziplock bag) with tasting notes and a date.
Then simply pour the cool broth into your container and freeze it for the perfect recipe. The more broths you make, the more you’ll notice differences in their flavor- making store bought broth seem ludicrous!
We love adding the broths to everything we cook. It will kick up anything from soup, to sauces, to quinoa, and make you smile. (Promise.)
What I’ve Learned
•I’ve said it before, but variety is really key here. I usually leave a small collection of scraps in my freezer bag for the next broth, rather than using too much of one flavor.
•You may be an onion and garlic maniac, but don’t make a broth out of just those. Other veggies are necessary to cut the bitterness of over-extracted onions. Trust me.
•Good advice from a friend- “If the broth doesn’t taste good, throw it away. Don’t let it ruin a meal.” If your broth turns out weird or bitter, it’s not the end of the world. Try again next time!
•Try out a parmesan rind sometime, but otherwise avoid oils.
•Mellow fruits (like apples) make for a carmelly broth that would be lovely in a lot of dishes. Bolder fruits (cherries, berries, citrus) are best used in very small quantities.
•Some vegetables are stronger than others- broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cabbage can take over a broth completely. I don’t mind, but maybe you do?
•Yum.
This is anothertypical Alison project; one part problem (needed an iPad Sleeve), one part recycling (awesome old hoodie sweatshirt.) I’ve been donating and repurposing things left and right lately, and this old hoodie was no different. It was made for me by a college classmate, and I’m not sure the last time I even put it on
I decided to embrace the ragged look, since the pattern was already worn and “vintage” and I knew it would be tricky to work with multiple layers of sweatshirt and zippers. (Also, I am NOT a tidy tailor. I’m just going to accept that about myself.)
To get the size right, I traced the iPad on a scrap piece of card stock to make a template.
I cut the tablet shape out of the card stock, used it to “frame” the part of the design I wanted to feature, and traced it with chalk.
I left an allowance of about half an inch on all sides, folded the sweatshirt there, and cut the a rectangle out of the folded sweatshirt.
I decided to line the pouch with another layer of sweatshirt, and used this as an opportunity to include the zipper that was already stitched on. I cut two more of my template pieces from either side of the zipper…
then stitched them together at the bottom. I refed the zipper pull into the zipper pieces– backwards because the raw edge of the zipper would face out when the pouch was finished.
I then stitched my original pattern pieces across the zipper on either side, leaving me with an almost-pouch with open sides. At the last minute I decided to slip a piece of chipboard through the side to reinforce the front of the pouch (and hopefully save the tablet from rogue poking accidents). After sewing up the open sides (pinked edges out) and reinforcing the ends of the zippers with a few hand-stitches, I was done.
I’m really glad I went with a rough-and-tumble look, because it hides a few of the difficulties I had with pre-worn stretchy material.
Now I don’t have to worry as much about carrying my iPad around with me, and I have one less piece of wearable nostalgia to hoard. Now to move on to the next pile….
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
***
Safety Husband has been making hard apple cider for me for a couple of years now. He’s super crafty in his own way, and loves to dissect projects down to their base elements, starting with the most basic method and backtracking till he has done every step he can. He put together a very simple recipe for making your own apple cider out of non-preservative apple juice, similar to his first foray into the sweet sparkling beverage.
Important Points
Hard Apple Cider is Alcoholic
In most places it’s legal for an adult (21+) to brew their own beer and cider, but make sure to check with your state/county/hoa laws before you get started, and before you try to take your homebrew from your home. Drink Responsibly, and all that other wisdom.*
Brew Times and Temperatures Will Vary
Depending on how everything comes together for you, and what season it is when you’re fermenting, it may take a little longer to go from apple juice to cider. Make sure to keep your bottles in a place that you will check on a regular basis to makes sure everything is still looking right. (More on that below.)
Sanitize Everything
Make sure to keep a rag and bucket of sanitizer around during all the steps. You will wipe down and/or soak every piece of equipment and packaging that touches your ingredients. Your goal is to give the yeast a clean house to go nuts in, they don’t need any dirty roommates (bacteria, etc.)
Overflows and Busted Bottles Happen (from time to time)
Since fermentation creates pressure and lots of action, there can be the occasional accident that ends in a spill. Safety Husband recommends placing your bottles of brew (both during fermentation and after bottling) in a waterproof bin that can catch any run-off or popped bottles. If you want added protection, put a cover loosely over the top of the bin, or hang a curtain across it. (Make sure that you’re still allowing air to escape from your bottles during fermentation, though.)
Basic Supplies
If you are able to find a local homebrew shop, I highly recommend trying them first for ingredients and supplies. Good homebrew shops (like my local favorite Mt Si Homebrew Supply) always stock the freshest ingredients and provide helpful advice. The Homebrewers Association keeps a list of shops sorted by country and state/province. It’s a great place to find the names of local shops. One caveat – you may need to search for the shop on a search engine or Facebook to find their full info and website. AHA – Find a Homebrew Supply Shop
Ingredients
Apple Juice – any pasteurized juice will work. Be sure that it does not contain sulfites or sorbates, because these will prevent fermentation. Ascorbic acid (sometimes listed as vitamin c) is the only common preservative that will not hurt yeast.
Yeast – any yeast intended for wine, cider, or beer will ferment apple juice into hard cider. Different yeasts will bring out slightly different flavors, so don’t be afraid to experiment. Red Star Cotes des Blancs is a great one to try first because it has a good flavor, is easy to find, and cheap. Dry yeasts are easier to ship and can be stored longer.
Supplies
Star San – Use this to sanitize everything that will be in the cider, or could touch it. Soap and detergents just remove dirt. You need to sanitize equipment immediately before using it to ensure that extra bacteria, mold, or wild yeast won’t be there to foul up your brew. Follow the directions on the bottle to mix it on brew day. The concentrate could burn you, so follow the directions closely. Once mixed properly, its too weak to hurt your skin and the residue is completely safe. You can keep the same batch in a bucket for a few weeks and use it again later as long as it is not cloudy. If its cloudy, mix a new batch. Star San gets rid of disagreeable bacteria in a minute. It doesn’t need to be rinsed off, and will not leave any flavors in your cider. If your hands are in it enough, it may dry them out a bit but otherwise it won’t hurt you.
Drilled stopper – You need a stopper to fit the top of your bottle so that nothing can get in while the cider is fermenting. It needs to have a hole in it so that CO2 may escape. This small universal stopper fits many 1/2 and 1 gallon apple juice bottles.
Airlock – As yeast ferment sugars, they release CO2. The cider will have a constant stream of tiny CO2 bubbles that need to escape. An airlock allows that pressure to release without allowing nasty bacteria, fruitflies, pet hair, or ordinary dust into your cider. The 3 Piece Plastic Airlocks are the easiest to use and clean.
Bottles – One the cider is done fermenting, you need clean bottles to carbonate and store it in. They need to be able to handle pressure during carbonation, so make sure they’re designed for carbonated beverages. We used glass flip-top bottles; just be sure they’re rated for high pressure. Some people have had luck reusing clean plastic soda bottles, and many people reuse and cap glass beer bottles. Make sure whatever bottle you choose is rated for the pressure of carbonation. Anything else (like a glass beer growler) will explode.
Brew Day
Step 1: Clean and Sanitize
Before you do anything else, sanitize all of your tools. Put your rags, scissors, stopper, airlock, and even the yeast packet into the sanitizer for at least 1 minute. You can leave it soaking until you’re ready to use it.
You also want to wipe down the top of your juice bottles (and any other possibly contaminated surfaces) with a sanitizer saturated dishcloth.
Step 2: Mixing
You will be fermenting in the bottles that your juice came in. During the fermentation process there will be a lot of action in your cider, so the first step in brewing is to pour a little off the top of the jug to leave an inch or two of space. Some yeasts, especially beer yeasts may also accumulate on the top, which is normal. (This is called krausen.)
Next, open your sanitized yeast packet with clean, sanitized scissors.
A typical packet of yeast is enough to brew 5 gallons. If you’re brewing less than that, toss it all in. Once the pack is open, you can’t save it. If you have more than one jug, try to add the same amount to each. It doesn’t need to be exact. What’s important is that its fresh and clean. Don’t worry about stirring – there’s no need it. [Note: if you read dry yeast packet instructions, it may say to rehydrate in water first. That may be important for a wine that may be higher alcohol, but for cider, it’s not necessary.]
Step 3: Capping and Storing
After adding the yeast, it’s time to cap the bottle off with a sanitized airlock. Push the airlock into the stopper, then fill it to the line with sanitizer or cheap vodka. (This will allow CO2 to escape the bottle, but keep any foreign substances from getting in.)
Now, push the stopper gently into the top of the jug. It only needs to be tight enough to keep dust out. If its still wet with Star San, it may want to slip out. Be sure to check it later and tighten (by pressing it down at the stopper) if needed.
Last, put it into a safe place (indoors!) and let it rest for at least a few weeks to ferment.
Waiting Days
Fermentation follows multiple stages:
Multiplication – For the first 12-48 hours, it will look like nothing is happening. The yeast is building up its forces and getting ready to crush that sugar.
Fermentation – Once the numbers are up, the yeast binge on all the sugar they can find. There will be a stream of tiny CO2 bubbles constantly for a few days to few weeks, and the pressure bubbles out of the airlock. The cider will turn cloudy because its so crowded with yeast. There may be so much yeast that they float and pile up in a beige layer (krausen) on top of the cider. This is all normal, and the party lasts at least a few days to a few weeks.
Clarification – Once yeast have eaten all the sugar, they crash hard. When they sleep, they fall. Most krausen will sink. The cider will turn from cloudy to mostly clear over the next week or two. All the yeast will have fallen asleep in a pile at the bottom of the jug that could be up to an inch deep.
Depending on the type of yeast, amount of sugar, and temperature, this may all happen in as little as a week, or drag on for 1-2 months. Cotes des Blancs usually finishes in about 3 weeks. Once its clear, it’s time for bottling day. Bottling day is when you want it. It’s perfectly ok to leave a fermented cider in the jug for up to 3 months.
If Something Goes Wrong
2 inches of beige foam – It may be alarming, but this isn’t a problem. Its yeast and this sometimes happens. If it’s coming out the top – clean, sanitize, and replace your airlock daily or twice a day if needed. It should stop producing mountains of foam in a few days. After a few weeks it will all fall to the bottom.
Sulphurous odors – This can happen too for a few days, and isn’t usually a problem. If the yeast are strained for nutrients, they may produce sulfur dioxide. Next time, add some yeast nutrient and hopefully it won’t happen. Usually the cider will taste and smell just fine a few weeks later.
Ok, we tricked you. Those aren’t wrong, but they frequently happen and can be alarming. Relax and wait a bit.
There are a few things to look for that can tell you that your fermentation has gone a little wonky…
Black, green, and white floaties – This could be mold. It will often appear fuzzy or change color as more grows. Give it a few weeks and if it spreads or is still there after 3-4 weeks, then the cider is probably going to taste terrible. By comparison – good yeast won’t change color and will fall down on its own. There’s no reason to drink bad cider so dump it.
Cider smells like a barnyard – If it’s been less than a month, let it sit another month or two. If it still does, then be extra careful to sanitize everything and be sure to use fresh yeast next time. This is probably due to wild yeasts. Dump the offending beverage.
Cider tastes like vinegar – It probably is. Be extra careful with sanitation and make sure you’re using fresh yeast next time.
Bottling Day
Bottling cider takes a little longer than getting it ready to ferment (but both take less time than writing this post!) However, you can do it when you have time.
Step 1: Making a simple syrup for carbonation (optional)
This is completely optional. If you want a still cider, skip straight to step 2.
If you want sparkling cider, the first thing you need to do is sanitize some sugar. The yeast are just sleeping, not dead. If you add sugar, they’ll wake up and start partying again until the sugar is gone. If this is done under a closed lid, pressure builds up, and now you have a carbonated cider! But watch out – too much sugar = too mush pressure. Too much pressure could mean a bottle bomb.
So how much sugar? 1.5 tablespoons per gallon, or 3/4c for 5 gallons. I used an online calculator to figure out how much sugar to add. I entered my batch size (2 gallons), desired carbonation (2.25 volumes – that’s typical for a cider), and room temperature (70F). This recommended 1.4oz of table sugar. I measured that out on my scale, and got 1.4oz with 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Mix the sugar with an equal part water, then bring it to a boil for 1 minute. Cover it with foil or a lid, then leave it to cool.
Step 2: Sanitize the Bottles
All of the bottles need to be sanitized in Star San for at least 1 minute. They don’t need to be full, but every surface needs to be wet. Its easy to fill them part way up, swirl it around (swirled, not shaken), then gently poured out. The more Star San is agitated, the foamier it gets. Its easiest to sanitize all bottles at once, then start filling them.
Step 3 (optional): Add sugar for carbonation
If you are carbonating, split the sugar syrup evenly between the jugs. The yeast may probably wake up, start eating again, and making their presence known with bubbles.
Gently stir the sugar in, but try not to disturb the sleeping yeast at bottom. If you do, no problem, there will just be a bit more left in the bottles later.
Step 4: Fill Bottles
Pour or siphon the cider into the bottles, leaving 1-2 inches empty at the top. If a bottle is too full, it may not carbonate fully.
Wow, that’s a lot of yeast. It’s hard to get every last drop out of the jug without getting a bunch of yeast into the bottle.
There will be a layer of yeast at the bottom, try not to pour that into your bottles (or your friends will complain.) I typically use a siphon to fill bottles, which makes it easier to separate the yeast sediment. More on that below.
Once all of the bottles are filled, store them at room temperature for 2 weeks. Its best to keep them in a plastic box in case they leak or explode while carbonating. After 2 weeks, chill a bottle, open it up, and enjoy the results! If its not fully carbonated, wait another week or two before chilling and opening the other bottles and hopefully they will carbonate. If not, chill and enjoy it straight up or in a cocktail. Cider can be stored for 1-2 years and often improves over time.
Other Tools, Variations, & Scaling Up
A: Faster Bottling
Pouring cider into bottles is hard, and stirs up the yeast sediment. You don’t have to worry about the yeast – it will settle back out in the bottle after a week. However, its easier and faster to use an autosiphon and bottling wand. An autosiphon makes it easy to start transferring the cider out without pouring. A bottling wand has a pushbutton valve at the bottom. You put it in the bottle, push down, and cider starts filling the bottle. When it’s full to the top, lift the bottling wand up just a bit and it stops. Cap the bottle, and you’re on to the next one!
All of these should be available at your local homebrew shop, or online retailers.
Sugar – if you want a cider with more alcohol and a drier finish, just add sugar. Unbleached organic is our favorite, but you can use any type. However, be careful with dark molasses – too much and it will get bitter. Yeast will turn almost all of it into alcohol, but some of the flavor remains. 1-2 pounds in five gallons of apple juice makes a great applewine.
Other fruit juices – you can use any fruit juice instead of or in addition to apple. Just be sure that it doesn’t contain any preservatives other than ascorbic acid (sometimes marked as vitamin c). Sulfites and sorbates will prevent yeast from fermenting and you’ll end up with vinegar or a bucket of mold instead of a delicious cider. Pasteurized, bottled juices are the easiest and safest to start with. Unpasteurized juice could foul the whole batch or even make you sick if it contains certain foodborne bacteria.
Stevia or Xylitol – if you want a cider to taste sweeter, try mixing in a bit of stevia or xylitol before bottling. Yeast cannot ferment it, so the flavor will remain in the cider.
C: Scaling Up
Brewing beer, wine, or cider at home is easy up to 5 gallons per batch. Whenever you buy yeast, you’re buying enough for five gallons. All you need is a bigger vessel, more juice, more bottles, and more friends to help drink it. When you buy a bigger fermenter, be sure to get something bigger than your batch size. I use the 8 gallon bucket from my local homebrew shop even though I’m only brewing 5 gallons (see picture C). Some yeasts intended for beer are “top fermenting,” meaning they like to pile up on top. If there isn’t room, it will foam up into the airlock and then out onto the floor, walls, or ceiling.
FAQs
How much alcohol is in my cider?
The short answer is – it varies. To find out, you need to know how much sugar was there before fermentation, and how much is left afterwards. You can measure this with a hydrometer. The hydrometer will have a chart, or you can use an online calculator to calculate how much alcohol was produced. This will vary batch to batch depending on ingredients, which yeast was used, and the temperature it was fermented at.
What are the laws surrounding homebrew in my state?
That’s a great question for the advocates at the American Homebrewers Association. They have a state by state list for the USA available online. If you’re outside the USA, look for advice from similar organizations working to promote homebrew in your area.
Will that yeast in the bottom hurt anything?
No. This is a delicacy known as Vegemite or Marmite that’s best enjoyed on toast with breakfast. You could buy it, or you could enjoy yeast on toast after your morning cider. Its up to you. Ew
How many times did this article mention “sanitize”?
About 100 times. Nothing else matters if the equipment is dirty.
Safety Husband is also pretty sanitary. Well, I hope you enjoy this post as much as I like drinking home-brewed cider. Please make sure to be safe with your cider experiments (including the drinking of said cider) and let us know how your batch turns out!
*We love sharing recipes and ideas with you, but trust you to take responsibility to do all projects safely and legally. Safe fun is the best fun.
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
One of the best things about having “a summer off” is that I am slowly getting to the projects that have been stacking up, with the help and company of Safety Husband. As you’re probably aware, my hubby is a big woodworker and enjoys DIY projects. When he starts a job, he wants it to be done properly so he won’t start doing some of the projects if we don’t have the right materials. A few of the things he wanted, like a router table, seemed silly at first but then he explained the many router table uses and I understood why a woodworker would want one. Despite not being able to do all the projects I wanted to so, it still feels great to make forward progress, but it is INSANE how much I expected to have done in a couple of weeks.
This weekend I finally got to a pressing project, and built an a-frame portable card wall out of two canvases and some scrap wood. There are a million options when it comes to displaying cards, but I wanted something light-weight with a little character, and I think this project absolutely fit the bill.
Safety Husband makes a great arm model. Safety goggles not shown, but surely present.
Since these canvases were big (~30″ x 48″) they were reinforced on the back, so our first step was knocking those bars out. Fortunately they came out pretty easily with a couple of smacks from a mallet.
We decided to use some trim leftover from the shop, and ripped it (on a table saw) to be the same depth as the canvas. That left us a scrap that made a perfect lip for the front of the card rails. We cut the trim to fit inside the frame of the canvas.
Once all 10 card rail pieces and lips were cut, I glued and clamped them together and left them overnight to dry. Once they were dry, I used a semi-gloss white spray paint to cover all the green painted sides (all that would be visible from the front of the display.)
I made a mark along my frame every 9 inches to allow for enough room for the cards, and the occasional journal.
The shelf pieces ended up being a tight fit in the frame of the canvas, so I decided that wood glue would be enough to hold up the light weight of the cards. I put glue on the ends to mount into the frame. I also put glue along the long back of the rails to attach to the canvas and keep cards from falling behind the shelves.
I then gently put the rails in place, using a piece of scrap wood and a mallet to tap some of the tighter pieces in.
I used painters tape to secure shelves in that were more likely to shift around. Most were held in place by friction and perfectly measured cuts.
When the glue had set, I finished by attaching the two canvases together with old door hinges. (The best hardware has a little character.)
I love the simple but rustic look of the a frame, and I adore how light weight and durable it is. It will soon find a home in a local store, and I’m excited to see how it looks.
I always get a sense of satisfaction when I finish a project like this, when I get over all the “What if I…” ideas and just get it done. This one is especially rewarding because I only used materials leftover from the shop and previous projects.
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
***
I’ve been kind of at odds with my work lately, and I’ve been drowning myself in busy work to keep from having to address the elephant in the room- What do I do next? I’ve spent the weeks since the store closed doing anything but the things I need to further my art, and the longer I waited the harder it became to pick up a pencil again. Somehow in that time I became more and more discouraged by the truly awesome work I saw all around me, and I’ve decided it’s time to do something about it.
The internet is an amazing thing for an artist. Snap your fingers (or ask Google) and you have access to a million inspirations and a trillion resources. (Also a gazillion distractions, but that’s beside the point.) You might need to do a broadband comparison before searching for some inspiration, just so you actually get some results and don’t have a slow, lousy connection. A decent broadband connection will also let you use various apps to create art and even have the ability to upload artwork online, whether it’s to a selling site, personal website or any other platform. It’s great that we don’t even have to go to a library or a museum to be exposed to new work or new concepts; it’s just there, in our Facebook feed, for us all to see from the comfort of our own home.
With such luxury, it seems like our possibilities for inspiration are endless, and yet all these amazing things can be just as intimidating as they are stimulating. How can you ever draw that well? Why can’t you come up with the perfect idea? Why should you spend hours on something that they can do without even a sketch?
Thus begins the cycle of stagnation: 1: Get discouraged, 2: Can’t work, 3: Don’t get better at what you do (and don’t get to enjoy the process), 4: Spend more time on the internet looking at “inspiration”…. Rinse and repeat.
So, lets turn this whole thing on its head, and figure out how to see inspiration as just that.
1: Acknowledge talent, and move on.
Even is your first defensive instinct is (like mine) to pick apart the work of other artists, try to instead see what is causing you to react. It’s likely envy, and that’s just silly. There isn’t a finite amount of talent to go around.
If someone is awesome, let them be awesome. Admire what they do, and that they do it well. Move on.
2: Realize that what you like in your work does not have to be what you love in someone else’s.
I love looking at realistic art. I love looking at landscapes that seem to miraculously appear from patches of paint. I like mosaics built from found trash that take on a whole new life in their new format. I have no intention of doing any of those things. I am never happy trying to be realistic. I like lines, not plains; and when it comes down to it, I really just want to make functional art.
You’re no less an artist because you do something differently- obviously art is all about being different. You can be an artist in the kitchen, an organizing savant, an expert at standing on one foot while you knit– and all the while you can love the things you don’t do. Maybe you can love them more because you DON’T do them.
3: Spend a little time looking at things outside of your comfort zone.
I have a long list of blogs in my feed reader and I almost always read the web comics and interior design blogs first. Now, as a dedicated blog contributor I should probably be looking at things that are a little closer to home- but I get inspired by things that are outside of my experience.
You can find inspiration anywhere. In a history book that talks about the mysterious ins and outs of the past. In a mystery novel that lets you see out the eyes of someone else. In a garden reference that talks about permaculture and the growth of magnificent living things. Even in a cute kitten video. (That one’s a little bit of a stretch, but if it feels good it can’t be all bad!)
4: Get away from it all.
If you are seeing too much, close your eyes for a while. Unplug from the constant stream of visual information and take a deep breath. It’s okay. The internet is forever, and you can always go back and see things later. When you’re ready.
5: See your work for what it really is.
I don’t know everything, but I suspect that we mainly make because we are trying to express ourselves. We are trying to show everyone else how we see the world, trying to highlight and solve a problem, trying to learn. So, if someone else is doing that differently, it’s alright.
I am who I am, and you are who you are, and I like it that way.
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
There’re still a million and a half things to do around here, but the garden has been calling. (Literally. The robins are LOUD.)
More often than not I find myself walking around with a hose and eating vegetables right off the plants like an animal; but the harvests are getting to be too big for me to eat immediately, too unwieldy to juggle in my hands, and while my first instinct is to bundle them up in my skirt I’m not too excited about flashing the neighbors.
All of this to explain why I decided to turn a half a yard of cotton material and some bias tape into a harvest apron- not just an apron, but an apron that converts to a drawstring produce bag.
For those of you who like to reverse engineer projects (and improve them!) the concept is simple. It’s a rectangular drawstring bag with one string that’s large enough to tie around your waist. For the rest of you who want to see what I did, follow along!
Supplies
• 1/2 yard of printed cotton fabric. (18 inches x 45 inches wide, typically.)
• At least 3 yards of a durable, sewable trim to use as a drawstring and tie. I used Double Wide Bias Tape from Wrights.
• Sewing machine (or a needle and thread if you’re handy)
• Complementary thread and bobbin
• Ruler
• Straight pens
• Fabric Scissors
• Pinking Shears (optional).
Tips
• Remember to take it slow, and maybe start with a piece of material that you’re not in love with. The second one will go faster/easier.
• This project will hide a bunch of mistakes, so don’t fret!
• I used pinking shears to keep my edges from fraying. If you prefer, you can ignore all the steps that use the pinking shears and instead do a zig zag stitch down the fraying edge of the material. (This post on Craftsy is quite helpful.)
• Whenever you get to the end of a line of stitches, always go backwards and forwards on the spot with a few stitches to tie off the ends.
• A seam ripper is always useful if you’re as prone to mistakes as I am.
• An iron is also useful, if you have one handy. I use it to iron fabric flat, to fold seams over, and sometime I just push the steam button to listen to the hiss.
Step 1 – Making the Pocket
To begin, you will cut or tear the 18″x45″ piece of material down the fold so that you have two pieces of 18″x22.5″. You will be stitching the edges to form something almost like a pillow case, leaving one of the 22.5″ sides open (this will be the top of your pocket.) To remind myself which way went up, I used the pinking shears to trim one of the 22.5″ sides of each piece of material.
Lay the two pieces together, with the right sides in. From your pinked “top” measure down 3 inches and put a bright pin or mark to show that your stitches will end here. (Don’t stitch above the markers.)
Now sew a straight stitch 1/2 inch starting at your marker and going down to the bottom of the bag, across the bottom, and back up the other side (stopping 3″ below the top of the bag.)
Voila! Pocket made!
Now trim the other sides with your pinking shears to stop fraying.
Step 2 – Drawstring Casing
This first step is a little finicky– the goal is to fold under the raw edge of the fabric so it’s out of the way of the drawstring casing. First, fold back your unstitched raw edge (the 3″ from the top on each side we skipped before) and pin flat.
Use a zig-zag or straight stitch to permanently pin down that edge on each edge of the flap (leaving the flaps open. One side shown open below.)
Now for the drawstring casing, itself. Fold each open flap backwards to make a 1.5″ hem. Pin each side separately so that the pocket remains open.
Run a straight stitch around the bottom of each flap, about 0.5″ from the pinked edge.
Then run a second straight stitch approximately 0.5″ from the top of each side. The space between those stitches is where the drawstring will run.
Step 3 – Drawstrings and Ties
Cut your drawstring material into the following 3 pieces:
• Apron Tie: Wrap the string around your waist, add 12-18″ to your measurement and cut.
• Short Drawstring: Measure one piece that is 24″ to act as your other drawstring.
• Wrist Loop: The final piece will be a loop that you can use around your wrist to hold open your apron. I used about 12″ for my loop, but you may want to make yours longer or shorter (or omit this step, if you want!)
For your wrist loop, cross the ends, and stitch to the middle of one of the open sides. (Make sure to stick above or below the drawstring casing area.
The side with your loop will now be the front of your apron. Use a large safety pin to feed the 24″ piece through the casing on this side. Repeat with the long piece, through the casing on the other side.
Fold over and stitch each of the four ends to form a 1.5″ loop. If you have a trim that will fray at the ends, it’s a good idea to do a tight zig-zag here to limit the fray over time.
To keep your short drawstring from disappearing into the casing, feed the long piece through the loops on each side.
Trim all your little threads, and you’re ready to harvest!
Tie the long tie at your natural waist, and get into the garden!
Use the wrist loop when you need to hold open the apron, but keep your hands free. (Especially handy when you’re picking tricky berries.)
When you’re ready to go in, untie the apron and pull the drawstrings for an instant produce bag.
When the bag gets just too dirty, throw it into the wash on hot. (Turn the bag inside out to get rid of those stubborn bits of dirt.)
Things to Try
• Add a pocket for a garden knife or shears.
• Add vintage cotton trim to make it even more vintage-girly.
• Add a bib and neck strap – more pockets?
Any suggestions? Do you have a favorite garden project you’re rocking this summer?
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
I have never been a big fan of tree nuts (and I despise peanuts) so it wasn’t a big deal when I noticed that I was allergic to them; but it does make vegetarian life a little more complicated. Nuts seem to be the go-to protein rich snack, and I’ve spent years trying to find the perfect replacement.
One day Safety Husband brought home a pouch of oven-roasted garbanzo beans, and I had an aha moment.
So I set out to make my own. I decided to start with dry beans to ensure maximum crunchiness, but there are also recipes online that use canned chickpeas/garbanzo beans. I found directions from America’s Test Kitchen, but have made several changes to better suit my taste (and experience. The hour suggested by ATK is way too long, in my experience.)
RECIPE: Oven-Roasted Chickpeas
Recipe Type: Snack
Cuisine: American
Author: Alison Lang
Cook time:
Total time:
These oven-roasted chickpeas are salty, crunchy, and keep for days in a sealed container. Perfect for road trips, camping trips, or any other time you need a protein rich snack. *Plan a day ahead- you will need to soak the dried beans overnight.
Ingredients
1 pound dried chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans)
Olive Oil
Salt
Dried spices to taste
Instructions
The day before cooking, place the dried beans in a bowl and cover with water. The beans will absorb a lot of the water, so make sure to cover by at least an inch of water.
After the beans have soaked for at least 12 hours, drain and rinse them well with clean water.
Spread the beans out on a towel, and dab them with another towel until they are quite dry.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the beans back into a dry bowl, and slowly pour olive oil over them. You want to use the oil quite sparingly. Mix the beans with your hand ensuring each bean has a light coating of oil.
Lightly sprinkle with salt (to taste). You will be adding additional salt and spices at the end.
Lay the beans out in a single layer on a lined cookie sheet. Don’t pack them too tightly on the pan, you will need space to stir. Place on middle rack in pre warmed oven.
Every 5-10 minutes you will want to check the beans, and stir to redistribute. The beans near the outside of the pan will brown more quickly.
Watch for them to turn a rich medium brown (about 35 minutes), then remove them from the oven to cool. (You can also taste-test cooled beans from time to time to check if they are crunchy.) While they are still warm, sprinkle your favorite spice mix, and more salt to taste. (I kept these simple with just a little garlic powder.)
When the beans have cooled, place them in an air-tight container. They will keep for at least a few days before getting stale (less crispy.)
3.3.3077
Step by Step Instructions
The day before cooking, place the dried beans in a bowl and cover with water. The beans will absorb a lot of the water, so make sure to cover by at least an inch of water.
After the beans have soaked for at least 12 hours, drain and rinse them well with clean water.
Spread the beans out on a towel and dab them with another towel until they are quite dry.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the beans back into a dry bowl, and slowly pour olive oil over them. You want to use the oil quite sparingly. Mix the beans with your hand ensuring each bean has a light coating of oil.
Lightly sprinkle with salt (to taste). You will be adding additional salt and spices at the end.
Lay the beans out in a single layer on a lined cookie sheet. Don’t pack them too tightly on the pan, you will need space to stir. Place on middle rack in pre warmed oven.
Every 5-10 minutes you will want to check the beans, and stir to redistribute. The beans near the outside of the pan will brown more quickly.
Watch for them to turn a rich medium brown (about 35 minutes), then remove them from the oven to cool. (You can also taste-test cooled beans from time to time to check if they are crunchy.)
While they are still warm, sprinkle your favorite spice mix, and more salt to taste. (I kept these simple with just a little garlic powder.)
When the beans have cooled, place them in an air-tight container. They will keep for at least a few days before getting stale (less crispy.)
Or, you know, just eat them before someone else does.
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
I come by both my weird sense of humor and my borderline hoarderness honestly. What that means is I have collections of really funny/awesome/unique/vintage/sentimental stuff that I can’t use, but I really don’t want to part with.
Like a bin of old t-shirts.
Now, I don’t really wear t-shirts. I don’t often find the need to wear old shirts from my ballet or flag twirling days. I stopped wearing the worn-out vintage tees that my mom passed down, and I never really found the guts to wear the t-shirts with sweats.
So they all just sat in a bin in the closet until I found this amazing tutorial at “Sweet Tea in the South” to turning them into a quilt. I made a few adjustments to use supplies I had on hand, but she does an amazing job of going through the process step by step.
As I wasn’t familiar with what to do, I did some research into finding the best t shirt quilts online, just so I could take some inspiration from other designs. I also watched some tutorials too, which helped.
I just want to get this out of the way- this is a labor intensive project with lots of steps, and a metric ton of cutting. Jess at Sweet Tea in the South recommends splitting it up over a few days, and I have to agree. It takes a long time to do, and is exhausting, but here’s the thing…
I think this is my favorite sewing project, ever. After I saw some of the
I think there might be some romantic love brewing between me and this blanket. It’s thick and soft, and smells lovely. It’s washable and gigantic (mine is 6′ x 6′) and each square is a symbol of who I am and where I come from– the classic rock station I grew up to, the matching t-shirts Safety Husband and I wore to our after prom party, band shirts, and festival shirts.
Supplies
• Old T-shirts- You will need two squares of shirt for each square of your quilt. I used the fronts and backs of shirts, and all-in-all I used about 36 large shirts for my quilt.
• Batting or flannel for the inside of the quilt. I used Cotton quilt batting that I had around. You will need one square for each square of the quilt.
• A template for cutting your squares (instructions below) I used some scrap chipboard.
• A sewing machine with a ballpoint needle and a lot of thread. (I used white all-purpose thread.)
• Straight pins
• Sewing scissors. Optional but recommended – a fabric rotary cutter, and probably a pair of embroidery scissors for snipping.
To Make your Square template
Measure across each of your shirts to see what size square would cut easily out of all of them. My shirts ranged from large to extra-large, and from 14″ – 16″. I used scrap chipboard to cut a 14″ x 14″ square template for my t-shirt blocks, and made another template that was 1″ smaller on all sides (12″ x 12″) for my batting blocks. You can cut your template from cardboard, wood, or anything else you have around.
Step 1: Cutting the Squares
Lay a t-shirt out smoothly across a protected surface, and center your t-shirt block template around the art.
Carefully cut around the template.
Repeat this with each shirt.
When you’re done with all of your shirts, use your batting template to cut out one piece of batting for every 2 pieces of shirt.
Step 2: Building the Quilt Squares
Each square of your quilt will start out as a stack of shirt|batting|shirt. One of your t-shirt pieces will be on the front, the other on the back. I decided that I wanted to make one side of my blanket cool colors, and the other side warm colors, so each of my stacks was coolcolorshirt|batting|warmcoloredshirt. You can arrange them however you want!
To build your block, lay out your first piece of t-shirt, face-down, then center the smaller piece of batting.
Cover with the other piece of t-shirt, face-up and secure with several pins, making sure to go through the batting layer.
Repeat with all your squares, until you have a tidy little stack.
(At this point I laid all of my squares out on the floor and arranged them how I wanted. I marked each square with a letter and number so I knew how to put them back together. It was a lot of work, and I wouldn’t necessarily do it again. Random is OK!)
Step 3: “Quilting” your Squares
There are several ways to quilt the block together, the important thing is to stitch through every layer to keep the batting and quilting fabric from shifting. I used a combination of straight stitches and a zig zag stitches on my machine to make lines across each block horizontally and vertically.
Repeat in each square, and you’re ready to start putting them all together!
Step 4: Assembling the Quilt
The “rag” in this rag quilt means that instead of hiding your seams, you will leave them out to fray and fringe. With that in mind, you need to decide which side will have the extra fluff. One side will be clean and flat like
The other will be fringed and crazy
Start with two blocks, and stack them with the future fringed sides facing out.
You will pin and sew the two pieces together on one edge, about 3/4 of an inch in (seam allowance). I used a zig-zag stitch for these seams to allow a little more stretch and flexibility.
Attach the next block in the row the same way until you’ve completed a whole row, then start with the next row.
When you have every row sewn, sew each one to the ones beside it the same way. Make sure you keep your seams facing the same way so that all your fringe is on the front or back.
Breath deeply and look at all that you’ve accomplished! Now take a break, the next part is tedious.
Step 5: Fringing and Clean-up
The final step is to fringe all those seams so that they will roll up and hide any mistakes you may have made on this quilt, and to cut all your little threads. The embroidery scissors are great for this task, but regular sewing scissors work as well. To fringe the seams make a small cut almost to your seam, every half an inch or so. You will do this around the outside edge of your blanket, as well as at every seam. I suggest a watching a movie.
It may take a while (several evenings) of trimming in front of the tv, with your blanket in your lap, and your cat cuddled underneath, but when you’re done you might be as in love as I am.
Now that I’ve done the work, I’m going to use this blanket for everything: picnics, cold nights, hammock times, even make-shift shelter. So if you see a pile of funny/awesome/unique/vintage/sentimental old t-shirts walking around, make sure say hi.
The sun has been visiting, the plants are growing, and there’s change in the air.
If you know anything about my other venture, So There, you know that in a couple of weeks I’ll be closing our current brick-and-mortar shop. It’s been a whirlwind couple of years and I have big plans for the future; but right now all I want to do is spend a month getting to know myself again and spending quality time with my garden, my friends, and my kitties. The past two years I’ve been extremely guilty of “powering through” things. I kept working through the loss of my grandfather, father, cat-friend, and through illness, injuries, and disappointments. I feel like this transitional time is the perfect chance to give myself time to work through everything.
It’s time to think and play.
I think as artists (professional and casual) we have a tendency to try to keep working, when what we should be doing is giving ourselves some time to process, think, and breathe. We can’t grow as people or as artists if we don’t take a moment to change our patterns and look at ourselves and our lives from a different viewpoint.
But we have to give ourselves permission to pause. Set down the knitting needles and paintbrushes, stop the plans and the sketches, and just be present. Breathe.
While it’s true that our work is powered by our emotions and experiences, we can’t fully process those experience without time and work. It makes sense to take regular breaks to improve your life and your art. It makes even more sense to take those breaks before you absolutely. have. to.
There’s a reason for those million clichés about taking a break.
With that in mind, Rachel and I have given ourselves permission to let the blog pause from time-to-time, and this start of summer is a wonderful time. We’ll be back and bushy-tailed in July with a brand-new Craft Challenge and lots of new ideas. It’s unlikely we can go totally cold-turkey, so make sure to keep an eye on our twitter and instagram feeds (#adventuresinmaking) for the occasional transmission and peeks into our June break.
From 2014-2016 I chronicled my crafty endeavors on the site Adventures-in-Making. I’ve selected a few of those DIY’s, Recipes, and other posts to share on the site.
Change is afoot for me, and I’ve been drowning any anxiety of said change by keeping busy every. moment. of. every. day. It’s working for now, but at some point the constant movement and sleepless nights are going to catch up with me.
All of this to explain why I gave myself permission to spend too much money on a pair of scissors.
(Correction, not “too much”. “Just enough.”)
In a fit of productivity I decided to tackle a big project that included a metric ton of tiny snips. (There’s a sneak peak later in this post.) After struggling with my trusty pair or sewing scissors, I pulled up Amazon, and ordered a pair of Ginghers off of my wish list. These Gingher 4 Inch Embroidery Scissors appeared about a week later, and I was very happy.
First things first. These guys are tiny. 4 inches is the length from the tip of the blade to the end of the handles. They come with a little leather sheath, which is good because they are VERY sharp. (On Amazon, several of the reviewers say they have had major cut on their hands while using these scissors. Most of these are 5 star reviews, showing that people who need embroidery scissors appreciate quality– even if that particular quality is “deadly.”) I have only cut myself once so far, but Safety Husband has been watching me closely.
You can use them to make all sorts of fabric messes:
narrow, even snips for fringing or other decorative details,
smooth detailed shapes out of picky fabrics,
and they cut easily through a thick roll of fabric.
They made quick work of my project, and I know they will become an indispensable part of my sewing kit.
Things To Love
• Sharp to the very end, which means it’s easier to line up snips.
• All metal with a nifty screw for adjustment down the road.
• Opens and closes very smoothly.
• Simple handle means it’s easy to hold at that weird angle you need to get into that corner seam…
Things to Hate
• Sharp. Dangerous. Use caution when inebriated or distracted.
• The handle is a little small for my fingers, and I have to stop periodically to readjust.
Want your very own pair? Follow this link to buy them from Amazon. I didn’t get any incentive to post this– just wanted to share something from my toolbox– but if you use our link we could get a small part of the proceeds to further our Adventures (and my tool addiction.)
– Use this to sanitize everything that will be in the cider, or could touch it. Soap and detergents just remove dirt. You need to sanitize equipment immediately before using it to ensure that extra bacteria, mold, or wild yeast won’t be there to foul up your brew. Follow the directions on the bottle to mix it on brew day. The concentrate could burn you, so follow the directions closely. Once mixed properly, its too weak to hurt your skin and the residue is completely safe. You can keep the same batch in a bucket for a few weeks and use it again later as long as it is not cloudy. If its cloudy, mix a new batch. Star San gets rid of disagreeable bacteria in a minute. It doesn’t need to be rinsed off, and will not leave any flavors in your cider. If your hands are in it enough, it may dry them out a bit but otherwise it won’t hurt you.
fits many 1/2 and 1 gallon apple juice bottles.
are the easiest to use and clean.
; just be sure they’re rated for high pressure. Some people have had luck reusing clean plastic soda bottles, and many people reuse and cap glass beer bottles. Make sure whatever bottle you choose is rated for the pressure of carbonation. Anything else (like a glass beer growler) will explode.
– 3-5 feet works best
appeared about a week later, and I was very happy.
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