Jenn Maruska Design

Posts Tagged ‘secret’

A Crafting Secret!

Saturday, October 20th, 2007

Pssst!… come closer.

I’m about to reveal a little known crafting secret. This is a good one, so lean in close.

Do you think I’d keep a good crafting secret all to myself?
Heck no, girl! I’ve got your back.
Now, all you need is a chicken.

Yes. I said a chicken.

One that’s about 4 1/2 lbs.

You purchase said chicken and about 4 potatoes, a lemon and any other veggies that you like. Print out this recipe from Jamie Oliver (it’s alright, he’s cool like us). And you roast this chicken.

Now, what will happen as this chicken roasts,
is that your home is going to fill with the best aromas you can imagine.
(If your significant other should walk near the vicinity of the kitchen at some point, you’ll know this is true by the exclamations of delight.) He or she is smelling the deliciousness of browning chicken and roasting veggies…

You, on the other hand, are smelling the sweet, sweet fragrance of FREEDOM.

Because, when that chicken comes out of the oven, you aren’t going to have to cook again for at least another 24 hours (if there are two of you. Now if you have children, you’ll have to adjust chicken and veggie quantities in proportion to how much free time you’d like. And if you have teenagers… well, you may have to purchase a second oven for this to work. Those teenagers are always hungry!)

I roasted my chicken on Thursday and I’m still enjoying little chicken and potato sandwiches (with a little mayo and roasted green beans) today.

I also got to enjoy a no-cooking Friday.

Which allowed me to work on these:

These will soon be new business card wallets. I’ve sold a few in recent weeks – I wonder if folks are buying them as stocking stuffers? I think they’d be perfect for that – they’re a good stocking stuffer size, at a great price.

I think these are my favorites – this birdy trim is from Japan. So simple and pretty.
I added rick-rack for a little extra color.

I got the fronts sewn onto this next group of needlebooks.
Can you tell that I like earthtones?

And here is a small army of snowmen ornaments, in their early stages.
About three more sets.

So that’s the secret! Now you know.

So what are you waiting for?
Throw on a jacket, go to the grocery and get yourself a chicken!

Your family will love you.

And you may find some time to be creative!

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

Jenn : )

Tags: chicken, jamie oliver, secret, wips
Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

My Secret…Revealed!

Friday, January 19th, 2007

Does this look like an ordinary egg carton to you? Not very exciting. Mundane.
Well… not when you use it to store your embroidery floss!

My husband laughs at me every time he walks into my studio and sees one of my egg carton organizers. Yes, I know that they make plastic craft containers specifically to hold embroidery floss. I think I have a couple of those and I keep colored pencils in them or beads… and yeah, I think I have a bead organizer – but I think I keep something else in that ; ) I’m just weird that way!

(Hey – if anyone is reading this – leave me a comment if you’re interested in recipes that use eggs – I have quite a collection of those.)

Here is a book that I recently bought (and love!) and thought I’d share with you: “Plush-O-Rama” by Linda Kopp.

It is 128 pages long – filled with lots of color photos and great tips on how to make plush critters. Have you ever wondered how these little guys are put together and look so neat and tidy – well, this book will show you how it’s done. I learned some fun new techniques from this book. It’s a great way to learn how to make plushies so that you can then design your own unique creatures and make them – just like the pros!