I know I've been a blog delinquent, but I've been busy canning and focusing on cooking/reducing my consumption of commercially prepared and preserved foods. I had this recipe written up but no blog post for it... and ran across someone asking for it!

So here it is... If you haven't tried "Miles of Chocolate" you really should make an effort to. It's fantastic, but very expensive for a couple of pieces of fudge-y delight. The consistency is somewhere between a brownie and a truffle, with a crunchy crust. They do sell a GF version at Whole Foods (which I've tried and is excellent. you can see a review here), but I really need a dairy free version without the butter so I set out to try and clone it!

I ran across Cookie Madness and saw she had a working recipe that was close to the original texture (you can see it here). She was absolutely right that extra yolk creates the right "crust" on the brownies. I've made several trial/test batches of these, and they are fully approved by my non-gf/df friends. In fact they were specially requested for a recent party! I've been on a gf/df diet for so long now, it always is nice to get verification that it really does taste good and I'm not just forgetting what good food tastes like.

 I've used rice flour in this recipe because that's what the GF version at Whole Foods uses, but I'm planning on trying almond flour or maybe cassava for the next try to reduce the refined grains. You can use any combination of flours you like since it's done by weight! You could also use butter in place of the oil if you don't have dairy restrictions. I do have chickens and use fresh eggs, sometimes they bake differently.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Miles of Chocolate Clone
100 g rice flour (finest grind you can find)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
4 oz coconut oil
3 oz dark chocolate, (I used ghiradelli chips)
200 g granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon Kahlua 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large egg yolks (*I use Farm Fresh eggs!)
1 whole egg

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Line a 6x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or silicone coated foil (worked better for me than the parchment).
-Stir together the flour and salt and set aside.
-In a saucepan, melt oil over medium heat.
-When butter starts to melt and coats pan bottom, add chocolate and reduce heat to low.
-Stir constantly until chocolate is melted.
-Add 1/2 cup of the sugar to melted chocolate and stir over low heat for about 40 seconds.
-Remove chocolate mixture from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes (important!).
-Stir in Kahlua and vanilla.
-Meanwhile, beat eggs for 2 minute or until foamy and light.
-Add remaining ½ cup of sugar to eggs and continue beating for another minute.
-Fold a small amount (about 1/3 cup) of the egg mixture into the warm chocolate mixture to lighten then chocolate.
-Next, fold the lightened chocolate into the bowl with the egg mixture.
-Stir in the flour/salt mixture (be careful not to over-mix as it toughens up brownies).
-Pour into pan (I sprinkle the top with sea salt) and bake for 35 minutes or until top is set and brownies start to smell.
-Let cool completely, Transfer to refrigerator and chill for a few hours or overnight.
-Lift from pan and cut.

Have you checked out LensHero yet? If not you should. I ran across it by accident killing time the other afternoon and was pretty impressed. It's a fairly straight forward system to help you choose a lens (or several) that fit your budget and your camera system. You can filter them by style of lens (macro/zoom/etc) or have the system suggest something for you. The results are nicely done and include photos of the lenses, your typical specs (aperature/stops), and weight/size information. The page for an individual lens has linked reviews and more technical information. The only thing they don't seem to offer is telling them what you have and suggesting lenses that would fill in the holes in your system, or a space to share photographs taken with a particular lens to get an idea of what's possible. Overall? I think my wallet may get a little lighter now that I've discovered more lenses than I knew existed for my camera. LensHero has the foundations of what looks like it's going to be a great site. They're also giving away some nice lenses and toys to kick off the launch of the site- but be quick. The contest ends on the 23rd though, so be quick.

For those of you that have been following me for a while- I spent some time writing tutorials for Instructables.com and really enjoyed it. I received an email a few weeks ago from one of the editors, wondering if she could use two of my older projects (fusible binding and color picking 101) for a potential ebook project.

And it's available now as an epub through the itunes store. (If you have a reader but epubs don't work for you- think about trying calibre, a free ebook organizer and converter.) You can also see the other projects in the book by vising this page at instructables. Thanks for including me with some other great projects, there are definitely some I want to try!

I need to start writing more- I've been neglecting this space a lot, and in truth I just don't have the same time I used to for making things. My dissertation and research have been taking up the largest portion of time, but as some of you know I stopped eating both gluten and most dairy a few years ago and my life has changed drastically when I no longer have access to convenience type foods. I'm now making and cooking almost everything I put in my mouth, and while it's a wonderful way to live it cuts hugely into my available time. I had originally started this writing to try and document my crafting and making, and at the time I was actively selling things on Etsy. That too has unfortunately fallen short.

I'm planning on re-purposing this space a bit, and starting to talk about some of the other adventures in "making" I've been working on. I've got several posts I'm working on about projects I've been involved in and some cool photography stuff. If you're still reading, I hope you'll stick with me.

I know it's still cold in many other parts of the country, but here in southern Louisiana it feels like it's almost summer already. I'm getting a late start due to lots to do at work, but I've been spending evenings in the garden to try and get some vegetables started. I started seeds last week with little peat pots, but the place where I've bought them before was out this weekend when I went to buy more. My neighbor helped me and we made tons of newspaper seed pots (I didn't write a tutorial but you can find one here). I used a $1 bud vase from walmart instead of a toilet paper tube, but it's the same principle.



I'm excited- having someone co-garden this year has energized me to really get going. We started 29 different things and still have a handful of seed packets to get to, but it's going to be grand (and a whole pantry full of canned food for the winter). My fig tree I was given last year has a whole 3 figs on it as well!

So I've been far far away mentally and had mostly stopped blogging. I had started this site as a way to keep up with my crafty projects, and in the past two years I haven't been crafting very much. Life's been busy and graduate school has moved from time consuming to life consuming- but blogger has been calling to me...

I keep meaning to update and write, but then I have to decide whether it's crafty enough. And I just haven't had the time to write when I've actually made something. I'm hoping in the next few weeks and months to try and write more about what's going on around me in life. There have been several life changes that have eaten into my crafting time, and I'm going to start trying to incorporate those into this writing. I found out I needed to eat gluten free several years ago, and time that previously went to crafty pursuits was consumed by learning about new flours, new ingredients, and making almost everything that goes into my mouth. About that same time I moved into a new house, by myself, and now have a yard and house to take care of!

I've been inspired by Mallory over at Miss Malaprop and Becky at Artsy-Crafty Babe who are both fellow Louisiana girls I've met in person that seem to always find time to share, even though their lives are as crazy as mine!

Expect to see some changes, and I can't wait to hear what you think.

It's by busiest time of the year for work and it's been insane so far! I haven't had a lot of time to sew or be crafty, though I did quilt a quilt for my mom (the adorable hexagon baby quilt above). I of course forgot to take a photo before I mailed it off for her to bind, but it had a nice medium meander in pink varigated thread. I also made some summer dresses, but I'll do another post about those.

I've been trying to keep up with the crafty blogs as well- it's of course been Couture Fashion week which always makes me drool a little bit. The Cut published an amazing video this afternoon of what goes into the Chanel Haute Couture process, and it's inspiring and a little bit frightening at the same time.

You've also got another week to finish (or start) something for the CRAFT and Singer Swimsuit Cover Up Contest. They're giving away some nice prizes, including a sewing machine, dress form, and gift certificates to the Maker Shed.

I've been a busy little sewing bee!
updates to come....

I'd like to thank the folks over at instructables for featuring my "cupcake in a teacup" tutorial from last week! I was very excited to see it on the homepage as well!

So I signed up to participate in Lindamade's Patchwork Swap last month... and made the cute "cupcake in a teacup" pincushion in the post before this one. I mailed it off with a pile of fun and bright fabrics (Kelly said she liked bright/jewel tones)... and I got this fabulous box in return!


And the adorable little bag is filled with my fabric and ribbon! The chocolate was delicious (in the shape of a foot for the NC Tar Heels), and I couldn't eat the cookies, but according to my student worker they're amazing.



And while the fabric was amazing... my favorite part? the bumble bee slap bracelet!

I've been a busy girl recently with work and life, but took some time out to participate in a fabric swap over at Lindamade. I got Kelly as a partner (she doesn't have a blog to link to!) but I made her an adorable pincushion made from a vintage teacup and recycled and repurposed sweaters. I fell so in love with it I had to make one for myself too (below with the green trim).

I thankfully thought far enough in advance to take photos of how I made the whole thing! Just in time for Earth Day, I went ahead and published it as an instructable (link embedded below)... but I'm not sure how I like the format for a project that's so photograph intensive. I also have the whole series up over on flickr and might try to create a PDF that's easy to read and follow!

I also picked up a few extra neat containers in the quest for *just the right one* to use for hers! I really really like the effect of the cupcake type top and the vintage tea cup with hers, but don't rule out seeing some of these in my etsy shop.

Let me know what you think of the instructable/tutorial. If there's something that's not clear let me know and I can fix it before I do the next version!










Recycled Teacup Pincushion - More DIY How To Projects

- If you haven't checked out Parasolmag yet you should- beautiful eye candy available as a PDF or viewable is issu.

- Also, Blanket Magazine Online- all downloadable in PDF!

Check them both out for beautiful inspiration and photographs.

Several people have asked me how I happened to get my work published in the "1000 Artist's Journal Pages" Book that was published last June. I found out about the opportunity at the time through the Etsy Traveling Journal Project (Which is now defunct, unfortunately).

I've recently run across a couple more open submissions for project type publications for those of you that might be interested:

- 1000 Artisan Textiles (Published by Quarry Books, the same group that published the book my journal pages are in) Submissions are due June 1, 2009!

- Bead Star (Jewelry project magazine). Submissions are due May 1, 2009!

- Lark Books is looking for Submissions on anodized aluminum jewelry, Iron Wire Jewelry, and unique jewelry made from leather/fur/skins. (Submission dates vary)

If you submit work- let me know! I've got projects in mind for two of them!

As it warms up here it's been a busy busy spring already! (sorry for those of you in the land of the cold and snow). The cute little froggy is from being out and about in the woods last week- he was just relaxing on some reeds... I had an odd weekend other than the crazy weather here in Louisiana- I'm single again for the first time in a long time and it's kind of odd. I'm hoping to focus some of this energy to get things done for ME.

I got the door that's been leaning in my studio actually hung on the hinges this past weekend. It's from my old house and when I moved, the landlord told me to go ahead and take a door if I wanted it for the new house (they were selling half the properties they owned). The only unfortunate thing is that the door is about three inches to short at the bottom! It's definitely entertainment to see how many kitty toys are under the door when I get home.

Some Cool New Crafty Freebies:

* Orange you lucky! has a great free embroidery pattern of a bunny for the spring and easter!

* And this morning Creature Comforts posted a great link to a site called Canon Creative Park (japanese site, but in english!). She also had some great free aqua and orange mailing labels which you can find here.

* I also recently checked in with Amy Butler's website for the first time in a while and they've updated the free patterns page with lots of new fun things to make (all in PDF).

* Anna Maria Horner has a great new free quilt pattern up on her blog for her new quilt called "Folk Dance".

* Fat Quarter Shop has an adorable free pattern for a heart shaped pin cushion.

* Purl Bee makes me want to knit again with this fantastic spring scarf pattern.

enjoy :)

On Flickr long long ago I saw an art wall where one of my contacts (I swear it was heatherjeany but I can't find the photo today, so I may be wrong) had taken all the small art she'd purchased, gotten similar frames and started hanging them all on a wall in her living room and I was inspired to do the same. I found a similar photo (at left) on Saídos da Concha's photostream. My frames are black, but the same general idea.

Over the past few years, I've purchased some awesome line art from Briana Lamar of Moonswallow, a mini quilt from Shelece, original sketches from Spookydaddy Toys, mini-watercolors from Lollipopart, and a lino-cut print from Rainy Prints. My criteria for purchase is reasonably simple... it has to be an original, water color or pen, and it has to make me smile.

Today I made an exciting purchase which has inspired me to get moving on this project and hang all the art. For many years I've been in love with J. Vincent Scarpace's abstract fish art- I found him randomly on eBay when I was looking for some affordable original art to hang when I lived in Providence. It was always just out of my price range, and by the time I had saved enough to purchase one... he was no longer selling them on ebay. He now has his own site Ipaintfish.com and sells sketches and painting, but still out of my price range. So today in my email box I get an email.... Special $3 sketches! ACK- I'm now the proud owner of two small 3 x 5 fish painting to add to my art wall! (one of which is pictured to the right!!)

So this weekend I'm going to frame up the rest of my prints and get hanging! Pictures to come!!!

The short answer is not as much as I had hoped to do, though some of it was productive.

-I signed up for the patchwork swap over at Lindamade.

-I had purchased a non-working sigma lens from ebay for my Sony Alpha. It was dirt cheap ($10 with free shipping) and the seller claimed he didn't have a camera to test it on, so it was "as-is." I figured if it didn't work I'd take it apart and see what was inside... And it didn't work as expected. Though none of the grinding sounds or other bad things that normally occur with bad lenses. Upon some further research, the lens I purchased (a 35-135 Macro) appears to be an old lens in gorgeous shape. The even better part? It appears to not really be broke, but that the older sigmas have firmware on the chip that just needs to be update. I called the service center this morning, and it's a FREE upgrade (and a $10 shipping charge). So all total- new macro zoom lens will be under $30!

-Started cleaning and listing some odds and ends on Ebay. Next up- cleaning out the studio to list on etsy.

I recently purchased the book "The Stumpwork, Goldwork and Surface Embroidery Beetle Collection" by Jane Nicholas from Amazon after drooling over it for a while. A friend of mine had sent me a link to it several months ago and it had been on my wishlist for a while now.... combined with about $10 in mechanical turk money, I splurged.

I have to start with the fact that having this book in my hot little hands makes me wish I had splurged when he first sent me the link! It's a lot more substantial than I first expected it to be- no slim crafty book here. It's 405 pages and hardcover, think reference book. Even better than just featuring the embrodery, the book is scientifically accurate as well and talks about history, taxonomy, and the people behind the love of beetles! It's absolutely intricate and detailed, and while I admit I bought it to drool over I may actually have to try my hand at a few of these to hang over my desk!

Jane also has a cool website Janenicholas.com where she's got books, kits, and galleries of her other works. Next on the purchase list, Stumpwork Dragonflies....

Wow.

One word sums up what I thought as I came across this glorious workspace today.

As many of you know, I'm a science geek as well as a crafty girl, and I routinely read Lifehacker. It's part of the gawker family (Gawker, Jezebel, etc) of blogs and they spend all day posting ways to make your life easier.

One of the features I always enjoy is the "Workspace Show and Tell" which routinely features gaming stations, HD theaters in home, etc. Think geeky paradise. They've got a group on flickr where you can post photos of a workspace or workspace makeover called appropriately Lifehacker Workspace Show and Tell.

Back to the photos I've een drooling over. So Lifehacker posts their show and tell today, and My first thought was that google reader made an error! no way! They featured a garage turned quilting studio~!

So- you can see the original post and details behind the redo at Atwater Village Newbies by way of Lifehacker's Show and Tell. You can also head over to flickr to view the entire photo set!

Anyone want to help me rearrange?

For those of you that haven't been following for a while, I had submitted the pages I did for the Traveling Journal Book over on etsy's forums to Quarry Book's "1000 artist journal pages" and mine were chosen and published! It was actually released this summer, but I finally picked up my copy a few weeks ago and I have to admit- It looks great! More information and a review to come!

On Amazon

Oh Moxie and Oliver why must you tempt me so? I *LOVE* this purse.