Recipe: Chickpea & Kale Noodle Soup

Mmmmm... soup. It is one of my favorite things in life. Give me a big bowl of brothy soup any day! Now that we are getting close to those cooler days of fall, you may be seeing a lot more soup recipes in the near future.

This particular recipe I found on Pinterest (completly addicted to that site. If you're on it, follow me!

Anyways, back to the recipe, I was searching around on Pinterest for a good soup that is easy and cheap to make. I stumbled upon this sweet recipe for Chickpea Noodle Soup over at Fresh365. It sounded delicious but I had a few initial concerns that I felt I needed to adjust for my tastes. That is the recipe I'm sharing with you, but please check out the original! Besides being an awesome blog, it has waaaaaaaaaaay better photos! I have yet to master the art of taking photos of food. I mean, I can do nice photos of things with and SLR (seeeeeee... here's my proof!) It's just digital SLR's take $$$... and I'm saving for a house. Got to have priorities! (and room for all my projects)

Recipe: BLT Salad... in a Jar!

You may have seen this idea on other websites, even on Pinterest, but seriously... this is the BEST idea ever! 

Picture this... it's lunch time and you brought a salad to enjoy on your lunch break. Only to find out some idiot used the salad dressing you put in the fridge or even worse... you decided to add the dressing to your salad and it's SOGGY! Noooooooooooo!!!!!!

The solution... put it in a jar!

 

This seem like one of those solutions that should of been easy to figure out on your own. But lets face it, you saw it for the first time on here or some other website and went "duh!".

Now, salad in a jar is super simple to do and you can do it with ay type of salad os long as you follow this basic principle.

Knitting Pattern: Pocket Scarf

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!! Did you miss me?

Sorry I was away for so long, but summer is here and in Wisconsin that means you take FULL advantage of the warm temperatures & sunshine since in the winter all you can do is hibernate. Which is how this blog got started. I know it's not quite hibernating time yet, but I wrote a new pattern and just had to share it with all of you!

This pattern is 100% easy peasy. And it's for a scarf... with pockets!

So to get started you'll need:
2 colors of contrasting yarn Worsted/10ply (the amount of yarn depend on how long you want the scarf. One skein of one color will be enough for the pockets, you'll want at least 2 skeins for the body of the scarf)
1 set of knitting needles 8 or 9 gauge will be fine
A needle to weave in ends & sew up pockets

What you need to know: (click on the stich you need to know to be taken to the video)
Long Tail Cast On
How to Knit & Purl Continental Style or How to Knit & Purl English Style
The Basic Bind Off
How to add another ball of yarn
Blanket Stitch (to sew the pocket)
Knit 2 Together (K2Tog)
Yarn Over (YO)

Now you've got your supplies and you've got your how to videos in case you get stuck. Now you need the pattern!

DIY: Simple Double Necklace

This is a super easy and basic jewelery project that any beginner can do. All the supplies you can find pre-made at the store. (I found every thing at Michales)

What you need:
1 18 inch chain (the chain I got already came with a clasp on it)
1 24 inch chain (this chain didn't come with a clasp)
2 pendants that go together. I chose a bird and a tree.
A pair of Needle Nose Pliers

DIY: FIshtail Braided Bracelet

I love to wear hemp jewelry in the spring and summer. It mixes well with metal and looks great with almost anything. Plus, it's easy to work with.
 

What You'll Need:
Hemp (ribbon, yarn, or rope would work well too)
A button (optional)

DIY Wine Cork Necklace

 
I have an over abundance of wine corks in my house. Because of this over abundance I am always trying to find new ways to use wine corks.

What You'll Need:
Wine Cork
an 'Eye" screw
a small finishing nail
wire (I used copper)
a chain
needle nose pliers 

DIY: Marbled Bangle

Have I mentioned before that I love bangles and polymer clay? This is the third bangle I had made with my little clay experiment. I really like the marbleized look that occurs when you do this.

 What You Need:
Polymer Clay (preferably 3 contrasting colors)
Bangle/Bracelet

DIY: Coil Bracelet

One accessory that I am forever addicted to is bangles. I freaking love bangles! But every now and then I buy a set of bangles thinking that I'm going to wear them with some out fit, then I buy them and realize that no... I will not be wearing those with the outfit I intended for. Well, these have started to pile up.

Now, to stop my bad habit of buying new bangles I'm instead going to re-purpose them into new bangles. Tonight's tutorial is one of my bangle experiments.

What you need:

Polymer Clay (preferably 2 contrasting colors)

Bangle/Bracelet

DIY: Lip Scrub

I suffer from chapped lips all winter long. It seems that no matter how much water I drink or how much chapstick I put on my lips, they are still cracked and nasty. But not anymore! I've discovered the magic that is a lip scrub. 

What's nice about a lip scrub is that you can make it with ingredients found in your pantry and you see results instantly!

What You Need:

Brown Sugar

Olive Oil

Honey

A Small Dish

A Wash Cloth

Knitting Tutorial: The Basic Bind Off

Once you've completed knitting a project you have to finish your work by doing a bind off. What that means is getting your work off those needles so you can finally enjoy all your hard work!

DIY: Spiral My Bangle

One accessory that I am forever addicted to is bangles. I freaking love bangles! But every now and then I buy a set of bangles thinking that I'm going to wear them with some out fit, then I buy them and realize that no... I will not be wearing those with the outfit I intended for. Well, these have started to pile up. 

Now, to stop my bad habit of buying new bangles I'm instead going to re-purpose them into new bangles. Tonight's tutorial is one of my bangle experiments.

What you need:

Polymer Clay (preferably 2 contrasting colors)

Bangle/Bracelet

Kniting Pattern: Gap-tastic Cowl

Hello everybody!  I must apologize on the delay on posts lately. I've been busy knitting and getting over a cold. But now I'm healthy again and to celebrate I thought I'd post up another knitting project.

This is a fun and simple pattern to knit. I knitted this cowl for my boyfriends mom for Christmas this past year. This pattern is written by http://www.heyjenrenee.com/. And is available on ravelry as a free pdf download here!

All you need is:
2 balls of heavy weight yarn (approx 153 yds each)
US 13 24 inch circular needle

All you need to know:
Long tail cast on
Join in circle
Knit & Purl (throwing) or Knit & Purl (continental)
How to add another ball of yarn
Bind off
How to weave in the ends

Knitting Tutorial: Knit & Purl English Method

I personally don't knit this way because it doesn't come easy to me, but this is another way you can knit. The benefits of this style of knitting is that is easy to learn this method if you've never worked with yarn before. This is also the most common way of knitting, so if you get stuck on a project it's easier to find someone to assist you that also knits this style. The English Method is also known as Throwing or the American Method.

Yarn is "thrown" (wrapped) around the right needle before pulling the stitch through. This is a good method for teaching young children or people with limited coordination since you don't have to really have to hold the yarn in a certain way to make a knit or purl stitch happen.

The biggest disadvantage to this style of knitting is that it is a tad slower to knit this way, but it's a great way to get started!

So here is how to knit and purl english style.

DIY: Photo Candle Holders

So I decided it was about time I showed you all another tutorial for a gift I made for my family for Christmas. It's a lot of fun to make and I'm definitely making more!

This is a super simple and cheap gift idea that is guaranteed to make any sentimental person break down and cry. That is if you are using photos that mean something to that person. You can always use non sentimental photos, but I can't guarantee the tears then. Just kidding...

What you'll need:
Glass Candle Holders
Clear Shipping Labels
A Digital Copy of a Photo
Printer

DIY: Dyeing Wool with Tea, Coffee, and Turmeric

 

I recently came into possession of a white ball of wool yarn, and I thought to myself, "Huh, how boring!" So I decided I would try my own attempt at dying yarn. I've never dyed yarn before so I started to do a lot of internet research, and what I found included a lot of crazy toxic dyes, all of which weren't readily available to me. But then I stumbled across this site: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html. It lists a bunch of natural ingredients and what colors they make. For the first time I was starting to think that this will be doable. And you know what, it totally was doable! In fact I entered this idea into a contest on instructables. Click here to Vote on it and help me become a finalist!

Yup, I'm totally being "that" person right now.

What you'll need:
Water
Vinegar
Coffee
Tea
Turmeric
Some bowls
A ball of white wool yarn

Knitting Tutorial: Knit and Purl Continental Style

This is how I knit. I am a continental knitter. It basically means that you hold the yarn in your left hand instead of your right. This method is also favored by many crocheters as how you work with the yarn is similar to crochet. This is also called the German Method or Left Handed Knitting.

This is also a great method for left handed people since you control the yarn with your left hand. However, I am right handed and knit this style. It's faster to knit this way since you don't have to take your hand off the needles to knit. Continental knitters hold the yarn in their left hand, which allows the knitter to simply scoop, or "pick", the yarn with the right needle. This is why this method is favored by crocheters since when you crochet you are always grabbing the yarn with the hook.

The biggest challenge with this style of knitting is the purl stitch, which requires a lot of practice to to comfortable and accurately.

So here is how to knit and purl continental style.

Knitting Tutorial: How to Long Tail Cast on

So I recently got a sweet little HD camera. SO I've decided to make the most of it and start making some knitting tutorials! If you have a request for anything knitting related, let me know and I'll do my best teach you! This first video is a quick tutorial on how to do a Long Tail Cast On.

It is my favorite cast on to do. It just looks really nice and is really sturdy. It creates a good foundation for your work and helps to give it a more polished look. It's also really fast!

Knitting Pattern: Boneyard Shawl

This is a great pattern to knit if you've never knitted a shawl before. I found it very easy to understand, and as a us, you can use whatever type of yarn you like! You can find the pattern on Ravelry written by Stephen West of Westknits.com. He has a lot of great patterns, most of which are for sale, but this one happens to be free! You can download the pdf at the Ravelry link, westknits.com, or click here to download it.

What You'll Need:
Needle US 8, 32in circular (or whatever size needle matches your yarn, I used a size 4)
Yarn DK / 8 ply (or any kind of yarn. I used a Light fingering/3ply yarn) 3 skeins (654 yards)
Stitch Markers (it helps to put these around the center stitch)

What you need to know:
Long tail cast on
Knit
Purl (continental) Purl (throwing)
M1R and M1L
How to add another ball of yarn
Bind off or a Flexible sewn bind off
How to weave in the ends

DIY: Photo Candle Holders

This is a super simple and cheap gift idea that is guaranteed to make any sentimental person break down and cry. That is if you are using photos that mean something to that person. You can always use non sentimental photos, but I can't guarantee the tears then. Just kidding...

What you'll need:
Glass Candle Holders
Clear Shipping Labels
A Digital Copy of a Photo
Printer

DIY: Harry Potter Golden Snitches

Having a Harry Potter themed party anytime soon? Then this will be one of the perfect treats you can serve (and it hardly takes any time). I made these for my friends New Years Eve party, which was Harry Potter themed. We drank butter beer and ate a big feast (fyi... don't eat a big turkey on a night you need to try to stay awake), we also ate jellie bellies (for the every flavor bean), And watch a ton of Harry Potter movies. It was quite fun!

What you need:

Ferrero Rocher candies

White or Gold feathers

Hot Glue Gun