DIY - Decorating to Impress the Fam at Thanksgiving

So I hosted my first Thanksgiving in our tiny house last week.  While it was hectic, it was also, fantastic!  Nate and I own our double and my sister Erin rents out the other side.  We split up the cooking duties and dined al fresco in the back yard.  Nate and I wanted our house looking fabulous for my family so we did a couple of home improvement projects.

I've been saying I wanted to do this for awhile and I finally did it! 

Looks adorable, no?  It took FOREVER with me standing on a ladder to get that done.  I did it all free hand, impressive, I know and I used my favorite paint, One Shot.  This was by no means an easy project as One Shot is a very unforgiving paint but if you're feeling adventurous you could spruce up your facade the same way!  And look at the fun shadow it casts on the inside of the house...

Nate's domain is the backyard and he loves doing art projects together.  So we came up with this great lawn decoration...

Here's how you do it!  First things first you're going to need a piece of wood.  We used plywood which wasn't as great because it's thin pieces of wood glued together.  If you can find a solid piece, power to you!  You're going to want to draw your pelican on said piece of wood:

Next you'll need to get your handy boyfriendo or some one who feels comfortable using a jigsaw to cut her out!

Maybe you're wondering why Nate's fingers are blue.  This is because we wanted to dye our pieces of coral fun colors.  At first we tried clothing dye with not much success.  Then we used tie dye and BAM colorful coral.

You'll also want a Gypsy dog to chew on your pieces of scrap wood as this brings her much joy.  Then Nate will tell you she shouldn't be chewing on it because of the glue in the plywood and you'll have to take it away from her :(

The cutest!  Anyway.  So over the next couple of days you have to get your coral to stick to your pile on.  By the way, the pile on is just something we found on the side of the road.  We can't resist awesome trash.  It was a hard process with the gluing of the coral so we got a thick coat of goo on the back then taped it while it dried.

Have you forgotten about our pelican friend?  I haven't.  You're going to want to make him or her look like more than just pelican shaped wood now.  I used acrylic paint and then sealed it up with a spray lacquer.  And it went from this...

TO THIS!!

And there you have it; wonderfully fun and unique decorations for making your house a home.  Needless to say the fam was impressed and I am now exhausted from a long week of entertaining.  Freret Market is this weekend and I've got a lot of work to do to finish up my inventory for the weekend!  Wish me luck!

Etsy

I finally started listing on Etsy!  Check out my shop :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/shnnnklly

Belly Painting!!

I was so excited when I got a call about doing a pregnant belly painting.  For some reason, maybe it's the feeling huge and bloated, pregnant women don't often want to get their big ole' tummies painted.  I got the call a couple of months ago when this woman was 6 months pregnant.  Her husband is in the NFL but started his football career at the University of Florida.  She wanted to get the Gator's logo on her tummy but not until she was about ready to pop and we would also have to wait until her husband was out of town.  She's going to have a picture of her blown up as his Christmas present.  Such a sweet surprise!

Here's a sneak peek.  I didn't want to include her face yet in the off chance that it would ruin the surprise for her husband.  I don't know why he would ever be looking at my blog but you know, just in case!  I'll post full body shots after Christmas.

Speaking of husbands, my wedding website is up and running!  Check it out!

shannonandnate.com

Freret Market - November

So last month was my first arts market and while I was kind of prepared I felt way better about everything this month.  I've been working on some original water colors for my New Orleans alphabet and while I was only able to finish 18 of the 26 letters (I only had a month after all), I was able to get two banners together to be sold.  I had "Give Thanks" and "Who Dat."  I was hoping to also have "Merry Christmas," "Celebrate," and "Happy Birthday" but alas, it did not happen.  Next month.

My stuff all packed up and ready to go.  I got a great deal on some really nice frames through amazon and I even had "Art by Shannon" labeled bags.

My voodoo dolls have been selling really well!  Nate didn't think they would but I have proved him wrong!  I sold all but two.  Dad and Kerry were in town for the weekend because Dad LOVES Freret Market and he also got to attend Friday Night Fights. 

And of course my sisters and Nate were on hand to help too!  I'll be out at both the markets for December.  It's the 4th and the 11th.  Hope to see you there :)

Halloween - DIY Costuming and Body Paint

Halloween is my favorite time of the year!  I love to dress up and in New Orleans, it's all about having a wildly creative costume.  I'm fortunate in that I've been gifted with a knack for art but my costume this year wouldn't be too hard to reproduce.  I was a Voodoo Priestess and Nate was my doll.  Here we are in our full get up:

Things we made ourselves:

1)  The Burlap Shirt:  All of this stuff is pretty easy to do because the more primitive it looks, the better!  I went to Joanne's Fabrics and picked up two yards of burlap, some black yarn, and crafting needles.  I was not feeling to hot the week before Halloween, so  Nate actually did the stitching himself.  We cut out two pieces to look like and over sized t-shirt and just stitched up the sides.

2)  Pins:  For the pins we cut some knitting needles down and stuck styrofoam balls on the top and then simply painted them black.  Add some glue between the needles and the balls so they don't slip off.  Nate got them to stay by adding a little foam under his shirt where he stuck the needles.  Then we put some stage blood around the holes because we like to look scary.

You can see both a bit better in this photo.  We did a heart where the heart should be because we thought it added a little more interest to the shirt:

3)  The Head Purse:  This was super easy and SUPER AWESOME.  I bought a severed head, with the chains already attached, from the Spirit Halloween Super Center.  Nate did all the hard work for me by cutting the head open, pulling out some foam, adding a cardboard bottom and then sewing a zipper to the top.  Voila!  A super creepy accessory and perfect prop to carry all your crap around in!

4)  Rat Necklace:  You can see it pretty well in the picture above this and all you have to do to make it is buy a bag of mice or rats from whatever costume store you shop at, use a heavy duty craft needle, and string 'em together.  I added lots of face blood to mine.

I also painted a leotard to look tribal but the show stopper is the wig.  I got it for payment when I did make up for this photoshoot.  Fifi Mahoney's styled it and it was much heavier than I thought it would be but totally worth it to wear all night.

Now, just for fun, some of the face and body painting I did this Halloween season:

I'll be selling at Freret Market this Saturday.  Come say hi if you're there!

Sloppy Joes

I've been making these Sloppy Joe's since I was about twelve years old.  I was give a kid's cook book and the recipe started to evolve from one that had been printed inside titled, "Not So Sloppy Joes."  Well, over the years, I have created my own special blend and while it's not really an exact recipe I can share, I thought I would try. 

You start, or course, with ground beef.  Last night I was cooking for eight so I had three and a half pounds to work with.

You want to sear the meat but not cook it all the way through.  While you're searing it, go ahead and throw in some green onions and whatever color bell pepper you'd like.  I didn't really understand the workings of green onions as a child so I use a lot of the white bulb part at the bottom and about half way up the green stalk.  Is this the correct way to cook with green onions?  Who knows; it's just what I do.  Last night I used a whole red pepper and half of a yellow pepper I had sitting in the fridge.

Excellent!  Now you're ready to start seasoning.  The bulk of what I use to season is ketchup, yellow mustard, and water.  Very simple, I know, but that's what the kid's cook book instructed me to do.  Actually, they just tell you to only use ketchup and mustard (hence the not so sloppy) and my grammy suggested I add some water to loosen it up making these very sloppy. 

I buy cheap ketchup because my palette is not discerning enough to distinguish between Heinz and Best brand.  I squeeze in a whole lot of ketchup, swirl around some mustard, and add some where between a quarter to a half cup of water depending on the amount of Joe's I'm making.  The ketchup to mustard ratio is about 3/4 to a 1/4 respectively. 

I also like to add in, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder.  You can add these things or whatever else you like to your specific tastes.  It should look something like this when you're done adding to it.

Looks kind of like chili, no?  Once it tastes how you like it, you let is simmer for awhile.  I say for at least 30 minutes but you can let it bubble on a low hear setting for as long as you'd like; it lets the flavors seep in that way. 

Last but not least you're going to want to eat that yummy, sloppy, goodness!  I serve mine on a white bun with a side of Lay's to scoop up what you're bun drops, and a cold dill pickle.  It's the perfect meal for anytime of year.  It's reminiscent of a backyard bbq in the summer time but it also warms you up with it's comfort food quality in the winter.

I Love a Good Headpiece

..and I acquired three new ones this weekend.  One mom bought me, one Nate surprised me with, and one I purchased myself.  They all have something in common; each one was hand made.  Not by my hands, but hand made none the less. 

Purchased from Fifi Mahoney's, this baby is being donned on both Halloween and Mardi Gras.

So pretty and purchased at the always fabulous Ragin' Daisy.

I don't have a picture of the feathery Saint's clip Nate bought me but it will be on my head everyday that the Saint's play.

It's My Favorite Time of Year Again!!

And might I say, my decorations are even better than last year!  Check out that twelve foot hanging ghoul I purchased from Walgreens.  

FABULOUS!!

HOT WINGS

So I assume anyone who reads my blog knows that I'm engaged and now must start working on shedding some poundage before my wedding which is SO HARD because I L.O.V.E. to eat.  Especially wings.  I love love love chicken wings; super spicy, and smothered in blue cheese.  I'm on day four of my diet so it's pretty much killing me to look at these pictures, but for my last fatty supper I made hot wings and I wanted to share how.  I know it's not really crafting, but it is creating and I love to cook so I'll be sharing recipes from time to time.

They're super easy, all you need are the wings, Frank's red hot original, butter, Tabasco, and canola oil!

First you get dat erl nice and hot and about 1.5 to 2 inches deep in your skillet.  Then you drop in the wings and let em start to cook:

Don't they look delectable?  I think so too!  While the chicken is frying you can make your wing sauce.  Because Nate is offshore, Ern was at work, and Mez was still asleep, I was cooking for one so I made a half batch of sauce.  One stick of butter, melted, about half the bottle of Frank's, and about 15 shakes of Tabasco.  I like my food super spicy so maybe you don't even need any Tabasco.  Shake to your liking.  For a double batch, two sticks of butter and the whole bottle of Frank's.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.  You have to let the wings fry for about 25 minutes.  You want the skin nice and crispy.  Also, you've got to keep moving them around in the pan so they don't stick to the bottom.

Once they start to look like this, you know they're getting close!

When your chicken is cooked you can take them out with some tongs and dip 'em in the sauce.  Then I like to pour the extra sauce all over them.  Like so...

My heart is a flutter!  You can even see the steam rising off of those babies!  Serve with a big helping of your favorite, chunky blue cheese dressing (or with with Ranch if you can't handle the awesomeness that is blue cheese) and enjoy.

Freret Market

This was my first arts market and it was excellent!  I had signed up before but canceled my spot at the last minute because I didn't have a pop up tent and I didn't have enough inventory.  But this was it; I had built up a respectable amount of merchandise and I had found my pop up tent for a fabulously low price at Rite Aid of all places.

I was selling hand stitched, one of a kind, and made out of recycled fabric voodoo dolls.  They were a hit.

A while back, I made my friend Adele, an "ABCD" piece for her beautiful baby Phoebe's nursery.  Everyone loved it and suggested I sell them.  So I made some example pieces, for display purposes only, and had them available by custom order. 

(They spell out "Who Dat" and "ABC's")

I was also selling some of my skeleton ladies that I usually sell at Sarita's Grill on Freret.  They're so colorful and fun and it is October so I felt it was only appropriate.

The LASPCA is always out trying to find puppies homes.  We fell in love with this guy and Ern was trying her hardest to adopt him.  We got to take him home with us, but as it turns out, she was highly allergic to him.  He's still up for adoption, and just about the coolest little guy, ever.

It was a fun day.  I didn't sell as much as I would have liked to but I got a good feel for what people were looking to buy.  I'll be out with a different inventory on November 6th.  Come say hello if you're out enjoying the amazing weather we'll be enjoying for the next few months.