Tis the season

wrapping paper makes me HAPPY!

if i won the lottery and got to pick any job i wanted as a fun job....

i would be a gift wrapper.

where has the time gone?!

ok. i swear christmas is sneaking up on me worse than normal this year.

i have a list a mile long and i don't even know where to start.

things always end up getting done but this year it seems like all of a sudden there is no time left!

anyone else have this happening?

two more markets to go before christmas and kabukikreations will be closed up for the year... looking forward to a bit of a break after christmas to work on things around the house and random stuff that gets put off while dealing with the holiday crush.

hope everyone is enjoying the hustle and bustle of the pre christmas crazy :)

Foto Friday... Snow snow snow.

Have to start somewhere.

this beauty....
i made this in either grade 6 or grade 8. sitting at the provincial science fair. yes. i was that kid. crocheting in a gymnasium full of the province's cream of the crop of middle school/junior high science fair extraordinaires.

my first blanket.

how i messed it up as much as i did... not quite sure!
i remember making it and being super frustrated that each section of color was getting narrower as it got bigger and realizing that i had not accounted for each color needing more yarn to be the same thickness as the color previous. lesson learned.

now looking at it i cringe.

but, for anyone that is critical of their skill at yarny things, this shows how even though i can literally crochet with my eyes closed (yes, i actually tried... and succeeded) starting out i was nowhere close to awesome. and this was already after YEARS of crocheting.

hugo claimed this bad boy when i was sorting through the linen closet so i get to see it every day now.

what was your first project? do you have any hilarious winners kicking around like this?

Damn - a first world problem

since my sad decision to no longer have pretty gel nails it has taken ages to be happy with my natural nails.
finally i accept them for what they are... and realize they will not be pretty and perfect at all times...


but this

this drives me CRAZY.

they are all nice and even and one dumb move bashing into something the wrong way and BAM.

broken nail.

i can't leave it like this, so that means all the nails get cut off.... and that makes me want to cry a little.

yes.

broken nails upset me.

i can no longer call up my super awesome nail guy (who i really miss btw) and just get my broken nail fixed. 

my nails actually grow quite fast so it could be worse... but it KILLS me to cut off all my nails because one stupid nail had to break.

this is a first world problem... i know. 

foto friday.... no words required.... Worst ever. argh.

Halloween 2014

no great pictures but as you can tell.... hugo LOVED halloween.

i mean, if he could have trick or treated for a week straight... i'm pretty sure he'd have said HECK YES!

i actually finished his costume on time.... just.

 he loved his costume... thank goodness
there was a last minute request to be captain barnacles instead but thankfully when he saw the kwazi costume all finished he was in love.
and so was i.
something about him in that big poofy costume.... MELT MY HEART!

Knitting!!

i'm getting the hang of this!
i am honing my skills until it is time for me to once again tackle mittens.

ONE DAY MITTENS I WILL CONQUER YOU!!!

tasty tuesday.... chocolate chip cookie bars

i'm a bit behind.
with all the chaos that has been october my baking has taken a bit of a back burner.

usually mondays are a guaranteed baking day....
not so much lately.

though,

i am going to make these today when i get home from work.

no pictures today...  except in my mind as i imagine eating them



recipe:

1 large egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups flour
pinch salt

chocolate chips to top... you decide how many ;)

directions:

mix egg, sugars, oil vanilla

add remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated but don't over mix

turn into pan and smooth into corners (i use a square pan)

sprinkle with chocolate chips

bake @ 350 for 18-20 minutes

my favorite way to enjoy these is warm with ice cream on top!

enjoy

and if i remember maybe i will take pics and update this post... no guarantees though.
might be too busy eating.

**UPDATE**
well i managed to take one picture.... of them before they went in the oven...
after they came out i was too busy trying to keep hugo out of them until they cooled enough to cut.
and then we ate them.

Foto Friday... Library

Truth

foto friday funny... this is for fernando

Woohoo! A finished knitting project!!

i knitted myself a pair of slippers!!!
i was beyond excited to finish.... once i figured out how to cast off.
that shows how often i actually finish a knitting project. ha!
i am a pro at starting them....
generally i then get part way done and lose interest and rip it all out and crochet something with the yarn.
not this time.
hugo was jealous of my new slippers so i had to make him a pair too. his are crocheted because he was not patient enough to wait for a knitted pair. but we kind of match :)
and he wouldn't stand for a picture of my slippers alone so his are front and center.

My favorite things

this is actually a double whammy i realize...

i LOVE these little antique cups.

LOVE THEM

my mom scored me a full set of them when she happened to see them at a second hand shop.

and also i have a secret slipper love. knitted, crocheted, you name it.... slippers make me so happy!

tasty tuesday.... Beets!

no recipe today.... but what is your favorite recipe for beets?

i just cooked and froze a big pot of these guys.... candycane beets... they're not striped once you cook them apparently. but still super delicious!
so far i have eaten them plain... but i'd love to find some super awesome recipes for them!

This made me laugh.... and monday requires a laugh.

foto friday - fall colors with summer temps

Stress!

lots of boot cuffs have been hooked this last little while.... they're a great project to use up little bits of yarn left from other projects...

holy hell though i stress when i get close to the end!!!
take this pair.... i barely had enough and i think i was close to a mental breakdown as i got closer and closer to the tail end of the yarn.

but happy ending for this pair.

not so much for the two not finished pairs sitting on the shelf that i have to rip out and figure out a different plan of attack.... 

win some, lose some

these cozy boot cuffs are available through my facebook page

www.facebook.com/kabukikreations

for $15 a pair for this style

Tasty Tuesday - chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

½ cup coconut oil/butter/margarine (you pick)

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

Vanilla – I don’t measure… just splash some in

Cream together

Add:

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Mix

Add chocolate chips or whatever other goodies you’d like and stir

Bake @350 until just barely golden around the edges.

I’m not saying a time because it depends on how big you make your cookies.

For me, my small cookie scoop takes 6 min…. big cookie scoop takes 9 min.

I just keep an eye on them.

These are hugo’s favorite!

it is MARKET TIME!!!

Etsy - Made in Canada Sale


when: September 27th 10am-4pm

where:
latitude 53

come see all the super awesome stuff that will be there!
come buy warm cozy things from me!


xo
kabukikreations

aka Amanda

foto friday - Once in a while we dress up...

i know i don't usually have anything to say with these posts but i just had to say hot damn we do clean up nicely or try to.... once in a while. hehe

this was for a wedding a couple weekends ago :)

i'm ready. almost

i LOVE summer
more than anyone i think.

but....
i know it can't last forever so i have to come to terms with the fact that it is going to be fall soon... and i will be cold for at least the next 6 months.

so in order to be prepared for this refrigerator called the great outdoors i have been crocheting hooking... hehehe.... like a crazy person and one of my favorite cozy accessories is boot cuffs.
i cannot for the life of me find boots that fit so i pretty much am guaranteed drafts and snow drifts go right into the tops of my boots. blegh.

these handy dandy little leg cozies fix that problem and keep my legs nice and roasty toasty.
perfect with dressier boots, amazing with my cowboy boots.... i am having a hard time parting with some of them but this mama only has so much time to build stock for the upcoming market/craft sale season so i'm going to have to use some self control and keep just a couple for now.

and just because i want to i am going to offer up a made to order pair of these lovelies...

anyone who comments on this blog post with their leg measurement will be entered to win a pair!

good luck!!

tasty tuesday - zucchini goodness

this cake....
hugo LOVED.

picture and recipe straight from here:

http://www.thebakerupstairs.com/2013/08/chocolate-zucchini-cake.html?m=1


i love that it uses 2 whole cups of zucchini!

amazing.

Matching mama baby woollies

made these matching mama baby toques this week....
too adorable not to share :)

RIP little earth buddie

hugo got this cute little guy at a birthday party... he was doing pretty good.

then someone decided to leave him sitting on the counter right next to the stove while frying eggs in a tiny frying pan on the big burner.... POOR PLANNING DADDY. POOR PLANNING

i tried to save him but he was toast. literally.

TOAST

sorry hugo.

this guy is a goner.

foto friday - puddle love

Space invaders

fernando has been bugging me for YEARS.
finally he gets his toque.
not going to lie.... didn't love making this since i have to pay attention to what i'm doing in order to keep the little bugger the right shape.

but it is done.

and since it didn't kill me.... i will i suppose be taking custom orders for these.

how?

this is what hugo wants to be for halloween.... not exactly sure how i'll pull this one off....

and a cat... again.

he sure loves his cats.

last year he was a cat.
this year he wants to be a cat.

i wonder what cat he will decide to be next year. HA!

definitely open to suggestions on this.
thankfully i still have a bit of time to try and figure it out.

Tricycle Fail

this is the sort of thing i have nightmares about... but also as a super accident prone person, fully expect because that is just the scales evening out.
ps. sorry mom and dad because i know i put you through shit like this A LOT.

so long story short...
this is what happens when the big boy tricycle gets used and daddy doesn't want to run to keep up... uneven ground and bam, faceplant.
i'm super grateful that its just a tiny chip and nothing major. he actually survived fairly unscathed considering how bad this could have ended.
and for the record that is half chewed oatmeal on his lip. or some lovely part of the oatmeal cookie i used as bribery so i could take this picture.

now my solution to this is attaching a leash to the bike and tying it to fernando so he HAS to keep up.

think he will love my genius plan.

photo friday - this one is tardy but hot damn this kid loves icecream cake

purge purge purge!

i filled the entire backseat of my car with things to donate to the hope mission and the reuse center....
AMAZING.
felt really good getting rid of it and since it was all stuff that has just been floating around taking up precious space it really needed to go.

plus if someone can use it then why not let someone else enjoy it!
since i see them peeking out i thought i would bring it to attentions that i'm pretty sure i will never have any need for size 11 red snake skin pants. if they fit... YES.... i would probably rock them... but my craftiness has its limitations... i wasn't even going to try tackling that alteration. some pants are next to impossible to easily make smaller. if i really want snake skin pants maybe i will have to find myself some comfy snake skin leggings.

also now that fernando has quit drinking (he's doing amazingly with it so far!) i was finally able to get rid of all those silly promo beer cooler bags that he'd stashed in the basement! there were a bunch of them and usually he'd want to keep them.... NO MORE!

lots more to go through and get the rest organized but this was a big haul and i've already got another bag of crafty bits that i will likely never use ready to go to the Reuse Center in the trunk 

if any of you edmonton peeps haven't been to the Reuse Center in its new awesome location you should check it out!

http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/reuse-centre.aspx

Tasty Tuesday -puffed wheat squares

another old one...

it actually amazes me how many people have no idea how to make puffed wheat squares.
they're super simple.
and really delicious!

though i do find that it is getting harder and harder to find puffed wheat in the grocery store... seems like a lot of stores don't carry anything but the sugar coated ones that you definitely don't need for this recipe.

WIP (work in progress)

i'm all about geometric patterns this year!

lots more of these to come for my fall/winter 2014 goodies!

the attack of the MONSTER ZUCCHINIS!!!

this picture is actually from a few weeks ago... this bad boy is still sitting on my floor patiently waiting to be chopped/shredded/sliced.... SOMETHING.

i just don't know why these things are so out of control this year. normally this size zucchini is reserved for the very end of season when you rip out the vines and find the sneaky ones... not early august! 

just to give you an idea... i can't fit both hands around this thing and touch my fingers together.

i can't even imagine the ridiculous size it would have been had i not picked it when i did. 

SAY ZUCCHINI!

foto friday - my boys

thankful thursday.... i love my family

this picture makes me happy... 

that is all.

it's that time....

it may only be the beginning of september but HOLY HELL it is cold in the mornings!
maybe i'm a wimp about it but i would like to go on record that i did not once complain about the heat (oh lovely heat) in the summer so i feel like it is totally acceptable to complain bitterly about being cold.
one or the other people. one or the other
if complain about it being too hot in the summer incessantly then you'd better not whine about the cold in the winter... at least not around me if you don't want me opening my big yap to tell you to stop your moaning.

i digress...

this lovely is already sold and in its new home but these cowls..... I LOVE THEM!
nothing makes me happier than random pops of color and geometric patterns.

my first market of the year will be September 27th for the first Mercer Collective of the season which is also an etsy event. FUN!

i'll post details soon about that....

but for now.... that is all.

Tasty Tuesday - grandma's way

what she called fudge squares i call amazingly easy brownies.

super quick to throw together and super YUM!

Tasty Tuesday - pretzel edition

Zucchini time!

THIS

plus THIS (thanks grandma)

wait for it......

dehydrated....

this is 4 whole zucchinis!

AMAZING.

this is great because i am definitely saving some space in the freezer.

no more shredding and freezing for me.