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Apr25

Kitchen Art

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Because Dan the Man is a pastry chef, we have several cute chefs decorating our kitchen. We had two chef pictures hanging on the wall by the dining room, and DTM asked me to replace them with something that I made. (Quite a compliment!) I’m afraid I can’t say these are 100% original. Since I’m a crappy draw-er, I used the lightbox in the studio to trace (using a Micron permanent pen) the outlines of the spoons and rolling pin from images I found on the Internet. I then used water colors to paint the images.

As you an see from the pictures below, they don’t lack some skill if you look too closely. But they look good on the wall, and that’s what counts, right?!

Dec13

Bowwow Bonbons

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I always get Christmas gifts for my granddogs, but this year I have avoided unnecessary shopping due to Covid-19. So, poor dogs, this year they get my cooking. This recipe was given to me by Dan the Man, who has made these before, complete with rolling out the dough and cutting them into bone shapes. My dough was too wet to roll out, so I settled for scooping them onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. They don’t have the same uniformity or iconic shape as Dan’s, but by naming them Bowwow Bonbons, I think they’re just right! Here’s the recipe.

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Nov29

Gingerbread Village

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For the last several years, I’ve created this little Christmas village in a jar using a delicious gingerbread recipe. I made this year’s village yesterday (see photo above). It’s a fun project from Better Homes and Gardens, and if you’d like to give it a go yourself, directions are included at this link: Gingerbread in a Jar | crapsmanship

Nov22

Mantel Decor

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For years now, Dan the Man has complained griped commented on our Christmas mantel decor. The fullness of the garland blocked our remote’s access to the TV, and a man can’t be happy without immediate access to his favorite show. So last year, I promised I would re-do the mantel since my sole goal in life is to make him happy. (Eye-roll.)

I got a new garland from Etsy and repurposed the candlesticks and lantern. I covered some books with white butcher paper and stamped Christmas-themed titles on to the spines.

CRAP ALERT: I did a crappy job with the stamps, doing so poorly as to get a couple letters turned sideways. The titles are:

-Santa: A Memoir

-Maps of the Top of the World (I meant it to say “Maps of the North Pole” but I stamped a T instead of an N — Crapsters are nothing if not flexible!)

-Santibodies — Fighting Covid

I may re-cover the books and re-stamp the titles, but my garland hides much of the crapsmanship. Plus, who’s gonna see it this season? Nobody but Dan, and he’ll be looking at the TV!

May19

Spring Flowers

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Sometimes, you crap something up so irretrievably, you’ve just got to start over.

The pic below was my beginning. The more I added embellishments, the crappier it got.

I just didn’t like it. So out came the black gesso. I painted the canvas completely and then added colored marks with stencils and acrylic paint.

Using a palette knife, I added white flower petals and green leaves. I painted on stems and some centers to the flowers. Once I was happy with the look, I placed the picture in a white frame with a white mat. Now it looks cheerful and spring-y, and I’m happy I didn’t settle on the crap I first started with!