Que seráCrafts, Open Source, & General Geekery

While finishing up the DVDs for season one and starting season two of Doctor Who, I knitted up a Police Box for my iPod Touch.

This was inspired by the TARDIS iPod Cozy. It looks really cool when I have it on and glowing through the stitches.

Yes, I am a fangirl. There is a bead on top for the ligh (and also to hold it closed) but you can’t see it in the photo.

I grew up with paper dolls and just loved them. They were easy to dress and change unlike Barbie dolls with their annoying rubber legs. Paper dolls are also a great way to keep your little ones entertained in the car or while waiting at doctors offices and the like (you can slip them right into your bag or purse). Download and print you own free Betsy McCall paper dolls. These vintage dolls promise hours of entertainment!

Check out what others are doing for Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.

If you haven’t mastered the art of canning yet (I haven’t) then this refrigerator jam is for you. I use frozen berries here because fresh are a little pricey in the Midwest this time of year.

Ingredients:

• 18 oz of frozen mixed berries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions:

• Thaw, rinse, & drain berries.
• Place a saucer in the freezer for later.
• Combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice in bowl and mix well. Leave out at room temp. stirring occasionally for two hours.
• Transfer mixture to saucepan & bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to prevent burning.
• Mash to thick puree then reduce to medium heat and gently boil for about 20 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken & stirring often.
• Remove from heat to test jam for gelling point. Drop a teaspoon full onto the saucer from the freezer and place back into the freezer for about a minute. Test by pushing the jam with your finger. If it is ready, it will wrinkle on the surface. Cook a few minutes longer if it fails to do this and test again until it gels.
• When ready, ladle jam into a clean jar. Place in refrigerator when cool. Jam will last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

CPU Graph as Art

I may print this out on a plotter and frame it. This CPU graph symbolizes not only the job I love but it also makes me think about my busy life and family. As a graph it is functional but if you separate it’s purpose you can then see it’s beauty. Who knows, maybe I just love what I do too much.

One of the most likely points of failure (knee) of my favorite pair of jeans failed recently and rather than toss them or patch them with an unsightly standard denim patch, I hacked them. I used some fabric scraps from other projects namely, two quilts and a pillowcase as well as two mismatched buttons. The only thing I had to buy for this project was Wonder Under and I got a whole yard of it (waaaay more than I needed) for $1.99.

I used the owl stencil from Craftzine’s Blog for the design. Wonder Under is fabulous. It turns regular old fabric into an iron on applique – and in this case – a patch. I only needed a needle and thread for sewing on the eyes (aka buttons).

By making a decorative patch for my pants, I am still able to wear them to work and I saved $35 that would have been spent to buy another pair of Levis. Yay!

Here are some things to check out from the Internet this week…

• Small-Scale Grain Raising: For Backyards, Homesteads and Small Farmers from Tree Hugger
• CSA Signups from StephModo
• Cooking from Lifehacker: Simple Crockpot Recipes
• Bias Tape Method for Hemming Jeans from Craftzine
• CraftStylish: Handmade Hooray: A CPSIA Victory

There you have it.

I am a book junkie and it is an expensive habit so I tend to chose wisely and pick only books that will be the most beneficial for the household as a permanent addition to our library. A few times a year tho I splurge on a whole box of books but the reason I can do this with a clear conscious is that I manage to get them for the cost of only one or two books at a large retail bookseller.

BookCloseouts.com has overstock, scratch and dent, and publisher returns for pennies on the dollar of retail book stores. I have never gotten a book in bad condition from them (I have been buying books from them for years) and am more than happy with their prices. This is also a great way to grab books for your homeschooling library.

For the next few days they are having a 50% all crafts and hobbies titles. I picked up 13 books for under $40 to add to my crafting library. You can save even more with coupon codes! I found that both of these worked:

Save $10 off any order of $65 or more:
Code: DealGuild-10
Password: bookcloseouts.com

Save $5 off any order of $35 or more:
Code: magic
Password: bookcloseouts.com

If you use the following link to head over to BookCloseouts.com I would appreciate it. It is my affiliate link and I earn 20% in store credit from all purchases people make from this referrer.

BookCloseouts Crafts & Hobbies Sales Page

Check out what others are doing for Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.