GIVEAWAY Poppy'sWickedGarden Famous Poppy Longstockings and Book! CLOSED

AND THE WINNER IS MEEYEEHERE! #42 chosen by random.org (out of 287!)

Poppy's Wicked Garden is the amazing shop of Poppy who makes incredible, one of a kind creations in her beachfront cottage outside of Cleveland. Poppy's shop is celebrating her 4 year Etsy- anniversary this week!


With her two boys, an amazing fiancee (and many pets) at her side Poppy creates some of the most original clothing you will find anywhere including her famous Poppy longstockings!

Poppy has been sewing her entire life - her work is serged to last for years and most of her fabrics are upcycled or factory thrift (the extra fabric that is not used and would otherwise be thrown out from big business) so Poppy is an eco-friendly shop, too!

Poppy also sews aprons and home accesories at PoppysGardenGate, super fun tutus and junior clothing at XPoppysWickedGardenX and handmade kid's boutique clothing at PoppysSprouts!

We are "sew" lucky to have one of her amazing creations for this week's giveaway!

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive a pair of Poppy Longstockings (one size fits small-large or a child's size fits 5-10) and the wonderful Pippi Longstocking book!



HOW TO WIN:

Visit Poppy's Wicked Garden, Poppy's Garden Gate, XPoppy'sWickedGardenX or Poppy's Sprouts and check out Poppy's amazing work- then come back here and leave a comment letting her know which piece is your favorite!

For additional entries:

(5) Twitter this post
(5) Blog about this contest; linking to this post
(5) Follow my blog

Let me know if you have done these things so I can give you additional entries. This contest is open to everyone.

DRAWING:

Enter by midnight, Sunday July 18th! Good luck! CLOSED

Happy 4th of July! plus some green-grilling tips from Treehugger

HCAs form in meats and fish cooked at high temperatures when amino acids and creatine (a chemical in muscle) react. Another nasty culprit, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) form when fat drips off the meat into the flame or heating element. PAHs rise in the smoke and deposit on the food.

Yeah, lots of delicious stuff is bad for us.

Here's some steps to greener grilling with lower or no carcinogenic risk:

1. Flip meat frequently when cooking to prevent HCAs from forming.
2. Raise grilling surface from the heat source to reduce the temperature and black char.
3. Cook at lower temperatures.
4. Marinate meats to decrease HCA formation up to 96 percent.
5. Pre-cook meats to limit exposure on the grill.
6. Trim fat off meat and grill leaner cuts that drip less to reduce exposure to PAHs.
7. Spread foil on or under the grill to reduce dripping fat that causes PAHs. 
8. Grill veggie burgers, vegetables and fruits (HCAs only forms on muscle meats). Note: organ meat (liver), eggs, and tofu have little to no HCA content.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

photo by gerald l. campbell- stars and stripes forever

Friday Finds - Inspiration is Everywhere!

Think artificial flowers have to be cheesy plastic disasters?

Check out the amazingly intricate paper creations of Sascha Nordmeyer and think again!

What dated thingie is just waiting to be updated in a new and unique way through our own work?


Design team Chris & Ruby have created this amazing slipper/rug for people who like to place their slippers accurately next to the bed!

The slippers fit perfectly into the rug! I love these!



How can we take two things that are used together and combine them into one amazing new product totally unique and our own?


Another Chris & Ruby genius creation. Are your chair feet chilly? Are they feeling a little Napoleon Dynamite or maybe Juno to you?

How can we create a new product that will add whimsy and fun and transform an existing product in a way no one has seen before?



By now you see I am obsessed with Chris & Ruby and I think you can also see why - Check out their amazing cutting board with a built in cut-out for your plate!

How can we make our own work more useful while retaining the beauty and simplicity of our art?

Have a wonderful weekend and remember that inspiration is everywhere!

Upcycled DIY Tutorial - Make a Whiskey Barrel Lid LAZY SUSAN

I have always wanted a lazy susan -

(without actually nicknaming myself Susan, of course)

I think because my mother had one,

(and I have lots of fond memories of spinning salt and pepper shakers around the table)

but since my dining room table is kind of large and most lazy susans are kind of small, I could never find just the right one.

Recently at a local flea market my daughter spotted this whiskey barrel lid that we knew would be perfect.

I had to google lazy susan to see how you make one of these things spin, but it turns out there is a gizmo called - yup - lazy susan hardware, which is available at - yup - your local hardware store.


what you need:

1. something for your lazy susan top (ex. barrel lid)
2. lazy susan spinner hardware
3. screws and washers
4. the base for your lazy susan- here I have used an old book (I am not sure I am recommending this since I see some challenges ahead with it, but I have alot of old cookbooks)

First I had to make some adjustments to the back of my barrel lid including removing some hardware that had recently held legs- so I guess my barrel lid had been a table, too. Then I needed to cut some pieces of wood the right size to attach the lazy susan gizmo. If your lazy susan top is flat on the bottom you won't need to do these things

(just make sure the top is deep enough that your hardware is not going to show through)

1. Mark and drill holes in your lazy susan base (in this case the book)
2. Screw the lazy susan gizmo into your base
3. Flip you base over and mark, drill and screw your lazy susan gizmo into your top


There are some tricks to making sure the base is the correct size so that you can work around it when attaching your top - when you buy your little gizmo you will see what I mean. I had intended to use a larger book and ended up needing a smaller book.

Can't wait until the next family get together so I can "spin" the condiments at everyone - just like mom used to do!

And some lazy susans and other susans you can buy now:

1. black eyed Susan eco felt earrings by akaCINDERS
2. black eyed Susan organic cotton t-shirt by threadhead99
3. always loves me flower necklace by taylorseclectic
4. curly maple lazy Susan by appcraftsmen
5. changing of the seasons lazy Susan by backwoodgalleries
6. orange slice lazy Susan by JaneSuzanne
7. black eyed Susan by TheDoomGirls