I have various craft blogs in my feed aggregator and get periodic e-mails from non-syndicated sites. Not to long ago, I stumbled across a crochet pattern for a cute little baby dragon and decided it would be worth trying to make.

I made quite a few little mistakes as I was working on him, and my crochet technique isn’t wonderful, but I think that gives him a little bit of personality. I’m quite pleased with the way he turned out.

In addition, working on him gave me some ideas for other things I could crochet - I think I may actually create a pattern or two myself! If I do, I will post about them here.

I don’t know if I’m going to keep my baby dragon or give him to someone. I haven’t decided yet, but it will depend in part on whether or not anyone wants to adopt him!

Here are a few pictures of my baby blue dragon for you. Leave a comment if you have name suggestions for him or you’re interested in adopting him.

I love the Food Network. It’s one of my go-to channels when there’s nothing else on. In fact, as I type this up, I’m watching the Good Eats on home brewing, which seems appropriate.

So, why am I telling you this? Well, my recipe for beer cookies was inspired by the Cookie episode of Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown. A young man by the name of Sean LaFond was a finalist. He provided the commentators with a lot to talk about because the base of his cookie recipe was a Belgian style white beer. Here’s the original recipe, if you’d like to take a look at it.

The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 32 oz home brewed Vanilla Porter
• 6 2/3 oz honey
• 1 C. butter
• 2 C. powdered suger
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla (I added extra but didn’t measure how much)
• 2 2/3 - 3 C flour
• 2/3 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 C. dark chocolate chips (optional)

The Process:

1. Combine the beer and honey in a saucepan and reduce. Skim the foam off the top of the beer occasionally. When the mixture begins to show lots of large bubbles and is bubbling aggressively, remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°
3. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and blend thoroughly.
4. Add the vanilla and the beer reduction and blend again.
5. Mix the baking soda and flour together, then add slowly to the batter.
6. Scoop the dough on to a cookie sheet, preferably lined with parchment paper. I used a measuring spoon (1 tablespoon size) for the last batch and a 2 oz scoop for the batch before that.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven.
8. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before moving them off the cookie sheets.

The measurements above resulted in approximately 4 dozen cookies - 2 dozen of which were sent to DragonCon, 1 dozen given to GeminiFatCat, and 1 dozen I kept for myself!

Notes:

I suggest reducing your beer and honey first and then calculating the amount of the other ingredients you need based on how much of the beer reduction you end up with.

My next variation will use a coffee-chocolate stout in place of the Vanilla Porter, but I haven’t brewed the stout yet!

If you give the recipe a try, or got a chance to taste the cookies, leave a comment and let me know what you think about them!

What do you do with all those plastic grocery bags that collect with each trip to the store?

Even when I bring my own canvas grocery bags, the checker and bagger usually end up giving me a couple more.

I can use a few of them - I have cats and a litter box to clean up each week. But I still found them piling up.

What to do with them? I was pondering that question when something came across my RSS feeds - crocheting with grocery bags. Using plastic grocery bags to make a reusable grocery tote seemed appropriate some how.

Here’s how it started, though this is only 10 bags out of however many I used - I lost track!

I had two or three of these bags that were stuffed full of more bags. I didn’t use them all, but I used a lot of them.

The finished tote. The different colors and textures are from bags from different stores.

Interested in the process? More pictures and the beginning steps behind the cut.

If you’re inspired to give a variation of the project a try, let us know how it goes!

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A few weeks ago, I posted about using kids craft kits to spur your creativity and curiosity.  I’ve been meaning to post about the last craft kit that I did - a braided silver wire bracelet.

I enjoy creating things and this wasn’t my first venture into making jewelry. It wasn’t even my first venture into wire jewelry - I’ve made wire-wrap rings in the past. But this was the first time that I’ve tried braiding wire.

The Process:
I picked up the kit at my local Hobby Lobby store for about $8. The directions were clearly written and accompanied by photos, making them easy to follow.  All together, the project took me about 90 minutes from start to finish.  It was considerably easier than I expected it to be.

The Result:

My bracelet did not come out looking like the picture on the box, but I didn’t expect it to.  It resembled the picture more than I expected it to, and that pleased me.

What surprised me most:
As I was braiding the wire, I was picturing variations I could do with the basic process. Most of those variations would use remnants from other craft projects, which is good.  Actually creating those variations of the bracelet would result in a problem though - one that I’m already quite familiar with - What do I do with the new bracelets? One bracelet - no problem - I gave it to a friend.  Multiple bracelets - problem. A good problem, but a problem all the same.

Recommendation:
I wouldn’t recommend this project for young children - it requires a bit more attention than they’re likely to have. I would recommend it for anyone over the age of 12 or so who has an interest or curiosity in jewelry. I would also recommend it to anyone who thinks they can’t do something like make jewelry.  In fact, if you look at the picture of the finished product and think it looks too complicated - go out and buy one of the kits.  You’ll be surprised how simple it is to make something that looks intricate!.

Pictures of the process are behind the jump if you’re curious.

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Create something new.

Easy for me to say, right?

And you’d really like to do it, but –

• you don’t have hours to spend on learning a new creative skill
• you don’t have a bunch of money to spend on supplies
• you don’t know where to start
• you don’t even know what kind of project to start
• you don’t have anyone to teach or help you get started

Excuses. Every single one.

One trip to your local market, superstore or hobby store can negate every one of those excuses. How?

Be a Kid

Wander through the kids’ craft area. In your local market or superstore it will probably in the toy section. Most hobby stores have a specific kid-friendly craft section. Pick up a few of the kits that look interesting to you. You’ll find everything from plaster hand casts to jewelry to soap and candle making kits.

Why kids’ craft kits?

• Most of them are inexpensive
• They come with all the materials you need
• The instructions are designed to be understandable for kids in grade school or middle school
• The projects are designed with kids’ attention span in mind
• The projects are quick introductions to the craft and quick, tangible exercises in creativity

Benefits of Being a Kid Again

• You get to try your hand at something new with little or no pressure to do it well
• You get an introduction to a set of skills and knowledge you didn’t have
• You get to test drive a project before sinking a lot of money or time into the craft
• You can be silly and just have fun
• If you have children, you can use this project as quality time with them
• Successes, no matter how little or silly, make us feel better
• Your inner child gets a chance to come out and play

How do I know?

How do I know that these kids’ craft kits are worth trying out? I know because it’s how I’ve tested a lot of crafts out.

I’m curious. I always want to know how to do the creative things I see other people doing. I’ve learned to crochet, knit, make silver wire bracelets, use an indian bead loom, and many other things. For most of those crafts, that one little taste was enough. But others, like the ones I just named, I’ve since invested more time and money in.

Give in to your curiosity and that inner child that says “wow” or “I wanna try that.” Take a slight detour on the path of your creative journey.

You may find a new skill that you’re good at.

At the very least, you’ll have some fun.

We thought we’d let you know about some of the upcoming posts we have planned.

Most of our posts have ended up being writing related, which was not our intent. Our plans are to provide you with more posts about non-writing related activities. Here are some of the things we’re currently working on.

Quantum Physics and Creativity

I watched a movie from my Netflix queue this weekend and was surprised by what I saw - Did you know there’s a connection between Quantum Physics and Creativity? I’ll be posting about it later this week.

Beading Projects

• Pictures of a quick project I did for Gemini and to get rid of some old beads
• Pictures of some in-process beaded bracelets
• Some ideas for upcoming beading projects

Textile Projects

• A cross-stitch project I’m working on for a friend
• One or more of many unfinished crochet projects

Kitchen Related Projects

• I’m about a third of the way through my first brewing project - a Honey Brown Ale. I’ll post more about it in about a week when it’s time to bottle.
• Gemini is working on some recipes for posting - though I’ve been informed that she refuses to post her famous Enchilada recipe!

Future Projects

• Graphic and 3D works-in-progress
• Sewing projects
• Audio projects
• New and first-time craft projects

Most of these future projects are waiting on my new computer. At the moment, it’s not working properly, but as soon as it is, I’ll start working on some of these.

Have a Creative day!
–Edge

Perfection in our endeavors is our goal, right?

Not when it comes to creativity.

The very notion of perfection in a creative endeavor is contradictory. Perfection implies, by its very nature, that there is a “correct” or “right” endpoint for the final product. That it should look, feel, sound, smell or taste a specific way.

The point of creativity is not to produce a product that others will perceive as perfect or excellent. The point is to express yourself and your perceptions. To stretch your perceptions, of what you can do and of what the result will be.

Did you make a mistake? Most of us do - on a regular basis. Keep going. Some of the most remarkable results are born out of mistakes. Don’t give up on your project just because some step doesn’t look like you think it should. If you’ve already “ruined” your project, why not go a little crazy? Try a technique or tool that you’ve never tried before. Don’t know if it will work? So what? The project is already “ruined”, right?

Guess what? Chances are that your project isn’t ruined. There’s something you can learn from what did and didn’t work. You’ll never know what the end result is, what you might learn from it if you give up as soon as a mistake is made.

Striving for a preconceived perfection in a project almost guarantees that you won’t find it. It puts unnecessary stress on you as the creator. It shuts your senses to other, just as valid and beautiful, possibilities. In short, perfection, or at least the seeking of it, limits your creativity.

Take, for example, an author. If an author strives to get every word perfect as they put the first draft on the page, its unlikely they will ever finish it. If, on the other hand, they concentrate their work on getting the story down, the first draft becomes the foundation and inspiration for the edits and revisions that create the final piece. The work flows more easily and allows the author to express their concepts and ideas more freely and effectively.

Own your mistakes, learn from them and learn to work with them. Persevere, work through, around and with “mistakes” and see where they take you. The project won’t be technically “perfect”, but it will become a perfect representation of the creative spirit inside you. It may provide the inspiration for a new project, version, or perspective. It doesn’t matter if no one else ever experiences it - its your creativity expressing itself.