Saturday, January 23, 2010

Great Online Video Resource

Hey Bloggers....if you have a blog and you include video (or you're thinking of including video) on your blog, they I HIGHLY recommend you grab a copy of Steve Garfield's book Get Seen -- Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business..  It is chock-full of great tips and resources. 

The book, published in 2010, is 323 pages and comes in hardback.  You really owe it to yourself to check this out.  I got my copy in the mail today and have been reading devouring it all evening.

Garfield talks about several different types of cameras (you don't have to have a fancy-schmancy to create videos, by the way).  He also gives great tips on accessories you might want to add to your video arsenal:  tripods, lighting, microphones, etc.

There are tons of interesting interviews and photos and screen captures to make this book a page-turner.  It's certainly going to be a book I pull off the shelf time and time again to refer to.  Lots of good stuff.

Use the link to go see for yourself.  It's a great resource!




Mexican Potato Salad

Ok...so here's another vegetarian recipe for you to try. I love potato salad. And I love salsa. This is certainly a new twist and one that I think you'll really enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 large tomato, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro or 1 T. dried
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

  1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.
  2. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook 30 minutes, or until just tender.
  3. Remove from the heat, drain, and place in large bowl.
  4. Add the corn, tomato, and scallions.
  5. Combine the salsa and lime juice.
  6. Pour over the salad and mix well.
  7. Add the cilantro and a few twists of pepper.
  8. Mix gently and serve at once or chill over night.

Yum-O!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

New Recipe for You -- Herb Roasted Veggies

While I'm not a vegetarian, I think I could become one. But it might take me some time to sort out all the pros and cons (I'd love to hear from you if you're a vegetarian or vegan).

In the meantime, here's a recipe that I'm going to try. Thought I'd share it with you:



Herb Roasted Vegetables


Prep Time: approx. 5 Minutes
Cook Time: approx. 10 Minutes

" This recipe works best when baked in a convection oven,
it allows the herbs to fully flavor the dish. "


Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup baby carrots
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 small eggplant, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch st
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch wide strips



Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
  2. Combine potatoes, carrots, and onion in an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan.
  3. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper to taste in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle the mixture over the vegetables.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the baking dish from the oven and add eggplant and bell pepper. Toss to combine the eggplant and bell pepper with the other vegetables. Return the pan to the oven.
  6. Bake for 13 to 15 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender and brown on the edges. Serve hot.


Nutrition at a glance
Servings Per Recipe: 7
amount per serving
Calories 202
Protein 3g
Total Fat 8g
Sodium 243mg
Cholesterol -
Carbohydrates 31g
Fiber 4g


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

What's For Dinner? 470 Crock Pot Recipes to the Rescue!



Is meal planning as popular with you as it is with the Crafty Dad house? Yeah...thought so! It's tough to come up with new ideas. And eating out is EXPENSIVE and usually not the best food you can eat. I love french-fries, but the nutritional value is not a good thing!

With a new year comes new ideas. Or...old ideas made new again. Crafty Mom and I have decided to give our crock pot a workout this year. We're making our favorite dishes like stew, beef roast, vegetable soup and the like. We run out of new ideas pretty fast...so I did some web surfing and found this:








Here's a great collection of recipes you might want to try. The eBook (PDF format) retails for $11.95 but I'm offering it to you for just $4.95. You get immediate delivery -- so you can start cooking up some goodness today! 








eBook -- Ready for Immediate Download!


Add to Cart

View Cart





P.S. Be sure to let me know what your favorite recipe is, okay? 
P.P.S.  Here's more info about the recipe collection.



Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Crochet Anyone?

According to Wikipedia, crochet began back in the 1800's. Hmmm, I would have thought it started way earlier than that.

Crochet (pronounced /kroʊˈʃeɪ/) is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles. -- Wikipedia




See what you can do with a piece of string and a hook?

Resources for Crocheters:

  • Check out CrochetPatternCentral for a ton of patterns (most are free).
  • Crochet.org is home to the Crochet Guild of America where you'll find lot and lots of good info.
  • Want to learn how to crochet? Visit About.com to get started.
  • Visit your local public library for more resources.
  • And, of course, you can surf the net to find more good stuff.




Closeup Shot


I don't crochet anything fancy. Facecloths/dishcloths (see photos above) and an occasional scarf seem to be my complete crochet repertoire. Facecloths can be whipped up in a matter of minutes (less than an hour if you don't get interrupted). If you do get interrupted, it's not a big deal. You can put down the project and pick it back up and you don't even have to wonder where you left off. Just insert the hook, yarn over and move on. Easy. Peasy.  Try it!


Saturday, January 16, 2010

Craft Hope is Helping the Haitians and Doctors Without Borders



Photo by Matthew Marek of the American Red Cross
through the Creative Commons License on Flickr.


Hey Bloggers! There are SO many ways we can help the earthquake victims in Haiti. One really great way for us creative-types is by donating an item to the Craft Hope Etsy store.

Here's what Jade over at Craft Hope has to say:
The Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop is now open! There are some amazing handmade items in the shop. Please support Doctors Without Borders by either donating a handmade item or shopping in our Etsy store.
Our Etsy shop will benefit Doctors Without Borders, with 100% of the proceeds going to them. The medical need in Haiti right now is acute. The Doctors Without Borders existing facilities are so badly damaged, they are no longer functional. Post-earthquake medical care will be from tents. So far they have treated 1,500 people – 500 of them need immediate major surgery. There are no facilities to do this in Haiti currently. An inflatable hospital should be arriving in Haiti today.

The shop will remain open as long as we have donations to fill it up! Thanks to everyone for spreading a little hope to those in Haiti.

If you don't have an item to donate to the shop, please consider purchasing an item from the Etsy shop. 
Check out the site and the shop. And please -- help if you can.

Thanks so much,

Monday, January 11, 2010

101 Tips on Blogging a Better Blog


I am REALLY excited about this. I've been working on a list of 101 tips that will help you with your blog. And the best thing: it's F-R-E-E.

They are all basic, easy-to-use ideas that can really turn your blog up a notch (or two!).

The list of tips is set for publication late January 2010. Stay tuned!


Two Perfect Books

Yep, they really are PERFECT!




The Perfect Pajama by Kristina Nilsson and Jennifer Pirtle.  [Publisher:  CICO BOOKS; ISBN:  978-1-906525-96-5; List Price:  $19.95].  This keeper is 96 pages long and full of great photos and instructions. AND.. has 21 full-size patterns and templates!  There are patterns for kids, women and men too!  You really need to check this one out.  In addition to the pajama patterns, there's a pattern for a hot-water bottle cover , an eye mask, a cute laundry bag and a pair of "Kasbah Slippers".  The book also includes a techniques section.

Here are some shots of the inside of the book:







The other "perfect" book is by Clare Youngs and is titled The Perfect Handmade Bag -- Recycle and reuse to make 35 beautiful totes, purses and more.  [Publisher:  CICO BOOKS; ISBN:  978-1-906525-81-1; List Price:  $19.95] The book contains 128 pages of great photos, instructions and templates.   Perfect Handmade Bag also has a sewing techniques section.

Here are some of the projects from the book:



I bought my books from Crafter's Choice (the craft book club).  I'm sure you can find these online by doing a bit of searching.

Have fun!




Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Have you visited the site I launched a few days ago? Go. Go. Go....check it out. And make sure to check out the Blog too.

I'm excited about making Craft-News.com a REALLLY great place to visit to get all kinds of craft-related info.  2010 is going to be a banner year!

Several crafters, artists and authors have agreed to be interviewed and featured on the site. I'm psyched!


In other crafty news, I'm de-cluttering my craft corner in the basement and am busy putting together a couple tutorials and an eBook too. Yes, I'm busy. And loving every minute of it.

Happy Crafting!

Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year!

Hey bloggers!

A new year and a new decade.  Can you believe it?






January's Freebie Friday is set for the 15th.  Not quite sure what the giveaway item(s) will be yet.  I think it would be appropriate to give away something(s) that had the "new", "clean" and "de-clutter" theme.  Stay tuned for more info.

Hey....Craft-News.com and the blog are up and running.  Check them out and let me know what you think.  I'm not giving up this blog (no way!).  I just wanted to create something new for the new year.  The goal:  a site that features artist and craftspeople interviews and the best craft-related info on the web.