Harts and Crafts Blog | Creative Jubilee

Father’s Day BLT Sandwich for Dad

By Christina Lee| June 18th, 2017|Amigurumi, Crocheting, Handmade, Holiday Fun, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

For years, I’ve been racking my mind coming up ways to say thank you to dad, and show my love and appreciation. Well after gifting him razors, ties, shoes and other miscellaneous gadgets, my most successful gifts on top of a heartfelt thanks has always been food, the key to my dad’s heart. Whether it’s going out to lunch in Sausalito, picking up a gourmet burger, whipping up something from Food Network or just having a backyard barbecue, sharing a meal and bonding over food has always brought us closer together (Cooper included!).

While I have found a way to make my Dad happy, these meals do not come without consequence. Enter Mom with the warning label that we shouldn’t be eating this or that, and we should all be on a diet even on holidays (!)

Well this time around, Mom and Dad both have nothing to complain about with this BLT sandwich. The bacon, lettuce and tomato all come prepared with zero calories.

Post Father’s Day Update:
By the way, Susanna and I did take our dad out for no guilt burgers and sandwiches.

Happy Father’s Day to you, Dad and all the fathers out there!

That Time I Fought Cooper for the Chair and He Won

By Christina Lee| May 28th, 2017|Knitting, Oh My Crafts!, Yarn Addict|

Whether we’re on vacation or at home, Cooper and I both have eyes for that chair. Yes, the chair that has a floor lamp perfectly positioned behind it, curtains drawn to block the sun and a balcony overlooking the beach. He’s got good taste (which he probably gets from Mom) and a stubborn determination to ‘share’ if he can’t have that entire seat to himself. Lucky for him, this chair can conveniently seat two — a girl and her ‘crazy’ dog.

Well now that we’re cozy, I finally get to pick up those knitting needles and work on my first knitted blanket. Thus far, I’ve crocheted two blankets and I thought it’d be neat to knit one this time around. Don’t let the rounded knitting needles deceive you. While I had cast on over 220 stitches onto rounded knitting needles that span 36 inches, what appears to be this miniature chevron bundle will soon be a full-sized throw that’s cozy and warm for your couch or bed. I’ve got a long way to go, so I’ll be zigzagging my way across this row with this medium gray yarn, while enjoying the view and working in a few belly rubs.

This is vacation. This is love.

Rainbow Rose Vegetable Tart for Mom

By Christina Lee| May 14th, 2017|Handmade, Holiday Fun, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, In the Kitchen|

Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful Mom and all the loving moms out there!! On this special day, we’re celebrating in style with my Mom’s favorite meal, brunch. Aside from the classic omelette, turkey sausage and peanut butter toast, I wanted to come up with something unique, something special. Lucky for me, my mornings spent watching and bookmarking videos from Facebook finally came in handy as I was scouring the Internet for ideas on how to make brunch a little warmer and more spring-like. Thanks Food Network for the creative inspiration behind this Rainbow Rose Veggie Tart. It took me exactly one minute (maybe two!) and a trip to the grocery store to create this masterpiece.

The recipe calls for two eggs; Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper for the creamy filling. Then for the rose buds, you can choose from an assortment of spring vegetables from the grocery store. I went ahead with yellow squash, zucchini, rainbow carrots and a tomato for the centerpiece. And last but not least, a pie crust in the frozen aisle, unless you want to make it yourself. I’m a fan of Sara Lee’s ‘semi-homemade,’ so I was completely fine with the frozen pie crust. You’ll need a sharp peeler to remove the outer skin and peel through the layers of vegetables, and then you’re set for the fun part of rolling this thinly sliced vegetables into rose buds.

Before you pop this tart into the oven, you’ll want to sweep olive oil along the edges of each rose bud, so it will turn crispy brown. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and bake it for 50 minutes and then you’ve got yourself this lovely Rainbow Rose Veggie Tart. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t wait to try this with eggplant the next time around.

Happiness is a Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

By Christina Lee| April 11th, 2017|Crocheting, Handmade, Humbling Hobbies and Habits, Yarn Addict|

As the saying goes, “Happiness is a cup of coffee and a good book” and now, I won’t dare get a cup of coffee without dressing it up with these cozies. These stylish companions for your morning cup of joe will not only keep your coffee warm and help you save the environment by steering clear of the cardboard sleeves, but it will make other people envy your super cute, stylin’ coffee cup.

Did I mention that these crocheted coffee cozies are a new addition to my website? I’m thrilled to finally be featuring them online. They are fun and easy to make in one sitting. If you know how to single crochet in the round, then you’re golden. And if you’re new to crocheting, this is one of those ‘feel good’ projects you can complete in a timely manner, put a bow tie around and gift it to a friend or keep it for yourself.

Once you finish crocheting in the round, you can swing by Michael’s or Jo-Ann Fabrics to pick up some of these cute buttons and put the finishing touches on your coffee cozy.

No Shortage of Drama at Scrapbook Expo

By Christina Lee| March 4th, 2017|Learning from the best, Scrapbooking|

Susanna and I are live from Scrapbook Expo in Pleasanton. What appears to be your average Saturday afternoon ‘Crop’ is anything but average. Hard at work on designing layouts for our albums, picking out the right paper stock and obsessing over which tool to use, it’s easy to zero in on our projects and remain heads down at our table. However, being the avid scrapbookers that we are, we were already conditioned to keep our eyes and ears open for raffles and door prizes. Other than that, it’s rare you’ll find us turning our heads, except to take a peak at the projects our neighbor’s are working on.

Then all of a sudden, there were a few security guards (aka ‘rent-a-cops’) shuffling around and speaking into their walky talkies. The only reason they caught my attention was because there typically is no male presence in the room except for our emcee, Dave — and now there are three to five rent-a-cops glancing furtively at the table behind us, scoping out the old lady with the straw hat. Apparently she stole a few items from the Expo. What could it have been? Scissors, paper, stickers, who knows? Well, before we knew it, she was being escorted out of the Expo by ‘Security.’ This is a first. Well, never a dull moment. I guess we can just chalk this up to another ‘scrapbookable’ moment.

Rediscovering Old Hobbies: Pendant Making

By Christina Lee| June 5th, 2016|Handmade, Jewelry Making|

It’s easy to go weeks without cleaning my apartment, but when I do, it’s usually fulfilling and an immediate sense of relief. This time around, it was an added bonus to find all the supplies I purchased from Craft Fantastic, a craft supply company specializing in photo jewelry components to create necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Even after a year or so, the Glaze and Glue is still in its liquid form and I’ve got a handful of decorative art paper, glass cabochons (aka jeweler’s glass) and vintage pendant trays. You know what that means… it’s time to get this jewelry factory up and running again. I plan on making a couple of these charming necklaces to go with a few other gifts that are just about ready to be sealed with a beautiful bow.

Isn’t this red canary sitting perched up in this antique birdcage a beauty? Well, I thought so too and this sweet, simple yet sentimental necklace also makes a very stylish and fashionable statement.

Jewelry Making 101

By Christina Lee| July 18th, 2015|Handmade, Jewelry Making, Oh My Crafts!|

It’s unlike me to walk out of Scrapbook Expo without a handful of craft supplies, glue dots, paper stock and maybe even a new hobby. After a ‘Make & Take’ sesh with Craft Fantastic, I left with a bag of goodies to make these beautiful pendants. I see these charming, vintage style pieces in many boutique stores and always wondered how I could make my own. Well, now that I’ve got the supplies and couple sheets of decorative art paper, I’m looking forward to getting crafty and making these to go with a couple of gifts I’ve set aside for some friends.

My starter kit includes an assortment of pendant trays with matching chains, glass cabochons, ephemera paper and Glaze & Glue (aka acrylic goop). It’s super easy to make. You take a glass cab and put a few drops of Glaze & Glue to cover the surface. Then you select an image from your paper stock and press the glass cab over the image. Use a cotton swab to remove the excess glue. Once it is dried, you can use scissors to cut the image down to size to match the shape of the glass cab. Once that’s done, adhere the image and glass cab into the pendant tray and you are done. Put a chain around it to turn it into a necklace or string it to a card or album as a scrapbook embellishment and you’ve got yourself a custom and unique piece. Print your own photos of your family or pet and you’ve got a commemorative piece. It’s that simple!

Here is a butterfly pendant I made for a friend’s daughter. On the back, I customized it with her initial.

If you want to make your own, you can visit Craft Fantastic’s site and get your own starter kit where you can select your own pendant trays, chains and paper stock. They even have supplies to make bracelets and earrings.

Spicing Things Up

By Christina Lee| July 18th, 2014|DIY Home, In the Kitchen|

Inspired by Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade television show, I decided to apply her concept to some DIY handmade projects to spice up the kitchen. When contemplating ways to tidy up the kitchen and give it a bit more pizzazz, I decided I couldn’t just let bags of spices overtake the cabinet and counter space. It just left too much of a mess. Oftentimes, I’d leave these spice packets lying out as I cooked or cleaned the dishes only to find them pour over between the crevices of the sink and stove, and other times, they’d just fall to the ground and become one with the dust particles. Enough is enough. A much needed trip to The Container Store seemed to be the solution to end this ‘cry over spilled spices.’

One trip to The Container Store was longer than expected. You would think it was the long lines, but no, it was actually the unforeseen zigzagging through the aisles that stole my attention away from the household aisle. After a few moments of aimlessly wandering through the store, I made my way to that aisle only to find these beautifully stacked, clear containers sitting on top of a revolving tray. This is going to be perfect!!

While I could have stayed a lot longer, I was more excited to head to the local grocery store and pick up a few of my favorite spices. Perusing the aisle for what seemed like over a hundred different types of spices was overwhelming at first, but then, I had a new appreciation for all the flavors and aromas. I picked up a generous handful of day-to-use and a few others, like bay leaves that I hardly ever use, but just appreciate for its smell and texture. I must say, they don’t come cheap.

Pouring them into their new containers was the best part and seeing the assortment of color, texture and fragrance come together lit up the small corner I had in my kitchen. Well, I am very pleased with my new spice rack and now, I just need to dig through those recipe cards so I can actually put them to use!

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