Sun Printing 101

Today I did a little more experimenting with sun printing. 

They said if it wasn't really sunny, it would just have to be exposed longer. It was a little overcast this morning and it was a hot failure. Really need bright light to make it work. 

I know you can sun print on fabric so I gave it try when the sun came out. That turned out ok except you can't hang the fabric to dry. The star fish started to bleed and when I realized this was a problem it was too late. The fern one turned out so much better. The next step is to wash the fabric and see what happens. 

 

Tea Leaf Salad 2026

Year ago I went to a Burmese restaurant and everyone said to try the tea leaf salad. Sadly that mom and pop restaurant didn't survive the pandemic. I like it so much I tried to make it home. I wasn't successful at all. 

Now fast forward and when a good friend took me out for lunch to a new Burmese restaurant we of course got the tea leaf salad.  It inspired me to research authentic recipes. Many recipes are dumb down to what you can find in main stream markets. Living in the Bay Area that's not a problem most of the time. I did have a heck of time finding Sencha loose leaf tea. I'm not sure because of the tariffs or it's not something that sells well. I remember seeing it in the store back in the day. Sure miss Imhara's produce! 

I picked this recipe from Food 52 (recommended by a food group) because you have to ferment the dressing for two days. That to me just seemed right to get that extra layer of flavor. It tastes great right out of the blender so we'll see what fermenting does. 

 

Shadow Box Project 2026

One of the many projects I'm working on. This is a gift to one of my daughter's best friends from college. She flew out to Holland to help celebrate her birthday. They both love to travel and this is one of my favorite photo. All the parts for this project sat for weeks on my crafting table waiting for me to decide. 

I'm planning on doing shadow box project with the boys but this one is an adult version. 
 

Waffle Maker Bust

This looked like a good idea for a waffle maker but it was a hot mess. Totally understand why it was discontinued!  

It does make a really thick waffle but getting the right amount into the pan is the hard part. If you measure incorrectly you either get an over flow (which is very hard to clean up) or just a partial waffle with brunt edges. I was using my gluten free ube pancake mix so I give it a little slack for that.  I'm not a waffle pancake fan so I only have the Trader Joe's ube pancake mix because it's a favorite of the boys and Posey. Yes I make the dog pancakes for her snack time. 

It's going back to the thrift store or maybe the recycle bin. 

 

Should I or shouldn't I

I was thinking it would be fun to do hot pot meals when the boys are here. I know my daughter would love it and I think the boys are old enough for it to be safe. Now that Costco has all the fixings it's doable without all the prep. 
I found this noodle pot that is made to heat up fast and stay hot. Normally I don't buy electrical things at thrift stores as you never sure if they work correctly. This one was very clean and didn't look like it was used very much. I think I walked around for about 30 minutes trying to talk myself into getting it. With the 30% senior discount it came to $7.75. And it does work very well. Going to do a test run at some point. 

Cyanotype or Sun Printing

 

This has been on my creative bucket list for a while now. It's also been a project I want to do with the boys when they come to visit this summer. 

I've had all the parts but never the space to be able to practice. Half of the process needs darkness and the other half needs really bright sunlight. They caution you it will be messy but I found it wasn't so bad so long as I took my time, worn gloves and had everything ready. Following the weather reports is part of the process too. Not so important in California except during a rain storm. :)  In bright sunlight it takes just a few minutes, like as soon as  UV light hits the paper fast. I'm going to try this with my UV flashlight just because I have one. :) 

Another thing I didn't know was there is a very short shelf life to the solution once it's been mixed and added to the paper. So again you have to pre plan what you're going to do. In between storms I did a few test runs and it was amazing how fast or slow the process was depending on how bright the sun was. 

My next goal is to try this technique on clothes!

Ski Week Snow 2026

A husky enjoying the snow

I'm not a snow person, not at all.  I'm scheduled to dog sit this week for a family that was planning on going up to Tahoe during ski week. Not sure how the conversation started but I asked my son who works at a ski resort how safe it was to drive up this week with all the storms passing over California. He basically said not a good idea.  He then sent a list of things the family would have to be prepared to do if they didn't take his advice. He topped it off with this picture of his friend's dog. The deck was cleared at 9:00 am and by 3:00 pm this is what it looked like. Don't worry, that's a husky and he loves the snow. Three feet of snow in less than 24 hours, which I guess is a lot. Remember I don't talk snow. The family did decide to cancel going to Tahoe and are making alternate vacation plans. Wise choice. 
 

Take It Easy Studio Creative Ideas

 

I've been watching "Take It Easy Studio" YouTube videos. I thought I would give her embossing on velvet with rubber stamps a try. My first stop was to FabMo to pick up some free samples. Not knowing what type of velvet she was using, I picked up several types. This sample is 100% cotton and it sort of worked. Everything came out a little blurry but I'm sure that's user error. The temperature of the iron could be the issue too. She uses a little travel iron which I know I have somewhere. The only warning is to keep the iron moving to avoid melting the stamp. I'm going to try and use some metal die cuts and see if that works too. 

One thing I really like about Take It Easy Studio is she's using old things from her stash. It's inspiring for all of us to use what we have! 

Shadow Box Project 2026

One of the project I'm working for when the boys come out to visit this summer is to make shadow box dioramas with photo backgrounds. We will be up in Tahoe and out in nature so I'm guessing there will be a lot of pinecone and rock collecting.

I've been picking up shadow boxes when I find them at the thrift store. A few weeks ago I was at my local Goodwill then a big shipment of shadow box frames were put out. I was a little too late as another woman loaded her cart up with all of them. Anyway I have this one and I thought I would make a nice gift for my daughter's best friend. She flew over to celebrate my daughter's birthday and go sightseeing like they did in college. I love this photo and I had the little dutch houses already in my collection. I now have to decide if I should do all three houses or just one. What do you think?

Citrus Peel Mushrooms Part 2

Started the painting part of my citrus peel mushroom project. Not too sure if I went a little over board with the white spots both in size and amount. 

I picked up a bag full of little benches at Savers to add to the display. 

Had to think of what I would use as a base as wood slices are just too $$$. Yes these are things that keep me up at night. I have a lot of driftwood for another project but then I remember the big wood pile on the side of my studio. Back when you could have an open fire pit, the guys stocked up. I'm sure it's been there for years. Once things dry up I'll sift through the rack.
 

Can't believe everything on YouTube

There was a YouTube posted by a young guy (that should have been my first red flag) who said by soaking these Japanese cookies in greek yogurt it will taste like cheesecake. They have been sold out at my local market for a while but I finally got them. Not sure if this guy knows what a real cheesecake should taste like but this wasn't it. The cookies themselves aren't that good either. 

Reminds me when I worked in a doctor's office. Patient came with severe eye irritation. She had just had a baby and her eye lashes had fallen out. Not sure if her pregnancy caused that or not. She saw a YouTube video about putting lavender oil on your eye lids to help your lashes to grow. I couldn't say anything but all I could think of is where did you think that oil was going to go when it warmed up?

New Arts Store in Town - Blick

I was so thrilled to learn that we finally got an art store in San Jose! I went to check it out as almost everyone else in the store was doing. Lots of smiling faces as we went down each aisle. One of my projects on my long list of projects is to do sun printing or cyanotype. I've gathered up all the supplies except the chemicals. Hopefully I get good enough that the boys can do some printing this summer. 

I also picked up some new lino cutting blades, which I've been procrastinating in buying. Have to support the store!