Happy Easter!

new adventure: Fermenting!

Kombucha with lapsang tea, first batch ever!

Recently I've come to the conclusion that I actually don't mind working in a kitchen (my day job) and in fact, I'm learning new skills that make me want to try things in my own kitchen at home.

It has been some time since I have enjoyed home kitchen work ... it came as a family chore or obligation because I was the 'woman' so I just never wanted to work when I was off work. 

I've also been back in class at university, taking a class called Sociology of the Environment in the evenings. We've started to learn so much about how people think about the environment, waste, politics of waste and production and consumption .... the way companies put money as priority over health and safety ... and people believe things are safe from "the store" when in fact so many things we consume are not produced with health or safety in mind ....

sauerkraut in progress

Then my sister and a friend invited me to a workshop they were running on home fermentation techniques which allows for processing of your own probiotic foods and beverages .... All this new knowledge made me realize that making things at home, from fresh ingredients and without preservatives, or extra packaging, salts, oils and chemicals, was the way to go.

I've been collecting jars and have a bubbling frothing food lab going on in my kitchen (much to Mike's mild dismay ... ) but it has been making me so satisfied to consume something brought to life by natural processes and the health benefits seem to be too good to be true.

beginning pineapple vinegar

 The possibilities of things to make with fermentation are endless and my learning has only just begun. But my favorite project so far is making kombucha tea, where Gwyn and I are able to watch the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) grow on top of the tea. It looks like a fleshy pancake and is the factor that causes the sugars in the tea to turn into a fizzy probiotic flavored healthy drink.
I won't go into details here, but if you are interested, there are many sites out there that explain the hows and whys of kombucha tea.

fermenting honey mustard

 My new adventure has also been a nice side project when I just can't get time to go to the sewing studio, but still have the need to create!

kombucha with green tea, second batch with mother and baby SCOBY

Customized

I've had the privilege, over the course of my plush making adventure, of taking on some amazing and wonderful custom orders from amazing and wonderful customer.

Special and custom orders are some of my favorite projects to work on because they get my brain thinking in a different way and jog my creativity.

Unfortunately I get so excited to work on these projects and deliver them to the eager recipients, I almost forget to take photos, or the ones I take are very last minute and poor quality ... this happens when trying to reach deadlines sometimes, like finishing a project the night before a due date and no adequate lighting to take a nice photo etc.

But besides all that, here are some photos of the custom work I've had the pleasure of creating in the last number of months.

 Bioshock themed Big Daddy type character

 Walrus character based on a series of graffiti stickers

 Custom coloured jellyfish

 2 foot zombie shark with bite marks, two different eyes, patches .... this one has very specific instructions and was a very fun project to work on!

 Platypus boy

 Free-for-all custom where I was told to make something large, and wonderfully strange

 Volcano man for a friend's birthday

Custom coloured furmaid with embroidered name and scale printed tail


I should also mentioned that if you have a custom request, please please don't hesitate to contact me with your ideas! This is seriously my favorite part (:

And we're back ...

 It has certainly been a time since I've been a more regular blogger ... lots has been going on in the mean time though!
Since returning from Edmonton (the last time I blogged about anything!) I've changed day jobs, which is always a big adjustment for the whole family. And the holiday season ... remember that?! Well it's over now ... and the new year is hear and new making has begun.
The photos above are some of my new work and some new ideas I've been playing with.
Like most, I have big plans for 2013 ... and hope that blogging about them will help to make them a reality!

So check back more often, and I will too! Can you believe we're half way through February already!?

-k