Check out this cool Halloween decor from Country Living. Using their bat template, you cut the bats out of black felt and affix it to your door by duct tape. It looks creepy and original. Awesome.

I’ve been on a sewing kick. Maybe it’s the rainy weather. I have been tackling the big box of fabric I have, challenging myself to make as much stuff from it as possible. Maybe this way I can someday reduce the big box of fabric to a small box of fabric. Ah dreams.

Anyway, it’s making me think of this Finish It Up Challenge I started awhile back. I challenged myself to finish up 10 half-done craft projects around the house. Four months later, I have made progress on the list, although not as much as I would like. Here’s the update:

1. The blue sweater that I have been knitting for two years–I did work on this, but it’s not done yet.

2. The guest room curtains–Done! I even made a nice black ribbon to hold them back from the wall.

3. A new onion bag scrubby–Done. I have not had to buy a scrubby for about 6 months because of this.

4. A wine cork trivet–Not done yet, but it will be done soon, since it is a Christmas present.

5. Mending–Done, more or less.

6. The half-finished dress–You know, do I even want to do this? I am over this dress. Maybe I will use the fabric for something else.

7. Pillows for the living room–Done! Photos coming next week.

8. New placemats–Not done, but it is a great idea and I do need new placemats.

9. Decorative wastepaper basket–I got the supplies to do this one just last week, so I plan to work on this soon.

10. Poster frame–No! Can you believe that I haven’t managed to do the easiest thing on my list? That is just silly of me.

So, 4/10. That’s pretty sad given that I made this list in June. Then again, it’s better than no progress at all.

(Image courtesy Imbi & Itchy’s candied kumquat post)

When I was in high school, I went through this phase where I wanted to eat kumquats all the time. After school, I would go down to the local grocery store and buy about a quarter pound of kumquats to eat as an afternoon snack. Although I outgrew that, I still like kumquats. They are the perfect marriage of sour and sweet. The skin of the fruit is sweet and the inside of the fruit is salty and sour, so eating a kumquat is quite an experience for the senses.

In fact, it seems to me that with their blending of sweet and sour, kumquats could make a pretty darn nice cocktail. I got so excited about this idea that I looked around on the web and found several promising recipes. Now I’m going to have to get some kumquats from the store and try these out:

Kumquat Caipiroshka from the San Francisco Chronicle

Ingredients (serves 1 person):

5 kumquats
2 tsp granulated sugar
2 oz Citrus Vodka
Ice

Directions:

Using a muddler, muddle 4 or 5 ice cubes with the kumquats and sugar until the fruit is pulverized. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the vodka and shake. Pour the whole thing, including the ice, into a tumbler glass. Enjoy.

Kumquat Champagne Cocktail from Epicurious

Ingredients (serves 4 people):

1 1/4 c sliced kumquats
1/3 c triple sec or Grand Mariner
1/4 c sugar
1 750-ml bottle Champagne

Directions:

Using back of large spoon, mash first 3 ingredients in bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Strain mixture through fine sieve set over bowl, pressing on solids.

Pour 2 tablespoons kumquat syrup into each of four 6-ounce Champagne flutes. Fill each with 2/3 cup Champagne.

Kumquat Mojito from Cocktail-Guru

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 tsp white sugar
2 oz White Rum
1.5 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
3 kumquats cut into half (keep leaves for garnish)
Hand full of Mint leaves
Half of one lime cut into 3 wedges
Splash of club soda
8 Ice cubes and crushed ice

Directions:

Muddle the kumquats, mint, limes and sugar until you smell the mint. Add rum, sweet and sour mix, and ice cubes. Shake and strain into the glass full of crushed ice. Top with club soda. Garnish the drink with mint, kumquat leaves, and a kumquats wedge on top. Yum!

Hey, look at this, a clock made out of a bicycle wheel. Nice! I could see this jazzing up a rec room. $16 from Etsy, or if you happen to have an old bike wheel lying around… (Via NotCot)

Dow is planning to start releasing their new Powerhouse Solar Shingles next year. Here’s a picture. They are designed go on top of your roof as a shinier version of your existing shingles, which is a step in the right direction. They are also supposed to be more efficient and cheaper than current solar panels.

It’s nice to see this kind of thing finally starting to hit the market. Personally, I’d like to see a few competitors before I take the plunge, but I see us looking into solar sometime in the next couple of years.

I’m going to grow asparagus next year. Every time I read about the plant, I get confused. The asparagus grows straight out of the ground but then it turns into a fern? Huh? Well, the above video did a nice job of explaining how the plant works to me. Asparagus plants sound cool!

Shopping for side tables is hard. The stores only have four or five kinds right now, and they are either stools, ottomans, nesting tables, or ugly things I don’t want in my house.

I could always go the thrift/antique store route, but the problem is that my living room is getting really retro looking, so my gut says I need the accents to be more contemporary to balance it out. I don’t want my house to start looking like it is in the 1960s. A new table is the easiest way to get away from that.

If I could just find a simple wooden square or box with a glass top and a little pizazz, I would buy it right away. You know, something like this from Arbora Designs in the UK:

But this is $441 US dollars, and I need two of them. It is pretty nice though.

I also like the idea of an all glass table, like this one:

It’s the Timber Table, $225 from Style Garage. I like the idea of this table, but I’m not sure how sturdy it is. I would have to see it in person.

Another cool idea for a table:

$285 from Fine Home Designs. It’s definitely different, but I’m not sure it’s practical.

And while we’re talking high price, why not go high end, like this table by Isotrope Designs:

This table is a sculpture inspired by “cellular and organic forms.” I am guessing the cellular form that inspired it is what termites do to wood? Because that is what this table makes me think of. Termites.

On the other hand, maybe I don’t want this table after all.

And let’s face it, I don’t want to pay this much for side tables. I am going to have to think of a cheaper option here.

Stay tuned.

(Image courtesy of Froo*Gal, also mentioned below.)

Awhile back, I did a Finish It Up challenge for myself to complete all the craft projects I have going on. Currently, I am focusing on number five on the list–mending–because three items of my clothing ripped this week. My pajama bottoms got a hole in the seam, the underwire of one of my bras came out, and the strap on my nightgown popped off. All in one week! What is going on here? Is this some sort of planned obsolescence conspiracy to get me to go shopping more often? Or am I just hard on my clothes?

Out of curiosity, I did a search on the Internet to see what it said about mending, and discovered that a lot of people tell you not to do it. They say that you should go shopping instead. And while I see nothing wrong with throwing old clothes out and getting new clothes if you want to, what surprises me is the implication that there’s something wrong with you if you want to repair your clothes. There seems to be an idea out there that clothes are dirty or bad if they get a hole or lose a button or the underwire pokes out. The fact is, mending is basic frugality. My pajama bottoms, which were a gift originally, cost $40 at Victoria Secret–if I mend them, they last longer and save me the $40, at least for a while. Mending stretches the life of your wardrobe.

Plus, if you’re doing it right, you can’t tell that something has been mended. If you are repairing a seam, you are simply returning the garment to the state it was before it ripped. In my mind, mending should always be invisible to the eye.

Besides, mending is easy. Most of the time, it takes 5 minutes of work. Here are some basic mending techniques:

Sewing a seam. Problem: Your pajama bottoms ripped at the seam. To fix: Turn the pajama bottoms inside out. Match the torn edges of the fabric together so that the seam lays flat. Pin the edges together. Get some thread that is close to the color of the garment and thread a needle with it. Carefully stitch the seam again like you are the sewing machine connecting the broken stitching. Tie off with a knot and trim the thread.

Replacing a button. Problem: Your button fell off your shirt. To fix: You saved the button, right? Because if not, this is going to be a lot harder. If you didn’t save the button, you can take your shirt to the fabric store and see if they have a similar button OR you can replace all the buttons on the shirt and give it a new look. If you saved the button, then take a look at Esquire’s how-to on replacing a button. It even has spiffy illustrations. Simply put, you match the new button to where the old one used to be, and using a needle and thread, sew an “x” through the shirt and button, like so:

Then tie it off.

Fixing your bra. Problem: The underwire popped out of your bra. To fix: First, feel the underwire and make sure it isn’t broken. If it is, you will have to either replace the underwire (they sell them at craft stores) or get another bra. If it isn’t broken, push the underwire back down into the bra like it was before it popped out. Using a needle and thread, sew the seam up by weaving the thread tightly over the top of the hole. Knot off and trim the thread. You want a strong hold here, since the underwire might pop up again. For added strength, you can use upholstery thread.

Darning. Problem: You have a hole in your sweater or sock. To fix: Froo*Gal has a great darning how-to on her site. Essentially, you weave matching thread through the hole and fill in the missing space.

Repairing a zipper. Problem: The teeth on the zipper on your jeans suddenly won’t line up, making it impossible to zip, like so:

To fix: You can a. either replace the zipper by cutting it out and sewing a new one in, or b. fix it by removing the metal stub at the end of the zipper, lining up the teeth again, and replacing the metal stub with thread. DIY Fashion has a how-to on the metal stub option. I would add that it’s best to match the thread with the other stitching so that the repair won’t stand out.

As I said before, mending should be invisible. The only mending I don’t bother with is patching–sewing patches over holes that are unconnected to seams or can’t be darned. That is because nine times out of ten, patching looks mended. And really, once something starts to get big holes it, it’s probably time to toss it out. After all, clothes don’t last forever.

Check out this Halloween Terrarium DIY from Poopscape Projects, called the “Conjoined Twin Speciment Jar.” It takes a little skill with Photoshop to turn a picture into that, but the results are pretty spooky. There’s another terrarium how-to on the post as well. (Via Craft)

Food in Jars reminded me of a cool wedding favor: herbs plants. Awhile back, I went to a bridal shower and received a little sage plant as a favor. I planted it in my garden and it has since gotten huge. I use it all the time in cooking.

As much as I think favors are unnecessary at weddings, I like the idea of giving a plant as a wedding favor. Herbs are a good choice because they smell nice, they are a gift people can use, and they are cheap to assemble. If you wanted to be frugal and had the time, you could probably grow all your favors yourself for minimal cost.

Along those same lines, I like the idea of tree saplings as wedding favors.

Weddingbee has a story of a couple who gave the above seedlings as a favor because they got married on a family farm, which had a road lined with cedar trees leading up to it. That sounds lovely.

Another site advocated giving packets of seeds, or two flower bulbs in a box, as favors. Both excellent ideas.

Plants symbolize something growing and getting stronger and eventually producing fruit… just like love! Awwww… Anyway, it’s certainly a more environmentally friendly choice for a favor. Better than, say, this:

(Food in Jars link via Justinsomnia)