Planet Nice Crafts

There are flowers blooming, birds chirping, and quite a bit of craft time.  Each of the snowmen and the battle gnome had their wash paint completed and glaze (Woodland Scenics’ Scenic Cement ™ ) and glitter applied. Here are the final project photos, no more words required. Another project has been re-started. This purple linen top was originally sewn by me to go with the purple linen pants that were altered in Consistency! (November 12, 2021 – I can’t believe it has been that long).  The Before Photo The pants went from unused to being a wardrobe staple. I was trying to do a repeat with this top. I don’t remember the origin of the idea to try to make it into a wrap top (the bad thing about infrequent blog posts) – perhaps the voluminous material available? This New Look pattern, N6700, has been my inspiration.  The color is a challenge, its not the best for me and my pale skin but the pants have been a great neutral. Because I wanted a top that is less blah, I have used...

  Christmas Tree, 2022 Happy Holiday Season and New Year! I am so happy that I found some time during the last 12 Days of Christmas to post. Baking has been in the forefront. With Thanksgiving so early in the month in 2022, the preparation of my traditional fruitcakes started mid-November, November 12 th to be exact! And to be honest, I haven’t even tasted my portion yet but the reviews so far have been good, more citrusy than in previous years. This holiday season’s baking has also included rose scented geranium pound cake, breakfast bakes, three types of cookies (rosemary alfajores cookies, chocolate-dipped matcha shortbread cookies, and vanilla meringue cookies), and pumpkin pies. Some of the time, I followed the recipe perfectly; other times, I didn’t. The breakfast bakes were new and easy recipes that were served for Christmas brunch; one was a crab croissant gruyere, the other sausage bread cheddar. That is all I am going to say about the breakfast bakes and instead, present...

Happy 2022! Hello Everyone. Has it been a good start to the year for you and your families? With the holiday season and the garden tapering off to be officially deemed frozen on January 1, my main activity since I last wrote has been cleaning. The holiday season was plenty full for me and since its close on Twelfth Night, I have been doing a little of this, a little of that. So, in chronological order... I do a whole home clean before any holiday decorating occurs. It is an intense goal requiring precious weekend hours but there are benefits: I take a general inventory of my belongings and supplies (a sort of "state of affairs") and once this major clean is finished, I can focus on the holidays and later, creativity, which results in brain yoga. Food and drink had big roles during the holiday season and I really wanted to try new things. Drink included an exploration of the mocktail craze with the mixers Ghia and Pentire Adrift , both being well regarded. At this time, my pr...

  Welcome Back! I know it has been more than a couple days.. On to the actual craft part. Here is an updated photo of the embroidery for the earring box. It is about half finished. At first, I was really unsure but I think the colors and the textures make this interesting. I foresee substantial patience being required when covering the box top with the fabric and then doing the final fitting to the bottom. I finally tried a recipe that has been in my recipe folder for 10 years or so. It was for Grasshopper Pie by America's Test Kitchen. I don't remember why I originally put it in my folder, maybe I was having a pie fascination at that time too. It was a success and better than the apple cider vinegar pie in April for a couple reasons. The crust is made of mint oreo cookies. The filling is basically whipped cream so not recommended if you have health restrictions - Planet Nice Crafts wants to promote good health on the blog, not bad! To obtain the grasshopper, you add crème de ...

Hello Everyone! Hope all is moving along and tolerable. Planet Nice Crafts continues to strive to be an antidote to life’s burdens – at the moment, slightly different interests are being pursued to accommodate a new work schedule that only allows an hour or two each week for creative activities requiring full energy. As mentioned at the end of the last post, reading is the interest that has grown in dedicated time. Since last time, the second volume of the fantasy soap opera A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin was completed. Now that I am oriented to Westeros and Essos and the players – it is becoming easier to read and cutting myself off after my daily reading goal of 20 pages helps too. The characters are so richly written that you do become emotionally attached to them, akin to a feeling of familiarity to your favorite dysfunctional family. The unfortunate thing of reading such a lengthy book is that by the time I reach the end, I can’t recall what occurred in the first chapters....