DIY: WTF

$299 at Urban Outfitters

Okay, so Georgina and I want to do a lot of DIY this winter, including making jewelry, maybe learning to sew, making headbands, etc. What makes me mad is that I don't classify our new-found desire to create as being trendy at all, but I guess it MUST be because Urban Outfitters has an entire DIY section. Is this just a collegiate phase of independence? Is it tied to the bad economy?

Not for me.

I saw an awesome pair of jeans at Ralph Lauren that have flannel patches all over and almost considered buying them (with my employee discount, plus they were already on sale), but I realized that I could just make them myself with an old pair of jeans (if I knew how to sew). I also went to Barney's to discover headbands that cost like $75 because they were covered in feathers. I could do that with a glue gun!

So is it "cool" to DIY, or just practical? Or both? Anyway, I am excited to "express myself" this winter by making things that will probably just fall apart because I'm not skilled whatsoever. But I can learn. But not on a sewing machine from UO that costs $299. Kind of defeats the economical purpose.

Sugar Cookies

I've started a recipe book with some of my favorite desserts to make and meals my mom cooks when I come home from school. Here's the recipe for sugar cookies I now use, and pictures of the ones we made for our holiday craft.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups APF
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (two sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

METHOD

1. Whisk together the flour & salt in a medium bowl, set aside
2. Using a mixer, cream together the butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg & vanilla, mix until well blended
3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until thoroughly blended
4. Add food coloring if you want
5. Turn out the dough onto the work surface & divide it into 2 or 3 equal portions. Form each into a rough disk
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
7. Roll and cut dough (1/4" thick). TIP: Place dough between two pieces of parchment cut to side of cookie sheet so you can just remove excess dough and don't have to pick up each cookie and replace it on a separate sheet (streamlined!)
8. Let dough cool in fridge
   
9. Bake until it turns slightly golden on edges, 12-16 min.
10. Cool completely before decorating.
    

We bought icing for flooding and for decoration + food color to make the different designs. Great way to spend a snowy afternoon.

Bonus pic: the cake we got from Party Favors in Brookline. Seriously the best (Georgina, you yourself sampled one of their crazy flower cupcakes. Imagine that amount of frosting times 10.)

And yes, those trees are completely icing (save for a little green stick supporting it). My mouth was, consequently, a strange blue-green for the rest of the evening (which consisted of more eating and watching old movies). The skiers were quite fun to play with, as well. Don't know if you can tell, but those skiers were seriously carving down that sloped surface (yes, the cake was sloped).

Etsy is In!

I have been talking incessantly about doing crafts and stuff with my friends this winter. It was, at first, going to be for my own, personal expression; a headband here, a pair of earrings there, maybe even a scarf. But now that Etsy has become much more well-known as a venue for selling wares, from iPod cases to ugly hair clips, why shouldn't I start a business? You down, Georgina?

Some people make like $250,000 a year doing their crafts, more than they made at their previous jobs (layoff=artistic expression time!). College grads of 09, here's something you can do that might even give the same or more work hours/week as your elusive finance job!

Here's the Times piece about Etsy.

I feel like I could do better than some of the stuff on the site. See for yourself how simple some of the items, like hairclips, are mad easy to make. Etsy.com

But these gaiters are pretty ridiculously awesome. I could be the Yeti for all of Hanover's blustery blizzards!
Or I could be from Williamsburg with this "Cranberry Cozy"! Do I see an MJ pin? I actually kind of like the cozy, but come on, the rest of the styling is kind of absurd. PS: Etsy was started by a couple of people in Brooklyn, so the site design does remain faithful to some kind of artsy craftsy alternative scene.