Practical Magic Blog Party 2011

"There's a Little Witch in Every Woman"

This film has been an annual tradition in my household since discovering the magic for myself several years ago. Wether while enjoying a pot of coffee and snuggling up with my cat and submitting to the subsequent tide of romance and dreams, or sharing the magic with other heart sisters, each successive movie-watching episode never fails to transport me to another, somehow simpler and warmer, world. One day I hope to even share this with two "little witches" of my own, and teach them the importance of rosemary, the other use of salt, and of lavender's good luck.

One of the most important lessons I cherish in this film is when one of the Aunts professes:

"My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage!"

What an essential and yet wise belief to instill in our children as well as eachother!

 Tonight, since the invitation sent by our lovely host, Frosted Petunias, specifically suggested a night of Midnight Margaritas inspired by the two Owens sisters' tradition, I have concocted by own Magnificent Margarita recipe!

INSTRUCTIONS:

"Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog.
Barbados lime is just the thing.
Cragged salt like a sailor's stubble!
Flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble!"

Ok, not really... but I promise it is just as fun!  

1 lime, juiced, plus 2 lime slices, for garnish
2 scoops lemon sorbet
4 scoops lime sherbet
4 shots tequila
1/2 shot Triple Sec

Place all ingredients in blender and process on high. Pour glasses and garnish with round slice of lime. AND DRINK!


And what possible Midnight Snakc could possibly be perfect for this summery drink, you ask?

Midnight Margarita Pizza of course!

Mmmmmm. My own personal concoction inspired by this very film:

1. I love Freschetta pizza crust, but you can of course make your own a purchase your favorite.

2. Garden vegetables: sun dried tomatoes, spinach leaves, and mushrooms

3. Splash of garlic and a tablespoon of butter to saute for the sauce

4. The best cheese ever! I heart simple mozzarella and pepperjack, but any combination will do of course!

5. Layer the pizza dough with the sauce, then half the cheese (4-8 oz), followed by the vegetables, and finally the rest of the cheeeesy goodness.

6. Cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

7. Party it up with the other witches!!!

Etsy Shop: Fall Themed Sets

I started out just with the maple leaf idea, but then that evolved into trying out a whole "fall" themed set with a pumpkin and acorns!

I then thought I might as well come up with a whole fall leaf set! Im also going to paint a set green as well for the spring and summer weather.

 I took these photos with my homemade photobox, built out of a large cardboard box, tape, and white tissue paper lol! It totally works great though! Initially I was worried there was not enough light, but my new camera not only picks up light much better than my cameraphone, but also allows me to adjust the exposure manually!. How great is that! It definitialy came in handy when trying to photograph the black halloween napkin rings lol.

This maple leaf was my first design! I ended up using metallic paints for all of these designs, but am still tweaking with the color blending a LOT lol. Getting the exact right tint is harder than you would think...

Etsy Shop: Halloween Set!!!

Although I had actually completed these about three weeks ago lol, I finally have a camera to capture the ultimate awesomeness of this set hehehe.

I made both sparkly glitter sets (mainly to satisfy my crazy obsession with glitter!) as well as solid glossy black.



Somehow, even though these designs are all meant in a light humerous way, the glossy version seems to be approaching sophistication somewhat more than the glitter ones lol.

I was thinking of doing a spider... but the web won out in the end.

 The progression of each of the designs was actually pretty fun! I think I ended up always liking my third sketch lol.







I like the crooked witches hat! I didn't realize is reminds me of the sorting hat in Harry Potter until later hehehe.

No, my own Sasha familiar was NOT the inspiration for this lol. Although she was an avid admirder hehehe!

New Sketching Project Plan

Ok, so NEW art project idea/concept/plan lol.

This whole- needing to spend all that time and energy drawing actual art pieces- is just too much for my time as well as my current level of skill lol. Therefore, I have decided to instead every week choose one theme for drawing multiple sketches, specifically for the purposes of learning perspective, and devloping better technique.

For example, this coming week will be Leaves. And it can be anything: leaves from different types of trees, leaves in varying light, leaves of different seasons, in different settings, anything!

Not only will this allow me to develop my skill, but the semi freedom in subject interpretation I suspect will allow me the perfect degree of inspiration to develop my own artistic taste as well!

Yay!

So this is the plan, and we will see how it unfolds hehehe.

Austin Trip

This past Labor day I ended up taking a bus down to Austin, and for the first time in 4 months the weather was actually enjoyable!

 Quelle surprise!

It was simply so lovely, Monday morning I ended up waking up early early to wander outside and take some fun snap shots. Viola! The sunrise was fun to shoot over the hill near my parents house.

The craggly dried up landscape of the Hill Country lol.

The house across the street has goats and a donkey hahaha; they must have thought me so silly...

Deer feeding time! This little area of Austin has its own little herd of deer that everyone feels responsible for, and many neighbors leave out water and/or feed for them.

We also actually had several fires this past weekend, the worst being in Bastrop southeast of Austin. There were 14,000 acres burned, and 300 homes destroyed as of yesterday... The smoke could be seen and the smell of burning was impossible to ignore.

Review: Nothing Bundt Cakes!

OMG! Ok, so I don't even like cake, but a patient brought in some mini bundt cakes from this shop recently, and they are AmAzInG!

They have franchises in several locations including Austin, Dallas, and Houston. If for any reason you desire a special cake or treat, this spot is soooooo worth it! Mmmmmm.