Vacation Depression

So as a New Englander I'm dreading the third weekend in a row because of ... snow. The season finale of Downton Abbey has not helped at all either. To put us all in a better mood here are some of the things I did on vacation in Florida, because we can at least think warm. 

After we landed I refused to leave the airport until I had put my sweatshirt away, because it is much to warm to where a sweatshirt in Florida right? The cold night air blasted me in the face as we left, and I felt as though we hadn't actually left home. The next day was much nicer though.

Funny I didn't realize till I got there that I'd never seen a palm tree in person before.

I never really considered myself a pool, person, but when there is on readily available, I definitely got used to it.

I got to pet a baby alligator and then...

I ate one.

Went to the aquarium and saw a sea lion do this,

while a sea turtle just kept swimming.

I also saw Ms. Attitude.

Doesn't my Woolie Alligator look just like her?

Woolie Alligator

But now I'm back and I will shovel away like all hearty New Englanders do, yet I'll be thinking about this while I do.

Even though it's a little more like this.

So everyone stay warm! There is good news here though the Sweet Carolyn's shop has tags!

Have a great Day.

Cheeseburger Cupcakes

ATTENTION: This post will be as good as it sounds, may require immense will power or purchasing of larger pants.

A former co-worker of mine was talking about how she made cheeseburger cupcakes for dinner one night that week, and I was intrigued so I asked her if she had a recipe. She then rattled off a few ingredients and some basic instructions, so I went home and gave them a try. They are amazing! I now make them for potlucks and parties they are easy to make and perfect portion sized finger food. Too bad you can't just eat one of them. 
One of my many business venture dreams is to open up an awesome food truck featuring savory cupcakes, but until then I'll share how you can make your own!

First things first, you'll need:

Muffin Tins (2 that hold 12 muffins each)

24 Pillsbury Grand Biscuits

 (Can be the store brand, but must be the large or jumbo sized only)

2 Pounds of Ground Beef or Turkey

One Bottle of your Favorite BBQ sauce

1-2 tbsp Brown Sugar (optional)

Favorite shredded cheese

Biscuits I chose to use.

Now brown your ground meat in pan of suitable size, until fully cooked. Drain the grease and add enough BBQ sauce to the meat to make it the texture of sloppy joes. If you'd like to sweeten the sauce a bit add a tablespoon or 2 of the brown sugar to the meat and sauce mixture until fully dissolved. Normally for children's recipes sugar is added to cut the acidity of the sauce, I myself have never added sugar.

Ground meat and sauce mixture.

Next preheat your oven to the temp on the biscuit packaging usually between 375 and 425 degrees, and now spray your muffin tins with non stick cooking spray. After this take each biscuit and squish them out flat and round so they will fit into the tins. Like so:

then...

Perfect, next, spoon your ground meat and sauce mixture into each biscuit cup.

Once finished sprinkle shredded cheese on top,

and bake them in your preheated oven for 17-20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden and the cheese melted.

Let them set in the tins for 5-10 minutes before serving, and be careful they will be VERY hot. 
Then Enjoy!

Happy Valentines Day!

These have been floating around Facebook, and my pilgrim self couldn't help but share.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Vacation Preparations

So I went on vacation, it was great, and now I'm back, but it took a lot to get there. My normal vacation plans are usually day trips, maybe a few days somewhere, but this time I headed far south for an entire week. Which was a welcome relief, because here in New England it had been a bit chilly.

I do my best not to complain overly about the cold, because I just think about weeding a cornfield in 20 pounds of wool in 90 degree heat and humidity. It's just that last year was such a mild winter, that this was a welcome break.

The downside to this trip is was that I had been instructed that all my belongings for a week needed to fit in a carry-on bag........ no it was not a joke. So after much debate and outfit arranging, I pared down all my needs to a carry on and large purse.

Incase my bag needed to get checked at the gate due to space issues (I'm a planner and a worrier, a dangerous combination), I prepared with a luggage tag to make it more noticeable. (No the fact that it is green was not enough.) So I decided to go with a nice luggage tag, how about one that's personalized that does the work for you.

Great Tag!

Unfortunately I didn't order this with enough time allotted but you can! I'm now back, safe and sound (blizzard and all) and did tons of exciting things, and now that I'm back I have great new things headed for my store, and more vacation inspiration to follow!

Great hand knit felted bags, but couldn't leave them plain, oh no.

Needle-felt whales! I think a needle-felt tutorial is in order as well, don't you think? Keep tabs on us wherever we go on instagram @sweetcarolyns.

Wishful Thinking Part 02 (Pilgrim Problems)

This is the pilgrim problem edition. These are all the great things I could do if I did not need to get back into pilgrim clothes in two months. You might be saying aw Carolyn, two months is a long time, but the start of the season always sneaks up on you and March 16th is not as far away as you think.

These are mermaid inspired nails, which I think would be great. The Problem: I'm too cheap to buy the good polish, and that is most likely the kind which would do this effect the best. Also sadly pilgrims did not know the greatness of sparkly nail polish, besides I'm doing a lot of cleaning lately and they would just get ruined.

Not permanent hair color or shadow as it is called. The Problem: My hair is brown I don't think it would look as good as on blonde, and pilgrims didn't have hot pink hair. But yes we do wear those hair coverings (which are called coifs not bonnets), but one overly zealous doffing of the hat and the jig is up.

Do I really need to explain why I would love these? The Problem: Pilgrim clothes are extremely fitted, not that you could tell because we all look like marshmallows. Yet underneath the layers there is basically a corset (we call them bodies or stays depending on the style), and one too many of these on top of the holiday 10 would mean complete start of the season disaster.

Beauty of the Blizzard

We got some snow, it wasn't actually a blizzard. What was reported the day before was this:

After it had been snowing for about an hour the weather men were like "Oh my gosh guys it's actually not going to snow that much, you bought all the bread and milk you could, and thought you may have work off and ... oops. Oh that darn mother nature she's tricky." Well they may have not made that exact quote, but they might as well have. Along the coast we got anywhere from a dusting to a few inches and it does make everything very pretty. I went for a walk this morning at work and although cold, you can't beat the view.

One good thing about an impending storm is I got a lot of work done. This is my latest creation:

Woolie Whale made with the scraps of other whales and creatures, very eco-friendly.

Stay warm and productive my friends!

We're Available

My shop has been pretty busy the past year, not only with orders from my etsy shop but also quite a few places around Massachusetts. If you're looking for some unique gifts for someone, or yourself, check these places out.

Anthi. Franguadis Associates

This is the newest place now housing some of my Sweet Carolyn's items.

I dropped these guys off last Saturday. The shop is mainly architecture, planning and designing as the sign says, but she has also put in what is called The Drawing Room. This is front room of her space is a shop area featuring local artists including vintage signing, handmade fire pits, pillows, weaving, jewelry and more. So if you're in the area check it out:

Anthi Frangiadis Associates

11 Spring St.

Marion, MA 02738

T: 508-748-3494

anthif.com



Crompton Collective

Open since October of 2012, this shop has been a bit hit, and I'm so glad for them!

My shelf there.

This shop is filled with vintage clothing and accessories, antiques and all sorts of handmade items.

How great does this look? If you're anywhere near Worcester, MA this is a must see, and if you're in the city, it's only a train ride away.

Crompton Collective
138 Green St. (Ground Level)
Worcester, MA 01604
T: 508-753-7303
http://cromptoncollective.com


These are only two of many places where you can find my items and lots of other artist's products. Stay tuned for more places to come. In the meantime go visit these places!

Wishful Thinking Part 01

I'm a big fan of Pinterest and If you haven't already, you should defiantly check it out. It's full of great ideas and projects, including a lot of things I call wishful thinking. As great as all these ideas are, at least in theory, actually finding the time and energy to complete a few, or even one for that matter is somewhat impossible for me. By the time I get around to it, I either don't have the right stuff, I have all the stuff, but by the time I've collected it all I don't really want to do it anymore, or I have everything but one crucial component. By then I've over doing it, and that's when I move on to more important things like crocheting while watching Downton Abbey. So I've decided to dedicate a few entries to all those great projects that I think would be so awesome to do, if only... I had my own house, had the time, had the money, didn't have to go to the store, etc etc. 

A great idea for Valentine's Day.

 You cut heart shapes out of maps of all the places you've been, then mount and frame them. Super easy and unique right? The Problem: This requires me to set up my new printer so I can print out map sections, and buy ink (p.s. if you haven't gotten out lately apparently printer ink is liquid gold). 

Affordable DIY art. 

All you have to do is 1. Get a canvas, Spray paint (any color, doesn't have to be white), and Letters, or Whatever 3D object you want to be on the canvas (object should have  a flat surface to attach to the canvas). 2. Get out your hot glue gun and attach your objects to the canvas as you please. Watch those fingers though! 3. Spray your entire canvas with selected paint. Do a few thin coats, as thicker coats are prone to drip and pool. The Problem: I would have to go buy spray paint and have to wait for 5 managers to check and make sure I'm of age and then be interrogated to make sure I'm not using it as a drug. Then I have to decide on an object and I have yet to find just the right thing.

Great way to Budget.

This is a cute idea for grown-ups or for teaching kids to save. Get a shadow box, get a picture of your item, you could cut it out of a magazine, photocopy it or print off the web. Then start saving. The Problem: I am horrible at budgeting, I would be ripping that 20 bucks out of there within 2 weeks to pay for my coffee habit.

So get excited, grab a cup of coffee, or your drink of choice, and waste a few hours look at all the projects you should defiantly do. If you do end up doing any let me know, I promise I'll actually do one soon too, but for now I'll dream.

First Step: To Admit There is a Problem.

So we all make those New Years Resolutions, and right about now a lot of people are slipping, falling and flat out jumping off their wagons. I have, so far, stuck to my resolution, which was to buy no more yarn, until I use what I have. Sensible, I know, but I have A LOT of yarn, but at this point I may not need to buy anymore until next year.

I have yarn in these bins and the baskets on top.

There is yarn hiding in bags under these finished woolies, and there's about two more bins, if not more around my studio. 

The second resolution I made was that I wouldn't take a three month vacation this winter, and that I would use it to build inventory back up. Thankfully I can crochet just about anywhere, so I've been crocheting pieces for Woolie Animals whenever and where ever I can. I then set up my studio table as a Sew Um Up station.

Look all those Woolies ready to go.

Here's a Woolie Bunny in progress......

Woolie Bunny Hand Crocheted Plush

and finished! I hope you are sticking to your resolutions whatever they may be, stop by my shop to see what new creations all this yarn is making. I'm thinking about expanding to include accessories as well...

The Sickness

I came home today to find this...

I think I need a new place to live for a while; at least until the infected are better. Then I need to invent a type of bug bomb that is disinfectant instead, so we can just bomb the whole house. For now I will hide in my studio, so more new creations soon!

Stay healthy out there.

Beer Oh Beer

I guess I should explain my job a little better other than I just dress in crazy amounts of wool. I work for Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA, and my official job title is Colonial Foodways Specialist. Which means I spend half my time in "old time-y" clothes, with a funny accent, and I pretend not to know what the internet is, or what iPhones are, etc.etc.

Being part of Foodways means I get to make things like this Gooseberry Tart for our recreation of a 17th century wedding this past summer.

I also roasted a pig on a spit, with fellow interpreters in our museums colonial village site.

Sorry about the blurry picture, it's hard to sneak pictures while a pilgrim (Picture courtesy of Sally Rothemich).

Now that it's the winter, and we're closed, we get a chance to do things like research, and classes which isn't as easy when we're open to the public. And do you know what a lot of people think of, other than Thanksgiving when they think pilgrims?

BEER!

"Monday the 25 being Christmas day, we began to drink water aboard, but at night the master caused us to have some beer, and so on board we had divers times now and then some beer, but on shore none at all."

-1622. Mourt’s Relation. Caleb Johnson, ed.  p. 472.

Poor pilgrims, they knew the wilderness would suck, but I bet they thought they'd at least have beer. Which leads me to my latest adventure; a couple days ago I headed to Beer & Wine Hobby in Woburn, MA for a home brewing class. It was in hopes to get more detailed information on modern brewing, how we can make it like the pilgrims, and of course to buy supplies. My wallet was not too happy about this adventure; I got a bunch of extra supplies for a kit I previously bought, and a new book, much recommended:

Long story short, brewing beer is pretty easy, (well that's what I was told), and now all that's left to do is read, and brew. So check back and see if I brew amazing beer, or just beer bombs (over carbonated beer can make your bottles explode and create a giant mess. I'm aiming not to do this).

If you want to learn more about beer or what beer to drink, or not to drink you should check out my friends The Two Kyles. They try beers and tell you who awesome or not so awesome they are. Here is one of their episodes:

CHEERS!