CreativLEI

reigniting my inner artist…

Creating a Life You Love· Life After Loss· Love Your Lettering· Loving Your Creative Side

Those that know me well know that art has always been a huge part of me.

I studied art through high school and college, apprenticed for a designer, and painted, lettered, sketched, took pictures. A. LOT.

and then I had children…

With so many little fingers around there wasn’t space or time for the art I once did.

So I adapted.

Having my first child thrust me into the desire to scrapbook every moment of his life, but then I blinked and had 3 children and not one completed scrapbook. I played with rubber stamping. Stamps took over my craft space. When our basement flooded while I was pregnant with baby #4 (happy birthday Mikaela!!) I temporarily lost my craft space and grew a desire to craft in a way that was a little more portable. We had just started to cloth diaper so I was venturing into wool covers and had my mom teach me knitting basics. I knit A LOT. I wanted more yarn in more colors so I grabbed some undyed yarn and dug out my old dyes. CreativLEI Made was born. Knitting and dyeing soon led to spinning my own yarn too. SO. MUCH. FUN. When I began homeschooling I lost the time I used to have to dye. I still knit and I still spin though.

After losing Miranda knitting is just… different.

I should be knitting longies and sweaters for my little peanut. But she’s not here. The layette I knitted for her has been packed away. I’ve worked on some knitting for myself, mostly shawls and a little bit of spinning.

But it just isn’t the same right now.

I found an offering for an online lettering class from Joanne Sharpe (Whimspirations). It was very reasonable priced and I have nearly all the supplies in my stash already, so I signed up.

I had a blast rummaging through my stash and putting my supplies into a nice portable workcase so that I can work on my homework whenever and wherever I get a few minutes.

I love journaling and the idea of doing it a little more artistically tickles me.

We’re two lessons in so far and I’m having so much fun! It’s been a great creative outlet.

It isn’t too late for you to join in!

Be sure to say hi if your in the class with me! Can’t wait to see you there.

when you let things grow naturally (home-grown sourdough)…

Loving Your Creative Side· Recipes Worth Sharing

…sometimes it leads to a loaf of bread.

On January 21st I started my sourdough adventure!

I followed the directions HERE, except that I used water instead of pineapple juice. 1 cup of hi-gluten flour (Sir Lancelot from King Arthur Flour) and 3/4 cup of water.

That’s it!

It took 10 days of diligent feeding

and waiting

but once it started growing

it was growing WELL!

Today I made my first loaf of bread using this recipe. I mixed it last night and left it to rise (from my observations my starter has a 5 hour peak time), I punched it down this morning and shaped it and left it to proof on my stove top for a few hours. I baked it at 450 for about 30 minutes.

It’s delicious! Has a nice tang, nice chew and a crisp crust. I might need to bake a little shorter or lower temp, the crust was a little dark for my liking. I need to adjust my shaping and proof time because I had a HUGE bubble through the loaf.

All in all I successfully baked a loaf without commercial yeast!

…now to figure out what I’ll try next!

p.s. who needs some starter 😉

Four months…

Creating a Life You Love· Life After Loss

Missing my Miranda today… and always.

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She would be four months old today.

 

“20 Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. 21 Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come,; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. 22 Therefore, you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” John 16:20-22 NASB
 **my locket was purchased from Anna Oarth Jewelry, my floating heart with birthstones was purchased from Doodles Jewels**

Fresh from the oven…(1/27/12)

Loving Your Creative Side· Recipes Worth Sharing

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[pinit]

This is my go to “I-need-bread-for-dinner-but-there’s-no-time-for-a-slow-rise” bread. It doesn’t have the chewy crust or the delicious crumb (custard) of the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes boule, but it has quickly become a family favorite.

Here is my version of this recipe:

2 cups of warm water

2 1/4 tsp (or one packet) of yeast

1-2 tbsp sugar

Combine above ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer (it can be done by hand, but you’re in for more work than necessary for this quick bread) and allow the yeast 5-10 minutes to activate.

The add:

2 tsp salt

4-5 cups of flour, more of less depending on how the dough looks. I find I usually need about 5 cups to produce a smooth elastic ball that isn’t too sticky.

Knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes (when all the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl).

Now you’re ready to shape the loaves.

Preheat your oven to 450 with one rack in the center position and one in the lowest, place a shallow pan on the bottom rack (I start preheating while I’m shaping the loaves, this gives it a little time to proof before I pop it in the oven).

Divide the dough into 4 even pieces. Dust your work top with flour and roll each piece into a long thin rope (about 15-18 inches), then twist two together to form each loaf. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Once the oven is heated pop the sheet in and add 1-2 cups of hot water to the shallow pan, this creates the steam that will give you a crispy crust.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN WHILE IT BAKES, you’ll let the steam out. 😉

Let them cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

 

 

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