DIY: Painted Bottle Vases

PAINTED BOTTLE VASES

"The energy saved when you recycle one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours." (Wasinger 23).

Materials you will need:

-Green glass wine or beer bottles

-Tape or rubber bands

-Any paint/spray paint

Step 1:  Collect and remove the labels from the bottles.

Step 2: Simply wrap the rubber bands or masking tape around the bottles for the desired design.

Step 3:  If you are using spray paint, you may want to do this part outside. Spray the paint throughout the bottle until it is completely covered. Same thing with acrylic paint. Use a brush to fully paint over the bottle.

I thought this DIY turned out pretty great. It seemed like a hard process at first but it was actually pretty simple! What did you guys think of this DIY?

DIY: Chalk Labels

                     

                                     CHALK LABELS

I thought this was a cute and easy way to spice up your kitchen by putting your needs inside a chalk labeled jar. "A swipe or two of blackboard paint turns old bottles and jars into stylish storage" (Wasinger 65).

MATERIALS:  

-Empty jars

-Masking tape

-Chalkboard paint

-Paint brush

STEP 1:

Use masking tape to define the area of the jar that will be your chalkboard label. Press the tape down securely.

STEP 2:

Apply chalkboard paint onto the jar. Repeat this with about 2-3 coats while waiting 5 minutes in between the coats to let it dry. After that is done, let this dry completely.

STEP 3:
                                              
                                               When it is dry, use chalk to write on your labels. There you have it!

I really liked how this DIY turned out. It took about under an hour! It was mostly waiting for the drying, but other than that it was super easy. What was one of the biggest accomplishments you guys ever made with crafting?

Kaedyn Attempts to Draw; For the Last Time! *dun dun duuun*

Hello again!

This will be my last post... so I've decided to make comparisons!
Unfortunately... I don't draw often, so I just have a couple examples.

However, I'm going to quickly walk through the steps for a little Zelda I drew.

As always, I began with a quick, messy sketch of what I wanted Zelda's pose to be. I decided to use just a pen and crayola colored pencils for this, simply because I wanted to experiment. I haven't seriously used only colored pencils for any of my drawings, so this was a challenge. >>

Bunyapen writes that you should "Plan your character's outfits by thinking about your character's personality and other factors such as his or her occupation, hobbies and personal likes" (Bunyapen 53). I know that Zelda in her most recent game is a warrior with style. She's a princess, yet will fight for her kingdom at any given moment. Her main color scheme in previous games is mostly pink and purple, so I stuck to her original design.

<< I used a 0.1 mm pen to outline her and add details to her armor and clothes. Notice the splotch of ink on the page. It made me cry a little bit. We move forward from our world-crushing mistakes. For coloring, elaborate patterns and rich colors make clothing look lively (Bunyapen 84). With that in mind, I used a metallic gold and silver pencil to color her armor; then proceeded to color the cloth with ~three different tones of violet and deeper purples. Her hair is just a yellow and orange colored pencil, which made things much easier. Zelda is the princess of Hyrule, so the design on her... front... cloth... thing (please inform me what this is called if you know) is the triforce and Hylian crest.

Here it is finished!

Now that I have that covered, I wanted to show a comparison of where I was before reading this book and afterwards...

Here are a couple of examples from when I began reading:

After I finished reading all of the tutorials:

                            I drew this picture today!

 I'm especially proud of this one, because it is just a sketch (took me ~one hour), my first time with the legitimate version
of Photoshop, and still looks better than the art that took me
hours and hours.

Thank you for all of your kind comments and for keeping up with my blogging!

One last question: Have you seen recent improvement in your art? How do you think you've improved?

Bunyapen, Supittha. Shojo Wonder Manga Art School: Create Your Own Cool Characters and Costumes with Markers. Cincinnati, OH: Impact, 2011. Print.

KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOD!!! PART TRRRRRREEEEEEEE!!!

Gimbap (Seaweed and Rice Roll)

Hello! For this third post, I'm gonna try to make Gimbap. This is a Korean food that I've probably eaten since I was a kid. It looks and sort of is a lot like sushi, except that instead of fish, there's usually sausage in it along with eggs and some vegetables. Actually, there isn't really a specific set of ingredients you have to use. You can also really use any meat you'd like, or even none at all. This might be the most common one, but usually when I eat it I just take plain rice and seaweed and call that gimbap. Personally I've pretty much grown up with this meal, but I know some people who don't really like dry seaweed, so if you plan on eating something like this and aren't a fan of seaweed, BE WARNED!!! 

Ingredients

In order to make this meal (with this particular recipe) you must have...

• 7 sheets of dried seaweed (10 inches x 8 inches)
• 1 large gimbap sausage (or anything really)
• 1 log of danmuji (pickled radish)
• 4 cups of fresh cooked rice
• Salt
• 2 tbsp. of toasted sesame oil 
• 2 tsp. of toasted sesame seeds
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 large carrots, cut into matchsticks (Ha 142)

Ingredients!!!

Materials

These aren't listed in the book, but it'd probably be helpful to know you'll need...

• A knife,
• a pan,
• a strainer,
• a pot, 
• a bowl (or three),
• some plates,
• and a sushi mat.

Steps

1. So first of all, you're going to want to lay out all of your ingredients and materials (so that you can just use them easily). Also you'll probably want to wash your hands, especially because you'll need to use them a lot while making this.
2. Place your rice into a large bowl and mix in 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and a pinch of sesame seed. Mix it together (Ha 143).
3. Next "blanch the spinach for 30 seconds. Then drain it" (Ha 143).  Then squeeze out the water and season it with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of sesame oil.
4. For you eggs, crack them into a bowl and whisk them together. Then heat up a large pan with olive oil and cook your egg like an omelet (Ha 143). Then you'll want to cut them into strips.
5. Cut your sausage into strips as well as you carrots, and saute both in a pan.
6. Cut your pickled radish into strips as well.
7. Make a small dish of toasted sesame oil (Ha 143).
8. Now it is time to assemble to roll! First place your seaweed sheet on you sushi mat. Then take some rice and spread it throughout the sheet of seaweed.
9. After that, make one line with each of your fillings on top of the rice.
10. Now roll up the sheet and when you have rolled it all the way, give it a squeeze. (Ha 144).
11. "Smear some toasted sesame oil on the finished roll to prevent it from sticking to the other rolls" (Ha 144).
12. Now, cut your roll into 10-12 pieces. Set them on a plate and now you're done! 

Sauteing the carrots and sausage

Rice spread out, filling placed

ROLLING IT UP!

Cutting the roll

Gimbap

How do you eat it?

Just take a piece and eat it! There's actually plenty of different ways to make gimbap. You can change up the filling, etc. The one I use the most for just a simple snack (since I'm really not a great cook) are just small pieces of dried seaweed and rice. Nothing else.

How does it taste?

Personally for me, I've always loved sushi so dried seaweed is something I've grown used to. But I know some people don't like it so much, which is of course understandable. Gimbap is built a lot like sushi, except the filling is a bit different. There's pickled radish which is sort of sour. The gimbap sausage tastes sort of like seafood rather than beef or pork or some other meat. The egg, rice and vegetables balance everything out. 

Summary

To sum things up, gimbap is a cool, bit-sized snack that you can make pretty quickly. There are multiple varieties, some more complex and others really simple. I really liked that the recipe in the book I used gave specific directions on how to actually form the roll, and help it not completely fall apart your first time making it. If I were to make this meal again I would use bulgogi, which is Korean marinated beef. I think that using bulgogi instead of the sausage would make the gimbap tastier (that's how we usually make it as well). Thank you so much for reading, and seeeeeyaaaaaaaa next time!

Quick Questions:

• Would you be willing to try out this meal?
• Why or why not?
• What would you change about this recipe?

          Ha, Robin. Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.

AMAZING SOUP

Wow... it's almost time to turn this thing in. Well, THEN LET'S GET STARTED.

Simple Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients(Your choice on amount):

- Black Pepper

- Cheese(Any)

- Chicken Broth or Beef Broth

- Ground nutmeg

- Some kind of bowl

- Pan

- Salt

- Eggs

1.) Pour the broth into the pan and put it on the stove in medium heat.

2.) Combine the eggs, cheese, and nutmeg into a bowl and stir.

4.) After the broth has heated up, put the mixture into the pan with the broth and let it cook for about a minute.

5.) Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Wow! Doesn't that look soooooooo good? As Emeril Lagasse says, it is a "Kind of an Italian version of egg drop soup"(4). WHO DOESN'T LIKE EGG DROP SOUP!? This soup is filled with flavor and can be a very filling meals as it includes the savory chicken with the smooth texture of the cheese. According to Lagasse, this is a simple but savoring and craving soup (6). Man, it has been a study journey with you guys. Till next time guys, till next time...

What kind of soup would you prefer to eat on a daily basis?

Lagasse, Emeril. Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast. Comp. Steven Freeman. New York: HarperStudio, 2009. Print. 

KOREAN FOOOOOOOOOOD!!! PART FOOOOOOOOUUUURRRRRR!!!!

Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)

Kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew is one of the meals that I ate a bunch (and maybe still do) as a kid. It was easy and quick to make, and was still tasty and flavorful in my opinion. Of course though, kimchi isn't really something everyone might really like. It's known for it's pungent and strong (not in a good way) smell, which some people might really hate. So as you can probably guess, the main ingredient in this stew is going to be kimchi. Now... let's get cooking!

Ingredients

Some ingredients you're likely going to need are...

• 8 ounces of pork bell,
• 1 (1-pound) package of tofu,
• 3 cups of kimchi,
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil,
• 1 cup of water,
• 1/2 cup of kimchi juice,
• 1 tbsp. of Korean red chili flakes,
• and 2 tsp. of sugar (Ha 90).

Here are the ingredients!

Materials

Here are some materials you might need...

• A pot, 
• a knife, 
• a cutting board,
• and a large spoon or ladle.

Steps

1. So first, you are going to want to wash your hands (of course!) and lay out your materials and ingredients so that they are easy to reach. 
2. Take your pork belly and cut them into bite-sized pieces (Ha 90).
3. "Cut the tofu and kimchi into bite-sized pieces too" (Ha 90).
4. Next hear your pot, and add your oil along with your pork and kimchi. Stir and fry them for about 5 minutes (Ha 91).
5. After those five minutes your going to want to add your water, kimchi juice, chili flakes and sugar into the pot. Stir, and then close the lid and leave the soup to boil for 15 minutes.
6. With 15 minutes passed, you'll then want to add you tofu and leave the soup to boil for another 10 minutes (Ha 91).
7. Now pour your soup into a bowl using your ladle/large spoon, and you have created kimchi jjigae/stew!

Adding the pork and kimchi

Pouring in the rest of the ingredients (except tofu)

Now adding the tofu

FINISHED!!!

How do you eat it?

So this soup/stew is pretty salty, so I'd definitely recommend eating it with rice or something. I mean there's no really special way to eat this meal. You'd just eat it like any other soup. However, the author in the book I'm using advises, "it might be quite spicy, so serving it with a glass of water would be wise" (Ha 91).

How does it taste?

I think that this dish is pretty flavorful, which can be a good thing or bad. It has an overwhelming kimchi taste, so if your not a fan of kimchi, this might not be your favorite meal ever. But for me, I like the flavor since I'm pretty used to kimchi by now. Although if your planning on going out and talking to people after eating this, I should warn you. Your breath might not smell too great.

Summary

In conclusion, this was a fun and simple dish to make. One good thing about the recipe in the book is that it helped to tell you where you can buy some of the ingredients. Like if you're not too familiar with pork belly, it tells you that you can find it typically in Asian grocery stores. One thing that I would change if I were to make this again is the amount of kimchi I put in the soup. It was a little too salty, and I think the amount of kimchi had a large part in causing that. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!!!

Quick Questions:

• Would you consider trying this meal?
• What bothers you about this stew?
• Have you eaten kimchi before?          

          Ha, Robin. Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.

Piano in the Key of F(ern) pt.5

What is the difference between a piano and a fish?

You can tune a piano but you can't tuna fish 

        It seems as though this project has come to an end, and it is time for my final blog post. In my first blog post I mentioned that I might post a video of me singing and playing piano, but I guess you will just have to read until the end of this post to see! (don't cheat)

    For my final post I decided to learn about something more advanced than anything I have done previously and that is, modulation. Modulation is basically the process of changing from one key (signature) to another in a smooth, logical manner. Generally, it is done to give new life to a song. "A modulation is also used frequently when playing a medley - it offers a smooth transition, or segue, from one song to another.

    The song wasn't that hard to play after I got the hang of it, but it did take me awhile to figure out how the modulation works. The book helped though, because it explained exactly when the modulation was and how it affected what notes to play.

    In the end, this was a really fun experience and I'm really glad I did it, because it actually helped a lot with auditions and competitions I was doing at the time.

    Do you think learning new skills or building off of skills you already know can help you in the long run? Why or why not?

P.S. you should be glad I didn't upload a video of me singing, you would have cried, and not because of how amazing it was.

Easy Adult Piano. N.p.: Hal Leonard, n.d. Print.