Author Archives: lifetart

Friday’s Gift…..David Eyre’s Pancake Recipe

30 March 2012

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I thought it would be fun to post a little “gift” every Friday…..a recipe, a fun website, a cool craft tutorial, etc.  Something fun to get the weekend started!

Today’s “gift” is this recipe for David Eyre’s Pancake Recipe from 1966 (with some changes/additions I have made).

Variations and names abound – Dutch Baby, German Pancake, or David Eyre’s Pancake – call it what you will, just be sure to try it!  It looks tricky but is the easiest thing in the world – I make it for my daughter before school, if that gives you any idea about the ease of making this dish!  It takes about 5 minutes to make and 20 minutes to bake – and works every time!  Be sure to scroll down for single serving ingredient measurements, other ways to serve it, and links to the original recipe!

Serves 2 to 4

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon whole milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Pinch of nutmeg

2-4 tablespoons of unsalted butter (***I only use 2 Tbs butter)

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Juice of half a lemon

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, milk, beaten eggs, and nutmeg in a bowl. Beat lightly with a whisk. Leave the batter a little lumpy and let rest for 5 minutes.
  2. While the batter is resting, put 2 Tbs butter in a 12′ heatproof skillet and put skillet in oven for 3-5 min. – check at around 3 min. to make sure butter is not burning.
  3. When the skillet is very hot, remove from oven (careful!), swirl butter around bottom to coat and pour in the batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown.
  4. Sprinkle with the sugar and lemon juice, and serve with jelly, jam.
  5. Serve in the pan and rip off pieces (be sure to place pan on a heatproof surface!)

Single Serving 

(Single serving measurements are not exactly half of the full serving, but oddly enough they work. Also, be sure to use a smaller skillet.)

Scant 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Bake 15 minutes

Additional ways to serve: 

Brunch, lunch or dinner

After the pancake has been baked, add anything you would add to an omelet (shredded ham, mushrooms, spinach, etc) and a bit of shredded cheese to half of the pancake. With a spatula, fold over the other half and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt – or put it back in the still warm oven for a couple of minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve with a simply dressed spinach salad. Served this way, a pancake made in a 12″ skillet will serve three people. 

Links to the original recipe and a history of the family recipe from David Eyer’s daughter!

David Eyer’s Pancake from Food52

David Eyer’s Daughter’s Note – be sure to read this; it is so touching and provides a wonderful context for this recipe!  You will think of it each time you make this!

By Eleanore Macnish

How to waterproof your Laptop ….ALMOST!

28 March 2012

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Your laptop and liquids of any kind are NOT friends….no matter how much you want them to be friends, they will never, ever be friends!

Red wine can actually be good for your heart, but is ALWAYS bad for your Laptop!….as is white wine, Diet Coke, water, coffee, hot chocolate, etc.

The picture of the laptop in the above photo was my beloved laptop BEFORE & AFTER I spilled wine on it…..It’s “all fun and games” until someone spills a glass of wine on the keyboard!!!

Actually, there were no “fun & games” to speak of — it was just me, sitting in my studio, answering email and reaching for a glass of wine “without really looking”…..and it cost me dearly!

A couple of days after I ruined my “beloved” laptop, I went out and purchased a new laptop (on which I am writing this blog post).  When I purchased my new laptop, I also purchased a silicone “skin” for the keyboard.

I felt mildly protected, but the the edges of the skin kind of “flare up” (exposing the keyboard – scary! I think it is actually meant as a protection from dust), it was “clunky” when I had to write more than a few words (I found myself removing it any time I needed to “really write”), and there was no protection for the speaker holes. All in all, not the greatest solution.

“From now on, must I drink EVERYTHING FROM A SIPPY CUP!?” I lamented………but then I came up with an “idea”….a most wonderful, ingenious, and perfect idea!

“What if I wrapped my keyboard in that “Glad” Press n’ Seal” stuff that sticks to everything, including itself?!”

Yay!! – it works! The track pad responds beautifully, the keys are the same as if they had no covering at all;  I can wrap the whole keyboard and cut out areas for the side panels (USB port, cd slot, etc) but still allow for the wrap to make contact and seal the top of my laptop!  “But what about the speakers?” you ask? ….I don’t know how it works, but the speakers (even though covered) work almost as well – quite honestly, with no discernible difference to my “rookie” ears!

Although the photo above does not show it, I snapped on my plastic laptop cover (Amazon $20) and it anchors the plastic wrap really well! If you do not have a snap-on cover, just tape the wrap to the underside of your computer in a few spots.

When you want to change out your “Glad Press ‘n Seal Keyboard Protection Layer”,  just turn off your computer and wipe off your keys with a kitchen towel moistened with a bit of alcohol and water to get rid of the little residual dots! Do NOT use Windex or anything like it….those products degrade (break down) plastic…..because they are designed for glass.

Disclaimer: This method does not completely waterproof your computer and I am not liable for any damages to your computer.  This is just something I have found works for me and I wanted to share it.

By Eleanore Macnish

Spring Tea -A Schedule and “How-To” for Fabulously Decorated Sugar Cubes

23 March 2012

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When you buy commercial icing in the grocery store, the can comes with many tips. The “kind of smooth with a whip” looking sugar cubes were from one tip and the frilly icing cubes were from a different tip. On some of the cubes I performed the “surgery” you see in the photos (click to enlarge) and others I just dipped in  tiny bowls of sprinkles. **Note: Get the icing in the can. The kind in the squeeze bag will not stick to the sugar cubes.

AND NOW ON TO THE ‘PARTY SCHEDULE” I PROMISED ON TUESDAY!!

Kind of long which is why I have put it at the end! Hopefully it is detailed enough to make it so you don’t really have to think about anything.  It seems like a lot but most of this stuff doesn’t really take very long – I just make detailed lists so I don’t forget anything!  I posted a Flickr photo set here – it might help with ideas for table set up, invitations, etc.! Also, be sure to check Wednesday’s post – it is LOADED with information and links.
3 WEEKS BEFORE

  • Pick a date
  • Buy cute note cards for invitations
  • Make invitations. Ask people to RSVP
  • Order party favor baskets for as many children as are invited plus 10 more. Also have 10 additional cups & plates. Since it is a Mother/Daughter Tea, siblings (sisters) are also invited by default – inviting 10 kids can turn into 20 kids before you know it! – a good reason for RSVP!

2 WEEKS BEFORE

  • Send invitations
  • Find 3 serving trays (scones, cookies, sandwiches), spoons (they make great silver plastic ones now!), tea set , cups & plates (there are beautiful paper plates, and plastic cups out there!), tongs for sugar cubes, 4 bowls ( jam, whipped cream, nuts and crackers) and 2 pitchers (lemonade & water). Call rental company to reserve, borrow, buy or dig yours out of storage.

1 WEEK BEFORE

  • Make a grocery list or use mine (below)!

2 – 3 DAYS BEFORE

  • Decorated Sugar Cube ingredients: Canned spray icing, sprinkles, sugar cubes
  • Buy ingredients for and make sugar cubes.
  • Store in a container or on a cookie sheet with a drinking glass in the middle and foil “tented” over the cookie sheet (so you don’t smush the icing).
  • Pick up rentals if needed (or have them delivered).
  • Set table with serving trays, cups, plates, spoons, tongs for sugar cubes, pitchers, clear plastic cups, bowls with spoons, and tea service.
  • Fill sugar bowl with sugar (women do not usually want icing in their tea).
  • Make a little tented card for the PB&J tray alerting people that they are PB&J (peanut allergy).
  • Lay clean dish towels over everything to prevent dust.
  • Set up an area away from the tea with wine glasses and an ice bucket for the sparkling water and wine.

1 DAY BEFORE

TO GET (Grocery):

  • White paper doilies for serving trays
  • Bulk Candy for favor baskets
  • Flowers or something for the centerpiece
  • Decaffeinated mint tea (see Tea For A Crowd for amounts needed)
  • Wyler’s Pink Lemonade mix
  • Clear plastic cups for lemonade
  • Scones
  • Whipping Cream
  • 1/2 & 1/2 cream
  • Jam
  • Cookies
  • Nuts
  • Little snack crackers (Goldfish)
  • Bread for sandwiches
  • Peanut Butter
  • Grape Jelly
  • 3-4 bottles of wine (you probably will not need this much but it is good to have on       hand in case you do)
  • 2 large bottles sparkling water
  • 2 bags of ice
  • 2 boxes of frozen hors d’oeuvres (I always pop some in the oven around 4:45 in case someone would like something other than cookies & scones)
  • Votive candles for bathrooms
  • Cocktail napkins for table and ice bucket area

TO DO:

  • Make whipped cream (you can also buy fresh whipped cream at Whole Foods)
  • Make PB&J sandwiches, cover & refrigerate – do not cut.
  • Arrange paper favor baskets on table and fill.
  • Make lemonade
  • Make tea concentrate (see Tea For A Crowd)
  • Set the bottles of wine and water in the empty ice bucket and remember to lay a corkscrew & cocktail napkins somewhere in the vicinity.

DAY OF PARTY

  • Cut sandwiches into little “2 bite” sizes, cover & refrigerate

RIGHT BEFORE (3:30)

  • Open a bottle of wine & recork
  • Ice the wine & sparkling water
  • Set out Lemonade & Water
  • Boil water for tea
  • Light votives in bathrooms
  • Fill the trays & bowls
  • Fill the cream pitcher

Enjoy your party!

P.S. Did you remember to clean your house?

*Tea concentrate – link to Tea For A Crowd suggests filling each cup with concentrate and adding water but I fill the teapot with boiling water and add concentrate to taste.
*Clear cups – when they are scattered across the landscape of your house, they look better than colored cups and your house doesn’t look like the morning after a Fraternity party.
*Sugar-Free Lemonade – it will get spilled and there is no sticky sugary mess with sugar-free.
*I usually pick out a movie to play if the girls are “done” with the tea party and the mothers are still enjoying themselves.

A Mother/Daughter Spring Tea…. an idea you should consider!

20 March 2012

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Every year, my daughter and I host a Mother/Daughter Spring Tea. In the beginning it was a “fun” thing and now it is something to which we look forward every Spring! If you would like to have a party, it is an incredibly easy one to have…if you follow these few simple rules!  Learn from my experience – it does not have to be hard unless you make it so!  I created a Flickr collection of photos from past “MD Spring Teas” if you want to take a look.

Check back on Friday for a detailed schedule of “To Dos & To Gets” to relieve any stress you may have about hosting such an event (I am a stickler for planning and will share with you my “schedule”, grocery list, etc.), and a photo tutorial on making decorated sugar cubes yourself for about $5 and 20 minutes of your time.

Invitations, Party Favors and a Table Centerpiece:

•    We buy cute note cards at Tuesday Morning, dig out scraps of past birthday party invitations, etc. (stickers, rubber stamps, etc)  and make invitations….Eliza applies the stamps…sometimes askew…we talk about the Victorian custom of sending coded messages by stamp placement…very sweet….

•    We buy little crepe paper baskets for party favors , fill them with candy and set them on a tray on a table by the front door.

•    In the first photo, the centerpiece was the base of a discarded lamp from Home Depot that I ripped apart, with a decorated party hat on top of it. If you look at the Flickr collection, you will see a cachepot (any ornamental container for a flower pot) filled with pansies I picked up at the grocery store last minute after I realized I had totally forgotten a “center piece” for the table!  The extra food in the above photo (not mentioned in my grocery list) , is food my friends brought to the tea!!  My friend Alicia brought prosciutto wrapped figs!  Yay!  Love her!….she is a good friend indeed! — particularly because she brought something the children would not eat! Ha!….but really.

Food and Tea:
•    One year we made “mice” by dipping a maraschino cherry in chocolate and attaching a chocolate kiss for the head, adding sliced almonds for the ears and icing eyes and noses………..and “we” will never do this again because Eliza lost interest about 10 minutes into the entire project and I spent the next 2 hours completing them….and my back hurt…and my feet….and my head hurt…….but it is wonderful if you are willing to do it!
•    Buy decaffeinated tea and use these instructions for preparing it ahead of time! (Tea for a crowd)
•    We ordered decorated sugar cubes one year (Eliza chose the designs). (Check Friday’s blog for a Pictorial “How To”….when you see the prices of these sugar cubes…..you will be back on Friday! Ha! ….but really)
•    At the grocery store, we buy the following: Scones, whipping cream (whip it yourself…it is better), jam, Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes, pretty cookies, nuts and/or little cracker snacks, bread & peanut butter (our “tea sandwiches” are PB&J made ahead of time and refrigerated then cut into neat rectangles right before the party), fruit and mint flavored decaffeinated tea, wine, 2 bottles sparkling water, 2 bags of ice and a couple of boxes of frozen hors d’oeuvres.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM HOSTING THESE TEAS:
•    Homemade invitations are the best – and all the better if your child obviously had a hand in making them….duh!!?
•    Buy EVERYTHING, make nothing you do not have to make. Children do not care if anything is homemade – they care about the PARTY.  Scones at our grocery store are $1.99 per dozen….a bargain! Also, women do not care (in this atmosphere) if everything is store bought! If I were giving a bridal or baby shower tea, would I buy everything?….no…..but for this occasion it is totally appropriate and now, I do it every time! The only exception is whipped cream; I make it myself.  Children are very suspect of clotted cream and do not go near it – whipped cream is much easier!
•    You can rent tea cups and dessert plates (ask for dessert plates instead of saucers! Dessert plates will hold a teacup and food!) for very little. You can rent them for about .40 per cup/saucer set (search “party rentals” + name of your city). You can also rent tea sets — or borrow them (do you know how many of your friends probably have a tea set they NEVER use and would be happy to loan to you?)!
•    Schedule the party on a school day. Our invitations specify from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. –everyone can “pop in”, spend a little time and leave to get home in time for dinner.
•    If you have an SUV, have (or borrow) extra car seats (or ask others to carpool). Most mother’s are able to make it around the start time, but some are not and I bring their daughters home from school and their mother’s pick them up from our house—- and the little girls are able to attend — and that’s important…and is also important for their mother’s to be able to attend for a little bit – because that is what their daughters will remember – that they were there together – even if their mom was just there for 20 minutes!  All of the Mothers in attendance automatically take care of and help all kids in their proximity (as Mothers tend to do), so everything works out.
•    Have a short tables or blanket chests covered with a tablecloth for the children………they prefer to sit on their knees (especially 5 – 7 year olds) and any amount of pleading or admonishment will not change this.  After all, if your legs were 20″ long – would you really want to sit in a big adult chair or on a couch and be sooooo far away from your friends?  If you do not have enough “little” tables you can lay sweet tablecloths or blankets on the floor for a Tea Party Picnic!
•    Set up a “Mothers Table” for the Mothers…..the children sort of band together and do not need or want any attention after adults have helped them pour tea and pick sweets from the table …..and the Mothers like to “hang” and have a glass of wine…did I mention that?…the “wine thing”?
•    HAVE WINE ON HAND (for our “1st Annual Mother/Daughter Tea”, I had no wine – and friends kept asking “Do you have any wine?” – now I always buy a few bottles to have on hand for when 5:00 rolls around.  Please know that I am in no way advocating drinking and driving, however many people would like a glass of wine around 5pm and I always make sure I have some for that reason. I also have sparkling water on hand for those who would like to dilute their wine a bit….  **If you are on a tight budget, buy cheap boxed wine and “decant” it into glass “carafes” (about $5 each from restaurant supply stores)— and you will be soooo glad you have those glass carafes in the future!  Wonderful for anything and everything!
•    If you are stressing over “serving” trays, utensils, etc. – DON’T!  Party City (and stores like it) sell wonderful silver metallic plastic trays & thrift stores always have lots of old glass and china serving trays for under $10.  Stick a paper doily on anything and you are golden! If you arrange anything in a pretty way, it will look pretty…..seriously!  Again, Thrift Stores are your friend, as is Ebay – search “vintage glass serving”.
•    Again, don’t stress. The important thing is to do something special with your daughter.  It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be fancy. It does not have to be expensive. But it MUST be fun!

P.S. Notice in the photo above, there are TWO table cloths on the table because when this photo was taken, I did not have an oval tablecloth, so I had to layer 2 tablecloths to fit the table! Make “do” and “do” what you can!

Friday: Schedule, Grocery List and Decorated Sugar Cubes! Yay!

Sneaking a Peek at Artist’s Studios!!

18 March 2012

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Ohhhh! I was so honored to be included in:

Mixed-Media Jewelry Artists: Sneaking a Peek at Their Studio Spaces

Thank You!!!!

Please take a peek!

Nickelodeon, You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself!

14 March 2012

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Nickelodeon Game Screen Shot. DRUNK GIRL….would you grab a camera or hold her hair back?

Let me preface what I am about to say with this:  I completely agree that parents are responsible for policing their kids internet activity, app downloads, etc. – be it through internet site restricting software, keeping track of apps that have been downloaded through iTunes accounts, etc.  Also, I am a pretty laid back Mom; not completely “hands off” by any means – but pretty laid back.

That said, here we go!!!…….

I take issue with the content of this Nickelodeon games app for kids rated 12+.  I think some of the content is so crude and belittling, it is inappropriate for any kid under 18 (and even then, the picture of the girl on the floor in front of the toilet with the choice of “let me grab a camera” is base and degrading no matter how you look at it).  It is also troubling that it was the Nickelodeon brand name that made it attractive to my daughter and she felt “safe” downloading it because Nickelodeon is a “kid” brand (and I am sure she probably saw the 12+ rating and thought it all the more enticing (she is 10)….but still felt safe downloading it because it was Nickelodeon).

***The responsibility to monitor her downloads falls solely on my shoulders and I failed (obviously)…..HOWEVER — how in the HELL is this appropriate even for kids 12+? Really?

Seriously – if my daughter were 12, this would be “OK,” Nickelodeon? REALLY?!?

The ANSWER is no!  NO! –  Nickelodeon, this is NOT appropriate for a 12 year old, a 13 year old….to be quite honest, I do not know what age for which this might be considered appropriate….but I DO know it is not 12 year olds.

Here is my story and I’m stickin’ to it…..see what you think.

Last night, I was sitting in bed with our 10 year old daughter, Eliza, and looking at an iPad game pack she had downloaded called Nickelodeon Addicting Games; a free iPhone/iPad/iPod app containing 36 games.

We opened  Ingenious Personality Quiz, which shows you about 20 screens in succession with photos and asks “What would you do” or has you choose between two options. As we were playing, some things started popping up that were really crude…..and then the one in the picture above popped up with the drunk girl on the floor and the player being asked to choose between one of two actions; “Let me grab a camera” or “Let me hold your hair”.   “Arrag!  Oh my GOSH! What is this game!?!?” I screeched.  “What? What’s wrong?” my daughter asked – she didn’t understand the photo (thank goodness!)  We kept playing, pretty much because I wanted to know what “awful thing” was next and trusting it wouldn’t be too bad because it was a Nickelodeon App……

As we played, other amusing questions/choices on Ingenious Personality Quiz included (not in the order in which they appeared):

What do you see? The choice being “a goblet”  or  “Girls about to kiss!” (my problem is not with “girls” about to kiss but rather making sexual inferences where there are none – AND making any sexual inferences in a game for 12 year olds) – it is a classic optical illusion!  Couldn’t it be “a goblet”  or  “faces”!?!

I Would Use This To (cans of spray paint):  – “Paint dolphins and unicorns and faries and flowers”  OR  “Tag stuff.”

My Greatest Fear Is: A picture of a naked man (waist down) in business socks and shoes clutching his legs together in what appears to be a bathroom, shielding his groin area with his hands  OR  a picture of a mobile home.

This Is A (picture of a hammer): The choice is a “multi-directional impact generator” OR “answer to any argument”.

Eliza started to get a bit nervous at my reaction to the Personality game and said “No Mom!  Look at this one!  You will like this one!”.  We opened High School Cheerleader – which is like any dance game where you are given cues on which step/direction to take and graded on your ability to follow the steps at the right time.  Upon opening High School Cheerleader, you are given a line-up of “girls” to choose as your avatar.  I balked at the avatars, but since this game is rated Tween+, my daughter defended it because she is indeed a “Tween” (defined as: A child between middle childhood and adolescence, usually between 8 and 12 years old) and “it’s from Nickelodeon, Mom!”.  So apparently, this game is OFFICIALLY designed for children 8 years and older……REALLY? (click on the photo….really?!)

…and if you are wondering, yes, it IS weighing heavily on my heart that I “dropped the ball” and when she has yelled from two rooms over “Hey Mom! Can I download this app? It’s from Nickelodeon! I have a credit from my gift card on iTunes!”….I have always yelled back “Oh sure! Thanks for asking!”(because she always has to ask, but you know, it’s nice to compliment her on acting responsibly)….I have always answered “yes” to that question BECAUSE it was Nickelodeon….it’s almost like I thought “they had my back”….but I was wrong….and I was a complete idiot for ever thinking so in the first place, because they are “big business” and “sex sells”….and we are all on our own with regard to this kind of thing….now I know this, and now so do you.

The “Gutless Wonder” in blue & her best friend Annabelle….she looks nothing like a “gutless wonder” to me…she looks just wonderful!

P.S. and by the way, if you are wondering about how the game classified Eliza’s “Ingenious Personality”, it was Gutless Wonder (when you read this, imagine she is 12 – because after all, it is rated for 12+):

Gutless Wonder: These submissive cowards are so quick to roll on their backs that they need to wear special ass-pads so they don’t get holes in their pants.  Complacent as cows, they tend to herd together, sharing group hugs and making it easier to beat them up all at once.

Aliases: Sissy, Wimp

Diet: Tofu

Animal: Jellyfish

Friends: Nursemaid, Creepy Loner

Habitat: Glat on the ground

Color: Yellow

Call: “Can’t we all just get along?”

Enemies: Tight Ass, Bully

I told Eliza I was going to write about this and she was HORRIFIED!!  She said “No Mom! Don’t! You are going to embarrass me in front of the whole world!”  I let her read this post last night. After reading it, she looked at me and said ” you are trying to defend me instead of trying to embarrass me, aren’t you?”

…..yes love, I was, I am and will always be.

Please feel free to comment…..you don’t have to agree with me, but you do need to comment intelligently or I will edit your comments.

By Eleanore Macnish

UPDATE: This blog was featured on Jezebel.com! There is some interesting discussion on their comment thread!

Personal Spaces And How They Speak

9 March 2012

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Have fun and be sure to include #studiospaces

Recently my daughter and I started taking part in the Photo A Day challenge on Instagram started by one of my favorite bloggers – Fat Mum Slim. She provides a calendar for the month and gives prompts for each day’s photo.  The prompt for March 4th was “bedside”.  When I looked at the photo I took of my bedside table, I thought it was so interesting – I see this table every morning and every night, but it looked completely different to my eye when I saw it in a photo. It “spoke” volumes of my life, and in such a small and contained little space! Jewelry everywhere (I am a jewelry maker), a couple of children’s books (I am a mother), lots of books and magazines (I like to read in bed), reading glasses (I’m in my 40’s), a little jar of Advil PM (for when I drink coffee too late in the day)….and all the little bits and pieces of life in general. I have noticed the same phenomenon when I see photos of my studio in publications or when I am editing project photos for articles and have to crop out all the surrounding “noise = stuff” in the photo.  Because I live with it, I don’t notice it – but when I see it in a photo, all the little details become interesting to me.

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to start an Instagram hashtag group!  It is called Studio Spaces and by no means do you have to be an artist to participate!  “Studio” can mean any place you work, make, or create. I have added pictures of my desk and my studio because both of those spaces are personal “Studio” spaces for me.

– all you need to do is share the photo on Instagram and be sure to put the hashtag #studiospaces so everyone can see your picture!  I have gotten the group started with some of my own pics and you can see all the photos in the group here, or by clicking on the photo above!

Also, a tutorial of mine, Wire Jewelry Tip of the Year: Make Perfect Ear Wire Sets in Minutes appeared on Jewelry Making Daily on Wednesday and I promised to post a few “tips and tricks photos” that did not make it into the article……here they are!  You can Google the products to find retailers and I have linked the photo captions to where I buy them.  Enjoy!

Click on the photos to make them larger!

Iphone Data Roaming Settings For International Travel – or how to avoid racking up an $8 billion dollar roaming charge!

7 March 2012

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It’s Wednesday!  Time for a post!

Oh cellular service providers!  How can it be legal? But alas, yes, it is legal and most probably will be until a Senator gets hit with a $4,000 roaming charge upon returning home from an International trip…..but I can’t see that happening anytime soon because the bill would most certainly be reduced once the service provider found out the bill in question belonged to a Senator…….so here are a few pointers with pictures, links to information, and even a forum of poor souls who forgot to change their roaming settings, lamenting their bills (not only AT&T, but many carriers all over the world).  If traveling Internationally, please do research and reading on your own to make sure things have not changed since this post!  Also, if you find inaccuracies, please let me know!  Thanks!

Here we go!  (Clicking on images will enlarge them)

First, click on your “Settings” button

Turn off Cellular Data & Data Roaming

Turn off “Push” and choose Manually for “Fetch”

I was wondering about a few things as I cruised along doing research on this topic.

1. What was my normal data usage at home?  I reset my statistics (“Usage” above “Network” on the “General” screen) and left everything set to my normal settings – my phone’s Data Roaming looking for emails, Facebook updates, etc every 15 minutes.  I took a couple of photos and texted them to myself. Then I kind of forgot about it.  About an hour later (actually an hour and six minutes later), sitting in traffic….I looked at my usage screen, the total was 167 KB – but the International Data Package offered by AT&T lists MB as their data measurement…hmmmm.  I Googled the conversion and it turns out that 167 KB = .163 MB was used by leaving my phone on (by “on”, I mean restrictions set to normal and turning the phone on to see if my Usage level had changed) for an hour.

2. If I turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming, do I also need to turn off 3G?  Nope, if you turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming, you are good to go with regard to Network Settings (you will still need to disable push notifications)- and yes, you will still be able to send and receive text messages and calls…oddly enough. (See this article)

3. I went to Mexico a couple of months ago and turned off all my Roaming settings, but was still wondering about calling and texting plans for International travel.  I spoke with a very nice woman and asked her all sorts of questions…..and found out the following bits of info that I thought were interesting.

TEXTING PLANS – Texting plans are pro-rated because they are a monthly charge. She mentioned this to me because I wanted to get the “50 msg for $10 plan” and she asked me how long I would be staying in Mexico. I said “a week” and she said I could sign up for the “200 msg for $30 plan”, use all 200 messages, and as long as I called them when I got home to cancel the plan for the remainder of the month….the charge would only be about $7.50 because I had only used a quarter of the allotted time on the plan…..of course there is no mention of this on the website and I would call to make sure they have not changed the rules by the time you read this……

CALLING PLANS – I asked her “if someone calls me and I don’t pick up, I don’t get charged – right?”   WRONG! You are charged from  the  moment  your  phone  starts  ringing.  I asked her if there was any way to block calls but still have my phone on so that I could make calls and just not receive them…..Nope…..except that I could forward my calls to a different number (home, different cell, etc.) so they would never ring through to my phone — Excellent idea!!  – just be sure to make sure the message asks the caller to text you…without sounding like you are out of town – in the event of an emergency, people can text you and ask you to call them!

Call Forwarding

Here is a link to the About.com Iphone Data Roaming Horror Stories Forum

$7,000 lesson!!!

I just got back from Europe and found out the the few hours I used the Internet cost me over $7,000.00! Even though I called my cell phone company and purchased a roaming package, I learned that I only had very limited coverage (10mb). I was shocked – I did not know this could happen! This was a very expensive lesson and I will turn roaming off from now on – no more data plans for me!
—Guest DB
And last but not least a couple of useful links for conserving data usage on the iPhone
www.imore.com  Data Conservation
www.apple.com
By Eleanore Macnish

New iPhone Case From Photojojo is quite simply…..just about the coolest thing ever!!!

25 February 2012

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If you don’t know about Photojojo, it’s high time you did!  Poke around of their site for fun projects and products!  Look at this!  Soooooooo much fun!  With magnetic lenses! Hello!???

Making Decorated Hollow Easter Eggs – How To & Sources!

23 February 2012

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Easter is just around the corner!  Here is a repeat of last year’s information on making Blown Out Hollow Eggs, dying them and decorating tips!  Pics, videos and sources! Scroll to the bottom for Sources and links to the supplies!

Buying this kit is by far the easiest way - Amazon among other places sell it. Also - grab a bulb syringe at the drugstore!

 

SOURCES!!

Blas-Fix Egg Hollowing Kit available at Amazon

Rubber Syringe available at Amazon

Aileen’s Tacky Glue Pen (used in the video) at Amazon

Aileen’s Brush On Tacky Glue available at Amazon

German Glass Glitter available at Rags-N-Tags

Victorian Cutouts and Dresden Trim (gold foil decorations in pictures) from Blumchen