Wildish

I’m passionate about sweet things and chocolate, so I occasionally get the urge to whip up a huge batch of truffles. Usually at special times, like the holidays. This time I taught my friends Khoa, Graeme and Aaron how I go about making them, and the basics of tempering chocolate. It was a lot of work, but we had fun and drank the leftover liquors. =P

The first step was to make ganache; which is simply alcohol, hot cream and lots of chopped chocolate. We made Kahlua Spice, Grand Marnier Orange, Baileys Mint and a vegan coconut chocolate flavour. The vegan ganache uses a good quality coconut milk instead of whipping cream. Mmmmmm. When they are the perfect temperature I whip the heck out of them, giving the centres a smooth, airy yet thick and melt in your mouth texture.

The chocolate I prefer to use is Callebaut dark belgian chocolate. I also love milk and white, but if I can only afford one bar I go for the dark. After the centres are rolled we dip them in tempered chocolate. Tempering involves melting and cooling the chocolate by adding little bits of chocolate and a large hunk or “seed” of chocolate which is in temper. This and a lot of stirring is critical because you need to encourage the chocolate to reform the crystal structure it lost when it was melted. As soon as it is in temper you dip the centres quickly before it hardens.

I learned to make truffles while I was working at the Cookhouse. Tomeq Weekes of Alchemy of Angels was teaching some chocolate classes and I learned a great deal. I’m not sure if he is still teaching classes in Halifax, but I would highly recommend him as a teacher. He is a trained chocolatier and a lovely person.

Dan and I also made origami boxes to present our truffles in. They were surprisingly easy and quick to make thanks to a little help from a kind person on you tube that posted this how to video.  The only thing we did differently was cut two long strips of parchment paper to line the boxes.

 

These are inspired by delicate little jellyfish. They are made with sterling silver ear wires (which I shape by hand), silver chain, lace knots, small green pearls, and teeny green glass beads. The little chain tentacles dangle and sway with you as you move.

The second pair is made sterling silver, off white lace knots and ivory lace leaves which are carefully starched and stitched into the jellyfish design by hand.

These are now available at Argyle Fine Art for 25$. Custom jewellery orders also available, just send me an email.

 

I’ve been making new things to bring to the gallery and to sell in my new online shop (which is coming soon). The hair pin was inspired by Celtic knots. I created this by cutting out and sewing together small lace knots. It sits on a small seagull feather and green chaos lace which I make on my sewing machine. The bobby pin is large and sturdy, it will stay put in any kind of hair.

The earrings are made with sterling silver, silver and glass beads, serpentine ovals and lace knots.  The serpentine beads remind me of moss.

Click on the images for a closer look. The earrings and the hair pin are one of a kind.

 

Next up for fall: Snuggly Bangles!

Here are some shots of the comfy bangles I was talking about in the last post. We make these by wet felting wool fleece.  I use a variety of wools and colours, including wool silk blends and the softest merino. They come in two sizes and in a variety of widths.

The thin bangles measure approximately 3/4 inches in width and our classic bangle measures approximately 1 1/4 inches in width.   I recommend trying a layered look with two or three thin bangles or a few in different widths for full cosiness. We also have a super size bangle which is just a little wider than 1 1/2 inches, these a quite chunky and striking on their own.

These are stylish, soft and light as a feather.

Please let me know if you have any questions about sizes or are interested in a custom order. (Click through the gallery thumbnails below for larger images and descriptions).

 

When I awoke this morning snuggly in my warm bed I didn’t want to get out. When I finally hopped out from under the covers I felt cold for the first time in a long while. Fall must finally be here I guess, fall mornings here on the Nova Scotian coast are cool and damp. I like to sleep with the window open, even if it means cool mornings that make you want to stay in bed (or it’s flip side; the occasional chain saw wake up call).

The change in temperature means it’s time to make hand wovens and fuzzy warm things for the cool nights and chillier seasons. That’s about 3/4 of the year here in canada, my wooly wovens serve me well! I’ve been working on some soft  wool felt bangles and cuffs and the first group of finished product is almost done. These are fun, fashionable, comfy and lightweight. Since they wrap around your wrist they really will help keep you warm in the cool months. The cuffs are great for keeping snow out of your sleeves. Although, I must admit I don’t even want to think about snow yet!

I filled out and passed in my application for the next Halifax Crafters fair which will be held in December at a larger venue. I’m already dreaming up soft, stylish winter wearables. Dan wants a woven tam with a pom pom, so I’ll probably make one for him and more for the sale. Mom has already stolen one of my emerald green felt bangles to wear to work, so I have a feeling I’ll be making a lot of these. (She has to type a lot and says it will help cushion and support her wrist. I’ll get her to test that theory and write more about it later.)

Here’s Dan wearing his new fall scarf, for this one I used various shades of warm toned greens and browns. I snapped this shot of him as we walked down the street today. The scarf he is wearing has a root system motif on one edge which I did using a freehand pick up technique. Lately I’ve been weaving in moving lines and cells.

Here’s a more detailed sample of pick up I made previously with cotton and hand spun wool:

I hand spun the wool used for the pick up in this sample, it’s colour and thickness really stood out against the pearl cotton of the plain weave background. This technique really reminds me of drawing. Threads of colour are used with intention like marks. They are inserted in to the structure of the cloth as it is woven after each row of weft, line by line.

 

I had so much fun at the halifax crafters fair last weekend! I sold some things and picked up a few lovely hand crafted objects which I will cherish (more on those later).

This time around we made magnets from old encyclopedia illustrations of prehistoric life which we cut out and carefully water coloured. We then sealed them with acrylic medium to make them durable and kitchen worthy. We mounted the magnets on cards which I typed with my new typewriter. Each one ends up being a unique and cute gift. Quite a few people told us they were buying these to send to friends in the mail.

We had a lot of fun making these so I’m sure we’ll be making more magnets of various kinds in the future. Magnets are great because they are functional (they hold up stuff) and fun (you can play with them). Plus everyone seems to check out what’s on other peoples fridges; magnets and interesting bits of ephemera usually. I know I always notice what’s on someones fridge, and I look at mine any time I go for a snack. Dinosaurs and neat pre-historic life are a welcome addition to my daily routine and thought process.

I brought silver and lace jewellery, naturally dyed quilted silk brooches and quilted brooches in brightly coloured cotton print. There was also a small basket of hyperbolic hair pins and brooches, some with vintage fabrics stitched on, others with lace or vintage buttons. I also brought a hand woven scarf with a root system motif I did using a pick up technique.  (click through the gallery below to see the photos =)

We also sold cards, water coloured cards, mobiles and some other creative odds and ends. I have to send in my application for the christmas fair soon, which I’m sure will only be bigger and better. I tried to handmade gifts for everyone last year which was fun, but took forever. This year I’m going try to keep it balanced; I’ll make some handmade items and support these hard working, crafty folk by picking up some things at the next fair. ( No mall for me.)

The makers at the show wanted to make something beautiful and have it be welcome and loved by someone else. I found some really special stuff; unique objects with a lot of personality. The people who made them had obviously invested a lot of themselves in to their creation and that made all the difference. I wanted everything, it was all so beautiful and engaging!

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the fair to support the Crafters and for encouraging us to keep making you beautiful things.

 

We’ve made some really neat stuff  for the Halifax Crafters Art Harvest.

Dan spend a lot of time gathering sticks, then he sat out back sanding and polishing them. He’s been making headbands from fallen wood which he steams, then carefully bends and ties, and sets aside to  dry. The finished product holds it’s headband shape. He also made coils which I used for mobiles.

In the images below I used a small coil of oak, natural cotton, fishing line and an old calender image of a nebula which I reused to make tiny kites.

Making teeny kites is quite simple; cut a square, fold in half from corner to corner then fold the halfs in half towards the crease. You can then fold the top point down to form a fold across the line that the two previous flaps form. It sounds a bit confusing, but I’m sure if you look at the images of the little kites you’ll get it.

The final result were starry little kites hanging from coils of natural wood (photos of the finished product coming soon). I made a second mobile with crocheted pearl cotton, white fleece pods, freshwater pearls and a circlet of maple dan polished smooth and soft. It reminds me the human body and peering through a microscope at cells or pond life.

We also made magnets from old encyclopedia illustrations of pre-historic life. We cut them out, watercoloured them and mounted them on magnet backing with acrylic medium. They are seal so the colour won’t run and will stand up to wear and tear.

 

Black Lace Leaf Fete Earrings: These earrings are great for an evening out. A hint of metallic sparkle and the lustre of pearls sway underneath delicate black lace leaves. Dramatic, sparkly and light as a feather to wear. The ear wires are sterling silver and the beads are strung on strong, flexible beading wire.

New Black Lace Blooms: These are made with fine silver, glass seed beads, dark freshwater pearls, and black lace blooms. The lace is hand stitched and starched for durability.

Available at Argyle Fine Art in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 25$

 

Lichenous earrings- these remind me of old mans beard. They lace is irregular and the forms are similar but slightly a-symetrical. They are made from chaotic lace, green glass beads, fine silver and dainty silver chain.

Blue medusa fete earrings- These are made with blue lace flowers which is hand stitched around the edges and lightly starched. Strands of light seed beads and pearls dangle underneath. They are inspired by little jellyfish.

Ice Blue leaves with Pink Glass- These are made with ice blue lace which is cut, hand stitched and starched. They dangle from sterling silver ear wires and pink glass rondelles.

These are available now at Argyle Fine Art in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 25$ a pair.