Gluten-free flour and milk-free chocolate chips OH MY!!

Gluten-free flour:
I found out recently that I'm allergic to wheat and dairy products, so I've been having to get creative with my baking and eating. I've tried a lot of gluten-free flour substitutes and some have been dizzyingly awful, some have had good flavor, but weird textures, and so on and on the dramas of gluten-free flour continues.... But FINALLY I have a favorite mix for baking: 

King Arthur flour's "Glutenfree multi-purpose flour".

(http://www.kingarthurflour.com/glutenfree/)

 My favorite part about this mix is that you don't have to add anything else in your recipe when using this as a flour substitute, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, you can use 2 cups of this gluten-free flour... super easy! (I used the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of Ghiradelli chocolate chip bag.)

  

Dairy-free, good-for-you chocolate chips recipe:

•    I used 2 ounces of Baker's baking chocolate. (It's 100% cocoa which means it's better for your then other chocolates which have added white sugars and preservatives etc.)
•    Heat it up in a sauce pan, then I add enough raw agave nectar(much better for your then sugar), butter, and coconut milk to make it a smooth consistency- I just eye-balled it, and made sure it didn't taste bitter.
•    To form them into chunks, spread the chocolate mix onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet and refrigerate. After the chocolate is solid to the touch(a few hours in the fridge will do), break it up with your fingers. 

The only downer to this chocolate chip recipe is that it's good for you and you could eat way more of it then normal chocolate and not feel guilty. 

oh wait.... this is NOT a downer!!!!!! ;)

   The gluten-free flour mix also works well for frying meats, and I used the flour with some sugar and cinnamon to "fry" some peach slices in butter and it was DIVINE! By using the chocolate chips, and the gluten-free flour you can also make gluten-free/milk-free chocolate chip cookies! So get creative with it, have fun, and praise the Lord for gluten-free flour! ;D

                       ....and it's all for the Love of Clever :)

Copper Tape necklaces!

    I was inspired by "copper tape" (a.k.a. Stain glass foil), to make some pendants!

($7.99 at Hobby Lobby- They also have black and aluminum.)


Off I went in search of pendant materials to 
cover in COPPER TAPE.

I found this piece of "sea glass" in Maine.  (I believe it's a broken piece of an old 20th century bottle.)
  (p.s. I ADORE Sea glass!) 

This believe it or not, I found in my drive way. :) So classy I know! haha

Here's my process...

Covering it is super easy. Just make sure you press it down well around all of the edges!

For rounded objects like this, I wrapped the tape around the top of it. 
(With more weighty items you might need to glue the copper tape down.)


And now to make the hook that attaches the pendant to it's chain... 

I used .26 gauge.

Cut a small piece of copper wire.

I used needle nose pliers to make the perfect "circle". (If you don't have these pliers then get them ASAP! They are very useful.)
Then, while still holding the wire with the pliers, twist the ends 3 or 4 times.

I glued the "circle hook" on the back of the glass using super glue.
  You could also use hot glue though it might not be as sturdy.  

...and you're DONE! 
The possibilities are endless! You can turn practically ANYTHING into a pendant. I hope you have fun creating your own necklaces and remember that even things from your drive way can turn into something clever. :)


Here's how I wear mine!
(And it would seem that I can't ever wear one necklace at a time.)

....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)

Sewing Treadle Base Turned Table

                 

                My flee market savvy mother happens to own 3 old sewing machine treadle bases AND a lot of vintage suitcases. After seeing these I thought why not turn the treadle base into a table?! I really needed a piece of furniture in my room anyways..... not! (But hey when you make something cool, you MAKE room! haha) I also thought why not use a suitcase as the "table" part?! So an idea was born.

And here's my process...

This is the original treadle base I used as the base of the table.

I added 2 pieces of 2x4's that I stained a color that semi matched the metal. I then cut the pieces of wood to size. 
**If you don't have equipment for cutting pieces of wood, Home Depot or Lowes will cut it for you... How nice of them! :) 

      

                 I found a suitcase that fit. Yay me!

        

 And TA-DA!!..... wait is that really how you spell that? Anyway... Finished project!!! (of course you already saw it at the first, so it really doesn't deserve a "Ta-DA" because that implies a surprise.... dagummit.)

        

                  There's also a shelf.... WHAT!
(By the by, I'm fairly certain that adding a type writer to ANYTHING makes it spectacular! 

I highly recommend the purchase of one as soon as possible.)


....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)

What is Clever?

I had a thought.....


    "What does 'clever' mean? How is it different from smart or brilliant or crafty?!"
  
   
-Here's what the dictionary has to say about what 'clever' really means.

      Definition of CLEVER

1a : skillful or adroit in using the hands or body : nimble<clever fingers>  

b : mentally quick and resourceful <a clever young lawyer>

2: marked by wit or ingenuity <a clever solution> <a clever idea>

       ***Synonyms: artful, creative, imaginative, ingenious, innovative, inventive

    That still, however, didn't answer the question of why it's different from brilliant or crafty or smart. So I thought on it and here's what I came up with...

    Math, science, language, and logic are the functions of the LEFT side of your brain. Your RIGHT brain is the creative, intuitive side that creates music and art. 
  I would say for the most part we don't normally mix the two sides. For example, you don't need to know how to dissect a frog to be able to play Chopin. And you certainly don't need to know how to paint to understand quadratic equations. And then it hit me. Clever, I realized, is when we combine both the right side and the left sides of our brain. It's ingenuity and beauty all in one.
It now makes perfect sense to me!
  My question was answered....  

     Clever is: when the right and the left side

  of your brain work together.

....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :) 

Clay Rosette Tutorial

    

CLAY is the love!!! I've recently discovered that polymer/clay has so many possibilities! I just had to do something with it, so I made rosettes. (If you've ever made fabric rosettes, it's basically the same concept). Once you've made the rosettes you can add jewels in the middle, or dust it all over with glitter. I for some reason didn't, but seriously glittery rosettes?! I mean how cool would that be?!

Here's my Step-by-Step/Picture-by-Picture process of how I made a clay rosette. :) 

FIRST, before you start, the polymer has to be warm. 

If it's not pliable enough, it will start to get little cracks on the edges. It takes a while to get warm so me being my ridiculous self found that the best way is to put it in one of your pockets. Body heat people!! haha I personally put it in my back pocket and sit on it.... I'm clever, what can I say?! :P 

***Thanks to Susannah Flautt Photography 

for taking all the pictures of my step by step process!! She is a fantastic!***

HERE 'TIS!!

Take a small amount of clay and 
roll it into a ball.

  

       

Roll it out into a "snake". ;)

 Using some sort of smooth, rounded tool,
 roll it out flat. (about 1/16'') 
(make sure your tool is smooth 
or it will obviously make marks 
in the clay.) The thinner you make this 
strip the more delicate your rose will look!

These next parts you'll just have to watch. 
The key is make it the most tight at the bottom 
of the rosette.

A few times while making your rosette 
you're gonna want to pinch one of the layers.
It will give it a more real effect and also help
 the rose look more open.

See how the two pinches makes it 
open up more? 

At this point I sometimes pull
 the "petals" back a bit to make it
 look more open.

Make sure there are no gaps on the bottom

or else the outer petal will wobble and 

not be super secure after you bake it.

 GENTLY squoosh the bottom together....

...and voila! :) They will ALWAYS turn 

out differently every time you make it so it's
 always fun to see the finished product!! <3                             

Put Parchment paper on a cookie sheet
 and cook your rosette at 275 degrees for 15 
MINUTES. 
(unless the package of your clay says something different.)

These are the first ones I did. :) I'm just so proud. *tear*.... 
okay not really. Honestly I didn't let the clay warm enough 
so there are weird little breaks in the "petals" when I rolled it out. You can see if you look closely.
*FYI: When you bake them, the color tends to darken. 


Now that you've made the rosettes, you can turn them into anything! 
My personal favorite....

EARRINGS! 

....and it's all "For the Love of Clever" :)