Loppy's Crispy Sea Kale

Today will be another recipe, I've been cooking more than anything else lately as I haven't really had time for general crafting.

I've seen a lot on Pinterest over the last year about a vegetable called Kale. I had never heard of it before but apparently my mom has grown it in the past, she doesn't really like the taste though. I decided to buy some to make the most popular recipe I've seen; kale chips. Apparently they're supposed to taste even better than potato crisps but they're super healthy. It took me 3 days to hunt down a bag of kale from the supermarket, and the only type I could find was shredded curly kale. I wasn't sure if it would work as kale chips but I tried it anyway. I decided that I wanted salt and pepper flavour crisps so I followed the instructions and when they came out of the oven they didn't exactly look like the pictures I'd seen on Pinterest...they looked more like crispy seaweed from the Chinese. Upon tasting them I realised that they tasted a bit like crispy seaweed too, and nothing like I imagined they would. So the next day I tried again but using salt and sugar, and they tasted EXACTLY like crispy seaweed, even my mom likes them!

So here's my recipe for Crispy Sea Kale :)

• 1 bag shredded curly kale
• Oil
• Salt
• Sugar

Evenly spread out the kale on a baking tray in a single layer (you may need to do this in batches depending on how much kale you have). Drizzle a bit of oil over the leaves and add a teaspoon each of salt and sugar. Toss the kale to evenly coat the leaves and spread out again.

Bake for 10-15 minutes at gas mark 4, shaking and rotating the tray half way through.

Enjoy your crispy sea kale :)

This won't store well in the fridge (it goes soggy), so store in an airtight container for a couple of days.

Loppy x

Loppy's Gingerbread Biscuits Recipe

Today I decided to make gingerbread as it's something I haven't made for a long time. Here's the recipe I use, I can't remember where I got the original recipe from but I've adapted it over time and it always turns out great. Feel free to adjust the amount of ginger and spices to your taste, or try adding extras such as chocolate chips :)

Loppy's Gingerbread

350g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

175g soft light brown sugar

 2-3 teaspoons ground ginger

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon or nutmeg (or both)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

100g butter
1 egg
4 tablespoons golden syrup

Combine ingredients and cook at gas mark 5 for about 10 minutes.

Today's batch :)

I managed to get 23 small gingerbread men and 18 decent sized gingerbread stars in today's batch. This isn't the hard gingerbread that you'd find in high street bakers, it's crunchy on the outside but soft inside and really delicious.

Loppy x

Midge's Musical Madness.

So, I don't blog that often as you can tell. But I do work a lot, and nowadays many of us time our travelling to and from work by number of songs, not minutes. Ergo, I thought I'd share with you my favourite songs to get creative to.

Whenever I draw, work or study, I listen to music or watch a show. Nowadays, when I look back to the work I created or revision material I had for back then, I get an image of the show, or a chord or line from the song stuck in my head. Such is the case for when I review old biology notes, I am suddenly watching Friends again in my bedroom 5 years ago... It is because of this, that I believe it should be memorable music you are reminded of when you look back on a piece of work.

So, without further ado (which is how musical winners are announced, right?) here are my best songs to get creative with.

(I tried to limit it to two songs per artist for maximum diversity, which was hard since I do love Two Steps From Hell)

20) Colours Of The Wind: Disney- Pocahontas - This song is a great relaxing tune to listen to if you're painting landscapes or anything generally pretty ^.^ (Dang, only one more Disney song allowed)

19) I Write Sins Not Tragedies: Panic! At The Disco - A personal favourite of mine, this song fluctuates between soft and fast, so is great for just about anything!!

18) Run And Hide: This Century - Given to me as a recommendation from Loppy, this song is great for painting just about anything. You'll be humming along in no time. We both were up-cycling clothing to this for hours xD

17) Brave: Sara Bareilles - A great anthem for just about anything... also great for being creative.

16) Hey Soul Sister: Train - Just... an awesome song.

15) On Top Of The World: Imagine Dragons - The rustic background music just makes this one sound creative in itself!

14) Hoist the Colours: Hans Zimmer - So good for spooky creating, advisable for Halloween stuff.(technically bypassing the no more than two for Disney ;D)

13) Grand Theft Autumn (Where Is Your Boy Tonight): Fall Out Boy - Me and Loppy just love this all together. No reason necessary.

12) I Am The Doctor: Murray Gold - Great composition, especially for huge fans of Doctor Who.

11) He Mele No Lilo: Disney-Lilo And Stitch - Hard to pick a second Disney song with all the great Phil Collins songs, but there's something about not being able to understand a single word that makes you concentrate more on what you're doing with this one.

10) Planetary (GO!): My Chemical Romance - Part of me needs to listen to MCR, and part of me just loves this song... I'm not sure which part made me choose this.

9) All Star: Smash Mouth - What piece of art would be complete without remembering this afterwards?

8) Spring: Vivaldi - Just, one of the best classical pieces I think in terms of relaxation. Reminds me of walking in to primary school assembly's.

7) Pour Some Sugar On Me: Def Leppard - Uhm, so this is a new obsession with me, but it's great at getting you in to a task.

6) Heart Of Courage: Two Steps From Hell - You know that great instrumental you get to in the middle of games, or at the end of movies, well these guys do a lot of that, and it's genuinely incredibly hard to just pick two. But this song is amazing.

5) My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) : Fall Out Boy - No list of mine will ever be complete without at least two FOB. This is one of their best later songs, also good to draw with.

4) Any sort of Pan Pipe music: Various - No actual songs here, but listening to any pan pipes is a great relaxing creative background sound. Famous ones include My Heart Will Go On, instrumental.

3) Baba Yetu: Christopher Tin - As his album has already won Grammy's and the like, it's no surprise this song is so good. A definite must have to create stuff with.

2) Tubular Bells (2003): Mike Oldfield  - Tiny bit creepy, mostly just amazing to remember with.

1) Strength Of A Thousand Men: Two Steps From Hell - I can't count how many times I've walked into work with this playing to get me feeling awesome. For me, it's the best song from this artist, and a great song to create epic artwork with.

Hope you like my list... Happy creating ^.^

-Midge :3

Diy storage containers

So today I wanted to use up some of the craft stuff I've been collecting without buying any additional things.

I had a few big coffee jars lying around that I wanted to do something with and some wool leftover from a previous project so I made this striped vase, I didn't have enough wool to cover it all the way to the top.

I also had some burlap that I hadn't used for anything and some lace ribbon. I just got a few tin cans from the recycling and made these pretty storage containers. I love these :) They only cost £1 each to make and look really effective.

Loppy x

DIY Superhero gifts for men

Over the last few months my family and I have quite a few superhero themed gifts for my lovely boyfriend. I just thought I'd make a quick post to show what we've made so far.

Marvel Avengers coasters

These coasters are made from Avengers wrapping paper, cork coaster backs and mod podge. The wrapping paper was the most expensive at £4.50 for 2 sheets, but Primark has started selling similar paper for £1.50 a roll.

Superman knitted doll

My nan made this doll from a pattern in a book called 'Knit your own boyfriend' which you can buy here.

Superman Vs Batman cupcakes

I made these cakes for his birthday (I made about 45). Batman was chocolate flavoured and Superman was blue velvet. The toppers were ordered off amazon. I'll make my own toppers next time.

Superman cushion

My nan picked out the fabric and my mom stitched this cushion case for his birthday. The case has a zip on one side so it can be separated from the cushion to be washed.

Hulk mannequin

This the mannequin that I did a tutorial for last week. Tutorial can be found here 

 So that's it. I'd love to hear if anyone else has made something similar. If you have then please leave a comment below or email us :)

Loppy x

DIY Painted artist's mannequin - Hulk

First of all I want to say how awesome Midge's first post was! If you didn't see it, you can read it here. She's crazy good at art :)

So yesterday my wonderful boyfriend took me shopping and bought me this Spiderman bear and costume;

Say hello to Peter Parker :)

I wanted to make something for him to say thank you. I've had this project pinned for a while but I've never got around to making it.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/63/35/b7/6335b72bdb348c687c18d939a2a1b136.jpg

My boyfriend spends obscene amounts of money on figurines so I thought it was perfect.

I picked up a mini artist's mannequin from The Works for £2. I already had acrylic paints and brushes so that makes this a super cheap gift idea :) It just requires a little patience.

I don't feel ready to tackle the intricate webbing on Spidey's costume so I went for the Hulk instead.

Here are the steps to make it;

Start with a plain mannequin

Paint the skin area and base green

I had to remove some of the paint with white spirit because I accidentally painted the wrong section

Paint the shorts purple

Paint the hair black

Use white paint for the eyes and mouth

Use a fine black pen to add detail to the face, I used a Stabilo fineliner

Ta-dah!

Just coat with varnish or matte Mod Podge when the paint is dry and there you have it, a fully jointed Hulk figurine for £2! I think I might try to make the full Avengers team at some point.

Loppy x

Drawing With Midge

So, as you've probably seen, Loppy is the crafty eccentric hipster of this partnership. I'm more the artsy fartsy gaming type. So lately I've been working on something I fancy showing off a bit I guess. Myself and Loppy have fallen in love with Marvel films lately, and we recently went to X-Men: Days of Future Past. But my all time favourite villain, and close to being my favourite overall (I still hold a torch for Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr.) is Loki, especially played by Tom Hiddleston. So I decided to start a painting... which is by no means close to being finished, but I thought as a filler and as my first real solo post it would start things off nicely.

So I started this a while ago, just as a passing the time thing, beginning by drawing in the head. I like to document when I draw things in progression stages, to sort of prove to myself weirdly that I did it.



Apologies for the bad quality.

As I started it, I did not really like it. I even considered giving up a few times, but most of the things I do don't turn out well, until the very end, so I'm glad I stuck with it.



I am a caption!! :D

I then started the shading, starting with the face, but I'm not good with mouths, or specifically anything that completes a face. Anything that completes a face either makes it or breaks it. It's the part that decides whether your drawing looks like the person you intended, a random non identifiable person, or not a person at all. It was then I started enjoying the look of the painting all together.

I preferred the first photo but I stuck with it.

Loki in between day and night. Loki is the master of the universe (H)

Loki's head sitting atop a hobbit hole on a backdrop of the night ;P

Still without a mouth, and not quite there, but a lot closer then we were. Ill update the progress when I finally decide to complete this.

 

So that's it for now. I hope people like it as much as myself and Loppy does ^.^
And maybe Ill do another Drawing With Midge soon :3

Baii for now <3

-Midge

(Btw Loppy hijacked the captions for photo 2, 4 and 5 XD)

Pretty Pagan Pieces Review

Lately I've been seeing a lot of floral head garlands on the high street and although I think they look lovely, most of them are cheaply made and mass produced which takes away the appeal for me. I wanted to purchase a handmade and better quality head dress that will last a long time.
I decided to buy one from an Etsy shop called Pretty Pagan Pieces where the floral crowns are handmade to order. Custom orders are available (and I'm already dreaming of an orange and black crown with autumnal leaves for Samhain).

Looking through the crowns I was spoiled for choice and found it hard to decide between Titania, Mab and Ophelia. I eventually chose Titania but I may still get Mab later on in the year for Yule.

I paid £27.50 for my crown which may sound a bit expensive but it was worth every penny and it is unlikely to fall apart like the ones sold on the high street. It was packaged well, the box was slightly crushed when I received it but this was due to my neighbour placing a heavier parcel on top of it when he took it in for me, and the crown wasn't damaged at all. A handwritten invoice was in the box with a request to take a picture for the Pretty Pagan Pieces Facebook page which I thought was a nice touch.

The crown itself is beautifully made. At first sight I thought it looked a little too big for my head but it was a perfect fit. The flowers and foliage are secured onto the band but are still a bit flexible so can be positioned as desired. I think this crown is great for Summer/Autumn time and would be perfect for a festival as well as handfastings and pagan celebrations.

I would highly recommend that you get one of these crowns right now.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyPaganPieces

Loppy x

How to make worry dolls

As a child I used to love my Guatemalan worry dolls, I still do. My mom told me to whisper my worries to the dolls and they would fix them for me. It always seemed to work. Now I'm older I realise that this is because I'm actually verbalising my problems instead of keeping them to myself but as a kid I thought it was the dolls working their magic. I still have my dolls, but for a while I've wondered if I could make my own. On Pinterest there were a lot of tutorials to make them with cocktail sticks or cotton bud sticks but I don't really like measuring things out and waiting for glue to completely dry, so I decided to figure out my own way of making them. I've seen lots of wirework dolls on the internet and as a jeweller I find it easier to work in metal than most other materials, so I decided to make a wirework frame as the base of my doll.

This is the the step-by-step tutorial of the first worry doll I've ever made. I hope you enjoy :)

You will need:

• Round nose pliers and wire cutters
• Craft wire
• Glue (I used regular craft glue)
• Embroidery thread in at least 3 colours

Using the round nose pliers twist a loop into the wire, leaving a tail a few inches long. This will be the head of the doll.

Make 2 similar length arm shapes using the pliers to bend the wire back on itself towards the body.

Do the same for the legs and cut the wire of the reel. Then twist the excess wire around the legs, leaving a loop at the bottom of each. These loops will be the feet.

I decided at this point to twist the arms too, leaving a loop at the end of each. These loops will be the hands.

Add a dab of glue to the neck and tie on embroidery thread in your choice of skin tone.

Wrap it around the head, use glue at the top of the loop to secure and then wrap back down again. Wrapping around the loop can be a bit tricky at first.

I decided that I wanted the hands to be the same colour as the head, so using the same thread I wrapped it down the arm and around the loop. This isn't necessary if you don't want the hands to match the head.

I did the same to the other hand then cut the thread and glued the loose end to the body.

While the glue is still wet start wrapping the thread for the trousers/skirt around the waist. Then go down each leg individually (unless you're making a skirt - then you just wrap the legs together), glue at the end of the foot loops, and wrap back up again. Cut the thread and glue the loose end to the body.

While the glue is still wet start wrapping the thread for the t-shirt. Start wrapping in a cross shape (like below) before you start wrapping straight around.

Wrap down each arm, stopping just before the hand loop and wrap back up again. Cut the thread at the neck and glue down. Glue some hair on if desired, I just left mine bald.

That's it :) It wasn't too difficult and didn't take too long either. The dolls are flexible when made with wire and a little less fragile.

I think it turned out okay. I wouldn't advise selling these or giving them to children though just in case the sharp wire pops out of the thread.

I'd love to hear off anyone who has tried to make these. Let me know how they turned out for you.

Loppy x

Wirework pendants

While I was at my Stonesetting class the other night I was waiting to use the Aquaflame machine to solder the link of a tennis bracelet that I was about to set. I must've been waiting for half an hour when someone else jumped onto the Aquaflame before me! I knew they'd be a while and I had finished all of my other work so I decided to use up some of the sterling wire that was in my tool kit.

I made these pendants;

Love Pendant 

Pentagram Pendant
(No, this is NOT a satanic symbol)

They didn't take very long to make. The pentagram had to be soldered to attach the star to the circle. I didn't have to solder the love pendant but I did anyway to give it stability, and to make sure the chain that I will attach to it doesn't come detached from the loops.
I gave the pentagram to my mom and she's carrying it in her purse as a lucky charm. I plan on wearing the love pendant myself as soon as I get around to attaching a chain.

Loppy x

Pinchester Zodiac: Part II

Continuing on once again from Loppy's variation from her zodiac sign of Aquarius, we decided to carry on and research into Midge's and Sam Winchester's shared signs.

Taurus (April 20th - May 20th)
Midge's birthday is 25th April.

• "The Taurus is a strange bird because he or she holds grudges about things that never actually happened" -I can dream about a partner cheating on me and hold a grudge about it for days on end. ;) 
• "Most Taureans love conflict. If nothing is wrong, then that in itself is something wrong" -The funniest thing I've found that actually relates to me, I hate it when I can read in somebody that something is wrong, and they refuse to open up. It's like a puzzle and I cannot complete it. Also relating to that: "They like to psychoanalyze their friends but have no real experience with life in general"
• "Taureans are impatient and pushy. They are in a tremendous hurry to get to the nowhere that they intend to go to" -This would explain my need to get on with life and just get where I need to go in the literal sense.
• A well known fact, Taureans are stubborn. - Yup I am just this, if I think I'm doing something right, I'd rather fail miserably and learn from my mistakes, then have somebody else tell me I'm wrong. xD
•  "You feel that you are going nowhere in life. You are probably right" -Well this is just harsh, thanks life.

Fun fact: TAURUS TYPE OF HUMOUR: Observational humour. They are usually unintentionally hilarious, and can take a step back and laugh at themselves too.

All sources:
http://neurolove.me/post/34253279300/the-12-zodiac-signs-sense-of-humor
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/humour/funny-horoscopes.php
http://www.horoscope.com/horoscope/resources/articles/fun-facts-taurus.aspx

Pinchester Zodiac

So as part of our Introducing the Pinchesters week we thought we'd compare 'typical' zodiac traits to our own personalities.

Fun fact: Our star signs correspond to our favourite Winchester brothers respectively. Loppy is an Aquarius like Dean, and Midge is a Taurus like Sam.

Aquarius (January 21^st-February 19^th)

Loppy's birthday is January 23^rd

• An Aquarius speaks at least 5 languages; English, profanity, sarcasm, truth and love.
  Add French and Spanish to that too in my case.
• An Aquarians biggest phobia is commitment.
  I can never make my mind up about anything. I won't commit to having one favourite thing there always has to be a few.
• Aquarians are creative and imaginative, but are better at creating ideas than putting them into practice.
  I come up with a lot of ideas but only a fraction of them are brought to life. I work as a jewellery designer, out of hundreds of designs I have made this year, I have only put 3 forward into production.
• Aquarians are very independent.
  I don't feel held back by anyone and often people think I'm a bit cold and detached. I don't mean to give out that impression though, I'm actually quite friendly! :)
• Aquarians love the uncoventional and delight in anything out of the ordinary.
  I go on ghost hunts every so often, I prefer that to a night out clubbing. I also eat my lunch in the cemetery opposite my workplace almost every day :) I was raised as a Wiccan.

This page has the funniest descriptions of star signs
http://www.astrologyweekly.com/humour/funny-horoscopes.php

Loppy x

40 Things You Should Know About The Pinchesters!

So, we thought we'd do a little introductory continuation post/ Q&A. Replies by Loppy are L and by Midge are M. We hope you enjoy. Loppy and Midge <3

Were you named after anyone:
L: Edie Sedgewick
M: No

Do you like your handwriting?
L: It's conveniently fast, but also illegible.
M: No

What is your favourite lunch meat?
M: Turkey Ham
L: As a vegetarian I prefer my lunchmeats alive

Do you use sarcasm a lot?
L: Never *rolls eyes*
M: Well, no s*** Sherlock.

Would you Bungee Jump?
L: Not a chance in Hell
M: Do I get to push Loppy first? >:) (no but in all seriousness I hate heights)

What is your favourite cereal?
M: Curiously cinnamon
L: Cookie Crisp with vanilla yoghurt; No milk!

What is your favourite ice cream?
M: Mint Choc Chip
L: Anything by Ben and Jerry's or anything by any other company ever; I love ice cream!!!!!!!!!

Red or Pink?
L: PINK
M: RED

What was the last thing you ate?
L: Veggie steak and mash
M: Eating mint choc chip ice cream

What are you listening to right now?
L: Midge's annoying voice
M: Loppy dying

If you were a crayon what crayon would you be?
M: Green and Purple crayon
L: Rainbow crayon

Favourite smells?
L: Freshly baked doughnuts
M: Cut grass

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
M: Loppy, I'm starting to think I don't have any other friends
L: Unfortunately Midge, I have a sad life

Mountain Hideaway or Beach House?
L: Beach house (under the sea castle preferable)
M: Mountain Hideaway!!!

Favourite sports to watch?
L: Uhm... I... I don't.... know any sports
*Midge dies from choking with laughter*

Hair colour?
M: Reddy/Off brown
L: Blonde, totally natural *snicker*

Eye colour?
L: Big beautiful popping brown eyes... yes I have just brown eyes
M: A mix of blue, green, grey and brown

Do you wear contacts?
L: I just started! I'm in my trial week ^.^
M: No, but coloured ones would be cool.

Favourite food?
L: Pizza, pasta, and rice- Gotta get me them carbs
M: Focaccia, don't we sound like healthy people?

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?
M: Scary movies >:)
L: Scary movies with happy endings :D

Last movie you watched?
L: X-Men: Days of Future Past
M: Yeah same XD

What colour shirt are you wearing?
M: Black
L: Pink, blue, purple and white checkers

Summer or Winter?
L: Both have their attributes, but I was born in Winter
M: So mine's Summer, It's a fact, less Loppy's are born in Summer.

Hugs or Kisses?
M: Huggle ^.^
L: I can hug more people than I can kiss, so Ima go for that

Computer or Television?
L: Computer, I can watch television there
M: Computer, What's a telly?

What book are you reading now?
L: The Wolf Of Wall Street
M: The Mortal Instruments series

What is on your mouse pad?
M: A spoon, to eat the ice cream with
L: I can't afford a mouse pad .

Favourite sound?
L: Dean Winchester and the ice cream van
M: Sam Winchester and Tom Hiddleston

What is the farthest you've been from home?
M: Spain, but I'm off to Australia soon
L: The Dominican Republic

Do you have a special talent?
L: All of my talents are special
M: That's like saying none of them are ;)  Bending my fingers back

Where were you born?
L: Solihull, England (That makes me posh)
M: Birmingham, England (Lk if u cry ery tm xD)

Marvel or DC?
M: Marvel
L: Marvel (but I have to like DC because he'll beat me)

Favourite Marvel character?
L: Spiderman
M: Loki (Tom Hiddleston version)

Favourite X-Men character?
L: Charles (The younger version)
M: Wolverine

Favourite DC character?
M: The Riddler (Jim Carrey version)
L: I dressed up as her once so Supergirl

Favourite fandom?
M: Avenger ATM
L: Supernatural ATM

Favourite band?
L: McFly, Allister, Rediscover
M: Fall Out Boy and MCR

Favourite song?
M: The Sharpest Lives- MCR
L: Bleach Blonde- This Century

Favourite colour?
L: Blue and Pink
M: Green and Purple

Favourite Restaurant?
L: Nandos
M: Pizza Hut

Introducing the Pinchesters

Who are we? We are Loppy and Midge, otherwise known as the Pinchester Sisters. We love creating things and we'd like to share those things with you through this blog. From upcycling clothes and making jewellery, to cooking and painting we love all things creative. If you think something may be of interest to us please let us know either in the comments or send us an email to PinchesterSisters@hotmail.com

We'll also be sharing stuff we find interesting, funny or just plain awesome :)

We can be a bit nerdy at times so be prepared ;P

Midge Pinchester

Loppy Pinchester

Loppy and Midge x