Does anyone remember "water wieners" (also known as "slippery snakes")? It was like a medium sized phallic-looking thing filled with water and glitter with a soft plastic sleeve?




I want to make them and give them out for Halloween (its always nice to get toys in addition to the run-of-the-mill candy) and am curious as to how to make them. It looks like there are two sleeves on them... any ideas?

Here are some pics! Yes, I made the dress! And the flowers! And the netting on the hatty too... I posted it somewhere if you wanna go see all the crazy crap I did for the wedding...

My pal Rachel did a great job with the pics, I think! She's a lifesaver!

Hey Pals!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my previous post about my wedding plans. The good news is in- I got married this Halloween! Your help made it so much fun and you all gave me lots of great ideas. The wedding went off without a hitch (besides having to deal with a lame catering manager)! Here is everything (even though I didn't get the professional wedding pics back yet...):

The invitation!




Here's us at the wedding ceremony. My husband looked so handsome in his suit!




After the ceremony. We're so happy...


You can see the bottom of the dress here, even though its black and white.


...and in color! I think it turned out well, don't you think so?

Coffin Cake!



Here is me with my friend Em. We spent dozens of hours making my dress. Originally, Mode Merr was going to make my "flame dress," but I found out I was pregnant 4 months before the wedding and didn't know what my measurements would be. Angela from Mode Merr knew I sewed so she sold me the flame fabric and I made it with an elastic waistband to accomodate my expanding belly. Below is my husband removing my garter and a better shot of the flames on the dress (the top layer was hot pink, the underlayer was red... I made the red ones but wouldn't recommend it- just pay Mode Merr to do it for you and save TONS of time and frustration):





Our reception was a costume party. The guest party favors were black Chinese take-out boxes with a tiny container of bubbles, skull and crossbones candy, and a red candle with a sticker that said, "Love Never Dies." The entire room was covered in red and black, and we had coffin and skull centerpieces on each table. All the wedding music was Halloween-themed (mostly psychobilly).






My husband's great friend and witness took a big shine to our son Felix, and snuggled him in his little devil costume when he got tired.




He loved the cake!




...and the ladies!

Here it is! The perfect bridal hat for meeee!



However, it is $180! It seems like it would be a fun craft project. And since I am only wearing it for a day I can't justify spending that much on a hat, especially since it is easy to find MOST of the supplies.

THE ONLY PROBLEM is that I have searched millinery websites and Ebay for a cocktail hat base/foundation, and the only thing I found was a straw one. I would really like white satin or even a polyester.

Does anyone know where to find one? I am thinking that if I can't find one it might be a good idea to use a formal satin yarmukle, but they fit less on the front of the head and more in the back, and tend to be a little baggy on small heads like mine. Also, the stiffness of one is questionable for attaching all this stuff to.

Please help! My wedding is in less than a month! Thanks!

My fiance had an Epiphone hollowbody that he wanted to revamp. Originally it was white with some gold trim.
We taped off all the hardware and buffed it with some low-grit sand paper so the paint would take.
He really wanted it to look like a hotrod so we painted it rattlecan black (matte, with no finish!) and finally stenciled on the design. <br>
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Here's the final product!
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...and here is my guy in action with the "new" old guitar...
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The other night I made my guy and me a special dinner. I visited a country club for a benefit dinner and they had this as the main course, so I ripped it off and had it one night!

Rosemary-Garlic pan-seared chicken with raspberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans with pine nuts




I am just now starting to eat meat again, and being a former vegetarian I strongly recommend spending the extra cash for free-range, antibiotic-free meat. My fiancee is a meat-eater and says he can taste the difference. And I don't feel as bad eating it.

For the raspberry sauce, I just put about half a container of fresh raspberries in a blender and pureed. Then I added a teaspoon or two of white grape juice (to take the sourness away), and a little salt (so it wasn't too sweet).

To pan-sear the chicken, heat a skillet on medium. While its heating, dry off the chicken and lightly spread minced garlic on one side (NOT BOTH! TOO GARLICKY!). When the pan is hot take a thin pat of butter and place it in the skillet. Quickly cover the butter pat with a chicken breast and put the cover on the pan. The chicken cooks quickly- it only took me about 3 minutes for each side! Then sprinkle with rosemary.

I REALLY like these cool address numbers made of recycled street signs.



It makes me feel like a jerk-ass to make them on my own since this guy is an artist but it is like 120 dollars for EACH letter, PLUS $20 shipping. They are only 6 inches high! I mean, they are metal so I suppose they are a little heavy. But I sent a flippin' care package to one of my friends in Japan and it cost $20, so I don't get where this guy gets off charging 20 bucks to ship a six inch hunk of metal.

Is there any way I could make these on my own? I was thinking metal shears and folding over the edges so I don't get tetanus, and/or bleed to death on their deadly sharp edges. But I don't know how I would fold them over and I am not sure how to punch holes in them so I can mount them.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

This year Al and I hosted a Hanukkah party at our house. We made latkes, made all our friends drink Manischewitz (someone described it as "watered-down grape jelly with booze in it"), and I bought a buttload of chocolate Hanukkah coins so we could all gamble. We had licensed coins this year- Spongebob, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake and Batman.
Thing is, once you get drunk the rules of dreidel go out the window, and you start eating your winnings.
In the aftermath of the celebration I had all these leftover coins, so I decided that I should post what to do with them, if by chance you ever become Jewish and find yourself with an abundance of coinies. OR if you are already Jewish and save your coinies for next year and wonder why they taste like ass. Now, there is really no need for a photo tutorial because it is pretty self-explanatory, but I got a new digital camera and I love playing with it. So don't judge me!!


<b>First and foremost, remember before any edible Hanukkah coin recycling activities, that you REMOVE THE FOIL. FOIL IS NOT DELICIOUS.</b> This may seem like common sense, until you start drinking Manischewitz.


Now that the wrapping is off, you can begin the deliciousness. Now go get some peanut butter and stick it on one of the coins.


Then stick the other coin on top!


Now bask in the delicious! Don't forget to lift the pinkie.

Other uses for Hanukkah coins:
1. Use instead of pepperoni on pizza.
2. Throw at old people.
3. Throw at Nazis (and run!).
4. Toss in salad as a chocolatey alternative to croutons.

Hey craftsters! As with many of you, I just love tattoos. Recently my fiance got some tattoo equipment and is getting ready to mutilate himself, me and our friends and family for practice. So, to encourage him (but mostly to decorate our apartment), I made him these kick-ass paintin's. Thing is, I am not a great artist, but I am a pretty good crafter. So I bought a book of license-free tattoo flash and did a double-trace transfer onto the canvases (which I had already painted black). In the painting with the heart, the mermaid and the horseshoe, you will notice there is a ribbon in the heart that says, "Amo." That is my fiance's nickname (kinda like J. Lo- his name is Alan Morris... get it??)

Perhaps you are a vegetarian and your friend/life partner/lover/landlord is a meat eater and you need something you will both like. Do you ever say to yourself: "Damn, there is just not enough chowder in my life?" I know I do, and since having a baby I realized that its not just tiny humans that don't eat enough veggies. So I have been trying new vegetably recipes to get into the groove.
I got this recipe from Organic Style magazine, but tweaked it to make it vegetarian. Its "supposed" to be cooked with bacon and chicken, so if you eat meat you may want to try that as well. But my fiance eats meat and didn't miss it at all because it tastes so savory and nummy. Here is my version!!

vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy Bacos
2 small bunches of green onions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups water
2 cubes vegetarian vegetable boullion
7 baby red potatoes (skin left on), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 can corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream OR soy milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons parsley

Heat vegetable oil. Add green onions, celery and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft. (or, if you want to stick bacon in there, skip the veg oil and cook the bacon, then cook the veggies in the grease)
Add water, vegetarian boullion, potatoes and corn. Bring to a low boil, then lower the heat and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes. When the potatoes are soft, add the peas and cream (and chicken if you want) and simmer for 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add parsley. Finally, if you are going the vegetarian route like I did, add the veggie Bacos. They get soft just like ham, taste awesome and are cruelty-free!
If you did it right, the end result should look EXACTLY this delicious:

Just look at all this damn deliciousness!

Try it and let me know what you think!