Hellomaupoo: April 2013

Ribbon Bracelet

I don't have heart to throw away ribbons that presents come wrapped in, especially fabric ribbons. I have a box full of scrap ribbons but this gray ribbon caught my eye. I love the fabric and the color, so I thought why not make something with it, specifically a bracelet. This is what I came up with. I think the orange thread adds a little something to the bracelet, what do you think?

Ribbon Bracelet

Happy Mother's Day Cards Are Finally Here!

Mother's day is fast approaching and here are my designs finally. Take your pick!

Unlike previous years I am planing ahead for my mother's day gift. I am planning on including one of the cards but haven't decided on one yet. Well, here's a quick reminder for everyone out there to start thinking about mother's day. Oh and to celebrate Mother's Day I am giving 10% off on all purchases at Hello Maupoo until May 12. Simply enter THANKYOU10 when checking out.

Happy Mother's Day Card Collection

Silver Glitter & Flowers - Happy Mother's Day Card

Heart and Flowers - Happy Mother's Day Card

Happy Mother's Day Love You Mom Card

Free Printable May Calendar!

I can't believe this month is almost over. I realized I better hunker down and work on a design for the by-weekly Free Pintables Series. I am a little late. Today I designed a May calendar to add to the April calendar I did before. This calendar is made up with little gold glitter dots, some with hot pink tipped edges and some with green tipped edges. Dots are lined up to create a square with a pattern within. There are two versions of this calendar - letter size and 1024x728 px wallpaper available to download below. Enjoy!

May Calendar - Check Below to Download

April & May Calendars - Free Printables

All About Garlic

Do you love garlic as much as I do? Garlic is an essential ingredient in my cooking. Whenever recipes ask for garlic I often add a clove or two more than it asks for. Garlic adds a lot of flavor which helps me cut down on salt. But as much as I love garlic I can't say I like the pungent smell of garlic, or of it on my hands from the peeling and chopping. It turns out there's solution to all this. There's a very simple, and somewhat hard to believe, way to eliminate garlic smell by rubbing hands on stainless steel surfaces. I learned this from Lucy, my mother-in-law. I usually rub them on my stainless steel kitchen facet after washing my hands. It works like magic every time.

And for peeling and chopping of garlic, there's a simple method to this as well. First hit the head of the garlic bulb with base of a cup and break them apart. Grab two metal bowls and put the garlic cloves into a bowl, and close the top with the other and shake really hard, about 30 seconds. Here's a demo from Todd Coleman from Saveur Magazine. You will love the result!

Since garlic is an ingredient I use all the time, it saves me time to prepare it ahead of time. I usually chop up about 20-25 garlic cloves and store them in a small jar with 1 cup of olive oil. It's good for up to two months in the refrigerator.

So there it is, everything I know about garlic. Enjoy your garlic!

Museum of Sweets

Does aging change your taste buds? Having grown up in Korea I used to not care for sweets much. But for a few years now I've noticed myself eating more sweets. Now I crave sweets after a meal or just out of the blue. Is it my husband's sweet tooth? When I go to grocery stores or restaurants I always check the dessert section and linger. I love eye shopping at any dessert counter, like the display at Bottega Louie. I consider Bottega Louie a dessert heaven not just for tasty treats but for their artistry. I often feel like I am in a museum of sweets whenever I walk into this open white space, with its classical high ceiling. The lights from the windows brighten up the space and details of cake and pastries really stand out. I appreciate their minimal style with ornate attention in keeping with the space. Of course delicious pastries make the place perfect. Happy sweet weekend!

Bottega Louie - puff pastries with mixed berries

Bottega Louie - dessert counter

Bottega Louie - open white space with classical high ceiling

Bottega Louie - dessert counter

Bottega Louie - artisan bread display

Box Full of Maple Goodies

Do you have a favorite sweetener? I have two. Maple syrup and honey. Yesterday a box arrived from Richards Maple in Chardon, Ohio, a surprise gift of goodies from Bill's mom for his birthday. I love this particular maple syrup because it's directly from the orchard, and for its quality. The box contained maple candied bunnies, hard-candies, soft candies, and a pint of maple syrup that's made with 100% maple tree sap. I like to use maple syrup instead of sugar in a lot of my recipes for taste and for its nutritional value. Simple rule of thumb is 3/4 cup of Maple Syrup equals 1 cup of sugar. Have you tried maple syrup on vanilla ice cream, buttered toast or on roasted vegetables? It's so good! As you can tell, I am super excited and looking into getting more recipes to incorporate maple syrup.

Grade A Medium Amber Pure Maple Syrup from Richards Maple Products

Maple Drops, Maple Cream, Maple Bunnies - Sweet Delights!

Healthy & Crunchy Kale Chips

I value recipes that are simple, tasty and good for you. I am talking about kale chips. I made some for a dinner get-together a few weeks ago and people loved it. It was a part of the appetizers along with grilled cheese sandwiches. I always like sandwiches with something crunchy, and kale chips made a wonderful substitute for potato chips. This is a very simple recipe with only three ingredients - kale, olive oil, and salt. This also makes a perfect TV watching snack. Recipes and instruction below.

I forgot to set the timer on the oven, I lost track of time and ended up over baking the kale leaves. Some are slightly burnt but it made it more crunchy. Don't forget to set the timer!

{Ingredients}
1 head of kale
2 table spoon olive oil
salt to sprinkle

{Instruction}
Preheat the over for 325 F
Thoroughly wash and dry kale. Once they are dried you can either pull the leaves from the stem into bite sizes, or cut them into 1.5" pieces. Discard the stem. Place them in a large bowl and toss them with olive oil and salt. Spread them out evenly onto a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Turn the leaves half way.

I Heart Chalkboard

I love having creative spaces such as a chalkboard. After many discussions with my husband Bill about placement of the chalkboard, we decided to paint the studio sliding door and have been loving it ever since. I have been drawing on it frequently, sometimes around the theme of holidays, birthdays or whatever whim takes me. It's also great to write out the menu for dinner parties. Or the place for a to-do list, which Bill keeps in the corner of my drawings. (The hanging flower is covering it right now in the top corner - but you can see a hint.) Certainly everyone has a door! This is a simple project that will get your creative juice flowing. Below are the instruction for getting your own giant chalkboard.

{Materials}

chalkboard paint (There are varieties of colors to choose from or you can even mix your own color at Home Depot. We used 2 cans of Rust-Oleum Specialty 30-oz Flat Chalkboard Paint in Charcoal Gray), paint brushes, rollers, roller tray, painter's tape, tarp or newspaper, primer

---------------------------

{Instruction}

Step One: layout a tarp or newspaper on the floor under the door and around.

Step Two: prepare the surface -- if unpainted, it needs a coat of primer. Or if it is already painted (most likely), clean it completely, then lightly sand down any protruding imperfections and smooth out the surface. (I forgot to tell Bill to to lightly sand and he ended up completely sanding down the white paint of the door. He ended up with sore arms.) Clean off the dust from sanding, and let dry completely.

Step Three: tape off the door edges with painter's tape.

Step Four: apply the chalkboard paint with a brush or roller. (Bill used medium and large size rollers) Let the coat dry for a day, then if needed then apply a second coat. For us this was just right. The extra coat(s) ensures a thick and durable chalk surface.

Step Five: allow the painted area to cure for 3 days before using it as a chalkboard. Then, prior to initial use, rub the entire surface with the side of a piece of white chalk, then lightly erase it all.

I love large chalk better than the thin because it tends to be more soft and goes on smoothly. And for the eraser you can purchase one at an office supply store or use a damp towel. Damp towel works great if you don't want dusts to go all over the place. Let me know how it goes!

Free Printable April Calendar!

Today I am excited to announce a new series of "free printables". On a by-weekly basis I am going to design a card, calendar, print, or wallpaper, and have them available for people to download for free. I thought of doing this to challenge myself and to share some of my new designs with you. Today I designed a Calendar for the month of April. Here's a diamond shape pattern continuing on the theme of Geometric calendar. There are two versions of this calendar - letter size printout and 1024 x 768px wallpaper. Simply print one out, preferably on a hard-copy paper, and tape it to the wall (washi tape works great!) or enjoy it on your computer screen! Happy April!