Record Store Today is TOMORROW!!

That is right people....Record Store Day is tomorrow!

If you are not familiar, Record Store Day is sort of an annual holiday celebrating independent record stores.  Every year labels release special limited release albums just for this day!  To see the release list for this year you can visit the web site http://www.recordstoreday.com/

Our Want List

Artist	Album
Afrika Bambaataa/MC5	Kick Out The Jams
Arcade Fire	Sprawl II
Childish Gambino	Heartbeat
Devo	Live in Seattle 1981
Fun.	The Ghost That You Are To Me
Gorillaz (featuring James Murphy and Andre 3000)	Do Ya Thing
Iggy And The Stooges	Live at All Tomorrows Parties
Iggy And The Stooges	Raw Power
James Brown	There It Is / Pass The Peas
Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames	New Multitudes
Mastodon/The Flaming Lips	A Spoonful Weighs A Ton
Miles Davis	Forever Miles
Misfits	Walk Among Us
Patterson Hood & the Downtown 13 (featuring Mike Mills)	After It's Gone
Regina Spektor	The Prayer of Francois Villon (Moltiva)
Saturday Looks Good To Me	All Your Summer Songs
T. Rex	Electric Warrior
The Baseball Project	El Hombre / Harvey Haddix
The Electronic Anthology Project of Dinosaur Jr.	The Electronic Anthology Projectof Dinosaur Jr.
The Flaming Lips	The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends
The White Stripes	Hand Springs / Red Death at 6:14
Uncle Tupelo	March 16-20, 1992
Uncle Tupelo	No Depression
Uncle Tupelo	Still Feel Gone
Uncle Tupelo	The Seven Inch Singles
Various Artists	Empire Records Soundtrack
Various Artists	The Breakfast Club Soundtrack
Wilco	The Whole Love Deluxe Box Set

DIY: Frame Mat cutting

At the Andrew Bird concert I went to a couple of weekends ago, I picked up this awesome art print made for the show date.  

 
 Since I want to get this baby hung, I thought I would share how to cut your own frame mats at the same time.  This is a skill I picked up after paying out too much $$ for Michaels to cut mats for my own art back in the day.  I quickly realize it was SO much cheaper to do myself, and rather easy.

With my print in hand I make a quick trip to the local Michaels and headed straight for the framing section (I try to put blinders on or I will buy art stuff…and lots of it.  I can’t seem to help myself it is the artist in me). 

 
 I flipped through the mat corners on the counter which are usually arranged by color. 
Now it is great to work with something that has lots of color so you have multiple options, because not all mats are available for straight sale.  Some certain colors or textures can only be ordered if they cut the mat for you, which is too expensive.  It can be 50+ bucks for one mat and generally a whole sheet is under 15 dollars (plus a whole sheet can be used for multiple mats).   I quickly decide to go with a light teal shade, which complements my print. 

TIP: Always look your mat over before you purchase!  At times I have seen smudges or bend corners…and depending on what I needed it for…I may have purchased it with those flaws…BUT! Always asked and received a discount off the price because of the imperfections.

I’m sure 95% of people don’t have a mat cutter, but if you think you will cut more than a few mats it is worth it.  I have an inexpensive one and have used it for the past 8-9 years and will continue to use for years to come.  The only thing I have to do is occasionally change the blade. (I think I have changed it once.)  I priced them at Michaels when I picked up my board, the one I have was available for 30 dollars, but there was a cheaper option as well..

 
Now I’m ready to do the actually cutting so I gather everything I need which include:
·         Pencil (Use a pencil NOT a pen.  There is the potential to smear ink everywhere.)
·         Push style Mat cutter
·         Longest ruler I have
·         Mat Board
·         couple sheets of foam board


Step 1: Planning and deciding on the measurements of your mat
When it comes to deciding how wide you want to make the mat around the picture, there are a few things you might want to think of first.  The outside size of your mat will be the size of frame you need. So if you want to use some of the precut frames, or frames lengths available
(i.e. buying two sets to make a frame, an 18” length plus a 40”length will give you a 18” x 40” frame that you just screw together in the corners using the hardware provided) then factor this in when measuring.  I personally order custom frames from a woodworker on Etsy, because I can get them made out of birch to match my Heywood Wakefield items. (He does excellent work if anyone wants the name!)

  Step 2: Measuring and drawing the frame on the BACK of the board
I also will quickly shade the void that will be cut out so I don’t get confused while cutting (It has happened!)
 

Step 3: Cutting
The first thing I do is put my piece of foam board on the floor, and then place the mat on top face down. (I do all my cuts on the floor, instead of my table.  I use the foam board so that the razor will have something to sink into once it has cut through the mat and I use the floor because when I think about cutting stuff on my Heywood Wakefield Triple Wishbone dining table I get hives!)

Foam Board...kinda smalls so used two.  

The foldout presentation boards are perfect but couldn't find one.

TIP: I save on cutting by using the corner of the board for two of my sides when I measure out my frame. This time I was extra lucky and was able to use three sides.  Cha-ching!

Now comes the cutting.  Always cut around the outside of the void from the inside  The cutter cuts at a 45 degree angle so you want the angle to be in the right direction. 

This type of cutter is pushed so I place my ruler along the cut line, line up the white line on the cutter a LITTLE below the bottom end line. 

Once I’m ready to cut I push the razor button on the cutter which sinks the blade in (remember to push it ALL the way down.) then push the cutter while holding the blade down straight along the ruler until the white line passes a LITTLE above the top cut line.  Release the button so the blade slides back and rotate the board and make the other three cuts. 

TIP: I usually cut a line from a kneeling position so I can put a good bit of body weight on the ruler to keep it from sliding as I push against it with the cutter. 

Viola! The finished product! 

  What I like about this is that sometimes wall art can be inexpensive.  You can do a lot cool stuff without spending lots and lots of money.  One of my favorite set of wall hangings are my Elvgren pinups.  

These images are from a 365 day calendar that I bought for 8 dollars.  It worked great since the images are roughly about the same size.   I could easily figure out what arrangement I wanted to do. All I had to was pick my favorites, which was actually more difficult that cutting the mat (although the annoying part was measuring it all out to cut).

Homemade Cordials - Strawberry

I'm super excited about the latest kitchen gadget I bought.  It is called "Cordially Yours"... a cordial maker! It was produced in the 80's but wasn't distributed long in the US because the liqueur manufacturers  successfully lobbied to keep it out.  I found out about this gem on a message board and couldn't wait to find one and try it out.  Luckily one came up on the big "E" and I snatched it up!  So lets makes some cordials!

 Mr. Honey brought home a half flat of strawberries....so strawberry it is...

RECIPE

2 cups vodka

2 cups sugar 

1 cup water

4 cups fresh strawberries

First I washed and cut up my strawberries then placed them in the inner pot.  

Next I put the vodka, water, and sugar in a pitcher.

 Stir it up until all the sugar dissolves, then pour the liquid in the pot with the berries.  Set the timer to 8 hours.  Done!  How easy is that.

The next morning, I strained out the strawberries (kept them for yummy ice cream topping!)

 
Poured the liquid into a mason jar.  I did a quick taste test.....DELICIOUS!

 Now lets taste test it in an adult beverage...

I did a quick twist on a caipirinha...if you haven't had one then you should!  It is the national cocktail of Brazil.  Here is the recipe:

1 lime quartered

2 tsp sugar

2 ozs Cachaca  (Brazilian rum)

THE TWIST:  2 oz strawberry liqueur

Place lime wedges and sugar in a cocktail cup; Muddle well until it becomes a paste.  Fill with ice and add the Cachaca  (and strawberry liqueur)

 Tada!

 "Spiked with Happy Houch" drink stir

VERDICT:  Super yummy! Now I think I want to make Pineapple cordials!

Happy Easter!!

Just wanted to say Happy Easter everyone!

Eggs dyed with silk ties!!

The Big "E" Eye Candy

There is some neat stuff on the big "E" right now everyone!!




Becca