An Octopus Shirt: Fashion Remake

So here's my first Fashion Remake! What did it start out as? A polka dotted hoodie that I purchased at a $2 clothing sale.  The fit wasn't the greatest but I knew I could do something fun with it.  The head hole was too small, and with my freakishly long arms (and I mean freakishly) the sleeves were too short. So I thought i'd make a shirt that exemplified comfort and quirkiness that could be dressed up or dressed down. After all, whether it was dressed up or down, it would still have that hoodie pocket, and girls love their pockets!  Skirts with pockets, dresses with pockets, truly, anything with pockets! Nonetheless, it was a hoodie and I wanted to dress it up a little, make it fun and appropriate for a night out at the casual improv theater. I even added a fun little surprise in the back!  So here was my plan...

How did I do it? First I had to work up to being brave enough to start cutting.  I have a strange fear, kind of the whole measure twice cut once...I'm more of a measure 10 times then cut slowly and hope for the best kind of person! So I cut the sleeves off to my desired length, I took my seam ripper and took the elastic cuffs off the bottom of the sleeves and just sewed them on up higher.  I used a serger for this so the stretch would still exist, so I could pull them over my huge biceps (okay, maybe not so much). Nonetheless, this can also be achieved using a zig zag stitch on a regular sewing machine as well. I cut off the hood and cut the neckline I wanted.  I simply folded the edges over and sewed with a straight stitch. I also ended up getting rid of a little bit of the width in the belly of the sweatshirt by cutting a line straight up the middle of the back and sewing it tighter. (You can see the seam in the back view) That was pretty much it!  

Last I wanted to add something a little funky.  I had some gold spray paint, and many many ideas...i believe I narrowed it down to a squirrel, a jellyfish, a cooked chicken, and an octopus.  Ultimately, as you can see I went with the octopus. I did second guess myself about that one, but after receiving 3 compliments on the octopus the first day I wore it...i think I made the right choice! How did I get it on there? Simple, spray paint.  Now, I tried a few previous projects with spray paint and learned a few project destroying things. When spray painting with a stencil, the stencil must be truly affixed (I used contact paper), and always cover the outlying areas with something (I used newsprint), and make sure to cover ALL gaps between contact paper and newspaper! The spray paint mists through the air and gets everywhere and on everything!!! Step by step... 1) draw a stencil of the picture you want on contact paper (I chose a picture off of google and traced an outline), 2) Cut it out with an exacto knife, 3) apply the contact paper onto the shirt where you'd like it, of course it's a negative space thing (apply the sticker of the portion you don't want sprayed), 4) cover up all remaining areas of shirt, 5) Spray.

There are a few things I would definitely try differently next time. First, I did do research into the brand of gold spray paint I wanted to use and found the most metallic looking was rustoleum metallics gold.  However it still didn't come out near as shiny as it did on everything surrounding it.  The newsprint covering the rest of it and the contact paper all came out as though it had been dipped in pure gold, yet the octopus on the shirt came out very dull.  I imagine it was because of the porous surface.  Next time I would probably sponge on a white base silkscreen ink underneath the gold spray paint. Also, I think I would try using freezer paper for the stencil, and iron it on before spraying (smart people on pinterest!) The contact paper shriveled a little with the spray paint.  That was it!  

Pair it with some black skinnies and a pair of Royal Blue suede flats and a messy top of the head bun! So easy and comfy, and yet I still feel funky, fun, and a little bit more dressed up.  The best part, I get to wear a fun flirty shirt with the comfort of a hoodie!!! That makes me smile!

Homemade Yogurt: From Scratch

I've always been enamored with making things from scratch, whether it be food, a bicycle, a sweater.... but I always assumed it would be many hours of labor, unattainable supplies, with subpar results.  Don't get me wrong, some projects are extremely time consuming and involved, (see my future hand knitted sweater post in 2014).  Recently I was at work and overheard someone talking about making their own yogurt, and thought to myself, WHAT? I CAN MAKE MY OWN YOGURT? I get more excited about these things than perhaps a normal person would, but I was fascinated. I asked so many questions, what one would need, how long it takes, how involved is the process.  You would think I eat yogurt all the time by my excitement, but in reality I probably eat maybe 10 single size servings of yogurt a year, at most.  Nonetheless, I was ready to try this, I went online, perused many yogurt makers (despite Alton Brown's advice to never buy a one-function appliance)...at an average of $50 each.  They have less expensive models that have 7 or so small jars, which through my research it seemed people are less pleased with as they become more of a hassle, and the large single container units seem more preferred.  It was hard to justify such a purchase for someone who really doesn't eat yogurt, so I looked more into the mechanics and various recipes. There was also a yogurt "machine" that was electricity free and got rave reviews. Upon closer observation it seemed only to be a thermos.  So, that is what I decided to try, at least to start out.  IF it is truly worth it, AND homemade yogurt is SOOO much more amazing, THEN I will consider such a purchase.

SO, my experiment begins...

Ingredients:

3 cups milk

2 TBS sugar (I used both sugar and vanilla, but as you'll read below, next time I will not)

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 TBS starter yogurt (I used Dannon plain nonfat yogurt)

raspberry, strawberry, or any other preserves (optional)

raspberries (optional)

Supplies you may not have on hand:

Thermos large enough to hold all liquid (just a regular thermos, see picture below)

Cheesecloth

Candy Thermometer

Put milk in a saucepan with thermometer and bring to 180 degrees. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees, take milk off heat.  Add sugar and vanilla, stir. Taste and adjust to your liking.  Let milk come down to 115 degrees.  (You can speed the process up by putting pan in an ice bath, but it really did not take much time at all for it to come down in temperature.)  Next pour 1/2 cup of milk into a bowl or mug with the 3 TBS yogurt.  Mix together and combine back into milk mixture.  Stir and pour into thermos.  Tighten lid, and let sit for 5ish hours (I've also read that it can be made in as little as 3.5 hours). (I inadvertently left it for 6 1/2 hours, as I went out surfing for the day)  The time is pretty flexible. The longer it is left to ferment the tangier or more sour it will be.  Refrigerate.  When serving I added some homemade (not by me) raspberry preserves and some fresh raspberries....it was pretty good.

Once you make your first batch you can use 3 TBS of that as your starter for the next batch, so you don't have to keep buying the Dannon yogurt.

*Fun fact - The reason for the Dannon Yogurt, or any outside starter is that it contains the cultures necessary to turn milk into yogurt, and they easily multiply when given the chance.  So when you add them to your milk, at a certain temperature (and this is the reason for the 115 degree temperature as the cultures can not survive or multiply if it is too hot or too cold) the bacteria multiply and turn the milk into yogurt. Maybe it's not water into wine, but still fascinating to me...

Why would I need a yogurt machine? One thing a yogurt machine can do, that I am unsure one can do with said thermos, is it can create probiotic yogurt.  If you leave it in the machine for 24 hours it ferments longer and breaks everything down to a point that a large amount of lactose intolerant people can eat it with no problem.

What do I do with the leftover whey?

Not really sure, but found some suggestions here:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/292137-yogurt-whey-nutrition/

What we can learn from my mistakes...experiences.

 What I would do next time....I would not add the sugar and vanilla.  I would add flavors and sweeteners after making the yogurt. I don't think I would strain out the whey, as I liked the consistency with it, after all I just ended up mixing the whey back in.  This way it would be full of all the nutrients and protein the whey provides and I won't dirty an extra bowl and cheesecloth.

Worth it? 

I waver back and forth...will i do it again, probably, all the time, certainly not.  It was a good experience, interesting to watch.  I'm sure in the future i'll try some fun flavors, then again can't I just buy a large container of Dannon and mix in flavor...yes I could! There is a difference, not a huge difference but some.  If you like to control the consistency, this is for you, not that you can't just strain the Dannon....nonetheless, I say try it and judge for yourself.  It's always fun to say you made your own yogurt!

Will I buy a yogurt machine? Probably not. As neat and fascinating it is, I think there are other things I might spend time making, perhaps a donut machine might prove more useful to me than a yogurt maker.  Once you get to know me, you too will agree!

A New Year! : From Scratch

Welcome to Summers from Scratch!  I'm Jenni Summers Reay and frankly I am obsessed with knowing how things are made, from scratch!  This fascination goes far beyond food, it extends to clothing, bicycles, surfboards, cars.  I am intrigued by most everything, and I love attempting to create, alter, invent, and repair all that I can.

I hope to explore new places, meet new people, gain knowledge and insight on many new things, and mostly enjoy. I find that whatever is going on in your life, one of the greatest feelings is making something with your own two hands.  A few things I wish to accomplish on these adventures are to become an amazing cook.  I do realize this does not happen overnight and perhaps it will take me 40 years or more, but you gotta start somewhere, and you are welcome to join me.  I would love to be able to sew my own amazingly fashionable clothes...correction, become an amazing fashion designer, (let's not limit ourselves right out of the gate), and learn how to diagnose and repair my car 100% (yes, I get this may sound strange). I may not be able to do all of the work myself, but I will be able to do all of the little things, and be knowledgable when I do have to take the car in, and if by chance, along the way, I invent an amazing hybrid that goes 100mpg, then so be it.   I will surely have to start small but I am excited at the prospects of achieving these things, and the fun I will have getting there, disasters and all!

I would love if you would join me on these adventures (successes AND failures).

My site is still in the process of being created, so please excuse it's simplicity.  If you have any questions, comments, or project ideas, please feel free to contact me!

Let's MAKE SOMETHING together!