Kansas City BLUES

Kansas City is famous for its Jazz, but it is gaining great a claim for it's arts as well. This treasury features local Kansas City artists work that is helping build KC's reputation for the beautifully handcrafted.


Kansas City BLUES was curated by tinystitches.

Sweet and Salty

Earlier this week the kids wanted an after school snack and begged for popcorn … Uncle’s popcorn, homemade kettle corn. Something he has been experimenting with and recently gave me a quick how-to lesson. I gave it a whirl, my first solo attempt, and it worked! Ha, it worked! Warm, crunchy, sweet and salty goodness.

So yummy! I love the slightly sweet taste you get along side the lightly salted popcorn. And that it comes from my kitchen, off my stove, and not from a commercial bag out of my microwave, makes it that much better.

Here’s how to make it.

You’ll need:

a large, tall lidded stock pot
3T oil
1/4 cup unpopped popcorn
1 T sugar
salt
1 large bowl

Heat oil in pot, adding 6 or so test kernels of popcorn to the pot. Put lid on the pot. I start my heat at about a 5 (medium low heat) and after the first batch turn my head down lower, but my stove top seems hotter than most, and also holds it’s heat, so be careful, you don’t want your heat to be too high or everything will be a black mess in a couple of minutes.

Once your test kernels pop – you’ll hear it don’t worry! – add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, give the pot a little side to side shake so the kernels are in a single layer on the bottom of the pot, sitting in the layer of oil. Before putting the lid back on, quickly sprinkles 1T of sugar over the top of the kernels.

With the lid securely on, gently move the pot back and forth on the burner, not removing the pot from the burner, just swirling and shaking the pot back and forth on top of the burner to distribute the sugar and keep it moving so it doesn’t burn. Once kernels start popping, you can stop moving the pot. The instant the popping slows and stops, remove the pot from the stove and take off the lid. Make sure it isn’t burnt and dump popcorn into your serving bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss to break up the little clumps of popcorn and distribute the salt. Watch for the occasional dud … an unpopped kernel, so no one breaks a tooth, and enjoy!

You don’t have to stop at one batch. For our family of seven, I make this batch three times. After you dump the popped corn into your serving bowl, wipe the pot out with a couple of paper towels. Removing all the excess oil and popcorn bits left behind. Put pot back on the stove top and repeat.

Want plain popcorn? Just leave out the sugar – and if you’re leaving out the sugar, a single shake of the kernels to get them in a single layer on the bottom of the pot is all the shaking you need to do.

FYI – I have a glass stove top, and my brother has had the most success with the glass stove top because the pot can glide across the surface of the heat very easily, but my mother has a very old, original to their house stove top and she was able to make this recipe work with a little less shaking and moving of the pot. Just know that the sugar can burn in an instant which is anything but yummy, so be careful.

Reposted with permission from tinystitches.wordpress.com.

All Things Earthy

In honor of Earth Day, April 22nd, CuriouslySappy curated the treasury All Things Earthy using team members whose focus is on all things earthy, recycled, upcycled, repurposed, reused and organic!

Once in a Blue Moon

This beautiful collection of blues was created by FabTabulous and features items from many KCEtsy Team Members Shops. Please visit Etsy and leave a comment regarding this playful collection.

KC's Artist Easter Craft Fair

There has been a lot of planning in the last two months in preparation for a great new showing up Easter weekend, Saturday April 23rd in Independence. Ring-o Craft has organized 40 local crafters and retailers, for a KC Artists Easter Craft Fair at the Rodger T. Serman Center Gymnasium, located at the corner of Truman and Noland Roads in Independence, MO.

5 Kansas City Etsy Team members are participating in this show and we encourage everyone to stop by say hello and do some shopping. You'll find great finds ... and I'm thinking you'll even find a few treasures for Easter Baskets, Mother's Day and maybe even Graduation.

Here are the KCEtsy participants, click on their shop name to visit their Etsy shop and see examples of their product line:

• Ring-o Crafts - (organizer) Hair Bows, Ribbon Sculpture and All things Girlie
  
  
• Alexanders Designs - Handmade Ugly Glass and Hand Forged Jewelry
  
  
• Tobias Designs, Handcrafted Jewelry - Fun, Colorful, Intriguing and One of a Kind
  
  
• Steam Time Jewelry - Stylish and edgy necklaces and rings handmade from vintage watch parts and polymer clay by artist Anne Berry.
  
  
• Rawr Dino Hats - Fleece hats, plush animals baby toys ... if it's made with fleece, RawrDinoHats probably has it.

Learn about the other 35 participants, all KC locals, and many fellow Etsy sellers, on the shows facebook page, and get free admission coupons. Concessions will be available on-site for breakfast and lunch. Doors open at 10:00 am and will stay open until 2:00pm.

Admission is $2 and kids 14 and under are FREE! Free admission coupons are available online.

KC Artist Easter Craft Fair
Saturday, April 23, 2011
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
The Gymnasium of the Rodger T. Sermon Ctr, Independence, MO

In The News:: MyPaperGarden

It's always thrilling to flip through a magazine and see something or occasionally someone you know personally ... it continues to be like that for the KCEtsy Team!
The current issue of Midwest Living Magazine (March/April 2011) carries a spread that showcases Green Crafters. Kansas City's own Lisa Presley, the artist behind, MyPaperGarden. Lisa was showcased along side five other green midwest crafters; each artist reusing vintage materials or even trash to create amazing gifts and accessories. Lisa pairs vintage paper, in this case vintage maps, with clear vinyl putting both through her sewing machine to create fantastic accessories ... wallets, eReader & passport covers, broaches, and her featured tote bag. All made with vintage paper and clear vinyl.

Lisa says, "I do not use a heat lamination process, contact vinyl or commercial vinyl blanks. My process of covering the vintage paper front and back with clear vinyl and machine stitching it together shows the natural beauty of the vintage paper and gives a quality artisan look. The paper and vinyl once sewed together is surprisingly durable."

Midwest Living turned to Etsy when seeking out Midwestern artisans crafting items using upcycled vintage materials to feature in their 'green' crafts article for the Discoveries section. The writer ended up selecting only one non-Etsy seller to feature. Lisa said, "The writer came across one of my tote bags made from vintage atlas paper, and contacted me thru Etsy, with a convo."

Congratulations, Lisa! The Midwest Living March/April 2011 issue is still on news stands. Be sure to pick up a copy and see Lisa's feature for yourself, and of course, stop by her shop and see all her creative green talent. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and worth seeing.

Mouth Watering Goodness

Can you get any better than hot pink and bright lush green? Not when the sun is out, it's finally over 60 and it looks like Spring is finally here to stay!


FabTabulous, curator of HOT PICK BOUQUET treasury on Etsy, has a little something for everyone in this cheery collection ... classic and whimsical, dressy and everyday, traditional and modern. Please click over to Etsy, view this collection, leave a comment and click on some of your favorite items.

Artist Spotlight:: aLittleHomie

Kirsten O'Hara, use to consider herself a non-crafter. "As a young adult," she says, "I lacked the patience to carry anything through to a quality finish. I was bursting with ideas, but I was so focused on getting to the end that I rushed through the process. I always ended up with a rotten product."

Still, she had an unexplainable urge to create.

Nearly eleven years ago, on their first anniversary, she and her husband were downtown shopping plaza. He offered to buy her any ONE thing. Intimidated by the vastness of choice, she asked him, instead, to take her to Wal-Mart. She wanted a new hobby, and came home with a pair of knitting needles.

"...Hey, I'm a simple girl. It was probably his greatest gift to me. I haven't put the needles down since. Through knitting, I have learned both patience and a love of the art. I love the colors of the yarn. I love the texture as it slips over my fingers. I love the rhythm in the clicking motions. "

"I have learned to love the process. Knitting gives me the chance to sit, ponder, reflect and refresh. It relaxes me. It fulfills me, and I am now happy to create ... and create and create and create."


Kristen's shop, aLittleHomie, specializes in ready-made hand knit creations and knitting kits. She is currently running a special on her washcloth knitting kits, free shipping to the US and Canada, plus 10% off the kit price! See her shop listings for details on how to get the discount. If you're not a knitter, you can purchase Kristen's ready-made sets of 6 hand knit washcloths. They come in a beautiful array of colors and make an excellent Mother's day or baby shower gift.

You can learn more about Kristen and her creative process on her blog.