Hell In A Handbag

It rained...so I made soup.

2010-10-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

Rainy day comfort food? Gotcha covered.

Classic Tomato Soup

(Adapted from a recipe found in Everyday Food)

1/2 stick of butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

salt & pepper

1/4 Cup flour

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried basil

2 cans chicken broth

2 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat; add oil, garlic and onion, season with salt and pepper.

Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste, cook 1 minute.

Add basil, broth and tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot leaving some chunks.

If you don't have an immersion blender, get one, they're handy.

In the meantime, you can use a regular blender, working in batches.
Season with salt & pepper. Like everything else, I like to top it with some cheddar.

The Art of Trading Goods and Services (or Look at All the Cool Stuff I Got!)

2010-03-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

I've found myself trading a lot lately with fellow sellers, crafters and artists on etsy.com. It's a great way to get some of the things you'd like even when you don't have the spending cash. It supports other sellers. It moves inventory. It makes new friends and connections. It's fun. I've traded for art, jewelry, clothes, even ad space!

How do you approach a seller if you'd like to get a deal cookin'? Normally the rejection-fearing shy type, this was difficult for me at first. I received a few nicely worded requests, like this short and sweet~ "Adorable! Do you accept trades? If so please have a look at my shop. :) Thanks!" So when writing, I use something similar, and try to think- The worst they could do is say no. Or ignore you. Or e-yell at you. Either way, you're still relatively unharmed.

Approached by a shopkeep and nothing is quite your style? Think of upcoming birthdays and other gifties. Otherwise, a polite "Sorry, I'm not taking trades at the moment, but I've hearted your shop for the future" will do.

I've only had one bad experience, it was a personal e-mail trade, and I got suckered. It's safest to reserve or make a custom etsy listing, so the rules apply as if it were a regular purchase. Plus, you get to leave feedback!

Amazing Original Drawing by Poppy Fields
Kick Ass FrankenElvis by MissLuckyHellcat
Cute Custom Bow Hat by Apricotbabybaby
More awesome traders~
chechecouture
prinsessan
bamboobettie
pinguim
edinburghvintage

Recipe Time! mmmm... Posole

2010-03-02T13:11:00.001-08:00

My Mother is an awesome cook. Within the last few years, I found out that some of the things she taught me stuck and now I LOVE cooking. Even more than that, I LOVE eating. I thought I'd start sharing a few of my favorite recipes.
Please keep in mind that I've had no real training, and that there will be a lot of meat involved. I try to cook light most of the time, (since this new found love, my husband and I had both gained a combined 75 lbs. *but since lost it!*) but often, the flavor I'm after is in the bad stuff.
I don't want to horrify any Vegans or Diabetics, but my style is far more like Paula Deen than Cooking Light magazine. I use fresh ingredients when possible, but money is tight, so I end up using a lot of canned or dried ingredients as well.
Intro out of the way, here's my first recipe posting...

POSOLE~

1-2 Lbs Pork butt or rib meat
2-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 28 oz Can Hominy
1 Cube Chicken bullion
1 Cube Beef bullion
2 C Water
15 1/2 oz Can Diced Tomatoes with Jalapenos
1 C Chopped Onion
1 or 2 4 oz Can(s) Diced Green Chilies
Tapatio (to taste)
Lime Wedges
Cilantro
Sour Cream
Flour Tortillas

Cut pork into cubes, cover with spices and brown in oil in a soup or stock pot. Remove meat from pan.
To the same pan, add a little more oil, garlic and onion and lightly saute.
Add the browned meat, hominy, bullion and water. Cook on medium heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Blend the tomatoes and green chilies. Add tomato chili mixture to pot and cook for 30 minutes more.
Serve with warmed flour tortillas, lime wedge, sour cream and fresh cilantro.
Eat!

Please share your results if you use this recipe and lemme know what you think!

Pick up a Custom Tattooed Mermaid for a Good Cause

2009-11-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

I've donated two of my custom mermaids to try and help benefit my darling nephew Presley's elementary school.

Check 'em out at biddingforgood, winning bidder picks the colors and details. Bidding starts at $20, and they make great gifts.

Do it for the children, oh won't someone please think of the children?!

Win A Pair of my Custom Seahorses from Cafe Handmade

2009-11-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

I'm proud to be sponsoring this week's giveaway on Cafe Handmade. Win a custom made seahorse and bubble wall hanging set. Available in countless color combos, with pearl, gloss or matte finishes. Winner's choice!
Cafe Handmade is an awesome virtual craft show that features artists and crafty types and spotlights their goods and stories. They even have a social networking site where people livin' the handmade life can get together, check out each other's work, and share ideas.

Enter to win at http://cafehandmade.com/

Darn Gone Cute, Pomade for Gals~

2009-10-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Get Darn Gone Cute!
Darn Gone Cute Pomade for the ladies!For your most perfect do. Medium hold, so no residue left behind, but with the hold and sleek shine to smooth out those unwanted baby hairs, giving you a great clean finish.Ooohhh, and it smells like a new Strawberry Shortcake doll. mmmmmm....

Price: $8.00

http://hellinahandbag.net/dgcpomade.html

Nice Melons!

2009-07-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

I love projects that I would never think of. Michelle Rosensweet, the delightful gal who ordered Bondage Barbie and Punk Rock Miss Tissue had another idea...
It started with... "...maybe we put a gnome in a flower pot as if he is growing out of it...For inspiration I am planning on buying a summer house and I am calling it watermelon hill so u might want to incorporate." Above is what I came up with.

For more step by step pics or info about custom orders, check out http://hellinahandbag.net//watermelongnome.html

The Legend of Poppy Fields

2009-07-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a long overdue peek at my trade from the fabulous Poppy Fields.
Click the drawing, and check it out in her own, beautifully articulate, methodical madness...

I'm in awe. She's got to have a touch of the insanity for all the detail that's in it. It's really amazing up close.

....and the sketches, Oh the sketches!

I knew I couldn't be disappointed, but, come on, I don't think she could be a bit cuter if she were dangling a kitten. Yeah, I steal my lines from everything, but it's darn true.
You just wait until you see my new logo...

Your Guide To Glamor, 1957

2009-07-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

I was just perusing Eleanore King's Guide to Glamor, Beauty, Poise and Charm in a Few Minutes A Day. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Illustrated by M.Pittman Moody, 1957.
It's the most fun I've had reading in a while. It's helpful, yet demeaning tone helps us remember " 'Survival of the Fittest' prevails in the competition for social favor". So you'd better look your best! It's a feminist's nightmare. It's also a wealth of real vintage fashion and beauty tips for those retro sticklers. ...and I think it's just plain neat to see how much the world has changed. ...and how much hasn't!
At first it's almost offensive to read "The little matters of personal attractiveness...mean the difference between riches and poverty...marriage and spinsterhood". but you know it's true. That's why we continue to pluck, shave, wax, and all manner of painful things. Let's face it, no one wants to give a job to the stinky kid. If nothing else, you feel better, and it changes your attitude, like the afterglow of a new haircut. You feel together, more confident, you find yourself trying to think of more errands to run because a good hair day like this should not be wasted at home doing laundry.
Don't we all need to work on our "personal effectiveness"? Miss King used to teach classes in Air Hostess Training back when you could call them stewardesses instead of flight attendants, and airline uniforms were at the height of fashion.
These sellers know what I'm talkin' 'bout...

...and that was just the forward.

Zombified...

2009-06-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

So I says to Poppy Fields, I says, 'what do I hafta do to get a piece of your art'?
Sos she says 'make me a zombie'.

So I did.

Deep in my piles of treasure and unfinished projects, I had a vintage ceramic bust of a truly glamorous lady I had started years ago.

I began the task of trying to make her into a truly glamorous zombie. A few weeks, and several maggot trials later, here's what I came up with...

After what seemed like forever, anxiously awaiting her arrival, and fearing fly or maggot loss on her long journey.....

YAY!
For loads more photos, gory details, and info on ordering your very own zombie, swing on by http://hellinahandbag.net/gallery.html

Tattooed and Expecting

2009-06-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Whew! That was a close one. Just finished up a new tattooed wedding cake topper for a wedding on June 19th. Now I can breathe...for a second. This was a fun one, Michelle, the bride, sent pics of her and her hubby-to-be's tattoos and piercings, and I added them and all their personal details to the expecting topper. For more info, and to see more photos and the actual couple and their tattoos, you can check 'em out at http://www.hellinahandbag.net/weddingcaketoppers

More Rich, Satisfying Tobacco Flavor with Vaughn Monroe

2009-06-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Done and done. :) You can find him at http://www.tohellinahandbag.etsy.com/

Smoking Is Fun and Flavorful with Vaughn Monroe

2009-06-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

I am deeply in love with vintage advertisements. I have stack after stack of old magazines that I thumb through whenever I have a spare moment and ooh and ahh at the way ads used to look, all the "new" products, inventions, and what's changed in the world since.

For example, a cigarette ad with 9 out of 10 doctors choosing to smoke Camels. It's just unbelievable today.

Flipping through a Coronet mini mag from February, 1953, I found another great Camel ad featuring Vaughn Monroe, popular band leader.

"I've given Camels the test of time", says Vaughn. "I've smoked Camels for years and they've never stopped giving me pleasure. They're mild and rich tasting-pack after pack!"

Ugh, the thought of smoking one cigarette makes me wanna wretch, let alone "PACK AFTER PACK".

Anyhoo, the colors, the old mic, the suit, hair and smile all drew me to this ad, and I started wondering, who is this Vaughn Monroe fellow, and did he eventually bite the big one from Lung Cancer?

Well, as much as I wanted the delicious, smooth, rich tasting irony, the answer is no -but- I guess we know why they gave him such creepy nicknames as "'ol leather tonsils", and "leather lungs".

That's it, I'm framing it.

More Fruit of my Frankenstein & Barbie Fixation

2009-06-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

Newest sketch, soon to be painting...

Buy 2 Patterns, Get 1 Free!

2009-06-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hiya all! Pick up any 2 patterns at my etsy shop, and grab a third for freesies. Just drop me a note with your third choice during checkout! http://www.tohellinahandbag.etsy.com/

Sweet Dreams Playset, #973

2009-05-27T11:38:00.001-07:00

Ahhh, fresh new blog. Just finished a new painting! "Sweet Dreams" Playset, #973. Innocent brunette Barbie style fashion doll tattooed with all things girly. Tattoos include "Ken" on her neck, Elvis silhouette, cupcake, pink princess phone, candy, nail polish, lipstick, fountain soda, records, music notes, and stars. She's dolled up in a yellow chiffon nightie with pink bow straps and matching pink bow in her hair. Pink marabou slippers. Her playset also includes matching bloomers, alarm clock, and diary.

18" x 24" acrylic painting on stretched canvas.

Check out more details on etsy...

http://www.tohellinahandbag.etsy.com/