Creatures by Ada St.

in progress art and crafting ...also doodles

[creatures-by-ada-street]

Clock!

New project! I am customizing a simple clock!

Here is a "before" pic...

See below pics for my progress so far in making a template using materials available to me (printer not functioning, so this is all analog oldschool design like with rulers, pencil, tracing paper, scissors, glue and whatnot)

I am going to use the template to help me get the new numbers and such aligned relatively even. If it goes well, people won't even notice that the only measuring I did was in drawing out the center cutout circle around a middle dot, and not-really-measuring when I counted grid paper squares. Sometimes "close enough" does work. I hope.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

Making another hoodie but out of t shirt kinda fabric. Nice snd stretchy, not as bright all over but the yellow and pink parts of the tie dye pattern are.

I wanted to have a pull string on the hood but not a long one that would hang down when the hood is loose so I added fun little chunky turtle beads to the ends to keep the strings from disappearing up into the holes.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

Finished my bright green hoodie! See below for more wip pics, especially of the way I did the pockets.

I dislike having to thread a drawstring through, so for the hood I pinned the drawstring in and made sure it was loose and could slide free, then sewed on the outside of the pins to make sure not to sew over the drawstring. For the pockets, I wanted the top flaps to have hidden stitching holding it on, so I stitched inside it and then pinned up a seam and sewed that around the edge, then made the buttonhole and added the button. Only difference with the upper pocket was a little bit of bias tape on the edge. The hood I just added last, pinned on how I wanted and sewed around it.

Except for the buttonholes, all the stitching is using my favorite stitch on my machine that is both stretchy and strong and I don't mind the way it looks. This all could (in theory) be done without visible stitching, but... not with the machine stitches I have available unless I sacrificed stretchiness. I could do something like this with (mostly) invisible hand-stitching using backstitch to maintain stretch, but it would take exponentially longer to make and this isn't the kind of project where looks matter that much to me on.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

This week I played with air dry clay! And made a birb. :)

First time I ever used this kind of air dry clay; it's got such a weirdly soft marshmallow-y feel to it, is surprisingly lightweight, and when dry has sort of a feel like foam that isn't entirely rigid.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

WIP ~ I am making a hoodie out of bright color fleece!

Got the pieces cut out, and then first thing was sewing the torso up and getting the front closure how I want with a zipper and button. I wanted the zipper to be enclosed with the fabric overlapping it (sort of sandwich-style? the zipper lays flat and the fabric was turned over in front and back of it with bias tape enclosing the cut edges of fleece), and also to have bias tape in front and back of the zipper so it wouldn't be getting any fleece bits in it when zipping open and closed (hopefully). I'll do the sleeves next... for now, here's steps I took for the zipper and such, using some bias tape and sometimes a zipper foot. (also that's bias tape around the neckline) (and of course I sewed the rest of the front of the hoodie closed below the zipper; I used a zipper that's only something like 9 inches long instead of one that would go all the way down the entire front)

[creatures-by-ada-street]

One of my current projects is a sweater using crochet thread instead of yarn; I would use a long shoelace for a drawstring on the hood if I had one available... as an alternative I am making a substitute by using friendship bracelet type of knotting. I am not sure how long the thread would need to be, so instead of pre-cutting it, I am using some miscellaneous size balls of thread and will just finish it off when the drawstring thing is long enough for what I want.

Current length is about 3 inches, and the weaving is approximately 3/16 inch wide.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

CHOCOLATE FUDGE RECIPE

Do you like fudge? Do you like easy microwave recipes? THEN THIS POST IS FOR YOU. This is the easiest fudge I have ever made that is also good. This recipe has very consistent good results if you measure precisely and follow the instructions. (also can do dairy-free version if you need to; note the measurements may have to be adjusted) (this recipe is gluten-free as long as you are using gluten-free ingredients; check things like whether the cocoa is processed in a facility that may have cross-contamination with gluten) (for best results, don't use the cheapest ingredients... but if you're in a pinch, even the cheapest generic stuff can be delicious anyway)

I've been making this almost every year for decades; I adjusted the ingredient amounts until I got a version that always comes out the consistency I like (also the original version used milk and I forget which microwave cook book I got it from) I also like to use this fudge (in a softer version with a little extra cream melted in) as a pour-over alternative to frosting on brownies, and also sometimes as a hot fudge topping for ice cream. AND: I love to melt squares of this into hot milk for a really rich version of hot cocoa.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Easy, GOOD Microwave Fudge

Ingredients: *1 bag of powdered sugar (2 pound size bag) *1 cup of cocoa powder *1 & 1/2 sticks of butter (cold like from the fridge, not frozen) (each stick = 1/4 pound or 1/2 cup) *1 cup of heavy whipping cream *1 tablespoon of vanilla (can substitute a different flavor; maybe only use a teaspoon or two if the flavor is very strong) *a pinch or dash of salt (not necessary if you use salted butter) *If you want to use mix-ins like chopped nuts, candy pieces, or marshmallows, make sure you have them ready to stir in; you probably only need about 1/2 cup (or not more than 1 cup) of mix-ins, depending on how much you like in your fudge. (something like crushed peppermint candy [candy canes] you probably only need about 1/4 cup)

Instructions: *Use a LARGE microwaveable mixing bowl (don't use cheap plastic that would get soft if you subject it to boiling temperatures; I have a good sturdy plastic bowl that can take higher temperatures, but a glass or ceramic bowl is probably best) (if you don't have a large enough bowl [&/or you have a small microwave] then make only a half recipe at a time) *Put the powdered sugar into the bowl, add the cocoa (and also dash of salt if you are using salt), and stir them together with a whisk or something else that will distribute the cocoa through the sugar so that the cocoa doesn't make lumps. (If your cocoa powder tends to be pretty lumpy to begin with, try sifting the cocoa onto the sugar before stirring them together) *Divide up your butter into 1-tablespoon size pieces and spread them out over the top of your sugar/cocoa mix, but not at the edges. *Drizzle the heavy cream over the top of everything so that none of the butter sits apart (melting the butter into the sugar in the microwave without the cream warming with it will screw up the texture and make for grainy sugar bits that you really can't fix so do not forget to distribute the cream all over when you pour it on top) *DO NOT STIR THE BUTTER AND CREAM IN (let them just sit on top for now) *Microwave on high power for 2 minutes. *Pull the bowl out and stir (I like to use a wooden spoon) and if the butter isn't completely melted yet just stir as much of the dry stuff into the warm cream as possible, and then return it all to the microwave for no more than a minute. *Add the vanilla and stir some more. *Keep repeating the following: [microwave for 1 minute and then stir] until you get a nice smooth creamy consistency to your fudge that is easy to pour. *If your amounts were measured well, then taking a teaspoonful of the fudge and letting it cool to room temperature should give a good idea of the consistency. You should get fudge that will be firm and easy to cut when chilled, but which won't turn into melty goo at room temperature. *If you are using any kind of mix-in, fold it in right before pouring the fudge into a container, or fold it in right after doing so. For marshmallows or any candy that melts easy (like chocolate-covered mint wafers or chocolate candy bar pieces) do not stir any more than necessary or else the hot fudge will melt it too much. *Pour into a glass dish (don't grease the dish, the fudge has enough fats in it that it shouldn't stick to clean glass once chilled) A 9x13 size casserole dish works well for a full batch of fudge; a 9x9 dish or standard pie pan work fine for a half batch; or use a couple of containers that hold 3-4 cups each (like 1-quart size). (If you are using metal or plastic dishes (instead of glass), I like to line them with aluminum foil so it's easy to turn them out onto a cutting board and peel off the foil when it's time to cut the fudge into pieces.) *Chill in the fridge until nice and cold; if you are going to freeze it, I recommend still chilling it in the fridge first (this fudge keeps fairly well for a long time when frozen, and freezing it first is generally a good idea if you are going to ship it to someone) *Remove from fridge and cut into pieces; serve chilled or at room temperature and store in an airtight container. If frozen, let sit in the fridge a bit first (or overnight). [if you have a really good knife you might still be able to cut it while frozen, but I don't recommend it] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE NOTE: * I don't recommend it, but if you want to make this recipe on a stovetop instead of in the microwave, use the same amounts but be very careful that you melt the butter and heavy cream together without frying the butter; you probably should use a double boiler for the butter and cream and when they are hot (but not boiling) then stir in the sugar and cocoa a little at a time (still sift those together so the cocoa isn't in lumps) and add the vanilla once you have at least some of the sugar/cocoa mix stirred in. * changing any of the ingredients means the amounts need to be tweaked: such as if you use whole milk instead of heavy cream, only use half as much or the fudge comes out too soft (use even less milk if it has a higher water content [aka lower fat], like if you use 1% milk instead of whole milk). * if you want to use baking chocolate squares, or something like chocolate chips: be advised that those contain some fats/oils and so you should use less butter (and a conversion chart for the cocoa/chocolate), also the method might be different because you should be very careful about how you melt the chocolate so it doesn't fry in the microwave... pre-melting the chocolate in a double boiler would probably be a good idea in that case, but if you're doing that you should probably just be using a different fudge recipe anyway.

If you need to go DAIRY-FREE: * avoid substituting margarine for the butter, but if you gotta go dairy-free, use something that is supposed to be a good substitute for butter in baking with a texture as close to butter as possible; if you're using something that melts easier and is softer than butter at room temperature, I recommend starting with only 1/2 cup (equivalent of 1 stick of butter) to begin with and then if the result is too soft, add more powdered sugar [like a half cup at a time]... or if it comes out too dry, add more of the butter (substitute) or milk (substitute) [like a tablespoon at a time]. I have not tried this with coconut oil, but if it's fairly solid at room temperature, it may work reasonably well (using the reduced amount as mentioned above) * you can use soy milk (or another milk substitute that is plant-based and similar in texture) but only use 1/2 cup to start with [as noted above for using milk instead of cream], and if the fudge is not creamy enough then add something like a little more of whatever you are using as a butter substitute, and if it is too soft and squishy then add more powdered sugar.

Please don't ask if I have a sugar-free version; this fudge is a soft candy and mostly made out of sugar... you can't really not use sugar and still have it be fudge (not with this recipe, anyway). If you gotta go sugar-free, maybe consider instead a flourless chocolate cake. Not all of those are gluten-free, but you may be able to find a version that is, and be prepared to see recipes using eggs, so don't expect flourless chocolate cake to be vegan but maybe you can find versions that are.

[larasthings123]

✧˖° Trying out a new technique- pastels ✧˖°

(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)

[creatures-by-ada-street]

I am playing with pastels lately, too!

I drew a doggo :D

[creatures-by-ada-street]

When I make Cinnamon Rolls

...I like to put a strip of dough around the inside edge of the pan, so that none of the actual rolled rolls have "side crust" ...they all come out like they're from the middle of the pan.

And, for those of us who sometimes like a bread-crust side to some of the roll bread, there's that whole strip around the side of the pan to break off pieces and nibble on. (the recipe I used makes so much dough I made a pan that's like, 8 or 9 x13 inches (glass pan) and another using a large metal sheet cake pan (something like maybe 10 x 18 inch?) The dough rose enough that it probably would have worked out better if I'd used a half batch in the larger metal pan, or used two of the larger metal pans, and in either case not have packed the rolls as tight as I did. Looked a mess in the end, but sure tasted good, though.

BTW, when I make cinnamon rolls, I like to use a recipe that I got from someone who said it was from an old lady in Finland. I haven't checked the authenticity of it, but I was told it was for a traditional braided bread called "pulla" ...Finnish grandma version. It uses a lot of butter and eggs, so the dough comes out soft and I really love it for things like cinnamon rolls (as well as for making the braided bread with it) (recipe below)

When I use this for cinnamon rolls, I tend to leave the cardamom in and add some cinnamon to the dough (as opposed to substituting cinnamon for cardamom, which one may also do)

Here's the recipe, if anyone wants:

Finnish Pulla (sweet braided bread)

Dissolve 1 package (2 tablespoons) yeast in 1/4 cup warm water Combine: 3/4 cup sugar a little salt 3 beaten eggs (if making braided bread, reserve a little to brush on the loaf) Stir in: 2 & 1/4 cups warm milk 2 teaspoons cardamom about 5 cups flour (I prefer all-purpose flour which should give a softer result, bread flour should give more structure to rise more if you want that) Knead in 1 cup of softened butter (very soft, NOT melted) Continue adding flour until dough is no longer sticky (probably about 1-2 cups) Allow dough to double on floured surface (I cover the dough with a damp lightweight cloth), then braid (or make into loaves, rolls, or whatever else you want) (if using pans, grease them with shortening) (if making braided loaves, use parchment paper on baking sheet) Cover and let rise some more. Bake at 390 degrees F. for 20 minutes for 1 large braided loaf, OR 450 degree F. for 10 minutes for 2 braided loaves (I think for cinnamon rolls I used 350 degrees F. and checked after 10 minutes and every 5 after that, until the rolls were nicely browned on top) If baking braided loaves, brush loaves with beaten egg when partway through baking (just starting to brown but not browned enough to be done), and sprinkle with sugar and/or almond slices.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

WIP coloring - World Protector Bird

Coloring on a photocopy of a drawing I did a while back of a symbolic massive magical bird, with wings protectively surrounding a fictional planet.

I scanned the original art in and cleaned it up, the page is available in my etsy shop as a digital download.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdaStreet

I am still working out how I want to sell my art and I may change the way it's listed; if anyone reading this wants to take a look and give me advice about the way the listing looks, please comment.

I plan to make this and other coloring pages available on other shops, but so far this is what I have to start with.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

craft flower

materials used: fabric-covered button, wire from a spiral notebook, thread, scrap fabric, fray-check glue stuff

tools: needle-nose pliers, sewing needle, paper towel

later on I used some green scrap fabric to cover the wire stem and branch, and added some simple machine-sewed leaves to the branch... but I didn't bother to get pics of that.

[creatures-by-ada-street]

Straw Goat Coloring (wip)

See below for progress steps; subtle differences as each color is added. Not completed, will have more on this some other time.

What is a straw goat? It is what you get when someone tries to use straw man arguments to make a scapegoat out of someone. It doesn't really represent the target, and might even eat itself.

(doesn't stop people from using logical fallacies / logicfails to put others down, but... the point is that it looks foolish to me, so it makes the person look foolish who is doing the putting-down. I wanted to do a picture that looks as foolish to me, as people do when they use logical fallacies... and I prefer drawing fictional creatures, over drawing people)

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Scratch-made Apple Pie (method)

I have heard some people say that when you make apple pie from scratch, you HAVE to pre-cook the apples for the filling. Not so. I like my apple pie to be made from scratch, hold together well enough to slice and serve, but not too well set up because I like it to still be soft and squishy and fall apart without too much difficulty.

How to:

Get the ingredients together for your preferred pie crust recipe, plus apples (I prefer to use crisp apples that are red with some yellow on the peel, like fuji or rome) ...plus apple pie seasonings (such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger, maybe mace or something more if you like) ...plus sugar, and, very importantly, cornstarch. (if you don't have a preferred mix of spices and amounts for them, pick a recipe you like and follow those amounts. I measure 'to taste' but generally use about twice as much cinnamon as other spices, and mostly just ginger and cloves for that. (maybe about a half or full teaspoon of cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon of each of the others? Depends on how much spices you like in your pie. If you aren't sure, use less spices than you think you need and pay attention to the amounts so you can adjust to your liking the next time.) (don't add cornstarch yet)

Peel and slice up your apples (4-5, depending on size of apples and pie dish) ...as you add each sliced apple to your big mixing bowl, sprinkle some sugar on it, and maybe give a stir, because the sugar helps prevent the slices browning while you slice more apples. Also, the sugar draws some juice out of the apples while they sit. So, let the sliced apples and sugar sit while you mix up your pie crust, and if you want, you can add the apple pie spices to marinate with the apple slices, or add later. (don't add cornstarch yet)

Get your crust mixed up, rolled out, and lining your pie dish. Then, you take your apple slices (with sugar and spices) and give them a good stir, and (VERY IMPORTANT) DO NOT just dump it all into your pie shell. Scoop out the apple slices, leaving the liquid in the bowl. Fill the pie shell to mound up higher than the top of the pan, but don't pack it down and if you ended up with more apple than fits in, don't try to make it all fit, just use as much as you need to fill the pie nicely.

NEXT IMPORTANT STEP: take some of the spiced apple juice left in the bowl (for a deep dish pie, I use about maybe 1/2 cup, or just whatever is left in the bowl) and (with room temp juice) THEN add some cornstarch to this juice. I use generally between 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch (for a deep dish), depending on how set up I want the pie to be. If I weren't doing deep dish size pie, I'd probably make sure to not use more than 1/2 cup of juice (or a little less, like maybe 1/3), and only about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Again, this is to your liking, so keep track of how much you use, and then you can use more or less on the next pie you make, depending on how it comes out and how you want it to be.

Mix the cornstarch into the juice as well as you reasonably can without heating it; (I use a fork) and try to get lumps out but as long as visible bits of cornstarch are very small, don't worry too much. Then drizzle the spiced-apple-juices-with-cornstarch mix over your apple slices in the pie shell, roll out a crust top for your pie and seal the edges together using your preferred edging. For the pie crust recipe I like, the pie bakes about 350 degrees (F) and once the pie is nicely browned on top, I look at the glass bottom of the pie dish to make sure the bottom looks like it is starting to brown. If it isn't yet, I cover the top of the pie with foil so it won't brown much more, and bake the pie a little longer. Ovens vary (especially at different altitudes) and especially if you bake deep dish pie, it's extra important that the bottom crust gets cooked through, so that's why I like a glass pie dish.

Admittedly, sometimes I don't seal the crust edges well, and some juices leak out during baking, but that's why I like to put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet, under my deep dish pie.

It may be messy, but it's guuuuuud.

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wip coloring: Squishies

Coloring process for my squishy jelly monsters, based on zol and gels from the original Legend of Zelda (NES console 8-bit version)

I had fun trying to make them look semi-transparent, but also very colorful. Also, I wanted them to look like they weren't just piles of slime, but more like fully-set jelly stuff, coated in drippy slime. With floating eyeballs set in the jelly, of course.

(here's the finished colored art in a lazy pic, see below for the coloring steps)

Lines were inked with pitt artist pens (india ink) and I laid down some base colors with copic sketch markers before getting to the colored pencils. I know the subtleties of the colored pencil doesn't come through in the kind of lazy photography I did here, but you can see how many different pencils I used, representing how I like to layer/overlay many colored pencil shadings to get the effects I like.

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WIP Sorcerer's Familiar coloring

More from the "build a beast" theme from Halloween a few years back on tumblr... this entry is the Sorcerer's familiar, who is named "Hyperbole" or "Hype" for short. He has a pet beetle (named "Syllabub" or "Bub" for short), is small enough (for now) to fit in the cage in the sorcerer's hat (when Hype has been naughty) and is a hyperactive, childlike creature who has an ongoing feud with the local ducks (who are bigger than him)

Also, for Halloween he dressed up as (a not entirely accurate) Harry Potter, and had the Sorcerer make a golden snitch costume for his pet beetle "Bub".

(see below for more wip pics)

(Hype and Bub both love to eat berries)

(not finished, but that's progress)

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WIP Ancient Sorcerer coloring process

Also part of the "build a beast" theme from a Halloween a few years back on tumblr. The "beast" I started drawing turned into a sorcerer who has lived a reallllllllly long time, but does not have everlasting youth, so he looks kind of ancient, but also got a bit deformed. Again, I started with sketch markers, and then colored pencils.

(see below for more, though not much progress on this one yet)

[creatures-by-ada-street]

WIP Sorcerer's Lair

So, maybe you might have seen how a few years ago, on tumblr there was a "build a beast" theme for Halloween. At the time, I finished line art for those a bit late, and didn't get to coloring. But it was fun, and I said I'd color my "build a beast" drawings... eventually. Here follows some wip pics of my coloring process for the "Beast's Lair" part of the theme, using my original drawing.

(I started with some sketch markers, then colored pencils)

(scroll down)

(not finished, and sorry that photos don't really show all the subtle layering I like to do with colored pencils, but maybe you can get something of an idea of how it goes)