All Veggie Sushi

My best friend is moving to Chicago, so for her goodbye party I made some veggie friendly sushi.  I was REALLY happy with the way it turned out!  Tasty & pretty to boot...

I followed sushi directions from various recipes that I found online.  This site's a good one, http://makemysushi.com.  Generally for the sushi, you'll need sushi rice, sushi rice vinegar, and nori.  

If you've never tried making an inside out roll, it's not as challenging as it looks.  http://norecipes.com/blog/caterpillar-roll-recipe/#sthash.sQ2hkGTI.dpbs.  I used this recipe as a rough guide.  Read through the directions first, and follow them carefully.  You'll be pleasantly surprised with the results!

The rolls are easier to cut if the knife is wet.

Dried Cranberry, Fried Garlic, Chopped Walnut, and Cream Cheese

To Prep

• fry whole garlic cloves in toasted sesame oil
• finely chop walnuts
• cut strips of cream cheese

After Spreading the Rice Across the Nori

• sprinkle the chopped walnut into the rice, and press in
• Make a line of cream cheese, dried cranberries, and fried garlic

Now roll it up & enjoy!

Mango with Spicy mayo, topped with "Raw" Tomato

To Prep

• Cut Mango into strips
• Peel heirloom tomatoes of at least 2 colors, and de-seed them.  
• Cut the "meat" of the tomato into thin triangular strips
• Create spicy mayo by mixing: mayo, chili sauce & toasted sesame oil
• Put spicy mayo mixture in a ziploc bag

Inside Out Roll

• Place mango strips onto nori
• Cut the corner of the plastic bag, and squeeze a line of spicy mayo

Roll it Up!

• Place the tomato strips on top of the roll, alternating colors
• Give the roll an extra pat to secure the tomatoes
• Optionally, add some more spicy mayo & tempura pieces on top

Sweet Potato and Green Onions with Cream Cheese

To Prep

• Cook the sweet potato, peel, and cut into strips
• Using only the green portion, cut 2 inch pieces of onion
• Cut strips of cream cheese

After Spreading the Rice Across the Nori

• Optionally, spritz the rice with lemon juice, and freshly grind pepper over rice
• Make a line of sweet potato, onion, and cream cheese

Bringing my work home with me!

I've got glasses on the brain!  Here's my June in a pair of cat-eyes.  Thinking of selling prints.  I don't have a lot of experience with graphic design, but I played with it for a long time, and I'm happy with the result.

My colored pencil drawing is layered over some gorgeous mixed backgrounds from a set of tarot cards.  I also cropped the spectacles from the tarot card scan.  I really love the butterfly effect on the glasses.

CAT EYE

Animal Names

Some people have been interested in how I create my animal name art pieces.  There are actually quite a few steps!

Sketch

First, I find animal images that fit the letters that I'm using, and the theme that I am creating.  The example above are marine animals, and the name is "Andrea."  I use the images to make hand drawn sketches of each animal.  I make adaptations to make the animals look more like the letters needed.  Then, I place each of the letters across my lovely piece of white art paper.

Tracing

I trace my sketches onto my nice white paper with a leadless mechanical pencil, or sometimes a tiny crochet hook (whichever I run across first).  When I'm done, I have nicely embossed animals, all in white.

   

 Add Some Color!

The last step is the most fun, and work intensive.  I add color to each of the animals, with high quality artist's pencils.  Each animal takes about 45 minutes to get just right!

...And Andrea's name is done.  Ready for framing and hanging!

Ajoeynamedroo a little greener!

We've always made an effort to use recycled packing materials.  Recently, I've realized that there are a few more steps I can take to make the shop greener.

First, I've changed the lotion containers to recyclable jars.  I originally picked them based solely on aesthetic value and availability.  I've just kept the same ones without thinking for years.

The new jars are clear for the regular body lotions, and tardis blue for the specialty hand and foot creams.  They looks a little smaller, but I swear, they are still 4 ounces!  They are slightly taller and narrower.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/97303776/tingling-tootsies-foot-cream-4-oz

Also, I've decided to stop shrink wrapping.  Heating plastic is bad for the environment and our bodies.  The extra plastic is just going to be peeled off as soon as the customer receives it!

Summer Citrus Sale!

What scent is more summery than juicy lemon and orange?  I declare, a sale on everything citrus!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ajoeynamedroo?section_id=8032054

Add some Grapefruit & Ginger, for an invigorating morning scent!

Orange & Vanilla...TASTY!

Tart Lemon & Orange mix with warm, nutty Vanilla