Thursday, April 20th is the first class of the new Advanced Drawing Class I’m teaching through Shoreline Community College Continuing Education! We’ll be talking about color theory and experimenting with different dry media including colored pencil, conte crayon and pastel.
As Spring surrounds us with color, come learn about how color works and how to use it to indicate shadow and depth in your drawings. This should be a fun class, building on the previous classes, but open to anyone wishing to enhance their drawing abilities.
I’m so excited to be teaching two Workshops this Holiday Season!
Pamper Yourself with Aromatherapy:
Explore aromatherapy & take home unique gifts! Come create a signature scent that you will infuse into some artist-made organic body butter, mix up an exfoliating sugar scrub, glitz a candle, and make a coordinating box of matches. All supplies provided. Note that this course is not for students who are sensitive to fragrances.
Date: 11/26/2022 (SAT) Times: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM ** Correct room # is 9208 in Building 9000 **
Nothing beats a hand-crafted gift! In this workshop you’ll make rolled paper beads, then craft them into a pair of earrings. Create exotic bath tub teas using essential oils and botanicals, create a super cute pinecone owl and a sweet felt ornament for your favorite camper! You’ll leave this workshop with four handmade gifts created especially by you – perfect for giving! You will also go home with patterns and instructions for making more at home. All supplies provided. For adults and youth age 15+ (will accept students age 12-14 accompanied by an adult).
Date: 12/3/2022 (SAT) Times: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM ** Correct Room # is 9208 in Building 9000 **
Fairview Church and School, 844 78th Street, Seattle
Brought to you by the Northwest Art Alliance (sponsors of the Best of the Northwest Art and Fine Craft Shows) this one day event is designed to help artists clear out their studios of seconds, older designs, extra materials, supplies from projects no longer pursued. Some artists bring new work, too, so you never know what finds you may happen upon!
We will have both new work and “last call” items, as well as stocking stuffers, gift books and more! Come enjoy this fun, FREE event!
As an added bonus, there is a coffee and bake sale table – yum!!!
Once again we co-ordinate with Yazdi’s Summer Sale to bring you a Crackerjack Pop-Up! Join us to find some fantastic deals on books, dresses, frames, and many other items from the Crackerjack Collection!
Participate in our drive to collect period products for T2P2, a local non-profit that is trying to address Period Poverty in our area. T2P2 stands for “Towers of Tampons & Pyramids of Pads.” Help us build one in Wallingford Center!
Drawing for Beginners Class
I’m so excited to be returning to my roots this summer!
I will be teaching an introductory drawing class beginning Weds. July 27th, through Shoreline Community College Continuing Education. I would love to have any of you join in this class, which will teach you to really look and see what you are about to draw. No previous experience required, just a desire to explore a talent you may have thought you didn’t have! More info!
It seems early this year, and in Seattle it’s been feeling more like Fall than Spring, much less like Summer!
Nevertheless, Sunday June 19th is the day set aside to honor our Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles and other male mentors. It’s the perfect day to express love, admiration and thanks for all they have contributed to our lives.
Those of you who were familiar with Crackerjack in Wallingford Center may not realize that we opened that location on May 3rd, 1986 – thirty-six years ago this week!
I was not aware that we debuted during National Small Business Week, and it may be that this week dedicated to small business was created after 1986. But how appropriate!
Of course, I have been waxing sentimental this week, remembering all the fun times, challenges, employees and customers of the 34 years the store existed as a retail shop!
Many of you have expressed how you miss the shop, and I certainly miss many aspects of it, too. Being exclusively an online store has some advantages, to be sure, but I certainly miss the personal interactions with all of you, and helping you find the perfect handcrafted prize.
So, once again, thank you for all the support over the years!
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 8th
Free Local Delivery and Curbside Pick-Up are available through Mother’s Day to make your gift-giving as easy as possible! Click on Shop Our Store to the left for details!
I had never stuffed a chicken before. I have stuffed turkeys for Thanksgiving with my grandfather’s bread stuffing recipe redolent with sage, but it never was part of my repertoire to make a stuffed chicken. I love roast chicken, and have a vertical roaster which makes it faster to roast, but precludes stuffing!
As I browsed this lovely cookbook, which is as much a reflection on living in New York City as a cookbook, I came across this recipe for Field Garlic Roast Chicken, which the author (Marie Viljoen) said might be one of her favorites. So I thought I’d give it a go!
Field Garlic Roast Chicken
Stuffing Ingredients:
2 Strips of bacon, sliced
1 c. Finely chopped field garlic, white and green parts (or green onions, which is what I used)
1 c. Bread crumbs
Zest of 1/4 lemon
1 T. Fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. Crumbled Feta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Chicken & Potato Ingredients:
1 Medium chicken, rinsed and patted dry
5 Medium potatoes, cut into thin rounds
3 Sprigs thyme
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 c. water or white wine or vermouth
Make the stuffing: In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until rendered. Add the field garlic (or green onions) and saute until translucent. Add the bread crumbs, stirring to coat evenly with the bacon fat and garlic. Add the lemon juice and zest. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the feta. Add pepper to the stuffing and taste for salt.
Make the chicken and potatoes: Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Gently stuff the chicken. Arrange the sliced potatoes in a roasting pan with the sprigs of thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Set the chicken on top. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken, and then season the bird’s skin generously with salt and pepper. Add the water or wine to the pan – this forms the basis of the delicious, sticky pan juices.
Put the pan in the oven and do not look at it for an hour. After an hour, check on the liquid and add more water or wine if the pan is dry. After another 15 to 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Let it rest for 10 minutes before carving the chicken. The skin will be perfectly crisp, the meat moist, the juices caramelized, sticky, and slightly tart. Remove the stuffing from the chicken. Carve the bird and arrange the pieces in the pan on the potatoes, with the stuffing served on the side.
