I’ve been a bit hell-bent on home-made this year, to the extent that it sort of dampens the spirit of things. At least in the realm of edibles.
I did lasso Gadget into helping with a project, and he did swimmingly. Behold the espresso knock box(es)!
A knock box is a receptacle with a bar against which one whacks the espresso portafilter to remove the used puck.
Gadget was actually impressed that I’d gone to the hardware store on my own and found copper pipe, clear tubing, rubber grommets, and copper end caps. Yes, Dear… …Women can shop at hardware stores too…
I’d seen these made from plumbing materials, but a piece of drain pipe still looks like a piece of drain pipe, even with a pretty copper bar poked through either end. Fine for the grunge rocker or starving artist, but a bit too industrial for my taste. Instead, I found plastic iced tea tumblers to use as the body. Granted, they’re not nearly as thick and strong as the PVC, but they don’t look half bad, and I think they’ll hold up for at least a little while.
I merely had to ask Gadget to borrow ‘the cutter thing that cuts a 4 inch circle’ and he took over the project from there, cutting the holes, sanding the edges smooth, and assembling the various pieces. All I had to do was mark where I wanted holes drilled and cuts made, and after that, I took on a supervisory role. Genius!
We made four because the copper pipe only came in 2ft lengths, and I needed 6in. I can always sell the extras on eBay.
The other gift project was aromatic bath salts. I tried to duplicate one of my favorites, a blend of peppermint and eucalyptus, but didn’t get the ratio of essential oils quite right. It’s nice, though, and hopefully the recipients will like them. I did remember at the last moment that my SIL has an aversion to mint, so I filled one jar with a blend of grapefruit, dewberry, and something called tropical tango. It’s different, but not bad. I ran out of salt, though, so it didn’t quite fill the jar.
I think that wraps up my artsy craftsy efforts for 2008.
This, however, is by far the best thing made this year.
