this and that

real life photos

2011-04-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

for the past couple of weeks i have been trying to take pictures that tell a story. pictures that will remind me of the little things that happen around my home. i have really enjoyed this and i wanted to share some of the pictures. i typically only take pictures when my kids are all dressed and have clean faces. i decided since 90% of the time my kids aren't dressed in clothes that they can leave the house in, i should take pictures of how it really is.

howie and scarlett love paying with jude. they always are on either side of him fighting for his attention. too bad it literally is a fight most of the time!

they were so excited that a friend brought them bubbles a couple weeks ago. it didn't take scarlett long to catch on. i'm sure it will be funner when they don't have to have winter coats on!

my kids really love each other, most of the time, anyway. they always push their chairs or stools together when they are eating so they can be right beside each other.

last week i ran to walmart one evening. 30 minutes later i returned home to this. clearly, neither of them needed any coaxing to go to sleep. when andy woke up in the morning he asked me if he was awake when i got home and what jude was doing when i got home. should i be trusting my over worked husband with a baby??

this is the scene of my bedroom every morning. my kids always watch a show while i get myself awake enough to get out of bed. i love tv sometimes.

jude is just starting to enjoy the bumbo. i had him sitting in it beside me while making our meal plan for the week.

i bet if howie could pick anything to do in the whole world it would be to watch his dad play angry birds.

scarlett will put pink and purple beads on this square for quite a long time all just to dump them back into the container at the end. who knew a 2 year old could love this craft so much!?

that's it. i am definitely going to keep this up!

i made THIS tuesday! #24

2011-04-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

welcome to i made THIS! tuesday. i hope you all had a fabulous easter weekend!

join this weeks linky party:

2. grab my i made THIS! button on the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

i made THIS tuesday! #23

2011-04-18T17:23:00.002-07:00

last week ashley from simply design submitted some of the creative things she has done with peeps this year. i love all of her idea's. here are a couple:

peep push-up pops.

peep pops

(take a featured button from the sidebar if you were featured)

join this weeks linky party:

1. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button on the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

mac and cheese

2011-04-15T06:16:00.004-07:00

my kids love mac and cheese, as most kids do. i really don't like that is is so unhealthy for them. i don't know what at least half the ingredients are on the box which makes me think is even more unhealthy. but they will both eat it, so i make it.

happy kids = happy mama.

i do, however, make it a little bit healthier when i make it with a little tip i learned from the book deceptively delicious. jessica seinfeld makes her own homemade mac and cheese and adds the cauliflower in. literally my kids won't touch homemade. i've tried quite a few times. talk about p.i.c.k.y.

they have NO idea that they are eating cauliflower when i add in in. all i do is, cook the noodles, drain, and add 1/2 cup pureed cauliflower and the cheese pouch. (omit the milk and butter)

i keep little snack sized ziplock bags filled with 1/2 cup cauliflower in my freezer at all times. when i start to boil water for the macaroni, i simple place 1 frozen bag of cauliflower in a bowl of hot water in the sink. by the time the noodles are done, the bag is defrosted.

do you have any tricks to make your kids eat veggies??

a little book shelf

2011-04-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

do you have a place or item in your home that makes you happy every time you see it? i have a few.

one of them is this little bookshelf. it was originally a shelf made to hold hymn books at an lds church. but, luckily for me, someone dropped it and smashed the corner of it. my dad who worked for the church at the time, took it home and plastered the corner and gave it to me, being a newly wed at the time, he knew any piece of furniture would be appreciated and used.

i painted it black first. i was a beginner in the whole painting world i just went and picked up some paint. 2 years later, when i decided to paint brown over the black, i learned that the black paint was oil based. and still being a beginner in the painting world, didn't think it would cause too much problem. fast forward 3 years, the bookshelf had brown paint peeling off of it, i chose to ignore it for sometime and put it is howie's room. (pictured below)

so once the peeling got out of control i stuck the ugly peeling shelf in the garage and left it there with an undetermined coarse of action. last summer i decided to tackle it before the baby was born. i sanded ALL the paint AND the original stain off of it. a horrible horrible job. i painted it a clean crisp white and put some sticky drawer liner on the back of it.

it now sits in our upstairs hallway between howie and scarlett's rooms. and i love it there. it is the perfect little shelf in the perfect spot. i am so happy i went to the work of sanding all the many finishes off so i could end up with this little gem.

i made THIS tuesday! #22

2011-04-11T17:26:00.006-07:00

last week laura from come together kids linked up her tutorial on how to make these fleece flower pillows. i love them, don't you?!

join this weeks linky party:
1. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! buttonon the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

chicken lettuce wraps

2011-04-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

i love lettuce wraps. they are easy and fast to make, and they taste delisious. for some weird reason they are also something that both of my children will actually eat! rare. i can count on 2 hands the foods that scarlett will eat and somehow these are on that list.

this recipe is so flavourful that it always leaves me wanting more, and more, and more.

chicken lettuce wraps

2 tbsp oil

1 lb lean ground chicken

¼ cup thinly sliced green onion

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup hoisin sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 can sliced water chestnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

iceburg lettuce leaves

to prepare filling, heat oil in frying pan. add ground chicken and cook, stirring to break it up, unitl browned. add green onion, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes; sauté for 2 minutes. add rest of ingredients. serve in iceburg lettuce leaves.. i like to serve these with rice.

bedtime passes

2011-04-06T06:25:00.002-07:00

about a year ago i was getting really really really tired of a little boy getting out of his bed multiple times asking for things like a drink or a hug or anything else that seemed equally important after bedtime. so i came up with the idea to make him bedtime passes. passes that he could use if he had to get out of bed after he had been tucked in. i made him two and got them laminated. if he got out of bed without a bedtime pass (in other words, more than 2 times) then he would get punished in different ways (whether it be, taking away a bedtime pass for the next night or not being able to watch tv the next day.) he learned very quickly to only get out of bed for reasons that were good enough to use up a bedtime pass for.

oh, and they always give me leverage during the day:) i'm sure i say "listen to me or i will take a bedtime pass away" more often than i should!

it has worked so wonderful that i thought i should share the idea with all of you.
i will admit that as of late (more than a year after starting), it has started to become overly annoying always having to "do" bedtime passes. we have forewarned howie that after the easter bunny comes he will be old enough to only have one bedtime pass, and when he turns 5, he is old enough to go to bed without any. i am really excited to be done with them but i am so thankful they helped when i needed him to get in to bed and stay there!

i made THIS tuesday! #21

2011-04-04T18:00:00.002-07:00

last week this chevron art was linked up. isn't it amazing? it gets better...mary kathryn shows you how you can make one too!

april fools round up

2011-03-31T07:01:00.004-07:00

are you all ready for april fools day? i am. other years i always wanted to do something fun but i just never got around to it. this year i am getting prepared early! while i was searching for inspiration for some april fools food earlier this week i found tons of great ideas. here are a few that i thought were note worthy.

parenting.com had this great idea. put water in a cereal bowl, and freeze overnight. the next morning, give your kids a bowl of cereal by pouring the cereal on top of the ice, completely covering it, and watch them try to dig in.

familyfun.com had this faux french fry idea. go there to get the recipe!

i love this idea from familyfun.com too. a grilled cheese sandwich for dessert!

there are a few variations of plates of spaghetti and meatballs out there. this one is from familyfun.com.

i love this meat ball sandwich. especially because i think it looks sooo unappetizing!

laura from come together kids had this idea. hehe

i made some dirt cake for my kids a couple weeks ago to trick them. they were so disgusted when andy ate some of the dirt out of the flower pot. even after they ate it and knew that it was dessert they still didn't like it. howie just couldn't wrap his little head around eating dirt...even if it was just cookie crumbs. baked bree has a great recipe here.

you gotta love fake cupcakes. i can't wait to try them...
these ones are from bake at 350.

trick your kids (and hubby) by putting some food color in plain old water! mmm...

i hope this inspires anyone who wasn't excited about april 1st to get into it. i can't wait! i only wish i had more healthy food recipes that are tricks (like the meatloaf cupcakes.)

what do you do for april fools? do you have any fun traditions?

thrift finds before and after

2011-03-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

last week i posted this before picture of my thrift store finds.

i will now show you what i did with all three finds. i left the heavy metal bowl the same, but i did give it a good wash to get all those thrifty germs off. i am now using it in our master bedroom for a jewelry bowl. it goes perfectly in there.

i have developed the ability to see more in dirty-second-hand-old-things. before watching nate i don't think i would have seen beauty in this bowl. i am so happy with it.

here is the old stained tray after the first color of paint:

and here it is after the second color of paint. why do i let 2 year olds make paint color decisions for me? this is not the first time, either. not that i don't like the yellow, i loved it, but not in this house. i can not accent with yellow here. the color of my walls do not go. maybe next time.

i really like the grey. my number 3 find you will see inside this tray. the little vase. i saw it and i knew the perfect use for it. won't it be the most darling vase for the dandelions and purple violets that i will not doubt be getting in the summer from howie and scarlett? it will work perfectly, much cuter than a drinking glass sitting on the table with a dandelion floating in it (and anxiously awaiting the moment i can get rid of it)

i made THIS tuesday! #20

2011-03-28T17:36:00.002-07:00

last week amy from our daily obsessions linked to her free printable. i thought it was really cute and something we all need to remember!

to join this weeks linky party:
1. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! buttonon the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

banana maple cookies

2011-03-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

i had a few over ripe bananas this week. typically i would use them to make a favorite banana muffins but i have been really enjoying trying new recipes lately and wanted something new so i made some banana cookies. while i was scooping the cookies on the baking sheets the word "maple" didn't leave my mind. so i decided to top the cookies with a thin maple glaze. they turned out great. here is the recipe:

banana maple cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups icing sugar
1 -2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon maple flavouring (you may use more if you really want a punch of maple flavor!)

preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together, and set aside.

cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. beat in the eggs and vanilla. mix in the mashed bananas. add the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. stir in the chocolate chips. drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets or use a cookie scoop.

bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until bottoms are just starting to brown. do not over bake or they will be dry. cool on rack and then make icing.

to make icing put 2 cups icing sugar in a mixing bowl. add 1 - 2 tablespoons milk and flavouring and stir until a thin icing forms. to know if it is the right consistency dip your spoon into the icing a bring it out so the icing is drizzling back into the bowl. if it takes about 10 seconds for the icing to flatten out and disappear then you've got it right! add a drop of milk if it takes longer than 10 seconds and a bit more icing sugar if it shorter than 10 seconds. dip the tops of cookies into the icing and let them sit on cooling racks until the icing forms a hard shell.

thrift store finds

2011-03-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

i have spent a lot of time in my house the past 3 months. partly because i have a new baby and partly because it has been so so cold. i have begun to feel very bored with my home (that's what happens when you watch the nate show daily) and i needed to get out to the thrift store to get some creative juices flowing. (i have learned form nate, that vintage finds are the best)

here are my 3 finds of the day.

1. an old stained metal tray - $3.50

2. a tiny little vase - 25 cents

3. a metal bowl - $5

next week i will show you what i did with all three. they have definitely made me feel a little better in my home! i'm good to stay in for at least another month. then i will need something bigger and better to rejuvenate me! like a new house, or a vacation, or a magic house that cleans itself, or a few pounds to dissapear off my bum...

i made THIS! tuesday #19

2011-03-21T18:13:00.002-07:00

welcome to the party!
link up anything you have made below!

winner...

2011-03-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

excuse my plain jane post...our basement has water in it, which means we had to move our computer, which means it is not hooked up, which means i am using my ipod to do this...
the winner of the sally and jane apron patern is

ANGELA B!
Congrats, i will be mailing it to you soon!!

Wish me luck with posting my linky party tonight.

apron pattern giveaway!

2011-03-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

i made this apron for scarlett using this pattern from indygo junction. it turned out really cute! scarlett is so happy to have a apron just her size.

i love the circle pocket (but there are lots of options for different pockets in the pattern), the big ties in the back, the scallops along the bottom, and the neck. so i guess i love it all!

i did change one little part of the pattern while i was making it. (i don't think i ever make something without changing something!) i made the neck strap shorter so it didn't hang so low in the front. a super easy adjustment.

and guess what!?

i have a pattern for one of you!!

to win this pattern for the jane and sally apron from indygo junction all you have to do is

1. leave a comment on this post

2. follow my blog

3. post about the giveaway on your blog

i will pick a winner on monday march 21st. good luck!

i made THIS tuesday! #18

2011-03-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

in last weeks party, vivienne linked up her faux robins egg tutorial. i have thought about trying to make plastic eggs cute for a couple years now but haven't done it. with the help of this tutorial, i can definitely do it now! yay!

grab a button from the sidebar if you were featured.

time to party! linky style...
participate in this weeks party by:
1. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! buttonon the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating

vanilla square dessert

2011-03-09T08:13:00.002-07:00

desserts involving pastry, pastry cream and chocolate are my favorite. i have many variations of dessert that involves each one of those things that i could have a different dessert that is basically the same for a couple weeks! i'll share with you what i did to make these vanilla squares with hot fudge sauce, the BEST hot fudge sauce EVER!!

this recipe will involve three separate recipes so here we go...

first make the pastry cream:

pastry cream
3 cups whole milk
¾ cup white sugar
4 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
7 egg yolks
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 ½ tablespoons butter, softened

In a medium saucepan, bring milk and half of the white sugar to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Bubbles should be forming on the edge of the pot. Remove from heat.

While the milk is heating, in a bowl, combine egg yolks, white sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir until pale in colour.

Slowly pour ½ cup of the hot milk into egg mixture, whisking quickly. If the eggs are not stirred, they will cook and become lumpy. Add remaining milk mixture in 2 portions stirring well between. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly. Reheat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. The cream will thicken like pudding. To check if it is done, tilt the pot and the cream should pull away from the pot entirely (170°F or 77°C).

Add vanilla and butter, stir until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap, press the wrap down to touch the surface of the pastry cream so a skin doesn‘t form. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 days. Before using, whisk until smooth.

chocolate: Chop 3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, about ½ cup. Add to pastry cream when adding vanilla and butter.

now make the puff pastry squares:

puff pastry squares
Thaw frozen puff pastry according to manufactures directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface roll puff pastry, one block at a time, into a 12 inch square. Cover with a towel, allow to rest 10 minutes. Repeat with other block. Prick both squares all over with a fork. Cut each square into 12 - 4"x3" rectangles.

Place puff pastry pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet 1 inch apart. Place another piece of parchment on top of puff pastry with another baking sheet on top of the parchment. Bake pastry with the 2nd baking sheet on top for about 5 minutes and then remove it. then bake pastry until golden brown. let cool and set aside.

and finally the hot fudge sauce:

hot fudge sauce
¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
⅓ cup brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
⅔ cup whipping cream
¼ teaspoon salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or 1 cup chocolate chips)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small squares
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, stir together cocoa powder, brown sugar, corn syrup, whipping cream, salt, and half of the chocolate. Cook over medium heat. Stir continuously until the chocolate is melted and begins to gently boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, add remaining chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Serve hot, store in refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat before serving.

now layer as shown in the picture above. enjoy!

i made THIS tuesday! #17

2011-03-07T17:25:00.001-07:00

welcome to i made THIS! tuesday! a couple weeks ago, girl in air linked up this pottery barn knock off dino art

last week, girl in air linked up this dino rug tutorial!

arn't they both great?! what a cute kid bathroom!

grab a featured button from the sidebar if you were featured.

participate in this weeks party by:
1. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! buttonon the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

a snow treat

2011-03-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

a couple weeks ago when there was a fair amount of freshly fallen snow i decided to have some fun with it! i made a sweet snow treat. my kids loved it. and so did i!

snow treat recipe

a few scoops of freshly fallen snow

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

a couple spoonfuls of sugar

a drop of food coloring

mix together and enjoy!

this will definitely be at least a yearly tradition now!

i made THIS tuesday! #16

2011-03-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

sorry everyone, i forgot to post sooner!

participate in this weeks party by:
1. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! buttonon the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

easy message board

2011-02-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

this is the post i used for a guest post over at lu bird baby earlier this week.

today i am going to show you how to simply transform a picture frame into a message board.

i sprayed this picture frame white a while back, as it sat behind my couch i had all sorts of ideas of what to do with it. a message board was one idea.

what i did?

i just replaced the picture that was behind the glass with a piece of ironed light colored fabric. that way you can write on the glass with dry erase markers.

cut the fabric about an inch longer on each side, lay in frame on top of the glass and cover with the cardboard that came with the frame. press the little metal tabs down onto the fabric to secure in place.

and the best part... you can switch out the fabric as often as you want. go for lightly colored prints or solids.

twine balls tutorial

2011-02-23T06:06:00.003-07:00

a few weeks ago on the nate berkus show, (which, btw, is my fav show right now) nate showed how to make twine balls. since they are almost free and really easy to make, i had to try them out.

i really like them, you should make some too!

want to know how?

supplies:

white glue

bowl

twine

balloons

1. blow up ballonns and squish them with your hands so they are a nice round shape. pour white glue into a bowl and mix in some water (there should be about 25% water and 75% glue, or up to 50% water depending on the thickness of the glue you are using.)

2. cut a peice of twine a few feet long. emerge it in the glue. as you bring it out of the glue just squeeze it between two of your fingers to squeeze the excess glue back into the bowl. do that to the entire strand of twine, now wrap it around the balloon in a random way.

3.let dry for about 24 hours. pop balloons. now enjoy your new decor!

i made THIS tuesday! #15

2011-02-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

welcome to i made THIS tuesday! check out this skirt tutorial that our daily obsessions linked up last week. isn't it darling?!

grab a featured button on the side bar if you were featured!

participate in this weeks party by:
1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! buttonon the sidebar and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

message board

2011-02-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

i am a guest over at lu bird baby today. go here to see the message board tutorial i made!

3 step dress tutorial

2011-02-16T08:46:00.004-07:00

this tutorial can be used for any size of dress (infant to adult) i would suggest you read through all the instructions before beginning. i am the first to admit i am not very good at explaining things. it is probably a lot simpler than i make it sound. let me know if you have any questions!

supplies:
a shirt or tank top
a piece of fabric (more or less depending on the size you are making) i will tell you how much below.

cut your piece of fabric 4x the width of the shirt (measuring where you are cutting your shirt) x the length you want the fabric part of the dress to be. (just measure from a couple inches above the belly button to the knees and times that by 2)

1. fold in half as pictured below. sew a 3/8 inch seam along the far right side, making a long tube.

fold one end of the tube into the other encasing the raw edge seams inside the bubble skirt. both raw edges should now be at the top together.

2. you will now gather the raw edges. pin the two sides of raw edges together securing the top of the skirt into a circle. make sure you have nice long threads coming out of your sewing machine before you begin sewing. set your seam length to the longest it goes.

DO NOT back stitch. begin sewing the raw edges together starting at the side with the seams.when you get around the circle to the other side of the skirt where you began, stop sewing and without back stitching, pull threads so they are long just like the starting ones. do another seam just like the first one about 1/8 inch away from the first one, all the way around again.

you will be left with 8 threads. 4 top threads and 4 bottom. pull the bottom threads to gather the top of the skirt.

when the gathered part is the same width across as the shirt, tie the threads together. even out the gathers.

3. pin the skirt the the shirt by putting the shirt inside out inside the skirt. (pictured below)

now simply stitch all the way around.

trim the edges so they are even.

and zigzag the raw edge so it is nicely finished.

you done! that's it!

now you have a new dress!

i made THIS tuesday! #14

2011-02-14T18:02:00.002-07:00

happy valentines day! thanks for everyone that linked up at last weeks party. this february wreath from paisley passions caught my eye right away. so simple and cute. this idea could totally be used for any holiday!

if you were featured you can grab a featured button form the side bar.

to join this weeks i made THIS! linky party, just upload your link below! remember to grab a button from the sidebar to post on your own blog to show others you are participating. thanks!

the lu bird baby winner is...

2011-02-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

SARAH

thanks to all of you who entered the lu bird baby giveaway!

3 step toddler dress

2011-02-10T11:06:00.003-07:00

you can still enter the lu bird baby giveaway here!

yesterday i did some more refashioning. i used a ribbed tank from scarlett's last summers wardrobe and made it into a dress, in only 3 simple steps. it seriously took about 30 minutes! i will have the tutorial for you soon!

lu bird baby givaway

2011-02-09T08:01:00.003-07:00

i would like to intoduce you to kristen from lu bird baby blog and etsy shop. here's a bit about her:

Kristen is a stay-at-home mom of 2 kids and is expecting a third baby in may. 3 kids 3 and under! she will be busy! and geuss what else...she gets dressed in cute outfits EVERY DAY. okay, so maybe to some of you that is a normal thing to do. not me, i am lucky if i get into something other than joggers twice a week. you can see all of her cute outfits every wednesday in her "what i wore wednesday" posts on her blog.
on lu bird baby you will find tutorials, like this one for this princess tiara and wand.

at her etsy shop you will find things like...
this old time charm headband

this studly tie onsie
or some felt fried eggs and ham
cute huh? the best part is

kristen is giving away $15 to her etsy shop!

want to win?

do one or all of the following and leave a seperate comment for each:

1. follow my blog

2. follow kristen's blog, lu bird baby

3. blog about it

winner will be announced monday, february 14th. good luck!

edit: all this and that readers can have 15% off the lu bird baby shop until the giveaway closes! just enter giveaway15 in the coupon code line at the checkout!!

i made THIS tuesday! #13

2011-02-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

hi, welcome to another i made THIS! linky party. when i saw these wooden peg sorting and matching dolls in last weeks party i knew i had to have them. i just know that my scarlett who is 2 would LOVE them! thanks for linking up brandy! i can't wait to get the the craft store to buy the supplies to make these!
here is how the party works:
1. just link to your blog post below with your link of anything that you have made!
2. grab the "i made THIS!" button from the side bar and post it on your blog somewhere...anywhere, as long as it's there, i'm not picky!

chocolate sugar cookies

2011-02-03T13:21:00.005-07:00

the other day i was day dreaming about all the yummy valentines treats to make and the thought of chocolate sugar cookies crossed my mind.
so i got out my sugar cookie recipe, made a few adjustments and voila! my husband told me they were the best cookies ever (although, what chocolate cookie does he not think is the best?) i thought i would share...

chocolate sugar cookies
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and sour cream until well blended. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Mix into the butter and white sugar mixture until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Knead the dough a few times to bring it together so it doesn't crack when rolled. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼ inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 ½ inches apart onto ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 7 minutes. Don't over bake. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

to decorate how i did, simply make some ganache:

heat 1/2 cup heavy cream until hot (don't boil it). pour over 4 oz of chopped dark chocolate. stir until chocolate is completely melted. place in refrigerator for a couple hours.

meanwhile, make some basic white icing:

white frosting
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons milk
4 cups icing sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder
a pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
cream shortening, butter, vanilla and milk together. add dry ingredients and mix it for a few minutes until creamy. if you don't have meringue powder, you may leave it out. it is to make your icing creamier and have a better texture.

using a piping bag and a star tip, pipe stars around each cookie.

if you want sprinkles on the icing part put them on now. then, place cookies in the refrigerator until icing is hard.

after a couple hours in the fridge the ganache should be getting thicker. you want it thick enough that when lift up a spoon it it, it takes 10 seconds for the ripples to fade out.

place about a teaspoon of ganache in the center of a cookie and spread it around using a spoon. try to to get any on the icing boarder...

let them set. now go wish someone a happy valentines day!

i made THIS tuesday! #12

2011-01-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

i'm sure you've all seen these printables floating around the blog world. i thought this one from last week's linky party was so cute. stephanie from the hands-on housewife made it. go here to print one out for yourself!

you can grab a featured button form the side bar.

let's see what you've made this week...

please take a i made THIS party button form the side bar to put on your own blog to show others that you are participating. thanks!

t-shirt refashion

2011-01-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

i have always wanted to refashion a shirt into something fabulous. i tried once last year and the cut apart/sewn t-shirt went straight to the garbage bin. it was really ugly. not at all what i envisioned. but, it's a new year so i decided to give 'er a try again. patience, thought, and pinning really paid off this time. here is my t-shirt BEFORE:
here it is after:

scarlett loves it. so do i, merely for the fact that i am amazed that i made something that is wearable!
i just hope that i can get it off of her someday. when scarlett decides she likes something, she doesn't let it go.
i think that i may have too much confidence going into another refashion project now. i know i will have another flop. i need to remember to have patience, think about what i am cutting before i do it and pin pin pin!!!

i made THIS tuesday! #11

2011-01-24T20:10:00.002-07:00

there were so many great valentines day projects submitted last week! after seeing so many great simple projects i may just decide to decorate for valentines day! here are a few...

what a cute idea to use a canvas for! see more pics here at the francis family blog.

a valentines skirt...coolest mom ever. see more pics here!

a super cute valentines printable in any color you want! go here to print it!

super cute LOVE blocks. go here to see more pics!

adorable wreath. you've got to check out the rest of the decor.

this floating valentines frame is so simple. i love it!

if you've been featured grab a button from the sidebar to post on your blog!

let's party again. i can't wait to see all the valentines creations you have this week! (and any other creation too!) if you link up, remember to grab a button from the side bar for your blog, thanks!

i made THIS tuesday! #10

2011-01-17T18:24:00.002-07:00

here are a couple of my favorites from last week.

check out this tutorial from can't stop making things to learn how to make a picture turn into words...

i LOVE magnets like these. i have been making them for years. here is a simple tutorial on how to make them from you seriously made that?!

remember to grab a featured button from my side bar if you were featured!

just a little one.

2011-01-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

i made a doll quilt a few weeks back. my favorite quilts are always the simple patchwork squares made from my favorite scrap fabric (like the one here). this new doll quilt is one of my favorite too. if only it was bigger...then i could use it.
i can't use it, but, nelly has really enjoyed having a new quilt on her bed. BTW, nelly was made from this pattern. she was really easy and really worth it!

she especially loves the soft minky back.

oh yeah, scarlett likes it too.

i know this one is out of focus but i really liked it anyway. scarlett wanted to show the camera how much nelly loves her blanky.

i made THIS tuesday! #9

2011-01-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

a few projects from last weeks party...

ruffle scarf from mama says sew

faux metal wall art from suzy's artsy crafty sitcom

navy and coral pillows from a { blonde's } DIY life

remember to grab a featured button from the sidebar if you were featured!

to join in this weeks party just link up below!

pictures of my jude

2011-01-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

my sister kyla took pictures of jude when he was 6 days old. i can't believe how much he has already changed!
there are a couple more pictures here and here.

pretty please?

2011-01-07T09:32:00.003-07:00

i'm sure you remember the gingerbread house i made last month. well i entered it into a couple contests and one of the contests voting is open now. if you have a second i would really appreciate it if you went and rated my house 5/5. go HERE to rate it! thank you so much!!

new and improved foam chair

2011-01-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

remember waaaay back when, when i told you about the dora chair that i was giving a make over to?? well, i have actually had it mostly complete for a long time (since scarlett's 1st birthday to be exact) but i had a few finishing touches that i kept thinking i should get done before i posted it. well...i have given up on those touches and i have come to know that i am never going to do them. so without further ado, here she is:

this was actually the second cover i made, as the first one didn't fit so well. with that said, these were pretty much the only remnants of fabric i had that were big enough and went together, so i was stuck with them (because i wasn't about to spend money on it!)

scarlett loves it. she stashes all sorts of things in the side pockets. there is also velcro on the arms and top that are supposed to hold fabric balls (that have velcro as well) but that is the part that i never quite finished. i have them all cut out...but i have had them like that for well over a year! i give up. i do have one finished.

i made THIS tuesday! #8

2011-01-03T17:00:00.003-07:00

happy new year! i hope you all had a wonderful christmas and a great new years. if you're like me, you were in bed before 9 on new years eve and enjoyed every minute of sleep. my little jude has been an awesome sleeper, yet i still seem to make it too bed early so i can get at least 8 hours of sleep. i love babies that sleep good. knock on wood.

i hope you're all ready to start the new year off with some exciting projects because i'm sure not! i quite enjoyed laying around all day today doing nothing but cuddling and feeding a baby. i can't wait to see what you've been working on, maybe i'll be inspired to do something...

hello baby.

2010-12-29T13:08:00.007-07:00

he is here. and has been for almost a week now. jude andrew was born on december 23rd at 6:32 am. weighing 7 lbs 11 oz. we got to bring him home just 6 hours after he was born and have been enjoying every minute since getting to know him. i'm pretty sure there isn't a sweeter christmas gift.

wheat bag friends

2010-12-22T08:55:00.001-07:00

my kids love wheat bags. if you don't know what a wheat bag is, it is a piece of cloth filled with wheat that you can heat in the microwave (or throw in the freezer to get cold). when they are sick or sad a nice warm wheat bag always brings a smile.

considering i did no trial run and i didn't use a pattern i am happy with the results. although, the monster definitely turned out cuter.

i also found a blog with some really cute wheat bag patterns, myrtle & eunice. check out these little guys or this frog wheat bag. so cute. if i was really ambitious i would love to use the tutorial and make a frog one. maybe some day!

i made THIS tuesday! #7

2010-12-20T18:19:00.004-07:00

can you believe that christmas is this week?! i can't! i am so excited. i also can't believe that i still have a baby inside of me.(i am now officially past my "due date") if it wasn't for christmas being so soon i would be okay with that. but#1, i really want to be at home (not at the hospital) for christmas eve and christmas day. #2, i really don't want a son with a birthday on christmas eve or christmas day. #3, i really want him out before then, which leaves until thursday at the latest that he can come. please wish me luck!

anyway, on with the party!

when i saw this tissue box in last weeks link party i was instantly in love! then, i started looking around kate's blog, see kate sew, and i was in love with everything i saw. i think i want kate to be my new best friend. you must check out her blog. i know you will want to be her best friend too, but you're too late, i was first.

you know how it works... and FYI i will be taking next week off from the party due to the fact that i WILL have a new baby and it is christmas break. merry christmas!

christmas decor ideas

2010-12-16T07:39:00.001-07:00

i realize that this post is a little late coming because we've all decorated by now but i love looking at great christmas decor. so here is a handful of gorgeous christmas decor pictures. they are taken from costal living, audreys design ideas, and yassawat.com.

i love the fresh, clean and colorful feel of this room.
this one is so cozy. i'll take it, without the dog though!

i've never seen a white tree that i've actually thought was cute before. i can't say that anymore.

i love the huge balls on this tree. i'll be adding them to my tree next year once i get some clearance ones after christmas.

check out the huge white 3D stars. i love them.

another cozy cottage. if i had a cabin, i'd want it to look like this at christmas.

check out the paper bird tree. so original.

so colorful. if i had lots of money and i could change my color theme every year, i would definitely do a purple christmas at least once.

i love all the red elements added in to a pure white pallet.

i just like how simple yet cute this tree is.

maybe i should paint my walls just for christmas.

the mermaid tree topper is going way to far but i do love the colorful huge decorations.

i would never do my house in this color scheme for christmas, but if i could decorate scarletts room for christmas, it would have to look like this.

you know i love white.

i made THIS tuesday! #6

2010-12-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

there were some really cute christmas decor idea's it last weeks party. here are a few.

liz form getting crafty made this adorable advent calender.
emily from finding my aloha made these mercury christmas balls. so cool.

over at serving pink lemonade is this christmas subway art. i love how simple it is.

let's see what you've been up to this week!
1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button below and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

recycled sweater stockings

2010-12-08T09:10:00.001-07:00

oh, how i wish i had a super cute fireplace to hang these on, even if it was just for a picture. i have been avoiding posting our new stockings because i am not happy with their display, but i have come to my senses and realized that it's not going to get any better.
i love how they turned out. the best part is...they cost me $7 total. i had all but one of these sweaters on hand, so i only had to go to the thrift store for one.

i made THIS tuesday! #5

2010-12-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

here is a super cute christmas countdown from last weeks party. oopsey daisy has TONS of great craft idea's to search through!

lets party!
1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button below and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

another feature!

2010-12-06T14:08:00.002-07:00

remodelaholic featured my master bedroom makeover today! i am so flattered that they liked it enough to feature it. thanks remodelaholic!

simple dessert anyone?

2010-12-05T17:53:00.004-07:00

today i was a guest over at simple as that. rebecca is doing a simple christmas count down, so you can check out her blog everyday for super cute inspiration on all sorts of things. go here to see my post!

chocolate mousse towers

2010-12-01T13:47:00.012-07:00

I love creating desserts that look like they took more time than they really did. Since i was asked to come up with a dessert for the Simple Christmas Countdown, i knew i would have to show you a super simple dessert that even the busiest non-bakers out there could pull off. Here is what i came up with.

Chocolate Mousse Cake Towers

1 chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant chocolate mousse
whipping cream
candy canes

1. Line a 12x17 inch cookie sheet with parchment or grease and flour it. Mix the chocolate cake mix according to package directions. Pour into the prepared cookie sheet, use a spatula to even out the batter as best you can. Bake in a 350 degree oven until cooked through. about 15- 20 minutes. cool.

2.Using a a 3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut circles out of the cooled cake. Depending on how thick they are you may cut them in half to make them thinner. you will need approximately 4 half circles or 2 thicker circles per serving.
3. Prepare instant mousse according to package directions. place in a piping bag with a plain tip or in a large ziplock with the corner cut off.

4. Place candy canes in a ziplock bag and crush using a hammer. don't hold back on the amount of candy canes. the crunch of them with the cake is super yummy!

5. Whip cream using some vanilla and sugar.

6. Decide how you would like to display your dessert using the pictures at the top of the post. Which ever way you choose, you will basically do the same thing. Place a cake round down, then, using the mousse in the piping bag, pipe some onto the cake round and place another cake round on top.
7. Do this until your desired amount/height is met. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with candy canes!

If you love this dessert idea, i know you would love the recipe book my sister, Kyla, and i wrote.

Eat Something Pretty is filled with appetizers and desserts that are simple and pretty. (over 100 recipes!) Go here to purchase a "real" one or a PDF ebook!

my gingerbread house 2010

2010-12-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

for some reason i was really excited to make a gingerbread house this year. weird considering i am now just 2.5 weeks away from having a 3rd baby in the house. the last couple years i have taken it easy and just made pretty basic simple ones. i decided to step it up a small notch this year. here she is:
this may be my favorite one i've ever made. it is just so simple and sweet. obviously it is sweet, but do you know what i mean? i really like the color palette.

i made some baked goods to go inside the window. there are more in the side windows too.

and there is a sale on this week...

here is a pretty lame little guy i made. i didn't have patience to be making such a tedious thing.

we will be making houses with the kids soon. i am glad i have mine done so i can help a little more this year with theirs. merry christmas!

i made THIS tuesday! #4

2010-11-29T18:35:00.003-07:00

check out the skirt my SIL abby from sew much ado made. it is a copycat from an anthro skirt. she did such a good job. it definitely looks just as good as the anthro one for a fraction of the cost! if only i were that talented! go here to see more pictures and some more info about it!

i'm sure you all know about link party's by now but here is how it works...

1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button below and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

i made THIS! #3

2010-11-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

welcome to another i made THIS! tuesday linky party!

last week laura from laura thoughts linked up this carseat that she recovered. it's not the first carseat she has recovered either. she has even redone an office chair!

here's the lowdown on the party!
1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button below and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

homemade chirstmas crackers tutorial

2010-11-21T19:07:00.004-07:00

i decided to make my own christmas crackers this year and i had so much fun that i ended up making 20! i thought they would be such a great little gift to gives to some friends and family. when i searched for a tutorial i found very few. the tutorial that i did end up printing off was somewhat helpful but i did most things different than it said to so i figured i would make a tutorial for others!
some idea's to put inside:
jewelery, small toys, movie coupons, any other paper coupons, key chains, lip stuff, nail polish, candy, craft or scrapbooking supplies, or anything else that can fit inside a toilet paper roll. supplies (for 1 cracker):
wrapping paper - approx 11 inches by 8 inches
2 toilet paper rolls
1 snapper (can be bought at michaels)
1 paper hat (also form michaels)
a joke
a gift
ribbon
scissors
tape
glue stick

1. glue one toilet paper roll to the long edge of the wrapping paper. roll up quickly to make sure it is straight, if not slide it so it is straight.

2. put one strip of glue along the middle of the other edge, then roll it up to secure it.

*don't glue the entire way up or the paper will wrinkle and not look smooth.

3. now secure the snapper inside the roll. place a piece of tape on the end of the snapper and tape inside the tube.

like so. tape the other side too.

4. cut the other toilet paper roll in half.

5. slide each piece of the cut roll into each side of the wrapping paper roll. slide it in until there is about 1/2 inch of wrapping paper left hanging over.

6. in the space between the two toilet paper rolls, tie a piece of ribbon on one side of the cracker. i didn't have any problem with the paper ripping. pull it tight.

7. from the other side slide the hat, joke and gift inside the cracker.

8. tie the second end closed, just as you did the first side in step 6.

9. fold the excess wrapping paper into the cracker to finish the edges of the cracker.
10. embellish how you wish!

big girl room!

2010-11-18T07:36:00.001-07:00

i can't believe it. my baby scarlett is in a big girl bed and loving it. she seems so big these days. a few things about her: 1. at least once a day she tells me her legs are broken so she can't walk. very good logic.

2. she hits howie over the head with whatever happens to be in her hand even if he just SAYS the wrong thing, let alone DO the wrong thing.

3. she talks really good. in full sentences. she reminds me all the time that she is "just a little girl".

4. she is obsessed with belle, cinderella, and tinkerbell. i didn't know little girls could be so girly so young. she also calls herself "princess caa-lett" (scarlett) quite often. she came up with that one on her own.

5. she has been in her bed now for 2 weeks and has not gotten out once at bedtime.

6. she gives the best hugs and kisses and can be the sweetest little thing ever when she wants to be. but only when she wants to be.

anyway, without further ado...her bedroom:

the pompoms. for a tutorial for them go here. martha will show you.

the art. i had 2 16 x 20 canvases sitting around that i picked up at a garage sale in the spring. (thanks christine!) i thought about what to do with them for months and i thought i had the perfect idea. find an old cute little girl book, rip out the pages, and modpodge them every which way over both canvases. do know how hard it is to find the exact book i had envisioned in my head? impossible. so... i started looking through my craft supplies for inspiration. then i saw them. doilies. i knew they would be perfect and could instantly see it.

all i did was set out the paint and told howie he could paint the canvases for me. he did a great job. then i modpodges the dollies on where i wanted them . then modpodged over top and they were done! i think they are perfect for her room. i'm glad my first idea didn't work out:)

her bed. i posted about her quilt a few weeks ago here. i found this bed on kijiji for $40. if you've ever looked for a used bed on kijiji you would know that that is a great price for a nice solid bed. the before pics of it are at the bottom of this post.

the dresser. can be found here when i posted it the first time.

the shelf on the wall is there from when i decorated her nursery before she was born. i kind of want to take it down and do something else there but we used every last bit of paint when we painted her room and i don't want to leave to big holes unpatched in the wall. sooo...i'm stuck with it there until me move or i paint (which isn't happening).

here are the before pics of the bed. i like it much better in white:)

have an organized christmas!

2010-11-16T11:15:00.007-07:00

i thought i would link to my post from last year about the christmas binder that i made. i once again am using it and i am loving it!

go here to print of christmas songs and christmas activities to put in your christmas binder. i have revised the gift planning pages. here is the revised version. the original gift idea pages are still available to at the above link.

some other idea's to put in your christmas binder:
*holiday recipes
*traditions
*decor ideas
*calender
*menus

and a little christmas ispiration for you while we're talking about christmas:

i made THIS tuesday!

2010-11-15T17:58:00.005-07:00

first things first. the winner of a pdf version of my book eat something pretty goes to...

BRANDY @ Gluesticks!

check out this cute gift idea she came up with here!

here are a few other creative people i wanted to share with you that linked up last week!
kate @ a little bit of everything knit these cute little candle wrap arounds. what a cute way to dress your candles up for the winter season!
check out this adorable falling leaves knit dress that emmylou from sewn made. it is so adorable! i love the color and i love it. i wish i could make that!

now it's time for my second week of this whole linky party thing! here is how it works:

1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button below and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

i will feature a couple of the links next monday evening when i post the next linky party!

master bedroom reveal...FINALLY!

2010-11-11T07:42:00.005-07:00

in the past i have always put decorating the master to the bottom of the list but this year i decided to finally change that. in january, for our anniversary, i asked andy for my gift to be him helping paint our room without complaining. (painting may his worst nightmare) so there it began...our bedroom makeover.

first i will show you the horrid BEFORE pictures of our master bedroom.

and...AFTER!

i swear i took a before picture of this dresser we got for $50 off of Kijiji but i can't find it. here are some clos ups of the after.

i made a little fake garden on the dreser top that was super cheap and i like the clear glass and white flowers they fit in well.

i also spray painted some bush branches with white for one of the vases. cyou can't beat free!

i am still not sure wether i should put up curtains or not. i know i would like them but it really won't be too long until we move from this house so i think i might as well wait until we are in a differnt house for that.

here is a before shot of the headboard bought off kijiji as well.

and after.

and a before of one of the bedside tables:

after a coat of light blue paint.

and that is it. i am so HAPPY that this is done. it has been a long 10 month project and was really worth it. i love being in our room now. it feels so nice to have almost all the rooms in our house basically done now.

next week i'll show you scarlett's completed big girl room!

linked in these linky parties!!

i made THIS tuesday! with a giveaway!

2010-11-08T18:00:00.004-07:00

i have decided that i want to jump on the bandwagon and start having a weekly linky party. at first i didn't get the whole linky party thing. since it has been nearing christmas and i have been thinking a lot about creative and inexpensive christmas gifts, i have found myself searching through linky parties to find idea's and i LOVE it. i have found so many cute blogs and great idea's by doing this. so here is goes!!

this is how i made THIS! tuesday works:

1. every monday evening at around 7 pm MST i will post a i made THIS! linky party. if you've made something and you have posted it on your blog, then link to it using the linky tool below (link to a specific blog post not your home page) it can be something you sewed, crafted, baked or anything else you've made.
2. grab my i made THIS! button below and post it in your post or your sidebar to let others know you are participating.

i will feature a couple of the links next monday evening when i post the next linky party! and just because this is the first week, i will also choose a random winner to win a free PDF copy of my sister and my book Eat Something Pretty!

now lets see all your creations!!

copycat challange

2010-11-03T07:34:00.001-07:00

Sew Much Ado is hosting a copycat challenge right now! go here for all the details, i know you'll want to participate!i am so excited that i seriously have spent way too many hours thinking and searching for what i should make for it. i have now come to a conclusion and i can't wait to go get the supplies. wish me luck!

SUPER HERO'S!!

2010-11-02T10:24:00.002-07:00

for halloween our family dressed up as super hero's. here are scarlett and howie:
they have been wearing their capes and masks for the past week straight and still are having a blast with them.

they got really into the super hero posing after a while.

i promised andy that i wouldn't post a picture of his costume on MY blog. so i am leaving our family picture off...but , if you really want to see it, you can go here to my SIL's blog. hehe

baby boy quilt

2010-11-01T07:09:00.002-07:00

last year i had a exciting plan for a quilt and i cut out these circles...then i couldn't find plain charcoal grey fabric which was supposed to be some of the main parts of the quilt. so i have had all these circles of fabric sitting in my fabric drawer for a while.
when i set out to make a quilt for our soon to come baby, i decided i should use fabric that i already have and wanted to put these circles to use.
here it is:

here is a close up of the quilting on one of the circles.

when i was looking for backing fabric i came across this "awful" color of green and thought i would bring 'er out. to my surprise it was actually the exact same color as the quilt. when i brought it home i started noticing how many things i have that are that color. isn't it funny how on one thing (like a bolt of cheap flannel) a color can look so hideous and on something else so fabulous?

this quilt is so soft and cuddly. i know i wanted that so i did 2 things to ensure it: #1 i used flannel to back it and #2 i didn't do the quilting too close together. it turned out better than i thought it would. i ALWAYS go through a time with a quilt in the process of making it where i think it is going to be ugly, but, for the most part in the end i always love them.

a minky for baby #3

2010-10-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

i loved having a minky blanket for scarlett. i always used it in her carseat and it was really cozy and warm, they also are really floppy and drape well, not stiff, if you will.

yesterday i got to make a quick trip to fabricland not expecting to find any cute quilting cotton for the top. then, i spotted these micheal miller groovy guitar's and since they fit into the category of being grey, which was my preference, i thought they would work. i made it 45 inches square which will be so nice!

to make your own, go HERE to my tutorial!

i wasn't to sure about the black for a baby blanket but the grey minky didn't go very good and the black looked much better. now that it's done i actually really like the black. i'm excited to meet our little christmas baby. i can't believe that he is due to arrive in less than 2 months!!

scarlett's new quilt

2010-10-25T12:18:00.004-07:00

i have been working hard to finish up things before this baby comes out of me which is now less than 2 months away!
one thing i would like done is scarlett's big girl room. i am not sure if i am ready for her to be able to get out of her bed, although, every morning when she calls me out of my bed i think of how nice it would be if she could just get out by herself. so maybe it is time...

i made her a super simple quilt. basically, the top is just one fabric with one square of a different fabric in the corner.
i think it will look really good on her white bed i painted for her.

i love pictures of folded up quilts.

the back of the quilt is all white except for along the bottom i just put these squares of fabric.

hopefully i will have her room ready to show soon! i feel like i have so many things half done right now, at least everything seems to be almost done and my list of things to do before baby #3 has be getting smaller and smaller. i think i can, i think i can.

a new old table

2010-10-22T10:16:00.004-07:00

i have always thought our living area needed something more. i have often thought about adding a coffee table but i always feel that i feel cramped as it is and that would add to it.

i have had our old ikea dining table (as seen in this post) sitting in our garage since i replaced it with our new antique table. i was pretty close to getting rid of it a couple times but in the end decided i should just keep it around. which i am really happy about now! this week i suddenly was inspired by an article that was in a magazine about whitewashing tables. i knew i wanted to try it and i knew i had just the table to try it on. here is the result (with the legs cut off):

please look past the patched wall. unfortunately i have not been ambitious enough to paint it yet , although, i did plaster and prime it which i am quite proud of. (i have had much more important paint jobs to do obviously)

so, what do you think??? is it too much for such a small space? i know i would love it if i had a bigger space but i am still humming and hahing about it in this house.

here is a close up of the table. you will notice that you can still slightly see the grain of the wood.

all i did was:

1. sand and prepare the table.

2. water down some grey-white latex paint with a 1:1 ratio.

3. brush on the watered down paint. wait 3-5 minutes. rub off the excess using a clean cloth in the direction of the wood grain.
4. repeat a few times until it is as dark as you want it. (i didn't rub off the last coat i put on.)

5. distress with sand paper.

6. put a couple coats of varathane on it for added durability.

cupcakes!

2010-09-28T07:45:00.002-07:00

i was asked to make cupcakes for a wedding this past weekend. so a couple weeks ago i started trying different recipes for cake and icing, trying to find the best. since i had to make 230 cupcakes with one uneven oven (which means only 12 are baked at a time), i also needed the recipes to be simple.

i couldn't have asked for the day to go smoother! it was really fun. the flavours i made were chocolate with chocolate, chocolate with mint, chocolate with peanut butter, vanilla with vanilla and vanilla with chocolate and vanilla with coconut.

people loved the chocolate with peanut butter so i thought i would share what recipes i used with you!

for the cake i opted for just using a cake mix variation recipe found here. it was really yummy and i don't think anyone even knew it was a cake mix. perfect.

the peanut butter icing recipe is one i focused on a lot since there are few recipes out there. i tried a few different ones and ended up changing them to come up with this. andy (who isn't an icing lover) LOVED this. he definitely ate his fair share of chocolate peanut butter cupcakes!

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 cup smooth brand name peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups icing sugar
2 -3 tablespoons cream.

cream the peanut butter and butter together until smooth. add the icing sugar and cream and mix for a couple minutes until smooth. add a little more cream if needed.

i very quickly inbetween making cupcakes and geusts coming snapped a couple pictures of the cupcakes. here they are.

chokecherry syrup

2010-09-03T10:41:00.003-07:00

for our young women activity this past tuesday we went and picked some chokecherries. we didn't get too many as most of the berries were dried up but we managed to get about 1 1/2 cups total. i told the girls that i would make some syrup so we could have a pancake breakfast. so this morning i set out to make it. i started with this:
and ended with this: 1 jar. plus a little bit more that we (as in me) will be eating.

that was the first time i have ever actually canned anything without my mom around. i mean, it was only one jar, so i shouldn't be to excited, but i am. it was so exciting to hear the pop of the lid when it sealed. this one jar may have just made me someone to loves to can. it was really exciting for me.

i have 5 boxes of fruit to go can now at my mom's. i can't wait to have a full storage room.

preschool letter of the week chart

2010-08-30T10:38:00.005-07:00

since i am not sending howie to preschool this year i have decided to do a letter of the week with him. and it so happens that my SIL has a website dedicated exactly for that (and stuff for every other age group)! go here to see it, she has lesson plans and tons of great idea's!

i wanted a chart that we could change daily together. so here is what i did:

all of the pieces are laminated. you can use sticky velcro or tape or magnets to stick things on.

i also made envelops for each category to store the unused pieces in.

and guess what? i saved all of my work just so you could make one too! here are the links to each part of the project:

main page

months

date and day of the week

weather

letter of the week

all you have to do is:

1. click on the link and download the pdf of each, print them all out on regular white paper.

2.cut them all except for the main page with a paper cutter.

3.take them somewhere to get them laminated (i got everything laminated at staples for $15)

4. cut all the laminated pieces out and you're done!!

in the past week...

2010-08-12T08:52:00.010-07:00

1. howie and scarlett have become the best of friends. they just play all day and hardly ever fight. howie is such a good brother. he is constantly is tying to keep "his baby" happy. if she cries about something he gives he hugs and gets her things that make her happy like a drink, her baby, her teddy bear, a toy that he had been playing with, etc.

2. i sold my camera on kijiji in ONE DAY. i was completely not expecting to sell it at all but thought it was worth a try. i can now upgrade to the new Nikon D5000. the only problem: they are on back order until the end of august, which means i am living without a camera (well a good camera, i do have a 5 year old point and shoot that is really bad a taking pictures and sucks battery life like no other!)

3. andy and howie got to go star gazing and enjoy the annual august meteor shower. we have done this most years in the last 7. it is really quite amazing. if you have never experienced seeing shooting stars one after another i suggest you go enjoy it tonight as it is the last night to do so until next year!

4. we had a beautiful sunny rainfall which i let the kids enjoy. i even pulled out the crappy camera just to take a pic. i got 4 pictures and then the new batteries that i just put in ran out. yes, that is how crappy it is.

5. my little boy turned 4! it is so bittersweet for me to watch my kids grow. i know that these years of them being young are ticking by so fast already. we celebrated as a family by going to callaway park. it was a great day.

6. i hosted a 4 year old wipeout birthday party. howie is obsessed with wipeout. he draws wipeout pictures, he plays wipeout on the furniture and he knows and remembers most of the names of the contestants from every episode as well as knows how good they do and anything funny they do.

it went really well. i didn't know six three and four year olds could behave so good even when they are told to run around obstacle courses and wipeout!

7. i managed to have a little photo shoot with howie and scarlett at the river. and i even got the pictures developed so i could actually fill all of the frames in my living room. which is now completely done (except for the drift wood which i have not gotten yet) being decorated! yahoo! speaking of driftwood, i actually did go on a driftwood hunt, i found a perfect piece and i picked it up to find a number of holes with beetles crawling out of them. i opted out of bringing the beetles home into my own. i will try again soon.

8. we went and picked up an old dresser that i found on kijiji. it will complete our master bedroom, i will start refinishing it today. here is the OLD master bedroom: as in last december. the new decorated master has been in the making for 81/2 months now and i am so ready for it to be DONE! i decided that for my birthday i wanted to the be done. i can't wait to show you the after pictures! i better have a camera by the time i finish it!

9. i can't forget to mention that i also made the yummiest, most moist, muffins ever. i tried this recipe off of allrecipes.com but i made a few changes. this is what i did:

Morning glory muffins
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated apple
3/4 cup flaked coconut
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a second bowl, combine carrots, apples,and coconut. Stir in eggs, oil and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients; stir until smooth.
4. Spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

rainbow cupcakes

2010-08-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

i was so excited when i saw this idea on another blog. i couldn't wait to try it out.

not only are they colorful on the outside...

it pretty easy to do. just divide the batter into as many colors as you want, color each bowl with a different food coloring and put a bit of each color in each cupcake paper one at a time.

the ideas are just rolling in my head now, i can't wait to try a few more swirly cupcakes!

do you remember rainbow bread? why don't they sell it anymore? i want to make some now.

happy 4th taylor!

2010-08-04T19:30:00.005-07:00

i have been busy again making my friends daughters birthday cake for the third year in a row! here and here are the other ones i've made her. i am so flattered that she actually keeps asking me, if that's not a compliment i don't know what is! here is the picture she gave me to go by, she wanted in similar but smaller:

and here is what i came up with:

doesn't barbie look so happy to be wishing taylor a happy birthday?!

the kids at the party loved eating the stars, i had no idea they would be such a hit.

i totally cheated and used hot glue to stick some of the fondant on. i did warn everyone beforehand which fondant to NOT eat. i'm pretty sure most people don't eat the fondant anyway. i don't.

thanks for challenging me once again christine! i really enjoyed making it and i can't wait to see what you come up with for next year!

new dining room

2010-07-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

a while back i was complaining to my sister kyla about my 5 year old small ikea dining set. i was searching kijiji for an old table and chairs to paint and then kyla so kindly remembered and offered up a old table and chairs that she had in her basement. i was thrilled. although, because the table that she had, had been refinished by my aunt and my mom built a replacement leaf for it i was hesitant to paint it after all their hard work. so i thought i would work around that.

here is a before of the 6 chairs that kyla gave me: ugly, old, DIRTY, stinky chairs...
transformed in to clean, cute and easy wipe-able chairs. i chose a soft gold vinyl for the seats and i was a little nervous about it at first until in got on the chairs, i then knew i made a great decision.
here is a close up of the pedestal on the table. isn't is gorgeous? i am so lucky.

and here it is together in my house. since i have taken this picture i have put a couple things on the wall behind but i am hoping to change that once we have our next camping trip and i will attempt to find some drift wood to put up. i am also making a white table runner right now.

a couple weeks ago i woke up and decided i wanted my home to be whiter and fresher. so i did just that. i pretty much took any accessory that wasn't white and removed it from the room or painted it white. i then took a trip to ikea and bought some new exciting things and voila, i love my home once again! i am still finishing some things up so i will post a couple pics once everything is done. wish me luck!

antique dresser redo

2010-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

i found this dresser on kijiji a while back. (you can't see it all in the before picture, it has a mirror on top as well) the date on the back of the mirror says 1938.

before:
after:

i also have a kijiji found bed that will be turning white soon to go along with the dresser. that won't be until scarlett is at least 2 though. she loves her crib way to much to give it up yet.

i put the original hardware back on:

and i did a bit of distressing:

i love it. it turned out just as i imagined it!

the best gift

2010-07-13T12:09:00.009-07:00

as i mentioned in the last post, i have just returned from young women camp. we pretty much have the sweetest little beehives in our ward. (we had 8 beehives and only 1 laurel at camp.) on sunday, i received the best thank you i could ask for. one of the girls brought a peony from her family's garden along with a handmade thank you card. isn't that so sweet? she didn't even know that peonies are by far my favorite flower. it is now sitting beside my year-round peony on my kitchen table and totally stealing all the attention from old fakey. well, i'm the only one that gives any attention to either anyway, but i'm sure fakey will be happy to know that the new arrival will soon wilt away and she will be back to being center attention. as for now, i am admiring the beauty of this big gorgeous flower and hoping it will hold on as long as possible.
thanks for making my week Liv!

fabric rossets

2010-07-12T07:33:00.002-07:00

a couple weeks ago i was at my sister-in-laws house and we started talking about fabric flowers. i have been wondering how to make ones that look like this for quite a while but have been too busy/lazy to figure it out on my own. my sister-in-laws sister-in-law so kindly showed us how easy it was. the next day i already had a few made.
i have searched and searched blogs looking for a tutorial to link you to so you can make some too and i have not been able to find a tutorial for a flower exactly like this.

if i am really ambitious this next week, i will think about making a tutorial. but i could totally be lying so don't count on it. i am feeling a little free-er now that our ward young women camp is over, i don't have any major plans of leaving home until august long and my in-laws came up and helped finish our long awaiting basement with doors and mouldings. we'll see.

oh and have i mentioned i am expecting #3. which explains my excessive laziness. i am now 17 weeks though so i can't blame that anymore.

i'm featured on...

2010-07-07T14:02:00.001-07:00

simple as that today! go check it out here!!

got chocolate?

2010-06-26T20:12:00.002-07:00

i sent howie upstairs to get himself a drink. he was taking a while so i decided to check out what he was doing...
a sippy cup full of quik. awesome. as you can assume by the extra large nesquik, he has seen me make chocolate milk enough times that you would think he would know that he should be mixing some milk in. it gave us a good laugh. poor kid, look at his confused face as i am making him stay for a picture. i love this little guy, he makes me laugh everyday. i can't imagine life without the joy and giggles that my kids bring to me.

the wedding cake

2010-06-14T07:03:00.005-07:00

i made this wedding cake for my niece. i have never made a cake nearly this big so i was so nervous, but for some reason she had confidence in me. i seemed to have pulled through. you can click on it to make it bigger. oh, and this pic was taken by my fabulous sister kyla. go there to see more pictures of the wedding, they are beautiful!

fun quilt

2010-05-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

we've already managed to get a few warm park days in this year! although, it hasn't been park weather now for a couple weeks, we are looking forward to seeing the sun again!

last year i started to make a fun quilt. (a quilt made just to take to park, and beach, and picnics, and everywhere else that is fun in the summer) i finished it and we have used it a few times...

the piecing is pretty simple but...

i took a little more time on the quilting portion. (you can click on the above picture to enlarge and see the quilting)

it says "asplund family" across the top right corner

a sun and stars

some mountains at the bottom

and even some flowers that couldn't be seen very well in a picture. it is so fun to have a fun quilt! i'm sure we'll have plenty of memories with it in years to come!

howie's quilt

2010-04-27T07:40:00.003-07:00

here is howie's new and improved room. his quilt really brought his room together. i am proud to say that i only had to spend 20 dollars to make this quilt. i already had the orange, black, and the cream was left over flannel from the back of this circle quilt. the blue is a $5 clearance sheet from walmart. the back is a $7 clearance sheet set from walmart (and the bottom sheet is on his bed now too!) and the binding is the only other fabric i had to buy for $8. so a lot of time and $20 later...here it is.
this is the pie in the sky pattern from denyse schmidt quilts

tacos

2010-04-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

i have been having serious troubles with blogging lately. i am definitely not motivated to do this. i find my self thinking about what to do about it daily (as in, quit all together, try harder or just wait out my un-enthusiasm) right now is just not my season to be doing this. i know it may come sooner or later but not now. i am the first to admit i am an obsessive person, and right now other things are making me happy. like...

i am trying at least 1 new adventurous recipe a day, and sometimes more like today. i made 4 new things today.

#1 sarah's applesauce my review: really yummy, when i make it again i will cut down the cinnamon to half the amount and maybe less sugar to make it a little healthier since it was plenty sweet (i used spartan apples)

#2 playgroup granola bars my review: okay. i made a couple changes though, i reduced the brown sugar to 1/2 cup and i used 3/4 cup apple sauce in place of the oil. i wouldn't give them 5/5 stars maybe 3 1/2 stars, although i realize that my changes may have effected that. but howie and scarlett did love them so that has to count for something. i will probably make them again, maybe with banana's and chocolate chips.

#3 lionhouse dinner rolls my review: if i could give them 6/5 stars i would. i actually made them directly form the lionhouse cookbook which has lots of delish recipes. after i rolled out the dough i brushed it with melted butter and rolled them how they described in the book. this will definitely be my staple bun recipe from now on!

#4 easy chicken fajita soup my review: it was good. neither andy or i thought it deserved the 5/5 stars that it has been given by 99 people but it was a 4/5. i will probably make it again.

last week i made homemade flour tortillas. i give 5/5. i never want to go back to store bought. they were so delicious.

inside our homemade flour tortilla we had dee's roast pork for tacos. this was the best combo ever. i will never make ground beef taco meat with store bought tortillas again. never. okay maybe when i am in a hurry and don't have anything else in the house...

so there you have it. my today recipes and my favorite recipe from last week. i will try to get around to posting my fav recipes from this week.

and if the weather would cooperate i would go to the park and take a pic of our new park quilt that i made but by the looks of outside right now (snow) that won't be happening for a little bit!

finally...the circle block quilt!

2010-03-31T13:42:00.002-07:00

you can always tell when i talk to my SIL abby from sew much ado. i always post on those days. she does a good job motivating me to do this. although, i do love it, i seem to be rather busy lately, my house NEVER actually gets completely clean and tidy at one time (which really is one of my favorite things), i feel like i have a million and one things to do at any given time AND there are so many good tv shows on right now so i tend to stay up too late watching them which results in tiredness.
this past weekend i got to go to a quilting retreat in canmore. it was so much fun! i got a lot of quilting done and a couple days away. i even came home to a tidy and orderly house which made it that much better. and a little scavenger hunt made by howie and andy, so sweet!

anyway, remember forever ago when i posted a tutorial on how to make a block for this quilt? i have finally finished the quilt. here she is.

i quilted spiral circles in each circle. around all of the circles i just did a large meandering pattern.

i backed it with flannel to make it extra cozy.

i LOVE it!

i am almost finished 2 more quilts thanks to the retreat! they will be coming soon! i can't complain about not having enough bedding around here anymore. i love have plenty of quilts and blankets around!

worlds yummiest potatoes

2010-03-16T20:17:00.002-07:00

i have tried MANY roasted potato recipes, like this and this and this one. all of which were okay. i would say about 2-3/5 stars. i always thought i liked roasted potatoes, then i would make one of these recipes (or one very similar) and never enjoy it as much as i thought i would.

then...it all changed with these potatoes. so yummy. and i ate the entire recipe all by myself. i am not lying, 2 lbs of terrific trio little potatoes all by myself.
the recipe is from here. here it is:

Garlic, Balsamic, and rosemary potatoes
2 lbs terrific trio potatoes (halved)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 rosemary sprigs
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
preheat oven to 375 degrees. combine all ingredients and place on a baking sheet. cook for 50 minutes or until cooked. it should serve 6...unless i am there.

another recipe that is my second favorite roasted potatoes can be found here. i loved the lemon flavor of these!

chocolate butterflies

2010-03-04T13:20:00.003-07:00

i made 40 of these butterflies this week to place on top of some banana cream phyllo cups (the recipe is in our book) i made for new beginnings. i forgot how much i loved making pretty chocolate decorations. when i was in baking school we made these a few times.

my friend told me about these butterflies a while ago which are a bit different than mine but the same idea and they are so pretty.

to make these ones you first pipe chocolate into the shape of a wing (do 2 for each butterfly, not attached and opposite ways.

then, fill the middle holes with colored chocolate. let set.

peel off of parchment and turn upside down (which will now be the top) prop the wings up (i use flower formers but you could make your own from tin foil) and pipe chocolate down the middle attaching them together. let set. carefully place them on top of a dessert.

notice in the below picture that the butterfly on the right is shiny and the one on the left isn't. that is because if chocolate sets on a shiny surface it Will be shiny, if it sets on a dull surface it will be dull. i used cellophane to pipe some of my butterflies onto so they would be shiny.

skor cake

2010-02-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

i love skor cake. it is one of the easiest and yummiest treats to make so i thought i would share with anyone out who is unaware of that how to make it!

photo is from here.

skor cake

1 chocolate cake mix, made into a cake in a 9x13" pan

1 can sweetened condensed milk

whipped cream

2-4 skor bars broken into pieces (hammer them while they are still packaged)

once the chocolate caked has cooled completely in the pan, with the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over it. about every 1/2 inches.

pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk onto the cake. it will seep into all of the holes you previously made. you may let it sit like this, covered, until a couple of hours before serving.

before serving spread a generous amount of whipped cream over the top of the cake (covering up the mess of holes and condensed milk.)

sprinkle the crushed skor bars on top.

enjoy!

a lovely bunch of frills accent cushion tutorial

2010-02-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

in this tutorial i am going to take you through the steps of making your very own lovely bunch of frills accent cushion. i love these little pillows so much. i have seen tons of pillows with ruffles on them but for the most part i have only ever seen small 1-2 inch ruffles. as i was making my first ruffle pillow, inspired by this curtain, it came to me that really big ruffles that were sewn in the middle and close to each other would be so cute! and the best part was, when i actually made them, they were just as fabulous as i pictured they would be, which definitely does not always happen! have fun make one (or 2!) for yourself!!

supplies:
1 - 14 x 17 inch pillow form (i got mine from ikea, you can make one)
a rolled hem foot for your sewing machine
1 - 15 x 18.5 inch rectangle white cotton for front ( i used an old ikea duvet cover for the fabric)
2 - 15 x 15 inch squares of white cotton for back flaps
4 - 5 x 36 inch strips of white cotton for frills

1. back: first prepare the 2 rectangles that will be the back flaps of your pillow. fold one of the 20 inch sides of each rectangle over 1 inch and iron, fold over again and iron

you will be left with 2 rectangles that now look like this:

sew along the folded edge of each one. set aside for later.

2.ruffles: take your 4 long strips of fabric and hem both long sides of each one using your rolled hem foot. i had never used this foot until this and i am now in love with it! what was i thinking letting it sit there not being used!?!

here is what the hem should look like after it runs under the foot

now, once all of the hemming is done on each long strip. set your machine to the longest stitch length. this is also called a basting stitch. leave a nice long tail of tread out of your needle (which you will need to pull to make gathers after). start sewing right down the middle and at the end of the strip make sure you pull the tread out of the machine a little bit to leave a tail at the end as well. repeat with the other 3 strips.

take the two bottom threads on one side and pull them while gathering the fabric down. do the same on the other side until your fabric is 15 inches across, at this point tie the 2 bottom threads that you have been pulling to the two top thread that should still be shorter. even out the gathers.

3. assemble the pillow: lay the 4 gathers strips across the pillow like so:

leaving about 1 inch of fabric on each of the 2 sides of the pillow, pin each strip in place. the strips should be right next to each other touching.

remember to put your stitch length back to normal. stitch down the center of each strip, securing them to the pillow. after this, you may take the basting stitches out. be how ever particular you want to be, i don't really worry about actually picking any out:)

iron the frills down now, it will make them much nicer!

if needs be, pin up any ruffle that may get sewn over when you are sewing the back and the front together.

get one of the back rectangles that you sewed very first and lay it over the ruffles. make sure the right sides are facing each other and that the hemmed side is in the middle of the ruffles. pin in place.

now, lay the other rectangle over top of the first one, again, with the right side down and the hemmed side on the middle of the pillow.

trim any excess fabric that is coming out.

sew a 1/2 inch stitch all the way around making sure to back stitch at beginning and end. go around the whole pillow case again with a serger or a zigzag stitch to encase all the raw edges.

turn your now pillow case the right side out through the back flaps, put a pillow form inside and enjoy your new frills!

a lovely bunch of frills accent cushion

2010-02-22T07:25:00.001-07:00

i couldn't stop at just one white frilly pillow. i love the ruffle pillow ,but...i love these little guys even more. last night when i went to bed, i seriously couldn't even let myself put them on the floor, i just wanted one to stay with me so i could lay beside it and feel the frills. and then i seriously thought "maybe i should bring the other one up here too, it's not fair that only one is up here with me." i convinced myself that they don't actually have feelings and kept one on the floor. a few minutes later i figured it would probably be okay to shun the other one to the floor before i dozed off to sleep. after all, i wouldn't want to squish her or anything like that!

this, right here, is love at first sight.

a tutorial for a lovely bunch of frills accent cushion is here.

ruffle pillow tutorial

2010-02-19T13:42:00.011-07:00

i am going to take you through the steps to making your very own ruffle pillow first, here are the supplies you will need:

1 18-19 inch pillow form
thread
a rolled hem foot for your sewing machine
fabric: 1 - 20x20 inch square of white cotton for front
2 - 20x17 inch rectangles of white cotton for back
4 - 40x5.5 inch strips of white cotton for the ruffles

1. back: first prepare the 2 rectangles that will be the back flaps of your pillow. fold one of the 20 inch sides of each rectangle over 1 inch and iron, fold over again and iron.

you will be left with 2 rectangles that now look like this:
sew along the folded edge of each one. set aside for later.

2.ruffles: take your 4 long strips of fabric and hem one long side of each one using your rolled hem foot. i had never used this foot until this and i am now in love with it! what was i thinking letting it sit there not being used!?!

once you have hemmed one side of all 4 strips you will now do the gathers. set your machine to the highest stitch length, this is also called a basting stitch. line up your presser foot with the raw edge side of the long strip of ruffle fabric, leaving a nice long tail of tread out of your needle (which you will need to pull to make gathers after) finish off by pulling the thread out a few inches again to leave some thread at that end as well. now, using the same stitch length, go back and stitch another line 1/8 -1/4 inch further in from the first one. leaving a tail of thread at each end again. do this to all 4 strips.

take the two bottom threads on one side and pull them while gathering the fabric down. do the same on the other side until your fabric is 20 inches across, at this point tie the 2 bottom threads that you have been pulling to the two top thread that should still be shorter. even out the gathers. (note: this picture is not showing the right strip for this pillow, your gathers will not be in the middle, they will be on one of the sides! sorry)

now, i like to sew over the gathers with a regular stitch length to secure them. of course, do this to all 4 strips.

you will now be left with 4 gathered strips that are 20 inches long each.

3. applying ruffles: starting about 1 inch from the top, pin one strip of ruffles with the right side facing down and the hemmed edge up. you will be flipping them down after they are sewn.

continue to pin all 4 rows or ruffles on the same way about 4 1/2 inches away. remember to have the right side facing down (meaning, the nice side of the hemmed edge facing down)

you need them far enough away from each other that one ruffle will just barely cover the start of the next ruffle, although you won't be able to see this until they are flipped down.

at the bottom you will want a little more space left (like 6 or 7 inches if totally fine.) once the pillow has the pillow form in it it will look better if there isn't a ruffle there. (i used 5 ruffles on the one pictures below and the last ruffle doesn't look great)

using a regular straight stitch stitch on all of the ruffles, making sure to stitch slightly further than the gathering stitches so you will not see them when the ruffle is flipped over.

flip over all of the gathers and iron them down. this is a very important step, as it will make the ruffles look way cuter, trust me!

4. assemble the pillow cover: turn the top ruffled piece of the pillow over and stitch the ruffles down. as you can see in the picture you may let some of the gathered fabric hang over and just trim it off later.

trim off any excess ruffles that didn't get sewed on.

if needs be, pin up any ruffle that may get sewn over when you are sewing the back and the front together. (note: remember i used 5 ruffles so you shouldn't have a ruffle this close to the bottom)

now, lay the other rectangle over top of the first one, again, with the right side down and the hemmed side on the middle of the pillow.

sew a 1/2 inch stitch all the way around making sure to back stitch at beginning and end. go around the whole pillow case again with a serger or a zigzag stitch to encase all the raw edges.

turn your now pillow case the right side out through the back flaps, put a pillow form inside and enjoy your new luscious ruffles!

ruffle pillow

2010-02-17T17:45:00.006-07:00

i can't spend the moola on the curtains, soooo, to hold over my white ruffle obsession, i decided to make a pillow. it didn't work though...now i am more obsessed with ruffles than before. this makes me want the curtains even more. i am considering actually making them. depending on how cheap i can get white sheets. i can truly picture them now, and how cute they will be.

and for anyone who wants to make their own ruffle pillow, i took pictures while i was making this just so i could make a tutorial for you! here is the tutorial!

ouch bag

2010-02-16T13:13:00.002-07:00

my friend elaine told me about this awesome idea.
is your kid addicted to band aids...even if there is no blood. do they make everything better? howie used to think he needed a band aid for everything. not anymore. i made him an ouch bag! all it is is a 5 inch square cotton fabric bag filled with dry wheat. (dry rice would work too!) keep it in the freezer so it is always cold when needed! this thing really does work miracles!
we have 3 now. that is how awesome they are!

i want these so bad...

2010-02-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty sure i have found my favorite curtains ever. they are from urban outfitters. arn't they so georgous??? i love them so much. i may just have to buy them someday. they are exactly what my living room needs. if anyone is going to buy them, throw in a couple panels for me too, after all i did tell you about hem, i deserve it.
and look at these ones. i love them as well, they would be so cute in scarletts room.

seth's quilt

2010-01-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

i promised my sister, kyla, i would make her 2 year old, seth, a quilt. well, seth is now almost 3, so you can imagine how happy both kyla and i are that i have finally finished his quilt. here it is.
of all places/people to make a quilt for, a boys bedroom is by far the hardest. it is so hard to find fabrics that are totally "boy" appropriate. there are lots of fabrics that work for baby boys but not so much for a boy over the age of 2. i have turned to solids.

here is a picture of the quilting on the back.

howie has already worn in the quilt for seth. it has been well loved here at our home but i bet it will be even more loved by seth who is currently using his sisters old bedding...which is definitely not boyish.

eat something pretty in PDF!!

2010-01-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

we are so excited to announce that you can now buy our book in pdf. for only $10. yup, that's right, you can now have all of your favorite entertaining recipes (uh, i mean our favorite recipes, but i promise they will be yours too!) and be green at the same time! to purchase the pdf version of our book go here. or to purchase the real thing go here.

glee

2010-01-25T08:22:00.001-07:00

the. best. show. hands down. i have never loved a tv show the way i do glee. i makes me giddy. i seriously rock out to the music. i am now watching the first 13 episodes for the 3rd time in 4 months. really, that is how good it is. i have never watched a show that i have really cared to watch for a second time...or a third! if you haven't yet watched glee, i highly recommend you watch the first 13 episodes before it resumes in april. i can't wait.

blueberry muffins

2010-01-22T09:32:00.005-07:00

last week i tried two top rated blueberry muffin recipes on allrecipes. i wanted to find out which was really the best one.

the first recipe i made was blueberry cream muffins
these were really yummy. as suggested by reviews, i substituted 1/2 of the sugar for brown sugar. i think this made them good. i always think anything with sour cream in it is yummy. it makes things moist and gives it a bit of a tangy flavour. i give these muffins 4/5. i will definitely make them again.

the next recipe i tried was to die for blueberry muffins

the cinnamon sugar topping on these really was to die for. so good. but, as far as the muffins, not the greatest. they were a little dry. the batter was almost more like dough it was so thick. with the topping i would give these 4/5, however, without the topping they were nothing special.

the final verdict:

if you are looking for pure yummyness (not sugar or calorie counting) i would make blueberry cream muffins and use just the topping recipe from to die for blueberry muffins which is:

blueberry crumb topping

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

mix ingredients with a fork (or your hands work great too!) and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
yum.

also, i have to give a HUGE shout out to my sister-in-law abby from sew much ado. her ruby lou doll pattern and a doll are being featured on grosgrain. go here to see the post. you can win a pattern or a doll. what little girl wouldn't want one of these???

the best chocolate cookies ever, really.

2010-01-11T11:56:00.007-07:00

well, before i share the best cookies in the whole world with you i am first going to say, HI! i am back! temporarily. i have been taking a much needed break from blogging/computer. it has been so wonderful. not that i don't love blogging and sharing stuff with all of you, i just love to not worry about it. i have been baking and cooking more than i have the last couple of years, working on my new years resolutions (one of them really is to craft less), and finding plenty of time to relax with my kids. it has been fun. i want to keep it this way...for a while anyway. however, i will try to blog a few times a month still, no more of this taking a break for a whole month.

check this out...like 4 days before christmas i FINALLY finished my advent calender. i can't wait to use it next year!

and since christmas, i have been enjoying my new camera lens (Nikkor 1.8) that makes every picture a keeper!

Scarlett has been enjoying her new dolly, her "Ruby Lou Doll" to be exact.

you can make one too with my SIL's new pattern for sale here! isn't she so talented?!

and Howie has been loving his new smartstructs and train set. literally the only toys he has played with for the last 2 weeks.

now for the best chocolate chip cookies. we can all thank martha for these. this is a recipe i tore out of an old magazine last year. i finally tried them this week and they were so great. i have tried 20+ chocolate chip cookie recipes the people claim to be the best, soft and chewiest cookies ever and still never found one i loved this much.

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

7 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature (that is 1/2 cup minus 1 Tbsp)
1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 Tbsp sour cream

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. beat butter and sugars on med-high speed until pale and fluffy. beat in egg and vanilla. reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients in two batches alternating with the sour cream and beat just until combined. stir in chocolate chips.

2.use a cookie scoop to drop onto parchment lined baking sheets. bake until centers are set and the bottoms are very slightly brown (do not wait until the sides are brown, that means they are over baked!) i think these cookies are the best when they are completely cooled (i know weird, i usually love them right out of the oven the best)

questions:

i ordered the little tins off of etsy.

bake the cookies until they are done. with every oven this will vary. just don't let them get to brown as stated in the recipe.

ted (AKA someone who was to embarrased just to ask me so they made up a temporary gmail account) "clause" is spelt like that because i am an idiot and if spell check doesn't catch it, then i am doomed. oops, i geuss i will updating that next year...

a handmade christmas and a winner

2009-12-09T14:39:00.010-07:00

i have been sew busy the last couple of weeks (pun intended) i have been sewing and crafting like crazy getting ready for christmas. here is what i have been working on:

plenty of little note book covers. using this tutorial.

bedding for a doll bed for scarlett.

an i spy bag. i am still adding stuff to it daily.

howie has been begging for a clipboard, seeing how i use mine everyday. here it is.

wooden letters to hang with ribbon:

i made howie his very own airmiles and credit card...get em started young. all i did was print a picture of a card off of the Internet that i had edited to say his name off of it first. glued it to an old useless card of mine and then finished it with mod podge.

i have also been working on quilts and pajama pants. i think i may just make some homemade dry dip spice jars too.

BTW, the advent calender that i am supposed to be done by now is not done...errrr. it isn't my fault. i will blame the USPS. the tins are not yet here.

and the winner of the cookbook is...

DarrenLaura.R who said

Wa-hoo!

I want to make something pretty!

...and then eat it.

Thanks for your rockin' blog, too, by the way. I have you to thank for my super-cute apron:)

laura, email me your shipping info!

for all you non-winners, hop on over to Eat Something Pretty to purchase a book!

questions:

yes, i used rice in the i spy bag!

i ordered the letters form http://www.wholesalewooodenletters.com/. the shipping to canada is expensive unless you order enough to make it worth it. otherwise it is probably better to ship to the boarder.