me and t

halloween pictures

2010-10-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

My favorite wall in the house is this one going down my hallway. It's a little picture gallery of sorts. It is usually filled with pictures of my kids, but also other family members too -grandparents, great grandparents, anyone who will pose for a cute picture.

I was thinking about past Halloween costumes and thought it would be fun to print them all up and switch out the everyday pictures with spooky Halloween ones. The kids have loved looking at themselves, especially the baby ones. They just can't believe they were once as small as their little brother!

I have a couple spots left for Shrek, Fiona, and Gingy! Gotta get those done!

preoccupied

2010-06-26T16:28:00.001-07:00

I've been a bit preoccupied lately...

We had a BOY on June 4th - 4 weeks early. I was early with my last one by 5 weeks, so I anticipated being early again.

I made these cute little announcements. They are very simple and super easy. The bunting is just 1" triangles sewn on and I stamped on the "hooray" using acrylic paint as the "ink" so it would look painted on. I think they turned out cute.

And my little boy is such a sweet heart. It's all so fun the third time around.

my baby gift to you: maternity skirt

2010-05-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago my SIL was pregnant and mentioned that I should make a maternity skirt. It took a bit to figure out, but wasn't as hard as I anticipated. I have sold a couple on etsy, but have never known how they end up REALLY fitting.

I believe I am past that "oh, look how cute and pregnant you are" and to the stage of sympathetic looks and "any day now, right?" comments. I guess it does look like I have a basket ball shoved underneath there doesn't it. (sorry, blurry pic taken by the 6 year old)

If you are interested in making yourself one this is essentially what I did:

Supplies: thread, 2 yards cute fabric, 2 yards lining fabric, 3" wide elastic (you have to determine how much, but I buy 1 1/2 yard making a size small skirt), 1/4 yard knit fabric to coordinate w/ pretty fabric.

1. I took the Amy Butler Barcelona skirt pattern (which I LOVE and sew all of the time when not preggo) in my regular size and traced it, front only. This works for me because I only get pregnant in the belly region (although last pregnancy my sister told me my butt looked big...), so I just use my regular size. If you tend to get pregnant everywhere, I guess go up a size.

2. I then took off 3 inches down from the waist. Save this piece (at least the measurement).

3. Cut 2 of your pattern on the fold of your outside fabric and then also your lining fabric.

4. Sew up the sides of both pieces.

5. Take the 3" waist measurement that you cut/determined in step 2. Double that length by 3" width and cut 2. Make sense??? Cut this out of the knit fabric. Sew to make one long piece. Sew those ends together making a giant loop, right sides together. Fold length of fabric in half like a hot dog, raw edges together. Iron (if it makes you feel better, I usually don't...)

6. Take your 3" elastic and cut 1/2" shorter than the length of knit you just sewed. Butt up the ends of the elastic in a loop and zigzag a million times to sew together (not overlapping, just end-to-end). Stick this elastic loop inside the knit loop you just made. Sew as close to the edge of the knit fabric against the elastic as you can (I usually move the needle to one end of the presser foot). Trim to 1/4".

7. With your pretty side fabric inside out put your lining fabric right side out INSIDE the pretty fabric. Sandwich your elastic/knit loop between the two, raw edges matching the raw edges of the skirts waist. Sew all three layers together.

8. I'm not sure how to explain the next part, but I think if you pull the lining part up, flip the pretty fabric right side out and then stuff the lining part back in so that it's on the inside, it'll all work out. If you have the AB pattern, she explains it pretty well, there's just not that 3rd elastic part.

9. Top stitch the bottom of the waist band (on pretty fabric, NOT knit fabric). Hem.

10. Wear!

Please please please - personal use only...

teachers gifts

2010-05-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

As a thank you gift for Mrs. Grove for a great school year I made this bag. I think it turned out cute except that visually it looks lopsided (hence the added flower to hopefully distract). It is all straight though - I meant to make the green fabric strip larger in comparison to the other two, but I didn't make it dramatic enough. I think that's why it LOOKS lopsided. I used some Joel Dewberry fabric I have in my stash and made the bag in just a couple of hours.

We gave homemade jam to the teachers aids/helpers in the class. I found this blog that has the cutest little labels to attach with the jam. The labels are free. Check them out!

I brought this stuff to school yesterday even though we still have a couple of days left. It felt good to check this task of my list (and who knows! This baby could come 5 weeks early like it's older brother.) I think I am nesting, but not in the clean-every-corner-of-my-house way (much to my husband's dismay). I've been getting little crafty things done that I've been meaning to get to for the past 8 months!

a birthday dress

2010-05-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

My daughter was telling everyone that I was making her a Birthday dress... I hadn't really planned on it seeing that I've made her a couple of dresses already this spring (which I've been meaning to post).

So, I guess I should make her a dress...I've been meaning to try that Oliver +S Birthday Party Dress pattern. I've had it for nearly a year. One night, or rather 2:00 a.m. I couldn't sleep, as has been the case since I've been uncomfortably pregnant. I got up and decided to trace the size I needed and get the pieces cut out. It's amazing what you can do from 2-4:00 in the morning when no one is awake or calling on the phone.

I just may have to do an actual review on the pattern someday when I'm not so hormonal. It was a pain in the neck to make. I think it turned out darling, and I love love the detail, but it required a lot of mark-transferring and ironing - two things I am barely willing to do. This dress required a lot of it though! After spending much more time on it than originally planned, my pleats turned out all wonky and I didn't blind stitch the hem. That's the great thing about sewing for a 6 year old... she doesn't care. She just loves the fabric "she picked out". And, well, I notice the pleats, but... I just don't care. Again, it's the hormones. And I must post a tutorial on making these flower hair clips. They are super easy to make and come together fast. Typically I make them in the minutes before leaving for church to match an outfit (that's how quickly they come together).

scrappy cards

2010-05-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of sending (and receiving) cards via snail mail. I think email is nice and evites are free, but isn't it great to get something in the mail that doesn't ask for a "payment due by" or "vote for ________". For Mother's Day I made the mom's in my life some scrappy cards. I just picked up a pack of blank cards from Michaels ($4.99 with coupon), and used scraps from my growing bin of scraps.

It's one of those projects that I don't think you can really mess up. It's fun mixing and matching the fabric and seeing these mini quilts, if you will, come together into a fun gift set.

more birthday love

2010-04-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

My sister's Birthday was on the 17th. She's always growing her hair out and then chopping it off to donate to locks of love. She's in the growing out stage, so I thought I'd send her some hair accessories to make it less painful.

I too am growing my hair into a different style, so have been making headbands for myself. I prefer the skinny ones. You can buy a set of 4 head bands at Walmart for only $1. Black/Brown/Gold/Clear. I've been covering the gold and clear ones with fabric. You can find a tutorial here if you don't want to have to think about how to do it. She also has some cute embellishment ideas too. I've got more to show, but don't have pictures - some with feathers!

Yes, my son is the model. He thought he was hilarious. This is just 1/4" of felt rolled into a giant spiral. Hot glue every few inches. I found the alligator clips on etsy at mybeadjoy. They were pretty cheap. I think 25 for $2. There are all sorts of things at this etsy shop that you can't find at Micheals. The prices are great. The only downfall might be that the stuff is shipped from China, so it takes a few weeks...Same concept as the other one, but done with scrap fabric instead of felt.

Covered button super glued onto a bobby pin that has a base. Also from mybeadjoy.

There are two different kinds of bobby pins -black and silver. I've got some silver ones too. I think I prefer those. They are little bit longer.

Happy Birthday Emily!!!

man-bag

2010-04-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

It is part of my son's "outfit" to shove a bunch of cars in his pockets each day. Unfortunately he just can't fit them ALL into his pockets, so I thought I'd make him a bag to carry them around in (this also helps avoid the fits being thrown because he can't physically carry 10+ cars in his arms at the same time!)

I used (sort of) the bag from Bend The Rules Sewing (the one with the apples), but made longer straps and different dimensions. . . so basically I just made it up as I went - but I had sewn the Amy Karol one before, which was helpful.

I used the "wrong side" of some denim fabric I had on hand and lined it (and appliqued) with some canvas-y type fabric from Walmart. The straps are just the two strips of fabric sewn together with the edges raw.I tried to make the bag as manly as I could (w/o spending hours and hours making it).

My husband is embarrassed when Carson carries around his "purse" full of cars.

quirky cuff links tutorial

2010-04-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

If you are a sewer/crafter I'm certain that when you look at things other people made you think to yourself "I could totally make that".

That's me.

Plus, I was "accused" by my husband a while back that I'm motivated by money. At first I was slightly insulted, but it's true and as long as money doesn't rule my life, I think it's ok. As a stay at home mom, instead of being motivated to MAKE money I seem to be motivated to SAVE money. I craft for the creative outlet, but another reason (among many) I craft is because I like to give gifts and it helps when I can give a nice handmade gift without spending lots of money. Plus, my time is priceless right ;)

Which leads me to a birthday gift for my sister's husband. I saw these Lego cuff links at a local handmade consignment shop, $25 for 1 pair, and thought of him. I also knew I could make them. Check out how easier they are:

Buy blank cuff links off Etsy here. You don't even have to buy a zillion of them. 4 pairs cost me $2.50.
Find Legos. I like these square ones, but I think the ones that are 3 nodes by 2 nodes would work too. Luckily I have a friend that has a big bin of legos that don't complete a set. She let me rummage through it to find what I wanted. $0. Maybe you could find some at a thrift shop perhaps?Super glue the lego onto the cuff link. Make sure they are going the same direction.
See, easy.

Total cost (with shipping) $4.95.

Now I guess I ought to let my sister know that she should give her husband a shirt for his Birthday that needs cuff links.

birthday gift

2010-03-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

My Mother's birthday was this past month. She makes those fancy crochet wash cloths (her's are simple and square, but I thought these apple ones were cute).

I've been meaning to try this.

I even bought crochet hooks and yarn.

I'm not sure where they are at the moment.

Oh well.

I (loosely) used a tutorial I found on Sew mama Sew. There are enough pockets for a small notebook and pen (or pattern I guess), a small pair of scissors, and 5 hooks.

It fit nicely in a 8 x 11 manila envelope with a small ball of yarn.

Happy Birthday mom!

birthday shirts only the mom cares about

2010-03-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't that so true?! What three year old can get excited about getting clothes for his birthday?? Oh well, I had a fun time making them...

Freezer paper stenciled (which I've found an new love for. I hated doing it at first, but discovered that if I cut the image with those tiny finger nail scissors, it's much easier than using a razor. That might just be me...)
My personal fave. He runs around the house "roaring" at his sister with his "scary pider shirt". Only, she's not scared and roars and chases him back. . .
I cut the hemmed edges of the sleeves and bottom to make them roll. (Above two shirts are "remakes" of shirts I saw in Mini Boden).
This freezer paper stencil was totally inspired by this brilliant tutorial I saw over at Made during her (and Rae's) boy month. If you are at all interested in taking your images (or ones found off the internet) and then converting them to larger images to freezer paper stencil, you must read the tutorial. It's awesome! I'm going to try the Lincoln image as soon as I can figure out how to make it smaller. I'm thinking of putting four Lincoln heads on the shirt and paint it sort of Andy Warhol like.

happy valentine day

2010-02-14T16:17:00.000-08:00

happy valentines day!

i CAN finish this. i know i can. i will. i swear it.

2010-01-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

Tracy always tells me how quilting is SO much easier then making clothes. Maybe. But my problem with quilting is that I'm impatient.

It's not quilting's fault.

It's me. Not you.

Tracy sent me a lovely quilt for Christmas that I snuggle in while watching t.v. It's just mine. Reserved for me. Poor shivering husband says to me the other night while under a different (smaller) blanket "maybe you should make another blanket".

Yeah, I guess he's right.

So I started looking at quilt tutorials online and decided on a Stacked Coin quilt. It actually looks harder than it really is. Mostly it's time consuming. The first day I cut all of the top strips and sewed them together. I even cut out all of the white strips too. And then. It sat. Here and there I've sewed a strip or two together. In between it all I've made some headbands - cute ones for moi, cut out two patterns, cut out PJ pants for the boy and just got my miniBoden catalog in the mail yesterday and tore out a bunch of pages of cute appliques that I'm just itching to, ahem, recreate (for personal use, of course).

Today I finished the entire top. I knew I would never get to it if I didn't just sit down and do it. Especially with all of the applique possibilities in my mind.

I love it.

It's beautiful.

I love seeing all of my fabric in one place, and I love that the white balances out the chaos.

Now to finish it. Hmmm... I DO have the batting. And a walking foot attachment for the machine.

And I DO love it.

I'll finish it.

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe.
Next time though, I'll make this quilt instead.

can i make up for the 1st trimester absence?

2010-01-26T19:08:00.001-08:00

I was going through my iPhoto and saw some pictures that I took of a craft show I did in October. I had signed up to do it in September and then luckily sewed a bunch at that time because October through December was no-fun-for-me. First Trimester sickies.
I had sort of given up on craft fairs because I don't make much money and since all of my stuff has to be handmade it's not like I come up with a design and then pay someone to screen print it en mass on t-shirts or something. But this was a real craft fair at an Art Gallery in a nicer part of the Bay Area, not just a local craft show at the local elementary school or something, so I decided to give it one last shot.

I didn't actually make very much money (I'm not sure anyone did due to low traffic), but it was one of the neatest things to participate in. The other crafters were so amazing, true artists. I felt like such a geek with my head bands, hair clips and nursing covers. You could definitely tell what stage of life I was in by all of my mom/little girl items.

Some of my favorites were:

Ohmay - the most beautiful and creative knit scarves/ascots/accessories. Just lovely.

I would love one of these bird stakes in my yard.

This guy's insect art is a-maz-ing and beautiful and I must have some butterflies.

Oh yeah, it's funny too. Beetles walking dogs and riding bicycles, silly things.

and my favorite were these recycled paper earrings. Oh how I had to exercise some self control!

I was next to a girl who does craft fairs as a full-time job. She said at the big ones she makes $3000-$4000. The entry fee is around $300+. Do you know how many hair clips I'd have to make JUST to make up my fee?? Not worth it in my book. Most of her stuff is screen-printed (her designs), so it's not hard for her to mass produce. She was really nice and helpful.

It was fun doing the craft show (and hey - now I've got a bunch of items made to sell and gifts to give away), but mostly because of the kid free day away and being surrounded by gifted people. I'm not sure I'll be a seller at another craft show, but I'd love to go and buy next time!

i've been published!

2010-01-19T09:55:00.001-08:00

If you ever thought you'd be a scrap-booker, then you know the guilt of falling behind. Way behind! Like you've had another kid since you started your first kids baby book behind. Well, that was me. And it turns out. . . I hate scrap booking. It's just not for me. I'd rather see pictures and know the story then have fancy doo-dads and cutesy paper. Plus, I just don't have a talent for it.
SO, this is where blurb comes in. There are plenty of website where you can get pictures made into a book, but the great thing about blurb is that they offer software that slurps your blog into a book for you. After that you have to go through and choose your book size (this is set in stone once you choose, so choose wisely), add more pictures (like when you have a zillion pictures and you know you just can put them ALL on your blog), enlarge font, etc. The software's not perfect, it's totally SLOW and is crazy time consuming, but it's worth it in the end. I have been blogging since 2007 and thought I'd start there. So yes, I'm still behind printing my books, but it's ok. The pictures and stories are still there. All I have to do is add more pictures and viola. Family history.

My book has 200 pages in it and cost $63. It is the Standard Landscape (I wanted to be able to fit it in a bookshelf. The bigger ones are awesome, but I'm not sure where I'd store the books later). I think the Landscape version is good because it makes the book more coffee-table-like (less text book feeling) and I think you can fit more pictures on the pages. Maybe it seems expensive, but when you figure the book has 360 pictures in it and at IF I got them printed as 4 x 6 prints (and the majority of the prints are 5x7 and 8x10) for $.11 each that's approx. $40 plus having to buy albums to put all of the pictures in. And no story. And then writing dates on the back of 360 pictures. I hate doing that!It was totally worth it and I hope to get some birthday money so I can print 2008. Oh yeah - if you have (grand)parents or family who want a copy, you can always make it available online for them to go to the website and buy.

Tie Quilt

2010-01-17T16:09:00.001-08:00

And. . . I'm still here. Is anyone else??? Sorry. . . Merry Christmas? Happy Holidays? Happy New Year?

I HAVE in fact been sewing and need to post soon, but I've also been working on having my family blog printed into a book and that, my friends, has taken forever. But! I just got it in the mail and it was worth every minute of computer torture. I'll take pictures and show it to you because you should totally make one. Anyway, the above quilt is NOT mine. In fact, I took a picture of it over a year ago and have been meaning to post about it because I think it's really neat. It was made by a woman in her 80's who's husband passed away and happened to own hundreds of ties. That's right. All of those strips of fabric came from her husbands ties! You can really see the 70's in there! What a fun concept. Not that I have EVER made a quilt, but I certainly appreciate the art/craft of it.

What a fun treasure this quilt will be. Seeing all of the different fabrics and remembering grandpa wearing them. I would like to do something similar, but with cotton shirts of my grandma's maybe?? Or maybe my daughter's baby/toddler clothes if I can stand cutting them at all?

quick gift idea

2009-12-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

I know you don't know this... but I'm pregnant. And being pregnant has created an aversion to crafting/sewing. Tragic, I know, but I'm hoping to get over it soon. I'm nearing 12 weeks and need to make Christmas PJs, and a couple other things and I need the energy to do it! I've done all I can to avoid making things for anyone this year. I realize how un-crafty, not handmade revolution blah blah blah that is.... but whatever... I feel like barfing all day and just want to go to sleep.

On a less barfy note...

At church I am essentially the party planner for the women. We had a nice dinner the other night and then did a simple craft that I know you've all seen before. Mostly I wanted to just give you the link to where you can buy the supplies and see the tutorial I originally got the idea from. I realize my picture isn't really a great representation of how cute these actually are, but... it's just the one I made. The women at the party made darling ones though! The necklaces only cost $2 each to make (that was tile, bail, and chain) and were easy peasy. If you can glue one thing to another, you can do this. I'm all about the thoughtfulness of giving gifts, but I also don't have a lot of money to spend on them. The great thing is that the necklaces span all age ranges... so I'd like to think my 5 year old will love this necklace with the pic of her and her cousin, but a teacher would love it too with cute scrapbook paper behind it or something.

Here's the tutorial for the necklaces.

Here's the etsy shop I bought all of the supplies from.

bacon makes stuff taste goooood

2009-11-12T17:35:00.001-08:00

We're still here. Sick kids for me. Also, getting ready for a craft fair. But here. I'm sort of nervous about the craft thing. It's like a REAL craft fair. It's at a swanky gallery in a nicer part of the East Bay. The only craft fairs I've done have been neighborhood ones where I'm set up next to the Avon lady and am pretty much the only one that's made anything by hand... wish me luck...

So I made this tonight for dinner and thought I'd share it with you. If anyone is still around. Otherwise, hey T, look what I made for dinner:

Potato and Asparagus Bisque

6 slices bacon (I used a whole package)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 diced celery
1 quart chicken broth (4 cups)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tbs thyme
2 cups peeled diced potatoes
1 10 oz. box frozen cut asparagus (I used fresh actually)
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

Cook bacon until crisp in a 3 quart soup pot. Remove bacon reserving 2 tbs drippings. Crumble bacon. Cook onion and celery in drippings until tender. Add broth, bay leaf, salt, pepper, thyme, and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are soft. Once they are soft, mash the potatoes with a potato masher (loosely - not to a pulp). Add asparagus; simmer for 5 minutes. reduce heat to low, stir in cream and bacon. Simmer for 3 minutes (don't let boil).

So good my 5 year old will even eat it... at least the bacon part...

this years costumes

2009-10-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Mostly the Halloween costumes are finished. I mean, there are extra things - like a fancy tiara/headband for the ballerina and maybe some red-checked table cloth pants for the pizza, but then again... this may be it. For whatever reason it's impossible for me to work on a project for more than a few sittings before I get burnt out (this is why I don't make quilts). This happens with Halloween for me every year. So excited October 1st. So done by October 20th. Maybe I'm just tired tonight and the task of embellishing seems daunting.

The tutu I think is to big - width wise. It hangs a little too much. If I made it shorter it would have stuck out in more pancake tutu fashion. It's still really cute in person though. If you make one just know that a lot of patience is required - 7 layers of gathered tulle. 7.

The leotard was a little refashioned fun. A friend of mine who does embroidery professionally gave me a couple of leotards and a skort that she had messed up on and ripped holes in while trying to unpick. Hence, the reversed applique heart to get rid of holes. And since it's Halloween and a little cooler in the evening I cut up the skort and made sleeves for the tank top leotard. I felt myself quite clever.
This was fun to make. Hot glue is my friend. It took a while, but thanks to an entire weekend dedicated to church on the radio I was able to finish it. It stays on for about 5 minutes max. I guess that's all I can expect from a 2 year old. Maybe I should have just bought a spiderman costume?
I think THIS is the funniest costume ever though!

scrappy abc's

2009-10-05T20:29:00.001-07:00

I came across this tutorial the other day for quilted letters. I thought I'd make letters for my son for a Christmas gift. I think they turned out cute and it gave me a chance to use my new darning foot, which I paid $1 at Joanns fabrics. I'm certain it isn't generic enough for MY machine since I have to rig it up with an elastic band... (I think if you enlarge the picture you can see some of the crazy quilting - like on the "U".) It's fun to use, but would take a lot of practice/patience if I wanted to use on something that was for someone who might notice all of the mistakes.

This project kind of takes a while, but is something easy to do whenever you have a spare minute.

and

It doesn't make noise + No batteries required +Can be thrown in the washer + Great use of scrap fabric = great gift!

an apple a day...

2009-09-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed that you can actually make the treats that you see in the cute little sweet shops. Who doesn't love their apples smothered in caramel and chocolate??

While at Target I walked past a bag of Caramels. I figured I give the caramel apple a shot. I've made them with Tracy before. Ok. I watched while she made them the not-cheating way (involving a candy thermometer) and then I ate it. I was there more as moral support.

Anyway, I bought the bag of caramels thinking it would be a fun family activity. Well, it turns out - it's even fun when you're just making one. All you need is (for 1):

9 caramel squares
1/2 tbs water

melt in a small saucepan on low. Stir continuously.

Stick your Popsicle stick into the apple. Dip the apple in the caramel. You may have to roll it since you're not melting enough to technically "dip".

**don't refrigerate. It makes the caramel HARD.

Then. I melted chocolate chips in the microwave. Unless you know how to do this, Google it. It's not hard, but there is a way to make it smooth and dip-able.

Add nuts. Or candy. Or more chocolate. Or crushed pretzels. The possibilities are endless.

Wouldn't this be a fun gift for teachers? Neighbors? Co-workers? Cellophane, cute ribbon and tags? The holidays, they are a-comin'.
Now, if only I could talk him into EATING the apple and not just lick off the toppings...

canning: don't be scared

2009-09-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

A lady at church gave me a ton of apples that she got from her sister who works for an orchard. Apparently these apples are considered "seconds" because they are not perfectly shaped and may have a bruise or two.Sweet.

100 apples.

But besides applesauce what can you do with apples??

How about APPLE PIE FILLING!!

Again, Sweet.

We are fans of apple pie, but I rarely make it because that whole apple part is a pain in the rear.

Now, I have 12 jars full of apple pie filling. Mmmmm.... The jar is just the right size to fill one pie, so now I just have to make the crust.

But, when you have 100 apples to peel, you MUST have one of these:It's an apple/corer/peeler. It's the coolest. I peeled 100 apples and was amazed every time. I even took it into my daughters Kindergarten class to show the kids since they are learning about apples right now. Amazement all around. (but mostly by me I think because I realize what a pain it is to do it the other way...)My BIL's (not) girlfriend took this picture. I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm the biggest dork ever.

You should can apple pie filling. Really, it's easy. And what a fun teacher/neighbor/whoever gift. Fun fabric on top, a label with directions on how to make pie crust and there ya go. Gift.

Here's the recipe I used: (fills 7 Qt jars) -I think 5 apples per jar was what it ended up being.

*(approx) 20 cups of apples peeled, cored and sliced (about 5 apples makes 3 cups).
slice and leave in a bowl of lemon juice

combine in a large pan:
*4 cups sugar
*1 cup cornstarch
*3 tsp cinnamon
*1 tsp nutmeg
*1 tsp salt
*10 cups water

cook on medium until thick and darkish brown. Stir, but not constantly. When it's thick, add 3 tbs lemon juice.

Fill canning jars 1/3 full of sauce. Put drained apples into jars smooshing down into the sauce until the jar is full. Use the handle of a large spoon to clear out the bubbles and spaces. Cover with hot lids and process in boiling water for 20 minutes.

Here's some info on canning if you've never done it before.

simplicity 2628

2009-09-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

I vowed earlier to never sew patterns by Simplicity/Mccalls/Butterrick ever again. They just never turn out right. Well... I lied. I thought this shirt looked like it had potential. And after realistically choosing the right size for my 5 year old (size 3), it turned out alright. I chose fabric that I wouldn't mourn the loss of if the shirt didn't turn out right. I have a thing for corduroy and found this print at Joann's Farics a few years ago (bottom floral). It's all a little 70's prairie looking, but the actual shirt turned out cute, and I think I'll make it again with fabric I love.
Once again, the pattern calls for a zipper up the back. I think that zippers in shirts are weird, so I sewed up to the back leaving an opening. The neck is finished off with bias tape, so I just extended that for a tie. Gotta have a matching head band. BTW - this tutorial for headbands is SO easy! It literally only takes 10 minutes to make start to finish. It would be a great project if you're teaching your child to sew and makes awesome gifts! Add a little flower some buttons, ribbon, rick rack - the possibilities are endless. Plus - the way it's made even I could wear this headband it will stretch out that far.

The verdict: easy pattern. Great for beginners. If I would have made her "size" it would have been huge - so watch that. I'll be making it again I think...

I always wish there were more pictures when people review patterns, so here's some just in case you feel the same way.

the only way to make pizza

2009-09-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Toppings L-R: green onions, green peppers, tomatoes, chicken and pepperoni, mushrooms, homemade pesto (best part!).

My husband works really late every Tuesday night, so I make pizza for dinner. He hates pizza... I know! Who hates pizza?! That's why Tuesday night=pizza night.

I on the other hand *heart* pizza. I think I could eat it every day. Seriously. This is my favorite commercial. Every time I make pizza I totally admit to singing this song.

In my opinion - the ONLY way to make homemade pizza is on the GRILL. Oh it's so tasty! And so trial-and-error to get it right. But I've figured out what works for me. Tracy does it differently. I used to do it the way she does, but I am lazy.

Option 1: Tracy's way: she gets her grill REALLY hot and then puts the pizza dough directly on the grill. Then puts the toppings on. It's too hot for me. I don't like leaning over the grill that much when it's already 106 degrees outside. But, the flavor is a little different then the other options. Very tasty.

Option 2: use a pizza stone on your grill heated up to 500 degrees. I don't have a pizza stone. I think this is technically how it's "supposed" to be done. But whatevs.

Option 3: buy cheap pizza pans from the dollar store (since they'll get trashed by the grill). Make your pizza on the pans - toppings and all.

Remember to spray the pans w/ non-stick cooking spray.
Have your grill heating while doing all of this then turn it on LOW-MED (this is the trial-and-error part), put your pizza on, and check after 6-8 minutes. Possibly rotate if not ready yet.

Enjoy! I love to put fresh Parmesan cheese on it too!

I modified a recipe for the dough, so I'll share it with you.

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 cup warm water

mix together and let stand until foamy
3 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tps salt
3 tsp olive oil

mix these ingredients and then add the yeast/water mixture.

cover and let rise. *this is KEY*

This makes enough for 2-3 pizza depending on how thick you make the crust.

*When I roll out my dough I like to brush olive oil on the surface before I put on my toppings* Don't forget to sing ;)

also - this is so easy to make the day ahead and refrigerate. Pull it out to warm up the dough and it's ready. I usually freeze my left over dough too. I almost think the defrosted dough is better than the fresh stuff.

The recipe is good in that Artisan Bread book too, but I like to make mine in my food processor, and the recipe in the book makes too much to fit.

wedding gift

2009-08-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Don't you think cloth napkins make every meal seem a little fancier?
And if you're wondering... 1 1/2 yrds makes 9 napkins cut 14" x 14". Roll the hem. Viola - fancy.

baby gifts

2009-08-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

I originally bought this fabric in hopes to redo my kids (shared) bedroom. Anna's side would be super girlie and feminine in turquoise and red and Carson's side would be simple and straight-lined in grey/turquoise and red rocket fabric. Well, my husband's car had other ideas in mind for our money. So, game off. But I still have this lovely fabric. I'm sure you'll see an outfit for Anna in the future, but I HAD to use it now. It was burning a hole in my sewing cabinet so-to-speak. My good friend from High School is embarking on the grand adventure of motherhood and is having a baby girl. I've been trying to decide what to make her, but it seems that bibs are my old stand-by. I love to make them. They are so easy and fun. If you need a pattern, I posted one here.

I've made the bibs a lot. I like to back them in terry cloth - if you use terry cloth beware that it stretches so sew it on with the terry cloth against the presser foot and the pretty fabric against the feed dogs (does that make sense??) Anyway, I've tried sewing on velcro, buttons, and snaps. My final verdict on the closure is BUTTONS. It can't be pulled off, it doesn't stick to other clothes in the dryer, and I've heard that the snaps fell off of some bibs I gave a friend a while ago. Plus, buttons are always a fun detail and it's good practice making button holes.

theif?

2009-08-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

Martha totally stole my owl...

Not that I could prove it or anything... but there is quite a likeness. It's not like it's copyrighted or anything, so I guess it doesn't really matter, but still. They could have changed it a little. I mean, that's what I do ;-)

available again

2009-08-18T09:03:00.001-07:00

Someone never paid for their fabric, so it's still up for grabs if anyone is interested...

am i a crazy person??

2009-08-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

Am I crazy person because I'm already thinking about Halloween?? I do this every year. I get all excited about Halloween in the middle of August and then by the time Halloween actually comes I'm ready for Christmas. I guess that qualifies as crazy. Anyhew... I found instructions on how to make this pancake-style tutu over at Burdastyle. What little girl hasn't wanted to wear one of these!? Bring on the tulle!

School Girl

2009-08-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

My daughter started Kindergarten yesterday. Of course she had to have a new outfit since all of life's major events require new outfits.

This is the (slightly revised) Oliver +S Sailboat Top and Skirt. I originally bought this pattern to make the cute little Capri pants version (here), but having taken an inventory of my daughters clothes she definitely does not need pants. Plus, it's still 98 degrees here.

I have to admit that I rarely really like the things that I make. I just wonder if I'd actually buy them if I saw them in the store - but I have to admit, I'm really happy with this little outfit. Something about red and white just makes me smile! The pattern is really easy to follow and, of course, fun to make. I always enjoy sewing from this company. The fit is always great and I always learn something new. Plus their patterns are classic and traditional.

I made the following changes:

*I used 7/8" buttons (calls for 5/8") for the skirt

*Instead of long sleeves I just used bias tape to finish off the edges for a more summer-y version.

*Added a ribbon sash - the shirt is a little boxy, which is understandable since it's designed for boys and girls. I thought the sash would add a little shape and fun.

*Used a basic running stitch with embroidery floss to outline the skirt. If you are a beginning sewer I totally recommend this pattern if you're wanting to sew for your kids. I always find buttons a little tricky (mostly the getting them even part), but pull out your manual and figure it out. Don't let buttons scare you away from making cute things. You can unpick them just like you can anything else (unless you've already cut the slit... then you're in trouble).

This outfit (sort of) completes the "spring collection", although it's not technically stated - I used the intended pattern just a little differently. Stay tuned for the Fall/Winter collection. It will mostly consist of shirts, a dress, and possibly a coat considering Anna has 5 pairs of jean, 7 pairs of Capri pants, 4 skirts... this girl does NOT need more clothes. I on the other hand...

seeing red

2009-08-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

We were out of town for a week and had a bunch of tomatoes waiting for us when we returned. No one except for me likes tomatoes in my family, but they all love salsa. I like to make it and then freeze it in baggies. My recipe is not an exact science but more to taste... but I'll share the basic idea.

*A bunch of tomatoes. 8-ish I guess. Cut up and reserve a couple for the end so you can have chunky salsa.
*1 Jalapeno pepper
*1/2 red onion
*1/2 clove garlic
*salt and pepper
*cilantro (I don't add this, but I think most people would like it with some).

puree all together.

I do have a question for Tracy though - how do you thicken it? For example, when it's refrigerated the liquid separates from the rest. I just shake it up and it's fine again, but should I add something else to it?

there's more where that came from

2009-07-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

Ok... here's my final list for destash. As a reminder, here's the deal:

*pay via paypal

*prices are fab - so you have to pay the paypal fees ($.30 +3%)

*priority shipping (flat rate): ranges $4.95-$13.95 US prices depending on how much fabric you get. I can probably get 5 yards of the home dec stuff in the $4.95 envelope)

**let me know your zip code when you comment/email me**

*I'm happy to ship internationally, you just have to pay for it. You can see prices here.

*Please pay within 24 hours from when I contact you. After that I'll put it up again.

*To "order" post a comment or send me an email at lizandrobreese at yahoo dot com.

Okay...

Here's everything. The price is $7 per yard (so cheap you could probably buy it and sell it on etsy for $12/yd ... I'm just not that patient.)

I tried to put links with all of the fabric so you could get inspired.

Amy Butler Nigella Home Dec weight fabric. Cotton Sateen. 54" wide. Great for bags and such!Woodfern Brick: 2 yards available SOLDWoodfern Green: 2 yards available SOLDPassion vine River: 4 yards available SOLDRitzy Stripe Sky: 2 yards available Passion Vine Grey: 2 yards available SOLD

The next bunch are all Joel Dewberry from the Ginseng line. Also Home Dec. Cotton Sateen. 54". Also $7/yd.

Tossed Flowers Celery: 4 yards available Tiles Celery: 1 yards available SOLD
Tiles Flax: 2 yards available SOLDModern Bud flax: 3 yards available SOLDOrchid Raspberry: 3 yards available **SOLD**
Orchid Celery: 1 yards available SOLD

**btw: the cheapest I found any of this online while searching for links was $9.90 a yard (and that was for the Ritzy stuff)

You can see a couple of other things - like a pattern - for sale here and a couple other yards of fabric.

holy destash

2009-07-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

My son and daughter share a bedroom and I've been trying to figure out how to make their room look cute without leaning to girlie or to boyish. I think I've figured it out, but now need the money to start implementing it all. Hence, the destash. There is MUCH MORE to come, but so far here's what I've got:

Wait - first, this is how it works.
Pay me via paypal. Since the prices are freakin' awesome (lower than anywhere online) you have to pay the paypal fees ($.30 plus 3%) and the shipping.

Shipping is $4.80-$13.50 depending on how much you get (these are just flat rate shipping in the U.S). **let me know your zip code so I can figure shipping cost**

If you just get 1 yard, I'm sure I can ship it for around $3. Pattern(s) for $1.75.

If you are international, I'd love to ship to you I just have to figure out price.

Post a comment and let me know your email address and what you want (or email me at lizandrobreese@yahoo.com)

You must pay within 24 hours of me contacting you with the amount due. After that I make it available again. First come first serve.

OK... here we go...

The next 3 are all AMY BUTLER HOME DEC (cotton sateen 54/55 in.) fabric. Specifically, Nigella Wood Fern. These I saw online for $14.98 (and are now discontinued). I'm selling them for $7/yd. They are beautiful and I've had to talk myself into selling them!

1. Amy Butler Brick Woodfern: 2 yards available

2. Amy Butler Green on green Woodfern: 2 yards available

3. Amy Butler Eggshell Woodfern: 1 yard available. SOLD

This one is Joel Dewberry from the Ginseng collection. (Home Dec weight 54/55 in cotton sateen). It's called Tossed Flowers in celery (also found here for $12/yd!)

There are 4 yards available. $7/yd.

XSmall Yo-Yo maker $3.50
Mischievous Gnome Messenger bag pattern $8

Alexader Henry Juicy Jungle $5/yd. 2 yards available. SOLD

satin polka dot fabric $2/yd: 2 yards available

flower corduroy from Joanns last fall. $4: 1 yard piece. **washed/dried** SOLD

Free Spirit Flower Power fat quarters. $1 each or all 5 for $3. SOLD

There will be more to come, I'm just not sure when. More Joel Dewberry Ginseng stuff and Amy Butler Nigella though...

CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER IN YOUR EMAIL IF YOU DON'T HEAR FROM ME. I OFTEN END UP THERE!!!

headband tute

2009-07-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

After church on Sundays everyone comes home and takes a nap. Ahhh... it's quiet. This is my time to sew. Actually, today I sewed this headband before church and am spending the quiet time uploading pics and showing YOU how to do it. Aren't I so charitable ; ).

This is an EASY thing to make and would be a great intro-to-sewing project if you're looking to teach your child while on summer break. It also only took me 15 minutes to make and is a cheap and easy gift. Ok. Did I convince you to try it yet??

This tutorial is for a child-size headband. To make an adult one just add an inch or so to the length of each rectangle.

1. Cut 2 rectangles. The first one 5" x 16 1/2". The second one 3 1/2" x 8".-You'll need some elastic. 1/2" to 1" wide depending on what you just have on hand. The length will be up to you, but 3 1/2" is what I used for my DD's hair.
2. Roll hem the long edges of the large rectangle. Technically speaking you should roll the hem 1/8" and iron then roll it again that much and iron again. But seriously... who does that? And what difference does it make?

3. Gather the short ends of the large rectangle down to 1 1/2" wide. I just sew 1 row of a longer stitch and pull the threads.

**don't forget to readjust the length back to normal after this.
4. Sew one end of the elastic on the wrong side of the gathered end of the rectangle. Fold the edges of the rectangle over the elastic (like you would a diaper) and stitch in place.5. Roll hem the SHORT edges of the smaller rectangle.

6. Fold the short rectangle length-wise right sides together. Stitch and then turn right-side out. Now you have a tube that will cover up the elastic on the back side.

7. Insert elastic through tube and pull tube up over the end where the elastic is sewn into place on the large rectangle. Top stitch in place. (I like the seam to run down the center of the "wrong" side)

8. Determine the length you need the elastic to be by fitting it onto the child's head. Cut elastic to fit and then sew it onto the other end of the rectangle (gathered side) Also do the diaper-stitch (see above) to the edges of the fabric.

9. Pull the rest of the tube over the other end of the elastic, and enough over it to hide any of the stitching and stitch in place.
It is WIDE, but I like to scrunch it onto my daughters head so it looks gathered.

fate

2009-07-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

It was totally fate that I ended up here after a signing yesterday. Here's why:

1. These two places are in Emeryville. I was in San Rafael (15 freeway miles away). I got off the exit looking for something else and saw Pizza My Heart out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was the place for me.

2. I found street parking in an impossible place to find parking. Plus, I didn't have to parallel park - I pulled right in.

3. I found $5 in my notary bag. I don't even know where that $5 came from! It normally JUST holds my notary stuff.

4. They sell pizza by the slice. I had a slice of pesto chicken - yum! It had tomato sauce w/ chunks of pesto sauce and tomatoes and chicken.

Best.

Crust.

EVER. Really.

5. Pizza shop next door to a bakery. Hello! This looks like a place Tracy and I could spend a lot of time at on her next visit. And it's in a huge shopping complex.

See. Fate.

And what about that name. Pizza my Heart. *sigh*

patriotic

2009-07-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hope all you locals had a fun 4th of July. It doesn't seem like a true holiday without a celebratory outfit does it? Here our ours:
With the leftover fabric from this shirt, I figured I try making a Pillowcase dress for Anna using the free tutorial/pattern by Habitual. It was easy to make, but I have to admit to not following any of the directions, so maybe that's not a fair assessment of the pattern.

For the boy

It's reverse applique Alabama Chanin style (thread ends on the outside). Once I finished it I thought I should have done a tutorial, but here's another one if you really are interested. I TAPE my fabric to the inside with masking tape instead of pinning though.

free books?? free money?? any takers??

2009-07-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Swagbucks.com?? It's freakin' awesome! You earn points by doing your searches (powered by Google) through their site. So you easily put their search toolbar into your search toolbar and earn points. If you search everyday you'll earn at least 1 swagbuck (total - not one with every search). Sometimes you'll get 3 "bucks" sometimes 10. Sometimes you'll even get multiple 1 Swagbucks if you happen to be doing a lot of searching.

Slowly but surely I've earned $30 worth of giftcard for Amazon.com. $30! That's like two free crafty sewing books! With free shipping to boot!! Just think, if you start now you'll have lots of money to spend by Christmas for gifts!

Click on the picture above or on this link. Sign up under me and as you win, I win.

Oh yeah! If you enter the "swagcode" (you'll see it as you're signing up) just enter CASHISKING and earn an extra 5 swagbucks!! Woot! Woot! btw - I'm sure this expires, but I'm not sure when. I just found the code on another blog. Also, I think it's just for people signing up for the first time.

Bit-O-Flowers

2009-07-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I love Summer for so many reasons. One reason is the flowers and colors it bring to the landscape. Don't get me wrong I love winter too, but after awhile I get really sick of seeing white. To spread the joy of color to the indoors I make a couple of little bouquets once a week and put them in the kitchen and where ever needs a little summery pick me up. My oldest Daughter is eight and has a genuine love of all things crafty. So the two of us grabbed a vase and some garden shears and set out to the garden. We snipped a few herb and flowers and bunched them in our vases. I was so proud of her flower arranging abilities and glad that we found a project to share. Summers is the best, now if it would just stop raining!

trailer park donuts

2009-06-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! Has it really been since June 8th that we last posted?? Sheesh!

Well, I've been at the beach all week long and before that have been doing lots of loan signings. Every where I go there is a bakery. Tracy wants to open a bakery one of these days so I tend to notice them more. I thought this cupcake shop in Mill Valley was really cute. I love the way she displayed her cupcakes. I did not try one though. I'm more of a pizza gal. If I could buy pizza every where I went I would. That should be my mission - to find the best pizza place in the Bay Area.

Anyway... my husband made these donuts the other day. I've named them "Trailer Park" donuts - not to say that if YOU live in a trailer you couldn't make the fancy kind of donuts. They are fast, easy, and cheap. And surprisingly delish!

Ingredients:

*Those biscuits that you buy in a tube

*Vegetable Oil

*toppings:
cinnamon/sugar mixture
powdered sugar
glaze or chocolate frosting

Smoosh the individual biscuit a little and tear a little hole in the center. This is usually my 5 year old's job. Then fry in oil until golden brown on each side. Transfer to a plate. If you use the cinnamon/sugar or the powdered sugar just put it in a gallon zip lock bag then it's easy to put one doughnut in and shake it up. The glaze is really yummy too. I must admit... we've had these more often than we probably should, but really - the biscuits are only $.59 a tube - maybe I should call them Recession Doughnuts. (that might be more P.C.)

speaking of skirts

2009-06-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to a birthday party - petting zoo and pony rides - totally fun. I made this little shirt and hair clip for the birthday girl.I originally was going to put two sea horses on the shirt, but decided on one. I had already cut the second one out, so went to Anna's closet and found a white tank top.It's always fun having a matching skirt, so I made a skirt yesterday from the Lazy Days Skirt pattern (free!) from Oliver +S. If you are a beginning sewer this is the skirt for you! It's the easiest thing I've ever sewn. Really. The ribbon hem was so fun to do that I'm tempted to hem everything I ever have to hem again that way (but reverse so the ribbon is on the inside). Seriously.

I added the rick rack and velvet ribbon just for fun. Maybe I'll add some to the shirt too...

New Skirts

2009-06-06T08:10:00.001-07:00

I found the The cutest, easiest pattern. It is by a company called Pink Fig Patterns. The instructions in the pattern stated that the "Girly Skirt" would take about an hour make and it truly did. I love it when that happens. Also the coolest part is that we went shopping the day after I made this skirt for my little one and found an adult version on sale at the Gap for cheaper then I could make it for, so I had to buy It. I have been living in this skirt, it is so comfy I think I am going to use it as a reference and make another one for me. There is something about summer living that requires a flowing skirt, right! P.S. I cleaned my sewing room (Ali, I hope you have cleaned yours too!) I need to post the before and after pics it is kind of embarrassing.

we suck

2009-06-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

My iPhoto isn't uploading pics from my camera. Tracy's iPhoto has a billion pictures in it and she doesn't have any room for any more pictures. (She thinks she needs a new computer. I think she needs an external hardrive. What do you think?)

I have been going on a lot of adventures lately doing the notary thing -Point Richmond (beautiful! and the house I went to was built on stilts out over the ocean. Their backyard was their deck and a boat. (The one pic I took from my iPhone got deleted.), Emeryville, which isn't too exciting other than it's only 2 miles away from the Crate and Barrel Outlet, which has some amazing deals. I got a few yards of this Marimekko home dec weight fabric for only $4.95/yd (normall $80/yd I was told).

Other than that, I can't make my mind up for what to do. Fabric covered button magnets for teachers gifts. A new dress with a Kimono style sash. I started pillows from the cover of the latest issue Stitch Magazine. Should I cut into the above fabric for the dress? Just go swimming instead. Hmmm...

strawberry fields forever

2009-05-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason I can't think of strawberries without thinking of that song. Have you been to a farmers market yet and tasted the delisousness of strawberries in season? Oh! And did you know, strawberry jam is SO easy to make. As with most of my hobbies, I was inspired by Tracy to try making jam, but did not have a steamer pot thing to help seal the lids. My mom said (and it DID work) that after you put the jam in the jars, screw on the lids, you can turn them upside down and they will seal themselves. Test the lids by pushing down on them and if they don't pop back up - they're sealed. If they do pop back up, put them in the freezer. You now have freezer jam. The recipe for jam will be on the pectin box that you buy. Beware: Strawberry jam has MORE sugar in it than it does strawberries. But. I'm ok with that.

I made jam for the moms for Mother's Day. I got the cute tutorial for the cover from here. It's all hand sewing, and takes a bit of time to do. I LOVE how cute they look, but am torn on whether the time is worth it for something that just gets thrown out. Know what I mean?

Strawberry jam is a nice idea for teachers gifts though (is it too late for that?), and you could just put cute fabric under the lid. And inexpensive. I figured about $1.50/8 oz. jar.

finally 5

2009-05-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been waiting to turn 5 since the day she turned 4. Yesterday it finally came! I believe that on your birthday you should get to wear a new outfit. It's just part of the birthday deal. Here is Anna's outfit. The skirt is part of the "collection".The Edith Twirl Skirt was very easy to make. It's basically a bunch of rectangles that are gathered with a waistband. The pattern only goes up to size 6, but if you have a daughter who would wear such a poofy skirt that's bigger, it could EASILY be adapted. In fact, you'd just have to add to the length because the width on all of the pieces (except for lining at 30") is 44".
I saw this idea out there somewhere and was excited to copy the idea. I'm not sure she "gets" what the marks are, but she said she liked it anyway...

not at all crafty

2009-05-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

90% of the time I stay at home with my kidlets, but the other 10% of the time I am a mobile Notary. I travel to people's homes and am the notary while they sign their loan documents (typically home loans).

I must say that it's a pretty cool job. I live in the San Francisco Bay area and have gotten to meet a lot of nice people and see some really cool parts of the area that I would never otherwise go to - neighborhoods, not tourist destinations. Places you'd never go unless invited to a dinner party or something.

As a mom, the days can get mundane. It's just part of the job description.

Taxi driver.

Emptier of dish washers.

Laundry!!

You get the idea.

I am grateful for these mini adventures that I get to experience and for the little break (that earns pretty good money). Sometimes I just go to regular neighborhoods, but enjoy the hour or so of quiet driving. Other times are just really fun. One night I went into Oakland and met a woman at a restaurant. She was there with her 5 sisters so I sat and ate dinner with them before she signed her docs. I get to meet all different kinds of people, but generally all very nice. There's only been one time that I had to go up deep into the hills of Palo Alto to a guys house (that was super cool and modern), where I was a little nervous. The guy was sort of a weirdo, but luckily my husband happened to be with me. That's only been one of hundreds though.

The other night I had a 6:00 appointment in San Francisco. I met up with my husband on his way home, he took the kids, and off I went. I went to the neatest neighborhood. I apologize for the crummy pics. I just took them with my iPhone.

This neighborhood is full of houses from the 1920's. It's interesting how city planning has changed since then. All of these houses are built on a hill that looks as if a vat of cement was just dumped over the top of the hill and then they put houses there (many of them just inches apart). Most of the time you are sort of driving a little tilted and the roads are so narrow! Which doesn't help. Most, if not all, of the houses only have 1 car garages and driveways. After all, when they were built most people only had one car, if a car at all. For this reason the cars are parked bumper to bumper along the curb. Two cars can't drive down the street at the same time. One has to pull over to the side so the other can pass.

Most of the houses were a version of this one.

I was done by 6:30 and had to go to Alameda at 8:00 for another one. Luckily Alameda is just on the way home. I had a lot of time though, so I walked around a bit. And read. And went and visited my cousin who lives there.
This house was amazing. It looked like it came straight out of a Stephen King movie. In person it's really ornately painted. It must be haunted! I felt sort of silly taking pictures of people's houses. After I took this one and was walking away the window at the very top of the house opened and a guy stuck his head out and asked if I got him in my picture. I'm glad he said something (he is in the picture), otherwise I would've been freaked out by the image of a person in that top window!! Scary!

I'll take this one.

This one's in the remodeling stages.

This is a "twin home" that was ginormous. There was no way I was getting it all in my shot. I'll take that twin home though!

So - that was my adventure! Maybe I'll post other ones if I come across something else fun. Today I'm going to San Rafael. We'll see...

Sew not!

2009-05-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

It seems like no matter what I do I can't turn on my sewing machine. It might be because my sewing room is a disaster zone. Not like a little mess, an official disaster zone. If only I had yellow caution tape I would be hanging it up all over the room. It really doesn't help that my husband has an immaculate bike room right next to my disaster. In fact, it makes me feel even worse. Tonight is the night I will be cleaning it up because I have projects to do. After seeing all of Liz's beautiful creations my fabric is just itching to be turned in to something three dimensional.

So, you ask "What Have you been doing with all of my creative free time, if you haven't been sewing?". Well seasonal stuff has occupied a bit of time. I have a huge vegetable garden this year. Also I have been cooking like crazy, we have had a couple of BBQs at our house and for some reason the kitchen has been calling me lately. I did complete a project last night with a youth church group I am in charge of and it was so fun.

We made linoleum stamps. I found linoleum blocks and carving tools at the art store. I had so much fun watching there creative juices flow. One girl actually carved a bar from one of her choir teacher favorite songs to stamp on a thank you note for him. I really enjoyed doing this and my kids thought it was cool so I am going to have to add it to the list of summer project. I just hope they don't stab themselves with the carving tool. Well I guess it is a boring summer if you you don't have to go to the ER, right! ; )

mothers day

2009-05-07T09:25:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'm not quite as charitable as Tracy. I made my own Mothers Day present. Finally, the purse. For me, this is a "mom bag". I like it. I think it's cute. It's messanger style so my hands are free to hold littler hands that want to run out into the street without my shoulder bag slipping off my arm. I have nicer, smaller bags for date night.

The Margaret Sling Bag

I like the length of the bag and it was easy to sew. I made the following changes:
-Used magnetic snaps on the inside.
-Used Pellon 40 and basted it instead of all of the interfacing she suggested.
-Added 1 large pocket to the other side of the lining.
-Added the flower applique

I wish I would have made the two small pockets deeper - my iPhone won't fit all of the way inside. The strap might have to be longer if you have a longer torso too.
I like the size a lot. I went and picked up my mail the other day and was able to fit it all inside.

Are you my mother?

2009-05-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last year, two days before mothers day I was leaving a yoga class to find a beautiful potted plant on my car with a note from a friend who was also in the class. At first I was a little shocked, I wasn't her mother. Then I read the note and it said something to the extent that she thought I was a great mother and how lucky my family was to have me. Even thinking about this simple event in my life I get a bit emotional. She truly changed the way I look at mothers day. It is a day for mothers and to honor women. So I have been thinking about how I can give back this mothers day and I think my form of appreciation is going to come in the form of a cupcake.

I found some boxes just the size for one cupcake and some beautiful ribbon. I am planning on taking two dozen to the salon so Shep and the other stylist can pass them out to there clients. There is nothing that makes you feel special like getting your hair done and having a cupcake, right ; ) I think I will make one more dozen to pass out to friends. I will keep you posted on how it goes and my final decision of flavor. Right now I am thinking of chocolate with a fresh strawberry buttercream, but I might change my mind......

shirts

2009-04-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Did you see that I won the contest??!! (not the grand prize, but 12 fat quarters -woot woot!!)

I made a few shirts in honor of Rae's Spring Top Sew-along. There are a ton of great submissions! It's so inspiring to see them all. The first one (aside from the last one) is Simplicity 3835. If you're wanting to try sewing clothes for you, this shirt one is a fantastic one to start on. It's super easy. And is actually a good foundation to experiment with. Instead of inserting elastic into the neckline I shirred it. It pulls a little under my arms, but I think that's because I shirred too many rows (5). I wonder if I just did 3 if it wouldn't pull so tight (but I don't REALLY know). I love the look anyway. For the arms the pattern calls for elastic, but i don't think I'd like to have something that tight around my arms. I found some vintage buttons in my stash and just pulled the sleeve over into a small tuck. Originally I thought it was a little too big around the waist so I shirred a few rows just under my bust line. It was a little too maternity looking, and unless you're prego, not always a very flattering look.

The next one. . . I can't decide. What do you think? I had been wanting this Madras Plaid fabric for a couple of years and saw it on sale at Joanns for only $1.50/yd. I don't know. . . it's a lot of . . . plaid. I won't be offended if you don't like it. I just don't want to be that lady in the store that people are thinking "what the H is she wearing?"

It too is Simplicity 3835. I've made this dress once before and really liked it. This is the "mini dress" version. I count it as a shirt even though it's technically a dress. I would never wear it as a dress as it is too short for me. And I am a big fan of pants with dresses. Skinny jeans maybe? It calls for a zipper. I'm lazy (I think I could write a book called Bend The Rules Sewing. Too bad it's already taken. . .) I sewed up the back until about 4 inches from the top and just put in a hook-and-eye. I'd show you, but the plaid doesn't match up so great. Another reason I'm hesitant to wear it out in public. . . BUT - I love the neck and would definitely make this dress again.

The last one is from a shirt I meant to give away but found in a bag up in the attic with a bunch of other shirts. It was like a goldmine finding all of those shirts. I can't believe I was going to get rid of them. So. . . how can I make them wearable again.

For this shirt I cut up the middle, cut off the bottom edge, arms (edge) and neckband. Took another shirt, cut two strips, layered and gathered. Sewed them on sort of eye-balling-it-like (so if the strips aren't even. . . that's why). And viola. New wearable shirt. My husband thinks it looks homemade, but I asked him if I'd paid $50 for it at Anthro if he'd feel differently about it. He didn't say anything.

flower power entry

2009-04-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Sew Mama Sew is having a Flower Power contest. You can read about the deets here. This is my entry.I'm low on funds this year and high in plain t-shirts so I thought I'd have a little fun with stuff I already have. Tracy was so sweet and sent me the Alabama Stitch book. Isn't she the best!? It is probably the coolest craft book I've ever read. It inspired me to do a little reverse applique for the leaves (and about a million other things). I used a plain white tee and cut up a cream one that. . . shrank. I also cut the edges of the arm sleeve and the hem. It's curled up in the wash. I really like how it turned out. I hope I win something. There are a lot of colorful and cute submissions. Mine is a little plainish. I like that it's subtle though.

home ec-y

2009-04-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

We had ham for Easter dinner. While cutting the rest of the meat up to save for sandwiches the next day I discovered the bone. Now, this may seem obvious to you, but I decided I should make some kind of soup with it. It seemed very exciting and new. It also reminded me of that book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. At some point in the book the mom is making soup with the bone from a ham and she's used it to cook so many times there is hardly any taste left in it. At least that's what I remember. I could be thinking of something totally different. Anyway, the soup was divine. Tasty. I made the Challa bread from that book Tracy (and just about everyone I know) was talking about. I even braided it and put poppy seeds on it. Soup made from a left over ham bone and home made braided bread -- how's that for domestic! The house smelled so good all day long and when the bread was baking. . . mmmm. . . there was something comforting about it.

Here's the recipe to the soup I made. (Made in a crock pot)

-Ham bone left over from a yummy spiral ham dinner
-2 cups chopped potato
-2 cups chopped carrots
-1 chopped onion
-1/2 cup celery
-1 clove minced garlic
-1 can kidney beans
-1 can stewed (or diced) tomatoes
-4 cups water
-4-6 tsp (cubes) chicken bullion. It was a wee bit salty, but I'm not sure if cutting back here would make the difference.

I put it in the crock pot for 6 1/2 hours on medium heat. The bits of ham that was left on the bone was falling off. Wow! This soup was great!

... after dinner we took the bone to a neighbor's dog. Waste not want not, right!?

Tiny Cakes

2009-04-14T16:57:00.000-07:00

When I went to visit Liz we met up with my sister-in-law and her family in Los Gatos and went to the best bakery ever. Liz mentioned it right here. Ever since then I have been craving bake goods like no other. When my sister in law came out to visit me the following week we even went on a bakery tour of Salt lake. Nothing we found has even begun to satisfy the craving I have for Icing on The Cake. So I have taken it upon myself and against my better judgment I have been baking all most every other day. Today I tried these beauties and they where wonderful just light and delicate and just what I needed. Thank you little Madeleines you made this dreary rainy day a bit more bearable!

what's a girl to wear??

2009-04-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

Anna's "spring collection" has 3 dresses in it. I made all 3 (over the past couple of weeks) and let her decide which one we would call her "Easter Dress".

I LOVE this fabric. It is Sugar Snap by Free Spirit. It turns out though that I didn't pay very good attention to how much fabric was needed to complete many of my projects so I've had to make a few alterations. I made view D of this Portabello Pixie Dress (instead of the mix of A and D - I was a little skeptical of the shirred waste in D). It turns out though - I love how it turned out and will make it again. As a side note: the pattern calls for a serged rolled hem, but shows you how to extend certain parts of the pattern to just do a normal hem. . . so don't let not having a serger discourage you from getting the pattern.

I had high hopes for this dress. It's ginorm on her. Huge. I cut a size 4, but she probably won't wear it until she is 6. If she will wear it. She told me she hates it. As I have now discovered with Butterick patterns in particular - they are HUGE. The sizing is so. . . huge. In the adult patterns too.

I didn't put in a zipper. I sewed up all the way to the bottom of the yoke and did two covered buttons instead. Easier.

It's too bad. I had embroidery plans for this one. Maybe in another year or two.
Last, but not least, the Bubble Dress. At first I wasn't crazy about this dress - especially with the wavy sides (omited here), but I saw that it could be made without the wavy sides and loved the little "cap" sleeve. It's really easy to sew, and is fully lined so all of the seams are encased. I had some issues with the back placket/button area/gaping hole, but I think that it is more me not following the directions than it was the actual pattern.

I bought the turquoise vintage buttons from this etsy shop. Great prices and a lot of cute buttons! I got 24 of these buttons for only $4. Seriously. You can't even buy 24 plain white ones from Joanns for that price!

Monkey Bread

2009-04-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter adores cinnamon rolls and like the rest of us her favorite part is the center. A couple of days ago I came along a recipe for monkey bread and thought how perfect this would be for my little Grace because she love monkeys as well. I just used the Challah recipe from the “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”. I rolled the dough into balls Grace dipped them in butter and Ava sprinkled on the cinnamon and brown sugar. We left the dough to rise for an hour then put it in the oven. Soon enough our house was filled with the amazing sent of cinnamon and freshly baked bread. After it had cooled we glazed the top with an orange powered sugar glaze. I have to say this was so easy and so perfectly yum. I really enjoyed watching the girls giggle as they sticky fingered pulled the bread apart, and devoured it. I can’t say enough about this book I have used it so much. There most defiantly is a part of me that feels like I am being a good homemaker if I can supply my family with fresh baked things. Maybe thats a little “Leave it to Beaver” But I guess I am a little old fashioned.

how does your garden grow?

2009-04-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

Chances are it's too cold outside for you to start your garden, but luckily living in California has some advantages for me. If you can't plant yet it's always fun to plan. And if you don't have a garden, or think you don't have the space then I have a GREAT book to recommend. It's called: All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Aside from living in a condo with only a patio, you can't possibly have a smaller backyard than I do. I think from house to fence at the widest part is 9 feet. It's more of a side yard really. Anyway, the book is fantastic! It tells you exactly what to do if you want to plant a garden using raise beds. They are so easy to construct (I went to the lumber store and told them what I needed and the sizes and they cut it for me) and I think they make a garden look nice and organized. My plan is too put pea gravel around my bed. My bed is 4' x 12'. It's then divided into square foot sections. Instead of having tons of space that wastefully gets watered and weeded he's told you how to maximize your space. So, in a square foot of space I can have 4 corn plants growing or one bell pepper. Make sense? I also have soaker lines that come on when the other sprinklers do. This may be cheating a bit, but I'm not so great at remembering to water...

Buy the book. He goes through so many things - especially if you live in a cooler climate (I think he's from Utah). He goes over a lot of plants, when to plant them, harvest, what you can do with them, how to extend your seasons, etc. The only thing I wish he added was more on pest control. But other than that, the book is invaluable to me.

If you can't imagine carving out a space in your back yard for a garden, but love a garden tomato, then plant a tomato plant in your flower bed where a sprinkler will water it. I gave my SIL a tomato plant last year and she just stuck it in her flowerbed. It was huge and had tons of tomatoes on it! You can buy fun bamboo stakes to keep the tomato upright and it looks nice in your yard.

Gardening can be as difficult or as easy as you make it.

visit

2009-03-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

Tracy is here for the weekend visiting. We are having so much fun! Too much fun to take pictures apparently, but we've been doing this:

**shopping here - and getting dirty looks because I brought along my kids and apparently it's totally not cool to have kids. Unless you're a "family unit" as one guy welcomed us as, by which I mean two chicks. In love. Raising kids. Which we're not. Personally, I was really looking forward to checking out the fun shopping in Berkeley, but I think once was enough. Luckily it wasn't ride-your-bike-naked day.

** Shopping here is ALWAYS the best. Lucky me dropped the kids off with daddy at work to take home and could hang out with just my friend! Love that. We had Indian food for dinner - a first for me. Not too bad. I picked up the Denise Schmidt Quilts book and am looking forward to trying something from it.

** These guys have the best Chocolate Fondant Cake with chocolate ice cream. Their hot chocolate is tasty too.

**It's snowing in Utah (where Tracy is visiting from). Blizzard. We sat on the beach in Santa Cruz on Saturday. It was fabulous.

**You MUST go to Icing on the Cake if you're ever in Los Gatos. You must.

**Church. Church is great. We love church.

**Angels Camp for dinner with the fam.

It's so great having Tracy here. I miss my best friend. I love that she comes out to visit and I wish we lived closer! Like she said this weekend, "It's so nice to not have to explain anything to each other". We know each others families and histories. We've been friends for nearly two decades --wow!-- how old does that make me feel!!

It's hard to find good friends and I'm grateful that she's the best!

in memory of

2009-03-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Maybe you heard about the 4 cops in Oakland that were shot and killed on Saturday. One of them was my neighbor. He left behind:

Wife.

3 Kids.

Tragic.

Just doing his job. Protecting us. My heart has been breaking for their family all week long.

2009-03-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

Dog: Scroll down and find here.
Cupcake: I just drew this. It's a little lopsided.
Fish: saw in a Boden magazine last year. They always have great ideas to use.

2 down

2009-03-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

I finished these two outfits this past weekend. Anna wore the green one on St. Patricks Day. I didn't plan it that way, but it just worked out. Very festive.

I love LOVE the Oliver +S 2+2 pattern. Worth the purchase for sure. I made a long sleeved shirt for Anna for Christmas and here is the short-sleeved version. It's a really fun pattern to sew because it's a total surprise how it's put together. Some patterns you can see what the next step will be before you even read it, but with this one you follow the instructions, hope for the best, and viola - it worked! I made the skirt in a corduroy at Christmas. It's fun too, but I need to try it again. I will. And then I'll show you that one. Overall, great pattern!

I'm trying really hard to just sew from my stash, so the buttons are a little mismatched, but I think they still turned out cute. A while ago I inherited (stole) my mom's button jar that has 1's and 2's of a lot of cutebuttons. I bought the rose flowers from Joanns and found the clear buttons in the stash.

Again, the capris are the Single Ruffle Capris from Portabello Pixie. I'm always a little unsure of pants with ruffles on them... sometimes they seem a little costume-y, but I think these turned out cute. I'd even consider making them without the ruffle because I like the wide-leg gaucho look. Maybe for the Fall in corduroy with boots. Cute. The pattern is cut for a rolled-hem for a serger. I have a serger, but have never attempted the rolled-hem. It's hard to see I think, but I hemmed them with coordinating bias tape. I think it turned out cute and was very easy.

So far she's gotten lots of compliments on her outfits when we've been out. That's fun for me... I mean her...

"spring collection"

2009-03-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ha ha! Just kidding. My husband was teasing me as I was doing this... I tried to scan the pictures in, but my paper is too big so it just wasn't showing up in the scan for some reason.

Heather Ross has a new book out - Weekend Sewing. It's a fun book and a little different from other craft books (once you get past the projects on sewing napkins and hostess aprons), because there are a bunch of patterns for women's clothing. She is having a design challenge to create a Summer wardrobe from projects from the book. It is so fun to see what people are going to do and inspired me to do something similar for Anna's Spring/Summer clothes. I was hoping to make all (OK, most) of her clothes this season, and this was a fun project that has helped me feel more organized. Since the pictures are so crummy I'll give you the details:1. Portabello Pixie Clair dress (a mix of A and D - no apron add a ruffle) in Free Spirit Sugar Snap fabric. I'm not doing the apron, but the sash would be cute, so I'm doing that in the Robins Egg blue.

2. Oliver +S 2+2 short-sleeved blouse: Ava Rose pink polka dots and Robins Egg Blue bias. Portabello Pixie Single Ruffle Capris in white Twill (from Joanns) w/ the pink for the ruffle that is hemmed w/ the Blue bias strip. **I started this already. It turns out I don't have enough Ava Rose for the ruffle on the pants. I think I'll just do a white ruffle and maybe do a bias hem w/ the pink.**1. Edith Twirl Skirt view B in Heather Ross's pink bicycle fabric the dots (bottom of main piece and the ruffle) and stripes (for bias) are hers too.

2. Oliver +S Bubble Dress (without the "bubble"): Pink Ta Dot with Robins Egg Blue lining. Blue buttons on back - probably fabric covered.

3. Butterick 4966 View B in Pink Linen from Joanns. Take out the zipper in the back and add buttons instead. Possibly shorten to more of a tunic-length.

1. Oliver +S Sailer Top/Pants/Skirt: red Twill for Capris with white buttons. I'm making an extra pair of Kakhi one's just for something basic that can go with anything. The top is sale fabric from Joanns.

2. Dainty Designs short sleeved top in Amy Butler Pink Wallflower. No ruffle.

3. Dainty Designs short sleeved top in Sandi Henderson Ginger Blossom fabric. Main will be the green Bouquet, and the arms and ruffle will be the Lime dot. Pants are Portabello Pixie Single Ruffle Capris in white twill with the Lime dot for the ruffle.

I figured out why I liked doing this. It was like homework. I miss school. I know, I'm a dork... now you know.

Learn how to knit!

2009-03-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

I found this Book today while looking for something else at the book store. It is Knitting for Peace By Betty Christiansen. This book almost jumped off the shelf and once I flipped through it I had to buy it. This book only contains a few easy patterns but the concept is what I love. Knitting for charity, socks, hats for preemies and mittens. Whats mothers heart isn't touched by the thought of knitting mittens for a cold handed child.

So here is the deal, learn to knit (Liz no worries you have time). In the fall I thought it would be fun to pick a pattern. I will post one on the blog and together we can knit for a good cause.

can't leave a white shirt alone

2009-03-08T16:43:00.001-07:00

I made this shirt for Anna a couple of weeks ago from this pattern (except I made crazy ruffled arms. I might cut them and make them plain). It's an OK pattern. It cuts really high up under the armpit, so I made a size bigger just to see if the armpit would have more room.
Tracy gave me Sublime Stitching a couple of Christmases ago and I found myself embroidering on anything I could stitch something on to - shirts, jeans, towels - everything. This book is fun too. This sweet little snail pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls. There are a lot of blogs out there that offer free embroidery patterns though. I like the Feeling Stitchy blog. (Scroll down - there is the cutest little mushroom that needs to go on something I own!)

etsy shop

2009-03-05T17:08:00.001-08:00

I opened up an Etsy shop last year. It's not fancy. I'm not sure how to make it fancy. Seems I might have to have some technical skills to do that. Or pay someone. Anyway - I set up shop. I've sold a few hair clips, a maternity skirt (which my goal for the year is to make a PDF pattern of to sell), and made some purchases.

I decided to make some nursing covers and see how they do. They are in my etsy shop and also on my alittlegirlie blog.

If you read this blog, chances are you are crafty, my friend, or T's friend, and I do have the tutorial for them on the blog. But - if you're not crafty, lack the time, or whatever and need a gift please stop on by and check it out. I've got some fun fabric combos!

Sassy Anna

2009-02-28T16:34:00.000-08:00

I made this dress for Anna for her birthday last year. Now it finally fits right, except it's shortish so I put pants underneath it. I like it better this way I think.

It's Simplicity 3513. I made a shirt with it in the Fall too (blue whale shirt).

I said to Anna, "Let's go outside. I want to take a picture of your dress." She struck a pose. Standing like that I can see the young adult in her! *sigh*

The fastest Baby Quilt ever!

2009-02-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

Unlike Liz I am a total procrastinator. There is definitely a part of me that wishes I was a little more on top of things, and then there is a part of me that is always surprised with how much I can get done when I push things to the dead line. This baby Quilt is no exception I finished a half hour before a baby shower (That is why the photo is so dark.) I found this pattern about a year ago and fell in love with it, but you really don't even need a pattern it is so simple. the best part is that you sew the squares on when you are quilting the top so you cover two steps in one. I think this pattern was written for people like me!

Post Edit: The quilt is called: Vintage Baby Quilt by Yoyo Mama Designs

my turn

2009-02-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

Hey Tracy - it's my Birthday today... not tomorrow. Ha! We've been best friends since we were 13 years old and neither one of us can remember WHICH DAY the other's Birthday is on. Actually, Tracy sent me some fun napkins that I will take a picture of (unless Tracy did and wants to post them herself). Oh yeah, the point. Pumpkin Cheesecake! Every year since I can remember my mom made pumpkin cheesecake for my Birthday. When I left for college she would send me the ingredients. The past couple of years my good friend has made it. Today, my husband made it. It was the first time he ever has and I thought it was very sweet of him.
Here's the recipe. It's easy. And involves Jello no-bake cheesecake, so it's sort of like cheating. OK - it is cheating, but there so much less guilt involved when finishing off a 9" pie full by myself because no one else in the house likes it...

1 pkg Jello Cheesecake (sold at Target for only $1.59!)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
3/4 c. pumpkin
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
cool whip

Crust: Prepare crust of cheesecake mix per instructions on box.

Filling: Combine all dry ingredients. Add pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Pour mixture into crust. Chill for at least 1 hr. Put whip cream on top before serving.

Yum!

birthday stuff

2009-02-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions - 5 weeks early and 3 hours away from the hospital. But we made it! And now he gets to wear this fun little shirt for his birthday that I made him (well, I appliqued the 2 on at least).

I saw this fabric at a local quilt store and knew I had to do something fun with it. Birthday banners are the best! They make everything so festive. I made a template out of card board for the triangles. I experimented with a few methods, but decided the best way for me was to sandwich felt in between the two triangles (so there is fabric on the front and back). The edges are raw. I prefer the felt in the middle because it makes the triangle a little more substantial. The triangles are 6" by 8". I could post a pdf for the template if anyone is interested.
Last of all - jumbo Space cupcakes - get it? Earth, Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, Outer space. Mars! I forgot the Red Planet - oh! That would have been so easy too! duh! I'm not a crafty cooking/baking person, but I have to admit, I though myself very clever with these. A few years ago I bought a Cake Decorating Delux kit from Williams Sonoma for a steal (only $10!). There is everything you could want to decorate cakes and cookies in that kit! Sugar sprinkles and food coloring in every color you could ever want - even brown. It was fun figuring out how to make the cupcakes look space-y. My sister told me I have to much time on my hands ; )

Happy Birthday (baby) C!

"balentines" gifts

2009-02-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

My 4 1/2 year old used to say "balentines day". She doesn't anymore, but I miss the way she used to mispronounce certain words. Oh well... part of getting older.

If you haven't tried applique on a shirt - you gotta do it. It's seriously addictive.I just used a shirt that was all ready in her closet. I cut the arms and the bottom of the shirt to make the edge roll a little. If you're looking for cheap t-shirts to applique on Walmart (I know, boo... hiss...) has them for only $3.50, and they're pretty cute actually. I like to use the Steam-A-Steam to appllique with on most things so the edges don't fray as much. I embroidered A+D on the trunk of the tree (Anna + Daddy). Fun.
I may still make a shirt for Carson, but am not sure... boys are tricky for Valentines Day. I thought this (hearts cars) was a cute idea - not so obviously Valentines. I bought the tie pattern here, although you can get it free for bigger sizes here (you have to scroll through all their free patterns to find it). I probably could have figured out how to make it smaller, but sometimes, it's nice to have someone else think for you. The ties are so easy and fun to make and only take 30 minutes or so. This may become our new birthday gift for all our little boyfriends at church.

handbag tutorials

2009-02-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting a new bag lately. It's hard to find just the right one. I'm in that mommy stage where the most practicle bag is probably a messanger-style bag, but what I really want is - well, I couldn't pick just one. Maybe I should just make one...

Here are some tutorials if anyone is in need of a new bag. Do you know of a good tutorial?

Hobo bag: very cute!
Margaret Sling bag
Backpack: maybe not for me - but my daughter would love it!
Reversible patchwork bag

I just bought this pattern. Do you think it's too big? It is sorta big... Hopefully I'll have one done soon to show you.

Something Sweet

2009-02-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

I am in love with this web site. Every time I view Bakearella's wildly creative concoctions I am in heaven. She has really stretched the limits of basic cupcakes but with that said I had to try a white cake recipe she posted a while back. It isn't my favorite I think it is a little to heavy for white cake. Do you have a perfect white/butter cake recipe? If so I would love it if you shared it with me.

sunday brunch jacket

2009-02-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

I recently made this jacket for my oldest. I wanted it to be a simple and basic jacket that would go with most anything, but I love the detail of the bias trim on the inside. It's like wearing a little secret.

I love sewing the Oliver+S patterns. There is a lot of detail that makes them truly a joy to sew. I really have learned a lot from sewing from them - and better yet - the size you measure on the back of the pattern is the size that the garment comes out as. It's miraculous!

I've been wondering lately. Is it cheaper to sew for my kids (ok - well, daughter)? The PJs I just made my son only cost $2 (fabric, free tutorial online, and reused pattern I paid $1 for for the pants). I mean, Old Navy often has cute things for cheap - certainly a $10 jacket. Would it matter whether or not it was cheaper? Is this new found craft/hobby/skill actually priceless because it makes me a happier mom and wife? I certainly sew for sanity and find myself needing/wanting to make something everyday. Really. Sewing makes me happy. I love it when a stranger comments on something Anna is wearing and then are amazed that I made it. It's so fun hearing Anna tell people her "mommy made it", or when wearing a nicely made JCrew jacket people ask me if I made it - ha!

SO:

*1 1/2 yards light weight denim (clearance at Joanns): $3
*4 buttons: $3
*1/2 yd sale fabric for bias tape $2
*pattern (divided by 4 because it goes up to size 8 and I will likely make it again) $4
*creating something new that makes me (and her) smile when she wears it: priceless

wall quilt

2009-01-29T13:30:00.001-08:00

I wish I had a good camera because I love how this turned out.

This was really easy and a pretty inexpensive alternative to buying framed art. I used the same method as the crafty cork boards (w/o the lining and I stapled the fabric onto the canvas). I put it together with canvas that I bought at Michaels and then Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room line of Home Dec fabric. I bought the fabric off of etsy.com for a pretty good price and used coupons for the canvases. Did you know you can use Joanns coupons at Michaels? It took a couple of trips, but I bought all of the canvases at a discount. All-in-all the project cost about $55.

I was afraid my husband was going to hate it. He's very traditional (and opinionated) and it's a bit ecclectic (which is what I love), but he came home and helped me put it together. I was so surprised I almost cried. I love LOVE the way it turned out. It really brightens up the room and makes me smile.

for the boy

2009-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

If you've discovered our blog from Sew Mama Sew, then you've probably seen these PJ before here. They are pretty much the only thing I've ever made for Carson! There is nothing exciting about pajamas, but I wanted to share where you can get the pattern for the top as a free tutorial. I put them on him last night and he was SO excited. Who knew - he's only (almost) 2 and I figured he was never really paying attention to all of the stuff I was making for his sister. He had so much to say about the aliens and circles. Very cute.

BTW - thanks to those who took some of my stash off my hands. Now I have some money to go and buy more fabric ; ) There are still 3 yards left if any one is interested.

selling my stash

2009-01-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to buying fabric. I need to start only buying fabric if I know what I'm going to do with it! I was going through my stash today and found some yards I wouldn't mind getting rid of. Some of it was for a duvet cover that I never made and some is just impulse buys.

Since it's cheaper ($6 per yard!!) than what I paid for it here's the deal:

I have a paypal account, but you'll have to pay the fees (usually .35 cents plus 3%)

I can fit about 5 yards in a Flat Rate Envelope, which is $5.25. If you're outside of the U.S. I'll have to figure out shipping and let you know.

If you want to get some fabric, make a comment leaving your email address and I'll email you (check your spam).

Fabric comes from a smoke free pet free home.

Sandi Henderson Ginger Blossom Blush Stripe 1/2+ yard $3 **GONE**

Sandi Henderson Ginger Blossom
Water Lily 1 yard (left) **GONE**
Lei 2 yard **GONE**

Michael Miller "groovy" something or other (left) 1 yard **GONE**
Amy Butler Peony 2 yards **has been washed **GONE**

Amy Butler
Clematis white 2 yards **GONE**
Sweet Jasmine navy 2 yards **GONE**Alexander Henry
Apples and Pears 1 yard **GONE**
Mocca 1 yard **GONE**

pattern review::Simplicity 3881

2009-01-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the two skirts I actually finished. Beautiful 70 degree weather out here in California made it possible to wear a skirt without boots and a short-sleeved shirt to church today. I almost wore sandals. I could have worn sandals. But out of respect for those in more frigid parts of the country I wore regular dress shoes ; )

These skirts are from Simplicity 3881. I made views A (in blue) and view C (pink). Super easy pattern and nice to use when you don't have a lot of a couple different fabrics. In fact, the blue skirt fabric came from this previous disaster. I made the following changes:

*I lined the top piece. After I sewed the dart in the top fabric I used it as a pattern piece for the lining.

*I put in an invisible zipper instead of the one in the pattern. Mostly because I tried doing it the other way, but it didn't work - and I know how to do the invisible zipper so that's what I did.

*After sewing the flounce/ruffle I sewed that seam to the top piece of the skirt. Make sense?

*Because I lined the top piece I didn't finish the waist the way the instructions say (bias tape I think). You just sort of sew the two pieces together, flip them right side out, and top stitch.

If/when I make the skirt again I think I'd only do view A. The bottom part is a "flounce" instead of a ruffle. The ruffle feels sort of kid-ish to me - plus gathering is a pain. The flounce is fun to twirl in when dancing with the 4 year old too.

Oh! I have a questions for anyone who sews from sewing patterns from the big companies. How do you choose the RIGHT SIZE?? Let me tell you my process - according to the measurements on the back of the pattern my waist was a size 14. My hips a 12. Knowing that patterns run big I made a 10. It was too big so I made some adjustments to that skirt and then made the second skirt a size 8. I think I could make a size 6 next. I wear a size 0-2 at the Gap. Why!? Why!? is it SO difficult to pick the right size. I've heard making the size from the Ease shown on the actual pattern piece - which would have worked had I done that in the first place. I know this is the purpose of making a muslin. . . but it would be nice to at least get close to the right size. Any thoughts? Anyone??

tutorial: nursing cover

2009-01-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

As a crafty (and cheap) person, when I see something I love I wonder if I could make it myself. My sister-in-law is having a baby in the next couple of weeks and I thought I'd give her a nursing cover. Have you seen them online? She's a very stealth nurser actually (unlike me who practically has to get undressed in order to nurse), and probably doesn't need one of these, but they are easy to put in the diaper bag and are convenient while in public (and MUCH easier then trying to hold a blanket down with your chin while hoping said wiggly baby makes it to the right place and no one gets flashed). Here is a tutorial for my version of a nursing cover. It's VERY easy - like a big apron.

Materials:

*36" x 30" piece of fabric (I didn't have a big enough piece, so I put another fabric with it so that the total size was right.
*2 D-rings
*Strap for D-rings is 4" by 6"
*Strap for length is 4" by however long you want.
*10" x 10" square of fabric for a pocket on the inside corner (handy for nursing pads/ binkies, etc).
*thread
*approx. 17" piece of plastic boning, maybe 1/2" wide. You can find it by the yard at Joanns. It's hard plastic that goes into corsets or lingerie. We want it curved so that mom can see baby.

Step 1a: Cut your fabric. If you have to use two pieces like me, sew them right sides together, and then sew the seam up towards the top piece on the wrong side.

Step 1b: Serge all sides of your large piece. If you don't have a serger you'll be rolling the hem later in a couple of steps.

Step 2: take the 10" x 10" square and fold it in half (wrong sides together) to make a triangle. Sew a line across the length of the folded edge.

Step 3: Pin triangle in the bottom corner of the wrong side of the fabric. Leave enough space for your rolled/serged hem to go over the edge of the triangle.

Step 4: Roll hem (or fold over if serged) on the bottom and sides.

Step 5: Make straps. Sew each one wrong side together lengthwise. Flip right-side out. On the longest strap tuck the ends into itself and sew across. On the short one thread the D-rings on and then sew across the strap close to the rings to keep them in place. Serge or Pink raw edge of strap.Step 6: Put the straps on the fabric. With large piece wrong side up measure in 12 inches on each side. Make sure you've rolled your hem or folded it down if serged. This is where you'll place the outside edge of the straps. Pin them in place. On one side, sew from the edge of the large piece to over the edge of the first strap. Then, move over approx. 1 inch and sew to the other edge (going over the second strap) This makes a casing for the boning.

Step 7: To stabilize the straps and make it easier for the next step, sew a square at the bottom of each strap.

Step 8: Insert the boning. The boning has a curve in it so that it's easy for mom to view the baby. Make sure the curve makes the fabric stick out in the right direction (visualize mom wearing it and it sticking out AWAY from her). Slide it in until it hits the other strap. You may have to clip the boning to make it shorter. Sew the opening closed. I also sewed close to the top all the way across in hopes that the boning won't twist around when washed. Plus, it looks nice.

Viola: baby gift.

skirt?

2009-01-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

I was getting dressed for church on Sunday and realized that I needed a new skirt. So, this week I made two from this pattern. I'll post pictures eventually and do a little review and all, but - well, my husband is only home when it's dark outside and and my 4 year old is a little shaky with the camera. Plus, I can't find my camera.

In my mind I was planning on making 3 skirts. Not sure why 3. The third one I'm planning on making is from Stitch magazine - the one one the cover. The picture above is the insert from the magazine that has three "Full-scale skirt patterns" on it. I took the picture with my iPhone, so it's not great, but I think you get the idea. I've been sitting here for an hour trying to decipher how to pull one pattern from a two sided piece of paper with three different full sized skirts and five different sizes per skirt. Wow. I need some Advil. It makes me go cross-eyed. I'd love to finish it. I found some grey corduroy fabric from Joanns for only $2 a yard (it's 50% of clearance right now. . .)

If you didn't buy the magazine, but are interested in some free patterns, you can find them here.

Wish me luck! Picture of the others to follow. . .

still sorta M.I.A

2008-12-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

I'm back, sort of. I'm not sure I'm ready to really be back yet. We went to visit my family (and T) in Utah over Christmas and it was idealic! Nothing to do. Nothing left to sew for Christmas. No church callings or work to handle. Nothing but playing in the snow with the kids. And shoveling snow with the 4-wheeler. So fun! (especially for us California people).

Anyway, there are crafts to share. . . but I wanted to show you this blog that a friend of mine shared with me. It's a whole years worth of crock pot recipes. No recipe book to buy. Love that. My goal for this next year is to plan meals for the month. I used to do this and it was so nice to not have to worry about "what's for dinner" and if I changed my mind, I had ingredients for another day. Plus - so much money is saved not running to the store a few times a month. So far, January looks like a month of crock pot yummy-ness.

Pillow for my Sis

2008-12-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

My little sister moved into her very own place this year. It was a big step in my eyes considering I have never lived alone. while contemplating what to get her for Christmas, her lack of furnishings played apart in the decision making. I made her a throw pillow to start with, in the colors of her new living room. I got the pattern from the latest issue of Stitch magazine. I really enjoyed making this and I used a lot of scraps which was great because my scrap bin is over loaded. If you are considering buying this magazine, go for it. It has so many great project ideas and patterns for a couple of skirts. I have yet to try to make the the skirts. It is hard to find time to sew for yourself this time of the year but I will be making one come January for sure.

an un-ADVENT-ful december

2008-12-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting an Advent Calendar for a while now. It wasn't until this past October that I saw one that I liked at Pottery Barn Kids. (I can't find the link. It must be sold out). I've had a hard time finding exactly the one I want. There are so many fun ideas out there. It's fun to look at everyones creations. Do you think it would be crazy to have a couple Advent calendars??

Anyway, I started this one in October. I only made it to day 15. The blank spots are going to be for big numbers. I still need to finish some of the ones that are in the picture too. I guess I could have continued working on the days to come, but I have so much that I'm sewing for Christmas and other people that I just couldn't fit in one more craft. (Plus, we're going out of town on the 19th and won't be here to finish it anyway). That's ok. I'll get it done by next year. I will. I promise. I can do it.

Something for the kids.

2008-12-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

I have been working on Christmas projects for a couple of weeks now. Nothing overly fancy but at the same time I will have to wait to post some until the holidays are over. We had a little extra time today and I thought it would be fun for my kids to do a little project of there own. My children are seven and four and both have taken an interest in sewing. So what ever knowledge I have to give has been fun for me to pass on. We started are Gingerbread man and stocking with some simple felt squares and traced two cookie cutters for the design. I taught my older daughter how to do the blanket stitch and off she went. I worked on the whip stitch with my four year and was amazed how it held her attention. All said and done I am proud of my little hand sewers and I think they are proud of their ornaments.

giveaway day

2008-12-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! We are back (well, I am. Tracy I hear is sick!) and are ready for our first ever giveaway. Love giveaways? Sew Mama Sew is hosting a giveaway day over on their blog. Click here if you're interested in entering in some more.

What we're giving away:
1 Amy Butler Anna Tunic Pattern
Very cute over a long-sleeved T-shirt. (view here)

What we want:: tell us your favorite Christmas/Holiday song and who sings it.

We'll pick a number randomly on the 4th and get it in the mail this week. US mailing addresses only.

edit - we'll leave the giveaway up until Friday at midnight and then pick a winner Saturday.

Good Luck!

Happy Birthday T

2008-11-24T23:07:00.001-08:00

My goal has been to try and sew a Christmas gift a day to try and get everything done by the time we travel for Christmas. This past weekend I finished all of the stuff for my in-laws. 3 gifts down 4 to go PLUS the stuff I'm making for my daughter (doll clothes for her new doll from Santa, and I'm thinking of making this art case tutorial - I think it'll be great for church).

In the meantime I made these dish towels for Tracy for her birthday. They were easy and fun to make. I just bought some white towels from Restoration Hardware, patched one and did applique on the other.
Happy Birthday Tracy! I can't wait until next year for your 30th birthday party (yes - she's already planning it).

Tiny Doughnuts

2008-11-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

I am not sure why, but it seems that everything that is small is so much more desirable than its true to size counterpart. Especially when it comes to food. I think that is why I always tend to eat more of the snake size candy bars than I would if I where to eat a regular sized bar. Anyhow I saw a picture of these delectable morsels and showed them to my children and then they where smitten they begged and begged until I final gave in and made them. I saw them first on the not Martha web site which has some really good ideas. (I think I will try the pies in a jar next) The doughnuts where fun. We made a Cinnamon sugar, vanilla glazed and my personal favorite lemon poppy seed. This is perfect if you need a little something sweet or 5 of a little something sweet.

"mom, can you make me a dress?"

2008-11-15T10:51:00.001-08:00

I hadn't realized it until the other day that Anna had grown out of all of her dresses. Since we go to church every Sunday I thought I'd better make her some dresses. Plus, one night in bed she asked me if I could make her a new dress for church and that it needed to be made with my pink/red apple fabric.

This dress I made from the new Sandi Henderson Claire pattern. This pattern is nice because it goes from size 6 months to size 8 - so great if you're wanting to make matching/coordinating outfits for all your girls. Plus, you get 3 different dresses and 1 shirt with this patterns, so worth the money. And like Tracy mentioned before, just trace your size with patternease (which you can get at Joanns for $1.99 plus a coupon). I would suggest doing this for your expensive patterns. If you paid $1 for the pattern at Joanns it's not worth your time. Anyway, back to the dress - it was super easy to make! Probably only took me an hour or so max. I omitted the apron though - I'm not sure how I feel about the aprons sewn into the dresses. Maybe I'll change my mind later.
Here's the one she asked for. I can't help but love this pattern. Plus, she can wear it year round and with leggings next year. Gotta love that with growing kids, right!?

Lentil Soup

2008-11-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

I love the desire fall bring to eat nothing but warm soup and crusty bread. Tonight I made a soup for dinner that was really satisfying. the fact that my oldest daughter ate it, without complaining means that It will be going on the list of things to make again. I found the recipe in a book I have had for a long time but haven't used much it was calling my name. I am glad because this is the second thing I have made from it this week it is the Food Everyday Cookbook "Great Food Fast".

Lentil Soup

3 strips of Bacon chopped

1 large Onion, chopped

3 medium Carrots, peeled, cut in to 1/4 half moons

2 Garlic cloves, minced

3 TBS Tomato paste

1 1/2 cup Lentils

1/2 tsp dried Thyme

2 cans Chicken Broth

1 TBS red-wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a dutch Oven or other pot with a tight lid, cook bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of rendered fat.

2. Add the onion and carrots; cook until softened. Stir in the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in tomatoes paste, add the lentils, thyme, broth and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover; cook until lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. If soup becomes to thick during cooking, add water as needed (I added over 2 cup more.)

4. Stir in vinegar, and adjust salt and pepper.

Happy cooking!!

i'm not a foodie, but. . .

2008-11-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

Tracy is actually the "foodie" having gone to school studying culinary arts. She's a GREAT resource for my pre-grocery shopping escapades to ask questions like "What's Mango chutney?" or "What isle do you think prosciutto is on?" (pretending like I KNOW what prosciutto is) and "Is Parmigiano Reggiano cheese the same thing as Parmesean cheese?" Stuff like that.

Here's some links to some tasty looking recipes I'd like to try:

Mini Fall Galettes: as if I REALLY need an excuse to try another version of pie.

Peanut butter bars: I'm wondering if these are the same ones that used to get served with school lunch. Remember those? Mmmmm. . .

Fried Scones: with honey butter. Yummm. . .

Breakfast Burritos: these just sound good to me.

Chicken Enchiladas: had to at least throw in 1 dinner!

What I'm REALLY looking for are good crock pot recipes. Does anyone have any???

tutorial: covered button ponytail holder

2008-11-06T07:27:00.001-08:00

This tutorial is probably unnecessary because it's pretty simple. I figured out a newer faster way to do it than the way I had originally been doing it, so I thought I'd share. I bought thin ponytail holders and a covered button kit that has 1 1/2" buttons. Any size button will do though. Then you need a strong piece of string.

Wrap your string around the elastic and insert it through the back of the button shank loop thing. Pull
Then Knot

Follow the directions on the box to cover the button. On the bigger buttons you can put a layer of muslin in between the button and the cute fabric. I highly recommend doing this so that the metal doesn't shine through the fabric. (I tried doing this on the smaller buttons, but it doesn't seem to work - too thick.)These make great, inexpensive gifts (especially if you can use a coupon at Joanns or check on etsy. Beware: these are very addicting to make!

Daylight Savings Bag

2008-11-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

I love Daylight savings time, not so much in the spring but in the fall. I feel like someone has given me a gift on extra hour. especial when I trick my kids and put them to bed an hour early : ) So what do I do with this extra hour? So far watched a movie with my husband, worked out and sewed. I tried out a new pattern I got from Sandi Henderson from Portabellopixie. This is the Market Bag and it is the first patten of hers I have tried. I really like her patterns not only is the tissue paper they are printed on a bit heavier, but the instructions are in a full color and in an easy to follow booklet. Her patterns are a bit more pricey than your craft store brands but all of the dresses go up to size 8. So if you have two girls like I do. You can trace the pattern of the smaller size on pattern ease and cut out the bigger size. It makes it a bit more economical that way..........but I saved the best part for last she allows people to sell items made from her patterns, unlike some of the other designers. Happy Sewing.

happy halloween

2008-10-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

what i learned

2008-10-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry to butt in post-wise again Tracy, but I think I need to do this as therapy for having spent so much time on something that turned out so wrong.

The dress is Vogue 8468. I've spent the past couple nights cutting out the pattern and all day today sewing. It's fully lined - I mean fully. Even the sleeves are lined. I opted not to line the sleeves.
Sewing is about learning and here is what I learned. I guess you could consider this a pattern review of sorts:

1. Too much floral really is too much. Even if you love the pattern. Solid is probably best with accents of the floral. Unless you're a kid. Then anything goes.

2. Just because the drawn picture looks cute on the drawn model on the pattern cover doesn't mean that it's cute as a real dress on a real person.

3. The gathering is just above the chest causing that part of the dress to poof out - and not in a flattering way to those of us that could use a little poof.

4. I did learn how to put in a zipper (that's not an invisible one) and practice putting in sleeves. I made one size smaller than I measured.

Right now, I can't decide whether or not I'd try the dress again in a solid color. Maybe. Right now is not the time to decide. I would gather the top going all of the way across versus just "in between the small dots". I think that would solve the "poofing" problem. I'm not sure all of the lining is necessary either. It makes the dress feel very heavy. I would rather wear a slip underneath. Or use a silky lining.

Luckily there is enough fabric on the dress that I can use it for a dress for Anna or some bags or something. Bibs maybe.

Day 2

2008-10-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the outfit from Day 2 on the list. It is this pattern. I found the fabric at Joanns for 50% off. It's very sweet little trick-or-treating teddy bears. Completely not my typical fabric choice, but there is just something sweet about it. I made it a dress for this year so that next year she can wear it as a long top with leggings.

Punkin Pie

2008-10-25T17:18:00.001-07:00

We went to the BEST Halloween party a couple weekends ago. You can see pictures here and here. I brought a pumpkin pie that I made. It was for completely selfish reasons - I love pumpkin pie and will make it whenever possible.

Tracy is the true connoisseur of pies having made the desserts for a nice restaurant in Utah for a few years and gone to school studying culinary arts. I will fake it for you. I just use the recipe off of the Libby's pumpkin can BUT with this one alteration - split up the sugar, meaning do half granulated and half brown sugar. Mmmm. . . pie. . .

Book Favorites!

2008-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I love craft/sewing books. I mean how could you not? Even if I don't read them or do any of the projects inside the books, they are most always very inspirational and full wonderful eye candy photos. I thought I woulds tell you about three of my favs. The first is one of the first sewing books I ever bought "Denyse Schmidts Quilts" I love this book it is filled with basic projects and some really beautiful quilts. It was the first time I had really ever seen modern quilt patterns and it transformed my perspective on quilting. The quilts in this book are not your Grandmas quilt they are unique and really fun. Not that I have anything against traditional quilting patterns I just think this book is really refreshing.

The second book is "Sew U" by Wendy Mullin. This was one of the books I bought when I decided I wanted to start making clothing for myself. It is a great place to start, with out being to simple. This is also one of the books I have read from cover to cover, and have used all of the patterns. There is a basic skirt, shirt and a pair of pants and the best part is that she also shows you how to change the patterns to suit your style needs. I still use this book all the time as a reference.

The last book I have to admit I just got yesterday, but I already love it! It is "Seams To Me" by Anna Maria Horner. I had to buy it! I have used her fabric for a while and I also read her blog. I think she is amazing. I was really excited to get this book, and so far the projects look really creative and different. Which is one thing I have noticed in some of my other books is lacking. I have several book that seem to contain the same projects. I mean how many instruction on making napkins does a girl need? but I really didn't find that from this book the patterns are more original. I can't wait to get started on the "Bow Peep Skirt" in this book.

Well these are my favorites I would love to hear what your favorites are, and I am always looking for the next book to buy so please post any suggestions!

13 days of halloween

2008-10-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

I took this picture last year, but it still give me the creeps just remembering it!

Just for fun I thought we'd do the 13 days of Halloween count down this year. Here's out list just in case you're interested in counting down too!

Day 1: (starting today - sorry for the late post!): pull out the Halloween decorations and put them up. I got some really fun bat garland from Michael's (courtesy of Martha of course!)

Day 2: Wear a fun Halloween outfit to preschool (picture to come).

Day 3: Make spooky invisible suckers.

Day 4: Make pumpkin ornaments.

Day 5: Watch a Halloween movie.

Day 6: Read some Halloween stories.

Day 7: Make a pumpkin bird feeder.

Day 8: Make Creep Cakes.

Day 9: Write a Spooky story.

Day 10: Color some spooky pictures.

Day 11: Stitch some dot-to-dot cards.

Day 12: Carve Pumpkins.

Day 13: Happy Halloween!!!

for lisalou - and you if you want

2008-10-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

me and t bib - Upload a Document to Scribd

Lisalou asked that I post the pattern for the bib that I used. Here ya go!

i'm sensing a theme in my fabric buying. . .

2008-10-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some bibs that I made for a friend who is having a baby. It wasn't until I was finished with them that I realized all of the fabric I chose had a blue/turquoise background. I want to keep them. But I won't. Still a little too girlie for baby C.

I have a bib that I really like the shape of that I just used as a pattern (cut a little wider than bib. Sew right sides together leaving an opening, turn right side out and top stitch). On the back I used terrycloth and flannel, but I think I like the terrycloth best. It makes the bib feel a little more substantial. Coolest of all though is the nifty snap presser thing my MIL gave me 5+ years ago that I never took out of the package because I had NO idea what on earth I would use it for. Laying in bed one night I realized the coolness of the tool and remembered where I had put it in my closest (a small miracle indeed). So. The bibs close with a snap. It's wonderful!

Oliver+s Patterns

2008-10-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

I love Oliver+s Patterns this is the second one I have tried. I think the designer has captured the sweetness of childhood. My older daughter is almost eight, and when we go to stores to find her clothes I feel that most of the clothing are patterned after adult clothing. In turn they make her look older then she is. I really don't want her to grow up to fast. So I was really excited when the fall line of Oliver+S patterns came out with sizing up to size 8. To bad she doesn't always like the things I make for her. That is why I guess I sew for her little sister who is more than happy to wear mom's homemade goods.

ideas of gifts to make for christmas

2008-10-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I am not much of a procrastinator. I think my husband feels left out every year at Christmas because I have most of the shopping done by November. This year, I will save time for him, but I have to admit - I know what I'm making for pretty much everyone. I've even got it all cut out and in bags so that it's ready to sew whenever I'm ready to sew. . .

Here's a few ideas in case you're thinking about Christmas in October.

Beanbags: I'm thinking of making these for Carson. He likes throwing things so I might as well make him something that won't break.

Ponytail holders: great for little friends.

A list of 54 Free apron patterns.

If you're not going to make your grandma fabric grocery bags, maybe you could help her tame all of her plastic bags with a nifty grocery bag dispenser.

A belt for your stylish sister or friend.

Dish towels - always a great idea. Plus, cute and easy.

more to come. . .

crafty cork board

2008-10-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

I had never considered myself "crafty" until this project. Perhaps being "crafty" has held a stigma of my mom and aunt toll painting cutesy pumpkins and other Relief Society-making-wreaths-out-of-garden hoses type projects. But, now I give in. I'm crafty and that's ok dang it.

I've been on the hunt a while now for a cute cork board or magnet board that I can put in my laundry room to post notes on (or more likely stuff I want).

Anyway, the space that I wanted to put it in was sort of limited so I decided to make my own. Walmart sells a 4 pack of cork board squares that are 12 x 12 (but they are pretty thin) for only $5. I wanted them to be thick as if they were on a canvas so I decided to hot glue 3 of them together. (Also, one is too thin to use - the pin would just hit the wall).

Here's how I did it. It's so easy I'm not really sure that a tutorial is necessary but what the heck.

1. Hot glue the cork board together. I did 3.

2. Cut fabric 16 x 16. I also cut out a piece of muslin to put in between the fabric and the cork board so the cork board wouldn't show through. Don't forget to iron your fabric.

3. Layer the fabric (wrong side up), muslin, and then cork board and pin up two (opposite) sides. I just used push pins to stick the fabric down so I could use the fabric again and switch out the fabric when I wanted to.

4. Fold up the other two sides. The easiest way to explain how to do this and have nice corners is to fold up the ends like you do when you wrap a gift - except fold that top flap towards the board with the bottom flap following.

5. Make sure everything is pulled nice and tight.
Viola - you're done. I covered some buttons and hot glued them onto push pins so the pins were cute too.

edit:: I should have put on here what I did to hang mine. Sorry for those of you that have had their boards fall off their walls (and then destroyed by their toddlers). I just hot-glued a picture hanging hook to the back of it.