scrapping, sewing and cooking

Enjoying some of the things I enjoy.

I recently re-found the blog of Gabby Fekete. I am a sucker for recipes and I started clicking around on recipes in her "meal plan Monday" posts. Last night I made the desconstructed broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breasts. Super yum. I added fresh mushrooms which while tasty, released a TON of liquid making the sauce way too thin. I have printed the recipes for the Deen Bros lime chicken and also that garlic butter burger. I might doctor my burger up tonight in this fashion since those are on the menu already.

Sewing:
I made a new camera strap which turned out beautifully using these directions. I wish I had done the ruffle in the same fabric as the strap though. I may offer this one up as a freebie if someone is interested...just as soon as I make a new one for me. I tested it with some older scraps but feel confident enough now to use something good from my stash.

Messy dishtowels.

Can you tell I learned how to make and attach ruffles?!

Banner for an upcoming baby shower.
Certainly not showcased at it's best on the ironing board but you get the idea.

Scrapping:
Two super fast pages using either quickpages or templates for my 2010 book. I can whip these out so quickly that it's making it easy to tell our story. Yes, 2009 is not yet done and in my hands, and my summary pages for Feb and Mar are not yet done for 2010 but what is done, makes me happy.

And oh yea, all my hardwood floors are mopped. Shew. A wet spring + dirty puppy = super mess. Pin It

do you like FREE?

Then stop over at the Brides Buddy blog.


Right now, you can register to win 2 pairs of tickets to see Lee Woodruff at the Aronoff on April 29. Register by commenting on this post.

Also available, links to freebies from all over the internet: HERE.

Or, exclusive to the Brides Buddy, free printable water bottle labels to take your next wedding party to the next level. Not sure what a printable water bottle label is? Check out this blog for many designs and even more inspiration: Blond Designs Blog. Other versions here and here.(photo from Blonde Designs Blog)


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tradition: coloring eggs

(click to view collage larger)

We never miss a year. Since Kacie and Tyler have been around, which dates back 23 years now, I never recall NOT coloring eggs with my family. Now my girls are in on the action and the big ones still participate. This year, there were awards and categories. Papa was the judge. A happy day. Smile.

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friday: flickr faves

1. Cushion Covers, 2. New - for me!!, 3. Plus pillows, 4. Pillow Swap - A little bird, 5. Sophie's receiving blanket, 6. Receiving Blanket - Worker Gnomes, 7. Little Folks Blanket, 8. HALP!, 9. Finished Quilt, 10. Ireland flags close-up, 11. Pillow Swap 2 - front, 12. echino + linen, 13. for a girl and a boy, 14. first pinwheel half square triangles, 15. Camera Camera Case -Analogu (black/moss green), 16. stuff pouch, 17. Ticker Tape doll quilt, 18. project linus quilt, 19. How to make decorative pillows - theDIYdish.com, 20. scrabble pillows, 21. spring bath accessories, 22. Finished!, 23. back detail, 24. DQS8, 25. "I love sewing" in mini form, 26. Pillow Cover, 27. Pillow Cover, 28. bowling cupcakes!, 29. table sm, 30. The Bohemian Rhapsody Quilt, 31. quilt front., 32. love chart pouch, 33. been down so long...., 34. Summer Bag, 35. Valentines_Day_amyatlas, 36. dessert table - cupcakes and cartwheels Pin It

yum-o pizza appetizer

(photo from BHG)
Sweet Bacon and Pear pizza. Yum. I made this last week to take when I visited my friend's new home. Home=beautiful. Pizza=Tasty!
I used gorgonzola only b/c I like it better than Feta and I forgot all about drizzling the honey. I don't think it needs it. The most labor intensive, time consuming part was pre cooking the sweet, spicy bacon but it is worth it. I already have plans to make this again. Pin It

this and that

Feeling sort of caught up with life, I allowed myself to take some pics of what I have done lately. (By caught up I mean the bills are paid, my work is done AND I filled out my census form-not that my house is clean).

More self binding baby blankets. I still don't think my corners are quite right. I'd love to know from others if they really can lay totally flat or if there is some creative sewing involved. At this house, the creative sewing is involved...

I made this plate stand awhile back out of a thrifted crystal goblet and plate. And then I saw this bride to be, who painted all of hers white and tried that out. Cute!

A new lamp. Looking a bit sad here but I think the space around it will come to life soon.

This chair is done and is kind of the inspiration piece I am working from now for this seating arrangement. The table was made by my husband back in the day so he does not want it painted. How about painting the wood rocker on the other side of the table black like this chair and outfitting it w/ similar cushions?Here is said chair now. That quilt is the first one I ever made. I do love it only it does not match anything in the house. Oh well. What do you think about this chair black and perhaps the toile on the cushion??

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if you give a kid a camera...

I think this was last Saturday. Shelby picked up my point and shoot and took off. She began with me in my office, where she found the camera and went on an adventure. It is funny to see what catches her attention!

herself
my baby blankets in progress
art on the wall in the hallway
items in her room
my bed in the dorm room
more of Shelby
the calculator with 56 typed in
her sister on the computer
her dad
Lester Holt?
her lenten good deed chart
and her bunny blanket

All treasures.

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patricia heaton: recap

First, Patricia Heaton is darling and tiny. t i n y. The only photo I got is of her next to this man (which she embraced, so it may have been the cousin she mentioned during her talk?). I hope to share on later of Kelly and I next to her.

Anyway, I very much enjoyed her wit and sense of humor and frankness about her life. Much of her talk was about aging, and particularly aging in Hollywood. She shared the types of surgery and procedures she has had to keep her looking good and competitive in the industry...from eyelash implants to tummy tucks! I could not help but feel it was difficult to make a connection knowing such things were out of my suburban mom, midwestern, single family income reach but hey, more power to Patti!

I learned that she was 32 before truly "making it" in acting which I found very interesting. She seemed truly grateful to be living this life, acknowledging while Hollywood may have its ups and downs, she and her family are fortunate. She and her husband are raising four boys (with assistance of 3 tutors I think she said!), introducing them to Catholicism and collaborating to produce projects of their own. Oh, and he is British!

Patricia was a little chatty and went beyond the typical scheduled time allowed so the Q&A with Carol Williams was brief. I think Carol was trying to crack into Patricia's Republican political views but Heaton as not taking the bait :) Pin It

look what i made..

My first pillow with piping! It is far from perfect but I mastered it and my Kacie thought it was grand. She also walked out with the quilt and then sent photos of her bedroom showing me how great both looked.

Hmm, this is an As Seen On TV, Bigtop Cupcake. Or in my case, a very miniature, oversized cupcake that would not bake through in the center! In my defense, I made the one box cake mix version but I never dreamed it would be SO small. Anyone else make one of these with more success?

I am so bummed this is blurry but I LOVE the interaction between my Mom and my girls. LOVE. And that Mom of mine is not having a textbook recovery from cataract surgery so send up some prayers for her if you could. She's the best.

Stay tuned for spray painted objects. I might be getting a little crazy over here busting out paint projects.

Stay tuned for new sewing projects. And a preview of new fabric that arrived yesterday. Swoon.

Stay tuned for my new lamp and shade.

Home-y goodness going on over here.

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home makeover project #1

We are seriously at the point here that everything needs an update. Even rooms that we painted or did some updating to originally, are now working on their 12th year, so the luster is gone!

This is our Master Bedroom or the Dorm Room as I call it b/c none of the furniture matches and we never quite even got it to our liking from the start. I removed the border in the main part of the room and painted it a simple oatmeal the day before we moved in (remember, that is now 12+ years ago) and over time, the bathroom got painted green but this little in between area...um, nothing every happened. Here, I share what must be late 70's wallpaper. Oy. Soak in the loveliness people b.c as of today, it is coming down.

A view facing the closet.

A view from the main part of the bedroom looking straight into this area, with our tiny bathroom beyond.

I am shown here standing on the counter while the littlest in our bunch assists in this wallpaper removing task. She did a great job too. I got about 75% of the paper off when the husband returned from Home Depot declaring he was going to take the door off of the closet, open that up and then build a new narrower doorway in place of the large opening we have now. After dinner (about 1 hour ago) he announced maybe no door, just the opening moved down. Sigh. Dude is a great handy man but we currently are in the throes of one BIG mess and an enhanced project.

Things on the horizon:
painting the whole space: a brown/golden/bronze shade is the current contender
painting (finally) my thrifted headboad white and installing it
adding a large shelf from our family room above the bed with some large framed art
bedside tables: those may get painted as well, they are currently wood (maple, maybe?) but I want to see what they look like next to the white headboard and painted walls first

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Patricia Heaton-Aronoff 3/15

I am looking forward to Monday night. First, because my sister is joining me and second, b/c I really like Patrica Heaton. Coincidentally, earlier this week I found myself watching Beethoven with my girls and who has a cameo, but Patricia Heaton!
(photo credit: Children of the 90's)

To say she has changed a lot, is an understatement!To order your tickets, visit the Smart Talk Media site. Pin It

50 things to do with $5

This article from Woman's Day magazine had some great ideas. In fact, today I headed to Walmart to pick up two $5 scarfs for the Spring and Summer and could not be happier. Other ideas and items of interest mentioned:
edible pearls for cupcake decorations
japanese erasers (just found some of these for my girls at the local Hallmark)
filling a cake stand or bowl with $5 worth of lemons for a centerpiece Pin It

Ink Bloom - Loomtack Giveway

I can finally share some of the awesome things I was able to create using Loomtack. Check out my post on Little Dreamer Designs for the details and leave a comment on THAT BLOG for your chance to win.

***COPY OF LDD BLOG POST BELOW***

Readers, this is an opportunity you do not want to miss. A very forward thinking company, Ink Bloom, has introduced a revolutionary product to the crafting community called Loomtack. Loomtack allows you to print directly on fabric from you inkjet printer. I printed Michelle Coleman's Bohemian Summer digital papers on to two 8.5x11 sheets and then turned it into a pocket tissue holder.

Witnessing that first sheet of completely custom fabric, exiting my own home printer, was pretty exciting stuff!

I also printed directly onto the vinyl side (Loomtack serves dual purposes!) and created tags for jars in my studio and a clever id label for my daughter's DS. The vinyl can be easily applied to many surfaces (including glass, walls, mirrors, laptops) and when removed, will not damage the surface.

(birds on a wire from Leora Sanford at Little Dreamer)

For some real inspiration, visit the Ink Bloom site and their Project Gallery. Look at the ideas here for wine bottle labels, coasters, and a gift bag:

Ink Bloom offers all the tools you need to make this happen: base fabrics, the Loomtack product, Inkbits and Inkblocks which are their PhotoShop ready, printable designs. Is this not a digital scrapbooker's dream come true?!

Ink Bloom is generously offering one of our readers an enormous prize package that includes:

2 Rolls of Loomtack

2 Yards of your choice of Base Fabric

1 Inkbits product

1 Inkblock product

All of this will get you off to a great start but I highly suggest watching their how-to videos as well. If you are here at Little Dreamer Designs, you no doubt have an enviable digital stash and creativity oozing from your pores. We cannot wait to see what you create.

To win, please leave a comment on this blog post. Comments will be accepted until Wednesday, March 17 at 6pm EST. The winner will be announced on Friday, March 19.

I encourage you to share this with your online friends.

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nov 2009: documented

During and after Shelby's tub, I sat down and got two more pages completed! I think if I finish December 2009, I may call it done and order the album from Shutterfly. That would have it at about 40 pages. Certainly there are stories I wish (and will wish) I had told more fully but it is March 2010 and I need to tackle and stay up to date on this year's album. 40 pages is 40 more pages of memories than 0, right?!

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fun creations: cards and labels

After finding this total cuteness on etsy, I headed straight to the sewing machine to make a stack of my own. Talk about a quick project, high on the instant gratification satisfaction scale and a use for teeny tiny scraps--an all around home run!!

And this little teaser is for something upcoming at Little Dreamer on Sunday. See this label? It is vinyl. You can print your own! And it is removable. The one shown here uses Little Dreamer product and this amazing new material called Loomtack. Stay tuned...

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