This is a fun blog to go to for crafty ideas and tutorials. Check out this post for homemade boxes. Fun idea for Valentine's.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Little Birdie Secrets
This is a fun blog to go to for crafty ideas and tutorials. Check out this post for homemade boxes. Fun idea for Valentine's.
Friday, February 4, 2011
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The brownie recipe I have been looking for my entire married life!
Supernatural Brownies
From Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers, by Nick Malgieri.
Makes about twenty-four 2-inch-square brownies
Though the name sounds an exaggeration, you’ll agree that these brownies are absolutely out of this world.
•16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
•8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
•4 large eggs
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 cup granulated sugar
•1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•1 cup all-purpose flour
One 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered parchment or foil
1. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and turn off heat. Combine butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over pan of water. Stir occasionally until melted.
3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in flour.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust and batter is moderately firm. Cool in pan on a rack. Wrap pan in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature or refrigerated until next day.
5. To cut brownies, unmold onto a cutting board, remove paper, and replace with another cutting board. Turn cake right side up and trim away edges. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares.
Serving: Serve the brownies on their own or with ice cream and hot fudge sauce.
Storage: The best way to store brownies is to wrap them individually and keep them at room temperature in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover. Or freeze them.
Note: If you have a 12 x 18-inch commercial half-sheet pan, you may double this recipe easily.
Frosting:
1 8 oz. block cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (softened)
At least 1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP half and half
Mix first two ingredients together and then add the rest. Keep adding powdered sugar until you have your desired consistency. I frost my brownies so they have about 1/4 inch of frosting. Oh yummy!
From Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers, by Nick Malgieri.
Makes about twenty-four 2-inch-square brownies
Though the name sounds an exaggeration, you’ll agree that these brownies are absolutely out of this world.
•16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
•8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
•4 large eggs
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 cup granulated sugar
•1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•1 cup all-purpose flour
One 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered parchment or foil
1. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and turn off heat. Combine butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over pan of water. Stir occasionally until melted.
3. Whisk eggs together in a large bowl, then whisk in salt, sugars, and vanilla. Stir in chocolate and butter mixture, then fold in flour.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top has formed a shiny crust and batter is moderately firm. Cool in pan on a rack. Wrap pan in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature or refrigerated until next day.
5. To cut brownies, unmold onto a cutting board, remove paper, and replace with another cutting board. Turn cake right side up and trim away edges. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares.
Serving: Serve the brownies on their own or with ice cream and hot fudge sauce.
Storage: The best way to store brownies is to wrap them individually and keep them at room temperature in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover. Or freeze them.
Note: If you have a 12 x 18-inch commercial half-sheet pan, you may double this recipe easily.
Frosting:
1 8 oz. block cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (softened)
At least 1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP half and half
Mix first two ingredients together and then add the rest. Keep adding powdered sugar until you have your desired consistency. I frost my brownies so they have about 1/4 inch of frosting. Oh yummy!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Felt Valentine Day Envelopes
Here is another little fun project that I finished for Valentine's Day. I got this idea from this website and also incorporated the felt flowers into the one for my little girl. They were pretty quick and easy. I thought that they would be fun little envelopes to put little love notes and treats in for the kiddos for Valentine's!
I went with the black for my boy so it would be a little more masculine
and the white and pink for my girl for a little more sweet and pretty.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Felt Flower Clippies
Since I have had a girl, I have to admit, I refuse to pay the outrageous prices for hair clips/bows. However, I love doing girlie things with my little girl's hair, especially since she has always had quite a bit of hair! Therefore, I have tried making various different flowers clips and bows. This was my most recent project. It is really basic, but in the future I might try adding different layers. This is the basics to build on. Have fun and enjoy! By the way, this is the first time I have ever done a "tutorial" on something like this so bear with me!
Start with a strip of felt (approximately 1 inch by 6-8 inches, depends on how big you want your flowers and how many petals you want.)
Thread a needle. Knot the end of the thread and then do a running stitch at the bottom from one end to the other.
Add in a little embellishment to the middle. These are just brads from the scrapbook aisle at a craft store.
I decided to make these into clips. I have also seen the flowers attached to headbands which might be cute too. To make clips, find alligators clip and coordinating ribbon to the flower.
Cover the alligator clip with ribbon by securing the ribbon with hot glue. I cover the whole thing but I know others just cover the top "jaw". I have also found that when you cover the clips using a ribbon with texture will stay in fine hair better than using a "silky" type ribbon.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Marvelous Mini Meatloaves
They're yummy, and easy. What else could you ask for? :)
I've only tried the 1st variation.
Marvelous Mini Meatloaves
Take 1 lb. extra-lean ground beef, 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix and 1 cup water and mix & match your recipe from these options...
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
spaghetti sauce
KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 tsp. chili powder
TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
chopped roasted red peppers
ATHENOS Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
KRAFT or BULL'S-EYE Original Barbecue Sauce
KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Then follow our 3 simple steps:
HEAT oven to 375°F.
Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and seasoning until well blended. Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.
MAKE indentation in center of each with back of spoon; fill evenly with 3/4 cup add-ins.
BAKE 30 min. or until meatloaves are done (160°F). Top evenly with 3/4 cup cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. Let stand 10 min.
Make Ahead
Bake meatloaves as directed. Remove from muffin cups; cool completely. Place in single layer on baking sheet; freeze 1 hour. Transfer to airtight container. Store in freezer up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator, then reheat in 375°F oven 20 min. or until heated through.
Special Extra
For a little kick, add 2 Tbsp. A.1. Original Steak Sauce to meat mixture before pressing into muffin cups as directed.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Fabric Rosettes/Rolled flowers 2
So I LOVE the method of making them on a felt cirlce. It makes it much easier and you can effect the shape more, so it's not so disc-like (my son likes to call them flying saucers. He wants me to make him one so he can use it like a frisbee...gotta love boys :) I used two strips of fabric on this one, I just laid the red one over the blue one, tied a knot in the top:
glued the knot to the center of a felt circle:
and started not twisting, but more like folding over each other like so:
I was always putting a dab of glue on the part of felt where I was going to lay my fabric down on. Glue your spot, fold your fabric, stick fabric on glue. Glue the next spot, fold, stick fabric on glue. Does that make sense? :)
Here is one type I made for some girls who wear school uniforms of the colors red, white and blue. They look sooo cute in their hair! (no pic of them, but here it is by itself)
Here's the alligator clip with a strip of felt inbetween its, uh, jaws? ;)
and here's the back:
I know I already mentioned this in the previous post, but I glue the clip upside down, it fits better and seems to work just fine. I wore one on the back of my head to a soccer game and spent most of the time chasing kids, so I think it works :) I'll have to test one on the front of my head next.
glued the knot to the center of a felt circle:
and started not twisting, but more like folding over each other like so:
Here is one type I made for some girls who wear school uniforms of the colors red, white and blue. They look sooo cute in their hair! (no pic of them, but here it is by itself)
Here's the alligator clip with a strip of felt inbetween its, uh, jaws? ;)
and here's the back:
Monday, January 17, 2011
Fabric rosettes/rolled flowers
Okay, so my latest obsession is fabric rosettes/rolled flowers. Here are some great tutorials:
Little Birdie Secrets
Some of This and Some of That
(I haven't tried this way yet, but it seems MUCH easier and less messier making them on a felt circle. I'm going to try this way next!
*Materials* fabric, scissors, felt, fabric glue or glue gun, embellishments.
You can use old clothes (*bonus on clothes! Use the buttons, snaps, whatever, it's amazing!) leftover fabric, old jewelry (also a huge bonus!) for the extra awesomeness...I just love making these because: they are easy, use glue, I can recycle old/stained clothes and earrings/necklaces. Here's some pictures of what I've made so far and I'll list what materials I used: (Sorry for some of the fuzzy pics!)
I made these two matching rosettes to give to a friend at her baby shower. For the pink I used an old dress of Lizzy's that had a small stain (these clothes were all clean and washed :) and for the light green and patterned green, two old shirts of mine. Sweet. I bought some stringed pearls and the heart at Jo-Ann's, and in the green is an old earring and in the patterned green is a fake diamond jewel-thingy. I bought a small bag of them at Jo-Ann's also, they and the pearls have come in very useful. The can of pearls that has a TON was 2.50 and the small bag of diamonds was around there too.
Sorry this picture is on it's side, but I made this Saturday night to go with my pink top for Sunday :) I bought 1/4 yd of the bright pink at Jo-Ann's (it makes a ton and if you only get 1/4 it's way cheaper) and in the center is one of the jewels and an earring and another small earring in the yellow and three pearls cut from the strand of them in the light pink. The light pink is from an old dress and the yellow is from a bed sheet. Crazy, i know. Kind of sounds weird but it works! :>) The love charm was from a necklace of mine that I like so it was nice to incorporate it into something new that was still mine.
All three of these fabrics I got at Jo-Ann's. I walked around dumping fabric-roll after fabric-roll into my cart and asked the lady for 1/4 yd of all of them :>) I got a lot to try and they only came to about $6. Anyway... in the center of the blue/teal color are the three pearls, on top of the pink is a little bit of light-tan net/tulle (can't remember which one I got) and a white button that came off that old pink dress of Lizzy's. In to the middle of the yellow is my personal favorite - an old earring. I could use a whole bag of those, love the color. I just bent the rod of the earring up so that it would lie flat.
Can I just say how much I love having a girl?? With a mess of boys, it's fun to have this princess to play with. She wanted me to make her a bow, so she looked throught my hodge-podge of old jewelry and stuff and she picked a metal butterfly. I was dubious, but I told her she was right and that it turned out great. She even had a butterfly on her dress, so it made her very happy :) the white and the pink were from Jo-Ann's and in the middle of the white are two small diamonds from some old earrings, and in the middle of the pink is a jewel with a pearl near the outside of the flower.
I was trying to come up with designs that used red, white and blue since those are our kids' school uniform colors. I just realized I could incorporate khaki too, I'll have to try that, the boys have some very holey pants I was going to convert into shorts. Anywho, all the fabric was stuff I had, I especially love the red and cream one. In the middle of that one is a snap from one of Grant's old onesie. Crazy huh?! A snap. From a onesie. I'm feelin' good :) I put a little pearl in the center of it. In the middle of the dark blue are three pearls ( I know, they're in everything!) and the light blue is from that same onesie the snap came from and there is a jewel in it's center.
Denim from old jeans and flannel-like fabric from my mom's stash I went through years ago. Center is an old earring that has lost it's mate and also part of a chain from an old necklace.
I like this fabric, kind of like plaid tweed? My british ancestors would be so proud. In the very center is a button with a jewel, and surrounding it are jewels and pearls.
The bottom fabric is black, from a pair of pants that I got bleach on. on top of the black is red and zebra striped fabric I braided together first and then twisted into a circle (see the above tutorial links). On top of that is a button with a jewel and behind it all is some black netting/tulle with a strip of the black and white.
The dark blue/plaid fabric has part of a chain and an earring, the white and light green striped has a white, fabric-covered button from an old dress, and the green has three pearls. The small rosettes are from the yellow sheet.
The top is black with a short string of the pearls with an earring back, the green has a button and pearl, and the tweed has a jewel. Thanks to my 7 yr old for coming to the rescue when he saw me trying to take a picture of the back of my head ;)
They also make great gifts. I had no wrapping paper, so desperation was the mother of invention here and I used tulle/netting and a piece of the looooooong pearl strand. Still have tons left :)
Okay, I think I've bored you enough. I got a box of alligator clips from Sally's for about $5. Put a skinny piece of felt inbetween the prongs and glue one side of the clip to the bottom of the rosette arrangements. I glued my clips upside down because it fit better that way. The felt inbetween helps so glue doesn't seep through and get all over your clip and hair. I also place the clip so that the part you pinch to open it is at the top of the arrangement, not at the bottom where you could see it from underneath. It also kind of bumps the arrangement out a bit, but it's a lot less noticeable when you place it facing downward. Sorry if that's confusing. It also helps to have a big mirror by you while you're putting your rosettes together so you can hold stuff up to your hair to see if the arrangements you're making work. You can clip these babies to your hair, headbands, in the back of your hair snuggled next to your updo or bun, on your purse, coat lapel, shoes, baby girl headbands.. so many possibilites :) Thanks for looking!
Little Birdie Secrets
Some of This and Some of That
(I haven't tried this way yet, but it seems MUCH easier and less messier making them on a felt circle. I'm going to try this way next!
*Materials* fabric, scissors, felt, fabric glue or glue gun, embellishments.
You can use old clothes (*bonus on clothes! Use the buttons, snaps, whatever, it's amazing!) leftover fabric, old jewelry (also a huge bonus!) for the extra awesomeness...I just love making these because: they are easy, use glue, I can recycle old/stained clothes and earrings/necklaces. Here's some pictures of what I've made so far and I'll list what materials I used: (Sorry for some of the fuzzy pics!)
I made these two matching rosettes to give to a friend at her baby shower. For the pink I used an old dress of Lizzy's that had a small stain (these clothes were all clean and washed :) and for the light green and patterned green, two old shirts of mine. Sweet. I bought some stringed pearls and the heart at Jo-Ann's, and in the green is an old earring and in the patterned green is a fake diamond jewel-thingy. I bought a small bag of them at Jo-Ann's also, they and the pearls have come in very useful. The can of pearls that has a TON was 2.50 and the small bag of diamonds was around there too.
Sorry this picture is on it's side, but I made this Saturday night to go with my pink top for Sunday :) I bought 1/4 yd of the bright pink at Jo-Ann's (it makes a ton and if you only get 1/4 it's way cheaper) and in the center is one of the jewels and an earring and another small earring in the yellow and three pearls cut from the strand of them in the light pink. The light pink is from an old dress and the yellow is from a bed sheet. Crazy, i know. Kind of sounds weird but it works! :>) The love charm was from a necklace of mine that I like so it was nice to incorporate it into something new that was still mine.
All three of these fabrics I got at Jo-Ann's. I walked around dumping fabric-roll after fabric-roll into my cart and asked the lady for 1/4 yd of all of them :>) I got a lot to try and they only came to about $6. Anyway... in the center of the blue/teal color are the three pearls, on top of the pink is a little bit of light-tan net/tulle (can't remember which one I got) and a white button that came off that old pink dress of Lizzy's. In to the middle of the yellow is my personal favorite - an old earring. I could use a whole bag of those, love the color. I just bent the rod of the earring up so that it would lie flat.
Can I just say how much I love having a girl?? With a mess of boys, it's fun to have this princess to play with. She wanted me to make her a bow, so she looked throught my hodge-podge of old jewelry and stuff and she picked a metal butterfly. I was dubious, but I told her she was right and that it turned out great. She even had a butterfly on her dress, so it made her very happy :) the white and the pink were from Jo-Ann's and in the middle of the white are two small diamonds from some old earrings, and in the middle of the pink is a jewel with a pearl near the outside of the flower.
I was trying to come up with designs that used red, white and blue since those are our kids' school uniform colors. I just realized I could incorporate khaki too, I'll have to try that, the boys have some very holey pants I was going to convert into shorts. Anywho, all the fabric was stuff I had, I especially love the red and cream one. In the middle of that one is a snap from one of Grant's old onesie. Crazy huh?! A snap. From a onesie. I'm feelin' good :) I put a little pearl in the center of it. In the middle of the dark blue are three pearls ( I know, they're in everything!) and the light blue is from that same onesie the snap came from and there is a jewel in it's center.
Denim from old jeans and flannel-like fabric from my mom's stash I went through years ago. Center is an old earring that has lost it's mate and also part of a chain from an old necklace.
I like this fabric, kind of like plaid tweed? My british ancestors would be so proud. In the very center is a button with a jewel, and surrounding it are jewels and pearls.
The bottom fabric is black, from a pair of pants that I got bleach on. on top of the black is red and zebra striped fabric I braided together first and then twisted into a circle (see the above tutorial links). On top of that is a button with a jewel and behind it all is some black netting/tulle with a strip of the black and white.
The dark blue/plaid fabric has part of a chain and an earring, the white and light green striped has a white, fabric-covered button from an old dress, and the green has three pearls. The small rosettes are from the yellow sheet.
The top is black with a short string of the pearls with an earring back, the green has a button and pearl, and the tweed has a jewel. Thanks to my 7 yr old for coming to the rescue when he saw me trying to take a picture of the back of my head ;)
Okay, I think I've bored you enough. I got a box of alligator clips from Sally's for about $5. Put a skinny piece of felt inbetween the prongs and glue one side of the clip to the bottom of the rosette arrangements. I glued my clips upside down because it fit better that way. The felt inbetween helps so glue doesn't seep through and get all over your clip and hair. I also place the clip so that the part you pinch to open it is at the top of the arrangement, not at the bottom where you could see it from underneath. It also kind of bumps the arrangement out a bit, but it's a lot less noticeable when you place it facing downward. Sorry if that's confusing. It also helps to have a big mirror by you while you're putting your rosettes together so you can hold stuff up to your hair to see if the arrangements you're making work. You can clip these babies to your hair, headbands, in the back of your hair snuggled next to your updo or bun, on your purse, coat lapel, shoes, baby girl headbands.. so many possibilites :) Thanks for looking!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
slip-coverish and pillows to boot!
So a million years ago I posted about this home-made sofa wrap I wanted to do...about 15 months later, I got around to it! Well, not exactly. #1 That one is way nicer. Way. #2 My couch(sorry, I can't say sofa, it's not natural to me!) is shaped differently and I don't have access to super-cute fabric like that. #3 what am I listing again? Oh yeah, I like to browse and look at ideas, but when it comes down to it, I make it how I make it with what I got. So... here is what mine looked like with a green slipcover I bought last year at the ARC thrift store for $7:
Last week I got this bunch of fabric at ARC for $7 because Saturdays are 1/2 off most colored tags, yay!.
I decided to try and cover my couch with it, so I sewed two long pieces together to cover from the back of the couch all the way to the front meeting the floor. It wasn't long enough, but nobody sees the back anyhow. The next step was to cover the arms, but I didn't sew them to the rest of the fabric, why more work? Right. I didn't like the dark green showing through, so I tucked pieces of material here and there to cover everything and yes, I used safety pins to pin them together :) I like change, so things can't be too permanent, and let's face it, I like to do things fast and sloppy :) Here is the end result: (PS I made the red pillows, boo-yah! that's why they're so misshapen and lumpy)Oh, and Grant has managed to slobber on BOTH of them. Of course. That is the ritual. He somehow will find what is new/nice and baptize it into our family with a bucket o' spit and some boogs to along with it. Good thing I think he's cute..
I pulled the green ties through for some color and pinned some strips of red for fun. I got the small, green pillow cases at Jo-Ann's for 2.99 each and they also had bags of Buffalo snow (batting) for like $1 or $2 so I bought 2 bags and stuffed the green and red pillows with it with it and I have most of the second bag of batting left.
I got the idea for the red pillows from Becky Higgins' blog. I don't know if it shows any specific pictures, but whenever she's done videos in that room with the pillows, I always admired them :) And I think she's awesome! Her pillows/couch are way cuter, but I just love the tiny strip of black and white peeking through on the edges of the pillows.
So, for the red pillows I took two identical square pieces of red fabric, folded them in half, then over and in half again. You now have a smaller square (duh, you're saying!) Take the one corner that does not have any edges (that will be the middle of your circle) and place it on the floor so that that corner is the bottom-left. Then I free-handed it, cutting an arc from the bottom-right corner to the top-left corner. Then you can unfold it and see if you like it or need to re-fold it and take some edges off.
When you have your two circles ready, place one pattern-side up (in my case it didn't matter since it was a solid and same on both sides) Place strips of black and white fabric along edges. Note: The more of that strip-fabric you want to see, then place more along the inside edge of the circle because you will be turning this inside out. It was hard doing this on a circle! Looking back, I should have cut strips that curved like the circle. Also, because mine was zebra-striped, I made sure to turn the stripe fabric so they were vertical, because that way I would see more of the stripes since I was doing such a little strip.
So, I sewed it inside out, not all the way. I left a hole a couple inches wide so I could turn it right-side out and stuff it with batting. Then I just used needle and thread to sew the hole closed. (By the way, when I look at the pillows, I think of Pirates of the Caribbean because I watched/mostly listened to it while doing this after everyone was in bed :) makes it more fun.
I wanted to show a close up to what I did with the arms of the couch. I measured how long the arms were and sewed a piece to match. I tucked it on the other side into the cushion, and on this side into a long side piece that I pinned in the front and wrapped all along the side and pinned at the back. I also pulled the front of the arm rest fabric forward to cover the front and tucked it under the green bow. Sorry if this isn't making any sense! Just make the arm rest cover extra long so you can pull it over the front of the arm rest if you're wanting to cover everything. :)
I couldn't leave my stain-mottled glider/rocker out of the fun! When I was at the ARC, I also picked up a green sheet and that is what the rocker is wrapped in! I don't know where the tag is, I probably cut it off...but it was probably a full-size, mayyybe a queen. I would say full though. All I did was lay it over the couch, made sure the sheet reached the floor on the front and sides, then tucked it into the seat cushion.
Then I started with front left side (you can do whichever side first) stood/kneeled in the front of the front left of the chair, took the folds of the sheet that had gathered there and pulled it straight towards me and pulled it back along the side and pinned it under the flap that was hanging over the back, then pinned the parts that touched the floor together. Did the same to the other side. Pretty surprised how easy it was!
Then I used some leftover green and white fabric from the couch and laid 2 pieces pattern-side down on the floor. I then laid a square pillow I had and kind of cut around it with a 1 1/2 inch space, following it's shape. Then I sewed it inside out, only three sides. Then I turned it right-side out and pulled it over the pillow cushion and folded the last edges in towards themselves so the frayed edges wouldn't show, and hand-sewed that side. I'm thinking that rocker and pillow combo are lacking some color, but it was late and I was done! :)
Whew! That was a long post and took me a few days to do, (mostly because when my bee-bee isn't slobbering on new pillows, he likes to dance on the table ;)
but I just wanted to share it with you - my silly-spastic-attempt at decorating on a dime! I would LOVE for you to share some ideas too! Or you can just link to them, there are some that I've seen out there that look fun and inexpensive. The next thing I want to do is make fabric rosettes! I'll post the link late-uh...much love and have a great day!!
Last week I got this bunch of fabric at ARC for $7 because Saturdays are 1/2 off most colored tags, yay!.
I decided to try and cover my couch with it, so I sewed two long pieces together to cover from the back of the couch all the way to the front meeting the floor. It wasn't long enough, but nobody sees the back anyhow. The next step was to cover the arms, but I didn't sew them to the rest of the fabric, why more work? Right. I didn't like the dark green showing through, so I tucked pieces of material here and there to cover everything and yes, I used safety pins to pin them together :) I like change, so things can't be too permanent, and let's face it, I like to do things fast and sloppy :) Here is the end result: (PS I made the red pillows, boo-yah! that's why they're so misshapen and lumpy)Oh, and Grant has managed to slobber on BOTH of them. Of course. That is the ritual. He somehow will find what is new/nice and baptize it into our family with a bucket o' spit and some boogs to along with it. Good thing I think he's cute..
I pulled the green ties through for some color and pinned some strips of red for fun. I got the small, green pillow cases at Jo-Ann's for 2.99 each and they also had bags of Buffalo snow (batting) for like $1 or $2 so I bought 2 bags and stuffed the green and red pillows with it with it and I have most of the second bag of batting left.
I got the idea for the red pillows from Becky Higgins' blog. I don't know if it shows any specific pictures, but whenever she's done videos in that room with the pillows, I always admired them :) And I think she's awesome! Her pillows/couch are way cuter, but I just love the tiny strip of black and white peeking through on the edges of the pillows.
So, for the red pillows I took two identical square pieces of red fabric, folded them in half, then over and in half again. You now have a smaller square (duh, you're saying!) Take the one corner that does not have any edges (that will be the middle of your circle) and place it on the floor so that that corner is the bottom-left. Then I free-handed it, cutting an arc from the bottom-right corner to the top-left corner. Then you can unfold it and see if you like it or need to re-fold it and take some edges off.
When you have your two circles ready, place one pattern-side up (in my case it didn't matter since it was a solid and same on both sides) Place strips of black and white fabric along edges. Note: The more of that strip-fabric you want to see, then place more along the inside edge of the circle because you will be turning this inside out. It was hard doing this on a circle! Looking back, I should have cut strips that curved like the circle. Also, because mine was zebra-striped, I made sure to turn the stripe fabric so they were vertical, because that way I would see more of the stripes since I was doing such a little strip.
So, I sewed it inside out, not all the way. I left a hole a couple inches wide so I could turn it right-side out and stuff it with batting. Then I just used needle and thread to sew the hole closed. (By the way, when I look at the pillows, I think of Pirates of the Caribbean because I watched/mostly listened to it while doing this after everyone was in bed :) makes it more fun.
I wanted to show a close up to what I did with the arms of the couch. I measured how long the arms were and sewed a piece to match. I tucked it on the other side into the cushion, and on this side into a long side piece that I pinned in the front and wrapped all along the side and pinned at the back. I also pulled the front of the arm rest fabric forward to cover the front and tucked it under the green bow. Sorry if this isn't making any sense! Just make the arm rest cover extra long so you can pull it over the front of the arm rest if you're wanting to cover everything. :)
I couldn't leave my stain-mottled glider/rocker out of the fun! When I was at the ARC, I also picked up a green sheet and that is what the rocker is wrapped in! I don't know where the tag is, I probably cut it off...but it was probably a full-size, mayyybe a queen. I would say full though. All I did was lay it over the couch, made sure the sheet reached the floor on the front and sides, then tucked it into the seat cushion.
Then I started with front left side (you can do whichever side first) stood/kneeled in the front of the front left of the chair, took the folds of the sheet that had gathered there and pulled it straight towards me and pulled it back along the side and pinned it under the flap that was hanging over the back, then pinned the parts that touched the floor together. Did the same to the other side. Pretty surprised how easy it was!
Then I used some leftover green and white fabric from the couch and laid 2 pieces pattern-side down on the floor. I then laid a square pillow I had and kind of cut around it with a 1 1/2 inch space, following it's shape. Then I sewed it inside out, only three sides. Then I turned it right-side out and pulled it over the pillow cushion and folded the last edges in towards themselves so the frayed edges wouldn't show, and hand-sewed that side. I'm thinking that rocker and pillow combo are lacking some color, but it was late and I was done! :)
Whew! That was a long post and took me a few days to do, (mostly because when my bee-bee isn't slobbering on new pillows, he likes to dance on the table ;)
but I just wanted to share it with you - my silly-spastic-attempt at decorating on a dime! I would LOVE for you to share some ideas too! Or you can just link to them, there are some that I've seen out there that look fun and inexpensive. The next thing I want to do is make fabric rosettes! I'll post the link late-uh...much love and have a great day!!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Cinnamon Rolls
One of our family traditions for Christmas is to have homemade Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas morning. I got this recipe when hubby and I first got married. We have loved it!
Cinnamon Rolls
Blend together:
3 cups flour
3/4 cup powder milk
1/2 cup potato flakes (non-butter)
1/4 cup gluten
3 Tbsp yeast
Add:
2 1/2 cups hot water
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
Mix well and then slowly add:
3-4 cups flour
Let mix for approximately 5 minutes.
Let rise 1 hour and then punch down.
Cut in 1/2 and roll into rectangle.
Spread butter across rectangle and then spread brown sugar and cinnamon on top.
Roll up and cut into slices.
Put in pan and let rise until double in size (approximately 45 minutes.)
Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
Cool and Frost.
Frosting
(sorry there aren't exact measurements on powdered sugar and milk... I usually just add until I like the consistency and taste with the other ingredients)
Powder sugar (my best guess is about 1 lb.???)
Milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 oz cream cheese
3 Tbsp butter
Mix until nice and creamy!
Friday, December 24, 2010
ham glaze
8 lb cooked ham
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c honey
2/3 c butter
Heat last four ingredients, keep warm
Put ham in a baking bag in a foil-lined pan, pour glaze over
bake 325 1 hr 15 min, flip bag every 15 min
I made this last easter and it was yummy and cheaper than the pre-made glazed hams.
I'm not sure where I got the recipe from, I think online somewhere, just so you know I'm not taking credit for this recipe.
Merry Christmas Eve!!
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c honey
2/3 c butter
Heat last four ingredients, keep warm
Put ham in a baking bag in a foil-lined pan, pour glaze over
bake 325 1 hr 15 min, flip bag every 15 min
I made this last easter and it was yummy and cheaper than the pre-made glazed hams.
I'm not sure where I got the recipe from, I think online somewhere, just so you know I'm not taking credit for this recipe.
Merry Christmas Eve!!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
becky higgins
I thought this was a cool post. I love learning new hair and styling tips. enjoy here.
Chicken Noodle Soup
While we are on warm wintery meals... this is one of my favorites! I wish I had a pic to post, but I don't, but trust me it is super yummy!
Chicken Noodle Soup
12 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white grape juice
1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz Egg noodles
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 cups cooked diced chicken
salt and ground pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp fine herbs (aka little sprinkle -more or less depending how "seasoned" you like your food- of those herbs that you like. We usually do Thyme, Basil, Oregano)
In small saucepan, combine 1 cup of chicken broth, juice and butter. Bring mixture to boil then reduce heat and let simmer until mixture has reduced to 1/2 cup total. (This usually takes a little while so plan ahead and don't start when you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table.) Stir in cream and set mixture aside.
In a large stock pot, heat remaining 11 cups of broth to boil. Add noodles and cook 13-15 minutes (may vary though, I usually go until noodles are almost done but not quite so they don't get overcooked while finishing the rest of the recipe.)
Blend flour and water together and stir into soup. Bring to a boil again. Then add cream mixture, salt, pepper, herbs, and chicken.
Heat through and serve immediately.
Serves 6
Monday, December 20, 2010
Homemade Pizza--BBQ chicken or Hawaiian
(Pic of BBQ chicken pizza)
Jeanette gave me the basic recipe for the BBQ chicken and we had it last night and loved it (Hope you don't mind, Jeanette.. I may have taken some liberties when I made it so if you see any corrections let me know)! The Ham and pineapple was our standard homemade pizza up until then. The crust recipe is one that I have had for awhile. It makes a thin kind of crunchy crust. You could also use a premade or pizza dough crust to make this easier.
Crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees (make sure you preheat so the crust doesn't go soggy)
1 pkg dry active yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 1/2-4 cups flour
Sprinkle yeast on warm water, stir to dissolve. Add 2 cups flour. Beat thoroughly. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly greased bowl. Turn dough over to grease the top. Cover and let rise until double in size (about 30 minutes). Turn onto board and knead just enough to force out large bubbles. Divide in half. Roll each 1/2 out to make 11 inch circle. lightly oil pizza pan Place dough on pan and stretch to fit.
Ham and Pineapple Pizza:
1 lb. deli ham or canadian bacon
1 can pineapple tidbits
mozzarella and cheddar cheese
1 can tomato sauce
1/3 tsp oregano
1/3 tsp thyme
1/3 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Mix tomato sauce with spices. Spread dough with sauce then sprinkle with thin ham slices or canadian bacon. Then pineapple tidbits (Make sure you shake a lot of the excess liquid off the pineapple) Top with Mozzarella and cheddar cheese bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
BBQ Chicken Pizza
1 lb. chicken
1 cup hickory BBQ sauce
1 tsp molassses
1 tbsp honey
small red onion
cilantro
mozzarella cheese
Cut chicken into small (1 inch) pieces and cook on stove in 1 tbsp oil until cooked through. Add BBQ sauce, molasses, and honey. Mix and Bring to boil. Spread sauce and chicken over dough. Dice red onion and spread over sauce. Cover in grated mozzarella cheese. Then sprinkle fresh cilantro over as desired. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
Sheperd's Pie
Easy favorite. I actually made the filling a week or two ago and froze it in a ziploc freezer bag. I don't like to cook much on Sundays, so I got the bag out of the freezer, defrosted it in the microwave, spooned it into a casserole dish then topped it with instant potatoes, cheese and paprika. My idea of easy dinner, it was very nice and tasted great.
1 lb ground beef/turkey
chopped onion or onion powder
16 oz bag your choice frozen veggies, I used mixed this time
can tomato soup
salt and pepper to taste
mashed potatoes
cheese
paprika
Cook beef with onion, drain fat
Add veggies, soup and salt and pepper, simmer for 5-10 min covered
Dump into 9x13 casserole dish, top with mashed potatoes, cheese and some paprika, it makes a cheery touch :)
bake 350 30 min till top is golden and edges are bubbly.
Note- You can double this recipe, make one and freeze the other if you have a disposable foil casserole dish. (I wouldn't recommend freezing glass dishes, I've heard it can weaken them and make them shatter) Cover with plastic wrap first, then tinfoil, label and freeze. Or just put the extra filling in a plastic freezer bag, that was nice and it defrosted a lot more quickly. Enjoy!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Frugal Girl's rolls
So I planned on posting this recipe today so I wouldn't have to type so much :) I've never been successful at roll-making until now. I found this recipe online while searching for a roll recipe that had whole-wheat flour. They turned out great and it was fun to learn to make the rosette shape. it takes some practice, but she gives very detailed, pictured instructions. *Note: I wouldn't skimp on the sugar, add the full-amount the recipe calls for. Find the recipe here.
Potato Cheese Soup and Bread Bowls
BREAD BOWLS
1/2 cup warm water
4 1/2 tsp yeast
2 cup hot water
3 tbsp sugar
6 cups flour
1 tbsp salt
1/3 cup oil
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Combine 3 cups of flour with hot water, sugar, salt, and oil. Add yeast and remaining flour and mix together. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes and then stir down. Repeat the rest and stir down 4 times.
Turn onto a floured surface and divide into 4 parts. Roll dough out and then tuck edges under to make a ball shape. Arrange the seam side down on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg.
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. (Cooking time may vary by oven)
Note: This also makes good French Bread (what the recipe was originally written for): divide into 2-3 parts, then roll out with rolling pin and roll up into loaf form, slash diagonals into top before brushing with egg
POTATO CHEESE SOUP
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup diced carrots
4 cups chicken broth
5 cups russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)-- about 4 medium potatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Cheese Sauce
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup milk
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (grated) -- 2 cups
Melt 1 tbsp of butter in large stock pot over medium-high heat, add carrots and saute until softened -- about 3-4 minutes
Add the broth, potatoes, basil, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are tender -- about 20 minutes.
While soup is simmering, make cheese sauce. Melt 3 tbsp butter in medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened. Add the cheese and stir until cheese is both melted and thoroughly combined.
Gradually, pour the sauce into the soup and stir until blended.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Italian Vegetable Soup
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion sliced
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp dried basil leaves
2 medium zucchini cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 yellow summer squash cut in into 1/4 inch slices
1 can (16 oz) tomatoes undrained
10 1/2 oz. broth
Cook sausage and onion in sauce pan over medium high for 8-10 min. stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked and no longer pink. Drain. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat until boils. Reduce to low. Cover and simmer about 5 min until zucchini and squash is tender.
Day 1 - Willy's Chili
Sorry that I don't have a photo of this chili. It has a nice, thick, saucy color if that helps. Which it probably doesn't...
This recipe was given to me at my bridal shower, with the ingredients, by a dear friend and neighbor, Nan. So it's always been Nan's chili, but since it's my kids' favorite, they like to call it Willy (after William, no he does not go by that nickname, but it sort of rhymes with chili ;) So, thank you Nan, and here we go:
Nan's Chili/Willy's Chili
1 lb ground beef (ground turkey just doesn't cut it in this recipe)
10 oz can Campbell's French Onion Soup
1 T chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t pepper
2 cans undrained kidney beans
few drops tabasco (opt)*
6 oz can tomato paste
8 oz can tomato sauce
Brown meat in 1 T oil if desired, crumble.
Puree soup in blender/food processor, pour over meat.
Stir in spices, add undrained beans, tomato paste, tomato sauce.
Stir well, reduce heat med-low and cook about 20-30 minutes until hot and flavors are blended. (I'm pretty sure I cover the pot while this is simmering)
*If I were you and if kids will be eating this, I'd leave out any tabasco/red pepper. I would always forget and add just a dash or two of red pepper, but it would still make it too hot.
Hope you enjoy!
This recipe was given to me at my bridal shower, with the ingredients, by a dear friend and neighbor, Nan. So it's always been Nan's chili, but since it's my kids' favorite, they like to call it Willy (after William, no he does not go by that nickname, but it sort of rhymes with chili ;) So, thank you Nan, and here we go:
Nan's Chili/Willy's Chili
1 lb ground beef (ground turkey just doesn't cut it in this recipe)
10 oz can Campbell's French Onion Soup
1 T chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t pepper
2 cans undrained kidney beans
few drops tabasco (opt)*
6 oz can tomato paste
8 oz can tomato sauce
Brown meat in 1 T oil if desired, crumble.
Puree soup in blender/food processor, pour over meat.
Stir in spices, add undrained beans, tomato paste, tomato sauce.
Stir well, reduce heat med-low and cook about 20-30 minutes until hot and flavors are blended. (I'm pretty sure I cover the pot while this is simmering)
*If I were you and if kids will be eating this, I'd leave out any tabasco/red pepper. I would always forget and add just a dash or two of red pepper, but it would still make it too hot.
Hope you enjoy!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
back from the dead
So I'm not in love with this background, but it'll have to do for now till I figure out blogger's new design templates etc.
So!
I'm so sorry I've been neglecting this site! Things have been hectic this year when we decided to go through the home-buying process. Almost a year later, I feel like I can breathe again. sheesh!
I decided to fix a flaw. Instead of having to check back here to see if your post had any comments you needed to see, that I would just email them to you since they go to my email acct. Duh, I know. Sorry for that past inconvenience! It should be a lot more manageable now. (I also added this new tidbit in the blog description category so any newcomers will get this info.)
I've decided to try and post a soup/warm weather recipe everyday (or cheat and put a link if I come across one online ;) just 'cuz I love soup/chili etc. *Please feel free to add some of your own, I love new recipes!!* Hoping you have a Merry Christmas,
~Amy
So!
I'm so sorry I've been neglecting this site! Things have been hectic this year when we decided to go through the home-buying process. Almost a year later, I feel like I can breathe again. sheesh!
I decided to fix a flaw. Instead of having to check back here to see if your post had any comments you needed to see, that I would just email them to you since they go to my email acct. Duh, I know. Sorry for that past inconvenience! It should be a lot more manageable now. (I also added this new tidbit in the blog description category so any newcomers will get this info.)
I've decided to try and post a soup/warm weather recipe everyday (or cheat and put a link if I come across one online ;) just 'cuz I love soup/chili etc. *Please feel free to add some of your own, I love new recipes!!* Hoping you have a Merry Christmas,
~Amy
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