Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Coming soon...

Here's what I've been scheming about lately... Um, sorry this post is a little bit illegal because I closed my search windows before giving proper shout outs to the creators of these beautiful nursery. (but to be honest, I probably have only about 10 (awesome!) blog readers and I don't think you'll report me to the internet police if there is such a thing. If you're really interested in accessing it, you could click through the pictures to the original source and play with the URL till you get to the actual post. again, sorry)
I promised myself I would not try to do any nesting till after Christmas, and here we are! I have two months to turn our nursery into something totally yummy like these. Which one is your favorite?

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Hair Clip party


A couple of weeks ago, I threw a big hair bow party with a couple of friends. Basically, I told them to bring their ideas and supplies and we would just teach each other.  I bought 50 alligator clips from hobby lobby, purchased five different colors of organza from JoAnns, gathered my three boxes of assorted hand-me-down ribbons, made fondue and cheesecake squares and waited for the fun to begin.  Beforehand, everyone kept asking me if I was going to teach them all how to do stuff like tie bows and I started getting nervous about my original plan, so I hit the internet for some great ideas. We didn't need them, anyway: these ladies were full of great ideas and tricks! I regret not taking pics of everyone's bows before they left, but I did get a couple at the very end. Good food, good friends, good fun, and we all went home with a couple of hairbows for the kids (and ourselves :)

Here is a list of the roundup I did for hairbow tutorials:
How to Make Fabric Flowers from Organza
Singed Flower Tutorial
Scrunch Fabric Flower Pom Pom Headband
Making Flower Pins
How to Make Secure Full Korker Hair Bows
Molly's Sketchbook: Rose Barrettes
Lovely Hair Clip Flowers
Quick and Easy Fabric Headband
Make it Do- Valentine Hair Clips
Make it Do Gift: Felt Poinsettia
a Scrappy Strip Rose
Pointsetta headband tutorial

I hope you enjoy this little list of tutorials!
PS- sorry about the lame photo. It's difficult to take decent pictures at night in my basement! Just use your imagination... :)
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Monday, October 11, 2010

Mint lemonade

I don't know about you, but Iowa's been in a nice, warm indian summer. As a last horrah to summer and warm weather, the girls and I made this mint lemonade for a BBQ at our neighbor's house. It was really delicious! Here's how:


Mint Lemonade
ingredients:
a handful of fresh mint leaves
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
water
ice
Lemon slices (would have been really cool for an extra garnish.)

Boil about a quart of water. While it's heating up, wash your mint leaves and pick out a few of the prettiest ones. Set those aside. Now, tear up the rest of your mint leaves into quarters or so, just not smaller than the holes in your strainer. When the water starts boiling, take it off the heat and throw in the mint leaves. Stir. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Now, pour the water through a strainer into a pitcher. Add lots of ice. Now add the lemon juice and water to taste (I just estimated how much I added. This is a great excuse to get to taste it early!). Add more ice till it is cold enough and filling up your two quart container. Add the reserved leaves back in and if you have them, the lemon slices. Enjoy!





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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Pink afghan

One of my best friends from high school just had her first baby, a girl named Hannah.I've been working on this afghan for a couple of months now, on and off. It's basically like a giant granny square. Except you'll see from the last picture that mine is a lot more crooked. But, really, crocheting is a great way to keep your hands busy while you're driving in the car or watching a movie. Once you get into the rhythm of it, you really don't have to pay attention to it that much. Plus, they make these sweet and soft little keepsakes. 

Someone made a blanket like this for my first daughter when she was born. She was so attached to it and it went with her everywhere. So, when my second daughter was born, I made one for her, too, so that my first daughter wounldn't have to give hers up. (I'll have to admit, my second daughter has never shown interest in her purple afghan, but just in case they decide to try to fight over one of them some day, we'll be prepared.)  

So, for this third daughter, (yes, we found out it is a girl!!) I'm going to make another one. My first two daughters have pink and white and purple and white. But, after the two that I made this year, I really want to do cream instead of white.  So, what color do you think I should put with the cream? I was thinking of a buttery marigold yellow or maybe a warm green like the one I did for my nephew. What do you think?

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Guest Post on 320 Sycamore and Painted Glass stone magnets

I did my first guest post today at 320 Sycamore- it's a great blog, mostly about home decorating projects. My post is What I love about Iowa. It was so nice of Melissa to let me post for her! I'm especially loving the comments people leave for her about how they love Iowa and the midwest, too! Hope you enjoy it!

The Nana Visit:
So, my wonderful, amazing mother came into town and watched the kids for a couple of days while my husband and I had a little getaway in St. Louis. It was wonderful. The kids had a blast, too. My mom is an artist and a writer and a just-about-everything-elser (except a mathematician) and she kept them so busy! The did art projects and went to the store and painted pottery and made homemade erasers and got completely spoiled. Here is one of the projects that she did with them which I love. They started with the glass rocks that you can get from the Dollar Tree. She bought a little set of enamel paints. The kids painted a layer on the back of each stone and let it dry. Then they painted another layer and let that dry. Then, she painted a final solid coat on top of that. At this point I can't remember if she painted it with some sort of topcoat or not (sorry). Then, she super-glued some magnets onto the back.
We have some big magnet boards for the kids to hang their artwork on when we finally end up moving and redecorating their room. I think these will be so perfect there!




 Also, my Dear Mother stayed on for a couple days to help me tackle a couple of bigger projects. And, she picked us some beautiful wildflowers. Thanks, Mom.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Card holder

I have two different types of business cards- my photography cards and my music cards. I thought it would be fun to have a snazzy holder for them because everything that falls into my evil diaper bag/mom-purse ends up bent, crumpled, colored on, and wet. So, as a protective measure, I made the little card holder here to keep my cards looking pristine. I think if I'd do it again, I'd make it a little more snug on the cards. If you like it enough to want a tutorial, let me know. Otherwise, I'll let you just enjoy the yummy tangerine colors of my favorite Heather Bailey print.

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Entertainment Center

This is actually a project that I finished several months ago, but I posted about it on my personal blog. I thought there might be some more people who would like to see it here.

Where to begin? Well, several months ago, I asked my high school friend, Kristin, to give me some advise on what to do with our big living room. She gave me tons of great tips and ideas! We've implemented many of them with our extremely low decorating budget, and it has really helped! Well, one of her suggestions was to get an entertainment center. So, we have diligently checked the free section of craigslist and shopped the Restore, local thrift shops, etc. Nothing was in our price range (it's just hard to find something for under $40, you know?)
Anyway, so the wonder of wonders happened and our dear friends, the Stoddards, were moving and this wasn't coming with them, so with the help of a borrowed truck, we brought it home. Problem was, the previous owners painted it this pretty black color, but it didn't really go with what we wanted for the living room (I'm sorry for those of you who are groaning because you prefer it in black). So, five coats of paint later, we have a beautiful white Entertainment center.

The hinges had been spray painted black. Then, I was goofy and got white primer all over them. So, we took them off and removed all the paint (soak in hot, soapy water FYI). Then, I sprayed them with silver spray paint and I think they look great!
This may sound goofy, but I feel really blessed that this kind of stuff falls into place. It just goes to show that if you wait long enough for it, the Lord will provide for your wants and needs.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Book Recommendation- Fanny by Holly Hobbie

Fanny by Holly Hobbie

FannyOkay, if you have storybook aged kids, love to sew, or are just a little old fashioned, you will love this book! It's about a girl and her homemade doll. Fanny goes through some self-discovery while she learns to enjoy the work of her own hands. I like how she figures out that what everyone else wants doesn't necessarily need to be what she wants. It's exciting to imagine a 9 year old girl discovering this when most 30 year old girls are still struggling with it.

Fanny & AnnabelleThen, if you like it, you'll probably also love the sequel, Fanny and Annabelle. This is more of an adventure in art and honesty, but it has that same genuine, old-fashioned girl vibe.

Family Baby

My brother and sister in law are having their firist baby, a boy! I crocheted the afghan, then when my husband saw it, he thought it would be a little hot for southern California, so I made a light blanket to go with it. It is just a single layer of flannel lined with this cute fabric. And then, of course, there were some shoes that needed to go with it.
I love the timelessness of baby afghans. I used cream and sage together and just loved to combination. It feels old and new at the same time. I hope this little guy loves it!


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Monday, September 13, 2010

Kimono baby booties

Well, here is the link to the cute kimono baby shoes pattern: http://myhomespunthreads.blogspot.com/2008/10/free-kimono-shoes.html  I really like this pattern, and it seems to me to be slightly easier than the stardust pattern. I made three little pair of girl shoes, but I forgot to take photos before I gave them away. So, here are some boy ones that I made.

PS- I'm really exited about this pregnancy thing and busting out of my clothes, so don't be surprised if you find some new maternity ideas soon.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Baked Potato Soup

My house feels like a home when it smells like bacon. 

Since this is really a "hobby" blog and not a sewing blog, I will occasionally share a very favorite recipe. Specifically, as a pregnant lady, you may catch on to whatever I am craving. Today it was "Baked Potato Soup" from my friend, Nicole. It is incredibly delicious!  It is great the night after baked potato bar. That's what we did here, which is why I won't be satisfying this craving till tomorrow. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 green onions, chopped
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
6 baked potatoes, baked, peeled, and cubed
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz. Sour cream
3/4  tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large pot, melt butter, stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. Gradually add mild, stirring constantly until thickened. Add potatoes and onions. bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted.

PS- I just found out the hard way that this recipe does NOT freeze well.  The taste is still great, but the texture is weird. I think it's either because it's a cream sauce base or because it has russet potatoes in it. Anyone know why? Anyway, eat it while it's fresh!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010