One of these days ...

Eventually I'll share what I've been up to. The problem is, that lately I've been so busy with the doing, that I don't actually have time to share about it. I think I see a break coming up next week ... but we'll see.

I hope you all are enjoying this lovely fall weather - and decorating your homes for the season! Fall is definitely my favorite season to decorate for ... and it's just my favorite season in general.

Thanks for stopping by! I *hope* it's more interesting next time ....


PS - I've recently started listing some things on etsy again. Nothing spectacular. It's more of an effort to clean out my supply closet. But you can stop over there if you want to. Thanks!

A Quilt for My Little Boy

When people are hurt or hurting, I want to do something for them. Take them a meal, babysit, clean their house, make them something. I just want to do something. So when I was hurting and grieving after losing Lucas, I was filled with the desire to do something, but couldn't think of what. One day when we were at Target, I saw the line of crib bedding I had picked out for Lucas. I stood there staring at it for a few minutes, and then in a burst of determination, I snatched up all the different sheets and blankets (it helped that they were on clearance). I love making blankets for people when they have a baby, and I made one for each of my girls, so it was only fitting to make one for Lucas. But then for some insane reason I decided to use 5" hexagons on both sides. Oh - it gets better. I started off making a baby sized blanket, but then after pondering it, I realized that no baby was ever going to use this blanket. So I decided to go for a lap size that I could use. I got working on that, but then as I was going along, I had some extra pieces and decided to extend it. Yup. My baby blanket ended up as a 6 foot by 4 foot blanket. Covered in 5" hexagons on both sides. Here it is:



I know it may be hard to see, but in this last picture, on the 4th row from the bottom, the middle green hexagon has "Lucas" embroidered on it. I wanted his name to be on there somewhere. And although it felt like it took all summer to finish, I'm glad that I did it.

In my world of pink and frills and bows, I now have something distinctively boyish. Something that shows that my little Lucas was here. And that's really all I wanted.

This Kind of Makes Me Want to Have a Dog ... But Just for One Day

One of my favorite clothing catalogs to receive is Chasing Fireflies. I love their style and their combination of classic styles with modern touches and colors. About half way through my last copy, I started laughing ... out loud. Look at these dogs!











I REALLY want the Princess Leia and Yoda costumes. Problem - I don't have a dog. Also, I don't have $36 tagged to spend on something completely ridiculous. But most importantly, I don't have a dog. I actually considered buying them for my brothers 2 dogs. I know - how insane! But they are just so funny! If I had a dog, I would definitely be one of those people that tried their patience by dressing them up in silly hats or costumes or the like.

Speaking of Chasing Fireflies, I saw this little number as well:

In the catalog, it's a full body shot with dark denim jeans and black flats. And I have two things I want to say about this outfit: 1) I love it and wish that I could find it in my size, and I would also get it for my girls, and 2) does anyone else think this is the outfit of a 30 year-old? I can totally see her getting out of her SUV with her two kids and taking them to dance or soccer.

Getting Organized

I've never been one of those people that could design beautiful things just with my own creativity. Now, I am a pretty good copier, but I need things to copy. I have dozens and dozens of things bookmarked, but that's nothing compared to the stack of pages I had pulled out of various catalogs, magazines and whatnot. And they were taking up a lot of space in my inbox, so last night while watching a movie with B, I cut out the pictures I liked and categorized them by item of clothing or type of household item. So now they are all nice and neat and organized in a way that I can quickly reference them when I'm thinking of what I want to do. Sometimes it's also helpful to see the similarities in the things that I like; often I've been able to identify patterns of what I like after I see that I've cut out 8 pictures that all look the same.



Sorry for the terrible pictures, but I didn't feel like waiting for the morning to take them. And I have TONS more pages. Looking at all the pictures makes me want to start sewing. So it's both organized and motivating.

Hello Again!

I know I've been gone for A LONG time, but I'm hoping to rejoin the craft-blog world again. It's not that I haven't been creating and crafting and sewing, but I just haven't had the energy or the desire or the time to take pictures and put them up. I would like to say that life has calmed down, but it hasn't. I think I just have a better handle on it.

So here's to coming back and joining all you lovely crafters!

This Is Getting Ridiculous

My fabric stash is starting to turn into it's own fabric store. I think I better work on reducing it and quick.

Sweet Decorations

The last two years I have used the space above my kitchen cabinets to decorate/store Christmas presents so that 1) my kitchen is decorated and 2) small hands don't get into them early. And I love it! It's so festive, and I never worry about anyone peeking (or demolishing). But there's this let-down when I take the presents down and then it's just empty. So this year I determined to finally fill the void. The problem was that I didn't know what to put up there. I don't really collect anything and I didn't really want to spend a ton of money. And I'm not even sure where I came up with the idea, but one day I decided to fill various glass jars with candy in the same color scheme as the kitchen. And look! It's so pretty!





A few things about this project:

• I had to look at a lot of thrift stores and craft stores to get jars at an affordable price (AC Moore, Michaels' and Joann's all carry them and you can use a 40% off coupon)
• Trying to find candy that matches your colors can be hard when you decorate in "Bay Mist" - aka light aqua. But I was able to find a lot of things at the specialty shops at the Farmer's Market and then at a candy store. And in order not to spend a fortune on candy, most of the jars have a plastic cup in them to take up space.
  
• Most importantly - there isn't a single candy up there that I would eat. And definitely NO chocolate. And after the first day of telling CJ that "we don't eat decorations", she lost interest in them too. {My brother told me it was silly to buy candy that you weren't going to eat. He didn't seem to see the logic in it. Guess he needs to take an interior decorating class.}
  

I had originally thought of putting them up until I found something more permanent, but I think this may be permanent. So what do you think?

The 90-Minute Shirt Turned Dress

MADE did a 90-Minute Shirt tutorial that I really loved and wanted to try, but my girls have too many shirts so I opted to lengthen it into a dress for Verry Berry. Which worked out perfect because I had some grey sweatshirt fabric that I had tagged for her. Grey sweatshirt fabric - doesn't that sound terrible? But it is such a fun dark grey with deep pink damask/swirl design on it. And here's what I ended up with:
I even busted out my twin needle for the hems and I really like how it turned out. Now that I know how easy it is to use, I will be using it a lot more often.

Isn't my baby so precious in her new dress?


I love this picture!
Go check out the tutorial and make you're own 90 Minute shirt!

Little Girls Need Little Bows

Have you noticed how much it costs to buy a hairbow at the store? Usually, for a nice one, it's $4-12. Isn't that ridiculous? And yet when we sit down to make hairbows they end up looking lopsided, or boring, or they fall apart. But no more! {I feel like I'm in an infomercial.} There is this fabulous website called Girly Things Bows that has probably a hundred different types and styles of bows with COMPLETE tutorials AND pictures! YAY! It may take some time to sift through all of them, but you are sure to find something that fits the personality of your little girl.

Happy bow-making!

The Best Spaghetti Sauce I've Ever Had

{photo credit}

Not kidding. This stuff is amazing. And, even more amazing because it's ridiculously easy to make and SUPER cheap. Who doesn't love that? I got this from my friends Dana and Candace who got it from Noel Piper while their husbands were studying under John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Savory Spaghetti Sauce {serves about 20 healthy appetites}

• 3 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 large onion finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons parsley
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 6-10 drops Tabasco/Texas Pete
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 2-3 bay leaves
  
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 (28 oz) cans tomato sauce

- brown beef and onions in a large skillet; drain
- mix in all the seasonings and add tomato sauce and cook on med-high heat
- simmer for at least 30 minutes, but the longer it simmers the better it'll be

Variations & Tips:
- Instead of cooking on the stove, you can brown the meat and onions and then simmer everything in a crockpot for several hours
- Often I make a vegetarian batch so that I can add meatballs to it, or use it as marinara sauce.
- This sauce freezes really well; once you finish cooking, put a dinner portion in ziploc bags and put them in the freezer for a quick and delicious dinner when you need it.

Because Boys Need Fun Stuff Too

How many times have you been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of cute ideas/clothes/patterns/toys/etc for little girls? It just never ends. Little girls are so much fun to dress up and make pretend clothes for and all sorts of fun little accessories. But boys need some lovin' too. That's why MADE and Made by Rae are devoting the entire month of February to projects just for boys. It's only the first week and I've already bookmarked several projects to work on! So head over there to find awesome projects for the little man in your life.

Photo Collage

There was an empty space on my bedroom wall that I faced every time I sat in bed. I kept thinking "I really need to put something there" but I couldn't think of what the "it" would be. Well when we built bookshelves in our study I had dozens of displaced picture frames that needed a new home. That's when I thought of doing a photo collage on that wall. They were all different sizes, different styles, and made of different materials. Which can make for a funky and fun collage, if they are all the same color.

So I took all the backings and glass out, took them outside ...

... and spray painted all of them a dark brown.

Then I put the glass, pictures, and backings back on and had my husband hang them for me. Isn't he sweet? I taped all the pictures up like I wanted them to appear, but I'm not so good with the leveling and hammering of things. Thankfully for me I was blessed with a husband who is talented that way and doesn't mind helping me with my {thousands of} projects.

Didn't it turn out nice? I still need one more picture frame. I ended up having a lot of 5x7 and larger frames and I need a 4x6 for the picture I got from our photographer. All of these pictures were taken at different times by two of our sweet friends who run Poiema Photography. They take amazing pictures! Which makes my wall look even better. :)

An Elegant February Wreath

One of my favorite websites is MADE. I feel like I want to do everything she does. Also - she has fabulous pictures and tutorials. So when I saw her tutorial for an Acorn Wreath I really wanted to try it, but I don't live in heavily acorn-ed area. And I always feel silly buying "nature" at the store. That's why I won't buy pine cones at Target even though I think they are ridiculously fun for the winter (plus they're like $8.50 a piece). But then I saw a tutorial on All Things Thrifty for a Lima Bean Wreath I jumped at it. Once painted you don't really notice the difference between the acorns and lima beans. For February I decided to paint it pink, but I love how this wreath can be repainted for different seasons.


I need to get a wider black ribbon to tie it with, but other than that I love it. This was a really easy project to do. It takes a while, and you have to have LOTS of glue sticks. The hardest part is getting all your lines to stay straight. So go get some lima beans and make a fun wreath!!

A Hole in my Desk

There's a big hole in my desk. A hole where my sewing machine should be. But it's broken! Something is wrong with my feed dog and the fabric isn't being pulled through. I took it in to the repair shop and when we were leaving Charissa said, "No Mama! You have to get your machine! You can't leave it here!" She was very concerned that I was leaving my machine behind.

Hopefully I'll have it back by Saturday. But it actually turns out well because I have a few other things that I need to work on for the girls' party on Saturday. No sewing machine means no distractions of really cute projects.

*Hopefully* I'll remember to take pictures of all the food for the girls' party because they are STINKIN' cute!! I love how my little girls give me so many opportunities to make adorable things for them.

Fluffy White Pillows

Outside it was all fluffy and white, so I decided to bring some of that inside by making some new pillows. I had read Make It & Love It's Re-Purposed Sweater Pillow Tutorial and picked up some sweaters at the Salvation Army. I got a barely off-white knit sweater that I used for this pillow below.
I cut the pillow into two rectangles and then sewed cotton backing on to insure that the fabric keeps its shape. By the way - for this project I used Sulky KK 2000 Temporary Spray Adhesive and I'm totally sold! It made sewing the sweater to the cotton extremely easy because the knit didn't move or stretch. I used an 8 inch strip of red velvet and then used a gathered stitch straight down about 2 inches apart.

I then sewed the velvet directly onto the sweater using a regular seam. After that, I sewed all the sides shut except about a 3 inch space to reverse the pillow and stuff it. Love this pillow!


The next sweater I made into two pillows for my bedroom. I found an XL cashmere sweater with a ribbed, loose turtleneck at the Salvation Army for $3. Cashmere! Because it was an XL with the big loose neck I was able to easily make two pillows. I used the same method for these pillows that I did for the other one.

For these I used the ribbed neck as the center to give it a bit of character.


The cost to make all three of these pillows was about $9. And while they have their imperfections (I'm still learning how to sew with knits), I'm completely satisfied with them. And it was incredible cheap. Besides that, now I can cozy up to my luxurious cashmere pillows and not feel guilty about blowing the budget.

I Love Fun Mail!!

Today I got a package in the mail ...

... with wonderfully bright chiffon ...

... six wonderfully fluffy yards.

And if you're wondering what I'm going to do with it all, I'm going to make 2 of these skirts for my little girls.

Oven-Fried Chicken Parmesan

This is the best chicken parmesan you're going to get outside of an Italian restaurant. It's easy to make and then you can freeze it either before baking or after. Bonus - it reheats really well.

Oven-Fried Chicken Parmesan

1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 c panko (Japanese breadcrumbs - you can find this right next to the regular breadcrumbs)
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons olive oil
cooking spray
1/2 marinara sauce
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

- preheat oven to 450*
- combine flour, oregano, and salt in a shallow dish; place eggs in another bowl; place panko in another shallow dish
- dredge one breast half in flour mixture and make sure it is fully coated
- dip the floured chicken in the egg and then dredge in panko; if necessary, dredge several times to get a good thick coating
- repeat procedure with remaining chicken
- heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil; turn chicken over and cook another 2 minutes.
- coat chicken with cooking spray; transfer chicken to a baking dish and place in the oven. bake at 450* for 5 minutes. Turn chicken over; top each breast half with 2 tablespoons sauce, 2 tablespoons parmesan, and 3 tablespoons mozzarella. Bake 6 minutes or until chicken is done.

Enjoy with a side of pasta, salad and Italian bread. I wish I had pictures to show you, but you'll have to take my word for it - it's delicious!