Sew Many Dreams

Silhouette Dust Cover -- Char & Melanie Style!

2011-12-29T11:18:00.000-05:00

Quite a while back, I saw that Char, from Crap I've Made, posted a tutorial for a Silhouette Dust Cover. I got excited and promptly forgot. Then, more recently, Melanie from The Crafty Cupboard, posted her version, which boasted a Velcro-closure pocket to store the extra blades. Brilliant!

So I got to work on this very fast project, and voila!

Isn't it cute?

Here you can see the pocket a little better. It's a bit lumpy because it's already loaded with the spare blades. My camera battery died at this point, so no more detailed photos. You can see I chose to use snaps instead of Velcro. I picked up a snap press off of Kijiji a couple months ago, and since then, I stalk my home looking for things to which I can add snaps. Kids' hat straps too big? Snap 'em! Dish towels falling off the stove handle? No more. Velcro coming loose on the dog's coat? Pfft! Snaps to the rescue. My husband thinks my admiration for this tool is a bit unhealthy, but I love it.

Last Minute Christmas Pajamas

2011-12-25T19:29:00.000-05:00

It's become my little family's tradition to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and then relax with leftovers and treats on Christmas Day. Last night, with my tummy full of turkey and trimmings and the dishes still undone, I decided we all needed matching pajamas -- before bedtime!

So with hubby and the boys snuggled up to watch a decidedly un-Christmas-y Star Trek movie, I headed down to my sewing machine to whip up some cozy flannel PJs. I didn't take any formal photos, but you can sort of see them in our photos from this morning.

The boys each got flannel pants and an appliqued t-shirt, while hubby and I made do with flannel pants and unadorned tees. The applique was a simple tree shape. The print is purple plaid, so it's Christmas-y without being in-your-face Christmas-y, and I think the boys will be happy to wear these for months. One last bit -- it's hard to see in the photo above, but I added a little lace edging to the leg bottoms of my pants, just to make them a little more girlish.

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas.

Handmade Toys for Boys -- wooden cars

2011-12-24T00:43:00.003-05:00

This project is actually courtesy of my husband. He's not a particularly crafty fellow, but he does like tools, and my boys do, too. These handmade cars are a bit rustic, to say the least, but my kids love helping Daddy make them, and they take great pride in painting them just how they want them.

The cars are pretty much exactly what you'd guess from the photo...scraps of lumber from a box in the garage, with pieces of plywood drilled and screwed on to make wheels. The hole in the centre of each wheel is larger than the screw, so the wheel turns freely. Hubby has carved a couple of them to look more car-like, but for the most part, they're just rectangles.

I love that even now, when we are surrounded by the manic commercialism of Christmas and the pending arrival of Santa, my boys love these simple toys. Yes, the cars could be more refined, or painted more carefully, but the kids feel so empowered when they make these that I wouldn't have them any other way. And as a bonus for Mama, the boys will sometimes play cars nicely together for up to an hour at a time!

Merry Christmas!

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Get Your Brag On

Train Christmas Stocking

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

One of my favourite parts of Christmas festivities is opening stockings with my family. I also love making Christmas stockings, so when our local playgroup was looking for items to donate for an auction, I offered up two custom made stockings. The auction winner asked for a stocking like this one (sorry, I don't know the source):

Which turned into this stocking:

Each piece was drawn and cut freehand, and then fused to the stocking with Heat-n-Bond Ultra. I stitched around some of the areas, like the windows for accent and security, but I'm pretty sure this will never come apart.

In case I don't get around to posting again before the big day, Merry Christmas to all!

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241 Tote

2011-12-22T11:05:00.001-05:00

A friend recently asked me to sew up a couple bags for her mom. It seemed the perfect opportunity to try out the 241 Tote that I bought ages ago. It turned out nicely, although I was working in a sleep deprived state, and put the side panels on with the accent fabric on the inside rather than the outside. Oops!

I also made a simple, lined shopping bag to go with it.

Overall, I think it's a cute and practical gift, and I have plans to make a more modern version of the 241 tote for myself after Christmas. I have a few more projects I'd like to complete before Christmas, so hopefully will have more to show soon.

Glass Etching for Christmas

2011-12-13T16:51:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted many of the Christmas gifts I've been working on, but my father- and mother-in-law flew into town over the weekend and we exchanged gifts, so showing my first attempt at glass etching won't ruin any surprises.

This was SO EASY to do! I used my old Silhouette and some dollar store contact paper to make a stencil, stuck it to the side of a new Pyrex baking pan with lid, and painted on a good coating of glass etching cream. I waited about 20 minutes, rinsed off the cream, pulled off the adhesive stencil, washed the pan and done. It isn't perfect, as you can see in the second K pictured above, but I will be making more of these for Christmas gifts and later on just for fun.I chose a 9 x 13 inch pan and found making a stencil with lettering that spanned an 1.5 x 10 inch area worked nicely. I etched "Made with love in" on one side of the pan, and "Kimberly's Kitchen" on the other side. The font is Subway. It's official: I love etching cream!
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Handmade Gift Exchange: sent & received!

2011-12-02T12:31:00.001-05:00

One of the things I enjoy most about the holidays is exchanging gifts with loved ones. And now, thanks to the Winter 2011 edition of the Handmade Gift Exchange at Craftaholics Anonymous, you can add exchanging gifts with strangers to that list as well!
My exchange partner was Ana, a Brazilian woman who moved to Manitoba after marrying her Canadian husband. Brr, I think I may have tried to persuade hubby to move to Brazil instead. Ana blogs at Tropical Momma -- check her out there or on Facebook, where you can see more of her Custom Art!
In any case, Ana said she liked the colour leaf green, so I went through my stash and found some leafy green yarn (I actually went to a friend's house and matched it against some of her houseplants!), and knitted up a little scarfette. You've seen this pattern from me before here. It's one of my favourite patterns to make.

Ana also has a young daughter, so I made her a quick crayon and notepad roll. I keep one of these in my bag for use in waiting rooms, restaurants, etc. Keeps the kids amused, and is easy to carry around. Hope she likes it!

And now for the really good stuff...this piece of Christmas gorgeousness is what she sent me! I love it! It arrived this morning, just in time for decorations starting to go up at our house. Thanks so much, Ana! Your work is great and I will treasure it.

Crochet Hook Case Fail

2011-11-22T12:40:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while, a friend asks if I will teach her how to sew. Of course! So, in anticipation of my next lesson, I found a cute pattern for a simple crochet hook case. I thought it would be a great beginner project, and would help my friend how to work from a pattern.I wanted to have a sample -- and let's face it, my crochet hook collection is a mess! -- so I made one of the cases this morning, using some cheap fabric I picked up at Walmart a while back. I cut the pattern pieces, and thought they looked a little small, so I grabbed a crochet hook and held it against the fabric. Sure enough, it fit with room to spare. So on I went. Here's the finished case:

See that crochet hook on top? I wasn't trying to be artsy-fartsy with my photo...it just doesn't fit in my case. In fact, none of my hooks, aside from the short one I initially grabbed as a tester, fit. Bad luck, but the good news is that this project whips up in a snap and I will definitely be making a larger one soon.

Pleated Swap Purse

2011-11-19T19:22:00.001-05:00

I was recently invited to join a bag swap -- my first one! I've done other handmade swaps before, but not for a bag. It was fun, but a little nerve wracking when you look at all the fabulous bags the other ladies created.In any case, this is the bag I made and mailed.

The pattern is one I purchased from ithinksew quite a while ago, but never got around to making. Story of my crafting life! It came together pretty well, although I did struggle a bit with the handle, and I made some modifications to the pleating, and added some piping. Overall, I'm pleased with how it came out.

Part two of the swap was to include a bag of scraps. Sadly, I'm not one of those girls who has a ton of popular modern designer fabrics (fabric shopping options are really limited here, despite being a good-sized city & online options from the USA can take ages to arrive), so I included some pieces from travels and my stash. Hope my partner isn't disappointed.

In my haste to get the bag mailed out two hours before the deadline, I neglected to notice that my son had pulled out of the package the card I'd made to go with it, so I guess I'll be mailing that separately next week. Oops!

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Point of View party

Catch Up, and Beet Soup

2011-11-13T23:04:00.001-05:00

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. Fall is a flurry of activity and events for my family, and all that, coupled with trying to get the house and yard winter ready, testing the waters for working part time again, and some family strife, I just haven't felt like blogging. Or even crafting much, for that matter. I also forgot to take photos of almost everything, so here are some of the highlights:* goodies for a play group Hallowe'en party -- 'mouldy' popcorn (idea from Purple Chocolat Home), bean bags with jack-o-lantern faces, and pumpkin pie scented playdough.

* finished second butterfly quilt. I free motion quilted it like the first one, but managed to get a fold in the backing. Not a big deal...still pretty.* took part in a vegetarian soup swap. I made beet soup, from this Canadian Living recipe, and really enjoyed it. I never cared for beets as a kid, but as an adult, there's something about the vibrancy of beet flesh that just screams health and vitality to me.* baby hats, knitted and sewn. My friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl almost a month ago, and I knitted her a few simple baby hats and sewed a little bonnet as part of her baby gift. Love all that girly stuff!* Hallowe'en quilt -- I completed a couple rows of the quilt front, but this project is now officially on hold until next fall! * Handmade Gift & Bag swaps -- I haven't participated in many swaps, but t'is the season for me to procrastinate on making gifts for people I know, in exchange for making gifts for people I don't know. These projects are on the hush, so photos will come after mailing. And, um, completion.* Family gifts -- despite good intentions, I have very few Christmas gifts completed, and I foresee myself hitting the stores the week before Christmas. Yike.* Baking -- I've been doing a lot of baking lately. Cool weather response, I suppose.* And, the biggie, my youngest son decided it was time to stop using diapers. I'm so proud of him! I didn't 'potty train' either of my kids; rather, I put out a potty seat, told them what it was for, and waited. It probably took them longer than some kids (my youngest is almost three years, and my oldest was three years and a couple months), but the transition has been pretty accident free, even at night.That's it for now. I promise to be a better blogger the rest of November and December. It's not that I think anyone is sitting at home, pining away for me to post something. Rather, posting is a good way to motivate myself to get going on my projects, and a nice way to look back on all that I did manage to get done. Sounds silly, but I really am more productive when I think about blogging something.Have a great week!

'Crystal' Ornament Hangers–Ballard Style

2011-10-05T11:17:00.001-04:00

photo from Ballard

I love to spend time each evening browsing for different Christmas ideas. Last night, these cute Holiday Magnetic Crystals on the Ballard site caught my eye. So pretty! But I couldn’t pay $39 for them. That’s just not in our budget.
So I dug out some some old shatterproof ornaments that I bought when my kids were in their Christmas tree destroying phase (not entirely sure that we’ve bypassed that stage yet!), along with some plastic beads, a magnet, spray paint, and the hot glue gun.

A straw and an egg carton from the recycle bin served as a holder for spray painting – look, action shot from the garage. I let the paint dry overnight, and then used my glue gun to attach beads to the top of the ornament. I like the delicate beads in the Ballard ornament, but I had star shaped beads and only a few round ones, so that’s what I used.

I tried using pliers to break a magnet into smaller pieces so that they would fit invisibly on top of the beads, but the magnet shattered. Plan B was a glue dot from my scrapbooking supplies, which worked perfectly.

Here’s the finished ornament. I really love the beads instead of string or ribbon, and can’t wait to make more. Here’s another view:

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Sew Dang Cute -- CWTS Knockoffs

A Mirror for the Mantel

2011-10-04T14:13:00.001-04:00

Our fireplace has never been much of a focal point. A couple years ago, my husband busted the glass (ironically, while trying to child proof it), so it’s been covered over and non functioning since then. The mantel has been used more for keeping things out of reach of the kids than for display. But a few days ago, I got a bee in my bonnet to put a mirror on the mantel, which I hoped would reflect more light into the room and generally make it less junky looking.

So I hit the local online classifieds, looking for a great deal. Nothing. After a couple days, I came across this mirror listed at $25. Not a great deal, but not awful for a good-sized piece (37”x31.5”). It was practically across the city, meaning a long drive in rush hour, but I got it for $20, so I was willing to go for it – dust, spider webs, weird gold accent trim and all.

After cleaning the mirror and frame, I taped everything off, excitedly grabbed a can of Oil Rubbed Bronze and was ready to transform this piece from dated to awesome. Hubby nixed the idea, as it was too cold to paint outside or in the garage, and he said the fumes in the house would be smelly all night long.

So, the next day, when the temperature finally climbed to 10C, I hauled the mirror out to the garage and gave it several coats of spray. I figured I was safe to skip primer, since this won’t be getting a lot of handling.

Tada! No more gold! Now I just need to come up with some decent autumn decorations to help my little scarecrows along.

Oh, I forgot to take a photo, but I took a length of ribbon and added snaps to either end of it and wrapped it around the hanging wire on the back of the mirror. It’s tucked behind there now, but when I want to hang a wreath, I can just pull the ribbon over the top of the mirror to the front, and snap it around the wreath. Little things make me happy!

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Butterfly Quilt for a Baby Girl

2011-09-27T14:38:00.000-04:00

After months of procrastination, the butterfly quilt I’ve been working on is finally finished. It’s not a perfect quilt, but I like how it turned out.

I attempted free motion quilting on an actual quilt for the first time. I definitely need to work on my design shaping, but it was a super quick and effective way to quilt, especially since I didn’t want to quilt through the butterflies.

This quilt is made entirely from scraps and fabric that’s been in my stash for over a year. To create the butterflies, I Googled butterfly silhouettes until I found a shape I liked. I literally traced it off my laptop screen onto a piece of paper (using pencil) and then outlined the shape with dark marker. I used the tracings to make cardstock templates, and then used the templates to trace the butterflies onto fabric backed with light duty fusible web.

I live in a house of boys, so my pink fabric selection is limited. I dug through the scrap bin and came up with the fabrics shown above, and then arranged them all onto a large sheet of fusible before tracing the butterflies. Then I cut and cut and cut. Big job, especially all the little ones, but on the bright side, I have enough leftover to make another quilt for another little girl, set to arrive in October.

Once everything was cut out, I spread out my three sizes of butterflies on a large piece of fabric and played with the layout until it looked nice.

Ironed everything down and stitched around the outlines. Another big job, but I don’t trust the fusible on its own, especially on something likely to be washed over and over.

I truly have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to free motion stippling. I’ve practiced on felt sandwiches in the past, but this time I just took a big breath and did it. I’m sure the pattern could be neater or more predictable, but the stitches are fairly consistent and the layers are quilted together, so I’m calling it a success. Next time I will try an all-over stippling; getting around the butterflies was tricky and it shows.
The backing is made from soft, pink plaid flannel. I just folded it over from back to front to form a cheater binding. I always struggle with the binding pulling in the direction I’m sewing, so that I inevitably end up with a bubble somewhere. Any suggestions from you more experienced quilt binders?

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While He Was Napping Bundles of Baby

Fabric Sketch Book Cover

2011-09-26T13:40:00.001-04:00

Last week we found out one of my son’s play group friends was diagnosed with leukemia. She’s four years old.

As much as I’ve always tried to empathize with families going through this kind of struggle, I’m really having trouble wrapping my mind around the reality of the situation. It’s just too close to home. No kid, or family, should have to go through this. Thankfully, the moms in our play group are fantastic and everyone is rallying around our friend and her family, helping out with offers of child care, homemade meals for the freezer, gas cards and hospital parking passes, and other donations to keep this family going during a really tough time. Even the kids are getting in on the act, contributing art work to be put in a special book that will be delivered to the hospital. The book is a basic sketch book from Michael's, but we decided to jazz it up with a fabric cover and tulle tie to keep it shut when it’s bursting with kid pictures!
It turned out pretty well, especially for a middle of the night project. Usually when I think something is going to be easy, it turns out to be tricky. Not in this case…the cover is one piece of fabric with a bit of tulle stitched to it. Seven lines of stitching total. Nice!

Inside, we used Heat-n-Bond to add the little girl’s name, just for fun.

Our friend has just started a month of chemotherapy and sickness. Please send some healing thoughts and prayers her way.Linked to:

Easy Gather & Loop Scarf

2011-09-21T14:28:00.000-04:00

I've been seeing more gathered scarves popping up on different blogs and decided to make my own version. A nice, light scarf is a great transitional piece going into fall. My fall wardrobe tends to be dark and plain, so I chose a fabric that would add a pop of colour -- it came in a box of fabric given to be my a woman who brought it with her from Switzerland, but I'm guessing it was a bed sheet at some point. No matter, I like the print. Here's a photo, courtesy of my four year old (=

This seemed like an easy project, so I didn't bother measuring...that was a mistake, because after I'd gathered my scarf, it was too short to drape nicely. If you'd like to make your own scarf, I'd suggest starting with a rectangle of fabric approximately 70 to 100 inches long and 10 inches wide. After cutting, I finished the long edges using the rolled hem foot on my sewing machine. It gives a great neat finish, but can be tricky to use.

Then I attempted to use my ruffling foot to gather the scarf along each long edge and down the middle. Another mistake -- I set it up wrong and broke two needles before giving up and gathering manually by setting my stitch length to 5 and tension to 0. Don't secure the ends. When you've done all the stitching, pull the bobbin thread at each end to create gathers. When you're satisfied with the placement of the gathers, stitch over them with a normal stitch setting. If not, the gathers will shift around, and may come loose (like mine did!).

Because my fabric was too short to tie and drape, I folded over one short end and stitched it down to create a loop for securing the scarf around my neck. Not elegant, but it works. To finish the remaining short end, I folded it over twice and stitched it down. Here's a better photo of the finished scarf. I will have to go back to secure my ruffles (oops), but otherwise I like it and will probably make a few others in solids or other prints.

Can't wait to re-do my gathers properly and start wearing this. Love autumn!

Christmas Tree Napkins

2011-09-15T23:58:00.001-04:00

Confession time: I’m one of those nutty people who listens to Christmas music all year long, and who spends even the hottest summer days dreaming about my favourite holiday. So naturally, I love preparing gifts and decor in advance. This little project counts as both: the Christmas Tree Napkin.

Cute, right? Let’s add simple, too. This tree napkin is a two-sided circle folded and flipped a couple times to form a Christmas tree. I love it! My Grandma used to fold napkins like this for Christmas Eve dinner, but I completely forgot about that until I saw a video on YouTube for a similar project. Where would I be without the internet! Here’s how you do it:
Choose two pieces of material and place them right sides together. I used a scrap of cotton and a piece of an old curtain, but you want washable fabrics (they should be pre-washed to avoid shrinkage later).
Draw or trace onto the wrong side of the lighter fabric a circle the size you want your unfolded napkin to be. This was my test napkin, so it was a mini – only 8 inches across. A more usable size is about 18 inches in diameter. Once the circle is drawn, stitch along the line, almost all the way around. Leave a two inch opening to turn the circle. Trim the excess fabric and clip the curve, making sure not to cut into your seam.

Next, turn the fabric and press it flat. Take care to ‘unroll’ the edges as much as possible, so that neither fabric shows on the opposite side.

Once the circle is pressed, go back and either machine or hand stitch the opening. Press again.
Now for the good stuff!

Fold the circle almost in half and press the fold. One edge of the circle should be slightly lower than the other, as shown.

Flip over the semi circle. Working from about 2/3rds of the way up the folded edge, fold the lower right corner down to the left to form the middle part of the tree. Press. Flip the whole thing over again.

Take the top of the folded edge and fold it to the left. Press.

And then fold and press the top piece of the tree so that the right corner extends just beyond the edge of the middle section. Press again. You’re done!

This mini version will be placed on our official Cookies-for-Santa plate come Christmas Eve, but until then, I’ll be busy making lots of full-size napkins to give as gifts to family and friends. By switching up the fabrics and colours, these napkins can be made as fun and casual or as elegant as you want.

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First Day of School

2011-09-09T23:54:00.001-04:00

It seems impossible for me to believe, but my oldest child started school today. He started the day with a declaration: “Mama, I am not excited about starting kindergarten”, but he did eat his breakfast, got dressed without much fuss and walked with us to the bus stop at the end of the street. He did great, and I managed to hide most of the tears that kept leaking out.

I especially love the second photo, taken as we were waiting for the bus. He said his backpack was “pulling him down”, so he figured he’d get comfortable on the sidewalk. Typical Josh.

I was happy to discover the little backpack I made, although small, does fit everything he needs for school, and he seemed proud to wear it.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies…with cinnamon

2011-09-02T16:39:00.001-04:00

With a nip in the air come evening that lasts until early morning, I’m starting to think more about baking. My boys asked for oatmeal for breakfast this morning, and, since I already had the old fashioned oats out of the pantry, I decided to make a batch of some of my very favourite cookies.

This recipe is one that I morphed out of several other recipes, and I love it. The cookies are sweet and hearty, and can be either tender or crisp, your choice!

Tanya’s Favourite Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter, softened (not in microwave)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup flaked coconut (sweetened and unsweetened both work fine)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 375F. Combine flours, oats, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In larger bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla, and the stir in coconut. Once coconut is spread throughout batter, stir in dry ingredients. Don’t overmix. Roll dough into 2-inch balls and set on cookie sheet (I line it with a silicone mat or parchment paper). Bake approximately 10 min. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 min. Carefully remove to cooling rack (they may be slightly underbaked and delicate – this ensures a tender cookie when cooled). If you prefer a crispier cookie, flatten the dough balls with a fork before baking. Oven time should be about the same, but add a minute or two if needed.

These are the chewy ones…see how they puff up in the oven? They flatten when cooled.

Slightly underbaked. Perfect! Sorry, no photos of crispy ones…I’m a soft cookie girl!

Ready for Kindergarten...

2011-08-31T10:55:00.000-04:00

The thought nearly takes my breath away, but I'm preparing to send my oldest son to Kindergarten in only a few short days. He's growing up so quickly; I can barely believe I'll be scooting him out the door each morning to take on the world without me by his side. He's an awesome little guy, and I hope his teacher and classmates are as dazzled as I am by his sweet personality, quirky habits and grand curiosity. Most importantly, I hope he is happy at school, and that his natural love of learning isn't dampened by the structured environment.
It's always fun to get a gift, so I thought some new school supplies might increase his excitement about this new chapter in his life. Enter the Diego backpack (from a Made By Rae pattern) and matching pencil case (no pattern). Diego is a bit of a juvenile pattern, but Joshua still likes Diego, and I still have a bit of Diego fabric, so Diego it is. We can do something more 'big boy' when the time comes. I suspect this is one hand-me-down my youngest won't mind claiming.

I love the piping on the bag, and the adjustable straps. I used fusible web to attach the lining and to make the fabric more canvas-like. The bottom is padded and quilted, as are the straps. It's a great pattern for little ones. The bag is definitely on the small side, but I didn't want him hauling around one of those giant packs. The pencil case is lined with felt to make it sturdy, and I added little tabs out of bias tape to make opening and closing the zipper easier. I actually made a trip to the fabric store to buy a brown zipper to match the backpack, but sometime between my shopping trip and sewing time, the zipper disappeared. My youngest was pretty fascinated with it, so I suspect I'll find it tied around a teddy bear or stuffed into his sock drawer at some point.

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Summer play...

2011-08-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

Ah, the wonderful, lazy days of summer! There's been lots of time spent outside with the kids, biking around the neighbourhood, enjoying the water, and playing with friends. Perfect!

I haven't had time for much crafting, but have managed to putter at some small projects here and there...see the sliver of blue skirt in the family photo above? It used to be a pair of too-big shorts.

The other day, hubby asked for a pouch to protect his computer in his backpack when he bikes to work. So I whipped up this little faux suede number. In the spirit of using what I have on hand, the lining is made from the bottom of a shortened bridesmaid dress and the zipper is white instead of camel (and not invisible), but you know what? Hubby couldn't care less.

More than a month ago, I started working on an appliqued baby quilt for an old high school friend expecting her first child. Well, that baby has been born, but the quilt remains folded on my dining room table, completely unquilted. Here's a little peek from when I was playing around with the layout.

In addition to the quilt (now a priority!), my oldest son starts Junior Kindergarten in just under a month. I'd love to make him a cute backpack and maybe a matching zippered pouch to hold his spare clothes, tissues, and other things that stay at school. The urge to knit is also growing, and I've been searching out fun patterns for possible Christmas gifting.

One final summer photo...today's afternoon snack. We all love watermelon, and eat it in slices regularly, but to bump it up a little, I like to serve it as a salad -- doused in fresh lime juice, sprinkled with sea salt and ground pepper, and topped with crumbled feta and torn mint leaves. Sometimes I add a bit of onion (it's good!), but skipped that part today. Very refreshing salad.

Convertible dress tutorial!

2011-07-17T10:02:00.001-04:00

Thanks so much for the great feedback on my convertible dress post. A few of you even asked for a pattern or tutorial, so I’m going to do my best to outline what I did.

I’ve included a cutting guide with some measurements on it, but in the interests of full disclosure, this is a very forgiving dress, and I didn’t bother breaking out a measuring tape when I made mine. The knit doesn’t ravel, either, so the edges of the straps are unfinished.

This dress is a bit odd in that it doesn’t have an actual top, just wide straps that you can wrap in different configurations. As far as dresses go, it looks a bit strange once sewn. See how it runs the length of my hallway!

Here’s what you need:

* approximately 3 yards knit fabric with a bit of stretch
* thread
* 3/4” elastic the length of your waist
* safety pin
* ball point needle for your sewing machine (nice, but not necessary!)

Lay out your fabric on the floor and cut like so:

Please note, this drawing is not to scale, and I used an empty spaghetti box as a straight edge! I’m a fairly chesty plus sized girl, so I made my straps about 8 inches wide and the full length of my fabric (9 feet). I wanted to make sure I had enough to get plenty of wrap coverage, but if you're thin, about 6 feet should be plenty.

Once I cut out the straps, I held up the remaining fabric to my waist and had my four year old mark where it hit the floor. I added about three inches to that mark and cut across the width. This was the front piece of the skirt. Cut another piece to the same length for the back of the skirt portion of the dress. Make sure the pieces are equal, despite what you see in my drawing! I needed the volume to accommodate my hips, but if there’s too much volume for your body shape, make the skirt pieces narrower. The remaining width of fabric just happened to work for my tastes and body.

Placing right sides together, stitch along one side of the skirt. Since this is a stretchy knit, you will want to use a stretch stitch (or use a serger). My sewing machine has a special stitch setting for knits, but a narrow zig zag stitch works just fine. Don’t forget to secure the beginning and end of all seams by going forward 3-4 stitches and then in reverse 3-4 stitches.

I find it easier to fold down the waistband casing before the second side seam is sewn, so fold down the top of the skirt one inch, and then another inch. Stitch down near the lower edge of the casing. Unfortunately, I only had 1/4” elastic on hand, so had to use that, but I’d definitely use a wider bit if I make this dress again. I also added an extra row of stitching for stability.

Next up is strap placement. Brace yourself for another totally technical drawing.

With your sewn-on-one-side skirt pieces right side down on your work surface, find the approximate centre of the waistband of the front section. Pin one strap (also right side down) so that it is two inches to the left past this mark, and the other two inches past the right of this mark, overlapping them. Clear as mud? Hope the diagram helps. Ignore the fact that I forgot the r in straps. (=

I once again enlisted my four year old to help with holding the straps in place while I pinned. They can be a little unwieldy. Stitch them down. I just stitched on top of the casing stitches that were already there, and then added some small hand stitches to secure the very top of the casing to the straps. You could machine stitch these or skip doing this and it will be fine.

For the hem, I serged the edge and left it as is, but I will probably go back and fold under the edge and stitch it down. Same process as the casing, except narrower. Fold the edge under 1/4 inch and then 1 inch and stitch down.

Once that’s done, fold skirt pieces right sides together and stitch the side seam as far as the casing. Add your safety pin to one end of the elastic and thread it through the casing. When the elastic is threaded, overlap it 1.5 inches and stitch it well with zig zag stitches. Adjust the gathers so they are evenly spaced around the dress and either hand or machine stitch closed the opening in the casing. You’re done!

Definitely let me know if you try this dress, and have fun experimenting with the different looks! There are lots of wrapping tutorials on YouTube.

Convertible dress

2011-07-12T18:23:00.008-04:00

Have you heard of the convertible dress before? It’s not actually a dress, but rather a (circle) skirt with two long rectangular panels attached to it. I’ve seen it in quite a few magazines and on sale in online shops, but at $150+, I wasn’t going to buy it, especially since I wasn’t convinced a dress with no top would actually be wearable.
So I made one. And it is wearable!

I used a thin knit fabric from my stash and made a simple rectangle skirt with elastic waist and serged hem. Then I cut and added two long (9 ft by about 8 inches) straps to the front, slightly overlapped. Done.
Wrapping the dress is a bit tricky, but according to the videos I’ve found on YouTube (check out Monif C), there are dozens of variations. Here are a couple more I tried last night. I’ll be wearing this dress around home until I’m confident it won’t unwrap during normal activities, but so far, so good!

You can’t see the lower half of the dress, but it’s almost floor length, so (according to YouTube!), I can put it over my bust and wrap the waist for a shorter look as well. Should be fun!

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Everest knitting needle roll

2011-07-11T11:20:00.006-04:00

My family and I have been loving the summer weather. It means we’ve been outside a lot, biking, playing with friends and hitting the local splash pads. As much as I love doing all that with hubby and our boys, it really eats into my crafting mojo. I’ve been working on a baby quilt here and there, a total wadder jacket for myself (good pattern, BAD fabric choice), and some other odds and ends, but nothing to show yet. However, I was rooting around in my sewing room last night (boy, does it need a major clean up!), and found this project that I never posted about earlier in the year: a slightly adapted version of the ‘Everest’ knitting needle roll from luvinthemommyhood.

Don’t let the cutesy rolled up photo fool you, this baby is aptly named. It’s HUGE!

There are three large sectioned pockets with flaps to hold needles of various sizes, including sets of DPNS and circulars. There are also pockets to hold a pattern, scissors, guage, etc.

I only put in a few needles for demonstration purposes, but this roll will hold a lot of needles.
The original design called for a button closure and a handle, but the friend who requested this roll gave me some old curtains to use as fabric and it just wasn’t working with the handle, so I removed it and added a tie closure.

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Choco-banana tea blend

2011-07-09T08:34:00.002-04:00

Yes, another chocolate recipe. But this one is actually nutritious! Woot!
Introducing one of my favourite morning drinks, Choco-banana tea. This recipe is super simple and normally I wouldn’t post it, but since it’s Summer Drink Week over at White House, Black Shutters, I thought it might be appropriate.

Choco-Banana Tea Blend
1/2 cup chocolate spice tea
1/2 cup milk
1/2 banana, sliced
Blend and enjoy! This drink can be enjoyed warm by using hot tea and a room-temp banana, but I like to use cold tea and a frozen banana for a cool, frothy treat. The original recipe, found at Flora’s Drink Hideout, called for black tea and offered a chocolate syrup variation (add 1 tbsp syrup), so if you don’t happen to have chocolate spice tea on hand, try that instead!
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Chocolate gelato -- at home!

2011-07-04T21:31:00.003-04:00

In case it hasn't become blatantly apparent, I love chocolate. And frozen treats. Chocolate frozen treats, in particular. So it's no surprise that I own an ice cream maker that gets quite a bit of use each summer. This time of year is especially great, with lots of fresh berries to add to our ice cream, frozen Greek yogurt, and sorbets. But for a chocolate fix? You can't beat dark chocolate gelato.

Excuse the drip -- it's been HOT here lately!

This is my go-to recipe:

2 2/3 cups 2% milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 lb dark chocolate, chopped or broken up
1/4 cup cocoa (Dutch processed is best, but I didn't happen to have it this time)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch

In medium pot, mix cocoa, sugar and cornstarch until blended. Add about half the milk to the pot and stir. Bring mixture to boil and remove from heat. Toss in dark chocolate pieces and stir until they melt, before adding remaining milk and cream to mixture. Blend well. Chill for half an hour.

Once mixture is chilled, add to ice cream maker and churn about half an hour (follow your machine's directions -- they're all a bit different). Pour churned gelato into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4-5 hours (less if container is shallow) before eating. Delicious!

I've found this gelato is best after the initial freezing period. It gets quite hard in the freezer and needs to be set out in advance if you want to eat it later.

Also, for my friends without an ice cream maker, you could make a similar version by mixing and chilling the gelato and pouring it into a chilled, shallow container. Freeze until the edges start to harden (about 40 mins to an hour), and then stir well. Repeat several more times until mixture is thick and scoop-able.

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Freezie cozies!

2011-06-22T16:01:00.009-04:00

Now that Freezie season, er, I mean summer is here, cold treats are often on our afternoon agenda. I generally make healthy, homemade popsicles (Greek yogurt, pureed fruit & pureed spinach) for the boys, but sometimes, a good old sugar-laden Freezie hits the spot. Unfortunately, my boys often complain about getting cold hands. Scrap bin to the rescue once again! Yep, Freezie cozies (=

I grabbed a few remnants of fleece from my overflowing scrap bin, cut them roughly into rectangles and sewed them along three sides. I snipped off the excess with pinking shears and turned them right side out. And that's it. Definitely not a big-skills kind of project, but lemme tell you, my kids are excited! I made both jumbo and regular Freezie sizes to cover all our snacking bases.

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I Heart Naptime Sunday Scoop Party

And the winner is...

2011-06-15T14:22:00.014-04:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my Summer Daze giveaway for a $30 credit to my Etsy shop, BluePea. There were only 20 entries, you all had great odds! So, without further ado, the winner is:

That would be At Home With Michelle! Please send me an email and we'll work out the details.

Best sprinkler ever!

2011-06-14T21:28:00.055-04:00

I've seen a few of these ridiculously fun DIY misting sprinklers for kids around blogland and had to try one myself. I dunno who gets credit for the original idea, but you're awesome.

All it took was a couple pieces of 10 foot long PVC pipe (3/4 in diametre), two T-joints, two elbow joints, a 'female' hose connector piece, three male adapters, three end caps, and four half-circle mister jets (check the irrigation section of the hardware store). I know virtually nothing about plumbing, but all the parts were labelled and fairly easy to find. The only thing that tripped me up was that I couldn't find end caps without threading, so I had to make a separate trip to the store to buy adapters to go between the pipe and the end cap.

Hubby was a brave man and let me borrow his drill and a saw (neither of which I've used before!), as well as a measuring tape.

So, you want to make one, too? I'd love to say I have a picture-filled tutorial, but I don't: with learning how to work a drill and saw (hacksaw, I think?), and trying to keep my two little helpers in check, there was no camera time. Luckily, this project is super easy and goes together in 10 minutes flat.

1. Cut the first PVC pipe in half. These five-foot sections will be the risers.

2. Cut the second PVC pipe into one 4-foot length, and four 18-inch lengths. You don't have to be super precise in the measurements. Yay! These will become the top and 'feet'.

3. Drill four approximately equally spaced holes in the top pipe piece. I put mine in a straight line, but you could probably space them out and have water going everywhere.

4. Screw the mister jets into the pipe. The jets are threaded and go in pretty easily with fingers. The holes I drilled were too small, and I had to use a larger bit to fit the jets. Better to start too small than too big.

5. Add a elbow joint to each side of the top pipe. Press it on really good. Glue it (and the rest of the connections) if you like. I didn't.

6. Push a riser pipe into the other end of each elbow joint.

7. Put a T-joint on the bottom of each riser.

8. Put a 'foot' piece in each of the lower T-joint openings.

9. Add your end caps (or adapter/end caps) to three of the foot ends.

10. Add the female connector to the remaining foot end.

Attach your hose to the female connector, turn on the water, and watch your kids go crazy!

The only downer to this project for me was that the price for all the parts was generally quoted at $14-$20. Filter that through over-priced Canadian stores and it came out to about $43 for me. Steeper than I'd like, but I know it's going to pay for itself in hours of enjoyment. My boys LOVE it.

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Super cute ruffled backpack

2011-06-11T17:00:00.010-04:00

I love it when my boys are invited to birthday parties for little girls. It gives me a chance to make a girly gift. Tomorrow morning, my little guy will be presenting this ruffled backpack to a 3-year-old princess. I hope she loves it. It was fun and easy to make thanks to a great tutorial at Not Very Domestic. The only changes I made were to add an appliqued monogram and to sew on the cords instead of using grommets at the bottom of the bag. The grommets are an awesome idea, but I didn't have any. Must fix that for next time.

Cute, right? I can see it being used as a snack bag for trips to the park, or a carrying bag for small dolls or books. This project reminded me that I want to sew up some fun boy-patterned drawstring bags for my sons' Hot Wheels, puzzles, blocks, etc. Possibly wishful thinking, but maybe we can do a better job of keeping all the pieces together that way. (=

Speaking of boy chaos, this is what happened when I tried to get my oldest to model the bag for me:

Blurry? Check! Plumber butt? Check! Shows off toys all over the floor? Check!

Back to the ruffles. Aside from the cording, which was probably less than $2 (purchased a while ago), this project was made entirely out of scraps from my leftover bin, so very budget friendly. Sometimes I worry that people think I'm being a cheapskate by giving homemade gifts instead of whatever is popular in stores, and while it's true that I usually spend less by going handmade, my primary goal is to give something from the heart. What do you think? Can handmade compete with store-bought items?

PS...I found the backpack tutorial while browsing Pinterest. Look it up if you don't know what it is...think the web bookmarking system of my dreams combined with social networking. I'm kind of hooked.

PPS...if you're looking for my Summer Daze Giveaway, it's here.

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Win a $30 credit for my Etsy shop!

2011-06-10T23:56:00.058-04:00

Yes, it's the final day of Summer Daze Giveaways, hosted by While He Was Napping, which means it's my turn to give something away! I've been lucky enough to win a few awesome blog giveaways, so in that spirit, I'm offering one lucky follower a chance to win a $30 credit to my Etsy shop, BluePea.

That's enough to get you one of my favourite baby/toddler accessories: a shopping cart cover. If you’ve ever watched in horror as your precious little one moved toward that cart handle, mouth agape and tongue just itching to taste that germ-ridden surface, you know that this would be a life-saver. These plush covers are comfy, full washable, and really cut down on the ick factor of transporting your child in a shopping cart.

Oops, this one is sold, but you can see how nicely it fits on the cart.

If you're not in the toddler-shuttling stage of life, I also sell shopping cart handle covers, knitted mittens, tutus and whatever else strikes my creative fancy.

This giveaway is open to all public followers of Sew Many Dreams. I'd love it if you'd take a minute to check out my Etsy shop, but I'm not going to make you jump through any hoops: just leave a comment on this post if you'd like your name thrown into the hat. A random winner will be chosen on June 14th and posted the next day.

Now for today's other two giveaways. Check out these lovelies:

Jayna @ Rock N Regalia has another great hair accessory for this summer. This one is perfection with a nautical theme. Who wouldn’t want to wear this adorable statement piece?

Melissa @ Kensington Cottage has a whole heap of burlap goodness up for grabs. What a gorgeous memo board! And that wreath would be perfect all year long! The flowers can be worn as hair clips or as a pin. AND… check out that $15 gift card to Target!

These giveaways will also close on Tuesday, June 14, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for all of these fantastic prizes. And if you missed out on some of the earlier giveaways, you can find the complete list of links here. Thanks for participating! I'll be back with a new sewing project a little later.

Summer Dazes Giveaway -- Day 5

2011-06-10T13:56:00.000-04:00

FRIDAY’S GIVEAWAYS:
Stephanie @ Luxe Boulevard has some more pretties for your sun-bleached tresses. These great fabric rosettes are perfect with their array of colors, lending to a fun and fancy-free look. The perfect look for a warm summer day.

Emily @ Insanity Rules isn’t just celebrating summer! With her year-round, seasonal word frames you can add some decor that will be perfect, no matter what the weather may be.

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims will help you get the perfect piece of stylish jewelry for the season. With a $20 gift certificate to Your Girlish Whims, her Etsy shop, you’ll have the perfect excuse to indulge in the some pearls. It is June, after all.

These giveaways will close on Tuesday, June 13, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for all of these fantastic prizes. And come back for tomorrow’s giveaways!

Grama's freezer chocolates

2011-06-09T13:09:00.006-04:00

Hope you all are enjoying the Summer Daze Giveaway Week! My giveaway for a $30 credit to my Etsy shop is coming up on Saturday so watch for that. In the meantime, I thought it might be a good time for a little break.

Yeah, a chocolate kind of break. I posted this recipe for my Grama's Freezer Chocolates at A Glimpse Inside last month, but in case you missed it, here it is for all blog eternity! These little bon bons are so delicious and they're easy to make.

Grama’s Freezer Chocolates

2 tbsp butter, room temp

1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup

6 cups (1 1/2 lbs) icing sugar

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp flavouring extract (vanilla, orange, and maple are all favourites)

Approximately 1 1/2 cups chocolate coating (I have used milk or dark chocolate bars or chocolate chips mixed with just a dab of shortening, as well as chocolate moulding wafers – it all works fine)

Mix all ingredients except chocolate and extract in a large bowl. Get in there with your hands and mix everything together until the filling forms into a ball with the consistency of Playdoh, adding just a tsp more condensed milk if necessary. If you want to make more than one flavour, divide the filling into two or three balls, and add about a tsp of extract to each ball. Mix again, until extract is incorporated. Truth be told, I never measure my extract; tasting a little gob of filling is so much more satisfying.

Next up is the chocolate. I like to use melted chocolate bars with a smidge of shortening added to them (Grama used food-grade wax). Moulding wafers are even easier, and melt well in the microwave. Sorry, Grama! I recommend melting your chocolate in a large Pyrex cup, starting with 1 min at 60% power in the microwave. The chocolate may not look like it has melted, but give it a good stir before microwaving for another 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn it!

At this point, Grama would chill her filling, roll into into little balls, and then use a toothpick to hand dip each one in chocolate. I usually bust out some candy moulds ($2-$3 at Bulk Barn) and spoon a bit of chocolate in each cavity, using the back of my spoon to make sure the bottom and sides of the mould are covered.

Pop the mould in the fridge for a couple minutes while you roll a little blob of filling for each chilled mould, and then spoon more warm chocolate on top. Let set 20 minutes in the freezer and remove the chocolates from the mould. Ta da – you need never be without chocolate again!

If plain chocolates aren’t your thing, you can dip balls of filling into chocolate and then roll them in crushed nuts, cocoa, sparkles, etc. This little container was an Easter surprise for a family friend, and my oldest son decided it would be fun to ‘paint’ (with more chocolate!) some texture onto the hardened dinosaur and egg candies, but you can see how smooth and pretty the unembellished versions are. Whether you let your imagination go wild, or stick to plain balls, these are a delicious treat to keep in your fridge (short term) or freezer (longer term). Enjoy!

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Summer Daze giveaways -- Day 4

2011-06-08T13:01:00.000-04:00

Summer Daze Giveaway week continues at While He Was Napping! Today's giveaways are courtesy of:

Natalie @ Nat Mac's Knick Knacks has an incredible summer tote bag that would be perfect for a trip to the beach, the zoo, or even the park. The flower embellishment gives the perfect whimsical finishing touch to an already pleasant afternoon in the summer sun.

Suze @ Time Well Spent is giving away a personalized name plaque and hair bow holder. Perfect for all those cute, summery hair accessories!

Brenda @ A Creative Nest has a darling custom made, hand crocheted dress that encompasses all that is summer. With a flower embellishment giving it a sweet, girly touch.

These giveaways will close on Monday, June 12, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for all of these fantastic prizes. And come back for tomorrow’s giveaways!

Summer Daze giveaways -- Day 2

2011-06-07T16:07:00.000-04:00

Welcome to day two of the Summer Daze Giveaways, hosted by While He Was Napping! Today's giveaways are courtesy of:

Ashley @ Ashley Creations has this adorable little hair clip up for grabs. The colors are amazing and perfect for summer! It’s like lime sorbet, raspberries and lemonade. What little princess wouldn’t want this?

Kelly @ Make It Sparkly Mama has a whimsical, single strand bracelet that you can personalize. Customizable with birthstones or crystals of your choice. This bracelet features oval alphabet beads. It is personalized with 6 Swarovski birthstone crystals on each strand.

Shawna @ A Very Dandoislion Life has some more cute hair clips! How gorgeous are these babies? And the colors are divine. These would be so easy to dress up or dress down. Perfect for that summer BBQ, cocktail party or wedding.

These giveaways will close on Saturday, June 11.

Summer Daze giveaways -- Day 3

2011-06-06T17:52:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the Summer Daze Giveaways, hosted by While He Was Napping! You will need to visit the host blog to enter. Today's giveaways are courtesy of:

Bethany @ Sweet Bee Buzzings has an awesome little goody package for your kiddos. If you’ve got any road trips planned this summer, this is definitely the giveaway for you! Prize is complete with a cute little color books and crayons!

Kim @ Kim's Kandy Kreations has a sweet treat for you. One dozen delicious, personalized whirly pops to be exact. Head over and get your name in for these cute, sweet, handmade delights.

Krista @ While He Was Napping has a set of two handcrafted, personalized luggage tags and a summer subway art tote bag. Perfect for the best part of summer: Vacation! These tags are one of a kind and easy to spot. No more waiting and hoping that bag really is yours. The tote is perfect for day trips and the distressed look lends a hand to a relaxed summer outing.

These giveaways will close on Sunday, June 12, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for both of these fantastic prizes. And come back for tomorrow’s giveaways.

Summer Daze giveaways -- Day 1

2011-06-06T17:41:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Summer Daze Giveaways, hosted by While He Was Napping! It'll be a fantastic week of amazing giveaways! What better way to get all ready for summer than with a chance at some really cool, free stuff?! Each day, from June 6-11, three new giveaways will open. Giveaways will be open for four days, so make sure you get your entries in before they close. You will need to visit the host blog to enter. Entry requirements vary per host.

Let's get this party started! Today's giveaways are courtesy of:

Mindie @ Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hypo. She has a wonderful fabric rosette bracelet and matching summer scarf up for grabs! The bracelet has an adjustable stainless steel band with "follow your dreams" engraved on both sides. A single pearl adorns the bracelet for a light, yet sophisticated feel.

And Delina @ Dew This has a super cool, year round countdown calendar kit. Choose your preferred holiday (Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Easter), spend a little quality time with your crafty self and get your countdown on.

These giveaways will close on Friday, June 10, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for both of these fantastic prizes. And come back for tomorrow’s giveaways!

Summer Daze giveaway week

2011-06-04T12:29:00.000-04:00

I have once again been lucky enough to win a few giveaways from generous bloggers, including a SCAL program for my computer, some cute Hallowe’en themed fabric, and a lovely print that will be going in my boys’ (eventual) playroom in the basement. I think pay-it-forward is a wonderful concept, so I will be participating in the Summer Daze giveaway week at While He Was Napping.

I'll be offering up a $30 credit to my Etsy shop, BluePea. Watch for that next Saturday, and in the meantime, check out some of the other awesome offerings!

Monday, June 6
Delina @ Dew This
Mindie @ Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hypo

Tuesday, June 7
Ashley @ Ashley Creations
Kelly @ Make It Sparkly Mama
Shawna @ A Very Dandoislion Life

Wednesday, June 8
Bethany @ Sweet Bee Buzzings
Kim @ Kim's Kandy Kreations
Krista @ While He Was Napping

Thursday, June 9
Natalie @ Nat Mac's Knick Knacks

Suze @ Time Well Spent

Brenda @ A Creative Nest

Friday, June 10
Stephanie @ Luxe Boulevard
Emily @ Insanity Rules
Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims

Saturday, June 11
Jayna @ Rock N Regalia
Melissa @ Kensington Cottage
Tanya @ Sew Many Dreams (that's me!)

Easy bucket hat for my boy

2011-05-25T13:19:00.002-04:00

We've had a run of sunny days lately, and my boys are taking advantage by spending a lot of time outside. Unfortunately, they've both inherited what my husband lovingly refers to as my 'fishbelly-white' complexion, and they burn easily in the sun. We're liberal users of sunblock, but they really should be wearing hats more than they do.

So, last time I was out shopping, I reminded myself to pick up a couple basic hats for trips to the park, etc. Maybe I'm ~~cheap~~ thrifty, but I was a little shocked to find hats at the grocery store selling for $12.99! So, I put the hats back on the shelf and kept moving. I have tons of fabric and reasonable sewing skills that allow me to make hats for a tenth of the store cost. Here's what I ended up with:

The kids love Diego.

And Mama love seersucker stripes!

I have a couple commercial patterns for hats, but I wanted something really simple, so chose the reversible 4-in-1 bucket hat tutorial on Sew Much Ado. Perfect!

My boys lose hats like crazy, so I fully expect to be making more of these as the summer goes on, but for now, everyone is happy to be sporting a Diego topper!

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Sweet chocolates…and A Glimpse Inside

2011-05-24T08:08:00.000-04:00

I’m so excited to announce my first guest post. Here’s a little hint of what you’ll find during my visit to A Glimpse Inside today.

Tempted? You should be. This is another of my grandmother’s awesome recipes, and it doesn't disappoint if you're having a sweet craving.

While you’re over at A Glimpse Inside, go check out some of Allison’s other posts. She’s a lovely Army Wife with plenty of great ideas for crafting, decorating, thrifting, and cooking. She also organizes a fun weekly linky party called Catch a Glimpse each Thursday.

Thanks for having me over, Allison!

Better ‘Bisquick’

2011-05-23T23:14:00.004-04:00

I might have mentioned before that my grandparents were bakers. Bakery bakers. So I blame my love of all carby things that come out of an oven squarely on them. Biscuits, for example.
As much as I enjoy biting into a hot, fresh biscuit, sometimes there just isn’t time to whip up a batch from scratch. Enter Bisquick. Nah, too many chemicals. Enter homemade Bisquick. Simple, delicious, and convenient.

Here’s how to make it:
Gather your ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and shortening (or butter!). See? Simple.

Whisk dry ingredients

Add shortening with a pastry blender. (I used a split of half butter and half shortening). Mmm, butter.

See the coarse crumb look to the mix? That’s what you want. Now you’re done! Easy peasy. Store in an airtight container until you’re ready to make biscuits. Since I added butter to the shortening, I’ll store mine in the fridge, but if you use just shortening, it can go in the pantry. Scoop out some mix and add milk to make biscuits, and milk and eggs to make pancakes.

These are amazing with butter. Or honey. Or butter and honey. My husband likes to dunk them in stew. And we’ve made cheesy versions, too, with sharp cheddar and herbs.
Homemade ‘Bisquick’
9 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
½ cup baking powder
¼ cup white sugar (can be omitted, but we like it)
2 cups shortening (can substitute butter, which tastes fantastic, but must be kept in fridge/freezer)
In very large bowl, whisk dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender (or two forks), cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Just like making pie crust! Store in airtight container.
You can use this mix just as you would store-bought Bisquick…for biscuits, pancakes, pot pie topping, dumplings, etc. Delicious!
Biscuits: 2 ¼ cups of mix plus ¾ cup milk or buttermilk. Roll about ½ inch thick, cut, and bake at 450F about 10 minutes. I’m actually a bit lazy with this part, and I just use my hands to roll 2-inch diameter balls of dough, and smooch them down a bit on the baking sheet.
Pancakes: 2 cups mix plus one cup milk plus 2 eggs. Mix and pour into heated pan. Flip pancake when it starts to show bubbles.

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Shirring with elastic thread -- a new top for me

2011-05-09T21:06:00.007-04:00

I recently found a bright and beautiful border print cotton at our local fabric shop. I immediately thought sundress, but changed my mind when examining all the plain white above the print. Ah, but a cute top, that would work!

Sorry, more dubious night-time self portraits!

Here's a slightly better look.

This top is basic, basic, basic. Essentially one big rectangle for the body and two narrow rectangles for the straps. I used elastic thread to create shirring for shape, and kept everything else simple to let the print shine. Even the hem is unfinished, since I think the frayed selvage suits the bohemian feel of the top. I originally did turn up the hem, but it looked better before I did that, so out came those stitches.

I added this top to:

Fly, fly away...

2011-05-08T16:14:00.000-04:00

Well, we didn't exactly fly away, but my little family did take a spur-of-the-moment helicopter tour of the city this afternoon. Now that we're back on the ground, safe and sound, I can say Coolest. Mother's Day. Gift. EVER!

Josh was captivated by the idea of flying. It was his first time.

I was wondering if this would be my final Mother's Day!

Spencer couldn't get enough of the views. He sat on Dad's lap.

Downtown, Parliament, and bridges leading to Quebec.

My view, sitting next to the pilot!

Look how tiny this helicopter is! My hubby (left) kept telling himself not to put Spencer on his shoulders as he normally does!

What an amazing experience. I've flown in commercial planes before, but this was a totally different animal. All those windows and the very close quarters makes the flying very 'real' compared to plane, which can feel like you're barely moving, especially if you're in an aisle seat. Take off and landing were also very fun, and totally different than a plane. LOVED it!

Happy Mother's Day to you all.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T22:53:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day was a sad occasion for me up until five years ago. Although I desperately wanted children, it didn't seem to be happening for me. So as I congratulated the moms around me back then, on the inside, I was devastated. Little did I know that only days later I would discover I was pregnant with my oldest son. Now, knowing that that little body was growing inside me on that sad day, I look back at it as one of the most amazing Mother's Days of my life. Sniffle. Okay, enough mushy stuff!

Here is a little mommy-and-me apron set I whipped together for a Mother's Day Appreciation swap hosted by one of the playgroups I joined. My swap recipient likes purple, and I had this fabric in my stash, so it worked out well.

And, lucky girl that I am, this is the goodness-filled basket that was delivered to my doorstep!

Delicious chocolates, a selection of yummy teas and a card that made me giggle out loud. Perfect. Thank you!

Easter nests

2011-04-24T00:07:00.011-04:00

One of my fondest childhood memories is of my brother and I waking up on Easter morning and rushing to the living room to see if the Easter Bunny had left us a treat. Each year, there would be a gorgeous cedar nest on the stereo cabinet, loaded with jelly beans, chocolate eggs and bunnies. It felt like pure magic.
What I didn’t realize in those early years was that my quiet grandfather was the craftsman behind those fragrant nests. As I got older, he let me watch as he made them. It was our secret -- my little brother still believed in the Easter Bunny, or was at least clever enough to fake it, so he wasn’t invited.
Fast forward 25 years, and I have children of my own. My sweet Grampa is gone now, but his special contribution to Easter lives on in the cedar nests I now make for the great-grandchildren he never got to meet. Here is this year’s version, simple and unfussy, just as I remember them being when I was younger.

These cedar nests are like small wreaths sewn onto a cardboard backing. Here’s a brief tutorial. You’ll need:
- a large piece of cardboard, about a foot across
- twine (I was out, so used yarn)
- a darning needle
- a shopping bag full of fresh cedar branches (the tips of the branch work best, flexible and pretty)
- scrapbook or wrapping paper & glue (optional)
1. Cut circles out of cardboard. They don’t have to be perfectly round, but they should be about 11 or more inches in diameter so the centre part doesn’t get too crowded when the cedar is added.

I had to chuckle to myself about the irony of using a cardboard box that had once held an “Eat Smart” scale to create a vessel to display Easter candy.
2. I glued some scrapbooking paper to cover the pictures. My four year old son has a freaky good memory and would catch onto the fact that I made the nests if he saw anything at all that he recognized.
3. Thread your darning needle with a long piece of twine. You will need several feet to go all the way around the wreath, but if you run out, just tie on a new length and continue. Use the needle to punch a hole through the cardboard, about 1.5-2 inches from the edge. Knot the twine together, so that it is securely attached to the cardboard.
4. Gather up two or three cedar branches and place them along the edge of the cardboard. Secure with needle and twine. This first layer gets covered later on, so don’t fret too much over neatness at this point. Continue adding bunches of cedar, tucking the new stems under the ends of the existing branches, until you’ve completed the circle.

5. Your nest will be looking a bit shaggy at this point. Time to fix that! Cut some smaller lengths of cedar and begin tucking the stems under the twine loops and into the tied down foliage. The idea is to cover the twine and to add substance to the nest.

6. Again, continue adding smaller pieces until you are satisfied with the look and shape of the nest. Give the edges a haircut if necessary, and embellish if you want to (I didn’t).

7. Fill with candy or other treats and watch your children’s faces light up on Easter morning. My parents used to nestle our goodies in that fluffy, shredded filler stuff, but since I used scrapbook paper on the bottom, I skipped this.

Happy Easter!

Update! Now that Easter is over, we extended the life of our cedar nests by adding some simple foam letters (my youngest loves these, and picked the colours!) and hanging it on the front door. It's not the most sophisticated look, and I don't know how long the cedar will last (it's starting to dry out), but for now it's cheery and fun -- just what my boys and I love!

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Plastic bag holder

2011-04-08T09:17:00.001-04:00

Each month, one of the playgroups to which I belong, chooses a mom to spoil with cards and little gifts. The event is called M.O.M. for Mom of the Moment (or maybe month? Can’t remember.) This month, the chosen mom is one who has been collecting plastic milk bags for a project her own mom is doing. So I thought this might be an appropriate gift: a plastic bag holder.

{Apparently, it’s the greenist thing in my backyard. Where are you, Spring?}

This was an easy project, inspired by something I saw in a Martha Stewart email. I didn’t follow her instructions, just folded over a sturdy but cute dishtowel lengthwise, trimmed a bit off one long edge and stitched it together. I threaded a short piece of elastic through one of the existing short hems, and rolled the other short hem down twice and stitched it to give the top opening more stability. Add a short handle, and it’s done.

I’m pre-stuffing the holder with milk bags (for the M.O.M.’s mom), and dropping it off later today.

Sundress for me!

2011-04-04T22:41:00.009-04:00

Last night, I finished a dress to wear this spring. I rarely sew clothing for myself because I’m generally frustrated by my fluctuating size and non-standard curves, but it’s time to accept my body as it is right now. That said, my bottom and top are several sizes different, and I’m no expert at fitting myself, so I decided to start with an easy sundress.

This is the first time I’ve used this pattern, and it went together well. I did omit the zipper, although not intentionally (not to self, Nyquil and sewing don’t mix!), but the dress still goes on and off just fine. I used a fairly plain, dark fabric I had in my stash to make the dress, which hides the details, but I’d love to re-do it in a brighter print and redeem myself on the zipper then. The bodice is lined, the skirt is not. If I make this dress again, I will probably add half an inch or so to the top of the bodice, so I can more easily wear a favourite bra.

I envisioned a photo taken in my sunny back yard, but it snowed again this morning, so here I am trying to master the art of late-night self-photography in my bathroom. Please ignore the ankle socks. I wasn’t about to attempt shoes on that bathtub ledge!

I still have to hem the dress, which I’ll do on the cover stitch machine when I buy more navy thread. I initially thought I’d leave the dress longer, but I may take it up a bit.

A wicked case of bronchitis has eaten most of my energy over the past few weeks, but I’m feeling a bit better now, and hope to have a few more projects on the go. Next up, is to finish upcycling an old curtain into a knitting needle roll for a friend.

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Fabric crayon t-shirt

2011-03-19T22:40:00.003-04:00

My oldest son spent the week at day camp during March Break. He and I have never spent full days apart like that, so today, on top of a trip through the animal barns at the Canada Agriculture Museum and a yummy breakfast out at Cora’s, I decided a special craft was in order while my youngest napped. Enter fabric crayons and yet another plain white t-shirt just waiting for some kid-friendly embellishment.

In case, you’re wondering, the orange one with strangely misshapen legs is me!

I found these crayons in a local art supply store after having no luck at Michaels and Walmart. The pack was less than $4 and should last ages. To use them, you can either draw a picture on white paper and then turn it over and iron onto fabric, or draw directly onto fabric and heat set with an iron. We used the draw-on-paper method. My son drew the picture, and then I went over the lines to make them a bit darker before bringing out the iron. Josh drew stick figures, so the colours aren't super vibrant, but not bad at all for a quick craft. The package suggest polyester if possible, and this t-shirt is 100% cotton, so maybe that also contributed to the mild colouring. When finished, the shirt is washable, but shouldn’t go in the dryer. Something tells me I’m going to forget and put it in there at some point. Hope the mess isn’t too big.
My son LOVES all the t-shirt crafts we’ve done (applique, painting, and now crayons). He wears his shirts with pride, tells everyone that he and mama made them, and sometimes he even kisses them goodnight. So yeah, more to come!

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Healthy tomato soup

2011-03-16T21:37:00.001-04:00

I’m a collector of cookbooks. Shelves and shelves of cookbooks are tucked into all corners of my home. There’s something very satisfying about browsing recipes and dreaming about healthy and delicious foods (and some not-so-healthy treats) to feed my family.

One of my more recent acquisitions is Jessica Seinfeld’s Double Delicious!, which, much like her popular Deceptively Delicious book, is full of recipes that are loaded with hidden pureed vegetables.

I’ve been hiding veggies in our food for years, but it’s nice to have some specific instructions on what to do. So far, I’ve tried a quinoa breakfast dish with almonds and maple syrup, and a yummy tomato soup recipe.

Yesterday, I bulk prepared sweet potato, butternut squash, and broccoli purees for the freezer. Cauliflower is on the to-do list for tomorrow. Apparently, pureed cauliflower can be mixed into cinnamon bun frosting with no one being the wiser. Gonna hold off judgement on that one until after I try it!

I used my large food processor to make the purees, and then spooned them into snack-size baggies in 1/2 cup portions. All the small baggies went into a larger (labelled!) freezer bag for later use.

Not much new in the crafty department. I’ve been in a slump, and just want to spend my evenings curled up with a good book. At the moment, I’m reading Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan. Here’s the Amazon editorial review for anyone interested:

Jordan won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for Mudbound, her first novel. The prize was founded by Barbara Kingsolver to reward books of conscience, social responsibility, and literary merit. In addition to meeting all of the above qualifications, Jordan has written a story filled with characters as real and compelling as anyone we know.

It is 1946 in the Mississippi Delta, where Memphis-bred Laura McAllan is struggling to adjust to farm life, rear her daughters with a modicum of manners and gentility, and be the wife her land-loving husband, Henry, wants her to be. It is an uphill battle every day. Things started badly when Henry's trusting nature resulted in the family being done out of a nice house in town, thus relegating them to a shack on their property. In addition, Henry's father, Pappy, a sour, mean-spirited devil of a man, moves in with them.

The real heart of the story, however, is the friendship between Jamie, Henry's too-charming brother, and Ronsel Jackson, son of sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm. They have both returned from the war changed men: Jamie has developed a deep love for alcohol and has recurring nightmares; Ronsel, after fighting valiantly for his country and being seen as a man by the world outside the South, is now back to being just another black "boy."

Told in alternating chapters by Laura, Henry, Jamie, Ronsel, and his parents, Florence and Hap, the story unfolds with a chilling inevitability. Jordan's writing and perfect control of the material lift it from being another "ain't-it-awful" tale to a heart-rending story of deep, mindless prejudice and cruelty. This eminently readable and enjoyable story is a worthy recipient of Kingsolver's prize and others as well. --Valerie Ryan

40 Bags in 40 Days

2011-03-13T22:20:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a shameless clutterbug. Shelves are filled to the max, piles of paper and books accumulate on the kitchen counter, and the dining room table has become a home for what my husband calls 'craft creep' -- craft supplies and half finished projects that have migrated from my overstuffed craft room in the basement to roost on the dining room table. And the sideboard. And possibly a little on the floor by the china cabinet.

Dreaded 'craft creep' on dining room table -- thankfully, most of the house is NOT like this! There are, however, some problem areas that need to be addressed.

So when I saw this White House, Black Shutters '40 Bags in 40 Days' Lenten challenge to declutter and simplify, it spoke to me. I have no idea if I can let go of 40 bags, but so far, I've sorted and bagged up some of the boys' outgrown clothes, tossed a giant (worn & torn) sofa slipcover, tossed broken toys, and recycled a bunch of paper. Paper is a toughie for me. The Canadian Diabetes Association is coming by on March 17th to collect my donations.

Next up on the bagging block is getting rid of a bunch of stuff that has collected in my car...single mittens, the boys' hats and sandals from last summer, and probably the equivalent of a whole bag of dropped goldfish crackers hiding under the toddler seats and on the floor...you know, under the sandals (=

Bags cleared to date: 5
Remaining: 35

I’m famous!

2011-03-09T08:06:00.001-05:00

Ok, ‘famous’ might be overstating things just a little, but my blog did get a wee mention on Canadian Living’s ‘The Craft Blog’, thanks to the Uptown Cowl I made a while back. I’ve subscribed to the magazine for ages, but just discovered The Craft Blog yesterday and was so excited to see my name.

I’ve been super busy with ‘work’ sewing lately. Hopefully more crafty stuff to come. I’ve also been watching a video called Full Busted, which explains how to adapt clothing patterns for a full bust. I’m hoping to try out the techniques soon, so maybe a new shirt to show at some point.

Me-too scarf & hat

2011-03-05T08:19:00.001-05:00

Every time my oldest son sees me sewing or knitting anything, he oohs and aahs, takes hold of my arm, and in the sweetest voice ever, asks if I can make one for him, too. It doesn’t matter what I’m working on – blanket, baby booties, bags – he wants one just for him.

So when he saw me working on my giveaway scarfette, it wasn’t long before he decided he needed a new scarf too. Oh, and a hat to match, too, “peese Mama. Tank you”.

He chose a multi-coloured acrylic from my stash (my kids don’t enjoy wool for some reason), and I got to work. Of course, despite coming from a long line of speed knitters, I’m a bit on the slow side, so it’s taken me two weeks of knitting a row or two at a time to make this little set.

No patterns for these: the scarf is a simple k2 p2 rib and I just knit the hat in the round until it was big enough to fit my son’s head and then decreased by a stitch every fourth stitch.

No model shots. He loves his new hat and scarf, just apparently not on demand!

General Tso tofu & veggie fried rice

2011-03-02T20:35:00.001-05:00

I love browsing linky parties…so many good ideas. One of the gems I came across last week was this simple recipe for a meatless meal, General Tso tofu and vegetable fried rice, from Jennifer at Peas & Crayons. I happened to have some firm tofu in the fridge (and really, no clue what to do with it!), so thought I’d give the General Tso a try.

So. Good. Seriously, I was a bit skeptical about the tofu, but a little crust from an egg and corn starch dredging, and the sauce made it a fabulous meal that even my picky sons and meat-lovin’ hubby devoured. Zero leftovers.

Feast your eyes on this:

Okay, it’s blurry, and not the most fabulous food photography, but my kids were literally trying to grab the bowl as I turned on the camera. They did manage to run away with the chopsticks before I could click the shutter, but you get the idea. Yummers. Even more yummers when I poured extra sauce on top of everything.

Here’s the recipe as seen on Peas & Crayons:

Fabulous Fried Tofu

1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 whisked egg
1 shallow dish of corn starch for light dredging
General Tso's sauce of your choice
1-2 teaspoons of olive oil

Press extra moisture out by placing a heavy pot or pan on a paper towel wrapped brick of extra firm tofu. Next, dip in egg wash and lightly dredge in corn starch. Heat a frying pan with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and lightly fry tofu on all sides. Once golden, pour in a light layer of General Tso's Sauce to coat. Plate tofu with your delish fried rice and enjoy =)

I didn’t have any General Tso sauce on hand, so whipped up my own version using 5 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 3 tbsp white sugar, 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, and a pinch of ginger powder. I have no idea if that’s even remotely authentic, but it tasted awesome after I threw it into the hot pan with my fried tofu and let it caramelize a bit.

Jennifer also provided a yummy recipe for veggie fried rice, but I just improvised with what I had in the fridge.

This tofu will definitely be going into my regular dinner rotation. It’s high protein, low fat, easy to prepare – and ridiculously delicious. Try it!

PS…does anyone know the correct spelling for Tso? I’ve seen Tso, Tao, Tsao…never sure which to use.

Quick pant saver tip

2011-02-28T12:39:00.000-05:00

My youngest son has several pairs of cute overalls with snaps along the inseams to facilitate diaper changes. As a mommy, I think little boy overalls are about the most adorable thing ever, and I wish they could wear them everyday. But my youngest son, like his older brother, is a rough-and-tumble, super active little guy. Those snaps stay closed maybe two minutes after I get him dressed, and so the overalls don't get worn as much as I'd like.

So this morning I got the brilliant idea that I could just sew closed the snapped inseams. Yup, took all of a minute to do, and now my son will be rocking his overalls as soon as I can catch and wrestle him into them.

stitches are invisible

Since I just top-stitched the snap flap (technical term!) in place, I used a multi-toned 'denim' coloured thread that blends in with the fabric. I don't have a free arm machine, so it was a bit of a tight squeeze to stitch the entire length of each leg, but with a bit of twisting and a couple stops to make sure I wasn't sewing the leg together, it was easy enough.

Shopping cart cover

2011-02-27T15:33:00.014-05:00

One of my dearest friends has four little boys aged five years and under. Early last week, she and her boys got violently ill after a trip to the grocery store. She figures they picked up something from the shopping cart, since that was the only thing they all touched or consumed before getting sick.

I'm personally a little grossed out by shopping carts. Various studies (from the University of Arizona and the CDC, in particular) have revealed what common sense tells you: shopping carts are DIRTY. As in loaded with meat drippings, assorted bacteria, bodily fluids, and even fecal matter. Yeah, eww.

Like the flames?

Built-in loop for attaching toys

So this washable shopping cart cover will be headed over to my friend's house this afternoon, so she can have a little more peace of mind the next time she takes her littlest ones shopping. The cover is like the ones I sell at craft sales and in my Etsy shop (see the left sidebar if you're interested!), but I modified it to hold two children instead of one. I hope to post a tutorial at some point, too, for anyone who wants to make their own. The cover is stretchy, so fits on both standard and oversize carts like the ones at Costco, where I know my friends likes to shop.

I've been using shopping cart covers since my oldest was a wee lad, but he's growing up, and as a self-proclaimed big boy, he likes to walk along when we grocery shop. Unfortunately, he's still prone to wandering off, so I like him to stay in arm's reach. He could just hang on to the side of the cart, but again, eww, so we compromise and use a handle. I posted about the handle I made here, and really, I love it now more than ever. Super easy to make, so try it if you also have a wanderer!

Simple and brilliant because it works! How I love the internet for ideas.

Edit...a couple people asked, so here's a photo of how the covers fit on a cart. Excuse plumpness...when I made my first cover as a first-time mommy, I wanted my little guy to be super comfy as well as clean (=

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Sock monkey lovey

2011-02-16T16:28:00.007-05:00

My youngest son has a lovey he can’t do without. He takes it everywhere. jumps around with it when he’s happy, and snuggles it when he’s not. Unfortunately for me, it’s a full-sized crib quilt, so it’s constantly dragging around getting dirty. Did I mention my son flips out when we put his beloved blankie in the washing machine? Add drying time in there and it’s a guaranteed hour and a half of crying and begging. That’d be him crying and me begging him to stop. I’m kidding. The poor kid just wants his blankie back.
Anyway, one of my son’s playmates also has a lovey. A nice small cuddle blanket. So when this friend got a new baby brother, I thought it would be nice to make another little cuddle blanket as a ~~Christmas~~ Valentine’s day gift.

^{Oops, didn’t press again.}

The idea for the this project comes from just another day in paradise. Larissa provides a template for the sock monkey applique as well as a great tutorial on how to put together the project. I changed things up a just a little, putting ribbon tags only on two sides, and, on the other side, adding a Velcro handle to hold a soother or teething toy.

I don’t use cuddle fabric too often, mostly because it’s really expensive around here (a half metre, which is enough for two cuddle blankets, cost $15), but it’s also slippery, stretchy stuff. I pinned the heck out of this time, and it actually behaved fairly well this time around. Despite it’s finicky personality, cuddle fabric is oh-so-soft and touchable. It’s worth the trouble and extra pinning required. I’m hoping to make another lovey with the leftover fabric and use it’s softness to charm my baby boy into wanting to hang onto it instead of his blankie. A girl can hope.

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Pumpkin and cranberry weekend muffins

2011-02-13T11:01:00.002-05:00

Sewing hasn’t been working out for me lately. The past few days, I’ve had to rip out every single stitch I’ve made. So I’m giving myself a break and turning to the kitchen instead (=

Here was yesterday’s offering, delicious pumpkin and cranberry muffins, perfect for nibbling on a Saturday morning. The recipe makes a lot of batter, but you can refrigerate the extras and bake up fresh muffins each morning. The baked muffins also freeze pretty well.

Here’s how you make them:

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

4 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
3 cups frozen or canned pumpkin purée, thawed
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup agave syrup (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1/2 lb. (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. ground cinnamon
3 Tbs. ground ginger
Pinch cloves
Pinch white pepper
1-1/2 cups dried cranberries (soaked 10 min in water)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Measure evaporated milk and stir in vinegar. Set aside 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, evaporated milk mixture, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, agave syrup, and butter. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just mixed. Gently fold in the (soaked and drained) cranberries. Line a muffin tin with liners. Scoop about 1/2 cup batter into each tin so that the curve of the batter is even with the rim of the cup. (Refrigerate any extra batter in an airtight container for up to a week.) Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean, 30 min.
(recipe adapted from Fine Cooking)

Try ‘em, they’re good!

Next up is our Valentine’s Day decorations. Crayon/waxed paper hearts tied to the curtains of all our kitchen windows. Not too original, but along with our modified Christmas wreath, my Martha-esque pot holders, and baking some heart-shaped cookies, that’s all I’m up to doing.

Finally, just for kicks, here’s a pic of me, snapped by my 4 year old. He always misses the top of heads but seems to have caught on to that whole rule-of-thirds thing. We’re working on it (=

With any luck, tonight I will remember how to sew a straight seam and maybe actually accomplish something.

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Valentine’s potholders

2011-02-05T10:51:00.004-05:00

I have to admit, Valentine’s Day has never been a big deal in our house. While I love him dearly, hubby isn’t exactly Mr. Romance, given to lovey-dovey gestures, particularly on a day he is convinced was contrived by the greeting card industry. My boys still don’t get the concept of Valentine’s Day, so I figured, what’s the point?

But then it started. Little glimpses of what everyone else in blogland is doing to heart up their homes and spirits. All that pinky goodness is getting to me. Step one was a baby step. I moved the coffee filter wreath I made for Christmas from the hallway to over the fireplace – with the addition, of course, of a few pink hearts that my boys and I fashioned out of pipe cleaners.

Then I saw a link to these cute heart-shaped pot holders from Martha Stewart. Although on an intellectual level, Martha represents to me so much of the perfectionism I try to reject in my life, I can’t help myself: her projects are pretty much all adorable and I can spend hours browsing her website. Such a moral conundrum.

I dismissed the pot holders first (too cutesy), but left the tab open in my browser. For days, I’d take a peek and then shake my head no. Last night, the temptation became too much, and at about 11 pm, when I should have been going to bed, I instead went down to my sewing machine to cut out these little beauties. Pardon the wrinkles…I was feeling too lazy to iron.

They were super easy and quick to stitch. Best of all, I was able to make them from scraps. The polka dots were the remains of an apron I made for a friend, years ago. The white portion was cut from a nice thick canvas that used to be a stained bbq apron, and the back was cut from a pair of worn out jeans. I had the bias tape trim in my stash from a 95-cent sale at Fabricland last year.

I used one layer of Insulbrite batting instead of the three layers of cotton batting Martha suggested. The only other change I made was to start my binding at the bottom point of the heart. I started the first one at the centre top, as Martha directed, but I found it tricky to finish later. Starting at the bottom point gave me a cleaner finish.

So yeah, bottom line, I think I’m hooked on Valentine’s Day crafts now. (=

PS…if you’re not a fan of enlarging things when you print, here’s a link to the full-size pattern.

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Someday Crafts Reveal-My-Gender Party

A Little Lovely Saturday Soiree

Giveaway WINNER!

2011-02-03T23:35:00.002-05:00

Wow, this has been a tough week for my family. We’ve all been flattened by a doozy of a cold (maybe flu? I can’t tell the difference) for the past week, my sewing machine broke down for the umpteenth time, and I’ve gained two pounds from boredom and frustration snacking! On the bright side of things, a kind neighbour used his snowblower to clear our driveway of the mountain of snow that came down in the past few days. I’m baking some muffins to show my gratitude, since we were all far too ill to tackle the job with shovels.

Since my sewing machine is out of whack and my kids are extra needy, I’ve been crocheting. Such a portable craft. Here’s a little cloche beanie I made for my husband’s boss’s family and the new baby girl they just welcomed.

It’s soft and sweet and took me only a few hours working with a child tucked under each arm. I didn’t use a pattern this time, so I hope it fits.

And now for the winner of my scarf giveaway! There were only 11 valid comments, but I’m so thankful to everyone who takes a moment to read about what I’m doing or who makes a comment or suggestion.

Da-duh-da-da!

Congratulations to Jacqueline, who is the cooking, baking, candy-making, decorating and styling genius behind Purple Chocolat Home . I’ve been following Jacqueline’s blog for some time now, and she never fails to wow me with her whimsical stories, amazing tablescapes, breathtaking home, and decadent recipes. Go take a peek at her blog, and prepare to be dazzled.

As for me, I finally unfolded and cut out some of the patterns from Amy Butler’s Style Stitches, which was one of the thoughtful Christmas gifts hubby chose for me this year. There are several bags in the book that I would love to do, starting with the Teardrop Bag and the Perfectly Pleated Clutch.

Now I just have to wait for my sewing machine to be repaired, or depending on how bad her prognosis is, I may did out my straight stitch machine and get moving.

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Ruffled laptop sleeve

2011-01-29T16:56:00.007-05:00

Since giving up my job to become a stay-at-home mom, I haven’t had much opportunity to travel with my laptop. Now, though, I am secretary for a local volunteer association, and use my computer to take notes. The cloth bag I was using to carry my new, larger, laptop just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Enter my new laptop sleeve!

The fabric was a generic brand from my stash, and I used Char’s tutorial on her awesome blog, Crap I’ve Made. Just a note, I’ve yet to see any crap! Case in point, this sleeve is lined, padded, zippered and embellished.

I found curving the zipper around the corners was a little fiddly because my zipper was a tad short, but otherwise, this was an easy project that I whipped up in about an hour and a half, just in time to take to a workshop this morning. Yay for simplicity!

My husband thinks the ruffled embellishment is goofy (especially since I goofed and made it off centre), but I like it, and think I’ll probably add a flower pin or something like Char did with hers.

P.S. Don’t forget there’s still four days to enter my very first giveaway!

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Giveaway time!

2011-01-26T21:41:00.007-05:00

I am a firm believer in the concept of Pay It Forward. Since discovering the world of blogs, I’ve been lucky enough to win a few blog giveaways. So now it’s my turn to share and to say thank you to the people who actually read my blog. In the beginning, I set it up as a log of my crafty endeavours – mostly for myself (because I’m forgetful), and also for a few family members. I never expected anyone else to be interested. Ironically, perfect strangers are reading while my family pretty much ignores what I’m doing (=

Here’s what I’m offering up along with my gratitude: a tweedy wool, modified version of the Paula’s Scarfette pattern I discovered on Ravelry last year.

I love this pattern and will definitely be making one for myself asap!

No big hoops to jump through to enter: if you’re a follower, just leave a comment to say hello. And if you’re not a follower, please become one and then leave a comment to say hi. Good luck! I’ll draw a winner February 3rd.

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Thrifty covered rocking stool

2011-01-25T22:38:00.001-05:00

The theme for the first week of Crafting with the Stars was Dollar Store/Thrifted items. Pretty wide open. The contestants came up with some pretty cool projects. Go to Sew Dang Cute to check ‘em out – but after you’re done here!

Since I’m playing along at home and not competing against anyone, I didn’t want to buy anything extra. Luckily, I do have some thrifted items around ~~cluttering up our house~~ waiting for an upgrade.

Enter the grimy rocker foot stool. Do you love the dust and mysterious white spots? Sadly, those have mostly appeared SINCE the stool came into our house.

I love a good rocking chair. And if I can put up my feet and have them rocking, too? Pretty sweet. But the potential for foot swaying bliss is about the only redeeming feature of this stool. It’s not the prettiest thing for sure. And my kids love sticking their fingers into the rocking parts at the bottom –pinches waiting to happen.

The solution? A cover, of course.

This cover was made from another thrifted item – not sure exactly what it was before, but I’m guessing curtains? Or maybe a table cloth? Anyway, I had enough of it to cover the top and sides of the stool.

If you can see past the bad case of flash-itis showing in my photos, you can see that this is a fairly low-effort project. I basically just hemmed the edges and tacked the corners together with some zig-zag stitches (feed dogs down) to create a box shape. I folded the excess corner fabric to the side and cut off the additional bulk. Done. Oh, not quite. There was a small strip of fabric leftover, so I serged the edges to make a matching embellishment for the chair cushion. The whole lot needs a good pressing – will save that for morning.

So far, week one of playing along with CWTS has accomplished what I hoped it would do: get me out of a rut and back to crafting, even on a limited scale. I'm really looking forward to the challenge for week 2!

PS…watch out for my very first GIVEAWAY tomorrow! YAY!

Mojo booster & a milestone

2011-01-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

The contestants for Crafting With the Stars were announced and, as expected, I wasn't one of the chosen ones. That's okay. My interest in the competition is a mojo booster, so I'm going to be crafting along with everyone else, sans star power. I think having a little goal or theme is going to help me feel creative again. The first challenge is Dollar/Thrift Store, so I'll be heading to the Dollarama asap!

On a personal note, my amazing little man turns four today. On one hand, it feels like he's been around forever, and on the other hand, I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. Kids may be fun seeking and goofy, but it's mind boggling to think of all the learning they can pack into a few short years: sitting, crawling, walking, running, climbing, talking, singing, counting, colours, recognition, compassion, logic, love. I feel like such a slacker in comparison!

So here's a snapshot of Joshua at four, in both pictures and words:

Spirited, mischievous, loving, serious, smart, quirky, thoughtful, funny. He's a great big brother, too, although we've got to work on that choke hold!

I'm hoping to have some sewing time tonight, after the birthday celebrations are cleaned up and my sons in bed. My machine seems to have fixed itself, so fingers crossed that it stays fixed! I'd like to work on a wrap dress that I started before Christmas, and I've also cut out pieces for the Riviera jacket from Hot Patterns.

Monogrammed alphabet tee

2011-01-15T20:06:00.012-05:00

My oldest son is in preschool, and is learning to read the alphabet and short words, so I thought this little t-shirt would be fun for him to practice recognizing different letters.

I used my computer to pick my fonts and arrange the letters, with a giant J for Joshua in the centre. Then I cut out the whole thing onto freezer paper to make a stencil (I’ve included some photos below, but if you need specifics, just Google freezer paper stencilling). I thought I was being clever by joining most of the letters, figuring that I would have only piece of freezer paper to iron down, but I completely forgot that I would be painting in the negative space, which actually meant I had to spend a couple minutes figuring out how the parts went back together. Not a big deal, just not what I expected.
Once everything was cut and placed, I ironed it onto our seemingly never-ending supply of preschooler sized plain white tees. LOVE these for crafts! It’s sort of hard to see the white freezer paper on white t-shirt details in the photo below, but if you squint a bit, you can see what I mean.

Next step was to apply fabric paint. I used two colours of dimensional fabric paint from Walmart that happened to be in my stash, but I didn’t want the dimensional look that you get from a squeeze bottle, so I applied the paint with a foam brush from the dollar store. To stop the paint from soaking through the t-shirt, I cut the front off of a cereal box and slipped it inside the shirt, and then used the remaining box frame to keep the fabric from slipping around.

I used two colours to create an informal monogram of my son’s initials. His middle name is after my grampa, who passed away just a month or so before I got pregnant, so he never knew about his first great-grandson to be. We don’t use Josh’s middle name often, so I liked having a chance to highlight his middle initial here.
After the paint has dried for about 10 minutes, CAREFULLY peel off the freezer paper to reveal your artistic genius.

I purposely keep one long fingernail to help with little jobs like peeling paper, but a pair of tweezers or an Exacto blade to help lift corners makes the job a lot faster. (=
And voila!

Upon further inspection, I realized I forgot to add a W to the mix – rather ironic given that W was the preschool letter of the week – so I’ll have to go back and fix that. Oops! My youngest is two now, but I’m not afraid to claim mommy brain!
UPDATE!! Note the wee W at the bottom (:

Happy weekend!

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Crafting with the STARS!

2011-01-14T23:41:00.000-05:00

After my last post about feeling like I'm in a bit of a slump, it occurred to me: what better way to get my creative juices flowing again than a little competition? Enter season 2 of Crafting with the Stars, hosted by Tam at Sew Dang Cute. How amazing would it be to collaborate with some of blogland's best crafters? Yeah, pretty darn amazing in my humble opinion. I'd love to pick the brain of any of the stars taking part.

Anyway, there are a ton of potential contestants, but I thought I'd throw my name in the ring. And you know what? It's working! I feel excited about crafting again and have started a new project. Can't wait to show you!

PS...if you want to boost my chances, check out my project entry at Sew Dang Cute. It's thumbnail #179, the vintage airplane growth charts I made for my son, a friend's son, and my nephews.

January slump…I mean progress

2011-01-12T14:39:00.001-05:00

January is flying by and I feel like I’ve been in a crafting slump. I’ve been busy doing work for others in my free time. Mostly hemming, but there were also some fun superhero capes for a birthday party. I almost forgot photos, so excuse the lack of display…these were snapped virtually last second.

As you can see on the blue version above, I stabilized the satin neck opening with felt. The cape is closed with velcro, so I figured a little extra support would be good.

My sewing machine conked out as I was finishing the last item in my last pile of hemming. I have a Janome Memory Craft 6600, and I love it most of the time. But it has a habit of leaving me hanging by breaking down at the most inconvenient times. It’s only three years old (maybe less) and has had to be repaired three times so far (not including maintenance). Not impressed. I have two other straight stitch only machines, so I could do some sewing if I wanted to, but I feel too discouraged to bother. January blahs, I guess.

On a brighter note, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to inject some life into my little Etsy shop. I sell a lot of things locally, so my poor shop has been neglected, with only a few items listed. I am determined to remedy this situation (in spite of my sewing hiatus). So here’s a little peek at the newest item in the shop:

So far, they’re available in black and light grey, black and dark grey, and black and forest green. Definitely subdued tones, but oh-so-cozy and warm. I have plans to try some in a dark solid with bright multicoloured NORO yarn for the windows. Think that’d be fabulous…maybe so much so that I’d want to keep them for myself!

2011

2011-01-01T21:00:00.001-05:00

I want to wish everyone a very happy 2011. Hubby and I don’t really celebrate the change of one year to the next, but I do try to make some vague resolutions each year.

On my list for 2011:

* lose weight – I think this has been on my list for the last 15 years!

* spend more time in my craft room

* stop ignoring my Etsy shop. It needs more inventory. Four items aren’t cutting it.

* give my boys more exposure to our local cultural resources…museums, festivals, etc.

* this one is sort of related to #1 & #2, but I want to start making more clothing for myself. It’s been years since I’ve made anything significant for my own wardrobe. I’m always putting it off until I reach ___ size.

* learn a new skill

So those are some of my general resolutions. In the more immediate future, I’m hoping to do my 100-post giveaway (yes, late) early next week, so watch for that.

Uptown cowl

2010-12-29T23:19:00.003-05:00

After a rush to get Christmas gifts taken care of before they had to be mailed out, I thought it would be nice to putter at a simple and useful project. Enter the Uptown Cowl. Initially, I was making it for myself, but now I'm thinking about giving it to my mom and making another for myself later.

Knitted with Bernat's acrylic/alpaca wool blend in 'Aqua'

The pattern for this little lovely was plucked from the February 2011 Canadian Living magazine. I couldn't find an online version, but it's on page 76 if anyone is interested in looking up a paper copy. It's a simple pattern to follow, and can be made with circular needles for maximum ease. DPNs are not my friend, so yay for circulars! I worked slowly and it came together over a couple of evenings of catching up on some online shows.

The cowl gives good coverage (ignore my wet hair)

I'm quite fond of the colour (aqua) and texture/stitch definition of this yarn, which is kind of amusing since my three year old son picked it. He wants a pair of mittens made of same. I love that he gets excited about creating things, and that he still thinks I can do or make anything with my mommy superpowers, so I'll be working on mittens asap.

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Airplane growth charts

2010-12-27T15:01:00.006-05:00

One of the things on my to-do list when I was pregnant with my youngest son was to make him a growth chart similar to the one hanging on my oldest son's bedroom wall. Fast forward to last week, when my little guy celebrated his 2nd birthday, and still no growth chart. Fast forward again to 1:30 am on Christmas morning, when I was down in my craft room finally finshing his growth chart. He's napping now, so no photo of his, but here is a snap of another I made as a gift for a friend's son.

The photo doesn't do it particular justice (not surprising since I took the pic in the basement, at night), but I'm really happy with how the growth chart turned out. Best yet, while I chose a boyish airplane theme/palette, these charts would be easy to personalize for both boys and girls young and old.

Here are the basics:

I needed to make three growth charts, so I purchased a 12-foot length of white MDF and had it cut into three equal pieces (4 feet each). Using a foam roller and a sample can of blue latex paint from Walmart, I painted the front and edges of each board -- three coats total, with drying time between coats.

Next, I used yellow craft paint to add colour to three sizes of wooden stars. I did up a bunch at once, and let them dry on a piece of paper, while I used a paint marker to colour the name letters (wooden cutouts from Michael's). One coat did for both letters and stars. Craft paint would have been fine for the letters, too, but I had the pen in mind for marking inches along the side of the board, so thought I'd use it on the letters, as well.

Once everything was dry, I placed the letters and stars on the painted board, along with some wallpaper airplane cutouts. I played around with the arrangement, and used E-6000 to glue down the wooden pieces when I was happy with how they looked.

The wallpaper cutouts were easy to use...just soak them in water for a minute to activate the adhesive on the back and then smooth onto the board. I blotted with a paper towel, and used a plastic straight edge tool to squeeze out extra water.

Next up was adding the measurements along one edge of the board. I used a light pencil crayon and a quilting ruler to mark one-inch increments.

For the first two growth charts, I just used the paint marker to go over the pencil crayon lines -- and that worked fine. For the third, I used a piece of painter's tape to help keep the edges even. Better! When the lines were dry, I went back and freehand continued them around the side of the board and added numbers at each foot mark. Since the boards are only 4 feet long, I started my numbers at two, three of four inches from the bottom. When the chart is wall mounted, the bottom will be just a little under two feet above the floor. Did that make sense?

And here's the finished version again. When my son wakes up, I'll get a photo of his now mounted growth chart so you can see how it looks on the wall.

Edited to add new photo:

Finished and mounted at the proper height!

Update!! This project is my entry to hopefully become a competitor at

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Sew Can Do

(Cost breakdown for THREE growth charts: board -- $12, wallpaper cutouts -- $10.50 (including shipping), paint and paint marker -- $10, stars and letters -- $8. Total: $40.50 or approx $13.50 each.)

More Christmas gift goodies!

2010-12-26T01:20:00.002-05:00

While Christmas is technically over for another year, I'm still relishing the peacefulness and good spirit that always comes with the season, and hoping the feeling lasts for at least a few days longer.

My family of four enjoyed a quiet day to ourselves and it was really great. This is the first year that my oldest son 'gets' the idea of Santa, so he was pretty excited this morning. I loved it! I'm also in love with the image of my little boys dressed in matching jammies. Too cute!

On the topic of gifts, this cute crocheted hat was another of the handmade goodies I made for gift giving to friends. It worked up fairly quickly and I liked how it turned out. The pattern was from Lion. Do read the reviews first if you try this one, since most of the reviewers found it a bit large if the directions are followed as presented.

I also whipped up a version of Georgie Hallam's "Paula's Scarfette" for my FIL...no photo of mine, as I was still knitting literally ten minutes before the post office closed on the last pre-Christmas mailing day and I had to boogie to get there in time. Here is the sample photo from the pattern (another Ravelry freebie):

Georgie Hallam

Super easy, super cute -- and, important in this case -- fast to complete! I made my version with some yarn I had leftover from another project, a sort of smoky blue/grey shade. I'm happy with how it turned out. I also made another pair of fingerless gloves...they were going in the same box as my FIL's scarf, so another photoless project.

I have a family dinner to attend tomorrow, but if I have time in the evening, I'll post about another Christmas gift I gave out this year -- cute little growth charts for boys.

A bit late, but Merry Christmas!

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Pre-school teacher gifts

2010-12-17T15:11:00.000-05:00

A bad cold has really knocked me on my rear and put me behind on everything. Including making Christmas gifts for my son's pre-school teachers. I remembered close to midnight last night. As in 11 hours before the Christmas party where those gifts are delivered. Oops!

Thankfully these little tissue pack covers I saw at Let's Go Fly a Kite are the perfect small gift and quick to make. I finished three of them, including ironing the fabric from my scrap bin, in about 20 minutes. Add a pack of tissues and a small gift card and I was done. Thank goodness for my sewing machine!

The party went as well as can be expected given the number of children, tables full of food and sweets and a visit from Santa -- all near naptime for the younger ones -- but I find these events really tiring. My boys go crazy, and it's hard to keep them from running around at top speed (opposite directions, of course) because they're so excited. No pictures on Santa's lap again for us...although at least this year, we got a snap of them 'sitting near' Santa. My youngest climbed up on Santa for a split second before freaking out and the oldest got close enough to grab his gift and run. Maybe next year. Maybe.

Super Fast Dolly Sling

2010-12-14T00:41:00.004-05:00

I don't get to do a lot of girl crafts, but this little doll sling for an almost 3-year-old girl was fast and easy to make.

Turns out there's not a dolly model to be found in my house, so Teddy is subbing in!

If the shape of this sling looks familiar, it's because it's a slightly larger version of my fabric headband.

The sling is made from three pieces of fabric. Cut two rectangles of fabric larger enough to hold the dolly needing comfort. I eyeballed everything, so no measurements, but I'd guess mine were approximately 16 inches x 10 inches, and I used two different prints. Put them right sides together and stitch up the long sides. Turn right sides out and press seams. Cut another rectangle of fabric, approximately 18 inches long (depending on size of doll and size of child) and 10 inches wide. Fold in thirds with rights sides out and stitch along the long edges. Tuck the ends of the strap inside, giving a finished edge. Then, gather the short sides of the first rectangle set and insert them into the tucked edge of the strap. Secure with stitching, and repeat on the other side, taking care not to twist the strap. When I got to this point, the pouch part of the sling looked a little flat, so I added a couple little side darts to give it a rounder appearance. That's it!

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Getting ready for Christmas

2010-12-12T15:36:00.003-05:00

With the calendar speeding toward Christmas, my family and I had to put aside our collective illness to get ready. There are still several gifts to make and mail (thank goodness for Express service!), but our semi-decorated tree is up, there are garlands hanging here and there, and the stockings are hung from a shelf -- they have to stay there, out of little boy reach, until they can be moved to the fireplace for Christmas morning. We've also been baking cookies, making ornaments and went out to the local Christmas Parade of Lights. In no particular order, here are some of the highlights:

Decorating the tree with toy hamsters and Hot Wheels

Snuggling in a pillow fort

Yummy decorated sugar cookies to eat and share

Pretty lights, blurry tree (=

Not even 2 yrs old and master of the rolling pin!

Hot hubby & my 'baby' boy at the parade

I've been working to clear out my list of custom Christmas projects for others, so I haven't had much time for my own crafts. I did get another dino mat finished from the gift list, and also whipped up a couple of these pot holder-topped dishtowels. My kids are forever pulling the towels off the front of the stove, so this little design is perfect. I'm not sure of the original source of this idea, but a fellow mommy from my playgroup found it online somewhere, and it ended up becoming a group project for some of us trying to make homemade Christmas gifts. Seriously though, I'm keeping mine for myself!

I don't have work-in-progress photos (naptime is getting shorter and shorter), but these are so simple that I'm sure you can figure it out. Any questions, just ask!

1. Choose a cute kitchen towel and coordinating pot holder. I picked up these festive versions for $1 each at Walmart.

2. Fold towel in half the short way to find the middle.

3. Run a long, gathering stitch (5.0 stitch length on my machine) across the middle of the towel. Just leave the ends unsecured. No bartacking!

4. Pull on the bobbin thread (the lower one) to gather the towel until it is the width of your pot holder.

5. With towel face up, and pot holder face down and centred over the gathering stitches, pin the pot holder in place and stitch it down to the towel. I didn't bother pinning -- this is pretty much a no-fail kind of project. Stitch slowly, and use a longer stitch length, since the layers will be fairly thick. Depending on if your pot holder's hanging loop is centred or on a corner, you may have to orient the pot holder diagonally, instead of horizontally as I did with mine in the photo below.

Hmm, button doesn't look so off-centre in real life. You can do it better!

6. If your gathering stitches are showing and that bothers you, use a seam ripper to pull them out.

7. Sew a cute matching button to the side of the pot holder opposite the loop. This is how you will attach the towel to your oven handle. You can do this by hand, but I was lazy and used the zig-zag function on my sewing machine for a super-quick result.

8. Hang your 5-minute masterpiece and enjoy. You're done!

Just for kicks, here's the most recent dino mat:

No cave on this one.

I'll probably be making the few remaining ones like this. The cave on my earlier mats was fun (I thought), but my three-year-old informed me it's better to have more ground for the dinosaurs to walk on, and that the embroidered pterodactyl is much cooler overall. Guess I should have consulted the expert before I started! The zippered back passed the pre-schooler test, so it stays (=

I hope everyone is having a great time getting ready for Christmas. It's such a magical time of year, so enjoy!

P.S...For anyone interested, here is the recipe for the sugar cookies, from an amazing foodie blog called Moogie & Pap (I drool every time a new post hits my reader!):

No-Fail Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
6 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups butter (4 sticks)
2 eggs

Directions:
1. Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and flavoring. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well.

2. Put a handful of the freshly made dough onto a floured work service. Roll to desired thickness and cut out cookies. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool and decorate

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Secret Santa Swap!

2010-12-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

I've been sidelined by a nasty cold and case of pink eye for the past week, but managed to eek out my Secret Santa Swap item just in the nick of time for the December 1st deadline. Now I can only hope Canada Post is speedy in delivering my package.

My swap partner is a brilliant quilter, so crafting something for her was intimidating to say the least! I wanted to make something festive, but not so Christmas-y that it couldn't be used at other times of the year. I finally decided on a quilted pillow cover using scraps from the stockings I made a while back and some plain white cotton.

The details don't show well in this photo, but the centre is a cathedral window quilt block adorned with white piping and red beads. The outside has simple diagonal quilting, and the back is a simple pocket fold made from a sturdy but unknown fabric from Switzerland. I added an ornament and card to the package, which is hopefully nearing Texas by now.

The only other non-work project I've touched in the last week is whipping up another tie t-shirt for my oldest -- his request! He managed to get ketchup on it before I snapped the photo, but I this is what is known in blogland as keepin' it real! I bought a six-pack of plain white tees and we've had a lot of fun decorating them with applique and fabric paint. Will have to dig a few of the others out of the laundry to post later.

A bag for under the tree

2010-11-24T23:28:00.000-05:00

Another handmade gift for under the tree -- a cute little bag with cross-body strap for my husband's college-aged step sister.

This little bag sewed up in an evening, even without the benefit of pressing (my iron was out of commission). I chose a sturdy corduroy fabric for the outside, with faux-suede accents and a leopard print lining. A girl's gotta have a little drama! The pattern is a tester of the Jenny Bag from I Think Sew, and it features a long, cross-body strap, magnetic snap and interior pockets -- perfect for a young woman on the go!

In other news, I was very surprised to discover this morning that Brandi from Don't Disturb This Groove has given me my first blog award! Thank you, Brandi!

In order to accept this award, here are the rules:

Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.
Share 7 things about yourself
Pay it forward to 10 bloggers whom you feel are deserving
Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.

7 things about me:
1. I listen to Christmas music all year long, so this is the one season of the year people don't look oddly at me.
2. I have three large, framed photos of my dog above the fireplace, even though I have two dearly loved human kids.
3. I volunteer with our local village association & for several playgroups.
4. My grandmother was my matron of honour. She's an amazing person!
5. I can't figure out how women possibly walk in high heels -- please don't take away my 'stylish' award!
6. I would rather play with my kids than mop the floor, and sometimes it shows.
7. I find British novels annoying to read.

Pay it Forward to 10 GREAT Bloggers:
In no particular order...
1. Christmas Believe
2. Whispering Christmas
3. Susie Harris
4. The Homesteading Apartment
5. House Revivals
6. Unique Sweets
7. Blessed Little Nest
8. Cats and Calico
9. Three Boys
10. You Remind Me of Home

Coffee filter wreath -- it turned out!

2010-11-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

I don't know who to credit with the original idea since blogland is loaded with these gorgeous coffee filter wreaths right now, but it's a genius idea. And since so many people have been posting amazing wreaths, I figured, how hard could it be? Turns out it wasn't terribly difficult to make a wreath of my own, but a word of advice for anyone who decides to try: the wreath looks terrible until you're actually finished. Faced with an uneven mess of filters bunched up around my wreath form, I almost gave up. It looked like a massive fail. But I kept going (what else could I do with a bunch of folded coffee filters?), and it eventually started looking better.

Don't get me wrong, this wreath is not one of those visions of perfections other bloggers have managed to crank out. But it's pretty, and good enough for me, especially considering it'll be a miracle if my boys can leave it alone long enough to even come close to Christmastime.

I'm not sure whether to embellish the wreath or leave it as is. In my head, I have vague visions of a single branch and some red berries along the bottom, but I'll have to play around with that.

For anyone who hasn't read about how to make these wreaths, there are a bunch of tutorials out there, but the basics include taking a bunch of coffee filters folded in quarters and hot gluing them to a wreath form. I used a straw wreath wrapped in white strips of fabric from my scrap bin, but you could paint the form or even leave it alone. I'm not entirely sure if the quarters are supposed to be added in layers (flat) or sideways, so I did a little of both. The layers looked best. Give it a bit of a trim if needed (mine still needs it!), add a loop to the back, and you're done!

Christmas stockings version 2

2010-11-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

A while back I mentioned making some stockings for one of the moms in my playgroup. She purchased some lovely fabric and coordinating velvet trim -- very pretty and festive. Anyway, I finished the stockings a couple weeks ago, with the exception of adding on the initials. My plan had been to use fusible web, but when I pressed my test strips to adhere them to my scrap pieces, the velvet changed colour slightly...pressing cloth, towel, nothing seemed to work. Then I came up with the brilliant idea of using a heat gun to warm the adhesive without any actual contact. Perfect! Until my heat gun fizzled out just as I was about to move from scraps to the real thing. A loaner from a friend fixed that, and the initials turned out really well.

I made the leg part of the stockings wider than usual to accommodate the weird shapes children's toys and packaging often employ, and the whole thing is slightly taller than my prototype.

So while the stockings were being prepared to leave my house, this lovely array of goodies came in, courtesy of Laurie at the Simple Things In Life.

Laurie received my name in the Secret Santa Christmas Swap. I adore the row of Santas, in particular. Thank you so much, Laurie! I hope my recipient enjoys her gift as much as I love the package from you! Time to get busy!

Quick fabric giveaway note...

2010-11-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

I've been frantically trying to get ahead of my handmade Christmas gift list, so too busy for a long post today...will have something to show tomorrow -- promise! Just wanted to let everyone know about a great fabric giveaway going on at Retro Mummy -- 14 fat quarters of absolutely loveliness from the Sweet Broderie line. Hurry! The giveaway closes tonight!

Handmade Christmas

2010-11-18T00:26:00.001-05:00

For the past several years, I've tried my hardest (between pregnancies and December & January babies!) to make and give handmade Christmas gifts to family and friends. Nothing extravagant, just gifts from the heart. I'm sure some people think it's a little hokey, but I prefer it to mindlessly picking up some commercial item. I can't post everything just yet (don't want to ruin the surprise), but I'll be adding photos here and there.

These are from a Ravelry pattern called Alice's Fingerless Gloves, apparently a nod to Alice from the Twilight Saga. I've not read the books nor seen the movies, but I thought the gloves would make a fun gift for my SIL. Last year, I knitted up some dishcloths and added them to a variety of homemade jams, mustard, & baking mixes as part of a kitchen basket. She apparently thought they were oven mitts (!!!) and kept burning herself, so gave the cloths to her cat. Anyhoo, these will be wrapped along with a little note saying NOT oven mitts!

The pattern is simple, and works up quickly, although I think you need a (free) Ravelry account to access the file.

Please ignore the awkward photos. For those of you who know me, I'm 'blessed' with short arms. No matter how much I stretched, I couldn't get the camera far enough away for a decent shot at any angle beyond this one.

Onward.

This little photo frame was one of the unfinished ones you can pick up at Michael's, painted with craft paint and then stamped to embellish. It didn't turn out quite the way I imagined, but I'm sure it will be fine with an appropriate snowy photo. I intended to give this to a friend, but since it 'didn't turn out', I may be gifting it to myself (=

I used a VersaMark pad, a foam stamp, and embossing powder to create the tree. It still felt a little empty, so I grabbed the VersaMark pad (sort of a slow-drying glue/ink stuff -- surely that's the technical term) and used it to create an all-over pattern with a larger hearts and swirls pattern stamp. I considered embossing that, too, but I didn't ink my stamp well enough and had to go over the frame a few times. My goof is fairly hidden when the VersaMark ink is left as is, but I think it'd really show up covered in sparkly embossing powder!

Last item is this Little Cook's set I made for one of my playgroup's fundraising auctions: chef hat, oven mitts, felt bacon & eggs. I've made several of these items individually, and they've always been a hit, so I'm hoping someone will buy them as a gift and help out the playgroup.

Linked to:

Tatertots & Jello Weekend Wrapup

A wreath fit for the birds!

2010-11-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

Birds are creatures I prefer to appreciate from a distance, but I do feel sorry for them during our long, cold, Canadian winters, so when I saw this bird seed wreath project from Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, I knew it'd be a great project for me and my boys to help out our chilly feathered friends. Btw, if you haven't been to Stephanie Lynn's blog before, it's awesome. I want to re-create almost everything she does.

Anyway, yesterday the boys and I gathered our supplies and whipped up this wreath. It came together really quickly (perfect for little kids with the attention span of a gnat), and is now attracting birds in our side garden. I wasn't sure what to use for a form, but eventually settled on a pretty bundt pan with lots of shortening to make sure it would release after it was set.

We used:

4 cups of birdseed
4 packages of plain gelatin powder
2 cups of water
shortening for greasing pan
a scrap of tulle for hanging

Dissolve the gelatin in warm water, add seed and stir. Let the kids put the mixture in form, refrigerate until set (I left it overnight, just to be sure!), add the fabric hanger and you're done!

On another note, I just realized this is my 100th post. I'm hoping to celebrate that, along with the fact that some of your actually follow my blog (never expected that!), with a little giveaway, but I think I'm going to wait until the new year, since I'm crazy busy with sewing work for the holidays right now and quickly running out of time! So, watch for that, and thanks to all who read here.

Kids' Pillow Seats

2010-11-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to make my boys bean bag chairs for a while, but the idea of so many beans somehow getting loose in my house has been holding me back. So when I saw these cute Pottery Barn Kids-inspired floor cushions at Living with Punks, I knew they were the perfect compromise...sturdy and comfy, but no beans (=

Mine are a little taller and have a different kind of handle than the inspiration version (better for swinging in the inevitable cushion wars!), and I'm really happy with how they turned out. The airplane-printed denim and piping were from my stash, so my only expense was about $15 for poly stuffing. It took an entire huge bag to fill the two pillow seats, and they probably could have used a bit more, but I wasn't going to buy another bag.

These are going to be added to the rapidly growing stash of Christmas gifts for the boys (books, growth chart, monster wallets, pajamas, dino mats, mittens and hats) . They get spoiled (not to mention over-exposed to the commercialism of Christmas) every year, so I was trying to stick to, "Something to wear, something to read, something they want, something they need", as a gift planning guide. So far, except for some books and two videos, all of their gifts are homemade, so I don't feel too badly about the little extras.

Hubby and I are in the midst of what we're calling a mini stay-cation. We've put the kids in daycare for three days (my first time away from both of them!) and have been taking bubble baths, reading, crafting, blogging and just relaxing. No housework, bare essentials cooking, no stress. I pick up the kids for dinner and bedtime, so we all have some family time, too. We can't afford a real vacation right now (plus kids are at a difficult age for travel), so this is our budget alternative and it's been great. This afternoon will be dedicated to a bit more sewing and a little Christmas decoration making, so I should have more to post this week!

Linked to:

Sew Can Do: Craftastic Monday

Oh so good sweet potato & bean burritos

2010-11-04T21:16:00.003-04:00

I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy meatless meals a few times a week. Tonight, I had leftover beef stew in the fridge for my carnivore hubby, so took the opportunity to round out our dinner offering with one of my favourite dishes: sweet potato & bean burritos. I know they don't sound all that exciting, but seriously, they rock my taste buds.

Sweet Potato & Bean Burritos

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
* 2 cups water
* 3 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
* 12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
* 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce
3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. (Personally, I mix it all up together before adding to tortilla). Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve. (I dip them in plain Greek yogurt...mmm)

I'm not sure of the original source of this recipe, but I got it from a mom in my sons' playgroup. She called them 'Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos' and they really are. Even my picky eater devours these, and that's really saying something!

Linked to:
Anyone Can Cook (beginner recipe)

Bean Bags!

2010-10-31T00:08:00.002-04:00

My boys love playing with bean bags. We toss them around in the house, take them to the park, use them in the car. They're so versatile and literally hours of fun. So when I was looking for a little something extra to add to a birthday gift for a little guy I consider my honourary nephew, bean bags were a natural choice.

They're just denim squares with appliqued letters (all from my scrap bin!), but I hope he gets as much fun out of them as my family does with ours.

Today is Hallowe'en (although just barely). The ghost wreath I made earlier is hanging on the door, the kids decorated a couple pumpkins with buttons and 'hair' at a playdate, and when we wake up later this morning, we will carve a jack-o-lantern. But unlike so many others in blogland, there will be no fancy outdoor displays to greet our trick-or-treaters. Why? Because Hallowe'en tends to look more like Christmas around here. This is the view from my patio door -- spooky enough for you? (=

We'll be getting our spook on with costumes and trick or treating this evening, despite the inclement weather. Happy Hallowe'en!

Linked to:

Sew Can Do

Creative Itch: Sew Cute Tuesday

Dino Play Mat

2010-10-25T00:31:00.000-04:00

After seeing these cute dino play mats at Serving Pink Lemonade and Support Blog for Moms of BOYS, I knew stitching up a few of these babies would be on top of my Christmas to-make list. My boys love dinosaurs, but I'm also envisioning a mechanic's shop or something for Hot Wheels. So many options.

I took advantage of a 50% off sale at our local Fabricland, as well as 20% off at our brand new (EEK!) Michael's store (only 6 minutes from my doorstep -- oh so dangerous) to pick up a variety of craft felt and got to work. Here's the finished mat:

Love felt!

Arrrr!

Where's my tail?

Back is zippered for handy dino storage

The general design of the Pink Lemonade version was cute, so I freehanded a kind-of copy, but larger, more like the Moms of Boys version, and then added my own touches, like a cool cave with a real opening, some basic thread detailing, dimensional plants & lava, and a zipper in the backing so it can be opened up to store a few dinosaur friends. Love how this turned out!

Linked to:

Ghostly Hallowe'en wreath

2010-10-22T21:23:00.002-04:00

My brain usually skips right over Hallowe'en and jumps to Christmas. But now that my oldest son is starting to recognize different holidays, I thought I should at least attempt to decorate. A little.

So off to the dollar store I went, and picked up some black and white ghost garland. For a week or so, it was draped around the edge of our kitchen ceiling. But as time wore on, I hated it. Time for plan B, a ghostly wreath.

This was the world's easiest wreath. I took a length of foam plumbing insulation and duct taped it into a circle. Then I used straight pins to attach one end of the garland to the foam, and then wrapped and wrapped. Another pin, a ribbon to hang it, and done. I also purchased a large, glow-in-the-dark plastic spider to mount inside the wreath once it's on the front door, but that won't be for a couple more days.

I also purchased some wooden letters to make BOO blocks, but we'll see if that happens this year. If so, great, and if not, at least there's the wreath.

Linked to:

The DIY Show Off: Fall Festival