Category Archives: Tutorials

Ruffled Quilt

Family, Patterns, Quilts, Tutorials, , , , ,

My daughter made this darling quilt for her daughter and had it all quilted up cute.  All that need to be done was to put the binding on and it would be finished. Easy, right?  Well not to her.  She struggled to get it finished and finally just brought it to me to complete it.  Isn’t that what moms are for?  I really didn’t mind, because I just worked on it one evening while we were watching a ball game.  She designed this pattern from a couple of other quilts that she had seen, and of course I loved all the ruffles!(I cannot believe that we are taking pictures outside in the middle of January in Utah and there is no snow!)

She started with 8 1/2 ” squares of fabric.  Then she cut 2″ x width of fabric strips for the ruffles. She then cut the strips in half so they were about 21-22″ long.  Gather each of the strips and sew them onto half of the squares.  She randomly placed 5 minky flowers on 5 of the blocks with no ruffles.  She stitched 1/4″ from edges of flowers and also from the edges of the centers of the flowers.  She then laid it out on the floor and placed every other block with ruffles and each row had the ruffles turning the opposite way.  Then simply sew the blocks together and then sew the strips together.  I think that her design turned out absolutely darling.  She put a minky backing on it so it is such a cozy quilt for her little girl.  The edges of all the ruffles and the flower centers are raw, so that when you wash it, it will rag out and be so soft and cuddly!

I think that I might need to get another quilt project going after seeing how darling this one turned out!  I loved the fact that she designed this all by herself, it tends to make a mother right proud!  :)

Recipe Book Dividers

Books, cooking, Organization, Printables, Recipes, Tutorials, , , ,

It is January and I am still trying to do a little bit of organizing, I had this BIG stack of recipes that I had printed from different websites, pages that I had ripped out of magazines and some recipes that were handwritten by myself or given to me by a friend.  So I decided that I really needed to get them all organized, since they are recipes that I use and I was getting tired of flipping through the whole entire stack to find one recipe!  As I was looking through these recipes I noticed that some of them had been printed 3 years ago!  So I would say that it was definitely time to get my act together.  :)

I went to Costco and bought this plain white binder that you can put a page in the front of it and also in the spine.  This is the 2″ size. Continue reading →

Headband Tutu’s

Crafts, Fashion, Gift ideas, Tutorials, , , , , , ,

I saw these made up at a boutique last fall, and thought what a cute idea it would be for my three granddaughters!  They love to dress up and pretend that they are princesses, so I thought they might love to play in these little tutu’s.

They were really fun to make and you could do any color combination that you would like. There is also no sewing involved!  So, who wants to make a tutu?

First, you will need one of these stretchy elastic headbands or you can just buy the elastic and make it into a headband.  I found white and pink ones.

Then you need whatever color tulle you like.  I chose white, light pink, and dark pink.  I just used the tulle that comes on a bolt and all I had to do is cut the lengths that I needed.   My granddaughters are still fairly small, so I used a 36 inch length and when they are tied they are about 17 inches long.  The skirts are also are pretty full, so they are not quite that long when they are wearing them.   You can make them as long or as short as you would like.  Fold the length of tulle in half and put the loop through one of the holes like this:

Then put the ends, through the loop:and pull tight like so.

I skipped every other hole and tied a different color in it,

repeating until I had gone all the way around.

Then do one more row of tulle.  I went directly above the first row and tied the same color as I had on the bottom row.  You can mix it up if you wanted to, but I like the look of the colors being a little bit more grouped.

Then I went in between the rows of tulle and tied different lengths and colors of ribbon the same way as I had tied the tulle.  Tie the ribbons all the way around mixing the different ribbons as you go.  You could add flowers or beads or buttons on the ribbons at this point but I felt like these were great just the way they were.

So cute and no sewing!

We are going to have a Princess Tea Party this week, so I will show you what they look like on the little girls after we have our party.

 

Roasted Red Rosemary Potatoes

cooking, Recipes, Tutorials, , , , , , ,

I made these potatoes for dinner on Sunday when I had all my crew here.  My grandkids kept saying that they were big french fries!  And I say, whatever it takes to get them to eat  is OK by me!

These are very simple to make and they have so much good flavor to them,  I paired them up with whole roasted chicken, cabbage salad and my DIL’s yummy crescent rolls!  So does anyone want to make Roasted Red Rosemary Potatoes?

I covered my baking sheet with tin foil before I started, only because I am lazy and don’t like a lot of clean up.  You do not have to do this step unless you are lazy like me!

Next I went to my rosemary plant in my kitchen and cut a few sprigs off the top.  Don’t you love my little statue!  It says “She Who Has A Great Attitude!”  It is my reminder everyday to look for the good things and to be happy and have a Great Attitude.  It does not always work, but I find myself smiling at it a lot and it is a fun little reminder!

I used 4 sprigs, but you can totally use as much or as little as you want.

Strip all the leaves off the stem.  These stems were pretty tender and not woody at all, but I still stripped them off and then chopped them up.  You can buy fresh rosemary at most groceries stores, or you could use dried.  (If you use dried, you will want to use less than if you use fresh)Wash and chunk your potatoes and put into a big ziplock bag.  Then drizzle the potatoes with olive oil.  If you are trying to watch your weigh you can just use a little drizzle, if you want a little more flavor and crunch, add a little more oil. :)

Next, spread them out on your prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle with the rosemary, Kosher salt, pepper, and garlic, to taste.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Most recipes say to bake for about 40 mins, but I like my potatoes mushy in the middle and more crispy on the outside, so I baked them for a little more than an hour and they were perfect!

I made that big pan full for my crew and I thought that I was going to have way too much, and this is what I had left over!  (I forgot to take a picture right before we ate, so I was glad that there were at least this many left over!)

This is a great way to make potatoes that can go with a lot of different dishes and they are yummy with all the different spices on them.  You could also add whatever spices your family likes…seasoning salt, parsley, dill, crushed red pepper etc.

So go make some for your dinner tonight, your taste buds with thank you!

Ruffled Scarf

Crafts, Fashion, Gift ideas, Sewing, Tutorials, , , ,

My sister gave me this darling ruffled scarf for Christmas and I love it, with the flower pin and all!  Our winter this year in Utah has been extremely mild and I find myself just grabbing a scarf when I go out the door instead of a jacket, so I have loved wearing this one with all the ruffles! I think it makes me look oh so pretty. :)

My sister made this scarf and so of course I wanted to make some more, because I love how cute the ruffles are and how easy it is to make!

So do you want to make one too?

First you will need 1/4 yard of the ruffle fabric like this:

I bought 1/2 yard, so that I could make two scarfs, so I had to cut the fabric in half.  Just cut right along the line in between one of the rows of ruffles so that it is 1/4 yard wide. (9 inches)  If you want a little bit fuller scarf you could also use 1/3 yard. (12 inches)

Fold fabric in half  with right sides together along the long side and sew a 1/4″ seam.  You do not have to pin the ruffles down because you are sewing along side of the ruffle. Just make sure you tuck them in, so you don’t catch them in the seam.
Then simple turn your tube inside out!  

You are done, there are no hems because the fabric does not fray and already has a finish on it. Wasn’t that Easy Peasy!

I tied knots in the end and look at how it finishes off the look of my jacket!

I love these scarves and think that perhaps I might need one or two other colors.  We got the fabric for these scarves at Hobby Lobby.  They have a few solid colors, but if you want a striped fabric like I used on my ruffled skirt, you will have to go to a fabric or quilt shop.

So are you now ready to go make a scarf or two?  I think that this pink one is perfect for Valentines Day, or perhaps a red one would look great!  Or I could put a red and white one together!  Oh what possibilities!

No Mess Frosting Idea

cooking, Cupcakes, Desserts, Gift ideas, Tutorials, , , ,

I made these snowman cupcakes yesterday with a cute way to package them. But today I am going to show you how I made them…

I found this cupcake mix at the grocery store and I decided that I wanted to try them.  I made the cupcakes according to the directions, except I added applesauce instead of the oil. (a weight watchers tip that I use all of the time!)  These cupcakes have a filling in the middle like a “Twinkie” and they are really pretty good, and they come in chocolate also!  This box makes 12 cupcakes, which was perfect for what I wanted.

After the cupcakes cooled I frosted them using this super duper idea I found on pinterest! You really need to take a look at this, because it is AMAZING!  The Mind-Blowing Cake Decorating Tip: how to have mess-free icing bags!  If you hate decorating with icing because of all the mess and clean up then this idea will totally change your way of thinking!

Mind-Blowing Cake Decorating Tip

After I frosted the cupcakes I used orange slices for the nose, (Cut in half) and chocolate chips for the mouth and eyes.  I was going to dip the cupcakes in edible white glitter before putting the faces on, but I totally spaced it.  But they are really cute with the glitter!

Here is my little family of snow people!

Look at how yummy these cupcakes are with the filling in the middle!

Then I put them in a clear 9 oz plastic cup and into a cellophane bag and tied them up.  They are fun for a  little gift to give to your friends, teachers, neighbors, or perhaps even for yourself!  You need a treat every now and again, right?

 

Setting Goals Backwards Journal

Crafts, Organization, Traditions, Tutorials, , , , , ,

I have been in a bit of a funk lately and I just could not seem to shake it.  I just kind of felt like I was spinning my wheels and not going anywhere.  I don’t know if it is just this time of year, with Christmas over and the start of a brand new year and thinking of all the expectations that come with that.

I tend to set a lot of resolutions every year and then they seem to fall by the wayside after about a month or two.  I think that as women, we tend to beat ourselves up for all the things we think that we do not do.  I was reading a post the other day from here, and she talked about setting goals in reverse and how instead of listing all of the ways that we failed to accomplish last year’s goals, we should make a list of all of the things that we actually do right during the year.  Well I  thought about that quite a bit and decided that I really liked that idea, but I wanted to take it one step farther.  I made a journal so that I can record the things that I have accomplished or overcome every month and then I can realize all the things that I did do, and not beat myself up for all the things that I did not do.  I would not make a “to do list” of resolutions but rather an “I did list!”  I would then concentrate on the “half full glass rather than the half empty glass”.  I think it will be a great thing to be able to look back at my achievements each month.  Then I decided that if I dated my entries I could look back over several years at a time!

So do you want to make a journal to record all of your goals that you set in reverse!

Start with any notebook.  I used a good old composition journal, but you can use any type of journal or notebook.Cover the front and the back.  I put the book on top of the paper and just traced around it.  I  just went to the black strip with my paper.  Ink the edges if you prefer and then adhere paper to the front.Next cut your tabs for the dividers 1 1/2″ x 3 “.  I used six coordinating  patterns and cut two of each, so that I had twelve tabs, one for each month.I wrapped ribbon around the front of my journal and glued it to the inside cover.  If you want to add ribbon you will need to do this step.Next, cover the inside of your journal.  Again I just put the cover on my paper and traced around it.. You want to leave a very little space on the inside, so that your book will close properly.  Cut out and ink the edges.  Adhere to the inside cover.  Repeat this step for the back cover.

To add your tabs to the pages, fold tabs in half to make a 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ square.  Ink edges if desired.  Put one sheet of paper in between the tab and glue it so that about 1/4″ is sticking out beyond the page. The tab is showing  on the front and the back of that page. Space evenly so that you can space 6 tabs down and then 6 more behind that.  I had a 100 page journal, so I spaced the tabs every 8 pages.  That left a few more at the back, but  that does not matter.  (You could add  a title of  “NOTES”  to the last few pages if you wanted to.)  Then number the tabs from 1-12 for each of the months.
Decorate the front anyway that you would like. I wanted to make this a fun book that I would want to use over and over again, so I decorated it up by adding this flower and ribbons, which are pretty dimensional, but I am going to keep this book out on my desk, so that I will see it often and try to remember the purpose of this book.  If you are going to keep it on a shelf, you will want to keep the front pretty flat.  But just remember that the outside of the book is not what is important, but what you write in the inside!On the inside cover you will want to add this label.  It tells you how you should use this journal in setting your goals backward!Here is a printable for you to print for the inside cover of your journal.  I kept it pretty simple so that it would match with whatever color you use.  I matted this label with a green to match my book.  To print, just right click and go to copy, open your favorite program, like word, and right click again and to to paste.  The original size is 4″ x 6″.

Now I need to go and record that I got my closet completely dejunked and cleaned out and donated clothes to a worthy cause.  I spent time with my husband, and some of my grandchildren, which is time very well spent.  I also exercised 3 times this week!  So instead of beating myself up, I am going to try to look for all the good around me!

English Toffee

Christmas, cooking, Gift ideas, Recipes, Tutorials, , , , , , ,

Ok, so this is the last candy post, at least for this week! :)  I am starting to feel the sugar high a little bit too much.  I started making this candy at 7:30 am and my husband was wondering what in the world I was doing and I just replied, “Oh, I’m just working on my blog!”  He just shook his head!

This candy is just the right combination of chocolate, nuts, and toffee.  I am also having the hardest time staying out of it, it is probably one of my favorite candies!

So let’s make English Toffee today!

Start by lining a cookie sheet with foil and then butter the foil.  Spread 1 cup chopped nuts on the cookie sheet.  ( I used pecans, but you can use whatever you have)

Mix 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, 3 TLBS water, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Put in a kettle and bring to a boil.

 Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until mixture is light brown in color and crack stage has been reached (300-310 degrees on candy thermometer) If you want to know how to test for crack stage, go to the Anise Candy post.

 Spread cooked candy thin over nuts.

Sprinkle 11.5 oz package of chocolate chips on top. ( I used milk chocolate, but semi-sweet would be good also, totally your preference!)

When melted, spread over all of the toffee.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped nuts on top of chocolate and press down into the chocolate with your fingers.

Break into pieces and enjoy!  This is another candy that is great to give as gifts, to fill a candy dish with, or just make for a treat for yourself!

Here’s the recipe:

English Toffee

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 TBLS water

1 tsp vanilla

Combine in a kettle and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until mixture is light brown in color and crack stage has been reached (300-310 degrees on candy thermometer)

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

11.5 oz package chocolate chips

 Place buttered foil on cookie sheet and spread with 1 cup of the chopped nuts. Spread cooked candy thin over nuts. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Let melt and spread over entire candy. Add remaining 1/2 cup chopped nuts on top. (I pressed them down with my fingers into the chocolate)

Break into pieces when cool. Enjoy!

Ruffled Skirt

Christmas, Crafts, Patterns, Sewing, Tutorials, , , , , ,

I think that I have had ruffles on  the brain lately, but  you can never get too many ruffles, right?  Ruffles are still such the rage in the fashion and crafting world and I love it!

This a great little skirt that you can dress up or down, and it is knit fabric, so it is very comfy.  It does not wrinkle so it is great for travel, and it camouflages all your flaws with all the ruffles!  It doesn’t get any better than that!

You start with this fabric that is already ruffled!  It is kind of pricey, but you only need your length.  I am kind of tall and I bought about 30″ for a skirt that is mid-calf.  It only cost me about $20 for everything, and where can you buy a cute skirt like that for $20?!

I bought my fabric at The Material Girls Quilts in South Jordan, UT.  They also have this ruffled fabric in Gracie Lou’s Quilt Shoppe in Salem, UT.  I know that a lot of the finer fabric and quilt shops are now carrying it, so you should be able to find a place near you.

The fabric is  wider than I wanted,  so I cut off about 6″ from the width because I did not want it to be that full.  With all of the ruffles, it is better to have it a little bit more fitted, so you do not add bulk where you don’t want it. (If you know what I mean!)

This skirt is sooo easy as in one seam and sew the elastic to the top!

So let’s make a fun ruffled skirt for the holidays, shall we?

The most time consuming part of making this skirt is pinning all the ruffles so that they match!  You have to just match each layer of ruffle and pin it in place like this…

This is what it looks like when it is all pinned and ready to sew.Sew a 1/4″ seam all the way down, if your machine will sew over the pins, I leave them in, so that it will stay matched up nicely.I then serged the seam to trim off all the edges and to make a nice finish on the seam.  You could just serge the seam, but I really liked leaving my pins in, so I sewed the seam on my machine and then serged the edges.Look how nice it looks.  If you do not have a serger, you could also zig zag the seam and trim off the edges of the ruffles to make a finished seam.Here’s what the seam looks like, and from a little distance, it is hard to really even see where the seam is.  So is it important that you pin all of those ruffles down!I used 1 1/2″ wide elastic.  I just got this at Wally World, but you can buy it at most fabric stores, by the yard.  I couldn’t decide on black or white, so I bought both!  The black one finally won out though!Measure your waist, and subtract about 2″.  Just put it around you and when it feels right, that is where you want to cut it!  You want it to be a little bit snug, because like I said earlier, it is better to be fitted with this fabric!

Sew the elastic into a  circle overlapping about 1/4″ and zigzag down the middle to secure it good.  I went down and back up once.

Then mark your circle into fourths, using pins.

Do the same thing with your ruffle fabric.  Mark into fourths and mark with pins.There is a small amount of fabric between each of the ruffles and that is the part that you are going to sew on.  Matching pins and stretching the elastic to fit, sew the elastic to the right side of the skirt, using a narrow seam.This is what it will look like with the elastic all sewn on!  And guess what!  You are all done, because you do not need to hem this skirt, there is a ruffle on the bottom and it is knit fabric, so you are all done!!!

Pair this up with a cute knit top, a funky belt and some boots and you have a great Christmas outfit for your parties, a Christmas date, or for Church!

I hope that you can go and get some of this ruffled fabric and see how fun it is to sew!  I know that you will love it!

Happy Sewing!

Ruffled Christmas Pillow

Christmas, Crafts, For the Home, Sewing, Tutorials, , , , , , ,

I made some of these pillows for gifts and I love the way that they turned out!  It took me a little more than a hour to sew each one, so it is definitely a project that you could do in an evening!

So, let’s make a pillow or two!

Supplies:

12″ x 16″ pillow form

5″ x 32″ strips- you will need five different fabrics

1/2 yard fabric for pillow front and back (I used white on white fabric)

1/2 yard ric rac or ribbon

Cut one pillow front 12 1/2″ x 16 1/2″  rectangle, cut two 12 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ rectangles for the back.  Cut ruffles 5″ x 32″.  Fold ruffle strips in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and press.

Sew a gathering stitch 1/4″ from edge along the long raw edge of the ruffles.  Pull gathers until ruffles measure about 12 1/2″ long.
Next, mark on your pillow front fabric:

1st row:  3″ from edge

2nd row: 4 1/2″ from edge

3rd row:  6″ from edge

4th row:  7 1/2 ” from edge

5th row: 9″ from edge

I marked on both edges and down the middle.  Beginning with the first ruffle, line up the raw edge with the marks that you made and stitch gathered ruffle to pillow .  Continue sewing on all five ruffles matching the raw edge with the marks you made.After all five ruffles are sewn on, you can cover the last seam with ric-rac or ribbon.  Or you could  just leave the raw edges. Next take the two back pieces and on the 12 1/2 ” side, fold down to the wrong side, 1/2″ and press and then fold down 1/2″ again and press.  Stitch close to the inside edge as shown.Pin all of your ruffles so that they are even with the edge of the pillow.Place one of the back pieces onto the pillow.  Right sides together and pin.Then pin the other side overlapping the first piece by about 2″Stitch all the way around the outside of the pillow and trim the corners.Turn through overlapped opening and gently poke corners.

Woot, Woot!

You have made a ruffled pillow!  All you have to do is insert the pillow form!Now all you need to do is find a nice warm blanket and a good book, or movie and you are set!

May you all find a moment to wrap up with a pillow, blanket and hot chocolate and remember the true meaning of Christmas & the real Reason for the Season!