Patriotic Candle Holders

With Memorial Day coming up, I wanted to play a little with my mantle.  Just the right inspiration came from the Pinspired and Rewired challenge (see the button below).  The most recent theme was "Washi Tape".  I've seen various projects for this around, but never looked much into it other than to check out the tutorials on how to make it myself.  Washi Tape is basically decorative masking-style tape.  On Pinterest, I found this vase (http://alittlesomethinginthemeantime.blogspot.ca/2012/04/upcycled-washi-tape-vase.html) and these cups (http://craftandcreativity.com/blog/2012/03/02/decoratedglasses/):

          

I thought about my love of candles and candlescapes and went shopping ...  I came home with these:

... and went to town playing ...

        

and ended up with this:

        

This was a really quick, fun project--all for less than $15!  I love these kinds of projects.  Once I practice making my own tape, it would be so easy to  change out the designs and colors to match the holidays and birthdays and seasons and ...

May-day! May-day!

Well, today's another first.  Not like a milestone or anything, just, you know, a starting-again day.  I can't even really say starting over.  I just don't want to even go there.  We used to say to Sam every night, "Tomorrow's a new day."  She loved hearing that she could start over with no old problems keeping her down.  I like remembering that right about now :)

Thinking about today, I have some fun memories of May Day.  Growing up my next-door neighbor's birthday was today, so it was always anticipated at least for that reason.  Several years ago, I was sitting in my relatively new home and heard a knock on the door.  Of course the kids beat me to the door and there was a  lovely May Day posie waiting for us.  We ran out to the curb and caught some dear friends sneaking up on another neighbor's front door.  Sorry we ruined the surprise, guys.  That really brightened our day and gave my kids inspiration for the next few years.  They love to pick some bluebells that are plentiful in our yard right now and secretly deliver them.

This morning has been spent playing catch-up.  The man-cave was dismantled last night and Samantha moved into the upstairs loft area.  Now there are several piles of papers and old electronic components scattered around downstairs waiting to find a new home (hopefully not in ours :)  I got caught up on laundry that had piled around in various states of done-ness during the chaos of Sam's hospital stay.  Rhett and I went into the marble company this morning and officially gave them the go-ahead to make our shower!!  That'll be installed and completed in early June.  I'm so excited.  After that, the only thing left on our master bath is the re-vamping of the sink and vanity area.  I've got big ideas, but, well, let's not quite go there yet either.

I've also picked up a couple of sewing projects again.  I sandwiched a table topper this morning that's been calling to me.  I'll try to quilt that this evening.  I folded up Sam's quilt for now--until I can take a FMQ class and figure out what is up with the wrong-side tension and how to fix it.  I'm also plotting a scrappy crochet blanket project or two that will probably be donated.  Mom sent me a rather large box of old yarn from their basement fix-up project.  I'm very excited to see what I come up with.  I'm seeing a lot of shades of red and blue--maybe a patriotic ombre theme??  I also signed up for a patriotic blog hop for the 1st week in July.  I'll be designing a red-white-and-blue quilt square to share.  I'm already having fun with this one!

Half-baked: My Crafting Space

So, obviously this isn't really a cooking day.  But I do believe my little crafting corner qualifies as half-baked--really!  My craft room is really a corner of my bedroom--approx. 4'x6'.  Our master bedroom has 3 closets, and rather than use one for storage (that's what the garage is for, right?), I commandeered it for my craft closet.  We've lived in our house about 10 years now and I've had two other different crafting rooms--real rooms.

I started out in our little loft area.  On the original home blueprints, it was called the children's loft.  Probably acted as a play area.  It's pretty small, with a sloped cieling and maybe 10'x10'--you can't stand up all the way in any part of the space, but its great for sitting at a table or desk and working.  I think the previous owners to us completely ignored the space.  The ladder had been removed and the original 1960's linoleum was still on the floor and the dark wood railing was untouched.  The thick layer of dust simply said, "This space was useless to us."  Rhett installed one of those fold-down ladders and it became the perfect mommy escape place.  I bought wire shelving units to organize everything so I could see it all.  I set up a folding table to act as a work table and had everything just so.

Then, less than a year later, #3 decided to join our family.  Well, Rhett didn't like me climbing up and down all the time looking like, well, never mind.  He talked me into moving everything into our 3rd bedroom.  He took over the loft and now the only hope of removing him and his stuff from there is, well, about as likely as pigs flying.  To this day I regret listening to reason and making that move :)

The new room is pretty small and the other two kids were sharing the larger second bedroom.  At the time, I totally cleaned everything out.  I painted it a bright, cheery yellow with a soft white stippling (a la plastic bags).  I hung denim curtains overlayed with pretty eyelet fabric.  I set up my shelves to neatly store everything.  I felt inspired in my pretty space. I grew to love that space.

Then, as kids do, the oldest two grew out of sharing a room and #3 was ready to move from the living room into a bedroom.  So, the girls (oldest & youngest) were moved into the big bedroom and the boy (the MIDDLE child) moved into my small bedroom.  My craft shelves were carefully re-assembled in the 3rd closet in the master bedroom.  Whenever I wanted to work, I had to clear off the kitchen table and haul everything out.  This meant I did very little for a couple of years, because I believe in EATING at the kitchen table, so it was quite a pain to get something out, only to have to put it away for a meal or snack just when I was getting into the groove.

After a while, we tried putting a table up in the back portion of our living room, but I didn't like that either, because it always made the room look more messy than it actually was.  Eventually, we got a table from a yard sale that fit perfectly in the corner of our bedroom next to my craft closet.  Now my sewing machine and current projects have a home and I can close my bedroom door if it looks to much like the big bang.  It's a little cramped, but it works--until I have that dream home with six bedrooms, a library, an office, walk-in closets ... Back to reality.

I share this because I have made several adaptations in order to make this area work for me.  I'll share a few of these over time--but hopefully now you'll see why I take on some quirky projects.  Also--If I can make it work, anyone can.

Happy Easter!

It's been more than a couple of weeks now since I've sat down and written anything, and once again I'm a day late and a dollar short ...  The sun is shining here and I did finish one pretty big project for me--getting everyone matching on Easter.  It's not all perfection, but everything turned out pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself.  (I'll work on pics ...)

Once again I'm re-learning my schedule.  I was blessed to fall into a part-time job have been finding my footing there.  Although the job will mostly be on evenings and weekends, the training started during the days and then slowly moved closer to my intended schedule for the beginning of April.  Bear with me--I'm still doing as much sewing and crocheting as possible--just a bit more limited for a little while.

I finished about 1/2 the quilting for Luke's quilt, but ran into an issue with my machine, so I'm having to re-do a good portion.  I've re-worked my quilting scheme, but it'll still take a little more time.  I missed the silent auction, so I'm really bummed.  I'll hang on to it for just the right occasion.

A quick re-cap of the Karrs over the last few weeks ...
The first day of spring was accompanied by snow in the beautiful Willamette Valley.  Not our usual wet dusting that disappears by noon ... I mean almost 7 inches with tiny, dry flakes still coming down for a couple of days.  It was the most snow I've seen since moving to Oregon eleven years ago.  We've also had some crazy hail storms, too. (Notice the soft green *new* leaves poking out to say, HI--I'M HERE!)

We made some really cute Easter eggs for decoration a la Pinterest and http://www.craftyendeavor.com/2012/03/08/easter-egg-garland/.  It was messy and the string liked to tangle, but they turned out really cute!

I made Samantha a scripture cover from my tutorial (http://areformedheathn.blogspot.com/2012/03/tipsy-tutorials-pieced-scripture-cover.html) since her English class is studying The Bible (KJV) as literature.  She picked out batiks--not my personal style, but it turned out cute and she loves it :)

Tipsy Tutorials: Pieced Scripture Cover

This is a project that was born out of need.  I'm one of those mothers who feels like she carries sixteen different bags to church each week.  One for the kids, one for the calling, my scripture case, ... you get the idea.  The cargo area of our mini-van is literally half-filled with all that stuff that HAS to go to church with me.  I can hear those of you who side with my husband ... why don't you just use your iPhone scripture app, or Kindle, or whatever electronic iteration?  Last year for my birthday my husband got me two things--an Amazon Kindle and a sweet laptop bag that looks like an attache case.  His thought was that maybe I should consolidate a little.

Good thought ... but its taken me 6 more months to figure out exactly how I want it to work.  I kept getting frustrated about my scripture case.  I love my scripture case, but its an extra purse--no way around it.  Finally I decided I needed a smaller one, then after many internet tutorial searches, I realized I didn't really want a scripture case at all, I want a scripture cover.   You know, like the ones we used to make for our texts in high school.  That way, I can slide my scriptures into my new bag and thusly eliminate one more thing to carry.  Eureka!

Once I came to this inevitable conclusion, I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like:  my husband's missionary scriptures.  Only that meant figuring it out on my own.  I found a similar feel to what I wanted at this tutorial from Moda Bakeshop,  http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/11/journal-covers.html .  I used this tutorial as a jumping board for my own design.  So here we go ...

Pieced Scripture Cover
The measurements I use here will fit a medium-sized LDS edition quad.

Materials:
cover pieces:
28 (1-1/2" x 4") rectangles--I used 4 different coordinating fabrics
2 (3" x 26-1/4") strips--main color (black)
1 (8-3/4" x 26-1/4") fusible flannel (I cut it a little big then trimmed)

inside flap pieces:
4 (1-1/2" x 4") rectangles (as above)
2 (3" x 4") strips--main color (black)
1 (8-3/4" x 4") fusible flannel

1 (8-3/4" x 26-1/4") lining fabric (black)
1 or 2 (3" x 4-1/2") lining fabric (for pockets--OPTIONAL)
matching and contrasting threads
iron
ruler
fabric scissors
1 thin pony-tail elastic
button

Instructions:
1.  We are going to start with the scrappy strip down the middle.  Take 4 of your rectangles for the inside flap and sew them together with a 1/4" seam.  Set these aside.  Then do the same for the 28 other pieces.  Pay careful attention to line up the top and bottom as best you can.  This will make matching edges a lot easier in just a bit.  You now have two strips.  Press all your seams to one side.

2.  Center your longer strip onto your corresponding piece of fusible flannel and carefully fuse to the bumpy side with your iron.  Repeat with the smaller inside flap pieces.  Now quilt along each seam (ditch) of each strip.  No need for backstitching since these ends will be sewn over in the next step.

3.  Line up the top and bottom strips right sides together with the top and bottom edges of the center strip.  Pin and sew with a 1/4" seam.  Press the seam open and iron these strips to the fusible flannel.  Using contrasting (red) thread, stitch in the ditch, then 1/4 inch away from the ditch, then two more lines parallel to the first one.  Repeat for the bottom strip.

4.  Double check here to make sure that everything is fitting OK.  Measure 3 inches in from each corner of the folded over flap (right side). Cut off each corner.  Use this as a pattern to do the same thing for the lining.    Take your pony tail elastic and pinch two sides together in half.  About 1/4 of the way from one end, twist a small length of thread around the the two sides of the elastic to hold them together, then baste them to the center of the lining flap in between where the corners were trimmed off.  Make sure that the larger loop that will go around the button is facing towards the middle.  Layer the lining and pieced cover right sides together and pin together.

5.  Leaving 3 to 4 inches open for turning, stitch around the remaining sides with a 3/8-inch seam.  Trim all corners and turn right-side-out.  I use a plastic chopstick to push out the corners and make them nice and crisp.  Give the whole thing a good ironing, making sure to turn the edges of the opening to the inside.

6.  Before topstitching, we need to take care of the inside flap.  First we need to finish the edge that will be on the left (open) side of the back flap.  Fold over about 1/4" and topstitch in place.  Now, use your book to determine placement of the flap.  Put a pin in the center to keep it from shifting.  Now fold over the top and bottom so they are flush with the top and bottom lines of the main cover; pin.  Fold the right side under 1/4" to 3/8" and pin into place.  After you pin, double check that your book will still fit.  Sewing as close to the right edge as possible, stitch that right side from top to bottom.

7. **optional** I added a pocket for pencils/pens at this point just to the right side of the flap.  I had a 3" x 4-1/2" square of the lining fabric.  I folded the top over 1/2" and then a second time so that the inside hem was about 1/4".  I sewed across the top to finish it off.  I folded and pressed the remaining three sides to the inside 1/4" to 3/8"--I just eyeballed it.  Finally I sewed around the three sides and once up the middle.

8.  Fold over the left flap and pin into place.  Topstitch as close as you can all the way around the cover--I did about 1/8".  I started at the bottom so the joining wouldn't be as obvious.  I also backstitched over each of the places where the flaps were joined down to add a little durability.  Put your book in the cover and find placement for the button--sew it on and you're done!

          

          

          

This-is-so-COOL: I won something!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I got this e-mail from Green Fairy Quilts saying that I'd won a $25 gift certificate.  I was so excited.  I've been stalking a lot of quilting sites lately and leaving lots of comments.  Apparently, somewhere along the line, this totally *paid* off.  A big Thanks! to Mellissa at Happy Quilting and her Valentine's Day Charm Blog Hop series!

Even though Rhett was skeptical, I went ahead on the assumption that I wasn't being spammed--I mean the shop is in St. George, UT, and being the trusting soul I am, I went shopping!  I had so much fun browsing through all her choices online, then I went over to check out the blog--AMAZING!!  She makes machine quilting look like child's play.  I love the trapunto look she achieves by combining small motifs with larger ones.

I finally settled on a new jelly roll from Jenn Ski and Moda fabrics called Ten Little Things.  It's a really cute collection with a little boy feel.  I wasn't sure what I'd do with it since my boy is just about twelve, but I fell in love.  I couldn't resist--and the best part--it was almost free.  So I ordered and waited, stalked (I mean tracked) it online every day and opened it right up when I got it on Monday.

In the meantime--over last weekend--I found out why inspiration had struck in such an odd way for me.  A few weeks ago, my nephew's friend fell out of a second-story window and was very seriously injured.  I've been following my sister's updates and my heart pours out to this family.  Well, last Saturday, my sister posted that she's hosting a benefit for the family to help defray medical costs.  I now know why I have that darling little boy fabric.  Here's a quick sneak peek at what I'm working on--hopefully it will bring in a nice bid for the family at the silent auction.

Half-Baked: Sugar Cookie Bars

This link came up recently on Pinterest and I can't believe I never though of it--we've all had that happen with the myriad ideas that circulate there, right?  I LOVE sugar cookies but I HATE making them.  I think the cakey ones you can buy at the supermarket are gross so won't touch them either (much to my family's frustration.)  Now, I love making a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies as bars, so I have absolutely no excuse for never putting two and two together and coming up with something like this myself.

http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/lofthouse-sugar-cookie-bars.html

Soo, with Nicholas's birthday coming up this week, and knowing I have a bit of baking to do, I decided to compare this recipe with my own favorite sugar cookie recipe.  I clipped this recipe years ago from a Taste of Home magazine and have used it ever since.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Smooth-Sailing-Sugar-Cookies

I've never used the icing recipe, however.  I prefer Betty Crocker whipped icings.  BUT, I can't use that now since Samantha is on her restricted diet.  Truth be told, she probably shouldn't eat any of the cookies, either, but that's another reality.  So I'm using the standard buttercream icing recipe from Wilton.  My mom made this growing up and I used it when I took my cake decorating classes.  It's simple, its yummy and I can make it any color I want :)  http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing

There was an obvious difference in the doughs.  The Lofthouse recipe was softer and gooier.  When I put it in the pan, there was also a little more.  When I do this again, I will double the Taste of home recipe and see if that works better.

The Lofthouse recipe said to spray the pan.  I did even though I had a non-stick jelly roll pan.  I didn't need to.  It would have spread better without it.  I didn't spray the pan for the second recipe, and it spread just fine.  Neither one stuck to the pan in the least when I cut them and removed them from the pan.

As you can see, the bars turned out pretty different.  The Lofthouse recipe is thicker and cakier.  The Taste of home was thinner and more cumbly.  My girls liked the Lofthouse recipe best, my guys didn't care either way.  I prefer the taste of the Taste of Home cookie recipe and the Lofthouse icing recipe--sooo, I will double the first and use the second on the next go around.

As with all good things, more experimentation is required :)  Here's to finding a version your family comes back to again and again.