Happy 4th of July!

I did it, I got my second pillow done.  It was at 8pm last night, but it was in time.  Now they can both sit on my couch for the month of July while I come up with something to replace them with.

I found a tutorial on pinwheels that looked easy and wanted to try, so I designed this pillow around those.  It evolved a little as things went (mostly cause I realized my measurements were off and things weren't lining up) but I like the way it turned out.  I opted for red binding to contrast the blue on the other pillow.

I reused pebbles to coordinate with the star, then accented the pinwheels.  This was kind of dual purpose, as it's a similar design to one I plan to use on my daughters quilt (I'll share the completed top to that soon).  I really like pillows as they go together quick and easy and give you a chance to try out new techniques and quilting designs without lots of commitment.  I see many many more pillow adventures in my future.

Both of them sitting on my couch all ready for fireworks and fun.

We hope you are having a great weekend.  Happy 4th of July!

Linked to

4th of July Pillow

I came across an army star pattern at Lily's quilts and instantly fell in love.  I knew I had to make it, and in time for the 4th of July.  Luckily Missy was coming to visit for a crafting/girly fun weekend, and it was the perfect time.

French Mint Pies

.

I'm going to start out this post with a disclaimer.  This recipe involves raw eggs.  If you don't care, or can get your hands on fresh eggs (which is what prompted me making these delicious morsels) read on.  If you can't get over the raw egg thing, I understand, BUT you are missing out ;).

These have always been a family favorite and we had them a fair bunch growing up, but since there have been more and more problems with eggs, and we didn't have access to chickens, we get them less and less.  When I ended up with 18 fresh eggs at swim lessons last week, I immediately knew I was going to go home and whip some up.

So, for a super easy, perfect summer treat (and it's def summer here, we made it to 110 today and it felt like it), I give you French Mint Pies.

My First Quilt

I have become COMPLETELY obsessed with quilting lately.  I can't get enough of it.  I want to learn everything, do everything, make everything.  It's probably sad and I shouldn't admit to it, but there it is.  So, I figured, why not participate in the Blogger's quilt festival.  I have a few quilts in progress right now, but nothing that's ready for this, so I had to go back to one that was already done, and why not make my inaugural addition to the quilt festival my very first quilt.  The quilt that started it all.

When I'm learning a new skill, I'm not smart enough to start easy with solid instructions, I just kind of go at it, with things that are probably WAY over my head (my mom can attest to this), and quilting was no exception.  I got an idea in my head, kind of had some instruction on appliquéing from Jenni, and went for it.  I found a picture I liked online and duplicated it.  I have no idea where that picture came from or where it is now, so I can't reference it.

This quilt was started about 4 months prior to my daughter (my oldest, now 7) being born, and promtply finished shortly after her 2nd birthday.  I really had no idea was I was getting myself into.  Everything is hand appliqued, with 3D wings, and then hand quilting in place.  It is so imperfect, and her poor face isn't done yet (still haven't decided exactly how to finish that), but I love every aspect of the quilt.  Every ounce of my creative energy went into it and figuring out how to piece it together and get it to work.  I would never do a quilt in this same way, but I learned to much from this first quilt.  Also, my daughter loves it, and really, that's all that matters.

How to pick a Watermelon

As summertime is upon us (we'll some of us, it might be snowing in Utah again this week), it seems the question on every ones mind is "How do I pick the perfect watermelon?".

Well, I might not have all the answers, but Jenni was told a tip a couple years ago that seems to work better than any others I've heard.  You want to find the watermelon with the smallest circle on the side opposite the stem.

This part.

When I cut into the watermelon, it was the perfect red inside and sweet and delicious.

One of my children ate 1/4 the watermelon all by himself.  I do not recommend allowing 4 year olds to do this for dinner however, it was way too close to bedtime (resulting in 4 bathroom trips later before 10pm).  But really, I can't blame him for eating so much.

If you try out this method, I'd love to hear if you have the same success with it I have.

Marshmallow Eggs

Making marshmallow eggs for Easter has been a family tradition since I was a child and that was years ago. I remember making them with my mom and now I am making them with my grandkids. While in AZ last week we made them with Carrie and Kimie’s kids. It was lots of fun and the kids loved it.

WIP - Quilt

I'm currently turning this

into this

so I can resew it together into this.

.

This fabric is so yummy. It's even better in person (if you can believe it).

I'm now entertained for the remainder of the week.

My take on the Cupcake Stand

We ended up with all my kids getting sick over the course of the last couple weeks, so I was stuck at home going nowhere for 10 days.  To prevent myself from going in sane, I had to come up with lots of little projects to work on.  This is one that's been on the list for a while, and it seemed to perfect time to get it done.

Beef and Broccoli and CSN Winner!

In my house, my husband likes steak (I know, most do) and my kids LOVE broccoli.  It's the one vegetable I can always get all 3 of them to eat, so the combination of both is usually a big hit for dinner.  I adapted (meaning changed out the broccoli for peppers) this recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook.  It's incredibly easy and made from normal ingredients, and if you don't want to make anything else, it works as a full well rounded meal.

Bleached Dino Shirt

My youngest is obsessed with 3 things, Batman (well super heros in general), Sharks, and Dinosaurs.  Get him one of those things and you can't go wrong.  This makes gift giving very easy, and also apparel, you always know he'll put on something if it has one of those 3 items.

When Cheri from I am Momma, Hear me Roar announced a little boy tops contest, I knew I had to enter, and I already had the perfect plan that had been swimming around in my head.

Easy Motto

A few weeks ago I was at a training for scouts and it was mentioned that young adults are quitting at things more so than in the past, and the cause is that we aren't teaching our kids to do hard things.  So, as soon as things get difficult, they give up.

I was continually thinking about this after the training (especially since my hubby made a comment a few days later about how we need to be tougher on our kids and expect more from them), when I came across a sign someone had made that stated "We can do hard things".  I knew I needed this hanging in my home, but that I could also make my own.

I started with a 1x12 scrap I had in my garage and cut it down to size, it ended up being about 16 inches.  I painted this black.  Then I printed out my saying and simply colored on the back of the paper with pencil over all the lines, then put it colored side down and traced over the words transferring an outline to my wood.  Paint inside the lines with white (or whatever color you choose), let dry, and sand.  After it was all sanded, I wiped it off and sprayed it with a clear coat.  Then, simply add a saw toothed hanger on the back.  This will eventually sit on a ladder shelf, but I have to make it first.  It was a super easy project and best of all FREE!  Now it hangs proudly where everyone can see it and be reminded of it daily.

Bathroom Redo

Now, in  all fairness, I know I did promise you pictures of a closet weeks ago.  In my defense, it is done (almost), but the pictures are on my old camera and it's a pain to pull out, and I got distracted.  I'll try and get them up next week.

In the meantime, I have an even MORE exciting project to share.  Forever ago, I received some free paint.  It's was a fine color (a sea blueish), and there were 5 gallons of it.  I painted a couple spots in our kids/main bath to see if I liked it, but realized the paint was cheap and there was NO WAY I was going to bother painting with it.  So, it sat like that, and sat, and sat, while more "important" projects kept getting done first.  Well last week, my husband walked in and said "just paint this bathroom, just use that color in the garage" (yes, I still have the cheap paint).  I explained I couldn't use it and for me to paint the bathroom it was going to take a little more than paint as I wanted to make a few other changes.  "How much?"  Well....  this time, not that many actually (right now, I have a few more plans for later, and I only spent about $100, so without further ado.  This isn't really a tutorial, just a before and after, but I'll give you a cost breakdown too.  I absolutely LOVE the transformation and finally have a bathroom I can be proud to have guests use.

Chocolate Dipped Meringues

Meringues are one of my very favorite treats.  So much so, they were even served at my wedding.  Dipping them in chocolate just makes them oh so much better.  Turned pink, and they make the perfect Valentine treat. I even have a delicious Christmas variation at the bottom.

A Man's blanket

It's me again!  And no, I'm not done with the closet redo, I'm not that good.  But it is still at the top of the priority list this week (with a couple other things).  One of those other things being, a blanket for my husband.  I have recently decided to join in the contest at the Modern Quilt Guild, go here to check it out.  BUT, my husband has been asking for a blanket for a while, 5 years maybe, and it keeps not getting done.  So I finally bought him the fabric for Christmas and figured I best get his blanket done first.  If I start on another one before it's done, he might leave me!  Ok, not really, but I'm sure some of you understand.

Closet Redo

Well, I was scheduled to post this week.  I had my project all thought up and planned out, it was going to be awesome.  Then I went to pick up the couple items I needed AND nothing.  They didn't have them, I'm hoping they were just out and I can still do my project later and post it, so I don't want to say too much yet till I check around a little more.

No problem.  I had a back up plan, it was also going to be awesome.  It wasn't a huge project but something I thought up and figured would change the world.  WELL, it semi-failed, enough that I'm not posting it at all.

So instead of a completed project, you get to join me in my New Year's Resolution, make serious progress on this house, mostly in terms of organization.  First up, the office.

Peppermint Chocolate Kettle Corn and what to do with ruined fudge

As I'm sure most of you are, we are all right in the middle of tons of baking goodness, none of which is the least bit healthy.  But man does it taste good.  I found a Peppermint Kettle Corn I could buy, but thought, we could do that.  So while my mom was in town this last week, we spent one afternoon just making goodies. 

For our base of Kettle Corn, we use Our Best Bites recipe (LOVE that site).  My mom has this really nifty Whirley Pop thing that makes Kettle corn a breeze, but if you don't have one, review their recipe to get you to the point of having the popcorn popped.

Vertical Ruffle Skirt

Christmas Dresses!  Always a time of great fun.  My daughter however, is very picky, and while she LOVES anything fancy and dressy, she hates things that are uncomfortable.  Give her a fun knit skirt and shirt any day and she will live in them for years until I finally throw them out from being completely worn out.  So, this year I decided to combine her love of comfort and love of fancy into one adorably wearable outfit.

Turkey Napkin Rings

I will be the only sister not joining the rest of the family for Thanksgiving this year.  So I have to make my own decor and fun.  I'm not a super entertainer (especially when it's just going to be our family plus one), but I wanted to have a little something to spice up the table.  So I came up with some cute little turkeys (well, in addition to the 3 I take care of every day) to hold our napkins.

Crab Dip

Yesterday, I spent hours upon hours (well at least one) mixing up Royal Icing and making Batman emblems for my 3 year olds birthday this morning.  I was out of wax paper, no big deal, I just pulled out freezer paper and made them on those instead.  I woke up this morning to peel them off, and they failed miserably.  My guess is the freezer paper doesn't breath and they never fully dried out, but in all honesty, I only say that to sound smart, I have no idea what I did wrong.  So, before 10 am I frantically made up a Batman logo pick and stuck those in the top instead.  Even though I was super stressed with getting it all done, I will admit, I almost think they turned out cuter.  So, if you are ever in a bind and want a SVG file to cut out Batman picks with your Cricut (or Sillouette, I think), let me know, I'd be happy to shoot one over.  Heck, I'll even send it to you if you aren't in a bind ;).

Now you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with crab dip.  Nothing, I just thought I'd share a piece of my morning with you.  Now onto the crab dip.  We first tried this recipe last Thanksgiving and everyone LOVED it.  I found the recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook.  When I made it again for dinner last night, we ate it first, and almost didn't care about dinner.  The best part is, it's super easy too.

Funky Candles

Today's tutorial only ALMOST actually qualifies.  It's really easy, but hey, we all need easy once in a while, right?