I *HEART* Large Plastic Cups with Cute Coozies

I have a fun little project for today. It's a cup coozie (cozy, coozy, koozie, etc). I just love those clear plastic tumbler cups that are all the rage now. You know the ones. They look like a fast food drink cup, but are a lot more durable. I (heart) mine and use it all the time. The only down side, they are so boring to look at. I know that with some of the cups you can unscrew the top or bottom and insert pictures, scrapbook paper or cute fabric. Not mine, just a plain old cup. I needed a cup coozie. One big problem: I had a hard time finding a pattern online. It seemed that everyone started with the little paper sleeve as a pattern. I didn't have a Starbucks paper sleeve, but no problem, I would just make my own pattern. Ummmm....there is a reason that everyone uses the sleeve pattern. It took me about an hour to get my paper pattern just like I wanted it. The first pattern the top edge was too sharp and the bottom concave was to deep. The second one: the sleeve was too short and so on for the next hour. Finally, just right.

Above: I sewed strips of fabric together. I like 1 1/2" or 1 1/4" strips, but any size will do. 

Above: Here is the back. It looks very interesting.

Above: I place my pattern on top of the fabric strips and then cut around it, Adding 1/4" seam allowance. I then cut out thin cotton batting and a backing fabric.

Above: Here it is.

Above: I used 2 elastic pony tail rubber bands and 2 big red buttons to keep the coozie wrapped around the cup. If you google quilted cozy cup, there are tons  around. I liked the ones with the elastic loops that hook around the buttons. Have fun!

This particular one was a gift for a special friend. Now I am going to have to make me one. They are so cute.

Have a wonderful night,

Holly

Happy Little Plate

I have always loved the dreamy Dresden plate, but it looks so complicated. I finally couldn't resist it anymore. I have this sweet little ruler, just for making Dresden plates of all sizes. Wouldn't a little 4 1/2" Dresden plate look adorable? Well, actually the spokes are 4 1/2", the plate ends up being 11 1/2".

Above: first step: cut out wedge using ruler, then cut out 19 more using different fabrics.

Above: Then fold the top of the wedge in half and sew (the top is the longer side).

Above: I like to chain piece them, actually I chain piece all the time! It saves thread and time. Chain piecing is just a continuous running of the fabric through the machine without cutting the threads.

Above: Chain piecing. They look like tiny little flags. I then snip them apart.

Above: The one on the left has been ironed (process a) and the one on the right has been inverted and ironed (process b).

 Above: Now, after you have finished both process a and process b, it's time to join them. I started in groups of two, then after all of those were finished, I made them into groups of four and then added the fifth wedge. Now I just have to sew one group together and the other group together. Finally I sew the two groups together to make the plate!!

Above: Here she is almost finished. I am making her for a craft fair that my sis and her sweet friend will have a booth at. I am a partner, but unfortunately I am not going to be attending :( 

 Above: Look what finally arrived. My cute little Singer Featherweight, all the way from England! I finally saved up enough $$ to get her. It took me about a year of saving (not because she was so much $$ but because I was saving pennies! not really dollars, so it took about a year :)

It is very fun to sew on. I can't wait to start making my Jo Morton quilts on it or my Civil War reproduction quilts. I will be sharing all of those projects on my other blog Prims 'n Pins. That blog is sorely neglected. I am going to make a Fall resolution to start blogging on it at least once a week (?).

This weekend has been beautiful. A little cooler, maybe by 5 degrees, but I can tell Fall is in the air!!

Keep those fingers happy, go sew something,

Holly

Back to School = Fun Crafty Stuff!!!!

Wednesday was sweet little D#2's first day of big school. She is now an official kindergartner. She has the most wonderful teachers! We are so excited. Every week they will have to learn a Bible verse and recite it from memory on Friday. In the mornings during general assembly they recite the pledge to the American Flag, to the Bible and to the Christian Flag. This is all stuff that we use to do at church when I was little. They don't really do that in churches now, including ours.
So, of course first day of school = fun crafty things for the teachers. I just love doing this kind of stuff.

Above: Red basket with card, notepad, pin and apple dish scrubby.

Above: Stamped this cute image and colored it with my copic markers.

Above: The apple dish scrubby is crocheted. It was so fun! I haven't crocheted in months. I must start this again. The pattern is from Lion Brand Yarn. They have a lot of free cute patterns.

Above: Made this one with cotton red yarn.

Above: Here they are all wrapped up.

D#2 was so excited today. She said "We have just finished our first week of school! WOOOHOOOO!!!" I believe she likes school.

Have an awesome night and tomorrow we are going to be super busy moving D#1 into her dorm!!

Keep those crafty little fingers busy and out of trouble :)

Holly

Needle and Thread

Update: I am still having trouble leaving a comment on blogger and I know that some of you can't leave a comment on mine. Sorry. Not sure why. I have emailed them and let them know of the problem. They do have a page on their website for trouble shooting. I will have to see if I can some how fix it.

Meanwhile, look at this awesome quilt! It is a Bee In My Bonnet (Lori Holt) pattern called Paper Dolls. It is so adorable. It reminds me a little of the American Dolls Historical series from the 1930s/1940s. This will definitely be a future project. I have purchased a pattern of hers called Remembering Grandma's Aprons. I can't wait to start on that one.

Above: Very cute quilt. Look at the detail! Sure wish I could take her class on it. Lori Holt offers it as a block of the month.

I just finished up some custom order mice for a wonderful lady with an amazing imagination.

Here's the mice.

Above: They are the Four Seasons: Spring (yellow) Summer (red), Fall (orange) and Winter (lt blue).

They were so fun to make and design. The customer had a wonderful idea. She came up with the four seasons theme and I had a blast designing them. They are now on their way to Ohio, along with their sweet little pet. I will show the pet at a later date, as soon as they reach their destination. The pet is a surprise thank you.

We have been busy getting ready for school to start. We had a meeting for D#2's school tonight. We are so excited that she will be starting Kindergarten soon. I can't believe that she is that big! They grow up so fast. D#1 will be moving into her dorm on the 20th of this month. She is so excited! We are excited and a little sad (shhhh....don't tell her) that she is starting this wonderful new chapter in her life.

I will share pictures of her campus after we get her settled in.

That's all I have for tonight, so I'll sign off and say "Goodnight",

Holly

Time For A Change!!

I am not sure why, but around this time of year I start thinking about remodeling. Not the tear down walls, make hubby cry kind of remodeling, but what I like to call "little touches". Such as, painting, installing wainscoting (which I lllooovvveee), adding crown molding, etc. I have been wanting to change my pantry doors for a while now. I wanted a selvaged half glass/half wooden door. You know...kind of like a back door. Nine panes of glass on upper part and regular style door on the bottom. I would need two doors, since I have a double pantry. Something similar to this:

Above: That was until I found this!!!

Above: HOW ADORABLE!!! I had a fit when I saw this! I love it. Look at the handle. Wish I could do it to my pantry. Dear hubby thought I was having some kind of fit when I stumbled upon this photo. I might have squealed, not sure, but I know I started talking real fast and kept saying "Look, look, how adorable!!". He just didn't really understand my excitement. But look below. Adorable!!

Above: Really....can it get any cuter <3  I know that I really couldn't keep my pantry that neat, but with that apron practically covering the disaster inside, why not!?! 

Put a few more things in the Etsy shop. I really had so much fun designing these. I have a million ideas bouncing through my head right now. Next on my list: a Fall one!

Above: Not sure what they are? A pincushion :)

This past week I wanted to make some banana nut bread. I keep my ripe bananas in the freezer. I just place them into a gallon size zip bag and add to it as my bananas ripen. Side note: bananas tend to ripen really fast for me. I like them with a little green and slightly firm. As soon as they get a brown spot on them, into the freezer they go. I tend to have a weak gag reflex and will gag really bad on a riping banana. 

Here's what they look like when you remove them from the freezer:

Above: Yuck!! Total gagness!!! They turn real dark when you freeze them. I do freeze them with the skin on and then just pop them in to the microwave for about 20 seconds and peel the skin right off. I them put them in a microwaveable bowl for another 20 seconds and then I reserve about 1 TBS of banana juice to add to the bread batter.

Above: Yummo!!!

Above: Sure wish you could smell it. Something so comforting about banana bread smell.

The recipe that I use is a little different. It calls for sour cream. This makes a wonderful moist, very moist, bread.

Banana Bread

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan (use butter for pans! )
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Hope you enjoy this recipe! We sure did! It's raining cats and dogs here.

Stay dry,

Holly

Plain Jane Pincushion Tutorial

I love pincushions! They are such functional, artsy little things. While I have an assortment of neat, cool and stylish pincushions the one that I really love is just the basic plain jane one. The main reason that I love it is because it is such a snap to whip up. No sewing machine involved! Some pincushions that I make can take up to 20 hours! But this little baby takes a total of 30 min-1 hour (unless of course you have to run to the store right in the middle of making it--but that's another story for another day).
Supplies:
Scissors
fabric square about 9"
2" piece of felt
stuffing
large eye needle
dental floss
sand (optional)

Above: don't ya just love the tiny acorn. He is not functional but adorable. The cap is a real acorn cap and he is made out of clay.

Above: Cut out an 8 1/4" diameter circle. I used a compass to draw a circle.

Above: 4 1/8" on compass. Click on photo to zoom in.

Above: I like to use a large head needle. I also use wax dental floss instead of cotton thread. The dental floss is very strong and will not break like the thread will.

Above: Make a running stitch all the way around the circle. Take 1/8" stitches. This will help to bring the fabric together tighter.

Above: Make sure to start the beginning  stitch and ending stitch on the right side of the fabric. Click on picture for a closer look. 

Above: I like to add a little sand bag to the bottom of the pincushion before I start stuffing. This sand bag is not necessary, I just add it for weight. You could also use crushed walnut shells (bird section of pet store), sand (found in florist section of discount stores), *beans, *rice (*the food type could attract bugs) or emery. I like to use a little sand bag because I have found that when sand is used it tends to sometimes work itself out and make a small mess. The sand bags can be small, maybe 2" or 3" in diameter.

Above: Lightly cinch the circle closed as above. This will help keep stuffing in as you stuff the pincushion.

Above: I use a combination of wool and fiberfill stuffing. I like wool because it packs tightly and looks smoother than fiberfill, but is a little more expensive so that is why I combine it. Also the lanolin keeps pins and needles from rusting.

Above: Try to cinch the pincushion has tight as you can. This hole is probably 1"-1 1/2" wide.

Above: I use my cuttlebug to cut felt out. I love using the cuttlebug this way. It cuts the felt out very clean with sharp crisp edges. One tip that I have found is make sure the felt you are using is wool. The cheaper felt that you get from the large discount stores just doesn't work as well. It will work but you have to trim the shape out because the cut is not as clean.

Above: The shape comes right out. Very clean and crisp edges. At this point you may want to think about your embellishments. Use your crafty imagination. You can glue buttons, game pieces, charms, vintage clipon earings, yoyos (fabric ones), fabric flowers, etc. This is your creation-go wild! If you don't like using glue, just find things that you can sew on. Just remember if you want your pincushion to be functional try not to go too wild with the hard embellisments, you don't want to jab a pin or needle into the pincushion and have it break because a button or charm got in the way.

Above: I put the acorn on the felt top first before I put the felt on the pincushion.

Above: Little acorny, not functional at all, but super cute. Wouldn't it be fun to do a fallish pincushion with a couple of these cutie acorns. 

Hope that this tutorial is clear enough. If not just send me a comment and I will try to answer your question.

Sew....go ahead and try your hand at this fun and easy project. Remember no sewing machine required!!

Have a wonderful and crafty day,

Holly

Jar Salsa vs. Pico De Gallo

Jar Salsa vs. Pico De Gallo...
I must confess, I no longer eat jar salsa. It just doesn't taste right.
Here's a great recipe that I enjoy making at least once a day. I love it for lunch, goes great with a cheese quesadilla. All you need is:
1 tomato
cilantro
jalapeno
lemon juice
onion-mild kind, we're eatin' it raw!
Chop everything, I like big chunks about the size of a pea. Handy hubby likes it chopped very fine, it looks like baby food (aka soupy salsa). Eat it with lime corn chips! Some day I am going to make my own chips....

Above: The jalapeno and onion are from my garden. The tomato is from farmer's market. I really don't like to use bottled lemon juice, but it was all I had. I did grow cilantro this year, but after a few weeks, it goes to seed and peters out. I did find out this past week that it is best to buy seeds and grow cilantro in two week intervals.

Above: All chopped up and ready to eat! Wish you could smell it. The cilantro is awesome!

I finished a pincushion that I had been working on. This time it is more of a modern pincushion, meaning that I used bright colors and new fabrics. The fabric line is from Bonnie and Camille. I love using vintage fabrics, but this fabric line just spoke to me. I hope that I can make some place mats using this line and maybe do a tutorial on them. Napkins would be cute too!

Above: it is a pear pincushion and snip-it bag.

Above: hand embroidered pear.

Above: Two hand sculpted pears. The photo is kind of dark. They look so cute in person.

That's all that I have to share for today, hopefully I can get a post in tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day, keep those hands busy!!

Holly